Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: The Labyrinth of Dogs and Skeletons
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Kang Jin-hyuk asked if the dwarf could give him some equipment right away, but the dwarf just snorted.
"Why would I give away my collection? Selling stuff and collecting are two totally different things, kid."
Asking why he collected swords or spears would have been foolish.
Whatever hobby someone had, it was their personal freedom—no one else's place to judge.
"Hoo... Just tell me exactly what mithril looks like."
"No need for explanations. Go look, and you'll know."
"You're not messing with me?"
"Kid, have you gone through life getting scammed every time?"
"I've probably been backstabbed more times than most."
"Heavens, fine. You're a real piece of work."
The dwarf gave him a pitiful look and tossed over the pickaxe he was holding.
"Quit yapping and go mine some mithril."
"So if I bring it back, you'll make me some gear?"
"Yeah, before I change my mind. Hurry up."
Anyone who knew the dwarf would have been shocked to hear this.
He wasn't the type to take on requests from others.
The only time he picked up his hammer was to add to his collection for his own satisfaction.
"You brought that booze disguised as swill, so it's a one-time favor 'cause I'm impressed. Hurry before I change my mind."
* * *
Pushed along by the dwarf, Kang Jin-hyuk had no choice but to start searching for the path to the lower level.
While wandering the maze without a map, a sudden worry hit him.
"What if mithril's just some common metal like orichalcum?"
Just as orichalcum in his world had turned out to be aluminum, mithril might be something everyday like copper or iron.
"Am I doing all this for nothing?"
If the mithril he worked so hard to get was a soft metal like copper, gear made from it would be useless.
"Aw, forget it. No point overthinking this early."
Kang Jin-hyuk shook off the worry with an energetic shout and swung his baseball bat as he pressed forward.
By the time he'd smashed enough goblin heads to reach level 33, he spotted a staircase.
"So this is the way down."
Finding the stairs so quickly in the tangled maze was a stroke of luck.
Kang Jin-hyuk descended with a tense expression, bracing for stronger monsters below.
As he went down, he noticed the surroundings changing, and his eyes widened.
The brown-walled maze of the upper level had shifted colors upon entering the lower one.
Before him now was a green maze mimicking a forest, complete with the chirps of grasshoppers.
"They really went all out decorating this maze."
It might have been his imagination, but the air felt fresher than above.
The moment Kang Jin-hyuk stepped off the stairs onto the ground, a message with unfamiliar content appeared.
[You have arrived at the 2nd Layer: 'Labyrinth of Dogs and Skeletons.']
[Would you like to register this location as a Warp Point?]
"W-Warp Point?"
It was a term Kang Jin-hyuk had never heard before.
Having to choose Yes or No without knowing what it meant.
"Eh, whatever."
After a brief hesitation, Kang Jin-hyuk selected Yes.
[The 2nd Layer has been registered as a Warp Point.]
Once the message vanished, a purple swirling gate appeared right in front of him.
[You can now travel between the 1st and 2nd Layers via this gate.]
Thanks to the message's helpful explanation, Kang Jin-hyuk understood the gate's purpose.
"Sheesh. Feels like I'm actually playing a game."
Hunting monsters for levels, even delving into dungeons—it was just like a game.
But human lives weren't reset like in one.
Get careless here, and there'd be no respawn. Just game over.
Kang Jin-hyuk pulled out his radar to scan for nearby monsters.
Countless dots clustered right ahead on the display.
"They're swarming."
Kang Jin-hyuk picked up a stone from the ground and chucked it toward a fork in the path.
Monsters with dog heads burst out from behind the wall.
Bipedal, armed dog-headed monsters.
Kang Jin-hyuk recognized them instantly as kobolds.
"The Labyrinth of Dogs and Skeletons, huh... Actual dogs came out."
Kobolds were more agile and stronger than goblins, but still just fodder mobs.
Seeing them charge, Kang Jin-hyuk burst out laughing.
A ton of weak monsters meant a ton of money to scoop up.
Thinking of his bank account swelling made him grin ear to ear.
The kobolds, meanwhile, couldn't comprehend his reaction.
They had hordes of allies, yet this lone human waltzed in laughing like a maniac.
One offended kobold growled and stepped forward.
"Woof!"
It barked loudly and lunged at Kang Jin-hyuk.
But before it could swing its sword, the kobold took a bat straight to the face.
After the orcs, he'd steadily leveled on goblins, so kobolds were no match.
"Yelp!"
With its muzzle smashed, the kobold flew back like a baseball.
It hit the ground and didn't get up.
As the other kobolds struggled to process what happened, Kang Jin-hyuk strolled up casually.
"Time to get a taste of the dog-beating life, you mutts."
Having taken down two orcs boosted his confidence sky-high.
Compared to those intimidating brutes, these pups were a joke.
"Yip!"
"Yeep!"
One swing, one yelp.
No kobold survived more than two bat swings.
His new inventory bag was already stuffed with 25 kobold corpses.
Even at the association's base price of 800k each, that was 20 million.
And with Lee Jun-cheol tacking on 15% extra, it'd be even more.
"Heh heh heh...!"
Smelling the cash, Kang Jin-hyuk tore through the forest like a whirlwind.
The kobolds, who lived as hunters, now knew intimately what it felt like to be prey.
No matter how deep they fled into the maze, Kang Jin-hyuk pursued relentlessly.
"Where you gonna run, you fleabags!"
* * *
Hunting kobolds freely without worrying about big guild interference, Kang Jin-hyuk eventually reached the maze's heart.
He halted upon spotting a wall of different color at the center.
"No way it's a random color change..."
Trusting his instincts, Kang Jin-hyuk followed the black wall.
The maze was pitch-black without sunlight, but he didn't need a flashlight.
Torches along the walls lit up one by one automatically, illuminating the depths.
"Did the dwarf uncle set this up?"
Kang Jin-hyuk proceeded cautiously, watching his step.
After a ways, a rattling sound echoed from somewhere.
Sensing it, Kang Jin-hyuk whipped around to see human bones shambling toward him without any contraption.
"Damn! Skeletons?"
He remembered this layer was the Labyrinth of Dogs and Skeletons.
Kang Jin-hyuk sighed and smashed the skeleton's skull with his bat.
Unlike other monsters, it kept coming even without its head.
Just a torso now, it staggered toward him.
"Of all the worthless trash mobs..."
Ways to deal with skeletons: Hire a cleric hunter or smash the magic stone to immobilize them.
As a D-rank hunter who hadn't changed classes yet, Kang Jin-hyuk went with the latter.
If they sold for cash, the hassle would be worth it, but sadly, skeletons were just rotten bones.
Who'd pay for worthless, brittle scraps?
The one valuable part, the magic stone, had to be shattered to kill them—so hunters hated these things.
"That's why that old man said it was a pain."
Kang Jin-hyuk faced dozens of skeletons blocking his path.
Smashing them one by one wasn't hard, but in this number, it'd take forever.
"Fine, bring it on!"
He'd come this far; backing off over inconvenience didn't add up.
Kang Jin-hyuk swung wildly, clearing the bony blockade.
Pure bone meant easy targeting of the magic stone vitals.
But their sheer numbers meant pushing deeper would take serious time.
No matter how many he pulverized, more walking skeletons poured in.
"Just die already!"
Occasional misses let skeletons grab his ankle, slowing him.
Each time, he stomped the fallen ones and pushed on.
Ten, fifty, a hundred.
After over 120, Kang Jin-hyuk stopped counting.
After nearly half a day of nonstop labor, he broke through the bone pile to the maze depths.
"Huff... huff..."
Swinging nonstop left him gasping.
Confirming no more pursuers or blockers, he slumped down to catch his breath.
"Not even a proper graveyard, and skeletons everywhere."
Exhausted with zero profit.
But it wasn't entirely thankless.
Slaughtering hordes leveled him to 50.
From level 12, hitting 50 in two days—all thanks to this dungeon.
In his old life, it'd have taken 2-3 years, maybe longer with guild monopolies tightening.
[You have reached level 50. Class change is now available.]
[Reviewing recent activities to assign class automatically.]
The class change he'd craved arrived.
Two days of bat-swinging madness? Obviously warrior class, he figured.
But the result surprised him.
[For slaying countless undead, you have class-changed to 'Cleric.']
[Acquired skill: Slow Heal]
[Acquired skill: Cure]
[Acquired skill: Holy Shield]
"...Huh?"
Kang Jin-hyuk stared at the messages, dumbfounded.
"Cleric? Me?"
He'd never imagined beating skeletons would grant a faith-based class reserved for the devout.
Top pick for parties—great news.
But the wildly unexpected path left him more baffled than thrilled.