Dungeon Predator

The bearskin-wearing Hamir attacked Kang Oh and Eder from an elevated position, which meant he held a geographical advantage over them. 

Whizz!

Hamir released his bowstring, letting loose an arrow that cleaved through the air.

Kang Oh shielded himself with his sword. 

Clang!

The arrow bounced off his sword, and then Kang Oh tried to close the distance. 

But before he could, another arrow came flying at him.

'Continuous Shot!'

His eyes briefly widened.

Danger, danger!

His Hyper Intuition was warning him!

He gritted his teeth and turned his body.

Whizz.

The arrow brushed past his tiger-striped armor.

"Hoo."

Kang Oh, who’d just barely dodged the arrow, couldn’t afford to get any closer, so he just assessed the situation. 

Whereas Eder was still charging.

Hamir quickly notched another arrow and shot Eder this time. 

Whizz.

Eder predicted the direction of the arrow and raised his shield.

Clang!

The arrow struck one of the skulls and fell to the floor like a bird that could no longer fly.

However...!

The first shot was just bait; Hamir shot another one right after. 

Before the first arrow even hit the floor, a second arrow came flying towards an exposed area, one unguarded by his shield; his side. 

"Summon Eder!" Kang Oh shouted instantly. 

Pop.

Eder faded like smoke, and the arrow harmlessly passed through his shadow.

"Hoo, thank you," Eder said, appearing beside Kang Oh.

"Thank me later. Concentrate."

"Ok."

Kang Oh and Eder stood side-by-side and observed Hamir.

They couldn’t make out Hamir’s expression as half of his face was covered by bearskin. They did, however, notice that he bore a shaggy beard and appeared strong-willed. 

In any case, Hamir remained still, keeping an arrow notched and aimed at them. 

Kang Oh moved first.

"Let's try again."

Kang Oh and Eder rushed towards the bandit once more.

Whizz!

The arrow came flying at Kang Oh as if Hamir had been waiting for this.

Kang Oh widened his eyes and dodged whilst continuing his approach.

Then, Hamir notched several arrows and fired.

Multi-shot!

He shot more than ten arrows at once. The arrows descended upon him in a fan shape. 

"Get down!"

Kang Oh and Eder lied down simultaneously. The arrows passed by their heads like a flock of birds.

"Charge!"

They advanced once more.

Arrows kept raining down upon them, but Kang Oh and Eder were able to adjust to the constant bombardment, allowing them to close the distance ever so slowly.

But...!

Hamir suddenly began running backwards. Not only that, but he kept shooting arrows at them simultaneously.

Of course, they weren't skills like Consecutive Shot or Multi-Shot; they came one by one and weren't very threatening to them.

However...!

Hamir had managed to widen the distance between them once more!

"Tch."

Kang Oh clicked his tongue. At this rate, they wouldn't be able to close the distance.

"Let's retreat for now."

Ultimately, Kang Oh decided to retreat.

Kang Oh and Eder retreated stealthily. Hamir kept shooting arrows at them, but he couldn't prevent their retreat.

* * *

Their battle with Hamir had revealed Kang Oh and Eder's weakness.

Both of them didn't possess a long-range skill!

Although Tempest Tiger was a ranged attack, it had a 1 minute cooldown and also required a ton of MP, which didn't allow for frequent use.

If Kang Oh were to gain a long-range attack, then the fight against Hamir would be completely different.

Anyway...!

There were two main ways of dealing with their lack of ranged attacks.

First, they could bring along a ranged DPS like Sephiro or Grano.

The problem with this method, however, was that he couldn't just ask a high ranking member of the Tower like Grano to help him on a whim, and he couldn’t infinitely ask Sephiro for help. 

If that's the case, then...

'I have to learn a ranged attack.'

Kang Oh realized he needed to learn a new skill. 

But what exactly would he learn?

'Magic's a no-go. My Magic stat is pretty high, but my spells will be weak without Wizardry.'

Non-Mages could learn magic too. However, their spells wouldn't reach maximum effectiveness. Their MP requirements were also much higher as well.

'A bow's also a no-go for the same reason.'

Using a bow effectively required Archery.

'In the end, I have no choice but to learn a combat skill from the Swordsman Guild.'

Kang Oh headed for the Swordsman Guild, locked in thought.

The giant gymnasium, or the Swordsman Guild, hadn't changed at all. The bronze statue of the renowned swordsman, Keynes, also stood unchanged.

Kang Oh glanced at the statue and then went inside.

"Welcome. Did you come to learn a new skill?" a middle-aged swordsman asked.

"Yes."

"Ok, what kind of skill?"

"Please teach me a ranged skill that I can use," Kang Oh said.

"Let's see here..."

The middle-aged swordsman looked him up and down.

"You look like an Intermediate-rank Swordsman."

A normal Swordsman would learn the class skill, Swordsmanship.

Kang Oh was a Demonic Swordsman, so he possessed Intermediate-rank Demon Swordsmanship instead. 

"I am."

"Then how about Earth Slash, where you thrust your sword into the ground and unleash an earth wave, or Air Slash, which compresses air and unleashes it upon your opponent?"

Kang Oh shook his head.

"Not those."

Earth Slash and Air Slash were similar to Tempest Tiger; they were powerful, but they had a long cooldown and consumed a ton of MP.

But Kang Oh possessed Tempest Tiger, which was far superior to the two aforementioned skills, so he had no need to learn them.

"Hmm. Then how about Piercing Strike?"

Piercing Strike would unleash a ranged attack in the direction of one's sword thrust.

'Piercing Strike sounds ok...'

Piercing Strike could be used repeatedly like Slash, but he wasn't sure it'd have enough oomph to it.

"Anything else?"

"How about throwing weapons?"

"Throwing weapons?"

"The power and effect varies based on the weapon thrown. That's why you can use it as your ace in the hole. If a Swordsman throws a dagger, then its power will be amplified by Swordsmanship."

Throw Projectile was a combat skill that increased the range of a projectile weapon like a dagger, javelin, rock, etc. It also increased the accuracy and power behind the attack.

As the middle-aged swordsman said, 'Swordsmanship' would apply to a thrown dagger as well.

'This doesn't apply to me of course.'

Kang Oh possessed Demonic Swordsmanship, not Swordsmanship.

If the weapon wasn't a demon sword, then Demonic Swordsmanship wouldn't affect it.

Fortunately, projectile weapons were considered support weapons, so he could use the skill even though Kang Oh couldn't use any other type of weapon.

'Throw Projectile doesn't sound bad either.'

The fact that the effect would vary depending on the weapon thrown caught his fancy.

"Anything else?" Kang Oh asked.

He liked both Piercing Strike and Throw Projectile, but decided to hear the rest of the options before making a decision.

"Aside from them..."

The middle-aged swordsman suggested other ranged attacks, but they didn't interest him.

Kang Oh thought about which skill he should learn. 

He couldn't learn both of them.

Rather than learning two skills that served the same purpose and alternating between them, it was better to learn one and just use it twice. That would make it easier to raise the skill's proficiency.

"Please give me the Throw Projectile book."

Ultimately, Kang Oh chose the latter!

He'd chosen Throw Projectile because it varied in effect based on the thrown weapon.

Furthermore, Piercing Strike only applied to thrusts; whereas he could use Throw Projectile whenever he had free time during a battle.

"Throw Projectile, huh... It's a useful skill. Wait just a moment."

The middle-aged swordsman went through the back door. He was carrying the Throw Projectile skill book when he came out.

Kang Oh paid for the book and learned the skill immediately.

[You have learned the passive skill, Throw Projectile (Beginner).]

Throw Projectile was a passive skill. The skill activated immediately when a projectile weapon or rock was thrown. 

"Do you also sell any projectile weapons here?" Kang Oh asked.

"Go to Sett over there."

The middle-aged swordsman pointed to one side. 

There, a blond-haired, middle-aged woman was selling various goods.

"Thank you very much."

Kang Oh headed to the middle-aged woman and looked over the projectile weapons she was selling.

A javelin, a dagger, an iron ball.

Each weapon possessed a different effect. The javelin couldn't be pulled out, while the dagger was extremely powerful. The iron ball crushed the enemy.

'Hmm.'

The projectile weapons were only CC-rank. In exchange, they were inexpensive and there were several of them. He could afford to use them recklessly.

"Is there anything that you're looking for?" the middle-aged woman asked.

"No."

"Please take your time."

Kang Oh took another look at the projectile weapons, but he wasn't satisfied with them.

'Now that I have Throw Projectile, I should try finding a good weapon for it.'

Kang Oh decided to look through the weapons in the auction house.

"I'll come back later."

He left the Swordsman Guild and headed for a nearby auction house.

* * *

Kang Oh sat on a sofa and used the auction interface with ease.

'Category: support item. Type: projectile weapon. It has to be equipable and at least level 100.'

The auction list showed all the items that Kang Oh could use.

A throwable hand axe, a hook-shaped dagger, a star-shaped javelin, and even a shiv shaped like a lightning bolt.

There were a variety of weapons being auctioned off.

'The effect is more important than its power.'

The projectile was going to be used as a distraction, not a main way of attacking.

Thus, he needed a projectile weapon that possessed a special effect, rather than one with high attack power.

'This one and this one are ok.'

Kang Oh’s hand, which was going down the list, suddenly stopped.

'Hoh, this...'

Kang Oh looked over the projectile item, a beast's horn attached to a throwable handle.

[Gladion's Dagger Set (4/4)]

A dagger crafted by Gladion's horn, the raid boss of the Gladion Plains.

Gladion's horns possessed the power of fire and lightning respectively. This dagger was made by using the lightning horn.

A full set of four daggers.

+ Lightning Tingle: Upon contact, the dagger will spark, and has a high chance of electrifying the target.

+ Lightning Mark: Upon contact, there is a fixed chance that lightning will strike the target. Does not activate indoors or in a cave.

Rank: S

Abilities: Attack Power +188, Physical +15, Lightning Damage +5%

Minimum Requirements: Level 150, Physical 200, Sense 100. Requires Throw Projectile.

"It's a masterpiece."

Of the projectile weapons he'd seen, none of them had boasted an attack power of greater than 100, yet this one went up to 188!

Moreover, the effect was amazing.

However, the price was pretty steep.

'Ahem. The bidding price is 1,314 gold and the buy now price is 1,500 gold. But I still need to buy it!'

In the end, Kang Oh bought the dagger set for 1,500 gold.

'This is an investment.'

It would be easier to defeat the Red Beard Bandits with these daggers.

With it, his growth would accelerate, and he would reach his level goal that much faster.

"Now then."

He ensured that the entire set was secure in his inventory, and then used the auction interface once more. 

This time, he was looking for a belt to store his daggers and allow easy access during battle.

"This one's exactly what I'm looking for."

A short while later, Kang Oh found the belt that had the effect he was looking for.