Chapter 50: Weapon Enhancement (2)
TL: Hanguk
Willia and I were startled and instinctively fired Magic Bullets toward the hole.
Thanks to that, the Half-Lich got hit in the eyes by two successive Magic Bullets and groaned.
[Kruuk! You cowards...]
“Who told you to stick your rotten eyeballs into the hole first?”
[You’re the ones who made a hole in the wall. Stop with the cowardly tricks and face me fairly.]
I never imagined there would come a day when I’d be exchanging words with the Boss Monster of a dungeon through a single hole in the wall.
The furious Half-Lich also shot a Magic Bullet at us, but it was easily blocked by Willia’s Divine Shield.
Thanks to that, the expression on my face changed from surprise to absurdity.
“If we play this right... aren’t we just clearing the dungeon by dumb luck?”
“I don’t think it’s bad to try whatever we can.”
Willia nodded in agreement to my question.
“Willia nim!”
“Yes!”
No need for long explanations.
At my call, she immediately used Heal on the Half-Lich.
[Kruuk!]
And I took advantage of the moment the creature was in pain to deal an additional blow by imbuing my Magic Bullet with fire attribute, launching a Fire Shot.
Of course, not every attack landed, but if we tried three times, at least one hit, so we excitedly bombarded the hole with attacks.
-Bang!
In response, the two Named Dullahans protecting the Half-Lich got agitated and thrust their swords into the hole, but it was no use.
We easily dodged backward, and their blades couldn’t reach us.
So each time the Dullahans’ swords pulled back, the harassment of the Half-Lich continued.
Eventually, they changed tactics.
-Pak! Pak!
They decided to enlarge the narrow hole.
The Dullahans began breaking and widening the hole with their sword-auras clad blades.
Soon, the hole grew large enough for a human torso to pass through, and we exchanged attacks as if we were playing tennis across a net.
“Huh?”
But it didn’t last long.
As soon as monsters spawned in the area we had been mining.
“Aw, come on.”
The destroyed terrain of the dungeon automatically repaired itself.
In other words, the hole in the wall was sealed, and the boss was no longer visible.
“Somehow, I figured this might happen.”
To be honest, I didn’t expect much during the fight.
If a dungeon didn’t have a restoration function, everyone would just look for exploits.
We quickly cleared the newly regenerated monsters and had a discussion.
“I think we should continue with the boss strategy.”
“I think so too. However...”
It may seem like the previous skirmish ended fruitlessly, but that’s not entirely the case.
The reason is, while continuing that petty skirmish with the enemies, we were able to carefully observe the boss room’s interior through the widened hole.
And that boss room had far more mineral resources plastered all over the walls, floor, and ceiling than the area we were in now.
So it was natural for our priority to shift from mining to boss subjugation.
“Even if we’ve gotten a lot stronger, the issue is whether we can handle two Level 35 Named Dullahans and a Level 40 Boss at the same time.”
The one issue here is just that.
This was the dungeon we once fled from when we were just about to subjugate the boss.
Everyone had gotten stronger since then, but the combined power of two Named monsters and one boss was still not something to be taken lightly.
“If it’s the evolved Woof-woof, wouldn’t it be possible to stall one of the Named Dullahans?”
Indeed, just as Willia said.
With Woof-woof’s current strength, providing that level of backup seemed entirely feasible.
Fatty, who carries a shield, could act as Willia’s escort, and since I have Blink, a teleportation skill, I could support Willia quickly if needed.
Then, Willia made this proposal to increase our odds of winning.
“I’ll take on the boss with Fatty.”
"That would be dangerous, will you be alright?"
“I think our chances go up if Baek-ho nim quickly takes down one of the Named monsters to reduce their numbers.”
She voluntarily took on the dangerous task for the sake of a successful hunt.
Looking at her, I felt worried but also inwardly impressed.
That meant Willia truly valued our party.
Just that alone proved she was no NPC acting on a scripted routine.
She demonstrated that she was a person with individuality and thought, no different from us.
“Understood. Let’s go with Willia nim’s plan.”
***
We reached the boss room through the normal route.
[Named Dullahan Alkan / Level: 35]
[Named Dullahan Zerder / Level: 35]
[Boss Half-Lich Karcia / Level: 40]
At that moment, the dungeon boss, Half-Lich Karcia, clenched its teeth and growled.
[You bastards...]
“Too bad. The damage heals over time, huh?”
Even if injuries heal, it seemed memories remain intact unless they die.
No need to drag things out.
We moved according to the plan.
I first used Blink to get behind the boss, Karcia, and struck the startled creature with Mighty Slash imbued with Sword Aura.
-Kwaaaang!
[Kugh!]
It would be nice if the boss just died like that, but hoping for a dungeon boss to die in one hit is just wishful thinking.
Half-Lich Karcia blocked my attack not with a typical round shield, but with a shield that only defends the front.
However, since the attack was so powerful, even if it didn’t deal massive damage, he was inevitably knocked back.
And the place he was blown away to, was where Willia was waiting.
“Magic Bullet, Water.”
[What?]
Willia timed her Water Shot, a water-element Magic Bullet with penetrating power, to match the moment he was sent flying.
By the time Karcia noticed her attack, the Water Shot was already rushing toward his face.
He had no time to deploy a shield, so he desperately twisted his upper body, and as a result, his shoulder was torn off and one of his arms flew away.
A successful ambush.
Since Willia had to restrain Half-Lich Karcia, we aimed to deal as much damage as possible through the ambush, and the plan worked perfectly.
[Th-this...]
The two Named Dullahans, shocked to see their boss ambushed, belatedly moved to protect Karcia, but unfortunately for them, they already had opponents waiting.
“Where do you think you're going?”
-Kwaaaang!
Once again, I combined Mighty Slash and Sword Aura to send one of the Named Dullahans flying toward Woof-woof, and then I engaged the now-isolated Dullahan in a one-on-one battle.
‘Let’s end this as fast as possible.’
Even if they’re the same level, Named and Boss Monsters are far stronger than regular ones.
Just because the Named Dullahan in front of me was 11 levels lower than me didn’t mean I could let my guard down.
But being confident and being careless are two different things.
-Bang! Bang! Slash!
[Kruuk!]
My aggressive assault on the Named Dullahan was purely a show of confidence.
I didn’t give the Dullahan a single chance to swing his sword, responding with a relentless barrage of attacks.
‘Faster, stronger, don’t even let him extend his sword toward me.’
Amid that offensive onslaught, I occasionally mixed in variations and skills to create openings.
‘Magic Bullet, Swift Thrust, Stepping Stone.’
At that moment, the Dullahan, who had been desperately defending against my attacks, got excited and made an unexpected move.
[Don’t underestimate me!]
It seemed he was trying to trade injury for a fatal blow, letting my attack strike his torso while thrusting his sword at me instead.
It was a suicidal move only the undead could make.
-Squelch!
My sword buried deep into his abdomen, and at almost the same moment, the Dullahan’s crimson Sword Aura came crashing toward me.
In response, I let go of the sword stuck in the Dullahan’s abdomen without hesitation and used a skill.
‘Blink.’
The Dullahan’s back filled my vision.
But it seemed he had been waiting for this exact pattern.
[Going somewhere!]
At that moment, his sword shifted direction and aimed for my neck.
He had clearly seen me use Blink earlier during the ambush on Karcia and thought ahead accordingly.
As expected, the intelligence of Named monsters and higher should never be underestimated.
However, he was too obsessed with a single skill.
“Advanced Shield.”
I deployed the built-in skill from the cloak I acquired after landing the final blow on Creature Boa.
-Clang!
The monster’s deadly attack was blocked effortlessly, and my horizontal slash with my secondary sword cut him down in one stroke.
[You have subjugated Named Dullahan Zerder and earned 18,000 experience points.]
[Subjugation rewards for Named Dullahan Zerder have been granted.]
-You have acquired 6,552 Coins.
-You have acquired 4 Intermediate Healing Potions.
-You have acquired Skill Book ‘Sword Aura’.
The lower half of Zerder’s body, now separated from the upper half, dropped to its knees and then completely collapsed to the ground.
It seemed that from the start of the battle to the subjugation, not even a full minute had passed.
I immediately checked on Willia and Woof-woof’s situation.
[You, you bitch?]
“What, you bastard.”
Maybe because the opponent was undead, Willia was holding her ground against Half-Lich Karcia remarkably well, despite being a supporter. It was far more stable than I had imagined.
‘As expected, her situational judgment and response skills are excellent.’
When I returned from Seoul, I had praised Yoon Si-ah’s combat sense, but now I realized I had momentarily forgotten the treasure that was closest to me all along.
Judging that it would be safe to leave the boss to Willia a bit longer, I moved to assist Woof-woof.
He was holding up decently, but he seemed to have been hit on the shoulder, as blood was flowing down his leg.
He had done well.
“Thank you, Woof-woof. Now go help Willia nim.”
-Awoo!
I used the Ring of Recovery to heal Woof-woof.
Following my command, Woof-woof charged at Half-Lich Karcia with lightning speed using the Charge skill, and bit his leg with his newly learned Cutting skill.
Willia was already fighting well alone, so with Woof-woof joining in, things would be even more stable.
Then began my battle with the second Named Dullahan, and it was a repeat of the earlier fight.
[N-no!]
“Just die already.”
-Pow!
No, time-wise, it was even shorter.
It felt like the subjugation took only 30 to 40 seconds.
[You have subjugated Named Dullahan Alkan and gained 18,000 experience points.]
[Subjugation rewards for Named Dullahan Alkan have been granted.]
-You have acquired 6,720 Coins.
-You have acquired 1 Advanced Healing Potion.
-You have acquired Skeleton Taming Necklace.
‘Oh!?’
The Skeleton Taming Necklace was obtained at an unexpected moment.
Feeling thrilled, I approached the trembling Half-Lich.
[How dare you!]
With both Named Dullahans gone, the boss's defeat was already determined.
[You have subjugated Boss Half-Lich Karcia and gained 25,000 experience points.]
[You have gained 15,000 bonus experience points for being the first to subjugate Half-Lich.]
[You have leveled up.]
[All injuries and abnormal status effects are healed upon level up.]
Even so, the boss put up a decent fight.
He squeezed out all his mana, frantically unleashing skills.
But naturally, his mana ran dry before long, and despite his efforts, his end was futile.
“You worked hard. Woof-woof, Fatty.”
-Awoo awoo!
-Kkuik!
I praised the two pets who had contributed greatly to today’s battle, then turned my eyes to the reward messages.
[Subjugation rewards for Boss Half-Lich Karcia have been granted.]
-You have acquired 8,700 Coins.
-You have acquired 3 Advanced Healing Potions.
-You have acquired 2 Inventory slots.
-You have acquired Karcia’s Robe.
[First-time subjugation rewards for Half-Lich have been granted.]
-You have acquired 2,000 Coins.
-You have acquired Skill ‘Investigation Interference’.
[Karcia’s Robe / Grade: Special]
-A robe made from Wyvern leather, enchanted to be extremely light and highly durable.
-Body temperature maintenance function
-Can deploy Advanced Shield up to 3 times per day
-Magic Power +4
Karcia’s Robe had almost the same options as the Creature Boa Robe I obtained yesterday.
Naturally, Karcia’s Robe went to Willia, and with that, the two of us could now deploy Advanced Shield a total of six times.
At our current level, an Advanced Shield could block nearly all attacks, so future battles should become even easier.
“The design is nice too.”
“It’s pretty. And it looks warm, which makes it even better.”
Then, I examined the newly acquired skill book.
[Investigation Interference / Advanced Skill Book / Active]
-Blocks skills that allow others to investigate or explore your information.
-Duration: 30 minutes
-Mana Cost: 3
After reading the information on the skill book, I couldn’t help but open my eyes wide.
To be honest, every time I went to a city full of people, what I worried about most was encountering someone like me with the Exploration skill.
Since the Exploration skill reveals a target’s name and level, if someone used it on me, they would immediately realize I was Seo **.
In that regard, the Investigation Interference skill was like a godsend that would allow me to move around cities more freely.
So I immediately learned the skill and decided to test it on Willia.
[Willia / Level: 47]
This was what originally appeared.
[Unable to view target’s information.]
It changed to this.
Honestly, this was still suspicious in its own way, but it was far better than having my information openly revealed.
On top of that, I had obtained the Sword Aura skill and the Skeleton Taming Necklace by subjugating the Named Dullahan.
It was an incredibly satisfying reward session.
But the rewards didn’t end there.
Because there was also the dungeon clear reward remaining.
[You are granted an additional reward for being the first to clear the Underground Tomb dungeon.]
-Special Grade Item Draw Ticket
With the item draw ticket obtained from the first clear, combined with the ones I’d saved up until now, I was planning to open them all at once sometime soon. So for now, I stored it away.
[You are granted an additional reward for clearing the Underground Tomb dungeon.]
-Blacksmith’s Key
The moment I saw the regular clear reward that followed, I couldn’t help but exclaim.
“The Blacksmith’s Key!”
In other words, that meant there was a blacksmith NPC hidden in this place too.
It was the moment my hunch, that the mine dungeon might be related to a blacksmith NPC, was proven correct.
***
“I’m opening it.”
“Yes!”
Willia and I, with the extraordinary-looking Creature Boa Cloak and Karcia’s Robe fluttering behind us, stood at the entrance to the Forgotten Mine.
‘We’ve mined enough minerals. Now all that’s left is enhancement.’
Just like Choi Do-gyeom in Seongnam had done, I inserted the key into the dungeon entrance.
-Thud!
Then, the mine entrance, which had been emitting a dark aura, transformed into a well-crafted door.
-Creak!
Opening the door led us to a special hidden space where a small cabin stood.
[You have discovered the Hidden Field, Blacksmith Toreph’s Home.]
Toreph, unmistakably a Dwarf, stood in front of the cabin as if greeting us upon entering the hidden field, and blurted out something incomprehensible.
“Do you know what you call a really strong guy who can’t play the role of a man, in three syllables?”
“Pardon?”
“The answer is ‘Ko-ja-se’.” (TL Note: A pun implying impotent with confidence)
What? What’s with this weird Dwarf?
*****
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