Chapter 15 (1/2)
The skills’ powers were classified into two categories.
Firstly, the most basic requirement of a skill was its magic level. The second was its ability.
Thus, regardless of how high the skill level was, if the ability was meager, one would not be able to use it to its fullest potential. In this regard, it wasn’t a bad idea to make use of this trial to raise Su-hyeun’s skill ability.
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As he watched the surrounding monsters’ corpses burn, he let out a breath of exhaustion.
“Huu—”
The Flame skill’s ability had increased.
It was the same with the Provocation skill. There was nothing better than real battles to increase a skill’s ability.
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Su-hyeun clicked his tongue as he watched the corpses lying on the ground.
“It’s not here.”
The 10th floor.
Regardless of how difficult it was, the trial would not arrange monsters that were impossible for awakeners to deal with. It would be surprising to see monsters of a higher caliber than the Predatory Snake.
“Well, if a tougher monster than the Predatory Snake appears, the mission would not be valid.”
The Predatory Snake’s territory created a deterrence to other monsters. If there were stronger monsters, the village would have been destroyed much earlier.
“This should be enough.”
He had sufficient corpses to feed the snakelets. The rest were hunted to increase Su-hyeun’s skill’s proficiency. Su-hyeun brought out the six young men who were supposed to feed the snakelets.
“A-all of these…”
“Did you catch all of these?”
The six young men looked wearily at Su-hyeun.
There were countless bodies. Most of them were black as if they had been burnt to death.
“Drag those bodies there onto the cart. They should sustain the snakes for a few days.”
“Yes, yes!”
“Um… What will our benefactor like to do? Will you be returning with us immediately?”
Benefactor? Su-hyeun’s eyes narrowed at the awkward, burdensome title.
“I’ll catch up in a while.”
“Why don’t you leave with us?”
“That’s right. Let’s go together. Mealtime is already over, too…”
It seemed that they were worried that Su-hyeun might disappear without a trace.
Even though Su-hyeun was an awkward and unfamiliar person at first, he was now the only person they could rely on.
Su-hyeun was aware of their worries. But before that, he had something he needed to do.
“The snakelets take time to mark their territory. No matter how fed and bloated they are, it’s going to take around a month.”
“S-so… In the coming month…”
The young men’s faces turned pale at Su-hyeun’s words.
Su-hyeun’s words meant that in the following month, the village would be unsafe from the monsters outside. They didn’t know it, but it was part of the trial that Su-hyeun was given.
“I’ll protect the village for the next month.”
“…What?” asked one of the men.
“Personally, by the benefactor?” asked another.
“But why…”
It should have been a happy matter, but they could not bring themselves to feel that way. The question of why came naturally.
Why was it that Su-hyeun wanted to help them like this? It was an overly one-sided relationship. And if you were no fool, you would know that one-sided good deeds without reason were not something you could easily come across.
However, such doubts from the young men did not matter to Su-hyeun. No matter how they saw him, Su-hyeun would only take one action.
“Anyway, I will catch all the monsters around the village, so don’t worry. Just return to the village. I will also return before the sun sets.”
The young men had no choice but to nod their heads, leaving Su-hyeun at that spot.
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After a moment of rest, Su-hyeun wandered around the village and began calling for monsters.
Just like that, all day long, Su-hyeun caught the monsters again and again.
Act 8
Time passed quickly.
Luckily, the village was recognized as a safe zone, so Su-hyeun was able to come and go between the real world and the village. Occasionally, Su-hyeun would return to the real world to contact Shin Su-yeong and then return to the village to repeat his hunts.
The villagers’ attitude towards Su-hyeun had also changed. At first, their gazes towards Su-hyeun were full of suspicion. They thought he might be approaching the village with an ulterior motive. However, their suspicions cleared up as time passed.
Perhaps, just like what Su-hyeun had said, they could see that the snakelets were becoming tamer. The snakelets grew day by day. The young men had begun to train them in various ways according to Su-hyeun’s words.
Late one night, Su-hyeun finished his hunt and returned to the village. His skill’s proficiency was progressing steadily.
[Accomplishment: 65%]
Su-hyeun was satisfied after checking his accomplishments.
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As the snakelets grew, his accomplishment percentage increased. That steady rise in accomplishment was also proof that Su-hyeun was on the right track.
Flop—
Su-hyeun returned to his shabby tent house and laid down on the hard floor. He was exhausted.
After fighting monsters all day long, his body felt drained of strength. Recently, it felt as if he had gone back to the past.
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This place was very similar to the world he lived in: a destroyed world, anxious people, the black, dead sky and earth.
It was swarming with monsters outside the village. It might have been set up as such to match the stage of the 10th floor, as there were no monsters above a certain level.
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