Chapter 56
As expected, seizing battles rather than defending seems to suit me better.
“I feel at ease not having to worry about anything. Isn’t it great?”
Having handed over all the masak and chips to Yeonhae, I had nothing to lose.
In contrast, the examinees who possessed the masak and chips had to be on guard.
The difference…
“Roar. There’s a lion cub here.”
“Cough!”
“Ugh….”
I overwhelmed the situation.
Even if the examinees gathered to launch a joint attack to hunt down the leader Ghost Rabbit, I was not their match.
Already, six had fallen.
The rest couldn’t become my opponents.
Swish!
Crash!
At that moment, my instinct to evade kicked in.
Following my instinctual call, I turned my body and struck the flying dagger.
Then, I pounded the ground.
＜Attack Form of the Water King Style: Type 5＞
Lion’s Fierce Strike
A charging assault in a straight line.
Approaching the one who threw the dagger in one breath, I raised my sword.
Crash!
A wall of thunder surged upward.
My sword shattered the opponent’s weapon, and the wall of thunder slashed diagonally, knocking the opponent unconscious with a controlled strike to avoid killing.
Crash!
I turned with my heel.
There were other examinees around.
It was time to bring down all remaining foes with Lion’s Fierce Strike.
In a 6-hit combo…
“Thank you. I’ll take good care of it.”
The exam takers were all knocked down.
Confirming that there were no enemies around, I put the military police sword back into its sheath.
Meanwhile, Goeunbi was rummaging through the belongings of the fallen exam takers.
“Eunbi, how’s it going? Any loot?”
“Ta-da! I got 4 chips and some marbles!”
Goeunbi showed me the loot.
It was quite a decent haul.
“Good job. Let’s keep the chips for now and show the marbles to the heavens.”
“But we don’t have many packages to wrap the marbles in, what should we do?”
“Do we need to worry about packages?”
“Huh?”
“We have plenty right here.”
I pointed to the fallen exam takers to help Goeunbi understand.
But she didn’t seem to get it.
She tilted her head.
“We just need to strip them of their clothes. Wrap the marbles in the clothes and send them off.”
“Oh… Did I hear wrong? Gyungu, what did you say?”
“I said we should strip them of their clothes.”
“So, I didn’t hear wrong… Gyungu, how about we find another way?”
“Do we need to find another way? There are plenty of clothes spread out here.”
“…”
“I understand your feelings, Eunbi. I wouldn’t have even dreamt of such thoughts a few years ago.”
“What happened a few years ago that made you change like this?”
“It was all to survive. Bittersweet.”
“Weren’t you from a noble family of the Divine Sword Guild? Was your family so ruined that you had to steal others’ clothes to wear?”
“What are you talking about? Our family is doing well.”
“Oh, right… I was just talking nonsense, I’m so flustered right now. Please continue.”
“What I realized a few years ago was…”
“Yeah?”
“To survive in the law of the jungle, you have to devour before being devoured. Especially in the world of hunters, it’s even more so.”
“And?”
“If those guys were in our shoes, they might have tried to strip you and me of our clothes, right?”
“Hey, Gyungu?”
“What?”
“Isn’t your persecution complex a bit strong?”
“People who tried to steal someone else’s marbles couldn’t even steal our clothes?”
“By saying that, it’s not entirely unreasonable…”
“And these guys lost to me.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“If they lost, they should all have been taken from me.”
“Hey, aren’t you here to become a villain, not a hunter? Maybe you’ve come to the wrong academy?”
“In the animal world, the winner always takes everything from the loser.”
“We are not animals, we are humans. We have reason, we live by the laws of society as humans. We are not animals…”
“So, you can’t afford to lose even once. It’s all over once you lose.”
“Wow, you sound convincing, but it’s all nonsense.”
“Grr.”
“Are you trying to roar like a lion now?”
Go Eun-bi was dumbfounded.
I shrugged at her helplessness and approached the students.
“Really going to strip?”
“Have you not heard such talk before?”
“What other nonsense are you going to say?”
“People leave their names behind after death…”
“Do tigers leave their skin?”
“No.”
“Then?”
“Monsters leave mana stones.”
“Anyway, they’re humans…”
“Those trying to harm me are either beasts or monsters.”
“…Am I human?”
“For now.”
“Gyun-woo, don’t scare me… Why am I ‘for now’?”
“After a hunting dog catches a rabbit…”
“So you were planning to abandon me… Argh, that’s cruel. I’m not a dog.”
“But you do look like a Welsh Corgi.”
“Huh? Is that a compliment?”
“It’s all in how you take it.”
“Are you saying I have short legs? I’ll have a word with the heavens.”
“Let’s stop fooling around. Help me undress quickly.”
“Ah, I don’t know! Fine!”
Still, I had a conscience.
We only stripped the upper garments of the students, packed the mana stones and chips, and decided to send them off as a bundle.
There was no time to strip them completely.
Only a few nearby were undressed.
“Do you know where Yeon-hui is?”
“I just checked.”
“Then send it to Yeon-hui.”
“Okay!”
Go Eun-bi shot the arrow up.
Somewhere around here, the recipient Yeon-hui would receive it well.
Before long, we decided to find the chief ghost rabbit.
Finding them was not difficult.
Kwaaah!
“There.”
Whenever the chief ghost rabbits appeared, they roared loudly.
So, if you listened carefully, you could sense their presence.
I decided to move around to find the one who had just appeared nearby.
Surely the examinees who heard the sound would be heading towards it.
It was a race against time.
So, to hasten my steps…
“Eek! What, what are you doing!?”
“Stay still. You might fall.”
I swiftly lifted Goeunbi and wrapped her around my shoulders.
She, who suddenly found herself hanging on my shoulders, flailed her arms and legs.
“Do you have to go this far!?”
“If I worry about you, we’ll be late. It might be uncomfortable, but endure it a bit.”
“I’d rather not…”
“Swinging a sword is uncomfortable.”
“I’ll be heavy…”
“I can run even with the sky on my back, so don’t worry.”
“If you put it that way, it sounds like the sky is heavier than me… And Inuyasha? Carry and run.”
“What are you saying.”
“Kyungu, sit!”
“There’s no time to fool around. I’m running.”
I manifest my mana.
With a leap, I rush towards the direction where the chief ghost rabbit roared.
Not long after, I saw it.
Kwaaah!
“Gack!”
It was fighting the examinees.
I gently set Goeunbi, who had been clinging to my shoulders, on the ground.
“I feel like throwing up…”
“Don’t be dramatic. I’ll go ahead and deal with it, so Goeunbi, you follow slowly.”
“Okay….”
Goeunbi staggered.
But I didn’t think she would be exhausted from this.
The status window was telling me so.
[Personal Information]
Name: Go Eun-bi (Female, 17 years old)
Alias: Self-proclaimed “Assa”
Affiliation: Doan Middle School
[Gift Possession]
(Unlocking Condition: Magic Power 60 or above)
[Physical Abilities]
Endurance: 47
Strength: 45
Resilience: 36
Agility: 43
Magic Power: 38
Luck: 44
Remaining Points: 0
Though not comparable to Nana Yeonhae’s, it was not a bad set of stats.
There’s no way I’d run out of strength at this level.
I entrusted Go Eun-bi with the rear guard and charged straight into the battlefield.
“Who are you, miss?”
“We’ll be dealing with you, so scram!”
“Don’t steal!”
The examinees who were already engaged in a fight with the boss Ghost Rabbit grumbled irritably.
I ignored them.
“What ‘steal’?”
The one who strikes first holds the upper hand.
Feeling the threat in the guy’s fists, I swiftly bypassed the examinees who hesitated to approach rashly.
I rush straight towards him.
[Encountered a monster.]
[Leader Ghost Rabbit (Rank. 02, Field Boss) x 1]
[Ghost Rabbit (Rank. 01) x 6]
[Blue Ghost Rabbit (Rank. 01) x 2]
[….]
He also noticed me.
His face contorted grotesquely as he howled to kill my spirit.
Kwaaah!
Something that can be called a presence.
His pressure touched my nerves.
But it didn’t affect me.
[Exposed to pressure.]
[All stats decrease by 3%.]
[Skill ‘Resilience Lv 5’ activated.]
[Preserves decreased stats by pressure up to 13%.]
[Decreased stats are restored.]
[Through skill ‘Resilience Lv 5’, concentration and evasion rate increase by 13%.]
The effect of the resilience skill was applied.
I could confront him without my stats decreasing.
And it’s not just about resilience.
[Title ‘Boss Baby’ activated.]
[When engaging in combat with a boss monster, the probability of becoming the top priority target increases significantly.]
[When engaging in combat with a boss monster, all physical abilities increase by 10% of the original values.]
A specialization, Boss Baby, tailored for facing boss monsters.
Having changed the title in advance to hunt the Leader Ghost Rabbit, I could clearly see its effects.
Physical abilities are increasing.
[Physical Abilities]
Endurance: 65(62+3) → 71.2(68.2+3)
Strength: 59 → 64.9
Stamina: 55 → 60.5
Agility: 71(68+3) → 77.8(74.8+3)
Magic Power: 48 → 52.8
Luck: 32 → 35.2
Remaining Points: 1 [+Detailed List]
The whole numbers of Endurance, Strength, Stamina, and Magic Power have each increased by one.
It’s not just a change in the decimal, but holds a special meaning.
There’s a significant barrier between 59 and 60.
Even if it’s temporary, I have overcome that barrier.
“Moreover, my Endurance is now over 70.”
Strength overflows.
Fatigue dissipates.
Breathing lengthens.
I can store strength in my muscles for longer than before.
Kwaaah!
At that moment, his fist came flying.
Fast.
But that’s all.
It’s not so fast that my eyes can’t follow, nor is it too fast for me to react.
My eyes never miss the path of the incoming fist.
Moreover…
Crackle!
Instinctive evasion kicked in.
A weak current coursed through my body.
It didn’t seem threatening.
Nevertheless, I activated it just in case.
Even without relying on instinct, I could dodge his attack.
And so, I delved deep into his embrace.
＜Attack Style #4 of the Water King School＞
Lion Roar
I thrust the military blue sword into the sternum between the man’s massive pectoral muscles.
In the process of piercing, the attack, with added rotational force, swiftly pierced through the man who was desperately trying to protect himself.
Phoosh!
A single strike.
With just one blow, the man met his end.
From the wound made by the military blue sword, I extracted a marble.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Why? Even my stuff is being taken?”
“….”
The chieftain Ghost Rabbit vanished.
Turning away from the man, I blankly asked the examinees standing behind me.
They nodded their heads slightly.
It seemed they had no intention to fight me.
If that was the case, there was no need to fight.
I tossed the marble to Goeunbi.
“Goeunbi, please take care of this.”
“Got it! Heavens! Please accept this too! It’s my heart!”
Goeunbi shot an arrow.
The marble of the chieftain Ghost Rabbit swiftly moved away from its place.
“Why do you keep offering your heart?”
“I want to be close to the heavens!”
“Why?”
“The heavens are beautiful, aren’t they?”
“Hmm… I’ll give you that.”
“Really?”
“True, but now let’s move.”
“Huh? Already? Just a bit of rest….”
“If you linger, others might snatch it. Come here quickly.”
“Again… are you going to carry me?”
“Yes, I’ll carry you around.”
“To think you’d consider carrying me like a pack mule, you’re tougher than you look, contrary to appearances.”
Just like a little while ago, I slung Goeunbi over my shoulder.
Then, I roamed the forest in search of the chieftain Ghost Rabbit.
Not long after….
Boom!
“Ah! It’s a signal. It’s the signal flare I gave to the heavens. No doubt about it.”
In the distance, blue smoke billowed up.
It was a signal the three of us had agreed upon in advance.
Having collected enough stones, Marsuk and Chip signaled it was time to head back.
“We’re finally done. Ah, my shoulders are stiff.”
“Don’t tell me… I’m heavy?”
“You would know best.”
“Hey! Erase that memory and throw a punch!”
Goeunbi lightly tapped me with a punch lacking force.
I quietly took the hit.
Anyway, that’s how we gathered Chip.