Chapter 134
Chapter 134
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 134
Chapter Title: Exposing the Weakness
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The synergy Jeong-hyeon was mainly relying on.
Among the effects granted by 'Best Defense is Evasion 2', what was the most overpowered?
Up until now, the one Jeong-hyeon had made the most use of was undoubtedly Thought Acceleration, but the fact that his movement trait was treated as one rank higher was also an absurd effect.
In short, his movement trait, which had been stuck at C-Rank until recently, had now upgraded to B-Rank, effectively giving Jeong-hyeon the equivalent of four A-Rank level 4 traits.
'Without this, it would've been tough.'
Jeong-hyeon could clearly feel it while facing the Grand Mantis.
With a C-Rank movement trait, dodging would have been the absolute limit.
But an A-Rank level 4 trait was spec enough to solo enter a level 6 gate party.
Add in his other traits, and dealing with a single Grand Mantis was more than manageable.
Boom— Boom—
'They're at it again.'
The red one the party was handling wrapped its front leg in flames once more.
Even with the tank U-yeong, his level was perfectly suited for a level 5 gate at best.
To withstand that attack, maximum support was needed.
In a situation this dire, was there any point in holding back?
Jeong-hyeon decided to go all out and show everything he had.
"H-Huh?"
A watery glow enveloped U-yeong's plate armor and shield.
Water attribute enchantment to counter the fire attack.
And to prevent the mantis from targeting U-yeong as it wished, he applied neutral attribute magic to Won-ho's axe intercepting the front leg mid-swing.
At the same time, with Black enchanted in neutral magic, he targeted the red one's rear leg joint, which was blatantly exposed to him.
Scraaape—
Along with an unpleasant friction sound, the impacted rear leg noticeably sank.
It wasn't enough to halt the attack entirely, but it disrupted its center of gravity enough to lighten the burden on U-yeong alone.
Checks from the rear it couldn't mind and attribute support for the party.
All this happened in a single breath.
But he couldn't stop there.
'I have to keep an eye on that electric mantis too.'
Support the party while checking the red one, and face the yellow one head-on.
That was Jeong-hyeon's strategy.
It was a plan impossible without assuming Jeong-hyeon's full capabilities.
In this strategy, even Mana Sensitivity—which Jeong-hyeon rarely used outside of detection—had to pull its weight.
'Shall I try a light Mana Bolt?'
Light as it was, maintaining this level of multitasking while casting even Mana Bolt was impossible without Jeong-hyeon's Thought Acceleration.
"Keeek—"
Perhaps instinctively sensing the shift in the situation, the yellow one stopped relying solely on lightning magic.
True to a Grand Mantis, it began actively using its front legs.
Whoooosh—
Its front leg slashing diagonally at Jeong-hyeon.
"Slower than the red one, huh?"
Whether due to their usual role division in hunts or exhaustion from repeated spellcasting.
Dodging felt far more relaxed than evading the red one's attacks.
And simultaneously, dozens of formless Mana Bolts materialized behind the yellow one's head.
Jeong-hyeon's Mana Sensitivity was B-Rank level 2.
Normally, he could cast magic slightly higher rank than Mana Bolt, but that required guaranteed leisure to cast.
It was even harder for Jeong-hyeon, who hadn't focused much on magic practice.
Pew-pew-pew—
But even the most basic magic, bolstered by the C-Rank synergy 'Basics of Magic Usage', was far from negligible.
Struck on the head from multiple directions at once, the Grand Mantis staggered wildly.
Its lower body held firm on six rear legs, but the upper body couldn't help swaying with the head.
"Keek—"
"Tch."
But Jeong-hyeon, confirming the result, let out a disappointed noise.
He'd expected it to buy more time, but the thing looked surprisingly fine.
It seemed only direct hits delivered real shock.
Zzzzap—
Lightning erupted once more, centered on the yellow glow.
Having learned that concentrating on one spot let him get hit, it now targeted a wide area.
Dumb as it was, was it still a boss monster?
But spreading it wide like this was no loss for Jeong-hyeon.
'Keep firing like that. I just have to tank it.'
The damage to him decreased accordingly.
Just like before, Jeong-hyeon, cloaked in earth attribute, let the lightning slide off.
"Han Jeong-hyeon Hunter!"
Seeing it, Deok-jin startled and activated his healing trait on Jeong-hyeon.
The distance weakened the full effect, but B-Rank healing overflowed nonetheless.
"How's that side holding up?"
Jeong-hyeon asked the party, eyes still locked on the yellow one.
The sounds were worrisome, but they were high-rank hunters regardless.
"Thanks to the magic enchantment, we can hold! But can you keep this up?"
"Have to try!"
Exactly as he answered.
They had to try.
Win or lose.
And one fortunate point: the outlook was far better than pre-battle.
Jeong-hyeon's worst-case assumption was both Grand Manti ignoring the party and focusing him.
Even he couldn't survey the battlefield so leisurely then.
Of course, that was merely the worst case.
In a fleeting lull, Jeong-hyeon's eyes narrowed.
'So how do I take this one down...'
Not cunning schemers, but they were still fortresses.
Black, which had never failed him before, was back in Jeong-hyeon's hand—the one he'd thrown at the red one.
Even neutral attacks hadn't shone exceptionally.
It had precisely hit the red one's joint, yet the thing merely wobbled briefly before moving normally again.
'While I'm thinking of it, one more throw.'
Any rest would shatter the delicate balance he'd set.
Jeong-hyeon twisted like lightning and hurled Black at another rear leg of the red one.
The limited-quantity Onyx dagger needed saving.
'To deal real damage, might need the mace.'
If daggers failed, only the mace remained.
But could he close in on a Grand Mantis to attack?
Closing in was possible, but if it thrashed, escaping would be the limit.
Their rear claws rivaled longswords in length.
'Size really is unfair, size is everything.'
Smaller foes demanded ruthless activity everywhere.
Look at these cowards.
Whoooosh—
Just swinging front legs from standstill forced Jeong-hyeon to hurl himself desperately.
'Just climb on top?'
Jeong-hyeon's method against such giants had always been simple.
Demi Drake, Onyx Golem, Rock Spider—mount and bash, unbeatable.
Even a Grand Mantis couldn't handle a mace smash from atop its head.
Jeong-hyeon pondered briefly but shelved it.
'Easier said than done with these.'
Previous foes had bulk aplenty for climbing.
Smooth or not, jam in holds and climb.
But mantises hovered on slender rear legs.
Lower body might allow a jump-climb,
'But one wing flap and I'm dead.'
The red one had used wings earlier—no surviving that.
"Han Jeong-hyeon Hunter!"
The urgent tone meant the attribute magic had expired.
Confirming the red one's front leg recovered, Jeong-hyeon reapplied water to U-yeong and fire to Won-ho.
Enduring had limits.
Jeong-geun and Yeon-su would be mana- and arrow-less soon.
'Need to find a way to break through somehow.'
These weren't entirely novel monsters;攻略 methods existed.
And giant monsters' vulnerabilities usually countered Jeong-hyeon's strengths.
"Keek?"
The Grand Mantis glaring at him whipped its head around.
Jeong-hyeon, who'd stuck to evasion at the entrance, suddenly accelerated.
'As expected.'
Watching its reaction, Jeong-hyeon confirmed his hunch.
'They weren't aggressive from the start.'
Their bulk covered dozens of human steps per direction.
Plus, he'd deliberately stayed near the entrance to split their focus.
Hard to gauge properly.
When Jeong-hyeon fully exited its front leg range, it turned its head to track instead of body.
Of course, not pushovers.
Boom—
'Eek!'
He thought he'd cleared the attack range completely.
Suddenly, the front leg extended, slamming down before him.
A sharp diagonal pivot barely evaded—a close call.
Far faster than prior swings, with minimal wind-up.
But this proved it.
'Out of confirmed range, they struggle to respond.'
Should've studied regular mantises properly instead of toying.
Might've gleaned more hints.
Anyway, Jeong-hyeon had circled fully to the yellow Grand Mantis's left flank.
Only then did it sluggishly pivot, contrasting its leg speed.
Tell the party?
Jeong-hyeon hesitated but shook his head.
Slow by his standards.
Non-agile party rushing it could backfire.
'At least one down.'
First step toward攻略 taken.
Handle one, the rest follows easily.
'Problem is exploiting it.'
Slow turns confirmed, but insufficient for damage.
Path inside the fortress found; now breach the walls.
Once out of range, maintaining it was easy at his speed, so he observed at razor-edge distance.
But soon, he clicked his tongue inwardly.
"Watching won't change anything... Huh?"
Then, a system alert popped in his view.
"It does something?"
Jeong-hyeon learned even passive watching could yield results.
[Through the synergy effect of 'Excellent Combat Sense', you have detected the Grand Mantis's weakness.]
The fortress with no apparent gaps—its weakest point.
The system highlighted it for him.