Once You Gain Power, You Want to Use It
Having checked his skyrocketing stats—which were so high he couldn't even put them into words—Han Ji-woo was itching to test them out right away.
"Man, I can't contain all this overflowing power. What do I do? Isn't there somewhere to use it? I'm going crazy here."
That's when Toryong slithered over and whispered slyly.
"Yo-ho-ho~ Did you eat some food that makes your power surge all bulging and throbbing? But with nowhere to let it out, that must be so tough, right?"
"...What the hell are you talking about?"
"As expected of Master Ji-woo! A strapping man! A man whose power surges bulging and throbbing! A man who suffers so much when he can't release it all! Tonight will be a lonely night~ But there's a solution, if you'd like to hear it?"
"Ha. What is it?"
"If you become a hermaphrodite like Toryong!"
"Perfect! I finally found a place to use this strength!"
Han Ji-woo flicked a double chestnut on Toryong's head, spinning him around like a top.
"Kyaaaaa! My head's caving in! It's caving in! Right where that demon bit me! It's gonna burst! Gonna burst!"
"I didn't even hit that hard, you big baby."
Han Ji-woo dusted off his hands. Toryong lay on the ground like a deflated balloon, mouth agape.
Seeing this, Lucy padded over and poked at Toryong with her front paw. Ferrofero came rushing in, scooping her up into his arms.
"Princess! It's dangerous! Nyaah? The idiot virus is contagious!"
As the two departed, Brisong sauntered over from the side and licked the spot on Toryong's head where he'd been flicked.
"As expected, only Brisong thinks of poor Toryong~"
Han Ji-woo shot a disdainful glare at the still-whining Toryong and muttered to himself.
"But where the heck are Pao and the chubby one? Still not back?"
He'd sent them to the Dungeon Prison just to absorb some dragon power, but it seemed they were slacking off. Should he summon them by force? He considered it but decided to let them play a bit longer.
Han Ji-woo's pet 'Seibier' has acquired Blue Dragon's Lightning Breath.
A powerful bundle of lightning that spreads through chain reactions.
5 uses, then 3-minute cooldown.
"Ooh!"
A message appeared saying the chubby one had acquired Blue Dragon's Lightning Breath.
"Guess they weren't just slacking off completely."
Thrilled at the news of his little one's growth, Han Ji-woo started humming a tune without realizing it.
'Now Pao can help with the farming, and the chubby one can run around everywhere playing?'
But contrary to Han Ji-woo's expectations, unimaginable chaos was unfolding in the Dungeon Prison.
* * *
-You have walked again, heir of the Black Dragon.
The voices of the dragon elders merged into one, resounding simultaneously.
Krrrr~
Seibier growled lowly in response.
-Your body, more grown than before, can now accept even more of our elders' power. Take the heart of the Blue Dragon elder.
A watermelon-sized blue gem appeared in midair. The dazzling jewel seeped into Seibier's body.
With this, Seibier now possessed one more breath.
-It is done. Return when you have grown further for another power.
The dragon elders' voices fell silent.
Krrruk~ Seibier growled as he exited the Dragon Tomb.
Sasuri and Pao greeted him.
"Did you get it? The power?"
"What breath did you acquire?"
Krrrrororo~
"Lightning if it's the Blue Dragon's breath. It'll be a huge help in the war. Let's hurry."
With Sasuri taking to the skies, Seibier followed, carrying Pao and the golden goblin.
A griffin and a dragon sliced through the heavens, approaching the blood-soaked battlefield.
Two identical groups of monsters were slaughtering each other, corpses piling up endlessly. But the duplicates' bodies dissolved into black smoke, reabsorbed into the Ogre King.
In the end, only the non-duplicates lay strewn about, drenched in red blood.
Slimes, mimics, kobolds, gnolls, orcs, trolls, werewolves, minotaurs, griffins, nagas, lizardmen, and more—monsters of every kind, living peacefully just yesterday, now caught in sudden war and cooling in death.
The sight ignited fury in Sasuri's chest.
The Ogre King was still mass-producing duplicates, massacring monsters.
Sasuri and Seibier dove sharply, hiding in the forest.
"Golden goblin. Now..."
Sasuri was about to order the goblin to cast Invisible on Seibier when—
Pop!
"...?!"
Seibier and Pao vanished.
"W-what the!"
With everything prepared, losing their key firepower left Sasuri flustered.
"What happened? Did the master...?"
He stomped the ground with his front paw in frustration.
Then.
'That ogre...'
The golden goblin eyed the duplicate-spewing Ogre King with a strange gaze.
* * *
Krruk?
"Huh?"
Seibier and Pao, who moments ago had been steeling themselves before the battlefield, looked around in confusion.
"You two. If you're done with what you had to do, get back here already."
Only as Han Ji-woo approached did they realize they were in the Hidden Space.
"Kyurruk!"
Seibier immediately polymorphed into chubby form and burrowed into his master's arms.
Pao, meanwhile, poured out words with the most serious face imaginable.
"B-big trouble! Dungeon Prison! Huge trouble!"
"Huge trouble? What kind?"
"War! Ogre King! Started a war!"
"The Ogre King? Out of nowhere why?"
From Han Ji-woo's perspective, this was like thunder in a clear sky.
The Ogre King valued peace more than any monster in the Dungeon Prison. For him to start a war?
He wanted details, but what came from Pao and the chubby one's mouths was...
"Ogre King! Keeps spewing! Other monsters! Shoots from body! They look same! Die, then gone! Shoots more! Same-looking ones! Our side dies fighting! Shoots again! Ogre King!"
Kyurrrrororo!
Kyurruk!
Kyurrrrorororo!
Kyuruk!
Kyuuuwoooo!
Something roughly like that.
"...Has my ability to understand your language always been this bad?"
He couldn't make heads or tails of it.
The best option was to go to the Dungeon Prison and see for himself. Problem was, Pao's Prison Key skill could only be used once a day. He'd already used it today, so he'd have to wait until midnight.
But given their panic, he couldn't just sit idle.
'Something big really did happen.'
Racking his brain for a solution, Han Ji-woo thought of Growth Acceleration.
He could use it to grow his pets' skills too.
He opened his status window to check the skill details.
Growing pet skills had limits: 10 uses, then the ability vanished. 5 left now.
He used one on Pao's Prison Key.
'Please develop in the direction I want!'
Pao's skill 'Prison Key' has been strengthened by the effects of Growth Acceleration!
If only he had Seol Ara's luck stat right now.
'No. Looking back, the luck that's stuck to my fate isn't half bad!'
Who was Han Ji-woo? The man who'd hit the lottery jackpot! Beating odds of 1 in 81,450,606.
And even after being dragged into the dungeon, he'd slipped into the Hidden Space alone and lived the sweet life.
So the luck in Han Ji-woo's life was...
Can enter and exit the Dungeon Prison twice a day, with one companion.
"Yes!"
...always ongoing.
Pao's Prison Key had upgraded from once to twice a day.
"Pao! Let's go to the prison together!"
"Got it, Master!"
"You guys, I'll call if needed! Stay put unless I summon you!"
"Understood! We'll wait!"
Nyaah!
Kuwoot!
With the other pets seeing them off, Han Ji-woo headed to the Dungeon Prison with Pao.
* * *
Sasuri agonized.
With comrades dying before his eyes, should he join the fight?
'The moment I do, the Ogre King will make a duplicate of me.'
Adding griffin leader-level power to the enemy side.
Fortunately, the Ogre King couldn't make more than one duplicate per target.
If multiples were possible, the war would've ended already.
Sasuri glanced skyward in frustration.
'Seibier can't come back today anyway.'
So he should have the golden goblin cast Invisible on him and charge in.
But.
"...Damn it!"
The golden goblin vanished.
With his obedience target gone, he'd bolted. Hiding his presence that well meant he'd used Invisible to escape for sure.
He knew the goblin was sly; he should've watched closer but got careless.
Kwaaaak!
Kweeik!
Krrruk!
While Sasuri debated, countless monsters died.
In the end, he...
Piiiieeee!
...couldn't ignore his comrades' deaths any longer and cried out, taking flight.
From afar, the Ogre King's shoulders twitched.
Sticky fluid burst from the twitching skin, soon taking Sasuri's form.
It charged at ferocious speed, identical to Sasuri.
"You bastard!"
Sasuri roared and flew to meet it.
Kakang!
Their beaks and talons clashed viciously in midair.
A griffin's beak was harder than diamond, slicing anything; steel-like talons dripped poison that crippled on a graze.
These deadly weapons clashed repeatedly.
Kakakakakakang!
Sasuri held even against his duplicate.
Other griffins dove in to help.
'Good! Perfect!'
With their aid, he'd slay the duplicate and gouge the Ogre King's eyes.
But.
Kwajik!
Puk!
Kwaduduk!
"Urk! You lot...!"
The "helpers" were all duplicates. Distracted fighting his own, he hadn't distinguished friend from foe.
In seconds, his feathers were torn, his body riddled with holes, blood gushing.
His duplicate seized the moment, swinging its sharp beak.
'It's over.'
His neck would be severed soon.
As he closed his eyes in resignation—
Flash!
A streak of light dazzled his vision, then—
Chwaaaaaaaaak!
All nearby duplicates spewed blood and plummeted.
"Hey, you okay?"
Before Sasuri stood a man in black robes with dual swords, hovering in the air.
Han Ji-woo.