The Weak Point of Cerberus
Nam Doyun glanced at Kim Simin's watch. A luxury Rolex, and a limited edition at that. That one's definitely something I need.
"You want to join the bet?" Kim Simin wore a dumbfounded expression. Is this guy an idiot? After watching the son of the Cartin Steel president get completely cleaned out, he still wanted in?
Kim Simin smirked. No reason to turn down a fool. And more importantly, he glanced sideways. Three stunning women sat at his table. Backing down in front of them would be utterly humiliating.
"Fine. I'll wager this watch. What are you putting up?"
As he spoke, Kim Simin looked Doyun up and down. But what the hell is with this guy? The only thing that looked remotely valuable was his suit. He wasn't even wearing any accessories.
"By the way, what do your parents do?" Kim Simin asked.
Doyun looked at Jeong Hayeon. For some reason, her pupils began shaking violently at those words. Why is she reacting like that?
"Do we really need to know about parents in a bet?" Doyun said.
"Hah. Of course we do. Do you know who I am?" He puffed out his chest with a smug look. "That's right. I'm the eldest son of National Assemblyman Kim Eulmin. Who the hell are you?"
"Pfft—" Doyun burst out laughing.
"You're laughing?" Kim Simin's face twisted. Being mocked in front of all the women filled him with tremendous humiliation.
"Yeah. I asked for an introduction, and you're talking about your parents. Isn't that hilarious?"
"...What?"
"If you take away your parents, there's nothing in your life worth bragging about? Mentioning your parents is your idea of an introduction?"
"You... you... son of a bitch."
Kim Simin's face flushed bright red. The women beside him all burst into laughter. The humiliation he felt was overwhelming.
"Hey. Let's bet right now. What are you wagering?" Kim Simin glared at Doyun with burning eyes.
"Me? Hmm... I don't really have anything to bet. If I lose, I'll live as your slave. Call?"
"Sure. If you don't have money, that works too."
"Have you thought about what comes after? What kind of hell awaits when you become my slave?"
"There's no way I'll lose, so why would I think about that?"
"Whew— What kind of confidence is that?"
"Stop running your mouth and just pick the next bet topic already."
"Fine." Kim Simin glared at Doyun as he spoke.
He played a video on his laptop on the table. It showed the Hunter Association raiding the Kaion dungeon. But the content was different from the previous video. This time, it was footage of the Hunter Association fighting the dungeon's boss.
The boss was a three-headed dog. Cerberus, the gatekeeper of hell.
"You see this video?"
"Yeah."
"Whoever gives the answer closest to Cerberus's weakness in this video wins."
"Sure." Doyun answered easily.
Kim Simin snickered. Isn't this guy a total idiot?
He placed his phone on his lap and quickly typed a message. Soon after, it was sent to his friend sitting beside him.
Doyun was staring intently at the video. Seeing that, Kim Simin could barely hold back his laughter. This guy's a complete moron. There was no way he could lose this bet. As long as his friend who had entered that dungeon was here, whatever he said would automatically be the correct answer.
Even if Doyun somehow got lucky and named Cerberus's actual weakness, his friend could just insist it was wrong. After all, it was his friend who would be judging the answer.
"Finished watching?" Kim Simin said with a smirk.
"Yeah. Why don't you give your answer first?" Doyun replied.
"I'm not sure you'll even understand if I explain it."
"Shut up and just say the weakness."
"...."
Kim Simin glared at him. "Cerberus's weakness lies in the massive cooldown on the skill it uses."
He looked around with a smug expression. All the women's attention was focused on him.
"As you can see in this video, Cerberus spews out an enormous amount of flames that covers the entire boss room. That's why the Hunter Association couldn't approach it at all."
"...."
"But that massive flame attack isn't infinite. You can tell just from watching the video, right?"
Kim Simin pointed at the laptop. In the footage, Cerberus breathed out a vast amount of fire from its mouth. But after a few minutes, it stopped.
"It's obvious if you just look at how the Hunter Association waited patiently instead of attacking while it was spewing fire."
In the video, the Hunter Association members stayed plastered against the walls whenever Cerberus breathed fire, as if they knew the flames would eventually stop.
Kim Simin spoke with a satisfied expression, then looked at his friend beside him. "Right? I'm correct, aren't I?"
"Yeah, that's right. When I went to raid that dungeon with the Hunter Association, we used that exact weakness to clear it."
"See? I was right, wasn't I?" Kim Simin grinned.
"As expected of you, Simin. Your observation skills are amazing."
Doyun let out a dry laugh. What a joke.
The Hunter Association hadn't brought academy students into the boss room when they raided that dungeon. It was simply too dangerous. In other words, there was no way this guy could actually know the weakness.
"That's not the weakness."
"...What?" Kim Simin frowned deeply and glared at Doyun.
He glanced around. The women's eyes were completely fixed on him. Getting this wrong here would be the most humiliating thing imaginable.
"Then what's your answer? Let's hear it." Kim Simin said. No way this guy knows anything.
"Cerberus's weakness is the calming organ located near its ears."
"What? Calming organ?" Kim Simin burst out laughing.
"Yeah. That calming organ is Cerberus's only weakness."
"Well? Is that the correct answer?" Kim Simin looked at his friend.
"No, of course not. Simin, the cooldown you mentioned is indeed Cerberus's only weakness."
"See? I was right, wasn't I?" Kim Simin laughed.
"Are you an idiot?" Doyun said.
"W-what?" Kim Simin looked completely taken aback.
"Your friend claims to know the weakness even though he didn't enter the raid with the others when they fought Cerberus?"
"What? Is that true?" Kim Simin asked his friend.
"N-no, that's not true. I definitely watched the entire Cerberus fight from the back."
"Whether that's true or not, we can just look it up. Hey, give me the laptop."
Without waiting for permission, Doyun pulled the laptop on the table toward himself.
Tap. Tap. He typed something, then brought up a screen.
Kaion Boss Room Participants — Jeong Haesu, …..
The list showed everyone who had entered the boss room with the Hunter Association during the Kaion dungeon raid. But Kim Simin's friend's name was nowhere to be found.
"What? You didn't go in?"
"Well, actually..." Kim Simin's friend scratched his head.
"Haa— Whatever." Kim Simin let out a deep sigh and continued. "But does that really change anything?"
"What do you mean, change anything?" Doyun asked.
"Even if my friend didn't know the weakness, what I said is still closest to the correct answer." Kim Simin replayed the video. "Just look at how the Hunter Association stayed still during the moments Cerberus was breathing fire. It's obvious."
Kim Simin smirked.
"You're a real idiot," Doyun said.
"What?"
"You don't think this video is edited?"
"It literally says 'full video' right here. If anyone's an idiot, it's you."
Doyun chuckled. "If the Hunter Association titles something 'full video,' does that automatically make it the real thing?"
"...."
"If it were truly unedited, it would reveal all their magic and skills, plus every monster's weakness. Would they really upload something like that?"
"...."
"Of course not. They'd thoroughly remove any disadvantageous parts before uploading. Of course, they'd edit it to look completely natural, like it's the full video."
"...."
"And idiots like you fall for it every time."
"What? Can you prove that?"
Doyun smirked. "Obviously. Look at this."
The laptop was playing the scene where Cerberus was spewing flames. Then suddenly, there was a faint ripple above Cerberus's head. Right after, it stopped breathing fire.
"See that ripple? That's someone using a stealth skill to strike Cerberus's head."
"...."
"The editors must have missed this part. It was such a fleeting moment, so it's understandable."
When using a stealth skill, the user blends perfectly with their surroundings. It's impossible to distinguish them from the background. But even stealth skills have weaknesses. The moment an attack is launched, the stealth weakens slightly, creating a faint distortion.
Of course, it's only for a split second, so most people don't notice it.
"That's why Cerberus stopped spewing fire. Meaning the cooldown you mentioned isn't its weakness at all."
Doyun grinned.
Kim Simin looked around. At some point, all the women's attention had shifted completely to Doyun. His hands trembled as he spoke.
"Hey. How can you be sure that transparent-looking thing is from a stealth skill?"
He continued, "It could just be a brief coding error in the video. Right?"
Kim Simin looked around, seeking agreement.
At that moment, someone approached from afar. It was the man who had been wearing a hat pulled low, watching them the entire time.
"No. That ripple was definitely caused by a stealth skill."
"...What? Who the hell are you to judge that?" Kim Simin demanded.
The man had his hat pulled down so low his face was barely visible.
"Who am I to judge? Because I'm the one who used the stealth skill."
"...What?"
He took off his hat. Everyone's faces filled with shock.
It was Jeong Haesu, Jeong Hayeon's older brother.
"The guy who used stealth to help take down Cerberus is telling you himself."