The Strongest Metal, Adamantium (1)

The creature had fallen, and the first item I coveted was none other than the Ougre's Belt.

The belt of the multi-armed Ougre was famous for its absurdly vast storage space. It had to hold all those heavy blunt weapons the beast used, so a large inventory was inevitable.

On top of that, it increased the wearer's strength, which was the cherry on top.

That was why nearly every worker in any guild that amounted to anything wore one. It might not be a luxury brand, but it was basically the "people's belt" of waist accessories.

With a trembling hand I reached out yesterday to touch the belt on the dead Ougre.

I couldn't strip it off and wear it right away because of the monster's immense weight, but touching it would at least let me preview the specs.

What?

Forty by forty?

That was a storage space of sixteen hundred squares.

I would essentially be walking around with the cargo capacity of an entire freight truck wrapped around my waist.

And the strength boost was a whopping one hundred points.

When I had looked it up earlier, a regular Ssangdu-palbi Ougre belt raised strength by twenty to thirty while a unique one gave fifty to sixty. This was on another level entirely.

No wonder the bastard had been hurling that seven-ton wrecking ball like a soccer ball.

The agility lock at twenty was actually an advantage for me. My current agility sat at a pathetic eleven plus two from my work boots, so the belt would effectively grant me seven more points.

Goodbye, heavy backpack. Muhaha.

I wouldn't have to worry about inventory management until the day I needed agility over twenty.

Good.

Next came the creature's bracelets.

Every Ougre bracelet carried the basic option of raising strength by one.

What was interesting was that bracelets dropped by the same Ougre would stack exponentially when worn together.

For an ordinary two-armed Ougre the stacking was modest. Only two bracelets, so together they gave a mere plus two to strength.

But the most ferocious known Ougre—the one with six arms—dropped six bracelets.

Strength one, strength two, strength four, strength eight, strength sixteen, strength thirty-two…

The final result was a staggering plus thirty-two strength.

This was insane.

Just the belt and bracelets together would add two hundred twenty-eight strength?

And it even let me use the monster's skill, Eight-Arm Barrage?

Next was the necklace.

The creature had been wearing a leather collar studded with two spikes. One was probably its own; the other had belonged to the now-vanished left head.

The second one was.

I had known that hunting an Ougre would yield a strength belt and strength bracelets, but I had never heard anything about necklaces that taught skills.

Yet the real shock was in the special note.

Monster Mode!

So that was the skill the creature had used to hurl the seven-ton wrecking ball earlier.

Heh.

I had never heard of this skill before.

Besides four pairs of Ougre Chain Gauntlets that offered no other notable options, there were no other worthwhile items.

Ordinary Ougres were so ragged they usually wore nothing but a tattered loincloth, after all.

The gauntlets were far too heavy for someone whose specialty was digging, so I would sell them.

The weapons were equally unappetizing.

Among the blunt weapons it had dropped, the maul looked usable, so I decided to replace my cheap sledgehammer with it. The rest—flails, morning stars, clubs, war hammers, maces—had little overlap with my actual profession.

When I picked up the giant maul it shrank to a comfortable size for me and slipped neatly onto my belt.

Still, I carefully stored every other weapon in my inventory. Even if I didn't use them, they would fetch decent prices.

Next task.

I touched the creature's belt to inspect its contents.

The sixteen-hundred-slot space was stuffed with all sorts of junk.

Shackles, handcuffs, ropes, whips…

And a whole collection of enormous objects that strongly resembled certain adult toys.

This guy was a complete SM maniac?

Not to mention every kind of trash and filth imaginable. Calling it a repository of pure disgust would not be an exaggeration.

Amid the chaotic, unorganized mess, one category stood out because it had been neatly arranged.

I pulled out Prison Key 1 and gripped it. Fortunately the key was sized perfectly for my hand.

It must have been downsized.

I collected all twelve keys, then headed toward the edge of the second basement level.

That was when the sounds started again.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!

Clang-ka! Clang-ka! Clang-ka! Clang-ka!

Clang-ka.

I didn't know exactly what it meant, but it probably referred to a savior figure from Ougre legend.

As I approached the edge, I noticed the prison doors I had overlooked before.

When I shone my flashlight through the small barred windows, I saw Ougres half the size of the giant Ssangdu-palbi Ougre locked inside.

These smaller Ougres wore rags across their chests to cover heavy breasts. They had no horns and no protruding fangs.

They were female.

The status window confirmed my guess almost instantly.

When I drew near, all the female Ougres stopped clapping with anxious expressions and clutched whatever they held tightly to their chests so it wouldn't be taken.

Looking closer, I saw they were protecting tiny Ougre pups.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Some pups were nursing at their mothers' breasts, some were being carried, and others hid behind their mothers' legs.

There were two-armed ones, four-armed ones, six-armed ones—variety abounded.

Some lacked horns, so it seemed males and females were mixed together.

So this was where they bred the young and raised them before sending them up to the other floors.

Wait a second.

What had these females been eating all this time?

The answer was obvious.

They had probably been eating the females that had grown too old to give birth anymore.

Ougres were famous for their tradition of eating their own kind, after all.

I stood there holding the keys and agonized for a long time.

Was it really right to release them?

If they started a riot, the Rotter legion would never be able to handle them.

But then I noticed the drawings inside their cells.

They were crude Ougre paintings, yet I could roughly guess the story.

Moreover, they seemed to form a narrative series.

The first cell showed Ougres living happily in pairs.

The second depicted an Ougresse giving birth to an Ougre with two heads and eight arms.

The third showed that Ssangdu-palbi Ougre growing up.

The fourth showed it fighting other male Ougres.

The fifth showed the blood-soaked Ssangdu-palbi Ougre piling up the corpses of countless males and feasting on them.

The sixth showed it beating the females and locking them in prison.

The next showed it mating with multiple females.

The eighth cell showed a small human appearing before it.

The following picture showed the small person holding a pole and pointing at the sky while a meteor fell.

The tenth showed the Ssangdu-palbi Ougre being struck by the meteor and dying.

The eleventh showed the small person releasing all the Ougresses.

The final picture showed the small person leading an army of Ougresses in a powerful charge toward some destination.

Hmm. This was probably a legend passed down in Ougre civilization, and that great sorcerer must be the one they called "Katanka."

He seemed to have been an incredible mage capable of calling down meteors from the sky…

These foolish Ougresses were completely mistaking me for that great sorcerer.

It made sense.

To their simple eyes there probably wasn't much difference between an iron ball and a meteor, and falling gold coins and wine must have looked like magic too.

Above all, I had dropped from a great height and stylishly killed the Ssangdu-palbi Ougre. They had all witnessed it with their own eyes.

From my perspective it had been a life-or-death gamble that succeeded, but in the eyes of these female Ougres I must have looked like someone who could do it whenever he pleased.

I walked from cell to cell, pounding my chest. Then I shouted in a solemn voice.

"Katanka! Katanka!"

The Ougresses all lowered their heads in terror and began to kneel.

Utatata~ Utatata~

"Katanka! Katanka!"

Utatata~ Utatata~

I didn't know what "Utatata" meant, but it sounded like a vow of loyalty.

After circling once, I opened the first cell.

The Ougresses glanced at one another and crept out with extreme caution.

When I held up the key, they extended their shackles toward me.

Clank.

Utatata~

Clank.

Utatata~

The freed Ougresses stepped into the open space and ran around wildly, savoring their freedom. The sight gave me a strangely bittersweet feeling.

It was like releasing cows that had been trapped in a slaughterhouse.

I circled the area and freed every last Ougresse.

In their excitement they formed lines across the vast second basement level and began a ceremony that resembled a giant circle dance.

Thump thump thump thump~ Boom boom boom boom~

Thump thump thump thump~ Boom boom boom boom~

Before long even the pups that had been hesitating burst out and joined the festival.

Oh.

Nice.

Without waiting I immediately attached the banner to my chest.

With my charm at twenty-four, I could only recruit a total of two squad members.

If a legion allowed seven per charm point, a squad should normally allow one per point. Yet right now it seemed one was permitted for every eight to fourteen charm.

Still, I didn't feel like I was losing out.

Ougresses possessed far greater mass and combat ability than Rotters, so that handicap was actually a net gain. Definitely.

Utatata~

Utatata~

Moreover, when I recruited the two Ougresses who looked like the leaders of the pack, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠many others voluntarily began to follow them. I couldn't command them directly, but I could command them one step removed.

I led the recruited pair over to the corpse of the Ssangdu-palbi Ougre. Before I could even give an order, several of them swarmed the body, shoving it this way and that to collect the items.

In the blink of an eye they had laid out everything in front of me: the Twin Eight Demon Dogma Belt, Bracelets 1 through 8, Necklaces 1 and 2, and all the rest.

Utatata~

I didn't refuse. I picked up ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the enormous belt, bracelets, and necklaces.

The moment my hand touched them they shrank to exactly the size I could wear, so equipping them was easy.

And the moment I finished putting on the complete Twin Eight Demon Dogma set, one final hidden benefit appeared.

Whoa! This was crazy!

After wearing every ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠piece, my final specs were…

I had saved thirty-five ability points in preparation for this operation.

That consisted of the twenty-nine points I had stockpiled during the last level-up explosion, plus the six points I received from the Self-Development Digging reward when I opened the second, third, fourth, and fifth sewers.

…That was it.

Yet I had begun the operation without investing any of them.

There were simply too many variables, so I had planned to invest in whatever ability was needed at the moment.

But now there was no need to hesitate any longer.

Adding the eight points gained from this Ougre hunt plus the one point from opening the fifth sewer gave me forty-four points total.

I poured every last one into stamina.

The result turned me into a monster with two hundred ninety strength and eighty-eight stamina.

Assuming investment only in strength and stamina, that was a figure normally reachable only after surpassing level eighty.

Of course, by level eighty everyone wore high-end gear that provided massive stat buffs, so I wouldn't actually match an level-eighty player.

Still, for a beginner under level twenty it was an unbelievably high figure.

Finally I took out the luck compass to locate the master keyhole for the second basement level. I wanted to leave the waypoint permission open.

The location was pinpointed easily.

But a problem arose.

Ting—

The instant I identified the spot and swung my first pickaxe strike, the tip of my cheap mining pickaxe shattered.

I had earned a lot of money. Maybe it was time to spend some and buy a proper pickaxe?

That was when the thought of liquid adamantium suddenly crossed my mind.

A metal worth over twelve billion won per kilogram.

Hold on.

With the money I had earned I could now claim the Nobel Prize for the Rot Virus.

Should I start by curing Han Yejin's father with it?