Chapter 22: An Unexpected Party (1)

Should I just ditch this bastard?

It might be better to start over quickly before things got any worse, but Jeonghyeon let out a scoffing sigh, shook his head, and called out to Philip.

"Hey, Philip."

"Yes!"

Philip, who had been on edge waiting for monsters to appear, turned to Jeonghyeon, and two potions were tossed his way.

"Whoa!"

Philip leaned his body dramatically, catching both potions in a somewhat comical pose.

"This is... a full recovery potion, isn't it?"

"Yeah. This next part's gonna be rough. Splash 'em on the injured guys, warn 'em to shut up and hunker down in the corner. If they bitch about it, smack 'em a couple times."

"Y-Yes...?"

"Once you've got 'em in line, jump into the fight."

With that, Jeonghyeon bolted forward. Philip had grown a bit frustrated with the pattern of bewildering orders delivered without any explanation.

"Hm?"

But when he felt Jeonghyeon's mana flowing into his body, he quickly realized the situation was urgent.

Guess I just follow orders.

Philip dutifully poured the recovery potion over a fallen hunter.

"Hey. Once your wounds heal, stay back—it's dangerous."

As he poured, the hunter clutched Philip's pant leg with the expression of someone who'd met their savior in the dungeon crevice, tears streaming down his face.

"Th-Thank... you...!"

Sizzle—!

One down, saved for now.

Philip hoisted the hunter up with one hand, carried him safely to the wall, and scanned for other injured hunters nearby.

Two more: a tall guy with a major leg wound and a woman in a mana robe typical of mages.

"Wait here for now!"

Leaving the hunters—who were physically healed but still mentally shattered and in agony—Philip headed deeper into the dungeon.

"...!"

He hadn't realized from outside the room.

There were this many monsters.

"Kieek!"

"Kerruk!!"

These mid-tier skeletons were no pushover trash mob boneheads—they were strong enough to absorb and incorporate lesser skeletons' bones.

In Jeonghyeon's favorite phrasing, they were the "highest-level noobs among noobs."

Over a dozen of them were battling Jeonghyeon.

Of course, even tough ones like these got one-sidedly pummeled by Jeonghyeon.

"Damn it! These! Weak-ass! Things! Always! Swarming!"

Jeonghyeon crushed the skeletons completely with just a few strikes.

Even if it was a skill Jeonghyeon wielded, seeing his own weapon handled so masterfully was impressive—and a bit envy-inducing.

"Save...!"

"Ah! I'll save you!"

While distracted, one hunter was on the brink of death.

"Here!"

Philip splashed potions on the two, hoisted them up, and hauled them out of the room. By the time he returned, the fight ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was nearly over.

"Oh. You're back?"

"Ah... Sorry!"

Unlike Philip's overreaction, Jeonghyeon was nonchalant.

It wasn't a tough fight anyway, and that casual air from their first meeting lingered.

"Are you okay?"

"Nah, worse than I thought."

But Jeonghyeon's response was unexpected. His fingertips trembled faintly, and even Soul of the Mountain was fading at the tip.

"Did you take a hit or something?! We still have full recovery potions!"

"No, don't use 'em now."

Jeonghyeon clicked his tongue in annoyance.

His body wasn't fatigued. It wasn't a long fight or against a strong foe. The issue was simple: physical strain from his mana.

This damn mana.

Fatigue recovery potions restored basic mana or holy power too, but Demon King mana didn't budge. It didn't recover on level-ups or potions. How the hell did it refill?

"Always such a pain..."

In the end, Jeonghyeon released Attribute Domination. Continuing like this would lead to massive eye pain and combat incapacity like last time—not to mention failing the dungeon.

Previously, Philip had been there to help, but now, any "baggage" dying behind him would kill Philip too.

"Can you fight?"

Jeonghyeon asked Philip.

"Yes! Of course!"

"Good. Clear out everything in sight and charge like mad. I'll cover from behind."

"But... aren't we guarding the survivors?"

"You know that, so move."

Before Jeonghyeon's curt words finished, Philip drew Soul of the Mountain, swung it briefly—whoosh—and gathered mana in his throat.

"Come at me!!!"

His booming shout echoed through the dungeon, drawing the skeletons' attention. Philip charged right in.

Thud! Thud!

Thank goodness they weren't amorphous low-tiers like slimes or wraiths.

Skeletons, with their solid bone frames, shattered after a few solid hits, no matter how much they regenerated.

Jeonghyeon's condition normalized seconds after releasing mana.

He stepped back, gripped Blood Dissector, and handled monsters leaking past Philip in groups of a few.

"Kieek!"

Were the skeletons still low on comprehension?

Thinking back, thanks to Solgaleh's awakener Han Serin, he rarely encountered undead before reaching the Tower.

Most undead writhed and died in agony from the overflowing holy aura without even approaching.

Ironically, Jeonghyeon had little experience with skeletons.

"Still, I'm not struggling against trash like you."

Low comprehension didn't mean a tough fight.

As Jeonghyeon's simple, unrefined movements swung Blood Dissector, skeletons' bones snapped apart, collapsing in heaps.

"Kek!"

A headless skeleton's jaw clattered grotesquely.

Crunch!

Jeonghyeon stomped the skull to dust.

With empty bodies, the mana stone—monster core—was either invisible or in the skull.

"Philip, kid's fighting pretty well, huh?"

He'd been tense about zero casualties at first, but Philip had grown far beyond his E-rank through time with Jeonghyeon.

They regenerate bones or absorb allies', so C-grade or higher.

Impressed, Jeonghyeon thought they could catch a breather—

"Hm?"

But trouble erupted elsewhere.

Rumble—.

The ground beneath Jeonghyeon trembled, then—

Crack-rumble-boom!!!

—skeletons burst from the dirt floor.

"Yeah, knew it. No way you'd all come at once."

There had to be a boss controlling them.

Skeleton King—not a specific monster, but the dungeon's skeleton overlord.

Until Philip bulldozed to its lair like a mindless bull, it'd be a boring defense slog.

"Already tired."

Jeonghyeon regripped Blood Dissector.

As many skeletons rose for Philip.

How many was that? If only they were pig or cow skeletons—could make bone broth after smashing.

Jeonghyeon smirked at his own cynical joke, reversing his grip on Blood Dissector.

"Demon King Shop."

He'd bought the comprehension buff once before, but it remained.

Something different?

Last time, it boosted monster comprehension on subordinates. Still available meant something else.

"Demon King bastard never explains shit properly."

Jeonghyeon grumbled and decided.

"Might as well figure it out one by one. Comprehension Rate Buff. Purchase."

Ding!

Pretty generous, huh?

Jeonghyeon chuckled at the Demon King's stingy-yet-generous ways and swung Blood Dissector at the skeletons.

***

Jeonghyeon had been a Swordmaster in his previous life.

In simple terms, a guy who'd been top-tier back in the day.

Maces were a different beast in strikes and handling, but Blood Dissector wasn't for combat—still, it was a blade.

An Epic Weapon that never dulled or broke was a fine tool for a sword expert like him.

"Pathetic ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trash..."

Innumerable shattered skeletons at his feet proved his skill.

"All cleared now, so crawl out. You've been healed ages ago, right?"

His cold words aimed at the far wall prompted fake coughs as the three men finally stirred.

"Th-Thank you."

"How can we repay this kindness..."

Had they forgotten bullying Jeonghyeon days ago? They couldn't meet his eyes, fumbling awkwardly.

"You. Who's the leader?"

The bald hunter ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠who first approached Jeonghyeon cautiously raised his hand.

"Me. Kim Yongnam."

"Right, Yongnam. We're both here to make a quick buck, not run a charity, yeah?"

"Y-Yes..."

"So don't run—stick close. We're going straight to the boss."

"N-No! We'll bail!"

Fucking knew it.

"It's doable. See that muscle pig? The dark one. He'll and I will handle it."

"No! We have our pride and roots as hunters! You don't need useless guys like us!"

So damn annoying.

If you leave, I'm screwed, idiots.

He swallowed the urge to yell it.

Abandoning the Tower meant "death" for the soul.

Quit on floor 1 or 50, you restart from 1.

A chance to retry for hunters—a minor hassle. But for Jeonghyeon, who couldn't die, a massive constraint.

Finally, he pulled a high-grade mana stone from inventory and tossed it.

"See this shine? Shut up, follow quietly, and I'll split it three ways."

The B-grade stone's luster lit fire in their eyes.

"R-Really?!"

"Yeah. No more whining—follow smart. Got it?"

"Yes, sir! Of course, bro!!"

Bro my ass.

Jeonghyeon sighed at the wasted stone but had no choice. He needed to catch up to struggling Philip. Taking the bribed trash hunters—Yongnam and his goons—he headed deeper.

"Ugh. Tired, so tired."