Kill the Hero Chapter 35
TL: Uncle Choi
Editor: Bait
[Lizard Warrior's Kukri] Item Rank: UniquePhysical Attack: 79Must be level 10 or higher to use.Const.i.tution must be higher than 100 in order to use.Item Description: A kukri that was used by a lizard warrior. It contains a powerful strength.When equipped, Const.i.tution +5.When attacking, basic damage increases by 10 percent.When attacking lizardman type monsters, damage increases by 20 percent'Lizard Warrior's Kukri and the Black Hyena leather armor set… it's a pretty good combination.'
Kim Woo-jin checked the options of Lizard Warrior's Kukri, an item he bought from Oh Se-chan, then immediately put the blade into his inventory.
To ordinary people, it appeared as if the item disappeared in mid-air.
The action was seen by Oh Se-chan's subordinate, Jin Soo-young, who nodded.
"If you've confirmed the items, please write on this receipt confirming that you've received it and sign it." Kim Woo-jin smiled as he saw Oh Se-chan's subordinate hand him a confirmation receipt.
'Does this mean anything?'
It was essentially illegal for players to trade items without going through the guild. It was a violation of the contracts that players had with their guild.
Therefore, brokers and players usually tried to hide traces of the transactions as much as possible.
But, he had to write a receipt?
"Is something like this effective?"
Writing a receipt that obviously has no use?
Oh Se-chan's subordinate laughed while answering his question.
"The boss wants me to get it. I have to get it if he tells me to, what else can I do?"
This answer, which was mixed with a hint of a smile, showed that this was not the first time she was asked such a question.
'He gets a signature for every trade?'
Upon noticing this detail, Kim Woo-jin looked at the receipt agreement in front of him.
Like a bank doc.u.ment, the confirmation receipt told him to sign next to a faint statement.
'Is he trying to get the player's handwriting?'
If the contract did not have a use, it was likely that he was after the player's handwriting from this doc.u.ment.
That may be useful in some ways. But frankly, Kim Woo-jin wondered just how useful it could be. Perhaps it was just that Oh Se-chan's personality was bit unusual. Perhaps everyone who have made several deals with him thought so as well.
Normally, Kim Woo-jin would think so, too.
'Who exactly are you?'
However, he, who realized that Oh Se-chan was not a normal person, knew that he could not simple approach this from his own perspective. Kim Woo-jin felt that Oh Se-chan was able to see something in a perspective of the world he could not see.
'I have to be careful.'
Therefore, Kim Woo-jin intentionally changed his handwriting and his signature.
The contemplation of this act stopped there.
It was because there were more important deals left to do.
"Here's the balance."
Kim Woo-jin handed over a shopping bag to Oh Se-chan's subordinate.
The bag was full of 50,000 won bills.
It was the cost for getting access to the rank dungeon.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was all of Kim Woo-jin's current funds.
'5 billion won…'
Kim Woo-jin, who still had loans to pay off, would actually be in the negative once he gave the money.
'It was cheap.'
But Kim Woo-jin did not regret it.
In reality, rank dungeons were not popular. The situation was totally different from the rank dungeon.
rank dungeons guaranteed a minimum of a unique item. If lucky, a legendary rank item would drop as well. Basically, it was a.s.sured that they would at least go even.
On the other hand, the probability of that happening dropped drastically in an rank dungeon. There were many cases where not even a unique rank item came out.
However, the difficulty of an rank dungeon was incomparable to the difficulty of a B+ rank dungeon.
The risk was high yet the payout was low. 5 billion won for such a dungeon was honestly not cheap.
'Time to find out what they were hiding.'
Only one person, the person who knew some the dungeon's secrets, Kim Woo-jin, would find it cheap.
"I have confirmed the amount. I'll give you the dungeon's details first."
Oh Se-chan's subordinate handed Kim Woo-jin a file.
On the first page of the file, there was information regarding the dungeon.
Currently, two parties have been confirmed to have failed to clear the dungeon.Below it was the number of times the players failed to clear the dungeon. And on the back was detailed information about the players who died after failing to clear the dungeon.
Even players of this level failed to clear the dungeon, that kind of warning.
It was an unnecessary warning for Kim Woo-jin.
'Many people died in this dungeon.'
He knew how difficult clearing this dungeon would be. Kim Woo-jin it knew better than anyone else.
"The transportation will be carried out in three stages."
In the meantime, the employee gave him the following instructions.
"Which date would you like?"
Upon hearing that question, Kim Woo-jin answered.
"I'll be going right now."
The subordinate looked at him with surprise.
"What?”
Despite her reaction, Kim Woo-jin spoke calmly.
"I will attempt to clear it right now."
"Kim Woo-jin is going to Daegu where the dungeon is located."
"Going?"
"It seems like he's going to attempt to clear it right away."
Ignoring his subordinate's answer, Oh Se-chan did not look away from the doc.u.ments in his hands.
His subordinate threw him a question.
"Are you not surprised?"
"I expected it."
"You expected it?"
"If you've already resolved to do it, there's no need to waste time. As for the items, he will use what he bought from us. The food is not hard to prepare, and he doesn't need to worry about filling up his car with gas and dragging it all the way up there. No need to waste time, right?"
It was just as Oh Se-chan said.
Spending more time in real life did not increase the probability of clearing the dungeon significantly.
"If he were the type of person to give up, he wouldn't have requested it in the first place."
Alternatively, if one were to feel hesitant or unconfident, the answer was to give up the dungeon from the start.
"Is it really possible for him to clear it?"
On the other hand, the subordinate still seemed to be unable to accept the current situation. In fact, this reaction was normal.
"Did you know that Kim Woo-jin is at most only around level 20?"
Kim Woo-jin cleared a 1 floor dungeon a few days ago, and since the condition of the dungeon was to be less than level 20, Kim Woo-jin's level had to be 20 or 21 at the highest.
"Does it make sense for him to clear a 2 floor dungeon alone?"
Such a person was attempting to clear a 2 floor dungeon for the first time, and he was attempting to clear an rank dungeon by himself.
Oh Se-chan responded calmly to her question.
"Nothing's impossible. There have been precedents."
"There are players like that?"
"Players like Dragon Hunter, Tyrant, Master Swordsman, Trinity, and Lee Se Joon went into 2 floor dungeon as soon as they reached the 20th level. They also made it out alive. Now they are walking around smashing 5 and 6 floor dungeons.
The subordinate retorted as if she was flabbergasted.
Of course they did.
"But they are monsters!"
The founder of Messiah Guild Lee Se-joon, Dragon Hunter, Tyrant, Master Swordsman, and Trinity… whom Oh Se-chan talked about were a part of the first seven players that awakened on January 1, 2020.
And now, every one of them were viewed as the strongest players that could even move a nation. True monsters that exceeded the definition of a monster.
"Yeah, all of them are monsters. And if Kim Woo-jin manages to come back alive from the dungeon, he would be a monster as well."
"Ah!"
As soon as she heard that, the subordinate realized.
Oh Se-chan continued to speak to his subordinate while reading the doc.u.ments.
"Whether Kim Woo-jin can break through the dungeon or not is a pointless question. If he dies in the dungeon, so be it. It's something we can't change, and we don't need to mind it." Oh Se-chan got up from his seat after organizing the doc.u.ments.
"Anyway, Kim Woo-jin should know how dangerous a 2 floor dungeon is better than us."
After getting up, Oh Se-chan handed the doc.u.ments over to his subordinate.
"So the only thing we have to worry about is figuring out what to do when he clears the dungeon." The subordinate who received the doc.u.ments took the stamp out of his desk drawer as if it was the obvious thing to do.
It was a stamp with [Reusable Paper] written on it.
As soon as Kim Woo-jin entered the dungeon, he heard an announcement that couldn't be heard if he were in a 1 floor dungeon.
'It's definitely a 2 floor dungeon.'
The announcement made Kim Woo-jin realize that this really was a 2 floor dungeon.
At the same time, he reminisced about when he entered a 2 floor dungeon for the first time.
When he was level 20, Kim Woo-jin's skills were acknowledged and was given a chance to clear a 2 floor C- rank dungeon with level 30 players.
Kim Woo-jin showed great performance in the dungeon, clearly solidifying his name and worth.
Everyone was impressed by Kim Woo-jin's skill and talent.
'It was then that I realized how difficult this game was.'
But at that time, Kim Woo-jin felt that 2 floor dungeons, or rather, dungeons in general, were much more dangerous than he initially thought.
Ironically, his great performance was what lead to this realization.
In the beginning, Kim Woo-jin's idea of the best way to clear a dungeon was when n.o.body deviated from the plan.
Just like a watch, everyone performing their part to the point of boredom and having little to no impression of the dungeon until leaving the dungeon. That was Kim Woo-jin's thoughts on the best way to clear a dungeon.
However, the 2 floor dungeon did not allow for such a thing.
It wasn't that the monsters were so much stronger than the monsters from the 1st floor.
'Food is the most important thing.'
The only problem they faced was none other than a shortage of food.
Till then, 1 floor dungeons only lasted for 5 days at the longest. A shortage of food was not a real concern.
However, from 2 floor dungeons and onwards, they had to keep starvation in mind.
In fact, many players who were considered promising stars thanks their excellent skill when clearing 1 floor dungeons, died of starvation in 2 floor dungeons. And from 3 floor dungeons and onwards, players spent more time deciding whether to bring more water or food than deciding which items to bring.
'Since, no matter how much strong you are mentally, it's useless if you're starving.'
If players who were killed by monsters because they couldn't think straight due to hunger were counted as dying from starvation, then more than half of players who died in 2 floor dungeons died due to starvation.
In other words, the most important requirement was correctly consuming one's food supply.
And Kim Woo-jin chose one of the ways to do so.
'I will clear the first floor in two days.'
Sweeping down the first-floor monsters as soon as possible before his food supply is exhausted!
Black smoke rose from one of many tunnels.
Kiieeee!
And frantic screams of goblins could be faintly heard within the smoke.
A scene that could only be described as h.e.l.l.
Kim Woo-jin's eyes were cold, staring at the h.e.l.l he created with his own hands.
At this moment, there was only one thought in his mind.
'Not here either.'
That there was no lizardman in this cave.
Kim Woo-jin didn't get angry, didn't express regret, nor did he feel nervous.
Even the level 20 reward notifications could not change Kim Woo-jin's expression.
It only changed his behavior.
He checked his surroundings, and moved away only after making sure there was nothing near his vicinity.
"Inventory."
Only after getting to a safe location did Kim Woo-jin open his inventory. He took out what he had prepared, and tore it up.
It was the moment when he could finally use the gift he received from Park Yong-wan.
A notification was immediately sent to let him know that the effects of the plus ring had been applied.
Of course, Kim Woo-jin didn't show much of a reaction after hearing the news.
It was a waste of energy for Kim Woo-jin to show joy for he expected.
Like that, Kim Woo-jin opened the gift that his halo gave to commemorate his level 20 advancement.
"Catalogue."
A catalogue emitting a silver glow appeared in front of Kim Woo-jin's eyes.
'It's rare.'
Kim Woo-jin reacted slightly to the silver glow.
However, he did not react any more than that.
Kim Woo-jin rarely had luck before returning to the past, but that was the case when it came to items or skills that were unique or of a higher rank. As for those rare rank items and skills, it was too painful to count how often he was disappointed.
It would be strange for him to be interested.
Kim Woo-jin went to the page in the catalogue emitting a silver light with an indifferent look. 'Huh?'
At that moment, Kim Woo-jin's face unexpectedly revealed emotion.
'… My luck is good.'
It was the worst scenario that monsters facing Kim Woo-jin could encounter.
/ /
Kill the Hero Chapter 36
TL: Uncle Choi
Editor: Bait
A goblin's life in such an environment was undeniably boring.
Not only did they lack a proper entertainment culture, the only activities available to them in a dark narrow cave where only a single goblin could pa.s.s through at a time was to either pa.s.s time absentmindedly or sleeping.
Kiee?
Burrows housing those monotonous goblins were beginning to see signs of change.
The cause of the change was none other than the arrival of an uninvited guest.
Tteolgeuleog! Tteolgeuleog!
The ident.i.ty of the uninvited guest was a dark skeleton goblin.
Kieeee!
Kiii!
Of course, the goblins attacked the uninvited visitor, who entered the cave without their permission.
The fight that ensued was so one-sided that it was awkward to label it as a fight.
Puhwat!
The scene of a black skeleton soldier killing the goblins one after another in a cave that made it difficult to utilize their numerical superiority was like watching chickens jumping into a slaughtering machine with their own two feet.
Kieeee!
In other words, the goblins, who had nowhere to run, did not back down.
Rather, they couldn't.
The goblins rushed desperately at the skeleton soldier like a cornered mouse biting a cat, and the their repeated attacks eventually caused the skeleton soldier to collapse.
Tteolgeuleog!
As soon as the skeleton soldier collapsed, the goblins crushed the skeleton soldiers without mercy and eventually destroyed it.
The situation was immediately conveyed to Kim Woo-jin, who was measuring the time outside the tunnel.
'About 10 minutes I think?'
After hearing the notification, Kim Woo-jin looked at the skill in front of him.
Skeleton Warrior Mastery.
What Kim Woo-jin did just now was him trying to check the power of the new skill that he got not long ago.
He put a skeleton soldier alone in a goblin den as a test.
'Pretty good.'
The result was obviously satisfactory.
It was a huge ordeal for a skeleton soldier to go into a goblin cave alone and last for nearly 10 minutes.
'If it had went in with a full stack of Ruler Of The Battlefield in effect, it would have survived even longer.'
Above all, it was not even fully strengthened by Ruler Of The Battlefield before it had went in.
If Kim Woo-jin had caught a few monsters for the skeleton soldier, strengthened it with Ruler Of The Battlefield to the maximum, and put it in the goblin den, it would have been an even more surprising outcome.
However, Kim Woo-jin did not get excited.
There was no reason to be excited, for getting excited would not affect the result.
'Time for the next test.'
Above all, there was another skill he wanted to test.
Seug!
Kim Woo-jin injured his arm with a kukri.
The blood from the wound began to flow down and drip from an unsightly dagger in Kim Woo-jin's hands.
Soon, Kim Woo-jin's blood coated the dagger.
It was a technique that covered the dagger with poison using toxic blood.
Afterwards, Kim Woo-jin put his hand inside the wound in a goblin corpse that was prepared under his feet.
Then, the blood within the corpse gto sucked into Kim Woo-jin's body through his hand.
Woo-jin's bleeding wound slowly began to heal.
Next the blood he had lost from bleeding also began to replenish.
[Blood Sucking Is No Longer Effective.]
Soon after the notification, Kim Woo-jin stopped sucking its blood and watched the wound on his arm.
There was a faint scar on the wound.
'It's to this extent.'
He that confirmed the effects of the new blood sucking skill.
Now there was only one more test left.
"Summon Skeleton Soldier."
Kim Woo-jin summoned a skeleton soldier using the bloodless goblin corpse as a sacrifice.
Flesh on the goblin corpse melted away, and soon rose in its place with only its bones remaining.
Then its bones turned black.
Hwig!
Kim Woo-jin handed a rough dagger coated with his blood to the skeleton soldier.
Then the skeleton soldier quickly s.n.a.t.c.hed the dagger and headed for the goblin cave with a look of joy as if it were a puppy getting a new toy to play with.
About 30 minutes later, the skeleton soldier came back to Kim Woo-jin, all tattered.
'Perfect.'
He finished testing his new skills.
When attempting to clear a two floor dungeon, clearing the 1st floor as soon as possible was a good idea. Since if the 1st floor was cleared quickly, more strength and food could be saved for the 2nd floor.
But that didn't mean that you should carelessly clear the 1st dungeon as fast as possible.
In the first place, such a method could not be considered as clearing the 1st floor.
"When crossing to the next floor, it was important to avoid jumping over recklessly."
What mattered was one's condition after clearing the 1st floor.
"In particular, never get stained by the smell of blood."
It was obvious what the consequences would be if one were to cross over to the 2nd floor while they were already tired and covered with the smell of sweat and blood.
"Especially if it is the smell of a monster's blood. It wouldn't matter if the monsters on next floor are stupid, but if one were to meet a monster like me, it would never ignore the scent of blood."
Kim Woo-jin always emphasized these points to his colleagues.
And every time he did, they would say.
"A monster like hyung-nim? Would it be a dog-like b.a.s.t.a.r.d?"
"That's right. It would be dog-like b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Definitely a dog-like b.a.s.t.a.r.d."
"I'll just give up if I see a monster like Woo-jin oppa. How would you catch a monster like that?"
Instead of responding to his colleagues who would play around, Kim Woo-jin would just smile. It was one of the few moments when Kim Woo-jin, who was always serious and desperate in a dungeon, showed a smile and relaxed.
It was also a moment he would never experience again.
Since Kim Woo-jin no longer had such colleagues.
Tteolgeuleog! Tteolgeuleog!
The only thing he had now were four skeletons with black bones and a lizardman hanging on a tree like a blanket.
It wasn't dead.
Kayah… .
The Lizardman was still breathing.
However, it looked like Kim Woo-jin wasn't planning to kill the lizardman until he finished eating.
Jjeob! Jjeob!
In other words, the lifeline of the lizardman was the energy bar that Kim Woo-jin was slowly chewing on.
As soon as the energy bar disappeared, the Lizardman's lifeline would also disappear.
Gulp!
Soon, Kim Woo-jin swallowed all of the energy bar.
Then slowly got up.
The eyes of the skeleton soldiers who were staring at the tree began to look lively again.
'It's time to head to the 2nd floor.'
[You Have Entered the 2nd Floor of the Dungeon.]
The first thing that welcomed Kim Woo-jin when he crossed the new dungeon gate that appeared with the death of lizardman was a notification.
Then a series of notices was given.
Among them was a notification that would shock any player's ears.
It was a notification announcing the halo's high expectations for their challenge, a great opportunity to receive a gift from their halo.
However, Kim Woo-jin did not pay attention to the announcement.
He only looked at the stage before his eyes with a cold look.
'A swamp, it's as I've heard of back then.'
The environment of the 2nd floor dungeon was a swamp.
Dark and dense swamps were all over the dungeon like traps.
It was one of the worst environment to face in a dungeon.
It was crazy for anyone to fight monsters in a swamp where they might die because their ankles were caught.
Furthermore, lizardmen were monsters who used these swamps as their home.
Even if a lizardman was dragged out of the swamp, it was virtually impossible to track down a monster that would flee back to the swamp when the situation went awry.
Being chased was even worse.
This was not a world where there were roads made for players like in games.
It wouldn't be strange to run away and be stopped in a swamp that extended as far as a sea.
'I have heard stories but now that I have seen it in person… I understand why so many elites have died. It's much worse than I thought.'
In such a world, it was crazy to hunt the lizardmen without being prepared.
Naturally, Kim Woo-jin had no intention of doing such a crazy thing.
He wasn't going to sneak up behind them and hunt them one by one either.
"Inventory."
Kim Woo-jin opened his inventory and took out another hunting tool.
An axe. Kim Woo-jin pulled it out and headed straight toward a nearby tree.
Puck!
He chopped away with his axe.
Within the dark viridescent swamp, a giant lizard head appeared on the surface of the water. Kayaa!
What appeared was a lizardman.
Similar to a lizard in appearance, a dark green monster with two hands instead of front legs looked around with its flickering eyes while flapping its long tongue like a whip.
Its eyes stopped for a moment.
Kaa?
The lizardman walked toward where his eyes had stopped. Then its long tongue began to flutter toward the red thing that was stuck to the ground.
The red thing that was stuck to the ground was blood.
Kaya!
It was welcoming news for the lizardman, who had came out of the swamp after a long time.
The lizardman immediately got down on its four limbs and followed the trail of blood.
Churl!
It did not forget to whet its appet.i.te by sipping on the blood from time to time.
Soon, the lizardman's body left the swamp and began to move on solid ground.
The lizardman's instinct was to avoid any place that was not a swamp, but it did not bother the lizardman whose appet.i.te thirsted for a goblin's blood.
The lizardman continued to follow the trail of blood.
The lizardman, who was bent on continuing, suddenly stopped by a wall that appeared unexpectedly.
Kaa?
To be exact, it was a log cabin.
A log cabin that appeared to be made from cutting down the trees and filling the gaps with mud.
Moreover, instead of a roof, the log cabin was covered with a sheet of leather much like a tent.
It was too bizarre for someone to approach it without hesitating.
But such a thing wasn't important for the lizardman.
It couldn't even see it well.
Only thing that mattered to the lizardman, whose eyesight was poor much like a snake, was the fact that it could sense the heat of the goblin blood inside a hole within the log cabin.
It was sure that an injured goblin went through that hole.
The only thing left for him to do was to chew the injured goblin into small pieces with his sharp teeth, then putting it in his stomach, and spending a long time in the swamp until it was all digested.
Kayah!
The thought of spending a long period of time in the swamp while feeling full, prompted lizardman to squeeze himself through the hole.
The hole was a bit narrow compared to the size of its body but as if its body had been oiled, the body of the lizardman slipped through it easily.
Then a deep darkness greeted him.
And the goblin that the lizardman was waiting for appeared.
Tteolgeuleog! Tteolgeuleog!
Goblins with only its bones remaining.
Kaa?
But the lizardman was not aware of this development.
It was impossible for it to detect the heat of goblin skeletons in the dark, whose bodies had only their bones remaining.
That's how.
Puk.
How the lizardman met its demise.
The news was conveyed to Kim Woo-jin, who was waiting outside the log cabin.
"Status window."
Kim Woo-jin immediately opened his status window.
'It's certainly amazing in many ways.'
Such stats was not something a level 21 should have.
Before returning to the past, Kim Woo-jin only had around half of his current const.i.tution when he was level 21.
'It is incomparable to the past.'
If the item set bonuses were included as well, the current Kim Woo-jin could not be stopped even by ten Lv 21 Kim Woo-ji from the past.
It was definitely possible for him to hunt the boss monster of this dungeon, the Albino Lizard.
Kim Woo-jin could even hunt the Albino Lizard this very instant as long as he and his skeleton soldiers, which could now summon nine of, performed properly.
However, Kim Woo-jin did not intend to do so.
He wasn't planning on putting up a performance.
Therefore, Kim Woo-jin did not pay attention to his status window. He was not impressed by his ability, nor was he moved by how much stronger he was compared to the past.
After investing the points he obtained into const.i.tution, he immediately continued his work.
Seug!
Using the blood dripping from the wound on his arm, he made a spear tip using his blood weapon skill, and attached the tip onto a pole.
Puk!
Like that, he stuck the spear he just made into the ground.
Fifty spears that were already stuck into the ground welcomed their new friend.
After checking, Kim Woo-jin got up again.
'One spear for every lizardman. Catching another 49 will do.'
Kim Woo-jin was preparing to attack the Albino Lizard.
/ /
Kill the Hero Chapter 37
TL: Uncle Choi
Editor: Bait
In reality, mutants were often weak. They usually didn't live long and many would die in their natural habitats.
But in a dungeon, things were different.
Most monsters with mutations or variations in dungeons possessed either overwhelming power or a special ability.
Seug!
The Albino Lizard that came out of the vast wetlands then appeared on the ground was such a case. First of all, compared to an average lizardman, it's size was on a completely different scale. While standing upright on both legs, its height reached three meters. It was huge enough for even orcs to shrug their shoulders and walk away after seeing them, and its tail was nearly two meters in length.
It meant that the Albino Lizard would become a 5 meter long monster when it lowered its posture and walked on four legs.
Most importantly, its white skin and red eyes was proof it was a unique presence within the dark swamp.
Such a presence also served as clear proof that the Albino Lizard was the king of this place.
Churl!
Walking in a bold and dignified manner was impossible without the confidence to deal with any predator that could threaten its life.
Tteolgeuleog! Tteolgeuleog!
That's why the Albino Lizard was not alarmed when a skeleton lizardman blocked its path with a blunt knife in its hand.
Churl?
Instead, it looked at the skeleton lizardman with eyes that questioned its purpose.
On the other hand, skeleton lizardman executed its duty faithfully.
It rushed at the Albino Lizard in hostility.
Its resolve was quite strong.
Seug!
But as soon as the Albino Lizard stood up on its hind legs, the mood quickly changed.
An unspeakable feeling of grandeur flowed from its 3 meter tall body.
That was when the Albino Lizard quickly swung its body.
Huwoong!
Its heavy tail ruthlessly swept the floor.
The Albino Lizard didn't have even a hint of doubt that this attack would destroy that insignificant skeleton.
But the skeleton soldier paused just outside the range of its tail.
Huwoong!
The tail naturally swung through the air. The Albino Lizard swung its body around once more and faced the skeleton soldier.
At that moment, the skeleton soldier began to loiter in front of the Albino Lizard.
It began to calculate how to fight against the Albino Lizard, who possessed a formidable attack power and range.
But from the Albino Lizard's perspective, it seemed like the insignificant skeleton was looking down on him.
Kaaa!
Such impudence caused the lizard to focus all of its anger toward the skeleton soldier.
Its desire to crush the skeleton soldier into powder was apparent all over its body.
Now was the moment Kim Woo-jin decided to step in.
Kim Woo-jin quickly approached the Albino Lizard from the behind.
Then, with a kukri in his right hand, he swung down on the Albino Lizard's white leathery skin like an axe.
Puu-ukk!
A rough sloppy sound of the Albino Lizard's back being cut open could be heard, as if chopping up a log with an axe, and revealing its inner flesh.
Puk!
Kim Woo-jin inserted a spear he was holding in his left hand into the wound.
Tuk!
Then Kim Woo-jin broke off the pole from the spear.
That was it for now.
Kaa!
By the time the Albino Lizard turned around after the surprise attack from behind, Kim Woo-jin was already running away.
The Albino Lizard paused for a bit while a.n.a.lyzing on the situation.
Tteolgeuleog! Tteolgeuleog!
In its ear, the Albino Lizard could hear the sound of the skeleton soldier slowly approaching it. Huwoong!
Albino Lizard swung its tail at the skeleton soldier once again.
However, the skeleton soldier stepped back and closely observed its movements once more.
It looked like a beast whetting its appet.i.te before hunting a delicious prey.
Kayah!
Albino Lizard stared intensely at the skeleton soldier with killing intent, spewing out with anger.
And Kim Woo-jin moved once more.
Everything was the same as before.
While the Albino Lizard was distracted by the skeleton soldier, Kim Woo-jin approached the Albino Lizard's back and wounded it with his kukri, then stabbed it with the spear, and broke off the pole of the spear again.
Afterwards, Kim Woo-jin disappeared into the bushes and observed the Albino Lizard.
'What will it do now?'
This was the attack strategy that Kim Woo-jin prepared for the Albino Lizard.
The Albino Lizard and the Orc Champion were, in general, similar types of monsters.
They were both arrogant, aggressive, and had a keen fighting sense, but not very intelligent.
But there was a very distinct difference between the Orc Champion and the Albino Lizard.
'Is it thinking about running away?
Unlike the Orc Champion, the Albino Lizard knew how to run away when the situation wasn't looking good.
And furthermore, this dungeon was filled with great hiding spots like the swamp that the Albino Lizard could retreat to.
It was one of the main reasons why this dungeon became a h.e.l.l that devoured countless talented players.
Since there was nothing they could be done if the Albino Lizard escaped into the swamp after getting heavily injured.
Setting its body on fire like when hunting a troll was also useless due to the presence of the swamps.
For it would go into the swamp and extinguish it the moment its body caught on fire.
Of course, there were skills to create an inextinguishable fire but it wasn't something that players under 30 levels could use.
Anyway, when the fight became an unexpected battle of attrition, the plans players had went out the window, and were eventually resulted in the deaths of those said players.
Kim Woo-jin was prepared to engage in a battle of attrition against the Albino Lizard.
'It wouldn't matter much even if it ran away.'
The two spears that he pierced into its body were the groundwork for a battle of attrition.
From now on, the spear tips in its body will eat away its health until it is melted and decomposed.
Even if it ran away, there was no reason for Kim Woo-jin to hurry.
The reason he was using a regular skeleton soldier instead of a black bone skeleton soldier was also for the long-term battle.
Kaa!
Kim Woo-jin saw the Albino Lizard expressing anger at the skeleton soldier once again.
'I guess it's still thinking about fighting for now.'
With such a view, Kim Woo looked around at the spears that were placed all around him.
There were bodies of lizardmen that were ready to be sacrificed at anytime to summon skeleton soldiers.
Finally, he took out the last energy bar in his arm.
'I'll kill you even if I have to fight you all day.'
Seventy-eight.
That was the number of spears within the Albino Lizard's once smooth white back.
Obviously, the Albino Lizard was not in a good condition.
Shii…
The speed of its tongue was slow enough to be laughed at even by a turtle. Its red eyes, which was once shining with vitality, was as dull as a rotten frozen pollack.
Nevertheless, the Albino Lizard stood upright on its two legs and kept up its guard as it looked around.
It squeezed out its last remaining strength to show it wasn't weak.
But within the ear of the hunter who was after its life, the fact that the Albino Lizard was just putting up a futile struggle was repeatedly heard.
In actuality, the outcome of the hunt was set in stone.
It was impossible for the Albino Lizard to tell where the hunter was even if he appeared. Nonetheless, Kim Woo-jin did not reveal himself.
He approached one of the lizardman corpses he had prepared and summoned a skeleton soldier by sacrificing it.
Tteolgeuleog! Tteolgeuleog!
The skeleton soldier immediately rushed toward the Albino Lizard.
Kaa…
The Albino Lizard unwillingly closed its red eyes after realizing there was yet another nightmare it had to face.
It was prepared to meet its end.
Even at that moment, Kim Woo-jin did not show up in front of the Albino Lizard.
If someone were to ask which of them was more cold-blooded, between Kim Woo-jin and the Albino Lizard, everyone would say that Kim Woo-jin was way more cold-blooded after witnessing such a scene.
Time pa.s.sed by in a such a manner.
A notification that finally confirmed the end of the Albino Lizard to Kim Woo-jin.
At the end of the cruel stage, the spectator sent its congratulations and gifts to Kim Woo-jin. However, there were no notifications that confirmed the end of the dungeon.
It was because Kim Woo-jin had yet to secure the Albino Lizard's egg, which was the clear condition of the dungeon.
'Now it's time to move.'
Only then did Kim Woo-jin appear in front of the Albino Lizard for the first time.
There was, of course, no sentiment.
Kim Woo-jin flipped the Albino Lizard like a machine. The first thing he did after that was skinning the Albino Lizard.
The situation was different than when he had hunted the Orc Champion.
There was no audience here and he had plenty of time.
That meant he was free to loot everything he could get his hands onto.
'The Albino Lizard's leather is enough to make a set of Lv 30 rare grade armor.'
This was the normal process in a dungeon clear.
It was perfectly normal to take as much as possible from a dungeon. It was just that Kim Woo-jin wasn't able to carry out such a common practice in previous dungeons due to various circ.u.mstances.
Naturally, Kim Woo-jin's harvesting skills were excellent.
For someone who had skinned a dragon that was almost 100 meters, an Albino Lizard that was 5 meters long was nothing.
His only regret was that the Albino Lizard's most useful leather, which was located in its back, was in a terrible condition due to Kim Woo-jin's gruesome attacks.
Afterwards, Kim Woo-jin immediately cut open the Albino Lizard's belly.
Then a single egg appeared.
[You Have Cleared the Dungeon.]
Only then did he get a notification that confirmed the end of the dungeon.
'Finally, it is in my hands.'
The Albino Lizard's egg that appeared in such a manner was about the same size as an ostrich egg.
The color was unique.
The sh.e.l.l was white, but there were purple stripes of energy enveloping the sh.e.l.l, making it look both puerile and gruesome.
While looking at it, Kim Woo-jin recalled memories of the past.
'Now I can see what the Messiah Guild was hiding.'
In 2025, the Messiah guild secured the Albino Lizard's egg after considerable sacrifices. But information about the egg was kept a secret.
There was not even information confirming whether or not it was a legendary item or skill.
People just speculated that it was a legendary item or skill because the Messiah Guild a.s.sessed its value to be enough to hide its information.
Puck!
In order to reveal such a secret, Kim Woo-jin cracked the top of the egg's sh.e.l.l open with his kukri.
Pajig!
But within the broken sh.e.l.l, a new sh.e.l.l appeared.
Pajig!
Kim Woo-jin repeatedly struck the Albino Lizard's egg with his kukri again and again; each time, one layer of the sh.e.l.l was peeled off one by one.
Like an onion, the number of layers of sh.e.l.l he peeled were numerous.
And each time a layer of the sh.e.l.l was broken, the violet energy surrounding the sh.e.l.l grew stronger.
Soon after, the white colors disappeared from the sh.e.l.l, leaving only the violet coloration behind. Once Kim Woo-jin hit the sh.e.l.l again one last time, the sh.e.l.l split into two and a skill page made up of obsidian finally appeared.
Kim Woo-jin picked up the skill page.
Apophis's power.
'… d.a.m.n it.'
It was a divinity only the Deadly Poison King possessed in Kim Woo-jin's memory.
Deadly Poison King.
Kim Woo-jin first met him in the year 2026 at Beijing.
Kim Woo-jin, who headed for Beijing with a team to clear the 6 floor dungeon, faced the Deadly Poison King in front of the dungeon gate.
And on the spot, Kim Woo-jin lost seven of his colleagues.
After seeing his colleagues die without being able to leave a will due to the threat posed by the Deadly Poison King's poison, Kim Woo-jin ran away.
Since then, the Deadly Poison King and Kim Woo-jin continued to have a hostile relationship.
Even now, Kim Woo-jin was able to name all of his colleagues who lost their lives to the the Deadly Poison King; he could even draw their faces if he were asked to do so. But now, the skill that helped such a monster to exist was in the hands of Kim Woo-jin. Something which should have belonged to the Messiah Guild.
The meaning behind such a development was simple.
The Messiah Guild gave it to the Deadly Poison King.
Or the Deadly Poison King stole it from the Messiah Guild.
Those were the two possibilities.
And the answer was obvious.
'Did the Messiah Guild create the Deadly Poison King?'
The chances of him stealing it from the Messiah Guild when not even Kim Woo-jin was aware of the existence of such skill page was similar to the probability of Kim Woo-jin returning to the past.
In the end, it was proof that the Deadly Poison King was the work of the Messiah Guild.
'There are… plenty of reasons to do so.'
It was well worth doing so.
Deadly Poison King was a villain.
He took whatever he needed and he destroyed everything he found annoying in the process. Moreover, the year 2026, when he was active, was a time when chaos erupted like wildfire.
A year when countless cities were left in ruins by the monsters that came out of the dungeons and countries around the world began losing their ability to function. No one wanted to antagonize a monster like the Deadly Poison King around a time when everyone was busy trying to save themselves.
It was a period in need of righteous players who could bring judgement on the outbreak of evil players.
The existence of the Deadly Poison King made the Messiah Guild shine even brighter.
Naturally, the Messiah Guild played such a role.
The Messiah Guild, who fought with monsters to save the world, now had a reason to punish players for the sake of the world.
After that, the Messiah Guild asked for legendary items in exchange for punishing the Deadly Poison King and the world was forced to comply.
Legendary items were collected in order to deal with the Deadly Poison King.
They also recruited volunteers to destroy the Deadly Poison King.
To be honest, there was no need to recruit anyone for help.
It is because there was the strongest hunting dog in the Messiah Guild, someone who lost his comrades and was fuming with anger.
'In the end, after killing the Deadly Poison King, the Messiah Guild became the judicator of the world.'
Kim Woo-jin killed the Deadly Poison King.
He succeeded in avenging his dead comrades.
But now he realized that it was all a part of the Messiah Guild's ambitions.
The n.o.ble sacrifice of those who were willing to die to save the world was actually a dog's death. Kim Woo-jin, however, was now fuming with new anger over such a reason.
'Lee Se-joon, I will be the one who's going to kill you.'
It only made him brood over in anger once again.
/ /
