Yeti Harvest and the +7 Breakthrough

Mu-hyuk sat down and hammered Sung Min-woo's armor.

Clang, claaang!

It was +5 armor, so reaching +6 shouldn't be too hard.

"Huh?"

He thought so, but it failed.

"Sorry. Back to +4."

"It's fine, it's fine. You'll handle it anyway."

"Yeah, true."

Mu-hyuk started the enhancement again.

And +6 in a row.

"Got it to +6 for now."

"Whoa, yes!"

The problem was +7.

Focus. Focus.

As he activated the Enhancement skill, a red dot appeared.

Still so small.

Thanks to his high Enhancement skill, it was a bit larger than before, but hitting it precisely was still no easy task. It demanded intense concentration.

"Huuuup...!"

He drew in a deep breath, held it, and brought the hammer down.

Clang!

He nailed the red dot perfectly.

Once more.

Five successes in a row.

Good start.

Unfortunately, the sixth swing missed to the side.

He paused, catching his breath.

"Huu."

Then resumed.

Clang, claaang!

After a long session raising the enhancement bar, he hit 98%.

Please...!

Five failures so far.

A precarious spot.

One more miss, and it'd likely slip away.

So he had to hit it.

He slammed the hammer down with full force.

Clang!

Fortunately, it connected with the red dot.

Yes!

Now, just wait for the result.

Mu-hyuk shot up from his seat.

"It's done!"

"Whoa, no way...?"

"+7. Here."

"Holy crap, jackpot!"

"Hand over the gauntlets, helmet, and boots too."

"Okay, okay!"

He brought the rest—sans the chestplate—to +6 only.

This should be plenty.

He handed the items back to Sung Min-woo.

"Now hold your own this time."

"Obviously! If I run in this gear, call me a dog—a straight-up mutt!"

"Don't forget you said that."

Exchanging idle banter, he prepared to re-enter the hall alone.

"Heading in."

He stepped into the vast chamber.

Pillars surged up, along with five yetis.

Three melee skeletons took on three yetis. Mu-hyuk and Ye-rin handled one, while Sung Min-woo and Doran tackled the last.

Ranged skeletons like Armor Mages and Armor Archers focused fire on the yeti Mu-hyuk was facing.

Kaboom!

While handling his yeti, Mu-hyuk kept an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eye on Sung Min-woo.

Hope he's okay.

Sung Min-woo shouted triumphantly just then.

"I got this—it's working!"

"What is?"

"I can tank this yeti's attacks now!"

"Woof woof, no dog for you then!"

"Yeah, so hurry up and help!"

He'll hold for sure.

Focus.

He cut off the chatter and engaged his yeti.

Skills flew.

Kaboom!

Mu-hyuk swiftly felled his yeti and moved to assist Sung Min-woo.

"Whoa, you came!"

"Here."

"See? I tanked it!"

He thrust his sword past the boasting Sung Min-woo.

Shunk.

Mu-hyuk's blade sank into the yeti's flank.

Storm Blade.

Twisting it unleashed an explosion, ravaging the yeti from within.

One more down. He fell back.

"Haa."

The skeletons facing three yetis had taken heavy losses, leaving no time to rest. He joined them immediately, pushing the foes back.

Moments later.

They finally finished the last yeti.

Fwaaah.

Blue energy absorbed into the chests.

"Haa, way tougher than the great warriors."

"Their skills are a pain."

Ice Hold froze a narrow area, locking movement briefly.

Ice Space slowed a wide radius.

Both skills made fighting stressful.

But clearing them sparked natural anticipation.

He even hoped for yeti body parts from the chests.

Mana stones were easy to get, so with summoning hearts, he could drag yetis around. That meant two efficient skills locked in.

"Let's open one each."

"Sounds good!"

"Understood, my lord."

They positioned in front of the chests.

"Open 'em."

The chests opened, items vanishing into inventory.

Expectations paid off.

Yes!

All yeti body parts secured. He suppressed his cheers, but Sung Min-woo beside him suddenly whooped.

"Whoa, yeah!"

"What'd you get?"

"Jackpot again. Spirit enhancement item."

"Oh?"

"You?"

"Body parts."

"Body parts? Like the giant cyclops?"

"Exactly."

"Insane. Wait—that orc great warrior earlier was one too? Crazy. So two now? You're dragging around two of those beasts?"

"Two, yeah. But summoning hearts are hard to find."

"Summoning hearts?"

"Yep."

"Hmm? I think I've seen those in the private auction house occasionally..."

Mu-hyuk's expression shifted.

"Private auction house?"

"Yeah. Went browsing when I was bored, a few times."

"Saw them there?"

Sung Min-woo nodded.

"Thanks for the intel."

"No prob."

Resolved to hit the private auction after clearing, he glanced at Ye-rin.

"What'd you get?"

"Similar. Summon enhancement item."

"Squirrel one?"

"Yeah, awesome!"

"Good. Doran, you?"

"Gauntlets for me."

"Can I see?"

"Of course."

He checked the gauntlets' options.

Hmm.

+30 damage, accuracy boost.

Piercing too.

"Nice."

"Thank you!"

Everyone scored satisfying rewards.

Made ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠him want to savor the mood.

"It's already 11. Call it?"

"Yeah, maybe."

They decided to stop for the day.

No monsters spawned in this hidden spot, ensuring Doran's safety.

"See you tomorrow."

"Okay!"

"Tomorrow, oppa!"

Sung Min-woo and Ye-rin logged out, but Mu-hyuk stayed.

"Rest easy, don't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mind me."

"Yes, my lord."

A bit later.

"Summon. Revive."

He summoned skeletons, revived the five yetis with Revive, and sent them to the Demon Realm F11.

Were the yetis stronger than expected?

Following the red orc great warrior, another 100,000 exp.

And it didn't end there.

Another 100,000 exp.

Oh ho, twice?

He couldn't see what was unfolding in the Demon Realm, but he could imagine.

Still, it didn't fully sate his curiosity.

Damn, I wanna know.

But no way to find out yet.

Not yet.

Demon Realm F11.

After the lowest demons Kalancer and Escalun fell, the succubus aide to the northern demon king—fuming—dispatched three more lowest demons.

With three, they massacred skeletons without risk.

But today felt off.

"Keep seeing weird guys?"

"Looks like orcs—lowly race."

"Orcs? In the human realm?"

"Yeah."

"Why are they here?"

"Beats me."

Incomprehensible, but no big deal. Easy prey anyway.

Orcs weren't strong, as expected—within projections, even if punchier.

But these five summoned orcs were huge.

Still, the three demons grew lax, figuring orcs were orcs.

And that complacency twisted events.

"Urk, uwaaaak!"

One lowest demon perished.

"This psycho!"

"Pathetic—dying to trash like that."

"Drop the arrogance. Let's finish 'em."

"Pfft, easy."

One down snapped them alert.

They unleashed full power.

Kaboom!

Handled without issue.

"Hmm, situation's fishy."

"How so?"

The two lowest demons eyed each other.

"One died. What if stronger ones come next?"

"No way."

"Can't be sure. Request backup?"

"Backup for this crap?"

"Life over pride."

"Pride matters more to me."

They argued longer than expected.

Opinions clashed.

"Time's passed. I'll go alone."

"Can't allow that."

Tensions flared.

"Fine. Let this slide—but if the next batch is way stronger, we call backup. Deal?"

"We'll see."

As they wrapped up to rest.

Whoooosh.

Skeletons appeared.

Five yetis in tow.

Result: two lowest demons dead.

The next day.

Mu-hyuk logged in morning-side and checked Doran first.

"You good?"

"Yes, no monsters in this hidden space."

"Relief. Hungry?"

"A bit."

"Grab something."

Mu-hyuk whipped up simple food and shared with Doran.

"Delicious, my lord."

"Same."

Then, with bated breath, he inspected items one by one.

Fine, this too.

Others intact.

One left.

Baekma Army's Red Dagger.

Mixed worry and hope, he drew the waist dagger and checked options.

Relief washed over Mu-hyuk's face.

"Haa, at least that's intact."

Low-level foes: 100 kills for 1 stat.

Same level: 20 for 1.

Higher: 10 for 1.

Nerfed hard, but still valuable.

Not bad.

He stowed the dagger and opened the friends window.

To check the revamped system for convenience.

Chat function.

He messaged Black Guild master Hyeok-su.

Sent, closed friends list.

Alert soon after.

Ding.

Hyeok-su replied.

Chat made things convenient.

A breeze from the side then.

"Logged in already?"

Sung Min-woo.

"Yeah, couldn't help worrying."

"Right, update hit? Dagger okay?"

"As expected."

"Nerfed?"

"Yep."

"Lemme see?"

Mu-hyuk handed over the dagger.

Sung Min-woo checked options, letting out a faint groan.

"Nerfed, but..."

"Still usable?"

"Yeah. Better than I thought?"

Stab users repeatedly, and stats would climb—1, 10, more.

"Other updates?"

"Pretty good."

They skipped dagger talk, chatting other changes.

Ten minutes later, Ye-rin logged in. The four pressed on to clear the tower.