Bored Akinella (2)
[1-3 Bored Queen: Akinella is bored. Satisfy the capricious queen.]
Yoon Taeyang walked forward.
Every muscle in his body was wound tight as he moved slowly, deliberately.
Akinella was a character widely regarded as "not made to be caught." From Taeyang's perspective, extreme caution was the only option.
"Haa, a slug crawling up. I was already dying of boredom."
The woman who spoke had a seductive voice that matched her alluring appearance. She shot Taeyang a cold glare.
She sat on an antique chair carved as elegantly as the door itself, wearing a bored expression. With her legs crossed, she held a puppy in her arms, stroking it. The puppy panted while staring at Taeyang.
"Uh, hello."
Taeyang greeted her calmly.
Creak.
The moment Taeyang pulled out a chair to sit across from her, the puppy barked sharply. Startled, Taeyang froze, his body trembling slightly.
She frowned, her delicate brows knitting together.
"I never said you could sit."
"Ah, right…"
Taeyang stood awkwardly beside the table. Behind the chair, the door was visible.
"……"
"……"
The awkward silence stretched on, pressing in like a flood.
The mission objective was to entertain the bored Akinella. Taeyang figured saying something was better than standing there like an idiot.
"Um, Lady Akinella?"
Sharp glares!
Woof!
Both the woman and the puppy fixed him with piercing stares.
It felt like being on a blind date where the other person was furious because you didn't match your photo.
"Uh, you're really beautiful."
"What?"
"The puppy, I mean."
"What are you suddenly saying?"
"Is the puppy male or female?"
Taeyang started rambling without even realizing what was coming out of his mouth. When someone says nonsense, people usually pause out of sheer disbelief. Taeyang desperately recalled what Hyeonhye had told him.
- What? The puppy is the real body?
- Actually, it's not the succubus. The dog's name is Akinella. The succubus was the dog's pet. This is a hidden tip most people don't know, right?
The succubus herself was strong, but not overwhelmingly so. However, once combat began, the dog—Akinella—would awaken as a demonic beast, and its power was absurdly overwhelming.
- You have to build up for Akinella starting from Floor 2. When you get forest stages like escaping the woods or hunting bears on Floor 2, bring something the puppy likes to eat and give it to her when you reach her.
- What if that stage doesn't appear on Floor 2?
- Honestly, there's no real solution. Just pray it doesn't trigger.
- What kind of game is this?
- What do you mean what kind? It's Dantalion. A game where you have to grind like hell if you want to clear it.
In the end, Dantalion was the kind of game where you had to overcome this level of difficulty multiple times to clear it.
'Then I'll clear it.'
Taeyang frantically recalled Hyeonhye's lecture. Difficult as it was, the game was fundamentally designed to be cleared. There had to be an answer.
While his mind raced for a solution, his mouth kept moving.
"Females are definitely prettier. Ah, sorry. I haven't seen a puppy in a while. I have a fur allergy, you see. By the way, what breed is it? Yorkshire Terrier? Golden Retriever? Samoyed? Black fur means it can't be a Golden Retriever."
Taeyang deliberately fixated on the puppy to buy time. Even if the dog was the real body, the combat phase started with the succubus.
Woof! Woof woof!
"Tsk! I told you to speak properly! If you keep barking, I'll muzzle you. Do you know how uncomfortable a muzzle is? Of course you don't. Ignorance is bliss, you little punk."
"Hey, you right now…"
"Oh! Chow Chow! It's a Chow Chow, right?"
Creak!
The succubus stood up roughly from her seat. Taeyang scratched his head awkwardly.
"Ah, haha. Sorry. Not a Chow Chow, I see."
"Ha! Muzzle? That was the most unfunny joke I've ever heard. I gave you a chance to keep spouting nonsense, but I've seen enough."
The succubus muttered sharply as she gathered her magic power. The energy swelled to a massive scale, enough to make her clothes flutter.
Pink magic gathered in the succubus's palm.
"Hey…"
Taeyang tried to talk his way out, but negotiations failed.
"Die!"
The pink magic bullet flew straight at him. Taeyang threw himself aside, barely dodging it.
Boom!
The explosion scattered furniture across the room. The blast had enough force to crush a person instantly if it connected.
"You rat!"
Woof! Woof! Woof woof!
She didn't seem to care that the room was being destroyed. The succubus hurled another magic bullet.
'The space is too narrow.'
Taeyang quickly scanned the room. The magic bullets had a wide blast radius. The succubus didn't care about the furniture breaking, and the flying debris caused secondary damage.
Boom!
Taeyang rolled back toward the door he came through. He reached for the handle, hoping to secure a wider space.
Click, click.
"You should've told me that earlier!"
"Where do you think you're running?"
Instead of rolling, Taeyang leaped high. Expecting him to roll again, the succubus's magic bullet smashed into the innocent floor.
Taeyang gritted his teeth. A solution flashed through his mind. He wasn't sure if it would work… but he had to try.
Ta-dak.
Taeyang charged straight at the succubus. The room was so cramped that closing the distance took only an instant. Seeing him approach, the succubus swung her arm viciously.
"Die!"
Thud.
At such close range, dodging the magic bullet became difficult. Taeyang bent backward sharply.
Boom!
The magic bullet once again destroyed the floor. Taeyang sprang up and activated Transcendental Jin-gak.
Thud.
Crackle.
Electricity gathered in Taeyang's right hand.
Woof! Woof!
Sensing the dangerous energy, Akinella barked. There was a chance the dog would intervene first, but Taeyang boldly discarded that possibility. In Dantalion, if you started worrying about every worst-case scenario, you couldn't even take a single breath.
Hyper Dragon Blow.
It was a technique from his rival character "Hwang San," not his main character "Transcendent Demon Gun."
The electricity transformed into a blue dragon.
Thud.
A powerful body blow slammed into the succubus's slender waist. Her body folded in half instantly.
"Khup."
The hit landed cleanly. Of course, a skilled King of Fist player wouldn't stop there. Taeyang grabbed the succubus's head and drove his knee into her face.
Woof! Krrang! Kraaang!
Akinella's barking grew more intense. Taeyang only pushed harder.
"W-wait!"
"Wait for what!"
Seize every opening without mercy. Once you gain the advantage, deal as much damage as possible. That was the foundation of combat.
Taeyang lightly pushed the succubus away and activated Transcendental Jin-gak again.
Transcendental Jin-gak – Rising Dragon Fist.
Crack!
A powerful uppercut smashed into the succubus's jaw.
Transcendental Jin-gak – Whirlwind Fist.
Crackle!
Following up, a fist wrapped in electricity drove into her solar plexus.
A storm of rapid strikes. Even Taeyang himself was surprised at how quickly the damage piled up—so fast he thought, "Huh? This actually works?"
Taeyang felt intense heat rushing toward his back.
Kraaaargh!
It was the puppy—Akinella. It could no longer be called a puppy. The demonic beast Akinella in combat mode was the size of a lion or tiger. Its fur had turned dark red, as if scorched by hellfire.
Taeyang twisted his body reflexively. Akinella's massive frame barely missed him.
Boom!
A single kick obliterated half the furniture in the room. Even from a distance, the aftershock felt like it would cook his skin.
'If that hits, I'm dead.'
The overwhelming power was undeniable. Taeyang swallowed hard.
Kraaaargh!
Akinella roared and charged again. Taeyang screamed desperately.
"Freeze!"
Taeyang grabbed the succubus by her silky hair. Unlike the demonic beast Akinella, the succubus was an opponent even ordinary players on Floor 3 could handle to some extent.
"Hngh."
The succubus, having taken three consecutive skillized attacks from Taeyang, was on the verge of death.
Thud.
Still holding the succubus, Taeyang activated Transcendental Jin-gak once more. This time, electricity crackled around his knee.
Taeyang whispered through gritted teeth.
"Take one more step and this succubus dies."
Grrrr.
Akinella glared at Taeyang, seemingly unconcerned. Taeyang pressed his fist against the succubus's temple.
"If you want to see this head explode, keep moving."
Freeze.
Surprisingly, the demonic beast Akinella stopped moving.
Hyeonhye was bewildered. The viewers were bewildered too.
Grrrr.
The flames flickering in Akinella's mouth died down. Taeyang wiped the cold sweat from his brow and muttered quietly.
"Good. If you don't move, I won't hurt her either."
The solution that had flashed through his mind was simple: take the succubus hostage.
There were people like that—people who ate instant noodles themselves but always bought premium treats for their pets. People who shrugged off scraping their own knees but panicked as if the world was ending when their dog or cat got even slightly hurt.
And the information Hyeonhye had given him: the dog was actually the master, and the succubus was the pet.
Taeyang had assumed Akinella was the true owner of the succubus. It was a half-crazy assumption, but the idea of a dog owning a human was already insane to begin with.
And Taeyang's choice was correct.
Akinella had indeed stopped moving. Taeyang gestured carefully.
"Now. See the door behind you? Go through it. That's right. Farther—where your breath can't reach me."
Grrrr.
Akinella backed away slowly, glaring at Taeyang. One step, two steps.
Hyeonhye screamed in shock.