Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Corrupted Goblins
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Even Getia seemed ignorant about dungeons like the ones called Red Moon or Battle Field.
After all, they had only manipulated the magic beasts that burst into the real world due to dungeon outbreaks.
"A goblin dungeon, huh. Perfect opponents for you lot. Handle things from here on your own. I'll watch from the back."
"Understood."
Lee Jung-hoon nodded at Choi Hyun-seong's words.
They'd entered 1-star dungeons a few times, but this was the first 2-star dungeon even for Lee Jung-hoon's crew.
The same went for Shin Yu-hyun in his previous life.
But goblins had been regulars in low-rank dungeons for ages, so Lee Jung-hoon's group had come somewhat prepared.
Thanks to that, Lee Jung-hoon's expression softened a bit as he glanced at Shin Yu-hyun and spoke up.
"We'll clear the dungeon, so you just hang back. Stay by the instructor's side and don't do a thing."
"Crazy bastard. What's a 1-star think he's gonna do, take down a 2-star dungeon boss...?"
"Don't drag us down."
They openly ignored Shin Yu-hyun, staring at him like he was some lunatic.
They'd already heard the rumors about his bet with Shin Cheol-jin.
Even if the clan leader had ordered him to join the named request, they couldn't accept him soloing the boss. A 1-star superhuman taking down a 2-star boss was absurd.
If Shin Yu-hyun stepped up recklessly and something went wrong, they'd be the ones taking the loss.
'Well, can't really blame them for not getting it.'
Shin Yu-hyun gave a wry inward smile at their reaction.
In his previous life, hadn't Shin Cheol-ho tried to solo a boss and botched it completely?
But they had no idea.
That Shin Yu-hyun had already become a 2-star superhuman.
"Cut the chatter and focus on clearing the dungeon."
At that moment, Choi Hyun-seong immediately scolded Lee Jung-hoon's group.
Shin Yu-hyun shrugged and added his piece.
"Don't worry. I've got no plans to get in your way."
"Hmph."
Lee Jung-hoon turned away with a snort and took the lead.
Shin Yu-hyun curled his lips as he watched Lee Jung-hoon's back.
'I just need to take down the boss.'
Shin Yu-hyun's goal was solely the 2-star dungeon boss.
He had to kill it to pry the Heaven-Splitting Divine Pill out of his second brother, Shin Cheol-jin.
So he planned to leave the regular goblin trash mobs to Lee Jung-hoon's crew.
Kieek!
Goblin shrieks echoed from the darkened forest depths.
Then, red-glowing eyes stealthily approaching through the shadows.
Moments later, two goblins emerged from the woods before the group.
'What the hell?'
Shin Yu-hyun blinked in disbelief. These goblins hadn't existed in his previous life.
The designation floating above the goblin's head.
Thanks to their system abilities, superhumans could see magic beasts' names.
Goblins were typically scrawny, puny magic beasts.
But the ones before them now were hulking, rippling with solid muscle.
And that wasn't all.
Kieeek!
A goblin drooling from the mouth, eyes hollow and sunken, was twitching its head and body in spasms.
And sprouting from each goblin's shoulder was a grotesque tentacle, swaying limply in the air.
Tentacles were one of the traits shared by all corrupted magic beasts—they drained their victims' life force and mana.
Getting stabbed by one meant mana drain, so caution was key.
"Instructor?"
Lee Jung-hoon turned to Choi Hyun-seong with a dumbfounded look.
They knew about the tentacles on corrupted magic beasts, but everything else was way off from the corrupted goblins they knew.
Shin Yu-hyun was frowning too. These were bizarre variants he'd never seen before.
"Don't get distracted!"
Choi Hyun-seong bellowed at Lee Jung-hoon then.
Kieeek!
At that instant, the drugged goblin let out a bizarre shriek and charged straight at Lee Jung-hoon.
"Uwak!"
Startled by the sudden assault, Lee Jung-hoon hastily raised his longsword to block.
Kagagang!
The drugged goblin's dagger clashed against Lee Jung-hoon's longsword, sending brilliant sparks flying in the darkness.
"Th-this!"
Furious at the surprise attack, Lee Jung-hoon hoisted his longsword high overhead.
No matter how off it seemed, a goblin was still a goblin. Unless it was the boss, no regular 2-star magic beast could stand against a 2-star superhuman.
"Die!"
Lee Jung-hoon brought his raised longsword crashing down.
Sreuk!
The blade grazed the drugged goblin's body and passed.
Kiyaaak!
The goblin shrieked and bolted clumsily into the bushes.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Lee Jung-hoon chased after it with a triumphant grin, aiming to finish the job.
That was when it happened.
Kieeek!
Another goblin hidden in the bushes leaped out, dagger thrust forward.
"Huk!"
Caught off guard by the goblin's sudden ambush, Lee Jung-hoon urgently activated the physical protection of his White Barrier Coat.
But it was too late.
The goblin's dagger was already stabbing toward his chest before the protection could activate.
He wouldn't dodge a fatal wound at this rate.
Lee Jung-hoon gritted his teeth.
In that instant.
Chaeng!
A longsword with a red blade etched in black flames suddenly intervened in front of Lee Jung-hoon!
Lee Jung-hoon looked up in shock.
"Y-you, why?"
Incredibly, it was Shin Yu-hyun who had deflected the goblin's dagger.
Shin Yu-hyun smirked at the stunned Lee Jung-hoon and tossed out a line.
"Don't hold my ankle."
"What? You bastard!"
Lee Jung-hoon scowled at Shin Yu-hyun's words. He'd thrown back their own mockery verbatim.
Of course, Shin Yu-hyun hadn't helped just to rub it in.
'You wouldn't know how much the instructor values loyalty.'
Shin Yu-hyun smiled inwardly.
The reason he'd saved Lee Jung-hoon was none other than Choi Hyun-seong.
Someone like Choi Hyun-seong would highly value the fact that Shin Yu-hyun had helped his disciple in a pinch.
'No harm in planting a good impression.'
In his previous life, Choi Hyun-seong had joined White Tiger Hall and become the right-hand man to his eldest sister, Shin Yu-ra. Thanks to that, White Tiger Hall's influence in the clan had soared to the heavens.
So it was worth roping in Choi Hyun-seong if he could.
Besides, to complete the named request, he needed Lee Jung-hoon's crew too.
No matter his past experience, freshly minted 2-star Shin Yu-hyun couldn't solo every goblin in the dungeon plus the boss.
"You go help over there. I'll..."
Saying that, Shin Yu-hyun turned away from Lee Jung-hoon.
And dashed toward the goblin that had ambushed him and fled moments ago.
Soon enough, Shin Yu-hyun plunged Ignis into the fleeing goblin's back.
Puk!
Kieek!
The goblin let out a tearing shriek and dropped dead.
Having dispatched the regular goblin so easily, Shin Yu-hyun turned back and eyed Lee Jung-hoon's crew.
They had regrouped with Lee Jung-hoon and were facing off against the two special variant goblins.
'Still not down?'
Shin Yu-hyun clicked his tongue at the sight.
Special variants or not, three of them struggling against two was pathetic.
Shin Yu-hyun lowered Ignis and stepped toward them.
As he neared, he quietly said one word.
"Step aside."
Lee Jung-hoon's crew kept their eyes on the goblins and fired back.
"We don't need you here!"
"These are ours!"
"This muscle goblin's toughness for real?"
They didn't yield the path, continuing to fight the goblins.
Standing behind them, Shin Yu-hyun ignited black flames from his lowered magic sword Ignis.
Wuuuung!
Black flames rose, coiling around the vibrating red blade.
"Huh?"
"N-no way, aura release...?"
"For real?"
Lee Jung-hoon's crew glanced back and went wide-eyed.
They'd never imagined Shin Yu-hyun manifesting not just aura, but black flames too.
Especially shocked was one person even more than them.
Choi Hyun-seong himself.
"Aura attribute manifestation?"
Choi Hyun-seong stared at Shin Yu-hyun in disbelief.
And moreover...
"Black flame aura, no less..."
Choi Hyun-seong swallowed hard.
If aura release marked a 2-star, then aura attributes symbolized 3-stars.
For the supposed 1-star Shin Yu-hyun to manifest an aura attribute was staggering.
And that wasn't all.
'Could that be a magic sword?'
Lee Jung-hoon's crew hadn't noticed yet, but Choi Hyun-seong had.
That the red-bladed sword in Shin Yu-hyun's hand was an extraordinarily dangerous magic sword.
"Shin Yu-hyun. That sword—"
"Talk later."
Brushing off Choi Hyun-seong's question, Shin Yu-hyun swiftly passed Lee Jung-hoon's crew and swung Ignis at the goblins.
Heaven-Splitting Swordsmanship.
First Form: Nameless.
In that instant, red sword light blazed through the air alongside lavish black flames that engulfed the goblins.
Kiik!
The goblins raised their weapons to block Shin Yu-hyun's strike.
But it meant nothing.
No mere goblin could block the magic sword Ignis infused with black flames.
Swaaaak!
In the blink of an eye, the goblins were bisected along with their weapons, then wrapped in black flames and incinerated.
"N-no way. Bisected them in one strike...?"
Lee Jung-hoon's crew gaped at Shin Yu-hyun in stunned disbelief.
They'd struggled even with three piling on, so of course they'd react like this to him cleaving them in one go.
Puhwak!
Suddenly, pitch-black mana-formed feathered wings burst from Shin Yu-hyun's back.
Black feathers scattered in all directions.
"...!"
Shin Yu-hyun flinched in surprise at the wings sprouting from his back out of nowhere.
It seemed Dark Soul Eater auto-activated whenever magic beast corpses were nearby.
Fortunately, Choi Hyun-seong and Lee Jung-hoon's crew didn't react to the black wings. Or more precisely, they didn't even notice.
Dark Soul Eater was invisible to others.
Tentacles extended one from each fully spread black wing, piercing into the hearts of the goblins sprawled on the ground.
'Nngh...'
Absorbing the goblins' souls through the tentacles, Shin Yu-hyun swallowed a groan inwardly.
A dizzying pleasure washed over his mind, filling him with utter satiety.
At the same time, a system message appeared before Shin Yu-hyun's eyes.