Chapter 22
Chapter 22
A rectangular object appeared next to the bodies of the two players.
An object that looked like a cube.
I knew the identity of this cube from hearing about it from my Chogyeol Seniors.
An object that materialized the inventory of a deceased player.
I heard that this cube form couldn't just be put into the Inventory.
Clank-
Grabbing the cube and pressing the central button firmly, the cube, which had grown enormous like a supply box in an FPS game, unfurled with a swish.
But even so, they were items that players below the 10th Floor possessed.
No items of significant use caught my eye.
Of course, I took all the healing potions and moved them to my Inventory.
There was almost nothing useful in Sun Haoran's cube. From Baek Jinyeong's cube, I picked up the item that seemed most useful.
I finished organizing the items.
Now, it was time to enter the Hidden Boss Room.
The difficulty of the Hidden Boss Room marked on the map was five stars.
According to Laura, a Hard Difficulty player, five stars meant the maximum difficulty in a Hidden Boss Room.
It could clearly be a dangerous situation if I entered alone, but I had no intention of changing my decision.
A strong greed arose.
Greed for leveling up.
The level gained from killing the boss monster, Kobold Champion, was 1.
And the level gained from killing Sun Haoran, a guaranteed level-up, was 2.
If my current level of 15 increased by 5, it would be 20.
I would reach the stage where I could use Sword Qi.
I was very curious about that point.
Swish-
I took out my Terminal and opened the Transcendent Gallery.
And I wrote a post.
Title: I wonder what kind of guy will appear in the exchange meeting's Hidden Boss Room.
Author: XX
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It's a dungeon called 'Cradle of Kobolds,' and only Kobolds appear throughout. In the boss room, a Kobold Champion appeared.
The difficulty of the Hidden Boss Room is five stars.
Ah, I just killed two guys from the exchange meeting who suddenly tried to kill me after I finished the boss room.
The reason I added the fact that I killed them in the last line as if it were nothing was because I didn't want to give it much weight.
Of course, the comments on the Transcendent Gallery didn't flow as I expected.
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Dragon King) Wooooh, Beltui- The Climber has become a little tainted by darkness.
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Don't talk about darkness, you're the one who seems to have killed people most casually.
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Dragon King) Beltui- You found me out.
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Archmage) Hmm, did you confirm the kill?
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Ice Queen) Brrr! Confirming the kill is important!
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Heavenly Demon) Useless pity only invites disaster.
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Hard, you guys should be comforting him if he's committing murder for the first time in his life, not asking if he confirmed the kill or not.
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Jjuhdak) Everyone is comforting him indirectly.
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Hahaha, what kind of 360-degree turn to restore the original state is that?
There were also a few comments about the topic I had written about earlier.
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This crazy bastard should think about not entering if it says five stars.
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But even if it says five stars, Pandemonium difficulty seems tougher, so it's hard to stop him.
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For real lolol, I'm not sure if this place will be harder than the 2nd Floor Stage he cleared lol
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Absolute Monarch) Hmm, if a Kobold Champion appeared in the boss room, a Kobold Great Warrior might appear in the Hidden Boss Room... or, though the probability is low, the King of Kobolds might appear.
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Uh... I think it's better to stop saying 'low probability' now. He's getting screwed over by all those low probabilities.
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For real lololol, who would set it to Pandemonium? Did this guy sell his holy sword to the Demon Realm in his past life?
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Yes*) Is the King of Kobolds strong? Kobolds themselves seem a bit weak.
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Shrine Maiden) You shouldn't underestimate a King. The King of Kobolds, King Kobold, is a true king, unlike those of the group, like Queen Ansranthrope whom Climber Gong killed.
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Spear King) The King of Kobolds can overwhelm even an Orc Commander alone. That's what a king of a species is.
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You're not saying weird things, so did you drink?
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Spear King) No...
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Sword of Light) Kings of all races are extraordinary compared to their respective races. Those recognized as kings by the Tower system are also like that. If it's the King of Kobolds, there's a chance he'll use Sword Qi. You should be careful about that.
Be careful of Sword Qi.
In the end, I'll only know for sure when I enter the Hidden Boss Room.
As I stood before the black door, letters appeared before my eyes.
Ting!
[Do you wish to enter the Hidden Boss Room of the dungeon 'Cradle of Kobolds'?]
[Dungeon Difficulty - ★★★★★]
Suddenly, a point of light flickered in the air, and a piece of paper fell.
[Exchange Meeting Return Scroll]
Description: A return scroll for the brave soul challenging the Hidden Boss Room alone in a 10th Floor or lower exchange meeting dungeon!
Effect: Tearing the scroll allows you to return after 10 seconds! + However, if you die within 10 seconds, you die permanently!
This was the first time I had seen an item with such high tension.
I put the return scroll into my Inventory.
Though I probably wouldn't use it.
The next notification window that appeared asked if I wanted to enter the dungeon.
[Yes / No]
Naturally, I pressed 'Yes'.
Rumble!
The door opened.
The scenery of a vast room came into view.
In the center of the Hidden Boss Room was a gold-plated chair, and on it sat a monster that didn't fit the scene.
[KingKobold]
King Kobold.
Black fur covered its entire body, like a lion's mane.
Its golden eyes were like those of a beast.
In the giant Kobold's right hand was a sword larger than its own body.
Grrrrr-
A growl, unlike that of a Kobold, echoed through the space.
Kwahahahah!
A roar shook my eardrums.
It was a genuine sense of pressure I hadn't felt in a while.
Crushed by the killing intent, my body stiffened for a moment.
[Mana Body Reinforcement Lv.4 - Skill activated.]
Endure.
[Focus Enhancement Lv.4 - Skill activated.]
King Kobold glared with its eyes and charged.
Just before impact.
I severed all the killing intent that had bound me.
[Mental Barrier Lv.1 - Skill acquired.]
I narrowly deflected the horizontal sword strike by leaning my sword against it.
Kaaang!
The recoil from deflecting the greatsword sent my body reeling backward.
I closely observed King Kobold's movements.
Its knees bent forward. Its thighs visibly bulged.
Tjeoong!
The massive body sprang up like a coiled spring.
It raised both arms high. A blue aura flashed on its greatsword.
Blue Sword Qi.
I had implicitly expected it after hearing Sword of Light's words. I thought it was likely to use Sword Qi if the opponent was the King of Kobolds.
If I had known this would happen, I should have experienced Sword Qi instead of overwhelmingly neutralizing the 3rd-tier Knight I faced on the 2nd Floor Stage.
King Kobold's body fell like lightning.
Dust billowed up from the ground.
Dragon Slayer Sword Sword Defense Technique Type 1 Libra.
The blade of Great Enemy Sword Karnavalt, which blocked the vertically descending greatsword, shook violently.
King Kobold.
The king of a species.
Its raw strength was not significantly different from an Orc Commander's. However, King Kobold's combat sense felt vastly superior.
Vertical, horizontal.
Half of the swings were in the Sword Path of the Dragon Slayer Sword, and half were instinctive strikes.
Kagagagagang!
King Kobold's Sword Path and my Sword Path intertwined.
All the sword strikes extended in various directions were blocked.
[Skill 'Fighter's Movement' level up. Lv.4]
The countless friction of blades.
King Kobold's instinctive swordsmanship gave me profound enlightenment.
Along with intensely strong pain.
Skeugugug!
My armor was pierced. A diagonal slash cut from my left shoulder blade to my right waist.
After swinging its sword powerfully once, King Kobold created distance from me.
From the pouch tightly tied around my waist, I took out a small, syringe-like object.
It was the [Pain Suppressing Doping Agent] purchased from the 3rd Floor waiting room.
Without hesitation, I injected the doping agent into my right waist.
I roughly poured a low-grade health potion onto the wound.
The pain, which had been so agonizing it shook my mind, began to slowly subside.
Kwahahahah!
The Kobold closed the distance again like a short-distance marathon runner.
I drew another sword that had been kept idle at my waist.
Tsu tsu tsu tsu!
A blue Sword Qi, like a burning flame, surged into both sword blades.
The trajectory of that Sword Qi approached like a wave.
Evasion isn't always the answer.
I chose to face the wave.
I lowered my body and concentrated the Mana within me into both feet.
The muscles in my thighs bulged.
Just like King Kobold, I bent my knees and then exploded forward.
The best charge.
With a momentary gap, I dodged the approaching blue trajectory by twisting my body to the right.
Kaaang!
One was a horizontal slash, which I deflected with Thursahǫgg.
Lightning struck my vision.
I had allowed another diagonal slash.
Red blood dripped down.
[Status Effect - Bleed 'Critical' activates Doombringer.]
[Skill 'Doombringer' level up. Lv.2]
[Body temporarily breaks through its limits.]
The world became clearer with every drop of blood shed.
The opportunity was fleeting.
Chwaaak!
With Great Enemy Sword Karnavalt in my right hand, I slashed King Kobold's shoulder.
Kaaaaak─!!
I swung the Bloodied Dagger in my left hand towards its neck.
Udeudeuk!
The King Kobold, its lizard-like maw gaping wide, bit down on the dagger's blade with its teeth.
I felt the will to kill me in its golden eyes.
My body moved on instinct.
I threw Great Enemy Sword Karnavalt to the ground and grabbed the Black Javelin.
Puwoook!
Once into King Kobold's heart.
And then immediately retrieved it and thrust it into its neck.
Jjereung-
Its maw gaped open. The Bloodied Dagger it had desperately held rolled onto the floor.
Then, King Kobold's body slumped.
[Hidden Boss Monster defeated!]
[Level up!]
[Lv.15 → Lv.17]
['Strength' stat increases by 12.]
['Agility' stat increases by 10.]
['Stamina' stat increases by 10.]
['Mana' stat increases by 9.]
[Achievement Unlocked!]
[Achievement - Fall of a Species]
: Achieved upon eliminating the pinnacle of a species.
[You have defeated the King of the Kobold species!]
[Achievement experience granted!]
[Lv.17 → Lv.19]
Just one step left until level 20