Chapter 115
Chapter 115
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: Using It Here
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The troll, mangled alongside the iron golems, had regenerated in an instant and charged at him.
Its movements were so fast they were barely visible to the eye.
"Whoa. What the hell. This guy's ridiculously quick?"
Of course, to him, it was just so-so.
He blocked the troll's swinging fist without much effort.
"You sliced its body clean in half, and it stuck back together in less than a second."
Curiosity sparked.
Was it just some monster with absurd regeneration, or did it have a weakness somewhere?
"Kuoooaaagh! Kuaak!"
"Arm sticks back on fine. Legs too. The head's even faster?"
Even as the troll swung its fists in real time, he ignored it and slashed with his mana sword.
No matter which part he severed, it reattached perfectly within a second.
"What is this? Can't kill it with ordinary methods, huh?"
After about ten minutes of slicing it up, the results were clear: no normal method would kill it.
Stab it, slash it.
Pummel it with full-force punches.
The troll's recovery speed defied imagination.
"So that's why the system said it'd die in 48 hours."
To Kim Min-jun, the troll in front of him seemed impossible to kill with standard tactics.
He'd even tried the Decay skill midway, but the rotting flesh reverted to normal in a flash.
"This thing... if everyone had bailed out of the dungeon from the start, no problem."
After all, the super-regenerating troll would die in 48 hours anyway.
The gate's influence had turned the dungeon sealed, so no worry about monsters escaping.
Which meant it would die on its own if they just waited out the time.
"If only the world worked the way we wanted."
But two people were trapped inside, and surviving 48 hours straight was impossible.
He could manage, but Son Eun-seo's stamina wouldn't hold.
Since things had come to this, he decided to test every skill he could.
"What the—? What kind of monster is that? And what's Min-jun doing fighting it?"
Meanwhile.
Son Eun-seo was at a loss facing the battle that defied common sense.
Kim Min-jun slashing and punching the troll nonstop.
The troll regenerating instantly even if its head was smashed.
She couldn't even grasp how to intervene.
'If I jump in recklessly, I might just get in Min-jun's way.'
That red-skinned troll.
Its movements were even nimbler than regular trolls.
'Head to the entrance.'
Her chosen action here: distance herself from the troll.
She figured keeping a half-assed gap might make it charge her.
She quickly assessed and slowly backed away.
Slice!
"Kraaaagh!"
"Damn. This is like infinite refills. I could enjoy this forever."
Kim Min-jun laughed as if it were fun, having severed the troll's arm for the hundredth time.
It had grown back before the severed arm even hit the ground—an insane regeneration ability.
If this troll had been a boar-type monster.
One that didn't die over time, he could've made a fortune off the meat.
Of course, monster meat tasted bad and was harmful, so nobody ate it.
"Tried pretty much every skill, and it still won't die."
[Swordsmanship skill proficiency has greatly increased!]
[Basic Swordsmanship skill rank has risen to C.]
He'd swung the sword so much that even his dormant swordsmanship skills leveled up.
He could keep going to grind more proficiency, but dragging it out further was boring.
"Hey. Unit 44. Come out and make a ton of soul stones."
He tried summoning Dark Cider to finish it, but no response.
It had clearly said four days till respawn—turns out it lied.
He'd punish it appropriately next time he called it out.
"Nothing as good as Dark Cider for this guy. Shame."
"Kuaaaagh!"
"Guess I have to use that thing."
He approached the still-regenerating troll and thrust the mana sword deep.
"Kueeeek!"
"This won't hold it long. But damn, strong."
The monster fixed in place with the dungeon wall.
To the thrashing beast with the sword in its chest, he added a Demonic Arrow.
That should pin it for about 30 minutes.
"Stay put there."
Kim Min-jun dashed toward the dungeon entrance.
He needed prep for his trump card skill.
**
"Huh? Did you kill the troll? Hey, wait. What are you doing?"
Son Eun-seo narrowed her eyes at Kim Min-jun approaching the entrance.
Boom! Crash!
Out of nowhere, he started punching the dungeon wall.
Digging into the dungeon wall with bare hands.
Insane strength aside, what the hell was he thinking?
"No time to explain. Do you trust me?"
Kim Min-jun kept his eyes on the wall and asked.
The skill he was about to use—a sealed technique called Curse of Plague.
Powerful as it was, it was hard to use without Son Eun-seo's cooperation.
He was carving out the wall to shield her from the skill.
"W-What the... Yeah, I trust you."
Sudden question and behavior, but she nodded readily.
Given the situation, and knowing Kim Min-jun never did pointless stuff in dungeons.
"Good. Then get in here and hold out for 10 minutes. No questions. No time."
The dungeon wall now hollowed out enough for two people.
Get inside and wait 10 minutes—that was the order.
"I'll seal the entrance airtight. If you can't take it, say so. I'll handle that thing till it drops."
"Hey. Even so, this is..."
She wanted to argue it was no different from burying someone alive.
But the troll's roar from inside cut her off.
'Even if I do nothing, I can't last 47 hours here... Min-jun holding it off would be the same.'
She glanced at him.
No forcing it.
If she couldn't wait, he'd tank it solo for the remaining time.
'Unbelievable. You think that'll work?'
He'd soloed the iron golems before, faced the super-regen troll alone.
Now casually digging a hole and telling her to get in.
"Hey. You're not planning to shove me in and seal it, right? Even I couldn't handle that."
"You think I'd do that? Don't worry."
"Sigh... Fine, whatever... Do what you gotta."
Absurd, curious what he was up to, but she'd trust him.
He'd solved messes like this before.
"I said 10 minutes? I'll count every second. One second late, and you get a smack from me."
"Then one second early, can I flick your forehead?"
"Ah! Seriously! You're insane?"
"Kidding, kidding. Friends can joke, right? Don't come out from in there. And don't freak."
He shoved the fuming her inside, then summoned hellwraiths.
Best way to seal off air completely.
"W-What?! Hey! What is this?! Where'd these monsters come from?"
She nearly slashed the bat-like monsters appearing from thin air.
"They gonna bite you or what? It's using their habits, so just stay still."
"What? Habits? Wait, looking close, these are monsters I've never seen..."
He brushed off her panic and charged the troll.
"Damn. Strong pull."
The mana sword in the troll's chest had slipped out halfway.
Crunch!
"Kuaaaagh!"
He jammed it deep again, then activated the skill.
'Overload.'
A new skill from Perpetual Engine's growth.
Using Overload, the engine went berserk.
Mana filled rapidly to cover the deficit.
'Insane. Filling this much?'
More mana than expected.
Enough to use skills and still have some left.
[Perpetual Engine has overloaded.]
[It will remain inactive for a set time.]
"Filled plenty. More than enough."
He grinned at the message.
"Curse of Plague."
He unleashed his strongest black mage skill.
Ssssh.
Most of his mana drained, forming a small seed.
Dropped to the ground, it sprouted roots and grew instantly.
"Kr, kraaagh! Kraaaagh!"
The troll sensed mortal threat instinctively.
It twisted to escape the bonds.
But firmly fixed, no chance.
"Been ages since I last used this."
Just one minute.
The tiny seed grew into a tree touching the dungeon ceiling.
The fully grown tree writhed like a living thing, spewing plague.
Invisible, but already spreading through the air.
"Kr, kruek! Kreuk!"
"Works great, right? Third time using it. Fourth? Means you're one tough bastard—be proud."
Effects showed fast.
The super-regen troll started vomiting blood.
"Even a high priest's skill can't block this. Slow it maybe."
Splurt.
Mid-sentence, the troll's body sagged.
"What? Dead already? I wasn't done explaining."
The tenacious beast croaked soon after.
The blood pooling on the floor showed how much it'd hemorrhaged.
[Super-Regeneration Troll defeated.]
[Reward granted.]
"Oh? Reward?"
Far as he knew, special-ability monsters from gates were a one-time thing.
Meaning the soldier who'd killed the previous one got rewarded too.
"Yeah, wouldn't brag if I were him."
He pocketed the dropping reward quick, then tapped the plague-spewing tree.
It melted like wax and vanished.
"Good. Plague's gone clean. Gotta grab Son Eun-seo and bail. Oh, while we're out, snag some monster corpses too."
Humming, Kim Min-jun headed to the entrance.
Reward could wait.
**
The moment the dungeon entrance opened, hunters poured in.
"Eun-seo! Where are you!"
"Sergeant Kim Min-jun! Respond if you hear!"
Behind two division commanders, medics and hunter squads from two companies followed.
"Sir! Corporal Son Eun-seo! I'm fine!"
Son Eun-seo brushed dirt from her fatigues and saluted sharply.
Seeing her dad in this mess was nice, but duty first.
"Good, good. You held out well. Talk later."
At Son Tae-ho's gesture, the medic checked her over fast.
"Where's Sergeant Kim Min-jun? Monsters left inside?"
"Well..."
As Son Eun-seo opened her mouth.
Every hunter's gaze snapped to one spot.