Skill Copying’s Sweet Rewards

Having decided to abandon his haste and hunt by the book, Sangjin immediately issued a different order to Jang Daejin, the mapper.

“And Daejin! Are the survivors from that other party showing up on the map?”

[Yes. Four survivors are currently displayed. Given that they are all located on either the third floor or the rooftop of the building, it’s estimated to be two ranged attackers and one healer, or three ranged attackers, even if we exclude one mapper.]

“Then set your frequency to 87 and tell those bastards to get over here and provide support immediately! Even if they can’t clean up their own mess, they should at least lend a hand!”

It was highly probable that Park Seungnam, the tank, had been the first to fall, followed by the damage dealers.

The Mantis had likely been lured this way by a trapper waiting on the ground.

This implied that the ranged attackers, positioned on the upper floors of the building, were still alive.

Therefore, Sangjin intended to summon them to this location at once, compelling them to assist his party.

[Yes! Understood!]

Having issued the order, Sangjin refocused on his tanking.

Thud! Crash!

With his urgency gone and a newfound composure, his tanking became much smoother than before.

Just as the hunt was progressing smoothly, Daejin’s voice echoed through his earpiece.

[Brother! It seems the survivors from that party will join us in about ten minutes! Their composition is two ranged attackers, one healer, and one mapper!]

Ten minutes felt like the perfect amount of time.

By then, the Mantis’s shield would likely be completely stripped away. Once the other party members joined, Sangjin planned to quickly hunt the exposed Mantis and then move straight to the Trudeker.

“Okay! Tell the ranged attackers to attack as soon as they’re in range, and the healer to position themselves nearby and heal me! And Hyesu! Once their healer arrives, refocus on Junhyuk!”

[Yes. Understood!]

[Alright. But honestly, I really don’t have anything to do….]

Moon Hyesu’s M7 scanner confirmed that, although slightly depleted, Junhyuk’s HP remained above 95%.

To her knowledge, even Sangjin couldn’t achieve such tanking.

Indeed, when Sangjin had initially tanked the Trudeker alone to draw aggro, she had healed him a couple of times.

Conversely, Junhyuk had barely consumed any HP during a similar timeframe, making Moon Hyesu feel that marking him immediately was pointless.

Of course, for Sangjin, who was unaware of this, it was a perfectly reasonable command.

****

Meanwhile, Junhyuk, with his Super Senses awakened, was tanking the Trudeker with remarkable ease, despite it being his first time.

‘This is so easy, I could almost yawn.’

Kuoohhh!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Trudekker’s heavy blows relentlessly targeted Junhyuk, yet he evaded them with a relaxed grace, as if he had already predicted each move.

No, to be precise, he was predicting them.

One of the abilities of Super Senses was the capacity to foresee subsequent actions based on subtle muscle movements or momentary pre-actions.

This meant that Junhyuk was predicting the Trudekker’s every move and reacting accordingly even before it launched an attack.

Thud! Crash!

“Try harder. Heheheh, entertain me a little more.”

Junhyuk found immense enjoyment in his battle with the Trudekker.

The massive, brutal Trudekker felt like a mere toy, manipulated entirely by his hands.

It was a sensation he often experienced whenever he fought using his Super Senses.

Perhaps that was why a peculiar smile played on Junhyuk’s lips as he tanked.

Another aspect of Super Senses was its ability to instinctively detect an opponent’s openings, even without conscious effort.

Moreover, he could intuitively discern whether an opening was a deliberate trap intended to lure him in, or a genuine vulnerability.

Consequently, Junhyuk expertly dodged the Trudekker’s attacks, striking back immediately whenever an opening appeared.

‘Shield Attack!’

Thunk!

Along with swift, hit-and-run basic attacks whenever an opening presented itself, he consistently raised his aggro using Shield Attack and Overwhelm.

Beyond that, he even managed to casually check the progress of the Mantis hunt in between engaging the Trudekker.

‘Is it because the survivors from that party joined? It seems it’ll be over sooner than expected.’

With the addition of the hidden survivors from Park Seungnam’s party, the Mantis hunt accelerated significantly.

Its shield had long since been depleted, and the creature’s main HP was now critically low.

While the Mantis’s attacks intensified as its main body took damage, Sangjin, with his extensive hunting experience, was tanking without any difficulty.

‘It should be over in roughly ten to twenty minutes.’

Judging by the Mantis’s remaining HP, the battle would likely conclude sometime between ten and twenty minutes.

‘Hmph, it’s a bit frustrating not being able to use offensive skills, though. I see all these openings, but I’m just poking it with basic attacks….’

As a former damage dealer, Junhyuk found the current situation quite vexing.

He longed to unleash powerful skills into the glaring openings all around him.

However, doing so could lead to significant problems, so he suppressed his frustration and focused solely on tanking.

Whoosh!

Crash!

The Trudekker’s two fists repeatedly slammed into the innocent ground.

“Overwhelm!”

Whoosh!

As Junhyuk used Overwhelm to raise his aggro, a high-pitched shriek pierced the air.

Kieeeeee!

Finally, the Mantis, its HP fully depleted, slowly collapsed.

Thud!

‘They’re done over there.’

The fallen Mantis soon dissolved into a swirl of light, leaving behind its byproducts, a crystal, and a single card.

Sangjin’s party had managed to hunt the Mantis more quickly with the help of the ranged attackers from Park Seungnam’s party.

“Wonjin! Grab the crystal and the skill card!”

Bulky byproducts could be left for a porter to transport after the hunt, but smaller items like crystals and skill cards were typically collected by the nearest party member.

“Haha! A crystal and a skill card? Brother, that’s amazing!”

“Is this really the time for such talk! Quickly, move towards the Trudeker—!”

Hastily turning to head towards the Trudeker, Sangjin stopped dead in his tracks, captivated by Junhyuk’s tanking.

“…What is that?”

Now observing Junhyuk’s tanking firsthand, Sangjin realized that his party members’ words had not been an exaggeration.

Junhyuk’s tanking was fluid, seamless, and exuded an air of confidence.

He efficiently dodged attacks with minimal movement, even employing a technique of twisting his shield to deflect blows.

Whenever an opening appeared, he struck without fail, and disengaged precisely when the timing was right.

While the Trudekker’s sluggish movements certainly played a part, Junhyuk’s display was undeniably beyond what a novice tank could achieve.

[That’s what I told you. That Junhyuk. He’s genuinely insane. You see his remaining HP, right? He’s maintained that HP without a single heal.]

Junhyuk’s remaining HP hovered around 92%.

Considering it took a little over an hour to hunt the Mantis, his HP had only dropped by a mere 8% during that entire time.

“Hah, truly… he’s insane.”

There were no other words to describe it. Frankly, even if he were tanking, Sangjin doubted he could exhibit such movements.

Staring at Junhyuk’s tanking with an incredulous expression, Sangjin soon adopted a serious tone.

“Hey, Choi Junhyuk.”

In response, Junhyuk, even while tanking, bantered playfully.

“Haha, if your hunt is finished, how about you take this guy back now?”

He assumed his role was complete since the Mantis hunt had concluded safely.

However, Sangjin offered Junhyuk a different proposal.

“It doesn’t look like you’re struggling much. How about you consider this practical experience and finish him off yourself?”

In truth, he wondered if someone displaying such tanking prowess truly needed practical experience. Nevertheless, as it was Junhyuk’s first hunt, Sangjin believed seeing it through to the end would be beneficial for him.

At Sangjin’s suggestion to finish it himself, Junhyuk asked with a puzzled expression.

“Me, finish it? Is that alright?”

Though he had drawn the Trudekker’s aggro out of necessity, Sangjin was ultimately the party’s tank.

The crisis had passed, and Sangjin wasn’t in any particular trouble, so Junhyuk believed it was right to return to his original position.

Yet, Sangjin had proposed that Junhyuk finish the hunt. This was tantamount to entrusting his entire party to Junhyuk, an unheard-of occurrence in a typical party.

“I won’t interfere at all. You make all the decisions and issue the orders, from start to finish. Does anyone object to my decision?”

In response to Sangjin’s question, the party members replied.

[No objections.]

[Haha, with that level of tanking skill, he’s certainly trustworthy.]

[I have no objections either.]

[Me too.]

“Haha, we have no objections either. Speaking of which, that Junhyuk. Watching him move reminds me exactly of high school, flying around like that? His skill certainly hasn’t diminished.”

With everyone in agreement, Sangjin spoke again.

“Everyone agrees. What will you do? Will you finish it?”

As he dodged a Trudekker attack, Junhyuk replied.

“Alright. Then I’ll be issuing orders from now on.”

When Junhyuk agreed to finish it, Sangjin quickly offered a word of caution.

“Go ahead. I’ll just observe from here. Ah! As a reference, once its shield is completely gone, there’s a point where it indiscriminately attacks its surroundings, regardless of aggro. Cheolmin and Wonjin will handle it well enough, but if you get past that timing, you should be able to finish it smoothly.”

Having faced the Trudekker multiple times before his regression, Junhyuk knew its attack patterns precisely.

However, he said nothing to Sangjin, who was offering advice for his benefit.

Having received complete authority as the party leader, Junhyuk immediately began issuing orders.

“Yes, I’ll be careful. Then, I’ll issue orders. Everyone, just attack. There’s still a lot of shield left, so manage your Force and use your skills. Mappers, please constantly check for other monsters in the vicinity. Ms. Hyesu, please focus exclusively on me, and the newly joined healer, please ignore me and concentrate on the melee damage dealers.”

Having given his orders, Junhyuk once again focused on tanking.