Chapter 41
Chapter 41
Hyunseok had gained two new skills this time. One was Power Control and the other was Impact Control.
But he couldn’t feel entirely pleased. More than the descriptions, it was the penalties that caught his eye first.
<Skill Window>
A skill that allows the Slayer to arbitrarily adjust their attack power.
Applicable Range: –5% to –10%
Duration: 660 seconds
Required MP: 120
Penalty: Weapon use disabled (applies both when the skill is activated and deactivated)
A skill that allows the Slayer to arbitrarily adjust the degree of recoil force applied to them.
Applicable Range: –5% to –10%
Duration: 660 seconds
Required MP: 120
Penalty: Armor use disabled (applies both when the skill is activated and deactivated)
Honestly, he couldn’t tell if these were good skills at all. The description said they would help him adjust his attack power arbitrarily, but it only gave a minus five to minus ten percent range. In other words, only reduced attack power.
Even Impact Control, which supposedly reduced recoil force, wasn’t particularly impressive either.
For a skill supposedly born from accumulating recoil force beyond Normal Mode standards, isn’t this far too weak? Even the required MP is only 120…
But the biggest problem lay elsewhere.
Weapon and armor use disabled? What kind of skill is this?
No matter how he tried to think positively, losing the ability to use items was a fatal penalty. Hyunseok rarely used weapons anyway, but against monsters like the turtle monster, those with strong defense and recoil, it was best to have a weapon. He’d been thinking about that just now.
And as if mocking that very thought, such a skill had appeared.
Item usage disabled.
If a regular Slayer received this skill, they might as well commit suicide. Allowing you to reduce your attack power, and penalizing you with weapon-use disablement? For anyone but Hyunseok, this was practically a trash skill.
It was strange.
No matter how I look at it, for a skill born of accumulating recoil force beyond Normal Mode specs, this is far too weak. Is there some hidden effect I don’t know about?
On a hunch, he activated his inventory and tried to equip Hold the Sea, but an alert sound told him it couldn’t be equipped.
He had spent a whopping 30 stat points to buy that item. Thirty points might be trivial for Hyunseok, but for an average Slayer it was a staggering amount. And now he couldn’t even use it.
Having finished observing and evaluating his new skills, Hyunseok turned his focus back to the turtle monster. In the brief time he’d been distracted, its shield gauge had recharged back to 100%.
What insane regeneration and shield power…
Hyunseok had to control his strength carefully.
Striking harder wasn’t always better. Against something like the turtle monster, with powerful recoil, he had to find the point where attack power increased while recoil decreased. That was the most efficient attack method.
This is where grinding pays off. When will I get another chance like this?
He began the grind.
Anyway, the MP cost was only 120. The delay wasn’t long either, so he repeatedly activated and deactivated the skills, attacking the turtle monster over and over.
[Recognized: Repetitive Mastery]
[Skill Power Control’s level has increased.]
[Skill Impact Control’s level has increased.]
In Hyunseok’s case, acquiring or leveling up skills through repetitive mastery was very difficult. Most monsters were one-shot kills for him. This was an unfamiliar experience, and he was slightly excited.
At first, the levels rose quickly, up to level 4 in no time. But after that, the rate slowed.
Enjoying the process of leveling his skills, he participated more and more in the slaying. Before long, the turtle monster’s shield gauge had been chipped down by about 30%.
The 150 or so Slayers gathered here, though their number had dropped, began to feel a glimmer of hope. What had seemed like an impenetrable wall was now weakening.
“Good! Let’s keep this up!”
“It’s already dropped 30%! Our attacks are finally landing!”
These were capable Slayers, and they had been frustrated by the situation. No matter how they attacked, they did no damage. Now that this had changed, they were overjoyed.
Illusions are happiest before they shatter.
Separately, Hyunseok silently continued his grind.
Above level 4, the skill-up speed is really slow.
As Impact Control’s level rose, recoil force weakened. Thanks to that, he could strike harder, and striking harder sent even greater recoil back at him, which in turn increased his skill level.
At this pace, he felt they would soon be able to break the turtle monster’s shield. Its shield was weakening, and Hyunseok’s attack power was growing stronger.
Just then, contact came from the Union.
❋ ❋ ❋
Hyunseok hadn’t joined the turtle monster slaying right away because of a request from Lee Myunghoon. He’d been standing by to clear a hidden dungeon he’d discovered. In truth, with so many Slayers fighting the turtle monster, he’d been hesitant to participate anyway.
Myunghoon had been exploring the dungeon with one support Slayer. Support and healing Slayers commanded higher fees than combat Slayers because they were rarer. This had led to a growing trend of support and healing Slayers forming their own guilds to take contracts. Such an arrangement brought them not only commission fees but also a share of slaying rewards, double income.
Guilds without support or healing Slayers often had no choice but to hire them for slaying missions.
One such guild, Support, contacted the Union.
“Support?”
—Yes, a mercenary-style guild composed solely of support Slayers. We understand they went to explore the dungeon with Lee Myunghoon from Inha Guild.
“I see.”
—But…
Support couldn’t contact Hyunseok directly but could reach him through the Union.
—But… their contact has been lost. Are you still in touch with Mr. Lee Myunghoon?
“I was, until yesterday…”
A guild member exploring with Myunghoon had lost contact. Hyunseok tried calling Myunghoon but got no answer. According to Support, the connection had cut off after a sudden scream.
Beep – beep -
With each ring tone, Hyunseok grew more anxious.
“Damn it, the turtle monster’s shield gauge is recharging again!”
“Shit!”
While other Slayers cursed over the shield gauge rising again, Hyunseok had no time to pay attention.
Elsewhere:
“You crazy bastards! Why is the shield gauge recharging?!”
“We were doing fine, pull yourselves together!”
The Slayers were venting their frustration.
Ha Jongwon was agitated, nearly losing his composure, much like Hyunseok had when he heard a Cyclops had appeared in his family’s hometown.
“Hey! What are you doing spacing out? We need to move now! A guild member’s missing!”
Hyunseok stayed calmer. Even though Myunghoon was in his guild, their relationship wasn’t deep enough for him to lose his mind. But Ha Jongwon was different. His eyes were bloodshot, insisting they search immediately.
The last confirmed location…
He could check it.
They had been tracking Myunghoon’s GPS location in real time so they could move as soon as the dungeon was discovered.
If they’d discovered a hidden dungeon, there should’ve been an achievement notification to the entire party. The party system is active for the dungeon. But there was no notification. That most likely means they encountered a dangerous monster.
At present, the hypothesis that they had run into a dangerous monster seemed most plausible. Hyunseok reported this to the Union immediately.
Within the Korean Union, Hyunseok was someone to be treated with utmost care. Park Sunghyung’s policy was to prioritize anything involving him, and the executives all agreed.
At Hyunseok’s request, the Korean Union moved swiftly, issuing a nationwide search notice to all Slayers. With government help, they even prepared a helicopter for Hyunseok to travel in.
“Did you hear? A search Slayer’s gone missing, and the Union’s offering a 1 billion won reward.”
“But they’re recommending only Gold-tier or higher Slayers participate because the chance of dangerous monsters is very high.”
“Still, for 1 billion, isn’t it worth it? It’s just a search…”
“Don’t be stupid. If it’s a Cyclops, you’ll just die. Better to hunt ten Orcs.”
Though uncertain, Hyunseok suspected a dangerous monster was indeed involved. Myunghoon had discovered the Twin-Head Troll, after all. The GPS device being destroyed also fit the scenario.
Stay alive.
Myunghoon was originally a combat Slayer. Soloing an Orc was possible even if a Twin-Head Orc wasn’t. Anything above that, he’d have to run. The fact that he’d been out of contact was definitely a red flag.
At the Union’s notice, Gold-tier Slayers gathered near Jincheon Mountain.
Although only about 30 came, a small number to call a “crowd”, it was still one-third of Korea’s roughly 100 Gold-tier Slayers, which was no small matter.
At that level, they all knew of Hyunseok.
His guild member was missing. Most had come not for the 1 billion won reward but to owe Hyunseok a favor.
The government, at the Union’s request, deployed military dogs and even satellites to search for Lee Myunghoon. Hyunseok scoured Jincheon Mountain himself but found neither dungeon nor monster traces.
If a dangerous monster had appeared… it wouldn’t be this quiet.
He had to consider other possibilities now.
If they were suddenly trapped inside a dungeon…
Normally, entering a dungeon required a Slayer’s consent. But that wasn’t an absolute law.
There were dungeons with forced entry.
According to Ha Jongwon, Myunghoon had mastered Advanced Search.
At a time when most didn’t even know the Trapper class existed, mastering Advanced Search meant Myunghoon was at a very high level for a Trapper.
Then if I can find a Slayer who’s mastered Advanced Search… maybe we can find the hidden dungeon.
Hyunseok immediately contacted the Union, which began searching for Trappers who had mastered Advanced Search. Sure enough, Myunghoon was an eccentric. Not a single Trapper had yet mastered Advanced Search.
Trappers familiar with the situation combed Jincheon Mountain but still found no dungeon.
Then, Lee Chaerim, a Disruption-type Slayer Hyunseok had once slayed Orcs with, reached out.
—You remember me, right?
He did.
Back when they’d hunted Orcs together, they’d formed a temporary team. She’d wielded a thin, rapier-like sword with Agility-focused stats, similar to Hong Seyoung’s style.
She explained she had changed class to Trapper. Hyunseok had influenced that decision greatly; seeing the gap between them, she had saved her remaining stats and eventually switched to Trapper.
—I haven’t mastered Advanced Search yet. But I have a method. Of course, I’ll need your approval.
Hyunseok agreed immediately.
“What’s the method?”
(End of Chapter 41)
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— Translated by Prime Works —