Another Jackpot (4)
A-ra caught sight of the Stone Golem and swallowed a groan under the overwhelming pressure it exuded. Yeong-sik turned to her and spoke in a low voice.
"First, tie up the zombies' feet. I'll buy time against the Stone Golem."
"...You gonna be okay?"
A-ra asked with a worried expression, eyeing the Stone Golem's imposing, far-from-easy presence.
Yeong-sik nodded and charged forward.
The Stone Golem matched an orc in size and power, but its movements were relatively slower by comparison. Yeong-sik was confident he could at least stall it.
"Ice Boom!"
A-ra's spell targeted the zombies. While Yeong-sik drew the Stone Golem's attention, Gil-su rushed at the zombies.
Crunch!
-Grraaaahhh.
A zombie's arm fell to the floor after Gil-su's axe strike. But the zombies, feeling no pain, shambled toward him with unsteady steps.
Gil-su shoved them back with his shield and glanced toward Yeong-sik.
Thud!
-Intruder. Eliminate.
Yeong-sik twisted his body this way and that, dodging the Stone Golem's attacks. Its rock-hard fist smashed into the floor, powerful enough to crater the dungeon stone.
'Way faster than an orc.'
Yeong-sik dodged the fist and swallowed a short groan.
It was only slow relative to its strength—not slow enough to evade like an orc's attacks. Yeong-sik figured he'd be in real trouble without Boost, so he mixed in bursts of it to evade.
BOOM!
The Stone Golem interlaced its fingers and slammed down viciously where Yeong-sik had stood. The intense shockwave rippled across his skin.
Yeong-sik Boosted from his knees to evade, then kicked off and circled behind it. After such a big swing, the Stone Golem's back was wide open.
Yeong-sik's eyes gleamed.
'Now!'
Seizing the perfect moment, he thrust his Blade at the Stone Golem's nape with full power. Optimal timing, full-force strike. Yeong-sik thought he could solo it right there.
But.
Clang!
"Kuh!"
A heavy shock traveled up Yeong-sik's arm. The full-power Blade thrust failed to pierce the Stone Golem's tough body and bounced off pathetically.
Yeong-sik's face twisted in frustration.
'Again... just like with chieftain Rakan.'
His weak base attack power was holding him back. Without dedicated combat skills, foes that shrugged off hits like this were infuriatingly frustrating.
BOOM!
"Urk!"
The Stone Golem twisted and swung its arm. Caught off-guard in his momentary confusion, Yeong-sik couldn't dodge.
He hastily raised his Blade to block. The ferocious impact rattled his whole body.
Yeong-sik flew back like he'd been launched, rolling across the floor.
"Yeong-sik!"
A-ra called out in alarm.
Yuna stepped forward and shouted.
"You two handle the zombies! I'll cover Yeong-sik!"
She charged toward him, drawing her two red swords from her waist.
Yeong-sik thrust out a hand toward the frantic Yuna rushing his way.
"No. I'm fine."
He spoke curtly, then rolled to his feet. Boost flames flickered at his feet.
'If normal attacks won't cut it...'
Yeong-sik's eyes sharpened as he twisted his body. If standard attacks couldn't damage the Stone Golem, he'd have to rely on one of his abilities: Boost.
Vapors rose from his left wrist as the Blade shot forward at tremendous speed.
Crunch!
The Blade's edge dug into the Stone Golem's chest. Cracks spiderwebbed across it, exposing a glowing blue magic stone.
Yeong-sik's eyes lit up. He thrust again to shatter it.
But before he could, the Stone Golem's massive arm whipped toward him.
Thud!
Yeong-sik kicked off its body and retreated. He crouched slightly, raising his Blade. Boost lights flickered along his back.
That was when.
"Ice Spear!"
A clear spear of ice formed in midair at A-ra's crisp voice and launched at the Stone Golem. The spear pierced the magic stone, shattering it. The Stone Golem's body collapsed to the floor.
A-ra and Gil-su had finished off the zombies and joined in.
Yeong-sik let out a deep sigh and stood.
The now-familiar clear chime rang in his ears.
Stone Golem x1 and Zombie x5 defeated.
2570 EXP and 80 silver distributed by contribution.
"Oh."
A short exclamation escaped Yeong-sik as he eyed the message window.
2570 EXP. Considering he'd gotten 1274 from four Rakan, this was nearly double.
'Tougher fight, sure.'
Yeong-sik sighed deeply at the fallen Stone Golem. Zombies weren't bad, but the Stone Golem had been no joke.
'Damage is still too low.'
He frowned down at his Blade. Boost made it workable, but the weak base damage nagged at him.
'And Boost isn't infinite.'
By rationing it, he wasn't running dry after a few uses, but he still had to be mindful—it wasn't unlimited.
"Hng. Still, you took it down solo in the end. Good job."
Yuna grinned like she was petting a kid and ruffled Yeong-sik's hair.
Yeong-sik looked embarrassed at the sudden gesture.
Chae-rin, watching them, shot her hand up high.
"Unni Yuna! Me too! Praise me too!"
"What'd you do to deserve praise?"
Yuna scowled and flicked Chae-rin's forehead.
Snap!
A heavy sound echoed from Chae-rin's forehead.
"Ow!"
Chae-rin plopped down, face scrunched in pain.
Soft laughter rippled through the guild members.
Yuna turned back to Yeong-sik.
"So? First time hunting dungeon monsters—thoughts?"
"Way harder than field monsters."
"Yeah. Dungeon mobs hit harder even at the same level."
Yuna nodded in agreement, then grinned.
"But the rewards are juicy, right?"
"Yeah. EXP is insane."
Yeong-sik smiled, satisfied.
Yuna chuckled and turned away.
"Heh. Let's push on—hoping for a jackpot dungeon! With luck, rares drop like candy!"
She strode ahead with an energetic shout. Yeong-sik's party followed, eyes sparkling at "rare items."
The hunt continued. Dungeons already gave more EXP than fields, and with first-kill bonuses stacking, it piled up at a scary rate.
With Bae Han-seong's support, they steadily cleared the dungeon. When three or more Stone Golems appeared, Yuna handled the extras, keeping things smooth.
"...Dungeon EXP is on another level."
Two days in the dungeon. Yeong-sik six-leveled in two days—an absurd result he could hardly believe himself.
No way he'd hit this in two weeks of endless Rakans, let alone two days.
"Leveling up makes tanking easier—thank goodness."
Gil-su sighed in relief; early Stone Golem hits had worn him out.
Yeong-sik nodded.
"Yeah. My attacks are landing better now too."
His strikes, once useless without Boost, now scratched Stone Golem hide.
Yeong-sik marveled anew at levels' importance as he advanced.
Then, with a heavy rumble, the abandoned mine wall crumbled.
A golem like a Stone Golem stood within—but.
"Uncle Gil-su!"
"Got it!"
Thinking it one Stone Golem, Yeong-sik called to Gil-su. Gil-su nodded and stepped up.
"Hm...?"
Yeong-sik's eyes narrowed at the golem.
'Different color.'
The golem in the ruined wall wasn't dull brown like Stone Golems—it gleamed faint silver-gray.
Yeong-sik's face hardened. Yuna stepped forward with sharp eyes.
"Iron Golem. Looks like an elite monster."
"Elite monster..."
"Hehe. Jackpot if we take it! First-kill bonus means at least one rare for sure."
Her eyes gleamed with anticipation at the Iron Golem. Yeong-sik's sparked at "jackpot," prepping for battle.
'Steel body might block even Boosted attacks.'
Yeong-sik scanned for weaknesses on the still golem.
Standoff with the Iron Golem dragged on. Gil-su tensed at its gleaming steel-gray hide.
But.
"...Huh?"
"What?"
No matter how long they waited, the Iron Golem stood motionless.
Yeong-sik looked puzzled at Yuna and Han-seong. They stared equally baffled.
"Wait, no way...?"
Yuna approached the stationary Iron Golem and poked it with a finger.
Thud!
'Abandoned Mine' Dungeon cleared.
No remaining rewards. Cannot claim compensation.
"Wh-what the hell?!"
Yuna yelled at the message, clutching her head.
Yeong-sik's party was just as dumbfounded. Tense for their first elite, and it ended anticlimactically—no fight, dungeon done.
"...Dungeon's over?"
A-ra asked Han-seong with a hollow smile.
Han-seong nodded bitterly.
"Yeah. This dungeon... just an empty shell."
"Empty shell?"
"Regenerated after a prior clear. Good loot's already taken on first run... just scraps left."
The party's faces fell. No one expected this letdown before first-kill bonuses even ran out.
Bae Han-seong sighed deeply.
"Haa. Didn't peg it as regenerated. No rares... treat this as a field trip."
He turned away, eyes regretful.
"Th-then it's just over?"
Even unflappable Gil-su looked indignant at Han-seong.
Han-seong sighed and nodded.
"Yeah. But we leveled fast."
"Hng. True, but..."
Gil-su scratched his head, feeling empty.
"?Haa."
Yeong-sik shared the awkwardness of the abrupt end. He walked slowly to the Iron Golem corpse.
A full-steel monster—extraction would yield massive materials.
"Hm?"
Then Yeong-sik spotted the scene beyond the crumbled mine wall.
Dozens of Iron Golem corpses littered the area. 3-meter steel behemoths, every one.
'This...'
Yeong-sik's lips twisted into a grin.
Others might gripe, but for him, this was certain.
A jackpot, pure and simple.