The Shield That Would Not Break
“You were going to settle for a mere level like that?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I’ll leave that to your imagination. For now, come here.”
Hyun-jun obediently walked over.
“I was watching. You fought the skeletons quite well.”
“Ah, really? Thank you.”
A smile spread across Hyun-jun’s lips. An overwhelming power beyond anything he could properly fathom was acknowledging him, praising him. He could not say it felt bad.
“But it’s still not enough. You know that as well, don’t you? If you want to survive that dungeon, you’ll have to grow stronger.”
He finally had a way to grow stronger now. He did not want to die miserably in some dungeon anymore. He wanted to live and get out.
“But why are you helping me?”
The question slipped out before he could stop himself, and he asked cautiously.
“Does that matter?”
Hyun-jun shook his head.
“I can’t explain the details right now. But the day will definitely come when you’ll use that power. If you understand, raise your shield.”
He did not know why, but the abrupt change of topic made it clear this was something that could not be explained yet.
At the urging in his voice, Hyun-jun lifted his shield calmly. But this time, he was different. Unlike the stance he had taken when he first met Carthago, he now looked like an elite soldier who had trained nothing but shield techniques for more than ten years.
“A good stance. It seems the memories I passed on have settled in beautifully.”
Carthago sounded impressed. There was a pleased warmth in the smile spreading across his lips.
“Then we begin the training now. Summon.”
“Su-summon?”
An unexpected command slipped from Carthago’s mouth. At the same time, a magic circle was drawn in midair. Through it, a green-skinned monster burst forth.
“A troll? You were a summoner?”
“Among us, there was even a summoner who ruled a dimension. I borrowed a bit of help from him.”
“I see…”
“No need to envy it too much. It seems he wants to meet you as well... If the chance comes, you’ll gain that power too.”
If he searched his memory, he thought he could vaguely recall an unfamiliar voice mentioning the words “990,000 past lives.” If that was the case, did it mean Carthago was helping him grow through one of those 990,000 past lives, just as Carthago had once been strong enough to do? Hyun-jun felt his body trembling with excitement.
Their training was not ordinary. It had only happened once, but after that brutal session with Carthago, so many things had changed that Hyun-jun understood at least a little of what this meant.
“Before training begins, I’ll explain the theory. Have you heard of a shield bash?”
“Yes. I know the basics.”
He had seen it in games before.
“A shield can be an excellent offensive tool as well. A shield reinforced with Aura Shield, in particular, can become a superb bludgeon depending on how it is used.”
At Carthago’s explanation, Hyun-jun nodded calmly. His gaze remained fixed on the troll. He could not let his guard down, because he did not know when it would attack.
“You’re tense. Good.”
Carthago nodded with satisfaction.
“I’ll leave some knowledge of shield bashes behind when I bestow my blessing. Try to recall it.”
“I remember now. But it’s not clear.”
Hyun-jun frowned. No matter how hard he tried, the memory remained hazy. But since it was tied to the fundamentals of shield techniques, he could at least grasp the motion itself.
“You’re absorbing memories faster than I expected. That too is a fine talent.”
As Carthago lifted a hand, the troll took up a combat stance, leveling its spear at Hyun-jun. A very brief silence fell under the tension.
“From here on, the troll will attack you. Defeat it with nothing but shield bashes.”
“Are you serious?”
“Rest assured. Even if your heart is pierced and your skull smashed in here, you will not die.”
Come to think of it, all he had in his hands was a shield. Hyun-jun was stunned. Trolls had formidable regeneration, so they had to be killed in one strike. That was why edged weapons were effective, and if you were going to face one with a blunt weapon, the only answer was to crush its skull.
“For the record, this one isn’t just a troll. It’s a berserker.”
A troll berserker was a monster on the level of B-rank elite. It was equal to a Skeleton Knight.
“Understood. Begin.”
Hyun-jun said this while covering his body with the shield. He was still an F-Class Hunter, but he was not the same man he had been before. So he was confident he would not be utterly crushed against a B-rank monster. That confidence, however, was an illusion.
“Ugh!”
A B-rank monster was on an entirely different level from a C-rank one. The moment the training began, he could barely hold out before a spear was driven through his heart, and from that point on, he was impaled again and again.
Only after being skewered around a hundred times did he finally come to his senses.
“Hoo.”
Hyun-jun put some distance between them and collected his thoughts. Not having a weapon like a spear or sword was a major handicap. The duration of Aura Shield was still short, and because the motion of the shield bash was wide, he could be countered easily if he missed.
Is this experience too...?
He thought he understood why he was training like this, but all he could do was sigh. It hurt and it was infuriating, but he could not stop, because the moment this misery ended, he would become so much stronger. He was looking forward to that.
“Come!”
“Again.”
When Carthago gave the order, the troll berserker moved. Only a faint afterimage remained in his field of vision, and by the time he gathered his wits, the spear had already pierced his abdomen.
“Gah!”
He spat bright red blood and collapsed. The troll berserker drew a dagger and cut his throat. The moment he thought he had died, everything regenerated, and he found himself regaining consciousness a short distance away from the berserker.
“Two hundred and fifty. Still not enough?”
Carthago pressed him.
“This time will be different.”
Hyun-jun picked up the shield that had fallen away. He was now used to the troll berserker’s movements. The time for his counterattack had come.
“Come!”
“Again.”
The troll berserker moved with terrible speed. It was still fast, but this time it was different.
I can see it!
He had become accustomed to its movements.
Here!
He threw up Aura Shield with everything he had. The troll berserker was so fast that he had no time to call upon Carthago’s blessing. A faint Aura Shield, nowhere near comparable to the one granted through the blessing, settled over the shield anyway.
That’s enough!
He read the berserker’s movement and swung the shield with all his strength.
Bang!
The instant the reinforced shield slammed into the troll berserker’s body, a roar like the explosion of a bomb tore through the space. The flesh, made of nothing but protein, could not endure the impact of the Aura Shield and was shattered to pieces. Nothing remained of the upper body above the waist.
“I-I can’t believe it…”
“Congratulations, Kang Hyun-jun. You’ve grown stronger.”
It was a frightening rate of growth.
***
When he opened his eyes, the dark ceiling of the dungeon greeted him. He had woken from the dream, but Carthago’s teachings and knowledge remained behind.
Hyun-jun rose with a confident expression. His body felt light, as though he had received the finest buff available. Instinctively, he knew many things had changed since before the dream.
“Let’s go.”
He picked up the shield and sword he had left beside him. He was inside a C-rank elite dungeon that no lone F-Class Hunter could ever hope to clear, but he had no intention of giving up.
He muttered to himself as if making a vow, then moved forward. The two lighting drones illuminated the darkness. Hyun-jun swept his flashlight over any place that seemed dangerous as he advanced.
Whoosh!
Something sliced through the air and flew toward him. Hyun-jun raised his shield and called Carthago’s blessing.
Carthago’s Righteous Shield protects you. So long as the blessing remains, no strike can shake your shield.
The voice cut into his ear. Aura Shield strengthened the worn shield.
Crash!
It was a direct hit. But the spear that had been hurled at him failed to pierce Aura Shield and bounced away. The impact sent a plume of dust and grit bursting from the stone floor around him.
“Ngh!”
He let out a short groan from stopping the spear launched at high speed, but his defensive stance did not waver.
Clatter.
Out of the darkness, a Skeleton Knight emerged. The faint green glow flickering in its hollow eye sockets felt eerie. It was only one monster at B-rank elite level, but that was enough. Hyun-jun advanced slowly, with confidence, closing the distance.
The Skeleton Knight also drew the greatsword planted beside it. The shorter the distance became, the more threatening that massive blade felt.
What about Aura Shield...?
It was gone. In the shield’s current state, he did not think it could withstand that monstrous greatsword. There was even a faint trace of aura on the blade.
A-again, the blessing...
But there was no response.
Damn it, I’m out of mana.
The blessing was a buff-type spell that consumed mana. A lot had changed while training in the dream, but he still had only a limited amount of mana he could handle. Compared with other F-Class Hunters, it was an overwhelming amount, but it was still not enough to use the blessing repeatedly.
It’s coming!
He had no time to keep thinking. The Skeleton Knight’s greatsword aimed for Hyun-jun’s neck. But he had grown stronger through the training in his dream, and he easily dodged the swinging blade before forcing his way into the Skeleton Knight’s embrace.
“Haa!”
Shield bash!
Bang!
The shield was not reinforced by aura this time, but several of the Skeleton Knight’s ribs shattered, exposing its core in plain sight. Hyun-jun did not miss the opening. He was different now. The sword he had quickly drawn back stabbed toward the exposed core. When the core pierced by the blade cracked apart, the Skeleton Knight crumpled without a sound.
“Did I get it?”
He muttered the kind of line that sounded right and slid the sword away. The Skeleton Knight’s corpse vanished after a short while. Hyun-jun collected the mana stone it left behind. This was all money, and he could not afford to leave it behind. He turned his head and looked around. No other monsters were in sight.
If I go a little farther, I should reach the boss room...
He had no certainty, but that feeling lingered.
Let’s rest for a bit and then move on.
He did not have much mana left. Since this was a C-rank elite dungeon, the boss would be at least a B-rank elite monster, and if he was unlucky, there was even a chance an A-rank lowest-tier monster could appear. To survive, he needed enough mana to trigger the blessing at least once.
He thoroughly scouted the surroundings to secure the area, then moved to a secluded corner and leaned against the wall. After drinking water and eating jerky, he closed his eyes for a short rest.
How much time had passed? Hyun-jun suddenly woke with a jolt of anxiety.
“Hah!”
He hurriedly checked his surroundings, but there was nothing there. Only the two lighting drones hovered in place, driving back the darkness with their bright beams.
“My mana...”
It had recovered enough.
“Let’s go.”
He muttered the words like a self-inflicted lash, then picked up his shield and sword. After that, he walked along the passage. After about an hour of nonstop walking, a huge iron door, incomparable to anything he had seen so far, came into view.
Hyun-jun did not hesitate. He opened the door. With a rusty groan, the iron slab swung wide, and the drones shone their lights into the chamber beyond.
“Skeleton... Champion...”
At the far end of the broad cavern stood a skeleton armed with a round iron shield and a sword. It was larger than the other skeletons. Hyun-jun immediately understood that this was the Skeleton Champion, a monster at the lowest A-rank.
My luck is absolute shit.
If it had been a B-rank elite monster, he thought he might have had a chance. But for an A-rank monster, even if it was the lowest tier, to show up here...
“I’m going all the way.”
With that resolve, he raised his shield. Even if it was only the lowest A-rank monster, he should be able to handle it if he stayed sharp. He was far stronger than before, to a degree that could not even be compared, so the moment he thought that,
“Huh...?”
A terrible pain surged through his waist. By the time he came to his senses, the Skeleton Champion was behind him, and bright red blood was bursting from his lower back. But Hyun-jun did not panic. He was used to pain. Silently, he lifted his shield.
Carthago’s Righteous Shield protects you.
The blessing began. Cold killing intent seeped from Hyun-jun’s eyes.