Level Up with Skills - Chapter 32

Chapter 32

That Buried One, The Warrior Ghost(2)

TL: handCream

PR: Kasaix

After returning to the labyrinth, Tae-san wandered around, but there was no goblin to be seen. Tae-san cleared all the rooms. It meant that the boss room was just around the corner.

Tae-san, who was walking down the aisle without much thought, came across a unique door.

An orange gate stood before Tae-san.

“What’s that?”

Usually, the Boss room had a red door. He had never heard of an orange room. He traced his memory, but Lee Tae-yeon never mentioned it either. It must be because she used to avoid dangerous and luring doors such as this one. So it must be why there was very little to no information about them.

This room had to be a dangerous one.

And such rooms were always filled with rewards.

Tae-san opened the door. There were two goblins inside. It was impressive that they were armored with a perfect leather coat and held swords that weren’t rusty.

“Keek.”

“Kakaak.”

When they saw Tae-san, they pulled out their weapons. Unlike the goblins he had encountered so far, they did not rush right away and were wary of Tae-san.

[[Elite Goblin] Atlock has appeared.]

[[Elite Goblin] Genesis has appeared.]

Monsters with a name.

They were guarding a small tomb.

[You found the tomb of a warrior]

Did Tae-yeon ever talk about the monsters who have an identity?

He couldn’t remember. It must be one or the other.

Either she forgot to mention them, or that Lee Tae-yeon never encountered them.

And he suspected the latter, meaning she must have never met them before. Only Tae-san did.

Atlock and Genesis.

They both appeared to be different compared to the other goblins. Though they were wearing similar longswords, they were wary of Tae-san and kept their distance.

Two pairs of infinitely sunken eyes were directed towards him. That alone said that they were much stronger than the previous goblins he had encountered before.

‘Should I test them?’

Tae-san rushed in and the goblins too came forward. While they distanced themselves from each other, they surrounded Tae-san.

No matter where he moved, they would be able to corner him. Tae-san pulled out his wand and charged in once again.

[You have casted Fireball]

The fireball was fired at the goblin named Atlock. And Atlock hurriedly ran away to avoid it. Because of that, the siege created for Tae-san collapsed and only one of them remained.

Tae-san pulled out his sword.

Kaang!

Genesis blocked it with his sword. He straightened his posture and struck him directly. Tae-san dodged to the left, avoided it, and stabbed him. Genesis clashed his sword with Tae-san.

The swords confronted each other at two angles.

Tae-san’s sword that was aimed to slash was resisted by a sharp blade. It’s not just a random swing, but a proper use of the sword. Genesis swung his sword. Tae-san held out his shield.

Kaang!

 

Tae-san felt a strong pressure in his shield. The strength of the opponent’s sword was quite high.

[7 damage was dealt to you]

‘He is strong.’

The speed and strength was not something he had seen in the other goblins. There was a reason why he was an elite.

But he still had the upper hand in this exchange. Tae-san put his whole strength to his hand holding the shield.

Argh!

Keek!

Genesis bounced off. Instead of rushing in, Tae-san turned his body and swung his sword the other way. Atlock, who was aiming for his back, hurriedly blocked it.

Kaak!

Keek!

Atlock’s knees were swelling. He clenched his teeth and tried to hold on, but the sword slowly began to press down. Looking at his partner, Genesis screamed and rushed in.

“Kiek!”

Tae-san tried to push him with his shield, but the goblin did not back down that easily. In the end, Tae-san had no choice but to take a step forward.

“Karuk.”

“Kick.”

The goblin didn’t rush in. Tae-san’s defenses were getting stronger.

So they decided to change their tactics. Rather than aiming for a gap in Tae-san, they’d rather make up for each other’s weaknesses. Atlock and Genesis rushed in at the same time.

When Tae-san blocked Atlock’s attack, then Genesis’ attack would follow. This time he tried to block both attacks and with his superior strength he tried to attack them. Then the goblins widened the distance on their own while retreating. But one of them suddenly charged in!

Kaak!

While his sword clashes and his shield protects. Intense sword strikes come in and go. Tae-san couldn’t help but admire this duo.

‘They are brilliant.’

Atlock and Genesis. The combo of the two elite goblins were flawless. No matter how he pushed one out and aimed for the other, they’d fall back together. When his eyes focused on one goblin, the other pressured him hard.

The elite goblins ability was not low either. It was getting harder to deal with both of them at the same time.

He would have to crush one of them first or it would be his loss.

[You have activated [Slowed Breathing Attack]. For the next 12 seconds you don’t have to take a breath without any consequence]

Ting!

“Gaak!”

He threw off Genesis’ weapon and rushed for Atlock. But Genesis immediately jumped in and aimed for his back, but Tae-san ignored him.

[You have activated [Block]. The next attack will be blocked.]

[12 damage was dealt to you]

Ignoring the pain he felt, Tae-san slammed his sword hard. Atlock raised his arm up to the sky. Tae-san thrust his sword at the open torso.

At that moment, the Sense Enhancement announced a warning.

[You have a strong feeling]

A warning. This attack was going to fail! Tae-san managed to suppress his strength according to his intuition. The sword stopped in front of Atlock’s head.

Then, Tae-san was shocked looking at the following window.

[Atlock has activated [Block]. The next attack will be blocked.]

“What?”

Keek!

Atlock swung his sword at Tae-san, the same went for Genesis who was behind his back. He was surrounded. Tae-san quickly rolled onto the ground. The sword speedily hit the floor.

Tae-san, who in the nick of time escaped from the goblins, burst into laughter.

“What is this?”

He was right, he didn’t see it wrong. The system window still remained in the corner of his view.

[Atlock has activated [Block]. The next attack will be blocked.]

The window that was displayed was the same when a player used their skills.

The same window was displayed with the goblins.

***

“Kayak!”

The goblins rushed in. Atlock aimed for the left while Genesis aimed for the right.

Tae-san ran to the right. He ignored Atlock, who had already activated a blocking skill and tried to attack Genesis. But not much to his surprise.

[Genesis has activated [Block]. The next attack will be blocked.]

“Shit.”

Tae-san stepped back and widened the distance between them.

His hunch was correct. The goblins were surely using skills.

“Kaak!”

“Keek!”

The goblins rushed in, unlike ever before. As he neglected his defense, Tae-san realized one more fact.

Block was a skill that was used to block an opponent’s attack. Attacks that ignore defense were possible to use.

The goblins were fully knowledgeable of the effects of their skills. It meant that they didn’t acquire them overnight.

‘Does that mean all the monsters in Solo Mode are like that?’

Tae-san wielded his sword with a terrified face.

“!”

“Kick!”

Pushed by his strength, Genesis got thrown off. Tae-san struck Atlock’s weapon with his shield. As he was preoccupied with the attack, his flow wasn’t as smooth as before. But he charged away anyways.

Tae-san stepped back and pulled out his bow. Thanks to his increased agility, the goblins were shot before they could rush at him.

[6 damage was dealt to Genesis]

[7 damage was dealt to Atlock]

“Keek!”

“Kaak!”

The arrow deflected and hit the goblins. This time his attack wasn’t blocked.  The goblin faltered for a moment.

“Keek!”

 

“Kaak…”

 

The goblins couldn’t rush in, so he immediately picked up his sword.

‘It’s nothing special. I think they can only use the skill once.’

[You have activated [Block]. The next attack will be blocked.]

Just like how the goblins did before, he activated his skill and rushed in. The first attack was bound to be missed. The goblins couldn’t attack recklessly and rush in. Meanwhile, Tae-san already arrived in front of Atlock.

Smash!

“Cough!”

Tae-san’s sword slashed in and pierced right in.

Atlock hurriedly blocked it, but the difference in their power was too large!

Genesis belatedly tried to attack, but it was too late.

The goblin’s attack was blocked and Tae-san drew his sword again.

Boom!

Atlock’s sword broke. He slashed the goblin, whose defense was broken.

[You have activated [Continuous Combat]. Your next attack will be twice as strong]

[Atlock is in a neutralized state. It will take more damage.]

[39 damage was dealt to Atlock]

[40 damage was dealt to Atlock]

[You have defeated Atlock]

[Proof of Struggle has been activated]

“Keek!”

Genesis, who lost his colleague, cried out in anger. Tae-san activated his skill instead of looking back.

[You have activated [Counter]. The opponent’s next attack will be countered]

His body moved automatically. He avoided Genesis’ attack and aimed at his chest.

[46 damage was dealt to Genesis]

‘Damn, the damage was too big’

Tae-san cut Genesis a few more times to make it suffer.

[18 damage was dealt to Genesis]

[17 damage was dealt to Genesis]

[You have defeated Genesis]

[Proof of Struggle has been deactivated]

“It was easy.”

Said Tae-san after winning the battle smoothly.

Back then even though all the players were allies. He learnt about the flaws of each skill and how to neutralize them with precision.

Even if he was flustered about the fact that monsters with names being able to use skills. The skill itself wasn’t scary.

Now the real question was

‘Can the monsters with names use skills?’

There was no way that only goblins had elite variations. Orc, Skeleton. Most monsters with names would probably use skills.

“It won’t be that hard.”

If the elite goblins had worked together and fought instead of relying on skills, he would have taken quite some time.

However, the opponents relied on their skills. Not to mention they only knew how to use Block which made things simpler on his side.

Tae-san verified his reward.

[Your Soul Raiser has been activated. Strength is permanently increased by 1. Agility is permanently increased by 1. Intelligence is permanently increased by 1.]

[Your Soul Raiser has been activated. Strength is permanently increased by 1. Agility is permanently increased by 1. Intelligence is permanently increased by 1.]

[You have acquired 458 Gold.]

Overall, perhaps because of how excellent the opponent monsters were, the total increase in his stats were also higher. Another similar window appeared when he was just about to close it.

“Huh?”

[Your Soul Raiser has been activated. The skill Sense Enhancement increased by 3%.]

[Your Soul Raiser has been activated. The proficiency of Block increased by 3%.]

His skill proficiency had increased.

‘Is it because I can use skills? So  the increase in proficiency is equivalent to that of my opponent’s?’

The Soul Raiser stole away the skill proficiency from the dead which meant it was not just limited to stat points. If you thought about it, it was natural to assume when an opponent using skills was eliminated you would also steal their skill proficiency. It was frustrating but good. In the labyrinth it’s quite hard to increase one’s skill level. So, Tae-san checked his [Block] skill window.

[Active Skill: Block]

[Mana Cost: 5]

[Skill: 42%]

[Reduce damage of the opponent’s attacking. Any weapon can be used to wield this skill. The skill can also block magic and curses.]

Since it was frequently used, its skill proficiency had steadily increased. And thanks to the increase from Soul Raiser, the skill proficiency had finally exceeded 40% mark and its description changed. The added content was the blocking of magic and curses.

It was satisfactory. There were many unavoidable spells in labyrinth. In order to deal with them he had no choice but to either use an equipment or another skill. So Tae-san was happy that he finally acquired one such means that he could use.

Right now, it was good enough to reduce the potency of the curses.

Unfortunately, till now he had no such equipment. The armor worn by goblins looked like they had a defense about 4, but it was a pity. It was a matter of probability, so there was nothing to lose about this.

‘This is good.’

Continuous Combat. This was the skill he had gained when he was fighting against the Servant of Lakiratas. It was his first time using it in combat and it was quite useful.

[Active skill: Continuous Combat]

[Mana Cost : 3]

[Proficiency: 1%]

[It can duplicate the next attack. It is not restricted by time or space.]

It’s a so-called double attack. The skill caused the target take damage twice. But unlike legit copying, it didn’t copy skills or status effects. It was also a skill that Tae-san threw away as only basic attack power was included even if a continuous attack was used after activating his buffs.

But now, Tae-san was a Solo Mode player.

His basic attack power was going to increase tremendously, so there were more things to use in the future. Mana consumption was also relatively small at about 3.

The simple verification was over. Tae-san arrived at the tomb with a strange face.

“What’s this?”

The goblins were guarding this place. Seeing that there were two elite goblins, it must be a very important place. Tae-san thought of the system window.

[You have found the Tomb of the Warrior.]

[First Discovery Bonus]

[Intelligence is permanently increased by 1. Mana is permanently increased by 2.]

He didn’t notice it earlier, but he even received first discovery bonus. It meant something important must be here, something like Fountain of Life or the Altar of Lakiratas.

Tae-san put his hand on the grave, and suddenly he was surrounded by a white mist.

The mist clumped together and formed a shape. It was not in the form of a human.

“A Ghost?”

When people thought of ghosts on Earth, the first thing that came to mind was the shape of an overturned white porcelain.

The ghost said.

[Hello! Adventurer!]

The ghost turned into a mist and fell.

[And bye!]

“….”

Tae-san put his hand back on the tomb. The ghost appeared.

[Hello! Adventurer!]

[And bye!]

And disappeared again.

Tae-san’s face twitched.

He placed his hand on the tomb again and the ghost reappeared.

[What are you doing? I told you to go.]

“…A Quest.”

[Oh. How dare you ask this body for a quest? Do you know who I am?]

“A fallen warrior who I found?”

The identity of the ghost was already known through the system window. The ghost, who had been silent for a while, grumbled as if he had nothing to say.

[Oh, look at how comfortable you are. How comfortable is it that the system takes care of everything for you? Telling you everything without you having to search for it on your own and sacrifice your life to collect information.]

‘Wasn’t there a system in the former labyrinth?’

[What’s this?]

“….”

[Oh, you’re so strict.]

The ghost grumbled. Tae-san trembled and looked at him.

‘What is this?’

All the NPCs he met were not easy. Whether it was the Dwarf or Einzhar, there was a sense of unknown dread. But this guy was infinitely light-hearted.

NPC. Ghosts. The dead. The one that cannot interfere with the living.

“Aren’t you going to give me a quest?”

There was also a ghost-like thing in Easy mode. It wasn’t a quest like those of the NPCs, it was a quest about a diary. Something similar that need to be read

A quest that makes the wishes of the dead come true by reading the contents of the diary. The ghost in front of him wouldn’t be much different. Tae-san thought to himself as he stood before the mysterious ghosts.

[You are a strange guy that’s for sure. Suddenly asking for a quest? Isn’t this an area you haven’t explored on the 2nd floor yet?]