[EP1. My Mana Level is MAX?] Chapter 11
Ding.
"A summoned beast's egg?"
It was a round, grayish-white egg.
Jae-jun had never imagined an egg would come out of a random box.
No Grade
An item that can raise a summoned beast.
No one knows what summoned beast is inside.
To hatch it, you must infuse mana for a set period.
The summoned beast's grade is determined by the amount of mana infused by the user.
10 days remaining until hatching.
Mana infused: 0
It couldn't be summoned right away, it seemed.
The grade depends on the amount of mana infused?
He already had more mana than he knew what to do with.
I wonder what kind of summoned beast will come out if I infuse the maximum amount every day?
Jae-jun's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
For now, let's start infusing today's share.
Jae-jun placed his hand on the egg.
The hard shell felt smooth and pleasant to the touch.
He'd thought it would be cold, but surprisingly, it was warm.
Woooong—
Jae-jun began infusing mana through his hand on the egg.
He handled it carefully, in case the mana might make it burst.
Mana infused: 13,254 / F
Mana infused: 37,332 / F
Contrary to Jae-jun's worries, the egg absorbed the mana endlessly.
Let's try infusing a bit more forcefully.
Woooong—
The amount of mana flowing increased.
If it had been a stream before, now it was a river.
Yet the egg devoured the mana without limit.
Mana infused: 182,354 / F
How long would it stay at F-grade?
Even after pouring in a huge amount of mana, the grade showed no sign of changing from F.
About 30 minutes passed.
Once the mana infused surpassed 200,000, it finally shifted to E-grade.
Mana infused: 210,256 / E
Whew.
He'd thought just doing enough until hatching would suffice, but he'd been wrong.
Looks like I'll have to stick by this egg for the next 10 days.
If he was going to get one, he wanted an S-grade summoned beast.
Jae-jun stored the summoned beast's egg in his inventory.
Right now, it was time to focus on the dungeon.
No matter how hard he listened, he couldn't sense any ant movement outside the entrance.
Jae-jun cautiously began shoving aside the ant corpses blocking the entrance.
With his strength stat boosted to 180, he could lift an ant corpse with one hand effortlessly.
At that moment, a familiar chime rang out.
Ding—
Acquire?
Acquire it.
Maybe because it was a D-grade gate, even regular monsters dropped magical cores.
Mostly E or D-grade ones, but collecting them would still make decent money, so he checked every ant corpse.
Jae-jun moved all the way back to the passage where he'd first burned the ants with Fireball.
By the time he'd checked up to there, he'd collected a total of 7 magical cores.
Six E-grade and one D-grade.
Nice.
If I'd known, I would've hunted more.
From that initial spot, Jae-jun entered a new passage.
But after that, he hardly saw any ants.
He occasionally ran into one or two, but none of the swarms like before.
Did they get scared after I wiped them out once?
Jae-jun ventured deeper.
The cave widened the further in he went.
And a sour smell wafted through the air.
The source was the sticky liquid coating the cave walls everywhere.
What is this stuff?
The liquid had stuck to Jae-jun's shoes too.
He stepped back a bit and checked the sole.
Shockingly, the part touched by the liquid was melting away, gooey and soft.
It was a highly acidic substance.
Come to think of it, it was similar to the acid the ants spewed from their abdomens.
Jae-jun pondered.
Relying solely on his barrier to go deeper seemed too risky.
Should I just burn it all?
Fwoosh!
Fire
Mana consumption varies with flame size.
3000 mana per second.
Jae-jun cast Fire on one wall of the cave to test.
Fortunately, the liquid burned away cleanly.
He even rubbed it with his foot afterward, and it was fine.
Jae-jun boldly burned all the liquid as he advanced.
Kieeeek—
Kieek—
How far had he gone?
Just as boredom was setting in, he heard the ants' screeches.
Jae-jun quickly headed toward the sound.
At the end of the passage, a massive cavern opened up below.
The cavern was littered with the remains of countless ants.
And the thing that had done that to the ants was a single monster.
So that's why the ants suddenly vanished.
Jae-jun's eyes locked on two enormous monsters.
One was the dungeon's boss, the Ant Queen, surrounded by countless ants.
And the other, massacring the ants in front of her, was...
A centipede?
It was too massive to simply call a centipede.
Dozens of grotesque legs.
A razor-sharp tail like a blade.
A huge body.
And blood-red exoskeleton.
It was so hideous it could give nightmares even in sleep.
Crack!
Crack!
Every time the centipede's legs moved, its joints twisted with a grinding sound.
The centipede hung upside down on the wall, relentlessly targeting the Ant Queen.
Hundreds of ants attacked it to protect their queen from the centipede.
These guardian ants differed from the worker ants Jae-jun had killed—they were larger, with bigger mandibles: soldier ants.
The soldier ants moved in perfect unison, attacking the centipede.
Especially the acidic liquid they spewed from their abdomens was strong enough to melt the ground.
All the acid Jae-jun had seen on the way down was from these soldier ants.
Impressive.
Kieek!
Crack!
Crack!
The soldier ants relentlessly sprayed acid to block the centipede's approach.
But it had no effect on the centipede's ironclad exoskeleton.
At best, they'd snapped off a leg with their mandibles.
Slash!
In contrast, every swing of the centipede's bladed tail indiscriminately cleaved soldier ants' bodies and heads.
Victory was slowly tilting toward the centipede.
The centipede finally reached right in front of the Ant Queen.
The Ant Queen, protected from behind by her ants, stared at the centipede with her huge eyes.
Her body was too massive to flee.
Slash!
Finally, the last soldier ant was pitifully swept away by the centipede's tail.
Now, nothing stood in the centipede's way.
Shiiiiek!
At last, the centipede's massive maw tore into the Ant Queen's body.
The Ant Queen shuddered violently, but no ants remained to help her.
Kiiiiiek!
The Ant Queen spread her mandibles in her final breath, biting the centipede's body.
But it barely pierced the exoskeleton.
The centipede swung its tail irritably.
Krunch!
Kieek!
The Ant Queen's neck tore halfway off, spilling unidentified liquid.
Her head drooped limply, drained of strength.
Seeing that, Jae-jun's eyes lit up.
Now's the chance!
Ants didn't die easily until their heads were severed.
While the centipede was frantically devouring the Ant Queen, this was the perfect moment for a finishing blow.
A boss monster like this must have insane rewards.
Jae-jun gathered mana into his sword, aiming for the Ant Queen's neck.
Mana is gathering.
Strike will increase attack power by 10%.
Mana is gathering.
Strike will increase attack power by 50%.
Mana is gathering.
Strike will increase attack power by 100%.
The sword trembled from the gathered mana.
Flash!
Jae-jun gripped the sword in reverse and leaped from the passage.
The falling acceleration combined with the sharpness of his A-grade weapon, Frost Blade.
Strike!
The mana at the sword tip exploded in light, boosting its attack power.
Die!
Jae-jun's descending sword was like a guillotine.
Slash!
The Ant Queen's dangling neck severed cleanly and hit the ground.
At the same time, Jae-jun's body rolled across the floor, unable to overcome the momentum.
His clothes melted from the acidic liquid splattered everywhere.
Ding—
Cave Ant Queen defeated.
Jae-jun's head rang as countless chimes overlapped.
But he had no time to celebrate.
It's coming!
The centipede was furious at the human interrupting its meal.
Its razor tail flew toward Jae-jun's head like a massive axe.
Jae-jun tensed every nerve and gripped Frost Blade tight.
Just block it once!
Whoooosh—
The tail whipped through the air with a sharp whoosh.
Clang—!
Jae-jun barely blocked the centipede's tail.
If his weapon weren't the A-grade Frost Blade, his whole body—and the sword—would have shattered.
Using the centipede's immense force, Jae-jun launched himself to the opposite side.
He quickly rolled backward and dashed into another passage.
The tail struck again, but only gouged the passage entrance, missing Jae-jun.
Shiiiiiek!
The centipede screeched in rage as Jae-jun vanished into the passage.
But chasing a tiny human through all these tunnels was impossible.
Boom!
Boom!
The centipede vented by slamming the ground.
The cave shook like an earthquake, craters forming everywhere.
Haa... damn it.
Deep inside the passage, Jae-jun finally slumped down, gasping for breath.
That was close to death.
But his face grinned, contrary to his words.
This dungeon was worth the hardship.
Ding.
Slay the Ant Queen
🎁 Reward: Highest-grade Magical Core (C-grade)
Dungeon exit opens.
But first.
Jae-jun checked the item in his hand.
When he'd severed the Ant Queen's neck, something shiny inside had caught his eye, and he'd grabbed it instinctively.
It was a palm-sized stone tablet.
Written in strange language Jae-jun couldn't read.
His face fell in disappointment, but then the description popped up, and he jolted in shock.
Jackpot!
Thank you.