11. I’m Actually Grateful
＜Emergency Treatment＞
At the beginning, it was a skill that could be learned from the Hunter Jack.
A technique that could heal injuries even without divine power or magic.
Of course, it wasn’t a perfect treatment.
It was only meant to be used to hold on until proper treatment could be received.
‘But it’s quite versatile.’
Since it wasn’t a job-exclusive skill, it was an essential skill that anyone could learn.
Normally, only the Emergency Treatment skill could be learned from Hunter Jack.
However, the protagonist had met additional requirements.
‘Saving his life and subduing the descendant of the Edmer family that Jack served.’
Hunter Jack’s favorability had reached its maximum.
Normally, it would quickly move on to the next part, and since he was a difficult character, it would normally not be achievable.
However.
[Skill acquisition condition satisfied.]
[Additional acquisition condition achieved.]
[Additional rewards will be given.]
[A higher reward than the existing reward can be obtained.]
Yes, there were cases where the reward would change if the favorability was at its maximum, so I decided to take a gamble.
However…
[＜Crisis Detection＞ has been acquired.]
‘A Crisis Detection skill?’
A skill that I had never seen before had popped up.
Even the protagonist, who prided himself on being a veteran of the ‘Valentino Saga’, had never seen this skill before.
‘To think that Hunter Jack had this kind of skill hidden away.’
Many people had received skill training from Hunter Jack.
However, no one had ever been known to receive this skill.
Even the achievement was new.
The protagonist quickly checked his newly acquired ability.
＜Crisis Detection＞
＜Rank: Legendary＞
＜Description: Hunter Jack, from the remote mountains of the North, participated in numerous wars alongside the Knight King. The only reason he was able to survive until now was because of his special ability to sense crises.＞
＜Ability: Can detect attacks or threats that are life-threatening in advance.＞
Crazy…
It was a truly ridiculous skill.
Not only was the description long, but the content itself was unbelievable.
‘And what? Legendary rank?’
To think that it could detect the enemy’s intent or threat.
If I could know when and how the enemy would attack, it meant that I could deploy ＜Reflection＞ in advance.
＜Reflect＞ and ＜Counterattack＞ are a match made in heaven.
‘At the very least, I won’t have to die a meaningless death.’
It will also make up for the fact that I can’t use ＜Reflect＞ on attacks I don’t recognize.
Besides, there weren’t many people who had Legendary Skills, let alone Mythical Skills.
An ability that could be counted on one hand on the continent.
‘He’s giving me such a great ability just for helping him out.’
Jack really is a generous giver, after all.
In both the game and reality, Jack was the best.
‘This is crazy.’
The developers who hid this Skill Book must have been out of their minds.
Someone risked their neck on the execution block to get ＜Reflect＞.
Joo-in’s eyes turned to Hunter Jack.
“…….”
“hehehehe. Why do you look like that?”
“No. I’m just so grateful.”
“It was something I didn’t need.”
“Ah…… Right.”
I just gained the favor of one person.
And I got something like this.
‘I should take good care of the others too. There might be more Skills like this hidden away.’
In any case, the first Skill I got was Legendary-grade.
And it was ＜Reflect＞, with endless uses.
‘My luck is strangely good.’
The Unique-grade ＜Counterattack＞ and now the Legendary-grade ＜Danger Sense＞.
It seemed that I was lucky enough to clear this game.
‘Well, the last achievement quest I was doing was the highest difficulty.’
In other words, it meant that I was more likely to die if I made a mistake.
‘Since dying means the end, it’s like an extreme hard mode.’
However, the items Hunter Jack gave me weren’t just one or two.
‘He even gave me this.’
It was a starting item for the class he wanted.
With this, I could get that class.
Joo-in smiled.
* * *
Hunter Jack’s kindness wasn’t limited to Skills.
He approached Joo-in when the carriage was resting for a while.
“It’s my first time teaching this Skill, so I don’t know much, but you’ll need practice to use it properly.”
“What should I do?”
“While we’re resting, I’ll teach you myself.”
Aiden also readily agreed.
“For a short while, I suppose. It will take some time to reach the duchy anyway.”
“We should also stop by the town up ahead. We agreed to meet the escort there.”
The town was reached soon enough.
However, Aiden allowed the carriage to stop.
He was curious to see what Jude would learn.
Thanks to that, Jude was able to walk around the forest with Jack.
“Is this how you do it?”
“You’re doing well. It’s as if you’ve known how from the very beginning.”
“Really? Maybe it’s because I like the teacher?”
“That can’t be it. You seem as familiar with this as if you were born a hunter.”
Jude snickered as he threw away a poisonous mushroom.
Actually, it was natural for him.
The moment he saw the mushroom, he could tell right away whether it was poisonous or edible.
＜[Crisis Perception]＞ has been activated.
It was thanks to ＜Crisis Perception＞.
Thanks to the skill, he could instinctively tell which foods were not to be eaten.
Of course, it wasn’t without its drawbacks.
“This mushroom… is poisonous, Your Highness.”
“It seemed fine to me?”
“Of course, consuming a small amount won’t be life-threatening. It’s said to be good for the body because of its slightly nourishing properties. However, if you eat a large amount of it or combine it with certain ingredients, it becomes extremely toxic.”
＜Crisis Perception＞ only detects the user’s own crises.
If it doesn’t pose a threat to life or have a significant impact on the body, it doesn’t judge it as a crisis.
So, even though it was a poisonous mushroom, the skill didn’t activate.
Even so, it was definitely useful.
‘Is this the power of a legendary skill?’
The surprising thing was that he could use the skill more naturally than when he had played the game.
‘It seems to differentiate not only poisonous mushrooms but also other things.’
Of course, he didn’t rely solely on the ＜Crisis Perception＞ skill.
‘How long have I played the Balentino Saga?’
Even without the skill, he could reliably distinguish most poisonous mushrooms.
It was to the extent that Aiden, who was next to him, was amazed.
“Is it really that easy to tell the difference between poisonous mushrooms and poisonous herbs?”
“That can’t be. I’ve devoted my whole life to learning it. It seems like you just have a natural talent, Your Highness.”
“Huh…”
He was nonchalantly distinguishing poisonous mushrooms that he couldn’t tell apart no matter how much he looked.
No matter how he looked at it, Jude wasn’t an ordinary prisoner.
‘Could this be the power of [that]. In that case, is this guy really [that]?’
It wasn’t just poisonous mushrooms.
It was really amazing how he could find food ingredients in a forest where nothing could be seen.
It was even more so how he learned the skills of a skilled hunter in an instant.
However, that was only for a moment. Soon, it was time to leave the forest.
“My Lord. We should start moving soon. If we delay any longer, we may have to camp.”
“Is that so? Then let us go.”
The carriage sped up again.
The place they arrived at was a village at the crossroads leading to the Dukedom.
However, the promised soldiers were nowhere to be seen.
Aiden asked the knights with a puzzled expression.
“What happened? We were supposed to meet here, weren’t we?”
“That’s right. Do you think we might have crossed paths because we came too quickly?”
“That’s strange.”
It was a little unpleasant, but it wasn’t impossible.
“We did arrive a little earlier than the promised time.”
“Let’s wait here for today. We’ll send a separate messenger to the soldiers.”
“Alright.”
It wasn’t all bad.
The village chief, who recognized Aiden, came out anxiously. He seemed very friendly.
“Oh my, young master. How did you come to such a humble place…”
“It’s nothing. I’m just passing through, so act as you normally would.”
“How can I do that? You’re not just anyone; you’re from that family.”
The village chief hurriedly called the villagers together.
“This is the successor of the Duke of Aiden. Make sure to keep the noise down while he’s here.”
“Of course. We’ll keep it as quiet as possible.”
Joo-yeon looked at the villagers with curiosity.
“The successor of the Sword King has come!”
It was as if they were welcoming his visit.
They were welcoming a noble with open arms.
‘Normally, they’d be hiding when a group of nobles comes.’
Most nobles were nothing but trouble.
However, the Sword King was different.
He was a hero respected by all of the North.
‘It must be because the Sword King is such a great person.’
Aiden accepted the village chief’s hospitality as if it were natural.
“Then I’ll rest for a while and be on my way.”
“Yes! Please rest as long as you like.”
“Thank you, village chief. I won’t forget this.”
“I’m just grateful that you visited.”
The village chief smiled brightly.
The village chief’s house was small, and the knights were large, so Jack and Haken decided to stay in a different house for the time being.
That’s when Joo-yeon, Aiden, and the knights were having dinner.
“Hmm?”
Watching the soup, Joo-in tilted his head.
He thought that it was a warm soup prepared by the village chief and his wife, who clearly respected Aedirn.
Uung!
An ominous feeling was felt in his mind.
It was the feeling of the ＜Crisis Detection＞ skill.
＜[Crisis Detection＞ has been activated＞
Joo-in immediately realized what was targeting him.
From Noble mtl dot com
‘Poison.’
There was poison in the seemingly ordinary soup.
It wasn’t fatal enough to kill him.
However, it was a powerful sleeping agent that could knock out even strong knights.
It was quite dangerous depending on how it was used.
That’s why it was annoying.
‘A mere village chief put poison in the soup? And in the food of the grandson of the King of Knights and his guest?’
It seemed that he was trying to do something.
‘Well, it’s not hard to tell that there’s poison in it.’
Joo-in just stared at the food.
Soon, his eyes widened like a fox.
‘Is it possible? Can I reflect the poison in the food?’
It was a pure but malicious smile.