Chapter 57
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Skill Quest
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Yoon Young fiddled with the dropped tough leather.
A rough texture. It hadn't been properly cleaned, with creepy hairs sticking out here and there, and it even seemed like blood was seeping from it.
Now this is the feel of raw material, he thought.
That's why they process it, I guess.
Now that he knew where to get it, Yoon Young decided to gather as much as he could while he was at it. He quickly scanned for the next target.
Druruk. Druk.
He spotted one obliviously digging at the ground with its tusks.
He closed in fast and swung his sword hard. A long gash opened across its bulky body, and blood sprayed out.
"Kkuik!"
A sound like a pig being slaughtered, followed by rough, sputtering breaths as it thrashed about.
Blood splattered onto his cheek, and as he wiped it off, he couldn't help thinking it was unnecessarily realistic.
Sometimes these monsters move more vividly than the NPCs.
With Yoon Young drawing first blood and pulling aggro, Amael led the party in rushing over to support.
They gang-piled it, and it was down in seconds.
But no leather this time.
Figures it doesn't always drop...
He'd expected as much.
Crafting materials like this were never easy—they followed the golden rule of not dropping reliably from just one or two kills.
Getting it on the first one was just luck. To stock up properly, he'd have to grind it out patiently.
No rushing. I can hunt all day if I have to. Same as always.
Yoon Young took his time, stretching as he went, slicing through horned pigs.
He cut down every one he saw, slowly but steadily building up his leather pile.
Chwaak!
"Kuul!"
[Pig's Horn]
[Tough Leather]
"Oh, nice."
After grinding away, the tenth piece finally dropped.
The sky had grown dim before he knew it.
"Euchacha."
His back ached terribly.
Time to call it a day.
"Shall we head back, Amael?"
"Yes! We worked hard today too!"
Amael replied while flicking blood off her mace.
That innocent face made it a little scary.
But she was just cute as could be in bed.
Back in the village, Yoon Young sat on a plaza bench for a quick rest before heading to the training ground behind the Adventurer's Guild.
Sometimes, when the mood struck, he'd train even after wrapping up his daily routine.
Having a training dummy beat swinging at empty air.
Shiiik!
Swish!
The dummy—straw bundled into a humanoid shape and coated in red, jelly-like material—shook wildly under his barrage.
Whatever it was made of, slashes healed instantly, and its durability seemed infinite; it was always good as new the next day.
Perfect for carefree practice.
"Huk... Huk..."
Nonstop training was tougher than hunting—where he'd rest after each kill—so he was out of breath in no time.
Time for a break. He looked up; the dusk had deepened to pitch black.
The Adventurer's Guild lights will be going out soon.
Pure darkness then.
Yoon Young raised his sword once more.
Just ten more swings, then done!
Chwaak! Chwaak!
After about eight more...
"Whoa."
A message that washed away the day's fatigue in an instant.
Swordsmanship proficiency, quiet lately, had finally leveled up.
Now at level 7.
Stats rose in a chunk, and the sword felt even more natural in his grip.
Chwaak— Chwaak!
The finale: a two-hit combo.
"Huu."
Swordsmanship proficiency up definitely changed the feel.
The sword is becoming part of my body.
A bit exaggerated, but not wrong.
Swinging a sword had countless awkward points before.
Reach. Weight. Is the blade facing me? Am I applying force right for the cut?
He had to think about each one.
Because swordplay wasn't ingrained in his body.
Obviously. Yoon Young had avoided exercise his whole life, only picking up a sword recently to survive in this world.
Normally, it took years of training to swing without overthinking.
Treating it like your own body required even more effort.
Proficiency levels bridged that gap of experience and effort.
Just now, hitting level 7, he clearly felt less need to think while swinging.
When your body moves on instinct without thought, and the sword flows smoothly—that's wielding it like your own limb.
Now I can do two-hit or three-hit combos smoothly. No wasted thoughts means less delay.
Either way, he'd grown today.
Yoon Young headed to the inn, satisfied.
Today's kobold-hunting day.
He bolted out of bed and stretched.
Yesterday's grind left some fatigue, but it was routine now—barely noticeable.
Special pork BBQ for breakfast again.
Saves money, levels cooking proficiency. Win-win.
Only order from the inn when he got sick of it.
Ramen got gross after a few days straight, but this meat chunk? No flour, so still palatable.
"Oh, Dexterity and Stamina, huh."
Made sense—cooking took stamina.
No wonder so many male chefs.
Cooking proficiency now at level 3.
Should taste different from level 1.
Higher levels might boost the food buff stats too...
[Ate Nora's Special Pork BBQ.]
Alright, let's do this today too...!
As he headed to the Adventurer's Guild...
Something popped into his head.
Oh right. Forgot about that thing I meant to check.
Skills!
Nothing more important than skills, really.
Yoon Young turned toward the 'Street of Trainees'.
"Bring more booze~."
Opening the knight instructor's door unleashed an alcohol scent.
Not the unpleasant stench of a boozehound uncle, but fruity and fragrant—pleasant enough.
Yoon Young spoke to Claire.
"Annyeong. What brings you here?"
Let's see, skill keywords...
Ah, here it is.
[About Skill Acquisition]
"Hunyaang... Skill acquisition's important. Gotta learn related techniques to call yourself a knight... The knight manual explains how~ Of course, you need the skill to understand it."
Claire explained slowly, cradling her bottle with a tipsy face.
Never mind how pretty she was...
Knight manual! That's what he kept using!
Idiot. I learned Aura Sword from it too.
Too much physical work dulled his brain...
He hadn't even thought of it.
Yoon Young opened the knight manual.
Oh, there they are.
[Defensive Stance]
Quest available
[Shield Bash]
Prerequisite: Defensive Stance
[Heavy Strike]
Quest available
[Super Armor]
Quest available
Four skills available now.
Shield Bash needed Defensive Stance first, it seemed.
Try accepting the Defensive Stance quest?
[Defensive Stance Acquisition]
📍 Objective: Block monster attacks with your shield 0/300
Not too hard.
He hadn't used his shield much lately.
His tankiness handled monster hits fine, so the shield felt cumbersome.
But for the skill, he'd equip it.
Yoon Young pulled out his shield and strapped it on.
Can I take other quests too?
[You can only undertake one skill acquisition quest at a time.]
"Tch."
Too bad—would've been nice to multitask.
Blocked, as expected.
Steady wins the race. Steady.
Yoon Young accepted the skill quest and headed to the field southeast of Belgadis.
To avoid interruptions in training, he only brought Amael.
"Purruk...!"
He ignored the wary horned pig and moved to the next field.
[Path to the Mine]
Entering the third field, rocks appeared everywhere, signaling a terrain shift.
No monsters in this stretch.
He took in the scenery casually before jumping into the next portal.
[Entrance to the Occupied Abandoned Mine]
A mine entrance nestled in the woods came into view.
Thud... Thud...
Three kobolds wandered nearby, clutching blunt clubs.
Big noses, thick fingers, brown skin, and rag loincloths...
Brown skin aside, they could've passed for goblins.
These punks look punchable.
Don't judge by looks, but that huge, blocky nose sparked instant rage.
"!!"
The nearest kobold spotted Yoon Young approaching and gripped its club warily.
It sidestepped, glaring, not charging mindlessly—but ready to strike anytime.
"What're you staring at, punk."
Yoon Young charged with shield forward.
Powered his right arm and swung.
Chwaak—
"Kkeaek!"
Not very agile; it didn't even try dodging.
First humanoid monster, so he'd been tense, but it was a pushover.
Chwaak! Chwaak! Chwaak!
Yoon Young's three-hit combo!
Sword skills improved for sure—the swings felt crisp.
"Kreuk!"
The kobold groaned, collapsing limp.
Not dead, just incapacitated.
"Hup!"
Yoon Young stabbed its chest; it went still.
Srur...
[Iron Ore]
[Silver Ore]
[Plain Coins (13)]
"Huh?"
Drops money...?
Are these rich monsters?