The Master of Strength

“Sword?”

The item on the ground obviously looked like a sword, and Myeonghu struggled to control his excitement. The chances of monsters dropping items in the game was really low, but if you were lucky enough to come across such a drop you knew it was likely of high quality.

He reached down to pick up the sword.

– You have obtained the Howling Fox.

“…?”

It was indeed quite the strange name, curious, he took a look at the stats.

<Howling Fox [Unique]>
Restrictions: Strength 400, Agility 300, Stamina 200
Physical Attack: 400 ~ 450
Attack Speed +30%, Movement Speed +20%
50% chance to deal an additional 20% damage.
20% chance to have a 10% Attack Speed buff for 20 seconds (Max 3 stacks)
I’m very fond of Foxes, are you? – Hunter Kerasil

“Hmm…”

Myeonghu was pensive as he examined its stats and compared them with his Icy Knuckle Braces.

<Icy Knuckle Braces [Rare]>

Restrictions: 600 Strength

Physical Attack: 550-560

Physical Defense: 200

Ice attribute

20% chance to stun nearby enemies for 1 second. (The higher the enemy’s level difference, the lower the probability of success.)

Are you ready to scream? – Raberu (Martial arts expert)

It’s good, but….”

It wasn’t that special considering that the sword was a unique item, while the knuckle braces were only rare.

“Still, a unique item!”

He smiled as he stored the Howling Fox in his inventory. Even if the knuckle braces suited him more, at the end of the day he had still obtained a decent unique sword.

Myeonghu in fact had no idea as to the Howling Fox’s true value. Although his Icy Knuckle braces were a very useful Rare item, Howling Fox was a Unique one and had much better properties.

“Just how many levels did I gain?”

Myeonghu muttered to himself as he opened up his own character page.

Name: Myeong Hu
Nationality: Helioka [Empire]
Age: 22 
Class: Warrior
Level: 49
HP: 109450
MP: 420
Strength:5230(+100) Agility: 15 Stamina: 97(+80) Intelligence: 10 Wisdom: 11
Bonus Stats: 90

“9 levels huh?”

He was surprised by the amount of levels he had risen. Perhaps if he had taken out a whole group of Monstrous Foxes he could understand, but to gain so much from a single was beyond his expectations.

The system of Legend was set up in such a way that the higher levels required progressively more experience points. That meant that in order to provide 9 level ups, the sheer amount of experience points provided by the  Monstrous Fox must have been ridiculously high.

“Let’s assign all of them.”

He said as he dumped all his Bonus Stats into Strength.

Name: Myeong Hu
Nationality: Helioka [Empire]
Age: 22 
Class: Warrior
Level: 49
HP: 127450
MP: 420
Strength:6130(+100) Agility: 15 Stamina: 97(+80) Intelligence: 10 Wisdom: 11
Bonus Stats: 0

He took a moment to appreciate the fact that his Strength had just crossed the 6,000 threshold, before closing the page.

“I needed to punch 2 times in order to capture Monstrous Fox?”

Myeonghu wondered as he looked at the information of a new skill he had learned.

<Strike>

Level: 1

Proficiency: 0%

Effect: 200% damage increase

Mana Cost: 150

It delivers a heavy blow.

He smiled to himself after confirming the new skill. With the new Strike skill he could now deal twice as much damage, and in theory now deal with two Monstrous Foxes. (TLN: basic math indicates its 3x as much damage :p)

“Still, it would depend on their vitality….”

Each monster was slightly different, so there could still be a Monstrous Fox that didn’t die from a single hit. Still, he didn’t think that the Monstrous Fox which he had just hunted was a weak one. The reason for that was its large frame, which was bigger than any in the pack of 5 Monstrous Foxes he had come across previously. Among the same species of monsters, a larger frame was usually an indication of higher stats.

“Maybe almost.”

Myeonghu was looking through his inventory when he remembered the other items he had picked up.

“Just how much…?”

He drooled as he thought about how much money he could receive for its Pelt. Although he didn’t have an exact number, considering that the Great Fox King’s Pelt went for 30 gold, his imagination ran wild.

There was also the Steel Tail, but he didn’t have any point of reference for this one.

“…I bet it’ll still be worth a pretty penny.”

Since the Monstrous Fox completely outclassed the Great Fox King, it would be normal to assume that any of its drops would sell well. As he closed his inventory, he debated whether to continue hunting Monstrous Foxes, or return to the Great Fox Kings.

“Hm… maybe stick to Great fox Kings?”

Although he wasn’t guaranteed to level up with every kill, at least it would go smoother.

“At least that way I won’t die.”

Having made his decision, he began walking toward the area he had previously encountered the Great Fox Kings. However, fate doesn’t necessarily take into account ones plans.

Myeonghu froze as the he heard the rustling of a nearby bush. A roar followed soon after as a Monstrous Fox appeared in view and immediately charged.

Pak!

It quickly bore down upon him and smacked him with its paw, sending Myeonghu flying back. As he flew through the air, it chased him down, even managing to close the gap between them.

‘Wow, it’s really fast.’

It moved quicker than even the previous Monstrous Fox he had fought. The moment he hit the ground Myeonghu sprang to his feet, preparing to meet the incoming fox, but it was too late to dodge. The Monstrous Fox was already bearing down on him, its front paw about to strike. Left with no other choice, Myeonghu punched out, hoping to at least trade blows.

However, as if having seen through him the fox demonstrated its superior agility as it ducked his fist and quickly spun around, smacking him with its tail.

Swoosh!

[3 seconds stun]

‘What?’

Myeonghu felt overwhelmed as the current Mostrous fox he was fighting not only had a larger frame, but also seemed to exhibit superior intelligence.

Pak! Pak! Pak! Pak! Swooosh!

It let loose a flurry of slashes upon him, before ending with another tail swipe, as he stood there, helplessly enduring the punishment.

[2 seconds stun]

Another stunned message appeared.

‘This is insane!’

Myeonghu thought to himself after seeing the chained stun and the subsequent slashes from the fox’s front paws.

Pak! Pak! Pak! Pak! Swooosh!

It attempted the same combos, but this time around the stun was only 2 seconds, so its timing was off. Grasping this opportunity, Myeonghu formed a fist and struck out decisively.

“Strike!”

Bang!

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

The Monstrous Fox collapsed the ground with a whimper. Seeing it fall down, Myeonghu let out a sigh of relief as he noticed that his Health had fallen under 30,000.

“I almost died there.”

He went to collected the items, but unlike the last time, there weren’t any equips.

“Well, I guess I can’t get them every time.”

-You have obtained the Monstrous Fox’s Pelt

-You have obtained the Monstrous Fox’s Steel Claws

-You have obtained the Monstrous Fox’s Steel Tail

“How many did I gain this time?”

Myeonghu thought to himself as he opened his character window to have a look.

Name: Myeonghu
Nationality: Helioka [Empire]
Age: 22 
Class: Warrior
Level: 58
HP: 127450
MP: 420
Strength:6130(+100) Agility: 15 Stamina: 97(+80) Intelligence: 10 Wisdom: 11
Bonus Stats: 90

“OMG…”

He stared obsessively at his stats for some time, before assigning everything to Strength as usual and closing the page.

“Another 9 levels from a single Monstrous Fox? Levels are also important….”

After checking his status, he was tempted to focus solely on catching Monstrous Foxes.

He walked forward decisively.

“It would be worth it, even if I were to die once.”