My Arrival Home
Kim Ganghan opened the case.
"From now on, this is your house."
...Bark!
Bokdol, the white dog that had been lurking in the shadows, wobbled for a moment before standing ramrod straight.
A three-legged puppy standing proudly.
Completely different from the pitiful sight Kim Ganghan remembered from the novel.
'He was pretending to be weak all along.'
Kim Ganghan had read the novel, so he knew exactly why Bokdol was in that shape.
'He got attacked by the eldest, Black, in a 3-to-1 ambush and got his fur torn off.'
Even in the same litter, dogs were incredibly sensitive to rank.
The first puppy to establish dominance and claim the alpha position was the eldest.
Then, an Asura dog from the same litter was discovered.
That puppy was Bokdol.
A pureblood Asura Jindo crossed with a mixed-breed village mongrel.
Black and his brothers refused to accept Bokdol as their sibling.
—How dare a mutt like you claim to be our brother!
—Our mom is not a mutt!
Even as a tiny puppy, Bokdol had pounced on Black.
In the novel's flashback scene, Bokdol had even overpowered Black.
But the other two brothers sided with Black.
'At that time he lost a leg, right? In other words, this little guy survived a full-sized pack of older siblings with a tiny body. He's ridiculously strong.'
And in Horizon, a missing leg made no difference.
'After all, the game revives the body perfectly.'
If Lee Siwoo had been able to see animals, he would never have accepted this.
"Then I'll begin the explanation."
Bark!
"Listen well. This is the bathroom. Do your business here. This is your food bowl."
...Bark, bark.
Even as a puppy, Bokdol didn't fly into a rage. He listened carefully, nodded, and showed his understanding.
'For a dog, he has a surprisingly clean mind?'
Not only in combat but in manners, education, and loyalty—he was top-tier in every way.
'This is even better than I expected.'
The explanation of bathing and the rest took another ten minutes to finish.
"Alright, that's about all the basics... Then..."
Kim Ganghan grinned.
"Those are all the things you'll enjoy now that you're part of our family."
...Bark?
"Before that, however, you have to pass one test."
Bark.
"Attack me. Show me your skill. Come at me."
Bokdol's pupils trembled.
Bark... bark!
In the novel, dogs could understand human speech to some degree.
True to form, Bokdol shook his head, refusing Kim Ganghan.
'If he attacks with full intent, it'll be dangerous.'
Even without a leg, this was the puppy of the greatest fighting dog.
"Very well. Wait here a second."
Kim Ganghan wrapped himself in several layers of clothes.
The precaution was to prevent injury even if teeth were involved.
"This should do it."
...
"Now you have to trust my back and rely on me. So this is the only thing I can do. Come."
...Bark!
Bokdol, having made his decision, bared his teeth.
At that moment, something strange caught Kim Ganghan's eye.
'Is that... muscle?'
A wave of muscles rippling across Bokdol's back.
The moment the shape formed, Kim Ganghan felt a chill crawl down his spine.
'Tiger face...!'
The back muscles shaped like a roaring tiger!
The next instant, Bokdol vanished from sight.
'He's coming...!'
Kim Ganghan dropped into a low crouch.
At the same moment, Bokdol passed right beside his head.
'Unbelievable speed.'
Unnoticeable speed.
If Kim Ganghan hadn't prepared after reading the novel, he would have been bitten in an instant.
But the even more shocking part was that he had evaded it.
'Even my evasion is insane.'
The game Kim Ganghan played was a visual VR title.
He had pushed his reaction speed to its absolute limit by moving his body directly against dragons.
With Oh Jinhwan's body supporting him, movements beyond imagination became possible.
'I can dodge.'
Kim Ganghan, who had dodged the continuous charges from Bokdol, felt his eyes gleam.
That was when.
Whirrr—Bokdol launched himself into the air and spun two full rotations.
"Huh?"
The 720-degree spinning kick that followed!
'Dragon Cyclone!'
Kim Ganghan felt his spine go cold.
The novel's luck, that is, Bokdol's ultimate technique.
A leaping kick with three legs to compensate for the missing attack power by turning it into rotational force.
On paper it had sounded ridiculous, but the actual threat was overwhelming.
'If it hits, it's a guaranteed cast!'
Kim Ganghan threw all his power into dodging and swung a newspaper at the incoming attack.
Thwack! Bokdol hit his head and crashed flat on the floor.
"Ouch!"
Even while falling, his arms were being gripped... No, the 720-degree spinning kick had been brushed aside.
'If it had actually landed, it would've been deadly.'
Even a puppy's rear paw attack made Kim Ganghan's wrapped arms ache.
He had made armor from clothes and still took only a glancing blow. That was the real thing.
'This puppy is no joke.'
With a smirk, Kim Ganghan pulled Bokdol to his feet.
...Kiying.
Bokdol thought he was being chased away and tucked his tail between his legs.
Dogs in this world possessed far higher intelligence than those in the real world. Bokdol, in particular, was a genius among geniuses.
Tap.
Bokdol's wet, sparkling eyes met his new master's hand. The hand petted his head and stroked him happily.
"You're a pretty boy. From now on, your name is Bokdol."
...Bark?
"Bokdol. Your name."
Kiying... bark!
Bokdol wagged his tail so hard he rolled over.
The belly-up Bokdol rolled around on the floor.
"Haha, already acting spoiled on day one?"
Kim Ganghan tickled Bokdol's soft belly. The moment the new family member arrived.
***
[You have logged into Horizon.]
After confirming the connection alert, Fafnir let out a deep sigh.
"After a full day of running around, every muscle is stiff."
He had rented a car and driven the entire way south to Jin-do, then back again.
'Honestly, I'd rather just crash and rest today.'
But he couldn't.
Not when Flush hadn't even begun yet.
'Still, that was worth every bit of it.'
He had acquired King of Luck, the protagonist's hidden class, a full year ahead of schedule.
That alone had slowed Flush's growth by a significant margin.
'If only I could train Bokdol right away.'
Bokdol was still too young to hunt together.
Once the pet capsule machine became available, he could finally treat him as a proper companion.
'Training him from level 1 will be quite a burden.'
So he had to grow strong in the meantime.
Fafnir opened his status window.
[First Discoverer Buff]
[Double dungeon experience gain]
[Guaranteed high-grade item on first boss kill]
[Remaining time: 8 hours 31 minutes]
'Before this ends, I have to finish it.'
He had already leveled up by catching countless ectoplasms.
Now was the time to claim the single reward.
'Then I'll head down right away?'
The legendary knight Karamit's armor!
Fafnir continued descending into the dark dungeon to retrieve it.
The hidden death trap.
As expected of the deepest layer of a dungeon hunted by top-ranked players, every step was laced with tension.
Krrrr...
Kriiiick!
Not only the ectoplasms, but also ghost monsters like shades, ghost mages, and Durahans blocked the path one after another.
But Fafnir had skeleton knights.
Krrrr...
Grr...
Whenever a monster blocked the way, he threw the skeleton knights forward as bait.
Krrrr...
Kwooook!
The sound of breaking bones came from behind, but he paid it no mind.
'This is the advantage of being a necromancer.'
It was like tossing bread to tigers leaping at him from every direction.
Except there would be no more bread falling today.
After tens of minutes, a message appeared.
[You have entered the 7th floor of Karamit's Tomb.]
[You are the first to discover the 7th floor of Karamit's Tomb.]
[You can register information with the Explorer Guild.]
[Dungeon exploration experience has increased.]
[The first discoverer buff is active.]
[This area has monster levels far above the current level!]
A corridor filled only with darkness and silence.
All monster sounds nearby had vanished.
"...Only the area near the torches is lit."
He sent a skeleton knight forward. Moments later it returned.
"Clang clang."
"Hmm, I see."
The skeleton knight, Louis, spoke.
"Master, there are no traps ahead. There's one door."
"A door...?"
Given that this was likely the final floor, it seemed they had been given a breather before the boss fight.
"Very well. Let's go."
Fafnir opened the iron gate and stepped forward.
The next instant, the torchlight revealed a vast room.
'It's almost like a gymnasium.'
Pillars and chains filled the space.
In the very center, a set of black metal armor engraved with dragon heads was chained to dozens of chains.
'Is that the knight's armor?'
In the past, there had been a legendary knight named Karamit who commanded Black Dragons and ruled the world.
The powerful knight had possessed everything—a beautiful fiancée, many friends.
The Apocalypse Cult had taken notice.
-If he joins, it would be an enormous help in bringing the end.
The cult raised a powerful dragon in the north.
While Karamit went to exterminate it, his family and fiancée's family were branded traitors.
-This is insane! It's treason!
Karamit became a fugitive. His fiancée and family were executed in an instant.
Friends he trusted hunted him down. In the end, even the soul companion, the Black Dragon, was captured by the pursuers.
In that desperate situation, members of the Apocalypse Cult approached him.
"This is the work of the king who wanted to bring you down."
"General, allow us to lend you our strength. Please, take your revenge!"
...
In the end, Karamit fell to darkness. As a dark knight he massacred tens of thousands, then met his end here.
The deep-seated grudge was embodied in that black dragon armor!
'Normally, approaching this armor would turn you into a boss monster that attacks.'
The moment the chains broke, the armor itself began to fight.
The same happened in the novel.
Flush fought, and thanks to luck he awakened Karamit's last rationality and proceeded with an Epic quest to resolve his grudge.
'I do want that quest... But it's impossible from the start, so I have to give up.'
The day Karamit's rationality returns, divine power accidentally seeps into the darkness and provokes it, and the traces of sunlight from the sky also seep in—pure luck!
'Still, there are ways.'
Fafnir carved the runes of Hades and placed Evil Eye's tears in front of them.
"O Great god of the underworld, I offer this tribute. Please grant me the power to stand firm against the forces of darkness."
Fafnir, as a priest of Hades, prayed.
A moment later, a message appeared.
[The god of death, Hades, is very pleased with the tribute.]
[Hades has bestowed the "King of the Dead's Blessing."]
[Resistance to darkness-attribute physical, magical, and curse attacks has increased dramatically.]
[You will not fall to any darkness-attribute mental attacks.]
[The power of all darkness-attribute skills has increased dramatically.]
[Light-attribute resistance has increased dramatically.]
[Remaining time: 1 hour]
Thanks to the supreme item Evil Eye's tears, he had received the highest-grade blessing from Hades.
'Now everything is prepared...'
Fafnir immediately began removing the chains pinned to the edge pillars.
After removing several, dark mana flooded around the armor.
...Aaaah...!
This cursed seal is being released!
A voice echoed from somewhere.
Unbothered, Fafnir pulled out every chain on the wall and approached the armor.
"Huu..."
For a moment he simply stared, then finally placed the helmet on his head.
At that moment.
[New body! You have finally obtained a new body!]
[You can now kill every single being who carries the blood of the dirty royal family and the dirty Baran royal family!]
Multiple messages flashed before his eyes, overlaid with the voice from inside his head.
[Karamit's soul has intruded.]
[Dark-attribute resistance has begun.]
[If the resistance fails, HP decreases by 300 every second.]
[If consciousness is lost or death occurs, control will be taken away by Karamit.]
The cursed armor!
When a user of a darkness-attribute class came into contact with the armor, the armor attempted to steal the body and make the wearer its host.
[If you become the host, proper gameplay will become impossible from then on.]
You will gain tremendous power, but at the cost of a mandatory quest that must be completed.
For a player who wants freedom, this is a terrible choice.
Here, if Fafnir loses, he would be in exactly that situation.
However...
[Resistance successful.]
[Resistance successful.]
[Resistance successful.]
Dozen after dozen messages appeared.
[As expected.]
He hadn't come here for the King of the Dead's Blessing for nothing.
With it in place, any darkness curse or skill could be endured.
'Come on then. Let's see who wins.'
When the duration ended, he could offer another tribute to extend the time.
He would lose if he fought to the end, but he didn't expect that to be necessary.
The reason was simple.
Because Flush had already confirmed that this armor could be used differently.
'If rationality remains, he won't keep charging to the end.'
Perhaps thirty minutes had passed.
A strange message appeared.
[Who are you?]
The armor was requesting dialogue.
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