Temporary Apostle (4)
The desert stretched endlessly before him, but Jang Lee-hyun had already crossed half of it.
You have traversed half of the desert.
Conquest Rate: 47%
Boom!
Thud!
Lee-hyun swung his arm in a clean arc, smashing the head of the massive desert serpent that had been trying to coil around him. For a split second, its venomous fangs had nearly pierced his flesh, nearly knocking him unconscious.
Poison Resistance (F) has been created. You can now better withstand toxins.
Stamina has increased by 1.
Thanks to the increased toughness from his improved stamina, he had managed to endure the venom long enough to sever the creature’s neck with his kukri.
Thump!
A head the size of a grown man crashed to the ground, tongue lolling out. An enormous quantity of blood gushed out, soaking the parched desert sand.
“Haa… haa… That one nearly killed me for real.”
Lee-hyun collapsed weakly onto the ground, finally able to catch his breath.
Fatigue has accumulated excessively. Anemia and dizziness are setting in. Rest is strongly recommended.
Fatigue Level: 73
Blood loss is critical. Supply nutrients and rest. Bleeding Resistance (E) has risen to D-rank.
You have endured the desert serpent’s ‘Constriction.’ Physical Resistance (F) has risen to E-rank.
Sun Wukong descended with an expression that said he was thoroughly fed up.
Throughout the nearly fifty-percent conquest of the dungeon, Lee-hyun had pushed himself without pause. He had cleared a total of six monster dens so far.
A total of six monster dens have been cleared so far.
The desert monsters have begun to fear you. You have obtained the title ‘Desert Slaughterer.’
You can now better endure the desert heat and scorching sun.
Using his Hwaan Geumjeong, he had confirmed that the water sources of each den were connected through underground aquifers. He followed them upstream while relentlessly hunting monsters without rest.
“Still, I gained Poison Resistance, didn’t I? Two other resistances ranked up as well.”
“I have divine power, don’t I? The Yeouibong’s recovery ability is helping too.”
Lee-hyun didn’t regret his choices for a second. Just looking at his status window was enough to fill him with satisfaction.
Retrieving user status window through the ‘Holy Relic: Hwaan Geumjeong.’
In just a few hours, nearly all of his stats had nearly doubled. The resistance section was now almost completely filled. The speed of his growth was crystal clear. If anything, he wanted to push himself even harder.
“Look. My leg isn’t bothering me anymore.”
Lee-hyun smiled brightly as he showed off his right leg, which now moved exactly as he willed it.
Of course, to Sun Wukong it only looked like the behavior of a madman.
“Then I suppose I’ll just have to gain a recovery-related skill.”
“Then what choice do I have? I have to push myself harder. Oh, maybe I’ll even gain related resistances at the same time? That would actually be great.”
Sun Wukong was utterly speechless at Lee-hyun’s attitude—how every single comment somehow led straight back to training.
Didn’t he say he suffered under that curse for four years and couldn’t even run properly? How the hell did he endure all that time?
If he was this obsessed with self-discipline, those years must have been pure hell. Even if it was a reaction to the curse, this was far too extreme.
Or… maybe it’s the opposite?
Only then did Sun Wukong notice the calm, sunken look in Lee-hyun’s eyes and realize he had been mistaken.
So he never stopped training even once, not even while under the curse. That’s why he’s recovering his senses so quickly!
Lee-hyun had never taken a single day off from training. Even while tormented by the curse, even in moments of despair, he had steadily trained within whatever limits his body allowed. That was how he had been able to traverse the dungeon in his crippled state and awaken Sun Wukong.
He had faith in himself.
The self-confidence that he would one day rise again. The conviction that he had to prepare for the moment opportunity arrived.
Sun Wukong had no choice but to acknowledge him, at least a little.
I’m the one who should be pushing him, yet here I am worrying more than he is. Ugh.
“It seems a lot of your doubts about me have disappeared now.”
Of course, he had no intention of admitting that outright.
But when Lee-hyun smiled as if he understood everything, Sun Wukong felt the strong urge to smack him on the head just once.
“How about teaching me a skill instead?”
“You know tons of tricks, Great Sage. If there’s anything related to physical combat, please teach me. It would ease your worries too, wouldn’t it?”
Sun Wukong frowned.
“I’ve proven that I’m useful as a temporary apostle. I’m simply asking for a small reward.”
Lee-hyun quickly changed the subject.
“The taiyaki was delicious, right? Once we get out, I’ll buy you something even better.”
Sun Wukong’s ears perked up instantly.
Just as I thought.
Lee-hyun smiled inwardly. He had suspected as much after seeing how attached the monkey was to those sand-covered pastries. It seemed the baby monkey had the palate of a literal baby.
“Have you ever heard of macarons?”
“What about ice cream hotteok? Or rose tteokbokki?”
“There’s a saying—sweet, salty, sweet. After eating something sweet, you eat something salty, then sweet again. It’s the level where your tongue says, ‘Ah, today was pretty enjoyable.’”
“Shall we get out of here and enjoy ourselves?”
Sun Wukong stood there in a daze for a moment. Just listening to the explanation had made his mouth water slightly.
Only after realizing that Lee-hyun was grinning at him did he snap back to his senses.
“Yes. Thank you.”
“Of course not. No one would think that.”
Sun Wukong stared at him with clear suspicion, but eventually—
Tap!
He straightened his posture and lightly stamped the ground. A metal staff shot up from the earth and into his hand.
Even if food hadn’t been involved, Sun Wukong had already been thinking it was about time to start teaching Lee-hyun a few things.
A name he had never expected to hear.
Zeus.
The chief god of one of the greatest divine factions in existence.
Lee-hyun’s eyes widened slightly.
“Zeus belongs to an entirely different mythology from you, Great Sage.”
“…!”
Lee-hyun unconsciously clenched his fist. He had only poked around hoping to learn a few techniques, but something far bigger than he anticipated had rolled right into his lap.
Sun Wukong grinned mischievously and tapped his tiny head with his index finger.
Lee-hyun could now imagine what kind of humiliation those chief gods must have suffered at Sun Wukong’s hands. Perhaps it was even connected to the reason for their conflict…
As far as I know, Zeus is one of the few chief gods who still doesn’t have an apostle yet.
His heart began to race.
Crackle! Snap!
Suddenly, bright yellow lightning began sparking around Sun Wukong. It was similar to the Hwaan Geumjeong, yet closer to the color of sunlight.
Lee-hyun straightened his posture.
“Yes. I will watch and learn well.”
Perhaps those muttered words were Sun Wukong’s true intention.
“…That sounds like torture through false hope. Very well. But for now, I will focus on learning this properly.”
Lee-hyun let out an awkward laugh while cold sweat ran down his back. It seemed this had been a test after all.
But that thought lasted only a moment.
Sun Wukong lightly thrust his staff forward with all his strength.
The motion itself was perfectly clean.
But the result was anything but.
Kwaaaaang!
Lightning condensed at the tip of the staff before exploding outward. A pillar of lightning shot skyward as if piercing the heavens. Sand exploded violently into the air.
“…!”
Crackle! Bzzzzt!
A scorching hot wind slapped Lee-hyun across the face. His skin stung.
The lightning… it’s alive.
“…Yes.”
“Yes. You’re exactly right.”
Lee-hyun nodded heavily.
In truth, his battles never lasted very long. The emotional expenditure that served as the foundation of his lightning was simply too extreme. After unleashing a burst of emotion, a powerful sense of exhaustion would always follow, forcing him to endure grueling hours of recovery.
That was the problem when I fought the Snow Queen as well.
Sun Wukong had seen through that weakness at a glance.
Sun Wukong intended to teach only the efficiency aspect of this technique to his temporary apostle.
“Condensation…”
Bzzzzzt!
Lightning sparked from the tip of the staff once more. It spread out like a spiderweb in every direction, dyeing the entire surroundings bright yellow. Then it suddenly began to swirl, shrinking its range until it formed a pillar, and finally compressed into a spherical shape.
It carried an incredible heat, like a miniaturized sun.
Sun Wukong struck the sphere with his staff.
The lightning, compressed to its absolute limit, erupted in every direction, triggering a massive explosion.
Kwaaaaang! Kwaaaaaang! Kwaaaaaaaaang!
Dozens of lightning bolts slammed mercilessly into the sand, and the scattered sparks connected with one another, generating an enormous electromagnetic field that covered dozens of meters of ground.
A catastrophe that swallowed the earth.
“…!!”
Lee-hyun could only stare blankly, too stunned to even utter a sound of admiration.
You have glimpsed ‘Zeus’s Condensation’!
You have understood the concept of condensation.
You have gained a new perspective on explosion.
You have realized a new approach to lightning demons.
...
Your understanding of the lightning attribute has deepened. Analysis of Dueogsini's Breath (C) has become more profound.
The proficiency of Dueogsini's Breath (C) has risen dramatically.
You have drawn slightly closer to Zeus’s myth!
Simply by witnessing it, his skill proficiency had increased. Sun Wukong’s single strike had given Lee-hyun tremendous inspiration.
A new world that even when he was known as Jet he had never seen was right here.
This was the power of a god.
Or a demon.
Or a giant.
Or perhaps… a dragon.
Transcendent beings whose very existence completed their own myths and could impose them upon the world—only they could display such power.
Sun Wukong shrugged as if it were nothing, but when he saw the look of reverence in Lee-hyun’s eyes, he smiled with satisfaction.