Chapter 49: Boom! Explosions Ringing Out!
Peng! Pereng!
Rat-a-tat-tat! Rat-a-tat-a-tat!
[Acquired 239,503 EXP.]
[Acquired 239,503 EXP.]
Yoo Taejeong swept through the monsters like a force of nature, his advance unstoppable—a grim reaper in the flesh, at least to the wretched lumps of meat littering the ground below. One shot, one kill. Wherever the high-explosive rounds landed, a dozen or more vanished in an instant. The MK4's performance was nothing short of phenomenal. It finally felt like he had a weapon worthy of his level.
"Nice. Keep it up like this."
His relentless push forward didn't last long before the temple came into view. For anyone else, they wouldn't have covered even half the distance, but he'd made it in under an hour. All thanks to the Jet Blaster. Unhindered flight through the open sky outpaced nearly every movement skill—it was only natural.
Throttling back, he touched down lightly on the earth and gazed at the massive temple. He'd seen images in the briefing materials, but the real thing was far more imposing, radiating an ancient grandeur like some storied tourist landmark.
"So it starts here."
This was where the real challenge kicked in. The rewards in EXP would be substantial too. After eyeing the structure for a moment, Taejeong strode toward the entrance without hesitation. The only real worry was the death swamp at the deepest underground level. Everything else was a non-issue. Per the quest details, only the Hydra had any real resistances. And even if trouble arose, he had three booster skills including one for the mech—always ready for a tactical retreat.
Stepping inside revealed an ancient interior. Towering pillars carved with intricate patterns rose high, while the floor—though worn and cracked—was laid with rough square stones. Nameless weeds sprouted between them, and vine-like plants climbed every wall unchecked.
"This place really screams isekai vibes."
With a casual remark, he began traversing the vast temple, its end lost in shadow. The deeper he went, the more signs of human passage appeared.
Playful scrawls dotted the walls everywhere. A popular dungeon like this had seen countless visitors. As he paused to take it all in, a massive archway-like entrance loomed ahead.
"That must be the way down."
The moment Taejeong spoke, the temple rumbled—drdrdr.
[The sealed warriors of Heiguran Temple have awakened.]
[Stage 1 will begin shortly.]
[Heiguran's guardsmen appear.]
Soon after the alerts, figures poured from the pitch-black entrance like ants. They resembled humans—full plate armor, shield in one hand, longsword in the other: classic medieval knights. At a glance, you might mistake them for knight-class hunters, but the empty helmets marked them as monsters for sure. They swarmed out in droves.
What was striking was how these randomly spawning foes instantly formed ranks, neat rows and columns like soldiers marching to war. Unlike previous monsters, they showed real intelligence.
"Pretty impressive. Let 'em gather a bit more before we start."
Taejeong deliberately waited for more to emerge. Simple reason: conserve mana. To anyone else, it'd seem insane. The standard strategy here was all-out assault from the jump. Why? You had to thin them immediately to sustain the fight against their numbers. Let them multiply exponentially, and even superior firepower would overwhelm personal limits—forcing retreat.
Skills had cooldowns; human bodies had hard caps. No amount of training let you punch or swing a sword a thousand times at once.
But Taejeong? Mechanic class—unlimited firing, unlimited skills. Single-target DPS might lag, but he could unleash party-level barrage indefinitely. More enemies? More gains for him.
Once their ranks solidified, he gripped the multifunction machine gun in both hands.
"Set coordinates."
Coordinates set.
"Fire."
His auxiliary trigger squeezed. High-explosives launched from the lower barrel, slamming into the formation's edges and corners. Battalion-sized clusters evaporated instantly.
[Defeated Heiguran's guardsmen.]
[Acquired 350,000 EXP.]
[Heiguran's...]
Kwarrr! Hundreds gone in choking dust. That was the auxiliary grenade's power—the MK4's second attack mode.
"Coordinate targeting is a game-changer."
The new grenades weren't just more destructive; they allowed pinpoint accuracy over 90%. Near-perfect without wind. A quantum leap from the old 30% hit rate.
As Taejeong admired the carnage, a standout emerged amid the respawning foes: a knight in pitch-black armor amid the silver ranks. Stage 1 boss—the Guard Captain.
"Out early, huh."
It matched the briefing perfectly: agile, requires encirclement. But solo, it charged straight at him, aura befitting a boss. Flawless posture, precise strides, blistering speed—momentum piercing the heavens.
But that was it.
"Charging me head-on?"
His barrel locked on. Trigger pulled—dozens of energy rounds converged.
Rat-a-tat-tat! Rat-a-tat!
The barrage hammered home. Result? Captain's upper body vaporized. Legs flailed blindly.
Tatang!
[Defeated the Guard Captain.]
[Completed Stage 1.]
[Entrance to Underground Level 1 has opened.]
Even the legs shredded clean. Taejeong looked more puzzled than impressed.
'That all? The guide was novel-length.'
Laughable difficulty compared to his all-nighter research. Weakest captain-class he'd faced.
"If that's the case, even the Hydra's a pushover? Well, just Stage 1... Huh?"
His gaze drifted to the archway's top.
"Was that there before?"
A mural of a knight: dignified elder in ornate armor, white-haired. Definitely new.
"Just appeared? Whatever, not important."
Shrugging, he descended. Another chamber, another stage—same guardsmen, different crests. Mere warm-up.
[Defeated the Guard Captain.]
[Completed Stage 2.]
[Entrance to Underground Level 2 has opened.]
Glancing up again: black wall with glowing yellow eyes.
[Defeated the Guard Captain.]
[Completed Stage 3.]
[Entrance to Underground Level 3 has opened.]
Third: eyes overlooking knights. By the fourth clear, the eyes' owner revealed—a three-headed beast with glaring yellow orbs. The Hydra.
"So that's the Hydra. But why these murals popping up? Some mechanism?"
Strange. Ancient murals after each clear. What did it mean? Pondering, he pressed to the final stage.
Next level: same wave, crests changed, but tougher—survived a few hits now.
Still, endurance ≠ victory. After some effort, cleared. Final mural: elder holding Hydra's central head, knights cheering.
Taejeong's eyes widened.
"The middle head's the weak point?"
Plausible. No guide specified, so test everything. He summoned Gerard.
"Hey, Gerard."
Yes, Master.
"What'd the guide say about its weak point yesterday?"
No specific weak point noted. Fire-based skills recommended for effectiveness.
"Right. And watch for poison... Okay. Blast with scatter cannon first. If not, target the second head. If that fails, multiple rocket launcher..."
And if the multiple rocket launcher fails?
"Cheonryong's firepower not enough? Then... run. Strongest skill I've got."
What if escape is impossible?
Taejeong smirked at Gerard's pessimism.
"Joking? Plenty escaped before. With boosters and blaster, why would I be slower? Just tag coordinates clean when the fight starts."
With that, he headed for the entrance.