Chapter 103: Skill Upgrade (1)
At that moment.
Buzz. Buzz.
The sound of a smartphone vibrating emanated from the dead fixer’s clothes.
Kang-hoo carefully untied the knot of the tree that had been binding Yun Sang-mi.
Since she was still unconscious, he gently laid her on a nearby flat rock.
It was chilly, so he thoughtfully covered her with his coat.
Next, he examined the smartphone he had retrieved from the fixer’s clothes.
The caller’s name was saved as Shin Jun-ho. To anyone, it would seem to be the name of the leader of Ebony Bone.
In the past, it had been the same with Cha So-hee; calls from higher-ups always seemed to come around this time. It was almost magical.
As soon as Kang-hoo answered the call, the impatient Shin Jun-ho immediately inquired.
“Did you take care of it?”
“Yes, the mercenary you sent.”
“What…?”
“The fixer is dead.”
“Who are you?”
“Never mind. If you have business with me, come find me yourself. Whether you can or not, I don’t know.”
“Hey, you, you bastard…!”
Kang-hoo taunted Shin Jun-ho unilaterally, then hung up and crushed the smartphone under his foot.
He was annoyed by the possibility of the phone vibrating again. Anyway, his business was concluded.
“Yun Sang-mi.”
Kang-hoo gently shook Yun Sang-mi, hoping for a response, but she remained motionless.
His healing skill was strictly for his own use, so he couldn’t apply it to her.
For now, all he could do was hope that time would pass and she would awaken.
Given her condition, he wasn’t overly concerned since it was clear the fixer had only put her to sleep.
The unexpected free time.
Kang-hoo reflected on his fight with the fixer, realizing once again the challenges of facing a black mage.
In group battles, encountering black mages is rare since they are positioned at the very back.
However, facing one in a one-on-one situation proved how troublesome the profession could be.
Their means of attack and defense were unlike typical skills.
With skills that burn, melt, and distort, a single mistake could lead to instant death.
Instant death skills, which are rare in other professions, are quite common among black mages.
The oxidation skill he had returned to the fixer was no exception.
If vital areas like the heart or head were included in the oxidation’s range, instant death was certainly possible.
‘The thought of facing Jang Si-hwan later is even more terrifying.’
Jang Si-hwan is the epitome of a black mage. Of course, his abilities as a black mage are only part of his power.
He’s a guy who’s received the protagonist buff to its fullest, making the mere thought of fighting him headache-inducing.
The life of becoming a true protagonist, surpassing the protagonist, is certainly not going to be easy.
Yun Sang-mi woke up about 10 minutes later.
As Kang-hoo had expected, there was no particular problem with her body or mind.
The only complaint was a bit of stiffness, likely due to being tied to a tree while unconscious.
“Oppa, what happened? I don’t remember anything. It all happened so suddenly…”
“It’s nothing. The situation you’re worried about didn’t happen.”
“To say it’s nothing, isn’t the condition of the dead body in front of us too severe?”
Yun Sang-mi frowned as she looked at the face of the dead fixer with a smile.
The ugliness was such that one might wonder how a person could end up looking like that.
Compared to Kang-hoo, it was as if not even worthy of being called a squid, perhaps not even a squid’s leg.
“It seems they were targeting us, though I’m not sure why.”
He dodged the question with a suitable lie.
There was no point in mentioning the liberation area or Ebony Bone since it wouldn’t help the situation.
Moreover, with the fixer dead, Shin Jun-ho couldn’t obtain information about him.
The fixer had been able to track him down without even knowing his face by following the traces of mana.
But Shin Jun-ho didn’t have such abilities. It was more likely that he would change his target to Min Su-hyun.
After all, she was at least publicly recognizable, which made it easier to track her down based on the information available.
When Kang-hoo explained the situation calmly, Yun Sang-mi didn’t press for more details.
However, she seemed to be wounded in pride by the fact that she had been caught off guard and knocked unconscious.
Being caught off guard is just like that.
If you’re not vigilant, even hunters of much lower levels can catch you by surprise.
Especially since the fixer was over level 300, higher than Yun Sang-mi, so it wasn’t something she should feel ashamed of.
Of course, compared to Kang-hoo, who never lets his guard down, there were some lapses in her vigilance.
After hearing the story, Yun Sang-mi’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
She felt indebted to Kang-hoo for saving her life due to her own carelessness.
“Thank you, oppa. I was too careless. I almost put you in danger too.”
“If it’s a happy ending, that’s all that matters. No need to dwell on the past. Besides, we’re richer now.”
Kang-hoo showed her the items he had taken from the fixer.
As expected of a magician, the items were focused on the magic stat, so they weren’t particularly useful to Kang-hoo.
However, they were valuable items, and selling them all could easily net at least 30 billion won.
Such is the world of hunters.
As one advances to higher levels, the concept of how much money is lost when a hunter dies also escalates.
At least, since it was a fixer, it’s worth this much, but if a named character like Jang Si-hwan died, the loss would be in the trillions.
The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer; this exists in the world of hunters, where polarization is even more severe than among ordinary people.
“The Public Safety Bureau said they sent a patrol officer right away. Let’s wrap this up and head back, oppa.”
“How’s your condition?”
“I’m fine since I had a good rest. The dungeon isn’t big, so let’s go in and out quickly.”
Kang-hoo nodded.
Reaching level 100 was a certainty, so his thoughts had already moved beyond that point.
When he first came to this world, reaching level 100 seemed like a distant dream.
For a hunter, attaining level 100 is seen as the second major milestone, and now it was almost within reach.
The strategy unfolded swiftly.
The difficulty level was manageable, and the dungeon was compact, making it not too challenging.
However, since they were a duo, the experience gained was significantly more.
This allowed them to prepare for the boss monster, just shy of reaching level 100.
To be precise, about level 99.9? Defeating the boss would exactly elevate them to level 100.
A one-hour break, requested by Yun Sang-mi, gave them a chance to sit on the cold, hard ground and share the sandwiches they had packed.
Despite being cold and as hard as rocks, the sandwiches tasted incredibly sweet after the fight.
“Sun-kyu oppa.”
“Yeah.”
“I didn’t expect us to conquer this so quickly. You must possess a lot of bleeding maintenance skills, right?”
“It’s not that I have many bleeding skills, but more that my skill set excels at maintaining bleeding.”
“There were quite a few monsters with high regeneration and recovery abilities, but you made that section seem effortless.”
“That’s the benefit of bleeding.”
“You seem to have everything but bleeding. Honestly, isn’t it a bit like cheating to also have bleeding? Tsk.”
Yun Sang-mi playfully pouted.
Bleeding isn’t just caused by a sword’s cut; it’s an attack option.
That means attacks without bleeding allow the opponent to quickly stop the bleeding and recover.
But with bleeding…
The effectiveness of skills related to hemostasis, recovery, and regeneration drops drastically, making it almost negligible.
What would normally restore 100 health points now only restores 50, 40, or even less, despite using the same skill.
In dungeons above level 400,
You’d encounter monsters with such high regeneration abilities that calling them “bizarre” would be an understatement.
They constantly heal and regenerate wounds, making it crucial to disrupt this process.
Hence, as one progresses into the world of higher-level hunters, finding a “bleeding dealer” becomes extremely difficult.
This is because the bleeding effect can only be obtained from specific skills or items.
Due to its rarity, naturally, many seek it.
Yet, despite not being at a high level, Kang-hoo is in a situation where he can maintain bleeding almost constantly.
From Yun Sang-mi’s perspective, it was baffling. The bleeding never stopped during their strategy.
Kang-hoo responded,
“I do consider it a part that significantly increases my value. I’m well aware of its rarity.”
“That’s what I mean. I wonder if you’ll stop hanging out with me later. There might be too many people calling for you?”
“If you find a good dungeon, I’ll hang out with you. Isn’t that a good enough promise?”
“Hmph, you sound like a slave to capitalism.”
“Ugh.”
Yun Sang-mi jabbed Kang-hoo in the ribs with all her might.
Even Kang-hoo, who seemed like he wouldn’t shed a tear even if stabbed, appeared to have a weak spot in his ribs.
Finding amusement, Yun Sang-mi poked Kang-hoo’s ribs several times until he couldn’t help but laugh.
Though trivial, experiencing such positive emotions and expressions, even occasionally, was precious to Kang-hoo.
Perhaps he was wary of becoming completely numb to emotions.
Alone, it might not be noticeable.
But when interacting and being with someone, the dull and dampened emotions felt stimulated.
Kang-hoo considered this a vital spark that allowed him to exist as a ‘human.’
Without such emotions, he would be no different from the fixer who died earlier.
A being that is human but not quite human. Therefore, a being destined to be eternally lonely.
With the defeat of the boss monster, the long-anticipated goal was finally achieved.
Level 100!
For the first time since possessing this body, an extra digit was added to the level display, moving from two digits to three.
【Clone Technique】
【Skill Proficiency: Lv. Max】
【Creates a clone that closely resembles the original. The clone acquires a certain percentage of combat ability.】
【With maximum proficiency, the clone possesses 33% of the original's firepower.】
【The clone lasts for a total of 10 seconds, consuming 10% of health and 35% of mana to create.】
A basic skill was added.
Clone Technique.
Unlike illusion techniques, this skill summons another entity with offensive capabilities resembling the original.
Thanks to the maximum skill proficiency, the firepower increased from 25% to 33%, and the duration extended from 5 seconds to 10 seconds.
It was a moment to feel the power of the perks provided by Dimension Plunderer anew.
A basic skill famous among elite assassins for its proficient and dazzling usage, Clone Technique.
A signature skill of assassins that creates an undeniable variable even when known to be fake.
This marked the beginning of a change in the direction of combat that he would pursue as an assassin.
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