Chapter 200

Chapter 200. A Day on the Battlefield (4)

Detecting my intentions, Yang Taeho stepped forward and swung his hammer grandly.

“You’d be disappointed if you forgot me!”

Kim Yul, who was also aiming for the neck, joined in, and my spear struck directly at the knee of the general-rank enemy.

Thud.

The impact sound was crisp and delivered the sensation of bone shattering vividly through the spear’s shaft.

“Kyaaah!”

The general-rank enemy, whose leg bent in an odd direction, staggered.

At the same time, Yang Taeho’s hammer embedded itself in the side of the general-rank enemy.

Even while being struck from multiple directions, it swung its arms and tail menacingly.

In the process, both Kim Yul and I received some minor scratches.

Fortunately, there was no pathogen message.

“Over here too!”

Just then, Yang Taeho charged swiftly with a shield at the forefront.

With a thud, he pushed the general-rank enemy further.

He drove the enemy to choose blocking with the shield rather than evading it.

Despite a broken leg, the general-rank enemy endured Yang Taeho’s force.

In that brief moment, a gentle breeze began to blow.

Soon, Kim Yul’s Spirit, which had been lingering in the air, swooped down suddenly.

In the right hand was the artifact dagger I’d given, while the left hand held his usual dagger.

Wind surged strongly around him, armed with daggers of differing lengths in reverse grips.

‘Storm.’

This was the change brought about by the accumulated attribute mana from combining both the wind-type enhancement and water-type elements into the dagger.

It was the same principle as the sparks when I infused lightning mana into my spear.

Observing Kim Yul’s movements, I thrust my spear over Yang Taeho’s left shoulder.

The general-rank enemy, pretending to throw off the shield, lifted a hand urgently.

Too close to Yang Taeho to use attribute mana effectively, I wrapped regular red mana around the spear, which then bounced off the enemy’s nails.

While the general-rank enemy was tangled with the shield and spear, Kim Yul twisted his body in mid-air to avoid the tail aimed at his chest.

Then, reaching for the tail, he sliced it outright.

A tempestuous wind whipped around, making it hard to keep eyes open.

Following that wind, black blood spread everywhere.

The half of Kim Yul’s body was drenched in black blood as a result of being hit by the enemy’s kick.

The sound of the solid impact resonated, flinging Kim Yul back.

Yet, his expression was bright.

“I got it!”

Indeed, the tail of the general-rank enemy had been cut off.

Black blood was gushing from the completely severed end.

Taking one of the enemy’s attack methods away was a remarkable achievement.

However, the story changed as the flowing blood began to coagulate.

Witnessing the monster’s blood move, I shouted instinctively.

“Back off!”

Without any hesitation, Kim Yul and Yang Taeho instantly distanced themselves from the general-rank enemy.

In that gap, the black-colored blood filled the vacant tail area.

It resembled both a tentacle and a whip.

Although unlike anything I’d seen before, it was undoubtedly Kerak.

Observing Kerak twisting uncontrollably, I narrowed my eyes and watched keenly.

‘Using it later than expected.’

Had I been in the general rank enemy’s position, I would have attacked using Kerak right away.

But the creature started using Kerak only after accumulating several wounds.

This prompted a hypothesis.

‘Perhaps there’s a condition for using Kerak.’

Perhaps its life points had to drop, or wounds needed to be present, or some such condition.

It wasn’t strange given that the Order’s statistical reports lacked detail.

To compile statistics like this, data needs to be gathered from various regions, which isn’t easy.

‘It’s not like there’s a widespread internet.’

Under such circumstances, deriving statistics wouldn’t be accurate.

Players exchanging detailed information probably provided more reliable insights.

Now that the general-rank enemy had unveiled Kerak, we couldn’t afford the luxury of coordinating leisurely.

“Hyung, get behind me; Kim Yul, engage in long-range throwing.”

I instructed the position changes and took the forefront.

From here on, their role was to support me as I faced forward.

I called upon attribute mana, carefully saved for moments like this.

The general-rank enemy seemed to have somewhat recovered mana and immediately began preparing magic.

About 20 minutes later, after enduring three infections and purifications, the battle concluded.

“Keekk, keekk…”

The general-rank enemy that had been persistently beaten by me dragged itself, mashed up, across the floor.

Now reduced merely to exhaling, it was only a matter of severing the neck of the fallen general.

Yet, instead of striking with my spear, I hesitated briefly.

“Hyung?”

Kim Yul, who had landed on the ground, tilted his head at my pause.

Without answering the call, I withdrew my spear and lowered myself.

Lifting the general-rank enemy’s arm amidst a watery surrounding that still kicked up dust from being thoroughly beaten until its muscles and bones were shattered.

Consequently, the arm could only dangle, barely trailing my movement.

While pondering whether to kill the tattered general-rank enemy, I briefly pondered.

Retrieving a familiar glass bottle from the inventory, I spoke.

“Ahel, do potions work on this creature as well?”

The question might have seemed strange, but Ahel answered without questioning the curiosity of my intention.

“Of course. Potions are made by compressing life force, which is mana.”

Perhaps Ahel realized my intentions without having to ask.

“You should set the bone and feed them for proper bonding,” he advised in acknowledgment.

Affirming Ahel’s answer, I grabbed the potion vial and firmly gripped the general-rank enemy’s neck.

‘This is the first encounter with an 8-star general rank.’

There was no guarantee I’d encounter another 8-star general-rank enemy.

Seeing the attribute window naturally led to many thoughts in such a scenario.

Trait: Capitalism, adaptability, tenacity, Purification (lv.3 – 31.83%)

During the three infections and purifications, mastery increased by nearly 10%.

‘Ending it here seems wasteful.’

In an era where even trash is recycled, why not recycle the creature?

Ordinary players couldn’t afford to use potions on creatures because of their cost.

I, however, no longer had to fret over potion expenses.

‘Even the discount rate is 11%.’

Hence, I smiled slyly as I locked eyes with the general-rank enemy.

“Can you endure more?”

“K-kkeek…?”

Shivering began in the eyes of the creature, barely exhaling breath before death.

* * *

There were a total of three training sessions carried out against the 8-star general-rank enemy.

During the final session, the general hardly used Kerak at all.

This confirmed suspicions into certainty.

‘There’s definitely a condition for usage.’

The exact principle was unclear, but it appeared there were constraints on using blood as a means.

The duration was a maximum of 40 minutes, and there was a cool-down of up to 3 hours.

Upon striking again post another 3-hour interval with Kerak, he could only maintain it for 5 minutes.

‘It seems not fully charged.’

It was uncertain whether this peculiar behavior was exclusive to the encountered entity or generalized to others as well.

Querying whether statistical data related to this existed within the Order was necessary.

‘Though it probably doesn’t exist.’

Yet, I had to check.

‘If it doesn’t exist, I’ll create it.’

For now, transforming suspicion into certainty was a substantial achievement.

Moreover, increasing the purification trait mastery by nearly 20% using a single creature speaks volumes.

It suffices to say I’ve extracted every obtainable gain from this encounter.

“Hoo.”

Stood on the fallen general-rank enemy, I vented by shaking the wet hair off my head.

Glancing down my arm, I noticed the mottled mess of skin—naturally, it caught my gaze.

Embedding Kerak whip by the general-rank enemy created these spots.

Interspersed among those spots were lacerations where the skin had been torn.

‘Once back on Earth, I’ll have to wear long sleeves.’

Going around with bare arms would certainly worry my family.

Containing a shallow sigh, I flicked the slightly tingling sensation left in my arms.

Kim Yul, approaching me, slyly struck up a conversation.

“Should I wake that thing if you’re going to do more?”

Brief deliberation led me to shake my head.

It was impossible to continue this endlessly.

Given the general-rank enemy had fallen unconscious.

‘There’s no guarantee waking it would make it rise.’

It seemed its capacity to deploy Kerak had reached its end.

Time to wrap things up.

“Let’s wrap up and move on.”

With that, I drove the spear directly into the head of the unconscious general-rank enemy.

「You have successfully eliminated the enemy. 267,261 corrupted mana is absorbed.」

Frowning at the multitude of messages alike, it was clear the absorbed mana amount comfortably exceeded 250,000—yet this was all.

‘Still no mention of attribute mana content.’

I had slain quite a few general-rank entities, but never once had I absorbed attribute mana.

Even when it somewhat matched my attribute, I handed the kill to party members.

Nothing special resulted from it.

‘It seems I can’t absorb it because the attribute doesn’t align precisely.’

If so, this means the attribute mana from previously slain general-rank entities simply vanished.

‘It’s regrettable to the point of tearing up.’

Encountering a general-rank enemy with an aligned attribute is nearly impossible.

There are thousands of types of attribute mana.

Among mages, it is widely held that beyond those categorized attributes, others likely exist.

The mana tree essentially organizes and assesses witnessed elements up to now.

It wouldn’t surprise anyone if undiscovered attribute mana exists.

Out of the vast array, the likelihood of meeting a creature possessing exactly the same lightning attribute as mine is slim.

‘You can’t let it live just because the attribute doesn’t match.’

The concern I pondered before today’s hunt pertained to this.

‘If general-rank attribute mana could also be dropped as an item,’

then it could be saved and later traded with a player sharing the same attribute.

‘Since it wasn’t bought from a shop, there’s no discount to apply.’

Such items could even be listed at auction.

Once dropped, it would likely spur exchange and trade among players.

‘Honestly, it’s more beneficial to use than to discard general-rank attribute mana.’

Even when I took down the Zhang Tianyu recently, that attribute mana was too precious to waste.

‘Magma.’

In theoretical magic studies, it’s ranked highest among the four divisions.

In terms of rank, it’s akin to a 4.5-grade attribute.

‘It’s not 5-grade, but too ambiguous to simply categorize as 4-grade.’

Due to the inclusion of the wind element in the molten state of magma.

‘Primarily containing oxygen and also carbon dioxide.’

These elements don’t qualify as free-roaming wind in the world.

This is why wind-based attributes branched out separately in the attribute mana tree.

‘As Ahel said, oxygen is essential for fire to burn.’

Nevertheless, Biharin mages distinctly separated fire and wind.

‘Having oxygen doesn’t equate to being wind.’

For wind, a pressure difference, influenced by temperature, is necessary.

‘These elements rank under 2nd-grade attributes as the fundamental 1st-grade attributes.’

The philosophy in magic suggests that all living forms inherently possess these 1st-grade attributes.

‘However, 1st-grade attributes are too feeble to have a tangible form like 2nd-grade.’

This is the fundamental reason magical academia describes unmarked mana as 1st-grade.

Strictly speaking, those with 1st-grade mana aren’t devoid of attributes.

It’s simply so indistinguishable it doesn’t stand out overtly.

According to such theory, magma containing well-balanced components of oxygen, carbon dioxide, fire, earth, and hydrogen stands high in ranking.

‘Only a handful of accounts recorded,’

rarer even than the lightning-type resonance documented nearly a hundred times.

Having relinquished such a valuable trait seems utterly forlorn.

‘Regardless of how many times considered, the conclusion remains the same.’

Implementing a system where deceased entities’ attribute mana is dropped would aid the players.

Intending to propose such an idea to the Damned System seemed wise.

I cleared my thoughts, as usual, when reclaiming my spear.

“Ah, it’s really over now?”

Kim Yul, stretching with relief, sheathed the dagger at his waist.

“That was quite long, wasn’t it?”

Yang Taeho, likewise, attached the shield on his back, loosening his tensions.

“Truth be told, it seemed like he pitied it halfway through.”

“Nothing deserving pity.”

In a world where there’s nothing pitiable, it’s ludicrous to feel sorry for a creature harboring intentions of devouring humanity.

Replying casually to Kim Yul’s words, I pivoted the discussion.

“By the way, Kim Yul.”

“Yes?”

Now wasn’t the time to debate trivial matters like sympathy for creatures.

Analyzing and addressing the shortcomings found in the recent battle seemed more pertinent.

“You still swing your dagger short.”

“Ugh.”

Kim Yul flinched at the blunt criticism.

Damned System

TL’s Corner:

Poor 8 star general rank became a punching bag.