[Faceless Hunter 2] Chapter 39: Stat Difference (Patreon)

You have killed multiple opponents. Due to the level disparity, reduced experience is rewarded.

Experience split between [Faceless One] and [Myriad Forms]

[Faceless One] has leveled up: 100 → 101.

[Myriad Forms] has leveled up: 75 → 78.

[All unlocked forms have been raised to Level 78]

Xen mentally dismissed the notifications as Alex collapsed to his knees.

"You all fought well to protect me," Xen said, pointing at Alex. "Flash Mend."

He didn't even need to pretend the skill was coming from his mask as the golden brilliance radiating out of his hand and settling onto Alex was so blinding.

Even a C-grade skill hits like this now that my magic stat is so high, Xen mused as he walked past Alex, dragging streams of silver light from the surrounding corpses to top up his mana pool for the boss fight ahead.

"Ghostwire..." Alex rasped, "did you get even more powerful?"

Xen chuckled. "Maybe."

"I see." Alex slowly rose to his feet, his skin glowing from the healing radiance working its way through his body. "Then that near-death fight was worth it."

"Leave the rest to me," Xen said, drawing his mithril shortsword and hurling it past Hina's ear. The blade impaled the Cinderspawn that had climbed the amber crystal behind her, pinning it there with a sickening crunch. The monster let out a shriek as it died.

Hina's eyes widened as she realized what had just happened.

Xen used Threadwalk to effortlessly walk up the steep slope and over the Cinderspawn corpses.

"Flash Mend, Flash Mend, Flash Mend," he cast on Hina, Daisuke, and Kenji as he passed them to retrieve his shortsword. Pulling it free, the Cinderspawn was stuck to the end, the hilt having lodged itself into the monster's chitin. Instead of trying to flick it off, Xen focused his Soul Leech, and within seconds the corpse withered to dust.

Turning, he faced the party of humans that had put their lives on the line to protect his S-rank evolution.

"I am indebted to you four."

"Nonsense," Alex shook his head. "You saved us back at the obsidian tower. It was only right of us to return the favor."

The others nodded in agreement.

Xen smiled behind his mask. "I appreciate it all the same. Which is why I will go and handle the Abyssal Guardian alone."

Having surpassed level 100, he now conceptually understood the rift in power between S-rank beings and those below. He couldn't fight and protect these four from such a dangerous threat at the same time.

Fighting alone would also let him use his other monster forms in battle, which had now all leveled up to 78. Since it would be a one-on-one battle, he wouldn't get much use out of the human form's [Solo Hunter] passive, making his other Myriad Forms a lot more tempting.

Hina was the first to react.

"What?! You're going to try fighting that monster alone—"

Xen raised a hand to silence her and the others who looked like they were about to speak too.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you're all too weak." His mask glowed with the golden mana of the appraisal skill.

[Human (Warbringer: Level 50)]

[Human (Arcanist: Level 47)]

[Human (Nightstalker: Level 51)]

[Human (Vanguard: Level 49)]

"While you have all gained a few levels, it's not enough. The Guardian is at least level 100, likely stronger, as my appraisal skill failed to get an accurate reading." Xen looked to the ground and spread out his Geomantic Perception to its limit. "There are no monsters in a hundred-meter radius due to the now wiped-out Cinderspawn nest dominating this area." He looked up and met their worried gazes. "You will be safe if you remain here until I kill the Guardian."

"But we can—"

"I'm sorry, Hina. This is non-negotiable," Xen said and used his Cinderburrow skill to sink into the ground. The abyssal tainted ground ate away at his magic resistance, but this was for the best. If he left on foot, they would surely try to follow.

This would buy him the time he needed.

Ignoring their muffled shouts, he burrowed through the ground until he had cleared the Cinderspawn nest and was far beyond Hina's perception range.

This should be far enough. He stepped out of the ground and into the open. There were some Abyssal Slimes nearby and an Ashrock Colossus in the distance, but he ignored them. I need to keep my mana pool as high as possible to defeat the Abyssal Guardian. Now, which way was it to the rift that it's likely still guarding?

Thankfully, he had a skill for just about everything.

I thank Iris for this one. Dropping to one knee, he fused his hand with the ground with Geomantic Anchor and combined it with Geomantic Perception to map the entire surroundings.

While he didn't locate the Abyssal Guardian, his perceptions were swallowed by a massive void in the direction he believed the obsidian towers and the rift to be.

And the void is spreading. How long until it consumes the entire floor? Xen unthreaded his hands and rose. I need to finish this quickly.

"Windveil Agility, Threadwalk, Quiet Steps." Xen used movement-boosting skills in quick succession and shot forward. The amber light cast by the crystals blurred as he snaked through them and sped across the porous rock.

Less than ten minutes of running later, he could see the perimeter of the 'void zone'. It looked like a sheet of obsidian ice was slowly expanding across the ground, but Xen knew it was made of condensed abyssal mana and went far deeper than it appeared.

Climbing up a nearby slanted crystal to get a better view across the cavern, he saw an immense shadow looming in the distance before a swirling rift.

"Appraisal."

He had to shove more and more mana into the skill until finally, it yielded him a result.

[Guardian of the Abyssal Rift (Level 109)]

1,417 Strength, 1,635 Vitality, 327 Agility, 1,199 Resistance, 436 Magic.

Xen let out a breath of awe. His Appraisal skill now showed the stats that had been hidden from him for so long, and the Guardian's were ridiculously high.

"So strong... but possibly beatable."

As if sensing him, the great shadow turned his way. The monster was the size of an obsidian tower and looked as robust as a mountain with no obvious weak points. It didn't even have eyes, so Ashen Gaze was going to be useless against it.

"Perhaps I should say hello and test its magic resistance," Xen raised his hands to the non-existent sky. "Stormcall."

It was a new A-grade skill he had looted from devouring the Stormcaller, Vera. Mana swirled around him, and he felt the air pressure change as clouds formed overhead.

The Abyssal Guardian had definitely noticed him by now as it shifted its massive body to face him, but didn't take a step away from the rift. Which worked fine for Xen, as the storm would boost the range and power of his next skill.

"Take this," he pointed at the Abyssal Guardian. "Radiant Lightning."

Instead of coming from him, the skill crackled through the storm above him, greatly increasing its power before shooting. The cavern lit up in a flash as the lightning bolt struck the Abyssal Guardian's left flank and... was absorbed.

Since the storm was already primed and ready, Xen unleashed three more rounds at the exact same spot. The results confirmed his suspicions.

Just like the Ashrock Colossus I faced before, its body is naturally highly resistant to magic. But unlike the Ashrock Colossus, I can't see a weak point like the tree to target.

Xen dismissed the storm. Clearly pelting it from range with supercharged lightning was about as useful as hurling pebbles at it.

Perhaps I need to get up close and personal? But its physical stats are terrifying.

Xen pulled up his own status and added the stats of his slime and human form together to compare.

"491 Strength, 335 Vitality, 413 Agility, 487 Resistance, 923 Magic... these stats are way too low in comparison," Xen muttered. His magic was twice as high as the Guardian's, but that was worthless considering its absurd magic resistance. He would long run out of mana before managing to leave a dent.

"What if I swapped to my highest stat form?"

Ashen Colossus: Level 78 (725 Strength, 803 Vitality, 179 Agility, 721 Resistance, 611 Magic).

Xen frowned. It wasn't just the sheer level gap causing the stat gap, but it seemed the Guardian monster got far more stats per level.

It is a boss monster, after all. It's supposed to be taken down by entire parties of humans, but I doubt there's anyone else on this floor worth teaming up with.

He couldn't even imagine Alex trying to withstand a single hit from a monster wielding 1,417 strength.

Alex would be crushed like an insect.

But not all hope was lost.

Its agility is terribly low, and its magic stat is nothing to worry about. It's a walking fortress, but without the agility to make use of that strength, it won't be impossible to brawl in close quarters. I just have to make sure not to get hit.

Xen jumped down from the ridge and onto the obsidian plane without a sound. Immediately, he felt the strange coldness coming from the dense abyssal mana stored beneath.

He broke out into a sprint toward the Guardian.

Let's see if I can leave a dent by utilizing [Duelist's Cadence] to boost my melee strikes by 30%. If that doesn't work, perhaps stacking as many afflictions as possible and detonating them with Perish will do something.

To win, he would have to make use of his vast array of skills and forms. After all, he was trying to solo hunt an S-rank boss monster, and wouldn't be surprised if he was one of the first to ever do it.