Chapter 126
Chapter 126
The only rank 3 dungeon located near Goseong, Gangwon-do, was ‘The Mountain Ridge of the Green Sheep’. Its name made it sound like a rather peaceful place, but in reality, the Mountain Ridge of the Green Sheep wasn’t a dungeon to be looked down upon.
‘A party of minimum five adventurers with an average rank of D and level 50 is recommended’.
Sheep generally had gentle appearances, but their true nature was a violent one, so it wasn’t particularly difficult to predict how ferocious they became once they turned into monsters.
Moreover, these green sheep were easily twice as large as regular sheep, and they even possessed sharp horns. It was only natural for the dungeon to be difficult since one had to fend off such ferocious creatures, all the while climbing the ridge.
However, proceeding through the dungeon was a breeze for Choi Yu-Seong, even though he was accompanied only by Chae Ye-Ryeong. They hunted the green sheep without any difficulties, and there was a rather simple explanation for it.
The most troublesome and ferocious aspects of the green sheep were their brashness, mobility, and tenacity. However, the green sheep were rather dull in their movements when they descended the slanted ridge. They weren’t slow, but considering that they were charging downhill, they weren’t fast either. If a comparison had to be made, it could be compared to a disciplined cyclist cycling while warming up for a competition.
‘I can’t say for sure, but it must be close to about 30 kilometers per hour.’
The sheep were clearly fast by human standards, but slow considering that they were speedy monsters specialized in traversing rugged terrain. Originally, the monsters would have been as fast as speeding cars, but the reason for their sluggishness was simple.
『Inheritance Skill – Twin Snakes Biting Their Tails D.
Fusion impossible.
The oldest hunter, Scathi, has never lost their target. Summon a translucent form of twin snakes that are not easily visible to the naked eye and track your opponents. Recall the name and appearance of your opponents as accurately as possible in your mind.
*New D-rank perk – those being tracked by the twin tail-biting snakes will be slowed dramatically.
Unlock new perks by increasing the rank.
The snakes cannot pass through walls or obstacles.
The snakes will automatically disappear if the distance to the opponents exceeds a radius of 2 kilometers.
Cooldown – two minutes. 』
Choi Yu-Seong had promoted Twin Snakes Biting Their Tails to D-rank, which granted an additional effect of slowing down the opponents it tracked. He had targeted the green sheep with the twin snakes; that was why the vicious monsters that should have been charging at nearly 200 kilometers per hour were so slow compared to their usual selves.
‘The only disappointing thing is that there’s a cooldown of two minutes.’
Even so, two minutes was better than three minutes, the previous waiting time. No matter how many times Yu-Seong thought about it, the added effect of limiting his opponents’ movements was simply too powerful.
If he utilized the twin snake to slow the movements of a hunter of similar rank and level to himself, his opponent would be forced to show a gap in their defense. Choi Yu-Seong could easily take advantage of that to overpower the enemy at once.
In fact, the green sheep failed to even come close to Ye-Ryeong, who continued to bombard the monsters with water from her hands. The monsters continued to fall one after another with gaping wounds in their bodies.
“Yes, level up!” Chae Ye-Ryeong shouted excitedly while being enveloped by a silver light once again.
About one hour had passed since the two of them first entered the Mountain Ridge of the Green Sheep and in that time, Ye-Ryeong had leveled up three times. Her elation at her unbelievable rate of progress wasn’t strange at all.
‘Come to think of it, Chae Ye-Ryeong said she has Titanic Growth.’
Titanic Growth was the greatest skill that Nioh, the pride of Japan, possessed. However, Chae Ye-Reyong had started off with Titanic Growth at E-rank. In addition, Choi Yu-Seong was providing her with an experience boost potion. It was only natural for her to be growing stronger at such an explosive pace.
Yu-Seong was somewhat envious, but he felt reassured that he had such a reliable comrade. In fact, Ye-Ryeong was the reason why Choi Yu-Seong could leisurely walk up the ridge with his hands behind his back.
‘Even if I didn’t use the twin snakes, she would have blown up the monsters before they could even reach me.’
There was nothing for Yu-Seong to do. At first, he rather felt useless, but not anymore.
‘It would be better to test how much I’ve grown against an elite monster.’
Even though the twin snakes proved to be tremendously useful, it was nothing in comparison to the new skill Yu-Seong had obtained from Fusion.
‘Come on out, elite monster.’
About five minutes had passed since Choi Yu-Seong started hoping for an encounter with an elite monster to experiment with.
“Ah, boss. That monster…” Ye-Ryeong called out.
It was definitely a green sheep, but it was about 1.3 times bigger than the others. Moreover, its twin horns were thicker and taller than those belonging to its peers. Even its eyes looked sharper than the other green sheep. It was obvious even at a glance that this was an elite monster.
“I’ll take care of this one,” Choi Yu-Seong replied while taking out his spear. Pharaoh’s Caprice took on its coat form as his eyes glimmered with light. He ran forward before Chae Ye-Ryeong could say anything.
Three regular monsters and the elite monster cried out when they spotted Yu-Seong. He did not contemplate for long at all.
‘First, I’ll undo the snakes.’
He then had both snakes target the elite monster since it would prove to be the most burdensome opponent. Choi Yu-Seong briefly looked away after confirming the slowing of the monster’s movement. Then, he activated the skill he had gained from combining Insight and Eye of the Beast — his lucky break.
『Special Skill, Third Eye D.
Fusion impossible.
See the opponent using the Third Eye and display their information data as messages.
You can only see the data of opponents on the same rank or lower rank than yourself.
It can be blocked by the opponent’s mental barrier skills.
Predict the opponent’s movements with the Third Eye.
A mental barrier capable of defending against attacks up to C rank will automatically be applied.
You can use psychokinesis through the Third Eye.
Maximum force available to be used against D-rank objects – 10 kilograms.
There is a cooldown – 30 seconds.
※ Special : The Third Eye skill is only applied and activated through the use of special energy, ‘Chakra’.
If the Chakra user develops Azna Chakra, they can unlock their transcendental capabilities! 』
On his way to Goseong, Yu-Seong could not help but be truly astonished when he saw the description of his new skill, Third Eye. In fact, he had burst out laughing. The skill bestowed him the abilities of Insight, as well as special abilities like psychokinesis and the automatic application of a mental barrier.
Furthermore, there was only one penalty accompanying the incredible ability – it could only be activated by Chakra rather than mana. Fortunately, Choi Yu-Seong had already replaced all of his mana with Chakra via God’s Chakra. In other words, he had already met the basic conditions for activating the Third Eye.
‘Moreover, I could develop it further by developing God’s Chakra. It has a synergistic effect.’
It was the best thing he could have hoped for. If Yu-Seong could develop his skills as such, it was reasonable to say that the God’s Chakra skill was the equivalent of, or even better than, the inner cultivation methods of the martial arts world, what was commonly known as Divine Arts.
Flames did not appear in Yu-Seong’s eyes when he activated the Third Eye; instead, a faint eye-shaped tattoo appeared on his forehead. He utilized the Third Eye to exert the maximum force he could apply with psychokinesis toward the charging monster.
‘Max force. 10 kilograms.’
At first glance, it appeared to be rather lacking to be used against powerful monsters. However, with sufficient acceleration, the force behind 10 kilograms could become an outrageous.
‘Just like this.’
Choi Yu-Seong gulped when he saw the green sheep’s large head explode right in front of his eyes. It was as if the sheep had been hit by a large truck. His psychokinetic force did not travel very fast, but when faced with the green sheep’s momentum, it made for an incredible result.
‘This could be amazing if I practiced the applications for real battles.’
Choi Yu-Seong was still faced with the two remaining green sheep. He wound a thunderbolt around the tip of his spear, then let his coat flutter in the wind while triggering Stylish.
‘Small fries like these aren’t important.’
Yu-Seong kicked off the ground and opened his palm to activate the Dancing Electric Doll.
The two green sheep charged toward Yu-Seong after jumping over the corpse of their kin but cried out in pain as their wool burnt to a crisp due to the powerful electric shock. It was an obvious outcome. There was no way they could withstand the attack.
Choi Yu-Seong knew the power of his attacks better than anyone else, so he stepped over a tree located on the ridge without hesitation and quickly arrived in front of the elite monster. It was preparing to charge while huffing.
As if desperate, the elite monster charged toward Yu-Seong.
‘Slowed movements.’
Combined with the perception that Third Eye granted him, the movements of an elite monster of a rank 3 dungeon felt as if they were playing out in slow motion. Choi Yu-Seong waited until the monster was right in front of his eyes before using Wind Control to take a single step to the side. He dodged the monster’s attack and used Cu Chulainn’s secret spear technique.
The essence of the newly acquired spear skill was quite clear.
‘Variability and Speed.’
It was the culmination of elegance. Choi Yu-Seong attempted to replicate the first of Cu Chulainn’s secret spear techniques – Raging Snake.
.
It was an imitation.
‘I’m not capable of completely replicating it right now.’
But even a mere imitation brought a display of sharp curving lines. It was as if a giant snake was gliding above the giant elite monster. As Yu-Seong retrieved his spear, blood started to gush out from the five chunks of what once was the elite green sheep.
Choi Yu-Seong sighed while using his coat to guard himself against the splashing blood. He was satisfied in many ways. He had killed an elite monster with only one strike. It was a strike he had gained from his skills, but it was useless unless he could digest it on his own.
‘I truly am getting stronger.’
He was getting stronger and stronger while surviving and facing various crises. However, he wasn’t without regrets either. If Choi Yu-Seong had executed the Raging Snake as he intended, the monster would have been split into more than ten pieces rather than five.
‘I lacked both speed and variability.’
It was disappointing, but he could not help it. After all, it was his first time executing it.
‘Let’s practice.’
And when he mastered it…
‘It will be my second after Lance Charging.’
Choi Yu-Seong would gain yet another ace up his sleeve. He was getting stronger at a rapid pace, and the path to even greater strength was clearly visible. Naturally, he had no plans to put a brake on his growth.
“Uh, boss. That’s…” Chae-Ryeong said with a surprised look while looking at the end of the ridge. A large black pillar had disappeared with a flash, and both of them knew what the pillar represented.
‘It’s time for the boss monster to regenerate.
Any other party of two D-rank hunters would have retreated. However, the two of them were more than capable of hunting it down. Rather, it was safe to say that this was a golden opportunity for them to gain many levels. This was no time to be putting on the brakes.
“Let’s go get it,” Yu-Seong said.
Chae Ye-Ryeong nodded.
Although it wasn’t recorded officially, on that day, Yu-Seong and Ye-Ryeong achieved a new record of 1 hour 39 minutes for clearing the Mountain Ridge of the Green Sheep as a duo. It overwhelmingly exceeded the previous record of 2 hours and 20 minutes.