Chapter 151
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 151
Chapter Title: Paldal Mountain, Secret of the Dragon's Labyrinth - 5
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The 6-meter-tall giant in black armor, the guardian of the Dragon's Lair, raised its 4-meter-long greatsword.
Seo Eun-ha, standing before it, looked so small that it brought to mind the battle of David and Goliath.
As the creature swung the greatsword with both hands, the air in its path exploded as if it were liquid.
Immediately after, the tip of the greatsword slammed into the ground, creating a shockwave powerful enough to shake the very earth.
KABOOM—!
Its target was, of course, Seo Eun-ha. She threw herself aside, avoiding death by a mere hand's breadth.
"Whoa—"
Next, the creature swung the greatsword upward diagonally, and she dodged it by leaning back.
Kiiing!
The tip of the greatsword grazed her helmet. If the angle had been just a little lower, her head would have been gone.
"Hah..."
The onlookers couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines. How many of these narrow escapes had there been already?
“...Th-This looks too dangerous.”
Kim Se-hee muttered, clenching her fists. On her shoulder, Hani also spun around anxiously.
She wanted to rush in and fight alongside her right now... but she couldn't.
BOOM—!
"That attack... If it lands, do you think she can withstand it?”
"I doubt it. A direct hit would probably be instant death.”
Lee Hyun-wook said the dreadful words with utter calm.
"What? Th-Then what should she do?”
"Well, she'll just have to dodge well, obviously.”
Lee Hyun-wook uttered such an obvious yet irresponsible statement so easily, causing Kim Se-hee to frown.
"Don't look at me like that. The first rule of a boss raid is not to get hit by its 'main weapon'."
That greatsword was an attack on par with the Black Dragon Azi Dahaka's 'Dragon Breath'. To put it simply, attempting to block it was suicide. It had to be 'dodged' at all costs.
“...We can’t help her, even a little?”
"No. No matter what happens, we must not interfere.”
If the one-on-one duel was broken, the proof of qualification would fail, and they wouldn't be able to take the 'Dragon's Egg' inside that chest. In other words, all they could do was pray for Seo Eun-ha's victory.
BOOM—!
The greatsword's onslaught continued, and soon the marble floor was completely shattered, turning into a rugged, stony surface.
CRASH—!
Even after ten minutes, she was too busy dodging attacks to even attempt a single counterattack.
"Hah— I don't see any signs of a turnaround.”
"At this rate, she's bound to get hit eventually..."
Pessimistic voices arose from all around. They glanced at Lee Hyun-wook, hoping he would reconsider his decision before a terrible tragedy occurred. It seemed like an all-out assault was needed right now.
But Lee Hyun-wook slowly shook his head.
"No, she's not being pushed back yet.”
“...What?”
"She's just analyzing it thoroughly.”
Lee Hyun-wook knew Seo Eun-ha better than anyone. To be precise, he knew the future Seo Eun-ha well.
She might be lacking compared to her future self, but she was still a tanker Player with the greatest talent.
'Seo Eun-ha was the ultimate guardian, blocking the attacks of enemies who targeted me and thwarting their infiltrations.'
She was like a center back in soccer, a completely reliable core defender.
She didn't just block enemy attacks with her body; she would shut down their entire offensive strategy.
To perform such a role properly, one needed numerous qualities beyond just defense power.
'...Analyze the enemy's attack patterns, detect variables within them, and control the overall flow of battle.'
When facing a boss monster with no prior information, the first thing to do is to solidify one's defense.
By holding out with a thorough defense, you learn the boss monster's attack patterns.
Only after a considerable amount of time spent on meticulous analysis can one find an 'opening' to land a blow.
"Her pattern analysis will be done soon, and that's when her attack will begin.”
Lee Hyun-wook spoke with confidence, but the others couldn't hide their anxiety.
'Well, she's not you...'
Almost everyone present thought the same. Until now, whenever Lee Hyun-wook showed confidence, it had always been the starting point of victory. But that was only because Lee Hyun-wook was an extraordinary being.
Seo Eun-ha... in their eyes, she was outstanding, but not overwhelmingly so—an ordinary person.
After all, if she were truly exceptional, she wouldn't still be the raid team leader of the A.M.T...
Could it be that because Lee Hyun-wook himself was so exceptional, he mistakenly believed others could do the same?
Just as quite a few people were beginning to doubt Lee Hyun-wook's judgment, Seo Eun-ha's body stumbled.
"Huh?"
Her foot had gotten caught on the ground, which was torn up from the repeated battles.
At that moment, a black hole opened in the palm of the creature's right hand, and something shot out.
Shhh-shhh-shhh-shhh—!
As small steel poison needles rained down on her like a torrential downpour, Seo Eun-ha raised her left hand—the Shield of Achilles—to block them. But at the same time, the greatsword thrust toward her.
However, one of her eyes, peering over the shield, was gleaming. It seemed she had already read the timing.
'Right, after facing the greatsword's attacks so many times, she's already finished analyzing that much.'
She pulled her back foot away and spun her body around, and the greatsword scraped past her shield by a hair's breadth.
Screeeech—!
She continued forward, closing in on the creature. Now it was time to analyze the close-quarters situation.
「You pathetic human—」
At that moment, everyone noticed the creature lifting its front foot, and gasps of horror erupted from all around.
Whoosh—
The creature's right foot shot out like a battering ram. Seo Eun-ha rolled in the opposite direction, avoiding the kick. She approached more closely several times, and each time, the creature attacked with a kick as if to push her away. She was likely baiting out and confirming its reaction to her getting deep inside its guard.
「Useless—」
Meanwhile, at that moment, Lee Hyun-wook noticed a subtle change in Seo Eun-ha's expression.
A faint smile, slightly more furrowed brows, and sharper eyes...
'Yes, has the scan finally finished?'
Just then, she kicked off the ground and shot forward, throwing Mjolnir from her right hand toward the creature's head. The creature, holding the greatsword with both hands, swung it wide and easily batted Mjolnir away.
Clang—!
In that opening, Seo Eun-ha succeeded in closing in on the creature's lower body without any resistance.
'The fact that the weakness of a giant swinging such a large sword is its lower body is, in fact, a very basic theory.'
Therefore, figuring out how it defends its lower body was the key to conquering it.
She had closed in on the creature several times and discovered that its only method was kicking.
And in the moment it swung that heavy greatsword, that kick was inevitably sealed.
'It seems that because the center of gravity shifts to the tip of the sword, it would lose its balance the moment it lifted a foot...'
Seo Eun-ha had figured that out, baited out a sword strike, and then quickly charged in.
She possessed an innate sense sharp enough to perceive and exploit such a minor constraint.
THUD—!
She rammed the creature's back foot with her shield, and its body staggered.
But then, the creature attempted an entirely different attack pattern.
「Like, an, insect—」
It boldly dropped the greatsword and swung a bare fist at Seo Eun-ha.
"No—!”
It was an unexpected blow. And having abandoned the massive greatsword, the creature's movements were faster than imagined. A fist like a mace slammed down precisely toward Seo Eun-ha, who was trying to roll away.
Thud—
“...Huh?”
But wasn't that a rather dull sound for what should have been a fatal blow?
That was...
'...The Blessing of the Styx, invincibility.'
Seo Eun-ha had, at some point, drawn the 'Spear of Achilles' that was on her back,
and a strange white current was wrapped around her body like a sash.
'Invincible for just 30 seconds. But during that time, you can't attack.'
But at that very point, she had to make a critical decision.
Would she use the full 30 seconds of invincibility to catch her breath?
Or would she use this fleeting opening to launch a counterattack?
'If she succumbs to the relief of invincibility and chooses the former, the situation will just return to square one.'
Her choice was the latter. She immediately closed the distance.
Crack—
And she succeeded in driving the Spear of Achilles into the creature's chin.
「Kuh— Do you think you can prove your worth with a mere attack like this?」
Of course, the damage was far from enough to kill a level 115 boss monster.
"You'll change your mind soon enough.”
She said, raising her right hand.
Charrrrr—
Then, white chains made of light emerged from the floor and bound the creature's arms.
It was the same skill the Saintess had used to restrain the banshee, but its level was much lower.
「Merely, this—」
Snap!
The creature easily broke the chains, but in that brief moment, Seo Eun-ha was able to cast her next skill.
"Holy Light—!”
An intense white light burst from her right hand, washing over the creature's face.
The creature was fundamentally a Draugr, an undead, so it was quite vulnerable to holy attacks.
「Guh—」
The creature stumbled back, covering its eyes with its left hand. Seo Eun-ha did not miss that opening.
She activated Mjolnir's 'Returning' function, and it flew from somewhere to land in her hand.
Thump—
And the creature, temporarily blinded by the holy light, couldn't stop her approach.
She swung Mjolnir like an uppercut toward the Spear of Achilles embedded in the creature's chin.
KAAANG—!
Like hammering a nail, she succeeded in driving the spear dozens of centimeters deeper.
「Kuaaaah—!」
It was a fairly critical blow, and the creature staggered before finally falling backward.
'Good, from now on, Seo Eun-ha can attack one-sidedly.'
She drew upon all her mana to manifest a 3-meter-long white sword in the air.
“...Heavenly Sword.”
It was one of the best offensive skills a paladin could use, and it could be made much larger when cast by multiple people, as the Wight Tree Guard had demonstrated during the battle with the Necromancer on Ganghwa Island.
Its scale was smaller, but it was more than large enough to serve as a carving knife to dismantle a neutralized opponent.
Toward the fallen guardian of the Dragon's Lair, Seo Eun-ha mercilessly swung the 'Heavenly Sword'.
As the 3-meter-long holy blade struck down, even a giant would suffer a fatal wound.
Thwack—! Thwack—! Thwack—! Thwack—!
With gruesome sounds, chunks of the creature's body began to be sliced away.
Thwack—! Thwack—! Thwack—! Thwack—!
Soon, the moment she used up all her mana and the Heavenly Sword evaporated...
「Your qualification... is sufficient...」
The guardian of the Dragon's Lair left those last words as it began to dissipate into dust.
"Hah..."
Meanwhile, all the Hope Guild members, except for Lee Hyun-wook, were gaping in astonishment.
“Wow— as soon as her analysis was done, she took it down in one go...”
"That's amazing, but the CEO predicting it is also...”
They felt a renewed sense of awe as they looked back and forth between Lee Hyun-wook and Seo Eun-ha.
It was easy to predict that the Hope Guild's—Lee Hyun-wook's—combat power would become even more solid in the future.
Just then, the 'Sword of Unknown Authority' that had been thrust into the floor began to glow.
"......."
Seo Eun-ha stared blankly for a moment, then walked over to the sword and carefully pulled it out.
- Congratulations! You have proven your worth, and the power of the 'Sword of Unknown Authority' is now unlocked.
[Item Information]
- Name: Sword of the Dragon Knight (Legendary)
- Effects
1) Dragon's Might: All abilities are enhanced (+30%), and a high-level 'Mental Barrier' is formed.
2) Synchronization: As the 'Dragon' connected to you grows, your abilities will also increase.
* As there is no 'Dragon' connected to you yet, this skill is inactive.
Clutching the sword, she looked at Lee Hyun-wook, breathing heavily.
"Hah... It's... done now, right?”
"Yes, that was absolutely perfect.”
To be honest, it wasn't that Lee Hyun-wook hadn't been worried. Seo Eun-ha was certainly capable enough, but the Seo Eun-ha of this moment was not yet fully developed.
'But her talent was even more outstanding than I thought...'
Then again, if she hadn't been, she wouldn't have been able to survive until the very end in his past life.
"By the way, I hear a sound coming from that chest......."
Seo Eun-ha said, pointing to the large chest at the top of the stairs in front of them.
As they got closer, Lee Hyun-wook could hear it too.
Thump— thump—
It was a heartbeat. She looked at Lee Hyun-wook with a slightly tense expression before opening the chest.
Wooooo—
Inside the chest, a large blue egg rested on a bed of red cloth.
"......."
She looked down at the egg with a somewhat burdened expression. As Lee Hyun-wook had said, a baby dragon would hatch from it. And Seo Eun-ha would be responsible for raising it.
"Hah... I feel like my life is suddenly getting complicated.”
"Don't worry. I'll provide excellent support.”
"Right. You'd better remember you're also responsible for this.”
Lee Hyun-wook chuckled and nodded.
"Whew... Does this mean our labyrinth conquest is a success?”
Lee Jeong-jun asked with a relieved grin.
However...
“...It's not over yet.”
Lee Hyun-wook said, walking toward one of the walls.
"Why? Is there something there?”
Lee Hyun-wook nodded, but to the others, it was just a plain, empty wall.
"Um, I don't see anything...”
With his naked eye, Lee Hyun-wook couldn't find anything unusual on the wide wall.
He ended up using one of Insight Lens's skills, 'Clairvoyance'.
- Clairvoyance has been activated, greatly enhancing your vision. (+400%)
His vision cleared up noticeably, and he soon spotted a tiny flaw in the wall.
'Hmm, is it something like a keyhole?'
But he couldn't recall finding a key that would fit that hole.
'I could probably just break down this wall...'
However, there were no 'defensive spells' cast on the wall.
In other words, there didn't seem to be any difficult conditions for entry.
Then again, just finding the hidden location was likely difficult enough...
'In that case...'
Lee Hyun-wook used Solidification on his index finger, shaped it into a long, thin form, and inserted it into the groove.
Then, he used 'Fusion' on the tip and re-solidified it to match the shape inside the hole.
Click—
Soon, he heard the sound of something clicking into place inside the wall. He turned his finger while it was still inside...
Rumble—
The wall split in two, revealing a staircase leading deeper underground.
"Uh... Don't tell me it's a hidden stage?”
A hidden stage, a special area found only very rarely within a dungeon.
"It seems we're about to obtain some unexpected treasure.”
***
Following the underground stairs of the hidden stage, they came upon a massive cavern.
- You have entered the hidden stage 'The Emperor's Secret Space: Dragon's Tomb'!
Fwoosh—
As they descended the stairs and stepped onto the floor, blue flames ignited on their own in the distance.
"Huh, are there some kind of automatic sensors?”
But in that instant, everyone recoiled in terror.
The reason was...
“...A-A dragon!”
Because a dragon resembling the Black Dragon Azi Dahaka was crouched within the blue light.
And in Lee Hyun-wook's eyes, with his Clairvoyance active, he could see a sword embedded in its back.