SWNOVELS Chapter 18: Skill Plunder (2)
“Having three of them team up as middle bosses pretty much seals the deal.”
Kang-hoo pragmatically assessed the situation.
If the three Defenders had been truly challenging, they would have taken the title of main boss in this dungeon.
Their presence indicated a critical weakness or an inherent issue.
He began with an illusion technique.
Five illusions, along with Kang-hoo, rushed toward the nearest Defender.
Ziiing! Zing!
Each Defender engaged in defense, utilizing their specialized skills. The most responsive was the forward Defender.
It appeared to be more agile, able to form a shield in front of itself based on its line of sight.
‘As expected.’
The slowest was the rear Defender.
With a shield forming behind it, an immediate frontal response was not possible.
Thump!
Kang-hoo, with the Solarkium tightly bitten between his lips, prepared to charge.
The moment he stepped forward, overusing mana seemed essential to determine the outcome.
Boom! Bang!
Illusions exploded here and there, creating a smokescreen.
Distinguishing between real and fake had already been challenging, and even hitting a fake left a lingering smokescreen.
Three seconds of smokescreen was enough for Kang-hoo to close in on a Defender and target it.
Kang-hoo continued to create illusions, relentlessly targeting only the ‘side Defender.’
He completely ignored the front and rear Defenders as if they were inconsequential.
Perhaps because of this?
As the side Defender valiantly resisted Kang-hoo’s fierce attacks, the front and rear Defenders, sensing a pattern in the combat, became more aggressive.
Kang-hoo never engaged in direct confrontation with the physically imposing Defenders.
Instead, he continuously shifted his position using lateral movements, focusing on the side Defender.
Once he slipped behind them to hide, the other two had to reset their target, having no other choice.
In the case of monsters without the concept of ‘caution,’ they would viciously attack even if it meant injuring their own kind.
Like slapping a face as hard as possible to kill a bug on a comrade’s cheek.
They don’t exercise caution because they prioritize the elimination of the nuisance over their comrade’s pain.
However, the trio of Defenders were different. They were cautious of each other, paradoxically missing several opportunities.
Kang-hoo dodged and kept attacking the side Defender’s weak points.
Despite being solid in their core and supported by two comrades, no significant gaps were visible.
Then.
During the battle, Kang-hoo caught a brief vulnerability in the rear Defender.
He was adjusting his gauntlet, fiddling with the wrist part, albeit a brief and seemingly insignificant moment.
To Kang-hoo, it appeared as a glaring opening.
His body, not moving forward but sideways, suddenly reached the rear Defender in an instant.
Too close for a leap, Kang-hoo virtually teleported onto him.
[Bleeding Stab]
Whish! Whish! Woosh!
Kang-hoo swiftly jabbed the bleeding stab into the shoulder.
It felt like the dagger was digging deeper, perhaps due to the enhanced nature of the stabbing skill.
“Ugh! Agh! Ugh!”
Even as the rear Defender groaned, his arms reached for Kang-hoo, who seemed to hang onto his upper body, making it easy to grab him.
But by that point, Kang-hoo had already moved behind him using a lateral move.
And then, adding one more layer to his strategy.
contemporary romance
[Sight Theft]
[Shallow Chaos]
Kang-hoo unleashed a series of Constellation skills that disrupted sensory systems.
Crunch!
Without hesitation, Kang-hoo bit into the Solarkium stem.
He knew that the explosive release of mana would soon start to take effect.
“Whoa…!”
The rear Defender, having lost both visual and spatial senses, flailed his arms, unable to grasp the situation.
This reaction only served to hinder his allies, preventing the other two from approaching easily.
It was an opportunity for Kang-hoo.
Thwack!
He boldly climbed onto the back of the Defender’s neck, positioning himself using the creature’s shoulders as footholds.
Then.
“Aaaagh!”
Kang-hoo thrust his fingers into the left and right eyes of the Defender and gouged them out.
“Eyes aren’t made of steel.”
He exerted more force with his hands.
No matter how strong a monster was, the eyes remained one of its most vulnerable parts.
Even though higher levels might have reinforced ‘shields’ in their eyes, that wasn’t usually the case in dungeons under level 100.
Thump! Thump! Thud!
Kang-hoo relentlessly drove in more bleeding stabs.
Ten layers of bleeding stacked up quickly, laying the groundwork for the skill’s unique bleeding effect.
Shaaaa!
‘As expected.’
Right on cue, the Defender’s ‘Major Recovery’ activated, a high-speed recovery mechanism.
However, the bleeding neutralized the recovery. It would have been ignored by higher-tier monsters, but…
Sadly, the Defenders were not of such high specs. Their limits were clear.
“Hurr!”
The rear Defender groaned in frustration as its relied-upon recovery was rendered useless.
Meanwhile.
Kang-hoo, with the Defender’s eyes bleeding profusely, twisted the dagger and pulled hard with all his might.
“……!”
That was the end of it.
[The following skill can be plundered from the target:]
[Rear Defense]
[Acquiring Front and Side Defense will combine with this skill to recreate the 'Protective Barrier' skill.]
‘This is it.’
A slightly different message appeared.
Usually, acquiring a skill ended there, but this skill seemed to acknowledge a connection with others, offering a set effect.
Like collecting pieces.
Completing the skill pieces responsible for each directional defense would create one complete skill.
One down, two to go.
Kang-hoo intensified his assault. There was no better time to strike.
He then used Abduction to summon the front Defender, simultaneously employing the newly stolen Rear Defense skill.
Up to this point, it was unclear why Kang-hoo used the Rear Defense skill.
The act of pulling an enemy from the front but defending from the rear was highly unnatural.
This oddity should have been an obvious clue from the start.
Regrettably, the front Defender completely misread Kang-hoo’s strategy.
And as Kang-hoo disappeared with a lateral move, the front Defender finally sensed something amiss.
By then, it was too late. Kang-hoo was already forcefully pushing the Defender.
Screeeech!
“Aaaargh!”
Then the accident happened.
As the front Defender’s body touched the barrier created by the Rear Defense skill, white smoke billowed.
It was a reaction caused by the Defender’s body contacting the barrier set up as a stationary defense.
Of course, it was all part of Kang-hoo’s plan.
A barrier, being a kind of enchantment, tends to resist and repel skills.
But against living tissue, it reacted like a hot iron plate, causing rapid chemical reactions.
Caught off guard by this unexpected attack, the front Defender was at a loss. He was practically in shock.
He couldn’t bear the feeling of his back burning up, having been struck in a weak spot.
Kang-hoo turned his back on the staggering creature.
Turning one’s back to an enemy is usually the last thing to do on a battlefield.
But this time was different. There was a reason for it.
Screeeech…!
“Aaargh!”
Kang-hoo had deliberately turned to make use of the Rear Defense skill he had just conjured.
He intentionally turned his body to create a barrier in front, effectively trapping the front Defender like meat in a grill.
A creative combination of attacks!
Boom!
The second of the three Defenders was now dead, all within Kang-hoo’s grasp.
Front Defense skill plundered.
Only one was left.
“Next is you.”
Kang-hoo pointed at the last middle boss destined to be his next victim.
After losing two comrades in an instant and their morale shattered, the side Defender didn’t last long before he died.
His level soared close to 30, probably around 29.7.
['Protective Barrier' skill has been created. The previous three defensive skills have been discarded.]
A unification according to the skill set effect ensued.
Protective Barrier.
Unlike the previous three, it could defend in all directions.
Being ‘stationary’ rather than ‘mobile,’ its strategic utility was greater.
Furthermore, with maximum proficiency, the Protective Barrier could be used in overlapping layers.
Setting up several barriers tactically along a route bombarded with tricky attacks was now achievable.
[Constellation 'Master of Mobile Warfare' weeps at your strategy that would make even constellations cry.]
[A significant amount of divine power is expended to grant you a useful buff.]
[Experience Increase +1%]
“……?”
Kang-hoo’s eyes widened.
He knew that the ‘Master of Mobile Warfare’ was becoming increasingly captivated by him, but he had not anticipated such an escalation in support.
Usually, a small amount of divine power yielded a minor buff, but this time, the magnitude had increased.
[This contractor is mine. You, an insignificant constellation, cannot handle him.]
Whether intentional or not, a sharply worded message from the Dimension Plunderer appeared.
For Kang-hoo, the competition between constellations was always welcome, a thousandfold.
After all, it was a contest for ‘ranking’ in terms of support.
The more support he received, the more the contractor’s favor could shift.
done.co