You're No Match For Me

'You're no match for me.'

This was the first time a skill had ever reached Max for me. Fifty percent… that was incredible. Time to see exactly how much it had changed!

I hurled a Fireball while activating Dagger Throw.

Whoosh— Boom, boom, boom—!

Thanks to Dagger Throw hitting Max, the previously shaky aim of my fireballs felt far more stable. I could now land them exactly where I wanted, like true pinpoint strikes.

The skeleton knights must have sensed the change in my skill. The eerie flames burning in their eye sockets flickered sharply for an instant.

I have no idea what they're saying, but you're way too slow!

Two skeleton knights charged at me simultaneously, yet I slipped away effortlessly using Phantom Dash.

The skeleton knights looked utterly shocked to see me using their own unique skill. They staggered backward and split apart to either side.

Now that I'm actually using it, it pairs surprisingly well with Pitf's Blessing.

Pitf's Blessing was the trait I gained from killing Lizardmen. It had been quietly supporting me from behind the scenes all this time—a truly welcome ability. Since the battle had already stretched well past five hours, I was enjoying the blessing's maximum effect. That meant the health I spent on Phantom Dash recovered almost instantly.

Groooar—

Frustrated by their missed attacks, the skeleton knights reset their stances and began pressing me with noticeably rougher swordplay.

Just as I thought… Their swordsmanship is crude because they haven't undergone awakening.

Not that I was necessarily better than them, but after witnessing Natalan Jackmon's swordsmanship in the hidden dungeon, the memory was still burned deeply into my mind. From my perspective, their technique looked crude by comparison.

Clang— Clang—!

Thanks to the lessons I received from Natalan Jackmon, dealing with their attacks had become far easier.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!

Tsk—! These arrows are such a pain.

While I handled the two skeleton knights, I couldn't completely dodge the attacks coming from their squad of ten. My defense had long surpassed 200, so the small fry attacks were easy to ignore. However, the relentless barrage struck me like one massive hammer, gradually making it harder to respond properly to the skeleton knights' strikes.

Here it comes!

Swish—

Their signature one-point thrust would fly at any opening, aiming straight for my body. No matter how high my defense grew, that attack could not be ignored. The hole they'd punched through me back in the cave still hadn't fully healed, proving just how dangerous it was.

Clatter— Clatter—

Damn it—

The shattered remains of the skeleton monsters I'd blown up with bombs began gathering at several spots, slowly reforming into the shapes of Giant Skeleton Soldiers.

Whiiiing—

I threw a fireball at one of the reviving Giant Skeleton Soldiers, but Nargul twisted its trajectory again using Arcane Deflection.

Fucking bastard.

I had no idea how long I'd been mindlessly slaughtering them.

Whew— This is seriously brutal! How many have I killed by now?

Counting had become meaningless. The broken ones simply merged together and were reborn as even stronger monsters. Numbers decreased while quality rose. It wasn't exactly a welcome development on our end.

In the end, with thorns still embedded across my body, I retreated far toward the rear.

The military greaves I'd obtained this time made creating distance much easier. I was moving so fast that even Ttungi, who had been clinging to my shoulder with its claws, nearly flew off backward.

Even after I'd opened up considerable distance, the enemies began chasing me in formation with a skeleton knight at the center. Their tenacity was truly something else.

I'll deal with the Skeleton Knight later. That guy comes first.

I decided to remove the biggest threat immediately. I retreated exactly far enough to escape Nargul's detection barrier, then activated stealth and leaped into the air.

The two skeleton knights that had been hot on my tail looked around in confusion before realizing what happened and spinning around. But they were too late.

High-Speed Flight.

I soared over the bastards who had been relentlessly pursuing me and raced back along the path I'd come. The consecutive movement skills drained both my mana and stamina rapidly, but if I missed this chance, the now-experienced skeleton knights wouldn't give me another opening. I had to make this count.

Soon I spotted Nargul's head as he moved under heavy monster escort.

Damn bastard, acting like a king. While I'm out here grinding away, he looks completely relaxed.

Nargul possessed special abilities, but he still shared the same fundamental weakness every mage had.

Close-range combat is the answer against mages!

Bang—! Bang—!

Using gravity to accelerate my descent to the limit, I struck Nargul before he could fully activate his wand's detection ability. My condensed power strike slammed into him.

Thud——!

Ttungi's club smashed straight through the bastard's face. The ferocious swing produced a sickening sound of something splitting apart on both sides, and soon the defeat message for Nargul appeared.

"Clack clack clack—!"

One shot! This guy's body is ridiculously weak.

Don't pop up a message just to tell me I failed! It's killing my excitement.

I felt a flash of irritation at getting my hopes up for nothing, but the next message immediately lifted my mood again.

Whoa! This is a valuable piece. It must have dropped from the one embedded in his staff.

Gems socketed into equipment ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠were supposedly even rarer than the already abysmal equipment drop rates. I didn't have any socketed gear yet, but it would definitely come in handy someday. Since I had Sense anyway, I didn't need it. I'd just give it to Yeonhee.

Oh, they're here? My dear friends.

I'd already secured Nargul's item, but the skeleton knights who arrived late didn't bother hiding their murderous energy. Their fury had clearly reached its peak.

I know you two didn't get along originally, so stop pretending you shared some deep brotherhood.

Shiiik—!

They charged with the same momentum, thrusting at me, but after seeing it a few times I was starting to get used to the pattern.

Unless it's an attack on Natalan Jackmon's level, I won't be getting hit by that anymore!

Of course, with thousands of monsters still swarming, I had to retreat after brief exchanges. But since stamina didn't affect me, this guerrilla warfare was actually enjoyable. My movements weren't being tracked like they had been against the bats, and the enemies could no longer see through my stealth. I could look for openings and steadily stack Flame Slash.

Twenty minutes later.

Kwaaaaaaaaang—!

They're seriously strong!

Was this the true power of defense-ignoring damage? Once it landed, the fight was over. I didn't even need to lure them into the swamp.

The hunters I'd seen earlier were still battling small fry three hundred meters away. When they saw the massive black flames erupt, they huddled together in the center and frantically scanned their surroundings.

Hmm… Time to head back.

I'd been away from my position for too long. It was time to return.

I managed to steal one trait from one of the two skeleton knights. That was pretty lucky.

Good. It might not be immediately useful, but still.

The description itself is pretty simple, huh?

I had expected some kind of buff, but maybe it only appeared after leveling up. It felt somewhat vague.

Along with the new trait, every stat had gone up by one. I nodded in satisfaction and headed back toward the main force that I'd left unattended for so long.

"He's back!"

"Shh—! Shhh!"

When I arrived, the few people who were still awake greeted me with obvious relief. It seemed some minor monsters had attacked while I was gone. The numbers weren't enough to worry about from my perspective, so I'd left them to it, but apparently just the fact that they'd been attacked had left them anxious.

Am I making people lose their potential by staying with them?

Both Yeonhee and the others kept relying on me more and more. It was becoming a real dilemma. Yet when I saw a safer, more efficient method, I couldn't just ignore it either. It wasn't easy.

I settled down in the center of the bridge with my summons and continued blocking the monsters' attacks for a while. After taking down three boss-class monsters and over two thousand stragglers outside, I was back on defense duty. It felt a bit repetitive, but if my summons died, Yeonhee—who had fallen into a deep sleep—might wake up. I had no choice.

The exhausted hunters still hadn't woken up despite quite some time passing. However, I could see mana light slowly emanating from their bodies. They would wake up soon.

I distributed food to those who were awake and supplied additional Irmana's water. Strangely, no large enemy forces crossed over to this location despite several hours passing. Was the position that good, or was there something else at play?

The hunters who had been exhausted finally woke up. Some of them seemed to have reached new realizations—their stats had increased noticeably. After suffering to their limits, it was the reward they deserved. The same was true for Yeonhee.

Unlike the others, she had continued operating her summons to defend the bridge, so she had barely rested at all. Even while sleeping, she maintained her summons… During that forced march, I'd seen her body emit light more than a handful of times. She must have accumulated at least ten summon scrolls.

During that time I had only leveled up twice, yet I still reached level 58. I invested the bonus stats as usual into Agility, Wisdom, and Sense. Sense had finally surpassed 100. Exactly 101.

Once it passed 100, the range of my Sense exceeded one kilometer. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠And that wasn't the end.

Give me the achievement!

It was an achievement I had obtained once in my previous life, and its effect was truly tremendous. My Sense range instantly expanded to two kilometers, leaving me momentarily breathless at the overwhelming sensation.