Will I End Up As a Hero or a Demon King (WN)

Chapter 253

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Chapter 253 – Monster Distribution Situation

(Not knowing the names of the monsters is more inconvenient than I thought it would be.)

Keeping that in mind, I continued investigating the monsters in the area by myself.

Until now, monster names had been clearly written in the Hunter Guild’s records.

Since the names weren’t in the records, I had no choice but to name the monsters based on their appearance. I also wrote down their skills and distribution areas in my notebook.

For now, I’ll gather data and then decide where to focus my efforts based on efficiency.

(B-Rank Area I’ve already passed through)

・Gargoyle: Flight Lv3, Final Scream Lv5, Claw Technique Lv4

・Blue Bird: Flight Lv5, Ice Magic Lv3, Ice Magic Resistance Lv3

・Unicorn: Lightning Magic Lv4, Lightning Attribute Resistance Lv3, Charge Lv4

(A-Rank Area near the Base)

・Black Elephant: Stomp Lv5, Intimidation Lv4, Physical Attack Power Increase Lv2

・Manticore: Flight Lv1, Claw Technique Lv5, Roar Lv4

・Six-Horned Ox: Charge Lv5, Berserk Lv5, Whirlwind Lv3

These are monsters from a route I’ve already passed through.

Since Final Scream’s bonus stat is magic power, I want to raise this monster’s skill level to 8 to boost my magic power. Also, I knew the Unicorn only existed on the ground, but it has Lightning Magic, which is one of my main attack methods. I want to stick with it and raise the skill level to level 8 if possible.

If I hunt it, I’ll also acquire the Lightning Attribute Resistance that I don’t have yet.

However, I am happiest about the Black Elephant’s monster-specific skill, Physical Attack Power Increase.

It’s similar to the Physical Defense Power Increase of the Mud Crab I encountered at Voice Lake. It’s a percentage increase type that increases strength by 3% for each level.

Since my strength is already high, the benefits are significant. Despite concluding yesterday that the meat isn’t tasty, seeing this Black Elephant makes my mouth water.

It’s disappointing that the skill level isn’t higher, but it’s a big plus that it can be encountered near the base. The large tusks also seem like they could sell for a good price as materials, so I plan to hunt them relentlessly.

Once I finish collecting data in northern Palmera, I’ll head east.

Then, just as when I encountered slimes at the entrance, the monster composition changed slightly.

(East B-Rank Area)

・Red-Eyed Owl: Flight Lv4, Night Vision Lv5, Claw Technique Lv3

・Blue Bird: Flight Lv5, Ice Magic Lv3, Ice Magic Resistance Lv3

・Unicorn: Lightning Magic Lv4, Lightning Attribute Resistance Lv3, Charge Lv4

(East A-Rank Area)

・Six-Horned Ox: Charge Lv5, Berserk Lv5, Whirlwind Lv3

・Black Elephant: Stomp Lv5, Intimidation Lv4, Physical Attack Power Increase Lv2

・Small Flying Tiger: Flight Lv2, Bite Lv5, Claw Technique Lv5

A scary-looking owl that won’t let you pass, even at night, appears in the B-Rank area. The A-Rank area features a winged tiger similar to a manticore, but much faster.

I’ll probably continue using the combination of Martial Arts and Claw Technique for DPS, so high-level Claw Technique monsters are useful to me.

Incidentally, since I’m currently lacking Agility, I’ll use Soul Armor on this guy to increase my Agility to over 170 and reinforce myself.

If I had encountered something like this right after being transported to this world, I definitely would have wet myself.

Right now, I think the gray fur looks comfortable. It’s scary how quickly humans become accustomed to things.

When I head southwest from the base, the layout changes as follows:

(West B-Rank Area)

・Red-Eyed Owl: Flight Lv4, Night Vision Lv5, Claw Technique Lv3

・Blue Dragon: Flight Lv5, Freezing Breath Lv4, Ice Magic Resistance Lv3

・Unicorn: Lightning Magic Lv4, Lightning Attribute Resistance Lv3, Charge Lv4

(West A-Rank Area)

・Catoblepas: Stone Eye Lv5, Claw Technique Lv3, Petrification Resistance Lv4

・Manticore: Flight Lv1, Claw Technique Lv5, Roar Lv4

・Spotted Bear: Charge Lv5, Bite Lv4, Claw Technique Lv5

Surprisingly, the first dragon appears here.

However, it’s only a B-Rank and quite small, only a little bigger than me. I was more excited than scared when I encountered it.

I had already faced a dinosaur boss that looked like a dragon relative.

It was the first time I had seen an ice-type breath. I’m guessing that, like Fire Breath and Scorching Breath, there must be a higher-level version of Ice Breath.

The ice-type breath was easily dealt with using Ignition, by the way.

However, the first beast in the A-rank area in the west, probably Catoblepas, is quite dangerous.

Based on my past experience, I checked its skills before approaching it. As expected, it had extremely dangerous skills:

One was Stone Eye, probably similar to Sleep Eye, which I got from Photol Sheep.

I just kept killing them with magic from above, not giving them a chance. My Petrifaction Resistance level increased, so after that, they looked like regular cows.

The ferocious bears were just big, tough power types.

This is the last location in the southern part of the base:

(South B-Rank Area)

・Monster Tree: Presence Detection Lv3, Immobility Lv3, Photosynthesis Lv3

・Blue Dragon: Flight Lv5, Freezing Breath Lv4, Ice Magic Resistance Lv3

・Gargoyle: Flight Lv3, Final Scream Lv5, Claw Technique Lv4

(Southern A-Rank Area)

Catoblepas: Stone Eyes Lv5, Claw Technique Lv3, Petrification Resistance Lv4

Small Flying Tiger: Flight Lv2, Bite Lv5, Claw Technique Lv5

Spotted Bear: Charge Lv5, Bite Lv4, Claw Technique Lv5

On the other hand, I encountered a god-like skill that left me in awe.

It was a skill called Immobility, possessed by a monster disguised as a tree in the B-Rank area.

It’s a variant of the Hardening skill that I often use. As long as the user remains immobile, it increases Defense by 12 times for one second, even at skill level 1. This is an extraordinary increase.

Unlike Hardening, which only seems to increase physical defense, this skill clearly states in its detailed description that it increases magic defense as well.

However, Hardening allows movement and consumes significantly less magic power than Immobility, so each has its pros and cons.

Still, since I tend to stay still when going into full defense mode, I have a strong feeling that I will definitely use this skill going forward.

By the way, it’s not that I “can’t move,” but rather, I “can’t move my body.” For example, it can technically be used while flying.

Using it immediately causes a disconnect and a fall, so it’s safe to assume that while the skill is active, the user cannot move their body at will.

It’s unclear if this is all there is, but it has been confirmed that the vast forest of Palmera is divided into four sections: east, west, north, and south.

Using Spatial Teleportation and Flight, it still took a considerable amount of time to explore. Looking at the map screen, I nodded to myself, realizing that my exploration yielded significant results.

(The remaining central area is about the size of the Kingdom of Lagreath…)

I mapped the area in a doughnut shape surrounding the central area.

Moreover, since the purpose was to investigate the monsters inhabiting the area, I moved with awareness of the boundary between the A-rank and B-rank areas. Therefore, even if there were another layer, the seventh layer would be the last.

Considering the scale of the unexplored area, that seemed reasonable.

In the center…

I narrowed my eyes and looked, but still couldn’t see anything.

“…All right, let’s start by collecting the A- and B-rank skills.”

My heart pounded.

I had to hold it back.

There’s a chance the enemies ahead will be stronger, so it would be foolish not to pick up the bonus stats lying around.

“The best is saved for last.”

Muttering that, I sliced apart the blue flying dragon heading toward me.

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