Chapter 168
168. Lunatic Difficulty (2)
The moment I finished saying that I can protect everything.
Most of the eyes that gathered on me were close to the reaction of being dumbfounded.
It was worth it.
Talking about who to protect or what to do in the face of the disappearance of abilities and skills as well as abilities is itself a funny sound.
Of course…
‘But it’s common sense that doesn’t work for me.’
That would be the case if I hadn’t learned martial arts and all of my powers had disappeared.
He learned various martial arts from the library of the lightsaber system and maintained his power skills.
ability level?
‘To be honest, anyone can win even if the difference in ability is close to 4 times.’
It is a level that does not interfere with protecting teammates and defeating enemies.
So I didn’t think about adapting to my physical abilities here.
Even if you feel exhausted, you can endure and fight.
“i get it. You seem to be serious, so let’s take care of it while this has happened.”
The first to respond to my words of protecting everyone was Kim Seung-hun.
“Ah, I will adapt as quickly as possible, so don’t worry too much.”
He said that casually, then took out the two-handed hammer hanging on the wall of the stone chamber and held it.
Katherine Bennett, who watched it, muttered as if her head was pounding.
“Why are there only so many inhumane people on this team…”
But that was short-lived.
“…great. I know how monstrous you are, so I will take care of you.”
Catherine Bennet quickly agreed to my words without objection, and Oh Chun-seok also nodded his head in a daze.
“Uh well… Since I’m a wizard in the first place, you have to protect me, so nothing will change…”
Following Kim Seung-hun, they chose one of the weapons placed in the stone chamber.
In this place, which was named the stone chamber of the beginning, there was nothing to choose from other than weapons.
So, after choosing a weapon, it was as if it was decided what to do.
“It looks like the preparations are over, so let’s go into the labyrinth now.”
After saying that, I turned my back and put my hand on the stone gate that is believed to be the entrance to the labyrinth and gave strength.
Geug-!
The stone door opened slowly, and soon a damp air flowed in as if brushing my cheek
.
The mysterious sight of shining stones placed here and there caught my eye.
‘Still, it’s fortunate that it’s not so dark that I can’t see the surroundings.’
Thanks to that, it seemed that the trouble of adapting to the darkness could be relieved.
It was a while to think that the labyrinth with a friendly appearance was surprising.
「You have entered the [Maze of Beginnings] on the 1st floor of the Giant Tree Labyrinth.」
「It is a labyrinth inhabited by mutated monsters hiding in
the Giant Tree Labyrinth.」
“Overcome the difficulties and find the hidden key.”
“And open the door at the end of the maze and go downstairs.”
For some reason, a familiar but at the same time disparate message came to mind.
“…”
is similar.
It was a form close to the message that popped up whenever the tower entered an ordeal.
However, there is no remaining time given to the ordeal, and the reward upon completion of the ordeal is not specified.
‘It’s close to the tower, but it’s not a place that gives rewards like the tower.’
I felt like I knew a little bit about this place.
The closest thing to a tower without compensation is the giant tree labyrinth.
But…
‘If there’s no reward, I’ll have to take care of it on my own.’
Still, it wasn’t that there was no way to get the reward at all.
That would be the case too…
Gureuk-!
“Four [Mutated Black Goblins] have appeared.”
As long as you have Necromancy, you can absorb any number of rewards.
‘Is this just beginner’s luck?’
And…
‘I’ll be able to raise my stats from the start.’
Fortunately, an offering to be a reward appeared just in time.
***
Katherine Bennet thought she knew quite well about Sungyoon Han.
It was worth it.
She had a history of dueling with Han Seong-yoon herself, and also had experience fighting together as a colleague.
Perhaps few people know Han Seong-yoon as well as Catherine Bennett.
Thoughts that seem to have loosened the screws for some reason, absurdly powerful abilities, and even a persistent obsession with growth…
‘No matter how low his abilities are, that person will be as strong as a monster.’
He was well aware that Han Seong-yoon was different from the usual challengers.
But…
‘Still, it’s impossible to deal with something like that…!’
Even she couldn’t help but drool in this situation.
“Why does something like that appear as soon as you enter the first floor…?”
Goblin.
Originally, it is a monster that is classified as the lowest level… but
the goblins living in this giant tree labyrinth could hardly be called the lowest level.
With a weight class that is about twice the height of a standard goblin, and a body that is close to muscular
…
There were even four of these monstrous goblins.
‘It’s not a level that I can handle alone.’
Katherine Bennett decided that they needed to be cool and join forces.
I don’t know if all 4 people here can win even if they do their best.
In the absence of authority or skill, this is a common sense conclusion.
So, Han Seong-yoon also thought that he would think about it for a while instead of rushing right away.
But…
to blame!
Before Katherine Bennet had time to stop, Han Seong-yoon kicked the floor.
She was startled by the light movement without the slightest hesitation.
‘Crazy really…! What are you thinking, overdoing it…!?’
Blindly rushing at enemies who don’t know if they can win even if they work together?
To be honest, it was no different from a suicide attempter.
By the way…
“Huh?”
It was running incredibly fast.
「The power skill ‘Grace of Wind’ is activated.」
「All speeds increase by 40%.」
「Current skill overlap progress – [4]」
Catherine Bennett was taken aback at the speed at which she couldn’t believe she had no skills.
It was the same for others.
“That’s a speed that can be reached with an agility of about 10…?”
Even Kim Seung-hun frowned and expressed his doubts.
“What kind of unbelievable speed…! Could it be that you recovered your skills in this short period of time…?”
Oh Chun-seok was terrified as if he had seen something nonsensical.
But even that was short-lived.
“Kieek…!!”
Boooooong…!
A goblin rushed at Han Seong-yoon and swung his club down.
Soon, Han Seong-yoon showed off a skill that made no sense than before with a sword.
Kagagak…!
The sword flows like a snake on a club.
The blade climbed the club very naturally, as if it had been oiled.
And…
“What the hell is that…?”
Chow!
[Critical blow!]
[The mutated goblin consumes all of its HP and is replaced with nutrients from the World Tree.] The
transformed goblin’s throat was cut as easily as cutting a cake
… The form changed and disappeared beyond recognition.
“Kiaag—!”
Another mutated goblin resentful of him rushed at Han Seong-yoon…
but suddenly—!
[Critical blow!]
[The mutated goblin consumes all of its HP and is replaced with nutrients from the World Tree.]
Even the newly attacked goblin was helplessly cut in half and died.
“….”
Katherine Bennet stared blankly at Han Seong-yoon.
I didn’t even have time to know what was going on.
The sword slithered and suddenly two goblins died.
That was all Catherine Bennett saw.
Indeed, it’s an overwhelming sight, but…
“Is this how the system works?”
Han Seong-yoon, who showed tremendous skill, said that there was no inspiration.
Rather than fighting, he was more interested in the system messages that popped into his field of vision.
“Ki Kieek…”
Then the mutated goblins hesitated as if they realized something was strange and tried to back away… but…
「The power skill, ‘Grace of Wind’ is activated.」
「All speeds increase to 80% It will increase.”
「Current skill overlap progress – [8]」
Chow! Kwajijik!
Before I could properly distance myself, the blade of the sword flashed like a flash.
In the blink of an eye for a moment, the distance narrowed and the goblins were cleared at once.
“Critical blow!”
“Mutated goblin consumes all of its HP and replaces it with the nutrients of the World Tree.”
“ Critical blow!
”
Catherine Bennett, who watched the process, murmured as she trembled.
“That person might not really be of the same species…”
It was more like a voice tinged with awe.
***
The battle itself inside the giant tree labyrinth ended in a bland way.
Seeing a match with swordsmanship without having to use mana, the monsters gave up their heads very easily.
‘In the first place, I can use a power skill, but there’s no way that a goblin would be an opponent.’
Well, it is fraudulent to maintain divine power and authority skills with divine < Yeokcheon >
.
‘I won’t be vigilant though.’
I soon organized my impressions and absorbed all the spirits rising from everywhere.
「Absorbed the spirit of the mutated goblin.」
「Skill increased by 18.4%」
「Absorbed the spirit of the mutated goblin…」
「Skill increased by 17.8%…」
「Mutated goblin Absorbed the spirit of…”
「Skill increased by 13.4%…」
「Absorbed the spirit of a mutated goblin…」
「Skill increased by 19.2%…」
The corpses are particles of light Even though it was reduced to , only the spirit remained.
‘Did I say it was replaced with the nutrients of the World Tree?’
Perhaps, like the dead goblin, the challenger would also disappear as particles of light.
Of course, unlike goblins who really died, if they consumed all their HP, they would be expelled from the labyrinth.
「Permanently increase stats by using all the possessed spirits」
「Muscle strength increased by 9」
「Agility increased by 6」
「Stamina increased by 9」
「Magic power increased by 4」
「Durability increased by It has risen by 8.」
After absorbing all the spirits, he felt his body surging with vitality.
‘It’s been a long time since I’ve clearly felt this level of ability rise.’
It was only for a moment to enjoy the pleasure of growth that dominated the whole body.
“From now on, we will also participate in the battle.”
Catherine Bennett, who approached me, said that, and I tilted my head and asked her a question.
“Have you already adapted to your current abilities?”
“No, that’s not it…”
“But why are you in such a hurry to join the battle?”
“That’s…”
Katherine Bennett paused for a moment before continuing with a blush.
“Only like this, I think I’ll only get help from you throughout the whole process of attacking the labyrinth…”
A blank smile was built on his face as if he would definitely complete his role.
‘I don’t know why, but it’s a bit special.’
It was not necessary to match it like this, but it was cute to say that he would join the battle right away.
“I agree. If we continue like this, it will only be useless, so we should participate in battle even if we are not used to it.”
“I’m in the same position as Sunghoon hyung-nim. Eating raw like this doesn’t really suit my temper.”
Kim Seung-hun and Oh Chun-seok also declared that they would participate in the battle, and I nodded my head.
“All right.”
And after that, I took the lead and started walking through the maze.
To be honest, it wouldn’t be good for a team member to step up to grow into necromancy, but…
‘Still, the team members also need to grow.’
It was worth enduring because the team members could not be completely abandoned anyway.
Well, the fact that there was less reason to obsess over raising stats with necromancy also played a role.
Now that the difference in stats has reached the point where you can take and press the difference in skill level…
To be honest, it didn’t matter if we met the minimum required level.
‘What’s important is the skill you get every time you go down the hierarchy anyway.’
As I thought about the skills I would get back with the 1st floor reward, I was falling into a maze before I knew it.
Luckily or not, the monster hadn’t been there yet, but my sense of geography seemed a bit twisted.
‘Certainly the road is difficult.’
I thought I could understand why it was called the [Maze of Beginnings] because the road itself was not simple and winding.
Should I say it’s because I don’t know where it leads?
But that wandering around didn’t last long.
“I found a hidden room in the maze.”
He found a black door in the middle of the maze.
“It’s a hidden room…”
Then I remembered that the system told me that I needed a key to get through the maze.
Could there be a key to pass through the maze here?
It’s hard to be sure, but…
‘There must be plenty of possibilities.’
Thinking that there was some truth, I immediately opened the black door.
But…
“What is this again…?”
When I opened the door, what appeared was unexpected.
「I found an altar to a hidden god.」
Altar.
A place where rituals can be performed to offer sacrifices to the gods.
This place…
“A challenger with talent can receive grace from the god of darkness.”
It was a place where the challenger could receive strength from the god.