Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: Dullahan
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"Listen to your teacher, and don't fight with your friends."
"Bro, I'm not a kid."
"Anyone can see you're a kid. So, have a good day at school. And don't doze off in class."
"More nagging! My foster parents don't say anything to me."
"That's because they're not your family."
"Hmph, even though they're not family, they treat me better than you do!"
"You little brat."
"Nyah!"
Do-young stuck out his tongue and ran through the main gate as if escaping.
Swinging his shoe bag, he spotted a friend and burst into laughter, chatting excitedly before disappearing into the school building.
*That kid.*
Do-jae smiled faintly and left the school.
He headed straight for a dungeon.
*Jeong Hoon-hyeon… he works fast. I like it.*
Yesterday, after leaving the shop and on his way to dinner with Ji-yoon, Do-jae had asked Jeong Hoon-hyeon to scrape together as many dungeons as he could.
He also gave him Choi Woo-seok's phone number, stating he wanted to conduct future business through Choi Woo-seok's shop.
In response, he had immediately found several dungeons and informed Do-jae.
It was astonishing how Jeong Hoon-hyeon had managed to complete the dungeon transfers in less than an hour after being contacted.
As it happened, one of the dungeons was on the way to his brother's school, so he scheduled the raid to coincide with the start of the school day to see his brother, who was still staying at Eun-hee's house.
"Where are you from?"
As he arrived at the dungeon, an employee from the Association appeared and blocked his path.
When he identified himself as being from the Guardian Guild, the employee readily stepped aside.
"Yawn… Good luck in there."
The employee let out a long yawn, gave a slight bow, and disappeared.
According to regulations, the employee wasn't supposed to let Do-jae enter the dungeon alone.
There was a rule against entering dungeons solo, which was why the Association sent someone to verify.
However, having dealt with brokers several times, Do-jae knew the employee had likely received a decent sum from Jeong Hoon-hyeon.
*Since this is our first deal, he'll want to provide high-quality goods.*
Do-jae stepped into the dungeon.
It was a field-type dungeon called the 'Forest of the Deer Bear'.
The Deer Bear was a 7th-grade beast-type monster, a bear with large, towering antlers.
It was incredibly fierce; upon catching the scent of a human, it would charge at a tremendous speed, gore its victim with its antlers, and then lap up the flowing blood with cruel relish.
As expected, the creatures caught Do-jae's scent and began charging, knocking down trees as they came.
"Graoooh!"
"Gyaaaak!"
But Do-jae stood his ground, not blinking an eye.
Instead, from the large subspace opening behind him, golems were striding out.
*Clank— Clank—.*
"Graoo!"
The Deer Bears roared powerfully and charged into a black stone golem.
*Crash—.*
"Gyaaaa…."
The Deer Bear let out a bewildered cry.
Do-jae's black stone golem hadn't been pushed back; instead, it had grabbed the Deer Bear's antlers and was holding firm.
"Clean this up quickly and come back."
At Do-jae's command, the black stone golem lifted the Deer Bear into the air, flipped it, and slammed it to the ground.
*Thud—!*
Afterward, four golems, blackened by Gellahan's mana, led the way. They were joined by the 100 golems obtained from Elatra's temple and one of the four surviving golems from the battle with Ridirian, making a total of 105 golems. They poured out of the subspace and scattered throughout the forest.
***
- Deer Bear Hide x52
- Deer Bear Horn x52
…
In an instant, spoils from the Deer Bears began to pile up in the subspace.
Deer Bear hide was excellent at absorbing magic that protected against the cold, making it a popular material for coats among Awoken and non-Awoken alike.
The horns were equally popular, used in furniture and decorative items.
Most importantly, the better the condition of both, the higher the price they fetched. It went without saying that the items in Do-jae's subspace were of the highest quality.
*Looks like they're about to wrap up.*
Do-jae closed the book he was reading and stood up from the flat tree stump.
The rate at which Deer Bear spoils were coming in had slowed dramatically.
This meant there were few monsters left in the field.
With 105 stone golems combing the area, the dungeon would be cleared soon.
*I wonder if Ji-yoon has gotten used to the sword.*
Young-jin's team had a dungeon raid scheduled for today as well.
Ji-yoon, being Ji-yoon, was probably too eager to try out her new sword to resist and had undoubtedly followed Young-jin.
*If Ji-yoon were a stronger Awoken, she could have drawn out the sword's skills…*
Do-jae recalled seeing the information for the 'Edge of Judgment' with the Eye of the Golem.
The Edge of Judgment had a special skill called 'Punishment'.
It was an attack skill that perfectly matched the weapon's name, capable of calling down a bolt of lightning at the cost of 1,000 mana.
Unfortunately, for Ji-yoon, whose mana was only around 500, it was a pity.
*Come to think of it, this one is truly something else…*
Do-jae once again brought up the information for the Black Scale and read it with a pleased expression.
[Equipment Information]
Name: Black Scale
Type: Sword
Description: A sword said to contain the soul of a bloodthirsty demon. A demon king was sealed within this blade, forged by an ancient holy dragon from its own bones and scales. The more blood the Black Scale absorbs, the more powerfully the demon king's might manifests. The manifestation rate increases according to the type and amount of blood absorbed.
Effect: Attack Power +500(+a) / Durability +0(+a) / All Stats +0(+a)
Skill: Lifesteal Lv. Max / Manifestation Lv. 1
*The base attack power is insane, but it's a sword that grows stronger over time.*
He definitely felt the Black Scale growing stronger the more monsters he cut down.
However, he hadn't felt that when fighting the skeletons. In the end, this sword only grew stronger when pointed at the living.
*Clank— Clank—.*
The stone golems began to return to Do-jae.
He checked the list in his subspace one more time.
- Giant Deer Bear Hide x1
- Giant Deer Bear Horn x1
- Giant Deer Bear Gallbladder x1
New items had appeared.
The dungeon's boss, the Giant Deer Bear, had been hunted down by his stone golems.
But there was one other item that caught his eye.
*A gallbladder?*
Do-jae couldn't bring himself to take it out, merely staring at the words in the list.
It was the first time he'd seen such a spoil, and he could only guess at its use.
*Is it like bear bile…*
In any case, Do-jae decided to ask Choi Woo-seok about the Giant Deer Bear's gallbladder and began preparing to leave the dungeon.
It was almost noon. If he left now, he would arrive around the time Young-jin's raid was finishing.
Thinking it would be nice to have lunch together, Do-jae headed for the dungeon exit.
But just then.
[A new quest has appeared.]
A message window materialized before Do-jae's eyes.
That wasn't all.
At the same time, a sharp pang shot through his temples.
Do-jae immediately opened the quest window to check it while breaking into a run.
[Quest]
Type: Sub
Description: An unrecognized being covets that which it should not possess. Defeat this being and restore things to their original state.
Restriction: Before the dungeon is cleared
Reward: 1 Mana Stone
Failure: Dungeon Break
The quest and the throbbing in his temples were telling him the same thing.
A new Transcendence Stone had appeared, and his intuition screamed that it was in the dungeon Young-jin was raiding.
He knew because he had attached a golem to the pommel of Ji-yoon's sword, and he had just felt that golem be destroyed.
*Ji-yoon is in danger!*
***
*Clank— Clank—.*
A 3rd-grade monster, the headless knight 'Dullahan', approached, its thick full-plate armor creaking.
"Ji-yoon! Get the others and—!"
*Clang—!*
The Dullahan swung its rusted longsword, and Young-jin barely managed to block it.
Meanwhile, Ji-yoon clutched her numb hand and ran to Park Kyung-min, Ha Tae-seong, and Gong So-eun.
"Noona, So-eun is…"
Park Kyung-min was holding Gong So-eun, who was coughing up blood.
She had been attacked by the Dullahans that appeared in the boss room, and the powerful impact had ruptured her internal organs.
"You're in bad shape too!"
Ji-yoon shouted in a grave voice.
Park Kyung-min's condition was just as serious.
One of his arms hung limply, and a long gash ran from his chest to his shoulder.
"Tae-seong, you…!"
Ha Tae-seong was in the worst condition of all.
His face was pale as he tightly gripped his left arm, but below the elbow, there was nothing.
"Noonim… your sword…"
Ha Tae-seong handed Ji-yoon's sword over with a cracked voice.
Her sword had been knocked away by a Dullahan. He had been attacked and lost his arm while running to retrieve the blade she cherished so much.
"Dammit… what's so important about a sword!"
Ji-yoon took the sword.
But her heart ached terribly.
It was true this sword from Do-jae was precious, but Ha Tae-seong's life was far more important.
Ji-yoon gripped the 'Edge of Judgment' that Ha Tae-seong had returned to her and said,
"Kyung-min, take them and get out! Section Chief Young-jin and I will hold the entrance somehow."
"What? No! You'll die!"
"I know. But isn't it better for two to hold them off than one? We can last a little longer. And I'll escape right after, don't worry. Hehe."
Ji-yoon spoke in a hopeful tone, trying to calm Park Kyung-min.
But their situation was desperate.
They had fallen into this state within five minutes of Park Kyung-min opening the door.
All caused by a single Dullahan.
But the most terrifying part was that there wasn't just one Dullahan.
"Go now! You're no help here anyway!"
Ji-yoon glanced behind her at the two other Dullahans and the Death Knight with gleaming blue eyes.
If they started to move, she didn't know if they could last minutes, or even seconds.
While they were just watching, she had to get the three of them out quickly to give them even a small chance of survival.
"Ugh… I'll call for rescue as soon as we're out!"
"Okay."
Ji-yoon watched the three disappear beyond the boss room door before heading toward Young-jin.
Even Young-jin, a C-rank Awoken, was no match for the Dullahan.
Adding Ji-yoon to the mix was unlikely to change anything.
*Swoosh—!*
*Clang—!*
But Ji-yoon couldn't leave Young-jin behind.
"Hey! Why did you come back!"
Young-jin and Ji-yoon blocked the Dullahan's sword together.
"How could I go alone! A person's got to have some loyalty."
*Boom—!*
*Screeeech—!*
"You fool! What good is loyalty when you're about to die?"
"Then why are you still fighting, Section Chief? You might have survived if you'd run."
"I don't know! I just… It's coming!"
The other Dullahans, which had been standing still, suddenly began to move.
With the two of them unable to handle even one, the approach of three Dullahans planted true terror in their hearts.
"Huu, huu. If only I had stopped Kyung-min a little sooner…"
"What's done is done. Section Chief, let's buy even one more second!"
"Right! We have to get the kids out of here, no matter what!"
Young-jin and Ji-yoon gritted their teeth in unison.
A resolve to face death.
As they ignited a fighting spirit not to live, but to die, there were no regrets in their minds.
*Craaash—!*
At that moment, the entrance to the boss room shattered, and a man appeared.
A man clad in armor of black stone.
It was Do-jae.