The Bald Lion of the Sub-Dungeon

A brown bear. No, a male lion that had lost every strand of its mane to alopecia. But its body was that of a gorilla, packed with bulging, rock-hard muscles. I might have just encountered the worst enemy yet.

"Th-that muscle..."

"Do we really have to kill that thing?"

Ryun and Gremory were already gulping, clearly distressed by the sight of the Red-Lion. Its head was tiny, but the body beneath it looked powerful enough to make any professional bodybuilder look like a weakling. If someone had injected enough steroids to kill a horse, this would be the result.

"D-don't be fooled! There's a reason it's level 80!"

A quest had popped up; I couldn't just walk away. I raised my shield and cautiously approached the lion. "I'll admit, those muscles are impressive! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠But you have a massive weakness!"

The lion stared at me, its straight, horizontal eyebrows not twitching even a millimeter.

"You bald-headed bas—"

Koo-oong!

My wrist, gripping the shield, went numb. Before I could even finish my sentence, the lion had slammed its fist into my shield. If I hadn't activated my tattoos and braced for impact, my wrist would have been shattered for sure.

"Ugh...!"

"Looks like you drew aggro and started the fight... but since it's already begun, we have no choice."

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

Ryun and Gremory began to suppress the lion from a distance. Wind arrows and fireballs flew toward the lion like bullets.

Ka-ang! Ka-ang!

The lion reached into its white belly, which looked like a strange bear paw, and pulled out actual bear-paw-shaped gloves. It slipped them on and began to swing. A blood-red aura began to coat the bear-paw gloves.

"What the...?!"

"Is it a bear?!"

"It's not a bear! It's a bald lion, kyaaaak?!"

Without changing its expression, the lion launched a dropkick at me. Even though I blocked it with my shield, my body was shoved back significantly, and the lion's assault didn't stop there. Ka-ang! Ka-ang!! The lion swung those bear paws, trying to smash my shield to pieces. Every time the sharp claws on the paws scraped the shield, the screech of metal against metal assaulted my ears.

"Why are you so angry! You are bald!"

Ka-kang! Ka-ga-gang!!

The lion swung its arms with a face devoid of thought, but there was clear, mounting rage in the increasingly powerful blows.

"Uwaaaah!!"

I threw the shield forward and rolled to the side. As the lion raised both arms high and brought them down vertically, my iron shield was cleaved in two.

"Look at that level 80 power!"

"Master, your weapon?!"

"It's fine! I brought another one!"

I grabbed the two axes strapped to my waist. The lion flinched and took a step back at the sight of the sharp, well-honed blades.

"Hahaha! You might look like that, but a monster is still a monster! Scared of these axes, are you!"

A faint, holy power flowed along the edges of the axes. These were axes blessed by the priest Guinevere; the holy power was weak, but to a monster, it would act as a lethal poison.

'Stings like hell.'

Of course, my hands gripping them felt like they were being electrocuted. I had to end this before the holy power ran out.

"They say there's no cure for hair loss!!"

I lunged at the lion, swinging the axes in an X-pattern. The lion stepped forward, parrying my attack with its front paws, and I unleashed a flurry of strikes. Kang! Ka-ang! Ka-ang!! Sparks flew every time the axe blades collided with the bear claws. In a pure contest of strength, it was no exaggeration to say we were evenly matched.

'I can't afford to be 50:50 while using buffs!'

The moment my red tattoos deactivated, my axes would be snapped, and my head would be crushed. I had to take the lion down before the buff wore off. Of course, I wasn't the only hunter here.

Pababak!!

Ryun's wind arrows mercilessly pierced the lion's skin. Though they didn't penetrate deeply or stick, they were enough to halt the lion's movement for a split second.

"Good! Hold it!"

Gremory slammed her staff into the ground. Stone walls erupted from the floor, surrounding the lion and trapping it in the center.

"Whew. What on earth is that—"

Kwa-ang!!

Before Gremory could even catch her breath, the lion smashed through the stone wall and emerged. I was starting to feel genuine fear at that expressionless face.

"Seriously, where did Vapula go, and why is a muscle-bound lion here instead?!"

I couldn't comprehend the absurdity of our situation. If it were at least a chimera with a lion's head, I could accept it, but who could have imagined a lion like this? Is this even a lion?

'The problem is, it's disgustingly strong.'

The lion stood still, brushing the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dirt off its body. Even just standing there, the pressure was so intense that finding an opening was impossible.

'Even if it's a Vapula sub-dungeon, is that thing really the sub-dungeon boss?'

Shax was wearing a doll suit with a person inside, so that was understandable, but this guy was a lion through and through, yet far too powerful.

"Damn it, you're trying to deceive me with your appearance! Don't try to scam me! You're not the real deal! You're a fake! Ryun!!"

Pababak! Ryun's arrows targeted the lion's head.

"Plant some hair on him with those arrows!!"

Ka-ang! Ka-ang! The lion's bear paws became even more powerful, and I nearly dropped my axes.

"Hey! Stop teasing him about his hair! You're just making him angrier!"

"That's what he gets for going bald, kuek!!"

Kaaaang!! The lion dodged between my axes and stabbed downward with its bear paw. The attack was so fast I missed the timing to parry.

"Uwaaak!!"

I instinctively pulled my hips back. Even if my stomach got a scar the size of an Autobahn, I couldn't let my dick get split into three pieces.

Sreuk! The lion's claws scraped my stomach and slid toward the floor. The bear paw, having narrowly grazed my crotch, began to fall toward the ground.

"Uoooo!!"

I swung my axe downward with all my might. The lion hastily pulled its hand out of the bear paw, and I chopped the paw, sending it flying.

"Gremory!!"

"Bow your head!"

I bent one knee, and a sharp blade of wind flew over my head, engulfing the lion. The mana Gremory had gathered turned into wind blades, shredding the lion's head.

"Go, Gremory! Rip him out by the roots of his hair follicles!"

Ka-ang! Even as its skin was shredded by the wind blades, the lion tried to stab me with its remaining bear paw. It aimed for my solar plexus, so I hastily rolled to the side.

"Kuek?!"

"Master!!"

My shoulder burned. The robe made of Andras cloth was torn like paper, and blood sprayed from my shoulder. As the burning sensation washed over my body, my vision began to turn entirely red.

"You bastard!!"

I immediately gripped my axe in reverse and slammed it into the wrist behind the bear paw. Pushuuuk!! As soon as the axe embedded itself, blood erupted like a fountain. As my heart rate spiked, the locations of the blood vessels beneath the lion's hide began to appear in my vision one by one.

"Ryun, snipe where I strike!"

I swung my axes wildly, carving marks all over the lion's body. The lion struggled, trying to parry my axes with its fists, but I wasn't about to let that opening slide.

Pababak!! Ryun's wind arrows struck the deep X-shaped marks I had carved. The lion's brown hide began to soak in red blood, and I continued to attack its vessels while absorbing the lion's blows with my axes and my own body.

"You bastard! Is being muscle-bound everything?!"

Kuaang! I caught the lion's fist with the handle of my axe. A mouthful of bitter, fishy blood welled up in my throat.

"Ptoo!"

I spat the blood and saliva in my mouth at the lion, and it flinched, jerking its head back. I used that opening to step forward and grip my axes tightly.

"Do you think this is my first time meeting guys like you!!"

Puh-uhk!! I slammed both axes into the lion's forehead simultaneously. I struck so deep I felt like the handles would disappear into the wound, cutting through the thick hide and deep into the skull.

Kyaaang. Even as it bled profusely, the lion didn't twitch an eyebrow. I endured the stinging pain and raised my fist high.

"There are two types of hair in this world that don't need to exist."

Kiaang!! The lion extended its legs, trying to kick me away. But Gremory's magic ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠caused the ground beneath its lower body to sink. Perhaps because it had already lost too much blood, the lion couldn't easily escape the swamp created on the floor.

"Listen well. You hairless lion."

I placed my fist against the back of the axe and slammed it down.

"The only hair that doesn't need to exist is armpit hair and pubic hair!!!"

Kwaduk!! I hammered the axe with my fist, splitting the lion's head open, handle and all. Puseuseu. Vapula, which had felt so tangible until just a moment ago, vanished into a phantom.

"Haha, I won."

I collapsed onto the floor. A sense of exhaustion crushed my entire body.

"Damn, he was strong...."

A short while later. I lay on the floor, waiting for my wounds to heal. The lion was quite strong for a level 80, and because I had taken most of its attacks with my body instead of dodging, every part of me was screaming.

'I feel like I'm genuinely going to die.'

If self-resurrection were possible, I'd honestly rather die and come back to life. It was that grueling. I even thought that if the Halpas Legion attacked right now, I'd want to kill them all.

'Still, I cleared the quest.'

"Hehe, hehehe."

"So it really was a hidden dungeon."

Just like how the Sla-hole appeared while running the Slime sub-dungeon, the Vapula dungeon I entered must have been a hidden dungeon as well. I had never once heard of a hidden dungeon appearing before, so I was thrilled to see one now.

'And the Highest-Grade Magic Stone and Magic Crystal are welcome, too.'

I wished hidden bosses would appear in other sub-dungeons, but it was also a source of concern. If even the hidden boss of the Vapula dungeon had the power to half-destroy the boss room, how strong would the ones above it be?

'Anyway, it's a good thing I cleared it, otherwise I would've lost a fortune in magic stones.'

I examined the magic stones Ryun and Gremory had collected. Compared to the number of flame lions we'd killed, it was a pitiful amount, but the fact that these fifteen or so gems were all intermediate-grade stones made my heart swell.

"Now I know why adventurers risk their lives in dungeons, saying it's all about that one big score. *Sniff.*"

Even at a 10:1 exchange rate, an intermediate magic stone was worth 100 lowest-grade stones. And now, the quality of the subordinates I could summon using intermediate stones had improved significantly.

'I can summon 3-star subordinates right away.'

Slime Dragon. Sla-hole. Ghoul Knight. Ghoul Magician. Orc Warrior. Demi-human Andras. Harpyia. There was also the method of summoning only 3-stars and layering them to use for synthesizing the main elite units. On average, a 3-star max level was around 55, so if I poured a day's worth of intermediate magic stones into them, couldn't I take a level 1 monster to level 55?

"Master!"

"It's a bust."

While I was contemplating how to strengthen my forces using the intermediate magic stones, Ryun and Gremory had finished scouring the dungeon for remaining stones and returned. Regrettably, their hands were empty.

"Some entities have magic stones, and some don't. The 15 we collected are all there are."

"Is that so? Then let's check the next one."

I laboriously stood up and pulled Gremory and Ryun toward me. Without further ado, I shoved my hands into their vulvas.

Ryun, Lv.69. Gremory, Lv.74.

"Tsk. Is it because I got the last hit on the lion? My level still hasn't gone up."

"I thought we killed quite a lot."

"It means they're that strong, and reaching the limit is difficult."

Even if my level didn't rise, there were still plenty of opportunities to level up. I gently grabbed their waists and pointed outside the dungeon.

"Let's go another round. This time, Gremory, you're going to get all the kills."

"You want me to kill everything? I mean, it's possible, but are you okay? You look very tired."

"Don't underestimate an Orc's recovery."

Aside from the serious wounds, all the minor cuts had healed. I might not be able to beat someone stronger than me, but I had enough strength left to beat those weaker than me.

"Besides, I don't think anyone but you two can catch those flame lions. So, you guys take the kills and raise your experience naturally, and it's better to use the intermediate magic stones for other important things."

"And what if we don't hit the target level?"

"Then we just pour the magic stones into you."

I took an intermediate magic stone from Ryun and shoved it deep into Gremory's vulva.

"Eek?!"

As soon as the stone entered her vagina, Gremory bit her lip and climaxed. Her main body, unlike her clones, was loose enough to fit an intermediate magic stone, which was much larger than an egg.

"Now, you're going to have a hard time making this tight again. Upsy-daisy."

"D-don't put it in! Pushing the magic stone to the end of the vagina doesn't increase the effect, Kyaang?!"

Gremory shuddered as I shoved my dick deep into her vagina. The intermediate magic stone in front of my slimy glans heated up and began to spray mana into the surroundings.

"Oh...?"

"It's melting? I don't know what it is, but if it's like this, isn't it being absorbed into the body? Ryun, take out everything you have."

It worked. I repeated the process of pulling my dick out and thrusting it back in, inserting all 15 intermediate magic stones one after another.