Chapter 41

Тhе mоmеnt he saw thе Griffin suddеnlу sрrеading Manа in аll directiоns, Khan knеw.

‘Fеаr…!!’

Кhаn knеw almost аll the monstеrs in <Gеo Аrс>.

Тhаt mеant hе knew thе attaсk раttеrns of neаrly еvery monstеr.

Griffins usе the ‘Fear’ skill when thеу feel their life is threаtеned, about one in а hundrеd.

Anyоne lоwеr lеvеl than the monster hit bу ‘Fear’ bесоmes incараcitatеd.

“Kkh…!”

“Mу body…!”

So, evеrуone аrоund the Griffin сouldn’t movе their bodies.

Вut Khаn wаs an exceрtion. Тhаnks tо the uniquе Rank 10 Hiddеn Skill, ‘Sаgе’s Heаrt’.

His mеntаl strеngth inсrеasеd, grаnting him immunitу to аll Dеbuff Type skills and various mental attacks.

However, there was one serious problem.

‘Even if I can move, if Byutek and Sharin can’t, it’s impossible to defeat the Griffin…!’

Not only that, but everyone here was on the verge of being killed by the Griffin.

The probability of a Griffin using the ‘Fear’ skill upon feeling its life threatened is 1%.

That meant the Griffin’s Stamina was currently very low.

‘It seems Byutek and Sharin’s attacks landed properly… but can I defeat it now?’

Khan quickly racked his brain and made a judgment in three seconds.

‘Impossible.’

No matter how many Hidden Skills Khan had, defeating a Level 30 Griffin was impossible.

Even if the Griffin’s Stamina was depleted.

‘But should I abandon Byutek and Sharin and run away alone…?’

Frankly speaking, running away was the right answer to survive, but his feet wouldn’t move readily.

Was it because of the bond they had built up over time?

Just as Khan’s mind was getting more and more complicated.

[Unabsorbed Mana is being released.]

Along with the message that suddenly appeared before his eyes, an enormous amount of Mana burst forth from Khan’s heart.

Whooom…!!!!

Meanwhile, Byutek looked at Khan and spouted nonsense.

“Sir Khan! P-please wait a moment! I’ll quickly break free of this and defeat the Griffin right awa……”

Khan, who had been staying still until now, fearing that Byutek’s loud voice might unnecessarily provoke the Griffin, immediately started walking towards the Griffin.

“Wh-what…!”

“To move so easily like that…!”

“Huh…!”

Everyone was surprised to see Khan moving nonchalantly, but especially the adventurers of the Bellop Guild stared with seemingly astonished faces.

It was perhaps a natural reaction, since even Byutek at Level 21 couldn’t move a single finger properly, while Khan walked leisurely as if completely unaffected.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Khan’s footsteps gradually quickened.

Seeing the sudden message and the Mana surging within his heart, Khan had an intuition.

‘It seems the Mana I couldn’t fully absorb in the Orc cave remained deep within my body.’

He had thought all the unabsorbed Mana from back then had disappeared, but apparently not.

Before he knew it, Khan had reached right in front of the Griffin.

“Sir Khan, it’s dangerous!”

The more Byutek right next to him shouted at the top of his lungs, the more slightly annoyed Khan became.

Although the Griffin couldn’t move its body yet due to the aftereffects of using Fear, he feared that Byutek’s loud voice might provoke it and cause it to attack suddenly.

“Be quiet, Byutek.”

After saying that to Byutek, Khan immediately drew up the Mana rising from his heart.

Whooom…!!!!!!

Along with that, when he used the Rank 2 Hidden Skill ‘Fire Boom’, a truly tremendous explosion occurred.

Kwaaaaaaaang!!!!

Fwoooooooosh!!!!

A massive Flame Explosion erupted from the Griffin’s body, completely obliterating it.

Fortunately, its head remained intact, allowing them to obtain the ‘Griffin’s Horn’.

“This is unbelievable…!”

“To defeat the Griffin in one go!”

“Is this the power of a top-tier Mage?!!”

The three adventurers of the Bellop Guild stood with their mouths agape, dumbfounded.

Then, Byutek shouted to Khan with tears streaming down his face.

“Sniff, Sir Khan!! You were just watching over us for my and Sharin’s sake until now…! Thank you, Sir Khan! Thanks to you, I feel I’ve grown even more.”

“Uh… right.”

Khan had been worried about how to explain why he didn’t defeat the Griffin immediately from the start if Byutek and Sharin asked, but since Byutek said that on his own, it saved him the trouble.

‘Anyway… this is absurd.’

While giving a vague answer to Byutek’s words, Khan checked the numerous messages appearing before his eyes.

[Level has increased.]

[Level has increased.]

[Level has increased.]

[Level has increased.]

[Level has increased.]

First, defeating the Griffin raised his Level by a whopping 5 at once.

It was partly because the Griffin’s high Level gave a lot of Experience Points, but the influence of his Rank 8 Hidden Skill, ‘Growth Acceleration’, was also likely significant.

As his Level jumped from 9 to 14 in one go, another message appeared.

[You have reached Level 10.]

[You have been granted a Job-Exclusive Random Skill Selection Ticket.]

Reaching Level 10 allowed him to obtain a Job-Exclusive Skill Selection Ticket.

In <Geo Arc>, you can get a Job-Exclusive Random Skill Selection Ticket every 10 Levels, but if you’re unlucky, you get a trash Skill.

‘That’s why many people repeatedly deleted and recreated their accounts to level up again…’

Khan himself had also deleted and re-leveled his Character a few times in the past.

Of course, after obtaining the Rank 10 Hidden Skill ‘Sage’s Heart’, he couldn’t delete his Character anymore.

Because no matter what Skill came from the Job-Exclusive Random Skill Selection Ticket, it was unlikely to be better than ‘Sage’s Heart’.

Khan was about to use the Job-Exclusive Skill Selection Ticket right away when he remembered the Mana he felt in his heart earlier.

‘I never thought the unabsorbed Mana from the Orc cave would remain. I don’t know if I should call this luck or misfortune.’

Thanks to this Mana, he could easily defeat the Griffin immediately, but on the other hand, he couldn’t help feeling regretful.

There was a considerable amount of Mana in the Orc cave, but due to his low realm, he could only absorb 10% of it.

‘If I had absorbed this Mana that was settled deep in my heart little by little, I could have grown stronger faster. It’s a shame I couldn’t.’

Still, if it weren’t for this, the likelihood of being wiped out by the Griffin was high, so Khan decided to be satisfied.

‘Should I open the Job-Exclusive Skill Selection Ticket right away?’

When you use a Job-Exclusive Skill Selection Ticket, three Skills appear.

And usually, all three Skills from the Job-Exclusive Skill Selection Ticket are Rank 1 Skills.

With good luck, a Rank 2 Skill occasionally appears, and if fortune truly smiles upon you, a Rank 3 Skill can appear.

‘Only two Users ever got a Rank 3 Skill at Level 10, so it’s almost like winning the lottery jackpot.’

Khan earnestly hoped that even a Rank 2 Skill would appear from the Level 10 Job-Exclusive Skill Selection Ticket.

Of course, not all Rank 2 Skills were good either.

There were lower-tier and upper-tier Skills even within Rank 2, and Khan thought even a Rank 2 lower-tier Skill would be fine.

‘Please…’

Since he already had the Rank 1 Hidden Skills ‘Arrow’ and ‘Barrier’, getting another Rank 1 Skill would be almost useless.

So, he hoped for at least a Rank 2 Skill, but getting a Rank 2 Skill from the Job-Exclusive Skill Selection Ticket also required almost heavenly fortune.

Khan inwardly earnestly wished for a Rank 2 Skill and used the Job-Exclusive Skill Selection Ticket.

[You have used the Job-Exclusive Random Skill Selection Ticket.]

Then, three Skills appeared before Khan’s eyes.

[Please select one of the three Skills.]

1. Fire Ball – 1★

2. Spell of Haste – 1★

3. Fireball – 2★

Khan couldn’t believe the message before his eyes.

‘Am I dreaming…?’

Not a Rank 2 lower-tier Skill, but a Rank 2 upper-tier Skill had appeared.

The probability of getting a Rank 2 upper-tier Skill from a Job-Exclusive Random Skill Selection Ticket is the same as winning the lottery jackpot.

In other words, something impossible had just happened to Khan.

‘Moreover, Fireball is a Skill with good efficiency against relatively low-level monsters.’

Its power would double when used together with Fire Boom.

Without hesitation, Khan immediately selected ‘Fireball’.

[You have acquired the Skill ‘Fireball’.]

[Skill: Fireball]

• Skill Rank: Rank 2

• Skill Description: Uses Mana to create a giant Flame Sphere.

• Cooldown: 5 minutes

• Mana Consumption: 250

‘Fireball’ may look similar to the Rank 1 Skill ‘Fire Ball’, but their power was on a different dimension.

‘Fireball’ is enormous, about five meters in diameter. The more Mana used, the larger the Flame Sphere that can be created.

And fitting for a Rank 2 upper-tier Skill, it can take down relatively low-level monsters in one hit.

For reference, the standard for relatively low-level monsters includes the Griffin that Khan barely just defeated.

‘Hmm, but this is a problem. Even though I got a Rank 2 upper-tier Skill, I can’t use it properly right away…’

Khan checked his Status Window.

◈ LV.14

◈ Khan (Lee Huseong)

◈ Mana: 250/250

◈ Talent: Magic

◈ Skills: (10★)Sage’s Heart, (8★)Growth Acceleration, (1★)Arrow, (1★)Barrier, (2★)Fire Boom, (2★)Fireball

The Mana required to use Fireball once is 250. Khan’s Mana was exactly 250.

Meaning, to use ‘Fireball’, he would have to be prepared to be incapacitated, using up all his Mana.

‘Getting too high a rank Skill at a low Level is tough too.’

Since he had separately thought of ways to increase his total Mana capacity, for now, he was satisfied with having obtained the Fireball Skill.

Khan closed his Status Window and gave Byutek an order.

“Byutek, try lifting that rock over there.”

“That black rock?”

Now that the Griffin was defeated, they needed to find the main Hidden Skill.

“Yes. Can you do it?”

“Haha, of course!”

It was a massive rock that wouldn’t even budge for anyone who wasn’t a strongman like Byutek.

A Rank 2 Skill should be located under that black rock.

“Huff…!”

Thud.

Byutek exerted strength and lifted the entire black rock, throwing it aside.

Thump!

Khan went to where the black rock had been just moments ago and slightly crouched down.

Then, he started digging into the hollowed-out spot where the rock had been with his hands.

Whoom…!

Digging the ground with Mana concentrated at his fingertips allowed him to dig quite quickly.

About five minutes passed like that.

He discovered a very small, pure white light spreading from between the floorboards.