Chapter 22: Unleashing the Hammer of Fury

Thwack! Hiss!

[You are poisoned for 2 minutes.]

The hammer struck, and poison sprayed out.

The poison timer reset.

Kang Juho swung his hammer at the zombie again.

Thwack! Hiss!

[You are poisoned for 2 minutes.]

The zombie fell, and Kang Juho scanned his surroundings.

Not a single zombie was visible within a 100-meter radius.

Only then did he check his health.

Despite the long battle, his health was still above 50%.

“Hyung, wanna try hunting some ghouls?”

“I was just thinking the same. Shall we?”

They were on the same page.

“Yeah, since we’re hunting to level 60 anyway, it’s better to check it out now.”

Originally, they planned to move to another city’s hunting ground after hitting level 50.

But Kang Juho’s class change to Battle Blacksmith and the acquisition of the Hydra’s Tattoo had skyrocketed his hunting efficiency in Desolate Tomb, so they changed plans.

They decided to stay and reach level 60 here instead of moving to another city’s hunting ground.

“Okay, let’s go.”

Kang Juho took the lead, heading deeper into the graveyard where ghouls roamed.

As they dispatched approaching zombies, Kang Juho asked, “No items need repairing, right?”

After reaching level 50, he had acquired the Repair skill, which allowed instant equipment durability restoration without waiting at a forge.

While it required a lot of whetstones—and special items needed rare materials—his current gear only needed whetstones, which cost a mere 3 gold each.

Repairs were now effortless.

“Nope, I’ll let you know if something comes up,” Kim Seokju replied.

“Cool.”

Kang Juho nodded, casting Repair to restore his hammer’s durability, which had dropped to 70%.

“Hyung, there’s a ghoul.”

Moments later, they stopped.

Ahead, zombies and ghouls were mingled, wandering about.

“Wanna go deeper?” Kim Seokju asked.

Going further would reduce zombie numbers and increase ghouls.

“Let’s fight one and decide,” Kang Juho said.

He hadn’t battled ghouls yet. Even if ghouls gave more EXP per kill, if they were harder to take down, zombies might be the better choice.

“Got it, hyung. Give me 10 seconds to reset the buffs.”

Buffing during combat could pull aggro to Kim Seokju.

“Alright.”

‘Five ghouls, ten zombies. So…’

Kang Juho started planning his movements while waiting for the buffs.

“Physical Enhancement…”

Ten seconds later, Kim Seokju began casting.

[All defense increased by 13% for 3 minutes.]

[All speed increased by 12% for 2 minutes.]

Buffed, Kang Juho advanced toward the ghouls and zombies.

The closest was a zombie.

–Groan…

The zombie noticed him, letting out a weak moan as it moved.

Its sound alerted nearby zombies and ghouls, which began approaching.

Kang Juho quickly counted: five ghouls, ten zombies, as expected.

‘Ghouls are definitely faster.’

Ghouls were distinctly different from zombies.

Their movement speed was noticeably quicker—at least twice as fast—creating distance between them and the zombies starting from the same point.

The first ghoul reached him, slashing with its claws.

Its attack speed matched its movement. Kang Juho raised his shield to block.

Scrape…

Since it wasn’t a direct hit, he avoided poisoning.

He countered with his hammer.

Thwack!

The hammer struck, but Desolate Tomb’s ghouls, lacking mouths, couldn’t scream.

Their pained expressions showed their suffering.

More ghouls arrived, slashing at him.

Slash!

[You are poisoned for 3 minutes.]

[Attack speed reduced by 10%.]

Slash!

[You are poisoned for 3 minutes.]

Slash!

[You are poisoned for 3 minutes.]

With their numbers and speed, blocking every attack was impossible.

But Kang Juho stayed calm.

Their high attack speed came with low damage, and the Hydra’s Tattoo made both physical and poison damage negligible.

He could hunt while taking hits.

Thwack!

The fourth hammer strike downed the first ghoul.

Kang Juho checked his health.

‘Should be fine.’

The rate of health loss suggested he could keep hunting while taking hits.

With Kim Seokju’s Multi-Chain skill, endless hunting was possible.

Thwack!

As the last ghoul fell, the zombies arrived.

Kang Juho dove into combat with them.

With only ten zombies, there was no need to rest.

Thwack! Hiss!

[You are poisoned for 2 minutes.]

[Movement speed reduced by 10%.]

The hammer struck, poison sprayed, and a message appeared.

Kang Juho swung again, thinking, ‘Does the previous poison get overwritten?’

What happened to the ghoul’s poison?

Was it replaced by the zombie’s, or did the message just appear while the ghoul’s poison lingered?

He checked his health.

“…!”

He flinched.

His health was dropping rapidly.

‘It stacks.’

The different poison types—ghoul and zombie—were both active.

‘This makes hunting here a loss.’

The health drain was concerning.

He’d need to choose between zombies or ghouls.

Quickly finishing the zombies, he turned to Kim Seokju.

“Let’s go deeper.”

He chose ghouls.

It took two hits for a zombie, four for a ghoul, meaning one ghoul equaled two zombies in effort.

But ghouls didn’t offer double the EXP, so zombies seemed more efficient—if their numbers were infinite.

Since they weren’t, and considering travel time, ghouls were better.

Plus, zombies only dropped ragged skin, while ghouls dropped tendons, claws, and more—items worth more than zombie skins.

“Alright, let’s go! Physical Enhancement…”

Kim Seokju nodded eagerly, recasting the buffs.

They moved deeper, hunting zombies and ghouls.

As they progressed, zombie numbers dwindled, and ghouls increased.

Eventually, zombies vanished from sight, and they stopped advancing, focusing on hunting the ghouls around them.

“Seokju!”

“Attribute Shackles, Multi-Chain!”

“Thanks!”

When health restoration was needed, Kim Seokju used Attribute Shackles and Multi-Chain to bind the ghouls, giving Kang Juho breathing room.

As combat and hunting continued—

[Level Up!]

[You can acquire the skill Hammer of Fury.]

Reaching level 57, a new message appeared.

‘Hammer of Fury?’

It wasn’t a Blacksmith skill—Blacksmiths had no skills at level 57.

It had to be a Battle Blacksmith skill.

“Hold on, Seokju! Let’s take a break!” Kang Juho shouted, swinging at a ghoul’s head.

Three ghouls remained.

With a mix of excitement and anticipation, he took them down.

As the last one fell, he opened the skill window.

One of the previously grayed-out, locked skills was now active.

He checked its details.

Hammer of Fury

Mastery: 1 (0%)

Effect: Basic attacks trigger a shockwave (3 times, 2m range, 100% of the target’s received damage).

Mana Cost: 250

Duration: 20 seconds

Cooldown: 2 minutes

“Whoa!”

Kang Juho couldn’t help but exclaim.

“What’s up, hyung?” Kim Seokju asked, hearing his surprise.

“Got a new skill. But…” Kang Juho trailed off, sharing the details.

“Huh?”

Kim Seokju’s voice betrayed his shock as he reviewed Hammer of Fury.

“Whoa, this is no joke!”

“What’s the acquisition condition? If you can learn it now, it’ll save a ton of time.”

Unlike zombies, ghouls were fast and had high health, often surrounding Kang Juho.

Hammer of Fury would be highly effective in this situation.

Kang Juho clicked the acquire button.

[Skill Quest Hammer of Fury generated.]

He checked the conditions immediately.

Skill – Hammer of Fury

Complete the following condition:

[Gold: 2657 / 300]

Quest Reward: Skill – Hammer of Fury

Kang Juho muttered, “Jackpot.”

He’d worried it might require a rare item, delaying acquisition.

But it only needed gold.

“Just 300 gold?” he said, answering Kim Seokju as he clicked complete.

[You have completed the skill quest Hammer of Fury.]

[You have acquired the skill Hammer of Fury.]

The acquisition message appeared, and Kang Juho grinned widely. He wanted to test it immediately.

“Seokju, buffs!”

“Got it!”

As Kim Seokju cast the buffs, Kang Juho surveyed the area: eight ghouls to the left, six to the right.

After receiving the buffs, he strode toward the left group.

One ghoul noticed him and charged, followed by the other seven.

The first arrived, and Kang Juho dove into combat.

Thwack! Thwack!

After two hammer swings, all ghouls reached him.

Slash!

[You are poisoned for 3 minutes.]

Slash!

[You are poisoned for 3 minutes.]

“Hammer of Fury!”

Hiss!

As the ghouls attacked, Kang Juho activated Hammer of Fury.

His hammer glowed red.

Thwack! Boom!

A shockwave erupted with the strike, and all ghouls flinched momentarily.

‘Does it not affect the main target?’

Since the shockwave dealt damage, he wondered if the primary target was immune.

If it wasn’t, the ghoul he’d hit twice should’ve fallen.

Since it didn’t, the main target clearly wasn’t affected by the shockwave.

As the ghouls resumed moving, Kang Juho swung again.