My Selfish Skillbook Episode 12
Episode 12
The number of Hunters surrounding the hideout was roughly twenty.
Twenty Hunters was more than enough to deal with an underground organization made up of ordinary people. Moreover, those bastards had come swarming in, yet they weren't entering the abandoned building.
I soon got a sense of why they were doing that.
"They're waiting for me."
Cold sweat broke out.
But I couldn't turn back here. Jinhui was inside that hideout.
If I didn't go, those bastards would definitely lay their hands on the underground organization, including Hyeongcheol, and Jinhui.
[A new objective has been added.]
At that moment, a voice rang out.
"Summon."
--------------------
-Objective Setting-
[Main] Elimination of the Enemy
- Escape from the dungeon alive. (Achieved, 50pt)
- Defeat the Hunters surrounding the hideout and ensure the safety of the underground organization and Jinhui.
- Eliminate Jang Soyu's gang.
--------------------
A new objective had appeared in the book: defeat the Hunters and ensure their safety.
'A frontal breakthrough against twenty people is tough.'
I surveyed the area around the abandoned three-story building where the hideout was located.
There were several cars that appeared to be theirs, and other than that, there was nothing to hide behind.
This meant I couldn't use [Stealth] and hide behind trees like I had in the 'Forest Hunting Ground' dungeon.
Moreover, their numbers exceeded twenty. I could use [Stealth], which consumed 5 pt of mana, two or three times at most, but not continuously.
Thanks to the experience points gained from defeating the Hunters who had been targeting Seono, I currently had about 1,000 Exp.
But I hesitated to create a 6-Word skill.
Looking at the skills I had created so far, strong or excellent skills required a lot of mana. [Stealth] and [Fireball] cost 5 pt, and [Flame Spear] required as much as 10 pt.
If I created a 6-Word skill and it consumed 20 pt of mana, I could only use it once.
'Let's put the 6-Word skill aside for later. Right now, I need to find a way through this situation.'
Then, an idea flashed through my head.
I opened an empty page and wrote down the Words.
'Please, let something better than [Stealth] come out….'
I pinned my hopes on the newly acquired modifier Word,
[A skill of the same category already exists.]
It was different from the usual message. I was a bit surprised since I had expected a skill to be created.
[You can consume 50 Exp to enhance the effect of the existing skill. Would you like to do so?]
After a brief moment of thought, I answered inwardly that I would.
I had over a thousand experience points anyway. Even if it failed, I could just try again.
[Consuming a total of 50 Exp.]
[The effect of the Stealth skill is enhanced.]
A moment later, the description for [Stealth] glowed and its contents changed.
--------------------
Created Skill: [Invisibility] (Excellent)
Tool: Bare Body
Mana Cost: 10 pt
Description: For 30 minutes, conceals your appearance with mana and generates a barrier that hinders perception. Cannot be detected by opponents with a Sense stat below 8. The skill is not canceled even upon contact with an opponent or when using mana.
--------------------
The effects had improved noticeably.
The mana consumed had doubled, but it had changed so that stealth wouldn't be broken even upon contact with an opponent or when using skills, and the condition to be detected by an opponent had risen from Sense 4 to 8.
'Invisibility.'
The world in my vision turned monochrome.
I grabbed my spear and walked toward them. None of the Hunters looked my way.
The average stat for an A-rank Hunter is 5. So there was no way a Hunter with Sense 8 would be easy to find.
"Boss. How long do we have to wait? Wouldn't it be better to just grab that bastard's sister right away and use her as a hostage?"
Someone asked the hulking man.
"We wait because the boss said so. Besides, they're rats trapped in a poison jar anyway. No need to rush."
From the conversation, that hulk seemed to be the leader of the Hunters here.
'Flame Spear.'
When I cast the skill, a warm energy flowed from the spear in my hand.
I ran behind the hulk and stabbed him in the back with the spear.
"Kuk!"
The Flame Spear easily pierced the bastard's back. Along with a sizzling sound, the smell of burning flesh arose.
"B-Boss!? Aaack!"
"What!?"
"It's an ambush!"
"There's no one here!"
The Hunters began to panic.
I weaved between them and struck their vitals with the Flame Spear. Screams and curses filled the area in front of the hideout.
"Damn it! What the hell is it!?"
"Uwaaack!"
The Hunters made expressions of terror and began swinging their weapons or casting skills at empty air like they had gone mad.
I retreated to a safe spot, watched them for a moment, and when they calmed down, I would grab my spear again and stab their vitals.
"Everyone calm down! Form a circle and close the distance!"
When someone shouted, the remaining bastards gathered in a circle with their backs to each other.
"Spray water around us!"
At that command, one of them used a skill to spray a large amount of water around them.
'Oops.'
I quickly pulled back before the water hit me.
'Approach is blocked.'
Looking at the water pooled here and there on the asphalt, I fell into thought.
If I used [Charge], I could approach without giving them room to notice, but right after attacking, I would be hit by concentrated fire from the gathered group.
'How do I break this.'
After thinking briefly, I summoned the book.
The Words I selected were
After the skill was created, I banished the book and immediately used the new technique.
Kwa-ka-ka-ka-ka-kwang!
"Uwaack!"
"What was that sound!"
"Over there! Attack!"
Watching the ranged skills pour down, I raised my empty hand.
Poong!
"Aaack!"
"What?"
"Flames flew from the opposite side of where the sound came from!"
"What!?"
Kwa-ka-kwang!
I changed position and activated [Delayed Sound Bomb] once more.
Seeing their gazes move toward where the sound had just come from, I launched another Fireball.
"Uwaaack!"
Another bastard was engulfed in flames.
Kwa-ka-kwang!
"Aim for the opposite direction of the sound!"
Watching the wild barrage of ranged skills, I raised my spear.
'Wrong. This time, I'm right next to you.'
They were so focused on the sound and where I might be that they weren't looking at the ground.
'[Fireball] costs 5 MP, so I need to save it.'
I slit the throats of those looking elsewhere with the Flame Spear.
Now only three bastards remained.
"Y-You crazy!"
"This is no good! Run!"
"I-I don't want to die!"
They scrambled and climbed into their cars.
A short while later, all that remained in front of the hideout were the Hunters collapsed on the ground and me, still in stealth.
[You have defeated 12 Hunters.]
[You have acquired a total of 250 Exp.]
[Sub-objective achieved.]
[You have acquired 300 Exp.]
Voices echoed in my head.
***
"Brother!"
"Jinhui!"
I ran to Jinhui, who was sitting in a chair. Jinhui looked fine except for seeming a bit tired.
"Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"
Jinhui asked, examining my body.
"Yeah. I'm fine."
After reassuring Jinhui, I turned toward Hyeongcheol and his colleagues.
Hyeongcheol's colleagues avoided my gaze or put on awkward smiles.
I remembered Hyeongcheol saying that the guys were telling him to hand Jinhui over to Soyu's gang right now.
Just then, Hyeongcheol approached me.
"If you hadn't been here, we'd have been done in by them. Thank you so much for rushing over like this."
Hyeongcheol said so and grabbed my hand tightly.
'What, this is the guy who would normally curse at me for being so late….'
When I looked at him strangely, Hyeongcheol winked.
"My colleagues are really grateful too. Right?"
When Hyeongcheol turned around, the people hurriedly nodded.
'Aha. He's asking me to let it slide.'
I pulled my hand out of Hyeongcheol's grip. Anyway, it was true that they had hidden Jinhui until now, so I didn't particularly feel like saying anything.
"But what do we do with the Hunters collapsed outside?"
One of Hyeongcheol's colleagues asked.
"Don't worry. They won't be able to move for half a day until their HP recovers."
I answered.
"We can breathe easy for now, but the situation is still not good."
That bastard Hyeongcheol opened his mouth.
"More than half of Soyu's subordinates are still alive, and we were exposed because of the traitor. They ran away now, but they'll be back soon."
Hyeongcheol's colleagues made dark expressions.
"I just witnessed with my own eyes that you have the skill to fight off Soyu's subordinates. It was truly unbelievable. You took down Soyu's subordinates who are B-rank and above by yourself."
A man with a somewhat scruffy beard looked at me.
"But how on earth did you do it? To my eyes, they just suddenly got hurt and collapsed."
"It's one of my skills. I can hide my appearance."
I used [Stealth]. The people exclaimed in surprise.
"Incredible. If you have that, then Jang Soyu too…."
"That's still uncertain."
Having deactivated the skill, I cut off the bearded man's words.
"If the Sense stat is high, my skill won't work. Jang Soyu is an S-rank Hunter, so her stats are probably higher than other Hunters'."
"The problem isn't just Jang Soyu."
Hyeongcheol said.
"Jang Soyu has a skill to control monsters. Especially a wolf monster called Fenrir that she always keeps by her side—I've heard it's on a completely different level from her other monsters. Its vitality is so strong that even four A-rank Hunters pouring attack skills on it was futile. They say it's a monster as strong as an S-rank Hunter. And since its sense of smell is incredible, your skill that hides your appearance might not work."
"How do you know that?"
"Isn't it obvious? Because we investigated countless times. You think we've been in the underground for just a day or two?"
Right. This insolent way of talking was the one and only Choe Hyeongcheol.
When he grabbed my hand and thanked me earlier, it gave me goosebumps.
"We haven't just sat back and left everything to you either."
Hyeongcheol continued.
"Since forming our organization, we've tried several times to gather Hunters who harbor animosity toward Soyu. But while they may bear animosity, there were no Hunters willing to defy an S-rank. According to the original plan, after you returned, we were going to gather Hunters with you at the center. Gathering people when there's already a participant is different from doing it when there's no one."
As expected. I hadn't thought they were relying solely on me; so this was what they had been thinking.
"But because of the traitor who went to Soyu's gang, the hideouts and plans were all exposed."
Hyeongcheol nodded. The others cursed the traitor and ground their teeth.
"Sending you alone to Jang Soyu is too risky. While our activities will be harder than before, finding a new base and slowly gathering Hunters is the most realistic method."
"……."
Was that really the only way?
If we were to gather enough Hunters to take down Soyu, when would that be?
Could we continue avoiding that woman's eyes until then? I might manage, but Jinhui couldn't even walk.
Would they even gather in the first place?
"Choe Hyeongcheol."
When I called out, the guy who had been talking with his colleagues turned his head.
"What?"
"Do you know anything more about Jang Soyu and Fenrir?"
"Why that all of a sudden…. Don't tell me…."
I nodded.
"Right now is the golden opportunity."