Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Ji Su-jeong Easily Clears the Trolls
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Ji Su-jeong easily cleared even the trolls.
Thanks to her, the troll sections proceeded without Hae-jin and the others having to lift a finger.
The number of trolls had grown from one, to three, to six, to ten, and now stood at fifty.
Of course, in the following sections, Hae-jin still asked Ji Su-jeong,
"Want to give it a try?"
"Wow, fifty against one..."
"Need any help?"
"No, I'll handle it!"
"Alright."
After that, Ji Su-jeong truly took on the fifty trolls by herself.
Then Kwon Na-ye approached and asked,
"But is it really okay to keep leaving it all to her?"
"Hm? She's handling it just fine on her own, isn't she?"
Hae-jin shrugged as if asking what the problem was, in response to Kwon Na-ye's question about whether it was fine to let Ji Su-jeong handle fifty trolls alone.
At his retort, Kwon Na-ye explained what she meant.
"Oh! I don't mean she can't do it, but don't we all need to fight together for the experience to go up? That's why everyone tore the double experience scrolls before starting, right?"
"Ah, don't worry about that. Everyone's still gaining experience right now."
"Huh?"
She wondered what he meant.
Experience was still going up right now?
Hae-jin explained the current experience gain structure to Kwon Na-ye.
"Since we all entered the dungeon together, we're recognized as a party, so the experience is being distributed evenly. No need to worry."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah. It's just that everyone's levels are high and there are so many of us, so no one is leveling up yet, but we're all getting experience."
"Ah, got it."
"Yeah."
"Then we can just help her out when Ji Su-jeong starts struggling."
"Exactly."
After that, Hae-jin's group simply watched Ji Su-jeong hunt.
But Ji Su-jeong seemed to have adapted to fighting the troll pack, as she continued to take down even the fifty without issue.
Seeing this, Hae-jin thought,
[She fights better than I expected?]
Of course, none of the people currently with Hae-jin would struggle against fifty trolls.
But that was only because they had grown quickly thanks to Hae-jin. In Ji Su-jeong's case, she had reached this level entirely on her own, without his help, so it meant something different.
This made Hae-jin puzzled.
[She fights that well, so why is there no record of Ji Su-jeong in Joo-hyuk's memories?]
Honestly, from what Hae-jin had seen, she seemed more than capable of surviving into the mid-to-late game.
So why wasn't she in Joo-hyuk's memories?
Meanwhile, the dungeon continued.
The trolls began to fade out, and cockatrices started appearing.
One-eyed chickens that could petrify their opponents.
There was only one of them.
It had to be that way.
A single cockatrice was stronger than dozens of trolls.
Here, Hae-jin pondered.
[Hm, can she handle that one too? From how she took care of the trolls, she probably can...]
Hae-jin wondered if Ji Su-jeong could defeat the cockatrice.
As he pondered, Ji Su-jeong asked,
"Brother Hae-jin."
"Yes?"
"Is that one strong?"
Ji Su-jeong pointed at the cockatrice.
Was the cockatrice strong?
By Hae-jin's standards, not at all.
Even the other party members with Hae-jin wouldn't lose to a single cockatrice.
But for Ji Su-jeong?
[Hm.]
Hae-jin watched her for a moment, deep in thought.
Could Ji Su-jeong really beat the cockatrice?
From the combat skills and power she'd shown so far, she probably could.
Cockatrices weren't all that strong to begin with.
The only danger they posed was one thing.
Their petrification ability.
Hae-jin figured he just needed to give her that info.
"Hm, just dodge the petrification beam, and it's nothing much."
"Petrification beam?"
When Ji Su-jeong asked about the petrification beam, Hae-jin pointed to the cockatrice's single eye.
"See how the chicken head has just one eye?"
"Yeah, only one."
"It flashes light from there. If you don't look away in time, you get petrified. Other than that, I bet you can take it, Ji Su-jeong."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
"Then I'll give it a shot!"
"Go for it."
Having told Hae-jin she'd fight it, Ji Su-jeong stepped right into the cockatrice's combat range.
"Kieek?"
The cockatrice reacted as Ji Su-jeong entered its aggro range.
She charged at it swiftly.
Ji Su-jeong approached the cockatrice in peekaboo stance.
Seeing this, the cockatrice immediately emitted light from its eye.
Flash!
[Petrification beam.]
Hae-jin recalled the pattern as the cockatrice's eye lit up.
But he didn't say it out loud.
The reason was simple.
To see what Ji Su-jeong could do.
[I wonder if she can dodge it?]
Just before, when the cockatrice had flashed its glaring light, Ji Su-jeong had ducked her head.
Following Hae-jin's advice to watch out for the petrification beam's line of sight, she had entered combat in peekaboo stance from the start.
And Hae-jin viewed that stance quite positively.
It was the most optimized posture for instantly avoiding the cockatrice's gaze.
Anyway, the moment the cockatrice fired its petrification beam, Ji Su-jeong ducked under both fists.
She easily dodged the cockatrice's petrification beam.
Hae-jin was impressed.
"Ho, quick reflexes."
Of course, Ji Su-jeong was a former rookie boxing champion who had awakened as a player and survived up to the eleventh Trials' Arena.
So her quick reactions weren't necessarily a huge compliment.
But Hae-jin knew full well.
Cockatrice or basilisk petrification beams weren't something you could dodge just by having good athleticism.
If you didn't react and look away in that split-second flash, you were bound to get hit.
Thus, Ji Su-jeong's dodge was genuinely fast.
In any case, free from the cockatrice's petrifying gaze, Ji Su-jeong charged straight in.
She thought,
[Just avoid the eyes, and I can watch its position with my feet.]
In truth, the petrification beam's timing from moments ago had ended.
But Ji Su-jeong had no prior experience fighting cockatrices and had only gotten the info from Hae-jin that getting petrified meant game over.
So, unaware that the cockatrice's petrification beam cooldown was up, she kept fighting while avoiding its gaze.
Relying solely on the cockatrice's feet and shadow to move.
Hae-jin immediately recognized Ji Su-jeong's combat style.
[Smart way to handle it.]
One could call it foolish to keep doing that even after the petrification beam timing had passed.
But since Ji Su-jeong didn't know, this was the right way to fight.
Anyway, reaching the cockatrice up close, Ji Su-jeong clenched her fist tight.
The instant she did, the cockatrice tried to peck at her head.
A cockatrice's beak peck was like slamming down the spiked head of a warhammer.
No matter how tough a player's body became after awakening, getting hit directly by that beak would punch a hole right through their skull.
That was when it happened.
Whoosh-!
Without even facing forward, Ji Su-jeong lightly dodged the cockatrice's beak peck.
She had read it from the shadow.
Having evaded the beak peck, Ji Su-jeong smashed her fist into the cockatrice's head.
Thwack!
Boom-!
The cockatrice's head exploded from a single punch.
Seeing this, Hae-jin thought,
[Basilisks or cyclopes aside, even if cockatrices aren't as tough as them... one shot? Pretty strong?]
Honestly, he could see it even with trolls.
Trolls were something of a combat power benchmark—not the weakest in the desert region, but close.
Like orcs in a forest setting.
So, he figured Ji Su-jeong shattering a troll's head was plausible.
But taking down a cockatrice in one punch?
That was surprisingly powerful.
In any case, after defeating the cockatrice, Ji Su-jeong returned to Hae-jin.
"How'd I do, Brother Hae-jin?"
Ji Su-jeong asked Hae-jin how she had performed.
He didn't hold back on the praise.
"You're pretty strong."
"Heehee! Then should I keep soloing from here on out?"
Delighted at being called strong, Ji Su-jeong asked if she should continue soloing.
Hae-jin set a clear limit for observing how far she could go in combat.
"Hm, let's do it that way until the next section."
"Just until the next section?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
Ji Su-jeong had just one-shot the cockatrice, so she was brimming with confidence.
She thought it wouldn't matter if she kept fighting solo.
In fact, she saw it as a way to impress Hae-jin.
But suddenly, he was limiting her to the next section.
She was curious about the reason.
Hae-jin answered her question.
"If you handle the next section's fights just as easily, I figured there's no point testing you further."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah."
"Then I'll do my best!"
"Alright."
After that exchange, they all moved to the next section.
Upon entering the next section, Ji Su-jeong asked Hae-jin,
"Ugh, what's that snake?"
"That's a basilisk monster. Just like the cockatrice, it petrifies you if its eyes flash, so dodge carefully."
"Got it?"
"Yeah."
"Well, same as before, I guess."
With that, Ji Su-jeong dropped into peekaboo stance again and charged into combat.
Ready to dodge a petrification beam at any moment.
That was when it happened.
Sensing her presence, both the cockatrice and basilisk turned to look at Ji Su-jeong at the same time.
"Kieek!"
"Kieek!"
The cockatrice and basilisk charged at Ji Su-jeong.
Then, suddenly, the cockatrice stopped.
Seeing this, Ji Su-jeong thought,
[Petrification.]
No longer just the flash moment, but based on her recent experience, she assumed the cockatrice stopping meant it was firing petrification.
Her guess was correct.
The cockatrice had indeed stopped to use petrification.
But wasn't there an extra one now?
The basilisk was still approaching her.
Of course, Ji Su-jeong had grasped the situation via its shadow.
[The snake's targeting me.]
Ji Su-jeong, identifying the basilisk as a snake.
She sidestepped based on the shadow.
To create distance from the advancing basilisk, then close in on the cockatrice using petrification.
That was when it happened.
She could also see the stationary cockatrice moving, via its shadow.
Confirming this, Ji Su-jeong thought,
[Let's take out the chicken head first.]
With that in mind, as she approached the cockatrice—now charging after pausing its petrification beam—she gauged the distance using its shadow.
Measuring attack range was boxing basics.
So gauging distance via shadow wasn't hard for her.
She had done it in the previous section, after all.
Ji Su-jeong extended her left hand toward the cockatrice.
Flash!
That was when it happened.
"Oh no!"