Chapter 18 - Return (2) (2/2)
The man with the crossbow muttered under his breath and opened his eyes.
The eyes couldn’t be described as anything but those of a reptile.
“Yo, trash. Take care of the one that looks like an assassin. Just stall for time and don’t do anything else.”
The man who was called trash didn’t even have time to respond.
That was because as soon as he finished speaking, the challenger with the crossbow took off.
Koong.
A low-pitched echo rang out as the man with the crossbow moved rapidly.
Shik!
‘A throwing knife?’
He pulled a knife from his thigh and threw it as if he didn’t want to use the crossbow from the start.
He must have had a weapons skill because the knife cut through the air with the sound of a hissing snake.
However, my stats were at their peak from absorbing all kinds of goblins.
I wouldn’t get hit by this even if I wanted to.
Ting!
A petite swordsman closed in on me as I tilted my shield to block the knife.
“A-aaaaah!”
His clearly scared eyes were rejecting any form of combat but…
That didn’t stop him from running at me.
No, he swung even more wildly in his tunnel vision.
Chang!
I didn’t block it with a shield this time and instead deflected it with my sword.
‘I guess that was just a distraction to let him get close to me.’
I had no intention of letting things go the way he planned.
Using the recoil from the deflection, I planned to kill the swordsman and go after the crossbow dude.
But his blade flowed smoothly to almost forbid that from happening.
Contrary to the fear-ridden eyes and trembling hands, his sword made a sharp and clean arc.
He definitely had a sword-related skill.
‘Damn, this complicates things.’
I couldn’t be delayed with him any longer.
“Lee Hayeon, now!”
“Okay!”
「 You have received ‘Wind’s Blessing. 」
「 While your agility is below 50, there is an extra status bonus. 」
「 Agility is temporarily increased by +3. 」
「 Time left – 00:09:59 」
For an instant, my body blended into the wind and my vision faltered.
Combined with all the stats I’ve been absorbing, I felt almost omnipotent.
What the fuck… Lee Sunghoon couldn’t fight off the goblins with this?
The swordsman shouldn’t be able to follow my movements anymore.
When I was sure, I lightly swung my obsidian dagger.
But the enemy blocked my swing as if it was laughing at my assurance.
Chang!
“…”
The swordsman who couldn’t even keep his hands steady somehow read and blocked my attack.
Initially, I thought he was hiding his skill but quickly realized that wasn’t the case.
“Innate ability!’
That was it.
Like how I acquired Necromancy, this man also acquired something.
I forgot about it because I’d been oppressing monsters with my stats, but innate abilities could change the tide of the battle.
I had to figure out what it was.
I withdrew my sword and took a step back.
Then I felt slightly relieved looking at Lee Sunghoon and Lee Hayeon fight.
Seeing that he could block the arrows from the crossbow, it looks like Lee Sunghoon’s ‘mana resistance’ innate ability wasn’t just for show.
Of course, he’s using his greatsword and not a shield…
But he was doing better than I thought.
The crossbow challenger also couldn’t get in close because he was being wary of Lee Hayeon.
‘Good thing the other team’s mage is also a support.’
The man had an increased reload speed, shot speed, and agility.
But Lee Sunghoon’s ‘mana resistance’ was able to nullify some of the effects of the skills.
He’d been moving fast and kiting from distance, but it didn’t seem to be very effective.
They’d come right in if they realized how weak he was but…
‘They can’t press forward that strongly now.’
There are a lot of elements that could change the tide of the battle and I had the ability to change it.
So I turned to the swordsman and focused my attention on him.
Chang!
‘He definitely doesn’t have a buff that lets him keep up with my movements.’
Their mage didn’t cast a single buff to their fragile swordsman.
Maybe he was a decoy and they were going all-in on the crossbowman.
Then the only thing keeping him alive was his innate ability.
Ch-chang! Chang!
Once I released a barrage of slashes, he started fumbling.
This would be the most effective way to figure out what his ability was.
His moves would get simpler if he didn’t get a chance to think about his moves.
As I predicted, the swordsman’s eyes moved before my sword did.
‘…?’
That’s when I was able to figure out this man’s innate ability.
Damn, that’s why he’s able to block my attacks.
‘He can see where I’ll attack.’
He’s able to see the trajectory of my blade and can swing his blade even before I start attacking.
After figuring out his innate ability, figuring out a way to get around it was instant.
If his ability relies on ‘sight’ then all I have to do is block his ‘sight.’
Whoosh!
I swung my shield like a frisbee and threw it at the swordsman.
‘It’s a little risky but it’s the only way…!’
Flustered, the swordsman flailed to hit the shield away and.
“…!”
A ‘hole’ in his innate ability was exposed.
With his line of vision blocked, I stepped in close and took another swing.
Shuak!
Blood splattered everywhere and in an instant, the entire hall froze.
Everyone froze for a second and all stared at me.
“W-wha… I don…”
“Wait, he couldn’t even stall…?”
They were wondering what I did to kill him that quickly.
Enemies and allies alike looked at me in shock.
And amongst the center of it all, I was horrified.
It wasn’t that I killed someone for the first time.
I had already made the decision to do it and the enemy was also trying to do the same.
The most shocking part was the message that appeared in front of me.
「 Would you like to absorb the soul of the player ‘Lee Jinhoo’? 」
The black fog over the falling corpse and the message above it was telling me.
‘Holy…’
Necromancy could absorb human souls.
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Hyung-nim is a formal way for a Korean male to address another Korean male.
Also, I think the story is starting to pick up eyyy
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