EP7. North Korean Gate
Kang Jun-yong glanced around and picked up a rock.
It was a fairly large stone, about the size of a baby's head.
"Teleport!"
Kwang!
The rock vanished from Kang Jun-yong's hand in an instant, slamming into the side of the Yi Sun-sin General statue and toppling it over.
He'd teleported it straight to the statue's head as it charged forward.
It was a simple but reliably effective attack method.
However.
The damage didn't look all that impressive.
"What the hell?"
"It's my attack skill. Why?"
Sure enough, the Yi Sun-sin General statue showed no real signs of damage.
It rose back up and drew one of its twin swords.
Then it charged straight at Jae-jun and Jun-yong.
Jun-yong grabbed another rock and attacked again, but...
Pfshk!
The statue blocked it with a swing of its sword, rendering further hits ineffective.
"I'm outta here."
Jun-yong backed away, staring at the approaching statue with wide, horrified eyes.
Kang Jun-yong was S-rank, but his combat prowess didn't seem exceptional.
That meant his teleportation ability was top-tier in its own right.
'Whew.'
Jae-jun faced the statue head-on as it barreled toward him, raising Michael's sword.
Does this thing have magic resistance too?
Even though it was just a monster, its form as a historical hero wrapped Jae-jun in an uncomfortable tension.
Its glowing blue eyes reminded him of the Yi Sun-sin general from some old game he'd played.
'Yi Sun-sin with a bow was cool as hell.'
Jae-jun shook his head sharply.
No more distractions.
Focus!
The Yi Sun-sin General statue closed in right up to his face.
It swung the sword raised high above its head straight down at Jae-jun.
Whoosh!
A harsh whoosh of air filled his ears.
'Powerful, but predictable.'
Instead of retreating, Jae-jun ducked low and slipped inside its guard.
The statue's sword whistled terrifyingly past his head.
Twisting his body sideways, Jae-jun slashed at the statue's torso.
Clang!
Sparks flew as Michael's sword met the armor.
But.
Michael's sword had top-class cutting power, no doubt.
Even blocked by the armor, it sank deep without hesitation.
Jae-jun dodged this way and that, carving wounds one by one across the statue's body.
The statue raised its sword high once more.
'Chance!'
Like a squirrel, Jae-jun curled his body and darted to the side, slicing at its ankle.
'Shadow Slash!'
Shadow Slash
Pfshk!
One ankle shattered halfway, and the statue staggered.
Jae-jun pursued the stumbling Yi Sun-sin General as it teetered backward.
He leaped up, targeting its knee, then swung for the neck.
'Heavenly Strike!'
Heavenly Strike
Whoosh!
The statue toppled backward, flailing its hand.
Jae-jun's strike cleanly severed it.
The second strike of Heavenly Strike—the real payload—flew toward the statue's head.
Clang!
Not the head-shattering crack he'd hoped for.
It was the heavy clash of metal on metal.
What?
Blocking the second strike of Heavenly Strike was a second sword at its waist.
The sword moved on its own like a living creature, attacking Jae-jun.
Clang!
Jae-jun used the rebound to leap back.
By then, the statue's ankle had regenerated, and it stood up again.
The Yi Sun-sin General statue dropped the remaining sword from its hand.
Both swords floated into the air and shot toward Jae-jun.
Shiiik!
Clang!
They were faster and stronger than when the statue wielded them itself.
"Watch out!"
Kang Jun-yong's voice echoed from afar.
Vmmm!
Mana trembled and surged in the air.
The two swords unleashed blue sword auras at Jae-jun.
'Acceleration!'
Acceleration
Jae-jun hugged the ground and charged at the Yi Sun-sin General statue.
Blue sword auras rained down from above.
He twisted his body nimbly and pressed forward.
But another followed right on its heels.
Clang!
He had no choice but to raise his sword and block; his body slid backward.
'Annoying.'
The two swords hovering over the statue's head kept firing sword auras relentlessly.
He needed to draw its attention elsewhere somehow.
'Legion Summon!'
Legion Summon
A subspace tore open above his head, unleashing fifty stone golems.
'All of you, attack!'
Thud!
Thud!
The stone golems charged fiercely at the Yi Sun-sin General statue.
Its twin swords whipped through the air, spraying blue sword auras as expected, but the golems regenerated even as they fell and kept coming.
Originally powered by cores, they now ran on Jae-jun's mana—practically invincible as long as he stood.
"Now you see how annoying it is, huh?"
The stone golems surrounded the general, pummeling it with fists.
Pfshk!
Pfuk!
Jae-jun watched from afar, chuckling.
Sure enough.
No matter how strong an individual was, numbers won out.
The golems weren't landing solid hits, but they had its full attention.
'Blink!'
Blink
Jae-jun reappeared amid the stone golems.
At the same moment, he severed the statue's ankle again.
Pfshk!
As it staggered and collapsed, Jae-jun sliced off its arms and legs too.
He swung faster than it could regenerate.
'Shadow Hand!'
Shadow Hand
The shadow hand pinned the statue down, preventing it from rising.
Jae-jun hacked its body to pieces.
As he severed the left leg, something shiny gleamed from inside the thigh.
'There it is.'
He sliced the regenerating leg again and crushed the core.
Pfshk!
Yi Sun-sin General Statue defeated.
The chime signaling the battle's end rang out.
At the same moment, the twin swords lost their power and clattered to the ground.
'Whew. That was tough.'
Jae-jun collapsed onto the pile of sand that had been the statue.
"Good work."
Jun-yong sauntered over, offering nothing but words, which somehow pissed Jae-jun off.
As Jae-jun stared at him blankly, Jun-yong cleared his throat awkwardly and examined the half-broken twin swords.
"Ahem. These are pretty damn big."
Defeat the Dungeon Boss!
Familiars' ranks have increased.
Familiars' appearances and classes have changed!
All familiars' ranks rose by one level.
And it wasn't just the ranks.
Their appearances had changed too.
They'd mostly shrunk in size, now resembling humans at a glance.
Even the ogre and troll had reduced to Jang Gil-san's massive-but-humanoid build.
The status windows confirmed it: half-ogre, half-troll.
'Do they take on more human forms as their ranks improve?'
Probably mimicking their summoner—me.
The centipede alone had "spirit beast" attached.
Far smaller than the giant centipede—less than half the size—but its body looked darker and tougher.
You can redesignate your familiars' names.
Redesignate?
'Yeah!'
Jae-jun renamed them for easier calling.
Gwoeok especially—he'd started feeling bad about it.
Gwoeok's skin had turned to armor-like plating, transforming into a massive skeleton knight.
The limp, ghoul-like floppiness was gone, replaced by a sturdy presence.
Plus, the cloak from Igrito that Jae-jun had given it made it look even more ornate.
And the biggest change?
'I've gotten so much stroooonger—!'
It could talk now, to some extent.
Holding the looted sword like a true knight, it swore loyalty to Jae-jun with bubbling anticipation in its dry voice.
Next, the lich took the name of the great mage Merlin.
Flesh filled out its bony face, leaving it looking like a guy with severe dark circles.
Oh, right.
Jae-jun pulled the Necklace of the Dead from his inventory.
The strung-up heads of the lizardman and naga opened their mouths.
'This was originally a lich's item.'
Handing it over to boost his power, Merlin flinched and dodged.
"...Gross."
"What?"
Merlin startled at Jae-jun's surprise and took it reluctantly.
But his expression screamed he was forcing himself.
'...Way different from a typical lich.'
The half-troll The Big and half-ogre Weger were relatively normal.
They were the highest-ranked B-ranks among the familiars too.
'I see the master.'
'I see the master.'
They bowed politely as Jae-jun approached.
As he turned away satisfied,...
'I said it first, so why copy me?'
'What? You picking a fight?'
'A fight? A troll like you daring to challenge an ogre?'
The Big stood tall, glaring at Weger.
'What's with the vibe.'
'We're about the same size now—wanna go?'
'Pfft. Never heard of compressed muscle? Smaller but stronger.'
The Big and Weger shoved their faces close, growling at each other.
'Sigh. Smarter's good, but...'
Jae-jun surveyed his familiars and shook his head.
He had a bad feeling this would tire him out more.
Jae-jun pocketed the B-rank magical core from the Yi Sun-sin General statue.
"Cut it out and let's go."
'I've gotten so much stroooonger—!'
'...Yes.'
'We shall follow, my lord!'
'...We shall follow, my lord!'
The centipede, Centipede, slithered up to Jae-jun and offered its back.
'A ride?'
As Jae-jun mounted, it glided forward smoothly.
With all those legs, the ride was surprisingly comfortable.
'Not bad.'
Jae-jun exited through the escape route.
The first to greet him was Bae Ji-hoon, jaw dropped in shock.
"Dude... you! Why the hell are you here?"
Jae-jun grinned at his stunned friend.
"You said there were too many gates and it was rough, right? So I came to clear 'em all."
Ji-hoon just gaped, speechless.
―Afterword―
Thank you.