Puff-Puff-! Puff-Puff! Clap! Crackle-Crack!
It was the sound of hard things colliding.
It was the first sensation I felt as I regained my senses.
‘…Ugh… So noisy… What is that sound— Huh?! Hah?!’
I jolted awake, startled by the undead mob surrounding me, launching a group lynching that left no escape routes.
‘Ugh— These trashy creatures!’
Kaboom—!
I unleashed Fireballs repeatedly around me, obliterating the filthy things clinging to me. After that, I hurriedly escaped my spot.
‘Hah- Hah- What the hell is going on? What’s happening?’
I distinctly remembered triggering the fifth Flame Explosion, but everything after that was just a hazy afterimage.
‘…… I felt like something huge was going down, but what exactly was it?’
The one thing I clearly remembered was a colossal something that overshadowed the dungeon’s sky swallowing me whole.
Chills—
The thorns on my body shot up towards the sky all at once.
It was a sensation so eerie that I never wanted to experience it again.
‘…… I should take it down before the fifth time if possible.’
The instant death effect was terrifying, but I could clearly feel that the entity that swallowed me was furious.
What can I say… Don’t bother me? That’s the vibe I got.
‘Hah… I can’t avoid using it when I meet a strong one, what a troublesome situation.’
Shaking my head vigorously to snap out of it, I checked how much time had passed.
‘Huh? Only that long?’
There were still two hours and twenty minutes left until the survival ended.
That meant I hadn’t been out for long.
Given I had been surrounded by undead and beaten up, I hadn’t lost any health at all.
On the contrary, my health had been restored after taking damage from the Giant Skeleton. My broken Bone Armor had also healed itself.
‘……’
I hovered for a moment in the air, looking back at the spot where the Giant Skeleton had been.
‘There’s not a trace… Not even a bone fragment left behind?’
It was intriguing that the massive entity had dropped down, swallowed exactly the Giant Skeleton, and left no impact on the terrain.
A clearly incomprehensible being.
It made the ‘Lost Titan,’ which the Golden Mimic ‘Tanya’ had shown me when she opened a portal, feel like nothing more than dust.
‘The world really is vast and deep…’
But even knowing that such beings exist didn’t leave me feeling drained.
In fact, it felt somewhat reassuring that there was a way to connect with such great entities.
I slowly started moving toward the main camp, casually dealing with the undead charging at me.
‘They’re just like bugs.’
Having gone through such an ordeal made the undead rushing at me look insignificant.
‘The rewards aren’t bad either.’
– You have obtained Ancient Crystal!
– You have obtained Ancient Crystal!
– You have obtained Superior Mana Stone (Huge)!
The rewards for defeating the Mutant Giant Skeleton were astonishing.
A huge-sized mana stone was one thing, but two Ancient Crystals? Was that thing that strong?
Well, considering it withstood that insane power of Flame Explosion four times, it must have been in a class of its own.
‘Hmm… If I think about it, the Hunters must have fought without me…’
With that perspective in mind, I felt a bit stingy about matching it with just two crystals.
‘This is the second time since I defeated the Tooth.’
The orb I made from the one I received then had become an indispensable item for Yeon-hee. It was a crucial element that allowed the simultaneous operation of numerous summoned creatures.
I also held onto the Evil-Infused Crystal I snatched from the Blue-eyed Organization, but I was still hesitant to use it, so it looked like I’d just carry it for now.
‘This could be used for an upgrade.’
I could improve the orb Yeon-hee was using by adding the crystal for better performance.
‘Or, I could request the blacksmith to melt it into my great sword.’
That way, the great sword wouldn’t just be an ordinary great sword.
It would surely manifest additional options or properties, but even the blacksmiths couldn’t say what abilities would emerge. Whatever it ended up being, it would be beneficial.
Wondering how to utilize the crystals, I made my way back to the main camp.
Unlike my refreshing return, the situation at the main camp was not looking good.
‘Huh? Why are those people here?’
Clearly, the ones trapped on the island in the swamp had made their way to our main camp.
From the looks of it, they must have failed to hold back the enemies and fled here, but they managed to find the place after all.
As I revealed myself, the Hunters who had been islanders welcomed me more than my original White Alliance comrades.
“Whoa! Skeleton Ball! We, um, ask for your help. We won’t be a bother…”
“I’m so sorry. Everyone’s health is too low…”
“I apologize…”
‘They’re calling me Skeleton Ball like it’s a joke.’
Even after greeting me, they were still bowing to Yeon-hee, but rushing in like this was an incredibly reckless act. If we were to think maliciously, it would have been the perfect opportunity for a backstab.
‘Not much time left, so I’ll let it slide.’
If time allowed, I would have taken some decent rewards from them.
– Kwooooaaar—!
“Cough—! There are more than two hundred Skeleton Archers!”
“This is…!”
‘That’s quite a few after all.’
Was it called the last fireworks?
The undead were rampaging like crazy, throwing themselves towards our legs.
The combination was strange.
Hundreds of Ghosts and Skeleton Archers.
What a bizarre combination this is.
But even with that variable, they couldn’t breach the path firmly guarded by me and my summoned creatures.
At the very least, they would need to be at the level of ‘Natalan Jackman’ or the Mutant Giant Skeleton I had dealt with earlier to put up a fight.
The frantic battle continued, and the scene gradually turned chaotic.
Monsters charged toward our main camp, even driving other Hunters hiding elsewhere to join in, and everyone was heading to where we were.
Now it was a barbaric time of just smashing everything in sight, regardless of food supply or anything else.
There were plenty of things I needed to take care of in that battlefield.
In particular, quickly pulling injured or low-health Hunters to throw them safely to the back was something only I could manage in such a chaotic setting.
“Th- Thank you—”
It wasn’t something I did to receive gratitude.
The hell that’s about to come later might make them blame me for saving their lives instead.
The time, which had felt agonizingly slow, reached the survival end point before I knew it.
<00:00:00>
“It’s over—!”
“I survived! Kha ha ha!”
“Fine! Damn it! Now it’s a highway to C rank!”
As over four hundred Hunters gathered in the area, they all cheered in unison, causing the ground to shake as if an earthquake had struck.
“Good job!”
“Seriously, I’m about to cry. Ugh…”
“Yeon-hee, thank you for your hard work. How was Il-wol?”
Noh Ha-yoon beamed at me with a smile as she greeted me. Knowing it was the last time, my hesitant feelings had considerably mellowed, so I offered a small response with my teeth.
– All Attributes have increased by 5!
…… Wow… Wow!—!
As the reward message for clearing the survival popped up, the hundreds of Hunters erupted into another thunderous cheer.
An increase of 5 in all attributes.
That’s an incredible figure that could take several level-ups to achieve, and I couldn’t help but feel excited.
It had been tough, but recalling the rewards I had gained made me feel like I could endure it once more. Of course, not the quests.
– The dungeon will close.
– You will be moved outside the gate shortly.
As the exit message appeared once again, the gathered Hunters were in a frenzy.
The sight of them hugging and celebrating with one another was quite pleasant.
But amidst the festive atmosphere, I sneakily moved through the crowd in Stealth to approach one girl.
Thud—
“Ugh—?!”
‘You will sleep here.’
Joo Ye-seul.
I couldn’t just leave this demon behind.
I covered her mouth first and stabbed my dagger a few times into her abdomen.
“Cough—!”
I spread out a thick cloak made of Big Boar hide drenched in Stealth ability and sensory wave, obscuring her and me from the others’ awareness, then pulled the dagger from her abdomen and cut her throat.
Fwhoosh—! Fwooosh—
“Grrr… Blugh—”
Joo Ye-seul looked at me with disbelief while foaming at the mouth. Indeed, she had a tenacious life force. Anyone else would have collapsed by now. What a tough one.
When I manifested a ‘Ring’ in front of her eyes and shook it, her eyes widened, spilling blood everywhere.
“You, it was you─!”
“Clap, Clap, Clap!”
How she had endured it was beyond me, but once she realized she had been played, Joo Ye-seul’s eyes popped with rage, her blood vessels bursting.
I twisted the dagger deep into her side, and noticed the fire in her eyes rapidly dimming.
Thud—
– Use a dagger while in stealth state to defeat an enemy. (9409/10,000)
– You have dealt with a villain threatening the safety of this world!
– The seed of evil that surely would have led countless people to ruin has been extinguished.
– Randomly increases abilities!
– Resistance: 92 (+10)
‘Hah?! What is this now?’
Was she not like the Blue-eyed Organization, not like the Evolution Stone manufacturer, nor like Nam Yong-seok as a new head of an organization, but just pure evil? This was astonishing in its own way.
‘An increase of +10 to abilities… That’s quite a remarkable woman.’
Considering that the minor ones increased by 1, and the priest-level ones only increased by 2, she was a highly nutritious human.
‘That was quite a meal. Would it have killed her to behave decently?’
As I tried to put Joo Ye-seul’s corpse into the Space, a different thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Once a dark thought resurfaced, it quickly filled my head.
‘…… Can I eat this…’
For heaven’s sake… What am I saying right now?!
Letting out a deep sigh internally, I attempted to calm my mind.
*Hah…*
I scolded myself for having such an absurd thought, but even after regaining my reason, I felt it wouldn’t be a bad idea to at least give it a shot. Of course, with a different body part.
Tap—
I broke off a few of Joo Ye-seul’s fingernails, closing my eyes and tossing them into my mouth.
Nothing happened.
…… Can you not eat fingernails?
Just when I thought that.
– Magic Power and Health have each recovered by 10.
‘It works?! Fingernails give you something too!’
It was as expected that I gained 10 in Magic Power and Health for the “Essence of Devouring.” Then how about the ability to create minions?
– The target’s karma is too high to make them a minion.
– Your level is woefully insufficient to make a living being other than a monster into a minion.
‘…… Karma is too high? Hmm… I see.’
That means she was probably too big for me to handle. Nonetheless, the conclusion was that it wouldn’t work.
Though my level was low, the concept of karma was far too ambiguous.
Still, it does seem like it’s possible in a way.
‘From this perspective, Nam Yong-seok’s Demon Servant skill is quite powerful.’
That skill can practically control the living, which is really something to mull over a second time.
‘Then eating Nam Yong-seok’s corpse would not work either. Phew…’
If anything, that’s a relief.
I’m willing to do anything to survive, but the very act of consuming part of someone’s body, even something ambiguous like fingernails, felt disheartening.
As various complicated thoughts spun in my head, the space began to warp just in time.
I quickly ran back to Yeon-hee and hugged her from behind.
“Ah! Where have you been? I was looking for you for a while!”
“Clap…”
I thought I had dealt with everything quickly, but it seems she had been anxious seeing me absent at this critical moment of exiting the dungeon.
Gently touching her slightly puffed cheeks made her look up at me with a smile.
Yeon-hee leaned against me quietly, closing her eyes, and with a familiar sensation, we bid farewell to a space we wouldn’t visit again.
Thus ended ‘Nargul’s Dungeon.’
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