Chapter 8
Chapter 8
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 8
Chapter Title: Sweat After a Long Time
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Inside the damp cave, heavy with moisture.
"…."
The men slumped on the ground gaped toward the front, mouths wide open.
Their view was obscured by the dust kicked up as the massive Daikon collapsed.
Even though nothing was visible, they couldn't tear their eyes away.
"Sang-cheol, what the hell did we just see?"
Oh Myung-yoon, the mage-class hunter at the front, asked Kim Sang-cheol.
"Hell if I know... that's what I want to ask."
It wasn't just a brush-off answer.
Kim Sang-cheol was genuinely curious.
Just who the hell was this guy named Kang Hyuk to fight a Daikon like that?
- I'll... I'll take the front...!
The moment the Daikon appeared.
As the warrior-class tank for the team, Kim Sang-cheol had offered to lead the charge.
'I wanted to run.'
He'd said it out of a sense of duty.
But truthfully, his body wasn't in any shape to block a Daikon's attacks.
From the instant it showed up, cold sweat drenched him, his arms and legs trembled so badly he wasn't even sure he could swing his axe properly.
- Swish.
A hand stopped him as he stumbled forward, shaking.
Someone might call him a coward, but he didn't care.
Kim Sang-cheol was immensely grateful for that hand.
- Boom!
Then came the clash between Kang Hyuk and the Daikon.
He felt relief at not having to face it head-on.
But anxiety crept in at the same time.
Anyone would be intimidated by the Daikon's overwhelming presence.
What if Kang Hyuk lost to it?
'Wiped out.'
He didn't need to look back to know.
Oh Myung-yoon and Kim Gil-sang were in the same boat as him.
They'd only hunted prey that was nearly impossible to die from, no matter how hard they tried.
Even if the EXP or rewards were minimal, they had no choice.
This wasn't a game—it was reality. Nothing mattered more than staying alive.
Having only fought safe battles like that, none of them had any experience with life-or-death combat.
- Boom! Boom!
But Kim Sang-cheol's fears of death didn't last long.
The fight unfolding before him between Kang Hyuk and the Daikon was one-sided from the start.
Kang Hyuk overwhelmed the Daikon with movements too fast for Kim Sang-cheol to follow.
- L-Let's help him!
Kim Sang-cheol even had to hold back Oh Myung-yoon, who suggested jumping in.
They couldn't even dodge the Daikon's attacks in the first place.
Getting involved would just be a hindrance, and no help was needed anyway.
- Grrr...!
It was a strange feeling.
The Daikon, which had started as the apex predator.
With every attack it withstood from Kang Hyuk, it increasingly felt like prey.
- Ah!
At the final moment, an exclamation escaped Kim Sang-cheol unbidden.
Kang Hyuk seemed to let his guard down, failing to dodge an attack he'd evaded perfectly before.
'….'
Then he realized.
He hadn't failed to dodge—it was deliberate.
Even blocking the far larger Daikon's foot head-on, Kang Hyuk's body didn't budge an inch.
- KABOOM!
And with that, Kang Hyuk's fist shot toward the Daikon.
The instant it connected, a massive explosion erupted.
As the smoke cleared, the Daikon collapsed, finally realizing it had been the true prey all along.
Whoosh...
By the time Kim Sang-cheol snapped out of it, the dust had settled.
Kang Hyuk stood there, foot planted on the Daikon.
Hitting with full power makes it explode way harder.
He looked down at his right hand, soaked in Daikon blood.
The Explosion Engraving still glowed a vivid red.
Satisfactory power.
Feels amazing.
He couldn't tear his eyes away from the engraving on his right hand for a while.
Power beyond pure physical ability.
Without Assassin Arts, if his body couldn't keep up, defeat meant death.
He'd never understood how those assassin weaklings strutted around with their frail bodies.
Now he got it, a little.
This was the first time he'd properly used an engraving—against the Daikon.
Even he felt satisfaction from its power, along with newfound confidence in this extra strength.
Those who'd lived their whole lives relying on Assassin Arts could easily delude themselves, regardless of their physical prowess.
Swish.
He reached out toward the fallen Daikon.
Its horn still gleamed, as if advertising its value as material.
Crunch!
As he yanked it free, he felt one condition complete: Daikon's Horn.
Ding.
A title tab was added amid the flurry of messages.
No special rewards from the title itself.
But it seemed useful for showing off achievements or proving skill to others.
"Hoo...!"
He exhaled deeply, closing the message window.
Not a strong foe, but twisting his body around like that had taken effort.
As he caught his breath, he noticed sweat beading all over his skin.
It's been a while.
No refreshing breeze reached the cave's depths.
Only faint drafts from the entrance made it this far.
But it was enough.
To cool the sweat on his skin and leave a refreshing sensation.
I hadn't been able to sweat even if I wanted to.
After his body broke down, he'd forgotten what sweat even felt like.
Each morning, he'd woken to a body stiffer than the day before, greeting a dreadful dawn.
Swinging that body freely in battle had loosened the rigidity, even drawing sweat.
I want to fight more.
The thought slipped out unbidden.
Push his body to the limit until it creaked.
Only then would it fully loosen up.
"K-Kang Hyuk! You okay?!"
"You're good, right!?"
Of course, it was just his own thought.
Voices from the still-shaking Sang-cheol trio behind him.
"I'm fine. You three okay?"
"Of course."
"We didn't even do anything."
"…."
They hung their heads, still bothered by leaving the fight to him.
He'd wanted them to join in.
But no helping it.
The Daikon was weak to him, but a one-hit-kill monster to them.
"Messages say the dungeon's cleared. Anything else to do?"
One difference from games: no monster respawns.
Not sure about modern games, but back then, they revived after time.
"Uh... most dungeons are deep and vast, so they don't clear this fast. But Daikon's Cave is super short, and you handled it quick... We can call the cleanup crew after grabbing everything."
"Cleanup crew?"
"People who handle fully cleared dungeons. They don't fight—they take the meat, hides, stuff that's hard to process."
"Keeps monsters from rotting in dungeons. They pay the clearers a fee based on what they salvage."
He nodded at their explanation.
Dungeons had their own ecosystem, division of labor—not quite factories, but close.
No reason for hunters to refuse help processing tough parts for a fee.
"Grab what you need first, Kang Hyuk. Not much valuable here, though."
Oh Myung-yoon explained: dungeons had various monsters, some with gems or pricey magic materials.
Unfortunately, nothing like that on this Daikon.
Hm.
He looked down at the Daikon—most of its upper body blasted away by the explosion.
Testing the engraving's full power had wrecked it thoroughly.
Hard to salvage intact hide or meat from the mangled corpse.
Glint.
Scanning the body, sharp claws caught his eye.
Not bad.
Different from what he used, but with some work, perfect as a needle sword.
"I'll take the horn and claws. Don't need the rest."
"Huh...? Even damaged, the intact hide's worth something. Take some."
He shook his head at Kim Sang-cheol's words.
With the horn secured, business here was done.
No desire to spend more time slicing hide off the pulp that was left.
Besides, the three waited eagerly for him to finish.
Flushed faces—their first dungeon clear.
Hm.
Still, he needed some money.
In Katabi, money was irrelevant.
Strength decided everything.
Take what you need; kill refusers.
Couldn't do that here.
He hadn't even grasped how this changed Earth worked.
No need to carry Katabi habits everywhere—where almost everyone but a few was an enemy.
Just look at the Sang-cheol trio: kind to a stranger like him. Katabi and Korea were different.
"When you get the cleanup fee later, just give me a bit? I'm broke. That's enough."
His simple request left them stunned.
Oh Myung-yoon recovered first and nodded.
"Y-Yeah! Might take time, though. Cleanup and settlement aren't instant."
"Call 'em today, settled by tomorrow probably. Settlements happen at the dungeon—meet here tomorrow morning?"
He nodded at Oh Myung-yoon and Kim Gil-sang's explanations.
"We'll handle settlement! Got somewhere to be?"
"Yeah, need to check something out."
Yullas's Magic Stone.
Didn't know what Yullas was, but needed for the engraving. Time to hunt it down.
"Where to? We're locals. If we know, we'll tell ya."
At Kim Sang-cheol's offer, he spoke up.
"Know anything about Yullas? Sounds like a monster name."
"Yullas... Yullas."
Snap!
Kim Sang-cheol tilted his head, then clapped as something clicked.
"Heard of it! Miru Guild found a dungeon recently. Think it was... Yullas's Garden."
Good I asked.
A smile formed—easier than expected.
"Yullas's Garden—where is it?"