Chapter 34
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: White Shadow's Wetland (2)
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Sin Ju-yeon couldn't take her eyes off Seong-han for even a moment.
Out of worry? No.
It was because she was shocked by Seong-han's movements as he processed the monsters like he was possessed, right after their brief break.
'Did he... practice spear techniques on his own?'
Even if he had practiced, it didn't add up. It had been barely three weeks since the dungeon party practice.
No genius with any heavenly talent could reach mastery in just three weeks.
'Thrust, pull back, then to the left.'
Sin Ju-yeon simulated how she would move in that spot. Astonishingly, Seong-han moved almost exactly as she envisioned, perfectly.
'Charge in while parrying, then a diagonal slash.'
There were times when his breathing or power distribution was slightly off, but he covered it with nimble movements. Every strike that landed shattered a Lizardman's arm or leg without fail.
'...Even combining strength and agility, it should only be around 100 at best.'
Yet that power was impossible for those stats, no matter how many times she saw it.
His raw strength was definitely below hers, but he compensated for the shortfall with acceleration from agility. His effective attack power was just a hair below hers.
And crucially, even after prolonged exposure to the mist, he showed no signs of fatigue.
By now, his stamina, strength, and agility should have dropped somewhat. Sure, his intelligence stat was decently high, giving him some resistance, but...
'Back then, his intelligence was lower than mine.'
Even if he'd leveled up quite a bit during party practice, he'd be around level 10 to 15 at most. Even if he'd dumped every point into intelligence, it didn't match his current attack power.
"Whew."
He'd taken down seven Lizardmen single-handedly, yet he didn't look tired at all. Seong-han just wiped the sweat from his forehead roughly and caught his breath while standing tall.
"Let's go. There's a path over there."
"Huh? Oh."
Sin Ju-yeon followed behind Seong-han like she was entranced. She'd been so fixated on the previous fight that she'd even forgotten to ask if he was hurt.
"The mid-boss is supposed to spawn near the river, right? By the time we finish and cross, it'll be dark."
"We'll probably have to find a campsite right after crossing."
"No time to rest, huh."
Despite his grumbling tone, Seong-han's expression was quite bright. Probably because the consecutive battles had him in a nice excited state.
"Lizardman Warriors aren't even comparable to regular Lizardmen. They're not just strong C-ranks; treat them as slightly lacking B-ranks."
"Are all named mobs like that?"
"It varies by traits, but most melee combat types are similar. Things change if it's a one-deal or mage type."
"None like that here, right?"
"Yeah. If there were, I wouldn't have recommended this place to you. One-deals are one thing, but mage monsters are tough without a tank or mage."
"Even assuming you'd clear it?"
"Success rate? Maybe 70-80%. It's a C-rank dungeon, after all."
That wasn't overly reckless, but the mere possibility of failure was the issue. That was why solo clearers avoided dungeons at their own rank.
Sin Ju-yeon glanced at Seong-han's face as she replied, but he just nodded without any particular reaction.
'Is he fearless... or just thoughtless?'
Probably the former, but as a newbie himself, it might not resonate with him.
'If a Warrior shows up, I might have to step in.'
Either way, this mentoring prioritized giving the newbie experience over clearing the dungeon. Better to safely team up than risk a one-on-one.
"...What the hell are you?"
And that line of thinking shattered in less than an hour.
"Whoa, this guy's a real beast."
I leaned on my spear in front of the pathetically sprawled monster corpse, catching my ragged breath.
About 20 minutes after taking down that Lizardman pack? We'd finally spotted the river, only for a massive lizard to burst out from it.
Lizardman Warrior. The mid-boss of this dungeon. It was about 1.3 times bigger than a regular Lizardman and wielded a huge falchion instead of a shortsword.
'They said it's roughly B-rank... time to go all-out once.'
With stats bloated from copying Jeong Se-hee and Sin Ju-yeon's status windows, plus temporarily copying my own for perfect full buffs.
Then activating High-Speed Calculation and Crystal Clarity, chugging a semen potion for Marking success. Using Golden Eye while leveraging Lance Mastery, I went for the win.
The result was, naturally, my victory.
In full-buff state, I had Strength 196, Agility 207, Intelligence 293—total nearly 700.
A-rank threshold is 550 combined Strength-Agility-Intelligence, so I was way over. No way I could've lost.
After 15 minutes of intense back-and-forth, I decided that was enough and shattered one leg and one arm with two Assault Charges.
Plus, something I discovered this fight: Intelligence is surprisingly useful in close combat.
Specifically, High-Speed Calculation and Crystal Clarity got massive boosts to focus and judgment from Intelligence corrections, and skyrocketing magic resistance let me ignore the mist debuff entirely.
Crucially, Sin Ju-yeon's Lance Mastery gets extra proficiency scaling with higher Intelligence. Seems to apply commonly to passive skills.
'So that's why dealers pump Intelligence.'
I thought raising it for magic resistance was pointless when items exist, and spell MP reduction was similar—but there's reasons.
Makes sense; both Sin Ju-yeon and Im Yu-ha invested more in Intelligence than expected. Mine's excessive thanks to initial growth and Jeong Se-hee's status.
'What would've happened without Im Yu-ha's training.'
I'd probably just be a moron with bloated stats.
High Strength and Agility mean nothing without knowing how to use them. I silently thanked Im Yu-ha, who'd beaten me half to death for it.
"...You okay?"
"Fine. Got a bit sliced on the shoulder and calf, but just scratches. A potion or two and some rest should fix it."
If I'd properly learned spear arts, maybe, but improvised Lance Mastery mixed with martial arts reflexes had limits.
Still, constant Scans post-Marking to read moves, Golden Eye targeting weak points—I held the advantage overall.
This lizard was smart enough to dodge vitals when I aimed there.
'If it were a total dumbass, it'd be mutual destruction.'
E-ranks soloing awkward D-ranks must suck most. No wonder they call it the dead zone.
"Gotta cross the river."
"No rest?"
"Nah, a few sips of drink and I'm good. Fresh as can be."
Sin Ju-yeon gave me a slightly puzzled look, but facts are facts.
Even after dropping my status copy, bloated stats plus item corrections gave me 1,350 Stamina. Over 100 more than her.
"Hungry. Let's cross quick and eat."
"Sounds good. No point dragging it out here. Sun's setting soon."
Normally you'd raft logs or rope up and swim, but I'd packed a two-man boat in inventory.
Cheap leisure gear. Full set around 600,000 won?
"You brought that with Storage?"
"It's barely a few drink bottles' worth. Can sell it used after the clear."
Rowing together, we crossed in no time. About 15 minutes?
By the time we stowed the boat and found a campsite, it was already dark.
I dug a pit, lined it with stones, piled dry firewood high. Fire first, right?
"Came prepared, huh?"
"Basics. Proper supporter mindset, yeah?"
"Impressive."
Yu-ra Noona's advice and my studying paid off. Sin Ju-yeon smiled genuinely, pleased.
After pitching tents and pulling out meal kits for dinner, things got leisurely.
Lizardmen are cold-blooded with poor night vision, so inactive after dark. Like snakes—diurnal or nocturnal by type.
"Never thought I'd do my first camping in a dungeon."
Staring at the campfire, I muttered. Sin Ju-yeon tilted her head.
"Never?"
"Nope. First camp, first time chilling like this with a same-age peer at night."
"...At night?"
Her puzzled reaction got a shrug from me.
"Never hung out with friends in the evening."
"Huh...?"
Her face grew weirder. That odd to have no friends?
"Why so shocked?"
"No, I mean, uh..."
Her usual calm vanished; she stammered, eyes rolling in panic.
"That's why I'm glad I awakened."
I kept talking, ignoring her.
The peaceful vibe didn't fit the dungeon, but the crackling fire softened my heart.
Plus, sitting with same-age Sin Ju-yeon helped.
Yu-ra Noona's comfy, but "friend" hits different. She'd approached me casually from our first meeting too.
"If I were ordinary, no experiences like this. Wouldn't have met someone as nice as you."
"Nice...?"
"Too much? Good friend, then?"
"...What'd you do before awakening?"
"Part-time jobs, solo at home. Same routine daily."
"Your... family?"
Probably meant innocently, but wrong guy to ask.
I'm used to it now—no real hurt. Felt like teasing instead.
"Don't have any."
"Eh?"
Sin Ju-yeon's freshly calmed face twisted right back up.