Chapter 21

Fortunately, there were no users or guild members occupying this place.

Good.

I immediately climbed up a tree to assess the situation.

Moving slowly, I discovered two Steel Ants passing below.

I summoned Skeletons to hold one in place and climbed onto the other, plunging my sword into its joints.

[Deals minimal damage.]

[Deals 10 damage.]

[Deals 9 damage.]

[Deals 9 damage.]

In that state, I briefly commanded the Skeletons with my thoughts.

I could barely inflict any damage.

This will be tough.

I simply switched to defense mode and focused on the Steel Ant I was facing.

While struggling to avoid falling off the wildly thrashing creature.

[Deals 11 damage.]

[Deals 9 damage.]

The damage continued to register.

Hoo.

I found my rhythm again. I had adapted to the Steel Ant’s movements.

I turned my head to observe the battle between my summons and the Steel Ant.

Kilik, kiririk!

Sword Bone 1, struck by the Steel Ant’s headbutt, flew backward. Sword Bone 2 was also in danger of being hit.

Muhyuk instinctively issued commands.

Sword Bone 2, to the left.

The Steel Ant charged again to finish it off, but Sword Bone 2 evaded.

Instead, Sword Bone 1, who was getting up, was attacked again.

Bow Bone 1, 2, attack.

The Bone Arrows that flew with a whistling sound struck the Steel Ant’s skin, but they were too hard to penetrate.

The deflected Bone Arrows fell to the ground, and the enraged Steel Ant switched its target to the Bow Bones.

The quickly approaching Steel Ant looked at Bow Bone 1 and 2, then strongly bit Bow Bone 2’s jaw.

Its shoulder was crushed, and its combat power was lost, but the Steel Ant didn’t stop there.

It broke its chest and spine before turning away.

That was the moment.

The vibrations stopped.

The movements of the Steel Ant, into which I had plunged my sword, slowed.

Thud.

Soon, it collapsed to the ground.

Muhyuk’s eyes gleamed as he quickly pulled out his sword and plunged it back in.

[Critical hit!]

[Deals 159 damage.]

[Experience increased.]

The Steel Ant died.

Muhyuk, without even taking the time to dissect the corpse, immediately ran behind the Steel Ant that was attacking the Skeletons.

He strongly kicked off the ground, jumped, and climbed on top of it. He immediately plunged his sword into the joint between its chest and abdomen.

The Steel Ant’s experience points were enormous.

As expected of a level 32.

Even though Illusion was known for its slow experience gain, I could see the experience bar rising every time I killed one.

Thanks to that, I was able to level up in less than two days.

I should increase my health.

As I raised one stat point, changes occurred to the Skeletons, except for Sword Bone 1 and 2.

Their health increased by 1 each.

Good.

The increase in HP and defense is significant.

It means they can withstand the Steel Ant’s attacks a little longer.

It will be much easier.

Muhyuk focused on hunting again.

A day, and then another day.

I killed Steel Ants over and over.

[Experience increased.]

[Level increased.]

Finally, level 22.

A remarkable feat achieved in just four days.

Summon Creature Window.

(Sword Bone 1)

Level: 17

HP: 580

MP: 315

Strength: 12

Agility: 10

Stamina: 14

Knowledge: 7

Wisdom: 7

Bonus Points: 1

The summons were level 17, 5 levels lower than Muhyuk.

Thanks to that, I gained one bonus point.

Investing it in stamina increased Sword Bone 1’s HP to 615.

I also increased the stamina of the other Sword Bones.

Thanks to that, they all had close to 600 HP.

Just looking at the numbers made me feel secure.

The Bow Bones should have better damage.

I increased the strength of Bow Bone 1 and 2.

Afterward, I checked the rankings.

The current number 1 was level 54.

One level up.

How long will it take? Half a year?

The time it takes to enter the top 10,000 Rankers.

And then another half year…….

So, if about a year passes in total, Muhyuk estimated that he would probably be able to put his name in at least the top 100 Rankers.

Two more days passed.

In the morning, I would wake up, do some exercise, and grab a bite to eat on the way home.

When I got home, I would immediately log into the game and fill my character’s hunger with a simple meal.

Afterward, I would hunt Steel Ants for 5 hours, then come out of the Capsule, eat lunch and dinner, and log back into Illusion to continue hunting.

I made sure to eat bread in between to keep my character’s stats from dropping due to hunger.

And I would stop hunting at 11 PM.

I spent the day like that, and the next day was the same Pattern as yesterday.

Thanks to that, level 23 was just around the corner.

That was the moment.

[Skeleton Warrior skill level increased.]

[Skeleton Archer skill level increased.]

The level of the summoning skills increased.

Oho.

I immediately checked the information.

[Exclusive Skill]

[Skeleton Mastery 2Lv(23%)]

Increases the attack power and defense of Skeletons by 2 percent.

[Skeleton Warrior Summon 3Lv(0%)]

Can summon 6 Skeletons skilled with swords. As the skill level increases, the number of summonable creatures and the MP consumed per 10 seconds increase.

-Current MP consumption per 10 seconds: 3 per creature

[Skeleton Archer Summon 3Lv(0%)]

Can summon 3 Skeletons skilled with bows. As the skill level increases, the number of summonable creatures and the MP consumed per 10 seconds increase.

-Current MP consumption per 10 seconds: 3 per creature

6 Warriors. 3 Archers.

A total of 9 summons became possible.

The duration would be shorter, but the instantaneous burst power increased.

This phenomenon will become more pronounced as the skill level increases.

And…….

Muhyuk took out an item from his inventory.

It was a staff with a skull decoration at the end of an iron club.

The box that Old Man Balzac had given him at the end. It was the item inside.

Just one more level.

Then I can use it.

Swish.

Muhyuk checked the staff’s options once again.

“Hoo.”

It was amazing no matter how many times I looked at it.

This weapon was also originally not there.

It must be a gift given only to those who have earned the title of top disciple.

When I first saw the options, I couldn’t help but be amazed.

I never imagined that I would get my hands on an item of this level so early.

Therefore, it will be of great help to my future endeavors.

It’s good so far.

Of course, I can’t let my guard down.

Before long, the existence of Dungeons will be known to all users, and then small and large battles to occupy those Dungeons will begin in earnest everywhere.

Only those who win there will be able to enter the Dungeon.

There is a problem, though.

Muhyuk chuckled.

Dungeons don’t stay in the same place forever.

Normal Dungeons require 100 people.

Special Dungeons require 50 people.

Unique Dungeons require 30 people.

Ancient Dungeons require 10 people.

Once cleared by that number of people, the Dungeon disappears.

This information doesn’t need to be hidden.

After all, normal Dungeons will be easily cleared, and if the phenomenon of disappearing is repeated, everyone will have no choice but to realize it.

Then the phenomenon of trying to monopolize them will become even more severe.

I have to become stronger to survive the tyranny of being crushed by such power.

If I’m going to do it, I have to do it right.

I put the staff in my inventory.

2 hours later.

I was finally able to reach level 23.

[Level increased.]

This time, I increased agility.

This unlocked the restrictions for equipping the staff.

Item check.

Information appeared before my eyes.

[Skull Staff]

A staff with a skull head hanging at the end. Transformation Magic is inherent.

Attack Power +55

Magic Attack Power +75

Wisdom +1

MP Recovery Rate (10) Increased

Durability 200/200

Usage Restriction: Strength 25, Agility 10, Stamina 15

There were two additional options besides the attack power option.

Wisdom and MP recovery rate.

It was an amazing weapon at my current level.

Besides, I realized it when I first saw it.

That this is a dual weapon.

Muhyuk pressed the skull head at the end of the handle with an interesting expression.

Then, a sharp blade popped out from the bottom of the club that was pressing against the floor.

Swing it and it becomes an iron club.

Thrust it and it becomes a sword.

It doesn’t end there.

I pressed the skull head again to put the blade back in and took out an arrow from my bag.

I grabbed it along with the steel string attached to the club and pulled it back.

[Activating Transformation Magic.]

[MP (5) consumed.]

Then the body bent and transformed into a bow.

This is Transformation Magic.

Muhyuk aimed at a distant tree trunk and released the string.

Pang!

The air burst and the arrow was fired. The arrow, drawing a slight curve, fell far short of the target.

“Hmm……!”

It seemed like I would need quite a bit of training.

I should practice in my spare time.

Honestly, I can’t always be at the forefront hunting.

As time passes, the day will come when I will have to put the Skeletons in the lead and Muhyuk will command from behind, or provide support magic, or just shoot arrows to keep them in check.

So practice is essential.

The time when these repetitive actions will bear fruit is not far off.

I set that day as my primary goal.

Was I too immersed in the game?

The phone call from my mother, which I hadn’t received in a long time, made me think that I had been too indifferent to my family.

(It’s the weekend, are you busy?)

“No, I’m okay.”

(Then…….)

“I’ll go home today.”

(Really?)

“Yeah.”

(Okay. We’ll have dinner together for the first time in a while.)

My mother’s voice was bright.

I smiled, hung up the phone, and got ready.

I left the house.

I took the subway home.

My family, whom I hadn’t seen in a long time.

“Son, you’re here?”

“Yeah, Mom.”

I felt a strange sense of nostalgia and my eyes welled up.

Hoo, it’s all in the past now.

I tried to shake off the thoughts and smiled.

In the meantime, the table was set.

A savory smell.

It’s soybean paste stew.

Recalling my mother’s cooking, a smile spread across my face. I headed to the living room and saw my father sitting at the table. Muhyuk took a seat on the left.

Then my sister came out.

“Let’s eat.”

“Thank you for the meal.”

I started eating the prepared dishes one by one.

Rough but simple.

Yet, warm stories were exchanged.

It looks good.

This life was now my everyday life.

He vowed that he would never forget the preciousness of the present.