Chapter 254
Chapter 254
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 254
Chapter Title: Naga Hunt (1)
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The Sky Island truly took the form of an island, just like one floating aimlessly in the sky.
And because of that, its "opposite side" existed as well.
A cold wasteland resembling a rocky expanse—with gravity just as real—lay hidden on the underside of the Sky Island.
"Feels like the end of the world."
One step. Taking another from the cliff-like boundary flipped the world upside down.
It felt like his body plunged straight down before his feet hit the barren ground. A completely different field emerged, bathed in a faint glow like eternal night.
[You have entered the Underside of Sky Island.]
[First-entry bonus: Acquisition EXP increased by 30% for 3 days.]
[First-entry bonus: Drop rate increased by 30% for 3 days.]
[The effect of the 'Pioneer' title enhances the first-entry bonus by 10%.]
And that wasn't all. Thanks to the quest, the entire field counted as one massive hunting ground and dungeon.
The first-entry bonuses kicked in, granting a whopping 40% boost to EXP gain and drop rates.
"Sweet deal."
He was glad all over again that he'd accepted the quest.
"Kai!"
Rokan summoned Kai the moment he adjusted.
Summoning had been impossible along the heavenly pathway that resembled outer space, but the Sky Island registered as a proper field, so it worked fine.
As always, the skies were best for scouting.
Kai soared high overhead, beating his wings. Distance vanished in an instant as the surroundings came into view.
"They live in village units?"
A few monsters and naga roamed the field.
But there weren't many.
After flying a good distance, he spotted several naga villages clustered together for communal living. Rokan fell into thought.
Could he wipe them out single-handed?
Those deadly natural predators of the Join tribe?
They were undoubtedly all high-master level. He couldn't underestimate them.
Hit-and-run tactics might eventually exterminate them, but Rokan wasn't a resident here.
A single mistake leading to death meant respawning on the ground and riding the Sky Cannon through that tedious journey all over again.
Sure, he wouldn't have to rebuild reputation or affinity with the Join tribe, but it'd still be a massive pain.
"For now, just one."
So Rokan decided to test the waters.
He spotted a lone naga hunting apart from the rest and dove toward it.
"Red Meteor."
Fwaaa!
A crimson comet plummeted onto the dimly moonlit wasteland, as if the sun itself had fallen.
The area blazed bright. The naga lost its vision for a split second, left defenseless. Rokan crushed it beneath him on impact.
KABOOM!
The naga's scales were tough.
Not comparable to dragon scales, but valuable enough that armor crafted from them would easily hit unique grade.
Still, not enough to block Rokan's attack.
Mounted atop the crushed naga, he slammed down his battle axe.
He split its exposed chest wide open like chopping firewood and checked for the heart.
'None.'
It truly had no heart.
No heart meant no instant-death heart-explosion effect.
Whip!
"Where do you think you're going?"
Rokan blocked the naga's whipping tail—still alive—with his arm, then drove the battle axe into it again.
He gauged its vitality.
Back on the ground, he'd relied on past-life memories and player-discovered info for monster HP and traits. That didn't work here.
The heavens were an unknown realm, even in his previous life. From now on, Rokan had to learn through trial and error firsthand.
"How about this?"
Splat!
Next test: severing the tail.
Like a lizard, could it survive losing its tail? Curiosity drove him to chop it off.
The scales resisted fiercely again, but Rokan's attack power prevailed.
"SKREEE!"
A few more strikes and the tail flew free. The naga screamed.
[Exposed to Naga Blood Poison.]
[The 'Immunity to All Poisons' title prevents any effect.]
"Blood poison too? Hmm."
Tricky. Tough scales, no one-shot heart kill, and its blood itself became a weapon upon spilling.
Meaningless to Rokan, of course, but a nightmare for anyone else.
"In that sense, maybe I'm their natural predator?"
Rokan finished off the naga and examined the corpse, grinning.
High-master level meant decent HP, but nothing extreme. Pure vitality-wise, other Sky Island monsters had more.
With his attack power—and if he went all out with Gale Incarnation and Full-Body Unmatched—he could one-shot them.
Villages seemed doable now.
'Definitely overpowered.'
He had to admit, he was ridiculously strong.
Even having reached high-master once before and maxed two master skills to top tier didn't fully explain casually one-shotting peers and shrugging off multi-foe fights.
Their master skills could make things messy, but he could handle it.
What if he died?
"Can't be helped."
Flying back up to Sky Island sounded infuriating just thinking about it, but he couldn't play it safe forever.
High risk, high reward.
Cowering in The Lord—a path to becoming the 'Absolute'—got him nowhere.
Rokan knew that better than anyone, so he embraced the danger willingly.
"Here they come?"
First, though, he had to deal with the naga drawn by Red Meteor's flash and boom.
"Know what's great about high-master?"
"...Hiss?"
"Every basic skill hits like a truck! No need for master skills against trash like you!"
Rokan's spot exploded. The ground couldn't withstand the monstrous stomp and cratered.
Where was Rokan? Right in front of the newly arrived naga, naturally.
BOOM!
Fighting Spirit Footsteps skill.
The high-master Rage Berserker skill could sustain as a buff or unleash explosive speed via a powerful stomp.
"Hiss..."
Thwack!
Rokan's battle axe plunged into the naga's shoulder without mercy.
It carved diagonally past the heart area, as if to cleave it in two.
Slaughter Strike.
This skill's power scaled with his kill count.
Having racked up tens of thousands during the prolonged war, his damage multiplier was off the charts.
And it didn't end there.
[Blood Slaughter effect activates.]
[Attack power and HP amplified.]
New passive: Blood Slaughter.
Poison-like blood counted all the same. Covered in naga blood, Rokan's combat prowess surged further.
"Tch! Die!"
Naga could sense "heat." Pathetic stealth meant nothing to them.
Not only that—they excelled at tracking foes and ambushing.
A naga rogue materialized from thin air, slashing wildly with poison-coated daggers in a frenzy of strikes.
"Fighting Spirit Armor!"
Clang?
"...!"
Even that failed to pierce Rokan properly.
Fighting Spirit Armor. It didn't stop HP loss but unleashed fighting spirit to repel enemy blows. The daggers bounced off.
The recoil threw the naga's arms into disarray, exposing an opening.
"Gale Slaughter."
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
The stunned naga became a punching bag.
Its sleek body shredded to rags in seconds and collapsed.
The other charging naga froze at the sight.
Terror. The primal fear of death gripped them.
"Naga God's Binding!"
They switched tactics entirely. Forsaking direct attacks for shamanic curses, a binding force laced with poison ensnared Rokan.
Master skill? The restraint was annoyingly ironclad.
"Heart Dagger!"
Another naga lunged, aiming to exploit the gap and pierce Rokan's heart for the kill.
Master skill again—the thrust was vicious.
"Hmph!"
Rokan snorted at it.
In the past, such bindings might've been his weakness. But as a Rage Berserker now? No.
"Blood Focus."
"...!"
Stab!
Rokan drew a dagger and stabbed himself. Intense pain snapped his mind awake.
The Rage Berserker escape skill traded self-damage for freedom from all bindings and debuffs. Rokan broke loose.
"N-No...!"
The charging naga hadn't anticipated it and met Rokan's battle axe head-on.
It twisted desperately, but momentum won out.
They collided. The naga stiffened like it had stared at Medusa, then went cold as a corpse.
"Hoo!"
Rokan mopped up the rest, including the shaman, then checked his status.
Fighting Spirit Armor had blocked some, but the flurry of poisoned dagger stabs had chewed through plenty of HP.
Plus, stabbing himself to escape the bind cost even more.
"Damn. Need at least a normal-grade dagger."
Normal items barely hit the auction house, so he'd settled for rare-grade. But with his damage amp, it mattered.
He noted the fix and moved on.
Potions along the way topped off his HP. This time, he scouted a naga village.
Charging in blindly wouldn't work.
Consecutive bindings like before would wear him down.
The real threat was elsewhere.
[Naga Chieftain Osren of Deadly Poison][Lv 372]
Level 372 naga chieftain.
With eyes piercing all creation, Rokan could peer into the village from afar and couldn't ignore it.
'No guards.'
Lacking rivals besides the Join tribe, the village defenses were lax. What few there were—towers and outposts—mostly targeted aerial threats.
Natural, given the Join tribe's devastating sky drops.
Rokan exploited it.
"Dig Dog."
Rumble-rumble-rumble.
To surprise the sky-fixated naga, he started burrowing a tunnel.