Chapter 104
Chapter 104
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Nightmare Dungeon
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘And now it’s time to go find it.’
He had waited this long for Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor to grow stronger.
But now, it seemed like they were ready enough.
The growth speed of Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor had exceeded all imagination, and as a result...
‘Both of them are as strong as Named Players now.’
They hadn’t earned titles yet.
But if they just started operating publicly?
‘They could easily claim proper titles.’
Having become summoned beasts, Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor matched the Island King, whose combat power had declined.
Even as a summoned beast, the Island King was still the Island King.
On top of that, with his appointment as battalion commander by Kang Hyun-soo, he had regained quite a bit of intelligence, and with the battalion commander role and the brigade commander’s blessing, his stats had recovered to some extent.
It was true that he fell short of his prime.
‘But he’s still strong enough to crush most Named Players effortlessly.’
For Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor to be on par with someone like that?
‘It means they’re approaching the level of Named Players with king-tier titles.’
A smile naturally crept onto his lips.
‘Acquiring those two was the best decision I’ve made since regressing.’
This was the achievement in just over three years since arriving in the Atlantis dimension.
If more time passed?
‘They could surpass even the Players who received divine titles before my regression.’
Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor weren’t the end of it.
The Pushover King Ivan Yamelikonen, who had been called a one-man army.
But his life had always been filled with regrets.
The Dark Monarch Cecilia, who possessed outstanding talent and ability yet was blocked by her status as an illegitimate child, attempting to seize the throne by force and ultimately driving the Rokto Empire into the abyss of destruction.
Those two could also grow stronger than they had before the regression.
Moreover, he could guide these strengthened individuals not just for personal gain, but for the benefit of all humanity.
On top of that, he had eliminated the Demon King’s minions, the human trafficking organization, and the Murderer Players, boosting humanity’s overall strength.
If things continued like this?
The chances of victory in the war against the Demon King’s army would skyrocket.
If they won the war?
‘I can return to Earth.’
Then he could see his longed-for family again.
His parents, who had always treated him with love.
His older brother and sister, who doted on him as the youngest of three siblings.
‘Back then, I didn’t realize it properly.’
Instead, he had felt intense rivalry and inferiority toward his brother and sister.
That was why he had desperately pushed himself to catch up to them.
But he could only imitate them superficially.
As the third child, he couldn’t even reach the heels of his eldest brother and second sister.
‘That’s probably why I ended up with the Replica unique skill.’
Kang Hyun-soo’s life on Earth had been nothing but a game of imitation to catch up to his siblings.
‘Thank you.’
In a way, it was because of his brother and sister that he had obtained the Replica class.
‘I’ll definitely return and repay you.’
If he returned to Earth?
He would never make the foolish mistake of distancing himself from his family out of inferiority.
‘Preparations are complete. Now, clear the Nightmare Dungeon.’
The Nightmare Dungeon was one that a ranker party had cleared before his regression.
‘One EX-Rank item and two EX-Rank skillbooks dropped from the Nightmare Dungeon.’
The casualties had been severe.
But the three survivors who cleared it became incredibly strong and grew into Named Players.
‘Shadow Lord, Immortal, Sword Demon King.’
Those were the titles earned by the three who survived clearing the Nightmare Dungeon.
The Shadow Lord obtained an EX-Rank stealth skillbook.
The Immortal obtained an EX-Rank recovery skillbook.
Finally, the Sword Demon King obtained a single EX-Rank sword.
‘I can’t miss this golden opportunity to get the EX-Rank stealth skill and recovery skill.’
On top of that, the Sword Demon King’s weapon, Padron’s Sword.
‘It’s perfect for Song Ha-na.’
He had planned from the start that once his forces were assembled, he would clear the Nightmare Dungeon and give Padron’s Sword to Song Ha-na.
‘I can’t use it anyway.’
Padron’s Sword, the Sword Demon King’s weapon, was among the top-tier EX-Rank items.
However, Padron’s Sword had one major drawback.
‘It’s a weapon exclusive to magic swordsmen.’
The ranker who obtained Padron’s Sword was a pure swordsman.
After much deliberation.
‘He job-changed into a magic swordsman.’
After that, he earned the title of Sword Demon King.
If the one who obtained Padron’s Sword had been a magic swordsman?
‘He might have gotten a title like Sword Demon Sovereign or Sword Demon Emperor.’
If the Blood Witch Song Ha-na obtained Padron’s Sword?
‘She could become explosively stronger.’
The growth of Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor under Kang Hyun-soo’s command?
‘It’s as good as my own growth.’
Song Ha-na was the only one in the party still using a temporary weapon.
Kang Hyun-soo had the Gluttony Sword, which had evolved to EX-Rank.
The Beast Emperor had the Beast King’s Gauntlets, which had grown to SSS-Rank after insane magic stone grinding.
‘Once Song Ha-na gets an EX-Rank weapon, the weapon setup will be complete.’
Armor and accessory setups remained.
‘But those will come as a bonus after resolving that incident.’
Kang Hyun-soo called Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor.
* * *
“You figured out the location of a place called the Nightmare Dungeon with your future foresight skill?”
“Yeah.”
“So we’re going on an expedition after all.”
“Ugh, expeditions are the last thing I want.”
The Beast Emperor and Song Ha-na looked pale, as if recalling memories from the north.
“It’s not an expedition. We go nearby via space transfer gate, then ride the Magic Dragon Karas, and we can get there in a day.”
“Really?”
“Then we might even come back in a day if we’re lucky.”
The Beast Emperor and Song Ha-na’s faces brightened.
“But we need to prepare thoroughly. The dungeon’s level seems really high.”
Before his regression, a full party of nine rankers had suffered near-total annihilation, with only three surviving.
‘Even calling them rankers, by current standards, it was a party of Named Players all holding king-tier titles.’
The Nightmare Dungeon wouldn’t be cleared until about ten years from now.
Naturally.
‘The current difficulty is at its peak. No party other than ours could clear it.’
Most parties would be wiped out.
‘And it’s impossible to form a party of nine king-tier title holders.’
It was essentially an impregnable dungeon.
If the difficulty hadn’t been that high?
‘They would have challenged and cleared it long ago.’
However.
‘Now it’s fully possible.’
Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor’s skills had skyrocketed.
‘Gluttony Sword, Ring of Protection, Ice King’s Necklace, Magic Dragon Armor.’
The EX-Rank item setup was fairly complete.
Plus powerful summoned beasts.
‘No need to delay any longer.’
“No matter how high the level, we can clear it easily, right?”
Song Ha-na said with a face full of confidence.
It wasn’t mere arrogance.
Their actual skills had risen to the point where they could handily clear the highest existing dungeons.
“Yeah, honestly, even without us, you could solo most dungeons.”
The Beast Emperor said, pursing his lips.
With powerful summoned beasts led by the Magic Dragon Karas?
As the Beast Emperor said, even dungeons with the strongest monsters could be cleared easily.
However.
‘The Nightmare Dungeon is the exception.’
He needed to make them aware of the danger to some extent.
“It’s a dungeon that was cleared in the future when Players’ levels were far higher. So we have to be careful.”
“Got it.”
“We’ll do that.”
Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor replied with serious expressions to Kang Hyun-soo’s warning.
‘Well, saying that...’
In truth, Kang Hyun-soo also felt like it would be easy now.
‘For king-tier Players.’
Song Ha-na, the Beast Emperor, plus the nine summoned beasts appointed as battalion commanders, and the two appointed as temporary battalion commanders.
‘Cecilia’s absent, but this should be enough.’
Though the summoned beasts’ levels were below those of king-tier title Players.
‘There’s also the Magic Dragon Karas.’
Kang Hyun-soo’s personal strength had risen to emperor-tier Player level.
With this much force?
There might be some losses, but clearing was definitely possible.
‘Summoned beasts can just be resummoned if they vanish.’
It might even be possible without any summoned beast losses.
“But what’s the reward?”
Then the Beast Emperor asked Kang Hyun-soo.
“Two EX-Rank skillbooks and one EX-Rank item.”
At Kang Hyun-soo’s words, the Beast Emperor’s mouth dropped open.
And Song Ha-na.
“What are you doing? Not packing?”
She was already preparing for the expedition.
* * *
“This is it?”
“Yeah.”
Kang Hyun-soo’s group arrived in front of the Nightmare Dungeon.
‘A normal party would have taken quite a while to get here.’
The Nightmare Dungeon was in a remote wilderness.
But for Kang Hyun-soo’s group, with the excellent mode of transport called the Magic Dragon Karas?
It was no issue at all.
“Then let’s go in.”
Step!
Kang Hyun-soo stepped toward the Nightmare Dungeon, which was in the form of a small cave.
“Got it.”
“Yeah.”
Following Kang Hyun-soo, Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor entered the Nightmare Dungeon.
“No monsters so far, at least. Still, stay cau—.”
Kang Hyun-soo, mid-sentence, turned around.
‘They’re gone?’
Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor, who had clearly been following, were nowhere to be seen.
‘Is it a dungeon where you clear individually?’
That could be dangerous for Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor’s levels.
But.
‘I can just call them. Legion Summon.’
Kang Hyun-soo used his class skill Legion Summon to call Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor.
However.
‘No response?’
Something was off.
-Beast Emperor, Song Ha-na.
Kang Hyun-soo called them with his will.
But.
‘No reply.’
No response came.
‘Did I make a mistake bringing them?’
His head throbbed.
Losing Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor here?
All his efforts would come crashing down.
‘Find them as fast as possible. Legion Summon.’
Kang Hyun-soo moved while summoning the battalion commanders.
But.
No response.
‘This is weird.’
In the Atlantis dimension, the Gaia System’s power was absolute.
Class skills were also under the Gaia System’s influence.
There was no way the skill wouldn’t activate.
‘Status window.’
Kang Hyun-soo called the system status window, but.
No response again.
‘So that’s why it’s the Nightmare Dungeon.’
Kang Hyun-soo was exasperated.
‘It’s not a dungeon cleared with physical force.’
Kang Hyun-soo could vividly feel the dungeon’s heavy air and thick earthy smell.
But.
‘It’s all fake. They’ll show up soon.’
What would a dungeon named Nightmare show?
‘Nightmares.’
Step step.
The betrayers who had struck Kang Hyun-soo in the back before his regression appeared.
Hwang So-uk, Shin So-hee, Ju Wi-cheon, Lee Gwang-ho, and more.
“You disgusting bastard!”
“I hated having to fight alongside trash like you!”
The betrayers spat curses and charged.
Kang Hyun-soo lightly swung his sword, slicing through the betrayers.
“You’re the reason I died!”
“Die too!”
After that, those Kang Hyun-soo had killed appeared one by one.
Kang Hyun-soo cut them down with an indifferent expression.
“The youngest is the problem in that house.”
“If only the youngest was decent, it’d be a truly happy family.”
“He’s the most useless one.”
Neighbors and relatives appeared, disparaging Kang Hyun-soo.
He slashed them.
“You’re a disgrace to our family.”
“You’re ruining our reputation too.”
His parents, brother, and sister appeared.
Snicker!
A faint smile formed on Kang Hyun-soo’s lips.
“My family never said anything like that to me.”
It was just a delusion born from Kang Hyun-soo’s inferiority complex.
Slash!
He swung his sword, and his parents, brother, and sister vanished.
After that, countless nightmares appeared and attacked Kang Hyun-soo, but.
‘Easy.’
They couldn’t wound Kang Hyun-soo’s heart.
He had endured all sorts of hardships.
He had suffered extreme betrayals.
Kang Hyun-soo’s heart was.
‘Too hardened to be hurt by nightmares like this.’
Song Ha-na and the Beast Emperor appeared too, but Kang Hyun-soo cut them down easily.
A while later.
All the nightmares had cleanly vanished.
“It’s over.”
In Kang Hyun-soo’s eyes.
“I hate it. I hate it.”
Song Ha-na, trembling and shaking.
“You think I’d bat an eye at words from scum like you!”
And the Beast Emperor, raging wildly.