Chapter 43: Signs (2)
TL: Hanguk
There is an old saying: "You reap what you sow."
Indeed, it seems the wisdom of our ancestors is never wrong.
“Baek-ho nim, here.”
"......"
I took the item Willia handed me with a stiff expression.
[Guider’s Battle Suit / Bottoms / Grade: Special]
-A battle suit of the Incubus Guider, made from Arachne's thread, possessing excellent breathability and high defense.
-An advanced auto-shield is embedded, providing protection for the covered area twice.
-Agility +4
It was a battle suit that we obtained from defeating a named monster on the second floor, right before the boss room.
“Wow, woah… It's special-grade equipment.”
“Red is definitely prettier than black.”
What's more, this was the second reward, as I had already acquired a Premium grade battle suit as a first clear reward for hunting an intermediate Incubus.
That one had lousy options, so I could have said it wasn’t needed, but this one had annoyingly good options.
I picked up the small scrap of cloth that Willia had handed me.
As you might expect from seeing a named Succubus’s battle suit, the Guider’s battle suit was a pair of vibrant red triangular underwear.
"Well, I guess I can just think of it as underwear and wear it. I can wear regular pants without options over it."
For reference, equipment options don't stack for the same body part.
That said, it’s not like you can’t wear other clothes over it.
In this case, it would be easily solved by wearing the red underwear inside and other clothes over it.
The only issue is that it doesn’t feel great to wear underwear that someone else wore.
“Huh? You won’t wear it on the outside?”
"I'll wear it if Willia-nim wears hers too."
When Willia jokingly showed disappointment, I decided to bargain with her.
“Hmm, we’ll see?”
Does that mean there’s a slight chance?
But think about it: a man wearing red underwear and a woman in a swimsuit walking down the streets.
And we’re not talking about a beach like Gwangalli, but a world full of monsters.
In a game, you might call them veterans, but in reality… wouldn’t they just be perverts?
‘Well, as long as we’re having fun, that’s all that matters.’
At least Willia had the beauty that could rival a celebrity. As for me, in the eyes of others, I’d probably just be an attention seeker, nothing more or less.
“Shall we proceed to the boss fight then?”
“Yes!”
After putting on the newly acquired battle suit inside my clothes in the Safety Tent, I placed my hand on the boss room door.
But then.
[Once you enter this dungeon’s boss room, you cannot leave until you either clear it or the time runs out. Do you wish to enter the boss room?]
An ominous message appeared before my eyes.
The kind of content that makes people worry.
To be honest, Mongma’s Shrine wasn’t a particularly high-level dungeon.
If I had to compare it, it was similar to the underground tomb where the hidden boss had appeared.
And since we've become stronger since then, I thought we could clear it without much trouble.
“I didn’t expect this.”
“What should we do?”
But I had no choice but to be cautious.
We weren't playing a game but fighting in reality, and one small mistake would result in permanent death.
[Time remaining to clear the dungeon: 3 hours 25 minutes]
I quickly glanced at the remaining time for the time attack.
“We have no choice. Let’s use up more time and enter with only 30 minutes left.”
“If the difficulty of the boss room is high, you’re planning to endure until the timeout, right?”
Willia quickly understood what I meant.
It wasn’t a flashy strategy, but if we considered practicality, there was no other choice.
So we spent the remaining time hunting the respawned Incubi and Succubi.
***
Time passed, and we entered the boss room at our planned time.
And the boss that welcomed us was…
[Boss: Incubus Knight Yan / Level: 40]
A strikingly handsome young man with long, flowing black hair.
Just one Incubus.
[Those who disturb my peace, shall taste the depths of hell.]
Without hesitation, I rushed toward the boss.
“Why was I even worried?!”
[What is this barbaric human?]
-Clang!
Our swords clashed, and Willia, along with Woof-woof, who was protecting her, moved to flank the enemy.
The reason was simple.
“Magic Bullet.”
Two days ago, in a dungeon we cleared in Anseong, the Cursed Crematorium, Willia had obtained and learned the Magic Bullet skill.
At the time, I was irritated because the dungeon rewards were so stingy, but looking back now, getting an extra Magic Bullet was something that diversified our tactics.
Meaning there was no need to feel disappointed at all.
-Whoosh!
[Damn!]
The Magic Bullet is fast.
Given both my current level and that of the boss in front of me, it was something we could dodge if we saw it coming.
However, in the middle of a fierce sword fight, dodging a Magic Bullet flying in from the side required almost superhuman reflexes.
In the end, the boss got hit in the thigh by the Magic Bullet.
[Kuk!]
Of course, since the monster was level 40, it was hard for a regular Magic Bullet to cause significant damage.
But it was enough to stiffen its movements, and in a close-quarters battle where even a split-second mistake could decide the outcome, that was a critical opening.
“Time to say goodbye!”
I delivered an ultimate blow, mixing the Mighty Slash skill with my sword aura.
-KWAANG!
With a powerful explosion, the entire boss room shook slightly.
But my expression hardened.
“What the…?”
I didn’t feel the sensation of my sword cutting through the enemy—it had struck nothing but solid ground.
And unless I was seeing things, the Incubus Knight Yan had completely changed.
[Boss: Succubus Mage Mary / Level: 40]
As if to confirm that I wasn’t mistaken, the Incubus we had just been fighting had transformed into a Succubus.
Moreover, she reappeared 15 meters away from me.
“Spatial Teleportation?”
This was the first time I’d seen a skill like that.
It felt like I was facing a ghost.
“What the hell? Two people in one body?”
[You could say it’s something like that.]
This was the first boss of its kind.
A monster that could switch its gender and class.
Now that the boss had transformed into a mage, it suddenly extended its hand toward Willia, and Woof-woof, sensing the danger, instinctively grabbed the hem of Willia’s robe and pulled her away.
-Boom!
A fist-sized hole was blown into the wall behind where Willia had been standing.
It became clear that this boss possessed long-range skills of a much higher caliber than Magic Bullet.
[Tch, you mutt!]
“Hey, who said you could take your eyes off me?”
But the boss shouldn't forget about me.
After all, I also had long-range attack skills.
I fired a Wind Shot, a combination of Magic Bullet and the Wind skill.
The feature of Wind Shot is that not only is it stronger than a Magic Bullet, but when it hits, it scatters blade-like winds that explode outward.
-Thwack! Thwack!
Thanks to that, the Succubus Mage Mary received cuts on her arms, cheeks, and thighs.
She was surprised, but by now, I had plenty of combat experience.
[Damn it!]
In the end, the boss transformed back into the male form, Incubus Yan.
As the gender changed, all the injuries from earlier were completely healed.
"You're an annoying one."
Once again, I charged toward the boss with my sword, and an obviously enraged Willia relentlessly fired Magic Bullets.
‘Stepping Stone.’
And when I created obstacles with Stepping Stone to interfere with their movement, the boss seemed quite uncomfortable fighting.
Was that the reason?
-Poof!
-Poof!
The speed of the boss's transformations began to accelerate.
They would spatially move backward, immediately return to male form and swing their sword at my back.
Then, after deflecting my blade, it transformed into the female form again and appeared at Willia’s side, firing spells in rapid succession.
“What a fun opponent.”
But despite all its efforts, the boss couldn’t gain the upper hand.
[Why!?]
“You’re trying hard, but in the end, all I have to do is treat you like a hybrid of a swordsman and a magician, right? One that can’t use both sword and magic at the same time, which makes you a pretty weird magic swordsman.”
[What?]
“Your concept is flawed.”
After all, the boss only had one body and couldn’t use sword and magic simultaneously. Once we got used to it, there was no need to be so alarmed.
At first, it had startled us, but soon enough, it just felt… incomplete, somehow?
-Poof!
Still, I had to admit, the spatial teleportation skill was a real threat.
Since we didn’t know where the boss would appear, both Willia and I had to stay focused whenever it disappeared.
So, we decided to keep things simple.
“Willia nim, from now on, whenever it teleports, just put up a shield.”
“Got it!”
Could there be a more effective tactic than that?
If the boss appeared in front of Willia, a shield would be waiting for it, and appearing behind me would be way too predictable.
And so, for the next few minutes, we played a fruitless game of back-and-forth with the boss.
-Swoosh!
[You persistent bastards.]
In the end, the boss of Mongma’s Shrine had its heart pierced by my sword.
[You have defeated Boss Succubus Mage Mary and gained 32,000 experience points.]
[You have earned 15,000 experience points for the first-time defeat of Succubus Mage.]
"As expected, it only gives rewards for one form."
Somehow expecting this, I deliberately finished them off while in female form.
I hoped I might get the Spatial Teleportation skill that Succubus Mage Mary had been using.
[Boss Succubus Mage Mary’s defeat rewards are being distributed.]
-You have obtained 9,552 coins.
-You have obtained 2 Intermediate Healing Potions.
-You have obtained 2 additional Inventory slots.
-You have obtained the skill book Blink.
[First-time defeat rewards for Succubus Mage Mary are being distributed.]
-You have obtained 2,000 coins.
-You have obtained the skill book Water.
[Blink / Premium Skill Book / Active]
-Teleports up to 50 meters in short range.
-Mana cost: 3.
"There it is!"
And just like that, my wish came true.
For the first time, I had acquired a premium grade skill book.
I made a deep bow towards my ancestors' graves, wherever they might be.
***
Willia and I returned to Wolgwang Island.
Blink became mine for tactical reasons, while the magic-based Water skill went to Willia.
It was a perfect reward, especially since I had been thinking how great it would be for Willia to have a stronger long-range skill.
-Boom!
“Whoa!”
“Wow, the power is completely different now!”
When Water was combined with Magic Bullet, it transformed into a skill with high penetration power, and its strength seemed even greater than my Wind or Fire skills.
With this, it could definitely be effective even against bosses.
Our combat strength had just taken another huge leap forward.
“Blink!”
The spatial teleportation skill, Blink.
If the teleportation distance were just a bit longer or the mana cost lower, I could use it for long-distance travel, but for now, it was still more efficient to use Leap to run through the skies.
-Flash!
However, Blink had no post-use stiffness or delay, and its activation was incredibly fast.
For unconventional attacks, surprise ambushes, or even escaping, there was no better option than this.
‘Seeing someone vanish through teleportation would make anyone panic. I was startled when I first saw it, too.’
Since this was a skill representing the pinnacle of magic, it was now my ultimate secret weapon.
“This is amazing!”
“Haha!”
As always, Willia and I were in high spirits today.
It would’ve been even better if the party feast we had asked Kim ssi to prepare had been ready by now.
“What’s got you in such a good mood?”
“Ah, Kim ssi! Perfect timing. I brought underwear with an agility boost for you.”
“Huh? Underwear?”
I handed him the premium-grade Incubus battle suit.
It was one of the two pairs of underwear I had obtained today, and while the options weren’t as good as the other, it was still more than enough for someone living on this island.
He took it without much thought.
I nodded approvingly, while Willia stiffened as if imagining something she didn’t want to picture.
“Ta-da!”
Then, I pulled out a special gift for Kim ssi, who had been working hard on the island.
“Is… is this?”
It was a pig with its head removed.
Not a wild boar, but a regular pig.
“There must’ve been a livestock farm near where we went hunting today. I spotted this wandering around and caught it. Tonight, we’re having a pork belly feast!”
“Wow!”
But that wasn’t all.
I pulled out another gift from my inventory.
It was…
“W-wait, soju too?”
The soul food that always pairs with pork belly—soju.
Kim ssi was overjoyed, like a child.
Today was truly a day for celebration.
'Ah, I should bring Fatty who's struggling in Gauido.'
So, I quickly decided to head to Gauido before the party, but just as I was about to leave, Kim ssi suddenly stopped me, looking a bit hesitant.
“B-Baek-ho ssi, I have something to show you.”
I tilted my head in curiosity.
Then, he pulled something out from his inventory and handed it to me.
[***Artifact / Grade: Unknown]
-A rod made from an unknown metal.
-You can verify the item's information through an Appraisal Skill or by consulting a blacksmith NPC.
Seeing this, I initially looked puzzled, but then my eyes widened in surprise.
[Kim** from Korea has unearthed an Artifact item.]
[The achievement of unearthing an Artifact for the first time worldwide will be recorded in the Hall of Fame.]
I realized that Kim ssi was the one who had earned the achievement reward that had popped up earlier while I was exploring the dungeon during the day.
I examined the relic’s information closely.
But one part left me puzzled.
‘A blacksmith NPC? Do those even exist?’
*****
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