episode_0009

Episode 9. Crazy Woman and First Hunt.

Soon, we succeeded in escaping the city. Outside the city was made up of green fields, and in the distance, a tall forest could be seen.

“That must be the Demon Forest.”

The forest’s exact name was Demon Forest. It was an intuitive name.

Trees with pitch-black wood and leaves were densely rooted. Even at first glance, it was a forest full of ominous feelings.

We hadn’t even walked for a few minutes before we arrived at the forest.

A chilling wind blew from the entrance of the forest. It was like the breath of a fierce and enormous wild dog.

Rustle─

“We have arrived.”

“······.”

Unlike the sound of the wind, there was a sound of something with a clear mass shaking the bushes.

Perhaps because the surroundings were all black, its pure white body was even more visible.

Creak, creak.

“Three. Shall we fight?”

“Yes. I’ll take the lead. Please provide support from behind.”

“Understood.”

As planned in advance, she was the vanguard. I was in the rear. Warrior and mage. It was a fairly orthodox arrangement.

Tap tap!

Sarah charged towards the skeletons with relentless footwork. She was like a woman in whom the concept of death didn’t exist. She was truly like a berserker.

Sarah brandished her sky-blue sword and struck the leading skeleton with a single blow. It wasn’t as good as a kitchen knife, but it was a fairly fluid movement.

With a swish, the skeleton’s head immediately flew off. According to the information, the skeleton’s weakness was its skull. If it was broken or detached from the body, it would immediately stop moving.

Creak, creak!

Because it was such a magnificent strike, the motion was large. Before she knew it, two skeletons were seen surrounding her on both sides.

She could block one side with her shield, but the other direction didn’t seem easy.

I immediately pointed my index finger at the skeleton and mentally chanted.

‘Magic Missile.’

A strange noise like wind leaking out in one place. Soon, a sky-blue mass struck the skeleton’s forehead.

Crack!

It didn’t cleanly penetrate. However, it succeeded in dealing a sufficiently meaningful blow. The skeleton’s body collapsed immediately. That was enough.

Thud!

Sarah was seen blocking the skeleton’s punch with the shield in her left hand.

With an expressionless face, she extended her sword towards the skeleton’s skull. It overlapped with her slamming a kitchen knife towards her own heart.

Crack! Crunch!

Sarah made a hole in the skeleton’s skull and then immediately drew the sword towards the ground. It should already be dead, but why bother?

The skeleton was neatly split in half and lay scattered on the ground. She nonchalantly shook off the sword as if it was bland and approached me.

“That’s right. Catching monsters. Gold came in.”

As she said. I rolled my eyes and looked at one spot in my field of vision.

[You have defeated a common skeleton.]

[You have acquired 50 gold.]

Unfortunately, I didn’t acquire Karma. I subtly raised my hand and touched my chest.

I felt a little empty for some reason. It felt like the cold water sloshing in my chest had drained away.

‘This is the sensation of using magic power.’

After choosing the mage class, a message popped up saying that I had awakened magic power. I remember the cool and fulfilling sensation I felt at that time.

What does it feel like······.

It felt like a second sexual organ was born. I can move it, but it’s not yet under my control, and it feels a bit ambiguous?

The fact that I feel something empty when I use a skill was also similar to the characteristics of a sexual organ.

‘How much more can I use [Magic Missile] in the future? I don’t think I can use it much.’

Should I use Karma in addition to magic power? Or should I raise the level of Magic Missile itself? Or should I invest in physical stats since it’s the beginning?

‘Physical stats will definitely be useful in the beginning. Magic power seems important from the middle onwards.’

Tsk. I felt like I chose the mage class for no reason.

If I had a physical class like Kim Sarah, I would have put all my points into strength or agility. There were many things to think about.

“Hey. Mr. Yohan. Let’s look around more. You’re not already tired, are you?”

“Hmm? Ah, yes. I’m fine. How about Ms. Sarah? How many do you think you can handle?”

“Hmm······ I think I can safely catch up to five? It might be a little difficult beyond that. But then again, I don’t know if I use Karma.”

“Karma······. When are you planning to use it?”

Surprisingly, she hadn’t invested any Karma points yet.

She was showing this much performance with the pure strength of her existing body. What was she doing in reality?

I inadvertently scanned her slender figure. She didn’t seem to have much strength.

Just a little firm? There were some areas where she looked to have a lot of fat.

“Well. I’m slowly thinking about using it. There’s a saying that hoarding leads to waste, right?”

“I agree. I agree, but······.”

My dilemma was still ongoing. Physical or magic power. If she, a reliable vanguard, continued to be by my side, I would unconditionally choose the latter······.

‘You never know. You might become enemies with me.’

Of course, we’re just strangers who haven’t known each other for long. Neither she nor I trust each other at all.

The reason why we’re so casual despite the time we’ve met is not because she and I get along well.

It’s just because she’s a regressor. She readily revealed her information to me. Is this because she’s stupid? No.

Rather, it’s because she understands her abilities so well. No matter how much information she reveals, the other person will forget it when she regresses.

Information asymmetry. She was making full use of her abilities. She must be an experienced regressor. That’s why······

“Mr. Yohan, you’re a mage, right? Then shouldn’t you just invest in magic power stats?”

She can say that so easily. Whether I become a ruined character or not. She can just regress.

“That’s true. But isn’t it a bit much not to invest in physical stats at all?”

“Hmm······. I understand.”

However, using Karma was a scheduled event. Hoarding leads to waste. I also deeply agree with this statement.

I immediately used Karma.

————————–

[Name – Shin Yohan]

[Age – 20]

[Disposition – Cold-blooded egoist]

[Class – Mage]

[Stats]

[Strength – 14]

[Sense – 13]

[Durability – 12]

[Stamina – 13]

[Magic Power – 13]

[Trait]

[Perfect Memory Ability]

[Skills]

Magic Missile. Lv1

[Karma – 6]

[Gold – 125]

————————–

I raised Strength from 13 to 14, and Magic Power from 10 to 13. The total Karma used was 50 points.

‘I can’t raise the level of the skill. It requires 10 Karma.’

I felt depressed looking at the Karma decreasing in an instant. I should have caught more rabbits······.

That’s why there’s a time for everything. When you think it’s too late, it’s really too late.

“Mr. Yohan. You used Karma?”

“Yes. Did Ms. Sarah too?”

“Yes. It disappears quickly.”

I wondered how she used Karma. Since she has much more points than me, she must have raised two or three more stats.

‘Tsk······.’

It’s not a bad thing for her to become stronger. However, I don’t want her to grow to the point where the gap between us widens.

‘Let’s try harder. I can do it.’

I’d rather overwhelm her. Or at least reach a similar level.

“Let’s go. Let’s just walk around the entrance area today.”

“Yes.”

I glanced at the sky. Dazzling sunlight permeated through the tall black trees. It felt like the pitch-black branches were butchering the light.

Thud─ Thud─

***

Swoosh─ Crack!

A skull is coolly smashed by a blue mass. The power was so different that I felt sorry to compare it to when my Magic Power was 10.

As the stat description said, it amplified all my magic skills.

What if I had raised the level of Magic Missile itself instead of Magic Power? I would have produced much more outstanding attack power than now.

Thud!

A heavy impact is transmitted from my left forearm. The shield attached to my forearm blocked the skeleton’s strike.

I lowered my stance as is and fiercely struck the skeleton’s calf.

With a thud, the skeleton lost its balance and collapsed. The impact felt on my shin was less than before.

Surprisingly, as I continued hunting, I occasionally gained a few Karma points. Thanks to that, I was able to raise my Durability by 1.

“Hmph······!”

Lowered center of gravity. I didn’t bother to raise my body. I immediately extended the dagger I was holding in my right hand towards the back of the skeleton’s head.

Crack!

[You have acquired 63 gold.]

[You have acquired 1 Karma.]

It was a skeleton with a larger build than other skeletons. Is that why? The gold acquired was a little more.

‘The gold given by each skeleton is different.’

Small skeletons often gave 40 gold. There seems to be a certain standard. It was quite reasonable.

‘It gives Karma again.’

However, I still didn’t get a sense of the criteria for acquiring Karma.

Sometimes I got Karma even when I caught a small skeleton, and sometimes I didn’t get it even when I caught a big skeleton. It seems like I get 1 for every six or seven I catch.

Anyway, I looked at the sky and said to Sarah.

“Ms. Sarah. Should we stop here for today?”

“Yes. It’s impossible to do more. It’s getting dark too.”

“Understood.”

With that, she and I turned our steps and started to leave the forest.