Chapter 32: Skill Tree 2
After observing the unremarkable guard HQ and delivering dessert, our party disbanded before dinner.
Grace seemed to be going shopping with her now heavier wallet, while Han Se-ah appeared to be wandering around the city to fill in the blanks on her minimap and to console her disappointed viewers.
I grabbed my equipment and dashed back to the tower to check out the skills Han Se-ah had chosen.
Running through the plains without having to match my pace to my party members, a refreshing breeze rustled my hair.
My speed was probably similar to a horse's when I ran without shattering the ground.
Crossing the plains, I broke through the 11th-floor forest, which Han Se-ah and Grace had not yet visited.
Plowing through the tangled branches, I followed the fragments of the lantern in a straight line.
Most of the monsters that appeared in the forest were beast-type, like the Helmeted Deer and Moss Wolf, making it difficult to practice my shield techniques.
Thus, my target was the Goblin and Kobold tribes that started appearing on the 11th floor.
Considering my stats, I should have fought stronger monsters above the 20th floor, but going up there is too much of a bother.
'Reflective damage, it's definitely powerful.'
The Moss Wolf, which used the moss on its fur to camouflage itself in the forest, and the Helmeted Deer, charging with its horns sharper and sturdier than an ordinary wooden spear, both met their end, rushing at me and falling to the reflective damage.
It was too much trouble to stop and pick up magic stones, so I just kept running to find the Goblin and Kobold tribes.
If I left them, some lucky adventurer would eventually pick them up.
Relying on my enhanced senses rather than any scouting skills, I wandered around the forest until I faintly heard the cackling sounds of Goblins.
They were more likely to use ranged attacks, which was perfect for my purposes.
Cackling and grumbling, the Goblins seemed to be exchanging opinions amongst themselves.
They were about 10 centimeters taller and had more supple skin than the ones I'd seen on the 10th floor, but they were still Goblins.
Behind them were huts made of branches, filled with Goblin dwellings.
"Hey, look at this!"
Ignoring the noisy Goblins, I kicked and destroyed several huts, then banged my shield with the handle of my warhammer, making a loud noise.
Furious at me for destroying their homes, the green creatures swarmed out.
Kyaak! Cackle, chuckle!
At least they weren't stupid, as they quickly surrounded me and prepared their ranged weapons.
As they cackled, rocks and poisonous darts flew at me from all directions.
My armor unscathed, I raised my shield against their attacks.
"How do I use this?"
Of course, the skill didn't activate right away.
I pushed magic into my shield, like I did when strengthening my body, but could only block the chaotic barrage of rocks and dartscounterattacking was another story.
I shouted the skill name aloud, just as Han Se-ah recited her magic spell.
Although we were in a forest filled with nothing but goblins, I spoke quietly.
If I kept shouting skill names, I might end up denying reality and start shouting things like "logout" or "stat window," just like my embarrassing past.
My shield, which had been with me for ten years, sparkled and emitted a brilliant light for the first time, perhaps due to my brief embarrassment.
At the same time, a stance instinctively popped into my head, as if the system was hammering it in.
I wondered if this was how Grace felt when she saw her inventory and naturally thought of magic.
Unconsciously, I lowered my stance against the goblins, extending my shield and adopting a complete defensive posture.
Kyaaak?!
The goblins scattered in all directions, fleeing in panic.
They left behind the remains of their collapsed huts, with tree fruits and other items gathered from the forest.
They didn't seem to care about their food or shelter as they fled.
I couldn't help it when the poison needles deflected by my shield targeted my face.
The attacks that struck the back of my armor didn't reflect, but the stones and poison needles that hit the front of my shield went back to their owners, cleanly taking their lives.
...Could it be that my passive skill is involved in counterattacks?
My passive skill, "Indomitable Knight," which reflects fixed damage, and "Shield Mastery," which reflects all attacks for about 10 seconds, seemed to have an unexpected synergy.
Although 10 seconds might seem short, for superhumans who use magic, it's an incredibly long time.
I became stronger without any effort while fighting goblins and horned wolves on the lower floors.
Joy surged within me.
However, my skill in wielding my warhammer was abysmal compared to my learned shield technique.
If I were to engage in friendly competition with adventurers on the 43rd floor, it would result in a 100% stalemate.
My opponents wouldn't be able to break through my defenses, but I wouldn't be able to land a single hit on them with my warhammer.
I just swung my warhammer from right to left, top to bottom, like chopping wood with an axe.
The force contained within was incredibly powerful but crude, and agile adventurers, especially those who enhanced their bodies with magic like me, could easily dodge it even with their eyes closed.
However, having mastered shield techniques changed the story a bit.
It provided a way to deal with annoying enemies who avoided being hit by my warhammer, especially flying monsters encountered during quests outside the tower or pesky foes like death knights who remembered their swordsmanship from their past lives.
'Han Se-ah is really lucky. She's not only good at games, but she also has good fortune when it comes to passive skill synergy.'
The damage taken by passive skills was halved, and my magically enhanced shield counterattacked.
My armor, which came with my 6 body, further reduced the damage, and my body, strengthened by magic, absorbed what remained.
This quadruple damage cushion was possible thanks to the more realistic virtual reality game, where taking damage wasn't guaranteed when using skills like in turn-based games.
At this level, I might be able to withstand even a giant's blow, not just deflect it.
"It's this way. I can hear suspicious noises."
"Looking at the chaos the goblins are in, there must be something going on."
I paused my near-massacre hunting session, where I comfortably pushed my shield into the monsters, dealing reflective damage.
"The tracks are large. It doesn't seem like a small creature."
The tense voice coming from beyond
A tense woman's voice came along with rustling sounds.
Her stealth ability seemed to be inferior to her tracking ability, as the sound of swallowing saliva and whispered conversations between them were audible.
They probably thought the chaos was due to the Full Moon Wolf, which had chased me and caused a strange phenomenon.
"Huh, Hmm?"
Of course, their misconception would only last a few seconds.
"Adventurer, right?"
"Yeah."
A man, holding his shield and visibly tense, emerged from the bushes, as if expecting a monster from a higher floor to cause havoc on the lower one like the Horned Wolf did.
Naturally, what greeted him was not a 20th-floor boss monster like an Orc Hunter, but me, clad in full heavy armor.
The unknown tank finally realized that the cause of the commotion was another adventurer, and his arm relaxed.
As his Kite Shield lowered, the rest of the party members, realizing they were not in a combat situation, approached cautiously.
The party consisted of a tank wielding a Kite Shield and a one-handed axe, a rogue who had silently descended from a tree, a mage who brushed away branches with her staff, and a woman in a pristine white nun's robes.
One man and three women made for an interesting combination.
"Um, did you also destroy the goblin settlement behind you?"
"Yeah."
The three women were taken aback by my words.
The male tank seemed to accept it naturally, but the women looked as if they were in a similar situation as my party.
The seasoned mid-floor adventurer tank was probably guiding the inexperienced trio.
The forest boss that appears on the 20th floor, no... If something like the full moon wolf is the real boss, then what appears on the 20th floor would be more like a named mob.
It was slightly stronger but appeared in numbers.
In any case, the Orc Hunter that should have been on the 20th floor was closer to a silent assassin.
It utilized ambushes in the forest with Moss Wolf hides, powerful arrows propelled by orcish strength, and various traps befitting its name as a hunter.
"I told you. An Orc Hunter would never leave traces like these."
"Alright, we get it, sir."
Leaving me standing there dumbfounded, they resumed their whispered conversation among themselves.
The middle-aged tank had a stoic expression but tended to nag like an innkeeper when he spoke.
The rogue and mage shrugged their shoulders in annoyance, but one of them had a different reaction.
A woman in a spotless white nun's robe that seemed to be unaffected by the forest.
Instead of an explorer-like outfit, she wore a religious robe that didn't reveal her figure.
Her hood was properly worn, not showing a single strand of hair.
Everything that needed to be covered was covered, but her exposed face was striking.
It might be a prejudice, but her face alone looked like she could be at least 4.
***
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