A rope came out of Raydon's hand with an iron hook attached to the end, and it flew in the direction of the flower. In a split second, the hook wound around the flower as though it had consciousness.
When the rope had fully grasped the flower, it began to pull back into Raydon's palm.
The thin and fragile ice on which the flower had taken root broke easily as the hook pulled the flower, and Raydon encountered only a little resistance.
The flower's roots, which resemble long octopus arms, are entirely detached from the water. Just as Raydon was about to believe that this method had worked, the octopus-like roots of the flower suddenly attacked him.
''Damn. '' He immediately deactivated the skill and rolled sideways to avoid the attack. After rolling, He quickly took his guard again. Upon seeing the flower's roots approaching him once more, he swiftly swung the short sword he was holding at the root.
The root was abruptly broken into pieces and scattered across the ground by the strike of the short sword.
''This thing is just like glass. '' He was ecstatic to discover that a blow from his sword can easily shatter the roots apart.
'This creature probably uses these roots to scavenge for fish in the lake. ' Raydon reflected as he smashed another root with a sword blow. The flower had no mobility and could only attack with its roots.
He noticed that there were only 3 left after slashing another root. Since the number of the roots had decreased and their speed wasn't a concern for him, Raydon expertly avoided the ones that came his way and used his skill to dash onto the flower.
''Rush. ''
In a split second, Raydon's speed increased. With just one step, he quickly approached the flower's front and stabbed the sword in his hand into the flower's very center.
The flower split into pieces and fell to the ground with a cracking sound that reverberated throughout the area.
[Lv.1 Frozen Lake Flower (F-Rank) has been killed.]
[Your team gained 1 point.]
[You gained 10 experiences.]
''Wow, that was a tough fight. '' Raydon didn't even break a sweat, but the flower's attack caught him off guard for a moment.
He took the blue life core from the ground and placed it in his dimensional storage before inspecting the ice shards.
''This also appears to be an item crafting material.'' He said this while holding a piece of smooth and transparent azure-colored ice in his hand.
Not all of the shattered pieces were like this. Only about one-fifth of the flower was like this, and the rest had completely turned into snow and mixed with the other snow.
Raydon gathered these ice chunks and placed them in his dimensional storage before checking his vambrace from the system panel.
[Vambrace]
-Grade: Green
-Quality: Good
-Skill: Hook
Launches a rope hook in the direction of the target. The hook will coil up and drag the first target it comes across back to the user. Rope toughness and range are affected by the wearer's stamina stat.
-Mana cost: 1
-Duration: 10 seconds.
-Cooldown: 20 seconds.
''20-second cooldown and 1 mana cost. ''
Raydon began to calculate methodically. According to the data he gathered from previous experiments, 1 mana spent was replenished in an average of 10 minutes. With the total mana he had now after using the rush skill and hook, he could also use the skill 4 times in a row.
''It will suffice.'' Raydon returned his attention to the ten or so flowers on the ice. There were more, but they were standing too far away for the hook to reach.
Raydon returned the shortsword to his dimensional storage and took out the great sword Gary had given him. He couldn't swing the sword quickly and effectively with his strength, but for the time being, this great sword would be more useful to him.
The sword was not bound to him, but he did not need to use the sword's skill at this time.
He grabbed the sword's hilt and dragged it behind him with one hand, returning to the lake's edge. Raising his left hand, he aimed at a nearby flower,
''Hook. ''
Similarly, the hook jumped out of his hand, wrapped around the flower, and began to pull towards Raydon. Raydon swung the great sword horizontally at that precise moment with all his might.
Before the flower caught in the hook realized what had happened and tried to stab Raydon with its roots, Raydon had already struck it with a sharp blow with his great sword, tearing it apart instantly.
As the flower shattered, ice shards rained down on Raydon.
''Loot rain, I loved it. '' Radon chuckled.
He found it challenging to hold the large sword continuously, but he could manage a single slash. Furthermore, the great sword that struck the flower with perfect timing caused the maximum damage it could.
He repeated the process after collecting his loot, each time waiting for 20 seconds to pass for the skill cooldown.
After a few more repetitions, his mana is completely depleted.
''Tch, I need to wait more than an hour to completely replenish my mana.'' Raydon had killed a total of 6 flowers, including the one he had killed with arrows. Only a few flowers remained in front of him, but he ignored them because he didn't want to waste his arrows and felt they weren't worth the trouble and expense.
'I should at least find something that speeds up mana regen. ' Raydon muttered.
He was unaware of any item that directly increased stats, but body enchantments that boosted mana or sped up mana regeneration might exist.
He noticed that only a little more than an hour had passed when he looked at the system's timer.
''Should I leave here and go somewhere else?'' He could also stay here and kill the remaining flowers, but he'd have to wait more than an hour for this to be effective.
***
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