Chapter 4: Acting (1)
Suddenly, I felt an empty sensation, so I examined the message floating before my eyes closely. Unlike before when I used skills, only the message stating that the monster was defeated appeared.
'Experience didn't go up?'
I opened the status window immediately. The experience for my innate ability remained at 0%. Only my mana had decreased by exactly 42.
'...Does that mean experience for the innate ability doesn't increase when using rented skills?'
Without thinking too long, I decided to leave the mid-boss room and hunt the remaining Orcs. However, I was forced to stop almost immediately because I heard numerous footsteps coming from the direction I needed to go.
'Given that I didn't smell them, they might still be far away. But why suddenly?'
Pondering the reason, I realized there was one thing different from before. Unlike Magic Missile, which hits the target and vanishes, Fire Spear causes an explosion.
'The noise was so loud that the Orcs flocked here.'
Clicking my tongue softly, I used Magic Missile at 10%. I saw that 0.9 Origin Power was consumed, unlike before. This was because the resource consumption of Magic Missile had increased again.
'...I didn't notice at Lv.2, but now that it's Lv.3, the size has noticeably increased.'
If it was about the thickness of an adult male's forearm before, now it seemed to be at least the thickness of a thigh.
[Target not set. If a target is not set, the skill will be canceled in 30 seconds.] [25… 24….]
Since I had no intention of just watching the time tick away, I walked straight toward where the Orcs were gathering.
—Shuwoong! Kwajik! ... ...
Counting as I disposed of all the swarming Orcs, I realized that 15 of them had come at me. Considering I had killed 29 up to the mid-boss, this meant I had killed a total of 44.
'That means there are 16 left until the boss, but my Ori...gin Power is still plent—wait.'
I needed to consider the repercussions of someone like me, called by the derogatory "Glass Cannon," clearing a D-Rank Gate solo. Originally, I planned to worry about it before killing the boss, but I felt like it would be too late by then.
'...The Association can measure the amount of energy I possess.'
I was already hunting in secret to avoid being misunderstood as a villain or an illegal drug user. If they discovered my suddenly exploded mana capacity, they might try to arrest me even if I claimed it was a misunderstanding.
'The Association already knows that based on raw skill power alone, I can clear even C-Rank Gates without issue.'
So the parts I needed to hide were the true nature of my innate ability and my maximum energy capacity. It would be good to hide the fact that I can adjust resource consumption too, but that's practically impossible.
'Even if I lie about my energy capacity, I should hide it within reason. I can just say I got swept into a Sudden Gate, killed three monsters, and leveled up...'
It would be best to hide my true mana amount and claim that the resource consumption adjustment ability ranges from 10% to 100%. If I truthfully said I could adjust it up to 200%, I would undoubtedly be dragged to the Association's Gate Disposal Unit.
'They'd make me handle the mid-bosses and bosses of Gates that the Association's Hunters can't clear without sacrifices.'
Then, the task I had to do while clearing the remaining monsters was to consume enough Origin Power so as not to arouse suspicion from the Association.
'I should also include in my calculations that a 10% output, expected to be 2 to 3 times the power of a D-Rank skill, cannot kill mid-bosses and bosses.'
So, if I claim I killed 55 regular Orcs with a 10% output (0.9 consumption)... I need 49.5. Since I have to claim I killed the mid-boss and boss at 100% output, adding 18 brings the total to 67.5.
'Then it's better to say my mana is 70. At my current level, 70 is still considered very low anyway.'
The only problem is that my remaining Origin Power is 79.5, making it difficult to distribute exactly.
'Let's kill 14 Orcs at 50% output, and then adjust the output while killing the remaining 2 to aim for leaving exactly 2.5.'
Concluding this, I killed 14 Orcs consecutively using 50% Magic Missiles. Now only one regular Orc and the boss remained, and my remaining Origin Power was exactly 16.5.
'Assuming I kill the boss at 100%, 7.5 will be left, so for the regular Orc... let's go with 55%.'
Only after killing the Orc waiting right in front of the boss room with a 55% Magic Missile did I realize I was under a misconception.
'...It goes up to 200%. I could have just killed them at 50% and used the rest on the boss, right?'
In trying to hide from the Association that I could adjust up to 200% by claiming 10-100%, it seems I ended up tricking even myself into thinking 'the max is 100%.'
"Well, it went according to plan anyway."
Laughing awkwardly, I entered the boss room. For the first time in a while, I used the skill without attaching a percentage.
"Magic Missile!" —Shuwoong! Kwang!
[You have defeated a monster.] [Experience for Innate Ability: Universal (EX) Lv.3 increases by 0.2%.] [Experience for Magic Missile (D) Lv.3 increases by 1%.] [Sudden Gate Clear Bonus: Innate Ability experience increases by an additional 15%.] [Sudden Gate Clear Bonus: Experience for the most used skill increases by 20%.] [Growth limit for Magic Missile (D) Lv.3 has been reached; experience will be banked.]
The boss monster was an Orc Warrior. Unfortunately, the boss dropped no items. Instead, it significantly boosted the experience of my innate ability and Magic Missile.
'Actually, for me, this is more important.'
Since Lv.3 gave me the ability to rent B-Rank skills, Lv.4 might allow me to rent A-Rank or higher. If the level goes up even more, maybe I can own them instead of just renting.
'Therefore, the level of my innate ability is the most important thing to me.'
Now, my remaining Origin Power is exactly 2.55. I could fire Magic Missile twice at 10% power, but using any skill beyond that is impossible.
'This is enough to deceive the Association.'
Thinking this, I walked toward the Gate exit that began to open. I saw Hunters and soldiers looking this way with tense expressions.
"…What? Didn't they say Glass Cannon got swept in?" "T-that's correct! The CCTV clearly showed Glass... no, F-Rank Hunter Han Seo-jun!" "But then... how did he clear it?"
Among the people looking at me with blank expressions, a Hunter wearing the Association insignia approached me.
"Mr. Han Seo-jun. Is that correct?" "…Yes. Should I show you my ID?" "Well… the face seems to match, but we need to verify it first."
I handed over my ID as politely as possible. He checked it with a suspicious expression and returned it.
"A D-Rank Sudden Gate. Did you handle it alone, Mr. Han Seo-jun?" "Yes. That is correct."
When I answered yes without hesitation, he stared at me blankly for a moment before grabbing my arm.
—Clench "Mr. Han Seo-jun. I apologize, but you'll have to come with us to the Association." "Why?" "I don't know for sure either, but as far as I know, Mr. Han Seo-jun is... a Hunter known only for outstanding skill power."
Perhaps he couldn't bring himself to use the derogatory nickname to my face; traces of his effort to speak as euphemistically as possible were visible.
"Yes. That's why I'm called Glass Cannon." "A-ahem! Yes, well. Anyway... that's why, honestly, there is suspicion." "Do you think I used illegal drugs or got involved with villains?"
Since the Association Hunter nodded with a stiff face, I sighed and answered.
"Phew... Let's go. To the Association." "Thank you for your cooperation."
**
As soon as I arrived at the Association, I was locked in something like an interrogation room. Not even five minutes later, an Association employee brought a large machine, scanned me, and...
"…Current mana: 2.5."
It seems the Association's measuring equipment can only measure up to the first decimal place.
'They'll probably do blood tests or tissue biopsies too.'
As expected, another employee entered, asked for my understanding, and collected blood, hair, fingernails, and saliva. Then, after leaving me alone for a while, a middle-aged man with a tired face appeared.
—Creak! "Mr. Han Seo-jun. I am Chief Officer Kim Jin-san." "Yes. Nice to meet you." "Well... I'll ask you directly. How did you clear a D-Rank Sudden Gate alone?" "Are all suspicions against me cleared?"
Chief Officer Kim Jin-san looked at me silently for a moment, then held out a piece of paper.
"This is the result of the investigation on your blood, hair, and nails. As you can see, nothing was detected." "Then isn't it over?" "The problem is that you cleared a Gate that you shouldn't be able to clear with your abilities."
My abilities as known by the Association are nothing more than a record based on measurements taken three years ago. In other words, I could say that my skills had grown in the meantime.
"Why do I have to reveal my abilities?" "Mr. Han Seo-jun. The suspicion of illegal drug use has been resolved, but the suspicion of involvement with villains has not." "Doesn't the measurement result here say that the 'Turbidity' is below the standard level?" "We judged that you... due to the stress of being called by a derogatory nickname, might have cooperated with villains."
Certainly, the nickname "Glass Cannon" causes irritation beyond simple stress. But that doesn't mean I'd cooperate with villains to try and overturn the world.
"To put it simply, my innate ability leveled up." "…And?" "My mana increased to 70, and I gained the effect: 'Skill resource consumption can be adjusted from 10% to 100%'." "Resource consumption adjustment... It's rare, but not unheard of. What is the name of the innate ability?" "It still appears as question marks."