Chapter 64: Second Evolution (6)

TL: Haku

Editor: Hungry Panda

Ian let out a shout of delight as he saw that things were going more smoothly than he expected.

'Alright, just a little more!'

Ian fought the bandits that were in front of him along with Ddukdae while glancing over at Ly.

However, the fight between Ly and the Bandit Boss that Ian thought would finish quicker than expected earlier began to take longer than he thought it would.

Just like an Archer with a bow, the Bandit Boss, a Boss-monster, was incredibly agile.

After getting hit twice in the beginning, it was a rare chance for the Bandit Boss to allow Ly to hit him.

And shortly after, Ly ended up allowing the Bandit Boss to land a hit on him.

Ian, who saw the system message, sobered up immediately.

'It's not like he was. .h.i.t by an arrow, but just from a close-proximity attack, he received 6 thousand damage?'

Because Ly's Defensive Power dropped because of his Berserk skill, Ian expected a large amount of damage, but this was more dangerous than he thought.

'By the looks of it, I think that the AoE buff that the boss first used was a buff related to Offensive Power.'

Ian urgently let out a command to Ddukdae.

"Ddukdae, throw me over there!"

At the daring command, Ddukdae momentarily hesitated.

"Quickly!"

However, at Ian's continued demand, Ddukdae spread out his hand, and as Ian got on, he threw Ian with all his strength.

'First, we'll catch him and then see!'

Ian shot arrows while soaring through the air.

Because the Boss Bandit was in a fierce battle with Ly, he wasn't able to pay attention to Ian's arrows.

Puck- Puck-!

The arrows. .h.i.t the target, but Ian, who fell onto the ground defenselessly, received damage.

However, Ian wasn't fl.u.s.tered and rolled on the ground once before quickly changing his weapon to his knuckles.

'It would be great if the Induction ability was invoked…'

Ian, who had casted his Current Proliferation skill and was holding two electric spheres in either hand, charged towards the Bandit Boss.

If he dragged on the time a little longer, the nearby bandits would close in on him and create an incredibly tough situation.

And at the end of the three's intense, free-for-all fight, the 'Induction' ability that Ian wanted was invoked.

Gooooh-!

A large wave spread out from the end of Ian's hand.

And not only did the Bandit Boss, but the bandits who came close to help him began to be sucked into that wave.

It was truly an excellent timing.

'There we go!'

And as the Bandit Boss's movements were restricted, Ly immediately charged and bit the back of his neck.

Grr-!

And that was the final mark of this neck-and-neck battle.

"Eu-ack!"

As expected of a Boss monster, it was a huge amount of EXP.

Ian wanted to enjoy his satisfaction, but there was no time to delay.

This was because Ly and Ian himself had received quite a large amount of damage while fighting the Bandit Boss, so they didn't have a lot of Vitality left.

He quickly approached the corpse of the Bandit Boss that was turning into a grey light and collected the items.

The 'Forcal Bandit's Spirit' item was an accessory of a set item that had the lowest drop rate amongst the Forcal set.

It wasn't an item that Ian could use, but he had obtained a high-price item that he could sell at a high price to a Knight or a Warrior user.

'Now I just need to escape from here safely…!'

Ian, who packed up the unexpected profit, broadened his view and planned for a way to escape.

To fight the leftover bandits with the remaining Vitality he had was close to daredevilry.

"Ly, run towards where Ddukdae is!"

As Ian let out that command, Ly began to run towards Ddukdae, and Ian began to run in the other direction.

'Now, if it's like this, they'll follow after me, right?'

And just as Ian predicted, the AI of the bandits began to follow the user first.

Slowly, the distance between Ly and Ian began to grow significantly.

And shortly after, Ian, who felt that they secured enough of a distance, invoked the skill that he had thought of.

"s.p.a.ce Distortion!"

Through s.p.a.ce Distortion, Ian and Ly's positions changed.

However, Ian did not invoke that skill with the intention of sacrificing Ly.

Ian shouted right after.

"Ly, Ddukdae, Summon Release!"

As he did so, Ddukdae and Ly, who were stuck in the centre of the battlefield, were able to easily escape the spot.

This was because Ly and Ddukdae, who disappeared into a white light at the same time, were immediately moved to s.p.a.ce.

After even Summon Releasing Bbookbbook, who was on his back, Ian began to run for his life with his lightened body.

'Thanks to Clopia, my body is lighter.'

Ian's movements were incredibly fast due to him Possessing Clopia, who had over a thousand Agility.

As he had Summon Released all of his main Familiars, he couldn't fight for at least 30 minutes now once he left the battlegrounds.

'I couldn't hit lv 70 yet, but I did make quite a profit.'

Ian headed towards the village.

He was planning on meeting Harin and receive his Familiars' feed before returning to Forcal Mountains again.

Scorching Land (1)

Ian, who arrived at the village, sent Harin a message.

And fortunately, Harin, who was logged in responded instantly.

At Harin's words, Ian was slightly startled for a moment.

'Hm, I'm sure with Harin's level-up speed, she wouldn't have hit lv 60 yet, so how did she get into the guild? Did she get in with her friends.h.i.+p with Carwin?'

Ian was suspicious for a moment.

As Herz wasn't the type to accept people into the guild just because they had an acquaintance.

Even when Ian, who Herz considered his best friend, first started Kailran, he had only accepted him as a guild member once he reached a high enough level.

However, Ian realized the reason shortly after.

'Ah, it must be because of the base. They said they needed a lot of users that had a high Production skill level when they made a base!'

Ian naturally nodded his head.

If restricted to just Production skill, a talented person like Harin was really hard to find.

'That's great.'

Ian sent a message again.

He probably meant with helping her out that he would include her into the guild party.

In other words, bus[1].

'Herz thought well. Since all the guild members' level-up speed won't significantly drop just by adding in Harin into the guild party.'

If you thought of it in another way, it wasn't completely a bus. Even if she just bought enough ingredients and continuously supplied dishes, Harin could become a decent buffer.

On top of that, in the long run, raising Harin's level would be a profit for in the guild's perspective no matter what.

If the amount of time needed for hunting, which Harin found no interest or talent in was reduced, she could raise her Cooking Proficiency, something she was actually talented in, even faster than before.

Ian, who nodded his head, brought up his main point.

Ian quickly added onto his words in case Harin misunderstood.

Shortly after, a message from Harin, who seemed surprised, came.

At Harin's words Ian automatically burst out laughing.

This was because he remembered Bbookbbook.

At the words that there was a Familiar that liked her cooking, Harin was delighted.

Ian, who moved to Myuran using a Return stone, headed towards the auction shortly after.

And he was able to find Harin and Carwin immediately.

"Yo, who could this be, it's Ian hyung[3]!"

Carwin, who discovered Ian first, quickly ran over and expressed his joy.

"Yo, jokester. Long time, no see. How have you been?"

And Harin, who was purchasing cooking ingredients from the auction, cheerfully approached him and greeted him.

"Wow, Ian, it's been even longer since we met in-game. I should have gone to watch the rookie league, but because of that a.s.signment, I couldn't log in for that period."

"Ah, no, it's alright, Harin. It was better that you didn't come. Even if you did, I probably wouldn't have been able to pay attention to you."

"Either way, congratulations, Ian."

At her words, Ian, who suddenly thought of the semi-finals again, was slightly saddened.

"Thank you."

And Harin, who felt his sullen expression, laughed and added.

"Even the semi-finals is amazing. Don't be too disappointed."

However, Ian responded without being able to hide his disappointed expression.

"Hm… That's right, isn't it?"

However, just then, Carwin, who heard the two's conversation, had on a surprised expression as he asked.

"Huh, what do you mean by it's been even longer since in-game? Have you two actually met in real life?"

At Carwin's question, Harin responded.

"Yeah. Last time, I needed to go to school, and I called Ian out for a bit then."

Carwin had on an expression full of jealousy.

"What? I still haven't met Harin noona[4], but you're telling me that hyung has met you first?"

Harin smirked.

"Ian and I go to the same school."

"Still!"

"Then come up to Seoul. I told you I'd buy you food if you come to Korea University."

"No, noona, what kind of money does a high-schooler have to come all the way up to Seoul! I'm telling you, I don't even have enough money to pay for transportation."

This time, Ian picked up the scolding.

"Hey, stop being a crybaby, and tell me about the guild's recent condition. Did everybody raise their level up a lot?"

At Ian's words, Carwin, who seemed embarra.s.sed with his whining, scratched the back of his head.

"Hm, now everybody's over lv 95. Fiolan's also probably over lv 100?"

Ian nodded his head. They were all at a level he was roughly expecting.

'The top-rankers are probably also over lv 120 now, right? I need to try harder!'

Ian fired-up his fighting spirit inwardly.

[2] Hul = slang word usually used to show mild form of shock or surprise

[3] hyung = term that a younger male calls a close, older male

[4] noona = term that a younger male calls a close, older female