NOVEL WEB
Chapter 11: Tomb of the Gnolls (3)
Crunch! Crunch!
Kai destroyed the Gnoll Skeletons one by one, recalling what he had learned over the past three days.
Although the Gnoll Skeletons surrounded Kai from all sides and attacked, they were unable to inflict critical damage on him since he could Heal and attack simultaneously.
[...?]
The Undead Gnoll Chieftain was visibly taken aback as its henchmen shattered like toys!
Watching this, Kai made a triumphant smile. "It would be disappointing to think I only leveled up in the last three days."
[Sunlight's Warmth LV.2]
Restore HP and remove any negative status effects.
Proficiency 57/100
[Solaris Blessing LV.2]
Increases physical and magical attack power. Also increases holy damage.
Proficiency 19/100
[Solaris Armor LV.2]
Increases physical and magical defense
Proficiency 24/100
[Holy Explosion LV.2]
Emits a holy blast of light from God, sweeping away enemies.
Proficiency 5/100
Indeed, in the past three days, Kai had gained more than just XP and loot. The levels of the skills exclusive to a Solaris Cleric were all beginner level 1, so they increased rapidly!
Based on my experience, I can level them all up to level 5 by the end of this month.
In MID Online, skills had rankings. Skills learned by those with regular classes were usually of the normal ranking. However, Kai, being a Solaris Cleric, naturally had skills of the Mythic rank. It was common knowledge that higher-ranked skills grew significantly stronger with each level!
"Sunlight's Warmth Punch!"
Crumble!
Gnolls that previously took three hits to kill now shattered in one hit if a critical status appeared. The level of the Solaris Blessing skill also rose, creating a powerful synergistic effect.
Now I understand why rankers stake their lives on skill and item grades.
The difference was clear when he used them himself. Heal and Sunlight's Warmth were both used for healing and Ray of Light and Holy Explosion were both used for attacking the enemy. Though they had the same effect, the level of impact was vastly different.
"Phew..."
When he defeated more than ten Gnoll Skeletons, Kai realized something.
There's no one here now who can withstand my attacks.
It wasn't arrogance. The Solaris Blessing had strengthened his attack power, increased all stats, and induced 1.5 times additional damage to his Holy Power.
Of course, if this was all, I would have struggled.
Luckily, the Gnoll Skeletons were in a state that was very receptive to healing skills. In other words, in this dungeon, Kai had absolute power!
I never thought I, who always supported others from behind, would make a 30-to-1 legend!
He didn't say it out loud, but Kai had been envious of the flashy dealers and tanks who fought monsters directly. It was definitely not because the women who occasionally joined the party only paid attention to them. He was truly being honest.
...Truly being honest. He emphasized it twice because it was important.
"Sunlight's Warmth, Sunlight's Warmth, Sunlight's Warmth!"
In an instant, dozens of Gnoll Skeletons in the boss room piled up on the floor like broken Lego pieces.
"You're the only one left."
Click, click...
The Undead Gnoll Chieftain, with a sly and cruel sneer, glared at the approaching human.
Click, click, click!
As the creature rattled its jawbone and swung its staff, smoke began to rise once again.
[The Undead Gnoll Chieftain summons its henchmen.]
"Again?" Kai displayed an openly annoyed expression.
This time, about fifty of them were summoned.
"Even so, they won’t be able to do anything to me anyway..."
The number of Gnoll Skeletons that appeared only meant a difference in the time it took to clear them. Kai didn't have the slightest thought of losing.
Click, click, click!
Kai walked slowly toward the approaching bones who were rattling their jawbones.
"Die, die, die!"
Crack! Crumble!
[+3,820 XP.]
[You have obtained 2 Gnoll Skeleton Bones.]
[+3,758 XP.]
[You have obtained 3 Gnoll Skeleton Bones.]
Rapid hunting in the dungeon with the first discovery buff! The XP window began to rapidly fill up like sprouting bean sprouts.
Crumble!
"Well..." Kai looked at the XP bar, which stopped just before reaching level 52, and smacked his lips in disappointment. "Just a little more and I would have leveled up, what a pity...."
Click, click, click!
[The Undead Gnoll Chieftain summons its henchmen.]
"......"
This time, a whopping one hundred were summoned! Kai's eyes began to roll in disbelief.
Wait a minute, could it be...?
Kai's head slowly turned toward the Undead Gnoll Chieftain.
"Infinite Summon Pattern!?"
This referred to bosses that used a pattern to endlessly summon their henchmen. The only way to defeat such creatures was to pour massive firepower in the beginning. Of course, that was in typical cases!
In my case, there's no need to defeat the boss first, right?
Kai had only killed about 150 Gnoll Skeletons after going around the entire dungeon over the last three days. But here, in just an hour, more than 150 Gnoll Skeletons appeared. Realizing this, Kai regretted not coming here sooner.
Ah, I should have entered earlier!
Who would have known the boss had such a pattern? What if Kai had hunted in the boss room for the past three days?
"Ugh, how much XP and loot have I lost."
He felt unjustly deprived of deserved rewards, causing resentment to rise. Resentment turned into sadness, and sadness soon became anger.
"Shining Punch of Fury!" Though the name was impressive, it was just a simple punch. But the effect was exceptional. Every time Kai's fist struck a skull, they shattered.
[....]
Click, click, click...
The Undead Gnoll Chieftain, witnessing its henchmen being destroyed by the malicious human, sadly rattled its jawbone.
***
[Level increased.]
[Acquired 5 stat points.]
Kai's eyes sparkled like a child hoping for a Christmas present, filled with innocence!
However, the Undead Gnoll Chieftain, facing those eyes, shook its head with a bitter expression. It was as if saying, 'No more. I won't summon anymore. Go back.'
"What, you can’t resurrect anymore?"
Kai scratched the back of his head. After all, the developers weren't fools. They probably didn't think a party could withstand the summoning of as many as 300 Gnoll Skeletons.
That’s unfortunate.
But Kai had a conscience. He calmly accepted reality and approached the Undead gnoll Chieftain.
"So, you're the only one left."
Click, click...
The red glow in the creature's eyes, which had been burning brightly at its first appearance, was now faint like a candle. The glow seemed to express a feeling of bitterness, like that of an elderly person who had lived alone for a long time.
"It's unfortunate, but it can't be helped. Don't meet someone like me after you regenerate."
Holy Explosion followed! The beam, now more powerful after leveling up, poured down on the Undead Gnoll Chieftain.
The creature, looking at the approaching beam of light, slowly extinguished its inner glow. In its mind, its monster life flashed before its eyes. The day it first opened its eyes, a reckless adventurer boldly entered its room. It was purely happy. It thought it could finally do something. However, that reckless adventurer beat its henchmen, again and again, and again. And now, a white beam of light was flying towards it.
[...!?]
This flash of life was too short!
Click, click, click!
The Undead Gnoll Chieftain, belatedly reignited its inner glow in protest, but it was too late. The Holy Explosion had already been fired!
Boom!
[You have defeated the boss monster – Undead Gnoll Chieftain.]
[+20,000 XP.]
[Level increased.]
[Acquired 5 stat points.]
"Phew... It was a really good one."
Kai obtained a tremendous amount of XP, items, and even skill levels! How could he not be grateful to the creature that generously gave him so many rewards?
Kai began to check one by one what he had acquired in the now quiet boss room.
[Kai]
Class: Solaris Cleric
Level: 54
Title: Envoy of God
HP: 10,900
Holy Power: 19,400
Stats
Strength: 39 Stamina: 109
Intelligence: 39 Agility: 39
Holiness: 194 Benevolence: 18
Remaining points: 40
When I first entered the dungeon... I was definitely level 47, right?
He had gained a whopping 7 levels during three days of hunting in the dungeon. The Gnoll Skeletons' XP were bountiful, making such an achievement possible.
Moreover, the hunting in the boss room, which could be called a bug play, added to this, so Kai would have called the company to complain if he hadn't reached this level.
Well, it was a method only I could have used in the world.
As far as Kai knew, no class could handle hundreds of Gnoll Skeletons simultaneously at a level below 50. Of course, most classes could do it at a higher level. In fact, Clerics at level 80 could easily do what Kai had done.
"But they wouldn't have a reason to do that."
Why would such high-level players bother doing such things in a place like this?
Kai checked his skill window.
"Hmm, the Sunlight's Warmth skill is already level 3. It’s the highest one."
This was inevitable since he used it the most.
On the other hand, the proficiency of Holy Explosion, which he couldn't use often in the boss room, was the lowest at level 2.
Well, I have to level them all up eventually, so it doesn't matter, does it?
Now that he was over level 50, he could learn new skills at the temple.
Kai opened his inventory, imagining what new skills he would learn.
"Whoa. Did I gather this much?"
His inventory was filled with a considerable amount of material items.
[842 Gnoll Skeleton Bones]
"Hmm..."
Whether he could make a set item with these bones could only be confirmed by visiting the blacksmith in the village.
Kai then approached the treasure chest that appeared in the center of the room.
"Now, shall we check the main course?"
Rubbing his hands together and imagining what could be inside, Kai opened the chest.
[Staff of the Undead Gnoll Chieftain acquired.]
[50 Shining Undead Gnoll Chieftain Bones acquired.]
[+15 gold.]
"Hmm. This is ambiguous."
Kai tilted his head and first took out the staff that was glowing purple in his inventory. It was a staff about one meter long with a small Gnoll skull model attached.
"Item information."
[Staff of the Undead Gnoll Chieftain]
Grade: Rare
Spell Power: 67~74
+10 Intelligence
+3 Stamina
Special Effects: Casting time reduced by 1 second. Grants wielder the ability to summon Gnoll Skeletons (LV. 50 max, 10 summons, lasts for 10 minutes, cooldown 30 minutes)
A staff with the ability to raise Gnoll Skeletons from the dead. This ancient staff is falling apart due to the effects of time.
Requirements: Level 50+
Durability 45/65
"Hmm..."
Kai furrowed his brow.
Is it good?
Without any knowledge about staffs, it was hard to tell if it was good or bad. But one thing was certain.
It's a rare item.
In a market where even magic items traded for hundreds of thousands of won, a rare item was significant! It was certain to be worth over 1.5 million won at least.
Plus, staffs are the main weapons for Wizards.
Wizards were hard to train, just like Clerics. However, due to their powerful spells and flashy effects, they were the second most popular class to train after warriors.
In other words, it was a highly salable item!
But summoning Gnoll Skeletons, what's that about?
As the saying went, strike while the iron is hot. Kai immediately held the staff in his left hand.
"Summon Gnoll Skeletons!"
Pwoof!
Clatter!
Suddenly, a disc appeared out of thin air and began to spin furiously.