Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: 30. Night Dungeon (3)
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"Those who wish to be the Whaler, pick up the chain."
...6.
...5.
Now there were only 5 seconds left.
Ricardo bared his teeth at the empty air and practically shouted.
"You fucking bastards! Is this for real?"
Meanwhile, Otavio stayed relatively calm as he alternated his gaze between the chain and the stone slab they'd been riding on so far.
"So the Whaler is basically a tank. Judging by how the Harpooners have to protect it, the belly must be too heavy to use weapons..."
"No time for that."
While Otavio was reviewing the rules, Youngwoo saw the remaining time drop below 2 seconds and immediately grabbed the iron chain.
Clink.
"...I'll be the Whaler. It's decided."
"......!"
"Urk."
The time limit was too short for any discussion.
It was a matter of who had the will and confidence to pull it off just grabbing it—a kind of party member lottery based on luck.
And luckily, Sicily's Guardian Sword and Tocanching's Leopard were on the same boat as Gyeongbuk's Greatest Swordsman, Jeong Youngwoo.
"My total stats might be a bit lower than yours. But it won't make much difference now."
As he said this, Youngwoo lightly tapped the "Golden Oath" wrapped around his upper body.
Thud.
「Golden Oath」 - Legendary Chestplate
【Reduces enemy attack power by 50%.】
"Luckily, even if my stats are a little low, I hold up well against hits. I don't know exactly how much beating the Whaler has to take, but..."
"......?"
Youngwoo had no way to explain further.
He couldn't exactly list out all his specs in detail.
They seemed like allies for now, but who knew what the future held.
"I won't die easily, so focus on protecting the bonfire. It can't scream even if it's in danger."
As Youngwoo wrapped the iron chain around his body after saying this, Ricardo stared at him blankly for a moment before bursting into a chuckle.
"He's completely insane."
Even so, as if acknowledging how impressive it was, he gave a thumbs up.
On the other hand, Otavio looked genuinely worried for Youngwoo.
"...You sure you're okay?"
"If not, it's just Russian roulette. Anyway, what's the reward for a difficulty this high?"
Youngwoo's gaze was now fixed on the "navigation course" lined with faint lights.
That row of lights was probably the final destination.
Until then, he had to navigate the darkness with these two on the stone slab.
'I need to spend all my money now.'
When Youngwoo bit down on the commemorative coin he'd kept in his pocket, dotted lines appeared along his body outline.
Flash!
『Character: Jeong Youngwoo07』
[Strength] 2,900 (19+2,881)
[Stamina] 1,950 (21+1,929)
[Durability] 2,450 (13+2,437)
[Sense] 800 (24+776)
* Available Karma: 996,000
What stats matter most for a Whaler?
'Strength can go up another 25% with masochism, so exclude that.'
That left Stamina and Durability.
According to the rules earlier, the Harpooners' role was to protect the Whaler and bonfire without leaving the stone slab.
In other words, these intruders would aggressively target the Whaler too.
'I wonder how lethal their attacks are. If it's just cuts and slices, regeneration should cover it.'
Of course, the pain would be all on Youngwoo.
The Berserker amulet only nullified pain for body-shattering critical hits.
「Berserker」 - Mutation Amulet
【Ignores pain above a certain level.】
'Stamina is pretty low right now, so I think I should invest more here...'
From the atmosphere, the "voyage" was about to start.
In the end, Youngwoo invested equally in Stamina and Durability.
If Strength fell short, he'd drink a doping potion.
Flash!
『Character: Jeong Youngwoo07』
[Strength] 2,900 (19+2,881)
[Stamina] 2,448 (21+2,427)
[Durability] 2,948 (13+2,935)
[Sense] 800 (24+776)
* Available Karma: 0
It might be his last chance, so he didn't leave a single point behind.
Otavio, realizing what Youngwoo was doing, looked at his sword with a resolute expression and said.
"We won't fail. We'll protect you no matter what."
And at that moment.
Beep!
That unpleasant warning tone rang out again.
「Dungeon starts in 5 seconds.」
「All Harpooners, get on the boat.」
Otavio and Ricardo took positions near the bonfire on the stone slab.
"This is ridiculous... My heart's pounding like crazy."
Ricardo muttered while stroking the cut on his face, and Otavio sniffed and added.
"You know this was D-rank difficulty, right? If we survive, you coming back?"
"Are you insane?"
As Ricardo spat out his line like saliva, the bonfire flames flickered once.
Whoosh!
「Dungeon start.」
It had finally begun.
The insane voyage.
"Here we go!"
Clank!
As Youngwoo stepped forward, the chain connecting his body to the stone slab went taut.
Then.
Grind.
The stone slab carrying the two Harpooners actually started moving.
But it was purely Youngwoo's strength pulling it. There were no wheels or anything under the slab.
"Fuck, fuuuck..."
Ricardo spat curses laced with guilt toward the Whaler and fear of this horrific situation.
And just as the stone slab began to pick up speed, an ominous sound came from beyond the surrounding darkness.
-Over there.
-That's it!
The voices were raspy like grinding metal, but they were definitely human speech.
"Huh...?"
"Why are there people in a place like this."
But no matter how you thought about it, these were the "intruders" described in the rules earlier.
The ones targeting the Whaler and bonfire.
"Doesn't the bonfire have to stay lit too?"
Ricardo, already forgetting the rules, asked while frantically scanning the darkness around them.
Youngwoo, practically enslaved as he pulled the boat, answered.
"Yes. Protect both the Whaler and the bonfire."
And with that exchange over, they appeared.
-Kill!
-Hiyaaak!
Tata-tat!
The identities of the things charging into the bonfire's light range from all sides were indeed people.
A crowd that looked to number at least a hundred in sight alone.
It was just like the first day of the Reset, recreating the brawl at the exchange center.
"......!"
These bizarre figures, covered head to toe in what looked like ash, climbed onto the boat, each holding a weapon.
Then they attacked the two Harpooners guarding the bonfire first.
-Die!
-Kraaa!
The weirdos varied in gender and race, but they all seemed to share one goal.
To make the three who'd come here fail.
"You fucking shits!"
Ricardo, standing near the bonfire, gritted his teeth and swung his sword, but they charged ferociously without a hint of fear.
"Urgh...!"
It wasn't just Youngwoo—the other two had trauma-level memories from the exchange center too, amplifying the mental pressure dozens of times over.
"Die!"
"Uwaaa!"
Of course, as top players from their regions, every swing of their swords sliced through two or three weirdos, but the real problem started then.
Grrrrind.
"It's... gotten insanely heavy!"
As corpses piled up, the boat became too heavy for Youngwoo to pull.
The weirdos' weight was clearly beyond that of normal humans.
"My god. We need to clear the corpses."
Realizing the situation, Otavio sweated bullets and started kicking the bodies strewn across the stone slab.
Meanwhile, even more weirdos swarmed in from around them.
He couldn't confirm with his eyes since it was still dark, but the bustling presence beyond the darkness suggested as much.
A horrifying premonition that thousands were crawling around nearby.
"Fuck."
Even Youngwoo cursed, deciding to sacrifice some speed to thin out the numbers first. He lowered his gaze to draw the sword from his belt.
Then.
"......!"
He saw the Dragon's Legacy glowing red.
It could have been because of Ricardo behind him, but a chilling instinct swept over Youngwoo's nape.
So Youngwoo.
Slash!
Drew the Dragon's Legacy from his belt.
"Huat!"
And hurled it powerfully into the deep darkness ahead.
To see if it would glow amid those things.
Whiiiiiish!
The red blade sliced diagonally through the darkness, flying through the air.
Then, its surroundings lit up slightly, revealing glimpses of the ash-gray weirdos filling the darkness.
"Th...!"
As expected, the entire path was packed with them.
But what scared Youngwoo more was.
'This feels real.'
The fact that the Dragon's Legacy, now dozens of meters away, was still glowing red, illuminating its blade's vicinity.
Meaning the weirdos surrounding that sword also had internal grades.
And as far as Youngwoo knew, only beings with human status had internal grades.
Even mutants were judged as fundamentally human, qualifying for regional swordsmanship guidance and triggering the Dragon's Legacy, just like that.
'These bastards might actually be real people.'
And around then, another group of weirdos came charging from the front, eyes bulging.
-Chain! Target the chain-puller first!
-Cut the legs!
-Legs!
These ones seemed to target the Whaler directly.
They'd seen the weirdos near the bonfire get sliced up in seconds and immediately rushed Youngwoo.
Youngwoo remotely recalled the Dragon's Legacy he'd thrown far earlier while also drawing the Black Sword still on his belt.
He figured extending the blade to full length and swinging would at least clear the path ahead for pulling the boat.
"You fucks, come at me!"
As Youngwoo roared and drew on his fighting spirit, one of the weirdos leaping out from the darkness uttered an unbelievable line.
-Oh, Youngwoo!
"What...?"
Youngwoo couldn't help turning his head toward the voice's origin, entranced.
His already widened pupils dilated even further.
-This time, please grant my request. You can do that, right?
The identity of the thing standing between the darkness and the bonfire light, staring at Youngwoo.
-Today, die here.
Was none other than Youngwoo's former roommate, 38-year-old man, Im Bong-hee.