Chapter 13: Phase 2 (4)

“Aaaaahhhh!”

“Ru-run away! Quickly!”

The street turned into pandemonium in an instant.

This happened shortly after the elite monster, the Collector, entered the underground shopping mall.

Ha-eun’s group hid in the shopping mall and watched this scene. Not long after, a huge monster emerged from the underground shopping mall.

“Ugh! That appearance…”

“It’s become even more horrifying than before.”

A large body with victims’ heads stuck all over it. Tae-min and Min-cheol grimaced at the appearance that had become more grotesque than when they first saw it.

Eun-ji, who had a weak stomach, turned pale and dry heaved. On the other hand, Ha-eun observed the street with relatively calm eyes.

“It doesn’t seem to be chasing the survivors.”

The Collector showed a clearly different behavior pattern from zombies. It wasn’t blindly chasing survivors, but seemed to have a different purpose.

As they watched the Collector’s every move with tense eyes, suddenly it changed direction.

“Huh? That place is…”

The direction of the officetel where Ha-eun had lived.

And the place where the being called the Mage of Fire Thunder was presumed to be staying. Min-cheol frowned and muttered,

“Could it be targeting the Mage?”

No sooner had those words left his mouth than the Collector, which had turned its body, kicked off the ground and sprinted. As Min-cheol had predicted, towards the officetel.

A speed incomparable to zombies.

The group looked towards the officetel. Meanwhile, the Mage, seeming to have realized that he was the Collector’s target, immediately used a skill.

“Is that a doll?”

“Yeah, it looks like it.”

An unidentified doll that sprang up in the Collector’s path. The doll made an eerie sound to lure the Collector, which soon took the bait.

The Collector changed direction to attack the doll. As its movement became fixed, the familiar lightning struck the Collector.

Kwaaaaang!

The Mage and the Collector.

As they watched the battle between these two powerful beings begin, Ha-eun’s expression darkened slightly.

“Will he be okay?”

“What?”

“Even if the Mage is strong, it seems difficult for him to handle that monster.”

Ha-eun’s guess was accurate.

Unlike the zombies that turned into charcoal lumps as soon as they were struck by lightning, the Collector only lost a few heads and didn’t seem to have taken much damage.

“…Indeed, the odds seem low this time.”

Tae-min also agreed with Ha-eun’s opinion.

At this, Eun-ji asked anxiously,

“Th-then what should we do?”

“Realistically, it would be best to escape before the outcome is decided. Or we could cross over to Kangil Girls’ High School right now.”

Crossing the Han River bridge in the current state was dangerous. But Tae-min judged it wouldn’t be as dangerous as facing the Collector.

However, a voice poured cold water on this idea.

“No, it won’t work.”

It was Min-cheol. The group all turned to look at him, his tone filled with strong conviction.

“Remember the message that announced the appearance of the elite monster earlier? Didn’t it say that one would appear per 100km² area?”

“Ah, yes. That’s right.”

“The total area of Seoul is about 600km².”

At these words, everyone’s eyes widened.

“What? Th-that means…!”

“It means there are six or more elite monsters in Seoul alone.”

Everyone’s expressions darkened.

Even if they escaped from here, they would only avoid the immediate crisis, but would eventually encounter another elite monster.

As the atmosphere became gloomy, suddenly Ha-eun spoke up.

“Let’s help the Mage and fight together.”

“What?”

“It was written in the appearance message too, wasn’t it? To cooperate and subjugate it together.”

“That’s true, but…”

“If we’re going to face it eventually, it’s better to defeat it when we have even a slight advantage. By cooperating with the Mage.”

A proposal that seemed reasonable at first glance.

On the other hand, Tae-min showed reluctance.

“I understand what you’re saying. But how do we cooperate with the Mage when we have no means of communication? We can’t even discuss strategy.”

“We don’t need to contact him.”

“…What?”

“We just need to figure out the monster’s weakness and let him know. If we can hold its feet in place, the Mage will take care of the rest.”

Ha-eun revealed the plan she had just come up with.

However, there was a problem with this plan. It was too optimistic. And it could only succeed if they trusted the Mage.

Tae-min pointed this out.

“But what if the Mage abandons us and runs away…”

“No, that doesn’t seem likely.”

At that moment, Min-cheol shook his head.

“If that was possible, he wouldn’t be fighting so desperately and would have run away when he realized lightning wasn’t effective.”

For some reason, the Mage couldn’t leave that officetel. As their previous speculation was mentioned, Tae-min closed his mouth.

As if pondering what to do.

But the deliberation didn’t last long. Tae-min nodded as if he had no choice.

“Haah, alright. But if it gets even slightly dangerous, we stop cooperating and run away.”

“Of course. Life is the most important thing after all.”

“Yes, I agree too.”

Min-cheol and Ha-eun nodded.

Eun-ji hesitated for a moment before agreeing to their opinion, and so the operation began.

The first to move was Ha-eun.

[Activating skill.]

[Shadow Walk: Swift Step]

A skill that greatly increases movement speed.

It also erases one’s presence.

Thanks to this, Ha-eun was able to quickly close the distance with the Collector, and then used her next skill.

‘The special function attached to Shadow’s Eye.’

A skill to identify the target’s weakness.

But a problem arose.

[The level gap with the target is severe.]

[Collector (Lv.20)]

[The skill’s activation probability is adjusted.]

[Success rate: 40%]

‘Huh?’

Ha-eun was quite taken aback.

The Collector’s level was higher than expected.

And she was surprised that a success rate factor suddenly appeared for a skill that had always been 100% successful when used on zombies.

‘Please…!’

Ha-eun clasped her hands together and prayed.

Did her desperate wish reach the heavens?

Fortunately, the skill activated normally.

[Shadow’s Eye: Weakness Identification]

It worked! A smile spread across Ha-eun’s face.

Soon after, the area where the victims’ heads met the Collector’s body glowed brightly.

Immediately after discovering this fact.

Ha-eun took a deep breath and shouted with all her might towards the officetel.

“It’s the neck!”

A shout that rang out loudly.

The Collector’s gaze turned towards Ha-eun. Though she shrank back momentarily, she continued her shout undeterred.

“The contact point between the victims’ heads and the Collector’s body is its weakness! If you attack there, it will definitely be effective!”

As she was revealing the Collector’s weakness, hoping her voice would reach the Mage, suddenly the Collector, which had been engulfed in flames, kicked off its position.

It had targeted Ha-eun.

But she didn’t back down. Because she had something to rely on. As the gap between her and the Collector narrowed to about ten steps,

“Take this! You monster!”

Min-cheol appeared. Swinging a fire extinguisher as he ran, Min-cheol immediately struck the Collector, and a shockwave occurred, pushing the Collector’s body backward.

“Tch, its level is higher than I thought.”

Was the impact weaker than expected?

Min-cheol frowned.

“Be careful! It’s coming again!”

Then Tae-min’s warning followed.

While controlling zombies to attack the Collector, Tae-min also shouted loudly towards the officetel.

“Now’s the time, Mage!”

Shortly after Tae-min’s shout ended.

Shining arrows appeared in mid-air. The arrows successively struck the Collector’s vital points, and the Collector hit by them let out bizarre screams.

【Kieeeeee!】

It tried to protect its weak points by swinging its arms, but it was useless. The zombies controlled by Tae-min had already clung to the Collector’s arms.

Meanwhile, newly formed wind blades began to slash at the Collector’s weak points.

Slash! Slash! Crunch!

Wind blades flying in rapidly.

As the flames grew fiercer and the screams louder, Ha-eun’s group watching the situation retreated.

“We should back off from here.”

“We’ll get caught in the flames if we get too close.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Ha-eun nodded.

Afterwards, the group left the battlefield and returned to near the shopping mall. During that time, the last remaining wind blade struck the Collector’s vital point.

At this, the Collector spewed dark red blood from its vital point and then collapsed to the ground.

Thud! Thuddd!

The moment its massive body hit the ground, the awaited news appeared in the form of a message.

[Subjugation successful.]

[Elite Monster: Collector has been eliminated]

A message of successful subjugation.

Upon seeing this, Ha-eun’s group simultaneously let out sighs. Sighs of relief that welled up from deep within their lungs.

“Phew, we somehow succeeded.”

“Yeah. Thank goodness.”

“E-everyone, good job…!”

Tae-min also seemed to have relaxed as he sat down. Min-cheol supported Tae-min, and Ha-eun looked towards the officetel and muttered softly.

“…Good job.”

Towards the Mage of Fire Thunder who would be savoring victory somewhere in the officetel.

And in the early morning of that day.

Han-seong, who had fallen into a comatose state due to mana depletion, opened his eyes. Rising with a drowsy face, he frowned at the faint headache he felt.

“Urgh…”

His whole body ached and hurt.

As if he had been thoroughly beaten with a club.

Han-seong, who had barely managed to get onto his wheelchair, muttered as he recalled the memories from before he fainted.

“So this is what happens when mana is depleted.”

It was fortunate that he lost consciousness after the battle ended. If such a situation had occurred in the middle of combat, he would have died on the spot.

“…I need to be careful from now on.”

Having realized the dangers of mana depletion, Han-seong sighed and began tidying up the messy room.

While doing so, he carefully reviewed the battle that had taken place before he fainted.

‘I was lucky this time.’

The fact that none of his skills were on cooldown when facing the elite monster alone was enough to say he was lucky.

Also, Ha-eun’s unexpected help was another factor that led to victory in the battle. In other words, it was a result achieved by the combination of several strokes of luck.

‘But next time…’

There’s no guarantee that luck will be on his side again.

That’s why preparation is necessary. Because he doesn’t know when another elite monster might appear. Han-seong’s eyes shone with determination as he finished cleaning.

Afterwards, he looked at the messages filling the air.

Messages that had poured in like a flood after defeating the elite monster, the Collector. Before examining these, he first checked his own status.

“Status.”

[Name]: Kang Han-seong

[Job]: Remote Support Mage

Grade: 2nd Tier

Han-seong, who had already reached level 22.

Come to think of it, he remembered leveling up 3 times while defeating the Collector before fainting.

Accordingly, the first message that appeared was one congratulating him on reaching level 20.

[Level 20 achieved!]

[All skill levels have increased.]

With this, all skills reached level 3. The effective range and impact range had slightly increased, and the cooldown time had also been reduced a bit.

‘As expected.’

It was the moment his guess that skill levels automatically increase every 10 levels was confirmed. Han-seong looked at the next message that appeared.

[Rewards will be given according to contribution.]

[Reward]: 983 Coins

An overwhelmingly high contribution.

It was at a level where it could be said that Han-seong had essentially defeated it single-handedly. During this, there was a message that caught his attention.

[There are automatically collected spoils.]

[Would you like to check?]

It seems the Collector was subjugated within a hundred meters of the officetel center. Han-seong opened his inventory without hesitation.

[Equipment]: Memorizing Bracelet

[Material]: Collector’s Soul Stone

A golden bracelet with elegant patterns engraved on it and an amethyst fragment about the size of a pebble.

He had naturally thought the spoils would be a skillbook, but to think it would drop items.

Curiosity gleamed in Han-seong’s eyes.

He released the spoils and first grasped the bracelet. Immediately, information about the bracelet unfolded before his eyes.

[Name]: Memorizing Bracelet

[Effect]: Can store skills of 3rd Tier or lower by chanting. When activating stored skills, no additional mana is consumed.

(However, skills that consume mana proportional to time are exceptions)

[Skill Capacity]: Maximum 3

[Storage Time]: Maximum 24 hours

“S-skills can be stored?”

For example, if Call Lightning is stored in advance, it means it can be used twice in succession.

No, since it can store up to three skills, theoretically, Call Lightning could be used up to 4 times in a row.

‘This is exactly the ability I need.’

Han-seong had keenly felt something while fighting the Collector yesterday.

That he needed more attack skills than the ones he currently possessed. He also thought he needed to greatly increase his mana capacity and recovery rate.

But if he could store skills in advance when he has spare time and use them at will?

It solves both concerns.

‘Very good.’

Han-seong smiled with satisfaction as he put the bracelet on his wrist. Next, he examined the second spoil he had obtained, the soul stone.

[Name]: Collector’s Soul Stone

[Description]: A crystal of the elite monster Collector’s soul. A material needed for creating golems, homunculi, replicas, dullahans, etc.

And he realized.

That it was an item with no immediate use.

‘Still, let’s keep it for now.’

It might be needed someday.

Or it could be sold at the auction house.

Han-seong put the soul stone in the desk drawer. Then he looked back at the air. There were still messages remaining after checking the spoils.

“Achievement?”

Next to appear was a notification of achieving new achievements. There were even two of them.

[You have achieved a new achievement.]

[Achievement]: First Hunter

[Condition]: World’s first elite monster subjugation

[Reward]: Limited Item Selection Ticket

First, the achievement of First Hunter.

Han-seong’s eyes widened.

Because it was hard to believe.

“World’s first? Me?”

He felt somewhat dazed.

He had never even ranked first in his class during his school days, but now he had achieved a world’s first record.

Still, it didn’t feel bad. Han-seong smiled awkwardly and looked at the achievement reward.

[Name]: Limited Item Selection Ticket

[Description]: A ticket that allows immediate purchase of limited items registered in the auction house.

[Validity Period]: 7 days

Limited item. A familiar term.

The skill Inventory that Han-seong had purchased from the auction house was registered as a limited item.

And limited items are mostly things that are difficult to obtain easily. It was like that back then too.

‘But the disappointing part is…’

The fact that there’s a set validity period.

Although he didn’t know how often limited items are registered, it would probably be good to keep an eye on the auction house from today onwards.

If he didn’t want to turn the hard-earned limited item selection ticket into scrap paper. Han-seong put the ticket in his pocket and looked at the next achievement.

[Achievement]: Lone Wolf

[Condition]: Acquire 80% or more single contribution when subjugating an elite monster

[Reward]: 500 Coins, Skillbook: Detection

The second achievement, Lone Wolf.

In simple terms, it’s an achievement given to those who essentially subjugated an elite monster alone.

Soon after, Han-seong was surprised when he looked at the effect of the skillbook received as a reward.

“Th-this is…!”

An effect that discerns the information and weaknesses of entities existing within a certain range. This is also one of the abilities Han-seong desperately needed.

If he had known the Collector’s weakness in advance, he might have been able to defeat it more easily without experiencing mana depletion.

Han-seong immediately learned the skill.

[You have learned Detection.]

[Acquisition Target: Remote Support Mage]

[The skill is modified to fit the job.]

[Remote: Detection (Lv.3)]

-Information and weaknesses of all entities existing at a specific coordinate are revealed. Simultaneously, it can discern stealth and clone skills of level 3 or lower.

▷Effective Range: 1.5km

▷Detection Range: 250m

▷Mana Cost: 90

▷Cooldown: 27 minutes

‘Good. Let’s test it right away.’

The targets were zombies 500 meters away from the officetel. Soon after designating the coordinates and activating the skill, countless pieces of information appeared before his eyes.

[Name]: Wandering Zombie

[Name]: Sensitive Zombie

[Name]: Zombie Beginning to Decay

The information revealed was extremely simple.

Still, the effect of the skill itself was satisfactory.

It meant that if an elite monster appeared next time, he could use this to know its weakness.

During this, a sudden question arose.

‘What would happen if I used it on people?’

More precisely, how much information would be provided?

Curious, Han-seong waited for the cooldown of the Detection skill to reset.

Some time later.

The targets were the survivor group staying in the place closest to the officetel. It was Ha-eun’s group who had helped Han-seong yesterday.

[Remote: Detection]

Soon after, information was revealed.

Information about Ha-eun, Tae-min, Min-cheol, and Eun-ji. Among them, Han-seong focused on Ha-eun’s information.

[Name]: Seo Ha-eun

[Job]: Shadow Assassin

[Owned Skills]:

▷Shadow Walk (+Swift Step)

▷Shadow’s Eye (+Weakness Identification)

▷Shadow Smash

More detailed information than zombies.

Although weaknesses weren’t shown, most of the information was more helpful than that.

Not only job and level, but even owned skills were revealed. And Han-seong realized why Ha-eun had been able to identify the Collector’s weakness.

“It was thanks to this skill.”

Because the Shadow’s Eye skill had a special function called Weakness Identification attached to it. After that, she must have risked danger to come out and inform him of this.

“I owe her a debt.”

Without her advice, Han-seong might not have been alive in this world anymore. As his desire to repay her somehow grew,

Suddenly, he remembered one of the skillbooks he had obtained as spoils. A skillbook that the Assassin job could learn, namely Shadow Doppelganger.

‘It would be good if I could give her this, but…’

The problem was that there was no means to deliver it.

Moving by wheelchair was too risky, and conversely, calling them to the officetel also carried considerable risk.

It would be like revealing that he couldn’t move freely on his own. As he was pondering, a new notification message appeared.

[A registered item has gone unsold.]

[Skillbook: Turn Undead]

A notification that the Healer-exclusive skillbook he had registered yesterday hadn’t been sold. Han-seong finished his deliberation and turned his attention elsewhere.

‘Ah, should I check the auction house?’

To re-register the unsold item, and also because he had accumulated quite a lot of Coins. So Han-seong entered the auction house and retrieved the unsold skillbook.

That’s when something caught his eye.

“Hmm?”

The sight of comments on each item registered in the auction house being updated as if flooding. It was the sight of survivors having real-time conversations.

The content was about the elite monster.