12 The Uncrowned Castle (2)
The moment Jin Woo saw the knights turning their heads in unison, he didn't waste any time thinking.
Advancing head-on was the simplest yet most effective strategy at times for people like him.
[Skill <<Sprint>> has been activated!]
[All movement speeds will increase by 30% while 1 mana will be consumed per second.]
Kicking the ground, he sped up and appeared next to the group of knights. He did not plan to give them enough time to organize, lest he wanted to dig his own grave.
*Swoosh*
Swinging his dagger, Jin Woo cleanly cut off the head of the knight closest to him, sending it rolling on the ground.
[You have slain your enemy!]
[You have gained experience!]
'There is nothing inside?'
To his shock, Jin Woo found the inside of the armor completely empty. The knights were not actually knights, but instead only hollow chunks of armor somehow moving by themselves.
He was not allowed much time to relish in surprise as a sword slashed towards him.
*Clang*
Jin Woo deflected it with his dagger in the nick of time, before retreating a few steps and creating a little distance between them.
'It doesn't matter if they are hollow or not, I can't afford to get distracted with their numbers.'
Even though the knights were not that strong individually, in a 1 vs many fight, Jin Woo would be at a disadvantage if he showed carelessness.
While Jin Woo was thinking, the knights were not sitting idly either and were already on the move.
Being surrounded by the knights on all sides, Jin Woo did not feel uneasy for some reason. If anything, it was the opposite, he only felt thrilled at it.
Although it had not been long since stumbled into this unknown world against his own will, he had still been under mental stress from the unfamiliar place and events. But now, inside the dungeon, it was the only part of his life that had remained unchanged, and he couldn't help but feel elevated.
Sighing at his own melancholic feelings, Jin Woo focused on the current situation. He could reminisce all he wanted later, after dealing with the 'knights' surrounding him.
Reverse gripping the dagger, Jin Woo lunged at the one closest to him, but his strike was blocked.
'Quite fast reflexes, not to mention, this fluidity…'
Not only did it manage to block his strike, but it also did the perfect instantaneous counterattack by throwing a punch aimed at Jin Woo's blind spot.
Rather than feeling stumped, Jin Woo skillfully utilized the momentum of the strike to jump over the knight's head, successfully dodging the oncoming punch and then embedded the dagger deep into the gap between the armor where the eyes should be.
Although he did not experience the feeling of piercing flesh, the knight wriggled before falling, it was clearly effective.
Using the falling knight's armor as a foothold, Jin Woo flew towards another target, his eyes flashing coldly.
---
*Huff* *Huff* *Huff*
Breathing roughly, Jin Woo wiped the sweat off his forehead as he cast his glance at the scene around him.
Pieces of broken armors lay here and there, almost covering the whole ground in one area.
[You have slain your enemy!]
[You have gained experience!]
[You have cleared Room 1!]
He did not level up in the fight, thus his lost HP and MP were not recovered, and as such, he needed to rest before advancing to the next stage.
In the meanwhile, he began to reflect on his earlier battle, which had almost become a habit for him at this point.
The group of knights proved to be somewhat of a challenge for him.
It was not only because they had higher stats. But rather, the challenging part was because of the high stats coupled with their similarities to humans.
Up till now, all of the monsters he had faced focused everything on brute and raw strength instead of technique or skill. But these knights were different in that aspect, they not only possessed raw strength but also techniques and the skills that resonated with it.
He had to admit that the new experience caught him somewhat off guard at first, which made things a little rough, but as long as he got a clean hit in, it would be his win.
After he finished thinking, he turned his attention to other things.
For example, the items dropped by the knights.
[Item: Knight's Boots (E)]
[Item: Knight's Chest plate (E)]
[Item: Knight's Helmet (E)]
.
.
.
[Item: Knight's Gauntlets (E)]
'They don't have much of an effect, but it is still better than nothing...Yes, I can just change them later on when I get better ones on higher stages.'
Thinking so, Jin Woo equipped the metal boots, chest plate, gauntlets, and other such equipment.
'Good, I can even feel a slight boost overall but-'
Wearing all the equipment, Jin Woo's appearance looked no different than the knights he had fought, other than the fact that he was not covered from head to toe.
'-I think I will have to take it off after leaving the dungeon...They look a bit too flashy.'
Just as such a thought appeared in his mind, a system screen appeared in his vision with the familiar mechanical sound.
It was as though it had read his mind.
[Do you want to turn on Invisible mode? (Y/N)]
"...Yes."
Jin Woo was left speechless for a moment, confirming that the equipment has really turned invisible, before commenting inwardly.
'What a convenient feature!'
It really saved him quite a bit of trouble.
With even that resolved, Jin Woo cast his gaze at the surroundings, more specifically, at the pieces of equipment lying on the floor with a slight shine to them.
His color gradually paled as he asked with uncertainty.
"...Hey system, would you have another convenient feature like a 'collect all' button?"
...
...
After waiting a while and seeing no system prompt, Jin Woo couldn't help but sigh deeply.
"I thought as much…"
It meant he had to manually pick up all the drops and most likely, the same would be the case for the upcoming stages, which seemed to be a rather laborious task.
Of course, he could choose not to pick them up, as they seemed to be of no use to him for now, but still, it felt like a huge waste not to pick them up...
