FVN Chapter 131
Chapter 131
Close-quarters brawls weren’t something a mage ran into often. If an enemy got that close, it usually meant the mage had already messed up. The only smart response was to either open up some distance again or hit the target hard and fast enough to make them regret closing in.
If neither option worked, the fight was as good as lost. That was why mages rarely, if ever, found themselves locked in drawn-out hand-to-hand battles. But now, surrounded by waves of skeletons and zombies closing in on all sides, Do-Jin was doing the exact opposite. He was fighting bare-handed in the middle of full-on combat.
And surprisingly, he was having a good time. It was a whole different sensation from blasting enemies with spells. The weight behind every punch, the vibration up his arm, the sharp feedback of bones shattering, none of that existed in regular casting. Even his pacing wasn’t the usual, controlled rhythm of spellcasting. It was raw, fast, relentless. He moved like a storm, throwing himself into the horde with ruthless precision.
On Do-Jin’s third run through the dungeon, one of Capone’s long-time “residents” lunged at him with its mouth wide open. He snapped it shut with a short jab that ended in a wet crunch, then stepped back, pivoted, and drove in a clean one-two combo.
Thud! Thud!
The zombie staggered back and crashed into another, becoming a tangled mess of limbs. The rest trampled over their fallen friends like rabid dogs, charging at him from every direction.
Do-Jin kept moving, light and sharp, slipping through gaps and wrecking everything that came near him with precision.
If I time the psychokinetic bursts right, each punch hits like a Tier 1 spell.
He tested it again, syncing the Psychokinetic Enhancement Formula with Psychokinetic Artistry. Although coating his whole body in enhancement packed a serious punch, the mana drain was brutal. During his first run through Capone’s Corpse Disposal Site, he had run dry halfway in and needed five mana potions just to crawl to the boss. On the second run, he tightened his control. Two potions were all it took to clear the dungeon and crush Capone.
There’s barely any mana loss when I switch the enhancement on and off. And no delay either.
The engravings ran on their own, but Silvermoon’s Unique Magic System, Psychokinetic Artistry, changed everything depending on how it was handled. The Enhancement Formula was the auto-run engine, and Artistry was the steering wheel. Naturally, the latter demanded real control and finesse to squeeze out every drop of power.
Yeah... I’m starting to get the hang of this.
As his control improved, his dungeon runs got faster, cleaner, and meaner. He started focusing bursts of Psychokinetic Artistry right at the moment his fists connected. Each blow detonated with explosive force. The strikes that once took three or four hits now dropped enemies in one or two.
Do-Jin found himself moving in rhythm, stepping, dodging, and hitting in perfect sync. It was brutish and messy, but it was addictive. By the time he stopped to catch his breath, he was already standing in front of the boss room again.
“Phew.” Do-Jin shook the sweat from his hair and checked his mana. He hadn’t even touched a potion, yet about one-third of his mana still remained.
That should be more than enough to handle the boss.
His goal of clearing the dungeon without using a single mana potion was basically already achieved. He took a swig of a potion anyway. He had met his goal, so now he might as well test everything he could against the boss before wrapping up.
The moment he stepped into the boss room, that all-too-familiar silhouette greeted him. A bloated middle-aged man crouched in the corner, gnawing on something.
God, this part is always fucking disgusting, every time.
As fun as this dungeon was to grind, this boss was the one thing that always ruined it for him. Capone was grotesque enough to make his skin crawl. It slowly turned toward him, still chewing on a zombie’s thigh. Beneath it, another smaller zombie twitched, nothing left of it but its right arm.
“Fucking hell. That’s nasty...” Do-Jin muttered, grimacing.
Even for a monster, eating one’s own kind was revolting. Capone was some sort of grotesque hybrid between a bulimic corpse and a morbidly obese zombie, constantly eating and vomiting in a disgusting loop.
“Muh... meaaat...!” Chunks of half-digested flesh spilled out of his mouth as he drooled and staggered upright.
Do-Jin couldn’t help but scoff. He’d killed this freak twice already, and the thought of punching it to death a third time sparked a petty flicker of pride.
“Meat!” With a roar, the boss fight began.
Despite its size, Capone was fast. Whenever it kicked off the ground, the floor would crack beneath, and it’d gained terrifying speed. The zombie leg it had been chewing on became a club. Capone caught the limb by the ankle and swung, using the momentum of the rush to drive the blow forward with frightening speed.
Normally, Do-Jin would have anticipated an attack like this and dodged it by rolling to the side at the right moment. This time, he narrowly avoided it by jumping backward instead. The rotten leg sliced through the air just in front of his face.
Do-Jin didn’t waste a heartbeat. Before Capone could recover its stance, he closed the distance again, using Psychokinetic Artistry to shift his weight and change direction mid-motion. Before, such quick transitions would’ve been impossible, but now it felt natural.
His fists sank into Capone’s gut in a clean one-two. The bloated boss tried to grab him, roaring like it still had the upper hand. Do-Jin unleashed the power in his left leg and dashed to the right. The burst of speed was so sharp it almost rivaled a rogue’s acceleration. He slipped around to Capone’s flank and threw a brutal right hook.
At the exact moment his fist connected, he pushed his right-arm reinforcement to the limit and released Psychokinetic Artistry in a focused blast. The impact sent Capone staggering, and his whole body locked up from the shock.
Perfect. That’s the control I was aiming for.
With that confirmation, Do-Jin backed off without hesitation. The timing of his energy bursts had fully settled into his muscle memory. After this dungeon, he would only ever rely on close combat when forced into a corner.
What really matters is how much mobility I get out of Psychokinetic Artistry.
The punches were fun, but Psychokinetic Artistry wasn’t about brute strength. It was about turning every motion of his body into a weapon.
A massive fireball roared from his hand and exploded against Capone’s chest, setting off the stench of burning rot and vomit. The boss howled and charged again, but the bastard couldn’t even touch him.
In a tight space like this, a mage should’ve been screwed. But Do-Jin wasn’t fighting like a mage anymore. With Psychokinetic Artistry, he moved as if gravity no longer applied to him. His body snapped, twisted, and spun through the air with impossible precision, leaving trails of heat and dust behind him. Every burst of energy acted like a booster, shooting him in any direction he wanted. To a spectator, it would’ve looked like he was casually ignoring the laws of physics.
He fought like an outboxer in a ring, jabbing, dodging, and slipping through every blind spot. He lobbed a few more spells into Capone’s chest, letting the hits stack up one after another until the thing was barely clinging to life. When the monster’s health hit the brink, Do-Jin finally lowered his hand and smirked.
“Alright, let’s try one last thing before I put you out of your misery.”
He knew what was coming. When Capone’s health dropped below twenty percent, the boss always entered its final tantrum phase.
“You... you filthy meat!”
The trigger phrase came, and Do-Jin watched with bored amusement as the grotesque creature threw away the zombie leg it had been swinging and stumbled toward the corner of the room. Capone smashed apart a filthy wooden crate and pulled out a giant tenderizing hammer, the thing still dripping with blackened, half-rotten blood.
[Boss Monster Capone has equipped the Flesh-Grinding Mallet! Capone’s attack power has drastically increased!]
Do-Jin rolled his shoulders and fed mana through his circuits, watching as the monster’s body began to tremble with rage. Capone’s eyes bulged as it shrieked and charged forward. Its steps were faster than before and every step shook the ground.
He could’ve dodged. He should’ve dodged. But he didn’t.
“Diiieeee!” The creature’s scream was raw and wet, tearing through what was left of its rotting throat. The hammer came down with horrifying force, enough to crush a normal mage flat.
Do-Jin waited for the perfect moment and then unleashed Psychokinetic Artistry right as the hammer connected, forming a wave of repelling energy to counter the impact. The blow hit like a freight train. His body lifted clean off the ground and slammed into the wall hard enough to crack it.
“Khah—!” Sharp and searing pain ripped through him as his vision went black for a moment. Every muscle screamed in protest.
That fat fuck... that hurt way more than I expected!
He spat blood, glancing at his health bar. Half was already gone in a single swing. If he hadn’t used Artistry to counter, he’d be a smear on the wall by now.
I thought my stats and level difference would let me tank that, but damn... I guess I’m still a mage after all.
Still, the hit had been worth it. He’d confirmed that he could cut down damage by releasing Psychokinetic Artistry outward at the exact moment of impact. The reinforcement energy scattered as soon as it left his body, but if he timed it right, the burst could absorb most of the force. It was essentially a movement boost in reverse.
He wiped the blood off his chin and took a step forward, glaring at the lumbering monster that was already rushing back toward him. Alright, that’s enough for a test. Time to finish this ugly piece of shit.
Do-Jin raised his hand and fixed his aim squarely on Capone’s forehead. A small glowing point appeared there, pulsing brighter and brighter before collapsing into itself. Then came the flash. A violent burst of light filled the room, shaking the walls, and by the time it faded, Capone’s head had completely vaporized.
Do-Jin let out a long exhale. “Sometimes, I wonder if this kind of grind is even worth it.”
He stood there for a moment, chest rising and falling. The smell of burnt meat and bile was thick in the air. His whole body ached, and the filth clinging to his clothes made him want to gag.
***
After finishing his analysis and completely syncing with the new ability, Do-Jin didn’t even think about resting. His whole body ached, his joints were screaming, and his knuckles were still sore from punching bone, but his mind was already running full throttle.
There’s really not much time left until the World Boss Raid. I have to push everything as far as it’ll go before then.
It was already mid-January, which meant there was barely a month left until the massive event set for March. Getting Psychokinetic Artistry right before a large-scale raid was the best stroke of luck he could’ve asked for. It was like the game itself had handed him a weapon made for what was coming.
However, Do-Jin wasn’t the type to stop and celebrate. He had no interest in sitting around, patting himself on the back, and taking it easy just because he got an edge. He was going to push his specs to the absolute limit. He’d squeeze out every stat, every skill, every ounce of efficiency until there was nothing left to improve.
Those two need to be ready too. I’m not doing this shit alone.
Theresa, the one he planned to mold into his personal tank, and Soso, the rare healer that came as a package deal, both needed to level up fast. He couldn’t afford to drag dead weight into a world raid, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to carry them on his back forever.
If they were going to grow, they needed the right fights, the right gear, and the right timing. Left on their own, they’d improve eventually, but real growth required deliberate guidance, someone to feed them opportunities exactly when they’d have the most impact. That was how steady progress turned into explosive advancement.
Let’s see how tanky Theresa’s gotten since last time.
If she still wasn’t where she needed to be, then fine. He’d fix that himself. Do-Jin would grind her through the roughest fights, tear down her limits, and hammer her into shape until she became a real tank.