Chapter 69
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Mastering Shockwave
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Shockwave.
“Whoa, talk about Shockwave’s damage output. That thing’s no joke.”
I marveled anew at the skill’s power and checked its description.
[Shockwave (D-rank): An attack infused with immense force that generates a shockwave at the point of impact. The shockwave travels along the ground, weakening the farther it goes.]
“No wonder it packs such a punch, being a D-rank skill like Super Regeneration.”
The problem was the mana cost. I opened my status window to see how much it had drained.
‘Eek! It took 3 mana?’
For a single skill to gobble up 3 mana was insane.
As a point of comparison, all the skills I’d used up to now barely touched my mana.
F-rank skills took nearly ten uses to make a dent, and E-rank ones needed three or four.
Even the D-rank Underwater Movement was the only one that noticeably shaved off mana with each use.
‘Mana recovers over time, sure, but time’s the issue here.’
It took about ten minutes to recover 1 mana. At this rate, every Shockwave would require a thirty-minute breather.
If I had mana to spare, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but with all my minions, I was always running low.
‘At least I learned Shockwave by converting unnecessary minions back into mana.’
It cost 3 mana to recruit Minos, and another 3 to learn Shockwave.
Even after culling a bunch of loafing minions in the Demon King’s Castle, I was still short.
‘And I’ve only got 3 mana left to boot. At this pace, it’s hunt one, rest thirty minutes, hunt another, rest thirty more. Sigh. Way too slow. There’s gotta be a better way.’
* * *
“There’s no other way. Once you enter the labyrinth, you have to face Minos one-on-one.”
Black Bears’ Han Se-young branch chief narrowed her eyes at the executives locked in a desperate struggle against a single Minos.
The Hongcheon branch chief, fighting now, had been a 3-star hunter for quite some time but was still stuck at the low end of 3-star.
Plus, ever since becoming branch chief, he’d stuck to low-rank dungeons for safety, so his combat senses were downright rusty.
No surprise he was flailing against one Minos.
“Damn it!”
Finally, the Hongcheon chief tapped into his magic stone’s power.
“Fire!”
Flames erupted from his spear tip, and the red-hot blade pierced the Minos’s belly.
“Moooo!”
But true to its stubborn vitality, the Minos didn’t drop from a gut stab.
It charged to crush him in mutual destruction.
“Urk!”
The Hongcheon chief rolled across the dirt-covered floor and barely dodged. In his haste, he’d dropped his weapon, leaving him empty-handed.
In the end, he couldn’t take down the Minos solo and needed backup from the others.
“Our executives are seriously lacking.”
Team leader Kim Shin-woo watched with clear displeasure. To him, they were 3-stars in name only—their skills fell way short.
“They’ve got too much flab on their bellies. It’s been a long stretch of peace.”
It had been five years since Black Bears took over Gangwon Province, and people had grown complacent.
“At least Park Byung-soo’s holding his own.”
Next up after Hongcheon was Hwaseong’s Park Byung-soo branch chief. He wielded his trident cautiously.
No thoughts of big damage right away—he methodically sliced shallow cuts into the Minos’s flesh.
“Those scratches won’t mean much to a Minos... Wouldn’t it be better to go for a big skill?”
“You really think so?”
“...Yes. If it were me, I’d save mana for a decisive blow.”
“You’ve still got a ways to go.”
“Huh?”
“Watch how Park Byung-soo hunts Minos. You’ll see why we’re called hunters.”
The Minos was soon covered in minor wounds, drenched in blood. Then the magic stone embedded in Park’s trident began glowing blue.
Sss—
Water droplets formed at the trident’s tip, drawing in ambient moisture and growing larger.
And finally.
Splash!
It started sucking in the blood from the Minos’s wounds.
“Moooo!”
The panicked Minos charged horn-first, but Park sidestepped like a matador, swinging his trident.
The water droplet sharpened along the blade and pierced the Minos effortlessly.
Boom!
Blood gushed from the wound like a waterfall—no, it flowed right back into Park’s trident.
Park Byung-soo, gripping the blood-soaked, crimson trident, exuded such intimidation that even Kim Shin-woo flinched.
“People called Park Byung-soo a fool for picking a water-affinity magic stone.”
Fair enough. No magic stone could create something from nothing, and water lacked fire’s raw destructive power.
“But Park’s a veteran. It starts with small wounds, but soon the whole battlefield’s filled with his blood-water.”
Every swing sent blood-arrows slamming into the Minos. Ranged attacks with a spear.
The Minos couldn’t counter or even go for mutual destruction—it just took the beating until it dropped.
No danger, no flash. Pure hunting.
Park Byung-soo showed exactly why they were hunters.
“Impressive. Honestly, I’m shocked. Manipulating mana like that so freely.”
Kim Shin-woo was most amazed by Park’s mana control.
Mana was like a wild ball, hard to grasp or direct, yet Park handled it effortlessly.
“What’s his secret?”
“Word is, he does some old Hong Kong movie-style training...”
“Huh? Hong Kong movies?”
“Yeah. Treats Jackie Chan as his mental master.”
“......”
‘That’s a weird guy.’
Kim Shin-woo felt embarrassed for thinking Park was cool.
“Even Park Byung-soo couldn’t hunt two in a row without strain. Means at least thirty minutes rest after each fight. Others will need even more.”
“Sigh. Can we clear it in time like this?”
“That’s why we padded the schedule. And once we hit the middle, we can group up—speed’ll pick up then.”
“Ugh. Still worrying me. This raid’ll go smooth, right?”
“Don’t sweat it. We’ve got me, and the guild master.”
True, what could go wrong? A 5-star and two 4-stars were on this.
Kim Shin-woo swallowed his rising anxiety and gripped his spear. No time for worries now.
‘I need practice too. Maybe try controlling mana like Park.’
He tried sensing and moving the earth’s mana, but the dirt pile didn’t budge.
‘Whatever. It’s not happening now. I’ll stick to big skills for a while.’
Kim Shin-woo was the type to quit quick on what didn’t click.
* * *
“Shockwave!”
Mana drained sharply from my body as I unleashed it, surging into my spear tip and blasting off the Minos’s head.
Boom!
“Phew. Mana’s tapped out again.”
I slumped to the floor, frowning. This wouldn’t cut it.
My leveling pace wasn’t bad, but reaching the labyrinth’s core like this? Time was tight.
‘Any way to use mana more efficiently?’
Truth was, I didn’t need overkill to kill monsters. Just a small hole in the head would do.
‘If I can dial down the power and mana cost, I could hunt faster.’
From then on, every Shockwave, I focused on feeling the mana flow inside me.
Contemplating inner mana flows with a full-speed Minos charging was nuts.
But that insanity maxed my focus. After about five casts.
Humm—
‘I feel it.’
At some point, I sensed the energy flow. Actually, I’d vaguely felt it before.
The faint mana traces from learning Endure were now clearer.
Personally, it felt like watching Pokémon moves.
Endure was like a curled-up Phanpy, Shockwave like a Stoneworm causing quakes.
‘Can I control it? Like the Stoneworm quaking only with its tail tip.’
Visualizing in my head as always—suddenly, mana surged.
Humm—
Mana rose from my gut, gathered at my fingertips, and vibrated finely. Entranced, I slammed my hand down.
Bang!
The shockwave spread along the wall, fast—but only about 3 meters, less than half the usual ten-plus.
“The power’s... weaker.”
I checked my status window, just in case. Sure enough, only 1 mana gone. And a message:
[‘Shockwave’ upgrades to C-rank. You can now adjust mana input to increase or decrease destructive power.]
[Mana efficiency improves with proficiency. Achieve greater power with less mana.]
Incredibly, a fresh skill had already ranked up. Meaning skills don’t auto-upgrade from mindless spam.
‘But can I still kill Minos with this? Power’s down to a third.’
“Moo.”
Right on cue, a cow-like bellow nearby. I headed that way, channeling mana into my spear tip.
Exactly 1 mana seeped into the blade, starting the familiar Shockwave vibration.
Humm—
The Minos spotted me and charged.
‘Now!’
I thrust at its forehead with all my might.
Thud!
No big noise. No debris spray.
But enough to end a life.
“Moooo....”
A fist-sized hole in its head, the Minos wailed mournfully and toppled sideways.
“Got it. Killed a Minos with minimal mana. Nice—ow!”
Saved mana, but weaker output meant more recoil on me.
My arm throbbed again. Bones intact, but muscles bruised.
‘It’s fine.’
I pushed through the pain and kept moving. With 75 vitality, this healed on its own quick.
‘Though best not to get hurt at all.’
Luckily, another Minos leveled me up.
[Level Up!]
[Cha In-hyeok. Lv 27. (3.6%)] [Mana 6/51]
[Strength 80, Agility 75, Vitality 75, Intelligence 75]
[Unallocated Stat Points: 13]
I dumped them all into vitality. Stronger bones and muscles, faster healing if hurt.
[Cha In-hyeok. Lv 27. (3.6%)] [Mana 6/51]
[Strength 80, Agility 75, Vitality 88, Intelligence 75]
Vitality hit 88 in a flash.
‘They say over 80 vitality means tanking a Centaur’s lance charge without breaking bones?’
Centaur’s attack power rivaled low 3-stars, at least.
If I could handle that, Minos attacks were no sweat.
“Shockwave!”
My arm held up fine. Took the charge head-on, not a scratch.
‘Well, a little one.’
Palm gripping the spear was slightly torn, but in hunter world, that barely counted.
‘Hurry. Taking too long. Gotta beat Black Bears to the Minotaur.’
I dashed along the right wall.
“Moooo!”
“Outta the way! Shockwave!”
Occasional Minotaur encounters, quick kills, then back to sprinting the passage.