Chapter 127 – Golden Lion (4)
Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
Krrr…
The Golden Lion that had been sleeping opened his eyes when the fully armored Ogre Skeleton was about 20 meters away from him.
Even though the skeleton was so large, the lion hadn’t woken up until it was that close.
That wasn’t all.
The Golden Lion simply opened its eyes and observed the skeleton without roaring or preparing to fight even though it had noticed the threatening Ogre Skeleton in the distance.
Its golden mane blew in a breeze that pa.s.sed and seemed to enhance the sheer magnificence of its aura.
Gulp!
‘It’s a monster.’
‘It doesn’t even see them as threats.’
It was so majestic that the players watching in the distance couldn’t help but gulp without realising.
‘It’s not that vigilant.’
Of course, by Kim Woo-jin’s standards, he saw it as nothing more than being careless.
‘As expected.’
But it was a natural reaction.
For the Golden Lion, the third floor of this dungeon was his territory, his kingdom.
It was impossible for him to feel threatened here.
And after battling with them once before, he realised that these players who had suddenly appeared weren’t a threat either.
If the Golden Lion showed a hasty, anxious and impatient appearance in his own kingdom then that would be disgraceful.
‘This is why first challenges have high success rates.’
This was also why players have a relatively high chance of success when challenging a dungeon for the first time.
If the Golden Lion faced five or six attacks from players in the future then it would definitely not act in this way.
‘And this is the moment with the highest rate of success.’
Therefore, now was the perfect time to aim for the Golden Lion’s flaw.
If the rest of the players had chosen to launch their attack first, then in the battle, they would have done a fair amount of damage, which would have awakened the Golden Lion’s cautious nature.
However, at the moment the Golden Lion only had the experience of overwhelming one group of players with its might.
Of course, Kim Woo-jin intended to take advantage of that fact.
Kung!
As the Golden Lion relaxedly observed the Ogre Skeleton Soldier, the other Skeleton Soldiers positioned themselves around the Golden Lion.
When everything was ready, the battle began.
Hung!
The giant Ogre skeleton swung a tree sized club toward the Golden Lion and at the same time, the Golden Lion lunged toward the Ogre skeleton, showing no intentions to avoid the oncoming club.
Kung!
Faced with the Golden Lion’s lunge, the Ogre skeleton chose to roll away and avoid it.
Krrr
When it landed the Golden Lion quickly spun around to face the skeleton that had deftly avoided its attack, before lunging again.
What followed was just a replay of the previous scene.
Whenever the Golden Lion lunged, the Ogre Skeleton Soldier avoided the attack with all of its might.
When such a scene was replayed four times, the Golden Lion stopped before its fifth lunge.
Roar!
Then it opened its mouth and let out a loud roar.
[The Golden Lion’s Rage spreads.]
[Fear influences all directions.]
[Abilities of those afflicted by Fear reduced.]
The roar was an announcement that he was now angry.
Kyaah!
It was also a signal which told the Skeleton Knight that was waiting, that it was its turn to join the battle.
Rattle!
The moment the Golden Lion let out its roar, a Skeleton Knight approached him, riding on a skeleton wolf.
Kung! Kung!
And this time, the Ogre Skeleton also began to rush toward the Golden Lion.
Krrr…
When it saw the two figures rus.h.i.+ng towards it, the one the Golden Lion chose to attack was of course the Ogre skeleton.
Clang!
As the distance between them closed, the forelimb of the furious Golden Lion collided with the Ogre’s skeleton’s body, which was then sent rolling away as it could not withstand the power behind the attack.
Kehung!
At the same time, the Golden Lion let out another cry.
Only this one was much different from all the ones that it had let out before.
It wasn’t a cry of arrogance or dignity, but it was instead a cry of pain.
Puk!
The reason for this cry was that the Percival’s Spear, wielded by the Skeleton Knight, was now embedded deep into his side.
Of course, the Skeleton Knight wasn’t satisfied with just this.
Kyaah!
The Skeleton knight commanded the skeleton wolf which then swiftly moved around again and allowed him to stab once again with his spear.
Puk!
Another hole was made in the Golden Lion’s skin.
Kehung!
The Golden Lion chased after the knight, but the skeleton wolf was too fast and they constantly evaded its attempts.
Kung!
Meanwhile, the Ogre Skeleton, which had taken the time to gather itself, had finally revealed itself to the lion once again.
Kung!
And at the same time, the Golem appeared in front of the Golden Lion.
Faced with this new enemy, the Golden Lion’s eyes began glowing blue and at the same time, Kim Woo-jin used a skill.
“Berserker.”
Rattle.
The skeletons that had been waiting at the side began moving after he used the skill.
Their eyes were yellow with madness.
…
Although it was hard to make a wound, it was easy to make one worse.
Therefore, the most important factor when deciding whether to hunt a monster or not was whether it could be hurt or not.
First cla.s.s players were able to make any wound fatal.
When it came to a hunting dog on the same level as Kim Woo-jin, even a wound the size of a needle p.r.i.c.k could become fatal.
Kim Woo-jin proved this against the Golden Lion.
It was his skeleton soldiers who proved it.
Puk!
The moment the Skeleton Knight made a wound in the Golden Lion’s skin with the Percival Spear, the other skeletons would then attack that wound.
Puk!
The already pierced skin would be easily torn further and cause the wound to be more open.
Rattle!
Another wound was thus expanded by the skeletons.
The whole process went incredibly quickly.
In the eyes of those watching from far away, it was as though the Golden Lion’s injuries were alive and moving.
Kehuuuung!
Of course, the Golden Lion expressed its rage loudly without hesitation.
However, the Golden Lion’s offensive wasn’t easy to handle either.
It didn’t give the Skeleton Soldiers a second chance.
Crack!
With just one attack, it would smash a skeleton to pieces.
Twelve skeletons had already been smashed in such a way.
The Ogre skeleton was missing its right shoulder, and its rib cage had been crushed while the Golem seemed to be about half its original size.
Rattle!
Kung! Kung!
But this still meant that the Ogre skeleton and the Golem were still alive to disturb the Golden Lion.
Roar!
Faced with these two, the Golden Lion had no choice but to grow more and more enraged.
“Oh my G.o.d.”
“Is this Isaac’s Power?”
The players from afar were watching this sight in surprise.
However, Kim Woo-jin’s view of the situation was different.
‘It wouldn’t die so easily.’
People looking at it might think that the situation was advantageous, but only he felt that it was still unfavourable.
In fact, the situation was not positive.
Roar!
Though the Golden Lion’s body was covered in blood, there were no wounds on it that would really kill it.
‘Poison wouldn’t work.’
Most importantly, poison, one of Kim Woo-jin’s strongest trump cards, couldn’t be used.
That meant he couldn’t deal with it the way he dealt with most monsters.
In fact, Kim Woo-jin had actually consumed quite a lot in this fight already.
Over ten skeletons had been destroyed and the Golem and ogre skeleton consumed a lot of magic power to use.
His magic power had been raised using items and achievements, but as someone who had basically invested all of his attribute points into health, he was now forced to feel the limit of his magic power.
‘But its physical strength and concentration has fallen a lot since the beginning.’
It wasn’t that Kim Woo-jin didn’t expect this situation.
In fact, he had predicted this.
‘It has completely forgotten the existence of me and Lee Jin-ah.’
Since he had expected it, that meant he had also made preparations.
‘It’s time to move.’
At that moment, Kim Woo-jin signalled to Lee Jin-ah who was waiting.
“Siba!”
Lee Jin-ah let out a shout and it was unclear whether he was cursing or just shouting, as he activated the skill of the Heavenly Dragon Sword in his hands.
“Heavenly Dragon’s Will.”
The moment the skill was activated, the translucent sword began filling up with white light.
[All stamina has been consumed.]
Then he heard a notification.
Without paying attention to it, he began rus.h.i.+ng toward the Golden Lion.
Krrr!
However, the Golden Lion did not even look at Lee Jin-ah.
No, it hadn’t noticed him.
With the Ogre Skeleton and the Golem charging back and forth in front of it, the skeleton knight riding the skeleton wolf, hovered around it looking for an opportunity and the skeleton soldiers holding their weapons to ready to attack the moment it was injured, it couldn’t afford to pay attention to a single human.
Krr?
This way, the Golden Lion didn’t notice Lee Jin-ah until he was already very close to it.
Hung!
As soon as it noticed him, the Golden Lion swiped at Lee Jin-ah, expressing its hostility.
Lee Jin-ah swung his arm.
Puuuk!
Then the Golden Lion’s paw smashed into his body while the sword that Lee Jin-ah had just thrown, flew through the air.
Sik!
At that moment, using the golem as a stepping stone, Kim Woo-jin, who appeared above the Golden Lion’s head, s.n.a.t.c.hed the sword from the air before bringing it down on the Golden Lion’s neck before it could realise what happened.
Kehung!
The Golden Lion had not expected such an attack.
It wasn’t without reason.
None of the attacks on its body had ever been made in such a way.
‘Now the flaw is very clear.’
Naturally, this was Kim Woo-jin’s intentions.
Filled with the power of Lee Jin-ah, the Heavenly Dragon Sword was chopped into the neck of the Golden Lion before it could understand the situation.
Puk!
The blade was so deep that it could not even be seen in its entirety.
Brrr!
The Golden Lion could barely react to the deadly attack.
‘It’s shallow.’
However, Kim Woo-jin was not satisfied.
Pok!
With one hit, the sword was embedded deeper.
‘More.’
As if it still wasn’t enough, Kim Woo-jin once again hit his fist to the sword.
Pok!
Even though the bones in his hand cracked, Kim Woo-jin didn’t stop.
Pok!
In a short while the sword was already so deep that Kim Woo-jin’s shoulder was also inside.
Kehok!
A bizarre cry burst from the Golden Lion’s mouth.
Soon after it began to stagger, its large golden body convulsing.
Kyaah!
Of course the Skeleton Knight would not miss this opportunity.
Rattle!
And neither would the other skeletons.
Once again, all the skeletons began to cling to the Golden Lion like ants that were clinging to the flesh of a dying animal.
Kung!
Eventually the Golden Lion fell.
And immediately after the notification was heard.
[The Golden Lion has been slain.]
[Your level has increased.]
[Earned Achievement Golden Lion Hunter.]
[The Emissary of the Underworld praises your spectacular performance.]
[The rank of Skeleton Warrior Mastery skill has increased by one.]
[The Skeleton Warrior Mastery skill has transcended the ranks.]
It was a happy notification, but Kim Woo-jin wasn’t exactly happy with the announcement.
It wasn’t what he really wanted.
Kim Woo-jin, who had become all b.l.o.o.d.y, pulled the sword out of the lion’s corpse and landed beside it.
“You got it?”
Lee Jin-ah, who had been sent flying by the Golden Lion’s blow asked as he approached.
Kim Woo-jin glanced at him.
“Open it.”
“Huh?”
“Open its mouth.”
“What?”
Kim Woo-jin pointed with his chin instead of using more words and Lee Jin-ah, who finally understood what he meant, pulled on the Lion’s chin.
And Kim Woo-jin walked into it.
‘He’s a real weirdo.’
While Lee Jin-ah grumbled to himself, Kim Woo-jin kept moving forward.
[Hercules’ Ring]
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- Rating: Legendary
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- Required Level: Level 1 or Higher
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- Description: This is the ring of the Great Hero Hercules. Increases power based on the number of acc.u.mulated achievements.
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- +10% Health when equipped
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- +10% Stamina when equipped
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- +10% Magic Power when equipped
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- When equipped additional stat points are added depending on the number of achievements
‘The distance is narrowed a lot this time.’
The distance to Horus’ Golden Ring.
…
Slurp!
Oh Se-chan who’d just finished a cup of ramen, wipe the sweat off of his s.h.i.+ny bald head with a handkerchief.
“Burp!”
Not long after, under the tired gazes of his subordinates, he let out a loud burp to signify the end of his meal.
‘He can really have ramen for three meals a day…’
‘He is really someone who can drink even petrol as long as it’s free.’
The reason for their exasperation was that Oh Se-chan had stuck through to his words of having ramen as three meals a day.
One of the subordinates couldn’t help but exclaim.
“You’re really amazing.”
“Huh? Why?”
“I didn’t know you could really have ramen for every meal.”
Oh Se-chan looked at them with a sullen expression.
“You guys said you won’t eat them so I have to eat them all. They have expiration dates on them don’t they?”
The staff were again surprised at his words.
“So you’re really going to eat all of them?”
“Of course! It’s free! What else do you expect me to do with them?”
At the question, his subordinate made a bit of an embarra.s.sed expression.
“That, I…thought that you would sell them.”
“Huh?”
The subordinate’s words surprised Oh Se-chan.
“It’s ramen, so it can be sold at a reasonable price. Because the turnover is good.”
“Would it sell well if I put it on a website?”
“Why don’t you just trade them for other ramen?”
Of course the subordinate didn’t say those words seriously.
No matter who heard it, it was obviously a joke.
However, Oh Se-chan put on a shocked expression and covered his mouth with both hands.
“Oh my G.o.d, I missed such an amazing method…”
His staff couldn’t even laugh as they saw him sighing and contemplating something that was supposed to be a joke.
Eventually one of them changed the subject.
“What will happen to Kim Woo-jin and Lee Jin-ah?”
They mentioned Kim Woo-jin and Lee Jin-ah who had entered the dungeon.
To that question, Oh Se-chan responded calmly.
“What do you mean, that man is probably showing off his skills to the fullest.”
“Showing off his skills?”
“Yeah, he’ll have to show off very well.”
As he said that, Oh Se-chan gave a smile.
“To the point where he’ll become a rising star.”
“Rising star…”
“If something were to happen to the world’s ‘Savior’ he’ll be the one who will then take up the mantle.”
“Ah.”
This made the subordinates speechless.
Oh Se-chan continued smiling.
‘It would be meaningless to end your debut without leaving an impression.’
He didn’t simply intend to clear the 3 Floor Dungeon as his debut.
No, it was even more important because it was his debut.
‘You need to do a hat trick on your debut to become a superstar.’
This debut stage was never going to come again, so Kim Woo-jin and Oh Se-chan planned to engrave this debut into the memories of the world.
‘We’ll take advantage of the Messiah Guild’s style this time.’
Isaac Ivanov would replace the Savior, Lee Se-jun.
‘Well, it still wouldn’t be enough.’
Of course, this could be expected.
Compared to Lee Se-jun’s strength and presence, Kim Woo-jin was still lacking a bit.
‘Dammit, at that time I should’ve recovered King Arthur’s Ring somehow. Now that it’s with the Great One Guild it’s virtually impossible to retrieve it.’
It was then.
“Yeouido Dungeon has been cleared!”
Oh Se-chan stopped worrying as he heard his subordinate’s words.
“The attack is over…”
Then as if he had something else to worry about, his expression hardened once again.
The atmosphere in the room also seemed tense because of his expression.
“I only have one question.”
In the serious atmosphere, Oh Se-chan turned to look at his subordinate.
“If Russian people like Bulgogi, would people send that as a gift too?”
1. Bulgogi, literally “fire meat”, is a grilled dish(gui) made of thin, marinated slices of beef or pork grilled on a barbecue or on a stove-top griddle. It is also often stir-fried in a pan in home cooking.