[ Sometimes, You Get Stronger (2) ]
Kim Woojae paced nervously.
‘Why hasn’t Suh Minseong contacted me yet?’
They were supposed to exchange signals every twenty minutes to confirm everything was fine. But five minutes ago, the signal never came.
Had they been caught already?
‘Damn it, I still need to get the Taming Token.’
The reason Kim Woojae had deliberately woken Han Yujin and tried to intimidate him was none other than the Taming Token for the Flame Horned Lion cub. If the token stayed in Han Yujin’s inventory while they were on the ship, it would be out of his reach. But if he could swipe it beforehand, he could make a fortune selling the token on its own.
It was the cub of an S-rank dungeon boss, after all. Sure, they’d get extra money just for handing it over, but if they could extract the Taming Token, they could sell it for a much higher price. Ignoring it would be too much of a waste.
‘If I keep quiet about the time limit and let him suffer under the curse for another hour or so…’
Maybe he’d hand it over willingly. Han Yujin might have acted all cocky, but in reality, he was practically a civilian with little to no dungeon experience. It was obvious he’d be shaken up by his first encounter with a curse.
Bang!
“Enjoying yourself?!”
Kim Woojae burst into the room, shouting confidently. He saw Han Yujin curled up against the wall, motionless. Even though he must have heard the noise, there was no reaction.
It’s not a curse that causes unconsciousness. Did it sap all his strength?
Without a second thought, Kim Woojae approached Han Yujin. He lightly nudged Yujin’s curled-up body with his foot.
“I know you’re awake—”
Just then—
Swish!
“Ugh!”
A black tendril shot out, wrapping around Kim Woojae’s ankle. The venom seeped through his sock, and he panicked, pulling his leg back as hard as he could.
Snap!
The tendril tore off, and Kim Woojae staggered back. He quickly turned around and saw the massive reptile waving its tendrils at him.
“The chain should have kept it—!”
-Gruuu!
The Creke lunged toward Kim Woojae, its body shaking violently. The chain that should have been attached to its collar lay discarded on the ground.
As the venomous stench filled the air, Kim Woojae hurriedly pulled out a shield from his inventory. At that moment—
Thud!
“Argh!”
A blade pierced Kim Woojae’s ankle, striking precisely where the venom had weakened it. At the same time, the Creke slammed its body against his shield.
“Ugh!”
Even though it was an unexpected ambush, Kim Woojae was an experienced B-rank hunter. Instead of collapsing, he quickly rolled to the side, gaining some distance.
“You little shits!”
He yelled, veins bulging in his neck.
Kim Woojae had noticed Han Yujin moving earlier. But the thought of an F-rank with no attack skills daring to charge at him was something he had never considered.
“A C-rank dungeon monster and an F-rank stat weakling—”
He had taken a fair bit of damage, but this was still just a C-rank monster and an F-rank human. Even if one of his legs was completely severed, he wasn’t about to lose.
Kim Woojae pulled out a greatsword from his inventory. He activated his skill, and the thick, black hide of the reptile was slashed open instantly.
-Grrrr…
With a pathetic groan, the black reptile’s body collapsed. Kim Woojae let out a furious breath and turned his glare on Han Yujin, who was sitting there, dazed.
If he acted on impulse, he’d hack that bastard to pieces. But instead, he stowed his weapon back into his inventory.
“Damn it, you idiot! You think just because you can tame a cub, it’ll grow into something useful—”
As long as Han Yujin stayed alive, he could still sell him off. He could break his limbs for all they cared, as long as he didn’t kill him. He was growling just as he was about to act on his violent thoughts, when—
“Gah!”
A sudden, excruciating pain tore through his entire body, and Kim Woojae collapsed face-first onto the floor.
-Grrrr…
The dying Creke spasmed in its death throes.
I had hoped, but I guess this was bound to happen.
And then it appeared.
[The effects of the title ‘Perfect Nurturer’ are activated.
Sub-skill ? Final Recompense
The skills and stats of the monster ‘Gamdung’ are transferred with twice the usual efficiency.
Duration: 168:00]
A message window popped up, notifying me of the skill activation. Immediately after that—
[The effects of the skill Final Recompense (L) are doubled.]
Another message for the Lautitars’ “Natural Enemy” skill appeared. Before I could even properly read it, Gamdung’s memories began to flow into me.
Just like the last time I received Final Recompense, they were memories connected to me.
Not even thirty minutes’ worth of memories. Such a short, short time.
Gamdung had been scared of me, but also curious. He had been delighted by the C-rank mana stone powder he tasted for the first time.
He liked the sound of my voice when I told him I loved him. He thought my touch was warm. He instinctively knew he couldn’t win against Kim Woojae, but he still wanted to protect me.
He worried about me until the very end.
Honestly, this is a skill I’d rather not have.
“…I’m sorry, Gamdung.”
I muttered a meaningless apology as I opened my status window. My stats had increased significantly, and I had gained new skills.
“Damn it, you idiot! You think just because you can tame a cub, it’ll grow into something useful—”
I used Thorn Trap on Kim Woojae, whose face was twisted in rage.
“Ugh!”
With a strangled cry, he collapsed onto the floor, his body convulsing.
Thorn Trap (D). It’s a curse skill that immobilizes and inflicts pain on the target. However, if the target’s willpower stat is two grades higher than the skill, it won’t work.
Normally, it wouldn’t have affected a B-rank like Kim Woojae, but with all the double buffs, it was now at the level of a B-rank skill.
‘There’s not a lot of transferred memory, so it’ll take me some time to adapt.’
The more the target knows about me, the faster I adapt to the transferred stats and skills. That’s why, in Yuhyun’s case, it’s like I practically became the original user of the skills.
Still, with the double skill effect, it seems I’ve inherited a lot of information for just thirty minutes.
I closed the status window and looked at Gamdung’s now-limp, black-scaled body.
“…This skill is still the worst.”
I sighed heavily and approached Gamdung. The coldness of his skin felt even sharper against my palm. Maybe it was just my imagination, but it seemed colder than it should be.
Thanks to the double buff to my willpower stat, I could endure it, but even with the extra boost, it still left me feeling down.
‘Our poor Gamdung… I guess his willpower stat was really low.’
At least the Final Recompense lasts for seven days. The Last Recompense only lasts an hour. I remember being drunk for days because of it once.
I stood up and walked over to Kim Woojae, whose stiffened body was still convulsing. From the way his eyes glared at me, it looked like he still had some fight in him.
“There’s really no reason to keep you alive, is there?”
More than anything, I needed to silence him to keep the Final Recompense skill a secret. I could make him sign a contract to shut him up, but why go that far?
“Ugh, my ankle hurts.”
My boosted stats meant I could still walk, but the pain was definitely there. Grumbling, I opened my status window again to check the skills I had received from Gamdung.
[Thorn Trap (D) — A curse that immobilizes and inflicts pain on the target.
Duration: 1 hour]
[Sticky Venom (C) — A powerful venom secreted from the skin.]
[Lizard on the Wall (D) — Camouflage that blends with the surroundings.]
[Claw Slash (D) — A strong attack using sharp claws.]
[Extending Tendrils (C) — Poisonous tendrils that extend up to 1 meter.]
[Weakling’s Instinct (C) — Detects enemies stronger than oneself.]
Venomous skin, slashing claws, extending tendrils… I guess the first two are fine, but tendrils? Can I even use that? Originally, the tendrils extended from the creature’s back.
I do have some extendable parts on my body, but… Hmm. If the tendrils can extend four meters due to the buff, maybe…
…I’m curious.
‘…Maybe I’ll try just a little.’
Just a small test. Extending tendrils.
“…Ugh.”
A tendril emerged from my wrist as I activated the skill. Its black hue was starkly different from my skin, and it looked like a parasite had attached itself to me.
Even though a four-meter-long venomous tendril would certainly be useful, just looking at it gave me an instinctive feeling of revulsion.
‘The strongest skill here is probably Sticky Venom.’
A C-rank venom with a quadruple buff would be nearly impossible for even an A-rank to withstand. Without poison resistance gear, even an S-rank could be poisoned by it. Of course, most S-ranks—and even A-ranks—would have resistance equipment as a standard.
“Mr. Kim Woojae. I’m going to find my pet now, so you just stay here quietly.”
I considered killing him on the spot but decided to keep him alive in case I couldn’t find Peace. Besides, if he said even a B-rank would break in 30 minutes under the curse, then a quadruple-strength Thorn Trap should make even him obedient enough.
I rummaged through his pockets and found the key to the inventory-sealing bracelet. I removed the bracelet from my wrist and clamped it onto his. Then I pulled off his gloves and put them on myself. I didn’t want to leave fingerprints behind—it would be a hassle later.
“Well, enjoy your time here.”
I threw a casual farewell at him, exited the room, and locked the door behind me.
How many people were in this building? It was a shame Weakling’s Instinct only detected stronger opponents. Normally, its range wasn’t very far, but with the buffs, it extended quite a bit. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about suddenly encountering an A-rank or stronger.
Not that there was any reason an A-rank would be in a place like this.
‘Even if I do run into an A-rank, I could probably handle them with Lizard on the Wall and a surprise venom attack.’
Right now, my stats were hovering somewhere between A-rank and B-rank, at around the level of a mid-tier level 50 hunter. B-ranks would be no problem, but A-ranks would still be tricky. However, with my current skills, I had a good chance against them…
Crack!
“Oh no.”
I accidentally broke the door handle as I tried to open the next door. I needed to adapt to my new stats quickly, or I’d give myself away.
‘Hiding this for the next seven days is going to be a pain.’
At least Haeyeon didn’t have any skill appraisers, so that was a relief. Maybe I should lock myself in my room for a week, using “trauma from the kidnapping” as an excuse. If I lightly used Lizard on the Wall to keep my presence low, I could probably avoid suspicion.
It’s just that a full week might be pushing it.
‘What kind of excuse am I going to use if I get caught?’
If I said, “A passing hunter saved me and cast a ridiculous buff on me~,” not even a stray dog would believe it. I didn’t have any good excuses. The only thing I could do was insist, “It’s a misunderstanding, I’m still weak!” and try to bluff my way through.
‘Found it.’
It wasn’t Peace, but I detected a group of people gathering up ahead. Based on the quiet Weakling’s Instinct response, they were all below B-rank.
‘Lizard on the Wall.’
Normally, this skill only provided a slight camouflage effect, but right now, it was much stronger. Unless someone was specifically searching for me, they wouldn’t notice.
I couldn’t afford to be discovered if I wasn’t planning to kill everyone I met.
I moved silently toward the group I had detected. Luckily, the door was left slightly ajar.
“We’re really going to get away with this, right?”
A familiar voice leaked out through the crack.
‘That D-rank I kicked in the stomach.’
Peeking through the gap, I saw the four people from the training room. The only one missing was the C-rank.
Without hesitation, I activated Thorn Trap.
“Urk!”
“What the— Gah!”
They fell like dominoes, one after the other. Their stats were low enough that they quickly started convulsing and rolling their eyes.
‘Having an attack skill is really nice.’
If only one of my L-rank skills had been something offensive or defensive.
I carefully avoided their twitching bodies and inspected the room. On one wall, several monitors were displaying footage from surveillance cameras. It seemed like they only had cameras at the entrance, the stairs, and part of the hallway. I unplugged all the wires, grabbed a keyring hanging on the wall, and headed back out.
Once I made my way to the first floor, I finally spotted Peace’s cage.
‘Peace!’
I couldn’t shout, but I hurried toward the cage, carefully checking my surroundings. Inside, Peace’s body, covered in red fur, rose and fell in a steady rhythm. He didn’t seem to be injured, but he was still fast asleep.
‘The Warden’s Fruit doesn’t leave any aftereffects.’
That expensive powder was primarily used for capturing monsters. It was only effective on C-ranks or below, so it wasn’t cost-effective for dungeon runs. Of course, it also worked on people, which is how I ended up knocked out once when I was supposed to be helping with monster capture.
‘Looks like the key isn’t here.’
It would have been strange if they left it nearby. None of the keys on the ring I found fit. I could break the cage, but I wasn’t confident I’d control my strength well enough. Melting it with venom would be risky too. Peace might get hurt if I wasn’t careful, so I should try finding the key first.
“Just wait a little longer.”
I’ll be right back.
I couldn’t search the entire building just to find one small key. I thought about going back down to the basement and interrogating the guys I knocked out, but first, I decided to check the second floor. Better to get rid of any lingering threats.
Fortunately, the building only had two floors, and there was only one presence on the second floor. It had to be the remaining C-rank.
‘There aren’t many people here for a guild under a massive guild.’
Only a small number of people seemed to be involved in this. It made sense—they would have to leave Korea entirely after this, so they’d only bring in the most trustworthy allies.
‘The B-rank must be the guild leader, and the C-rank is likely the deputy.’
If the deputy guild leader was on the second floor, they probably knew where the key was.
I stared at the closed door for a moment, then—
Bang!
I kicked it open with a loud crash.
“Wh-Who’s there?!”
Who else would it be?
“I’m the victim you kidnapped.”
–TL Notes–
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