Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Breaking the Beast
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But it couldn't fully pierce the flesh.
The creature's hide was thick, but more than that, the level gap between them was over twice as much.
But that didn't matter.
Su-ho wanted this thing to hold out as long as possible anyway.
Buwoong!
The creature swung its axe toward Su-ho, who twisted his waist to dodge it.
Then he sprang up like a spring once more, slicing into the creature's inner ribs this time.
Chwaak!
Same as before.
The wound wasn't very deep.
Because of the thick hide.
But he didn't care and swung his sword again.
Seogeok!
Sliced into the flesh again.
Puk!
Stabbed into the flesh again.
He repeated this several times.
No, dozens of times.
Su-ho never moved widely this time either.
He simply circled around the creature, carving wounds into its body.
The creature, rage building upon rage, desperately tried to grab Su-ho like it was playing tag.
But not a single attack could touch Su-ho's body.
A fishy blood scent pricked at his nose.
Mixed with the surrounding humidity and the creature's sweat, it turned into a stench.
Yet Su-ho, unfazed, provoked the roughly panting creature further.
"Is that all?"
"Krurrr...."
Magic beasts don't understand human speech.
But this one surely understood what he was saying right now.
Provocation isn't just done with words.
The enraged creature bellowed once more and swung its axe at Su-ho.
But the motion was too big again.
Su-ho easily twisted his body to dodge the axe swing, then thrust his beginner's sword like a spear into the gap left behind.
Then, the thigh hide that had seemed impenetrable until now tore like a sheet of paper, inflicting a fatal piercing wound through the muscle.
Pubeot!
Su-ho pulled out his sword immediately.
Blood spurted from the pierced thigh like a fountain.
At that moment.
[Your understanding of Thrust is very high.]
[The system is beginning to reassess your talents.]
[Congratulations! The rank of your Thrust skill has been adjusted to A-Rank.]
[The penetration of Basic Swordsmanship (B) increases by 50%.]
The B-Rank Thrust had been upgraded to A-Rank.
Thanks to that, Basic Swordsmanship's penetration increased by 50%.
Yes.
Finally returning to its rightful place.
But before he could rejoice, Su-ho wiped the smile from his face and focused on his attacks.
And that was the beginning.
Su-ho circled the creature once more and unleashed Thrust again.
Thanks to the upgraded rank, a hole formed in its body more easily this time.
"Kraaaah!!"
The hobgoblin chieftain howled in sharp pain.
And that immediately turned into a fear aura.
The howl was the fear aura, and boss monster fear auras always came with special effects.
But this time, it was just annoying to the ears—nothing happened.
Of course.
Fear aura effects only apply once.
Su-ho thought with a sinister smile.
'Overcome fear never creeps back in.'
From then on, Su-ho began poking holes in the creature's body like a matador.
After dozens of times, the creature finally became a pincushion, blood pouring from holes all over its body.
Kung!
It had no choice but to drop to one knee.
But it wasn't fatal yet.
Of course.
Su-ho had deliberately avoided every vital point.
Su-ho stood before the fallen creature, shaking the blood from his blade, and said,
"Light of Healing."
[Using Light of Healing.]
[The designated area begins to recover.]
Light of Healing.
A healer's most basic skill that recovers a designated body part.
The wound on his left hand from the fear aura dispel had already healed.
And he hadn't taken a single hit from the hobgoblin chieftain's attacks.
Even so, he used Light of Healing for the injured hobgoblin chieftain.
'You can't die yet.'
Exactly as he said.
There was a skill he wanted to obtain from this creature.
One that would become even harder to acquire later, so he had to get it now, no matter how tedious.
But the hobgoblin chieftain didn't know that.
So it felt bewilderment toward Su-ho, who was healing it.
What?
Why is it healing me?
At that moment, the hobgoblin chieftain's eyes met Su-ho's gaze looking down at it.
Su-ho's eyes were utterly dry.
There was no sadistic perversion or pity in that gaze.
As a magic beast more faithful to instinct than anyone, the hobgoblin could read the emotion in Su-ho's eyes.
Boredom.
It was boredom.
Plus an utter dryness, as if it saw him as nothing but a tool.
So the hobgoblin suddenly felt chills creeping over its entire body.
Once the healing was somewhat complete, Su-ho raised his sword again.
"Alright, let's start again."
Pung!
Su-ho kicked the hobgoblin's chest to knock it over, provoking it further.
"Kaaaaak!!"
The excited hobgoblin charged at Su-ho again.
***
How much time had passed?
Even after quite a while, the hobgoblin was still alive.
For one reason only.
"Light of Healing."
Because of the recovery skill Su-ho used.
It had taken quite some time, but there were notable achievements.
Basic Swordsmanship, Basic Footwork, and Parrying had all been upgraded to A-Rank.
And.
"Hiiik!!"
When Su-ho raised his hand to use Light of Healing, the hobgoblin chieftain visibly showed its fear.
Finally, the hobgoblin chieftain's wildness had crumbled.
But this wasn't enough yet.
Regardless of whether it cowered or not, Su-ho still used Light of Healing.
Then, once it had recovered somewhat, he kicked its chest again to knock it over.
Kudangtang!
The falling creature.
Normally, it would spring up like a spring and charge at him.
But.
Dudududu...
Surprisingly, the hobgoblin chieftain no longer charged at Su-ho.
Instead, it cowered on the ground where it had been knocked down, trembling.
Its wildness not just broken, but its very will shattered.
Seeing that, Su-ho smiled.
'This should do it.'
Breaking a monster's wildness is harder than one might think.
Especially if it's a boss monster.
But Su-ho had succeeded.
The method was simple.
No one stands against pain; keep inflicting physical harm until the wildness breaks.
Of course, this doesn't work on all monsters, but it worked on this one.
Its species was just goblin, but as a boss monster, it had superior mental strength and sturdy stamina.
'Supplement the lacking stamina with healing skills.'
Su-ho approached the hobgoblin chieftain, which no longer charged, and nudged it with his toe once more.
Then he met its eyes.
The trembling hobgoblin chieftain immediately lowered its head and cowered even more upon eye contact.
That was when it happened.
[You possess an overwhelming intimidation that can even break a boss monster's wildness.]
[The system is beginning to assess your talents.]
[Congratulations! You have acquired Intimidation (A).]
Done.
He had finally succeeded in acquiring Intimidation, one of the skills he absolutely needed.
Intimidation was one of the skills not just anyone could learn; it allowed the user to crush an opponent's spirit at will.
'Of course, it also provides resistance to various mental attack skills.'
That's why he wanted it.
Those with innate charisma don't have their mental strength broken easily.
So in a way, the Intimidation skill was heavily influenced by congenital talent.
'Though you can cheat to learn it, like I did.'
That's why he had to learn it as soon as possible.
In the late game, monsters' wildness was like they were brainwashed— they'd die before breaking.
With Intimidation acquired, Su-ho raised his sword again.
Now it was time to finish it off.
But even in the finishing phase, there was one more thing to squeeze out.
So Su-ho gripped his sword with both hands, took a stance, swallowed once.
And without the slightest hesitation, he slashed at its neck.
Seogeok!
The creature's head was cleanly severed.
Thanks to the greatly increased cutting power from Swordsmanship reaching A-Rank.
That was when it happened.
[Your understanding of Decapitation is very high.]
[The system is beginning to assess your talents.]
[Congratulations! You have acquired Decapitation (B).]
Su-ho smiled at the notification.
Another skill he wanted from the hobgoblin.
Decapitation, which added extra effects when severing necks.
'With this, my business here is done.'
It was the moment the hobgoblin chieftain's head hit the ground.
[Hobgoblin Chieftain defeated.]
[Gate攻略 completed.]
[Successfully solo cleared the gate.]
[The MVP of the gate clear is 'An Su-ho.']
[Additional EXP provided for MVP selection.]
[1 bonus stat provided for MVP selection.]
[Level up.]
[All stats increase by 1.]
[Acquired 1 bonus stat.]
His level rose.
From defeating the hobgoblin chieftain, the gate clear reward EXP, and the MVP bonus.
Along with the system guidance, a portal to the outside soon appeared before his eyes.
But the system notifications weren't over.
[Reached level 10.]
[The system wants you to become even stronger.]
[The system gifts you greater power.]
[Acquired 5 bonus stats.]
[All healer class-exclusive skill levels rise by one step.]
[Acquired Cure (E).]
Privileges for reaching double digits in level were granted.
The privileges were 5 bonus stats, a new skill, and a one-step rank up for healer-exclusive skills.
Of course, the only healer-exclusive skill was Light of Healing, but at this stage, it was plenty.
Su-ho nodded at the notifications.
'Finally got Cure.'
Cure was a skill specialized in treating diseases; in its final form, it could even cure the Myriad Poisons that drove Su-ho to death.
So it was the most welcome skill of all.
Su-ho allocated all the bonus stats he'd acquired so far to Strength, Vitality, and Mana, then closed his status window.
Then, instead of entering the portal right away, he plunged his sword into the hobgoblin chieftain's heart.
A hard sensation met the blade tip.
A magic stone.
'Pretty big one.'
Judging by size, at least C-Rank.
Su-ho collected the magic stone and other byproducts, then finally moved slowly toward the exit portal.
'They should be waiting at the entrance by now, right?'
Now he knew this wasn't a dream, but reality.
So he was starting to want to see it.
The face of the person who had once been closest to him.