Published at 8th of December 2020 02:56:58 PM
Chapter 345.
Chapter 345 . Black Forest
Experience was key .
Kang Oh had already taken Ubist's trial thrice . He fought Ubist without much difficulty, despite the darkness obscuring his vision .
Because he shared levels with it, Ubist was much stronger and faster than before . However, its attack patterns were still too easy to read . Kang Oh would dodge an attack using his Hyper Intuition, and then strike at a weak point .
There was no reason for him to roll onto the floor like last time . His fundamentals had improved to such an extent that he could block Ubist's vicious attacks without much difficulty .
Plus, he'd realized something about Ubist's trial .
'The Demonic Swordsman is the greatest of all Swordsman classes . This trial was originally meant for a Master Swordsman . '
The test blinded the challenger and prevented all skill use . Ubist's power also changed depending on who wielded it .
What kind of person would be able to overcome such a trial?
The individual's senses had to be well-trained, so much so that they could fight without relying on their sight, and they had to be skilled enough to fight off Ubist without using any skills . In other words, only Masters like Burkan were supposed to pass this trial .
However, this test's restrictions actually proved advantageous to Kang Oh, due to his overpowered Hyper Intuition ability .
Hyper Intuition eliminated his need to see, and allowed him to precisely strike at his opponent, even within the darkness . Moreover, the fact that Ubist shared its level with its wielder meant that the lower one's level, the weaker Ubist became .
'Hyper Intuition really is broken . '
It was like he was cheating in a game of Go-Stop . Cheating in such a manner that no one knew!
In the end, Ubist was defeated .
[Ubist's HP has fallen below 10% . ]
[Ubist has retreated deep within the darkness . ]
[You have passed Ubist's trial . ]
"I did it," Kang Oh said to Sephiro and Eder, who were pointing their weapons at him .
"Tch!"
"Tch . "
They clicked their tongues simultaneously . Then, they slowly lowered their weapons in disappointment .
However . . .
"Ah, I'm not done yet . Please raise your weapons . "
"What?"
Kang Oh stored Ubist and pulled out Blood while Sephiro and Eder stared at him puzzlingly .
Since he'd used Devil Trigger so much in the Tower of Trials, both Ubist and Blood's assimilation rate had almost been maxed out .
Devil Trigger!
Kang Oh transformed into a giant-winged red demon, and waited for his assimilation rate to hit 200% .
[Demon Sword Blood's assimilation rate has reached 200% . ]
[Demon Sword Blood's trial has begun!]
His environment changed once more .
Kang Oh was back in the Parmarl Underground Labyrinth, where he'd killed the Minotaur Brothers and acquired Demon Sword Blood . In front of him stood Blood, once called the Great Forest's Demon, appearing like a red alien with bat wings behind it .
Unlike Ubist's trial, Blood didn't restrict him at all . Kang Oh drew Demon Sword Ubist, used Gluttony and Devil Trigger, and attacked .
Bam, bam, bam!
"Kuhahp!"
Kang Oh completely overpowered it . His form far surpassed the Great Forest's Demon .
Ultimately, Blood fell to its knees . During Blood's first trial, Kang Oh hadn't finished it off, and he didn't this time either .
[You have overpowered the Great Forest's Demon, Blood, and have shown mercy . ]
[Blood's main personality, Tasha, will begin to trust you a bit more . ]
[You have passed Demon Sword Blood's trial . ]
Kang Oh grinned . "I'm done . "
Eder and Sephiro lowered their weapons . Waryong closed its mouth, and disappointingly darted its tongue in and out .
"Thank you for your help . " Kang Oh slightly bowed his head .
"Good work," Eder said . Though he looked disappointed, he also looked expectant . He knew how it'd turn out .
"Ah, c'mon . You're no fun . " Sephiro tied the Lasselpino Bow to his back and stroked Waryong's head .
"Please gather information on Diak . We'll see each other again in a few days . "
"Bye . "
"Take care . "
Now that he was done here, Kang Oh waved his hand . Neither Sephiro nor Eder had any reason to stop him .
* * *
Three days went by in a flash .
Kang Oh, Eder, Sephiro, Darion, Soren, and Karin met at Eder's house . Man Bok had joined in this time too .
"Please tell us what you've learned," Kang Oh said .
"You go first . I'll let you know if I found anything that you didn't," Eder said .
"To be honest, I didn't really find anything . " He'd asked the drunkard, Tino, Jayce from the Adventurer Guild, and Grano from the Mage's Tower, but they didn't know anything about Diak .
"Me too . "
"I'm sorry . I couldn't find anything either . All I could find was that it was incredibly fast and strong . "
Soren and Karin said .
Then, Darion raised his hand .
"Go ahead . "
"One of my seniors has fought the beast before . "
"Oh, really?"
"He just said, 'Don't fight it . ' . "
"That's it?" Kang Oh stared at him . 'That's all you got? Really?'
"He also said that if you have to fight it, then don't attack it . Wait for it to come to you . "
"What do you mean?"
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"Diak is aloof, so it won't ambush you, nor will it attack you from behind . "
"It won't attack you from behind?"
"Yes . It always shows itself first, and then rips its enemies to shreds . "
"Are you sure?"
The Black Forest was Diak's domain . But if what Darion said was true, then they wouldn't have to worry about any surprise attacks .
"That's what he said . "
"Anything else?"
Darion shook his head .
"Did anyone else find out anything?"
Eder raised his hand . "I read that the Black Forest's silver beast is the incarnation of moonlight . "
Diak possessed shimmering silver fur . Is that why it was called the Moonlight Beast?
"What about it?"
"It apparently only shows up when the moon is out," Eder said .
"Ah!" Sephiro smacked his palm with his fist .
"What is it?" Kang Oh stared at Sephiro .
"My information brokers told me that Diak is nocturnal . You see, it's only shown up at night thus far . Thus, it's assumed that it stays in its hideout during the day . . . If Mr . Eder is correct, then it probably doesn't even have a hideout . It probably shows up at night, and then disappears during the day . "
Diak appeared only during a certain period of time . In cases like this, you had a limited amount of time to hunt it before it disappeared .
"So if we want to hunt it, then we have to go at night . It really won't be easy . "
It seemed like the hunt would be more difficult than he'd expected . To think they'd have to fight an extremely fast monster at night!
"Anything else?" Kang Oh asked .
Everyone remained silent .
"That's it for the meeting . We'll be hunting together now . Mr . Man Bok . "
"Yes?" Man Bok, who was sitting in the corner, replied .
"As always, we'll be relying on you . " In other words, he was asking him to provide them with supplies and anything they might need .
"Of course . " Man Bok smiled .
"Then let's get a move on . "
"Where are we going?" Karin asked .
"The Black Forest . "
If you want to catch a tiger, then you have to enter the tiger's den!
* * *
The Black Forest was a hunting ground inhabited by monsters over level 400 .
It mostly contained Centaurs . They were half man, half horse; human torsos attached to a horse's body . Since they only inhabited forests, Centaurs were called the Protectors of the Forest, and were skilled with bows and spears . They usually wouldn't travel alone, and traversed the forest in a group of ten or more .
Like right now .
Rat-tat-tat!
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The Centaurs galloped across the forest, creating a cloud of dust . Kang Oh and his teammates were watching them from behind the trees .
"Attack," Kang Oh said, pointing his sword at the Centaurs . His teammates reacted immediately .
Earth Shaking Arrow!
Stamp!
Sand Strike!
Boom, boom!
Eder cast an AoE aging curse . Evil spirits flew out of his skull staff .
"Enemies!"
"Enemies have appeared!"
"Over there!"
The Centaurs immediately counterattacked .
Whizz, whizz, whizz!
Their arrows flew at Kang Oh and his party members .
"Let's go, Darion!" Kang Oh, wielding Demon Sword Blood, pierced through the shower of arrows .
Darion quickly followed behind him, dual-wielding two gladiuses, with one extra hanging at his waist .
"You bastards!" Spear-wielding Centaurs rushed at Kang Oh and Darion . They wore beast fang necklaces, which rattled with every step they took .
Whoosh!
The Centaurs stabbed or swung their spears at Kang Oh and Darion .
"Hmph . " Kang Oh deflected a spear and aimed for the Centaur's leg .
Slash!
The Centaur raised its hind legs, avoiding Kang Oh's strike, and attempted to trample him . Kang Oh threw himself out of the way, and rolled onto the floor .
Darion rushed forward and swung Steel Heart .
Giant's Sword!
His gladius surged with gray light, which materialized into a giant sword . He then swept through the Centaur with the giant sword .
"Ugh . "
The Centaur staggered as shards of light spurt from its body .
Kang Oh, who'd gotten back into position, launched a Lightning Breath at the wounded Centaur .
Crackle!
The Centaur fell on its side . Its fur was completely scorched, and smoke rose from its fallen body .
However, the battle had only just begun .
"Die!"
The other Centaurs surrounded Kang Oh and Darion, and then attacked them . The archers shot arrows from afar .
Kang Oh and Darion crazily swung their swords while avoiding spears and arrows .
Meanwhile, Soren and Karin finished their incantations .
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Gravity Cannon!
Soren unleashed a mighty energy wave from her staff .
Snaring Sand Spear!
Karin shot a fiercely spinning sand spear .
Bam, bam!
Their spells felled two of the Centaurs .
"Take out the mages first!"
"Let's go!"
Was it because of how powerful the twins' spells were? A portion of the Centaurs that'd been fighting Kang Oh and Darion switched targets, and rushed towards the twins .
"Hey, where do you think you're going!?"
"No!"
Kang Oh and Darion tried to stop them . However, Centaurs were level 400 monsters . Kang Oh and Darion's attacks hurt, but they could ignore them .
"Arise!" Eder raised his skull staff into the air .
Bone Wall!
A wall of whitish yellow bones rose from the ground .
Bam! Bam!
A few of the Centaurs charged into the wall . However, spinning arrows flew from behind them . This was the work of the archers .
Spinning Arrow!
Homing Arrow!
"Ugh . "
"Kyaahk!"
Both Eder and Soren were hit by the arrows . More and more arrows kept coming at them from beyond the wall .
"Come out, Momo!" Karin quickly cast another spell .
Summon Sand Golem!
A giant Sand Golem pulled Soren, Karin, and Eder in .
Thwock, thwock, thwock!
Countless arrows hit it, but it protected all three of them from harm . However, the spear-wielding Centaurs had gotten through the wall and were charging at the golem .
They mercilessly swung their spears at it, causing it to crumble!
At that moment . . .
Fire Dragon's Arrow!
An arrow engulfed in flames flew through the air . Once it touched the floor, fierce flames erupted from the ground, which devoured the Centaurs .
"Darion, let's take them out first . " Kang Oh, who'd seen all this happen, pointed at the archers .
"Yes!"
Kang Oh and Darion had already cut down the two Centaurs in their way . They rushed at the archers hiding in the rear .