Chapter 8
Tick!
A pathetic sound that drained the energy of anyone who heard it.
Having heard that familiar sound who knows how many times now, Dohyun slowly raised his head.
Kraaaaaah!!
The Mayongjong was visible, roaring majestically.
However, from the blood-soaked bastard, the predator's overwhelming pressure from the beginning could no longer be felt.
Like a beast frightened to death howling even more fiercely, its roar was utterly desperate.
The gestures that were once as bold as swatting a mosquito had changed into a plea begging him not to come closer.
-HP [80 : ???]
A mere 80 HP.
[Basic Skill 'Smash' is now available.]
And just in time, the cooldown for Smash had returned.
After a bloody struggle of over five hours, the unseen end of the battle was finally approaching.
Did the bastard know that too?
Boom! Crash!
It should have accepted its death, but it continued to swing its fists at the approaching Dohyun.
Even so, as Dohyun stepped closer without stopping, its death throes grew even more severe.
Being bitten by a mosquito once is just annoying and itchy, but an undying mosquito sucking your blood tens of thousands of times—that was terror.
Rattle. Clank!
Even though it could no longer retreat, its staggering backward caused the restraints to ring with a loud noise.
Dohyun's expression as he looked at the creature was cold.
"You've held out as much as you could. Now, be gone."
Crash!
Tick!
Right after calmly dodging its decisive strike, the moment his dropped sword pierced the creature's foot.
Kuuugh...
Along with a pathetic final gasp, its massive frame collapsed.
Kicking up a cloud of dust, the creature departed noisily until the very end, and above it, countless messages popped up.
[You have slain the Iron-Blooded Mayongjong in Restraints.]
[You are the first to slay a Legendary Named Boss in the tutorial.]
[You have soloed a Legendary Named Boss.]
[You have achieved an unbelievable feat.]
[It will be recorded in the Book of Adventures.]
[As a reward....]
....
Confirming all the messages popping up, Dohyun flopped down on the ground.
He didn't care about checking the rewards or anything else; he just wanted to lie down.
It was only enjoyable at the very beginning; later on, he was too focused to even have time to think.
"What a tenacious bastard."
5 hours and 30 minutes. That was the time it took to hunt the creature down.
He expected it to take a long time, but it was delayed even longer than anticipated.
It was because the difficulty was higher than expected.
'Ten thousand times, my ass...'
The moment its HP dropped below 30%, the creature's pattern—which had simply been swinging its arms wildly—changed.
Perhaps annoyed by Dohyun hiding at its feet and striking, it began stomping its feet in frustration, and later on, it just slammed its butt down.
It was a relief that its lower half was tightly bound, unlike its arms which were relatively free from the restraints.
Otherwise, no matter how good Dohyun was, he wouldn't have been able to catch it.
Thus, Dohyun was certain.
'No one could have caught this.'
Even if it were his former colleagues, they wouldn't have been able to catch it.
The fact that he wouldn't have caught it either if his condition hadn't been as good as it was today said it all.
And that prediction was spot on.
[You are the first to slay a Legendary Named Boss in the tutorial.]
The system was proving that very fact.
It meant all his colleagues had encountered the creature and been frustrated.
'They must have let out some refreshing curses.'
Recalling the words his colleagues would have said upon meeting the creature brought a smile to his face.
The Sword Emperor would probably frown while trying hard to act stoic, and Kkukdak-kkukdak would have spewed out foul curses rapid-fire.
Bora Ajusshi might have laughed it off, saying, 'Hehe... I knew it. This is exactly what a sequel to a trash game should be like.'
'Or maybe they couldn't even make it this far in the first place?'
Basically, that ajusshi was the crystallization of effort and capital.
In a system where you had to produce results in the tutorial you faced for the first time, it was disadvantageous for Bora Ajusshi.
Anyway, he had done it.
What kind of reaction would they show if he revealed this fact later?
'They'll probably roll around with jealousy for a few days.'
Just as he had reacted whenever they pulled good items or skill cards, they would show a similar reaction.
'Though I don't know where or what they're doing right now.'
They should definitely be in the rankings, but even when looking at the high rankers, no one suspected to be them could be seen.
Considering they could set their status to private, the possibility that they were intentionally hiding couldn't be ruled out, but it was still strange.
To be honest, since they were attention seekers, he wondered if they would really set themselves to private.
Or were they not playing Gat-O-Se?
For a moment, such a thought crossed his mind, but he soon shook his head.
They were the kind of people who had played a trash game like Demrok to death.
Unless a special circumstance like the military came up for them like it did for him, there was no way those guys wouldn't have started Gat-O-Se.
'Since they're such eccentric people... they're probably playing around with some weird concept somewhere else.'
Like holing up in some mountain and playing the part of a hidden master.
Smirking, Dohyun opened the rewards he had closed.
After recovering from his fatigue to some extent, he grew curious about what rewards he would receive.
'Seeing how flashily they popped up, it's probably not a brick.'
Perhaps they would give some pretty good rewards.
He must have received at least a Hero-rank reward. The moment he checked the rewards with inflated expectations.
[You have acquired the Title 'First Slayer'.]
[You have completed the tutorial with an unbelievable achievement. Traits matching your playstyle and achievements will manifest.]
[The Trait 'Weapon Master' has manifested.]
[The Trait 'Hidden Dragon' has manifested.]
[The Trait 'Slayer' has manifested.]
[The Trait 'Hero' has manifested.]
[The Trait 'Overcoming' has manifested.]
[Conditions have been met.]
[The Unique Trait 'Eye of Truth' has manifested.]
"...?"
Feeling a sense of unreality, a stunned Dohyun blinked his eyes.
* * *
Unlike Demrok, Gat-O-Se had 'a few' special systems besides skills.
One of them was the Trait system.
An ability given separately from the fixed 13 skill slots.
Unlike skills which were active, traits were passive and were elements that assisted in gameplay and combat.
Contrary to concerns that such a bizarre system was added, those who actually started the game praised it for increasing diversity.
As the game matures, a meta build inevitably becomes established for each class.
The most efficient and best skill tree.
Of course, due to the nature of Gat-O-Se, it wasn't easy to build that skill tree even if you wanted it, but once you reached the ranker level, it was bound to be more or less the same.
That was when traits provided that uniqueness.
Even within the same class, the skill tree could change depending on which trait one possessed, and even if the skill tree was the same, variables would arise.
There were more elements for psychological warfare, and the game's diversity was discovered.
However, not everyone could have the trait they desired.
Because, so far, there was only one known way to acquire a trait.
It manifested appropriately according to one's achievements in the tutorial.
"Crazy..."
Dohyun's current situation was exactly that.
A trait that anyone who finished the tutorial would receive.
Nevertheless, the reason Dohyun was so shocked was simple.
"...Why are there so many traits?"
Because only a single trait manifested in the tutorial.
There were no exceptions.
Whether you filled Charlie's affinity to the max or even lowered it, only one trait would manifest.
However, there was a difference in quality and type depending on the achievements.
From exploration-type traits like a Guide, to combat-type traits like Sword Master.
A suitable trait manifested according to the performance shown in the tutorial, and a higher-grade trait was granted depending on the degree of the achievement.
This was the reason large guilds tried to scout users who had raised Charlie's affinity a lot.
Because it objectively proved that they had greater potential.
When a user with a high-grade trait grew, it was naturally advantageous for them when they reached the max level under the same conditions in the future.
In that regard, Dohyun's situation could only be described as unprecedented.
[Weapon Master]
-Grade: Trait
-Effect: Ignores weapon type equipping restrictions.
Can increase the proficiency of all weapons and grows quickly.
[Hidden Dragon]
-Grade: Trait
-Effect: Stat points gained upon leveling up increase by 2.
[Slayer]
-Grade: Trait
-Effect: Can check the location and hidden information of monsters of the same type as the Slayer title acquired.
[Hero]
-Grade: Trait
-Effect: The spirit of a hero prevents mental contamination.
[Overcoming]
-Grade: Trait
-Effect: Overcomes limits with an indomitable spirit.
"...Every single trait is of a high grade."
Unlike skills, traits didn't have a separate grade attached to them, but there were characteristics that allowed for some speculation.
First of all, this Weapon Master.
Even just getting Sword Master was normally an outstanding trait enough for guilds to scout you.
For a Swordsman with Sword Master, their proficiency would rise faster than other swordsman classes, and the power would be stronger.
It meant one could become a master of a single weapon type.
What about Weapon Master?
'It can produce the Sword Master effect with all weapons.'
A trait that allows one to handle all weapons and respond to any matchup.
Even if class-related skills couldn't be helped, it would be excellent for creating unconventional situations.
What about Hidden Dragon?
'The potential is insane.'
A broken trait that could produce the effect of level 140 upon reaching the max level of 100.
With just raw stats alone, it produced the effect of several items.
Thinking about how one stat became a matter of life and death as you climbed higher, it was an incredible trait.
Looking at this alone, it could be called a broken trait, but honestly, it was ambiguous to say it was superior compared to the others.
'It's a bit lacking in terms of utility.'
While others utilized their good traits, for the owner of Hidden Dragon, the benefit ended at stats.
In a way, it was simple and brute-force.
As much as it was simple, it guaranteed reliable performance, but in the late game where one rolled based on their traits, it had some lacking aspects.
That difference became even more prominent after max level.
That was why Hidden Dragon's evaluation wasn't all that high, but...
'That doesn't apply to me.'
For Dohyun, who hadn't manifested just one trait, it was a completely meaningless disadvantage.
Because he had manifested a whopping six traits.
And all of them possessed powerful abilities.
Just looking at Hero or Slayer, which directly helped in combat right away, how were they?
'Status ailment immunity.'
Thinking about how the Warlock's curse in Demrok was a headache, 'Hero' was a likable trait.
Because there was no bigger nuisance than a Warlock during guild wars and such.
'Slayer' also had the condition of having to acquire the Slayer title of the same type as the desired boss, but once acquired, the effect was certain.
'I can start with an advantage in information.'
Thinking about how the importance of information increased with higher-rank bosses, it was worth going all the way.
Traits that would get you treated well anywhere just by possessing one.
Although the effect of that 'Overcoming' trait was a bit vague and bothered him slightly, perhaps because the other traits were so good, he didn't feel particularly disappointed.
Lastly, the trait that stood out above all these.
'Eye of Truth...'
Swallowing hard, Dohyun slowly read the description.