Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Warp Training
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"Alright. In that case! We're going straight at it!"
Since the plan to summon Ariel for an easy ride had fallen through, I immediately switched to Plan B.
'I've been too scared of Fellios or Ariel watching to really make use of Warp up until now, but here I can cut loose as much as I want.'
I stopped running and faced off against the guardian knight of the forgotten altar.
As I gripped my sword and assumed a counterattacking stance, the guardian knight charged at me like it thought I was a joke.
Its movements were still plenty threatening, but thanks to pumping stats into Agility, they weren't too fast for my eyes to follow anymore.
I focused my mind, predicting the guardian knight's next path.
'Coming straight at me like an idiot. Fine by me, though. Warp—create!'
At my will, a blue portal big enough for a person appeared on the ground. I'd set the exit right on the ceiling.
Thud!
The guardian knight stepped right into the trap I'd laid without a clue. In that instant, its lower body got sucked into the portal. At the same time, its legs popped out of the ceiling portal.
"Now! Warp—cancel!"
Schwick—
A chilling sound rang out as the guardian knight's severed lower half was sliced clean off.
Then.
Clang! Clang!
The hefty armored lower body crashed to the floor with a racket.
"Kuh, this is why I love using Warp."
But contrary to my expectations, the thing didn't die from just losing its lower half.
[Kreeeek...!!] Its torso alone kept swinging its sword, lumbering toward me to kill.
"What the hell? This bastard won't die? Isn't it supposed to be made to drop dead?"
The inside of the severed armor was hollow.
Meaning it wasn't your typical flesh-and-blood monster.
'Not a living thing, huh. More like a golem powered by a magic stone?'
If so, chopping off limbs wouldn't cut it. To stop this thing, I'd have to destroy its power source—the core. One of the few things I'd actually learned in Hunter Academy.
"But the severed part isn't moving at all."
Which meant the power source was somewhere in the upper body.
I latched onto that and prepped my next Warp right away.
This time, the Warp target was...
The guardian knight's head.
"Warp."
A blue portal only I could see wrapped perfectly around the guardian knight's helmet. When the Warp ring was right around its neck, I canceled it.
Schwick—!
Its upper body tumbled from the ceiling.
"Just as I thought."
My hunch was spot on.
The headless armor didn't so much as twitch.
[Kreeeek! Kreeeeeeek!!] "Shut the hell up, you prick."
A solid kick to the helmeted head finally quieted it down.
"Hmm, just to be safe, maybe I should take the head with me."
From the looks of things, my destination was probably the room with the sacred fire.
With just its head detached, this guy couldn't hurt me anymore—and deep inside, it might even let me kill it for good.
Oh, and I sold the armor to the shop.
Shops usually pay 10% of base value, but this busted-up armor still netted me 5000pt.
'High-level mob armor's gotta be pricey, or made of top-shelf material.'
"Heh heh, thinking about it, this place is a total goldmine for point farming."
Disarm mobs you'd normally have to run from with Warp, then sell or keep the armor for profit.
Even better, the overseers couldn't reach where I was, so Warp was totally unrestricted.
"Alright. Guess I'll stick around here for a day and grind."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The next spot had two guardian knights waiting for me. They hadn't spotted me yet and stood stock-still like statues.
'Two of 'em, huh. Whatever, the result'll be the same.'
"Warp."
The blue portal targeted one guardian knight's head perfectly.
Activate Warp and cancel immediately.
Clunk—
One knight's head and body separated on the spot.
5000pt get!
"Kuh, this rush is killer."
The noise of the headless armor collapsing finally clued in the other one. Its red eyes glowed as it charged me late to the party.
[Kraaaah!] "Damn, you're impatient. I'll turn you into a dullahan like your buddy, so hold still! Warp!"
I fired a Warp at the remaining knight's neck too. But its movement threw off the coordinates, and it missed.
"Tch."
That was Warp's core limitation.
I could set portals at fixed spots, but they didn't track targets.
In other words, it was near-instant-kill against stationary foes or ones on predictable paths, but hit rate tanked against ones too fast to track or moving erratically.
I tried another Warp at its feet. But it jumped right before reaching me, leaving a bit of distance.
"Ha, check this guy out?"
I let out a dry laugh and quickly backstepped.
We traded a few blows, but I just kept dodging. I knew I couldn't win on raw power.
But without securing sightlines and just evading on the fly, I soon got backed into a dead end.
[Krakaak!] No dodging left or right.
Every escape route was in its attack range.
'Damn it!'
In that do-or-die moment.
One idea flashed through my head.
'Wait, why have I only been thinking of Warp for attacking?'
I turned the thought into action. I focused every nerve on the guardian knight's sword. Up till now, it'd only fought me with that 'sword'.
It knew too. With my stats on par and no armor, the sword was my biggest threat.
The knight thrust at my heart, aiming to deal max pain.
My heart pounded in the crisis, blood rushing faster.
I spawned a Warp right in front of my left chest.
Exit: right under the knight's glowing red-eyed jaw.
The instant it thrust its sword!
Kaang—!
Its sword got sucked into the portal, bypassing my heart to slash at its own neck instead.
[Kreeeeek!!] Its own attack boomeranging back on itself.
As the knight stood there dumbfounded by the unexpected twist.
I canceled Warp and kicked its disarmed upper body hard.
Kaboom!
It slammed into the ground and wall with a thunderous crash, sent flying back.
"Ow, my foot's numb. Gotta avoid using it like that."
Still, one key takeaway from this Warp: used right, it was damn useful even in close quarters.
I approached the wall-smashed knight. The impact had it dazed. I used the opening to Warp-slice its neck clean.
Roll roll.
"Whew..."
I sighed and slumped to the floor.
"That was way too close to fucked."
Without Warp's tricks and stat buffs, I'd have been diced right there.
I caught my breath and reviewed the fight.
'Taking on two at once with Warp is trickier than I thought.'
Part of it was their stats matching mine.
But mostly, I'd fixated Warp solely on 'attacking'.
'Attack tech's important, sure, but it's not the only way.'
If I'd Warped a rock to distract it, pulling focus?
Avoid noise, and I could've handled both at once.
Or literally Warp myself to dodge the fight altogether.
Warp had endless potential depending on use.
But mid-fight, I was too busy blocking and evading to think straight.
'Defense, evasion, disruption, traps... tons of tactics popped up after. What an idiot, only using it for attacks.'
Farming points was great.
But right now, away from top overseers like demon Fellios and angel Ariel.
Fighting enemies on my level to hone Warp skills? Rare chance.
Dump all remaining stats into Strength now, and sure, guardian knights would be easy pickings—but against stronger foes, I'd still get wrecked.
"Might as well get serious for a bit."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The self-proclaimed Han Yu-ra fan.
After the man named Kim Joo-hyuk left, the base buzzed with energy like never before.
Thanks to his overwhelming support, people shook off the despair of the infantry platoon wipeout and started harboring new hope.
"Whoa! This sword cuts like butter!"
"With this armor, goblin hits don't even sting!"
The gear was so top-notch that even total newbies who'd never fought goblined up victories with ease. Han Yu-ra watched, a satisfied smile on her face.
'If things keep going like this, everyone can hit level 10 safely. Then I can finally step back from this damn leader gig for a bit.'
Thinking of Kim Joo-hyuk, who'd helped so readily, made her cheeks inexplicably flush.
'Ignoring a debt like this isn't my style. I have to pay him back!'
Judging the goblin hunts stable, Han Yu-ra handed command to Hyeok-jin and slipped away from base.
'Hobgoblins hang out near orc turf, right? Might head there today.'
Her personal quest happened to be hobgoblin hunting too.
'Talk about luck! Alright, leveling up's my goal today.'