Temporary Apostle (5)
Lee-hyun continued his forced march.
While reviewing everything he had learned from Sun Wukong, he pushed to finish exploring the dungeon as quickly as possible.
'If I waste too much time, who knows what kind of scolding Jin-woo hyung will give me next.'
There was nothing quite as terrifying as a doctor’s nagging.
You have crossed more than half of the desert. Entering a new zone.
Conquest Rate: 62%
Crackle! Craaaackle!
The blue-white lightning flashed without rest. The output of his thunder energy, now elevated to C-rank, was on an entirely different level from before. He could now strike targets at long range.
'After releasing it...'
Thanks to that, the sky had lit up with blue-white flashes several times already.
Firetail Bat defeated.
Flame Bird defeated.
......
'And absorb it back.'
He attempted to control the thunder energy he had sent outward, trying to pull it back in.
In the past he would have simply released it and then fired off a fresh burst, but after learning the concept of Responsive Thunder, the old method felt far too inefficient.
Thanks to that, part of the dispersed energy returned to him, amplifying its intensity before—
'—releasing it again.'
Kwaaaaang!
The lightning he unleashed once more swept over everything with even greater destructive power.
Large numbers of yellow wolves defeated.
The hidden nest of a giant venomous scorpion has been discovered and obliterated.
Strength has increased by 1.
......
Mana control level has improved. You are gradually comprehending the concept of Dueogsini's Breath.
Intelligence has increased by 1.
Applying the concept of Dueogsini's Breath to his thunder energy produced both greater power and lower mana consumption, which he liked, but there were more than a few points that demanded careful attention.
'Because the energy has already been released outside, pulling it back in is incredibly difficult.'
Free control of his thunder energy was a prerequisite for properly activating Diovis. Yet once the mana left his body, it might as well have been gone; the recovery rate was abysmal.
'I need another method. Even if it’s a loophole, I need a way to handle thunder energy freely.'
Lee-hyun glanced at Sun Wukong, but the monkey merely smiled with an innocent, sunny expression.
“No, it’s nothing.”
Lee-hyun shook his head calmly. This wasn’t a problem Sun Wukong could solve for him. It was an answer he had to prepare himself.
Then a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
'What if I expand the limit of Dueogsini's Breath to its maximum and then unleash Diovis through it?'
Dueogsini's Breath (C) proficiency has risen.
After that, how much time had passed?
You have traversed most of the desert. Entering the final zone.
Conquest Rate: 81%
Upon entering the new zone, the character of the wind blowing across the desert began to change. What had merely been hot before now felt like it was stealing the breath from his lungs.
“Yes. It feels far more savage now. My stamina is continuously dropping as well.”
Lee-hyun narrowed his eyes as he watched his already meager stamina drain away.
'There’s a secret hidden in the wind.'
No, it wasn’t only the wind. The underground water veins that had been guiding him until now clearly held a secret of their own.
'Wind, desert, water veins…? I see. This is the Yellow Wind Demon’s desert.'
Once he laid the keywords out in order, a location from Journey to the West immediately sprang to mind. Or rather, an enemy of Sun Wukong.
The Holy Relic: Hwaan Geumjeong has compiled every clue and reveals its hidden form!
The gateway to Yellow Wind Ridge, where the Samadhi Divine Wind blows, located at the desert’s end, has opened.
Interpreted the myth of ■■■■. Acquired a portion of karma.
Rank has increased.
'As expected.'
Lee-hyun’s eyes gleamed. This place was no ordinary desert. Its vast scale and the way his feet sank into the sand had kept him from noticing, but it was actually a canyon region with a considerable slope—in other words, a mountain.
'So the Samadhi Divine Wind is blowing here?'
Yet rather than the dungeon’s identity, Lee-hyun’s gaze locked onto one particular line in the message.
Sun Wukong made no effort to hide his disgust.
“I’ll have to prepare as well.”
Sun Wukong grinned, clearly dying to see how Lee-hyun would react.
But—
“If it were the real master of Yellow Wind Ridge, that would be true. But whatever is waiting at the end isn’t the real one, is it?”
“If it were truly that dangerous, I would have been fighting for my life from the moment I entered the dungeon.”
It seemed the difficulty standard the Hwaan Geumjeong used when selecting instance dungeons was based on Lee-hyun’s current ability. If it failed to match that standard, he would die instantly without any chance to proceed with the arrangement.
Lee-hyun nodded quietly. Just because it was within his capacity did not mean it would be easy. Moreover, the fact that Sun Wukong had singled it out so pointedly meant it was genuinely dangerous.
The moment Lee-hyun opened his mouth to speak—
The Holy Relic: Hwaan Geumjeong warns of danger!
Whoosh!
Lee-hyun’s eyes suddenly flashed cold. He vanished from his spot and reappeared a short distance away, slamming something hard into the ground.
“W-wait! Stop! Stoooop!”
He had been about to swing his axe and sever the neck of the person spying on him when a desperate Korean voice rang out. Lee-hyun’s hand froze mid-motion.
“P-please spare me! I-I absolutely wasn’t trying to spy or a-ambush you!”
Beneath the deeply pressed helmet was a woman with delicate features. A human. And a hunter.
“I-I know I look suspicious, but… could you please loosen these restraints?”
The woman who had introduced herself as Kim Se-jeong gave an awkward smile as she looked at the binding cord wrapped tightly around her wrists.
But—
Shing.
Instead of answering, Lee-hyun simply lifted his axe.
“...N-never mind. That was rude of me. Do as you please.”
Kim Se-jeong quickly lowered her gaze. Lee-hyun’s expressionless face looked ice-cold—the result of rigorous training during his Cheongroe days to ensure hostages could never read him.
“I-in that case… could I possibly have a sip of water…?”
Thud.
“Th-thank you!”
Kim Se-jeong hurriedly opened the plastic bottle Lee-hyun had tossed her and gulped the water down. Her dehydration was so severe she even choked, yet she refused to spit out a single drop.
'Great Sage.'
While watching Kim Se-jeong’s desperate behavior, Lee-hyun called out to Sun Wukong.
'This is supposed to be an instance dungeon, right? So how…?'
'Yes.'
'…?'
Lee-hyun turned to look at Sun Wukong, wondering if the monkey was joking even in a situation like this. Sun Wukong shrugged.
The corner of Sun Wukong’s mouth curled upward.
'…!'
An unexpected jab.
Lee-hyun remained silent.
Lee-hyun thought Sun Wukong’s golden eyes burned with an especially ominous flame.
Lee-hyun could only nod. When he thought about it, even in the White Burn they had tried to keep searching without forcibly raising the rank. They might not have uncovered the full secret about Sun Wukong, but they had probably sensed that something was there.
'Then is this woman also after the Great Sage’s myth?'
Sun Wukong shrugged, but Lee-hyun suspected the former. Otherwise there was no reason for her to enter a dungeon whose gate had not even fully formed yet.
Besides—
'Her equipment is far too complete for someone who simply got dragged into a dungeon.'
It was clear she had entered with full preparation. She had simply failed to clear it. Her armor was almost completely destroyed, and every weapon she carried was chipped and broken.
'First I need to find out exactly what happened inside.'
His opponent was skilled enough to fool even his senses with stealth. Had she not been exhausted, or had he not activated the Hwaan Geumjeong to its maximum, he might not have detected her presence at all. If she had managed to ambush him, it would have been disastrous. He needed to examine every detail carefully.
'Especially that stealth skill she used earlier. She hid her presence by condensing her mana to the limit. Perhaps…!'
Lee-hyun did not miss the ring on her left index finger—the true source of the stealth skill.
Analyzing the ring worn by the target using the Holy Relic: Hwaan Geumjeong.
......
Analysis complete.
The ring is Eodukseoni’s Footsteps. It condenses mana to lay the body within shadows, granting powerful stealth capabilities.
Obtained a minor clue regarding condensation.
'Just as I thought.'
Lee-hyun barely managed to suppress the smile that almost reached his lips.
“You said your name is Kim Se-jeong?”
Kim Se-jeong, who had been tilting the empty bottle to catch the last drops, flinched and looked up at him in surprise.
“Yes…”
“Would you mind telling me what happened inside?”
Kim Se-jeong hesitated, her eyes darting around. Far too many tragedies occurred inside dungeons—robbery, looting, murder, and even sexual assault. Those who preyed on exhausted hunters were called scavengers.
She was afraid that Lee-hyun might be trying to lower her guard only to harm her and any surviving colleagues.
“If you don’t want to answer, you don’t have to. You’ve quenched your thirst, so we can part ways here.”
Lee-hyun rose without the slightest reluctance. At once Kim Se-jeong threw herself forward and clung to his leg.
“P-please help me! Our guild members are being held captive in the desert at the top of the dungeon! If we leave them like this they might die! So please…!”
Lee-hyun’s eyes grew calm and still.
The desert at the peak meant the boss room.
“You know the Myeongga Guild, right? We’re members of it! Among the captives is the guild master’s younger brother! If you help us, you’ll receive a huge reward!”
Mistaking Lee-hyun’s silence for hesitation, Kim Se-jeong desperately pointed to the nearly invisible guild emblem on her tattered shoulder, trying to convince him.
At that moment—
'If I use this well, I can gain clues about Dueogsini's Breath and clear the dungeon even more easily.'
Having finished all his calculations, Lee-hyun asked.
“How many people in total are being held captive in the desert?”