Chapter 92: Jackpot, Jackpot, and Another Jackpot.
Chapter 92: Jackpot, Jackpot, and Another Jackpot.
Before examining the last remaining ring, I briefly activated Ahn Sol's Player Status. I was curious about how much she had grown and wanted to confirm that the ring had properly bound to her. A faint smile touched my lips as I looked at the information that soon appeared.
『 Player Status 』
Name: Ahn Sol
『Stats』(4 undistributed stat points remaining.)
[Strength 20] [Durability 22] [Agility 24] [Stamina 30] [Magic Power 86(+1)] [Luck 100]
Not only had the ring bound to her, but her other stats had also shown significant growth. Considering her stats, aside from Magic Power and Luck, had been hovering in the teens when I first saw them, this was a massive improvement. I especially wanted to praise her for reaching 30 points in Stamina.
“Our Sol has been working so hard, and it looks like her efforts have paid off. Congratulations.”
For the first time in a while, I praised Ahn Sol in a bright voice. If she continued growing at this rate, she might reach 90 Magic Power in less than a year. If she worked even harder during the year after that, she might truly reach 94—the minimum Magic Power for a top-tier Mage.
As an aside, the user with the highest Magic Power in the first run had a stat of 101. But that user was so ridiculously overpowered that they were an exception. If we consider the others... among the users I knew of whose Magic Power stats were publicly estimated, there were three with 98 points and two with 97. And to even participate in the fight against the Ten Strong, a mage needed at least 94 Magic Power.
In any case, at my heartfelt praise, Sol lowered her head even further. But I could see she was overjoyed, a faint smile on her lips as she touched the ring.
Watching this heartwarming scene, Jung Hayeon spoke in a gentle voice.
“Hehe. Well, everyone else has received something, so the leader should take this ring to save face. You're not thinking of refusing this one too, are you?”
“Hm. Give it here… What's that ring?”
I had activated Third Eye from the beginning and already knew everything, but the moment I saw Jung Hayeon’s face, I had no choice but to ask for an explanation. Her eyes burned with an inexplicable determination that said, I absolutely have to explain this item. In acknowledgment of her intensity, I obediently stepped back.
“It might not compare to the ring that raises Magic Power… but this one is also quite valuable.”
I suppose so. I already knew all this, but since she was drawing it out, I couldn't help but reply with a bored expression. Jung Hayeon smiled faintly and placed the ring in my hand.
“Don't be surprised. This ring is enchanted with an Anti-Magic spell. It seems to be a rechargeable type, too.”
“Oh. How surprising. An Anti-Magic spell, you say.”
To be precise, it could be used three times a day and recharged one use every eight hours. I could see Jung Hayeon narrow her eyes at my textbook-like response.
“…You don't seem very surprised.”
“Not at all. I'm plenty surprised. Anyway, we've spent a lot of time here, so we should probably get back to exploring.”
“……”
Jung Hayeon looked dissatisfied, but since I was not wrong, she reluctantly rose. Wearing their new equipment, the others happily swept the gold and gems from the floor. We had completely cleared the west, so next… Shin Sangyong apparently reached the same conclusion and turned to speak.
“Well, Leader. We've checked all the rooms in this passage. Where to next?”
“Let's go north.”
I answered simply.
*
The last room at the very end of the north passage. When we opened the door, a drooling animal stood before us.
“Oppa. What is that thing? I don't like it.”
“Hmm. Not sure. It looks like a variant.”
That was Yoojung's voice. The kids were now asking me questions in a fairly calm tone. The creature before us had the body of a wolf, but it had three heads. Another peculiar feature was that it constantly spat fire from its nostrils and mouths.
“A variant? D-don't tell me it's a Cerberus? N-no way.”
“No way… That can't be right. Of course it's not.”
I dismissed Vivian's question with a firm voice. There was absolutely no way Cerberus, the gatekeeper of hell, would appear now. Besides, a real Cerberus looks nothing like that. It's over three meters tall and wreathed in crimson flames—a truly terrifying beast. If a real Cerberus saw this variant wolf and heard what Vivian said, it would surely shudder with indignation.
There was only one variant wolf. However, judging by the wolf bones scattered around the room, I could guess that there were once more of them here. And for some reason, this one was the sole survivor.
“Grrrrr…”
Wolves are cunning animals by nature, but this one was different. Did it complete some kind of intelligence enhancement program? I let out a dry laugh at the absurd thought and began giving orders.
“Vivian, take the Keeper position. Ahn Hyun, Yoojung…”
“Kuaaang!”
Fwoosh!
What an ill-mannered beast. The variant wolf launched a surprise attack before I could even finish my sentence. The central head opened its maw and shot out a crimson flame. I could hear voices behind me quickly chanting a shield spell, but I calmly raised my left hand, the one with the ring.
“Anti-Magic.”
A white light shot from my ring and collided with the sphere of flame in mid-air. Both vanished in an instant. The chanting voices stopped, followed by simultaneous gasps of awe and sighs of relief. Meanwhile, I continued speaking in a composed voice.
“…get behind me. Vivian, you know why I made you the keeper, right?”
“Yeah. Pfft.”
I could hear Vivian snickering, as if she found my actions amusing. With the Block of Fire armor Vivian was wearing, that thing's pathetic flames would be more than easy to defend against. Honestly, after embracing Eternal Flame, the essence of fire, a flame of that level barely even registered as fire to me.
“After the mages and Sol launch a preemptive strike and pin it down, we'll charge from three directions. I'll take the heads. Your job is to circle to its flanks and harass it as much as possible.”
“Okay, Oppa.”
“Yes, Hyung.”
“Until then, maintain the formation. It's coming. Be careful.”
The beast seemed to flinch when its sphere of flame was blocked so easily, but it grew enraged as we stood there casually discussing plans right in front of it. Can it actually understand us? I wanted to check its information with Third Eye, but dealing with the wolf charging at us was the priority.
The creature charged straight at me, then abruptly changed direction while still some distance away and lunged at Yoojung. It apparently intended to avoid me, the strongest target, and take down the weaker Yoojung first. She had not expected it to attack her, and her stance began to falter.
“Hah!”
I moved quickly to cover Yoojung. She had not been idle all this time; after meeting my eyes, she kicked off the floor and leaped into the air beside it. She seemed to be using her high Agility to pass over the beast and claim its rear, as she had before. It was a reasonable idea, but—
“Huh…?”
Fwoosh!
Yoojung’s leap fell short. She could have made it with a proper stance, but she had jumped too hastily to set herself. To make matters worse, one of the heads raised itself and fired a stream of flame at her. Panic crossed Yoojung’s face. Remaining airborne meant being struck by the flame; falling meant landing where the beast could respond. I clicked my tongue inwardly and was about to move.
“—Gust of Wind!”
A weak gust rose from where Yoojung had launched herself and pushed her body onward. The timing was perfect: the sphere of flame passed through empty air, and Yoojung landed safely behind the creature as intended. The spell both evaded the attack and supplied the height her leap had lacked. It was Shin Sangyong’s work.
“Ahjussi! Nice one!”
“Ah, I'm not an ahjussi…”
Shin Sangyong mumbled a reply to Yoojung's ecstatic shout. Impressive. Truly impressive. He'd been somewhat overshadowed by Jung Hayeon until now, but with this single move, Shin Sangyong's stock had just gone up.
But as if not to be outdone, Jung Hayeon and Ahn Sol immediately began their spell bombardment.
“Shackles!”
“—Cone of Ice!”
Sol’s Shackles wrapped around the wolf and stopped its movement. Immediately afterward, masses of ice formed beneath it and thrust upward into its body. Ice rather than Water—Jung Hayeon truly was well versed in water-elemental magic.
“Kkyaeng! Kaeng! Kaeng! Kaeng!”
The wolf thrashed and yelped like a dog. Bound by Shackles, however, every struggle drove the ice spikes deeper. Nor was that the end. Jung Hayeon had mastered Rapid Incantation and Double Casting, essentials for a skilled Mage, and her pretty lips opened once more.
“Broken!”
Shatter! Pshshshat!
At Jung Hayeon’s cry, the ice spikes embedded in the beast shattered and scattered. Ahn Hyun and Yoojung cried out in admiration as the exposed fragments burst beautifully through the air. Being impaled was painful enough; she had detonated the ice inside its body. All three heads twisted as the beast foamed at the mouth.
“Keeeehng…”
“You son of a bitch! Serves you right for targeting me. Hah!”
Yoojung, still furious over what had happened, gripped her daggers and charged. Perhaps because Sol’s Magic Power had risen, Shackles was still holding. That meant Yoojung, positioned behind the creature, had a perfect opportunity to attack freely.
I let out a low groan as I watched Yoojung stab and slash with her daggers as if beating a drum.
“Ahahahahahahaha!”
Yoojung let out a crazed laugh as she redoubled her dagger attacks. The state of the beast on the receiving end was gruesome. Despite this, it struggled to turn around, but its efforts were thwarted by a long spear that followed.
“Hup!”
“Keuk!”
With a sharp intake of breath, Ahn Hyun thrust his spear straight into one of its open mouths. Just like that, one of the heads went limp, its tongue lolling out. The two remaining heads whimpered beside it, but the kids mercilessly continued to whittle away the variant wolf's remaining life. Unable to watch any longer, I rushed in and cut off the two remaining heads at once.
Poor thing. Even I felt sorry for it. I sighed as the wolf collapsed with a peaceful expression. Still fuming, Yoojung held out her two daggers and struck them together in midair. With a clear ring of blade against blade, dark blood scattered from them.
Only then did she seem to feel a bit better. She turned to me with a bright smile. I could feel the rest of the party take a step back as she smiled while covered head to toe in blood.
“Oppa. I did well, right?”
“…Yeah. You did well.”
“Hehe. I got praised.”
I praised Yoojung, which was unusual. Novice female melee Users normally did not adapt this quickly, especially women who had been treated like princesses in the modern world. Women who had never killed even an animal often hesitated, consciously or not, when suddenly faced with a monster—even after completing the User Academy.
Yoojung seemed determined to mock that assumption by demonstrating the textbook example of a madwoman. Watching her wipe away the blood covering her without the slightest hesitation, I wondered whether I should be pleased. If she kept growing like this… I felt a little uneasy, but at that moment she still looked lovely to me. I raised a hand and gently stroked her cheek.
When I wiped the blood away, Yoojung’s eyes widened. She stared at me for a moment, then closed them as though savoring my touch.