[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
Chapter 13
'So that's how it's used.'
He briefly considered using Death Legion immediately but shook his head.
There was only one rabbit corpse, and it wasn't appealing yet. It felt underwhelming to raise only one soldier for the Death Legion.
Besides...
'It would be a waste of mana.'
He needed to try out other skills, and he couldn't afford to use up all his mana.
Wraiths of the Dead consumed more mana than he expected, so it was better to conserve it.
'I should try Death Aura first.'
Death Aura.
A powerful skill that targeted everything within a 30-meter radius.
According to the description, it devoured the souls and bodies of the dead and inflicted pain on the living.
Even at level 1, it had a wide range befitting its Legendary rank, and he wondered if he could even use it. It would be too conspicuous in the beginner village.
However, thanks to the lack of people, he could finally utilize it.
'Let's give it a go.'
As Seonghyun decided to activate it, a teal heart-shaped figure emerged from behind him.
Simultaneously, the teal heart began to beat.
Thump!
Like blood pumping from a heart, a chilling teal energy spread from Seonghyun's back.
The dense, fog-like energy, resembling a hazy teal mist, exuded a mystical yet ominous aura.
The surrounding rabbits sensed something and lifted their heads, but...
When a volcano erupts and releases toxic gas, birds in the vicinity plummet from the sky.
That's exactly what happened to the rabbits.
Thud. Thud thud. Thud.
Collapse.
[The effect of 『One Strike!』 is activated!]
'Oh?'
So the title also applied to damage over time.
He couldn't tell how much damage it dealt, but seeing the rabbits collapse as soon as they touched the teal mist, he could tell they all succumbed to the first strike.
There were a total of 20 rabbit corpses, all without a scratch.
They had all died from contact with Death Aura.
The range and power were considerable.
'And it heals me too?'
Although it continuously consumed mana, he felt his health recovering.
It seemed to restore health if he was injured.
That's how it worked in Helena's memories.
It was truly a skill worthy of its Legendary rank.
He hadn't felt the full impact of Wraiths of the Dead, as it merely fired a projectile and killed a single rabbit, but Death Aura was different.
It truly demonstrated the majesty of a Legendary skill.
Seonghyun deactivated the skill before he ran out of mana.
'If I turn it off before the duration ends, the cooldown is reduced.'
After using it for about a minute and turning it off, he confirmed that the remaining cooldown was 10 minutes.
The maximum cooldown was 30 minutes, so it seemed that 10 minutes of cooldown applied for every minute of use.
'The mana consumption is quite reasonable too.'
After using it for about a minute, along with the mana spent on Wraiths of the Dead earlier, he still had about 50% of his mana remaining.
This was good enough for frequent use, even at his low level.
'I'll probably use Wraiths of the Dead more often, though.'
'Now, there's one skill left, isn't there?'n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om
Seonghyun looked at the twenty dead rabbits.
Like the first rabbit he killed, all of them were emitting teal smoke.
[You can use 『Death Legion』.]
[Do you want to raise the 『Death Legion』?]
Twenty rabbits.
It still felt underwhelming to call it a ‘legion’ but...
Wouldn't this be a decent sight?
'What would the highest-ranking Almighty skill be like?'
With anticipation, he activated the skill.
Fizzle.
The teal smoke rising from the corpses seeped back into them.
At the same time, a teal heart appeared in Seonghyun's grasp.
The naturally formed teal heart began to beat vigorously, as if exploding.
Thump———!
Thump-thump———!
The teal heart pulsed, spreading its beat throughout the surroundings, and the corpses reacted to the sound.
As if given new life, they rose in rhythm with the beating sound.
The rabbits' red eyes now glowed teal, and their bodies transformed, becoming a mix of black energy and teal light.
Seonghyun's eyes widened at the sight.
They retained the shape of rabbits, but their very essence seemed different.
'This is strange.'
'It's different.'
The way the rabbits rose was different from what he saw in Helena's memories.
Originally, they should have appeared as black shadows with only their eyes glowing teal.
However, Seonghyun's Death Legion appeared as shadows with teal energy emanating from their entire bodies.
'Is it because my level is still low?'
'No.'
That wasn't the reason.
It was quite a catchy name.
『Beast Slayer of the Beginner Village』
→《Epic》
→Title granted to users who hunt over 100 rabbits and other beast-type monsters in the beginner village within a short period of time.
→Increases attack power by 5% when hunting beast-type monsters.
'Oh.'
It was certainly a useful option.
The rank was Epic, higher than Rare.
'Now that I've obtained everything I can in the beginner village...'
'Should I sell all the leather and meat and move on?'
0.
In the beginner village, you could only leave through the village chief, no matter where you were.
This was to prevent beginners who weren't ready from leaving before the village chief deemed them qualified.
The qualifications weren't particularly strict.
If you didn't have a certificate of completion from the training ground or hadn't learned the Butchering skill, you would be sent back and informed of what you were missing.
It was a kind of strategy guide device installed by the developer, E-World.
To move on to the next area, you needed both the certificate of completion and the Butchering skill.
And the reason you had to complete various tasks as quests before meeting the village chief was to foster social skills with NPCs.
This was a game, and it served as a warning about what could happen if you were rude to NPCs.
The beginner village was essentially a giant tutorial.
The butcher NPC, Marlen, also played a part in this.
"H-here's the meat..."
"Sigh."
Marlen let out a deep sigh, and the nervous user cautiously asked,
"Th-then how should I process it to obtain the meat cleanly?"
"Hmm... Well, you're a newcomer with at least some basic skills. If you use too much force when skinning the meat, this is what happens. So, try to relax and gently slice the meat away from the hide."
"Ah! Thank you!"
For users who were polite, she wasn't exactly friendly... but she would still calmly provide guidance.
Tips on butchering and how to use the tools more effectively.
The faster these people mastered the Butchering skill, the sooner Marlen could rest.
Although there were still some rude users, it was somewhat effective.
Marlen loathed those hopeless newcomers, but she tried to be more approachable to those with manners and basic decency.
And she recalled Seonghyun, who had visited that morning.
'If only all newcomers were like him...'
Just as Marlen was lost in thought, Seonghyun approached her and asked,
"Hello. I'd like to sell some items, is that alright?"
"Oh! Look who it is! Our regular butcher shop customer! Welcome, welcome!!!"
Seonghyun once again covered his ears at Marlen's booming voice, which sounded like a train whistle.
It was deafening, but he had gotten somewhat used to it after a few encounters.
However, Marlen looked at Seonghyun with a puzzled expression.
'Something's changed.'
He was still calm and composed, as before.
And still timidly covering his ears.
But something had subtly shifted.
Perhaps it was the energy he exuded?
Or his aura?
Marlen felt it, and it made her skin prickle.
Such an imposing presence...
She had never encountered such a newcomer in the village before.
'Amazing.'
As Marlen stared at Seonghyun in awe, he cleared his throat slightly.
She snapped out of her daze and heard Seonghyun's voice.
"Ahem, haha. Yes, yes."
"I always welcome your meat! And hides too!!"
"That's good to hear. Then..."
He put his hand in his inventory as if to say, "Just a moment."
'How much rabbit meat will he have?'
Marlen's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Over 100 rabbits worth of meat and hides, the rare green deer hide and meat, and finally, the hide and meat of the intimidating tiger, still menacing even in death.
Two mountains of meat and hides materialized before her.
"..."
"Hmm?"
Silence fell over the butcher shop.
This wasn't the usual reaction from the boisterous Marlen.
'Is she not satisfied?'
Just in case, Seonghyun turned his head.
And he saw it.
Thud.
Marlen collapsed, her eyes rolled back, showing only the whites.
And...
'Oh? Isn't that really dangerous?'
He saw Marlen's ghost, half-emerged from her body, hovering above her head.
"Marlen has collapsed!"
"She fainted while standing!!!"
"I-is she breathing, Marlen?"
"Uwaaa! Save Marlen!!!"
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