Chapter 135


    Crowding the pavilion were three hundred Polluted Lifeforms. But I knew that wasnt the end.


    I have to save as much stamina as possible.


    This ce wasnt called the Leveling Shrine for nothing. I had to survive this ce for a very long time and keep hunting the Polluted Lifeforms.


    I equipped an item.


    [Noahs Helm]


    Known to be the helmet that Noah, once called The Gale, enjoyed wearing in his youth. After weathering many fierce battles, it has be imbued with a special power.


    Defense: -15


    Effect:<ol data-mce-style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li>


    Hostility quantity control.</li></ol>


    Equip restriction:<ol data-mce-style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li>


    Can only be worn inside a dungeon</li><li>


    Level requirement: 30</li><li>


    Cannot be equipped in conjunction with a magician-exclusive item</li></ol>


    It lowered defense by a whopping 15. In terms of armor, this item was the worst, a piece of trash that actually increased the damage you received.


    But not here.


    The key point was that Noahs Helm had the effect of Hostility quantity control, an ability that would limit the aggro the wearer received.


    Ill be getting ten hostile enemies at a time.


    Be it three hundred, or three thousand, only ten monsters would show an inclination to attack me. That meant I only needed to pay attention to just ten monsters at any given time.


    If I only need to keep those ten in my view


    I didnt need to worry about getting attacked by any others. That would massively reduce my mental strain and minimize the urrence of variables.


    [Registering the effect of Noahs Helm.]


    [Registering the Hostility quantity control effect.]


    [!] marks appeared over the heads of exactly ten Polluted Lifeforms. They had recognized me as a target to attack; I had automatically aggroed them.


    Isabels ego was awake, but silent. If I had to guess, she was probably racking her brain to figure out how to save me.


    In any case, I was only being attacked by ten Polluted Lifeforms at a time. That was step number onegetting rid of any unpredictable variables in a mass hunt. This was the starting point.


    I spoke to Isabel. When challenging a situation that looks impossible to clear, there are a few things you can abuse.


    First: OP items.


    Second: pots.


    Third: talent.


    And fourth: luck.


    Typically, these were the big four.


    Ten Polluted Lifeforms came stumbling towards me at a slightly quicker pace, their bodies grotesquely contorted. Some of them had freakishly twisted arms and legs, almost like broken jointed dolls.


    <em>Grrrrk!</em>


    The zombies approached me while producing a chilling sound.


    ording to the results of my observation, they have high DPS but low defense.


    They looked terrifying, but they were fundamentally humanoid monsters, and humanoid monsters often had the fatal weakness of the head.


    And they have a fatal weakness.


    I swung Isabel at the Polluted Lifeform closest to me, not with the edge but the t of the de.


    <em>Bam!</em>


    A dull sound rang out.


    (Hey, you jerk! What do you think youre doing?! Youre killing my dignity here!)


    Isabel was a sword, but she was a sword with attack power higher than any club out there. As a <em>transcendent </em>grade item, her attack power was the best you could get in the early game, even higher than Asura, the King of Swords.


    One of the zombies iled an arm at me. I dodged it adroitly. After taking two steps back, I swung Isabel hard at another zombies head.


    (You YOU! YOU BULLY OF A HUSBAND!)


    I got the sense that Isabel was shrieking in my head. She was screaming something like Im not a CLUB! but it couldnt be helped.


    Sorry, Isabel.


    Her damage was definitely higher for cutting attacks, or piercing. Attacks that could maximize Isabels attack power were way more favorable when it came to damage.


    Dodge.


    Their attacks werent all thatplicated, limited to moves like iling their arms, biting, or scratching with their ws.


    I can read their movements better than expected.


    I only needed to pay attention to ten zombies, so I didnt kill them. I struck zombie after zombie with Isabel.


    <em>Bam!</em>


    I used Isabels de as a club.


    One, two, three, four.


    Good.


    The goal wasnt to kill them, but to just hit them.


    [The movements of the Polluted Lifeforms have been visibly dulled.]


    All the zombies I hit in the head became slower. They became afflicted with the sluggish status condition, which made them far easier to hunt.


    I conveyed information to the Guardians while pretending that I was talking to Isabel.


    Ill restrict the enemies using the ability of Noahs Helm


    Afterwards


    And after hindering their movements


    I would hunt them. I had to finish them off swiftly, because the moment I killed one, another Polluted Lifeform in good condition would start attacking me. With this many enemies around me, I would be constantly attacked by ten.


    I have to kill them swiftly.


    And while doing so, I had to keep tabs on my location. If I messed up and fell off the Gyeonghoeru, I would be killed by the Carnivore Mermaids. I needed to pay close attention to my location in preparation for the next aggroed zombies.


    There.


    I found a decent location, a good spot to hunt the next wave. It was a good distance away from the shore. After finding the optimal spot with Observers Eye, it was now time to use Isabels edge rather than the t of the de.


    Only


    In order to hunt them quickly, I had to undertake some amount of damage. It was inevitable if I wanted to cut down this hobbled group as quickly as possible, before fresh ones got to me.


    For the sake of speed, Ill need to sacrifice my body.


    <em>Crunch!</em>


    One of them bit into my side.


    Its okay.


    I let it attack me on purpose. I was armed with the Great Orc Warrior set right now. It did hurt quite a bit, but it wasnt unbearable.


    Ill cut the flesh to save the bone.


    I drew forth strength within me to unleash the reincarnation of Sword Path Tracing and Excellent Strike fused by Isabels innate authority.


    [Using the innate ability Sword of Insight.]


    [Sword of Insight]


    An advanced innate ability created bybining and pooling the merits of Excellent Strike and Sword Path Tracing in one ce. No matter the situation, it will lock onto the enemys weakness and deliver a powerful attack at the most vulnerable point.


    * * *


    * * *


    My sword pierced the zombies precisely in their foreheads. I went all in on attack, not even thinking about defense. This ce couldnt be cleared if you paid attention to that to begin with, at least not alone. I had to give up on defense.


    Isabels attack power and Sword of Insights weakness homing didnt betray my expectations.


    [Registering the additional effect of Legs Ring.]


    I was wearing a whole eight Legs Rings right now.


    [Legs Ring]


    A ring made by refining a topaz that holds a mysterious power.


    Defense: 1


    Effect: 2% attack damage HP absorption.


    Each one gave me 2% damage absorption. With eight rings, I was absorbing a total of 16% attack damage.


    [Using the innate ability Sword of Insight.]


    I pierced right through their foreheads again, during which one zombie dealt a heavy scratch to my arm.


    [Absorbing HP.]


    [Absorbing HP.]


    I was OK.


    [Using Healing Potion.]


    [Using Healing Potion.]


    The slotted Healing Potions and the absorption ability of my Legs Rings made it so I didnt need to pay attention to defense.


    It took just twenty seconds to hunt ten zombies.


    Its faster than I thought?


    It seemed I had underestimated Isabels attack power too much. I was hunting them quickly, but there was a downside to all this.


    [EXP cannot be acquired.]


    [Items cannot be dropped.]


    I couldnt get EXP or items. That was because I, an Observer, was doing direct hunting.


    But I didnte here for EXP or items anyway.


    Right now, I was showing the Guardians. I was showing them the worth of the content that was me, what kind of ying I could show them. I came here to show them that in person, knowing exactly that the penalty of my ss would apply.


    I continued to hunt.


    <em>Bam!</em>


    <em>Bam!</em>


    <em>Bam!</em>


    The t of Isabels de swung out as a club, showing off excellent attack power the entire time.


    [The Nameless Observer continues to observe.]


    [The Conductor of Sound is awed.]


    [The White Hunter is surprised by your fighting spirit.]


    [The Courageous Lion King is excited.]


    [The Barrier of Blue Light finds your ying method difficult to understand.]


    Five Guardians sent messages about my entric ying. My ying was surely iprehensible to the Barrier of Blue Light, a Guardian who valued defense or safety. It didnt seem like they particrly liked this method, either.


    Cant be helped.


    It was impossible to satisfy every Guardian the same way. All I could do was switch up the ying to make it suit the time and ce and capture the hearts of the majority.


    Isabel shrieked again.


    (Im not a club, darn it!!!)


    She wasnt a club, but her striking power was better than any club. She was very good. A very good club.


    As the beating continued, Isabels voice became weirder and weirder.


    (I-I cant take any more!)


    (No-Nooo!)


    (I-I said I cant take any more, you jerk!)


    Interspersed between her shrieks were moans so faint I could only hear them by listening carefully. It was like she was groaning.


    Whats wrong with her?


    I had no idea, but I kept hunting. And after a while, after I hunted about ny Polluted Lifeforms, I found out why.[Isabels ego has arbitrarily awakened a sealed innate ability.]


    The transcendent item Isabel arbitrarily unlocked her own innate ability. This could happen?[The innate ability Beat ''em, Beat ''em, Beat ''em Harder has been unlocked.]


    I doubted my ears for a moment.


    The innate ability name?


    Id never heard of such a name. Beat ''em, Beat ''em, Beat ''em Harder? For an innate ability possessed by a transcendent item, it really fell short on gravitas.


    I heard Isabel sigh.


    (In-In the end it-it was exposed.) I could feel her almost crying. (Take responsibility, you meanie. My dignity my authority!)


    With that, Isabels ego fell asleep again.


    [Beat ''em, Beat ''em, Beat ''em Harder]


    One of the innate abilities sealed by Isabel herself. Isabel has an extremely insr disposition towards martial arts or abilities other than swordsmanship. An innate ability that Isabel herself denied and forcefully sealed, Beat ''em, Beat ''em, Beat ''em Harder has a focus on striking as a blunt weapon.<ul data-mce-style="margin-top: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; padding-inline-start: 48px;"><li>


    +70% damage when striking with the t of Isabels de</li><li>


    +14% attack speed when striking with the t of Isabels de</li><li>


    +7%bo damage when striking with the t of Isabels de</li></ul>


    Now, I understood.


    A sword that cursed its own talent. Such a thing existed?


    Apparently, the ability to beat was a shameful thing for a sword. At least, that was what Isabel thought. But the effects the ability came with were incredible.


    Wow


    Sheer damage was increased by 70%, with a 14% increase in attack speed. How could there be a <em>sword </em>with such ridiculous striking power?


    And if Ibo it


    Each additional attack would add a whopping 7% damage. The firstbo would give 7%, the second 14%, the third 21%. And if I reached a tenbo?


    Thats +70%.


    That was 70% <em>in addition </em>to the base 70% damage increase.


    Its an insane effect.


    Wasnt this way too ridiculous an innate ability to seal just for dignitys sake? This ability would push any sword into the ultimate club. Why did she seal such a thing? In any case, she was one stubborn sword.[Using Isabels innate ability Beat ''em, Beat ''em, Beat ''em Harder]


    <em>Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!</em>


    My attacks were far faster and heavier than before.


    Isabel resumed shrieking again, her cries mixed with low groans.


    (Haah! No, not like this! NOT LIKE THIS, I SAID!)


    What the, she wasnt actually asleep, just pretending that she was? I ignored her screams. She was incredibly effective (as a club).


    This is


    It was much easier than I thought. I became more and more used to hunting the Polluted Lifeforms. I picked up their movements far better than before, and was able to urately strike their weak points.


    Theyre way weaker than I expected.


    Both from Isabels innate ability unlocking and my ability to adapt to the situation, the fight felt much easier. I was drenched head to toe in blood, but I recovered everything, so I didnt actually take any damage. I was level 32, and they were level 33. The fact I was hunting three hundred monsters one level higher than me didnt feel very burdensome.


    Its different from the strat.


    I became certain that even without the strategy, I would have been able to easily hunt these guys.


    Which means


    I needed to change my ns a little. No, I needed a full-on revision. I decided to ditch the scenario Id been drawing out so far and disy even more overwhelming force in the picture Id be drawing ahead, to crush the zombies with overwhelming strength. That was how I would clear this ce, the Gyeonghoeru. That was my number one goal.


    Wait.


    But then, a slightly different method urred to me.


    Could something like this work, too?


    I decided to try.