Vampire's Weakness
In that instant, the knight up front shoved the Giant Bee away with his shield.
"Hooah…."
Thanks to him, one of the aspirants avoided taking damage.
Hmm, looks dangerous.
Mu-hyuk had that thought, but he only loosed arrows sporadically, refraining from full intervention to the end.
"Hngh!"
"Urk, d-damage!"
"Block it!"
"Hold your positions!"
It wasn't bad at all.
Five held shields and focused on defense, while the other five watched for openings to swing their swords and chip away at its health.
But they were undeniably weak for their levels. Lack of experience meant they didn't know how to fight properly.
The aspirants themselves must have felt that bone-deep.
"Stop!"
Only then did Mu-hyuk step forward.
"Everyone, fall back!"
"Urgh…!"
But it wasn't a situation where they could retreat cleanly.
Tch.
Mu-hyuk summoned a skeleton to draw the Giant Bee's attention.
"Fall back!"
"Y-Yes!"
"A-Alright!"
"Hold position there."
The ten knight aspirants huddled behind their shields and obeyed.
Weeeeeng.
In the meantime, the Giant Bee closed in right up to Mu-hyuk.
Yet he showed no reaction.
As he stared at the Giant Bee circling him and took one step forward, it unleashed its stinger at tremendous speed.
A stinger far longer than a normal bee's stabbed right into Mu-hyuk's shoulder.
Your body is paralyzed.
One second, two seconds.
The moment the paralysis wore off, he yanked the stinger from his shoulder and hurled it at the Giant Bee buzzing right in front of him.
Its thick body made it an easy target, and just like Mu-hyuk, it froze—paralyzed.
Even its wingbeats halted.
Mu-hyuk was already upon it.
He drew a sword from his inventory for the first time in ages and swung with swift precision.
Slash.
He'd severed its wings.
The Giant Bee shook off the paralysis almost simultaneously, but without wings, it could no longer fly.
A bee that couldn't fly?
It was no longer a threat at all.
That was the key to taking down Giant Bees.
Return the stinger it used against you.
Simple enough, but hard to think of without knowing.
Getting paralyzed throws you into panic; you'd rush to pull it out and discard it.
No one thinks to hurl it back as an attack.
Mu-hyuk swung his sword to finish it off.
Experience gained.
After dissecting the corpse for materials, he slowly turned around.
*
No need for Slow Poison, Hallucination Venom, Weakness Paralysis, or Bleeding Tears.
Waste not to use 'em.
They all cost money, so he had to conserve.
No point wasting them in a fight he could win without.
Anyway….
Mu-hyuk turned fully and took in the apprentice knights.
Any changes?
Observing them, a faint smile crept onto his face, but he quickly schooled it back to sternness.
The aspirants' atmosphere and attitudes had clearly shifted from the start.
Now their faces look right.
Those who'd answered well and tried hard from the beginning would be even more disciplined now, while the half-hearted ones had finally grasped the situation.
"You all saw it, but that's how you take down Giant Bees. You'll get paralyzed by the stinger, but have your comrades cover you then. Once it wears off, yank the stinger out and hurl it back. Aim for the moment it paralyzes the bee and slice its wings. You know what to do after that, right?"
"Yes!"
Their response was crisp.
"Good. Before we move out, I'm assigning squads."
Mu-hyuk grouped them into Squad 1 of five and Squad 2 of the rest.
Having shown his strength and given orders, no one resisted.
"Let's go."
The previous fight had been so short, no rest was needed.
They pressed on.
Two Giant Bees appeared in the distance.
Far more threatening than one.
Even small bees made their legs shake, but these massive ones….
Even Mu-hyuk frowned slightly.
Hoo….
But he steeled himself, reminding himself it was just a game.
No real death, minimal pain from hits—but fear was fear, impossible to fully suppress.
Only endless monster hunts had numbed him enough to endure.
"Hup, hoo…."
The apprentices behind him had only trained, never hunted much.
Of course Giant Bees terrified them. Their trembling eyes said it all.
"Just follow my orders—easy prey if you focus."
"A-Alright!"
"Squad 1, forward. Squad 2, hold back."
Squad 1's five took position.
Squad 2 waited behind.
The Giant Bees closed in, circling the ten of them.
Weeeeeng.
But the aspirants held still.
"One step forward."
Only then did they move.
Step.
At that moment, the two Giant Bees raised their abdomens and fired stingers.
The two struck aspirants flinched, but the others immediately surrounded and shielded them.
The paralyzed pair recovered, yanked out their stingers, and hurled them at the ground for propulsion.
Whoosh.
They charged, closing the gap, and nailed the flying Giant Bees at close range.
"Now!"
The other eight rushed in and sliced the wings off the paralyzed, grounded bees.
After that, it was smooth.
The two Giant Bees could do nothing but writhe in death throes.
Experience gained. ×2
Mu-hyuk approached and performed corpse dissection.
Beginning corpse dissection.
Progress: 17%…
Corpse dissection complete.
Both yielded wings.
"Moving out immediately."
"Yes!"
No rest needed this time either.
The stinger caused paralysis but negligible damage.
Even the two stung aspirants walked fine.
Weeeeeng.
Soon another Giant Bee appeared.
This time, three.
*
After the three, a single one showed up.
Lucky.
Four or five would have been a hassle.
Three's manageable—just keep pushing.
About three and a half hours in, hunting for an hour then resting ten minutes….
"Squad leader!"
One aspirant called to Mu-hyuk.
He didn't respond, of course.
It wasn't a call seeking an answer.
"Rest up ahead."
They'd finally cleared the entire third floor, reaching the faint barrier blocking the path.
They headed there, and he used the aspirant's scroll to dispel it.
After ample rest, they ascended to the fourth floor.
Wonder what'll come.
Half excitement, half worry.
"Stay alert—no telling what'll appear."
"Yes."
Unsure where monsters lurked, the aspirants whispered their replies.
Mu-hyuk nodded and took point.
With only two Enhanced Skeletons summoned.
About five minutes in.
Grrr, grrr….
A beast-like growl echoed.
A figure creaking into view from afar.
Humanoid? Slow speed….
The moment he thought that.
Swoosh.
The slow approacher exploded into blinding speed.
Mu-hyuk was mildly startled by how it closed the gap instantly but calmly issued orders.
Defense mode.
Enhanced Bone 1 and 2 thrust out shields.
Boom!
The impact rang out powerfully.
Mu-hyuk could inspect it up close now.
Hmm….
Unfortunately, a monster whose name he didn't recall.
I remember seeing it, but….
No traits come to mind. Gotta figure it out now.
Its form came into clear view.
Humanoid monster, but stark differences: skin unnaturally red, fangs elongated like a beast's.
Grrraaah!
It roared, shoving Enhanced Bone 1 and 2 aside.
Mu-hyuk backpedaled, nocked an arrow, and loosed.
Pang!
The arrow buried in its head, sending it staggering back from the shock.
But it sprang up immediately and charged Mu-hyuk again.
Toward Enhanced Bone 1 and 2's position.
As they blocked it, Mu-hyuk shouted.
"Everyone, battle ready!"
"Yes!"
"Two per pair!"
The ten knights—five pairs—formed up, encircling the monster.
No escape.
"Attack!"
On Mu-hyuk's command, the knights closed in.
"Haaap!"
As the aspirants bellowed and struck, it shifted targets from Mu-hyuk to them.
Even under attack, it reached one aspirant and unleashed a barrage.
"Urk!"
That's when Mu-hyuk's brow furrowed.
The monster was biting into the aspirant's forearm.
---------!
Simultaneously, the wounds on its body healed rapidly.
He realized it then.
Vampire…!
His squadmate rushed in to attack, limiting the damage to a chunk of flesh torn from the forearm, but the bleeding was severe—continued fighting would be tough.
And it didn't end there. Thinking they'd wounded the Vampire, it bit another aspirant to refill its HP.
That looping battle made hunting impossible.
"Everyone, fall back!"
Mu-hyuk nocked an arrow.
Powerful Arrow Shot.
As the aspirants retreated behind him, the Vampire pursued.
Mu-hyuk faced it and released.
Pang!
The arrow slammed into its chest, shoving it back.
"Skeleton Warrior Summon. Archer Summon. Mage Summon."
He summoned the rest.
Bone Sword, all charge.
The Bone Swords collided with the charging Vampire.
Kiririk.
The Vampire bit a Bone Sword's bones, but being undead, no HP to drain.
Perfect counter.
A strategy only Necromancers could pull off.
He glanced back briefly.
The apprentice knights' faces were grim. Three comrades badly wounded—natural.
Guess I'll solo here.
Vampires were tricky to hunt.
Especially for NPCs like them.
He faced front again.
Bone Archer, rapid fire.
Enhanced Bone, defense mode.
Mage, magic attack.
Assorted strikes hammered the Vampire's body.
Kaboom!
Mu-hyuk nocked one more arrow.
That instant.
Gruk, grrruk….
The Vampire collapsed, strength spent.
Experience gained.
Mu-hyuk approached and dissected it.
He stood, then bought a bandage from the auction house system.
Turning to the aspirants, he said,
"That monster was a Vampire."
"…."
"Bad matchup for you all. So I'll handle them solo. Any objections?"
"None!"
"Good. Rest on this floor. We'll fight again on the fifth."
He approached the wounded aspirant and bandaged the arm.
HP potions were best, but insanely hard to get.
Scarce even in the auction house.
Temples were the only source, but with brutal requirements.
The time and gold investment was massive—players had given up on them.
MP potions were easier, but useless to Mu-hyuk now.
"Ah…."
The aspirant's eyes widened.
"Th-Thank you!"
"Be more careful."
"Yes!"
He bandaged the other two as well.
Slight HP recovery boost for faster healing.
Bonus affinity gain, but Mu-hyuk wasn't pleased.
Soloing Vampires meant even EXP split was a loss for him.
Couldn't afford that.
He opened the party settings.
He reached out and changed the distribution.