The Lure of Moonlight
The Ultika Ruins were deep and vast.
Kang Yoonsoo walked through the maze-like interior with ease. Though the paths were riddled with deadly traps and difficult to navigate, he passed through them without incident.
“How do you know the layout of such a complicated ruin? And the locations too… Actually, never mind. I already know you won’t answer even if I ask.”
“Yeah.”
Shanette puffed out her cheeks slightly.
“I knew you’d say that.”
When they reached the end of the ruins, a pale, glowing gate came into view. It shone with a bright, ivory-white light, as if carved from bone. Beyond the gate lay the chamber where the ruin’s treasure slept.
However, a massive monster stood guard in front of the gate.
“Grr…! Ronok!”
The leader of the wolves. A beast that craved moonlight. A werewolf.
Ordinary werewolves possessed the strength to crush a bull’s head with one hand. Yet the monster before the gate was far more savage in appearance than any normal werewolf. White light flowed across its entire body, and its razor-sharp claws gleamed like saw blades.
The Wild White Wolf Beast (Boss, Level 104) has appeared.
A monster over level 100. It was on a completely different level from any they had encountered before. Though its height was around three meters, its evenly distributed muscles were incredibly agile.
“Ritiek. Urnokra-!”
The White Wolf Beast dropped to all fours. In the blink of an eye, its long, sharp claws slashed toward Kang Yoonsoo’s front.
Chaeng-!
Kang Yoonsoo had already drawn his greatsword and deflected the claws at an angle. But he stood no chance. His wrist twisted violently, and the greatsword was sent flying backward. The difference in strength was overwhelming.
“It’s dangerous!”
Shanette rushed forward, raising her scythe. Kang Yoonsoo waved his hand, refusing her help.
“Grr…! Urnokra!”
The White Wolf Beast roared and swung its claws in wide arcs. The sound of its blades slicing through the air was vicious. Its cross-shaped slashes came at him with the force of a gale.
Yet Kang Yoonsoo dodged every single attack.
“Urnokra!”
The beast snarled, thrashing its claws in a frenzy and gnashing its teeth. A rapid barrage of attacks followed, but none of them landed on Kang Yoonsoo’s body.
His movements were neither fast nor flashy. They were simple and steady. He knew the trajectory of every incoming attack.
Whoosh-! Whoosh-!
He evaded the White Wolf Beast’s strikes with the smallest possible movements. Its claws only grazed the edges of his collar, pants, and hair. He never backed into a wall or stumbled.
The sight made Shanette doubt her own eyes. The gap in physical ability was enormous. Yet Kang Yoonsoo dodged the paths of death with only a few seconds between each evasion, as if he had predicted every attack. The White Wolf Beast could not bridge even those few seconds.
“Rakildrag-!”
The beast roared and glared down at Kang Yoonsoo. It had no choice but to admit it. Its attacks simply would not connect with this man!
The White Wolf Beast turned its head and fixed its gaze on Shanette.
“Grr…!”
If its attacks did not work on Kang Yoonsoo, then it only needed to change its target. Shanette gasped and raised her scythe. Just as the beast lunged to tear her apart—
“Lokru.”
The White Wolf Beast froze. “Lokru” meant “look here” in the werewolf tongue. Its eyes snapped back to Kang Yoonsoo. He had taken a brightly glowing stone from his backpack—the moonstone refined in Kellin’s workshop.
“Werewolves are obsessed with moonlight.”
The moonstone emitted a soft lunar glow. That gentle light stirred the werewolf’s instincts violently. The boss monster, the White Wolf Beast, went berserk.
“Karikradi! Urnokra!”
The beast charged at Kang Yoonsoo. He dodged its savage attacks with light, minimal movements, then drew the dark iron daggers from his coat and hurled every last one at the monster. The shallowly embedded blades sank between its muscles.
Kang Yoonsoo spoke quietly.
“Shanette.”
“Yes?”
“I’m hungry. Make some soup.”
“……”
Who in their right mind would say that while facing a boss monster?
Shanette had never imagined a day like this would come in her life. She was boiling potato soup in the middle of a dangerous ruin, right in front of a ferocious boss monster.
In front of the campfire, Shanette spoke.
“Sir Kang Yoonsoo, the soup is ready.”
“Alcohol too.”
“We’re out of alcohol.”
“Front pocket of the backpack.”
“It’s honey mead. Did you have this all along?”
“I stole it.”
“……From where?”
Kang Yoonsoo did not answer. Shanette handed him a bowl full of soup and the bottle of mead.
“Lord Hermia’s storage, right? I can tell from the packaging.”
Kang Yoonsoo nodded silently. Only then did Shanette give him the soup and mead.
“Please don’t do that again.”
Shanette was slowly getting used to Kang Yoonsoo. She ladled soup into her own bowl as well. She sighed and glanced toward the beast.
“Should I give it some soup too?”
“No.”
“Grr……”
The White Wolf Beast could barely keep its body upright, panting heavily. Its muscles, pushed to their limits for hours, refused to obey. In contrast, Kang Yoonsoo showed no sweat and breathed evenly. While he had evaded attacks with minimal movement, the beast had exhausted itself through frantic motion. On top of that, the daggers Kang Yoonsoo had thrown were lodged in perfect spots, causing excruciating muscle pain.
“Urnokra-!”
The beast could only howl; it could not even stand. A moonstone was embedded in one of the ruin’s tall pillars—the very gem Kang Yoonsoo had placed there himself. Because of it, the White Wolf Beast could not move and was forced to stare helplessly at the moonlight.
The beast roared in fury.
“Urnokra-!”
Shanette tilted her head.
“What does ‘Urnokra’ mean?”
“You son of a bitch.”
“……”
Shanette gave him a dumbfounded look.
“I thought it was something cool like ‘I’ll tear you apart.’”
“That’s not its personality.”
For some reason, Kang Yoonsoo spoke as if he knew the White Wolf Beast well. After finishing the soup, the two cleaned up and stood. Kang Yoonsoo walked toward the white gate.
“Karikradi! Urnokra-!”
The beast gnashed its teeth and howled, but Kang Yoonsoo paid it no mind and pushed the gate open. Creaaak…… Even without much force, the gate swung open easily.
Normally, ruins were not this easy. Boss monsters usually led packs of subordinates, and the gates remained firmly locked until the boss was defeated. That was the rule. However, the Ultika Ruins boasted the lowest difficulty on the continent. There was only one boss monster, and the gate opened without needing to kill it. That was how low the difficulty of the Ultika Ruins truly was.
When the gate opened, a brilliant light poured out. Shanette gasped in awe.
“That must be the treasure of the ruins!”
It was a vast, high-ceilinged chamber. On a large altar, a radiant glow shone brilliantly. Though the light was blinding, Kang Yoonsoo climbed the altar slowly. At the final step, an item lay like an offering. Kang Yoonsoo took the treasure of the Ultika Ruins in his hands.