Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: Treasure of the Fallen Guardian
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⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ You have defeated the guardian protecting the king's rest. Rising experience points and the system message announced Hwayeom's death.
Poof.
Hwayeom's body turned into black powder and vanished like a mirage.
The skeleton I'd made from Cha Si-won was destroyed, and my dilemma about turning Hwayeom into a skeleton as well had become pointless.
"Ugh..."
At that moment, a strained grunt reached my ears.
The fight was already over.
I turned my head and saw Lee Eun-ju pushing against the lid of the golden coffin.
She didn't even know Hwayeom was dead and was solely focused on the king's corpse.
She was following my instructions to the letter.
I called out to her.
Lee Eun-ju turned her head, and our eyes met.
She glanced at my face, then looked down at the black powder scattered at my feet.
Then she asked me.
"Did you win?"
I nodded slightly.
Her eyes curved into crescent moons.
"Whoa! Awesome!"
She started jumping up and down on the spot, not hiding her excitement.
"We're alive!"
Well, she was the only one among those who came here who was truly pure-hearted. That might be why she survived until the end.
"Enough celebrating. Let's find Hwayeom's treasure. It has to be around here somewhere."
By killing Hwayeom, I no longer knew where his treasure was.
The system was silent too.
While Lee Eun-ju began searching every nook and cranny, I summoned Sia.
"Heal my head a bit."
Sia reached out and placed her hand on my forehead.
A warm white light flowed in, and the pain quickly subsided.
'I need to get a regeneration skill ASAP.'
If I could handle 'Acceleration' as smoothly as in my previous life, I could think almost five times faster than others.
I needed to make it usable without the [Undying Lord] trait.
Speaking of which, is the treasure over there?
I turned away from Lee Eun-ju, who was still wandering around without finding it, and headed toward the golden coffin.
I placed my hand on the massive lid and pushed hard.
I wondered why Lee Eun-ju had been struggling in front of it.
It didn't budge an inch.
"Is the treasure in here?"
Lee Eun-ju, who had snuck up beside me at some point, was staring at me like I was some exotic animal.
"Probably."
"Then why are you so weak?"
"I'm a summoner, you punk."
Lee Eun-ju furrowed her brow at my words.
"How old are you?"
She asks for my age now?
"Don't call your big sis 'punk.'"
Lee Eun-ju seemed like such an obedient puppy that casual speech slipped out.
"How old are you?"
"Twenty-six."
"..."
It was unbelievable.
She was older than me? I pegged her at twenty-two max.
But I couldn't back down.
"I'm thirty-four."
It wasn't exactly a lie. I was thirty-four before regressing.
"Liar!"
"I just look young."
Lee Eun-ju gave me a suspicious look.
"For real? What do I gain by lying to you?"
I wouldn't see her after today anyway.
"You look ridiculously young."
"Fine, then hurry up and get this lid off. Aren't you curious what's inside?"
"Yeah! Push!"
Lee Eun-ju started pushing the lid again. But it was moving too slowly despite her confident stance.
I tossed a comment her way.
"Why are you so weak?"
Her face flushed red as she yelled back.
"I'm an enhancer, you punk...!"
She picked up lingo fast.
I joined her in pushing the coffin lid before she passed out from watching her struggle.
Rumble rumble rumble.
The lid slid faster now.
It was clearly designed to only be moved easily by something on Hwayeom's level.
Finally, the lid crashed to the floor with a heavy thud.
"This is harder than killing Hwayeom."
"You barely did anything."
"Idiot. Watch, I'm collapsing now."
Lee Eun-ju crumpled to the floor like a puppet with cut strings.
Brain Overload hit after just one use, and she'd used it twice in a row. No wonder she collapsed.
But enduring this long? Her mental fortitude was impressive.
"Jeez. You trust me way too much."
Still, collapsing so defenselessly?
"Is this really a corpse?"
I shifted my gaze from the fallen Lee Eun-ju to peer inside the coffin.
A man lay there in luxurious golden robes, posture neat and proper.
Not a bare skeleton, but with such healthy color he looked like he'd just fallen asleep.
"The scales on his hands and feet... yeah, definitely a dragon."
I reached out.
Slap!
And smacked the king's cheek.
If he were alive, there'd be a reaction.
A dragon who looked down on humans wouldn't tolerate a slap.
Silence.
No twitch at all.
"Guess he's really dead."
Just needless suspicion.
I looked away from the corpse and examined the coffin's interior.
"So these are Hwayeom's treasures."
Three items in total.
A sheet of parchment, a worn neck protector, and a thin inner armor made of red scales.
"Perfect number. Kim Tae-hyun would've had us split the corpse three ways."
Cursing the idiotic choice Cha Si-won made, I pulled the items out.
Check them first.
I picked up the parchment.
⚔ ITEM: DRAGON'S CLAW (S) ⚔ The dragon's sharp claw can tear through anything. Restriction: Magic Power 100 An S-rank skill, but unfortunately an active one.
Requiring Magic Power over 100 at that.
Next, the neck protector.
As I opened it, a clear fragrance hit my nose, revealing a black return pill.
Not ordinary.
I picked it up and checked the info.
⚔ ITEM: GRAND RETURN PILL ⚔ A secret elixir passed down in Shaolin Temple. 💪 Random Stat +100 "Oh?"
An exclamation escaped me.
An elixir item.
One that permanently boosts stats—worth billions and hard to obtain.
And it gives +100 to a stat?
This surpassed S-rank.
Finally, I examined the shiny red inner armor.
⚔ ITEM: INNER ARMOR MADE FROM HWAYEOM'S SCALES ⚔ Hwayeom crafted this from his own shed scales, stitching them one by one. ✨ Skills: Flame Resistance (A), Damage Resistance (A) Two skills. Both A-rank.
And 'Damage Resistance' covered physical and magical damage alike. Insane.
'This is nuts.'
At Earth's current level, these were top-tier items.
So, three items in my possession.
I looked down at Lee Eun-ju, still out cold.
I nudged her with my foot.
"How long you gonna lie there?"
No response.
Completely knocked out.
Then, a message appeared.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ You have acquired the guardian's treasure. A blue portal opened in a corner. The exit from the hidden dungeon.
'Can't just leave her here.'
I pocketed the items, knelt, hoisted Lee Eun-ju over my shoulder, and headed for the portal.
'Something feels off.'
Like taking a shit and not wiping properly?
I stopped and glanced back at the golden coffin.
It kept nagging at me.
'Feels too alive.'
The king did.
I trudged back to the coffin, checked his nose for breath, felt for a pulse.
'He's dead, for sure.'
No reaction whatsoever.
'Hmm... Better safe than sorry.'
Anyone watching would think I'm nuts, but my instincts are sharp.
I drew my dagger and slashed at the exposed royal neck.
Dragons gonna dragon.
The blade bounced off on contact. No way I could scratch that neck with my strength alone.
Internal attack it is.
I pulled out the poison vial I'd bought before coming and set aside from Kim Tae-hyun's skeleton backpack. Good thing, or it'd be gone with the rations.
I uncorked it and poured the poison down the king's lips.
Poison wasn't much, but better than nothing.
After emptying the vial, I stared at the king's face again.
'Really a corpse?'
Still no reaction.
Good enough for my peace of mind.
I turned and stepped through the portal.
A floating sensation, and I emerged in the golden cavern under Kim Tae-hyun's house.
The massive iron door we'd passed through was gone.
'Can I mine this?'
With the hidden dungeon cleared, the gold finally caught my eye.
I approached the wall and stabbed it with my dagger.
About as thick as a thin magazine.
"Not bad."
This could make some money.
But mining it myself was a waste of my talents.
Couldn't trust outsiders either.
"Hmm..."
Then, a voice from my shoulder—Lee Eun-ju stirring.
"Awake?"
"Put me down."
She hopped off lightly.
"This outside the dungeon?"
"Yeah. You passed out, so I carried you out."
"That's the treasure?"
Even looking ditzy, her eyes went straight to dungeon rewards.
"Yep. Here, check 'em out."
I handed her all three items.
Positioning her within my strike range, ready to kill if she tried anything fishy before activating enhancement.
"Oh? Oh! Ooh!"
Lee Eun-ju's eyes widened with each item.
Understandable.
Auction house value: at least ten billion each.
I'd seen plenty in my past life, but not her.
"All done!"
She handed back the three items intact.
"Congrats!"
And randomly congratulated me.
"For what?"
"Getting three treasures. I'm jealous!"
What was this?
Lee Eun-ju eyed the items enviously.
"So since I killed Hwayeom, they're all mine?"
"Yeah. Sucks, but I didn't do anything."
She was purely curious about the hidden dungeon rewards.
I called to Lee Eun-ju, still glued to the items.
"Take this one."
I gave her the brown parchment.
[Dragon's Claw (S)].
Useless to me anyway.
"For real? Really?"
She double-checked in disbelief.
"Yeah. You drew his attention, made it easy."
"Whoa! You're the best!"
Lee Eun-ju snatched the parchment.
"That's worth at least ten bill—"
"Skill Acquisition!"
And learned it on the spot.
"Huh? Ten what?"
"Nothing."
Enough for a lifetime of leisure, but better she not know.
World ends, money's worthless anyway.
"Dragon's Claw!"
Her Magic Power over 100? She activated it immediately.
Sharp, sturdy dragon claws protruded from her fists.
"Whoa!"
Eager to test, she swung at the cavern wall.
The result was staggering.
"Whaaa?"
Lee Eun-ju gaped.
Five massive claw marks gouged the golden wall.
Not just hardening—it unleashed powerful energy on swing.
'System explanations are always so half-assed.'
Whoever made this thing was infuriatingly unhelpful.
"Thanks!"
Lee Eun-ju bowed deeply in gratitude.
Seeing that didn't feel half bad.
"No problem. Anyway, I've got a proposal."
"Proposal? Anything!"
I pointed at the cavern walls for the eager Lee Eun-ju.
"See this? Gold."
"Let's take it."
"Us?"
There was a way to get the gold out.
"You mine it all, I take 30%."
Have someone reliable do it—not me.
She'd handed over hidden dungeon rewards easy; no greed for gold.
"Me mining all this? What do you do?"
"Got stuff to handle. But you get 70%. Good deal for you."
Not a bad offer. The gold here was worth a fortune beyond measure.
Lee Eun-ju pondered, chin in hand, silent.
I broke the ice.
"You hesitating? I'm giving up two dungeon rewards out of guilt, proposing this for you."
"For me?"
"Who else? Me?"
"Okay. I'll do it."
"You mine alone, got it? Word spreads, people come hunting."
"Yeah. Solo mining...!"
I held out my phone as she nodded.
"Number."
"You too."
Thus ended the tumultuous hidden dungeon raid. I headed to my one-room haven.
"Hoo..."
I gazed at the Grand Return Pill in my hand, emanating a clear fragrance, tension building.
Random stat +100.
Just avoid Magic Power out of the four stats.
With reverence, I slowly placed it in my mouth.
It melted instantly on my tongue.
A message popped up simultaneously.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ✨ Magic Power +100 Shit.