Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: The Hunt Begins
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Lee Shin’s decision was unhesitating.
“Status Window.”
Lee Shin checked his remaining stat points.
He had accumulated quite a few.
[Remaining Stat Points: 80]
Lee Shin didn't typically prefer to invest points into Vitality.
He focused on builds that maximized damage, covering his defense through other means.
For instance, by acquiring skills with invincibility effects or equipment with built-in counter-attack effects.
But right now, there was no need to be so meticulous about allocating his stats.
Job Change Quest
You have shed the skin of a novice adventurer and become a proper rookie.
Now, find someone who can guide you down a professional path and obtain a job!
•Reward: Job.
•Stats can be redistributed after the job change.
Since stats could be redistributed later, it was best to raise the ones he needed immediately.
‘All into Vitality.’
For the impending PK.
Lee Shin invested all his saved stat points into Vitality.
* * *
“This time, we need to hunt superior variants…”
“I’ll help!”
Returning to the party, Lee Shin immediately got to work.
With a single charming smile, he persuaded the party leader, and they set out to hunt right away!
This quest progressed much faster than Lee Shin had anticipated.
The superior variants were over 10 levels higher than the intermediate ones.
He thought they might struggle, but the result was completely different!
[The Mutated Gray-Mane Wolf roars!]
[Strength and Agility increase…]
“…I’ll block it! Dealers, fall back!”
“‘Unyielding Strength!’, ‘Fortify Health!’”
The mage cast buffs before retreating, and the dealers moved swiftly to find an angle for attack!
Individually, their skills weren't exceptional, but their coordination was outstanding.
Watching from the back, Lee Shin looked at the users with a hint of surprise.
‘…They’re better than I thought.’
It was enough to make even Lee Shin, who thought he had them all figured out, reconsider!
Of course, it wasn't enough to make him change his plans…
But at the very least, it was hard to believe this was a hastily formed party.
‘Did their skills improve in that short time?’
Lee Shin tilted his head at the strange phenomenon.
…In truth, Lee Shin was unaware, but his influence was a significant factor.
The biggest reason hastily formed parties lack coordination is individual greed.
Since the game system rewards the user who lands the final blow the most, everyone naturally becomes fixated on getting the last hit, sparking competition.
Personal gain takes precedence over efficiency.
But with Lee Shin’s presence, their greed for the last hit vanished entirely, leading the users to naturally play more efficiently.
‘…Well. It’s fine.’
He wasn't sure of the cause, but Lee Shin wasn't overly concerned and moved on.
He was still confident.
‘PvP is different, anyway.’
The skills required to fight AI and to fight other users are fundamentally different.
In that sense, Lee Shin’s experience and skill were on a level incomparable to that of ordinary users.
Of course, if the level difference was overwhelmingly large, there were times when nothing could be done, but…
[Level: 44]
The gap wasn't that extreme.
At most, a difference of 10 to 20 levels.
That was enough for his damage to register meaningfully.
If he landed all critical hits, he could dish out explosive damage.
‘Good.’
Closing his status window, Lee Shin delivered the final blow to the perfectly cooked wolf.
*Thwack!*
[You have gained experience.]
[…]
[You have completed the quest!]
Kilgeo's 5th Trial
•Hunt Superior Mutated Beasts: 30/30
The quest was completed right on time!
Lee Shin scanned his surroundings.
There were no more monsters left nearby.
‘I should stop this quest line here.’
He could probably get additional rewards if he wanted, but Lee Shin didn't think it would be very meaningful.
His affinity with Kilgeo was already so high it was practically piercing the heavens.
It had reached a point where he had to question whether raising it any further would actually be helpful.
The man was already saying strange things every time they met.
‘He might be a job instructor, but…’
Even considering that, Kilgeo was a clear-cut evil-aligned NPC!
Lee Shin couldn't predict what would happen if his affinity got excessively high.
If… and this was a very big if, he might not let him go even after the job change was complete.
‘I need to start being careful.’
Lee Shin called out to Jeong Yu-ra.
“Yu-ra.”
“Yes?”
“Have you finished your quest, by any chance?”
Jeong Yu-ra nodded in response.
“I finished a long time ago.”
Her quest, unlike Lee Shin's, was to hunt seven superior mutated beasts.
Thanks to that, her quest was completed almost as soon as they started hunting.
She had just been sticking with him, waiting for him to finish.
Lee Shin got to the point.
“I still have a bit left. Would you like to go turn yours in first?”
“Why?”
“It feels a bit wrong to make you wait when you’re already done. And…”
“?”
Lee Shin trailed off before continuing nonchalantly.
“…And, it seems like you’ll be getting your job change this time anyway.”
“Me? I have one more quest left, though?”
“But the final part of a job change quest usually just ends with a conversation with the instructor.”
“…!”
“So why not just go and get your job change done while you’re at it?”
Lee Shin spouted lies without batting an eye.
A blatant attempt to separate her from the party!
But Jeong Yu-ra accepted his lies without a shred of doubt.
As someone new to the game, she had no choice but to believe what Lee Shin told her.
Besides, it wasn't in her nature to be suspicious of others.
“Okay, I’ll do that then.”
“We’ll be hunting around here.”
“Okay.”
Jeong Yu-ra headed toward the village with light steps.
Just as she disappeared from view.
Lee Shin revealed his true colors.
‘Stealth.’
[Mana will be consumed for the duration.]
The party's main dealer.
As Lee Shin approached the mage player, his hand moved to his sword.
The field was a lawless space.
There were no rules.
If it was necessary to win…
[You have left the party.]
Lee Shin could do anything.
* * *
“Si-eun?”
The party leader turned his head with a puzzled expression at the sudden message.
By then, Lee Shin had already used Stealth and circled behind the mage.
Charge!
Deep Cut!
Lee Shin's mana plummeted as he used the skills.
He closed in with Stealth and Charge, then attacked with Deep Cut!
His sword fell precisely on the crown of the mage user’s head.
*Thunk!*
[A powerful critical hit has landed!]
[The target is stunned.]
[You have attacked a user.]
[Your infamy has greatly…]
A stream of messages appeared.
And the party leader stared in horror.
He had been resting idly, but now he shot up from his spot as if jolted by electricity.
“Si-eun!?!?!”
But Lee Shin didn't even spare him a glance, focusing instead on finishing off the mage for good.
The mage was the party's main damage dealer, possessing several AoE skills.
Leaving him alive could create an unexpected variable.
So it was best to eliminate him as quickly as possible.
*Stab! Stab-stab!!!*
[A critical hit has landed!]
[A critical hit has landed!]
[A critical hit…]
“Ugh! Gak! Ack…”
A relentless barrage of attacks from Lee Shin!
The defenseless mage took the full force of every blow.
With his naturally low health and defense, he couldn't withstand the one-sided assault.
“Sa, sav—!”
*Stab!!*
[A critical hit…]
[…]
[You have killed a user!]
[You have gained experience.]
[Item…]
‘…An item!’
A drop on the very first kill?
It was unexpected, but Lee Shin’s hands moved quickly, snatching the items and gold that had fallen to the ground.
It was a clean job, honed by numerous PKs, leaving not even a single coin behind!
After swiftly collecting his spoils, Lee Shin raised his head.
‘And now…’
Four users remained.
Lee Shin toyed with his sword, putting distance between himself and the other users.
It was then that the party leader seemed to snap back to reality, pointing a trembling finger at Lee Shin.
“Wh-wh-wh…”
“Why, you shouldn’t have.”
“You shouldn’t… that’s not it! What are you doing!?!?!?”
The party leader screamed, unable to believe the situation!
He spewed out words, his thoughts a jumbled mess.
“How could you do this!”
“Do what.”
“Killing a party member and stealing their items!”
“It happens.”
“What do you mean, it happens!! After all the help we gave you… wait. Hold on.”
“Hm?”
The party leader stopped mid-sentence, his body trembling as if he’d realized something.
His face turned deathly pale, then flushed with rage as he shouted.
“Don’t tell me… Don’t tell me! You were using us this whole time!?”
‘…Took you long enough.’
“So what if I was?”
“Then I am truly disappointed!”
“……”
“How could you do such a… such a thing…. *Sob*!!”
“…Are you crying!??”
The party leader suddenly burst into tears!
Fat tears streamed down his face as he wept sorrowfully.
Even Lee Shin couldn't help but be taken aback by this.
It was a development far different from what he had anticipated.
He’d expected the man to charge at him in a fit of rage as soon as he understood the situation…
‘What in the…?’
This was the result of him not knowing exactly how his appearance was perceived by others!
Unsure of what was happening, Lee Shin decided to just brazen it out.
“I honestly didn’t know.”
“*Sniffle*… What?”
“That I wasn’t supposed to kill him.”
“…How could you not know that!!!”
Of course, it didn't work in the slightest.
The party leader, now furious, glared at Lee Shin and said.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t let this slide.”
“And what are you going to do if you don’t?”
“I will kill you and take it all back. By the way, hasn’t your way of speaking changed a bit…?”
Lee Shin charged before the party leader could even finish his sentence.
In a PK situation like this, the key to survival was to move in a way the opponent couldn't predict!
Using his Charge skill, Lee Shin instantly bypassed the tank and closed in on the archer.
“…What!? Watch out!”
The party leader, caught off guard, frantically turned his head and shouted.
Kang Woo-jin, who was near the archer, responded.
The very user Lee Shin was now targeting!
“I’ll block him!”
“……”
He quickly moved to intercept Lee Shin, trying to protect the archer.
It was a much faster response than expected.
Lee Shin was inwardly impressed.
He’d noticed it while they were hunting the superior monsters, but the users’ coordination had definitely improved.
‘Shall I shake things up?’
But Lee Shin had faced parties with far better coordination hundreds of times.
He knew better than anyone how to create a crack in their formation.
Especially when his opponents were inexperienced and still disoriented, as they were now…
They could be rattled by the smallest thing.
So, Lee Shin met Kang Woo-jin’s eyes and gave a firm nod.
He added a meaningful hand gesture for good measure, his expression serious.
Thanks to this, both Kang Woo-jin and the archer behind him flinched, their bodies momentarily freezing.
‘…????’
The archer quickly regained his composure.
But Kang Woo-jin was different.
Lee Shin’s sudden signal made him seriously wonder if he was missing something.
The look in Lee Shin’s eyes was just that sincere and compelling.
‘What is it?’
But of course, there was nothing.
While Kang Woo-jin was overthinking it, Lee Shin instantly closed the distance to the archer.
By this point, it was too late for Kang Woo-jin to catch up.
“…Ah!”
In a one-on-one situation, the archer twisted his body left and right.
A desperate struggle to dodge the attack!
But it was merely a struggle.
Instantly reading his movements, Lee Shin brought his sword down on the archer’s head.
*Thwack!!*
[A critical hit has landed!]
[You have attacked a user.]
[Your infamy has…]
A direct hit to the head, right in front of him.
The archer couldn't handle the intense impact and collapsed.
And Lee Shin pounced on top of him.
*Stab! Stab-stab!*
Lee Shin focused his attacks on the head and neck.
His opponent didn't last long.
[The player has died.]
[Your infamy has greatly increased.]
‘…Three left!’
Having killed the archer, Lee Shin turned his head toward his next target.