Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: Legendary Power Unleashed
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"Soon-oh!"
Kim Tae-hyun shouted with panicked eyes. She hadn't made a big impact yet, but Park Soon-oh was a healer—an essential part of any dungeon run.
She couldn't just die so pointlessly like this.
'I was just getting started on properly teasing her. And now she's gone.'
For my sake, too.
"Get out of the way!"
What mattered right now was the iron cavalry beast that had landed between us.
"Haaap!"
Cha Si-won let out a booming cry as she swung her massive greatsword down toward the iron cavalry beast's head.
It looked like it would cleave it in two.
But her greatsword was blocked by the iron cavalry beast's sword, which it had raised just in time.
A deafening crash echoed through the passage—one that didn't sound like swords clashing at all.
Cha Si-won immediately kicked the beast's chest, propelling herself forward like a storm and swinging her greatsword wildly.
Kwang! Kwaaang! Kwang!
The iron cavalry beast began to get pushed back little by little under the frenzy of her swings.
'Not bad. Hero-grade trait or higher.'
Hero-grade traits were so rare that only one in a hundred people had them.
And as if to flaunt its level 41 status...
Finally, the iron cavalry beast's head shattered under Cha Si-won's greatsword, bringing it to a halt.
Cha Si-won exhaled ragged breaths.
She frowned as she looked behind the fallen beast.
It seemed the dungeon was dead set on killing us this time.
Kuung! Kuung! Kuung!
A menacing force of over fifty stone cavalry beasts and ten iron ones appeared ahead.
"Eun-joo! Can you buff all the skeletons with your enhancement skill again?"
Kim Tae-hyun asked urgently the moment he spotted them.
"Just once more."
"Do it right now!"
Lee Eun-joo activated her enhancement skill once again. A blue light enveloped every skeleton.
It was definitely a dangerous situation.
But...
'Not yet.'
I didn't move from my spot.
There was still someone here who hadn't revealed their full power.
"And Si-won. Looks like it's time for you to step up properly."
Finally, I get to see it.
"Huu."
Cha Si-won took a deep breath, gripped the hilt of her greatsword with both hands, and slammed it into the ground with force.
Then she slowly opened her mouth.
"Demon Sword. Asterix."
The moment she finished speaking, black vapors rose from the ground where the greatsword was embedded.
An ominous aura, just from looking at it.
The greatsword, which had boasted a silver blade, was now covered in the black vapors and transformed into a pitch-black edge.
"What I want is the death of every monster up ahead."
The moment Cha Si-won finished, a playful voice emanated from her greatsword.
"Hee hee hee. Fifteen minutes."
"Got it. Just hurry up."
"Hee hee hee. Okay. I'll lend you my power, friend."
Fifteen minutes.
I didn't know what it meant, but the instant Asterix said it would lend its power...
"Urgh."
Black vapors rose from Cha Si-won's entire body along with her groan.
"Hee hee hee."
Was this a possession skill?
The obnoxious laugh from the demon sword Asterix was now coming out of Cha Si-won's mouth.
"Time for a taste. Hee hee."
Asterix yanked the greatsword from the ground, let its arms dangle limply, and dragged the blade behind it as it walked forward.
In response, the five stone cavalry beasts at the front raised their swords and charged at Cha Si-won simultaneously.
How much power would it show?
Kwaaaaang!
It exceeded imagination.
In one strike.
Cha Si-won obliterated all five stone cavalry beasts with a single sword stroke.
The method was simple.
She had merely swung the greatsword from right to left in time with their charge.
'A feat only possible with overwhelming strength and speed.'
All five were bisected at the waist, their torsos and legs separating.
"Hee hee hee. Come on, you pathetic worms."
Afterward, Cha Si-won charged into the herd like an enraged lion, with Kim Tae-hyun's skeletons joining the fray.
Five minutes later.
All those beasts lay shattered and fallen.
"Hee hee hee. Then I'll claim my payment for the fifteen minutes, friend."
The moment Asterix's sleazy laugh ended...
Thud!
The greatsword reverted to silver, and Cha Si-won's body went limp like a puppet with cut strings, collapsing to the floor.
"Si-won!"
Kim Tae-hyun rushed to her side to check her condition.
'Her breathing's steady, at least.'
What caused her to collapse?
"Tae-hyun, what was the 'payment' that lets Si-won use that kind of power?"
I figured Kim Tae-hyun would know, so I asked. If she could keep using that power...
'She'd be the one I'd have to watch out for most.'
She'd be the toughest to handle if she got greedy for the hidden dungeon rewards.
So I needed to find her weakness in advance.
"Nothing secret about it. The payment is her life force. Asterix said fifteen minutes, so it consumes that much."
Life force...
Cha Si-won's skill was a double-edged sword.
Tremendous power, but at the risk of her own life.
"But you can't tell when it'll run out. No numerical value or anything."
For all we knew, she might never wake up again.
"That's why I kept her from stepping up as much as possible."
I now understood Cha Si-won's power.
The problem was, her weakness wasn't obvious.
'She might risk it all for the hidden dungeon rewards.'
Even if it cost her life force, she could just go all-in.
But it wasn't hopeless.
As I pondered, Kim Tae-hyun's worried voice reached my ears.
"Anyway, it'll be trouble if she takes any damage in future fights. We need to move as safely as possible."
He was right—the loss of a healer was a huge blow.
Should I reveal Sia? Or keep her hidden till the end?
'No need to think about it.'
Even with just the power we'd shown externally, we could reach the end without issue.
"Yeah. We've got time, so let's take it slow and safe."
And naturally, they hadn't shown their full strength either.
If a real boss fight forced our hand, I'd decide then.
'I can just use Acceleration.'
"I'm hungry."
I turned at the random comment.
Lee Eun-joo, utterly uninterested in the situation, was rummaging through the backpack left with the skeletons.
"Sigh... Let's rest and eat for now."
Kim Tae-hyun sighed with a helpless expression.
It was better than just staring blankly waiting for Cha Si-won to wake.
I approached the skeletons and pulled some food from my backpack.
In the meantime, Kim Tae-hyun had the skeletons drag Park Soon-oh's severed head and body far away out of sight.
His way of creating a decent meal area, I suppose.
'So frustrating.'
How naive.
In truth, this hidden dungeon was the worst matchup for Kim Tae-hyun. No corpses meant no way to replenish skeletons.
And yet, wasting a perfectly good body like that.
'I'd have turned Park Soon-oh into a skeleton.'
It wouldn't revive as a healer with traits like mine, but even a slight boost to our forces was worth using everything available.
Guess my hellish previous life made my mindset different from theirs.
"Want some?"
What now?
Lee Eun-joo had snuck up and was offering me a yellow banana.
"You brought bananas instead of rations?"
She used casual speech with me anyway, so I dropped formalities too.
"Yeah. I'm on a diet."
"...Good luck."
Dieting even in a life-or-death hidden dungeon.
I took the banana and casually probed.
"By the way, where'd you hear about this hidden dungeon?"
"Dad."
"Your dad? He cleared a hidden dungeon?"
Someone who cleared one at this time...
"What's your dad's name?"
"Lee..."
Heavy footsteps echoed from the passage ahead just as Lee Eun-joo started to answer.
The dungeon wasn't even giving us time to eat.
This was bad.
"Hope it's just stone cavalry beasts."
Kim Tae-hyun was right.
Cha Si-won was down.
Lee Eun-joo's enhancement skill was on cooldown.
My [Lava Shield], publicly available, still had over 40 minutes left.
The footsteps grew closer, and the source emerged from the gray passage ahead.
Kim Tae-hyun swallowed hard.
It was an iron cavalry beast, but about three times larger.
No way Kim Tae-hyun's skeletons could even scratch it.
"Eun-joo, with your current mana, how many skeletons can you enhance?"
"Eleven."
"Not even close. If we had corpses, I could keep making skeletons to fight... but no. Let's retreat for now."
Kim Tae-hyun decided to fall back.
A decent choice given our forces.
But...
'Can't waste time like this.'
Not in a hidden dungeon of unknown length.
'Guess I have to step in.'
As I resolved to move forward...
"I'll handle it. Rest."
Lee Eun-joo, banana in mouth, trudged toward the giant beast.
Was she insane?
"Eun-joo! What are you doing?!"
Kim Tae-hyun called out desperately. Her response?
"Legendary trait."
Her confidence.
Legendary traits were shocking, but a buffer jumping into melee?
"You sure? That thing looks way stronger than anything we've faced."
Kim Tae-hyun double-checked skeptically.
Lee Eun-joo turned to us and pressed a finger to her lips.
"Shh."
Fine.
Just go fight.
But thinking about it...
'She reacted just like me.'
When the iron cavalry beast dropped from the ceiling, she hadn't flinched either.
As if their actions didn't matter.
"Brain Open."
Lee Eun-joo, facing the giant beast, spoke.
I doubted my ears.
Brain open? No way...
Ignoring my suspicions, she enhanced herself with a new skill unlike any before.
"Giant's Strength, Storm's Speed, Black Tortoise's Toughness. Grant them to me."
Red vapors rose from her entire body.
The 160cm Lee Eun-joo faced the over-3m iron cavalry beast.
"Cute."
Wrong word choice?
Whoooosh!
The giant beast's sword came down on her head with massive wind pressure.
Immense destructive power matching its size slammed the sword into the ground.
'That girl... does she have Acceleration like me?'
Lee Eun-joo twisted her body at the last second to dodge.
"Dummy. Slow."
Enraged by her words?
The giant beast yanked its sword from the ground and swung wildly.
Whoooosh! Whoooosh!
"Slow. Slow. Yawn."
She dodged every attack by a handspan, even mimicking a yawn.
Clear enough.
She saw the slowed world like I did.
The beast's sword plunged deep into the ground again. This time, Lee Eun-joo, who'd only dodged, bent at the waist and smashed her fist into its lowered face.
Kuung!
The iron cavalry beast staggered from the sheer force.
One strike decided the fight.
'Insane strength too.'
Cracks spiderwebbed across its face where her fist hit.
Lee Eun-joo dodged all attacks while relentlessly pummeling its head.
Crack...
Kuoooong!
Finally, with a massive echo, its head exploded, and the giant body toppled backward.
"Tired."
Lee Eun-joo collapsed spread-eagled, exhausted.
Another human who could use my ability.
I knew that helplessness better than anyone.
Depending on use, you could think several times faster in that slowed world.
I didn't know her slowdown level, but it must feel like her brain was splitting.
"What just happened? Did Eun-joo take down that giant?"
Cha Si-won, who had been lying down, sat up.
"Yeah. She had a legendary trait hidden away with insane power. I had no idea."
Kim Tae-hyun's eyes wavered in shock—or maybe frustration at his plans going awry.
'Why don't I remember any of these people?'
I'd brushed it off at first, but fighting together revealed their amazing traits. Especially Lee Eun-joo: legendary trait and slowed-world vision like mine.
And they got the hidden dungeon reward?
People like this would stand out like sore thumbs, no matter how hidden.
As Earth's last survivor, they should've crossed my path somehow.
'So...'
Two possibilities.
Either a boss too strong for them to clear.
Or someone else—meant for this dungeon—soloed it, killed them all, and claimed the reward.