Chapter 7
Chapter 7
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 7
Chapter Title: The Conquest Journal
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# 7
Traces of a fierce battle remained around the two bodies, which for convenience he called the monster and the hero. The area was shattered and broken, with vivid bloodstains on the walls and floor.
Kang-seok began by picking up the swords scattered on the ground one by one. Unlike the first two he had wielded, no special move commands came to mind.
‘Looking closely, a lot of them are broken.’
One sword’s blade was snapped in two, while another’s hilt rattled loosely against its blade.
The monster and the hero.
Only two bodies.
Yet, there was an unusually large number of swords. Had the hero used all of these swords by himself?
Clearing his mind, Kang-seok picked up a sword that seemed to be in decent condition and approached Seong Yu-jin, who was standing a short distance away.
He added the red sword—the Flying Phoenix Sword—from his back to the new one and showed her both.
“Which of these two do you think would suit you better, Ms. Yu-jin?”
“Oh… I can choose?”
Seong Yu-jin’s eyes widened. Kang-seok shrugged.
“I’m not used to either of them myself. Besides, I’ve already chosen this one.”
Kang-seok held up Durandal. Perhaps because he had used it in battle at least once, it felt like it molded perfectly to his hand.
Smiling, Seong Yu-jin nodded and took turns holding the other two swords.
“Oh, this is Laevateinn. It says it’s a Flame-attribute sword. Its attack power is a little lower than Durandal’s.”
It was the one Kang-seok had been calling the Flying Phoenix Sword. The red line inscribed on its blade now seemed different.
“And this one is Almace. It’s an Ice-attribute sword.”
The third sword, the one that hadn’t shown him any special move commands.
Placed side by side, it looked similar to Laevateinn. Aside from the blue line running down its blade, it was almost identical; it seemed fitting to call them brother swords.
Weighing Laevateinn and Almace in each hand, Seong Yu-jin pondered for a moment before swinging them in different directions. She swung with an unusual grace, as if she had some experience in swordsmanship.
“I think this one would be best for me. The weight is good, too.”
Seong Yu-jin had chosen Almace.
In truth, aside from their color, Laevateinn and Almace were nearly identical swords. It felt as though she had chosen Almace over Laevateinn, the one Kang-seok had originally held.
Sheathing Laevateinn again, Kang-seok scratched his cheek, looking a bit troubled.
“It might be inconvenient… but for now, it seems we’ll just have to carry it.”
“Okay.”
Seong Yu-jin gave a troubled smile, as if agreeing there was no other choice. Unlike Kang-seok, she had nowhere to hang a weapon on her body.
“Anyway, next up is armor.”
Kang-seok’s words trailed off as he turned toward the corpses, causing Seong Yu-jin to flinch.
“You… you don’t mean?”
The only thing that could be called armor in this room was what was worn by the skeleton collapsed on top of the monster’s corpse.
Kang-seok shook his head.
“No, that one’s in too poor a condition. And the sword feels like some kind of seal… I don’t feel like I should pull it out.”
The armor was nearly destroyed, so it wouldn’t offer much protection, and for some reason, he had a feeling that the sword embedded in the center of the monster’s chest should be left as it was.
Kang-seok pointed toward the hallway.
“We’re going to head back up and check things out.”
If Kang-seok’s guess was right, this was the lowest floor. They needed to at least go back up to the room where Seong Yu-jin had first encountered the monster.
Seong Yu-jin’s gaze followed the tip of his finger.
A torch, insufficient to banish all the darkness. A long hallway. At its end, the corpse of the monster would be lying there.
“I’ll go with you.”
Her grip on Almace tightened. Seong Yu-jin looked straight at Kang-seok and said:
“I’ll be of help this time.”
It wasn’t just that she didn’t want to be alone. Instead of questioning her resolve, Kang-seok nodded.
“Let’s go.”
The body of the bull-headed monster was sprawled at the bottom of the stairs, just as before.
Holding the torch, Kang-seok approached the corpse.
“While I check the monster, keep an eye on the entrance. You don’t need to go up the stairs.”
Seong Yu-jin, who had been about to ask if she should go up and look, closed her half-open mouth. She stood slightly diagonal to the stairs, watching the door that led upward.
“Hoo.”
Kang-seok first took a deep breath, then meticulously examined the monster’s body.
It was a terrifying creature, making him wonder how he had fought it earlier, but this observation could mean the difference between life and death for him and Seong Yu-jin. He had to stay focused.
A bull’s head that looked like it belonged in a bullfight.
Black fur with a slight reddish tint.
A towering height of well over two meters and a massive build.
Looking closer, he realized it wasn't just a mindless beast. It wore leather protectors on its arms and legs and a loincloth with a red sash. Considering it had also used a large axe, it was reasonable to assume it was a being with some degree of intelligence.
The next thing Kang-seok noted was the wounds on the monster’s body.
The creature had seemed quite exhausted from the start.
“Just as I thought. It was injured before I killed it.”
Hearing his words, Seong Yu-jin, who had been looking up, briefly glanced down.
It wasn't Seong Yu-jin who had wounded the monster.
Then who had?
Kang-seok drew Durandal. He gave a small signal to Seong Yu-jin, whose shoulders tensed in surprise at his sudden movement, and slowly began to climb the stairs.
When he first encountered the monster, Kang-seok hadn't been able to get a good look at the room above.
Seong Yu-jin, too, had been in a desperate situation, her ankle caught as she was dragged away by the monster, so she wouldn't have been able to see what was in the room either.
What Kang-seok was expecting…
“I knew it.”
Near the entrance on the opposite side of the square room, the bodies of a man and a woman lay collapsed.
***
“Two people. The rest are all monster corpses.”
The large room, roughly ten meters by ten meters, was littered with bodies. They were things he hadn't noticed when he first entered, his attention focused on Seong Yu-jin and the monster.
Swallowing dryly, Seong Yu-jin unconsciously pressed herself against Kang-seok. Even in this situation, his instincts kicked in, and Kang-seok flinched for a moment, but it was brief.
‘The monsters can wait.’
Kang-seok set his priorities. Steeling himself, he took a step toward the bodies of the man and woman.
A man and a woman.
It seemed neither had been dead for long. Though they were cold, there was no smell of decay, and aside from the wounds that appeared to be the cause of death, they were largely intact.
Kang-seok knelt before the man’s body and took another look around the room.
These two had defeated all the monsters in this room. They were also the ones who had injured the monster he himself had killed.
With that in mind, he could see the room was filled with signs of a battle. From scorch marks to shattered and broken fragments, the evidence was varied.
Seong Yu-jin approached Kang-seok’s back with hesitant steps and parted her lips. She scanned the man and woman’s attire again as she asked:
“Are these people… like us?”
“Not all game characters are flashy… so I can’t be sure.”
The man, who looked to be in his late thirties, was the very picture of a classic warrior.
He was large, wearing partial armor that protected his torso, legs, shoulders, and arms.
A belt around his waist was laden with pouches, among which were several potion vials commonly seen in games.
In addition to a scabbard for a longsword and a spare sword, there were a total of four daggers attached to his waist and thighs.
The backpack on his back wasn't large, but it was solid and fully packed. A shield and a longsword lay near the body, presumably his.
The woman, who appeared to be in her mid-to-late twenties, wasn't as heavily armed as the man, but it was clear she had also paid considerable attention to her defense.
Over her practical pants and shirt, she wore a thin chain mail shirt.
Her waist was also lined with pouches, and unlike the man, she carried a satchel slung over her shoulder. Seeing the large staff lying nearby, he guessed—though it might be a hasty conclusion—that she was a mage.
Kang-seok briefly closed his eyes in a moment of silence. It was a necessary gesture, considering what he was about to do.
“I’ll check this side.”
Seong Yu-jin flinched at his words, understanding their meaning. After a moment’s hesitation, she settled down beside him.
“Th-Then I’ll check this side.”
Her voice was a mess, and it trembled.
But only for a moment.
After her own moment of silence, Seong Yu-jin began to examine the woman’s body with a surprisingly proactive attitude.
She, too, knew that they needed as much information as possible to survive.
Kang-seok reached for the man’s backpack first. Whether by chance or some kind of guidance, he immediately found the most important item.
A single book, placed right at the top of the backpack.
He opened the plain brown leather cover to find yellowed pages densely filled with drawings and text.
It wasn't Korean, nor was it English. They were characters Kang-seok had never seen before.
But he could read them.
Body length.
Weaknesses.
Hates fire.
A drawing of a monster, not particularly well-done, but clear enough to identify its parts.
His breathing quickening on its own, Kang-seok turned to the very first page.
-Leif Erikson
Kang-seok flipped the page again. He scanned it quickly, searching for a ‘familiar drawing.’
And then he found it. A drawing of the bull-headed monster he had defeated.
Dungeon.
Conquest Journal.
This place, likely the lowest floor of Labyrinthos.
[Remaining Survival Time: 715 hours 42 minutes 57 seconds]
[Current Kron Owned: 1,000 Kron]
[* 1,000 Kron can be used to purchase 240 hours.]
The remaining survival time was ticking down even at this very moment.
Kang-seok looked up. Instead of calling out to Seong Yu-jin, he looked at the door leading out of the room. He faced the darkness that stretched beyond the half-open doorway.