Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 36
Chapter Title: A Week as a C-Rank Hunter
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A week had passed as a C-rank hunter.
I'd been moving nonstop during that time.
"Hoo, hoo."
The clearing that now felt more familiar than my own home.
I wiped the sweat dripping down my forehead.
My entire body throbbed.
Thanks to the old man's grand technique, all the waste buildup inside me had evaporated clean away.
*Whew*, when the hell would this guy's grand technique finally end?
I immediately sat down cross-legged.
Azure Heart Method.
I focused on sensing "ki" through the posture the old man had taught me.
['Bone1's strength has increased by 1!]
['Bone5's mana has increased by 1!]
"......"
Even when I was just quietly training alone.
My skeletons' stats kept rising steadily.
Just as the old man had instructed.
They were training on their own initiative.
*'Undead doing self-directed learning...*
*If the world's necromancers found out, they'd be shocked and green with envy, wouldn't they?*
['Sun Spear's strength has increased by 1!]
['Sun Spear's agility has increased by 1!]
Especially.
Sun Spear's training prowess was outstanding.
Flash! Flash!
Every time the spear swung and emitted light.
Holes of uniform size pierced through the scattering fallen leaves.
Even without the old man creating a specific training regimen.
It seemed like he was drawing on memories from his past life to train on his own.
[Name: Sun Spear]
[Ki: 100/100]
[Unique Ability: Awakened Skeleton]
[Class: Spearman]
[Grade: D]
[Strength: 38] [Agility: 38] [Stamina: 36] [Mana: 30] [Technique: 38]
[Possessed Skills]
-'Intermediate Thrust' (Lv.3)
-'Sun Chain Strike' (Lv.2)
-'Whirling Desert' (Lv.2)
-'Soulflare' (Lv.2)
"Kuuh, nice."
Their skill levels had risen a lot too.
In particular, 'Basic Thrust' had maxed out and upgraded to 'Intermediate Thrust'.
Bone1 and the others were the same.
[Name: Bone1]
[Ki: 100/100]
[Unique Ability: Awakened Skeleton]
[Class: Swordsman]
[Grade: D]
[Strength: 30] [Agility: 27] [Stamina: 28] [Mana: 20] [Technique: 30]
[Possessed Skills]
-'Intermediate Slash' (Lv.3)
First, Bone1.
He was single-mindedly honing just 'Intermediate Slash'.
[Name: Bone3]
[Ki: 100/100]
[Unique Ability: Awakened Skeleton]
[Class: Archer]
[Grade: D]
[Strength: 27] [Agility: 30] [Stamina: 25] [Mana: 20] [Technique: 30]
[Possessed Skills]
-'Intermediate Rapid Fire' (Lv.3)
-'Field of View' (Lv.9)
-'Poison Arrow' (Lv.9)
Next was Bone3.
He'd maxed out 'Field of View' and 'Poison Arrow'.
And upgraded 'Basic Rapid Fire' to 'Intermediate Rapid Fire'.
[Name: Bone4]
[Ki: 100/100]
[Unique Ability: Awakened Skeleton]
[Class: Shieldbearer]
[Grade: D]
[Strength: 24] [Agility: 21] [Stamina: 24] [Mana: 23] [Technique: 20]
[Possessed Skills]
-'Intermediate Block' (Lv.3)
-'Intermediate Taunt' (Lv.3)
'Intermediate Block' and 'Intermediate Taunt'—that was Bone4.
[Name: Bone5]
[Ki: 100/100]
[Unique Ability: Awakened Skeleton]
[Class: Magician]
[Grade: D]
[Strength: 22] [Agility: 20] [Stamina: 20] [Mana: 28] [Technique: 22]
[Possessed Skills]
-'Fireball' (Lv.Max)
-'Fire Field' (Lv.2)
-'Air Shield' (Lv.Max)
-'Haste' (Lv.2)
And finally, Bone5.
His skills were unique.
It seemed like whenever he fully mastered a skill, a derivative skill would appear.
Mastering 'Fireball' gave him 'Fire Field'.
Mastering 'Air Shield' gave him 'Haste'.
If he kept generating skills like this, wouldn't he eventually become a true magician with hundreds of them?
It was just a guess.
"Still, fire magic's a relief."
Bone5 was currently wielding an S-rank item, the 'Fire Dragon's Staff'.
Since it doubled the power of fire-attribute skills.
The 'Fire Field' it produced was more than satisfactory.
"Hoo."
Now it was my turn.
I closed my eyes and focused.
In a world of utter darkness where nothing was visible.
I strained to grasp some formless energy.
*'C-rank...*
*The journey to upgrade one rank.*
*Honestly, I had no idea what conditions I needed to meet.*
*Did I have to keep getting pummeled by the old man?*
*Or grasp the knack of this 'Azure Heart Method' I was doing now?*
*Or roam dungeons and snag another 'fortuitous encounter'?*
*'But.*
*Not knowing didn't frustrate me.*
*The sure thing was.*
*Right now, at this moment, I was continuously growing stronger.*
*'Don't overthink it—just do as I'm told.'*
I slowly cleared my mind.
The old man's incantation, the surrounding scenery, stray thoughts.
I erased them all from my head.
True no-mind, no-thought.
I approached in a state of pure emptiness, without a single notion.
Hoo, thump, hoo, thump!
In my ears, only my breathing and heartbeat echoed.
No—even those, I no longer perceived.
How many minutes passed?
Or perhaps hours?
Sssut!
*'Hm?'*
My mind snapped awake.
My eyes stayed closed, but an exotic sensation washed over me.
Not one of the five senses—sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch—but something entirely alien.
Soft yet warm.
Rough yet cool.
*'Feels good.'*
Like swimming leisurely in perfectly still waters without a ripple.
I wandered slowly within it.
Touching it, feeling it, even tasting it.
Just as I was playing with it like a child at heart with a new toy.
[Congratulations!]
[You have detected the root of all things, 'ki'.]
[You have acquired the skill 'Azure Heart Method' (S-Grade).]
*'What?'*
My mind cleared like cold water poured over my head.
*'Ki' detection?*
*S-Grade skill?*
*Ah, right—I was training in the Azure Heart Method.*
*Does that mean I'd finally sensed the 'ki' the old man talked about?*
A shiver ran through my entire body.
I'd discovered for the first time the root said to grant mastery over all techniques.
*'So this... is ki.'*
I examined inside my body.
I could feel them slithering leisurely through me.
It was mystical.
'Ki' truly formed the basis of the entire world.
I slowly expanded my senses.
Sun Spear's emitted aura, Bone5's Fireball.
All of it was ultimately composed of 'ki'.
Even Gi So-yul analyzing Sun Spear's movements from afar.
The shining sunlight, the damp earth.
The lush grass.
All of it—composed of 'ki'.
"It's not about mindlessly memorizing. You must concentrate. Feel how the formless energy moves."
"Ki is the foundation of all physical force—no, of the entire world."
"Master ki, and you can compose every existing skill."
The old man's words, which I'd only vaguely understood before.
Now, I had finally internalized them with my body.
*'Of course.*
*Handling it and sensing it are another matter entirely.*
[Ding!]
The sound rang in my head right then.
[You have fulfilled the hidden condition!]
"Huh!"
I sprang to my feet unthinkingly and opened my eyes.
"F-Finally?"
I couldn't possibly not know what this meant.
*'Awakening.'*
Back when I encountered the 'Sturdy Orc' in this very clearing.
The moment I'd awakened from E-rank to D-rank, a message like this had appeared.
[Condition: Root of All Things]
- Raising your unique ability's grade requires tremendous effort!
- 'Ki' is the root of all things, the foundation of all life force.
- The closer you draw to the root, the more distinctly your existence will shine.
- Detect 'ki'!
"Huh."
It was awe-inspiring.
The awakening condition was detecting 'ki'!
Of course, it might not be the only one.
I might have just fulfilled one of countless conditions.
*'The important thing.*
*Is that the system deems.*
*Detecting 'ki' alone as an achievement warranting adjustment to my ability.*
[Congratulations!]
[Your grade has grown to C-rank!]
"Aaah......"
My whole body trembled.
How hard I'd worked for this.
To grow, to grow stronger.
Day and night without rest, training—and now the results had finally come to me.
[Rewards for the grade change are arriving!]
[Your ki is filling up!]
[Ki: 120/120]
"Good, good."
Level up means claiming the rewards, right?
I waited calmly for the approaching bonuses.
[The skill 'Awakened Skeleton Summon' (D-Grade) has had its grade raised!]
[The skill has changed to 'Balanced Skeleton Summon' (C-Grade)!]
"Kr."
As expected.
The grade of my unique ability's trade skill, summoning, had risen.
[Skill: Balanced Skeleton Summon]
[Grade: C]
[Effect 1: Consume 10 ki to summon an advanced skeleton. Up to 10 possible.]
[Effect 2: You can name each skeleton.]
The skill prefix had changed from 'Awakened' to 'Balanced'.
'Intermediate' skeletons became 'advanced' skeletons.
And one more thing.
[A main weapon has been set for the new skeleton!]
[Target Skeleton: 'Bone6']
[From now on, this skeleton will respond to your commands!]
"Wow."
Bone6's seal was finally broken.
"You've shed another layer of skin."
Gi So-yul approached, having noticed my changed aura.
"And you've gained one more aura in your possession."
"Oh, impressive? You picked up on that right away."
"Thanks to my scouting skill. It lets me accurately gauge a target's level."
"Yes?"
I flinched.
Did that mean I was currently her 'assassination target'?
"It's just a figure of speech."
"I-I see."
"Anyway, I'm curious. What will Mr. Dong-hoon's next summon look like? So far, it's been sword, spear, bow, shield, magic."
Gi So-yul's eyes sparkled.
True to form, having monitored and evaluated my training and skeletons every time.
She was eager to know Bone6's main weapon.
"Personally, I'd love if the main weapon was a dagger or throwing stars."
"......"
"It's good to have an assassin in the mix, right?"
An assassin, huh.
She'd been harboring dark intentions after all.
Whoosh!
I swung my staff.
I was curious too, so I wanted to check right away.
[Using skill 'Balanced Skeleton Summon' (C-Grade).]
[Using 10 ki.]
['Bone6' appears.]
Turulururu......
With a surge of black energy from the ground, the skeleton took form.
Unlike the others, a short-statured Bone6.
The weapon he held was......
"A hammer?"
A hammer.
"Tch, a hammer...... Is he some paladin or something?"
Gi So-yul's face filled with disappointment.
"Hold on."
I pulled up his status window.
[Name: Bone6]
[Ki: 100/100]
[Unique Ability: Balanced Skeleton]
[Class: Blacksmith]
[Grade: C]
[Strength: 15] [Agility: 15] [Stamina: 15] [Mana: 15] [Technique: 15]
[Possessed Skills]
-'Intermediate Smelting' (Lv.1)
-'Intermediate Weaving' (Lv.1)
-'Intermediate Item Crafting' (Lv.1)
-'Intermediate Alchemy' (Lv.1)
"What...... the hell is this."
My jaw dropped.
Blacksmith...... a smith?
And short stature meant a dwarf?
*'In the world.*
*There are production-class skeletons?*