Chapter 70

EP.70 The Forest Covered in Snakes (4)

Outside the barrier, at the Inwangsan Field.

Due to the high level of the monsters inhabiting the area, it is a hunting ground frequently visited by Holders of Mid-Rank and above.

In the middle of the field.

A group of people wearing masks gathered there.

They all wore masks and were equipped with their own heavy gear, not looking like ordinary people who had come to the field for hunting.

The masked person at the forefront.

He briefly lowered his mask and put a cigarette in his mouth.

It was already the fifth cigarette he had smoked.

Moreover, it seemed that everyone was his subordinate.

The remaining members were waiting with their heads bowed.

The masked person, while scattering cigarette smoke in all directions, asked another masked person behind him.

"Is this area correct?"

"Yes, Branch Manager. Before the crow entered the dungeon, it sprinkled magical stone powder to signal and then entered. According to the signal, it's within 100 meters."

"Hmm…"

The masked person looked around.

The traces of a hunt that had already been swept by a party.

Given that the beasts were not even butchered except for the magical stones, it was clearly a hunt with a specific purpose.

The situation in the field and the words of his subordinate...

told him that this was the place they were looking for.

"Those Fire Judgment guys are unpredictable. Changing the dispatch date suddenly. I couldn't even smoke a cigarette in the rush to prepare."

"It happens often. The master of that clan is quite unique, isn't he?"

"Why are all those S-rank guys like that?"

The masked person, after stomping out the last cigarette butt, got up from his seat.

He then drew a sword and looked at the gathered masked people.

"Because of the recent mess caused by the Academy kids, this mission must succeed. I've told you several times, so remember?"

"Yes."

"Yes, Branch Manager."

The masked person, who had lowered his mask to smoke, put it back on and looked ahead.

"Then let's go. To kill those fire guys."

Though his mouth was covered, his eyes were smiling.

* * *

The levels of [Phantom Blade Technique] and [Flowing Water Blade Technique] have reached level 9.

The result of the combined growth speed increase from [Sweat of the Seeker] and [Wave that Swallowed the Whirlpool].

Now, only one level remains until the ultimate skill's restriction is lifted.

The magic value is down to about 8.

With good luck, the restriction might be lifted after this dungeon is cleared.

'And... I need to get the duel reward.'

The golden information window in front of me.

It was the reward for defeating the [Rune Hunter] Electroforus.

[You have won the duel! Due to your high contribution in the duel, your victory is recognized. With the mysterious power of the Rune Hunter, you can replicate one of the opponent's runes. Please choose the rune to replicate.]

[1. Stealth 2. Penetrating Thunder 3. Underwater Breathing (unselectable) 4. Underwater Sprint 5. Magic Control (unselectable)]

The runes possessed by Electroforus were roughly as expected.

Since it used the ability to handle lightning, [Penetrating Thunder] was naturally there, and [Magic Control] was essential to support it.

Given that it was a beast active in water, [Underwater Breathing] and the rushing current rune [Underwater Sprint] were also likely to be there.

However, there was one peculiar rune.

The first option, [Stealth].

'Why does it have Stealth?'

[Stealth] is one of the common runes mainly possessed by the Assassin class.

It's not like the 'invisible man' ability seen in other novels or games.

It assists in not revealing your presence when hiding in a specific location or object, and changes the atmosphere so that even if you are right next to someone, they won't feel your presence.

In short, as long as you can disappear from the opponent's sight, it assists in completely erasing your presence.

'The higher the level, the better it gets.'

At high levels, it won't even be detected by magic sensing or the Archer class's detection runes.

It becomes a true stealth ability.

A rune I, as a half-Assassin, still don't have.

And this electric eel had it.

'Ah! That's why it wasn't detected by Min Chae-hwan.'

After entering the dungeon.

Min Chae-hwan, preparing the party's battle stance, used a detection rune.

As a B-rank Holder, his detection rune didn't detect any beasts.

He even got a confirmation that there would be no beasts for about 10 minutes.

The reason it wasn't detected.

It seems the eel had [Stealth], and its level was unexpectedly quite high.

When the vanguard came earlier, it didn't even show itself.

'So the choice is... Penetrating Thunder and Stealth.'

The options are set.

Both runes are needed by me now.

The former is necessary to gain resistance to lightning magic, and the latter can further enhance my Assassin abilities.

Fortunately, both of the Electroforus I was responsible for had their contributions recognized, allowing me to hunt runes from both.

[You have chosen Penetrating Thunder. As it is a level 8 rare rune, its level will decrease to level 4.]

[You have obtained a new rune.]

[The rune's tendency grants 4 lightning resistance and 3 magic.]

[New resistance is activated.]

[You have chosen Stealth. As it is a level 13 normal rune, its level will decrease to level 7.]

[You have obtained a new rune.]

[The rune's tendency grants 4 mental.]

I smiled wryly as I looked at the information window.

'Really, the levels were ridiculously high.'

Electroforus, while lacking in other abilities, had extremely high levels in the runes it used.

While [Penetrating Thunder] is understandable, [Stealth] has an incredibly high level.

A 13-level [Stealth] for a beast.

No wonder it wasn't detected by Min Chae-hwan.

I briefly checked the information of the newly obtained runes.

'Penetrating Thunder... as expected.'

[Penetrating Thunder] had no special derivative skills, and its special effect was simply to cause lightning.

Instead, it had a special effect that made the lightning more intense when used through metal or water.

'Stealth... has a derivative skill.'

The information on the [Stealth] rune was almost the same as what I knew, but it had a special derivative skill called [Hide Attack].

7-level, a high level, so it naturally derived.

<Skill Information>

◎Name: Hide Attack

◎Derived Rune: Stealth

◎Cooldown: 30 minutes

◎Usage Condition: Must be in a state where the target cannot see you.

◎Usage Effect

: Ambush and attack the target while hidden. If the attack is successful, it ignores a certain portion of the target's durability and increases the user's attack power. (Proportional to the rune level) If the target spots you before the attack is completed, the skill effect disappears and the cooldown resets.

[Hide Attack] is a skill I knew.

It's a skill mainly used by the Assassin class to initiate attacks on beasts, and as a normal rune skill, it has both damage reduction and increased attack power, making it quite useful.

It seems like a good skill to use for solo hunting or solo dungeon runs in the future.

"Let's move again! We don't know when these electric eels will appear again, so don't let your guard down."

While I was briefly organizing the runes.

Kwon Oh-jun's voice was heard.

Although the appearance of the beasts was unexpected, we managed to deal with them well and it was time to move again.

Thud, thud, thud—

The party's movements were much more cautious than before.

I slowly followed and looked around.

'Now it just looks like a beast habitat...'

The forest, which was once a beautiful landscape, now seemed like a place to be wary of beasts.

Indeed, the beauty of the dungeon is all nonsense.

I turned my head to the right.

Shin Yu-na, with a gloomy expression, was walking.

'She's still like that.'

Our party formation is standard.

Kwon Oh-jun, the party leader, and Min Chae-hwan, who mainly handles exploration, are at the front.

Choi Dong-wook, the Assassin, who acts as the party's middle, is in the center.

The rest of the rear personnel are at the back.

Shin Yu-na and I are at the very back to guard the rear.

If a battle starts, we move in that direction.

Thanks to this, we are walking together after a battle.

"Are you okay?"

I narrowed the distance a bit and spoke to her.

I remembered Lee Su-mi's advice to comfort her, and she seemed much more discouraged than her bold attitude on the first day.

Her expression still seemed dejected.

"Not at all…"

"Cheer up. We're here to learn, and you said that from the beginning."

Before the dispatch, Shin Yu-na told me not to expect too much.

We're here to learn.

How can she act like this after saying that.

"But... I don't know how to deal with magic attacks."

Shin Yu-na sighed deeply.

She is a tank focused on evasion.

Without the relevant resistance stats, if she fails to evade, she is directly exposed to magic attacks.

That's why all the rear support personnel were watching Shin Yu-na in this battle.

Shin Yu-na seems to be thinking about how to deal with magic attacks.

How to handle them.

But the answer is already set.

"You need to improve your speed and evade well. Or become as strong as the team leader and fight better."

"No, that's not... sigh..."

Shin Yu-na got angry at my words and then sighed.

Did I only say the obvious?

I was trying to comfort her, but it seems I just made her more upset.

Then, Shin Yu-na suddenly lifted her head and asked.

"Did you catch one earlier?"

"Huh? Oh, that... the attack hit, but the rear personnel caught it. You saw it. The magic pouring down."

You saw everything.

She bowed her head again.

"Envious... I was so busy evading that I couldn't even touch it."

"I use a shield. If I block one turn, there's a chance to deal with low-durability beasts."

And Shin Yu-na's durability isn't low.

When I replicated runes earlier, she had [Physical Defense], a common rune that grows faster for non-shield-using Warrior classes.

She was just flustered by the magic attacks this time. With physical attacks, she could tank well at the front without needing to evade.

While having a normal conversation.

Shin Yu-na brought up a ridiculous idea.

"Should I try a shield?"

"What?"

Now she wants to develop [Shield]?

This is definitely the worst choice.

[Shield] is a common rune, but for her, who uses [Combat], the probability of it not generating is high.

Just like I, an Assassin, don't have [Stealth], common runes don't apply to all Holders.

If she hasn't gotten it yet, she might never get it, and even if she does, it will take a long time to develop.

Moreover, using a shield could kill her strength in combat.

One hand with a shield and one hand with combat.

It just doesn't work.

I gave Shin Yu-na a good scolding.

"Ouch!"

"How can you act up without any runes?"

I was right not to comfort her.

She needs to be disciplined by the beasts.

Do you think it's easy to become a multi-talented Holder?