I momentarily got lost in thoughts of doubt and hesitation . Thoughts of self-justification slowly crept their way in, too .
Occasionally when I went to hunt monsters with a party,we hunted a few of the nearby Manticores . Before they approached me, I used frost orbs to freeze the wings and legs, and poured electric discharge at them until they died .
No matter how many come, it'll be fine as long as I kill them before they come near me!
That's possible, right?
***
- Tti-Dik Please scan your card .
- Tti-Dik Please scan your fingerprint .
- The dungeon will now be activated .
I got lost in thoughts again, but before long, I found myself in the dungeon . It appeared I had convinced myself unconsciously .
'Perhaps I should've said I wanted to be a businessman,' I thought to myself .
I waited until the six person party, that was previously on standby, entered first . As soon as I saw they were gone, I entered .
I was a sophomore in high school, way past being in a sophomore in middle school, yet it seemed I had not completely recovered from the illness .
"At least I received the 'Boots of Speed' that Sang-Min used to use . "
The 'Boots of Speed' dramatically increased movement speed, so they were usually used by tankers or sub-tankers . Mana mages usually used boots that increased vitality or agility, but I invested all of my stats to vitality, so I figured that speed would be far more efficient and complementary .
"Now, shall I take it for a ride?"
KURURURUNG!
Due to a special nature of Manticores, getting their attention was easy . As long as I made eye contact with one of them, a whole horde would rush over .
Even though this was my first time fighting a mass number of monsters at once, I didn't find it difficult .
[Experienced earned 600 . ]
[Experienced earned 600 . ]
[Experienced earned 600 . ]
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Without much difficulty, I gathered Manticores around me . The hunt had started .
Of course, this was smaller in number in comparison to what we handled in a five people party .
I was disadvantaged, as I didn't have the buffs or debuffs that Li In-Ah and Jo Young-Hun provided .
With them in my party, it only took two shots to finish off these monsters . By myself, it took 4 to 5 rounds of tries .
Using the money earned from hunting with Sang-Min's group, I learned 'Frozen Shield . '
Thanks to it, I could fight the Manticores without taking damage .
Frozen shield was a skill that formed an effective protection layer of ice . It could shield me from enemy attacks for up to three minutes .
It costed 300 mana, and had a cool down of 10 minutes .
I could ignore the mana cost, but the cool down was driving me insane .
I couldn't even dream of purchasing an expensive unlimited-use shield that didn't have any cooling time .
'Frozen Shield' could block most moderate attacks . . However, if the attack strength was twice that of my vitality, then the shield would be destroyed .
Regardless, since Manticores had nowhere near enough attack strength, so, I didn't need to be concerned about it happening .
Once I had enough money, I planned to learn all classes, and all kinds of shield magic . Once I did, I was going to activate my shield at random, without a care for cooling time . It was a solid plan .
While hunting, I started getting excited as I gained experience at a crazy fast rate, and there were many bloodstones floating in mid-air, giving off a luxurious red shine . Instead of sharing with five people, they all went into my own pocket . Moreover, this was despite the fact that my minimum level doesn't even qualify to be in this dungeon .
"To all those trust-fund babies and rich kids, listen up . Become independents . Stop living under the shadow of your parents so shamelessly . Stand by yourself with pride and leave their shadows, just like I did . Face the world, head on . Be reborn!"
I thought that the rich kids and I belonged in different worlds .
However, the ones I used to look at, with eyes soaked with inferiority, I felt were now below me .
I finished off the last group of monsters, who were in the 3 o'clock direction, and headed to the dungeon's main exit . Everything was going smoothly, until . . .
I heard a noise .
KUAAAAAAANG!!!!
KUAK! KUAK!
"What's this? Is there a monster left?"
Fearsome howling pierced through the dungeon .
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While I was thinking 'No way, it can't be...'
KUWOOOOAH!!
An incredible one suddenly appeared in front of me .
"Is this beginner's luck? Am I hitting the jackpot?"
It was a Manticore three to four times the size of an ordinary one . It was called Kelvecore .
Its wing and tail were similar to an ordinary Manticore, however it had three heads .
The middle head was an old lion, the left head was a dog, and the right was a dragon .
The heads were all howling and baring their fangs at each other, as if they were fighting for dominance over the body .
"Wow, this really looks like something..."
Looking at the clock, I still had 15 minutes until the dungeon ended .
If I stayed out of sight for 15 minutes, I could exit the dungeon .
However,
10,000,000 .
The money I could get for slaying that monster was 10 million .
"Was this good luck or bad luck? There was no need to think it over . Even if I couldn't win, I at least had to try . "
Due to all the combat experience and successful kills, I was chock-full of confidence . So, without hesitation, I drew Kelvecore's attention .
KAAH! KURUNG! KRUUURUNG!
Moments ago they were busy fighting each other until moments ago, but now, as if they had found a common target, their eyes locked onto me .
'As long as I tie down their movements, there shouldn't be much more to it, right?'
KIAP!
With both hands, I concentrated the electric discharge and poured it at them .
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CHIRIK! ZIZIZIZIZIZIK![P1]
It hit their heads dead on . However, it didn't do much damage .
It only made Kelvecore briefly stop, before he resumed flying at me with its swift wings .
Despite this, I didn't panic . Instead, I aimed for the part where the wings attached to the body, and shot frost orbs . The wings slowly started to freeze over .
Perhaps it was due to realizing its wings were freezing and becoming unresponsive, but the heads charged towards me, going at what seemed like their top speed .
DUGUDUGUDU! DUGUDUGUDU! CRASH!
Due to its charging speed, the frozen wings, which were spread wide open, were torn apart by the air resistance .
"Okay! Now that I've stopped its air, I just need to tie up its legs . "
The front legs steered the body, and the rear legs provided propulsion .
I chose to freeze the rear legs .
When the heads came charging at me, I used the 'Boots of Speed' and ran diagonally to the left . This reduced the distance between me and the heads, and it also gave me an angle that would allow me to strike at their rear legs .
TADAK! TADAK! TADAK!
Despite the tremors from the monster's rapid movements, I managed to perfectly shoot two frost orbs to its rear legs .
The rear legs gradually froze over, and the distance also gradually increased… I had confirmed my victory .
"Frozen Shield . "
Now that I had activated the shield, the only thing left to do was to go all out and kill the bastard .
Holding the rod in both hands, I had just started releasing electric discharge when . . .
SHAAAACK!!
PUSHOOOOK .
The dragon's head shout out powerful fire, that hit my left hand, dead on . Soon after, poison needles launched from the tail, and pierced my left shoulder . This was the first blow taken from the monster, and, due to the excruciating pain, I couldn't think straight .
I had invested all of my stats points to vitality, but one blow from this crazy hidden boss made me helplessly collapse . Because the shield had been pointlessly destroyed by the fire, I ended up allowing a strike on my shoulder .
"Ugh . Ha, Ha… Crazy..."
The pain in my left arm's was dominating my body .
My left hand was burned to a crisp . The only thing it maintained was its shape, I couldn't feel or move it .
My sight was gradually becoming blurry .
The monster appeared to have regained feeling in its rear legs, and was starting to charge at me again .
"Kuk, damn it, this crazy little mutt..."
I wanted to live .
This was a chance that was hard earned . It was a chance for me to be happy . I didn't want to lose this chance; I couldn't lose this chance .
At that moment, I was thinking that 'I could die . ' After that thought, I began to feel something emanating within me .
That feeling made me feel as if I was fully dosed in painkillers, and it also made me forget the pain on my left arm for a moment .
When I used both my hands my skill casting time doubled, which was a sharp comparison to when using only one, but I didn't let that bother me .
I used the same method as before! I had decided to use it carefully this time, and focus on precision . Once again I aimed, and shot frost orbs at the rear legs, and the dragon head .
Just in case, I prepared myself for the second round of its tail needle attack .
It was as if my combat senses had spiked due to the threat of immediate death . My field of vision also widened substantially .
Before long I had the monster completely immobilized . I sent twenty electric discharges towards it . I could not make the same mistake twice .
Mistake meant death! To avoid that, I continued to move my body and cast skills .
The dog head lost strength and dropped .
The dragon head was already frozen and broke in half .
The remaining lion head was roaring with murderous intent and stared at me .
And then .
KRUAAAAANG!!!
"So long 10 million . "
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My memory ended there .