Chapter 26 - Tutorial (Hunter) - 12
DING
Watching the mirror ghost brutally murder Noah with an axe, Vesper clenches his fist in satisfaction, celebrating the flawless execution.
'One down!'
After summoning the crawler, Vesper conserves energy points, waiting for the right moment. When he notices Noah entering the washroom, Vesper patiently accumulates energy until it reaches 100, then summons a mirror ghost.
The spawn location is fixed. The mirror ghost eliminates Noah as planned but retreats once its task is completed.
Furthermore, the maximum deployable guardians change from [2/2] to [1/2], allowing Vesper to summon a different guardian onto the field.
Now, only Zillion Chub remains.
Vesper activates a switch on the monitor, shifting the CCTV camera's focus to the chubby man. The screen flickers, revealing Zillion.
The middle-aged chubby man places three green runes and two white runes on the back of the truck. He opens the breaker panel, flips a few switches, and then rushes toward the shutter door, hitting a giant red arrow-up button.
*ZAG-ZAG-ZAG*
The shutter door begins to ascend slowly!
Vesper is surprised. He wasn't aware survivors could open the garage door this way. Fortunately, it takes some time for the shutter to fully open.
Not allowing Zillion to escape unharmed, Vesper activates another default spell - Lights Off!
The breakers automatically shut down all switches, plunging the area into darkness. The electric shutter freezes due to the power outage.
Zillion is startled. His eyes, accustomed to bright light, struggle to adjust even though streetlights filter through the shutter's gaps.
While waiting for his energy to replenish, Vesper patiently counts the seconds, exploring new skills.
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- Golden Blood (4th Grade) (Gold Element) (Active)
(General): Spend 400 Energy to temporarily increase your strength, dexterity, vitality, and stamina by 50% for one minute. 60 Minutes cooldown. Upgradeable.
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- Gold Enchantment (1st Grade) (Active)
(General): Spend 10 Energy to convert or melt a small area, a small material, or a small object into gold or gold liquid. Cooldown 10 seconds. Upgradeable.
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- Golden Body (1st Grade) (Active)
(General): Spend 10 Energy to enhance your physique and cover it with a layer of gold. Your defense is increased for 30 seconds. 60-second cooldown. Upgradeable.
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Nothing proves useful in this scenario.
Given that the Golden Touch is a 4th-grade spell, it demands considerable energy consumption. The sole viable option presently is the Gold Enchantment spell.
Rather than applying it to any arbitrary item, Vesper opts to bide his time, fixating on the numbers.
12
13.5
15
16.5
Every passing second feels excruciatingly prolonged, especially when Vesper requires it urgently.
.
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Meanwhile, Zillion's eyes adjust slightly to the darkness. He strides toward the breaker console and flips the lights back on, causing sparks to fly from the electric panel.
Simultaneously, a fragment of yellow light emits from the shutter's button. Zillion patiently returns to the button and presses it again, eliciting another noise from the shutter.
*BOOM*
A loud thud from within the house startles Zillion. Following the noise, the obnoxious laughter of a particular monster echoes through the hallway.
"KIHIHIHIHIHI!"
Zillion snorts, scoffing at the spider lady, "I've acquired a useful skill, you wench! I'm not afraid of you anymore!"
With his right fist clenched, the rune behind Zillion's hand glows in a blue light.
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
The lady continues to pound on the door. After two strikes, it's already half-broken.
Remaining calm, Zillion grabs a crowbar with his right hand and casually walks toward the door.
*BOOM*
The door hurtles toward Zillion after another assault.
Facing the flying door, Zillion leaps to the side, dodging it.
The spider lady finally spots her prey and leaps onto the truck, lunging at Zillion.
"Naive!"
Holding the crowbar like a baseball bat, Zillion swings it with all his might.
*CRACK*
The crowbar strikes the crawler's face accurately, breaking her jaw. She is thrown back and collides with the ascending shutter door.
Zillion laughs triumphantly, "Heh. Too easy! I should've finished you off last time I had the chance."
.
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Vesper deeply frowns as he gazes at Zillion in the monitor in disbelief. He fought crawlers before, and he knew how strong they were. However, this chubby man defeated his subordinate in one swing.
Something is wrong with the guy.
Zillion rubs his left eye, staring deeply into the monitor. He wishes that he could see the man's status attributes and skills.
DING
The eye doesn't disappoint him. A status window appears next to the stage's monitor.
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Name: Zillion Chub
CHOSEN DIFFICULTY: Terror (Drop Rate X 2)
Strength: 12.5
Dexterity: 7.74
Vitality: 16.22
Stamina: 6.51
APTITUDE LEVEL: 0
RUNE STATUS:
- BODY & LIMBS
(Right Hand): Rune of Power (3rd Grade)
(Right Chest): Rune of Regeneration (4th Grade)
(Right Feet): Rune of Agility (1st Grade)
Rune Skill List:
- Rune of Power (3rd Grade) (Passive)
(General) Increases strength by 5. All attacks from this hand deal extra damage.
- Rune of Agility (1st Grade) (Passive)
(General) Increase dexterity by 1.
- Rune of Regeneration (4th Grade) (Passive)
(General) Increase vitality by 10. Your wounds heal slightly faster.
TRIAL RECORDS:
Attempt: 3
Survived: 2
Death: 1
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Indeed, Vesper's opponent isn't a novice like Noah. Zillion has completed two missions and failed once, leading to his starting over from scratch, which is why he finds himself in this situation.
However, everyone here is mortal. If he can bleed, he can be killed.
Vesper checks the energy status.
97.5 Points.
It's sufficient. It's time to play with Zillion.
'Come out, PHANTOM!'
.
.
The crawler disintegrates into dust, dropping a monster rune. The shutter door fully opens.
Zillion hums to himself and retrieves the runes from the truck's back. Holding two basketball-sized runes under his arms, he descends from the truck, eyeing the exit as if ready to leave.
Suddenly, the garage's light bulbs flicker, and the shutter door slams shut, the earlier broken door now magically repaired.
Zillion carefully returns the runes to the truck without making a sound, scratching his head in frustration and silently grumbling.
"I forgot about that ghost. Is it the hunting phase again? Has that newbie died yet?"
Whenever a ghost enters the hunting phase, all doors and windows are automatically restored to their perfect condition and become invincible, trapping every survivor inside the building. Nobody can unlock or open them until the ghost's hunting phase is finished.
Prepared for the mirror ghost, Zillion watches the hallway door, anticipating if the ghost will approach.
"KRRRRRRR."
Instead of the hatchet man ghost, a floating long-haired woman phases through the door. Upon reaching the garage, she turns toward the shutter door, which caused the noise earlier, and notices Zillion.
Zillion also furrows his brow. This ghost is unfamiliar to him. During his first trial at this house, he completed it within 15 minutes. Zillion got lucky and managed to kill the spider lady, earning him an A Rank that boosted his stats and skills.
Eyeing the new ghost, Zillion remembers the holy stake in his personal chest next to the altar. He notes mentally that he'll need it to defeat this ghost for bonus runes.
Acknowledging he's not yet ready to face her, Zillion prepares to flee.
Unlike the old man ghost's ground-bound movements, the female ghost hovers over the truck and pursues Zillion.
With a smirk, Zillion sprints, dodging the ghost and heading toward the corridor.
The ghost changes direction and speeds up slightly.
Zillion races down the corridor, slamming open the middle door and entering the main house area, finding the front door still shut.
"KRRRRRRR."
All active LED lights in the house flicker whenever a ghost is nearby. Strangely, the faster the lights flicker, the quicker the floating ghost moves.
The female ghost groans and phases through doors, her speed increasing in the flickering light. Soon, they're within arm's reach.
Zillion whirls around, seeing the white-clad ghost up close. He kicks the ground and screams in terror.
"GOD DAMMIT! ARE YOU A FUCKING RAIJU OR SOMETHING?!"
The living room's light flickers with the presence of a ghost like her. In the next instant, she captures Zillion, hugging him from behind and possessing his body.
*CRACK*
*CLICK*
Remaining conscious, Zillion feels his bones and joints twisting unnaturally. His eardrums rupture, and his neck twists 180 degrees. Within five seconds, his limbs curl into a ball, and his body rolls on the ground. The phantom then leaves his body, satisfied with the deed.