Chapter 95: Second Kaeseong Subjugation Battle - (5)
The process of consuming the eyeball artifact was intriguing.
Since he had fought against a crow, he wondered if the manifested food would be some bizarre delicacy.
Unexpectedly, the food that Ice Crow frequently ate was the water and small fish within this gate.
Chewing on small fish didn’t even qualify as bizarre food for Sanghyun, so the meal ended smoothly.
Before further examining the skill "Will of Charge" inherited from Ice Crow,
He first checked the information on Ice Crow’s eyeball, which had activated a hidden skill along with the stat inheritance.
"Strength 90! That’s an insane investment."
Following the absorption rate formula of 60%, the strength increase of 150 converted to 90 upon inheritance.
Thus, his strength became 756!
Now, the airborne effect of the Rising Current would break past the 3-second limit and could sustain winds for up to 4.2 seconds.
Goblins and low-tier kobolds, who had nearly zero skill resistance, would die just watching the sky.
‘If my strength just surpasses the thousand mark later...’
A pleasing vision formed in his mind.
The longer a status ailment lasted, the better.
From the opponent’s perspective, the longer it lasted, the longer they remained exposed to openings.
[You have acquired the hidden skill "Cold Blast".]
Sanghyun examined the tooltip of "Cold Blast," a hidden skill obtained by consuming Ice Crow’s eyeball.
//s_win
//win_h 『Cold Blast』
■ Skill Level: Stage 1 (0.0%)
■ Skill Description: Releases a heavy mass of wind forward.
//e_win
By consuming 10 mana, the number of projectiles can be increased by one, up to a maximum of five.
Additionally, the intense cold storm of Cold Blast can induce a freezing effect on the opponent.
Maximum freeze duration: 1.0 second.
"Until now, I could only achieve single-target freezing with full charge, but now I can do area freezing?"
His versatility had increased.
Testing Cold Blast, he found that its freezing storm formed into a wind sphere about the size of three soccer balls combined.
As the wind sphere traveled, it naturally dispersed and, upon reaching its end, engulfed its target.
"This is amazing."
For a player, a skill was equivalent to a weapon.
Having diverse and expandable skills meant having an arsenal of weapons at his disposal.
Most players could only rely on two or three main skills at best.
But even if he minimized his list, Sanghyun had at least ten core skills right now.
Cold Blast.
It seemed like he would be using it often.
Leaving aside the area freezing effect, being able to generate multiple storms made it excellent for dealing with multiple enemies.
Sanghyun then checked the skill "Will of Charge," which he had yet to review—the legacy of Ice Crow.
//s_win
//win_h 『Will of Charge』
■ Skill Level: Stage 1 (0.0%)
■ Skill Description: Within a 30-meter radius, select a target upon whom the Will of Charge is imposed, and begin a charge toward them.
//e_win
The chosen target experiences a "self-acceleration" effect, tripling the charge speed toward them.
One second after the charge begins, a defensive barrier activates to protect the front and sides.
If the selected target retreats, the barrier thickens the longer the pursuit continues.
If the chase lasts beyond 15 seconds, a "Bravery" state is activated, granting five seconds of complete invulnerability against the opponent’s attacks.
Consumes 10 mana per second.
"This is exactly why I wanted this skill. It forces opponents into direct confrontations."
His eyebrows twitched.
The class that would suffer the most from this skill was undoubtedly the mage.
Mages generally preferred backward movement rather than lateral or forward movement to create distance from sword-wielding players.
The Will of Charge skill specialized in chasing such opponents.
For the pursuer, the longer the chase lasted, the stronger they became instead of tiring out.
On the other hand, a tricky opponent would be one who, like Sanghyun did against Ice Crow earlier, immediately counter-charged.
In that case, the pursuit momentum would be lost, rendering the skill ineffective.
It would be a complete loss in a rock-paper-scissors battle.
Thus, the Will of Charge skill required a deep understanding of the opponent’s psyche or a psychological battle to force them into a particular response.
"One-on-one. Many versus many. One versus many. Area effects. It has both expansion and versatility—definitely a valuable asset."
He clenched his fists, convinced.
There was nothing scarier than a person who knew how to fully utilize what they had.
He was determined to become that kind of person and was striving fiercely even at this very moment.
Thirty minutes later.
A large exclamation mark appeared on Lee Sehwa’s face as she monitored Sanghyun’s progress via GPS data.
"As expected!"
Sanghyun was already near the end of his assigned solo route, 6-5.
She had also cleared her assigned route solo.
Of course, given her level, it had been an expected outcome from the beginning.
But Sanghyun was different.
If one applied the lens of "normality," Sanghyun shouldn’t have even started that route in the first place.
Yet, he had already completed it.
From Lee Sehwa’s perspective, Sanghyun was exerting over two or three times the expected power for his level.
Whether it was due to skill boosts, blessings from constellations, or something else entirely, he was achieving something extraordinary!
At that moment, a secure message from the Player Union arrived for Lee Sehwa, who was resting.
[Requesting a detailed briefing on Player Shin Sanghyun, with whom you previously collaborated.]
[I already told you—I don’t do snitch work. If you’re so curious, why don’t you dig the well yourself like any thirsty fool would?]
She immediately fired back a biting response to the representative relaying orders from higher-ups.
She sent it knowing full well that her exact words would reach the upper management.
This was how the Player Union always operated.
Instead of conducting open investigations under their national organization name, they relied on nearby informants to extract information discreetly.
Even with Sanghyun, rather than conducting a direct investigation, they were trying to gather intel easily through her.
To do so, they expected her to act as a spy.
[That doesn’t seem like a pleasant response.]
[I submitted my resignation last time. If they’re offended, tell them to process it. Got it?]
Lee Sehwa closed the secure chat.
She exited the dedicated chatroom entirely, unwilling to exchange further words.
She had refused all official positions within the Union precisely to avoid such sleazy tasks.
"Hoo! My heart’s pounding. What kind of fun awaits this time?"
Recalling her past encounters with Sanghyun, she let her irritation fade and lifted her spirits.
Soon, a smile formed on her lips—anticipation for battle was already stirring within her.
“Damn Player Union. Acting all high and mighty for no reason...”
Thinking about it again, Lee Sehwa's face flushed with anger.
The Union always wanted to maintain a superior attitude in the recruitment process.
Because of this, their approach to talent acquisition was always conducted secretly and discreetly.
Yet, they were greedy, frequently issuing warnings or recommendations to prohibit contact with foreign guilds.
“Tiring, really tiring.”
The desire to leave the Union was stronger than ever, but she decided to endure it, thinking of her enjoyable raid plans with Sanghyun.
She had already proven her worth.
She had cleared a more difficult route than before in a solo playthrough? There was no longer a need for Sanghyun to verify her skills.
At that moment.
Sanghyun encountered a formidable enemy on the mountainside, the final path of Route 6-5.
“Damn. So the flag was triggered.”
A bitter smile formed.
Just moments ago, Sanghyun had stretched and casually muttered something he usually wouldn’t say.
[If I were a monster, this would be the perfect place to show up and land a surprise attack.]
At the time, there had been no signs of anything nearby, so he had thought he would get away with saying it.
But as soon as the words left his mouth, a monster appeared before Sanghyun, detected through Gaia’s Breath.
Shadow Lord.
Also known as the King of Shadow Hunters, it was already classified as a mid-boss monster.
Kekeke.
As if welcoming its prey, the Shadow Lord briefly revealed itself, grinning with sharp white teeth.
Dressed like a masked assassin, the Shadow Lord embodied the very image of a rogue.
Pa! Pa! Pa!
In an instant, the Shadow Lord’s form multiplied into ten. It was using its signature cloning technique.
The tricky part about this ability was that the clones could also remain hidden.
Even with Gaia’s Breath, it was impossible to distinguish the original from the clones, making it incredibly difficult to deal with.
“......”
Sanghyun held his breath.
Holding his greatsword diagonally, he searched for the most optimal response.
Unusually, the Shadow Lord's main weapon was not a sword but a whip.
The whip had countless sharp metal spikes embedded along its length.
『Cold Blast』
Without further thought, Sanghyun executed his first move.
Cold Blast!
Using 50 mana, he created five freezing storms and unleashed them in five directions.
He deliberately launched them in an irregular rhythm to make them harder to predict.
Fssht! Fssssht!
The advancing figures of the Shadow Lord slowed as they were exposed to Cold Blast.
Although it didn’t fully freeze them, the secondary slowing effect from the freezing process took effect.
Four of the figures visibly slowed before regaining speed.
But one of them!
That one alone maintained its original speed while closing in rapidly, even while hidden.
‘It’s you.’
The calculation was simple.
Apparently, the Shadow Lord wasn’t smart enough to outthink him.
If Sanghyun had been the Shadow Lord, he would have made the original body appear to slow down even more.
Showing strong resistance to status effects was undeniable proof of being the original.
While clones could confuse sight and judgment, they lacked offensive capability and posed no real threat to Sanghyun.
With 100% certainty, Sanghyun locked onto the real Shadow Lord.
At that moment.
The Shadow Lord, now close to Sanghyun, swung its spiked whip while still in stealth mode.
Only then did its invisibility fade, revealing both itself and its vicious weapon.
Swish!
The long whip sliced through the air, a terrifying sight in itself.
More than anything, the spikes were covered in dried blood and remnants of flesh, making it a grotesque spectacle.
『Defensive Sword』
Spending 100 mana, Sanghyun immediately formed a defensive barrier around his entire body.
With the mana limit removed, Defensive Sword could now form a sturdy shield as long as he had mana.
Next.
Swish!
The spiked whip struck Sanghyun with force.
From the start, the Shadow Lord had gone all out, aiming to tear him apart.
“Hah, is that all?”
But instead of screaming, Sanghyun scoffed.
“......”
The Shadow Lord’s expression darkened.