Ch.146146. Showing One’s True Worth

Monster Breaks can occur at any time. Some areas have new species mixed in, while others happen near gates.

Those already familiar with them could escape easily, but there were always those who got left behind or caught in unexpected situations.

Right now, a man was lying on the road, groaning in pain.

“Aaaagh! My leg… my leg! Someone help me!”

The only response to his pitiful cry came from a monster that emerged from the Break. The creature was approaching the man with the twisted leg.

A B-rank monster, Diamond Mantis, was charging with its terrifying scythe.

At that moment, a masked humanoid monster suddenly appeared from somewhere.

Surprisingly, this monster blocked the Diamond Mantis’s scythe with a gauntlet wrapped around its wrist.

A dull metallic sound rang out as the Diamond Mantis and this monster faced off against each other before beginning to fight.

The battle itself ended easily.

The masked humanoid monster had slaughtered the Diamond Mantis.

“My God!”

A monster helping humans. This was the first appearance of such a being besides Do Jonghyun.

This was the beginning.

Monsters that hunted other monsters began appearing all across the country.

The Goegyeopdan’s strategy had officially begun.

*

Monster Combat Techniques. Naturally, this doesn’t just mean bare hands.

Monster corpses are one of the obvious means to strike against monsters, so they’re forged into various weapons.

Good monster parts sell for high prices, as do their components.

Monster Combat Techniques is the collective term for all these weapons.

It’s a fighting style that can face monsters with any weapon, including bare hands.

I was currently learning this from Oh Changmin.

“Targeting weaknesses is the top priority, but basically, most monsters hide or conceal those weaknesses. It’s a preliminary battle to find and exploit those weaknesses.”

“In your case, those priest-type equipment will be important. Since you don’t have a summoned spirit, you’ll need to rely on them more.”

“But aren’t they expensive?”

“Extremely expensive. Since summoned spirit weapons are useless to anyone but their owner. Monster weapons are better, and we have a few.”

Given the Cheonji Guild’s wealth, they certainly would have weapons made from monsters.

But there’s barely 10 days left in our situation.

Oh Changmin pointed out that I don’t have enough time.

“It’s impossible to become a weapon master suddenly in two weeks. Let’s focus on bare-handed combat first? You seem quite capable at it.”

“If we’re going to focus, this seems better.”

We agreed that I would primarily learn bare-handed combat, and he would teach me one more thing through the black materials.

I was grateful that he was willing to go this far.

So we started with bare-handed combat.

It’s different fighting with magical power in your fists versus using the power of enhancement suits, but I actually do have magical power.

I often forget because I pretend in front of others, but I can use magic properly.

I can add enhancement suits on top of that.

In other words, I can do the same thing either way.

First, combat techniques differ depending on the monster’s characteristics.

They’re distributed across humanoid, giant, beast-type, and various terrain-based categories.

Oh Changmin taught me the most important things first.

“No matter what enemy appears, there are two key points to observe: whether the enemy is ranged or close combat, and if close combat, what abilities they have. Once you figure this out, you establish your attack method.”

You identify the opponent, find what to watch out for, and engage while being mindful of those things.

If I expected to trade blows head-on, I was mistaken.

It was more suited to hit-and-run tactics.

“Think about when to strike and retreat. The enemy has four legs. It has hind legs and a tail! If you don’t want to get hit, roll faster.”

Also, there are cases where something isn’t a weakness but can become one.

Like the cyborg I fought before—its hard outer shell couldn’t be damaged much by pounding, but once you managed to target it, the vulnerability of its internal circuits immediately became a weakness.

“Monster combat strategies take over a year to learn and internalize. I’ll teach you just the essentials in these two weeks. The techniques I’ll teach you are how to extend your fist, stepping, and ‘parrying’.”

Parrying was especially important among these skills.

It’s a defensive technique that only those who can predict an enemy’s attack can use. You block just before the enemy’s attack unfolds.

“Block before I fully extend my arm!”

“That’s too fast!”

“Monsters won’t give you time to talk! You need to get used to it!”

But my opponent was SS-rank Oh Changmin. Could I even see his punches?

Moreover, one day Oh Changmin showed up with a whip.

“What’s that? Don’t tell me…”

“You think monster attacks are just simple punches? Time is short. Unless you’re a genius, it’s hard to even perfect extending your hand properly. So I need to push you. Squeeze every last bit out of the remaining time!”

“Uh… you’re more passionate than you look… Aaack!”

After each lesson, I had to drag my whip-bruised body to the healer.

Of course, this kind of hardship was necessary for growth.

Plus, my physical condition on the first and second days was different.

Once my trembling body recovered, I had more mental space.

I was matching the level-based learning with the lower-class students.

No matter how overwhelming the Cheonji Guild is, they don’t mix everyone together.

Since “growth” is the goal, they teach people at the same level together.

And now that I was physically more comfortable, I knew all the enemies that would appear.

“Minsu! Do some reconnaissance around here!”

Don’t know where they’ll pop out? Once you’ve identified the monster, tracking its range is easy.

With our sidekick’s buffs, we charged in.

Let’s recall the attack timing. The first to attack was an E-rank ground worm.

This thing always detects vibrations first and comes.

The moment I deliberately stepped with the strongest vibration, the spot where the ground worm would emerge was predetermined.

“Seongmin!”

Immediately, Seongmin’s arrow attacked the ground worm, and I knocked down an entire tree.

This scattered the monsters in the face of an unexpected attack.

“Found them!”

Minsu’s reconnaissance caught the enemies, and we began picking them off one by one.

This is where it gets important. Just as I learned. I saw a Pain Wolf in front of me.

It’s an unremarkable E-rank that I could overwhelm with the enhancement suit’s power, but I need to use combat techniques.

[Rotate your waist, and strike with short bursts! Telephone punches only when the enemy is groggy. Don’t get excited and swing wildly or you’ll get counterattacked.]

Realizing this in my mind, I slowly took my steps.

I gave the enemy a signal that I was advancing and deliberately moved to the side.

[Beast-types mostly have good charging power, but they can also rotate quickly after landing. Either prepare something at their landing point or strike them just before they turn their body after landing, then bounce away.]

I remembered Oh Changmin’s words.

That’s what the basic combat manual says too. Remember.

Now as the Pain Wolf charged straight ahead, I took a side step and dodged.

[This isn’t a boxing match—don’t bounce around until you’re exhausted. Plant your feet and move little by little. Be aware of the space!]

Oh Changmin’s guidance flashed in my mind, and in an instant, I kicked the Pain Wolf’s abdomen while maintaining my stance.

[For enemies where mobility is important, you need to reduce that mobility.]

With this one hit, the Pain Wolf staggered and lost its nimble movement.

As advised, I delivered a telephone punch—obvious but devastatingly powerful—and finished it in one blow.

“Whew. In the past, I would have just attacked blindly.”

This means I need to change going forward. Monster Combat Techniques complement my current style; they’re not a hindrance at all.

I’ll keep going this way.

And on the last day of the week, it was time to do a final check on everything I’d learned.

The instructors evaluated how we applied what we’d learned, focusing on individual capabilities.

The monster that appeared before me was a C-rank Armor Mole. With solid defenses and underground movement, it’s quite a tricky monster.

“Instructor, isn’t this a bit harsh?”

“This much is necessary. You think we’d make it easy after teaching you combat techniques?”

Typical Cheonji Guild.

The instructor’s focus point was my combat technique.

I wasn’t even roaming around the mountain; it was literally a 1:1 with the monster.

I don’t know why, but the conditions were simple.

‘No, I can do this.’

Skills learned in just over a week. Honestly, how many could properly execute them?

My steps and punches were still awkward.

But at least my timing-based parrying had improved somewhat.

I faced the Armor Mole in the field for our 1:1 battle.

Though called a mole, it looked scary like a dinosaur.

With armor covering its entire body and moving on four legs, it’s difficult to attack from the sides or above.

But it’s also quite slow.

Analyzing it, this creature is basically meant to test how well I can hit and run as I’ve been taught. Its bulkiness means its sheer size gives it destructive power.

I need to hit key points and retreat to expose its weakness.

I faced the creature and sent a signal.

By the way, its weakness is actually around the neck. The shiny armor distracts the eye, but it can be finished in one blow.

“You chose very well.”

This makes me consider various judgments. To aim for that one blow, I need to create a path using combat techniques.

Until now, I’ve mostly aimed for weaknesses, charged in, and relied on brute force with the enhancement suit.

I’ve only avoided danger through prediction. With these techniques, I can target weaknesses that aren’t obviously exposed.

I ran out toward the Armor Mole.

Its first attack pattern is simply swinging its front paws while charging.

So what I need to do is draw out its first move.

But if I stay still, it will just crouch and wait for an opportunity. Huh? It seems more defensive than usual?

No, what’s important is to do as I’ve learned.

I step forward and charge toward its side. This way, I only need to watch out for its tail swing.

And the sound of the tail moving across the ground. The important thing here is courage.

I actually charged toward the tail. I ducked my head and dove in.

But once the tail swings, its momentum carries it back in the opposite direction.

No, it should come.

Parrying.

At this moment, I forcefully kicked the upper part of its tail. The rotating tail lost direction and wobbled as the creature turned its body.

I know. It growls like a beast and swings its front paws.

I block preemptively.

I deliberately blocked its roughly turning front paw as I moved in.

The creature’s attack was stopped by my parrying, creating a momentary gap.

I could approach its neck by targeting this gap.

This whole process of reaching the weak point at the neck is exactly what Oh Changmin wanted.

I channeled my magical power.

In this fleeting moment, I put everything into a massive punch to the neck.

The monster collapsed with a scream, and as I continued attacking its neck, its vulnerable body burst.

“Good enough?”

When I turned around, Oh Changmin looked dumbfounded.

“How did you just do that?”

“What? I parried, right? And isn’t the point to draw out a monster that’s defensive but strong and slow? That’s what I did.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

He still had a face that couldn’t believe it.

“How did you succeed in one go?”

“…Wasn’t I supposed to succeed?”

“No, even if you succeeded, I thought it would be a messy fight. You’re better than I expected. Beyond what I taught you.”

Oh Changmin stared at me intently for a moment, then grabbed my shoulder.

“You still seem ahead of the curve. Would you like to intern with us?”

“What?”

An unexpected offer reached my ears.