It's been a week since I defeated the Lich King for the first time .
I had almost built up immunity towards the smell by now .
My level was already 199 .
With this clear, I should hit level 200 .
Each time I leveled, I tried to use the skill book I had obtained .
But the results were the disappointing . Still impossible .
For someone like me who was only raising the Stamina stat, the worst case scenario would be the skill book not opening due to a lack of Dexterity stats .
I prayed that it was a level issue and continued to lv up .
[Your level rose . ]
I was surrounded by a bright glow, along with the narration for the level up .
I had reached level 200 in 4 months .
Unlike usual, I held off on the all-important stat allocation .
And almost as if led by something, I pulled the book out from the bag and put it to my chest .
Exactly level 200 .
That's why I couldn't help but hope that I could obtain it .
"Please! I'm so curious!"
Closing my eyes, I hoped that the 'condition is not met' wouldn't pop up again .
A moment passed .
Almost as if to lessen the worry in my heart, a system announcement I've been looking forward to came .
[Would you like to obtain Dual Casting?]
"It worked!"
Guess the requirement was level based after all .
This was a skill that didn't appear even after scanning with the encyclopedia app .
I even searched online, but couldn't find any information on it .
Perhaps it was a skill book beyond ranking, as rumors had it .
A skill without any information released on it .
I cannot know what it does until I learn it .
But no reason to hesitate .
It's not like there is a limit to how many skills you could learn .
And I didn't have to worry about what class the skill is for or the cost of the mana .
Because with infinite mana, I could use any skill as if it is mine .
"Of course I'm learning it!"
The skill book that appeared to be made of metal quickly became dust and faded away .
I wanted to test the skill's power immediately .
Since it was a skill without any information on it, my expectations soared .
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"You won't know until you try . Let's try it for now . "
I had not left the dungeon yet .
Like how I used other skills, I thought of the name in my head .
'Dual Casting . '
Soon its identity will be revealed .
However .
I spread out my arms and waited for a powerful skill to announce its presence, but the surrounding remained silent .
Seems nothing had changed .
Wondering if it was a shield, I checked .
A self-buff? That wasn't it either .
Does it need a target? Many thoughts were racing through my head .
Stumped without answers, I opened my status tab .
I definitely obtained the skill .
A skill that didn't have an experience bar .
Like 'Teleport', it seemed that it could not level up .
But if you cast Teleport, you should be able to see the effect .
While pondering, it suddenly dawned on me .
My eyes focused in on my hands .
I feel so stupid for not realizing this earlier .
I was so excited that I forgot about the skill name .
Perhaps 'Dual Casting', as the name implies, allows me to use two skills at the same time?
Thinking about it further was a waste of time .
I casted Frost Orb with one hand .
Only a single Frost Orb struck against the ground .
Now I was sure that it wasn't a skill that gave twice the output with one cast .
"If that's the case…"
With one hand, I continued to cast Frost Orb while my other hand kept up the Mana Shield .
Filled with high expectations, I casted Teleport .
If Teleport does work… .
The Teleport casted, allowing me to jump a short distance forward .
Now I understood .
Dual Casting gave me a 'third hand' .
I was able to cast two different spells at the same time with one hand .
This was already amazing, but imagine if I was able to obtain another one…
I would be able to cast four different spells simultaneously with two hands .
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"Im . . Impossible… . "
In combat, I lost out on my offensive capabilities due to needing one hand to keep my Mana Shield up .
To unleash more of my power, I let my shield go and was met with quite the critical situation .
I had now obtained a skill that covered that weakness perfectly .
But it seems that to use it well, I'll need some practice .
The aim needed to hit the targets was by the caster .
To be able to cast multiple skills to where I want them will take some practice .
Well, for someone who is obsessed with hunting, it shouldn't take long .
If I am able to master it, I should be 1 . 5 times stronger than before .
* * * *
After learning the rankless skill Dual Casting, I had another issue to take care of .
My main skills were Meteor and Iceberg, as well as Fire Shock .
All of them required time to cast and/or cool downs .
After using all three skills, I had nothing left to continue putting on the pressure .
Let's say I use one hand for the shield, while the other for Gravity Laser .
But for my 'third hand'?
I couldn't just continue casting Frost Orb or Lightning Spray when they do almost nothing .
The skill I needed most .
A spell that didn't require time to cast and no cool down .
It didn't need to have a big impact radius .
Just something to allow me to continue dealing damage while the main spells were on cool down .
Currently I had way too much money to spend .
Right now, I was focusing on growth over money, and had nowhere to spend all this cash .
The last spell I used money to buy was Meteor Call after all .
While I was wondering what new spells to learn…
I remembered that I borrowed some Awakened Essences from the midget .
I hadn't paid him back because I was saving them for Meteor Call and Iceberg .
But it looked like it was going to be awhile before I could get them to level 100 .
As the skill level rose, the experience required rose as well, while the delay time between each cast slowing me down .
Even if there was bad blood between us, I had 'borrowed' them, nothing different from stealing .
They followed through my requests and helped me with a few things here and there .
I could not be at ease knowing that .
I didn't want to be a vicious thug after all .
I carried the Awakened Essences with me and headed towards their office .
* * * *
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Chirp chirp .
A caller ring filled with the sounds of nature…?
It didn't take long for the midget to answer the phone with his business voice .
"Yes . Lee Sung Ho speaking . "
"It's been awhile since I last called . Do you have anyone at the office at the moment?"
"Who is thi- … Huh! Yes . I'm still here at the moment… For what reason is it this time…"
From his voice, I could imagine his eyes filled with anxiety .
I could also almost hear the 'What request is it this time!' in his heart .
"Why are you so nervous? I was calling to return the essences I borrowed . "
"Ah! You can take your time returning them… Where are you? Should we come and get you? We'll leave right away . "
Unlike what he was saying before, he was blabbering non-stop .
"Nope . I'll be there in 5 minutes . "
"Thank you . Thank you . "
To be this happy for borrowed items being returned .
Well, these essences are worth about 100 to 200 million each .
I walked slowly to make sure I don't accidentally run into any civilians .
It would be a huge issue to run into anyone while running at abnormal speeds .
I arrived at the office .
His face was all smiles .
Almost as if he found a 10,000 won in his winter coat pocket from last year .
"You came!"
"Yes . Here are the essences . "
"Oh my! I thought I'd never see the-… No no . Thank you for returning them so quickly . "
Holding the essences tightly, he looked at them as if in love .
He was the splitting image of Gollum holding onto the Ring .
Since I'm here anyways, why not use the shady route once more .
I was planning to learn some A+ ranking spells after all .
"Like how I asked before, get me some skill books . "
"… . . "
"While I was coming here, I decided on a few that I want, but there were none on the market . "
"A+ ranking like before?"
"Yes . Don't worry about money and set me up a deal . "
"Most things aren't that difficult to get… . but what skills are you talking about…?"
"Explosion and Holy Missile . "
"Common magic like those, I can get them without much difficulty . "
"That's good . 3 days should be plenty, right?"
"Y . . Yes? O-of course . Plenty . "
"Ah! I also forgot to mention . Please get me 'Eye of Insight' as well . "
"Isn't that a spell for the Cleric class?"
"I think it is? Well whatever, I'll be relying on you . I'll be back in 3 days . "
"O… Okay . "
* * * *
The chance for the Lich King appearing in the level 23 dungeon was incredibly low .
I've only fought him once . The weakest boss with the purple glowing eyes was it .
I was still amazed how I was able to get two Banwol Jincheons from Gwidon .
I didn't need essences at the moment .
But the gear they dropped were not things I just wanted, but needed .
"Ha… I wish at least a mimic would appear… . "
Thanks to the ridiculous number of mobs, I was able to obtain a vast amount of blood stones .
But no matter how much money I had, there was no way for me to obtain a M/A+ level of gear .
I was not nervous in the slightest .
Like a machine, I continued to hunt systematically .
After taking care of all the ghouls, I headed for the exit with loot in tow .
I headed toward the exit with a hopeful heart and raised ears .
But all I could hear from the dungeon was my own steps .
"Ah! It's so hard to even encounter him!"
I arrived at the exit .
But in front of the gate, I couldn't help but rub my eyes .
There definitely was a gate leading out .
However, next to that gate was another gate open, slightly darker than the usual exit gates .
"… Have I gone crazy from all the scent of intestines?"
My self-doubt was brief .
I looked at the gate once more .
"Ah! Jong Ho hyung!"
I was sure of it .
Right before I entered the level 23 dungeon, Jong Ho was telling me any information that would be helpful .
It was information that I didn't pay much attention to with the mindset of 'go in and kill everything' .
But perhaps due to coincidences, there was a part I remembered clearly .
I was positive .
"Is it okay?"