The Genius Assassin Who Takes it All-Chapter 256: Versatile (1)

【Hallucination】

【Skill Proficiency: Lv. Max】

【Induces hallucinations in a designated target. The target may experience abnormal sensations, pain, or illusions.】

【At max proficiency, an "Absolute Induction" effect is applied. The target will experience hallucinations for at least 0.75 seconds, without fail.】

【Instantly consumes 50% of the user's mana.】

‘I haven’t used Hallucination as much as I expected. The casting motion is tricky, and it drains a lot of mana, but it’s too useful to discard.’

There were plenty of other skills worth using.

The Hallucination skill.

It was a skill acquired from the boss monster, Saemi, while raiding a dungeon near Exit 3 of Gwangju Songjeong Station.

The reason it had been neglected was because its casting motion was unusually long and required precise movements.

Similar to large-scale magic skills used by mage hunters, the Hallucination skill required forming hand seals.

In the heat of battle, there was no time to calmly form hand seals.

That was why, despite having it, he had been reluctant to use it.

However, forcing the target to experience hallucinations for at least 0.75 seconds was a major advantage.

Aside from that—

Kang-hoo examined his other skills: Frantic Healing, a skill specialized in health recovery; Silent Necromancy, which disguised him as an undead; and Echo Sight, which countered poison and blindness.

These were skills he had barely used after trying them a couple of times in the early days. He had almost forgotten they existed.

Now that he was rechecking his skillset, new ideas for their use surfaced.

Especially Frantic Healing, which was so effective in restoring health that he didn’t even need a healer.

‘No wonder people say I can do everything by myself. Even I have to admit my skill list is insane.’

Kang-hoo smirked in satisfaction.

All the hard work he had put in wasn’t in vain.

He possessed more than 50 skills—over 60 when including those tied to constellations.

For comparison, a hunter of his level typically had around eight default skills and maybe four or five additional skills obtained through experience or purchases.

Even if someone had the money to buy skill books or got lucky and acquired extra skills, the absolute maximum would be around twenty skills—which would already be considered excessive.

Yet Kang-hoo had three times that number. His abilities were beyond normal comprehension.

It was no wonder that those who raided dungeons with him were left speechless.

Skills kept appearing, like cheat codes—each one different in nature and effect.

‘Once I reach Level 500, I can start experimenting with Skill Fusion. There’s a lot to look forward to.’

Though it was still far off, there existed a method to merge two skills into one.

In the original story, this system was introduced to manage Jang Si-hwan’s infinitely expanding skill list.

At the time, Kang-hoo never imagined he would need such a function for himself.

But now, it seemed like it would come in handy.

Consolidating his overwhelming number of skills while enhancing their effects was a necessary step.

The plant sector was cleared without any incidents.

According to Oh Hye-jin, this was the first time they had passed through without a single battle.

They had attempted this dungeon over twenty times, and each time, this section had been a nightmare.

Yet, this time, they passed through effortlessly, saving their stamina.

Eventually, they exited the plant sector and encountered Red Colossi, massive monsters.

In past raids, this was the point where the party would take a break before engaging. But now, that wasn’t necessary.

Kang-hoo swiftly stepped forward and said,

“There are three Red Colossi. Each of you take one. I’ll handle the small fry in the back.”

Behind the three Red Colossi, about twenty “Colossus Guardians” emerged.

These guardians were smaller, but they moved quickly and wielded weapons skillfully.

The issue was that the Red Colossi possessed absurd regeneration abilities whenever their bleeding stopped, even for a brief moment.

On top of that, the Red Colossi periodically healed all Colossus Guardians, making the fight even tougher.

Because of this, this section had always been just as hellish as the plant sector in previous raids.

If the party focused on maintaining constant bleeding on the Red Colossi, they would be vulnerable to attacks from the Guardians.

If they switched focus to the Guardians, the Red Colossi’s bleeding would stop, allowing them to regenerate.

Then, once they healed, they would, in turn, restore the Guardians’ health, creating an endless cycle of frustration.

But this time, with Kang-hoo here, things were different.

Even though their party was much smaller than past raid groups, something incredible happened.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Kang-hoo dashed forward and stabbed three daggers into the backs of each Red Colossus.

【A target pierced by a dagger enhanced by Great Decapitation will experience permanent bleeding until the dagger is removed.】

He had maximized the effects of Great Decapitation.

Each Red Colossus had been pierced by a different dagger:

Blood Torrent.

Massacre’s Edge.

Skybound Delight.

The daggers were lodged deep in their backs, in places they couldn’t reach on their own.

He had stabbed them so forcefully that the blades were completely embedded, making them nearly impossible to remove.

“Master, do you see this? Check the status window for the Colossi—it shows their bleeding effect is infinite!”

Ma Jin-ho clicked his tongue as he examined the status window.

Meanwhile, Kang-hoo had already moved on, ignoring the Red Colossi and engaging the Colossus Guardians instead.

The Guardians were fast, but Kang-hoo was much faster. They stood no chance against him.

“There’s… no need to maintain the bleeding effect?”

“Is that even possible?”

“It… is.”

Not only Ma Jin-ho, but also Oh Yu-jin and Oh Hye-jin were in shock.

Only Park Dong-jae, having seen Kang-hoo’s skills before, calmly maintained buffs and applied enhancements with a satisfied expression.

“You must have picked up a new bleeding-related skill recently, but this is just ridiculous.”

Ma Jin-ho had teamed up with Kang-hoo once before.

Back then, he definitely didn’t have a skill like this. In other words, it had been added recently.

The fact that Kang-hoo even had bleeding-related skills had already sent his value skyrocketing.

And now, there was a skill that maintained bleeding indefinitely without renewal—it was no wonder they were shocked.

A sudden thought crossed his mind.

He knew it was an absurd, novel-like idea.

But what if, in the future, just Kang-hoo’s mere presence could induce bleeding in enemies?

It sounded ridiculous, but Kang-hoo had already broken the limits of common sense multiple times.

“Shut up and just kill them! As long as the bleeding effect stays, taking down the colossi is easy for us!”

Oh Yu-jin snapped them back to reality.

With the biggest issue solved, they just needed to focus on killing the monsters.

This was precisely why they had signed a partnership contract and personally recruited Kang-hoo.

To get their money’s worth from such an expensive contract, now was the time to start reaping the benefits. The table was set.

Thus, they swiftly cleared the Red Colossus sector.

What used to take an hour even with double or triple their numbers was now over in three minutes.

By the time Kang-hoo had finished off the Colossus Guardians, the Red Colossi had met their synchronized demise.

‘The three of them have excellent synergy. They’re all swordsmen, but their teamwork is strangely effective.’

While eliminating the Colossus Guardians, Kang-hoo observed the three hunters from the Groo Guild.

They were similar yet different.

Oh Yu-jin specialized in slowing skills.

Oh Hye-jin excelled at inducing freezing effects.

Ma Jin-ho had a variety of taunt skills, constantly drawing monsters to himself.

Because of this, they could focus their attacks on a single enemy while Ma Jin-ho tanked.

However, their one major weakness had been maintaining bleeding.

Now that Kang-hoo had solved that issue, their combined firepower was insane. More importantly, it was stable.

Although their damage output was somewhat lacking, their ability to immobilize enemies was exceptional, allowing for focused attacks.

Among hunters, this ability was commonly referred to as “holding”—keeping monsters locked in place to prevent them from rampaging.

In that regard, the three of them were perfect.

‘As long as I handle bleeding maintenance, clearing dungeons won’t be a problem. It’s an unusual but solid team composition.’

That was Kang-hoo’s verdict.

If they added one ranged damage dealer, their team would be ideal.

For example, Ayane or Ban Se-yeong, both specialized snipers, would be excellent. Jung Yuri, a mage hunter, would also fit well.

Another plant sector appeared later, but with Kang-hoo there, the party barely felt any fatigue.

They pushed forward.

Then pushed forward again.

The pace of the raid was accelerating.

Before he knew it, Level 257.

The EXP gain was incredible.

In a large party, leveling up once in a single dungeon was never easy.

Yet by the midway point, Kang-hoo had already gained two levels.

Even factoring in EXP-related buffs, the growth rate was far beyond expectations.

【Shin Kang-hoo Lv. 257】

【Class: Assassin】

【Innate Talent: Considerably Strong Primary Stat / Exceptionally Keen Dynamic Vision】

【Strength: 1063】 【Agility: 1225】

【Stamina: 965】 【Mana: 21】

【Magic Resistance: 560】 【Durability: 710】

【Dark Energy: 455】

His status window, as always, had one glaring oddity: his absurdly low mana stat.

The second stat that caught his attention was durability.

He had consistently invested in durability, and now he wanted to push it to 1,000.

The reason was simple.

Once durability reached 1,000—

Any hunter or monster below Level 100 would have their base and skill attack damage reduced by 90%.

It was like repeatedly scratching the same spot with a fingernail—no matter how much you scratched, the skin wouldn’t break or expose bone.

At 1,000 durability, damage received from hunters under Level 100 functioned similarly.

It became nothing more than an itch.

Of course, raising durability wasn’t easy.

The number of equippable items was limited, and items specializing in durability were rare.

【Martial God’s Amusement – Ring】

【Grade: 4th Tier】

【Durability +150】

【Can be upgraded to a higher tier using the special material Hematite.】

With two Hematites, the Martial God’s Amusement Ring could be instantly upgraded to 3rd tier.

Once an item reached 1st tier, its power skyrocketed beyond imagination.

That was why he had upgraded it once before—and now, it had caught his attention again.

To reach:

3rd tier → 2 Hematites.

2nd tier → 3 Hematites.

1st tier → 4 Hematites.

Each upgrade significantly increased stats, making it a worthwhile investment.

‘Is there a place buried in Hematite? If I could stockpile it, that’d be amazing.’

The supply of Hematite was far too scarce compared to the demand.

Just thinking about it felt suffocating, like a rare in-game material.

‘Maybe I should move up my trip to England…’

His thoughts naturally expanded in that direction.

His connections in England with the Spitfire Guild were starting to intrigue him.