Chapter 66
Chapter 66
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 66
Chapter Title: Skeleton Warriors
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Chapter 66
'What the hell is this...'
Jin-ah could only watch the scene unfolding before her eyes in a daze.
Throwing the dagger was fine.
They had mentioned during the pre-meeting that throwing skills were their specialty, so for someone stepping into a level 5 gate, it was basic.
The first target dropping dead instantly was understandable too.
The opening move required the highest concentration, so if it took time to aim, that made sense.
In fact, it wasn't even a timing slower than Ha-yul's arrow.
But what about the second and third daggers that flew right after?
They weren't thrown haphazardly either—piercing the solar plexus and eye of two goblins respectively. "Amazing" didn't even begin to cover it.
Havel goblins might be goblins, but they were the type you encountered in level 4 gates.
They weren't fragile monsters that would crumple from a single dagger.
If she had to nitpick, there was no consistent pattern in the order of strikes.
Of course, if it reliably thinned out the goblins, that flaw was just nitpicking.
Jin-ah wasn't the only one shocked.
"...Did you see that?"
"I'm seeing it."
The dazed conversation between Ha-yul and Hee-jun, who stood near Jeong-hyeon.
It had been a while since the usually quiet Ha-yul reacted so intensely.
'So it wasn't just luck at the interview.'
At a glance, it was hard to guess what trait it was.
It looked like a throwing skill from the daggers, but if so, someone with B-rank combat sense like Ha-yul should have detected the enemy approach similarly.
Unbeknownst to herself, a small spark ignited in Jin-ah's chest.
Gripping her rapier tightly, Jin-ah leaped into the gaps between the goblins.
Her swordplay slicing through the goblins below chest height somehow resembled Jeong-hyeon's.
Coincidentally, just as Ha-yul had Jeong-hyeon's combat sense,
Jin-ah possessed a B-rank trait: "Exceptionally Agile Movement."
'Purely in terms of movement, she's definitely a cut above me.'
Even with subordinate traits, the Havel goblins couldn't even graze her clothes.
Could Jeong-hyeon manage the same?
He'd probably have to take some wounds.
No matter the pumping, the gap between D-rank and B-rank was real.
But that didn't mean Jeong-hyeon would yield helplessly.
'Still, I don't think he'll lose.'
That wasn't her full strength anyway.
However, Jeong-hyeon's strengths weren't just in agility.
She might be stronger than any foe he'd fought so far.
But weaker than them.
Ping-
Ha-yul's arrow flew again.
Jeong-hyeon's dagger followed soon after, not far behind.
With the melee DPS Jin-ah diving into the fray, ranged attacks had to support her maximally.
By thinning goblins from the outside.
It didn't take long for the thirty goblins that had closed in to turn into corpses.
"That ended quicker than expected."
Cha-jin's remark.
He didn't say it outright, but everyone knew why it ended so fast.
Jeong-hyeon's skill far exceeded expectations.
Sheathing her sword after wiping the blood from the blade, Jin-ah turned to Jeong-hyeon.
He was already retrieving the daggers he'd thrown.
About ten of them.
'Hmm, well, Havel goblins.'
No one could say he hadn't pulled his weight with that performance, but Jin-ah tried to rationalize it.
His claim of operating in level 4 gates a few times seemed true, but strictly speaking, she'd taken down more goblins.
Meanwhile, Cha-jin seemed much more subdued.
"You throw daggers pretty well."
"So-so. Thanks."
"Since you're here, mind helping me out?"
"With what?"
Not content with praise, Cha-jin even suggested building barricades with goblin corpses together.
Jeong-hyeon watched Cha-jin clear goblins for a moment, then nodded as if it was familiar.
In defense missions, using monster corpses to narrow enemy paths was practically essential.
Jin-ah, Ha-yul, and Hee-jun pitched in too.
"You're pretty good at handling corpses."
"I worked at a workshop for a long time."
"A workshop?"
Hee-jun looked surprised.
Why would a hunter work at a workshop?
But Jeong-hyeon answered casually, as if used to the reaction.
"It took a while after the procedure to awaken. I worked in the meantime."
"Ah."
With five hunters working together, clearing goblin corpses was easy.
Without much conversation, a crude but solid corpse wall soon stood.
The second wave was thirty reinforced kobolds: Bandit Kobolds.
"These are subordinates too!"
Bandit Kobolds ranked slightly higher than Havel Goblins, but only by a hair.
Not their first fight, and already familiar with subordinate buffs, the hunters had no trouble.
The barricade at a good height made it even easier.
The Bandit Kobolds soon became reinforcements for the barricade.
The trouble started with the third wave.
Crunch- Crunch-
"Huh? That sound..."
Jeong-hyeon, lightly maintaining his daggers, narrowed his eyes.
He'd definitely heard it before.
The distinctive sound of something hard lightly clashing repeated.
"...Skeleton Warriors."
Ha-yul nailed it.
They'd anticipated undead in a graveyard gate, but now the proper undead appeared.
Skeleton Warriors were a cut above Havel Goblins or Bandit Kobolds.
Among level 5 gate monsters, they ranked mid-to-high tier.
"Now the real fight begins!"
Cha-jin said, securing his position in a gap in the barricade.
Honestly, so far, despite numbers, they were level 4 gate monsters.
No match for them after extensive level 5 experience.
Cha-jin glanced back at Jeong-hyeon.
'Goblins and kobolds, sure, but skeletons? Doubt it.'
His grudge had faded a lot, but emotions weren't fully settled.
If at first he wanted to show off to Jeong-hyeon, now he just wanted to prove level 5 gates weren't for amateurs.
Skeleton Warriors were leagues beyond regular skeletons from level 2 gates.
Well-armed with armor, quick movements.
Excellent organization, even tactical maneuvers.
Plus, Jeong-hyeon's specialty was throwing.
You couldn't kill undead Skeleton Warriors with throws alone.
As if hearing Cha-jin's thoughts, Jeong-hyeon drew his mace from his back instead of a dagger.
'Tch, hope I get a bunch of coins this time.'
Despite picking high-probability targets and killing nearly twenty in the last two fights, only three coins dropped.
Even for probability games, one or two per fight was too stingy.
No profit at this rate.
First time facing Skeleton Warriors, but Jeong-hyeon's mind was filled with one thought.
'Feels like coins drop well when I smash pots!'
Prove himself or whatever—time to farm coins!
Artifact or not, he needed a windfall of coins.
Screw the artifact; he'd earn his own.
Joining the front line after shelving throws, Jin-ah cautioned Jeong-hyeon.
"Be careful. Skeleton Warriors are nothing like goblins or kobolds."
"They're just skullheads anyway."
But she soon tilted her head.
Jeong-hyeon's casual reply felt different from before.
No reason to get mad at them—had something offended him?
As she pondered, the Skeleton Warriors appeared.
If prior monsters were a "herd," this was a "unit"—impressively formed.
Blue glowing eyes, skeletons marching in step: thoroughly eerie.
It started with Ha-yul's arrow again.
Like Jeong-a's party struggling against undead, archers typically fared poorly.
But at B-rank, such conventions no longer applied.
Crack-
The arrow, stronger than before, pierced the rusty helmet and shattered the skull.
Targeting heads precisely meant no triple shots, but it was plenty effective.
After two more skeletons crumbled to bone piles, the real battle began.
Skeletons with short weapons up front, those with spears or halberds behind.
They attacked without gaps in firepower.
"Tch, these guys. They're trying to dismantle the barricade."
Group intelligence, perhaps.
Instead of charging blindly, they calmly prodded the barricade with spears and halberds.
Possible because goblin and kobold materials were lightweight.
More attack angles favored them too.
Despite Ha-yul's bow, disadvantaged in range, the response was simple.
"I'll hold them!"
Jin-ah dashed past Cha-jin to the front.
Pushing the barricade: long-weapon skeletons.
Only way to disrupt: charge forward.
Meaning she trusted her skill against numbers.
The problem was,
"Hey, Jeong-hyeon!"
Jeong-hyeon leaped out at nearly the same timing as Jin-ah.
Cha-jin and even Hee-jun startled, trying to stop him, but he was already on the opposite flank from Jin-ah.
Impressive against kobolds and goblins with throws, sure.
But throws were his main weapon—agile or not, charging a Skeleton Warrior unit head-on?
'Trouble...'
Not in the contract, but practically responsible for his safety, it was just baffling recklessness to Cha-jin and others.
He'd surely take a severe shoulder slash any second.
"Hee-jun, prep heals! I'll follow!"
Cha-jin's urgent shout.
Skeleton Warriors were tough, but Jin-ah could hold with some strain.
Then he'd pull Jeong-hyeon back in...
But despite hearing, Hee-jun gaped in shock.
'Ah, why's he freezing too—Huh?'
Cha-jin, moving to act and drop defense, froze.
He saw Jeong-hyeon outside.
Had he collapsed bleeding as expected?
Far from it.
'Why are these guys so weak?'
Clang-
He'd already smashed one skeleton's skull with his mace.