—————————————————————–
Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
—————————————————————–
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
After leaving the spot, I checked my status window.
Thanks to the successive battles, I had raised my level by 2.
Perhaps because this was the entrance of the Tower…
The speed at which experience points accumulated was incredible.
10 additional stat points.
Since I had raised a lot of stats with Predation so far, the level-up reward felt small.
Before my regression, why had I utilized this good thing so late?
[Level: 3]
[Strength: 40.6 → 46.6]
[Agility: 34.2 → 38.2]
I distributed the extra stat points and then looked for my next prey.
“Chyureup?”
I saw a few slimes, but I didn’t even glance at them.
Because I had already sucked all of their essences dry.
A slime’s corpse could be sold for quite a high price because it was one of the main ingredients for potion crafting.
500,000 won per slime.
But I didn’t feel like wasting my time to earn some chump change(?).
I increased my walking speed and ignored the slimes.
How long had I walked through the wasteland?
“Grrrng.”
“Grrng?”
I saw the iron-armored armadillos I had encountered while searching for the [Forgotten Temple] moving in a group.
They also happened to look my way.
“Hello?”
And I gave them a small wave with my hand.
“Grrr-rrng!”
“Grrrng!”
The group of iron-armored armadillos growled at me and then curled their bodies into balls.
Quite the intense welcome ceremony.
“Grrr-rrng!”
10 gray balls began to spin.
The word ‘iron-armored’ in front of their name wasn’t there for no reason.
A hard carapace.
At the level of a day 1 tutorial player, it was difficult to inflict damage on them while they were in their curled-up state.
But if you were to ask if they were completely invincible…….
Well, they had a weakness.
The part that the iron-armored armadillo’s carapace protected was only the front.
Its flank, which was its axis of rotation, was defenseless.
I read the trajectory of their charge and took one step to the side.
An iron-armored armadillo brushed past me by a hair’s breadth.
Aiming for the timing, I struck the monster’s wide-open flank.
“Grrrng…….”
The iron-armored armadillo tumbled to the floor with a scream.
“Your path and goal is quite obvious.”
The iron-armored armadillo could only charge in a straight line once it decided on a direction.
If you just timed it right, you could easily aim for its weak spot.
Gray balls rolled at me in succession.
I let the charging attacks flow past me with minimal movement.
Puhahak-
The blood of the iron-armored armadillos decorated the empty air in succession.
“Grrr-rrng!”
One iron-armored armadillo charged at me with delayed timing.
Oh-ho, this one had learning ability.
But you know, there was more than one way to deal with an iron-armored armadillo.
I clenched my right hand tightly.
[Using Monstrous Strength.]
Power was infused into each and every muscle fiber of my right arm.
I hit the iron-armored armadillo’s carapace with my tightly clenched fist.
Udeudeuk-
A part of its carapace was crushed.
Through the carapace that had been crushed by my fist, red blood seeped out.
“Tsk. It hurts like hell.”
I muttered while shaking my right hand.
Even if the carapace’s defense was high, it couldn’t absorb 100% of the shock.
Even if an attack couldn’t pierce it.
That didn’t mean that it could fully nullify the impact!
If you struck with a strong enough force, the shock would be transmitted through the carapace.
A normal day 1 tutorial player would have found a frontal assault here impossible, but I was far from ‘normal’.
Looking only at the sum total of the stats I had raised with [Predation], I was similar to a level 30 player.
On top of that, there was the necklace I had obtained as a reward from the [Forgotten Temple], the [Mark of Valor].
It was enough to inflict a blow through the iron-armored armadillo’s carapace.
‘Though it would have been difficult had I not used Monstrous Strength.’
It was a rotational force that could repel even a well-sharpened sword.
If I hadn’t concentrated my power at a single point, my arm would be the one broken instead.
The group of iron-armored armadillos couldn’t hold out against me for long and were now scattered on the dry ground.
[Predating the essence of the Iron-Armored Armadillo.]
[Predation Grade – Common]
[Predated Essence: 3.5%]
[Stamina +0.1]
[Toughness +0.2]
…….
Since I annihilated one group this time, the essence completion rose by nearly 1/3.
At this rate, I could get the iron-armored armadillo’s ability in 20 minutes, right?
Gurgle.
My stomach made a loud noise, as if it was still hungry.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Grrng…….”
I snapped the last iron-armored armadillo’s neck.
I then immediately sucked out the essence of the corpse with [Predation].
[Predated Essence – 100%]
[You have perfectly absorbed the essence of one species.]
[Skill – Carapace is added.]
[Carapace]
Grade: ★
Classification: Active
Creates a carapace on the skin.
Once created on a specific part of the body, it can be regenerated after 1 minute.
Consumes a small amount of mana.
As a test, I infused mana onto the back of my arm.
Deudeudeudeu!
A carapace covered my forearm.
It was the same color as the one that had covered most of the iron-armored armadillos’ bodies.
“The effect has been confirmed.”
A satisfied smile appeared.
The Carapace skill provided a defensive power comparable to a Magic grade item.
Thanks to [Dragon’s Heart], I was overflowing with mana.
I had no need to put on armor now.
The second reason I needed Carapace was…
‘To get Dragon Scales, I need this type of skill concept.’
The dragon race possessed the highest defensive power and magic resistance.
To lay down the foundation for Dragon Scales on my body, I had to build up related essences step by step.
The iron-armored armadillo’s carapace was, in a sense, the first step.
Hehehe.
As expected, none of these essences are useless.
[Dragon’s Heart]
[Dissolve]
[Acidic Blood]
[Carapace]
I had obtained everything I needed to get from the wasteland for the first round.
As for the Antlion, it was a creature close to impregnable in the tutorial stage, so I had to exclude it for now.
I raised my head and looked up at the sky.
After gauging the direction using the sun as a reference, I walked to the southwest.
〈Flame Zone〉
↖
〈Lake〉 ← 〈Wasteland〉
↙
〈Plains〉
It was still too early for him to go to the Lake and the Flame Zone.
Especially in the case of the Flame Zone, the temperature there was so ridiculously high that if you didn’t prepare properly, you would be prone to getting burned.
In my case, I didn’t have any fire resistance-related equipment.
In the end, entry there was only possible after I diligently roamed the rest of the tutorial stage and predated essences like crazy.
‘There are essences to get in the plains too.’
As I walked on the dry land, I began to see green grass beyond the boundary line drawn on the ground.
[Your current location is the Plains.]
The only region without a penalty.
There was a reason why the Tower’s vanguard put the plains as the recommended starting point in their guides.
The air itself was different here.
To think it had been stuffy in the wasteland just a while ago.
“Hey! The aggro is spilling!”
“Block it properly.”
“Wind Cutter!”
The voices of players could be heard from here and there.
Nothing had changed here when compared to my memories before my regression.
The past me had also hunted monsters here with great effort, squeezed in among those newbies.
“This Horned Rabbit thing, why is it so fast?”
“The guide said that it’s already too late if you react only after seeing it move.”
“The guide said that you have to prepare for its charge in advance if you want to hunt it efficiently.”
A player holding a shield approached a Horned Rabbit.
The Horned Rabbit’s ears twitched.
“Kkyupiit!”
It kicked off the ground and charged.
A speed more than double that of the iron-armored armadillo!
The shield made of solid steel was dented by the Horned Rabbit’s attack.
Ugh-
The player, letting out a groan.
“Now!”
The team members behind him took down the Horned Rabbit, which was dazed due to the collision.
‘It’s easy to hunt if you just know the trick.’
The Horned Rabbit’s weakness was their explosive propulsion.
If you approached one within a certain range, it would definitely charge at you, and if you just blocked that attack, it would be left in a defenseless state.
That was also the reason why the plains was the recommended region for beginners.
Because you could easily earn experience points here if you just held a steel shield.
I stepped into the plains, which were covered with Horned Rabbits.
“Excuse me, ahjussi!”
Someone shouted in a loud voice.
Although Horned Rabbits didn’t react to voices, that was careless.
‘This is why beginners are beginners.’
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Hey, the ahjussi who just moved his shoulder! Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me and look here!”
……What?
Was she shouting at me?
The source of the sound was a woman who looked to be in her early 20s.
“It’s dangerous to face a Horned Rabbit with your bare body! So!!”
Worrying about me…
I waved my right hand dismissively.
“Kkyupit!”
A Horned Rabbit stuck out the horn on its forehead and charged at me.
With an agility of over 40, I accurately read its movements.
[Activating Carapace.]
The gray carapace collided head-on with the horn.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Jang Soojin was often told that she was nosy.
It was the same just now.
When the man with short hair approached a Horned Rabbit in a defenseless state, she shouted at him without even realizing it.
“Excuse me, ahjussi!”
As Jang Soojin screamed, the gazes of her colleagues were also drawn onto Jinho.
“He doesn’t have a shield.”
“They say that it’s dangerous to take a Horned Rabbit’s attack with your bare body.”
“That person, did he come here without looking at a guide?”
A walking bullet.
That was the name the vanguard had given to the Horned Rabbit.
It was an easy opponent if you had a shield.
But if you fought it head-on with your bare body, its sharp horn would be embedded in your body in the blink of an eye.
“……So!!”
Using Jang Soojin’s scream as a signal, the Horned Rabbit leaped.
However…
Ting-!
Instead of blood, sparks flew in all directions.
“As expected, it’s useful.”
The man with short hair…
Jinho muttered nonchalantly.
The Horned Rabbit’s charge, which could crush even a steel plate…
The walking bullet couldn’t pierce the [Carapace] of the iron-armored armadillo.
The Horned Rabbit had fallen to the ground from the side effect of its charge.
Jinho ended the monster’s life with a single blow.
“H-how?!”
Jang Soojin glanced between her colleague’s shield and Jinho.
The Horned Rabbit they had just hunted had left its mark on the surface of the steel shield.
On the other hand, Jinho’s arm, which was now colored gray, didn’t have a single scratch.
“You’re saying that arm is harder than a steel shield?”
Jang Soojin muttered that in a daze.
Though it was still too early to be surprised.
Jinho, who had deactivated the [Carapace] ability, leisurely walked among the group of Horned Rabbits.
“Kkyupiit!”
“Kkyupit!”
The Horned Rabbits kicked off the ground simultaneously.
Jinho used Carapace partially to receive the charging attacks.
Almost at the same time, blood flew in all directions.
Blood gushed out from the bodies of the Horned Rabbits that had charged at Jinho.
“That’s amazing.”
The player next to her muttered in a drained voice.
“Soojin.”
“Yeah?”
“Could you imitate that if you just put your mind to it?”
Jang Soojin’s skill was the most outstanding among the cluster of players.
“Don’t say such ridiculous things. Unless you’re thinking of cleaning up my corpse afterwards.”
Jang Soojin got genuinely angry.
To react instantly to the Horned Rabbit’s movements and launch a counterattack?
That kind of thing was impossible for her.
It didn’t even take a full minute for the group of Horned Rabbits, numbering over 20, to be annihilated by Jinho.
“Tsk, it’s still not enough.”
Jinho clicked his tongue and then headed towards the inner part of the plains.
The cluster of players who were watching that sight stared blankly at him.
“He left the corpses as they are?”
“Let’s at least collect the horns.”
“Right. Those horns are used as a raw material for weapon crafting, so we can sell them for a high price.”
A few of the quick-witted ones approached the corpses of the Horned Rabbits that Jinho had neglected.
But…
“The horns have turned to powder?”
“The bodies are just skin?”
“What’s going on?!”
What they saw were only the withered remains of the Horned Rabbits, a side effect of [Predation].
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
T/N – Carapace looks pretty good for an early game skill and it sounds even better when the MC said it can be upgraded to Dragon Scale. I do hope the MC stays unarmed now. I’ve always loved brawlers, especially ones with abilities like Carapace and Dragon Scale. There’s just something manly about throwing down with literal monsters with just your fists.
Also, I wonder what that nosy girl’s ability is? It sounds like a copy skill or something.
If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.
