Chapter 41: Skill Copy Conditions

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[Party Member: Dan Baihe] has slain [White Werewolf Demonic Human: Rick (B Rank)] x1!]

[You earned half of the total EXP you would have earned if you defeated him yourself.]

[You earned 60000 EXP.]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Your Level has increased from Level 25 to Level 27!]

[All of your Stats have increased.]

[You earned Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]

[Tamed Monster: Violet] Level has increased to Level 25!]

[Tamed Monster: Snow] Level has increased to Level 10!]

[You have gathered [White Werewolf Demonic Human Corpse (B Rank)] x1!]

[What Luck! The gathered [White Werewolf Demonic Human Corpse (B Rank)] x1 Quality Grade has increased to A Rank!]

[The [Gatherer (E): Lv5] Skill Level has increased to Level 6!]

[The Space inside the Gatherer's Inventory has expanded.]

[You can now Dismantle Gathered Items with much more precision.]

[Gathered Items that have been broken will be automatically repaired by up to 50% of their original appearance (cannot be done more than once).]

Just as I gathered the body of this werewolf dude, I leveled up Gatherer. This Skill was my lifesaver back in the first dungeon and one of the first gifts from Gaia, the Maiden that Watches Over Nature.

I do remember that broken corpses were often repaired to an extent, but now it is up to 50%! That's insane. This means this already horribly tattered corpse has recovered a lot. Yep, even the hole in his chest has been somehow healed.

I'll save him for later and use him as an emergency Undead. Because the undead disappear after a little while when they're summoned, it is always better to keep the corpses instead of summoning them beforehand.

"Did you just gather the corpse of that guy?" My brother wondered. 

"Yep, he's a useful Undead," I said with a smile.

"Undead?" My brother had yet to see my necromancy in action. 

"Hah~ You weren't there to see, but your sister awakened a necromancy skill! She also used a weird one where she transformed... She's trying to catch up with you really hard; the weirdest thing is that she has no current sponsors; she hasn't chosen any either." Fenrir spilled the beans.

"Is that so?" My brother wondered. "You are probably somehow affected by being my sister... Perhaps Fenrir's influencing you?"

"Huh? I have no idea." I said, sighing. "But I've been developing skills when I most need them," I explained sincerely.

"Hmm, well, that's for the better." He sighed, honestly feeling too tired to worry. "You did a good job surviving there, and you even brought her alive. Well done. Maybe I shouldn't have doubted your strength so much. But you know, it has been so little since you woke up, I can't help but worry as your big brother."

"I understand; don't worry. But I am happy you could trust me." I said with a smile, hugging him.

The effects of a heartwarming bear hug were activated, and his body felt less exhausted as a result.

"Now, we should get going." He said. "We can't waste any more time. I recently got a message from a constellation that watches over Henrietta; she's coming here."

"Yep, not only that, but it seems the Boss of the Demonic Humans that led Leviathan is here," I said.

"He is?!" My brother was surprised. "Ah, I am still rather surprised you've caught up with things such as Demonic Humans, or the demons, or constellations in just a week."

"Well, everything's on the internet." I shrugged.

"You're right." He nodded. "Fenrir, get us there as fast as you can!"

"Roger!" Fenrir barked.

Riding over his back, Fenrir moved at hyper-speed by activating several combined skills. I recognized things such as [Speed Boost], [Fast Movements], [Nimble Movements], [Agile Body], and more, all converging together.

The ability my brother had to copy the abilities of the things he devoured was really broken! Even my Eye for Truth can't go that far, and the conditions to copy skills from other people are... ridiculous.

Here's an example, such as by checking Dan Baihe's status:

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[Player Name]: [Dan Baihe]

[Title]: [Frost Princess]

[Sponsor]: [Anna, Protagonist's Little Sister]

[Innate Skills (2)]: [Frost Queen (S)] [Great Sorceress (S)] 

[Skill Copy Conditions]: [Dan Baihe is still a very young talent. You must slowly help her grow and develop her strength and mental capacity. Once she acquires the license and recognition of an A Rank Hunter, you can copy one of these two Skills of your choice.]

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Being able to either get the Frost Queen or the Great Sorceress would be insane! But I need to help her become an A-Rank Hunter, with a license and all! And strength alone doesn't give you a license; you need recognition and to clear Dungeons to slowly gain popularity. So it's not going to be easy or fast.

And then there was my brother's skill-copy condition.

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[Player Name]: [Jack]

[Title]: [Fallen Constellation's Incarnation] [Ruler of Gluttony] [Devourer of Demons] […]

[Sponsor]: [Fenrir, Fallen Constellation]

[Innate Skills (1)]: [Gluttony (SSS )] 

[Skill Copy Conditions]: [Jack is someone troubled with his life and past, and someone who is tied to destiny to go through countless hardships as the world revolving around him changes based on his actions. A man that many would say is cursed but that others would envy due to his powers and drive to move forward, help him achieve his greatest dream and you may acquire his Skill.]

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It doesn't even specify what his greatest dream is! And based on what I've read... I don't think it would be easy. Because if I am right, my brother's greatest dream is to save Earth, destroy the constellations, and stop the Gates and Dungeons from appearing.

In summary, he wants everything to go back to normal. And that's really endgame stuff; I can't do it any time soon. And by the time we do it, acquiring his skill will be kind of useless, won't it?

And about Violet and Snow? I can't copy their skills; it says that it doesn't work with monsters, so I can only target specific people with special talents. Eyes of Truth is strong, but the conditions are ridiculous.

"Yaawn~ Hmm? Did I miss something while I was napping?"

Suddenly, Sepa finally woke up, whispering to me through telepathy. I responded with telepathy as well; a link we had together allowed us to talk to one another with our minds.

"Sepa! You're finally awake, you lazy bug!"

"Lazy?! I've been working really hard, and I deserved a break. Where the heck are we now?"

"Ugh, it's a long story."

On the trip, I explained to Sepa what had happened so far; she was rather surprised. Well, only a bit. She kind of realized what my purpose was.

"So you're really something like a regressor, aren't you? So you've seen the end? You plan to gather strong people with great potential, put them under your wing, and somehow save Earth?"

"Pretty much. Very ambitious, I know. But it's not like I would like to sit down and do nothing."

"Honestly, you're unpredictable... Well, by the contract that binds me to you, I shall... help you, I guess."

She didn't seem so willing, but I could tell she had grown slightly more interested.

"Now, we should-"

RUMBLE!

Suddenly, the floor started shaking. Once we finally arrived at our destination, we found a gigantic beast moving through the snow, chasing around the people that Fenrir's doppelgangers had been working hard to protect.

"ROOOAARR...!!"

It was a gigantic Frost Wyvern, whose scales were like crystals and whose size was over ten meters in height. The beast wasn't flying, even though it had wings, and instead chose to chase down its prey while running.

[You've been spotted by the [Frost Wyvern (B Rank)]!]

[The beast seems interested in Dan Baihe and Snow's large quantities of Ice Attribute Mana…]

"GRRHH…"

It quickly stopped chasing the people down and directed its gaze towards us.

"I should have expected this; I mean, we're in the middle of a damn dungeon." I sighed.

"He's coming!" Dan Baihe panicked, suddenly conjuring the same spell she used to kill the werewolf guy against it.

However, as the Frost Wyvern charged towards us, her attacks were of no use; they easily bounced off his scales! I knew ice monsters had resistance to ice magic, but even Baihe's magic!

[The power of the [Frost Wyvern (B Rank)]'s [Magic Reflecting Scales (B)] and [Frost Immunity (B)] Skills has nullified all damage from [Character: Dan Baihe]!]

Yeah, yeah, I can tell!

"Leave this to me."

My brother gallantly jumped off Fenrir, summoning his Demonic Sword, Gram, and engulfing it in demonic flames, swinging it in midair awesomely, and slicing through the Wyvern's entire body in a mere second.

BOOOM!

The Wyvern was filled with flames to the brim, exploding into pieces all over the snow! Wow, that was awesome! That's an A-Rank Hunter for you! He was struggling against that demonic bastard because he was too tired, but now that he has mostly recovered, he's back on the game for sure.

And I get to collect more Undead Minions~

[You have gathered [Frost Wyvern Corpse (B Rank)] x1!]

[Amazing! The gathered [Frost Wyvern Corpse (B Rank)] x1 Quality Grade has increased to A Rank!]

I gathered it right away; even if it was sliced in two, once I gathered both at the same time, it simply combined back into one, and if I wanted to, I could dismantle it in the inventory to get all of the corpse's products.

Once we arrived at the scene with my brother's amazing and epic opening, fitting of a main character, the people were naturally gathered around his charisma and the aura of a great leader.

"Ah, you're Jack, aren't you?!"

"I recognize your face!"

"Oh, thank God, we're finally safe!"

"The dog told us you were coming."

"Please help us get out of here!"

It was roughly over thirty people. We kept looking around for more, but it seemed this was the entire group Fenrir managed to keep alive. It was very impressive.

"Don't worry, you can go out now," I said, quickly taking out an Escape Stone and shattering it.

Crack… Crack…!

CRASH!

A giant gate opened, leading to the outside world.

[You've activated an [Escape Stone (A Rank)]!]

[For 10 Minutes, a Portal leading outside the Dungeon will open.]

"Please, hurry!" Said my brother.

"You can go outside; don't worry," I said.

"Oh, thank god!"

"Thank you so much!"

"We're free!"

"Oh my god, I was so scared…"

"We're taking a bath afterward…"

"Mommy, I'm hungry…"

"Dear, please bear with it; we're almost out of here."

All thirty people escaped successfully, and my brother looked at the two of us, Baihe and me.

"Now you should go as well. I'll take things from here with Henrietta and her guild." He said.

"What? No way! I'm staying." I said. "You'll need my healing and buffs anyway; you're too reckless!"

"B-But…" My brother seemed very concerned about me even now.

"I am also staying. I need to repay your favor by saving my life." Said Dan Baihe. "Also, I need to find my stepfather. Even if he was a terrible person, he's still part of my family… I want to prove to him I am strong by saving his life."

"Sigh… you girls." My brother sighed. "FINE! But stay behind me. Alright? The Demonic Human's presence is very close to here, probably in the next forest patch… Let's go." 

"Alright!" I said, nodding.

Like that, while riding over Fenrir, we moved forward.

"Here, Baihe, take these and absorb them quickly," I said, giving Dan Baihe several shiny Magic Crystals, from the Glacial Wolves to the Polar Bear and even the one from the Yetis and the Wyvern.

"E-Eh?! Aren't these super valuable?!" Baihe was surprised.

"Yeah, I could make some amazing items out of those." I sighed. "But let's call it an investment. I need you much stronger than before, so make sure to absorb these! I am cheering up for you to have super good luck!"

[The Effects of the [Little Sister's Cheerful Rally (E Rank Privilege)] have been activated!]

[Character: Dan Baihe] LUK Stat has increased by 100% for 10 Minutes.]

It worked! Because absorbing higher-ranked Magic Crystals for normal non-Player Hunters is still a matter of chance, increasing her LUK Stat is vital to making her actually absorb them all.

"O-Okay!" She nodded. "Thank you. I will make sure to make this investment worth it, Anna."

Each Magic Crystal started disappearing one after the other; she was successfully absorbing all of them amazingly well, and her stats were skyrocketing like crazy!

Oh my god, is this how Constellations feel when they're raising little monsters?

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Chapter end