A Stay of Execution (4)
Whoooom! KRAAAASH!
Ice and cold air split apart in midair as if the void itself had been torn in two.
The backlash sent Du-ho’s body lurching hard to one side.
Immediately, nanobots poured from his arms, burrowing into the floor to brace him in place.
Under the influence of the amplification circuit, even more fragments were drawn toward the core Du-ho had thrown.
But the golems stole some of them away as well.
The Ice Golems swelled noticeably larger, and their ice armor thickened even further.
In contrast, what Du-ho had created was...
About the size of an adult man.
A grotesquely oversized jaw and long arms that dragged against the floor.
A pitiful little frame that could not be compared to the gigantic golems.
That was the result of Du-ho’s handiwork.
Well...
There was no way a first attempt could fill the belly.
More importantly, what mattered was that, just as expected, it had absorbed the golem’s remains.
At that moment,
[An Unanticipated Creation]
An temporary identification name can be registered.
Whoa, that startled me.
Even Du-ho hadn’t expected that, and neither had the system.
For a moment, he stared at the golem.
Du-ho’s first golem, one built on absorption and amplification.
The word that rose in his mind was simple.
Predator.
As though it had read his thoughts, Hoguai spoke inside his head.
-How about Predatore, the Italian word for predator, Du-ho nim?
...That’s hard to pronounce.
-My apologies.
Ah, come on.
There was no need to apologize for that.
Du-ho scratched his cheek and said to the system window,
“Predato.”
He fixed the pronunciation to suit his own taste.
[The identifier 'Predato' has been registered]
The core glowed red.
Then Predato lifted its head.
Crack.
Fissures ran over its surface, then healed again with a rush of cold.
Du-ho drew back the nanobots embedded in the floor.
Then he pointed across the plaza with one finger.
Predato!
“Eat those bastards.”
In effect, he was ordering it not to attack, but to absorb.
Crack, crack.
At the command, Predato dragged itself forward.
Since I’d set it to move through absorption and release...
Its body twisted grotesquely as it advanced.
Honestly, just as Du-ho had wondered how much help Predato could possibly be against giants,
Hmm...
-Du-ho nim, the youngest one is awfully small, hmda?
Hoguai adjusted the scope on his eye and added,
-Forgive my frankness, but in its current state, it is useless.
Du-ho folded his arms.
For now...
“Let’s watch.”
Really, though.
If it can absorb properly, that’s already a success.
He glanced sideways.
[Time Limit: 00:42:17]
Too tight.
Then Predato lunged sluggishly at the nearest golem.
Thud!
It was kicked away so pathetically by the Ice Golem’s foot that it bounced aside.
As expected, battle was Istho’s and Hoguai’s domain.
Even so, Predato had still produced a meaningful result.
Oh!
-An opening, hmda.
Twang!
Isto sprang forward like a bullet.
With a punch, they smashed the bent leg of the Ice Golem that had kicked Predato.
The golem lost its balance and collapsed to one knee.
Whoosh! Crack!
The instant one hand touched the floor and its chest was exposed, Hoguai did not miss the chance; his steel arrow pierced the Ice Golem’s core with pinpoint precision.
Experience acquired.
Effect:Level up!
Kwooooh!
The remaining five golems all tried to absorb at once.
Slowly, lazily.
The Predato that had gotten back to its feet was also swallowing fragments and swelling larger.
The golems grew bigger and bigger.
The more they were broken, the larger and stronger the survivors became.
Hoguai said in a voice thick with concern,
-At this rate, clearing the quest will be difficult.
Oh?
-No, hmda! The youngest one seems to be the variable.
At Istho’s words, Du-ho turned his head and saw the now fairly large Predato coiling around an Ice Golem’s ankle.
It was as supple as a snake.
Huh?
“I didn’t expect that either.”
Whip!
Its jellylike body climbed the golem’s leg and tightened around it with a vicious squeeze.
Isto shouted in delight and kicked the Ice Golem’s dulled leg.
The golem tipped forward and crashed down.
Just as Isto was about to exploit the opening, another golem’s fist came crashing down over their head.
In that instant—
Whoosh—CRACK!
A steel arrow pierced the golem’s elbow joint.
BOOM!!
The fist, its path thrown off, barely missed Isto and slammed into the ground instead.
As time went on, the battle only grew fiercer.
* * *
How much time had passed?
In the endless battle, thanks to the two summons fighting so desperately, they had brought down two more Ice Golems.
It was clear that Isto and Hoguai were strong.
But the problem was time.
Then something unexpected happened.
Predato, now enormous, stretched its body out long like a serpent and coiled around the golems’ legs at once, pinning their movement in an instant.
Oh! Oh!
-The youngest one is magnificent, hmda!
Twang!
Isto pushed off the ground and leapt like a bullet.
Then they drove a fist deep toward the chest of the immobilized golem.
Crack! Split!
The moment the hard ice armor began to fissure,
Whoosh! Crack!
As if waiting for that very instant, Hoguai’s arrow shot through the widening seam and pierced the golem’s core.
The golem collapsed where it stood.
Then—
Kwoooohhhhh!
Predato swallowed the shattered remains.
What had once been a human-sized creature now looked down upon the remaining golems from a height.
Because of that, the tide turned in an instant.
Only one remained.
And more than that...
“Huge” doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Predato’s head was touching the ceiling.
Du-ho shouted,
“Predato, crush it!”
KUGUGUGUGU!
The moment the order fell, Predato collapsed straight down.
Rather than “pounced,” the better word was “swept down like a deluge.”
Its overwhelming mass charged toward the head of the last Ice Golem.
Oh~ oh~ oh!
-That is so magnificently dramatic, hmda!
Shouting that, Isto hurled themselves forward as if to smash the golem’s legs.
But then...
Shaaaaaa!
Was it because Predato had grown too large?
The liquid-monster body that came spilling down swallowed not only the Ice Golem, but Isto as well.
-Eh? Eh??
Shooaaah—
Inside the transparent, gigantic ice jelly,
Isto floated weightlessly, trapped together with the Ice Golem.
-...????
The LED eyes looked like they were asking, Why am I here...?
Du-ho massaged his temple at the sight just as
Whoosh—!
Hoguai’s steel arrow streaked in.
It pierced straight through Predato’s body.
And then it accurately skewered the Ice Golem’s core trapped inside.
Crack!
In the end, the last golem, too, was erased.
Experience acquired.
Effect:Level up!
Paang!
At the same time, Isto burst back out through Predato.
In their hands was Predato’s core, spinning like mad.
-I pulled it out, hmda!
When Du-ho looked up, Predato, with its core ripped free, had already frozen solid into hard ice.
And in Isto’s hand, the core gradually stopped spinning.
Because the pattern of the mana circuits had evaporated away.
As if to prove it,
[The temporary registered entity has been erased]
Predato’s body became a colossal support pillar holding up the dungeon ceiling.
Like a column in an ancient temple.
And then—
-Here it is, Du-ho nim!
Istho trotted over and held out the core.
Du-ho took it and lifted one corner of his mouth.
If Isto had not pulled out the core and escaped, he had been ready to leave it behind.
But now that things had come to this...
“Next time, I’ll make it properly.”
He put the core into the Garage.
Then he looked up at the massive pillar of ice once more.
Hmm...
Even I have to admit it.
Making Predato was the right choice.
-That was foresight worthy of a world conqueror! Hehe.
Hoguai, who had also returned after collecting the steel arrow, chimed in as well.
-That was a more calculated move than a robot would make.
That barrage of praise from the two of them.
Du-ho shrugged as if he were perfectly calm.
“You’re making a fuss.”
Inside, though, his nose was itching from how pleased he was.
Still...
“I need to deal with the dungeon core quickly.”
Where Du-ho had pointed his chin, a hidden passage appeared.
Deep darkness leaked out with a wash of cold air.
Istho immediately took the lead.
There were no more traps on the way in.
Most likely, the Ice Golem pack in the plaza had been the dungeon’s main boss.
And at the end of the passage, a stone door came into view.
Rrrrgh.
Istho pushed open the heavy stone door, went in, then came back out.
Aw.
-No traps, hmda.
A disappointed line formed on the LED face.
Was that something to be disappointed about?
Du-ho and Hoguai entered as well.
At the center of the room, floating above a small altar, was a blue crystal.
The dungeon core of the snowfield.
In one corner sat five old wooden boxes.
Hoguai warned him,
-Those may be mimics.
“Mimics?”
-Monsters that devour whoever opens the box. Until it is opened, no skill can identify them.
Du-ho nodded.
With just under four minutes left until the quest ended, there was no need to take the risk.
-Du-ho nim, I shall open them for you, hmda!
“No, no.”
-Hm?
“Put them all in the Garage.”
“Understood, hmda?”
Isto, looking dejected, tucked the boxes away in the Garage.
Thanks to that, the room felt hollow.
I’ll have Isto open them later, I guess.
With a light heart, Du-ho stood in front of the dungeon core.
When he reached out, nanobots spilled forth.
Just as the silver dust began to coil around the core,
[Announcement]
The Abyss 80th floor has been cleared.
“...Huh?”
Du-ho’s hand froze.
As he checked the contents of the announcement, a faint smile spread across his lips.
We did it...!
That meant Seoul would be safe for another year.
He felt happier than if it had happened to him personally.
If Seoul were swallowed by the Abyss, then Du-ho, who had only just begun to walk a flower-strewn road, and his family would be finished as well.
That was one of the reasons he had come here in the first place.
“Good. Really good.”
His joy tightening into a fist, he clenched his hand.
Crack, crack, crack!
The nanobots mercilessly twisted the core.
Paang—!
The blue light shattered as the core burst into fragments.
Reward: Ring of Evasion
A ring formed in midair.
Du-ho snatched it up at once and slid it onto his finger.
As the ring adjusted itself to the thickness of his finger, a status window appeared.
[Item Acquired]
Name: Ring of Evasion
Grade: Rare
Effect: Once per day, absolutely evade all attacks.
Hmm...
Let’s see.
Du-ho’s eyes widened as he read the effect.
“A ring that grants one absolute evasion a day, and it’s only Rare?”
Hoguai, who thought the same thing was absurd, adjusted his scope and said,
-If this were Legendary or Mythic grade, then it would have no usage limit.
“...!”
In other words,
If it had been Mythic grade, the enemy’s attacks would have been meaningless.
Istho cut in, displaying a giant exclamation point on the LED eyes.
-That kind of item would be cheating, hmda!
At that, Du-ho couldn’t help but snort.
Honestly, even this was enough...
“It’s like taking out a life insurance policy for the moment of absolute crisis.”
-Exactly! It’s a very good item, hmda. Hehe~.
Then it happened.
KUGUGUGUGU!
The dungeon trembled.
Cracks split open in every direction as collapse began.
Just as they were about to leave the room, a system window appeared.
[Dimension Control]
Floor 1 destruction is possible.
Destroy / Stay of Execution
Now that the 80th floor had been cleared, was there any need to hesitate?
The answer was already decided.
“Let’s head down to the second floor too.”
At Du-ho’s words, the two of them nodded furiously, as if they truly wanted to go down.
“Stay of execution.”
[World Announcement]
The destruction of the Republic of Korea Abyss Floor 1 is stayed.
So even this gets broadcast as a world announcement.
Huh.
The people on the other side must have been cheering that they had saved Seoul with their lives on the line.
Whoooosh—.
As a blue portal formed, Du-ho let out a sigh.
Well, whatever.
I’ll go get some proper rest... and then I guess I’ll go to work.
He pushed his body into the rippling portal.
* * *
The Abyss, 80th floor.
A harsh expanse of black basalt, still boiling and refusing to cool, endlessly seething.
Right in the middle of a place where any ordinary person would burn alive in an instant,
a frost-black greatsword was buried through the chest of the lava giant.
[Announcement]
The Abyss 80th floor has been cleared.
Waaahhh!
The clan members embraced one another and cheered.
Some of them even wept in the end.
Their confidence had already hit rock bottom after repeated failures.
If the Ghost had not appeared, Seoul would have been swallowed by the Abyss.
Han Hyeon-cheol, chairman and clan lord of the Cheongcheon Clan, pulled the sword from the giant’s chest.
A vicious cold poured from the blade.
It was so intense that it made everyone forget they were standing on a lava plain.
“What a splendid sword.”
“Seems you like it.”
When he turned, it was Go Gyeong-taek, the Cheongcheon Clan’s chief of staff.
He continued,
“Including the sword in your hands, Chairman, all the items that played a major role in this expedition were purchased from the Management Bureau.”
Han Hyeon-cheol nodded.
Then Go Gyeong-taek let a troubled expression surface.
“However... because the extermination was so fierce, some of the items were damaged.”
He briefly added the terms of the transaction.
“We bought the items at below market price, and in exchange, the Bureau agreed to handle the repairs.”
Just as Han Hyeon-cheol was about to say they should proceed that way—
“We could just repair them ourselves. Why go that far?”
One of the Cheongcheon Clan executives cut in.
“Still, we made a promise... ”
“You can ignore that kind of promise. The Management Bureau’s just a bunch of merchants anyway.”
The executive went on with open mockery.
“We’ve got two awakened talents in production classes in our clan alone, so what’s the point?”
It was a day for celebration.
Go Gyeong-taek shut his mouth tight.
At least the good news was that
the sword in Han Hyeon-cheol’s hand remained perfectly intact.
Just as he was about to turn away with that thought—
[World Announcement]
The destruction of the Republic of Korea Abyss Floor 1 is stayed.
In an instant, the cheering stopped.
Stayed, not destroyed?
Wait a second.
That was another world announcement, wasn’t it??
Han Hyeon-cheol’s eyes wavered.
In other words,
The life-and-death authority over Abyss Floor 1 had been given to the Ghost.
---