Chapter 4. Tutorial (2)

[A fierce pain overcomes you. You have been afflicted with ‘Stun’.]

[Your trait ‘Cold-blooded’ has helped you maintain composure.]

[The status effect ‘Stun’ has been removed. You have developed resistance to pain.]

He felt as if his arm was being torn apart and he couldn’t breath.

Yeon-woo was familiar with this sensation.

He gritted his teeth and held tightly onto his consciousness.

He had suffered this kind of pain many times in Africa. Back then, he had been shot and his life was in danger. This pain was nothing compared to that.

He then quickly checked on his condition.

‘The parts where the arrows are stuck are my left shoulder, forearm and thigh. My ribs… were only grazed. The wounds look bad, but I can still move.’

As soon as his decision was made he carried out his actions immediately. Raising his, now completely ragged, backpack up, he stepped back as fast as he could.

‘Apparently, traps were activated at the same time when I passed through a certain point.’

That meant there was a particular area where the traps were concentrated.

He had to flee until he reached that place.

Even as he retreated, the steel arrows kept flying towards him.

At first, it was only one or two arrows, but past a certain point, four or five started to fly out at the same time.

Still, he moved while refraining from exposing himself as much as possible.

A long blood trail spread from his wound, staining the wall. In the meantime, two more steel arrows were inserted into his calf.

When he reached a certain point, steel arrows no longer poured down on him.

Yeon-woo leaned his back against the wall as he threw the backpack filled with steel arrows on the floor.

His vision was spinning round and round.

An unpleasant, stuffy smell lingered in his mouth.

[Your wounds are bleeding severely. You have been afflicted with ‘Stun’.]

[Your trait ‘Cold-blooded’ has helped you maintain composure.]

[The status effect ‘Stun’ has been removed. You have developed resistance to bleeding.]

Yeon-woo barely managed to hold onto consciousness.

It was almost by instinct that his body had brought him to this point. If he lost consciousness here, he would die instantly.

Yeon-woo plunged his hand into the torn backpack.

The stuff that once filled the backpack had spilled out and rolled around randomly, and the steel arrows took their place instead.

Fortunately, the medical kit hadn’t been lost during the action, and it was quickly caught by his hand.

Yeonwoo opened the kit and took out disinfectant, bandages, pre-connected needle and thread,  oil-fed cotton and a lighter.

Because he could hardly use his left arm, it took him long time to pick up all the items.

Once all his preparations were finished, without any delay, Yeon-woo moved his hand towards the steel arrow stuck in his left shoulder.

And he pulled it out.

“Keuk!”

As expected, a fierce pain followed. He felt as if his arm was falling off.

The hand that was holding the steel arrow was trembling. Blood gushed out from the wound.

With blood-stained eyes, Yeon-woo lit the cotton on fire and pressed it against the wound.

*Tsss*

The smell of burnt flesh filled the air.

[Your skin has been set on fire. You have been afflicted with ‘Stun’.]

[Your trait ‘Cold-blooded’ has helped you maintain composure.]

[The status effect ‘Stun’ has been removed. You have developed resistance to burning.]

The wound healed quickly leaving behind only a scar.

In the same way, Yeon-woo pulled out the steel arrow stuck in his leg and stopped the bleeding. Then he applied disinfectant on it.

Thankfully, none of his bones were broken. It was the result of moving his body instinctively.

He could barely catch his breath after treating all of his wounds.

“Ha…Ha…Ha…!”

All the strength drained out of his body. His left arm and leg felt weak.

“Such a rough start from the very beginning. This is nuts.”

Yeon-woo was so dumbfounded that he wanted to curse himself.

He knew it would be dangerous, but he didn’t think it would be this bad.

There was such a big difference between knowing it in your head and experiencing it for real.

‘I’m glad I have this trait”

An ability to maintain rationality in any situation, ‘Cold-blooded’.

Yeon-woo felt grateful for the effect of his trait.

He was already mentally strong before, but now, he felt much stronger thanks to being able to make quick judgement in a terrible situation like this.

In addition, the extra “resistance” had also helped him relieve his pain little by little.

He didn’t know whether his trait was being enhanced, or his body was slowly adapting.

He didn’t know how the system worked.

The only thing that was clear to him was that it was helpful to Yeon-woo.

Then, he quickly put his thoughts in order.

Yeon-woo cast his eyes toward the passage still buried in darkness.

It felt as ferocious as the jaws of a beast, but every beast had its own weakness.

‘There’s a specific timing for each arrow being shot. There was also a signal, although very subtle.’

Yeon-woo narrowed his eyes.

‘I have to figure out the timing.’

Traps loaded with steel arrows were a combination of multiple devices.

Sensors captured someone approaching, cogwheels spinned to measure direction, and finally steel arrows were spewed out of the muzzle.

‘Because of the darkness, it is impossible to spot the steel arrows with the naked eye. But before that, the cogwheels activate. I have to pick up the sound of the cogwheels spinning. That’s the only chance I have to find the location and direction of the steel arrows.’

However, it takes only two to three seconds for the cogwheels to spin and the steel arrows to be fired. The sound is really quiet too.

In that brief moment, he had to pinpoint the origin of the small sound.

It might be easy to say, but it was impossible to execute without very fine senses and reflexes.

But luckily, Yeon-woo had a new weapon with him.

‘Skills… I have Sense Strengthening.’

With this skill that allows him to handle his five senses freely, there should be a way.

The reason why all players are given basic skills that fit them, is because they should be able to use them to break through their challenges.

The key is how well they could use their skills.

Yeon-woo quietly closed his eyes and focused on the sounds around him.

It wasn’t too hard to concentrate.

He was used to this kind of thing anyway.

[‘Sense Strengthening’ has been activated. Your auditory sense has been enhanced.]

[‘Sense Strengthening’ skill proficiency has risen. 0.8%]

Yeon-woo tried to concentrate on everything he could hear amidst the silence.

But it was extremely difficult. It wasn’t easy to differentiate the sounds he need from between dozens of small noises.

*Plop*

*Plop*

He heard some droplets of water dripping somewhere from the ceiling.

*Rattle* *Clink*

He also heard the slight sound of steel arrows being reloaded into the traps.

Other than those, he also caught a lot of other noises throughout the passage.

Still, he tried to pick out the sounds he wanted, one by one.

Long time passed since.

*Creak*

‘This is it!’

Something let out a squeaky sound due to its rust. It was definitely a cogwheel.

Yeon-woo opened his eyes and threw one of his dagger to one side.

*Puck*

*Crunch*

The dagger struck deep into one side of the ceiling, and soon a broken mechanical device and steel arrows fell down.

‘Yes! I can find them.’

Yeon-woo’s eyes sparkled.

Of course, there were downsides of getting rid of his other senses and only focusing on hearing, but the important thing was that he found a way to go through the passage.

Yeon-woo forced his creaking body up. His body still screamed in pain.

He could barely move his left arm, and he was limping as he walked. It was crazy to move such state.

Even if his footsteps were slow, Yeon-woo managed to get to the place where the next trap was installed.

*Swish*

Steel arrows were shot once again.

‘Right shoulder!’

Yeon-woo had already heard the sound of a cogwheel, and turned his body sideways, measuring the direction from where the steel arrow flew in.

*Puck*

The steel arrow that narrowly missed his shoulder, was stuck deep into the wall.

‘Yes!’

Yeon-woo clenched his fists.

[‘Sense Strengthening’ skill proficiency has increased. 1.5%]

After feeling certain that it would work, Yeon-woo did not delay any longer and moved on to the next spot.

*Swish* *Swish* *Swish* *Swish*

‘Four.’

In order from top to bottom, each one aimed for his temple, heart, abdomen and knee.

Yeon-woo dodged by turning his head sideway and taking a step forward at the same time.

The arrow that was aiming for his thigh flew right past his leg and struck the floor. At the same time he used the flat of his dagger to block the arrow that was coming towards his abdomen.

*Clang*

The dagger trembled, producing a pleasant sound.

His hand was hurting from the impact, but the thrill of it filled him with adrenaline.

[‘Sense Strengthening’ skill proficiency has increased. 2.1%]

[Your Strength has increased by 1 point]

[Your Dexterty has increased by 1 point]

The messages notifying him of the increase of his skill level and attribute points filled his retina.

‘If my Strength and Dexterty increased… Status window.’

[Player: Yeon-woo Cha]

Trait: Cold-blooded

Strength: 11   Dexterity: 16   Health: 12   Magic Power: 21

Skills: Draconic Eyes(0.0%), Sense Strengthening(2.1%), Foresight(0.0%)

‘As I thought.’

Yeon-woo had a satisfied smile.

In the real world, it takes a considerable amount of time and training to boost one’s ability, but  here it’s different.

‘I can gain achievements as long as I exert myself . There can’t be any other place like this.’

It was all thanks to this interface system that had enabled his brother’s fast growth. Yeon-woo closed the status window and calmly judged the situation.

‘Now, it’s somewhat possible to dodge the arrows. But my reflexes are still slow.’

His dagger was half a beat too slow after spotting the arrows. Even if he noticed the arrows, it was meaningless if he was too slow to react.

Yeon-woo divided his consciousness that was previously solely focused on hearing into his right hand.

[‘Sense Strengthening’ has been activated. Your haptic sense has been enhanced.]

[‘Sense Strengthening’ skill proficiency has increased. 2.3%]

Yeon-woo took another step forward.

*Swish*

An arrow aiming at his forehead.

He quickly struck the arrow aside.

It was a speed neither slow nor fast.

‘It’s only my hearing and right arm that I have to focus on, but it’s hard to split my senses in two at the same time.’

His eyes swept past the darkness.

‘Slowly, but not too much.”

Yeon-woo began to proceed slowly once again.

*Swish* *Swish* *Swish*

With each step, steel arrows poured down on him.

Yeon-woo avoided the arrows with minimal movements, or cut off their routes with his daggers if avoiding was too difficult. Next, he refined his blocking technique a little more. He deflected arrows with the flat side of his dagger, or lowered his head to avoid them. He also twisted his body sideway, or walked forward to clash with it.

*Puck*

There was a case in where he missed an arrow and was struck on his back.

But Yeon-woo indifferently pulled out the arrow without giving out a single moan.

After stopping the blood, he went straight ahead with limp steps.

Yeon-woo silently kept on walking just like a machine.

[‘Sense Strengthening’ skill proficiency has increased. 3.1%]

[Your Strength has increased by 1 point]

[Your Health has increased by 1 point]

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