EP4. Cursed Dungeon
[Small Demon defeated.]
Subjugated monster count: 500/1000
Once they reached five hundred, no more small demons appeared.
Grrr...
The holes in the ceiling were all sealed shut too.
Jae-jun called Gruok over.
'What monster's next this time.'
Jae-jun scanned his surroundings.
They'd already come from the statues and the ceiling, so walls this time?
Kuung!
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than the wall crumbled, revealing a new cave tunnel.
Monsters with glowing eyes emerged from the pitch-black depths.
But they looked pretty big.
Wuuung!
Kuung!
Kuung!
What the hell are those?
Finally emerging was a stone golem.
A small size, just a head taller than Jae-jun.
'Worst-case scenario.'
Stone golems were the absolute worst matchup without magic or skills.
For Jae-jun, who had to face enemies with just his sword, their high defense made them a pain in every way.
Wuuung!
The stone golems weren't fast, but there were a lot of them.
They slowly filled the cavern, closing in on Jae-jun.
Damn it.
Jae-jun's pupils trembled.
Sure, smashing mere rocks wouldn't chip the teeth of his A-rank weapon, the Frost Blade, but...
It was still going to be a hassle.
"Attack!"
"Gruooook!"
Like an obedient dog, Gruok charged fiercely at the stone golems.
It latched onto a nearby golem, swinging its fists—the sight almost like a tantrum-throwing kid.
Since the golems were small, maybe their attack power was lower too.
Jae-jun held onto a sliver of hope.
But that hope shattered miserably.
Bwoooong!
Pukeok!
One punch from a stone golem turned Gruok's head into a bloody pulp.
Wuuung!
Kuung!
Kuung!
The golems advanced slowly toward Jae-jun.
His expression darkened.
―
Seoul city streets.
Slash!
Kwaaaak!
Tae-seong thrust the sword in his hand, severing the man's forearm, which flopped on the ground.
"P-Please, spare me!
I'll give you all the money!"
"Money?
I've got plenty."
Tae-seong straddled the fallen man and grinned.
"Th-Then what the hell do you want?"
"What I want?"
Tae-seong glanced back.
Over ten mutilated corpses littered the floor.
"Can't you tell?"
Murderous intent gleamed in Tae-seong's sunken eyes.
"Killing!
Killing you—that's what I want."
"Y-You psycho!
Murderer freak!"
"Yeah.
Now let me level up already."
Pook!
Tae-seong's sword pierced the man's throat, slicing through vertebrae and embedding in the floor.
Le―$vel ris$en!
Le―$vel ris$en!
.
.
Le―$vel ris$en!
"Whoa.
Big gains.
This guy's a hunter, huh.
Heh heh."
Tae-seong pulled up his status window.
Stats
Str$ngth (―): 13
Vi$tality (C): 1―3
A$ility (C): 1
End$rance (!): 177
Ma$ic (C): 23―
Tae-seong's status screen was garbled in most places, unlike Jae-jun's.
But he didn't care.
He knew his system wasn't perfect.
Nice, up 33 levels here.
Tae-seong flopped onto the sofa after finishing the hunt.
All this nonstop hunting lately had piled up fatigue.
A bowl of jjajangmyeon sat on the table nearby—the prey's last meal.
"Starving. Perfect."
Slurp!
In just days, he'd grown this strong.
Tae-seong thought of Jae-jun again, feeling grateful.
If I've gotten this strong so quick, how far has Jae-jun hyung come?
'Gotta surprise him next time we meet.'
Maybe hit dungeons from now on.
He'd hunted most loan shark offices in Seoul.
Time for hunters with higher levels than civilians.
Ptooey!
The jjajangmyeon tasted off.
"Damn it.
Blood!"
Tae-seong hurled the bowl.
It splattered across the lit TV, blacking out the screen.
"...What bullshit."
Tae-seong yanked the sword from the man's neck and strolled out of the office.
―
Kwaang!
A massive boom echoed through the cavern.
Jae-jun was too busy dodging the golems' relentless attacks.
He wanted to block with his sword, but couldn't risk damaging it.
Kwaang!
Kwaang!
The encircling golems thrust heavy fists nonstop.
But soon, he adapted to their patterns and speed, slipping in counterattacks.
Tadak!
Jae-jun stepped on a golem's shoulder, spinning acrobatically to the other side.
Suddenly, blue light faintly emanated from the golem's chest.
'There!'
Slash!
Jae-jun's sword pierced the glowing spot sharply, then he retreated.
Kuung!
Stone Golem defeated.
Subjugated monster count: 632/1000
'Whew.'
How many more times did he have to repeat this?
Stone golems regenerated quickly unless their core somewhere in the body was destroyed.
"Gruooook!"
Gruok kept charging at golems, fists raised.
At first, the golems pulped it, but it regenerated endlessly, so they started ignoring it.
Tok tok!
Gruok's punches barely chipped stone dust.
'Can't even hold aggro. Sigh.'
Slash!
Stone Golem defeated.
Subjugated monster count: 633/1000
Jae-jun swiftly climbed a golem to the head of the largest lion statue in the cavern.
'Whew.'
From up high, the golems couldn't touch him.
For some reason, they flinched and held back near the lion statue.
"Let's rest a bit."
Jae-jun plopped down on its head.
'Inventory!'
Lowest-grade Magical Core (E-rank) x49
Lowest-grade Magical Core (D-rank) x21
'This is why we hunt.'
The piled-up cores melted away his fatigue.
He'd earned enough for Hestia's meals ahead, and his stomach felt full even without eating.
"Gruooook!"
Gruok kept charging the golems relentlessly, even as Jae-jun rested.
"Tch."
Watching it tugged at his heartstrings a bit.
Maybe buy it some armor and a weapon.
He had plenty of cores now; that much was fine.
Gear makes up for skill gaps, after all.
'Shop.'
Ding.
Welcome to The Gamer Shop.
You can buy and sell items here.
Transactions in gold only.
Better sell first.
Jae-jun sold all his magical cores.
He still needed to subjugate about four hundred more, so supply wasn't an issue.
E-rank cores: 150 gold each, total 7,350 gold.
D-rank cores: 500 gold each, total 10,500 gold.
Grand total: 17,850 gold.
Nice haul.
Jae-jun clicked weapons.
Better one solid weapon than scattered armor.
[Daggers / One-Handed Swords / Two-Handed Swords / Spears / Blunts / Bows / Staves / ...
/Claws]
Weapons had tons of varieties—even guns.
But for Gruok...
'Sword seems best.'
[Iron Basic Two-Handed Sword]
[Flame-Bladed Two-Handed Sword]
[Cursed Life-Stealing Two-Handed Sword]
[Two-Handed Sword of Calamity]
...
[Cross-Marked Two-Handed Sword]
As Jae-jun swung a spear idly, his eyes caught the "Cursed" sword.
Touching it brought up the description.
Grade: A-rank (Rare)
Effect: +66 Strength
Special: Swift
Made of mana stones, steeped in demonic energy.
Cursed—inflicts Life Drain curse on user.
However, no curse on undead without life force.
(Life drain accelerates when active.)
'This is it!'
Jae-jun's eyes sparkled.
Perfect for the lifeless ghoul Gruok.
+66 strength, A-rank rare—better than his regular Frost Blade.
'How much?'
[Price: 16,000 gold]
Holy crap.
Others were half or less.
Probably the debuff.
Whew.
He bought the two-handed sword anyway.
Ding.
◈ Sent to inventory.
Jae-jun pulled the two-handed sword from inventory.
The blade was so long it could pass for a spear.
Blade and hilt alike were blood-red.
Blue light emanated from the blade, coiling around Jae-jun.
A system window popped up.
Cursed item equipped.
Afflicted with curse.
HP -10 per second.
'Holy shit!'
His max HP was around 1,300—over two minutes and he'd drop dead.
'That's why the cursed item's so cheap.'
Jae-jun chucked the two-handed sword at Gruok.
"Gruok!
Gift for ya!"
Pook—
The sword stabbed into the ground near Gruok.
Gruok grunted, yanking it free.
It roared into the air, clearly pleased.
"GRUOOOOOOK!"
The blue light that had coiled around Jae-jun now wrapped Gruok too.
But the Life Drain curse didn't affect the ghoul.
Just as Jae-jun thought.
Gruok swung the plundering sword wildly at the stone golems, charging like it was payback for all its humiliations.
―Author's Note―