Skeleton Master Chapter 044
A question arose as Moo-hyeok looked at the changed quest.
Does this contaminated dungeon only apply to he? Or did it apply to those who entered before?
What if the Phoenix Guild's search party also encountered the Dark Knight with the Berserker skill?
He shook his head.
That couldn't be.
Those three were certainly strong for their level.
But they weren't on the same level as Moo-hyeok. They were the search party that Moo-hyeok had overwhelmed.
How could those three have defeated that monster, the Dark Knight with the Berserker skill, and cleared the dungeon?
It was impossible.
Was it a different dungeon from him?
Perhaps the dungeon temporarily changed because I had the 'Encroaching Darkness' quest.
That was the only way he could make sense of it.
This was something he needed to find out for sure once he got out. That way, he could at least be mentally prepared for the next dungeon.
After finishing his deliberation, he checked the items he obtained.
First, the Dark Knight exclusive items.
[Dark Knight's Full Armor]
Defense 17
Strength +2
Health +3
Durability 200/200
Usage Restriction: Dark-type class
[Dark Knight's Helmet]
Defense 13
Agility +2
Health +3
Durability: 200/200
Usage Restriction: Dark-type class
[Dark Knight's Boots]
Defense 10
Strength +1
Agility +1
Health +3
Durability: 150/150
Usage Restriction: Dark-type class
It was simply amazing.
Just wearing these three items would give 40 defense.
The health bonus alone was 9.
Taking that into account, defense would increase by 49.
Incredible.
But unfortunately, Moo-hyeok couldn't wear them.
The Gangster Necromancer was, regrettably, a Death-type mage.
Curse Necromancers are Curse-type, and if he had gone for Combat Necromancer, he would have been recognized as Shadow-type.
In the end, Necromancers can't become Dark-type. Since most Dark-type beings are monsters, it's difficult for users to utilize.
However, there was a way for summons to use them.
[Dark Knight's Skull]
Characteristics: Health, Intelligence
By evolving the Bone Sword with this, it would be recognized as Dark-type due to the Dark Knight's power being imbued in it.
Of course, he wasn't going to use it now.
It wouldn't be too late to use it after Moo-hyeok reaches level 50 and learns the enhanced version of the Bone Assembly skill. That way, it would enable not just first-stage evolution, but second-stage evolution too.
He put the skull in my inventory.
Instead, he took out something else.
[Special Item Box (x3)]
When used, a random special item will appear.
These were boxes received as rewards.
No need to think twice about this.
He immediately used the box.
The box shot up into the air and began spinning in place.
As it gained speed and started to look like a circle, light burst forth and took shape.
The moment I grasped it.
[Aravon's Shield]
Defense 15
Impact Absorption 60%
Health +2
Durability 250/250
Usage Restriction: Strength 25, Health 25
Both the defense and impact absorption were excellent.
60 percent...
Let's assume a monster's attack power is 300.
First, Moo-hyeok's defense would reduce the damage. If defense is 60, then only 240 damage would be dealt.
Of course, this is in case we fail to block it.
If we block that attack with the shield, it would absorb 60% of the 240, meaning 144 damage, leaving us to take only 86 damage.
That's an incredible difference.
That's why as time passes, most users carry at least one shield without exception.
Even if they're a mage. After all, whether you block with a shield or not could mean the difference between life and death.
"Hmm..."
But it was slightly disappointing.
It might be worth about 150 gold.
The double requirement for usage was a flaw.
He shook his head.
Well, he could use it himself.
Though my health was lacking, he just gained two levels.
He wasn't worried since he only needed to raise one health stat point to use it.
He was planning to raise health anyway.
He opened another box.
This time, he used two in succession and checked the items simultaneously.
They were a staff and a book.
Both were weapons for mages.
He'll have to sell these.
Finally, he checked his status window.
[Basic Information]
Name: Moo-hyeok
Level: 42
Class: Gangster Necromancer
Fame: 1,520
[Titles]
1. Beginning of Adventure
- All Stats +1
1. Disciple of the Gangster Necromancer
- HP, MP +200
- Recovery Rate +5
1. Untainted by Darkness
- Additional Damage to Dark-type Monsters (+5%)
- Additional Defense against Dark-type Monsters (+5%)
1. Solo Journey
- All abilities increase by 5% in dungeons
1. Lucky Craftsman
- Reduces the probability of usage restrictions being applied
[Basic Stats]
Strength: 44 Agility: 21 Health: 27
Intelligence: 19 Wisdom: 26
Bonus Points: 2
[Special Stats]
Endurance: 4 Concentration: 4 Flexibility: 4
Luck: 4 Crafting: 51
Bonus Points: 2
[Detailed Information]
HP: 1,940
Recovery Rate per minute: 74
MP: 2,090
Recovery Rate per minute: 87
Physical Attack: 132+89
Magic Attack: 95
Defense: 27 + 15
Magic Defense: 40
Attack Speed: 144+2%
Movement Speed: 122+2%
Reaction Speed: 102.1+0.5%
Everything was very satisfactory except for the MP recovery rate.
He'll need to adjust the recovery rate items.
Of course, he was planning to do that after leaving the dungeon.
Next is the summon window.
This was even more satisfying than checking his own stats.
(Enhanced Skeleton 1)
Level: 37
HP: 1,690
MP: 745
Strength: 28 Agility: 26 Health: 38
Intelligence: 11 Wisdom: 12
[Detailed Information]
Physical Attack: 94+57
Physical Defense: 53+8
Magic Defense: 26
Attack Speed: 128+5%
Movement Speed: 114+5%
Reaction Speed: 102.6+1%
(Bone Sword 2)
Level: 37
HP: 1,340
MP: 530
Strength: 21 Agility: 22 Health: 29
Intelligence: 9 Wisdom: 10
[Detailed Information]
Physical Attack: 63+49
Physical Defense: 29+7
Magic Defense: 9
Attack Speed: 121%
Movement Speed: 110.5%
Reaction Speed: 102.2%
The Enhanced Skeleton, which was originally Bone Sword 1, had similar stats to Bone Sword 2. But after just one evolution, an enormous gap appeared.
Look at the Enhanced Skeleton's stats.
They weren't lacking even compared to Moo-hyeok's.
Though its damage was quite lacking due to low strength, it made up for it with significantly higher defense. Its health wasn't too far behind Moo-hyeok's either.
Obtaining hidden pieces by utilizing concealed information.
Along with Moo-hyeok's growth and the 30% stat boost gained there.
Hunting strong monsters and assembling bones using their materials.
The growth of crafting stats that influence this.
The bonus points earned every two level-ups.
Moo-hyeok's tireless efforts for all of this.
And finally, evolution.
It was all thanks to these elements coming together.
Evolution was a big factor.
Originally, skulls weren't items that could be obtained this easily.
He had figured that even at the fastest, one would need to be at least level 70 to get one.
But doing it himself, he've already collected two before even reaching level 50.
All because of a single quest.
He got skulls twice in a row from quest-related dungeons.
If he find another dungeon connected to the quest?
He might be able to collect one more skull.
It was just one difference.
Being the first to change class to Gangster Necromancer.
And getting the quest because of that.
That one difference brought about these results.
Of course, he wasn't sure if quests really changed dungeons. That was something he'd have to figure out gradually, but one thing he could guess.
That because of this quest, he might become even stronger than expected.
But he still couldn't be satisfied.
Monster hunting would become much easier. But withstanding rankers' skills was still difficult.
Taking Kim Bada as an example, even an Enhanced Skeleton would die after taking three or four skills.
So he'll need to increase their numbers.
One by one, steadily.
Someday, he'll evolve all the skeletons.
Instead of annoying opponents with countless weak ones, he'll make them feel waves of pressure from an endless stream of individually powerful units.
Step.
Only then did he take a step.
He could see the exit in the distance.
Slash.
He drew my sword and cut my own arm.
HP decreased.
Again, and again.
The moment HP hit 0, the world went dark.
*
After exiting the capsule, he had nothing to do.
What to do?
He lay in bed blankly before getting up.
Ah, is it weekend today?
He thought of his family.
He took out his phone and made a call.
"Mom, it's me. Is Dad there? Oh, and sis too?"
Hearing that everyone was home, he got up.
"I'll come over. Yeah, see you soon."
With a gentle smile, he got dressed.
After leaving home, he stood on the street waiting for a taxi.
Seeing a taxi approaching from afar, he reached out his hand. After getting in the back seat, he leaned back.
"Please take me to..."
"Understood."
he closed his eyes for a moment.
Hmm, tomorrow before logging into Illusion, he should look up some information first.
Thoughts started drifting.
Once he hit level 50 and learn the skills, he should head to the Second Training Hall. He'll focus on raising skill levels there for a while...
That's when it happened.
"Sir, we've arrived."
"..."
"Sir? We've arrived!"
"Ah."
Finally snapping out of his thoughts, Moo-hyeok paid the fare and got out of the taxi.
After walking for about 2 minutes, Moo-hyeok arrived at his house and lightly pressed the doorbell.
Ding dong.
The intercom light came on and a voice was heard.
[Son?]
"Yeah."
[Just a moment!]
With a click, the door opened.
After passing through a space too small to be called a garden, when he reached the front door, it opened as if on cue, revealing his mother Lee Hyeyeon.
"You came quickly."
"Yeah, didn't have anything else to do anyway."
"Well, come in."
Taking off his shoes, he stepped into the living room.
"Where's Dad?"
"In his study."
"And sis?"
"Probably playing games in her room."
"Games?"
"Illusion or something."
"Ah."
Right, she had said before that she'd play Illusion if she got the scholarship.
"Did she get the scholarship?"
"Yeah, she did."
With a slight chuckle, he sat down on the living room sofa.
"Stay for dinner since it's almost time."
"Of course."
Then he naturally picked up the remote and turned on the TV. He lowered the volume that was quite loud to an audible level.
[Fights are breaking out everywhere over dungeons...]
Illusion news was still the most prevalent.
[Amid a flood of user complaints...]
Soon losing interest, Moo-hyeok accessed the Illusion homepage on his phone.
While the game could only be accessed through a capsule, the homepage was also accessible via mobile.
He entered the word "Guardian" in the search bar of the free board.
[Currently dominating the Twin Ogre Forest...]
[The fight between Guardian Guild and Phoenix Guild...]
Various posts came up.
He checked each one from the top down.
Hmm.
It was after about 30 minutes of looking.
[I happened to be wandering around the Twin Ogre habitat when I found Guardian Guild members occupying a dungeon, and the atmosphere seemed off. I even saw the guild master shouting. From what I heard, they had been waiting because of a user who had secretly entered the dungeon, and suddenly dungeon entry became possible.]
Another post.
[Phoenix Guild just got caught by Guardian Guild. I heard the reconnaissance team members sold information to Guardian Guild and were excluded from the kill order.]
The information was being pieced together one by one.
