Chapter 15

The vicinity of the Steel Ant colony was quiet.

Although users in parties were occasionally seen, they were cautiously hunting Steel Ants one by one, carefully watching their surroundings.

They flinched whenever Muhyuk appeared, but since he didn’t stop them, they soon relaxed and continued hunting.

They, too, were probably hunting in secret to avoid the guild’s attention.

“Haa, damn it. Why do we have to do this?”

“There’s nowhere else to hunt properly.”

“We could go to another empire.”

“Still, this place is the easiest for our characteristics.”

“Tch, let’s level up quickly and leave.”

“Yeah, it’s not that we’re afraid of the guild. We’re avoiding them because they’re dirty.”

“Right, right.”

Muhyuk smiled at their conversation.

Avoiding them because they’re dirty.

Is that really the case?

If they had the power to crush the guild?

Would they still avoid this oppression because it was dirty?

Most likely, they would have destroyed the guild that monopolized the hunting grounds.

But since they couldn’t, it was just an instinctive remark to protect their pride.

I don’t want to be like that.

I need to grow faster.

Muhyuk climbed a tree and moved along the branches.

He passed by the talking users and headed deeper.

After all, the Dungeon is located at the 11 o’clock direction of the Steel Ant colony.

As long as I don’t go there.

Below, countless Steel Ants were visible.

Waiting for an opportunity, he jumped from the branch.

He landed on the Steel Ant’s body and stabbed the slender part connecting its head and chest with his sword.

[Critical Hit!]

[Deals 158 damage.]

The Steel Ant screamed silently.

It thrashed wildly.

Muhyuk pulled out his sword and stabbed again.

[Critical Hit!]

[Deals 156 damage.]

This is the Steel Ant’s weak point.

Because the damage is good?

No, that’s not enough to call it a weak point.

It’s called a weak point because it dies on its own just by sticking the sword in and leaving it there.

As it struggles in pain, the sword shakes, and the shaking causes impact, dealing damage.

[Deals minor damage.]

[Deals 9 damage.]

[Deals 8 damage.]

[Deals 11 damage.]

How long did it last?

The Steel Ant’s movements slowed.

Muhyuk, who had risen to his feet, pulled out his sword and strongly stabbed the weak point again.

[You have gained experience.]

Only then was he sure it was dead.

“Hoo…”

After descending to the ground, he attempted corpse decomposition.

[Starting ‘Corpse Decomposition’.]

He acquired the Steel Ant’s mandibles, neck joint, and the hard shell that covered its entire body.

Since ants belong to invertebrates, he couldn’t get anything to use for Skeleton assembly, which was a shame.

Still, the mandibles, neck joint, and shell could be used to make armor, so he decided to collect them.

[Finishing ‘Corpse Decomposition’.]

The Steel Ant turned gray and disappeared.

Swoosh.

At that moment, a Steel Ant that had been wandering nearby approached.

Muhyuk frowned and quickly climbed back up the tree.

The Steel Ant stared at Muhyuk for a moment before wandering around again.

Watching the situation from the branch, whenever one strayed away, he would invariably drop down below it and stab the weak connecting point with his sword.

[Critical Hit!]

[Deals 158 damage.]

Now all I have to do is endure.

The Steel Ant will thrash, causing the sword to shake, and that will naturally deal damage.

[Deals minor damage.]

[Deals 9 damage.]

[Deals 8 damage.]

[Deals 11 damage.]

This is a weak point unique to Steel Ants.

It doesn’t work on other monsters.

For example, if you stuck a sword into a snake’s body?

They would move violently, but that alone wouldn’t cause injury.

To cut the flesh inside with a sword deeply embedded requires more force than one might think.

It’s better to pull it out and stick it back into another part.

But Steel Ants are different.

The part connecting the head and chest, and the chest and abdomen, is very sensitive and weak, so you can inflict damage just by sticking it in and enduring.

[Deals 7 damage.]

[Deals 5 damage.]

[Deals 9 damage.]

Small numbers accumulate and become large.

How long did he endure?

Finally, the Steel Ant’s movements lost strength.

The antennae, which had been shaking violently, were also drooping.

Now was the chance.

After drawing his sword.

Stab.

He struck down hard again.

It ended with a critical hit.

“Hoo.”

If you know the weak point, it’s really easy.

If you form a party, you can hunt several at the same time.

Of course, Muhyuk’s Strength stat is abnormally high compared to his level, so the damage is high, but there’s no better prey than a monster that’s been secured for safety.

The problem is that this weak point hasn’t been revealed yet.

Muhyuk had no intention of telling anyone either.

As long as he wasn’t caught by the guild that controlled this place, there was no better hunting ground than this.

A holy light emanated from his entire body.

[Level Up!]

It was a historic moment to reach level 20.

“Ah…!”

The joy was fleeting.

[Forced termination for update.]

He was kicked out.

Muhyuk, who had been blankly in the darkness, opened the Capsule and came out.

His brow was furrowed.

“Ah, damn it.”

He couldn’t even allocate his stats.

Still, well…

He had reached his goal of 20, so he wasn’t as disappointed.

He soon relaxed his expression and lay down on the bed.

Even now, when he should be resting, his mind is full of thoughts about Illusion.

As soon as he logs in, he needs to allocate his stats and then proceed with the quest to become a Gangster Necromancer.

Then Muhyuk wouldn’t have to step forward and fight anymore.

Because he’s a special class, the Gangster Necromancer, he’ll be quite powerful at the beginning.

Of course, he’ll get weaker over time, but Muhyuk was confident that he could use the information filling his head to make himself even stronger.

He shook his head.

Resting properly when you need to.

That’s also necessary.

So he erased his thoughts about Illusion.

What should I do?

It’s already well past dawn.

But he couldn’t fall asleep.

It must be because of anticipation.

But he couldn’t stay up all night.

Exercise is the best in times like these.

The gym would be closed, so he had no choice but to move his body simply at home.

He sweated while doing push-ups, sit-ups, squats, etc.

After exercising moderately for 30 minutes, he took a lukewarm shower.

Afterwards, a languid fatigue rushed in as he lay down on the bed.

Ah. Good…

Soon his thoughts became blurred.

Muhyuk, who woke up earlier than usual, simply washed his face and headed straight to the gym.

After finishing an hour of exercise, he ate breakfast on the way home.

Afterwards, as soon as he logged into Illusion, he raised his main character’s Stamina first.

Then he summoned Skeletons and Zombies to check their status.

[Summoned Creature Window]

(Skeleton1)

Level: 15

HP: 150

MP: 50

Strength: 8

Agility: 5

Stamina: 5

Knowledge: 5

Wisdom: 5

Bonus Points: 7

(Skeleton2)

Level: 15

HP: 150

MP: 50

Strength: 8

Agility: 5

Stamina: 5

Knowledge: 5

Wisdom: 5

Bonus Points: 7

(Zombie1)

Level: 15

HP: 200

MP: 25

Strength: 8

Agility: 5

Stamina: 5

Knowledge: 5

Wisdom: 5

Bonus Points: 7

He didn’t look at the detailed information.

Checking the stats was enough.

In terms of users, it was a value equivalent to level 14.

And since there are 7 bonus points, if you raise them all, it’s equivalent to level 21.

Knowledge and Wisdom are meaningless, so is it level 18?

It was a possible figure because Muhyuk’s stats were beyond ordinary.

Hmm, not bad.

Then why did it feel so weak until now?

First, Muhyuk used himself as the standard.

Even Muhyuk, who has overwhelming stats, only fights in places where he has to hunt carefully, so naturally, Skeletons and Zombies, which are much weaker than him, would feel even weaker.

Second, the increase in stats due to the increase in Strength, Agility, and Knowledge is applied the same as for users, but the increase in HP and MP due to the increase in level and Stamina and Wisdom is applied lower than for users.

A normal Skeleton doesn’t have its Stamina increase even when it levels up, and since only 30 HP is increased each time Stamina 1 increases, it can’t last as long as a user.

Of course, not all summoned creatures are like that. That’s the story of the normal Skeleton that is summoned first.

The higher-level Skeletons that will appear later will have a larger increase in HP than now.

Muhyuk organized his thoughts and raised the stats of his summoned creatures first.

Agility 2. Stamina 5.

Then the increased stats are visible.

[Summoned Creature Window]

(Skeleton1)

Level: 15

HP: 300

MP: 50

Strength: 8

Agility: 7

Stamina: 10

Knowledge: 5

Wisdom: 5

Bonus Points: 0

After checking, he closed the Summoned Creature Window.

Now it was time to perform the class change quest, so he headed to the blacksmith and explained the situation to Luke.

“Hmm, you’ll have to be away for a few days?”

“Yes.”

“Well, it can’t be helped. I wasn’t planning on keeping a stranger for long either. In fact, I’m surprised you’ve been here this long. Anyway, take a break and come back.”

It seemed unexpected for Luke.

Well, it’s beneficial to me too.

Honestly, it wasn’t easy to find a workshop like this.

Of course, if you buy disposable crafting tools yourself, you won’t be restricted by location, but the price isn’t cheap.

I can make them here, so there’s no need to spend a lot of money.

Besides, completing the quests given by the blacksmith was more efficient, and sometimes the Dexterity stat would increase as a reward.

The only regret was that he didn’t learn armor crafting.

That’s when it happened.

“Before that.”

Luke stared intently at Muhyuk.

“You need to learn the basics, right?”

“Basics…?”

“Repair.”

“Ah…!”

He had forgotten.

Repair, which might be used more often than crafting.

Luke was directly mentioning that he would teach it now.

“Pathetic. Sigh, follow me.”

He followed Luke and learned Repair from him.

[Acquired ‘Repair Skill’.]

[Dexterity (1) has increased.]

A pleasant notification was heard.

“Thank you.”

“Prepare for armor crafting when you come back.”

Even the armor crafting that he had regretted.

Luke might have already been preparing. To send Muhyuk away.

He was planning to teach him armor crafting on the way out.

He only felt grateful and sorry.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Whatever.”

Muhyuk chuckled at Luke’s grumbling and bowed his head.

Afterwards, he headed to the Warp zone.