Chapter 40: The Overpowered Skill

Chapter 40

Kim Jinsung quickly scanned the notification window that appeared before him.

▶You have eliminated an evil person.

You have earned 30 Beast Karma points.

You have obtained the comprehensive trait ‘Mentalist.’

▷ Mentalist: You gain the following traits and permanently stored skills:

– Confusion: Causes the target to be in a state of confusion for 30 seconds. Consumes 200 mana.

– Hypnosis: Casts for 5 seconds while making eye contact with the target. Afterward, the target will spill all truths to the user for 5 minutes. Consumes 50 mana.

– Seduction: Casts for 3 seconds while making eye contact with the target. Afterward, the target will feel a strong attraction towards the user for 5 minutes. Consumes 50 mana.

– Permanently increases intelligence by 20.

This was the second comprehensive trait Kim Jinsung had acquired after recently obtaining ‘Natural Thief.’

Reading through the description, Kim Jinsung couldn’t help but inwardly celebrate.

‘Aren’t these the mental status effect skills hunters are most afraid of?’

There had been a survey conducted among hunters worldwide recently. The question was about the moment in battle when they felt the most threatened. The top answer had been ‘inability to fight due to mental skills.’

Even if one’s physical abilities were enhanced to superhuman levels, if the brain controlling the body malfunctioned, it was all for naught.

‘Isn’t ‘Confusion’ among the most famous of these mental skills?’

Confusion, the most common yet powerful mental skill, was readily searchable on the internet due to its notoriety. Those who had experienced it usually described it as follows:

– An overpowered skill that lets you effortlessly take down an enemy or monster even two levels stronger than yourself.

‘Should I try out this overpowered skill?’

Kim Jinsung naturally turned his head toward the 1-1 defender standing nearby. The defender had instinctively jumped back when Kim Jinsung reappeared, and his facial expression was hidden by a mask. However, he was actually pale with fear.

‘Damn, it’s bad!’

The three members holding key skills for control that were supposed to play a crucial role in hunting were gone in an instant: the Earthquake skill to keep in check anyone hiding in the shadows; the Freezing skill to momentarily halt counterattacks; and most importantly, the Confusion skill.

Their absence left a void where they could no longer use the one skill that would have been sorely missed.

The 1-1 defender took a step back unwittingly, hesitating, realizing that if he retreated, the group would become unstable.

‘It’s not over yet. First, I need to bind their feet then think what to do next.’

The 1-1 defender did not panic but instantly thought of a counterstrategy. He was about to shout another order to everyone.

“Does everyone still have…?!”

But he was cut off mid-sentence as he wavered on his feet. As if struck by severe dizziness, the whole world started spinning around him. It was virtually impossible to even stand straight, let alone speak.

‘Did he use a Confusion skill on me?’

The 1-1 defender, who had come to the quick realization, felt regret, but it was too late. The defender team, which thrived on unity, had lost their leader’s direction in that crucial moment.

“Why aren’t you finishing your sentence?!”

“Why are you staggering alone? Give the orders!”

In the moment of panic when the instructions were not forthcoming, all the defenders looked frantically to 2-41, who could detect lifeforms.

“Where did he go?!”

“Point out not just the decoys but the real one too!”

“The… in the very back! And…!”

2-41 couldn’t finish. While decoys in the back were detectable, the real Kim Jinsung remained undetected.

The consequence was…

Swoosh!

“AAhh!”

Another defender on the left fell, the failures of 2-41 leading to more panic among the group.

“You got it wrong again!!”

“Why can’t you find the real Kim Jinsung?!”

“Damn it! Do you think I’m not finding him on purpose?!”

2-41 shouted back defensively as well, most frustrated by the situation.

‘Why can’t I feel his presence?! It was definitely detectable at first!’

Thinking back to when Kim Jinsung surprised them, 2-41 couldn’t make sense of the situation.

“What’s the leader doing at a time like this?!”

One of the enraged defenders directed their anger at the 1-1 defender. Looking over,

“What? Where did they go?”

While looking around, he spoke. The 1-1 defender, who had previously been staggering alone, was now nowhere to be seen. The group’s eyes all turned in that direction.

“What the hell? Did that guy run away again?!”

“That son of a…!”

“He’s just saving his own skin…!”

Some of the group, who had been together since the fight with Kang Minhyuk, exploded in anger. Even during the battle with Kang Minhyuk, as soon as the situation turned sour, the 1-1 defender had led his group away to flee. It was clear he had done the same again.

“Damn it! Forget it, let’s just survive!”

“Me too!”

Without their leader, the defenders unraveled rapidly. One by one, they turned their backs and soon, every single one of them was running away at top speed. Defender number 2-41 was no exception.

‘I don’t want to die, not now!’

Running with all his might through the dark forest, 2-41 kept desperately praying in his mind.

“Please, don’t come after me. Please…!”

But,

Thump!

Kim Jinsung couldn’t just leave someone with tracking abilities alone. Defender number 2-41, pierced through the neck, tumbled forward grotesquely with the momentum of his run.

Moments later, a notification window appeared before Kim Jinsung, who had taken him down.

You have eliminated an evil person.

You have earned 20 Beast Karma points.

You have obtained the opponent’s trait ‘Location Detection.’

▷ Location Detection: Identifies the position of any lifeform within a 10-meter radius. Cannot detect entities much stronger than oneself, or entities that are using specific skills.

“Oh, a trait?”

For Kim Jinsung, the mere fact it was a trait rather than a skill was already a great satisfaction.

Even glancing over the description, it appeared to be an incredibly useful ability.

‘With this, I won’t be caught off guard like last time.’

Still fresh in Kim Jinsung’s memory was the moment on the first day of the preliminaries when he was almost struck down by an opportunistic participant while grabbing a food bag.

Now with ‘Location Detection’, he wouldn’t be easily blindsided again.

‘Unless they’re much stronger than me.’

Kim Jinsung’s eyes remained fixed on the description of ‘Location Detection’, particularly on the phrase ‘much stronger.’

‘So that’s why he couldn’t detect me during the battle — because I was much stronger?’

While looking down at the corpse of 2-41, Kim Jinsung tilted his head in thought.

‘But how did he detect me at the beginning?’

When Kim Jinsung first attempted an ambush, 2-41 pointed to his hidden location precisely. Was it because he hadn’t activated his ‘Magi’ back then? He suddenly remembered; when he first approached, he didn’t use ‘Magi’ to conserve points. He’d activated it later, feeling threatened that his location was easily detectable.

‘There is quite a difference in ability stats when ‘Magi’ is active compared to when it’s not…’

Having come to a conclusion, Kim Jinsung turned away.

‘I need to decide quickly which skills to switch and go after those who fled.’

His gaze drifted to a corner of his mind where his ability stats were listed. His Beast Karma points had just exceeded 900.

With a little more effort before sunrise, he felt he could increase his skill slot by one.

At that moment,

“Pant, pant, pant, pant…”

The defender who had run the farthest away from Kim Jinsung was gasping for air, clutching his chest about to burst from the exertion. It was the 1-1 defender.

“Whew! I survived…”

Heaving a sigh of relief, he felt like patting himself on the back for his decision. He had promptly consumed an antidote potion the moment he realized he was struck by Confusion, which he kept in his pocket for emergencies.

Taking advantage of the focus on Kim Jinsung, he had turned and fled. Having been at the fringes of the group, nobody noticed his escape until he was completely out of the combat zone.

‘Good choice! Spot on. If I’d stayed, I’d be dead for sure…’

Actually, from the moment their key members died, the defenders had lost all hope. Kim Jinsung, nearly as skilled as Kang Minhyuk and with an even more unpredictable fighting style, was a much more challenging opponent. How could they win after losing key members, even if they had hit Kim Jinsung with all their skills?

“…Huh?”

Suddenly, a light poured over his side profile, making the 1-1 defender’s head turn reflexively.

“Ah…”

A small sigh of despair escaped his lips as he saw the sun peeking above the eastern horizon. Sunrise was upon him.

That sight seemed to declare the defender’s elimination in the competition.

“Ladies and gentlemen of the Colosseum Survival Preliminary Group A, the fourth day has dawned.”

Coinciding with the sight, the producer’s voice came through the walkie-talkie, seemingly spoken by Baek Jun himself.

“As of now, we will conclude the losers’ revival event granted to the defenders who failed to protect the barrier.”

“Dammit…”

The 1-1 defender threw off his mask and tossed it onto the ground. A man in his early 30s with an ordinary appearance, he now had an expression of utter despair.

The eliminated defenders would be left on the island where the preliminaries were held, and as soon as the preliminaries ended, Colosseum staff would ‘clean’ the island.

‘Cleaning’ meant eliminating all participating survivors.

That was the initial plan, but…

“But?”

As the voice in the walkie-talkie trailed off, the 1-1 defender’s expression changed to one of tentative hope.

“Due to a higher number of contestant’s eliminations than expected, we urgently need to change the rules.”

The voice continued.

“As a result, those among you still affiliated with the defenders on the island are given one more chance.”