016. The ordeal of competition (5)
For Lee Seong-hoon, being at the top was a new opportunity.
This is because Lee Seong-hoon, who was once a promising player, is no better than a bird with broken wings.
When others looked at reality, Lee Seong-hoon always looked at the past.
It was a time when even an A-rank hunter was worth aiming for due to its high-grade unique characteristics.
If there is a golden period in the life of Lee Seong-hoon, who has nothing to look at, it would be then.
But that was also a story a few months ago. Lee Seong-hoon’s growth at D-class Hunter was stagnant.
Of course, even if you are D-class, it is the same as receiving several times the annual salary of ordinary people
.
The synergy between the rare unique characteristic of magic resistance and specialization in close combat was excellent.
However, Lee Seong-hoon’s natural fighting ability, which was terrible enough to defeat it, only plunged him into the abyss.
Then one night, a hologram appeared and invited him to the Tower of Trials.
“The Tower of Trials has judged you as fit
.
”
First of all, I liked the fact that I broke everyone’s ability, not just my own, but above all, I felt the reward of the ordeal.
What if you combine the abilities at the beginning of awakening and the rewards from the Tower of Trials?
Yes, broken wings can be regained and can grow more than before.
Even if you only go to the 5th or 8th floor, you can return to Earth completely.
The ordeal was as hard as the hardest difficulty was chosen, but the growth was steep as well.
Even when the theme of the 4th floor was competition, he believed that he would be the strongest.
But…
“…”
What the hell is this situation.
Seonghun Lee looked at the man in front of him and bit his lip.
All kinds of emotions such as fear, inferiority, anger, shame, etc. are prevalent.
‘On the subject of only being a wannabe hunter…!’
However, unlike the flames gushing from within, Lee Seong-hoon could do nothing.
It was natural.
Unlike him, who had a hard time dealing with even two goblins, this man defeated eight goblins.
Even without receiving any of Lee Ha-yeon’s auxiliary magic from the rear.
He overpowered all these monsters with pure physical ability and skill.
A fully armed goblin was an exceptional existence that could be ranked from a minimum of E to a maximum of D.
So Lee Seong-hoon also struggled and was able to finish the two after a desperate struggle.
However, the man killed four times that number and said lightly to Lee Sung-hoon, who was denying the reality.
If you don’t even have the skills, if you show up, I’ll kill you and proceed with the ordeal.
However, despite such verbal abuse, Lee Seong-hoon could not even open his mouth.
“Then let’s work together for the rest of the time.”
It was because I had seen too much to open my mouth saying that I was just an aspiring hunter.
***
Lee Seong-hoon is an idiot, but he was not deaf.
The more brazenly he behaves, the more Lee Sung-hoon has no choice but to lose.
Even so, it is impossible to ask for help from Lee Ha-yeon next to her.
That’s because Lee Ha-yeon is not on anyone’s side.
‘It’s obvious when you look at what I said earlier in an arbitrating way.’
In reality, Lee Ha-yeon stepped back and looked at Lee Seong-hoon and me alternately.
In other words, no matter what happens, Lee Ha-yeon will respond separately to Lee Ha-yeon.
And it was obvious that it wouldn’t roll in favor of Lee Sung-hoon.
“….”
Seonghun Lee did not act more pathetic.
He just kept his mouth shut and stiffened his expression, stepping back.
‘Well, there’s practically nothing to refute.’
He was the one who started the fight, and he was the one who showed complacency in the ordeal.
It was also the case that we tried to do something foolish even if we competed in unison with each other.
So even if you try to refute it, you can’t.
Of course, since he was a self-conscious hunter, he thought that he could run amok with force.
As if such a thought was groundless, Lee Seong-hun meekly backed down.
‘I’m glad I’m not that stupid.’
A time-limited ordeal won’t do you any good by inciting more disputes.
Even more so if it is an ordeal that requires risking one’s life.
Lee Seong-hoon decided to step back as soon as he judged that wasting time was dangerous.
Of course, if I could take the initiative, I might have stepped forward.
I thought of it with common sense and showed the gap to this extent, but there is no way to fight more.
Even Lee Seong-hoon, who was instigating the team’s discord, had stepped back, so there was nothing to hesitate anymore.
If you seize the initiative, shouldn’t you use it?
“Then, I will take care of the monster now, so Lee Seong-hoon, just protect Hunter Lee Ha-yeon.”
Seonghun Lee, who had been quiet at those words, bit his lip and opened his mouth.
“…i get it. What else do I need to do?”
Maybe it’s the last bit of pride, but I stuck to the short language, but it doesn’t matter too much.
After all, after this 4th floor, we won’t be able to meet again.
“doesn’t exist. All you have to do is do it, so there is no need to be very nervous. Hunter Lee Ha-yeon…”
“Please feel free to call me too.”
“All right. Lee Ha-yeon just needs to guide the road and assist from the rear, just like before.”
“Ah yes. Then we will resume our search.”
Well, due to the unexpected effect, Lee Ha-yeon is also nervous.
It was probably because he threatened Lee Sung-hoon with the idea that he might kill him.
Of course, I haven’t actually done it, so at least it’s still cooperative.
At least, it was clear that he was more alert than before.
‘I didn’t mean to act so forcefully.’
The aftertaste is a bit bitter.
Of course, apart from that, I had absolutely no regrets about what I had done.
If I hadn’t acted out and held back, things might have gotten worse.
Aside from Lee Seong-hoon’s arrogance, there was a problem with the speed at which even goblins could not be properly defeated.
I don’t know where the other competitors are, but they wouldn’t be this weak either.
There was no need to bring myself into an unfavorable situation for nothing, so I had no regrets.
At that time, Lee Ha-yeon, who was staring into the air and wriggling her fingers, carefully opened her mouth.
“I just tested my search ability, and the boss seems to be inside the city.”
“…Have you already figured out where the boss is?”
“I guess so. The Goblin King is in the heart of the citadel city. The other bosses are also inside the city.”
“Could it be possible that the path of the challengers who are aiming for the other bosses overlap with each other on the way to catch the Goblin King?”
“Hmm, the positions of the bosses are a bit far apart from each other, so they won’t overlap that much.”
That means that if you run into another challenger, that’s a competitor.
The Tower of Trials always gave trials and rewards in an intuitive form, and that was the case this time as well.
‘It’s like killing all the monsters you can see and killing all the challengers you come across.’
It’s so clear that I wonder if it could be simpler than this.
However, the problem was that the contents of that intuitive ordeal commanded murder.
“Can’t you tell where the other challengers are?”
“The unique characteristics are still weak, so I can’t find the position of other challengers. I don’t even have enough horsepower.”
“Then it would be impossible to hunt the Goblin King without encountering it.”
“Yes, at least with my ability… I think it will be difficult.”
In the end, when the conclusion that murder was unavoidable came out, Lee Ha-yeon’s face darkened.
Lee Seong-hoon wasn’t that nervous and just noticed that he was in trouble.
It was not an ordinary reaction.
I don’t know what he did before entering the tower, but Lee Seong-hoon might have had a murder experience.
It is said that among Hunters, there are often cases where they kill each other inside the dungeon.
It’s just that the law can’t protect it, so it’s just not punished.
According to speculation, Lee Seong-hoon might have to be a little wary.
‘Because I might stab you in the back.’
On the other hand, it was safe to say that Lee Ha-yeon had no possibility of betraying me.
He is a wizard with little melee combat ability, and it has been confirmed that Lee Seong-hoon is unreliable.
At least there was no way he would betray him unless he wanted to die.
It was the car that I was organizing my thoughts like that.
“The monsters inside the fortress city have begun to stir.”
“Destroy the ordeal targets as quickly as possible.
”
As if he had made up his mind, the time had come to properly carry out the ordeal.
“…”
I don’t want to kill as much as possible, but that’s just what I hoped for.
As I was determined, I might have to kill people with my own hands.
In the true sense of the word, competition has begun.
But even so, I had no intention of just trembling here.
“It would be better to dig in slowly.”
Fighting for each other’s lives is the same, and if you don’t kill, you die.
But I didn’t forget what I had to do before that.
“Then, let’s regroup and enter…?”
Lee Ha-yeon, who was suddenly talking, looked at me and tilted her head.
It was worth it.
The sight of me approaching the corpse of a goblin with nothing to gain must surely feel strange.
“Hmm, if you’re going to collect Han Seong-yoon’s magic stones, you won’t be able to get them from the monsters in the tower.”
Lee Ha-yeon tilts her head in a troubled tone and spits out the words.
I didn’t know about it, but I didn’t try to collect magic stones either.
As long as you can’t go outside, magic stones won’t help much.
However, just as there is a reward after passing the ordeal, I had something to gain after the fight.
“Oh wait. I have something to do. It won’t take long.”
「Absorbs all of the goblin ranger’s spirits.」
「Current number of spirits – 8/15」
「Proficiency increases by 11%.」
Pretending to take the goblin’s dagger, I absorbed all of their spirits.
I didn’t come up with any indication as to whether the goblins handled by Lee Seong-hoon couldn’t be absorbed…
‘Well, it would be strange if they could absorb the souls of monsters killed by others.’
It’s a very efficient feature, so I just let it go.
I checked all the goblin ranger’s souls in my list of commands and tried to absorb them right away.
And after a short wait, the message I was hoping for came to mind.
「Absorbs one of the skills possessed by the Goblin Ranger.」
「Uses all possessed spirits to permanently increase stats.」 「
Muscle strength increased by 3.」
「Agility increased by 4.」
「Stamina increased. Increased by 2.」
「Durability increased by
7.」
Perhaps because he absorbed the same goblin rangers all at once, his physical abilities improved and he learned one skill.
「Acquire the skill “Ranger’s knowledge (F)”.」
It’s not a skill you can immediately feel because it’s a ranger’s knowledge, but…
.
And that guess became a reality the moment I opened the explanation window.
『Skill – Ranger’s knowledge (F)』
『Proficiency level – 0%』
『Effect – The overall field of view widens and it becomes easier to notice others approaching.』
If it were simple, it would have been a simple effect, but this alone was quite useful.
I don’t know what it means to be easier to spot someone’s approach, but I could see the angle of view right away.
‘Is this how the angle of view widens?’
All objects that come into the eye are clearly visible, and the focus of the field of view is not concentrated in one place.
As described, it feels like the overall viewing angle has increased dramatically…
At least it’s fortunate that it’s not difficult to adapt or that kind of thing.
After grabbing the spare dagger the goblin was wearing, she stood up and approached Lee Ha-yeon.
“Come on, take it. It was worn by a goblin, so even if the quality is not good, it will be a throwing dagger.”
Only then did Lee Ha-yeon look like she knew why I searched for the goblin’s corpse.
“Ah… I’m grateful, but it would be better if Han Seong-yoon wrote it than me. I’m not very confident with that throw.”
“No, I can’t throw either. There is no need. But Lee Ha-yeon has to fight while staying with Lee Seong-hoon.”
In short, it meant that you should just keep it and consume it for the purpose of protecting your body.
Having said that, Lee Ha-yeon did not reject it any more.
“…Thank you, I’ll make sure to use it.”
“What is it? It’s not mine anyway.”
Of course, since I got rid of it, it must be my belongings, but for now, it’s better to look around like this.
A mage in a position to support from the rear was invaluable.
If I died in vain, things would get messy, so I had to do this.
And there are things that have been said to help me before.
If you need a throwing dagger, you can just replace it with the one you bought at the shop window.
After completing the maintenance, I set up formation and gave instructions.
“Then let’s get moving again.”
Now that the battle rewards were sure to be obtained, it was time to proceed with the ordeal.
