CHAPTER 82……………………………………………….
[Using Skill “Moon Swordsmanship Lv37.” The blessing of the moonlight descends upon your hands!]
Unlike the offensive droplets, the defensive ones were quite sturdy. Even after striking them with my sword, the solid droplets only cracked slightly and didn’t break, to the point that my hands ached.
“This won’t be enough as it is.”
I carefully increased the amount of mana infused into my sword. I had to be extremely careful not to pour too much all at once.
Cling, creak.
After raising the mana by about four levels, the cracks gradually widened. Although it was only for a very short time, concentrating so intensely made it feel as though time was moving slowly.
“This has to end in this one strike.”
I increased the mana one last time.
Clang!
The droplets shattered like glass, scattering fragments everywhere. The Planarient that had fallen to the ground seemed to try raising another droplet, swinging its staff.
“Jisoo! Now!”
Hearing my call, Ryu Jisoo, who had been waiting beside me, pulled my forward-leaning body back. As I had just vacated that space, a mana arrow from Kang Gwonhoo flew past. The Planarient, now unarmed, couldn’t retaliate and was swallowed by the darkness in an instant.
“Judging by how it expanded and then burst, it must have condensed mana and detonated it from inside.”
“Wow… I don’t like Kang Gwonhoo, but that mana arrow is no joke.”
I Ji-Ah, who had been silently following along without participating in the fight, kept exclaiming in admiration. She had been cleverly trailing us the whole time without getting involved.
“Shall we go through that door first?”
I opened the door quickly before another Planarient could appear. A few hunters tried to stop us, but two famous hunters from Chaos blocked them. Thanks to that, we safely entered the interior.
“Feels a bit like cheating, doesn’t it?”
I felt slightly guilty using extra manpower, but wasting it would also be regrettable. I needed to learn how to use resources reasonably without doing anything immoral.
“It’s really dark in here, huh?”
The hall was huge, and the room inside was no less spacious. It was too dark to see clearly, but even the echo of sounds let us gauge the size.
“Let’s move forward for now.”
I had never encountered a room like this. Though it was supposed to be random, I didn’t expect to see a completely new room, and it made me anxious.
“Don’t leave me behind, hyung-nim!”
I Ji-Ah, not yet adapted to the darkness, groped through the air to approach us. I couldn’t leave her behind, so I stopped and waited for her to adjust.
“Thanks… wow, I can see a bit now.”
“Ji-Ah, are you really just observing us?”
That was my subtle way of criticizing her for doing little beyond observing. She bravely nodded.
“Yes. Actually, I was told to provide protection too, but it didn’t seem dangerous until now. The guild master said to act only when there’s real danger.”
I could tell she had considerable abilities just by coming through the crowd and Planarients, but whether she was strong enough for real protection was doubtful.
“Woojin! There’s a big stone lantern in front of us. The light isn’t on, but come take a look.”
I took Kang Gwonhoo and I Ji-Ah with me and approached Ryu Jisoo. As soon as we got near the stone lantern, blue light began emanating from it, spreading across the floor.
‘Could this be the light that appears during teleportation?’
As expected, my vision soon warped.
“Woojin!”
Kang Gwonhoo, noticing the teleportation sign at the same time, reached out, but it was already too late. When my vision returned, I was alone in a narrow room I had never seen before.
‘Was there something like this? Even that last room, this is completely new.’
Vwoooom.
Before I could think, a Planarient began summoning from the center. Surprisingly, there was only one.
[A-Class Heteromorphic Species, Planarient has appeared.]
A tense silence followed. There was a reason only one appeared.
‘What the…?’
The unexpected didn’t stop there. The Planarient suddenly lunged at me and clung on as soon as it was summoned.
“Get off!”
I kicked it in fear, and it fell easily, rolling on the floor.
‘What the hell…?’
Shockingly, the fallen Planarient began reconstructing its body, gradually forming a human shape. I had to cover my mouth to suppress the nausea. Soon, the new Planarient stood upright on its legs.
It was Baek Woojin.
“H-Hello?”
Its voice was like mine, but slightly higher-pitched, making it sound awkward.
“H-Human. Hello, hello?”
Like a radio tuning its frequency, the Planarient tested its own voice—a grotesque, spine-chilling sight.
‘Can it copy just appearance, or stats as well?’
I deliberately tried to think rationally.
“Kill… I’ll… kill you.”
The Planarient charged mechanically toward me. Judging by speed and reflexes, its physical stats were almost identical to mine.
‘No matter its abilities, I can’t use all my powers against it.’
But the body-copying skill alone was disturbing enough. It felt like looking in a mirror, but even stranger because of its expressionless face—a human-like but not human sensation.
“Skill… give me your skill.”
“Get away!”
[Using Skill “Moon Swordsmanship Lv37.” The blessing of the moonlight descends upon your hands!]
[Using Skill “Blessing of Lightning Lv29.” Lightning’s blessing descends upon Moon Swordsmanship.]
I urgently used both skills to deal with the Planarient quickly. The skill synergy was strong, but it consumed a lot of mana, which I had been conserving—but there was no time for that now.
“Lightning, lightning skill!”
The Planarient rolled to dodge my attack, then curiously swapped its staff for a sword.
‘That staff…’
It looked similar to my sword but was definitely different. It was a weapon that could adapt to the skills stolen by Planarients.
“Moon Swordsmanship?”
The Planarient, mimicking my face, muttered.
‘Did it just graze my sword earlier?’
I thought it had completely dodged, but apparently not. As I feared, the Planarient exploded, dividing itself. A clone with my face emerged.
‘It’s smart enough to steal my skill in a crisis.’
The power I’d used so far wasn’t enough. I had to overwhelm it with stronger force, or I’d just keep losing skills.
‘Is there a usable item nearby?’
I needed a weapon it couldn’t convert into a staff, but nothing came to mind immediately.
“Moon Swordsmanship!”
The Planarient shouted the skill like a spell, swinging its sword wildly, sending arcs of attacks flying everywhere.
“Don’t use it so recklessly like a beginner!”
I rolled on the floor to dodge, worrying the narrow room might collapse from the strikes.
‘I wish Yaoong was here for backup.’
I regretted stopping Yaoong from following. I needed the luxury of thinking while flying.
‘She’s sulking anyway, I should’ve just brought her. Usually, I can protect her.’
Bang!
The Planarient learned to use increasingly powerful strikes. No time for regrets. I drew my spear, planning to try lightning as I had with the other Planarients.
[The item reacts to its owner’s strong will. Zeus’ Spear enters hibernation.]
What? That didn’t make sense. If it reacted to my will, it should have blazed, not go dormant. I swung the spear several times to block strikes, but it didn’t respond to the Blessing of Lightning.
‘What the hell is going on?’
I glanced at the status screen while deflecting attacks. For the first time, the skill screen displayed glowing text: “Spear Swordsmanship.”
‘Could it be…?’
A hypothesis crossed my mind.
