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[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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Chapter 7: D-Rank Dungeon 'The Withered Garden' (1)
Everyone's gaze was fixed on Yohan's lips.
The look of greed dripped from their eyes.
Their reaction was likely proof that they had just witnessed how incredible the power of the items from the Mystery Room was.
However.
Before their curiosity could be satisfied, a new variable intervened.
Gggk...
The sound of a sword scraping against the ground.
Something was approaching.
Moreover, it was surrounding the church.
"Monsters!"
Park Yeri let out a sharp cry.
Just as she said, about 100 meters away, helmeted Skeleton Warriors could be seen slowly approaching.
"Grrrr..."
Next to them, a massive 'Corpse Wolf' with black mane could also be seen.
They were 2-star and 3-star rank, respectively.
They were the signature monsters of 'The Withered Garden,' where undead-types primarily appeared.
Considering a common goblin was 1-star and a D-Rank Hunter could handle up to 3-star without much trouble, they weren't particularly strong foes.
The problem was the sheer number of them.
"Tsk. They followed us all the way here."
Yoo Youngho clicked his tongue and drew his sword.
"We've fought them a few times. Don't panic, just take it slow."
"That's easier said than done. Damn it. I can handle the 2-stars, but the 3-stars are a burden."
The other members also took out their respective weapons and prepared for battle.
Even if the Corpse Wolf was a bit tricky, it could be dealt with as long as they were careful of a few patterns.
And so, the battle began.
Kaaang!
Papapang!
"Backs to the wall so we don't get surrounded!"
"Watch out for the Corpse Wolf's pounce!"
Having fought together a few times, they managed to form a clumsy formation.
Naturally, they treated Yohan as a non-combatant and fought amongst themselves.
One, then two.
As the number of corpses piled up, the Hunters' confidence grew.
Just a little more and they could get the situation under control.
Or so they thought.
Gggk.
Kagak.
The number of Skeleton Warriors approaching the church was unusual.
It wasn't just a dozen or so; nearly 100 monsters were swarming toward them.
[The stronghold 'Abandoned Church' calls forth the lingering thoughts of the dead.]
[A 4-star 'Skeleton Mage' has taken notice of the stronghold!]
The disadvantage inherent to the stronghold itself.
On top of that, a rather tricky bastard had caught their scent from afar.
"A-A mage?"
"A 4-star? I've never fought one of those before!"
It was an enemy that required a fairly experienced D-Rank Hunter to face.
To be safe, they would need a C-Rank Hunter or higher.
In the end.
"Damn it. I didn't want to use this if I could help it."
[Yoo Youngho uses the A-Rank 'Old Seoul Kindergarten Summer Vacation Insect Collecting Kit'!]
The first one to use an item was Yoo Youngho.
The collecting kit slung over his shoulder opened.
"Kieeeek!"
A rhinoceros beetle, nearly two meters long, shot out.
Its thick black carapace and gleaming red eyes were impressive.
Tukwaang!
It charged with its giant horn lowered, and three Skeleton Warriors were skewered.
It had speed that didn't match its size and a destructive power that made full use of its weight.
There was nothing to fault.
In addition, dragonflies snatched up Skeleton Warriors and soared high into the sky.
And then, they dropped the prey they had caught.
Thwack! Crack!
It was impossible for the skeletons, dropped from a height of over 20 meters, to maintain their original form.
'Wow.'
'Just as expected of an A-Rank item.'
But.
Despite the overwhelming power it displayed, Yoo Youngho's expression wasn't very bright.
"Summon a few more! Those things can't block all of them!"
"I can't! It's already a handful controlling these four."
The insects in that collecting kit weren't very good at friend-or-foe identification.
It meant that with even the slightest mistake in control, they could end up eating their own master.
In fact, the rhinoceros beetle was constantly licking its chops as it looked at the Hunters.
One of the three dragonflies was already being eaten by its own kind.
"Stay back! I said, stay back! You son of a..."
Kim Yunyeol fought back, swinging the 'Screen Golf Club'.
It had an effect that knocked a target back 3 meters if you hit the same spot three times in a row.
Its downside was that its durability was quite low.
Jeon Mincheol and Jo Yongbae must not have gotten combat-type items, as they fought with the equipment they had brought from the outside.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
A fierce, unpredictable battle.
However, the balance of power slowly began to crumble.
Because unlike the undead who could fight forever as long as they weren't broken, a human's stamina was finite.
"The church! Get inside the church! Hurry!"
Yoo Youngho's voice grew urgent.
They had to defend in a place with a narrow entrance, stairs, and plenty of cover.
"What about that friend?"
"Is this any time to worry about someone else? Get inside now!"
"Damn it. We haven't even confirmed what item he has..."
Before anyone could say who was first, they stampeded into the church and disappeared.
＊＊＊
'So much for traveling together. What a flimsy sense of comradeship.'
Yohan clicked his tongue as he watched the group disappear like the wind.
He hadn't really expected much, but even a lizard would be impressed by the speed at which they abandoned him.
Gggk!
"Hu...man."
"Kill...you."
The Skeleton Warriors approached, holding swords and axes.
"I was going to do you the favor of showing you what I picked, but you're all so eager for evening service, you won't get the chance to see."
'There must be a pretty church noona in there.'
'Or maybe they were promised hamburgers instead of Choco Pies when it was all over.'
Smiling at the absurd thought, Yohan pulled a book from his pocket.
The item he had chosen in the Mystery Room.
[S-Rank 'Aesop's Bestiary' is used!]
If he had to choose the item with the best efficiency in this dungeon, it was this, by far.
Chwarara...
Even though he wasn't touching it, the pages of the book began to flip rapidly.
The page it stopped on had a drawing of a mystical stag.
[The 'Stag of the Blue and White Tree Forest' activates 'Bone Shield'!]
The stag's giant antlers appeared in front of Yohan.
Thwack!
CRACK!
The broken swords and axes were sent flying into the air.
In the opening where their weapons were gone.
The next page the book stopped on depicted a snow leopard that exuded an immense pressure from the drawing alone.
['Snow Leopard of the Snowy Mountain' activates 'Strike of a Fierce Beast'!]
Kwaaang!
A white claw mark tore through the air.
The Skeleton Warriors clumsily tried to block it with shields, but the second claw strike that followed crushed their armor and shields all at once.
CRUNCH!
Fragments of the shattered skeletons scattered in all directions.
The mark where the claw had passed still lingered in the air.
'S-Rank items really are on another level.'
Yohan swallowed his admiration.
He had known in his head that it was a broken item, but using it himself was a completely different story.
['Winter Squirrel of the Reed Hill' gathers 'Winter Provisions'.]
A squirrel, having collected mana from the broken undead, scurried over to him.
"Chik!"
An acorn-shaped lump of blue mana.
The sight of it stretching out its adorable little hands to offer what it had gathered felt quite cute.
"Thanks."
Plop.
Yohan swallowed it in one bite.
And then.
Woooong!
He could feel a faint stream of mana flowing through his body.
It couldn't compare to the Dragon's Blood, but a fairly pure concentration of mana had gathered.
'Killing small fry all day is useless.'
Yohan's gaze flickered up toward the sky.
Far away.
To appeal to the 'someone' he couldn't see with his own eyes, he needed to put on a flashy performance.
[Bloodline Ability 'Vision Sharing' has been activated!]
Through the eyes of the bat floating in the sky, he searched for the being with the strongest mana in the vicinity.
'It would be a problem if it's too far away.'
The range he could see was still limited.
Right at that moment.
"Kyut!"
With the bat's cry, he discovered a skeleton holding a staff a short distance away.
A Skeleton Mage.
A 4-star entity, which was considered a high-rank species in this dungeon.
Having secured the minimum amount of mana through the 'Winter Provisions', Yohan kicked off the ground.
Fwoosh!
A fireball the size of a human head formed from the Skeleton Mage's staff.
"Become a sacrifice for the great immortal being! For Lord Vampire!"
'For a high-rank species, I'll give it that.'
'It can even speak in full sentences without stuttering.'
"Sorry, but if you offer me as a sacrifice, your master will die from indigestion. A low-rank vampire is a perfect fit for managing a garden."
The class of their blood was different.
Naturally, the authority manifested through it was also different.
A 'Blood Spear' formed in Yohan's right hand.
Bwoong!
The blood-tinged spear let out a terrifying sound as it tore through the air.
Kwaaaang!
The incoming fireball was split right in half.
"...What!"
The light in the mage's eyes widened rapidly.
He didn't just block the fireball that could have incinerated any ordinary human whole; he had simply split it apart.
"P-Protect me!"
It needed time to prepare a larger, more powerful spell.
The Skeleton Warriors and Corpse Wolves rushed in like a swarm of bees.
As if they didn't care about the humans in the church, most of their forces turned toward Yohan.
Woooong!
Yohan gathered his mana.
To achieve maximum efficiency, he had to use every last bit of mana that had seeped into his very cells.
Puk!
Puk! Pupu-puk!
Dodging the spears and swords by a paper-thin margin, Yohan closed the distance even further.
Droplets of blood raged, creating a terrifying wave of power.
'Blood Art Spearmanship.'
Red mana overlaid his spear.
An indescribable light shimmered on the sharply honed speartip.
It was the result of combining the spearmanship he had learned in his 312th playthrough with his Blood Art abilities.
"Stop him. I said, stop that human!"
The Skeleton Mage shrieked.
Because it had some level of intelligence, its fear of annihilation was also different from that of a normal undead.
However, no matter how many of them swarmed him, they couldn't stop Yohan's movements as he slipped through them like an eel.
'First Form.'
"Aaargh!"
The Skeleton Mage tried to fire off the 'Lightning' it had just created.
And at a moment that could be called almost simultaneous.
'Blood Spear Annihilation.'
Kagagagak!
The spear, spinning at high speed, pierced through the Skeleton Mage's head along with the lightning.
Pzzzt!
Pachik!
Red sparks flew from the spearhead that had emerged from the other side.
It was an overwhelming power that crushed even the advantage of numbers.
However, despite half of its head being gone, the Skeleton Mage did not die.
This was due to its trait of not being annihilated unless the Life Stone near its ribs was destroyed.
"How dare you... harm a great vassal of the dark. You will regret this. You will!"
'What is this guy even saying?'
Thwack!
The Skeleton Mage's left leg bone went flying.
Stagger.
Losing its balance, the Skeleton Mage wobbled from side to side.
'Hmm.'
'It's surprisingly good at keeping its balance.'
Yohan approached the staggering Skeleton Mage and crouched down.
And.
He pulled out its right leg bone as well.
Pop!
With a satisfying sound, both of its legs were gone.
"Wh-What are you doing?"
"Ah, I'm not sure how to kill you. It's my first time seeing a creature that can live even after its head is blown off."
Yohan scratched his head with an innocent expression.
'Well, if I just tear off everything, it'll probably die eventually.'
'And if not, oh well.'
"...You're... insane. A madman."
Drag... drag...
Feeling true terror, the Skeleton Mage began to move its arms with all its might, trying to escape from this place.
Yohan followed behind it with a duck walk.
Pop!
He tore off its left arm.
Pooo-op!
And then its right arm.
'Wow, undead really are amazing.'
'Fifty percent of its body is gone, but it's still so lively.'
"You... you rotten bastard! I know you're doing this on purpose! Stop this nonsense and destroy the Life Stone! The Life Stone!"
The Skeleton Mage clattered its jaw and spread its ribcage wide open.
A jewel with a brilliant luster could be seen.
But.
Yohan blatantly denied reality.
"No. There's no way a great and powerful vassal of the dark can be killed just by breaking something like that."
'Of course, that's right.'
Pop. Pooo-op!
The human body has a lot of bones.
They surprisingly stick well to other places, too.
He tried sticking a finger bone to its nose. And a toe bone to its shoulder.
Wriggle, wriggle!
'It's even kind of addictive.'
"Kraaaaargh!"
In the end, unable to contain its rage, the Skeleton Mage bit down on its own Life Stone.
CRUNCH!
As the Life Stone shattered, the mana in its body dissipated.
'What a shame.'
'If I had just done a little more, I could have gotten the 'Desecrator of the Undead' title. For a guy who goes by the title of a vassal of the dark, he sure has no patience. Tsk.'
Tiring!
[You have acquired an 'Old Magic Staff'.]
[You have acquired 50mg of 'Skeleton Bone Essence'.]
Items dropped from between the shattered bones.
"The first harvest, huh."
The Old Magic Staff was largely useless, but the Bone Essence would be quite useful.
Yohan carefully pocketed the Bone Essence.
With their commander defeated, the fierce undead attack came to an end.
Then, the people who had been struggling to defend inside the church cautiously came out.
"You're... alive?"
Yoo Youngho looked genuinely shocked.
"How... how did you survive out there?"
"And without a single scratch. You don't even look tired."
The other members also added a word, as if they couldn't believe it.
They had obviously been certain that Yohan, the one they had left behind, was dead.
"It's thanks to you all. Most of the aggro was drawn inside, so there weren't that many monsters out here. I hid in that tree over there. Thankfully, I was able to make it out okay."
Yohan pointed to a huge tree.
It was certainly too high and large for Skeleton Warriors or Corpse Wolves to climb.
"I... see. In any case, I'm glad you're safe."
Yoo Youngho nodded as if he was convinced.
After that, they spent some time lightly cleaning up the battlefield and preparing to eat a simple meal and get some sleep.
"I caught some mushrooms and a sparrow."
"I brought back some firewood. There are a lot of trees since it's a church."
One must rest to be able to move forward.
Everyone moved in an orderly fashion.
"Hmph! The time has finally come to use the item this body has chosen. You should all be grateful. It's thanks to me that you'll be able to sleep soundly."
[Jeon Mincheol installs the 'Alarm Clock (made in South Africa)'!]
It had a trait that would blow a deafeningly loud vuvuzela if an enemy came within a 100-meter radius.
Its advantage was that you could jump right up, no matter how tired you were.
Its disadvantage was that it could attract every single other enemy in the vicinity.
'Doesn't the disadvantage seem bigger, no matter how you look at it?'
...But it seemed the general consensus was that in a situation where their fatigue had reached its peak, having this was better than nothing.
'If they're going to make a move for the item, it'll probably be tonight.'
Yohan took a spot on the outermost edge of the camp.
He then created an additional security measure made of blood with a 3-meter radius.
If anyone entered it, he would know immediately.
＊＊＊
And so, the night passed, and dawn broke.
Surprisingly, there were no movements targeting Yohan.
However.
"Kyaaaaah!"
A sharp scream echoed out.
Park Yeri, her face pale white, trembled like an aspen tree.
"What is it?"
"Did more undead show up... Huh?"
The people who had approached at the sound of the scream froze on the spot.
In the sleeping bag was the corpse of the man they had been talking to just a few hours earlier.
And his heart was missing.
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[Translator - Prøks]
[Proofreader - Prøks]
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