Skeleton Master - Chapter 005
The remaining two lunged straight at him.
Two from above, two from below.
First, the closest one.
The nearest one was the wolf on the left of the two that had jumped.
He dodged its attack by lowering his upper body, then blocked the one charging from below with his shield.
The impact was reduced as 45 percent was absorbed by the shield.
He twisted his waist and slashed at the head of one of the two leaping wolves that arrived slightly later.
[A critical hit has occurred]
[You deal 88 damage.]
Current attack power is 49.
Due to the critical hit, it should show 98 damage, but considering the wolf's defense, this amount of actual damage is correct.
From several hunts, he had learned that a wolf's health is around 200.
Even without a critical hit, he could kill it with five attacks.
Of course, landing five attacks easily wasn't possible.
The wolves wouldn't recklessly expose themselves unless they were fools.
[You are attacked by a wolf]
[HP decreases by (21)]
[HP decreases by (23)]
Holograms appearing before his eyes.
It was annoying.
Information blocked.
Then, no more text appeared.
The wolves' attacks continued, but with high HP and defense, he could endure sufficiently.
It was important to deal with the injured wolf in the meantime.
He rushed towards it and thrust his sword again.
Then he pushed away the head of the one trying to bite his flank with his shield.
Using that recoil, he closed the distance with the retreating wolf and slashed repeatedly with his sword.
Did another critical hit occur?
He was able to take down one with just three sword strikes.
Watching the one turning gray, he quickly rolled on the ground.
After taking a few hits from the wolves, he leaned his back against a tree again.
He quickly crouched and thrust out his shield to block their attacks.
"Phew......"
Impacts kept coming on the shield.
Grrrrowl!
A wolf violently swinging its head while biting the shield.
A wolf ramming with its body while charging at the shield.
And a wolf wildly swinging its front paws.
He first checked his remaining HP.
296, huh.
There's room to spare.
Thud!
At that moment, another one headbutted him.
As it backed away to headbutt again, he forcefully threw the shield he was holding to the right.
As a result, one that was biting the shield flew through the air.
One was flying through the air, and another had backed away to headbutt.
The remaining one was right in front.
He extended his sword and attacked it.
The wolf, pierced by the sword, howled and backed away.
Moo-hyeok quickly followed it.
As a result, he fell from the tree, and the remaining two wolves that were waiting for an opening approached from behind.
They jumped by kicking off the ground and indiscriminately attacked Moo-hyeok's exposed back.
It was just a tiny pain anyway, and since his HP was also plentiful, he decided to ignore it.
He extended his sword again.
Clang!
After dealing with the wolf in front with a few sword strikes, he turned his body.
Two wolves keeping their distance and being cautious.
Remaining HP is about 260.
It's over.
It was the moment victory was assured.
*
After dealing with the last wolf, his level increased.
[Your level has increased]
[You can now undergo your first job advancement]
A smile spread across Moo-hyeok's face.
Finally...!
After putting the teeth dropped by the wolves into his inventory, he quickly left the area.
It took about 20 minutes of travel before he could escape from the Wolf Forest.
First, the job advancement.
After advancing for another 10 minutes, he could see the city gates.
Passing through them to reach the plaza, Moo-hyeok turned right and then entered a small path on the left.
At the end of that path was the Black Mage Guild that assisted with job advancements.
As he opened the door and entered, a woman positioned in the center greeted him.
"Welcome. What brings you here?"
"I'm here for a job advancement."
"Job advancements are handled on the second floor. Just go up to the warp zone and think of the number 2."
"Ah, I see."
After nodding lightly at her words, he stepped onto the warp zone.
As he thought of the number 2, light enveloped him.
When the light faded, he found himself on the second floor.
The first thing he saw was a middle-aged man sitting at a desk, looking over some documents.
The man raised his head.
"A stranger, eh? Have you come for a job advancement?"
"Yes."
"Once you set foot on this path, there's no turning back. Make your decision carefully."
"My resolve won't change."
The middle-aged man smiled at those words.
"I like your determination. Alright, come closer. Let's see if you're qualified for a profession."
He took a step forward and stopped in front of the man.
The man raised his hand.
Whoosh.
Light enveloped Moo-hyeok.
"Hmm..."
The middle-aged man's expression was peculiar.
"A Black Mage needs to be intelligent. But your physical talents far outweigh that. That doesn't mean you can't become a Black Mage, though. I can balance out your talents to make it work. However, to do that, you'll need to pass my test. What do you say? Will you take the test? Of course, you can still advance without taking it. But then I won't be able to balance your abilities."
This, too, is hidden information in Illusion.
When you reach level 10 and can undergo your first job advancement, if you've invested in stats other than the main stat for your chosen profession, the instructor will give you a special quest.
If you clear that quest, you can gain additional bonus stats.
This information, too, won't be revealed for half a year.
Why, you ask?
Because most users, or rather, anyone with their head on straight, would naturally focus on the main stats for the profession they want to advance into.
What good would it do for a mage to invest in strength, dexterity, or vitality?
A warrior investing in intelligence and wisdom?
In Illusion, where you gain one bonus point at level 1, each stat point is even more crucial.
Wasting points meaninglessly is something no sane person would do.
But that's exactly what Moo-hyeok did.
Because he knew.
That there would be a quest.
And what kind of quest it would be.
"Well? Will you take the test?"
As he asked, a hologram appeared.
[For Job Advancement]
[Defeat wolves and bring back their teeth (0/10)]
[Reward upon success: Additional bonus stats]
[Do you accept this quest?]
Moo-hyeok nodded.
"I'll take the test."
The quest was accepted, and simultaneously, a message appeared saying it could be cleared.
This was because he had obtained over 20 teeth while hunting wolves.
Moo-hyeok left the Black Mage Guild with a smile.
After waiting for 5 seconds, he went back inside.
"Eh? You're back already?"
"Yes."
Ignoring the guiding woman's words, he stepped onto the warp zone.
Upon arriving on the second floor, the middle-aged man tilted his head in confusion.
"Why have you returned?"
"Because I've obtained the teeth."
"The teeth?"
"Yes."
"Didn't you just leave?"
He just smiled in response.
"Ahem, well, let me check."
He approached the man and handed over 10 wolf teeth.
The man nodded as he examined the distinctive shape of the wolf teeth.
"Indeed, these are correct."
"So, have I passed the test?"
"Of course."
The middle-aged man suddenly stood up.
He reached out and placed his hand on Moo-hyeok's shoulder.
"Close your eyes."
"Ah, alright."
He followed the man's instruction.
After a moment of silence, a strange energy emanated from the middle-aged man and swirled around Moo-hyeok.
The energy grew stronger over time, and when it finally filled half the space, it was absorbed into Moo-hyeok.
[First job advancement completed]
[Intelligence (3) has increased]
[Wisdom (3) has increased]
[Additionally, Intelligence (2) and Wisdom (2) have increased]
The middle-aged man removed his hand.
"Phew, it's done."
"Thank you."
Originally, the job advancement increases intelligence and Wisdom by 3 each.
But by using the hidden information, Moo-hyeok achieved an increase of 5 in each.
By utilizing a piece of information that would only be revealed later, he had gotten ahead of others by a whopping 4 points.
Even when the information is revealed half a year later, it will be meaningless for the rankers.
After all, they can't go back to level 10 and redo their job advancement.
"Now, you need to choose your skills."
"Yes."
"For that, go up to the third floor."
Moo-hyeok bowed and immediately went up to the third floor.
There, he received various explanations.
"The Black Mage path branches into several categories. Broadly speaking, there's the Support Mage, Attack Mage, and Necromancer. You need to choose one of these to learn skills. Which path do you want to take?"
"I'll become a Necromancer."
"Are you sure you won't regret it?"
"Yes."
"Alright. Then I'll show you the Necromancer skills you can learn at your current level. Once you learn even one of these skills, you won't be able to become a Curse Mage or Attack Mage. Of course, if you become a greater vessel in the future, you might be able to learn a few skills from lower tiers, but that doesn't apply to you right now. So choose carefully."
Moo-hyeok examined the window that appeared before his eyes.
[Black Mage - Necromancer Branch]
[Summon Skeleton]
[Summon Zombie]
That was all.
Moo-hyeok smiled and chose both.
"You want to learn Summon Skeleton and Summon Zombie?"
"Yes."
"That'll be 5 silver."
He paid the price and acquired two summoning books.
As he opened the books, the words within were naturally absorbed into his mind.
[You have learned Summon Skeleton]
[You have learned Summon Zombie]
He immediately checked his skill window.
