Chapter 25

 

The conversation was sufficient.

The decision was theirs, but Suho trusted Goo Yeon-hwa’s judgment.

‘All that’s left is to wait patiently.’

They would probably be very confused.

After all, they had never exposed their identities to anyone and operated almost like ‘ghosts’.

That’s why Suho needed to pass the level 5 exam even more.

Even the skeptical Goo Yeon-hwa would have to acknowledge Suho’s value if he really passed the level 5 exam, providing them with a more definite means of revenge.

After wrapping up his first meeting with the Banshees, Suho called a taxi and headed to his next destination.

Having met the Banshees, his next plan was to reach level 50.

Why aim for level 50?

It was simple.

At level 50, players unlock their first ‘Trait’.

‘My first trait was the Path of the Sword.’

Traits are an essential growth system that elevates a player’s level.

Unlike skills or items, traits are always active and don’t consume much mana.

In that sense, the ‘Path of the Sword’ Suho once had was a relatively common trait, but it was indispensable and extremely important for those aspiring to be swordsmen.

The Path of the Sword increases the experience gain of all swordsmanship-related skills by 50% and boosts all swordsmanship-related effects by 20%.

‘But this time, I’ll acquire a different trait.’

Suho had already decided which trait to aim for this time.

People currently think traits are assigned randomly, but in the future, a spell for acquiring traits was discovered.

‘That’s when the research into trait acquisition spells became active.’

Of course, Suho knew almost all of those spells.

He had restored even the ones he barely glanced at through his Library of Memories.

Thus, he could already decide.

Many people in the world became monsters just by having a single trait, and Suho knew some that could be considered truly game-breaking.

The taxi Suho was in sped toward his destination.

 

***

 

Suho arrived at the Seoul Central Blood Bank.

The Central Blood Bank, previously located in Gangseo, had moved to Jongno, now a famous safe zone, after several gate incidents.

After arriving at the blood bank, Suho looked around the clean entrance before climbing over the wall next to the locked gate.

Security cameras?

He didn’t care.

Although there were numerous security cameras around the blood bank, the effect of ‘Achromatic Solitude’ applied to Suho ensured that those watching the cameras wouldn’t notice him.

After successfully scaling the wall, Suho activated his Mana Detection skill and began searching the building’s perimeter.

Soon, he saw a spot in the corner of the building, which appeared dark and grimy, shining brightly.

‘Here it is.’

Although it was invisible in the dark, it was clearly visible to Suho using Mana Detection.

It pretended to be a shadow, a stain, but it was the characteristic mana leakage from a gate.

Suho took a dagger from his inventory and cut his palm.

Then, he squeezed some blood onto the shimmering part of the gate.

Drip, drip—

Drops of blood fell.

Then,

Woooom!

As Suho’s blood dripped onto the dark stain, it suddenly began to glow and emitted a faint light.

 

 

System notifications appeared before his eyes.

At the same time, a portal to the gate was created.

Seeing this, Suho quietly smiled.

It confirmed that he had found the right place.

However, he felt a bit regretful.

If he had returned slightly earlier, he could have been the first to discover the hidden gate and received the ‘Great’ achievement instead of just ‘Impressive,’ earning 5 additional bonus stats.

Still, Suho was satisfied with what he had accomplished and nodded in response to the system’s prompt.

 

 

 

 

The system window’s gate information was as unhelpful as ever.

Like the GreenRed Gate he had first conquered, this hidden gate also seemed to have similar properties to an unannounced gate.

But Suho didn’t hesitate to step into the portal.

He already knew enough about this place.

 

***

 

As soon as he stepped into the portal, the surrounding scenery changed in a flash, like a burst of light.

There was no exit.

Upon entry, Suho’s body had been scattered somewhere within the gate.

It didn’t matter.

No matter where he ended up, the end was predetermined.

After scanning the dark surroundings, Suho took out a small cloth pouch he had purchased in advance from his inventory.

He untied the string closing the pouch and scattered its contents into the air.

 

 

Glow Powder.

Among items used to illuminate surroundings like torches or lanterns, it was considered top-tier.

When used, Glow Powder lights up the area like daylight, with an effect duration of one hour.

It was efficient and versatile, but the downside was its high cost.

Nevertheless, Suho purchased it without hesitation.

He couldn’t afford to waste his life in a gate by saving a few pennies.

As the surroundings brightened, the true nature of the hidden gate, concealed in darkness, was revealed.

It was a massive underground cave.

Drip –

At that moment, water dripped from a stalactite on the ceiling, and Suho looked up.

He saw countless bats clinging to the stalactites, wings folded.

Narrowing his eyes, Suho examined the information of the bats.

 

 

There were many of them.

Their levels were in the 60s.

A difference of about 20 levels was something Suho could handle with his current stats.

But if there were dozens or hundreds of them, it would be a different story.

‘There’s no merchant against a mob.’

However, Suho was confident.

He had come prepared.

Extending his hand, Suho summoned the Returning Shadow Spear from his shadow.

Holding it, he assumed a throwing stance and, without hesitation, threw it toward the stalactite where the bats were sleeping.

[ Throwing Spear activated. ]

Thud!

With the effect of the throwing skill, the Returning Shadow Spear flew through the air, impaling a sleeping vampire bat and embedding itself in the targeted stalactite.

The bat died without even a scream, but it didn’t matter.

The spear, lodged in the stalactite, created a significant vibration and noise, successfully waking all the sleeping bats.

“Kiieeek!!”

Flap, flap, flap!!

The bats began fluttering their wings loudly, their numbers and noise becoming almost unbearable.

After some frantic flapping, they started diving toward Suho, baring their needle-like fangs and unusually sharp claws.

But Suho didn’t move an inch.

Instead, he activated a skill.

 

 

Whoosh!

Intimidation.

A force akin to the fear used by monsters, leveraging the player’s innate presence to crush the opponent’s spirit, inducing fear and paralysis.

However, facing enemies that were a full 20 levels higher than him, Suho’s actions would seem reckless to the uninitiated.

Yet, Suho’s Intimidation was no ordinary skill.

Originally an A-rank, his Intimidation had been enhanced to S-rank thanks to the additional effects of the Dragon Blood skill.

An S-rank Intimidation was powerful enough to cover a level gap of 30 levels or more.

As proof of this—

 

 

Suho watched as the system notifications filled his view and the Vampire Bats fell helplessly to the ground.

“Kiiee…”

The Vampire Bats lay on the ground, writhing weakly.

This was the power of Intimidation.

‘I’m glad I acquired it early on.’

Of course, not all monsters are affected by Intimidation.

Boss monsters, named monsters, or special monsters like those in the Challenge Tower are less susceptible.

But even considering the exceptions, Intimidation was a highly versatile skill, making it essential to obtain early on.

‘Intimidation can only be gained from monsters, and the higher the monster’s level, the harder it is to break their will.’

Suho retrieved the Gwiyeong Spear and began methodically stabbing the writhing bats, finishing them off.

 

 

Could there be a more effortless hunting method?

Thanks to this, Suho soon leveled up, and by the time he had killed all the Vampire Bats in the area, he had achieved an impressive three-level increase.

“Status window check.”

 

 

Even with the stats in red, the rule of gaining one stat per level up remained unchanged.

Suho invested all his newly acquired stat points into Perception.

From an efficiency standpoint, investing in Magic or Stamina would have been more sensible, but gaining a set effect when all stats reached the same color was more advantageous.

Of course, enjoying such set effects was impossible for anyone without a wealth of bonus stats.

‘Most people focus on raising just two main stats.’

In his past life, Suho managed three stats due to being one of the world’s top players.

‘But this time, I think I can manage all my stats.’

It wasn’t an unreasonable ambition.

This conclusion was reached after thorough calculations in various aspects.

Having distributed his stats, Suho stored all the dead Vampire Bats in the Subspace House and began moving to the next location.