It has been around a week now, and I have found out some things.
I have explored all the sides of the forest, and I haven't found anything special yet.
Except for the small field on the south side of the forest, nothing was in the vicinity of the big field.
I even explored the outside of the forest, but nothing else was there.
The only notable thing was the big mountain with the elite forest in the west direction.
In all the other directions, it seemed like you could walk forever with only plain grass in sight.
I stopped after a few hours of running, as I felt it was pointless to go further.
I would rather train on what is important right now.
But all my exploring was not in vain, as killing regular goblins was very easy now.
I reached level 5, and my stats were now around 10.
But I found out that having mana was very practical.
It was still very hard to use, but the passive effects was still great to have.
The archer goblins in the north could not hit me with their arrows at all.
It was like I had special sense and could predict where they would shoot.
Whistling.
I looked at the arrow that hit the bullseye on a X target.
Right now I was training my bow shooting, as I wanted a bow skill.
Because I still don't have anything to kill from long range.
Also, getting that skill would answer the question of whether I could stack stat buffs on each other.
After shooting one last arrow from the 30-meter distance, I instantly felt knowledge infusing with my mind.
I checked my status window.
[Name: Taeho Kim] [Level: 5]
[Age: 21]
[Stats]
Endurance: 9.9 (9)+
Agility: 9.9 (9) +
Strength: 9.9 (9)+
Magic: 0 +
Mana: 25+
[Stat points: 4]
[Skills]
- Perfect Clear[X]
- Swordsmanship[F]
- Trap Detection[F]
- Bowmanship[F]
Yes, I finally got a bow skill, and I clicked on it to read the description.
- Bowmanship[F]
- You have a basic understanding of the bow, and when equipping a bow, your stats increase by 10%.
My stats will also increase by 10% if I hold a bow.
But as I was still holding my sword, I realized that you couldn't stack the skills together.
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My stats still only showed a 10% increase and not a 20% increase.
But why was the girl in the sports jacket holding so many weapons at the same time?
Does her skill also have anything to do with that?
I was disappointed that you couldn't stack the skills, but I could move on to the next part of my plan.
I should start hunting the goblins in the elite forest.
But at the same time, I should also train on how to control this mana.
For now, I wanted to kill the elite goblins.
I started running towards the elite forest with my bow, sword, and dagger.
After 2 hours, I reached it.
The sun was still up in the blue sky, so it was definitely less scary than last time.
I went down the ramp and entered the forest.
Cling!
Cling!
I heard sounds of swords hitting each other, and I got closer to the sound to see what the commotion was.
After hiding behind a bush, I saw the girl in the sports jacket fight with four elite goblins on her own.
She was faster than the elite goblins, but I saw one of the elite goblins trying to strike her from behind.
She dashed backwards to avoid the elite goblins swinging, and she quickly counterattacked with a sword.
She killed one of the goblins and quickly jumped backward, taking her bow out to shoot an arrow at another elite goblin.
But another goblin was still charging against her. She quickly dropped the bow and took her shield out to block.
A surprising scene could be seen as a girl completely stopped a 2-meter monster charge to a standstill.
With one of her hands free, she took a dagger out and began stabbing the monster to death.
'So that's how she uses her weapons'.
This all happened in a second. But she didn't stop there, as she quickly killed the other two goblins.
I was shocked by how strong she was.
After killing all the goblins, she sat down and took an energy bar out of her pockets.
She unwrapped it, and it looked like she was talking to herself while she was eating the energy bar.
As I stood up and was about to leave,
"You can come out now," I heard her say to me.
I looked from the bushes and saw her staring directly at me while she was eating her energy bar.
It was weird how I could hear her from here, but I couldn't hear her talk to herself.
She definitely had to shout, but it was like she was speaking right in front of me.
I stood up, exited the bushes, and approached her.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to look; I would have helped, but it looked like you could handle it yourself".
"You wouldn't have helped much anyway". She said this as she continued to eat the energy bar.
"How did you know I was hiding?"
"Your mana was flowing freely; it was like you wanted me to know you were there".
"My mana was spreading." I said in confusion.
"Yeah, I thought so. You don't know how to control your mana, right?"
I looked at her with no response to give, as she was spot on.
"This is what is wrong with the tower, giving mana to people who have never had mana to begin with.
That is only going to end in disaster".
She said it like she always had mana and was different from us who got summoned here.
"Didn't your skill tell you how to control your mana?".
I looked at her without saying anything.
"What is your skill, then?". She said.
"It just gives me a little mana".
"A little? You have way too much mana for it to be called little".
She ate her energy bar and was about to leave.
"Wait, how did you talk like you were right in front of me?"
"With mana, it's possible".
"Can you teach me how to control my mana?"
"What is in it for me?" She responded while crossing her arms.
I thought about it for a moment. And I think giving her the information about the special enemy in exchange for learning to control my mana was worth it.
"I have information about this floor".
"What kind of information?"
"I can't tell you without you promising that you will teach me how to control my mana".
"That depends on your information".
If I tell her and she doesn't teach me how to control my mana, I can just regress and try another approach.
"A special monster is going to spawn on the field when 500 monsters are slain".
"That's not enough".
"When the special monster spawns, all other monsters will disappear.
It's only after the special monster has been killed that monsters will appear again".
She did not speak for a while, and I had to break the silence.
"The special monster is a wolf, and if you fight it at the start, you will have to wait for other players to appear.
But at the same time, if you don't fight it, a lot of people that are in the field will die".
She started whispering towards the air, but I couldn't hear the contents.
She soon looked at me.
"If what you are saying is correct, I will teach you how to control your mana".
"Ok, let's meet at the field when it's close to 500 monsters that have been slain."
She gave me a nod and went the other way.
I went back to the straw houses, as I did not want to risk myself regressing.
*****
It was finally the day of the battle.
[1st floor]
Clear condition: Kill 1000 monsters [481/1000].
I somehow convinced all the people in the field to leave, but it took a lot of time.
The girl who was in a meditation pose was still nowhere to be seen.
481 monsters have already been killed, and the girl was nowhere in sight.
I forgot to ask for her name, but I would find out later.
I was getting a little nervous, but I soon saw her come out of the forest.
We met in the middle, and she looked as emotionless as ever.
"Feeling nervous?" I asked, breaking the silence.
"There is no point in feeling nervous".
The silence continued again. I was getting a little anxious to confront the wolf again.
But seeing her this relaxed, I felt a little better.
I thought of my previous regressions, but this time I was stronger than before.