Chapter 20: Skill Unlocked
Rabbits are the most common thing in the fields.
They're beasts, so they leave carcasses, and their meat and fur are used as important byproducts.
If you exclude rabbits because they are not monsters, there are two types of monsters encountered while passing through the fields so far.
If you think of something halfway between an ostrich and a dinosaur, you'll know exactly what they are; these guys are quite fast runners and enjoy attacking with sharp teeth.
They're insignificant creatures as long as you are careful of their sudden rushing bite attacks.
Their speed is only faster than rabbits, not faster than the stones Cheol-du throws.
Whoosh, thwack!
The flying stone accurately hit the head of the ostrich-dinosaur-like creature.
It died instantly, so there was no need to run over and finish it off.
Cheol-du simply walked over and picked up the coins it dropped.
These guys always drop at least one coin, sometimes two. Haven't seen a single stat stone drop yet.
They're decent for grinding, but there's no way I'll activate the sanctuary today just by farming these.
"Hyah!"
Watching Jin-tae run around with that wooden spear, taking down monsters like he's whacking weeds, I figured it'd take him three days straight to get enough.
"Huff, huff."
Jin-tae, who had eaten quite a few stat stones in the meantime, had gained enough speed to chase monsters, and although slow, hunting was not too difficult for him.
"Jin-tae. I'll go that way, so you take this area."
"Okay. Got it!"
We hunt different, so no point in sticking together and scattering the monsters.
Right now, we're spending more time running around than actually fighting.
Whoosh, thwack!
Cheol-du picked up some good-sized rocks and started popping monsters in the head whenever he saw 'em.
‘This is gonna take a while.’
The hunting's easy, but the coin drops suck. I mean, it's even easier than hunting wolves, so I get it, but it still sucks.
‘Gotta be some tougher monsters around here, right?’
Cheol-du headed northwest based on the sanctuary. Heading back to the portal would just mean more rabbits and those ostrich-dino things, so I figured I'd push further out.
Maybe I'll run into something new.
I mean, I took down an Ogre Junior.
Anything short of a full-grown Ogre should be a piece of cake, right?
I kept following the moonlit path, chucking stones for a good while, when suddenly I felt this weird vibe.
"Hmm?"
It wasn't one of my five senses, it was something else.
"A caster?"
This is definitely mana.
I could feel mana being used, way off in the distance.
Cheol-du smiled and walked in that direction.
Swish.
I didn't let any of those critters get away, and before I knew it, I had over 70 coins.
How many more do I need before I head back?
‘Jin-tae should be racking some up too...’
No, it's better not to expect it.
Cheol-du figured he'd play it safe and aim for 1500 coins before heading back.
And if I got lucky with some stat or ability stones, I'd need to activate those too.
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Groooan. Whoosh.
Sure enough, I could hear roars and fighting not far off. There was nowhere to hide anyway, so I just walked right out in the open.
Even with the bright moonlight, anyone with bad eyesight wouldn't see me until I was close.
"Urara, ku tuda!"
"Popono tagu!"
These green guys were chattering and yelling, way too big to be goblins.
They were almost as big as me.
‘Orcs?’
Had to be orcs; three of them were chasing down a cow.
The cow had a spear, looked like a harpoon, sticking out of its back. It was bleeding bad, so it was only a matter of time.
They knew it, too, dodging around and waiting for the cow to drop.
The cow was trying to ram them with everything it had left, but it wasn't enough.
‘Which one's the monster here?’
Damn, it'd be a shame if the cow was a monster.
I could practically taste that steak already.
Plus, those orcs had some sweet metal weapons.
By then, I was right up on them, and one of the orcs yelled and charged.
"Tu naktu!"
"What the hell?"
Cheol-du asked, looking at the orc.
"Can I eat that cow?"
He wouldn't get it if I spoke Korean, so I pointed at the cow and made like I was eating, you know, body language.
"Tu, karak!"
The orc jabbed at me with his spear, but I dodged, grabbed it, and spun around.
Swish!
I grabbed the orc by the scruff of its neck as it came flying with the spear and slammed it into the ground.
Thump!
The orc tried to squirm, but its neck snapped when it hit the ground headfirst.
"Turak!"
The other two orcs went nuts and charged, but I blocked their attacks easy.
Clang!
Even a strong spear thrust only hits a small spot. I leaned back to dodge the point and grabbed the shaft before he could pull it back.
Swish!
I snatched the spear like it was mine all along and stabbed back, faster and cleaner than those orcs.
Stab!
The orc, stabbed right in the heart, looked totally shocked.
<Spear technique comprehension increased.>
<Skill 'Spear Proficiency' awakened.>
Cheol-du's eyes narrowed.
Just by doing that, I got a skill. Jin-tae got crafting from making a fishing rod, and I got spear skills.
Swish!
One of them tried to stab me in the back, like he was getting revenge, but I spun around and knocked his spear away with mine.
Clack!
And before he could even react, I stabbed again.
Stab!
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"Krrr."
All three orcs dropped, just like that.
"Moo-errrr!"
The cow, free from the orcs, didn't run. Must've been feeling feisty, because it charged right at me.
That charge, with those horns, was no joke.
"Hup!"
I jumped up, grabbed its horns, and flipped over it like a gymnast doing a vault.
Thump!
I landed hard on its back, pulled out my bone knife, and stabbed it in the neck.
Stab!
The bone knife, made from croc fangs, was too short to kill it, so I dropped it and made a fist.
Crack.
I squeezed its sides with my thighs, holding on tight. My left hand grabbed the horns, keeping its head from thrashing around too much.
Crack.
I aimed my fist at the top of its head and hammered down.
Bam!
I'm known for having a hard head, but this cow's skull was something else.
‘One hit ain't gonna cut it, gotta keep going.’
Skulls are tough, but I was way past normal human strength.
Bam, bam!
I kept pounding its head.
It wobbled, then went down hard, still sliding from its run.
"Hup!"
I jumped off, landed in a cloud of dust, and walked over to the cow.
It was still breathing, tough bastard.
"Go now."
No point in letting it suffer, best to finish it quick.
Stab!
I put the cow down and waited, hoping for the best.
"Ah!"
When the cow's body started glowing, I sighed.
"My beef..."
Damn, the cow was a monster.
At least it dropped 5 coins, I guess? I'd ridden the cow pretty far, so I looked back at where I'd fought the orcs.
Couldn't see any bodies.
Even with the bright moon, I could only make out shapes from that far. I ran back, but there were no bodies.
"Ah."
I let out a sigh, which was rare for me. I could still feel the spear in my hand.
Those orcs' spears, with their metal tips, were way better than my crappy wooden one, but they were gone.
"Orcs are monsters too."
Where the orcs had been, there were piles of 3 coins each.
So, one orc is worth about the same as a goblin caster?
Every fight's different, depends on who you're up against, so you can't really say for sure. But for me, those orc spearmen were easier than a goblin caster.
Lucky me, two orbs popped out too.
One was an agility stat stone, and the other was a white orb, never seen one of those before.
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<'Throwing' Skill Orb>
Lets you channel mana to throw things farther and harder.
- Costs 50 goblin coins to activate.
"Never seen a skill stone before."
I had plenty of coins, so I activated it right away.
I opened my status, and boom, two skills in the skill window, which had been empty before.
<Kang Cheol-du>
Race: Barbarian
Origin: Valhalla
Rank: Novice
Health: 100%
Mana: 100%
<Traits>
Barbarian's Heart, Fairy's Grace, Giant's Hide
<Skills>
Spear Proficiency, Throwing
<Spear Proficiency>
The better you get with spears, the more mana you can pump into them.
<Throwing>
Lets you channel mana for stronger, faster throws.
Pretty straightforward.
Cheol-du had gained two active skills.
Finally, I could use the mana I'd unlocked, but both skills were totally different from a caster's.
"Mana isn't just for casters."
His worries were in vain.
If I'd known mana was key for warriors too, I would've used that mana orb right away.
Now that I had skills, I really needed a better weapon.
‘Gotta head straight to Seoul when I get outta here.’
I was getting hyped for New Seoul.
Monsters usually stick to their own kind in the same area, so I activated the stat stone and started looking around.
"Tutu, ratu!"
"Moo-errr!"
Not far off, four more orcs were hunting a cow.
Flicker.
That faint mana feeling.
‘That's the mana from the Throwing skill.’
So, that mana pulse was from the Throwing skill. That meant the more I used it, the better I'd get at detecting monsters.
Flicker.
I felt another mana pulse from a different direction.
"Lots of orcs hunting tonight."
A good sign.
Those guys drop a lot of coins.
A spear like theirs would be sweet, but Throwing isn't just for spears.
I started picking up stones.
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I grabbed about four stones, each a bit smaller than a baseball, and got close to the orcs while they were busy with the cow.
About 20 meters away.
Perfect fastball range.
I remembered my Little League days, gripped a stone, and threw it as hard as I could.
Flicker.
The stone, powered by that weird mana, flew like a rocket and nailed the orc in the head.
Crack!
I grinned as the orc's head just exploded.
"Strike."
Still got it.
Here comes the next one!
