Chapter 35

“Ah, 31.”

“What, you start playing as soon as it opened?”

“No.”

“Then?”

“It’s been a month.”

“What nonsense….”

“I got lucky. I found two Dungeons.”

“…….”

“And I got a title too.”

“A ti, title……?”

“Yeah, it raised all my stats by 1 each. Oh, and the Dungeon rewards were no joke. Strength, Agility, Stamina, Knowledge, and Wisdom all went up by two each. Thanks to that, I can easily take down an Orc Great Warrior alone now. Even two isn’t too hard.”

Muhyuk said with a puzzled expression.

“So that’s why you’re leveling up so fast?”

Like he really didn’t know anything.

“…….”

Heo Young-chan’s eyes widened as much as they possibly could.

They even started shaking like crazy.

“So…….”

“That’s right. I hit level 31 in two months.”

Muhyuk summarized it simply.

“Liar!”

“You’re seeing it for yourself, aren’t you?”

“St, still, this doesn’t make sense! I’ve been playing for half a year and I’m only 46. Level 31 in just two months? No matter how many Dungeons you find, that’s impossible. Does that make sense? Did you use some kind of bug? Right, there’s no rule that Illusion can’t have bugs. Yeah, that’s it. Otherwise, it’s impossible.”

Today’s gathering was held in the name of friendship, and they logged into the game with the intention of having fun.

But because his level is high compared to the time he invested, he’s blinded by jealousy and saying things like that?

It was just as he expected.

“You’re allowed to have a high level, but I’m not?”

“It’s not that, it’s just that no matter how I think about it, it doesn’t…….”

Muhyuk narrowed the distance with Heo Young-chan.

He whispered lowly into his ear.

“Or what? No matter how you think about it, it seems like I used a bug? You better watch your mouth. My mood’s getting a little dirty.”

“What nonsense…….”

“I hit level 31 in two months. Can you imagine?”

“…….”

“In just three more months, I’ll easily catch up to your level. No, two months will be enough? In half a year, I can enter the Ranker rankings. You think you can stop me? How do you know where I’ll be? If I hide and just hunt like crazy for a few months, I can join the best guild. Just what level will my influence be at that time? Can you imagine?”

At those words, Heo Young-chan’s expression changed again. Half distorted, half a forced smile.

“Ah, haha. A bug, of course it was a joke.”

“Really?”

“Y, yeah.”

Muhyuk chuckled.

It was a clear sneer.

Even so, Heo Young-chan couldn’t say anything back.

“What’s wrong, why are you like that?”

“Ah, it’s nothing. I’m just impressed…….”

“Is that so?”

Because they were talking in whispers, the other friends didn’t hear their conversation.

Watching them make excuses to their questions, he realized anew.

Yeah, this is definitely a different life than before.

He didn’t want to experience that miserable life where he couldn’t do anything again.

Being manipulated by others, crushed by money and power, and succumbing to strength.

How is that any different from being completely paralyzed and unable to do anything?

Once is enough for that kind of experience. So now, he wouldn’t hesitate or waver.

Muhyuk turned around and looked at his friends. Of course, only one of them could be called a true friend.

“Let’s stop here for today. I remembered something I forgot.”

So not today.

Even if they were to hunt together, it wouldn’t be with these guys.

He still couldn’t forget that day.

When he was living with total paralysis.

Those guys who came to visit him in the hospital had a truly blunt conversation while Sungminwoo was away for a moment.

Words that were like daggers without the slightest consideration.

Their expressions were like torture, gouging out flesh and scraping bones.

And even the way they looked at him as if he were a corpse.

That image was still etched in his mind and he couldn’t forget it.

Of course, not now.

It was an event that hadn’t happened yet, and maybe it wouldn’t even happen.

But that didn’t mean that this animosity would disappear.

Was there any need to try to suppress that feeling?

At first, he tried to, but as he logged into the game and saw Heo Young-chan’s reaction, he realized.

There’s no need to try to do things he doesn’t want to do.

He could just do what he wanted.

Wasn’t that the goal of this life?

“Minwoo, see you next time.”

“Huh? Ah, okay.”

Except for Sungminwoo, the rest were no longer friends. Once he came to that conclusion, he felt much more at ease.

He should have done this sooner.

Thinking that, he logged out.

Even after meeting his friends, Muhyuk’s life hadn’t changed.

He woke up early in the morning, worked out at the gym, and bought breakfast at a restaurant on the way home.

After that, he logged into Illusion and hunted Ogres.

He was feeling pleased as he looked at the remaining experience points when the five users who had died after picking a fight with Muhyuk appeared.

They hesitated and narrowed the distance with Muhyuk.

Just in case, Muhyuk positioned himself in the middle of the Sword Bone and Bow Bone.

“Umm, excuse me…….”

“What is it?”

One of the men struggled to speak.

“That is, well…….”

“…….”

“Maybe, the item…….”

“Ah, the ones you guys dropped?”

The man nodded urgently.

“If you still have it…….”

“I already sold it.”

“Ah…….”

The man’s expression crumpled.

It was worth millions of won in cash.

There was no way he wouldn’t regret it.

“You son of a……!”

Muhyuk laughed as he watched the man charge at him, unable to control his anger.

Another good item might drop.

At that moment, the Archer next to him stopped him.

“Hey, stop it.”

“Let go!”

“If you attack first and die, you might drop another item.”

At those words, the man hesitated.

Grinding.

He could hear the sound of teeth scraping as he clenched his jaw tightly.

“Just you wait, you.”

“Whatever.”

The man’s face turned red at Muhyuk’s reaction. But he didn’t take any action and turned around to leave the hunting ground with his companions.

Hmm, too bad.

He didn’t feel sorry at all.

They were the ones who started it first.

In fact, he still wanted to attack them right away and kill them one more time, but he couldn’t act rashly because he didn’t know what tricks they might use.

And PK wasn’t a good thing either.

If a nearby user uploaded a video, there was a risk of it becoming a nuisance in the future.

But he wouldn’t refuse if they picked a fight.

Muhyuk shook off his distractions and turned around. He began to focus on hunting Ogres again.

[Your level has increased.]

He finally reached 33.

Nice!

After that, he didn’t stop hunting.

Kuaaaah!

After leveling up and hunting for another 6 hours, he checked the filled experience points.

Judging by the speed at which it was rising, he would be able to level up one more time in about 3 days.

If he continued to maintain the same speed, he would be able to reach level 40 before a month passed.

After that…….

It was the moment he was thinking about his general plan.

[‘Bracelet of Flow’ has been won.]

A message popped up.

Ah, he had set it for 72 hours.

[Checking the winning bid amount.]

[You have acquired 289 Gold.]

Magic attack power +15.

A bracelet that increases casting speed by 1%.

In fact, he had expected up to 350 Gold, but he was disappointed that it was a lower amount.

Well, he got it for free.

Still, 289 Gold was by no means a small amount of money.

After finishing his organization, he set out to hunt again.

Looking at the Ogres playing in the distance, he gave an order.

Bow Bone 1, Rapid Fire.

Bone Arrow shot out.

One arrow hit the Ogre’s chest, and the guy ran towards Muhyuk in anger.

But because he was under the Poison of Slowing, his movements were quite slow.

In the meantime, the Bow Bone’s attacks continued again, inflicting Bleeding and Weaken.

Finally, when the distance was close enough, he was also inflicted with the Poison of Hallucination.

Krrr……?

The Sword Bones surrounded the dazed Ogre.

Sword Bones, All Attack.

The Ogre only came to his senses after 10 percent of his HP was gone. The full-fledged battle with the guy began.

Every day was the same.

Before he knew it, two weeks had passed in a flash.

“Hoo…….”

Today, too, he repeated the hunt without fail.

Current level 37.

Now, even the small threat that he had felt even a little bit had disappeared.

Why?

Because this morning, his Skeleton Summon level had increased.

[Exclusive Skill]

[Skeleton Mastery 3Lv(15%)]

The attack power and defense of Skeletons increases by 3 percent.

[Skeleton Warrior Summon 4Lv(0.1%)]

You can summon 8 Skeletons with a talent for swords. As the skill level increases, the number of summonable Skeletons and the MP consumed per 10 seconds increases.

-Current MP consumed every 10 seconds: 3 per entity

[Skeleton Archer Summon 4Lv(0.1%)]

You can summon 4 Skeletons with a talent for bows. As the skill level increases, the number of summonable Skeletons and the MP consumed per 10 seconds increases.

-Current MP consumed every 10 seconds: 3 per entity

[Mental Induction 2Lv(87%)]

Give commands with just your thoughts. As the skill level increases, more complex commands become possible.

[Sight Acquisition 2Lv(35%)]

You can grasp the location and situation of your summons at a glance. As the skill level increases, the number and location that can be grasped increases.

[Corpse Disassembly]

You can disassemble a monster just before it dies to obtain materials such as leather and bones.

[Bone Assembly]

You can artificially assemble the bones of a Skeleton.

It had grown overall.

Above all, being able to summon as many as 12 Skeletons had greatly increased his power.

On the other hand, the MP consumed per 10 seconds remained the same. This would be maintained until the summon level reached 10. Still, it was burdensome.

Anyway, now one Ogre could be hunted even without Muhyuk’s intervention.

Sword Bones, All Attack.

Bow Bones, Rapid Fire.

Muhyuk just watched.

The 8 Sword Bones surrounded the Ogre in a circle and swung their swords.

The Ogre also attacked the Sword Bones, but the number of Sword Bones that could be hit at once was at most four.

Even that was only one if he struck from top to bottom, and even if he swung horizontally, the four Sword Bones that were hit would only be knocked back.

Even in the midst of that, the remaining four Sword Bones struck out with their swords and attacked the Ogre, so the damage steadily accumulated.

With Bone Arrows flying in without rest, there was no way he could withstand it.

Kuaaaah!

What was the point of getting angry?

There was no solution.

Kuaaa…….

In the end, the Ogre fell powerlessly.

Step.

He approached the guy and used the skill.

“Corpse Disassembly.”

He performed Bone Assembly with the Ogre’s bones he had acquired.

[‘Strength’ of ‘Bow Bone 2’ decreases.]

[Due to the influence of ‘Dexterity’, a decrease of ‘0.07’ occurs.]

[‘Strength’ of ‘Bow Bone 2’ increases.]

[Due to the influence of ‘Dexterity’, an increase of ‘0.22’ occurs.]

The more he hunted, the stronger Muhyuk and his summons became.

Little by little, but surely.

The level of the special Dungeon that Muhyuk knew was 40.

Just three more to go.

He was currently at level 37 and about 95 percent. If he suffered for about a week, he would be able to reach 40.

Then he would be able to enter the special Dungeon he knew.

He was planning to get good items or special rewards from there and hunt monsters other than Ogres in an even stronger state.

“Hey, did you hear?”

“Hear what?”

But unexpected words came.

“There’s a Dungeon around here.”

“Really? What level is it?”

“I think it’s 38?”

He had learned of the existence of a level 38 Dungeon.