Shadows of the Dark Tigers
Three days later.
He had finally used up all the materials.
“Hoo……”
He had produced a thousand each of the poisons.
There would surely be plenty of users eager to buy them, promising substantial profits.
He quickly listed the two items for immediate sale in the auction house system.
Price per unit: 1 gold 50 silver.
Minimum order: 10 units.
After registering the items, he left the Alchemist Guild and headed to the central lake.
He bought cooking ingredients and disposable crafting tools, then used the warp gate to head to the Bubara Kingdom.
Exiting through the south gate, he slowly descended. He could see users hunting.
It was a low-level hunting ground anyway, so he paid it no mind.
Mu-hyuk walked leisurely, getting his bearings, and opened the auction house system.
He adjusted the transparency so he could see the road and the listings at the same time.
I wonder how many have sold.
Slows the body upon contact.
Induces hallucinations and continuous damage upon contact. Effect ends if HP drops below a certain threshold.
Mu-hyuk's brow furrowed.
Zero?
Not a single one sold?
What the hell?
It had been over 30 minutes since listing them.
At least dozens should have sold by now, so he couldn't help but feel suspicious.
Wait, no way……
A sudden thought flashed through his mind.
He hurriedly searched.
Slow Poison……
A cascade of listings appeared.
“Ah……”
Far more people were selling Slow Poison than he'd imagined.
The lowest price was 1 gold.
The highest was his own at 1 gold 50 silver.
Damn it……
He hadn't expected it to be figured out this quickly.
No helping it.
He quickly reset the price.
99 silver.
Still a definite profit.
Fortunately, within a minute, 30 sold.
Only then did he relax and close the auction house.
Should hurry a bit.
He quickened his pace toward his destination.
*
Two men and one woman.
The three-person party scanned their surroundings.
That was when it happened.
One man raised his hand.
Krrrng……
A grotesque sound echoed simultaneously.
The man who raised his hand turned his head and parted his lips.
“Right side.”
One man moved forward, the woman backward.
In an instant, she shouldered her bow forward and nocked an arrow.
She loosed it into the empty darkness.
Pang!
The flame on the arrow illuminated everything.
In that moment, a silhouette appeared.
A single tiger shrouded in darkness.
Perhaps due to the sudden brightness from the flame.
It roared, head whipping away.
Mid-jump, the arrow lodged unerringly in its chest.
Darkness returned, but they had already marked its position.
The two waiting men closed in simultaneously.
One with shield in hand, the other with sword.
Kwang!
The shield smashed the airborne tiger's body.
As it reeled back.
Puk.
A chilling sound spread.
When had he circled behind?
The sword-wielding man carved a deep gash into the approaching tiger's back.
Twisting and pulling free, the wound gaped wider, silver dust scattering from it.
Invisible in the dark.
Kraaaargh!
Only its agonized roar battered their eardrums.
“Finish it.”
“Got it.”
The woman replied, nocking another arrow.
Pang, pababang!
Rapid fire, hands a blur.
Puk, puk.
No misses.
Every arrow struck true.
Its high defense and HP kept it alive, but already wounded and pierced, its movements slowed.
With the shield and sword men joining, it stood no chance.
Krrrng……
Finally, the tiger stilled.
Dark Tiger. A level 31 monster.
Three had taken it down.
Krrrng……
But the hunt wasn't over.
Another Dark Tiger appeared from somewhere.
Two this time. Yet the three users didn't panic.
They calmly assessed and judged coldly.
We can take them.
All three reached the same conclusion, nodding to each other.
Pabat.
The two men split left and right simultaneously.
The shield man taunted one Dark Tiger, drawing it in, while the other attacked with his sword.
The woman supported the swordsman, arrows flying ceaselessly.
Pang! Pababa pang!
Meanwhile, the shield man handled one alone.
“Hup!”
He endured with his shield as long as possible, using a skill when stamina waned.
It shoved the Dark Tiger back with the shield, recovering HP equal to the damage.
A skill not taught at the knight academy, but he'd luckily acquired the skillbook.
Thanks to it, he could hold.
“How much longer?”
“Just a bit!”
“Finish in 3 minutes!”
Skills restored HP, but limits existed.
He defended maximally with shield, shoving when gaps appeared.
Still, HP had dropped to 60%.
Still fine.
As he endured, HP fell to 20%.
Then.
Swipe.
A shadowy ally struck its back with sword.
Simultaneously, a flaming arrow grazed overhead.
Puk.
From the woman positioned behind.
“Hoo.”
Only then did the shield man exhale.
He used his held-back skill.
HP refilled.
As he held again, the Dark Tiger fell.
“Hoo, light it up.”
“Got it.”
The woman who said to light it: Luna.
The replying man: Ironwall.
The one-man-sword user: Minwoo.
Members of Korea's three great guilds, partying to hunt.
All level 27.
Yet they dispatched Dark Tigers easily—not just luck landing them in mega-guilds.
Anyway, Ironwall tore a parchment from his bag, spawning a white orb in his palm.
A light spell brightly illuminating around.
“What dropped?”
“One hide.”
“Tch. Illusion's great and all, but this sucks.”
“What?”
“Monsters don't drop items on death. Just useless materials.”
“You can craft items from materials, though.”
“Too annoying!”
The men flinched at Luna's sharp tone.
“If we keep whining……”
“What?!”
“N-no, nothing. Back to hunting?”
“No MP!”
Ironwall sighed deeply.
“Then rest 5 minutes.”
“Good, and kill the light.”
“OK.”
The light spell vanished.
Dark Tigers attacked easier in light—harder to exploit gaps.
Thus their method: sudden light on dark-accustomed foes to create openings.
Proactive hunting.
“Hey, when's the Slow Poison coming?”
“Dunno. Soon?”
Guilds supported talents, including the hot-issue Slow and Hallucination Poisons.
“Ours first, right?”
“Probably.”
“Good, then back to—”
“Shh.”
As Luna spoke.
Silent Minwoo signaled quiet.
All held breath.
Another Dark Tiger?
They rose cautiously.
Silent quietude.
Thud.
The sound grew. Then light burst from the left.
Heads snapped. Between tree trunks, not a Dark Tiger.
“A user……?”
Yes.
A lone man walked, light blazing.
“That idiot……”
Many users hunted Dark Tiger grounds, avoiding clashes via tacit rule: no lights.
Light on meant……
Krrrng……!
The forest rumbled like now.
Dark Tigers charged the light.
Swish.
Three encircled the stranger instantly.
Visibly perilous.
Luna spoke.
“Help? Or nah?”
Three was tough for them too.
Higher death chance.
Game death was content, sure.
But 24-hour login ban meant idle boredom.
Unimaginable to the uninitiated.
Sure, rest or meet friends IRL, but post-death wait felt eternally stalled.
“Hmm.”
Deliberation brief.
“Fall back fir—”
As Ironwall spoke.
“Huh? Skeletons?”
Gazes refocused.
“Necromancer, huh.”
Nine skeletons appeared.
Three per Dark Tiger, engaging.
Seeming fragile, yet holding attacks surprisingly well.
“Hoo.”
“Impressive.”
Then the still man moved.
Staff became bow, nocked arrow at one Dark Tiger.
No fluster at first miss.
Second hit.
His three skeletons also bows—bones pulled for arrows—from same line, relentless fire.
Frontline skeletons: one sword, one shield each. Defenses precise, attacks artful.
Each like trained soldier.
But Dark Tigers.
Perok.
One skeleton shattered.
Others too—one each broken.
But wounded, Tigers moved awkwardly.
Pang!
Another arrow lodged.
Kraaaargh!
It bellowed in pain.
Pure ferocity.
Grim spectacle.
Skeletons crumbled, Tigers battered.
Only central stranger and his archer skeletons intact.
No flashiness.
No flair.
No eye-catching innovation.
Yet riveting.
Raw combat realism, brutal intensity gripped wholly.
Thud.
All skeleton warriors shattered, the three Dark Tigers stilled.
The stranger approached the graying corpses.
Stopped close, drew dagger. Sat, dissected.
Necromancer skill: Corpse Dissection.
Finished?
Bagged materials, then froze.
Swipe.
Head turned.
Luna, Ironwall, Minwoo.
Eyes met, he abruptly stood.
Flich.
As they startled, he resumed forward casually.
Light still bright—then vanished.
With light.
“Huh? Gone?”
“Or doused the light?”
Instinctive curiosity?
They advanced to vanished light spot.