Skeleton Master Chapter 030
The library of the Weibra Empire.
The librarian shook her head as she looked at the map Moo-hyeok handed over.
"It's quite perplexing."
"Then..."
"I'm not sure yet."
"Ah..."
To think even the librarian wouldn't know.
"Let me look into it a bit more."
"Thank you."
"It seems there's a lot to examine, so please come back later."
"Alright, I'll visit again when I have time."
Moo-hyeok left the library without any significant results.
Hmm...
It seemed he would have to postpone searching for Groian's other relics for a while.
Still, obtaining one ring was a big gain.
From now on, it would be better to focus on hunting again as per the original plan to reach level 50.
Currently level 31.
Six bone swords and three bone bows.
Slow poison and hallucination poison.
And...
If he adds the newly crafted weakness paralysis and tears of bleeding?
A few monsters come to mind.
Level 40 Ogre.
Level 39 Giant Lizardman.
Level 37 Mud Golem.
Level 35...
He shook his head.
Level 35 gives too little experience.
So, he had to choose from the three above, but finding the core of the mud golem is troublesome, and giant lizardmen are tricky as they move in groups.
In the end, only the ogre remained.
Ogre, ogre...
Despite being a terrifying monster boasting enormous height and powerful destructive force, he had a good chance of winning.
Moo-hyeok's eyes gleamed.
This could be fun.
The deliberation was short, and action was swift.
He quickly purchased materials and rented a room at the Alchemist Guild.
There, he crafted 200 each of slow poison, hallucination poison, weakness paralysis, and tears of bleeding.
This amount should last at least a week.
He intended to raise his level as much as possible during that time.
He immediately used the Weibra Empire's warp gate to move to Allan Village.
He headed north.
In the distance, a massive mountain comes into view.
"......"
Ogres are lurking in there.
At first, the view count was low.
Then someone boasted about it, piquing the curiosity of other users.
[Making considerable profit with Slow Poison and Hallucination Poison right now!]
[I recently started Illusion and bought quite a bit of gold through in-game purchases. But since my level is too low to match items, I was looking for something decent when I spotted Slow Poison and Hallucination Poison. So I bought the information, and oh! Would you believe it? The profits keep rolling in! It's pretty fun since everything I make sells instantly...]
└ Yuin: What do you mean by information?
└ Alchemist: Are you talking about the information board?
└ One Hundred Million: Huh? The mixing ratios and additives are all there on the information board, aren't they?
That was the starting point.
Users began purchasing the information Moo-hyeok had posted.
For guilds, it was a no-brainer.
"I'll buy it and share it with everyone."
"You will?"
"In exchange, I get first ownership rights on items that drop in dungeons."
"Of course."
Users forming parties.
Those playing with friends.
People enjoying the game with family.
Everyone didn't hesitate to make the purchase.
Just 100 won.
It was a very small amount of money after all.
"Hey, hurry up. We need to craft quickly and go hunting."
"Okay!"
Those who bought the information immediately logged into Illusion.
They rushed to the general store and herb shop to buy materials, but the market prices had skyrocketed.
"Eh? 5 gold for one bundle of Bir?"
"There's just not enough supply..."
"How much was it originally?"
"Just two weeks ago, it was 50 silver for a bundle."
It had jumped tenfold.
"Oh, this is crazy..."
That's when it happened.
"Hey, you."
"What?"
"There's Bir, Creas, and Molly all available in the auction house."
"How much?"
"4 gold for one bundle."
"Really?"
"Let's buy from the auction house instead."
"Ah, we have no choice. Damn it..."
If they didn't use the information they bought, it would be a waste of money.
In the end, they reluctantly bought a bundle each of Bir, Creas, and Molly from the auction house.
"The Slow Potion and Tears of Confusion are cheaper in the auction house too."
"Let's buy those as well."
"Will it be okay?"
"One bundle has quite a quantity, so it should be fine."
And so, users were quickly buying up the items Moo-hyeok had put up.
When he first set foot in the Ogre Forest.
['Bir' has been sold.]
['Creas' has been sold.]
['Molly' has been sold.]
['Slow Potion' has been sold.]
['Tears of Confusion' has been sold.]
Messages popped up one after another.
Already sold?
Moo-hyeok smiled contentedly.
Gold was accumulating rapidly.
He had now reaped all the benefits he could from Hallucination Poison and Slow Poison.
In a month, the income from the information board would be deposited into his account.
He closed the messages with a refreshed feeling.
Off.
He turned them off completely since they would keep popping up for a while.
Now it's time to focus on the ogres.
Of course, with quite a few users around, it wasn't easy to find an idle ogre. But it wasn't as crowded as the beginner hunting grounds.
As it was a hunting ground for users in their 40s, it could be considered high-tier, and as such, this place was certainly more spacious.
If he went deep enough, there would surely be a spot.
Thud.
After walking deeper for about 10 minutes.
Finally, there's some space.
In the distance, an idle ogre came into view.
Grrrr......
It looked ferocious at a glance.
It's incredibly huge, isn't it?
There was a clear difference between estimating by numbers and seeing it in person.
He knew it was supposed to be 5 meters tall, but seeing it in reality far exceeded his expectations.
Even when looking at a 305cm basketball hoop, you have to tilt your head back quite a bit.
It's a height that even a tall person jumping with all their might can't easily reach.
So, just how tall is 5 meters?
Such a monster is right in front of him. It's a level that can't be explained by the word 'overwhelming' alone.
But despite this, Moo-hyeok felt excitement rather than fear.
Right, because it's a game.
Because it's not real.
Because even if you die, you don't really die.
That's why this excitement.
He could enjoy the pounding of his heart.
"Summon."
He summoned the bone swords and bone bows.
He took out Slow Poison and Tears of Bleeding from his inventory and applied them to the weapons of the bone swords.
He rubbed Weakness Paralysis and Hallucination Poison on the ribs of the bone bows.
Bone bows, prepare to attack.
The bone bows pulled out their rib bones and nocked them to their bowstrings.
Bone bows attack.
The bone arrows flew and lodged into the ogre's massive body.
As the ogre roared and flexed its muscles, the embedded bone arrows were pushed back out.
What in the...
But the Weakness Paralysis and Hallucination Poison have already been applied.
The ogre's physical abilities decreased by about 5 percent, and thanks to that, the Hallucination Poison spread a bit faster.
Its pupils became hazy and it started losing strength. Its previously quick approach became sluggish.
Eventually, it stopped in its tracks.
It was completely caught in the hallucination.
The ogre just stared blankly into space.
Bone swords, forward.
Moo-hyeok approached the ogre along with the bone swords.
He ordered indiscriminate attacks at close range to the creature.
Moo-hyeok also crudely swung the skull staff in his hand.
Nevertheless, the ogre showed no reaction.
How long had they been attacking like this?
The ogre's body twitched. Only now had they managed to reduce 10 percent of its total HP.
Bone swords, fall back.
Bone bows, attack.
Moo-hyeok also retreated.
At that moment, a bone arrow pierced the ogre's chest.
Grooooar!
The creature regained its senses.
The roaring ogre looked at Moo-hyeok in front of it and kicked the ground roughly.
However, as it was already affected by the Slow Poison, Moo-hyeok could easily read its movements.
He threw his body sideways to avoid the falling club, but the ogre didn't give up and chased after him again.
With no other choice, he ordered the bone swords to attack.
Kirik, kiririk!
Perhaps because the bone swords approached and swung their swords.
The ogre's target changed.
Although Moo-hyeok had found some breathing room, he couldn't help but furrow his brow when he saw Bone Sword 1 trembling after just one hit from the club.
It sure is strong.
Another swing of the club followed.
Whoosh.
As if intending to split even the wind.
The club fell with a strong gust, striking Bone Sword 1's shield again.
Kiririk...!
Bone Sword 1's condition was pitiful.
Summon status window.
The status of his summons came into view at once.
Hmm.
It was only three attacks.
They weren't even direct hits, and it had defended with its shield.
But the remaining HP was 300?
Just as he was worrying.
['Skeleton Mastery' level has increased.]
The level of the mastery that increases attack power and defense had risen.
It might be a small difference, but it should help.
Bone bows, rapid fire.
Bone arrows filled the air.
They successively pierced the ogre's body, worsening its condition even further.
The damage dealt while it was dazed from the Hallucination Poison was exacerbated by the Tears of Bleeding.
On top of that, the self-inflicted damage from the poison was still reducing its HP.
Kwang!
Of course, the ogre's attack power hadn't decreased.
That's why he was alternating between pushing the bone swords back and forth, making sure they never took a proper hit.
Swoosh.
At the same time, he approached the ogre.
His mind gave commands while his body moved.
It was quite difficult, but he focused.
Just a little more.
As the distance to the ogre closed.
Whoosh.
For a moment, he was late in giving an order.
Thud.
With that sound, Bone Sword 1 was unsummoned.
Ah, damn it!
Now he had to land a proper attack.
Moo-hyeok erased thoughts of commanding his summons and focused solely on the ogre.
He struck the back of the ogre's knee hard with the skull staff in his hand.
Significant damage was dealt, and the ogre fell to one knee.
Grooar!
He struck the other knee as well.
Now it was kneeling on both knees.
Its face lowered.
Click.
Jumping, he pressed the skull on the staff to make the blade pop out, then aimed for the ogre's eye.
But the ogre blocked it with the back of its hand, preventing success.
Grooooar!
Soon after, as it swung its club in all directions, he had no choice but to retreat.
How brutish.
Due to its rampage, Bone Swords 3 and 4 were also unsummoned.
Its resistance is fiercer than expected.
He hurriedly summoned more bone swords.
Just a little more.
But the creature was clearly tired.
Let's push through.
Thinking that, he put more effort into the hunt.
Clang! Clang!
They engaged in a fierce back-and-forth for a while, but as time passed, only the number of bone swords decreased.
Eventually, all the bone swords were unsummoned, and even the bone bows positioned at the back were attacked.
Being weaker than the bone swords, they were instantly unsummoned.
Only Moo-hyeok remained.
Dodging this way and that, rolling on the ground, and swinging his staff to land hits, he lost track of time in the intense battle.
"Huff, huff..."
When he finally came to his senses, the ogre was on the verge of collapse.
He hurriedly retreated.
Transform...
He took out an arrow and nocked it to the bowstring.
Without proper aim, he just kept firing arrows.
All the while, he maintained his distance to prevent the creature from approaching.
This tactic was possible thanks to the creature's exhaustion. In the end, several arrows lodged in the ogre's body, and Moo-hyeok's gruesome damage was fully inflicted.
Gr, groooo...
With a strange sound, the creature collapsed.
[Experience points have increased.]
Although Moo-hyeok had hunted the ogre, his expression remained gravely serious.
What's the problem?
In this state, continuous hunting would be impossible.
Haah...
He shook his head.
For now, dissecting the hard-won ogre's corpse was the priority.
The problematic parts could be considered later.
"Corpse dissection."
Let's dissect the ogre's corpse.
['Ogre's Bone (x2)' has been acquired.]
Only two of the creature's bones came out.
[Ogre's Bone]
Attributes: Strength, Vitality
The attributes were good too.
Moo-hyeok immediately replaced the bone of Bone Sword 5 right there.
['Bone Sword 5's vitality decreases.]
['Influenced by 'Dexterity', a decrease of '0.07' occurs.]
['Bone Sword 5's 'Vitality' increases.]
['Influenced by 'Dexterity', an increase of '0.22' occurs.]
The margin of increase was significant.
He used the remaining two on the spot as well.
Thanks to that, vitality increased by 0.3.
Strength increased by 0.15.
Of course, due to the lack of decimal points, the actual numbers hadn't increased yet, but it seemed that if he continued to replace bones from hunting ogres, he could significantly raise his summons' stats.
However, the problem remained that hunting was too difficult.
He continued his paused thoughts.
What could be the problem?
Moo-hyeok checked the information one by one.
"Hmm..."
Then he realized.
Ah, damage.
The fact that the skeletons' damage was too low.
He pondered for a while.
"Haah."
With a deep sigh, he opened the auction house system.
To find powerful damage-dealing weapons for his summons to use.
