Chapter 21
Chapter 21
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Silver Dragon
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Grasp Complete
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The forest was silent.
The space that had been filled with the wolves' howls just moments ago now carried only the faint sounds of small animals and the wind rustling through the leaves.
I pulled up the info window for my newly acquired skill, [Grasp Complete], and sank into thought.
The description was straightforward.
When catching a monster completely identical to one you've already caught, it becomes easier to catch it again.
'Easier.'
The key was figuring out exactly what this vague term meant in practical terms.
Did it reduce the monster's defense? Or boost my attack power?
Or maybe it created weaknesses in ways I hadn't even noticed.
And since the skill description explicitly stated it only applied to monsters, I knew it was useless for hunting humans when I bought it.
There was no way around it—I'd have to test it myself to find out.
I headed off in search of the compound-eyed wolves I'd left scattered around the forest.
The woods teemed with all sorts of flora and fauna, but I was laser-focused on the wolves alone.
It didn't take long before a pair of red compound eyes spotted me from the darkness, flashing with wariness.
I drew my sword and charged at it with the same senses as always.
A mere graze from my fist would kill it outright, but for the sake of honing my swordsmanship, I stuck to using the blade as much as possible.
The wolf's movements, the toughness of its hide, the resistance as my sword sliced through flesh—everything felt exactly the same as before.
After dispatching the first wolf, I checked the skill window, but [Grasp Complete]'s proficiency hadn't budged from 0%.
'The effect should kick in from the next one.'
I'd half-expected no effect on the first, but with nothing happening at all, I started to worry if the skill description hid some other meaning.
I'd killed hundreds of these wolves before.
Guess it doesn't apply to ones killed prior.
Assuming it activates from after I acquired the skill, I impatiently hunted down more wolves.
The moment I faced the second compound-eyed wolf, thankfully, I felt a subtle difference.
Once I took it down, the proficiency ticked up ever so slightly.
It seemed the system collected data on the target through the first hunt, then provided that "ease" starting from the second based on the gathered info.
This "ease" didn't manifest as direct stat boosts like increased attack power or speed.
It was more like a sensory correction.
The wolf's movements became clearer, its attack trajectories predictable.
I instinctively knew which spot to slash for a fatal blow with minimal effort.
A faint image formed in my mind of the angle it would lunge from.
Unnecessary motions vanished, every strike optimized for maximum efficiency.
I lightly dodged its attack and severed its throat.
At first, it was subtle, but soon...
'It's getting even faster. With every kill!'
The compound-eyed wolves prowling the forest kept coming.
Each swing of my sword drew the blade like a magnet to their most vulnerable spots—the precise weak points at the nape of their necks.
Swish!
Smoother than before, with zero resistance.
After a few more, it felt like I was a seasoned hunter who'd faced them hundreds of times.
And after twenty, it was like some kind of precognition, reading every one of the wolf's actions.
Similar to auto-hunt, but one that kept accelerating.
This was a limited skill.
The reward for investing ten lives.
Not only did my hunting speed skyrocket, but the demi-god power consumption dropped noticeably too.
And beyond that, I gained all sorts of intel: their weaknesses, subtle muscle twitches, even behavioral patterns.
Truly satisfying performance.
For monsters, it offered real strength, efficiency, sensory training, intel gathering—a ton of advantages.
Though after twenty, the sense of growing ease plateaued.
Then a new question popped into my head.
'Does this skill give stat bonuses on upgrade too?'
It wasn't a job skill—it came from the Soul Shop.
Different acquisition method, so probably not. That'd make the system too generous.
Low odds based on its patterns, but worth checking.
This wasn't just any skill; being limited edition, who knew.
I decided to sweep the whole forest once, skipping star-eyed wolves, then head to the village.
Ask an NPC if it boosts stats, grab Dwin, and knock out both wolf quests.
One last hunt for the day remained.
As I experimented with Grasp Complete, Dwin led his group back to the village.
Dwin returned to the village in a daze.
The two survivors trailing behind him were much the same.
One stared blankly into empty space with vacant eyes, mechanically following Dwin like a machine.
Siron had woken from his faint, but the pain lingered.
He clutched his makeshift bandaged arm—torn cloth from his clothes—and shuffled along.
But gazing at his grotesquely twisted arm, unrecognizable as human, he let out pained groans like a lost soul.
Thanks to the stamina potion, it hadn't fully necrotized, but the agony of mangled bones and muscles persisted.
Anyone could see it'd be that way until properly healed.
Dwin herded them into a corner of an empty village building and spoke in a cold voice.
"Stay quiet here. If you pull any stupid stunts, even I won't be able to protect you."
His tone carried the chill authority of one seizing control, not a trace of yesterday's groveling.
Siron, enduring the pain, rasped out a question.
"Why... why are you doing this? What does he want from us?"
Dwin fell silent for a moment.
Then, as if affirming it to himself, he replied coldly.
"It's not what I want. It's what he wants."
Dwin took their silence as assent and continued. He had never harmed them himself.
It was that man who acted on Dwin's report.
But escaping responsibility was another matter.
"If you want to live, obey him. That's the one rule in this dimension."
"His power... it's beyond anything we can imagine. Resistance is pointless."
Siron opened his mouth as if to argue through the pain, but Dwin raised a hand to silence him.
"Your abilities are impressive. But you saw—they don't work on him. Even if we all piled on, it'd end the same."
Then Dwin described the overwhelming power he'd witnessed.
Unfurling something massive to slaughter dozens of wolves in an instant.
Speed no human eye could track, destructive force that crumpled steel.
That man was a monster. Something utterly beyond human limits.
As his explanation went on, the fight drained from the two men's faces.
Dwin gave them the bare minimum dose of reality.
In the end, only deep despair and resignation remained.
Dwin felt no small despair himself, less than them but still rising.
"Before him, total obedience. Anything that upsets him, even I can't shield you from."
Dwin felt the natural pity any human would for these men.
But under an absolute dictator, he prioritized not dying from negligence.
From another dimension's view, he was just as pitiable.
He thought of the community.
He'd scoured it for info from last night until noon today.
What if I exposed this horror there?
A flood of outrage, condemnation of the tyrant.
But that'd be it.
What would it change?
Other dimensions learning wouldn't alter this hellish reality one bit.
They'd at best pity, or sigh relief that their dimension didn't have a psycho like that.
Dwin knew the community's powerlessness all too well.
And exposés were already flooding the boards.
His post would just bury among them.
Psychological pressure? Reputation?
That man wouldn't care.
Worse, posting rashly and getting caught meant instant death.
He wasn't foolish enough to take that shortcut to the grave.
Dwin warned the two in a low voice.
"Don't entertain foolish thoughts. If you do anything weird, I'm the first to suffer. And to save my neck, I'll do whatever it takes."
His eyes burned with sincerity.
Dwin was dead serious about killing them to survive.
Under that intense gaze, Siron nodded silently.
The other, the Indian youth Manav, gave a small nod too.
Submit to the strong, control the weak.
Dwin was learning this brutal world's survival law firsthand.
Now they were bound in shared fate.
Even if that ship sailed straight to hell.
Back in the village, I headed straight for the [Hall of Revelation].
The third-largest building in the village, its interior lavishly decorated and grandiose.
Only a tiny few would use it yet.
But the community was abuzz with job talk.
The Sword King hitting level 10 and spilling job info had drawn all eyes there.
I passed through halls lined with symbols and passages for various jobs.
The black-robed NPC still stood within.
This was one of the rare NPCs you could actually get info from via talk.
I approached the sole NPC here and cut straight to it.
"Do skills from the Soul Shop give stat bonuses on upgrade?"
The NPC shook his head.
"Only the skills tied to your path—that is, your job—grow your stats on upgrade."
The answer was clear-cut.
As expected. A pipe dream, but good to confirm.
I'd hit 20 soon.
Anticipation built for the new skill as a Divine Aspirant.
My current two were plenty strong, but not without gaps.
Especially the lack of direct attack skills stung.
"Can I preview the skill I get at 20?"
A long-shot question.
But surprisingly, the NPC nodded readily.
"I can show a signpost for your path."
"I can't reveal everything about the new skill... but its name, yes."
The NPC paused, then intoned softly.
The skill name from his lips was...
[Precision Enhancement].
Precision Enhancement?
For a grandiose job like Divine Aspirant, it sounded plain.
[Domain] and [Demi-God Body] fit the vibe, but this screamed support skill.
Still, short name. The weight behind it might be immense.
Best not judge until I see the description.
Satisfied with even the name, I flashed a pleased smile and left the Hall of Revelation.
On the way, I ran into Dwin's group in the village square.
I ignored the two in back completely, speaking only to Dwin.
"Follow me."