Chapter 91. Crimson Roar (3)
Compared to Korean people, British people were more relaxed. No, perhaps I shouldn"t generalize all British people with just them. It could just be that the ability users here were like that.
Was it because they were repeatedly hunting the same area for several weeks? They didn"t seem concerned with clearing the dungeon anytime soon, as they ate dinner and sipped on red tea while they watched tunas splashing above the lake"s surface.
"Ah, it"s raining."
"It should stop soon, though it"ll come back later."
"Does it snow here too?"
"When it gets cold enough. It"s the same as in Korea."
Hwaya had rented an entire residence in Windermere as her lodging place. Currently, it was just the two of us in a small room on the second floor of her residence. Hwaya was drinking red tea while blankly watching the rain outside the window. Her flame-red eyes were calm, and her smooth, fluttery red hair was the only bright spot in the undecorated, bland room.
Seeing her holding her teacup, I thought she really looked beautiful, like she was a painting. Then, before I noticed, she turned to my direction and looked at me with half-closed eyes.
"Can you not stare at me so fixedly?"
"… Sorry. You were so beautiful that I lost myself for a bit."
"… Huu, I"m usually happy to get compliments, but because I"ve been getting them from people I hate recently, I"m sick of them. Sorry."
"You really are honest… I"m the one who"s sorry for reminding you of them, but I didn"t actually mean it in a flattering way."
"I know, and I know you"re not that kind of person. That"s why I"m annoyed with myself who can"t come to like your compliment."
Hwaya put down her teacup as she spoke bitterly. Brightman really was hated… Was that part of his plan? Whether positively or negatively, he was making her think about him a lot… No, not even the Divine Capturer1 would think of such a method.
I put away my useless thoughts and returned to the main subject.
"Then we should get started. How to check the amount of mana you have available and…"
"Wait, before that, we need to talk about something else."
"Ah."
She was right, there was something I had to explain to her first. With a bitter smile, I scratched my head. I closed my eyes and checked if there were any other presences nearby. I didn"t think anyone would be hiding and did it as a precaution… But I couldn"t help but ask Hwaya curiously.
"Hwaya, is anyone else living here with you?"
"What? No."
"Really? That"s weird, I can feel traces of someone that"s not you… Maybe it"s the people who lent you this place?"
"Maybe? It hasn"t been that long since I rented it. I"ll check later just in case."
Although I wasn"t fully satisfied, it was true that we were the only ones in this house, for now. I took in a breath… and took off my mask.
"Ah."
Hwaya quietly stared at my face. As it was a bit embarra.s.sing to continue staring at her face, I turned my gaze away slightly. Soon, she nodded her head.
"You"re much more handsome than I imagined. Just my type."
"Thanks for the blatant compliment."
"As I thought, you have black hair and black eyes."
"I"m Korean after all."
"Mm, I had considered the possibility that you weren"t Korean."
"Of course I am… By the way, my real name is Kang Shin."
"So your last name is Kang… Eh?"
She tilted her head, and I told her the truth.
"Kang Yungoong-ssi is my father."
"You scammer!"
"Hahaha."
"Uuuu, you lied to me so easily. I can"t believe you!"
"Sorry, that"s why I"m telling you now. It wasn"t easy, you know."
"What, so you want me to be happy about it? Like you acknowledged me?"
"No… Sorry."
Hwaya complained for a little while longer, then seemingly calmed down. Ah, wait, nevermind. She placed her teacup on her plate so angrily that I almost thought the plate would break.
"I saw the number of dungeon explorers on Earth increased to six. Did you do that too?"
"Yeah, a friend of mine is an Awakened. Don"t worry, that person is trustworthy and talented, worthy of being an explorer."
"Uu, so three out of the six are already… No, but considering your personality…"
I knew what she wanted to say.
"I don"t plan on making an organization like you. It"s just my friend and father. Not to mention, you could make someone an explorer if you wanted to."
"That"s true, but… Can I trust you?"
"Why would I lie?"
"Haa, I feel like I learned too many things just now. My head feels like it might burst."
"Don"t take it too seriously. My father made me an explorer, I hid my ident.i.ty in Earth"s dungeon explorer communication channel, and I made a friend I trusted into a dungeon explorer. There"s nothing more to it. I"m also revealing my ident.i.ty to someone I can trust."
"It"s too hard to accept it so simply."
Hwaya put her head in her hands and looked like she was agonizing over something. Then, with a tired voice, she spoke.
"Whatever, I"ll trust you."
"Thanks."
"Quiet! You made me doubt someone I acknowledged as a friend even for a moment. That"s a very annoying and sad thing for me. You"ll have to make it up to me properly."
"How?"
"You said you would teach me! Before I master it, you"d better make time to teach me every night. Got it? This is your punishment! … But I"ll at least serve you milk tea when you come."
Never in my life did I receive such a cute punishment. I grinned and nodded my head.
"Yeah, got it."
"… Why are you smiling? It makes you look sly."
"It"s nothing. I"m just happy I got to know a surprising side of my friend."
"Uuuuk…!"
Hwaya seemed to be embarra.s.sed by my words, as she threw the teakettle at me. It seemed I would need to wait a bit more before I could start teaching her.
From the 38th floor on, ghost knights appeared. If ghosts were the apparitions of ordinary people, ghost knights were the apparitions of knights riding on their ghost horses. Watching them charge at me on their ghost horses was quite a spectacle.
[Kill the human!]
[Living beings, taste the wrath of the dead!]
"Like I care, move!"
More importantly, it was much easier to break through than the previous floors.
"Ruyue, run!"
[Aoooooooooo!]
As Ruyue ran crazily, the wall of ghosts to my left and right were pushed back at an incredible speed. Meanwhile, I only looked forward as I swung my spear. Although there were also ghosts, because their numbers were low, I was perfectly fine just defending myself while running forward. Ghost knights weren"t my opponents. I was happy that clearing the dungeon floors became easy again. While Ruyue ran carrying me on her back, Peika watched out for the ghosts" soul arrows. Compared to the 36th and 37th floor, this floor matched my style much more.
[Kuaaaaaa! Kill that rat! Stab your swords in his neck!]
[As knights, we"ll recover our besmirched honor!]
"Come at me! Get in line!"
Cutting past the ghost knights as I charged onward mindlessly, I managed to break through the 38th floor in five hours, half the time it took me to clear the 36th floor.
[You became level 39.]
[You obtained 5 bonus stats.]
"Perfect timing."
Watching me gasping for breath, Lin threw something at me apathetically. I caught it and confirmed what it was. It was an earring, only one of what usually came in a pair. With two oval gems radiating a glowing gold, the beautiful craftsmanship made it more suitable for a woman than a man. I stared at it blankly for a while, then asked Lin.
"Lin, this is?"
"See for yourself."
[Golden Teardrop (Unique)
Durability - 90/90
Equipment Limit - One Who Defeated the Blood Succubus
Options - Intelligence +5, Magic +5, Charm +15
Skill - Succubus" Pupil (Pa.s.sive): Wearing the earring amplifies your charm. You can resist mental status effects more easily, and there is a small chance it can reflect the status effect onto the enemy.]
"Wow… This really is an amazing item!"
"Is it?"
With that, Lin put out his hand. As promised, I gave him 100,000 gold. It was my turn now!
"So Lin, shouldn"t you start making my other equipment? My weapon and the like."
"Once you break through the 40th floor, I"ll do it without you having to nag me! Don"t make me remember such painful truths when I"m collecting money!"
"Lin, you should really be more honest. You already know I"ll break through the 40th floor."
"You…!"
Lin shook in rage while holding the bag of gold. It was only then that the emptiness I was feeling seemed to be filled. I couldn"t help but let out a refreshing smile. Then, I equipped the Golden Teardrop. Since I was already equipping the Power Earring and Blood Succubus" Earring, I decided to say goodbye to the Power Earring, which only raised my strength by 2.
"Ek, disgusting."
"You know, I agree."
I didn"t really care that the earrings were different. As they were both from the Blood Succubus, they went together quite well. The problem was that I was male, but with no other choice, I put on the earrings firmly.
When I arrived at the 39th floor, the ghosts had disappeared and were replaced by specters. Of course, most of the enemies were still ghost knights. Without a care in the world, I raised my spear. Specters were apparitions known for their ability to possess people. As such, they charged towards me the moment they caught sight of me.
[Kiikii, it"s a human.]
[Control him.]
[Stabbing yourself with your own spear will feel special!]
I dematerialized Ruyue and infused her into my armor. Now, Peika was in my spear and Ruyue was in my armor. What would happen if specters tried to possess my spear or armor?
[Ugyaaaaaaa!]
[Gyak! Cold! It"s too cold, I can"t move!]
They were electrocuted or frozen by themselves.
[Uwaaak, an Elementalist!]
[Elementalist!]
[Run!]
When all the spectres were chased away, the ghost knights that were charging stopped in their tracks. With a smirk, I raised my spear. They were slowly backing off. Of course, I didn"t just leave them be.
[You became level 40! You obtained the qualification to challenge the Floor Master!]
[You obtained 5 bonus stats.]
"You really are fast. You seemed to be having trouble yesterday."
"Compared to the 36th and 37th floor, the last two floors were a piece of cake. I was nervous for nothing."
"I feel stupid just talking to you now. Hurry up and go to the 40th floor. Then die and come back a week later."
"You really are blunt about it now…"
Even as I was dumbfounded, I made sure to buy plenty of Holy Water from Lin. I didn"t know the ident.i.ty of the 40th Floor Master, but he was sure to be some sort of ghost. With Holy Water, I would have a much better chance!
"Wish me luck, Lin, so that I can get the dragon leather cape!"
"Screw off!"
Yep, angry Lin was the best! Giving him a thumbs up, I climbed to the 40th floor. As the 40th floor wasn"t any different in structure or the type of monsters that appeared, I got to the end without much trouble. When I was in front of the Floor Master room"s unique black door, it was four in the morning. Since breakfast was at seven, I would be able to sleep for about two hours after defeating the boss once.
"Good…"
n.o.body had taken the 40th floor boss" "first" achievement. There was sure to be a reason that no one had succeeded the 40th Floor Master"s first achievement, even though the 25th through 35th first achievements were accomplished. First, I applied an ample amount of Holy Water onto my weapons.
"Huu… I can do it!"
I had paid Loretta 50,000 gold for this info. I couldn"t screw up here after doing so well until now! After taking in a deep breath, I opened the door with my Black Earthen Spear in hand.
"Fight me… Eh?"
What was beyond the door was a dreary land that seemed to have been taken out of h.e.l.l. There were a countless number of ghosts and specters, and also ghost knights that were ready to charge.
Floating above them was an existence wearing a worn down cloak and pointing a pitch black scythe at my direction.
[Kikikik… It seems I will have to guide another dead soul.]
The World G.o.d Only Knows reference ↩Chapter 92. Crimson Roar (4)
"I can see why no one has cleared it solo on their first try…"
I smirked. Just look at that, there must be at least 500 of them. While climbing the dungeon, if there was one thing I understood, it was that no matter how many opponents I was up against, there was a limit to the number of attacks I would have to defend against. The only difference was how many times I would have to repeat defending, attacking, defending, attacking. Furthermore, I had just run past a pathway full of monsters like them. Besides the scythe holding reaper, there was nothing that could make me nervous.
I swung my spear once and fixed my grip on it. Then, I pointed it forward.
"Come!"
[You used Provoke. All enemies will attack you with strong hostility!]
[Suppress the living. Give pain to the explorer who ridicules death!]
[Kikikiki!]
[Kill him, kill him!]
[Take his soul and possess his body!]
The monsters rushed toward me like a tsunami. After taking in a deep breath, I patted Ruyue"s back. It was the signal telling her to run.
[Auuu, pat me more.]
"Later. For now, run!"
[Auuuuuuuu!]
Ruyue kicked off the ground. First, I needed to lower their numbers in one go. I raised my spear and thrust forward, using Elemental Tempest. After the skill had reached mid-rank, more elementals began to gather, truly making me look like I was wielding a storm.
[Wheeeeee!]
[Spin spin~~~!]
[Kuhaha, I"ve been waiting for this moment!]
Ignoring the elementals" voices, I shot it forward. In an instant, my Elemental Tempest swept through over a hundred apparitions, mostly consisting of the ghost knights that had been standing in the front. I took out a high-rank Mana Potion and put it in my mouth. Then, I held the spear like a baseball bat.
"Elemental Blade!"
[Whee, roller coaster!]
[Let"s go, let"s go!]
[Eh? W-Wait! Not this one!]
[Wheeee!]
The moment I yelled out, my spear blade extended to 6 meters and began to radiate rainbow light. I swung the spear at the incoming apparitions. With most of the ghost knights swept away in the Elemental Tempest, the comparatively weaker ghosts and specters couldn"t withstand the elemental explosions and fell.
B-B-Boom!
[Kuk!]
[You, Elementalist!]
[Die, die apparitions!]
[Ueeeek, I"m never getting on this one again!]
[Whee!]
The ghosts" death throes rang out along with elementals" cheers. However, in an instant, the apparitions split through the middle and something swept over me. When Ruyue quickly dodged, the ground behind me was marked with deep furrows as an explosive sound rang out.
[Don"t uselessly die. I may need you all for other purposes.]
[Kyak! The reaper cometh!]
[The Grim Reaper has drawn his scythe.]
He would need them for other purposes…? The reaper swung his huge death scythe, sending a blade wave forward. I dodged his attack, but did not attack him, as I was worried about what he said. Instead, I used Tempest to attack the apparitions again.
[Kuaaak!]
[That b.a.s.t.a.r.d is shooting out storms!]
[Tsk, if that"s what you want, then…!]
As I thought! As if to fold s.p.a.ce, the reaper"s body flew toward me stealthily and smoothly. His movements were unusual, as if I was watching an old horror movie. Regardless, the result was terrifying. A large scythe big enough to cover my entire view flew as if to cut off my head. I clenched my teeth and poured out a vast amount of mana into the spear where Peika was infuse, raising it up and blocking the Grim Reaper"s scythe.
[Strong!]
"Kuk!"
Something popped out from his stomach. Frightened, I hurriedly jumped and dodged it. Puk! When I heard the sound and looked back at the position I was in, I saw a small scythe. Shooting out a scythe from your stomach, what the h.e.l.l are your internal organs made out of!? Unfortunately, I didn"t have the time to dwell on such thoughts. He had shot out another blade wave. Dodging his attack again, I attacked the nearby ghosts with Thunder Arrow.
[Ek, he must think we are easy prey!]
[Show him it"s not true!]
[I said, you guys stay still!]
[We"re still going to die! Sob, why must I worry about dying even after dying?]
When the apparitions flew towards me, the reaper stopped throwing his blade waves. As I thought, he didn"t want the apparitions to die! Using Tempests, I took care of the apparitions. Then…
[Kuaaaaaaa! Feel death! Death Roar!]
[Grim Reaper uses Death Roar! The attack power of all undead is doubled. The defense of all living beings is halved!]
[You resisted the status effect. The status effect has been nullified.]
Good, I was getting my money"s worth from the item! Confirming that the reaper"s skill had not affected me, I raised my head. Excited about having their attack power doubled, the ghost knights were charging at me in a line. Facing them, I screamed.
"Kiaaaaaaaaak!"
[You used Vengeful Spirit"s Wail. Most enemies become confused and feared!]
Eh? Although I hadn"t expected much, most of the ghost knights charging my way fell and began to fight each other. Why? This skill used to only work on weak monsters with low intelligence… Then, I remembered something. Magic, charm, and intelligence were important in protecting my mind. In that case, they most likely helped in my mental attacks as well! Although I thought it was likely, I couldn"t brood over it for very long. The reaper was swinging his scythe in front of me.
"Kuk, you"re fast!"
[I shall take your head!]
From the reaper"s deep voice, I felt a chilling sense of danger. Hugging Ruyue, I immediately used Talaria and flew into the air. Before I fully flew up, something had ripped my boots. Looking down, I couldn"t help but shiver at the horrifying sight. Countless black hands had come out of the ground, trying to grab onto me. This was dangerous. If I was caught, they looked like they would drag me into the end of h.e.l.l. The damage I"d take aside, it looked intimidating.
[Yay! Shin hugged me!]
[Master is feeling heavy, so hurry up and dematerialize!]
Ruyue dematerialized and sat on my head. Gritting my teeth, I shouted at the reaper.
"You son of a b.i.t.c.h, you said you"d take my head!"
[The one that gets tricked is the idiot.]
The reaper appeared in front of me again, but with Talaria, I did not lose to him in speed. Dodging his scythe just barely by falling back, I activated Divine Speed, poured white light into my Black Earthen Spear, and threw it at him.
"Die!"
[Kuk!]
I never missed my attack after using Divine Speed! After being hit by my Heroic Strike, the reaper flew back with his eyes opened wide. Seeing the Black Earthen Spear that transformed into white lightning sending the reaper"s large body flying dozens of meters, I clenched my fists and began to sweep through the apparitions again.
[You b.a.s.t.a.r.d, are you treating us like dust!?]
[Make that b.a.s.t.a.r.d regret it!]
[But I feel like we"ll regret it more!]
[…]
"Peika, come back and help me clean them up!"
[Okay!]
Although I wanted to quickly take care of the trash mobs and focus on the reaper, he flew towards me before I could even kill a hundred ghosts. He took out the Black Earthen Spear stuck in his chest, then violently snapped it in half in front of me. Although the blade grew dull occasionally, the spear handle had never once broken, but he had done it!
"You son of a b.i.t.c.h! Do you know how precious that is!?]
[Kuha!]
Without offering me any excuses, he shot blade waves toward me again. If I were hit by that ominous black pulsation, I didn"t think it would end with just receiving damage.
"Kuk!"
Dodging his attack, I took out the Silver Spear and aimed it at him. I saw the two halves of my Black Earthen Spear falling. Was that repairable? It should be, right? The water in my eyes was sweat, not tears! I didn"t think I threw it for no reason either. Even so, I decided to utterly destroy that b.a.s.t.a.r.d. I raised my spear, and aimed it at him.
Then I dropped to the ground abruptly. It was truly a sudden drop.
[How did you know!?]
Above me, the reaper"s shout rang out. I raised my head and confirmed that he was standing in the place I was just in. d.a.m.n, just how many skills did he have!?
"I won"t tell you, you bast… ut!"
Again! When I quickly flew away, the trajectory of the reaper"s large black scythe cut through the air. I felt gooseb.u.mps on my back. I truly couldn"t sense anything!
[How can you dodge my attacks!?]
"It"s instinct, b.i.t.c.h!"
Gritting my teeth, I extended my spear blade using Elemental Blade and slashed at him. It seemed he was specialized for attacks, but had a weaker defense compared to normal Floor Masters, as my Elemental Blade dealt noticeable damage to him. I continued pushing at him to prevent him from teleporting to my back again. Elemental power constantly exploded and annoyed him. The worn-down cloth he was wearing began to tear slowly. The reaper screamed.
[Kiaaaaaaa!]
"Kuk!?"
Is it that attack again!? Black hands shot out from my surroundings toward me. Flying into the air, I looked at the black hands that had covered half of the entire ground, and murmured with an astonished face.
"Crazy… Just how much mana does that b.a.s.t.a.r.d have!?"
[Die!]
"Kik."
As I thought, if I stayed here dumbfounded, he would appear behind me again. As I had already seen him do it twice, I recognized when he would use that move and how he would strike his scythe. Lightly moving to the side, I dodged his scythe. Although his face was empty under his hood, I could sense his astonishment as black light fluctuated. I then grabbed his scythe, which had remained in the position he had struck down in.
"Dark Thunder Explosion!"
I considered using White Lightning Consecutive Strike, but that skill was most effective when my feet were on the ground. Not to mention, I was running low on mana. The Mana Potion"s cooldown time had not ended yet either. As such, I chose to use Dark Thunder Explosion.
Although I was on the lookout for scythes flying out of its stomach, but after being hit by Dark Thunder Explosion"s initial lightning bolt, he had become paralyzed and was unable to attack. Heh. The corners of my mouth went up in a smile.
In the air, a festival of lightning occurred.
[Critical Hit!]
[Kuaaaaaaak!]
Along with the reaper"s scream, the black hands that had sprouted up from the ground trembled and elongated, but I, their target, was already in the air with the reaper. This. How was I supposed to defeat him without Talaria? It seemed I would need to do some research for a while.
While I was thinking rather leisurely, the reaper danced in the air, continuously being struck by black lightning bolts. This skill also seemed stronger than the first time I used it. Even though it didn"t use my mana, it had grown stronger according to my magic stat. Did the skills work with a different principle? It could also be because the ability of my contracted lightning elemental, Peika, increased.
When the explosion ended, I poured mana into my Silver Spear and swung it at him. After being hit, the Grim Reaper helplessly flew through the air. The black hands on the ground had already disappeared. I landed along with him and took care of the leftover ghosts. Although I allowed myself to be hit by their soul arrows while I was fighting the reaper, I couldn"t let a boulder be pierced by raindrops.
[Kukuku… I acknowledge you.]
"Don"t. Just die."
The cooldown time ended and I could drink a Mana Potion again. Putting a Mana Potion worth 15 million won in my mouth, I lowered my body. Ruyue materialized on her own and let me ride on her back. Compared to when he first appeared, the reaper was tattered. He raised his scythe.
Then, he slashed the ghosts that had survived until now.
[Grim Reaper uses "Soul Eater"! He recovers 1% HP and MP for each soul he cuts with his scythe!]
[Kii, I"m finally free!]
[My long journey has finally come to an end.]
"As I thought, that"s what it was."
Although I diligently killed the ghosts, there were still about 200 ghosts left. I started killing the ghosts before the reaper could cut them, but he had almost fully recovered.
[Kuhuhu, despair, Hero. Despair suits you more than hope.]
"Tempest!"
[No matter how much you struggle, you cannot defeat me.]
"Elemental Blade!"
[You!?]
While the reaper was blabbering on about something, I managed to take care of all the ghosts. I looked around the field, but could not spot any ghosts or specters. At the same time, however, Talaria had ended, meaning I could not fly into the air anymore. The reaper seemed to have realized this, as he swung his scythe and sneered.
[You can"t run like a rat anymore.]
"You can"t recover anymore either."
Spinning my spear, I reviewed his skills one by one. Blade wave, shooting small scythes out of his stomach, suddenly appearing behind me and swinging his scythe, and the black hands that shot up from the ground. Although I could block the first three, how was I supposed to block the black hands? After thinking for a bit, I made my decision.
"I"ll just have to endure it with Dragon Skin."
It"s his cheaty skill that was at fault! It wasn"t my fault! I"d think of a solution after I beat him once, so it was fine! Making rather disappointing excuses to myself, I stepped forward.
"Let"s go!"