Chapter 49: Growth, Again Growth (2)


    The battle began in earnest, with fewer than 10 seconds passing.


    Sweat trickled down Greyfers temple; he had prepared for the battle with a somewhat rxed mind.


    .


    Kang-hoos location was indeterminable.


    He nned to use his long-range advantage, persistently sniping at the enemy before they could get close.


    However, the n went awry from the outset.


    Kang-hoo alternated between illusion techniques and Shadow Step, confusing Greyfers vision.


    Even with his vision expanded and enhanced, he couldnt distinguish the real Kang-hoo from the illusions.


    There seemed to be at least three identical Kang-hoos. He was lost in thought, trying to decide where to shoot as time swiftly passed.


    In battle, every moment involves continuous choices that must be made quickly.


    The more he thought, the faster the enemy moved and approached.


    But Greyfer had given Kang-hoo too much time due to his hesitation.


    Bang!


    This isnt to say he didnt pull the trigger.


    He fired a precise shot at what he believed was the real targeta powerful magic bullet.


    Kang-hoo, prepared for such a situation, used a rapid evasion skill and ttened himself on the ground to dodge it.


    It was a wise precaution.


    Unfortunately for Greyfer, his sniper shot was aimed at an illusion, piercing emptily through the air.


    A gunner and an assassin are indeed natural enemies.


    Kang-hoo, having closed the distance, was at ease.


    The one who panicked was Greyfer.


    ustomed to long-range sniping, he needed to refocus even at close range.


    In FPS games, sometimes one must have the sense to snipe without aiming.


    Regrettably,


    Greyfer, who served as a middle boss in a level 110 dungeon,cked such skill.


    Even with Kang-hoo right in front of him, he sadly had to aim before pulling the trigger.


    Thus, Kang-hoo easily inflicted vision theft and a shallow chaos on him.


    If Greyfer had maintained hisposure, he might not have fallen so pathetically to thebination of these two skills.


    Greyfers eyes filled with panic as Kang-hoo approached with surprising speed.


    He couldnt even keep a poker face, making him easy prey.


    After ateral movement, Kang-hoo meticulously shed Greyfer with subsequent attacks.


    The moment a dagger embedded in his neck, his fate was virtually sealed.


    It was only a matter of how he would die.


    Whoosh!


    Ultimately, along with Blood Flower, he met a gruesome end, his body spouting a fountain of blood.


    [The following skills can be stolen from the target activated by Plunder.]


    [Precise Aim]


    Skill plunder was sessful.


    Precise Aim.


    Its like a telescopic effect.


    A very helpful skill for wanting to see a specific target in greater magnification and high resolution.


    For the assassin ss, which primarily conducts stealth attacks, its a skill that perfectly scratches the itch.


    Being able to observe an opponent from a considerable distance, its utility bes boundless as it is used.


    The start is good.


    With a satisfied expression, Kang-hoo moved on.


    His condition was excellent, and there was no need to catch his breath or rest. He was determined to rush through to the final section.<hr>


    A whileter.


    I guess they created a boss monster to induce guilt.


    Kang-hoo, having reached the main boss area without any major incidents, now faced the final boss.


    The main boss monster, Saemi.


    A boss monster with the appearance of a child, specialized in psychic attacks.


    The gender or age of the monster isnt significant.


    However, the brief guilt felt when facing a childlike monster is a consideration.


    In fact, the original story often used elderly, female, and infantile boss monsters to evoke psychological dilemmas and shake the protagonist Jang Si-hwan.


    With fond memories of his grandparents who had raised him, Jang Si-hwan in the original story once refrained from attacking an elderly-type monster.


    I recalled that episode received hundreds of angryments, which led to major revisions.


    Anyway, Saemi was undoubtedly designed to provoke an attackers guilt.


    It bore the exact appearance of a carefree seven-year-old child, replete with a bright smile.


    Just need to think about it differently.


    Kang-hoo thought simply.


    Regardless of the bosses appearances, their primary goal was to kill him.


    If you dont want to die, you have to kill. It was a simple judgment, not based on appearance.


    Pop!


    He engaged inbat immediately.


    The skill Kang-hoo intended to steal from Saemi was Hallucination.


    It created illusions or sensations that didnt exist, leading to confusion.


    Essentially, Kang-hoos immediate concern was Saemis hallucinatory attacks.


    The response is simple.


    Mental attacks were known to be the hardest to counter, often avoided by hunters.


    But Kang-hoo was different.


    In the original setting, there was a simple and intuitive way to counter hallucinations.


    That was, if you were already immersed in greater delusions than those induced by the hallucinations.


    For example, imagining Lee Ye-rin nude or Han Seo-yeon corrupted and decadent.


    Such thoughts, unlikely in normal circumstances, could be drawn up from the subconscious.


    In this way, Saemis hallucinations wouldnt create significant mental disturbance or unpredictability.


    Hallucinations meant nothing to someone already lost in delusion.


    Ee-ing?


    Was that the reason?


    In most cases, the target would have been quickly disoriented by the hallucination, bing an easy victim.


    But Saemi was surprised to see her opponent closing the distance rapidly, without any significant change in his expression.


    This dungeons boss has many naive aspects. If the best n fails, move to the next best.


    It was pitiful.


    Typically, the first attack affected the opponent effectively.


    This meant the initial method always worked, eliminating the need to consider other options.


    Even if various strategies had been considered in the past, they became blunt over time.


    Just like with the middle boss Greyfer earlier, and now with Saemi.


    As her attempt to induce hallucinations failedpletely, Saemis gaze wavered.


    Ah!


    Finally, Saemi hastily resorted to a lethal skill for protection.


    Kang-hoo hadnt expected to approach Saemi easily.


    He was more focused on how quickly he could force her to use her important card.


    It happened within the first 10 seconds of the battle.


    In a card game analogy, it was like losing a poker face right at the start.


    From the opponents perspective, it was either a quick fold or a n stripped down to the end.


    Doo-doo-doo-doo!


    Saemi started spinning in ce.


    When a boss monster specializing in psychic attacks disyed such strange behavior, there was a reason behind it.


    It was part of the process and means of attack.


    However, Kang-hoo didnt slow down his approach to Saemi.


    Because thats what Saemi wanted. Creating distance or dodging would give her time.


    Then, Saemi would press harder with even stronger mental attacks.


    It was likely that simple delusions wouldnt be enough to withstand them then.


    In short, he had to finish the fight before Saemi could learn from the first oue and produce an improved second response.


    At that moment.


    Whoosh!


    An acid sphere, perhaps?


    A greenish sphere wasunched from Saemi.


    To anyone, it looked filled with poison and acid.


    He easily dodged it with rapid evasion.


    Dodging a single sphere was easier than eating cold soup.


    But then.


    Whoosh! Whoosh!


    No way?


    This time, two spheres wereunched.


    So, hepletely moved away from his original position to dodge them.


    They seemed to beunched, predicting Kang-hoosteral movements, and maintaining a certain distance apart.


    The attack continued.


    And then.


    What kind of nonsense is this?


    He couldnt help butugh.


    This time, there were four.


    It felt like ying a shooting game, having to dodge while carefully managing his range of movement.


    He actively used illusion techniques and Shadow Step.


    It seemed he needed to switch ces with shadows often.


    By making it hard to pinpoint the target with illusions, he could use more space.


    Eight. Sixteen.


    Then thirty-two. Sixty-four!


    Saemis attacks demanded extreme evasion skills, but Kang-hoo avoided them all.


    It was a victory of skill and senses he had diligently honed.


    Without a doubt, if he hadcked even one skill, he would likely be visiting the afterlife by now.


    Anyway, breaking through the gap, Kang-hoo seeded in stabbing Saemi as he intended.


    Saemi, engrossed in her attack, was hit without realizing Kang-hoo was close.


    You should focus on these acid attacks rather than psychic ones.


    Keuk


    With Kang-hoos sincere advice(?), Saemis life ended.


    Fortunately, he avoided the attack, but had he failed, even Kang-hoo couldnt guarantee his safety.


    Thick sweat drops on his back vividly disyed the tension of each moment.


    [You have reached Level 49.]


    Now at Level 49.


    Next time in the dungeon, reaching Level 50 seemed certain.


    A new basic skill was added.


    As always, he invested bonus points in health.


    For the sake of the Soulmate gloves, which scale with health, he nned to continue investing in health.


    He checked his stats.


    It had been a long time since he scrutinized them so carefully.


    [Shin Kang-hoo Lv. 49]


    [ss: Assassin]


    [Unique Talent: Quite Strong Main Force / Exceptionally Excellent Dynamic Vision]


    [Strength 120] [Agility 85]


    [Health 438] [Magic Power 20]


    [Anti-Magic 45] [Toughness 70]


    Good. With full health, I can withstand mana hypersensitivity for at least 7 minutes.


    With increased health, his body could now withstand mana hypersensitivity for longer periods.


    Although his mana storage was limited, supply was not a concern, thanks to hypersensitivity.


    The real issue wasnt supply, but the bodys inability to cope with the rapid influx of mana.


    Thats an issue of endurance, to be calmed with potions like Srkium.


    His health was certainly high.


    For a Level 50 hunter, even one who prioritized health, 200 was considered exceptional.


    Acquiring decent items at this level was very challenging.


    Most hunters focused on easier, lower-level dungeons rather than attempting to solo more difficult ones.


    However, thanks to his solid foundation and significant earnings, he could afford an equipment setup beyond imagination.


    At this point, he might as well be considered Level 100, perhaps even 130. Possibly even higher.


    In that instant


    Setting aside skill plunder, theres another windfall.


    Kang-hoo gazed at the mana stone dropped by Saemi and smiled with satisfaction.


    The reward coaxed an involuntary smile to his lips.