Triumph Over the Poison Ogre
Using coagulant to solidify the swamp, antidote to suppress the poison, and sheer force to crush the monsters.
Thanks to their relentless advance, they passed several halls and finally entered the last chamber on the third floor.
Kieeeaaak!
Guarding that place was a level 170 Poison Ogre.
Poison Fear direct hit.
Confusion for 3 seconds.
All stats reduced by 5% for 5 minutes.
He got hit by the creature's fear right from the start.
"Hup…!"
"Wh-what?!"
In that brief moment when his body froze.
Kuwooo!
The Poison Ogre charged at the clustered skeletons and swung its fist.
Kwang!
A few Bone Swords got forcibly unsummoned in one blow since they couldn't block with shields. The Armor Knights held, but lost a huge chunk of HP.
"Move!"
His body finally shook off the fear's effect.
"Everyone, jump!"
"Okay!"
He sprayed the coagulant first.
The swamp solidified in an instant.
The Poison Ogre was stuck, unable to escape.
Chance…!
As he prepared to order a total assault, hopeful that this might end it easily, the Poison Ogre slammed both arms down.
Kwaduk.
The ground shattered and erupted, shooting out in all directions.
Puk, pububuk.
The Poison Ogre rose by stepping on the broken earth and rampaged. Mu-hyuk frowned, coated an arrow with slowing poison, and fired.
Storm, Powerful Arrow Shot.
The arrow lodged in the Poison Ogre's back, but…
Resists Slowing Poison.
Slowing Poison not applied.
Only an absurd message popped up.
"Weakness!"
Fortunately, Weakness worked.
What about the rest?
He hurriedly cast Strength Increase and Stamina Increase on his allies, watched the situation, and tried other potions, but nothing else worked.
This is insane.
But he couldn't just stand there dazed forever.
"Snap out of it now!"
"Y-yeah!"
"Understood, my lord!"
Mu-hyuk commanded the skeletons to push the Poison Ogre back.
The first time, the fear left him helpless, but now they could block its attacks with shields.
As they rotated and applied pressure, the Poison Ogre's movement radius naturally shrank.
Yeah, this is it.
Mu-hyuk had his killing blow.
Burtan, Ki Wave!
Armor Mage, magic attack.
Armor Archer, Power Shot.
The mages and archers unleashed their skills in barrage.
Whoooong.
As countless spells and bone arrows flew to strike it…
Kuwooo!
The Poison Ogre shook off the Ki Wave and stomped.
Kwajik.
The ground shattered and surged upward, blocking the incoming bone arrows and spells.
"Ha, that's gonna be annoying as hell, huh?"
A foreboding premonition that this would repeat endlessly.
*
The battle raged fiercely.
Kwang, kwagwang!
But as time passed, Mu-hyuk grew frustrated.
Running low on coagulant.
Antidotes weren't plentiful either.
Kuwooo!
Of course, the Poison Ogre wasn't unscathed.
But compared to the time spent attacking, it hadn't taken much damage.
The mages' spells were the main source of explosive damage, but failing to land them properly slowed HP reduction dramatically.
Confusion potions and smoke potions did nothing; Ki Wave and fear stimuli wore off instantly. No choice.
"What the hell is this bastard?!"
"Hoo…"
Mu-hyuk and his comrades were all exhausted.
This won't cut it.
Ki Wave's duration was too short to exploit.
In the meantime, another fear blast.
Poison Fear direct hit.
Confusion for 3 seconds.
All stats reduced by 5% for 5 minutes.
He stared at it, leaving his motionless body be.
Guess I have to shake it myself.
This fear unsummoned a bunch more skeletons.
When he could move again, Mu-hyuk used Wind Step to close in.
Ki Wave. Magic.
Burtan and Giant Cyclops fired Ki Waves in sequence.
---------!
But barely 0.5 seconds.
Kuwoong!
It seemed highly resistant to such techniques.
It stomped right after, and the surging ground blocked all the Armor Mages' spells.
Doesn't matter.
He hadn't expected the attacks to land anyway.
It was a pattern he'd seen multiple times.
This was just to slip behind it during the gap.
Power of Darkness.
With his level up, the radius widened and fixed damage increased.
Deals fixed damage (80/sec) to hostile living beings within 20m radius.
Absorbs 10% of damage as HP and MP.
HP and MP recovery sped up too.
Plus, the Dark Spirit had been relentlessly attacking it from the start.
The Poison Ogre must be pissed too.
Hence the furious, wild punches. Mu-hyuk dodged the fist trajectories as much as possible, positioning behind it, waiting for the moment.
Now!
Aiming for the instant it swung at the skeletons, he thrust his sword hard.
Puk.
It pierced the flesh slightly.
Storm, Cross Slash.
Using the skill from there, his hands moved on their own.
Proper damage exploded.
-4,417 damage.
Additional -7,944 damage.
He kept using Storm while pulling the sword out.
Peng, pububung!
The surprised Poison Ogre twisted its head to glare at Mu-hyuk.
All aggro pulled to him—its eyes bloodshot, it unleashed savage attacks.
Mu-hyuk urgently pulled out his shield and raised it high.
To block the descending fist.
Kwaaaang!
One punch drove his legs deep into the ground.
-650 HP
Ridiculous destructive power.
Crazy…!
Not even a skill—just a plain punch.
And he blocked with a shield.
Yet 650?
No time for more thoughts.
Kwang, kwaaaang!
The fists kept raining on the shield.
-660 HP
-670 HP
-680 HP…
Damage kept piling, but not lethal yet.
While I hold…!
Sung Min-woo, Yerin, and the skeletons repositioned.
"Going in!"
The bombardment began.
Kwagwang!
But not enough to pull aggro.
Fear Stimulus!
Mu-hyuk's eyes gleamed as he ordered the Dark Spirit.
The spirit glowed and burrowed into the Poison Ogre.
Ku, kureu?
It lost balance, staggering briefly.
"Hup!"
He used the gap to widen distance.
Mu-hyuk sighed in relief.
Kuwooo!
The Poison Ogre raged maniacally.
Armor Knight 12 forcibly unsummoned.
Armor Cavalry 4 forcibly unsummoned…
The skeletons couldn't endure the frenzy long.
"Hyuk!"
"Huh?"
"Use Ki Wave and Dark Spirit to mess with its timing! If we land one solid magic hit in that window, we win for sure!"
"I know, but…"
Easier said than done.
The Poison Ogre was smarter than expected.
Always a beat ahead, like it could read them.
"I know it's tough! We'll hold it briefly—figure it out!"
"Got it."
"Okay!"
Mu-hyuk checked skill cooldowns first.
Cooldowns ticking down.
Issue was surviving the brief window to pour attacks.
Me drawing eyes directly?
That meant betting his life, not appealing.
Near the Poison Ogre, he'd take friendly fire from mage spells and bone arrows.
Plus its attacks? Too risky.
He cleared his mind, refocused on its movements.
What to do.
Just Ki Wave and Fear Stimulus like before? Failure again.
"Uwaaa, you bastard! Just fall already!"
Then he spotted Sung Min-woo and the spirits' combo attack.
Eh…?
An idea sparked from their formation.
Yeah, maybe.
Clinging to that hope, he commanded the summons.
First, strip its fear.
Torment it while holding aggro.
Kieeeaaak!
Post-fear, he rearranged Armor Knights.
Good.
Steady attacks held attention.
Armor Mage, all magic attack.
Armor Archer, all Power Shot.
Mages and archers filled the sky in the gap.
Kureu?
As the Poison Ogre's gaze shifted there…
Burtan, Ki Wave.
The Ki Wave blocked it briefly. It shook it off instantly, turning to see the attacks, roaring and raising its foot.
Armor Cavalry charge.
Giant Cyclops, Ki Wave.
Another Ki Wave.
Ogre frozen in motion.
Fleeting, but enough—nearby Armor Cavalry slammed its remaining leg.
Kuwoong!
The Poison Ogre toppled, losing balance.
"Yes!"
"Ooh!"
No room for complacency yet.
Crazy monster bastard.
Legs failed? Now pounding ground with fists.
Fear Stimulus!
Dark Spirit dove in, seizing control.
Armor Knight left.
Five nearby Armor Knights positioned under its fist.
They raised shields. As fear ended and fist slammed, four shattered—but one endured.
Done…!
No ground surge.
Kwang, kwagwagwang!
First full-body magic barrage landed.
*
Three more such barrages later.
Kuwoong.
They finally felled the Poison Ogre.
Brilliant light from the corpse filled the hall.
Cleared 'Tower of Trials'.
Achievement: 100%
Acquired massive experience.
With the messages, they were forcibly summoned back to the tower's entrance.
"Hooa."
Mu-hyuk, Sung Min-woo, Yerin, and Doran.
"Ugh, it's over."
"Finally…"
They all collapsed, unable to hide their exhaustion.
Users appearing simultaneously buzzed around them.
"What the—suddenly?"
"Tower cleared, they say?"
"Ah, annoying."
"Cleared in just two days? Already? Ha, for real."
"Who is it, anyway?"
"This make any senseee?!"
Not everyone was disappointed, though.
"Phew, thought I'd melt from the heat."
"Better this way."
"Yeah. Environment's brutal."
As everyone chattered, one person eyed Mu-hyuk.
Black Guild Master, Hyuk-su.
"Phew, really…"
He shook his head with an enigmatic smile.
A guildmate beside him looked disappointed.
"We just hit the third floor…"
"Yeah. Shame."
But a cleared tower couldn't be undone.
"Let's head back."
Hyuk-su gave a wry smile and walked away with his guildmates.