CH 6

Chapter 6

02 – My Master’s Grace is Like the Heavens (2)

[The Safe Zone has been lifted.]

[Thanks to the Blessing of the World’s Towers, the monster’s movements will slow down for 5 minutes.]

[In 5 minutes, the Monster Wave will begin again!]

“Ah, I think I’m going crazy.”

“Cadet Cho Sung-hyun, we don’t have time for that.”

Cho Sung-hyun, who had been kicking an innocent wall, took out his sword at Seo Young-woon’s response.

We endured three waves. There were two safe zones left. Within a short period of time, our party was in tatters.

As the safe zones diminished, I quickly grew out of breath. Now, this basement area was no longer safe as well. I broke through a nearby door with an arrow but, beyond the door, was a flock of monsters blocking a narrow staircase. Cha Taeyang and Cho Sung-hyun were tasked with breaking through while Seo Young-woon, who stood at the front, drew the demonic beasts’ attention with his taunting skills.

I was a little unsure whether or not I could shoot the arrows accurately and avoid hitting the other party members, so I physically swung the bow itself to keep the undead in check.

Like that, we had climbed up to the first floor, but the system informed us that there were three minutes left until the next Monster Wave.

""

“Where are the remaining safe zones?”

“There’s one on the second and third floors, but I don’t remember the exact location.”

“Let’s scatter.”

“Start from the second floor first. We should leave the third floor as our last stronghold.”

Why was this god-damned mansion so spacious?

Divided into three teams, we began searching the U-shaped 1 mansion, which was made by three connected buildings. Even Cha Taeyang’s dokkaebi rolled around, searching the grounds for the safe zone.

“It’s not there…Damn it, it’s not here either!” My fingertips began to tremble as I opened each door. ‘Please! Appear!’ I couldn’t even speed up my search as I had to deal with the relentless onslaught of monsters.

“It’s here! I found it!” shouted Cho Sung-Hyun, who had been searching the eastern side of the mansion.

Cha Taeyang, who had been exploring the center building, quickly placed me on her shoulder and ran. The way that Seo Young-woon had carried me earlier must have made a deep impression on her.

A group of undead followed us eastward but, thanks to the system-implemented movement debuff, 2 Cha Taeyang easily left them behind.

Cho Sung-hyun stood in front of the room, doors wide open, and waved his hands.

‘With this, we’ll get at least 5 minutes of relief.’

Just as I was about to enter the room, the agitated dokkaebi rolled our way, “Kim-seobang! There’s trouble! Because the road in the middle of the mansion is blocked, the large Kim-seobang can’t come through!”

“Are you talking about Seo Young-woon Hunter?”

[In 1 minute and 30 seconds, the Monster Wave will begin!]

The undead we had left behind in our escape were blocking the hallway. We didn’t think of Seo Young-woon, who needed to travel from the western building. I could almost hear the clock’s ticking second hand in my head; time seemed to stop for a moment.

Cha Taeyang, who grasped the situation, grabbed my frozen arm, “Let’s go quickly!”

“Yes, let’s move out. Cadet Cho Sung-hyun should come as well! Quickly!” Humiliation briefly spread through me since I had frozen momentarily. It would be difficult for Seo Young-woon, a defense-focused Hunter, to break through the blockage alone in a timely manner.

With the two others, I ran towards the central building.

***

Seo Young-woon, trapped in the middle of a group of monsters, was struggling. Perhaps A-class tankers also had a low supply of offensive options, he showed signs of great difficulty and effort.

“Why have you come? I’ll take care of it, so go back to the safe zone!” He shouted.

“Do you even have the leisure to pretend to be strong right now?”

“Kim-seobang!  I brought the other Kim-seobangs.”

Seo Young-woon glared at the dokkaebi while hitting back the oncoming undead with his shield.

“Haaaah!” Without any hesitation, Cha Taeyang, stepping on the tanker’s shoulder as he brandished his blade, jumped and landed among the group of monsters and quickly approached Seo Young-woon’s side.

Perhaps it was just me, but somehow Cha Taeyang’s flames shone more when her opponents were the undead rather than plant-attribute monsters.

[After 30 seconds, the Monster Wave will begin!]

Now that Seo Young-woon and Chae Taeyang joined forces, the monsters began to be cut down at a faster pace. I, too, kept shooting arrows to cover the party’s back.

By the time Cho Sung-hyun joined the other two, the atmosphere had changed.

“We still had a little more time, but…!”

The flow of mana surrounding the monsters became a bit brutal.

[The Monster Wave has now begun!]

Behind the three people that were now running toward me, the group of undead swarmed like bees. Man, it’s not like I’m a pied piper–what’s going on?

“Wait a minute. That’s…” Something caught my eye momentarily. ‘If it’s that, then I think it’ll work out somehow.’

I activated the ‘Marksman’s eye’ that had been deactivated in order to save mana. Though I couldn’t see it myself, my irises became tinted a pale gold.

My target was the old, tattered, swaying chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

The flimsy, weak point of the Chandelier’s swivel shone red.

I didn’t have the time to use the ‘bow-assistant’ that increased my accuracy rate. Fortunately, the chandelier’s fastener wasn’t too small. I could attempt this shot without using the system’s help.

“After all, I’ve shot more than a few arrows by now!” Immediately, I pulled at the bowstring and aimed at the fastener.

[Because of your trait evolution, the ‘Explorer’s Eye (A)’ has been activateding instead of the ‘Marksman’s Eye (C)’.]

[With outstanding insight, you now understand the essence of your target.]

I ignored the system window and immediately activated ‘Grant Attribute’.

“Apply ‘Duplication’ in slot three.”

[Skill ‘Grant Attribute (C)’ has been activated.

— Slot 3: Duplication (2 slots remaining)]

[Your Item grants you a special power!]

A card that only I could see appeared and vanished almost immediately; three magic arrows struck the chandelier’s fastener.

The chandelier shook violently, but it did not fall as I had intended.

""

“One more time!” One after another, I fired the arrows that had been granted the ‘Duplication’ attribute.

One shot…two shots… With that last hit, the fastener broke.

Crash–!

The huge chandelier fell atop the horde of undead.

“Nice Assist!”

“Kim-seobang, you’re so cool!”

Glass crystals shattered onto the floor with a great crash. The rest of the party, hesitating in their brief bewilderment at the turn of events, rushed to pick me up and run towards the east side of the mansion.

We managed to enter the safe zone while the monsters were occupied.

[You’ve entered the safe zone!]

[Safe zone duration: 00:04:11]

“Are you out of your mind?”

“Why don’t you rest and not waste energy?”

""

“Didn’t I tell you to go back?! What in the hell…”

“If we didn’t try, then Seo Young-woon Hunter could have been seriously injured.”

“You shouldn’t worry about me; as a C-class hunter, you should have run away quickly as a C-class should. Why would you step out like that?” Seo Young-woon closed his eyes and dropped his forehead into his palm. Cho Sung-hyun must have thought the same–he sent a subtle glance my way.

Isn’t it ‘All’s well that ends well?’ Then, it should be fine. Why is he quibbling so much?

Shaking his head, Seo Young-woon opened his mouth, “In any case, thank you for your help.”

“Wow! Ahjussi, you know how to say something like that?” Cha Taeyang said.

Seo Young-woon frowned at the guileless words. ‘What the hell do you think I’m like?’ he grumbled. Cha Taeyang shrugged her shoulders.

“Yoon Gaho Hunter, tell us about the last safe zone.”

“Ah, yes.”

Cho Sung-hyun, for the first time, had called me by my proper title, attaching the term ‘Hunter’ to my name.

I tried to hide my surprise and started to talk about the third floor. “The safe zone on the third floor is our last bastion.”

“What does that mean?”

“There are apparently traps set up all over the third floor. During the raid, the guild ‘Charity’ had a hard time because of that.”

After hearing my explanation, Cho Sung-hyun made a distressed sound. The traps must be especially tricky if ‘Charity,’ a guild made up of especially nimble hunters, had difficulty.

Even if they found the next safe area safely, they would only have about five minutes’ worth of reprieve. Why were the reinforcements so late?

In midst of the uncomfortable silence, Cha Taeyang whispered quietly, “If only I could use *that,* all those things would be defeated in one bite.”

“No–Never! Did you forget everything The witch Kim-Seobang said?”

“No using *that* until my magic power increases! I remember,” Cha Taeyang said, imitating someone, before drooping like spinach wilted in hot water.

Cho Sung-hyun shook Cha Taeyang’s shoulder, curious about this unusual topic, “Do you have some ace up your sleeve?”

“I can’t!”

“You’re such a mannerless Kim-seobang! Don’t harass Taeyang-ie!” 3

“Hunter Cha Taeyang, do you have some method? Please explain,” I coaxed.

Though she clammed up when Cho Sung-Hyun pressed her, Cha Taeyang opened her mouth immediately at my urging, “I have a wide-range skill that can return the undead or such beings back to their afterlife.”

“Hey, if you have a skill like that, why are you talking about it just now?!” Cho Sung-hyun shouted.

“Don’t be so ignorant! Do you think Taeyang-ie wasn’t using it on purpose!? She shouldn’t use it–that’s why!”

“It’s as she says; I can’t use it right now. It’s locked due to a lack of magic power; if I use the skill forcefully, I’ll be knocked unconscious for a few days. Apparently, that’s because the skill is quite far from my natural aptitude.”

The skill was perfect for this situation.

But, she can’t use it because of a lack of stats. Was it incompatible with her attribute or class?

Judging by her combat style, Cha Taeyang’s abilities must concentrate on martial strength and agility. I suppose the aforementioned skill must depend on one’s magic or spell stat.

I had heard that occasionally these sorts of additional skills may appear, but I didn’t know that Cha Taeyang would be one of these cases. Usually, in these scenarios, an equipment would fulfill the gap created by your insufficient ability or stats; or, through training, your natural ability levels will gradually grow.

“What is your magic stat?”

“Twelve.”

I felt even more regret after hearing Cha Taeyang’s pitiful response. Perhaps this would have been possible with just one good piece of magic-increasing equipment.

Though I loathed to do so, I gave up any lingering feelings and greed towards that method. Cha Taeyang would be in trouble if she fainted. Another person’s hands would be tied up to try and move her around, and then Cho Sung-hyun would be overly burdened.

“…Then, if that’s the case!” Suddenly, I remembered the skill I received recently. Enchant.

‘Couldn’t I use that skill to boost Cha Taeyang’s magic level?’

However, I soon shook my head–it would be a huge problem if Cha Taeyang’s equipment was destroyed willy-nilly. I can’t cut down our current power; this was no time to be reckless.

[The Safe Zone has been lifted.]

[Thanks to the blessing of the World’s Towers, the monsters’ movements will slow down for 5 minutes.]

[In 5 minutes, the Monster Wave will begin!]

“I see we have no time to talk.”

The warm light surrounding our room died down. Fortunately, we were given five more minutes; it seemed that this cooldown time would not decrease.

The stairs to the third floor were blocked due to the chandelier that I had dropped. Therefore, we decided to climb to the third floor through a window.

When I left the room, I realized that something was wrong. I stood straight in my tracks.

“Hunter Yoon Gaho?” Someone asked.

The tiles in the hallway shone red.

It wasn’t just the floor: the vase by the window, the tapestry at the end of the hallway…the door handles of some rooms…

“What’s this?”

TL: Honestly, Insight skills are so OP. Knowing a targe’s weak spot or their ‘essence’ would be so incredibly useful in our daily lives…