Chapter 20
Chapter 20
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 20
Chapter Title: Blind Adaptation
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My Sensitive Senses skill warned me to dodge Na-young's curse, but I stood there and took the Blind hit anyway.
In an instant, my vision went pitch black like someone had drawn heavy blackout curtains, and my skin felt numb as if anesthetized. I could only perceive sounds and smells at a fraction of their usual intensity—maybe a tenth. This was already weakened by the effect of Resilient Mind; any other hunter would have lost all five senses completely and been utterly helpless.
It was more powerful than I'd expected. In my previous life, I'd used this to blind people before striking with attack skills, but right now, I lacked any potent attack skills and didn't have much mana, so solo hunting wasn't viable.
I focused as much as possible on my remaining senses to grasp my surroundings, but it wasn't easy.
"Na-young, fire a Mana Ball at me."
I said this to the faint silhouette of Na-young that I could barely make out.
With most of my senses blocked, it seemed like she was saying something, but it was too faint to understand.
"I can't hear what you're saying. Just shoot."
When I asked again, Na-young canceled the Blind.
"Even if my Mana Ball is E-Rank, it'll hurt a lot if it hits you."
Na-young looked worried about me, her expression also conveying that she couldn't understand why I'd ask for this.
"Don't worry. You remember the contract terms, right? You have to do as I instruct. Please."
"Got it."
When I brought up the contract, Na-young reluctantly cast Blind again. Moments later, my sixth sense warned me, and I dodged slightly, but my reaction was slow. The Mana Ball grazed my leg. I'd thought I was facing her, but apparently I'd turned without realizing it, and it struck the side of my thigh.
"Are you okay?!"
Bae Na-young canceled Blind and rushed over in surprise.
"I'm fine. See? Not a scratch."
I stuck out my leg to show her. The cheap protective pants were a bit torn, but the skin underneath was unscathed.
"Oh my god, you said your body was tough, but I had no idea it was like this. And it's still an E-Rank skill."
Na-young said this after examining my leg up close.
"Now, don't stop. Keep firing until your mana runs out."
Both Sang-hun and Na-young were such good people that they came with some hassles.
Na-young cast Blind. Moments later, I sensed the incoming Mana Ball with my sixth sense and dodged, but I failed to fully evade and took a hit to the stomach. I'd thought I'd adapted to fighting blind from training with Sang-hun, but with hearing and touch gone too, relying solely on my sixth sense made it much harder.
Moreover, losing my senses amplified the mental stress of combat.
I focused on dodging the barrage of Mana Balls, but I only succeeded a few times. If I flailed around wildly, Na-young would have trouble hitting me, but that wouldn't help my practice. I always tried to dodge at the last possible second.
Suddenly, Sensitive Senses blared a strong warning, but curse-induced mental fatigue caused me to lose focus for a split second.
My reaction was slow, and the Mana Ball struck me square in the face.
[Resilient Mind skill level increased from E to D.]
And just as my head snapped back, the skill leveled up.
"Eek! Are you okay? What do we do?!"
Blind ended, and Na-young ran over to me.
I couldn't hide my joy at the skill-up, a smile spreading across my face.
"Hiiik!"
Na-young, who'd been rushing over, stopped dead when she saw me grinning with a nosebleed.
"A-are... you okay?"
"This is great. Let's keep going. You still have plenty of mana, right?"
"Y-yeah."
Her shoulders slumped as she trudged back to her spot.
"Some kind of new pervert? But it's for Mom. I can endure this much."
Na-young muttered to herself, but I heard it clearly. Pervert? It was just training.
"Blind!"
When Na-young's Blind spread over me this time, it felt different. My senses dulled, but it wasn't pitch black like before, and I could somewhat perceive sounds and touch if I concentrated.
I could track incoming Mana Balls better than before the level-up, and the mental burden from the curse was lighter. I took a few glancing hits at first, but I gradually adapted and started dodging them all.
"Oh my god... how did you do that?"
"I told you, I'd adapt. That's enough practice now. I've got the feel for it. Next, let's try hunting monsters with Blind active."
The orc gate was no longer much of a threat, and honestly, it'd be easier without Blind. This was practice for tackling a D-Rank gate together.
After spotting a group of orcs, I approached without attacking. If I wiped them out solo, it wouldn't be practice.
The orcs spotted us and charged.
"Blind!"
As they entered range, Na-young's Blind spread, causing the orcs to freeze or trip. I'd grown accustomed to the sensation by now, but for them, the loss of senses brought overwhelming disorientation and fear, halting all movement.
The effect was incredible. As expected of a B-Rank skill.
It'd be great to have party members who could attack then, but melee classes would get caught in the curse range too. Ranged attacks from outside were possible, but with Na-young at Blind's center, she'd be unprotected and vulnerable to blind flailing.
Of course, solutions could be devised with thought, but the position and curse skill itself seemed to repel people—no one had ever bothered brainstorming with her before.
I went around tripping orcs by their legs, shoving them, and punching their faces. They flailed back wildly, their aim all over the place, and some toppled over unable to steady themselves.
Of course, orcs are E-Rank monsters, so this worked; higher-rank ones resist curses better. Total blackout like this would only go up to D-Rank.
I'd experimented enough, so I started finishing them off.
I took down the defenseless ones one by one. When the last fell, Na-young released Blind. My senses flooding back all at once felt refreshing, like removing a sandbag.
After that, I kept using Blind to hunt quickly. It was faster without, but getting used to the curse and helping Na-young level up was important, so I made her use it.
The pace was brisk, and we cleared the gate in no time.
"Your stamina okay today? Think you can handle a D-Rank?"
"Yeah. I can do it."
Seeing her skill prove useful seemed to restore some of her shattered self-esteem.
I requested pickup from President Yang and headed to the D-Rank ogre gate.
"An ogre gate? You sure we'll be okay?"
In front of the D-Rank ogre gate, Na-young gripped her wand tightly, tense. I'd shown my combat prowess, but for an F-Rank hunter like her, entering a gate one rank higher with just the two of us was understandably nerve-wracking.
"It's fine. Let's go."
I reassured her and entered the gate. It wasn't baseless confidence. I'd maxed out all stats gainable from countless E-Rank orc gates. There was nothing more to gain there. I'd prepared everything possible from special training with Sang-hun and practice with Na-young.
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Name: Lee Ji-seok
Job: Unemployed
Level: 15
Strength 49, Vitality 43, Agility 37, Intelligence 20, Health 390, Mana 158
Skills: Regeneration D, Sturdy Body D, Resilient Mind D, Poison Resistance E, Sensitive Senses B
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I'd checked my status window before entering, and just looking at it made me pleased.
Ogres, overconfident in their strength, often acted solo. I found one wandering alone shortly after entry.
"Na-young, just one, so stay calm and do like before."
Na-young nodded and cast Blind. Darkness spread, and the ogre flinched, looking around frantically and rubbing its eyes.
Even with senses partially dulled, I'd leveled Resilient Mind in the orc gate and adapted, so locating it was easy.
I approached and swung my fist. Straight into the gut of the three-meter-tall beast.
It staggered, but that was it. Its hide was thick, and as a species, it was far tougher than orcs. No wonder it was D-Rank.
It immediately swung its club wildly. It wasn't just a club—it was a whole tree trunk, crudely shaped, boasting ridiculous size.
I retreated to dodge the random swings, but my heel caught on something, throwing off my balance. A mistake I wouldn't have made without the curse.
As I lost balance, the club came flying, smashing into the arm I'd raised to guard.
I took the diagonal downward strike on my arm and held firm with raw strength.
Now knowing my position, the ogre swung its club even more furiously.
I planted my feet and faced it squarely. My increased weight lately made my lower body feel rooted, solid.
My bones and muscles creaked as my body began to expand. This was the D-Rank ability from my hellhound-hunting Regeneration skill.
I'd grown about 40 cm in the hellhound fight; now with a higher level and more stored energy, it was around 50 cm. Strength rose with the muscle gain, but vitality and agility dropped in this state.
As its club came down, I counterattacked. I'd closed in tight, reducing the club's power while my strikes landed fully.
The ogre retreated under the barrage, and I pressed on, relentlessly targeting its torso.
It dropped the club and tried to grab me.
Before it could, I pulled back my fist, twisted my body to gather power, then unleashed it full-force.
The ogre's body burst as it flew backward.
Na-young released the curse and approached.
"You okay...? Your height?"
She must not have noticed from afar; up close, she asked.
"One of my skills. It lets me enlarge my body."
"Gigantification skill?"
"Something like that."
I could deform and reinforce my body in various ways, making it more versatile than plain gigantification. Shame I could only do simple shape changes—no complex stuff like altering my face.
"You have so many skills. Amazing. A D-Rank hunter soloing an ogre."
"Your curse made it easier."
Catching a blind, panicked foe was naturally simpler. Without it, it'd have taken more energy and time in a slugfest.
"But couldn't you solo it even without that level?"
"True, but it builds my curse resistance and speeds up hunting, so it's a win for me. Your skill and level go up too—best of both worlds."
"Then I'm glad."
"Shall we find another?"
We started walking toward the next ogre.