Chapter 44: We Are Hunters

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Daniela screamed in pure horror as the Myconid charged straight toward her and attempted to devour her whole. She swiftly avoided the attack thanks to her superior agility. This time Riven did not step in to help her, however.

"It’s your responsibility. Take it down on your own," he said calmly. "Use the other daggers you brought. I’ll take care of the other one."

"B-But..."

"Daniela, we’re hunters," Riven said firmly. "I promised I would protect you, but if I always keep you away from harm, you will never grow on your own. Keep that in mind. We’re putting our lives on the line here."

"...!"

Daniela’s eyes gleamed with new resolve as she heard Riven’s words. At the same time the second Myconid charged toward him.

He swiftly took a step forward and swung his sword downward, combining Heavy Weapon Mastery with Abyssal Assault. The powerful series of strikes cut the giant mushroom monster into dozens of pieces.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

The Voracious Myconid collapsed apart into something resembling mushroom salad. Riven appeared behind the falling remains through the usage of Abyssal Assault, a skill that combined Abyssal Shift and Abyssal Fist into an incredible consecutive series of attacks that also allowed him to move while striking.

"Hm?"

However, from the deep shadows of the caverns, three more Voracious Myconids appeared. In the distance, faintly illuminated by the colorful crystals hanging from the ceiling, an even bigger threat began to approach. It walked on four thick legs and possessed massive arms. It was clearly an evolved form of the Voracious Myconid.

"Gluttonous Myconid," he thought, his eyes growing sharper. He took advantage of how slowly the new monsters moved to glance back at Daniela for a second.

"GROOOOHHHH!"

The powered-up monster charged straight at her. Its new arms smashed the cavern walls constantly, sending boulders and stones flying in every direction as she leaped away again and again.

"D-Damn it!" she cried. "This is harder than I thought!"

She used her Abyssal Shadow Wolf Claw to meld into the surrounding darkness and disappear, then reappeared behind the Myconid. Only for the creature to spin out of nowhere and strike her with its entire heavy body.

CRASH!

"Aaagh?!"

As she fell hard and rolled across the rocky floor, she slowly forced herself to stand back up, furrowing her eyebrows in determination.

"I have to do this on my own...!"

Her new outfit granted her a decent amount of defense, and the Protection Ring that Riven had gifted her gave a class with almost no natural defense the ability to take a few hits at least.

However, that did not mean she was a tank. Her arm, which had received most of the heavy blow, hurt like hell. She was now certain she could not exert much force through it for a while.

"Dice Thrust!"

She charged at the beast as it stared at her in silence. The creature took a heavy step back and swung its claw in response. Daniela’s sharp eyes locked onto the incoming attack a millisecond before impact. She spun away at the last moment, dropped to the ground, then leaped high and climbed onto the monster’s broad back.

"That was a feint~!"

With a confident sneer she stabbed the monster’s spongy back repeatedly using Dice Thrust.

The mechanic of Dice Thrust was unique to the Pierrot Class.

Whenever she attacked with this Skill, a glowing roulette appeared around her weapon and spun before stopping at a random number between 1 and 6.

Depending on the number it stopped on, she might deal massive damage with a guaranteed critical hit... or only 1 point of damage.

And the number this time was...

[2]

"Geh..."

Number 2. Only half of her total damage.

The Myconid seemed completely unbothered. It grabbed her roughly and sent her flying away across the cavern.

Daniela clenched her teeth, spun gracefully in midair, and "landed" on the rough walls. She began running across them with an incredibly light and fast body.

"Again!"

She thrust her dagger once more, using Dice Thrust repeatedly.

"Again!"

[3]

Only 75% of total damage.

"Again!"

[2]

Half damage again.

"Dice Thrust!"

Suddenly a golden glow appeared around her dagger on the fourth consecutive attack. The Myconid’s claw caught her and squeezed her neck tightly.

But her dagger shone so brightly it was as if she were carrying a small star in her hand.

"Dice Thrust!"

And the number this time was...

[6]!

BOOOM!!!

An explosion of brilliant golden light erupted. Fortune had favored her once more. The dagger pierced straight through the Myconid’s spongy head and then released a powerful explosion of energy.

It was a Guaranteed Critical Hit with a ten-times damage enhancement, plus the ability to ignore all defense!

"Gyyyoooggh...!"

With its head completely blown apart, the powered-up Myconid collapsed heavily onto the ground and died on the spot. Daniela finally retrieved her dagger from the remains.

"I-I did it! I did it!" she celebrated, looking back toward Riven with shining eyes. "I— Guh?!"

She gasped as she saw him taking on a small army of monsters all on his own. An even larger Myconid was approaching from afar, firing large bullets of acidic poison through the air.

"You did it? Good."

Riven then hastened his pace. He avoided the predictable attacks of the remaining Voracious Myconids with ease through Abyssal Shift. Then he combined Assassination Shadow Blade and Abyssal Fist with his sword, unleashing Shadow Assassination.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

Three powerful arcing slash attacks struck the Myconids surrounding him, cutting them apart and bisecting them in mere seconds.

Then he took a firm step forward and used his foot to spread a thick layer of frost across the ground. Large icicles surged upward from the frozen floor, impaling more incoming Voracious Myconids.

"GYOOOOOHHHH!"

The Gluttonous Myconid charged forward, its massive jaw unleashing a thick poisonous mist in every direction. Riven stepped forward completely unbothered, calmly inhaling the toxic cloud and synthesizing it within his own body.

"My favorite."

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