Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Cursed Lightning
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"..."
"..."
Despite my attempt to lighten the mood, a heavy silence lingered.
The gnolls, and even my companions, couldn't snap out of their daze as they stared at the gnoll warrior's corpse with a hole blasted through its head.
Just as I shrugged and opened my mouth to speak again, a system message rang out.
"...!"
Jackpot.
Up until now, I'd only reached level 13 from hunting gnolls.
But this single hunt shot me up 7 levels in one go.
Considering how leveling had slowed to a crawl after level 10, this was an insane amount of experience.
I fought back a grin threatening to split my face and was about to open my skill window when...
"...Kyaruk."
"Kruk."
The gnolls, silent until now, all turned to stare at us in unison.
With murderous glares fixed on us, they began slowly closing in.
Park Sang-gu, still clutching his aching chest, recoiled in horror.
"W-What the hell? The boss is dead—why aren't they running?"
"Weapons! Grab your weapons! Battle stations, now!"
Min Jae-yoon, who had let his guard down, jolted in surprise and snatched up his weapon.
Who would've thought they'd keep attacking even after the boss was down?
Thankfully, we snapped to attention and armed ourselves quickly, but the numbers and distance were the problem.
"Fuck, ten of them? That's too damn many!"
Up to now, we'd ambushed them from afar, one-sided.
Naturally, we'd thinned their ranks before engaging properly.
But now? They were close, and there were ten.
Even if we struck first and cut them in half, the remaining five could still overwhelm us.
While my companions sweated bullets, I calmly checked my skills beside them.
[Cursed Lightning]
- Type: Multi-target curse attack spell
- Details: Fires a chain of cursed lightning that jumps to up to 15 targets. Its power falls short of real lightning, but it's infused with excruciating pain.
- Usage: 2/2 per day
Only two uses per day.
But considering the power, it more than made up for it.
I closed the skill window, and Min Jae-yoon yelled, sweat dripping down his face.
"Jong-min! Magic, right now...!"
"Cursed Lightning."
Pzzt!
Before he could finish, I cast the new spell at the gnolls.
As the incantation ended, a dark purple-black bolt crackled from my fingertips.
Unlike the brief flash of Black Missile, this exploded outward like fireworks.
The gnolls flinched at the light show, but before they could react, the lightning struck.
Kraka-boom!
"Grrraaaagh!"
"Keeiiiing!"
The purple lightning chained through all ten gnolls like a whip.
It lasted less than three seconds.
And visually underwhelming—no one dropped dead from it.
But surviving didn't mean they were fine.
"Kruk! Kruuuk!"
"Kiiiii...."
All ten collapsed, writhing on the ground.
Some thrashed like they were having seizures; others gasped like they were drowning.
No doubt about it—none could fight.
I glanced at the foaming gnolls and called out to my companions.
"Finish them off now. They look half-dead, but they'll recover if you wait. Mercy kills, everyone."
"W-What the hell did you just do?"
"Just used a new spell."
Cursed Lightning.
A multi-target spell that chains to fifteen enemies max.
Despite the "lightning" name, damage was negligible.
But the debuff made up for it and then some.
It threw any living target into grogginess, no questions asked.
"Bosses or tough foes shake it off quick, but against mobs? Perfect.
Long recovery time, too."
Even bosses recovered slower, not immune—giving a brief attack window.
The ultimate early-game crowd control.
Not a summon, but limited to twice a day? Worth it.
"Alright, you're all beat—let's mop up and head back to rest."
Park Sang-gu and Min Jae-yoon's injuries healed up fine with one Intermediate Heal each.
The skill was effective, but they weren't severe wounds to begin with.
We recovered and hightailed it out of the field.
Whether because the gnoll warrior was dead or we took a good route, no packs crossed our path.
We did bump into two hobgoblin groups, but even exhausted, they were snacks now.
-These punks show up when I'm pissed!
-Get lost, don't get in our way!
Mentally drained, my companions vented on the hobgoblins, wiping them out.
It was less hunting, more slaughter.
The moment we hit the safe zone, everyone but me collapsed onto the ground.
"Ugh, wiped out!"
"Can't move a muscle anymore."
Our ragged state drew stares from all around.
We'd always strolled back casually before.
Today, we looked half-dead—naturally curious.
"Everyone looks beat today? Run into something dangerous?"
Then Choi Seung-hyuk sidled up, smirking snidely.
His usual smugness irked him, apparently.
I just chuckled lightly.
"Yeah, a bit risky. Met a field boss."
"...Field boss? Wait, field boss? Those exist?"
Choi Seung-hyuk's eyes widened at my words.
Never dreamed of one, clearly.
I feigned ignorance, eyeing him.
"Didn't know? Makes sense—no field bosses in the forest. But the gnoll habitat outside? Got one."
"You mean the hyena-headed freaks in the plains?"
"Spot on. That's where we've been hunting."
Choi Seung-hyuk froze solid.
Not just him—his pioneer cronies behind, and even Seo Chang-woo's faction eavesdropping afar, all stiffened.
If true, our team was light-years ahead.
"So you hunted in gnoll turf, hit the field boss, and bailed?"
"Never said we bailed."
"Huh?"
"We took down the field boss. Just cost my teammates some pain."
"...Pfft!"
Choi Seung-hyuk paused, then burst into incredulous laughter.
"Listen, Kim Jong-min. You expect us to buy that?"
"Why not?"
"We've hunted gnolls! We know!"
My turn to be surprised.
Gnolls tired even our first-timers.
Lower-level team with worse efficiency hunted them?
Some trick I missed?
"They're as strong as decent warriors—at least four per pack! Even an 8th-level warrior barely takes one! Sweeping that and snagging the field boss on the side? Come on!"
Ah, so they brawled bare-handed.
"Hunting" my ass—barely survived.
Scraped by, never went back, and here I say it was a breeze. Pissed 'em off.
Top it with field boss? Salt in the wound.
"If you're lying, make it believable. Bragging with fairy tales is just sour grapes...!?"
Clatter.
As his words turned to insults, I dumped a handful of purple magic stones from my inventory.
Seeing the unfamiliar color, Choi Seung-hyuk's eyes bulged.
"W-What the hell is this?"
"Oh, don't mind. Gnoll drops—sometimes they spill from inventory, y'know?"
"Bullshit!"
"Whoops, one rolled your way! Grab it?"
I flicked one obviously toward him.
He squinted but picked it up, checking.
Moments later, reading the description, he stiffened.
"One of these equals five regular stones...?"
"Thanks a bunch. Keeps rolling out."
I snatched it back, slipping it into inventory—flashing the overflowing count for good measure.
We earned 50 purple stones today.
Equivalent to 250 regulars, easy.
Just that glimpse twisted Choi Seung-hyuk's face in defeat.
But he gnashed his teeth and pressed on.
"Field boss."
"Yeah?"
"You said you killed the Gnoll Warrior field boss? Proof?"
Why ask that? His desperate eyes told me.
He wanted to believe we were still catchable.
Gnolls maybe, but field boss? No way.
I shrugged casually.
"No proof. Didn't drop a stone. Believe it or not, up to you."
"Ha! Knew it...!"
Relief washed over his face mid-retort—then system messages blared.
"What the fuck!"
"Why today of all days?!"
Screams erupted everywhere at the quest deletion news.
Clearly, most hadn't finished even half.
No skin off our nose—we completed ours.
But I focused on the new quests.
'Field Boss Hunt and Leader Selection?'
Leader selection, fine.
But field boss hunt?
Only one per field, right?
We got ours—no more.
I quickly opened my quest window to check.
[Field Boss Hunt]
- Type: Sub quest
- Details: Monster habitats occasionally spawn field bosses. Powerful beasts that lead packs of underlings—tricky foes. Hunting one is an achievement in itself. Merchants will respect such pioneers.
- Reward: 50% discount on all shop items
- Note: One per habitat; doesn't respawn after hunt.
Exactly as I knew it.
So why the quest?
Was Gnoll Warrior not a field boss?
Choi Seung-hyuk checked too, smirking triumphantly at me.
Like he'd exposed a con artist's lie.
"See? No lie holds up forever..."
But before his victory lap, more messages.