novelMarch Towards the New Record (2)
| ← Ch.014 | Ch.016 → |
It made me think about the game.
When I first hunted that punk, I died close to 200 times.
It wasn't just because of the level difference. If you compared just our pure stats, mine were higher. My stats back then were similar to that of a level 30 player.
The reason I was still killed by the mutant wolf was because my agility was too low. Only my strength was high.
On top of that, the weapon I used was the longsword. It was an obvious choice for someone like me who had high strength and low agility. Similarly, the longsword was a weapon that had a strong attack but extremely low attack speed.
The mutant wolf was the opposite. Weak but extremely fast.
So how could I hit it? No matter how many times I swung the longsword, it easily hopped around and dodged my attacks.
It was what you would call a feast of misses.
On the off chance that I hit it, it just skimmed it and caused just a tiny bit of damage.
In return, each and every one of the mutant wolf's hits caused critical damage. Whenever that happened, I just died and died and died.
Once I finally started to use the training cutlass which had a decent attack speed, I was able to start causing some decent damage.
I still ended up dying over 50 times before I finally managed to hunt a single mutant wolf though.
But things should be different this time. I put all my bonus stats into agility, and the Skywolf Leather Armor also increased my agility by 27 points.
Thanks to that, my current agility was 76.
It was even higher than my strength.
I still have to be careful. Unlike the game, dying and reviving is impossible here. Everything will end with a single death.
If I decide that there is no chance of winning, I need to just give up. I can't throw my life away to earn a single slave, now can I?
I stealthily approached the mutant wolf.
The mutant wolf has not noticed my presence yet. It was thanks to the "Stealthy Approach" ability from the Skywolf Armor.
Once I crept up right next to it, I swung my cutlass towards its neck. It was the TBSA 'continuous slash' that I practiced all day.
Papat!
6
[11]
The second slash brought forth a green damage. I managed to land a critical hit.
Whimper-
The moan coming out of the mutant wolf's pointy mouth could not sound any sweeter.
However, I couldn't hunt the mutant wolf with this one hit. All I managed to do was give it a little cut.
The shocked wolf started to move properly.
But his movement actually gave me more confidence.
'I'm faster!'
It wasn't a big difference. But I felt like I could definitely manage to keep up with the wolf's movement if I tried.
In addition, when it came to strength, I was overwhelmingly stronger.
If our agility is similar, then the difference in our strength becomes the difference in our overall power.
Was that the reason? The mutant wolf that bothered me so much in the game seemed to be quite an easy opponent. It almost made me greedy to the point I debated whether I should practice my TBSA or combo on it.
But I can't let my guard down. This is not a game.
There is one thing I cannot forget whether I am awake or sleeping.
'If I die, that is the end. Let's not be greedy. '
My TBSA is still awkward and I haven't even gotten the combo skill.
In this type of situation, the stupid method is the best.
Hit and run.
I focused on the run more than the hit. Any time the mutant wolf's attacked seemed like it would get dangerous, I completely gave up on attacking and dodged or defended.
And then when the wolf's momentum seemed to slow down, I swung my cutlass once.
There were no miss messages. In fact, I even landed a critical hit once in every three hits.
'I guess agility was really the problem. '
If I had raise my agility in the game, I wouldn't have died that much either. I also wouldn't have spent six hours flailing around trying to catch a single wolf.
Tatat!
I could feel the thrill every time I swung the cutlass. Green and red damage messages created a harmony as they came out together.
Just 5 minutes later, I heard another sweet sound coming from the wolf.
Whimper-
The message that followed.
But there were many messages in my head.
This was the part I liked the most while playing Royal Roader.
No matter the level difference between you and the monster, you will only go up 1 level.
In return, you are given other rewards. (TL: I enjoyed all of your discussions about how things would work! Keep it up)
'Toughness. '
It wasn't just useful for physical defense but also elemental and magic resistance as well. Together with 'endurance, ' these were the two special stats that I was thankful for. These two helped me become a greater existence than anyone else.
Thanks to it, I'm able to have my defense and resistance at over 200 without the help of any armor.
In other words, my skin itself was as strong as an armor.
The new record and the rewards that followed were just extra.
I've already managed to create two new records, and the bonus stats I've received from that alone is already 6 points.
A part of me wants to put them into endurance or toughness whenever I get bonus points, but that was impossible. You can't just raise those two stats like the rest.
Either way, it was a great beginning.
'Alright! Now it's time for the bug!'
I skinned the wolf and took the skin with me to the slave trading post.
In reality, they say that it is difficult to remove the skin of an animal, but it came off really easily in Royal Roader.
Thanks to that, I was able to return to the slave trading post before the sun even set.
"You really hunted this on your own?"
I didn't even need to answer. I handed the mutant wolf's skin to the slave trader and grabbed the slave's wrist.
"Now I can take him, right?"
The slave trader let out a long sigh.
"This is your new owner. Go ahead."
Another new record.
This makes 9 bonus points from new records.
Every time I earned them, I put all the bonus points into agility.
Thanks to that, my agility was already at 82. Well, that's including the 27 points from the Skywolf's Leather Armor of course.
Now it was much higher than my strength.
'Anyways, I wonder if this dude will be useful. '
I took a peek at the slave.
The slave must have felt my stare as he closed his shoulders a bit and scratched his head.
He looked really dumb.
"Name?"
"Number 87."
He didn't have a real name yet.
I also gave him a name in the game. There was a name that popped up in my mind as soon as I saw his face so I just decided on it.
He wasn't much different than in the game.
Then there was no reason to find another name when I already had a good one.
"From now on, your name is Jul Goo." (TL: Korean word for Mortar)
"Jul Goo?"
The slave tilted his head as if trying to say he didn't understand.
"It's a very fitting name for a strong man like you. It is a very good name."
"It is? Jul Goo. Hehe."
He even laughed like an idiot.
Anyways, I wonder what his strength is.
"Open Jul Goo's stat window."
[Jul Goo, Level 1]
Dexterity: Beginner 0%
Strength: 59
Agility: 6
Stamina: 7
Intuition: 1
Magic: 1
Vitality: 1
Mana: 4
HP: 67
Loyalty: 63
His strength was the one stat I liked. He might be weaker than me but as the slave trader mentioned, there wouldn't be many level 1 slaves with this much strength. (TL: I wonder how he raised that strength without raising dexterity at all. )
'Yes. All he needs to be able to do is swing the pickaxe well. What else could I expect?'
Next morning.
Batoom welcomed me as soon as I showed up at the mine.
"It's been a while!"
What does he mean by a while?
"I wasn't here just one day yesterday."
"If you usually see someone everyday and see them for the first time in two days, that's a while."
There's no point to waste my time with useless chatter. I also only had six days left of the TBSA textbook rental.
It might be a cheap textbook, but I still paid 17, 000, 000 won for it. In order to get my full money's worth, I need to cherish each minute and each second.
"Please show me the way to Tunnel 99."
Batoom's expression became stoic when I brought up Tunnel 99.
"You really......"
I said I had no time to waste on lip wrestling.
Plus, you don't know how long I've been waiting for this moment. Do you even know how much my heart is pounding right now? Batoom would never know this excitement and nervousness I have right now.
I hurriedly lifted up my hand and stopped Batoom.
"I've already made up my mind. Please don't say anything negative. It might bring bad luck. Just please show me the way."
Batoom let out a long sigh. He then headed me a small key.
All you need to do is follow the sign that says 9 on it. And ......I wish you luck."
"Thank you."
I received the key and went into the tunnel.
As I followed the signs, I checked my equipment. The durability on my cutlass was full and the condition was great. After walking like that for some time, I saw a metal gate in the darkness.
There was writing on the gate. It had been a long time, but the shape was still there.
[99]
'This is it. '
I took a deep breath and opened the lock with the key.
Once I entered, I felt that the air around me changed. The darkness definitely became stronger and even the eerie air seemed to be grasping onto my skin.
In addition, I kept stepping on weird things and they let out noises I did not want to hear.
Crunch. Crunch.
It was the noise of the human bones breaking as I stepped on them.
This was all created to present a fearful scene.
When I walked about 20m, a large hall appeared.
It was both tall and wide. Even though the magic light on the safety helmet was lighting up the area in front of me, I still couldn't see the end clearly.
It looked like a large gym that had multiple basketball courts next to each other.
I cautiously walked in and looked around the hall.
Inside, there were six large holes.
The holes were huge. Even if I was to walk in and jump up and down with my arms stretched out, I wouldn't be able to touch the ceiling.
He is hiding in one of these holes.
"Come out!"
Come out - come out - come out -
As I shouted loudly, the noise echoed throughout the hall.
He answered with a rough breathing noise from inside the cave.
Huuu-
I felt a light breeze. It was coming from inside the cave.
I felt the earth shake as well.
It was the sign that he was quickly coming out of the cave.
I quickly moved backwards.
Soon enough, he showed himself.
"Phew, he's extremely huge. Thankfully. Hoho."
Translator: Miraclerifle
Proofreader: Miraclerifle
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