Chapter 56
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Meteor Hammer
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At first, I just planned to repair the damaged sling strap.
Lately, I'd been using the sling strap more and more in close combat.
It had come in handy during my fight with Lee Chun-bae, and even in spars with Park Byung-su.
But inevitably, it had gotten damaged in the process. It wasn't made for close-quarters fighting in the first place, so that was only natural.
This is cowhide, right? So what if I used something tougher, like orc leather?
On a whim, I grabbed some orc leather and headed to Uncle Jang's place. He looked a bit troubled by my request to make a sling strap out of orc leather.
But in just a week, he'd whipped up something amazing. Uncle's got no limits to what he can craft.
It stretched to a maximum of five meters. It bent smoothly while boasting the orc leather's signature durability—a total monster of a weapon.
Originally, I'd intended to use it for choking foes or wrapping around weapons or limbs to restrain them, but the spiderwebs introduced a new variable that made weapon retrieval a necessity.
That's when I thought of the Assassin Hanzo character.
Assassin Hanzo from the game Mortal Kombat. His weapon was a kunai—a ninja dagger—connected to an iron chain.
“Get over here!”
Chanting Hanzo's iconic line, I reeled in the kunai. Then, as the giant spider's body dragged along, impaled on it, I slammed a kick into its torso.
Thud!
Now, only one giant orb-weaver spider remained. I spun the sling strap in circles while observing its movements. Its eight eyes swiveled to track me.
Honestly, at my current level, I could kill it barehanded. But that wouldn't help improve my skills.
Just in case, I should practice with this too. Who knows when I might lose my weapon again.
I carefully hurled the kunai. The orb-weaver leaped aside, dodging the attack.
Where do you think you're going!
I manipulated the strap to follow it. But since I wasn't used to it yet, it veered slightly off course.
“Squeee!”
The kunai sliced off one of the spider's legs before clanging into the wall. The enraged orb-weaver reared up, its venom-dripping fangs gleaming, and charged.
Swoosh—
While airborne, it thrust out its abdomen, firing a strand of spider silk.
I hurriedly backpedaled while reeling in the strap. But midway through retrieval, the strap got snagged on the spider silk.
“Oops!”
Two consecutive mistakes, and now the strap was stuck to the floor. I'd lost my weapon, and the orb-weaver was right in front of me.
“Kyaaah!”
Thud!
The spider, splitting its four-pronged jaws in a triumphant grin, met a spear thrust laced with chilling killing intent that pierced its head clean through, ending it.
“You okay?”
It was Lee Chang-su. I'd already noticed him stepping in, so I wasn't surprised.
I just looked displeased, realizing that handling a new weapon wasn't as easy as I'd thought.
“Not bad at all. Taking down a giant orb-weaver solo? So, what's that weapon called? Meteor hammer?”
“Something like that. In Japan, they call it a manriki chain.”
“You handled it pretty well. I heard you only knew throwing weapons. Guess that's not the case?”
“This is my first time using one for real. But... I've got experience with slings, so I can manage.”
“First time? Seriously?”
The reason I could wield the meteor hammer decently, despite it being new to me, was that it was essentially an evolution of the sling.
Load a stone into the strap and throw—that's a primitive sling. Attach a metal weight to the strap's end, throw and retrieve—that makes it a meteor hammer.
“Straight-line throws are the same as with a sling, but mid-flight trajectory changes are tricky.”
Normally, retrieval should be hard too, but thanks to practicing with Breeze Catcher, it wasn't for me.
Compared to snagging a razor-sharp axe blade mid-flight with Breeze Catcher, grabbing the kunai was a breeze.
“Oh, right. The instructor said he'd let me enter gates every day. That for real?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. I heard about it.”
“Then, could we focus on spider gates? Figured I'd practice the meteor hammer while I'm at it. These guys make perfect training dummies.”
“Uh, su-sure?”
Lee Chang-su scratched his cheek, looking oddly flustered, then nodded.
“If that's what the junior wants, how can I say no? There's another spider dungeon nearby anyway.”
Two gates would be plenty. Since this was about practicing the meteor hammer, not farming EXP, there was no rush to hunt quickly.
Once this kunai comes back without a single strand of webbing on it, I can call myself proficient.
The kunai that had taken down five spiders, including the orb-weaver, was caked in webbing.
* * *
Man, practicing a weapon in live combat? What a lunatic.
Lee Chang-su shook his head as he entered the Black Bears Hyungsung branch. Park Byung-su, the branch chief, had just wrapped up instructor duties and returned.
“How'd it go? Bet those webs gave you hell, huh? Heh heh. Like I said—after enough suffering, you'll be begging to join the guild.”
Yeah. That was the original plan.
Drag him to the lair of giant spiders—one of the trickiest 1-star monsters—and subtly let him sample Black Bears' supplies.
But that weird junior only borrowed some spider goo, handling everything else solo. Even improvised a bizarre weapon on the spot.
“Who the hell is that guy?”
“Fought better than expected, right? Heh. Look at that stiff face. I get it. A junior outshining you can be threatening.”
“It's not that... Yeah, he fights well, but he's too good. That's the problem. He barely touched our supplies.”
“Huh? What're you talking about?”
Lee Chang-su recounted the spider lair events. How the plan started as intended with initial panic, but he turned it around with the meteor hammer.
As the story went on, Park Byung-su's expression grew peculiar. Unsure whether to be pleased or disappointed.
Better skills were great, but it threw off the strategy, leaving him flustered.
“Unbelievable. That good?”
“Guts of steel too—wants to practice weapons mid-fight. First psycho like that I've ever seen.”
“Stubborn streak, huh. Might need to invoke the exception clause.”
Black Bears required new recruits to use spears or bows—no exceptions.
The rule existed because Black Bears operated differently from other guilds.
Most guilds offered no gear support or demands—like mercenaries, members fend for themselves.
Black Bears provided quality supplies and regular training. Like the military.
Uniform clothing and weapons were standard. Essential for organizational power.
Unique weapons were for team leaders and up—minimum high 2-star hunters.
“You think he's nearing level 20?”
“Why not? Doesn't seem like it?”
“Honestly, more like mid 2-star at best.”
Lee Chang-su narrowed his eyes skeptically. But Park Byung-su, having fought Cha In-hyeok directly, knew better. The kid was upper 2-star caliber.
“Well, time will tell. Headache though. If he's that skilled, our bait won't tempt him much.”
“What can we do? Can't send an unjoined guy into 2-star gates.”
Frankly, even letting him into 1-stars was risky. No one dared challenge Park Byung-su on it.
“Hmm. Allowing throws should open his mind a lot. Other issues aside...”
Cha In-hyeok was only nineteen. Love troubles suggested first crush.
'Our guild's got plenty of pretty girls. Introduce some, and he'll come around.'
Or convince him a prestigious guild like Black Bears boosts appeal with women.
“Honestly, I don't get why he insists on thrown weapons. Bows are clearly superior—why bother?”
“It's cool.”
“Huh?”
Lee Chang-su blinked in bewilderment, but Park Byung-su rubbed his nose and replied.
“People get fixated, blind to alternatives. Look at me—hooked on tridents, grabbed one first thing as team leader. Cool, right?”
*No,* thought Lee Chang-su, but he held his tongue.
* * *
Swoosh—
Countless spiderwebs sprayed out. Gotta dodge fast. But the ground was webbed everywhere—no escape.
Minor crisis. Could ignore it—webs on shoes aren't fatal.
But annoying. Peeling them off sucks, and that sticky feel lingers.
So I jumped.
'Jump!'
[Jump (F-grade): Crouch and leap powerfully. Allows stationary jumps over considerable distances.]
My body soared, instantly clearing the webbed zone.
Not just clearing—I launched a kunai mid-air.
Whoosh—
It pierced the rightmost spider's head, halted, then swung left in a wide arc.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Heads of the oncoming spiders exploded in a line. Tried retrieving immediately, but momentum sent it crashing into the wall.
Clang!
“Tch! Failed again.”
Tough. Other techniques were hard too, but meteor hammer especially so.
'I get the general movements, but exact force and timing vary wildly per case.'
Mastering it required experiencing each scenario, repeating till muscle memory.
For most, it'd take ten years—or more.
But I had superhuman stats transcending human limits.
'With my current self, I might slash that time dramatically.'
Strength at 75 granted seven times a normal person's athletic output.
Agility at 75 let me keenly sense the strap's intricate motions.
Vitality for endless training, Intelligence to process it all swiftly...
No stat was wasted.
'Ultimately, balanced growth across all stats was right.'
Others doing it would end up mediocre jacks-of-all-trades...
'But I'm different. Even growth makes me stronger than others. Long-term, it's the superior path.'
Hunting wrapped up meanwhile.
[You can learn the Giant Orb-Weaver's skill: Venom.]
“Thanks, but pass.”
Absorbing the giant orb-weaver let me pick two skills: Jump from earlier, and this Venom.
'Surprisingly no webs. Not that I'd learn it anyway.'
Reason? Web origin spot.
'Butt?! No way I'm learning that.'
Same for Venom—fangs. Knew that.
'I'm no vampire; can't keep jamming weapons to fangs each use.'
Venom wasn't potent anyway—useless skill.
'Jump's practical though. And these guys have surprising uses.'
I grinned at the bisected giant orb-weaver.
1.5 meters tall, 2 meters long—massive, sturdy enough to carry a goblin with room to spare.
'Time to make some goblin riders?'