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 Skeleton Soldier was Destroyed.]
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]
- Skill Rank: E
- Skill Effect: Strengthens the ability of summoned skeleton soldiers, and increases the number of skeleton soldiers that can be summoned. The higher the rank of the skill, the more effective it becomes.
- Stats of skeleton soldiers increases by 10 percent.
- Number of summonable skeleton soldiers +4.
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.
[Blood Sucking is Initiated.]
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.
[Effect of Black Bone is Applied.]
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.
[Achievement ‘He who reached the 2nd floor dungeon’ Has Been Achieved.] [Emissary of the Underworld Greatly Looks Forward to Your Challenge.]
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.
[You Have Leveled Up.]
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.
[Kim Woo-jin]
- Level: 21
- Halo: Emissary of the Underworld
- Stats: Const.i.tution(65+91)/ Strength (2+50)/ Mana (3+65)
- Achievement: 11
- Unallocated Points: 3
‘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.