Chapter 42
Chapter 42
The power of a Platinum Slayer was greater than anyone had imagined. It had moved the Korean Union, and even the Korean government itself.
To find a single Slayer, both the military and several Gold-ranked Slayers had been mobilized. Hyunseok wasn’t even aware of how far the commotion had spread.
Everything had been set into motion by the Union, which held him in almost excessive regard, the government that recognized the value of a Platinum Slayer, and countless Slayers who desperately wanted some kind of connection with him.
This time, the Platinum Slayer was asking around for a Trapper. He was looking for someone with extensive search-type skills, and one of those people was Lee Chaerim.
Chaerim had originally been a speed-based disruption-type Slayer, but her agile movement style made her perfectly suited for the Trapper role in combat.
Meanwhile, Hyunseok had decided to hunt a Turtle Monster to earn points. Though not as dangerous as the Cyclops, it was a monster that most Slayers considered impossible to subjugate.
Even Slayers who couldn’t break through the Cyclops’s shield had tried and failed to damage the Turtle Monster’s defenses. In that sense, it wasn’t exactly dangerous, but it was almost impossible to slay.
Chaerim spoke up.
“I know the Turtle Monster’s weak point.”
“...Its weak point?”
“Yes. As you know, one of a Trapper’s skills is Search. But instead of using it for dungeon scouting, I’ve trained to make it useful in combat. You might not know this, but once your Search Skill reaches level 8 or higher, you can see a monster’s weak point.”
She had already found it. That meant Chaerim’s Search Skill was at least Level 8, no small feat.
Over seven hundred high-ranking Slayers had gathered before, and not one of them had found the Turtle Monster’s weak point. Yet Chaerim had succeeded.
In other words, aside from Lee Myunghoon, she was the closest to mastering high-level Search among all Slayers.
If they managed to slay the Turtle Monster, an Achievement Reward would surely be given. Since it was a field monster, the Achievement would be shared. Chaerim had promised to invest every point she earned into improving her Search Skill.
She explained,
“It’s not exactly at the center. Near the middle, the shell’s color is slightly darker. I saw it once in a satellite photo, that darker patch around the center is its weak point.”
Hyunseok nodded.
If its defense and recoil resistance drop even slightly, it’ll go down easily.
It wasn’t even that dangerous of a monster, the real issue was how to get onto its back. Even with tremendous strength and balance, climbing a five-meter-tall monster’s shell was another matter.
Should I try jumping up there?
It didn’t seem impossible, but he wasn’t confident, he’d never jumped that high before.
No. I’ll just use a ladder.
He decided to take the simple route. The monster was so slow that climbing a ladder should work just fine.
<Platinum Slayer Challenges Solo Turtle Monster Hunt!>
<The Slayer Who Soloed the Cyclops — What Will He Do Next?>
<Was Gathering High-Rank Slayers at Jincheon Mountain Just a Ruse?>
Word spread fast: the Platinum Slayer was going to take on the Turtle Monster alone. Alongside the news came a wave of conspiracy theories.
Some claimed the Platinum Slayer had fabricated the disappearance of another Slayer just to lure others to Jincheon Mountain, making it easier for him to hunt the Turtle Monster by himself.
It sounded plausible enough that many online were already convinced it was true.
Hyunseok, unaware of the rumors, hauled a ladder to the field and climbed onto the Turtle Monster’s shell, aiming for the discolored spot near the center.
The shell was made of hexagonal plates, just as Chaerim described.
He began his assault.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Thanks to Power Control, he could perfectly modulate his strength, and Impact Control reduced recoil. Combined with attacking the weak point, his blows struck with surgical precision.
The Turtle Monster’s shield gauge began to drop. Slayers watching from a distance seized the opportunity and charged in.
About a hundred Slayers were nearby, fewer than before, but still plenty.
The shield gauge fell rapidly, though only when Hyunseok struck. In other words, their attacks barely mattered.
Even so, field battle rewards were traditionally divided equally, and the Achievement points were shared, so the others desperately joined in.
Hyunseok didn’t bother stopping them. With Myunghoon still missing, he had more important concerns.
Sure, they were freeloaders, but arguing with them was a waste of time. Finishing the slaying quickly and leaving was smarter.
Soon, the shield shattered. As it broke, cracks spread through the shell, and began to collapse.
Then Hyunseok suddenly lost his footing and fell.
He hit the ground headfirst, but his HP didn’t decrease. The impact wasn’t enough to even scratch his defense, which, even without armor, reached nearly 50,000.
Still, the shock startled him, and he rubbed his head as he stood up.
The sound of cracking shell echoed, chzzk, chzzk! - and moments later, one of the Slayers shouted, panicked:
“Everyone, move! Get back!”
That was when the real problem began.
❋ ❋ ❋
The aftermath was devastating. In the end, forty were dead and thirty injured.
When the shell was intact, the Turtle Monster was docile, a “herbivore-type” monster that didn’t attack first. Its slow speed and large frame even made it useful for training.
But once its shield broke, everything changed.
The creature went berserk. It no longer resembled a turtle, but a giant salamander-like beast with four limbs, smashing and whipping its tail.
Its most terrifying weapon was the green, acidic liquid it spewed from its mouth.
Slayers with shields barely held out; others melted before they could react. It wasn’t just about physical defense, the acid seemed to bypass armor and directly corrode HP.
Only material-based defense barriers could withstand it.
Eventually, Hyunseok managed to bring the Platinum-class fight to an end, slaying the monster, but he felt no joy.
A monster whose temperament changes upon transformation…
The Turtle Monster was weaker than the Cyclops. When he finished it, he received the “Difficult Achievement” rating and earned fifteen bonus stat points, after penalty deductions.
By comparison, the Cyclops had been rated “Impossible.”
From what he’d estimated, the Cyclops’s attack power had reached about 100,000. The Turtle Monster’s was barely half that, perhaps 10,000.
Still, 10,000 was enough to kill an ordinary Slayer in a single strike.
And its acid, that was worse. The green fluid burst out so quickly it was nearly impossible to dodge, splitting into multiple streams that spread over a wide area.
In short, it was an area-of-effect attack that melted any Slayer below a certain threshold almost instantly.
Inside the helicopter en route to Jincheon Mountain, Hyunseok reflected quietly.
They let their guard down because it seemed harmless.
That’s what made it so deadly.
He’d slain the Turtle Monster swiftly after that. Its attacks failed to penetrate his defense, and even the green acid barely left a mark.
Just like with the Cyclops, system notifications rang in his head.
[You have been hit by the Giant Turtle’s Acidic Venom.]
[Direct skin contact — Critical Damage applied.]
[Direct skin contact — 100% additional damage applied.]
[Damage: -100 HP]
Hyunseok’s HP dropped by a mere hundred, from 100,000 total. It wasn’t much, but it meant something crucial: his 50,000 Defense had been breached.
And it wasn’t even a direct physical strike…
Monsters in Normal Mode were usually close-combat types, the Troll, the Twin-Head Troll, even the Cyclops, which exceeded standard parameters.
So now their attack patterns are diversifying too.
The conclusion was obvious.
Monsters are evolving.
Still, Hyunseok had earned another Achievement, and as promised, Chaerim invested all fifteen stat points into her Search Skill.
Fifteen points was an enormous gain, trivial only compared to Hyunseok’s own growth rate. For a regular Slayer, it was monumental.
With that investment, Chaerim successfully upgraded her ability to Advanced Search.
Meanwhile, Hyunseok had no time to rest. He immediately set out for his next destination, Jincheon Mountain, where Myunghoon had vanished.
Minseo deployed a support field.
Chaerim activated her newly upgraded skill.
Even so, a single scan couldn’t reveal everything. She said it would take repeated sweeps to find clues, depending on proficiency.
The most likely spot was where Myunghoon had last been seen.
Time passed. Then, suddenly,
Chaerim clenched her fist.
“I found it! There really is a dungeon!”
Before the words even finished leaving her lips, every member of the Inha Guild heard the sound of system notifications chime at once.
(End of Chapter 42)
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— Translated by Prime Works —