Ch.164164. Poongpoong, the Advanced Wind Spirit

The wind spirit possesses various abilities, one of which makes it particularly suitable for reconnaissance. Being able to sense and utilize wind, it can survey surroundings without being detected by enemies, making it quite useful as a sentry when hunting. That’s why wind spirits are extremely valuable for discovering hidden enemies.

Of course, not all wind spirits have this ability; only those of superior rank or higher with mana detection skills can perform such tasks.

[Spirit Information]

– Name: Poong-poong

– Rank: Superior Wind Spirit

– Ability: Wind Transformation (S)

– Skill: Wind Cutter (S)

– Mana Consumption: 25 per minute

In that sense, Poong-poong was a suitable spirit. The mana detection skill can only be learned from superior wind spirits with wind transformation ability. That’s why I proceeded with the contract immediately without looking for another spirit.

“Learn the skill Mana Detection.”

[Contracting the ‘Mana Detection (S)’ skill with Superior Wind Spirit ‘Poong-poong’.]

[Required Spirit Points: 30 > 9]

The Mana Detection (S) skill was added to Poong-poong.

[Mana Detection]

– Rank: S

– Detects mana within 50 meters. With additional mana consumption, can detect up to SS- rank mana by borrowing wind power.

– Mana consumption per minute: 20 + 10

A spirit with excellent detection skills has been added.

*Whoosh*

Poong-poong, though not as much as Unir, flew around me showing affection. If Unir is like a person who keeps their distance, the non-speaking Poong-poong is more like a real dog. The expression “like a dog” sounds a bit awkward, but still. I definitely felt more at ease after summoning Poong-poong with mana detection.

With both Poong-poong and Unir, I now had two mana-consuming spirits taking up a quarter of my mana, but it was worth it.

“Level up the Mana Detection skill rank.”

But I didn’t stop there.

[Upgrading Superior Wind Spirit ‘Poong-poong’s Mana Detection (S) skill rank.]

[Required Spirit Points: 50 > 15]

[Upgrading Superior Wind Spirit ‘Poong-poong’s Mana Detection (S+) skill rank.]

[Required Spirit Points: 100 > 30]

Upgrading skills beyond S rank requires a tremendous amount of spirit points. It took an additional 150 points to raise Mana Detection to SS- rank, but thankfully, due to my spirit affinity, I only needed to spend 45.

Though this spirit now consumed more resources, it was still better than using my precious farming ability points and SS-rank ability selection rights for detection skills. Besides, I could use wind spirits for other purposes later, so it was good to lay the groundwork now.

*Whoosh*

The mana detection effect became stronger.

[Mana Detection]

– Rank: SS-

– Detects mana within 100 meters. With additional mana consumption, can detect up to SS+ rank mana by borrowing wind power.

– Mana consumption per minute: 40 + 50

This was reassuring. Even an SS- rank assassin with an SS+ rank concealment skill would now be detectable by Poong-poong. Once detected, they posed no threat to me. I was confident enough in my speed and reflexes to not fear even SS- rank assassins.

“Amazing.”

This is the advantage of being a spirit summoner. By sharing the senses of spirits, I can dominate a wider area. Though I’m investing in the abilities and skills of spirits, it’s essentially the same as learning abilities and skills for myself.

Well, either way, the mana consumption comes from me, so it’s all the same in the end.

“You consume more mana than Unir.”

*Whoosh*

Just summoning Unir consumes 100 mana per minute. Poong-poong initially consumed only 25 mana per minute, which was quite manageable, but after upgrading the Mana Detection to SS- rank with +2 rank detection capability, it suddenly increased to 115 mana per minute.

Now, just summoning these two spirits consumed 215 mana per minute. If I added Unir’s skills on top of that, I would soon need to activate the mana option of my Light Demon Sword.

But I wasn’t too concerned about the mana cost for summoning spirits. After all, spirit summoning is also a skill that uses mana and would benefit from the Light Demon Sword’s effect.

“Monitor without rest, 24 hours a day, not even a second’s break.”

Despite my demanding words like a harsh boss, Poong-poong nuzzled my face with wind, and I was relieved to see it had a good temperament.

“Yawn. Should I not go?”

I had taken a short break to summon a spirit, but the setup was completed quickly, leaving me with some time. Originally, I would have had to repeatedly summon and dismiss spirits until finding one with wind transformation ability, but I got lucky and finished quickly.

I thought about just lying on the sofa and watching TV. It’s not like I needed to show my face at the omakase restaurant—Kim Soo-jung would be cooking anyway. The VIP members weren’t coming to see me, just to eat, and they probably wouldn’t appreciate me greeting them.

As I was rationalizing staying on the sofa to watch TV, suddenly—

“Huh?”

I sensed something on the rooftop of the apartment building across from mine. It was an unfamiliar sensation, but I immediately recognized it as mana detected by my mana detection skill.

Of course, I could be mistaken. It could be someone coincidentally using a concealment skill in the apartment across from mine. The issue was that I had set the detection to only sense concealment skills, meaning it had to be someone using stealth.

Even if it was someone using it by chance, if they triggered my mana detection, I should check it out.

*Whoosh*

While pretending to watch TV, I suddenly used Leap Slash to move to the rooftop of the apartment where the mana was detected. There was a camera pointed at my house and a person lying prone, visible only as a faint afterimage due to their concealment skill. This was only visible because I was using Poong-poong’s mana detection; otherwise, I would have only seen the camera.

“…”

I could see them moving the camera around, searching for me after I suddenly disappeared. What should I do? Anyone would see this as someone using concealment to monitor me. In movies, this is where you grab them by the collar and demand, “Who are you?!”

It was actually ambiguous whether they had malicious intent, and killing them first might mean harming an innocent person.

Asking such a naive question could result in a surprised assassin counterattacking or fleeing, leading to a frustrating outcome.

But I dislike such developments.

*Thunk*

I drew my Light Demon Sword and stabbed their heart from behind.

“Guh—!”

The assassin coughed blood and struggled to escape, but it was impossible. After a brief struggle, the assassin’s movements stopped.

My first murder happening like this. It felt a bit unsettling but also strangely unremarkable. Actually, it wasn’t special at all. I had killed many times in the Farming World, and killing ogres, goblins, or black monkeys in the Rift Dimension felt similar.

It was just the first time killing a human in reality. Contrary to expectations, I didn’t experience trembling hands or similar reactions after killing someone.

“I must be right.”

What worried me slightly was the 1% doubt that I might have killed an innocent person. Since I couldn’t ask the dead person, “Are you an assassin who came to kill me?”, I had to live with this uncertainty. But I didn’t feel anxious about making a mistake. The reason I could confidently stab with my Light Demon Sword without asking questions was because—

On the very day I received information that two assassins might have entered the country to kill me, I found someone using concealment to monitor me from the rooftop across from my house.

And I had thoroughly checked this person’s status window to confirm it.

“I’ve caught the S-rank one. I wonder if the SS- rank one is moving separately.”

The one I just caught was an assassin with S-rank assassination ability. If they hadn’t used concealment to monitor me, I might have just watched TV and fallen asleep without suspicion. It seems they were trying to be cautious by using concealment.

If they were detected immediately after I attached the wind spirit, they must have been following me since before I summoned Poong-poong—probably since they entered the country.

“Now for this one…”

How should I dispose of the body? The simplest and best method would be to contact Team Leader Kim Jin-hyeop. He’s already protecting my surroundings, which might be why this assassin used concealment.

But if I did that, information might reach the SS- rank assassin during the process of cleaning up the body. Then they would be more careful and try to target me more secretly.

I thought of a good solution.

I wondered if this would work, but when I put the dead assassin’s body into my belt, it went right in.

“Wow…”

The Rift Dimension truly was a godly game with no limitations.