My Own Skill Book, Episode 017
Episode 17
After taking the Boss Centaur's attack, it seemed invisibility had worn off, and the world returned to its original colors.
I tried to move somehow while enduring the pain. But no matter how hard I tried, my body wouldn't budge, as if pinned down by scissors.
The ajussi seemed to be the same—he had even dropped his axe and was frozen stiff.
'Paralysis!'
The lightning attack clearly had the effect of paralyzing the body.
The two remaining elites were also caught up in the attack and frozen stiff.
"Kal."
I saw the boss raise its golden halberd again.
'At this rate, it's over...!'
Boom!
Then something exploded, and the surroundings became thick with smoke.
"Slow doesn't work! Retreat quickly!"
It was Ms. Hyeri's voice.
Ah, she threw a smoke grenade from behind.
"Uuugh!"
I tried to force my body to move again. My body trembled violently, and finally moved according to my will.
"Ajussi!"
There was no answer.
'Damn it!'
I cut through the smoke and ran toward where the ajussi had been.
"Ajussi!"
The ajussi had collapsed on the ground.
"Kal! Kal!"
The boss's roar could be heard through the thick smoke. I put my spear and the ajussi's axe on the ground into my inventory.
"Huff!"
Then I hoisted the ajussi onto my back and ran in the opposite direction from where the boss's voice had come from.
When I escaped the smoke-filled corridor, I saw Ms. Hyeri.
Having joined up with Ms. Hyeri, I ran like mad to get as far away from the boss as possible.
After running for a while and confirming that no monsters were following behind, I laid the ajussi down on the ground.
"Huff, huff."
My breath came wildly fast. My legs trembled from carrying the ajussi, who was bigger than me, and sprinting at full speed.
But I couldn't rest quietly. I examined the condition of the ajussi laid out on the ground.
"Is he dead...?"
Ms. Hyeri asked with a pale face. Without answering, I put my ear to the ajussi's chest.
I heard a heartbeat.
"He's alive. However, seeing as he still can't move, he seems to be in a coma state."
No matter how severe the injury, a hunter can remain conscious and move as long as their HP is above a certain amount.
However, the moment HP drops below 10%, they lose consciousness and become half-dead.
"He was probably closer to the boss than I was when the boss attacked, so he seems to have taken more damage."
"Combat incapacitated."
Then an examiner appeared out of nowhere, greatly surprising both Ms. Hyeri and me.
'Does that examiner also have a skill to hide their appearance like me?'
The examiner looked down at the ajussi.
"We will send Mr. Kim Gangil outside using a return stone. We shall call the medical team for treatment as well. If you two wish to forfeit the exam, we will give you return stones."
Ms. Hyeri looked at me with a heavy expression.
"I think we have to give up. The boss is too strong. Nothing is more important than life. It's unfortunate, but I'll forfeit the exam..."
"Not yet."
I took out the spear from my inventory.
"It's too early to give up yet."
I stabbed the ajussi's body with the spear.
"Kyak!"
"Mr. Yi Hwajin!?"
Ms. Hyeri and the examiner screamed. But I continued to stab the ajussi.
"Stop! Stop it!"
Ms. Hyeri tried to grab my arm.
"Hueoohk!"
Then the ajussi exhaled heavily and sat up with a start.
"Kyaaak!"
Ms. Hyeri screamed again and scrambled backward.
"What happened?"
The ajussi said while examining his body.
"You fell into a coma from the boss's electric attack. So I treated you with my auxiliary skill, Recovery Spear."
Having finished treating the ajussi, I raised the spear and stabbed my own body. I felt my HP recovering along with my stamina.
"Huh, well I'll be. The wound really disappeared?"
The ajussi muttered while examining his body.
"Mr. Hwajin, you had an HP recovery skill too?"
Ms. Hyeri asked with a surprised expression. I nodded.
"Just how many skills do you have?"
"I've never seen a hunter with as many skills as Mr. Hwajin..."
"Now that we've recovered, let's come up with a plan."
I changed the subject.
"Earlier, Ms. Hyeri said the boss is too strong and we should forfeit the exam, but I disagree. Now that I know what its attacks are like, there is a way to fight it."
"A way?"
Ms. Hyeri made a dubious face.
To be exact, there isn't one yet, and I have to make one now.
I turned the page.
I saw
"So we really just need this skill, right?"
The ajussi said while looking at his hand. Golden lines appeared and disappeared around his hands and body. The same was true for my body.
"If you're worried, I'll take the boss. Ajussi, please handle the elites."
"No. It's better for you, who is invisible to the elites, to take them. Let's do it your way."
The ajussi raised his axe.
"Let's go."
"Yes."
We turned the corner.
"You bastards!"
When the ajussi shouted, the centaurs walking in the distance turned around.
"Ukra!!"
The boss pointed at us with its halberd.
"It won't be like last time!"
The ajussi shouted and ran forward. I quickly followed.
"Kal! Kal! Kal!"
This time, without distinction between boss and elites, the centaurs rushed at us all at once.
'Flame Spear!'
I pushed forward with the leather shield and the flame-wrapped spear.
'I have to draw the elites' attention so the ajussi can face the boss.'
If I eliminate at least one of the two elites, we can fight one-on-one.
'Charge!'
I ran at a large distance from the ajussi. The elites tried to swing their spears to keep me in check.
'Invisibility!'
I hid my appearance. Then the elites, having lost their target, froze with their spears raised. In that gap, I aimed for one's neck.
"Kal!"
A white light entered my vision. In the world turned black and white, the Boss Centaur's spear was emitting sparkling white sparks.
I quickly raised my shield.
'One-Point Defense!'
Mana enveloped the shield.
Crunch!
'Oh my god.'
My blood ran cold.
Despite using a skill, the boss's spear pierced through the shield. Thankfully, the spear tip didn't reach my body.
I quickly dropped the shield and grabbed my spear with both hands. And I leaped to the side.
"Hup!"
"Kaak!"
The Flame Spear slashed the elite's throat.
"Neren!"
The boss screamed upon seeing the elite with its throat slashed.
Without resting, I jumped again and swung my spear.
Slash!
This time, the blade went in properly. The Elite Centaur's head flew off.
[You have acquired 60 Exp.]
"Kaar!!"
The boss raised its spear.
"You bastard!"
Clang.
The ajussi's large axe blade blocked the boss's spear. Despite not being able to see me, he seemed to have run to protect me upon seeing the boss's movement.
"You can't touch Hwajin!"
The ajussi shouted.
The remaining elite turned its body toward the ajussi.
'Where do you think you're going!'
I attacked the arm of the elite holding the weapon with my Flame Spear.
"Kuaak!"
The bastard screamed and retreated.
"Well done!"
"Thank you for blocking the boss, ajussi!"
"Thank me? You carried me when I was dying, so this much is only natural!"
The ajussi glared at the Boss Centaur while holding his axe.
'I've created the one-on-one situation I was aiming for.'
"Kal!!"
The boss raised its spear. Sparkling sparks were flying.
'It's coming!'
Boom!
Lightning webs spread in all directions.
'Kuk.'
Invisibility wore off, and intense pain came over my body.
I gritted my teeth. No matter how many times it happened, it was a shock I didn't think I'd get used to.
A moment later.
As the light subsided, the boss lowered its spear.
"Now!"
I shouted.
Thunk.
The ajussi's axe struck the boss's flank. The unsuspecting bastard failed to block the attack in time.
"Kaaaak!"
It was the first time I heard the boss's scream.
"Damn! It's ridiculously hard."
The ajussi shouted while pulling his axe from the boss's flank. The axe that had cut through all the monsters we'd met until now failed to slice through the boss's torso.
'This is no time to stand by and watch.'
I raised my spear and ran.
"Hup!"
The elite, frozen by the boss's attack, had its throat slashed without even screaming and breathed its last.
[You have acquired 60 Exp.]
The Boss Centaur, retreating to put distance between himself and the ajussi, looked at the ajussi and me with a face full of bewilderment.
"Hwajin, your skill is amazing."
The ajussi said in an excited voice.
Right now, both the ajussi and I were under the effect of an auxiliary skill.
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Created Skill: [Lightning Resistance] (Normal)
Tool Used: Bare Body
Mana Consumption: 7pt
Description: The target of this skill has lightning attribute attack power halved for 10 minutes. Additionally, they become immune to the status abnormality 'Paralysis' caused by electric shock.
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The words used were
Not knowing that I had created a new skill, the ajussi and Ms. Hyeri said I should have used such a skill earlier if I had it, and I made an apologetic face and made excuses that I didn't have enough mana.
The two made slightly suspicious expressions, but when I said catching the boss was the priority, they didn't press further.
"Still, it only halves the power, so if we keep getting hit by lightning, our HP will wear down. So let's finish this before it attacks again."
"Mm. Hwajin, you're right!"
The ajussi gripped his axe and glared at the Boss Centaur.
"Rudat...."
The boss ground its teeth while looking at us,
"Ah! That bastard!?"
Then it turned around and began to flee. The ajussi shouted and started chasing it.
'Charge!'
I used the skill to chase after it, but the Boss Centaur's speed exceeded [Charge]. The distance gradually grew.
'Damn it! My promotion is right around the corner... I can't let it get away!'
I raised the flame-wrapped spear.
The boss's muscular body had even blocked the ajussi's close-range attack skill.
Even with the Flame Spear, it was insufficient to deal decisive damage.
'Isn't there some kind of weakness?'
I racked my brain with all my might.
And then I remembered.
'No matter how strong the body, there's a place that can't help but be weak....'
I pulled back the hand holding the spear.
I must not miss. I had to hit it delicately and accurately.
When all my focus was on the target and the spear in my hand,
"Hup!"
I threw the Flame Spear with all my might.
The spear left my hand and flew quickly toward the bastard's rear.
Crunch!
'A hit!'
The spear embedded exactly where I aimed.
"Kuaaak!"
The boss screamed and fell.
I ran toward the boss.
In the fallen bastard's buttocks—precisely speaking, its anus—my Flame Spear was embedded deeply.
"Hup."
"Kuaaaaaaaa!!"
When I pulled out the spear, it let out an even more desperate scream than before.
I stabbed the neck of the trembling bastard with the still-burning spear blade.
[You have acquired 160 Exp.]
[You accurately targeted the enemy's vital point and subdued them!]
[You acquire a new Word:
I was surprised at the mention of a new word. It was unexpected.
I stopped, about to summon the book to check.
"Umm...."
I wiped the blood on the spear by rubbing it against the centaur's body. Earlier, I had been too preoccupied with cutting off the bastard's breath to mind it, but thinking about it again, it was extremely unpleasant.
While wiping it three times or so on the horse's torso covered in thick fur,
The centaur's corpse suddenly disappeared.
"What is this...?"
What remained where the corpse had been was the golden halberd that had tormented us with lightning, and an apple-sized stone emitting red light.