Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: 3. The Runner
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From mid-level onward, only the top tiers among normals or rankers reached a different realm altogether. There were rumors of someone who had even mastered advanced level, but that was just hearsay. Even Sung-hoon, who considered himself in the leading pack, had only just barely reached Mid (Specialized), so it was hard to imagine anyone had attained advanced.
'Well, Kang Mu-han might have Advanced Spear Arts.'
They had been progressing for quite some time now, but no monsters had appeared. Just the occasional two or three traps here and there. Il-woo took point up front, with Dong-cheol right behind him. A-yeon and Ellie were in the middle, while Sung-hoon brought up the rear to guard against any surprises. Holding the front was important, of course, but in a cave like this, monsters could strike from behind at any moment.
Anyway, with the atmosphere feeling relatively peaceful, Sung-hoon struck up a conversation with Ellie.
"Ellie, are you a ranker?"
"I'm not really sure, but that's what other people say."
"That's impressive. Rankers have to be insanely strong, but watching top rankers just leaves you speechless."
"I can't even compare to them."
At the mention of top rankers, Ellie waved her hand dismissively and shook her head. If rankers were the strong ones, top rankers were the heavens above the heavens—heaven-defying existences. The two most iconic examples were Demon Sword Mirinae and Spear King Kang Mu-han.
Demon Sword Mirinae was the powerhouse who had solo-cleared the C-grade Moonlit Cave Investigation mission. Spear King Kang Mu-han was formidable in his own right, but his fame had grown even more through the strength of the Hae Tae Faction he had built. Compared to such luminaries, Ellie had no position to proudly show her face as a mere ranker.
"Aw, come on. But you're still a super rare mage ranker. Among mages alone, aren't you basically a top ranker?"
"N-no, not at that level. Thanks for the compliment, though..."
Laying it on thick like that made Ellie's face flush bright red. A few praises were enough to make her stammer in embarrassment—she seemed more shy than expected.
"Hey! Get over here! Werewolves!"
"On my way!"
"Grrrrr..."
With a low growl, werewolves began emerging from the front. Their builds weren't particularly large, but the compact muscles packed onto their frames radiated an intimidating pressure that warned against taking them lightly. As only two appeared, Sung-hoon moved to the front while Il-woo fell back. Ellie and A-yeon started preparing their magic and arrows, respectively, but had no choice but to halt at Dong-cheol's shout.
"Don't attack! Sung-hoon and I will each take one!"
Whether he didn't want to waste strength needlessly at the entrance or just wanted to show off his power, Sung-hoon drew his longsword and faced off against a werewolf regardless. Amid the eerie silence of the standoff, it was Dong-cheol's axe strike that shattered the tension.
"Bash!"
Boom!
The axe blade gleamed with brilliant light for an instant before slamming down hard where the werewolf stood. The strike was so powerful that it shattered the ground, sending debris flying toward the werewolf that had barely dodged the attack. The other werewolf lunged with its claws to exploit the opening after the big move, but Sung-hoon's extended longsword blocked it cold.
"Let's do this one-on-one."
"Graaaargh!"
Werewolves possessed incredibly high physical abilities. Let your guard down for a split second, and you'd be done for. But in exchange, their simplistic attack patterns and short reach gave plenty of room to respond.
Sung-hoon smoothly parried the werewolf's assaults with his superior agility before countering, while Dong-cheol played defensively, waiting for openings to unleash devastating blows. Their fighting styles were polar opposites.
"Ellie, at that level, isn't Sung-hoon ranker-tier? He's just toying with that werewolf."
"Y-yeah, he is."
'Damn.'
Sung-hoon, who had been listening to the entire exchange even while fighting, furrowed his brow. He generally preferred not to reveal his full abilities to others. In The Mission's world, you never knew when a comrade might stab you in the back. Plus, everyone kept an ace up their sleeve hidden from view or concealed at least thirty percent of their true strength. Of course, Sung-hoon was hiding a full fifty percent, but still.
Under normal circumstances, facing a werewolf without using any skills should have resulted in a roughly even match. But his newly acquired Mid Swordsmanship Specialization was creating this situation.
His previously stiff movements had smoothed out overall, and the 10% boost to attack power was enough to disrupt the werewolf's balance.
'Gotta be more careful.'
"Power Step! Bash!"
Crack!
The moment that thought crossed his mind, Dong-cheol perfectly finished off his werewolf. He had used Power Step to momentarily surge his physical stats, then cleaved the beast in two with Bash. The werewolf tried to block with its claws, but the axe strike—seizing the perfect opening—overpowered such feeble defense with raw might.
Dong-cheol glanced around briefly, noticed Sung-hoon was still dragging out his fight, and joined in. The werewolf had been holding its own decently, but with Dong-cheol attacking from behind, it collapsed without a chance to fight back.
"Good work."
"Hmph, that was nothing. More importantly, Sung-hoon, why drag it out against a werewolf like that?"
"Oh, about that... I haven't learned any active skills."
"What?"
Sung-hoon's words left not just Dong-cheol but everyone else stunned.
Skills were broadly divided into actives, which you triggered yourself, and passives, which were always on. In The Mission, the ratio of active to passive skills was roughly 3:7, with passives dominating. Most martial arts, contrary to popular belief, were passives that added a percentage to attack damage, and inner arts boosted mana recovery and output as passives too.
That said, everyone picked up at least one or two actives.
Even the lowest-tier warrior active like Bash boasted +30% additional damage, far outstripping single-digit passives that offered "smoother movements" or "minor bonuses." Claiming zero actives was absurd.
"Hey, does that even make sense? No active skills at all...?"
"Sorry. I've had a lot of places to spend money, so I couldn't pick any up. At least my stats are high thanks to some lucky breaks."
"Hmm."
Dong-cheol looked down at the werewolf corpse Sung-hoon had fought. There were shallow cuts all over, but no fatal wounds. It definitely lacked a powerful finisher.
"You just... Nah. Let's move."
"Sorry."
Dong-cheol started to say something as Sung-hoon bowed his head and followed, but clamped his mouth shut. If it had been any other user, he'd have warned them outright, but Sung-hoon's stats were ranker-comparable. And unlike those who relied purely on skills, his fundamentals were solid and fluid.
Dong-cheol subtly fell back and whispered in A-yeon's ear.
"What do you think?"
A-yeon, whose attention had been divided by the werewolves, would have observed more objectively as an archer. She half-closed her eyes thoughtfully before sharing her assessment.
"Your burst output is higher. But his overall combat ability is superior. With proper poking support, he could hold four werewolves by himself."
"I see."
No decisive one-shot, but solid overall. He could hold aggro while the rest picked them off one by one for an easier clear.
This level of skill was more than satisfactory. In the next fights, the others showed off too.
"Ice Spear!"
Two ice spears as thick as an adult's forearm formed simultaneously and pierced the werewolf. Right after, Il-woo's thrown dagger hit its leg, and as it staggered, A-yeon's arrow nailed its head cleanly, ending the fight.
After two or three such victories, Dong-cheol crowed triumphantly.
"Alright! No worries at this rate. Full speed ahead from here!"
No need to say it—the party's morale was already at its peak. Their skills were strong across the board, but Sung-hoon's knack for managing multiple werewolves and adjusting numbers just right, combined with Ellie's magic, shone brightest.