Chapter 20 Part2 (1/2)
<chapter 20.=”” forest=”” of=”” the=”” dryads=”” -=”” 2=””>
About three days after entering the forest of rotten trees that was under the Dryads' control, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo had become trapped deep into the forest without knowing where he'd even come from (without looking at the minimap of course).
”It's still like this despite cutting down every single tree that came our way...”
”I want to just set this entire forest on fire.”
”No way. At least, not yet.”
[Kyaaaaaaaaaaahk!]
The Dryads screamed with such great timing, as they were finished with their conversation. As if waiting for that signal, a group of Acid Trees' sharp branches stretched towards them in all directions.
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo tightly gripped his axe with both hands and swung while on horseback; he cleaved the approaching branches, with the closest taking priority.
”Hoo... Heup! Lightning Scatter!”
It wasn't possible without maintaining his speed; no, he needed to be even faster than that! His defense zone had been incredibly clumsy at the beginning, but it was easy to see that he'd fine tuned it now. To the point that he could feel what part of his body he needed to reinforce.
[The Intermediate Bursting Thunder skill has become Lv4. Strength and Magic have increased by 10.]
”Holy c.r.a.p. It felt like this was going to happen, but Bursting Thunder did actually level up. I was training my Acid Resistance, but now I'm just training my weapon skills.”
”What are you talking about? You're training your Acid Resistance and Regeneration plenty.”
Honestly, Jin was right. For the past three days, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo and Jin were affected by the Acid Poison spewed by the Great Trees without even a second of rest. Like they were enjoying a mist sauna!
If someone else saw them, they might've thought that the two weren't in any sort of pain, but despite them being undead, they did feel pain; and the forest's Acid Poison wasn't a tingling sensation, but it felt more like thick metal thorns violently piercing their bodies. It was the same now as well.
”Kuuuuuu.... This doesn't hurt for you?”
”It does hurt. But I knew this is what it would be like before coming in.”
”Ah, seriously.”
Though Jin had a strong urge to just escape the forest by himself, he managed to endure with a peculiar athlete's spite that, 'Lee s.h.i.+n Woo is enduring just fine, so I can't complain.'
Of course, the results of that were clear. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's Acid Resistance became intermediate level 2, while Jin's became low rank level 7. Even his Regeneration skill, which was quite difficult to level up had already gone up to low rank level 9.
'This guy couldn't have been just some ordinary guy on his homeworld.'
Jin suddenly recollected the pain he'd endured over the past three days, but when he saw Lee s.h.i.+n Woo calmly swing his axe from atop him, he grit his teeth.
Even if he considered the fact that Lee s.h.i.+n Woo was undead, and possessed a skill that protected against mental ailments, no ordinary salaryman would be able to endure that kind of horrific pain! At least, that's how it was in Jin's original world.
'I wonder what s.h.i.+n Woo did in his original world? Was he like me? d.a.m.n it, we're partners, yet there's too much we don't know about each other. No, am I just too concerned about the past when it's completely useless here?'
”Jin, one step to the left... Jin?”
”Yeah, I know.”
”Nice... Heup!”
[Kyaaaahk!]
Even while inwardly gritting his teeth, Jin moved his body at the optimum time, a.s.sisting Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's own movement. It was like they were moving as one. That's right. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo and Jin's connection (a.s.similation) was developing by the day.
[The Intermediate a.s.similation skill has become Lv3. Agility and Magic have increased by 5. You can now match your breath with your target. You can guess what the other is thinking without even saying it.]
Because his a.s.similation skill had risen from level 2 to 3, Lee s.h.i.+n Woo's own Acid Resistance was almost fully applied to Jin, and Lee s.h.i.+n Woo succeeded in sharing Jin's dynamic visual acuity, as well as the reflexes that came from his agility.
”Heup!”
[You have acquired 17,220 Perium.]
[You have acquired two Melting Bone Roots.]
From the start, the reason he wanted to train his defense zone was because he wanted to maximize the effectiveness of those sluggish movements; as a result of his struggles...
The range at which he could perceive attacks through his dynamic visual acuity became wider, and because his reflexes likewise improved, he was able to stop attacks with his concise body movements. His defense zone had improved significantly, to the point that even a senior knight would click his tongue at the change.
”As I thought, it was a good idea to pick this spot.”
”Are all the other heroes like this? They go to strange places to train?”
”Uh... maybe?”
He didn't know about fighting against an entire undead corps, but he thought that the other heroes would definitely like this place, as it offered invaluable training (Acid Resistance, Regeneration, mana, weapon techniques) and wasn't particularly that difficult if one possessed Acid Resistance (that's what he thinks). Therefore, he did feel like telling the other heroes about it, but...
”It's pointless telling the others about this place since this place will be gone by the time we leave...”
”You say such scary things in such a nonchalant way.”
[Ggiiiiiiiiiiiiik!]
”Hmm, maybe I should train my fire element as well.”
”In the end, you're going with what I suggested. You're going to burn the forest, huh...”
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo uninterestingly swung his axe and, as they pa.s.sed by a tree that a Dryad had inhabited, Jin muttered in amazement. Lee s.h.i.+n Woo didn't hate the other heroes, but he fundamentally thought of himself first!
[You have acquired 16,800 Perium.]
[You have acquired a Melting Bone Root.]
In the beginning, he swung his axe several times just to get past them, but now, the trees always died in one hit. Though he had indeed figured out the way to kill them, the fact that he killed them in a single blow meant each and every strike was a critical hit.
Lee s.h.i.+n Woo thought it would be strange if someone couldn't land a critical hit, despite the fact that their enemies couldn't move as their roots were embedded into the ground. However, the difficulty in cutting through a gigantic tree when there were hundreds of branches coming his way in all directions was beyond imagination.