Chapter 17 (1/2)
Chapter 17: Return (1)
「 Time left – 14 hrs 37min 」
Late night, inner city of the citadel.
The shining stars blended in with the beautiful night sky.
Normally, it would be a sight to admire, but now wasn’t the time.
“Kieeeeek!”
Puit!
I shoved my dagger in the heart of the screaming goblin and twisted my body.
Whoosh, tung!
A giant club smashed the floor as I felt a cool breeze behind my head.
I instantly took out a sword and swung my arm behind my back.
Shaack!
“Kr, krrrg…!”
Dammit, it didn’t slice all the way through again.
The one-handed fighting style wasn’t bad, but it felt wasteful to throw away those long swords in a time like this.
I swallowed my regret and finished the goblin off with a slash to the neck.
The goblin’s head hit the floor with the sound of the cut.
Maybe I’d really become a monster, considering how moving like that didn’t even phase me.
‘I guess… The goblins are done now.’
There have been two or so battles since then and every single one has been an overwhelming victory.
However, Lee Sunghoon and Lee Hayeon didn’t seem like they were having fun.
Maybe not Lee Hayeon, who was buffing Lee Sunghoon to the point where he could survive, but Lee Sunghoon looked like he was going to die.
“Fuck, what is this bullshit… Goblins shouldn’t be this strong…”
It sounded like Lee Sunghoon was having a hard time just fending them off from Lee Hayeon.
Although he did have a point.
Goblins weren’t typically this aggressive.
‘Most people don’t have trouble with goblins during the hunter exam as long as they don’t get too scared’
Tiny body, low stats, almost no intelligence… goblins had a lot of faults.
They could barely use their own weapons and weren’t physically strong.
They were only bothersome in a crowd.
「 You have absorbed the soul of the goblin warrior. 」
「 You have absorbed the soul of the goblin assassin. 」
「 You have absorbed the soul of the goblin knight. 」
…
…
「 Number of souls in possession – 8/15 」
「 Proficiency increased by 12% 」
The goblins of the 4th floor each had a profession and those professions all had different properties.
The goblin warriors were larger, the assassins knew assassination techniques, and the knights had clean swordsmanship as if it were using a skill.
‘They probably do have some related skills.’
The movements were far too sophisticated for them to not have one.
Of course, things like that only worked when your opponent had similar stats.
The stats I sapped from the goblins made it easier and easier to overpower them.
I couldn’t get any skills from them, but it wasn’t for naught.
At this rate, I thought we would reach the goblin king before the other team.
But the thought remained a thought.
The other two were taking twice as long as I was.
I could excuse Lee Hayeon because she was casting buffs and examining the area, but Lee Sunghoon was the problem.
‘One would think that he has some hidden skills from the way he was talking but…’
He was basically dead weight.
His innate ability was pretty useful, but that didn’t make it special.
Even if he were resistant to mana, he was nothing more than a moving meat wall.
Unlike most hunters, he didn’t seem to have that many skills.
Plus, not having a single weapon skill was a big contributor to his incompetence.
‘We probably won’t fall behind the other team but I doubt we will get ahead of them.’
That meant I would have to make some preparations.
I ignored Lee Sunghoon’s half-dead body panting on the ground and requested a conversation with Lee Hayeon.
“Can we go inside for a private conversation?”
I pointed to one of the abandoned houses as Lee Hayeon flinched.
I didn’t know why she was so tense but she even started stuttering.
“N-now?”
“Yeah, I think now is the most appropriate time.”
“I-I don’t know if I can now…”
“We don’t have a choice. The trial will go on soon.”
“…”
She had a dark look on her face for some reason but I didn’t want to say anything here.
The contents of the conversation may irritate Lee Sunghoon.
I mean, by the looks of it, it probably seemed like I was going to rob her…
‘I’ll just explain it when we get in there.’
I wasn’t going to do something like that to a teammate who was pulling their weight.
At least, not to a normal person.
Hm… maybe if they were like Lee Sunghoon.
Lee Hayeon reluctantly agreed and nodded her head.
“…Okay. But we can’t stay too long.”
“I know, the trial is still going on.”
She walked into the building with her head down.
I followed her in and stopped in the living room.
It was there where I finally opened my mouth.
“If we come face to face with the opposing team, can you use your buffs on me?”
“…Yes?”
“It may sound selfish but I think it would be the best use of them in that situation.”
She seemed to be caught off guard.
“I— no, it’s just… that’s what you wanted to say?”
She might be talking about getting robbed.
“No.”
It’s not like I didn’t have a conscience.