The Genius Assassin Who Does It All Himself - Chapter 158



Only Krnovel

Episode 158 Skill Bulk Harvest (2)

‘It would be best to combine the effect of the strong stack with the protective barrier. That’s not the only way.’

Kang-hoo linked his skills.

Solid Overlap is a skill that doubles the thickness of a defensive barrier or defensive barrier skill.

Only one skill could be designated, and for Kang-hoo, only the protective barrier met the conditions.

The petrification skill obtained just before was a defensive skill, but it was not a defensive barrier or barrier skill.

And Survival Instinct was a one-time passive skill that made you absolutely invincible for about 5 seconds when your health falls below 10.

One weakness is that if your health stat goes from over 10 to 0 all at once, you will die without being invincible.

Stamina had to be at least once at the boundary between 0 and 10.

In fact, the middle boss monster that had this skill was hit by Kang-hoo’s great beheading and died without even having a chance to activate its survival instinct.

Anyway, it was conditional, but thanks to my survival instinct, I was able to save my life by one coin.

“Hyung, are you finally getting used to the acceleration buff? Your face has gotten a lot brighter than before.”

“Is your face clearing up? Was I frowning?”

“You’re a perfectionist, hyung. You didn’t know that? I felt it the whole time by looking at your expression.”

“I didn’t know that.”

It seemed that Park Dong-jae was carefully observing his facial expressions throughout the team play.

As he said, it was true that Kang-hoo was a perfectionist. It was a world where only then could he survive.

However, I didn’t know that when skill linking wasn’t smooth or there was something lacking, it would show through facial expressions.

Even if I think about it again.

It didn’t seem like he went into battle with his expression on his face every time.

Perhaps Park Dong-jae feels more comfortable now, so he naturally expresses his feelings.

Because it was that trustworthy, and because I liked the flow of the battle, I guess I broke down the invisible wall.

“Shall we take a break?”

“Okay. Let’s take a break. It’s time to take a break. These middle bosses are all tough.”

“That’s right. It seems like the kids have high stats toward the matt area. It feels like the damage isn’t being properly applied?”

“That’s right. Come on, sit over here. The rocks look a little damp over there.”

Kang-hoo first looked for a place for Park Dong-jae to sit. He didn’t forget to brush away the dust that had accumulated.

“Wow… … . You have good manners?”

“You deserve to be treated well, so your manners improve. Otherwise, I would have just told you to sit anywhere.”

“Oh my. Thank you!”

Park Dong-jae sat down with a bright smile.

Park Dong-jae immediately realized that what Kang-hoo had said was quite a compliment.

That’s the Shin Gang-hu style of speaking. It always conveys the hidden meaning indirectly. It’s not fun.

You could say, “You did so well,” but it’s a bit of a letdown.

Now that I know Kang-hoo well, I find myself even appreciating that expression.

On the one hand, I was always curious about Kang-hoo’s inner thoughts, as he rarely smiled except at times like this.

Why on earth does this person always have such a serious expression on his face, as if he’s the only one who has to deal with all the sadness and pain in the world?

What is it that took his smile away and left him with only cynicism and coldness?

I asked Jeon Se-hyeok and Ban Se-young, but they, who had no idea about Kang-hoo’s past, just tilted their heads.

* * *

Around that time.

Brothers Jin-ho Choi and Jin-su Choi, who were chasing after Kang-hoo’s traces, kept coming up empty-handed.

I searched for him based on the information I had about Kang-hoo, but I couldn’t find even a trace of him.

When I went to see the house where I lived in the past, it was already gone due to reconstruction.

There was no family, no friends. I went to my alma mater, but there was no graduation photo.

This is why the word ‘ghost’ is so fitting. It is an entity that leaves no trace of life behind.

However, it was not without results.

Of all the sources of information spread out in various directions, one finally paid for itself.

It was the fact that Kang-hoo was a client of the Daejeon-based mercenary group ‘Cheong-an’.

Was it dark under the lamp?

I would have thought that there would be a point of contact between Ganghu and Cheongan, who were growling at Eclipse for supremacy in the Daejeon area.

According to the information, it was also said that Lee Ye-rin and Kang Hu from Cheongan recently carried out a commission transaction.

My younger brother, Jin-su Choi, said.

“brother.”

“uh?”

“Instead of just digging around like this, how about we just set up shop in Daejeon and wait?”

“Because I said I was dealing with Cheong-an?”

“Oh. If you’re working as a client, there’s no way you wouldn’t come.”

“I can fully explain and accept your request over the phone.”

“But I guess he’ll come at least once. He’s a guy who travels all over the country anyway, so I don’t think there’s any point in chasing him.”

“hmm…….”

Thinking about it, Choi Jin-ho nodded as well, finding some validity in what his younger brother said.

“Come, no matter what. If there’s something big, we’ll come and deal directly. So let’s just sell it in Daejeon.”

“That would be comforting.”

“Hey. Brother, we have to catch that kid! I really want to catch him. I want to be loved by the captain too!”

“Okay. Okay. Got it.”

Jin-ho Choi clenched his fists as he watched his younger brother become more motivated than he was.

In fact, Kang-hoo had done nothing wrong to them… … .

Before he knew it, Kang-hoo had become the main culprit who had obstructed his brother’s promotions and transfers, and darkened his future.

Maybe that’s why.

The hostility that had already blossomed in his heart became a sharp knife, stabbing Kang-hoo in his imagination.

Their anger was at its peak.

* * *

The dungeon was really big.

After a sufficient rest, Kang-hoo and Park Dong-jae diligently picked up the pace of their attack and captured two more middle bosses.

The level has now reached 165, and I’ve added two more skills with a decent composition.

【Soul of Ice Flame】

【Freeze resistance increases by 5%】

The first one was the Soul of Ice Flame. It was an ice type with a passive skill similar to Fire Scar.

The intrinsic value is 1%, which is worth about 10 billion won. In other words, 5% is worth 50 billion won.

It’s still at a point where my introspection isn’t showing yet.

When you build it up little by little and it starts to reach 20 or 30%, then the effect of the resistance becomes noticeable.

Moreover, when it reaches 100%, it becomes completely invincible against certain attributes.

For example, if your fire resistance is 100%, you will never burn even if you lie in a blazing fire.

【Soul Imprint】

【We will be performing ‘engraving’ on a total of five items.

In that case, you can retrieve the item as much as you want within a 100m radius.】

The second is soul imprint.

It was a case where the weapon recovery that was having fun with the item gloves, ‘Molis Maniche’, had its maximum value increased.

The engraving process was a simple task that involved adding five items to a list, although the name seemed unusual.

Resetting wasn’t difficult either.

If there’s just one condition, it’s that only things you own and only items are allowed?

Tricks like replacing people or pulling excessively heavy objects didn’t work.

“It’s almost over.”

“That’s right. It seems like this route is completely blocked except for the other side of that rock wall.”

“Yeah, I see.”

Kang-hoo looked straight ahead.

A rock wall is visible.

The road extends beyond that, but after a while it turns into an endless sea.

Unless there was an issue with going into the sea, it was clear that this was the end of the route chosen.

I’ve already acquired four skills since coming to this dungeon. The expression ‘skill abundance’ is a perfect fit.

Even the skills that were added were only the most valuable, with nothing to throw away. It would not be an exaggeration to call it the best of all time.

Park Dong-jae also seemed to have no complaints at all since he had his fill of the spoils.

Right then.

Park Dong-jae, who was quenching his thirst by drinking water from his bag, suddenly opened his mouth.

“Brother. Do you know anything about the Mystery Dungeon?”

“Of course I know.”

Mystery dungeon.

This is a unique dungeon that belongs to hunters and has an entrance that appears in a really random location.

What this means is that the hunter who finds the dungeon becomes the ‘only’ key that can enter that dungeon.

In addition, after being bound, the dungeon entrance becomes invisible and transparent. Of course, it is clearly visible to the bound hunter.

Since the owner was the key, other hunters could not enter even if they specified the location.

There was one more feature.

The point is that everything, including the internal structure and the structure, changes every time. Everything changes from A to Z.

So, it was a dungeon where knowing the strategy was meaningless.

It is not uncommon for people to think of the easy strategy of the past and end up dying screaming.

Kang-hoo asked back.

“why?”

“It seems like the people from the Mysterious Guild own quite a few mystery dungeons. I got a proposal.”

“Do you want to go together?”

“Yeah. It’s a dungeon with a certain reward. It’s risky, but since we’ve been in sync for a long time, it’s less of a burden in that regard.”

“I guess so.”

“You were the first to bring it up. How about you go with me?”

“Me? I’ve never met those people before. I was a bit surprised that I was treated with consideration this time.”

“Does that mean I did some sales on you, hyung?”

“They were selling me out in places I didn’t even know about.”

“A rough diamond needs to be polished to become a gem. Hyung, you are the type of person who needs to quickly become a gem.”

Park Dong-jae’s words sparkled like jewels. It felt like he truly cared for his talent.

“I’m confident I can match your breathing… … but I don’t know how you’ll perceive me.”

“I’m here, hyung.”

“First of all, there’s no reason for me to refuse. It’s true that it’s a dungeon I want to go to. It’s just that I don’t have the opportunity.”

Kang-hoo accepted Park Dong-jae’s proposal.

Mystery Dungeon is a dungeon where improvisation is more important than anything else.

You should not panic when a situation arises, and you should have many means to respond accordingly.

It is a dungeon that is completely against the grain for hunters who want to progress in a set manner and direction.

I would have liked to go if I could.

Since it is a dungeon where the hunter is the key, if you don’t have a connection with the owner, the hunter, you won’t even get a chance to go there.

In Korea, there is no issue with additional acquisition of mystery dungeons, so it is a dungeon that Kang-hoo cannot occupy separately.

“Okay. Then, as soon as I leave the dungeon, I’ll contact the Myungga Guild. I’m sure they’ll be happy about it too!”

“I wish that were true.”

In this way, another unexpected route opened up. It was another great gift brought by my connection with Park Dong-jae.

Right then.

Woof! Woof!

A large earth-shaking sound was transmitted all the way from the other side of the rock face, where there had been no movement until just a moment ago.

There was only a ringing sound, but no sound, but when I stepped to the side and looked, there was a reason.

A soundproof barrier was spread out around the rock wall, blocking all sounds directed outward.

It seemed like a structure created by some monster that was probably on the other side of the cliff.

That means something was already happening on the other side.