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Chapter 22
While Kang Shin-hwa was quietly moving after decimating the human spider group,
“Kil kil kil.”
Skeleton Archers hiding in the darkness detected the intruder’s presence and made an eerie laughing sound.
This was a route that any Awakener entering the dungeon must pass through to raid the boss monster.
The learning-capable Skeleton Archers, abbreviated as ‘Archers’, had set up a trap here.
They ambushed in places untouched by light and filled a massive stone chamber with numerous corpses.
As the monster corpses decayed, they released a unique toxic gas, transforming the stone chamber into a space of death.
The exponentially increased carbon dioxide and drastically reduced oxygen caused Awakeners who entered to collapse one after another.
It was a clever trap.
As a result, quite a few Awakener corpses had accumulated here and there.
The Archers’ morale was high.
Recently, this dungeon hadn’t been cleared, largely due to the highly effective trap they had created.
“Hmm…”
At that moment, an uninvited guest standing with crossed arms was visible at the stone chamber’s entrance.
The Archer leader quietly signaled for silence, and everyone quietly stared at him.
They nocked poison arrows onto their bowstrings, ready to draw at any moment.
The Bow of Terror.
This was also the unique talent of the Archers guarding this dungeon.
The moment the arrow touched its target, a massive flame would rise – a type of bow magic.
Once it pierced any part of the body, it would generate flames using the body’s magical power as a medium.
So, those who were not well-informed called this the ‘Magic Burning’ phenomenon, or Magic Burn phenomenon.
Thud.
Klirk.
As the intruder took a step, the archers began to pull their bowstrings back even more forcefully.
Soon, this intruder will grab their neck and cry out in pain, or experience dizziness.
This was something that all the Awakener who had come here had experienced like a rite of passage.
Among them, those with quick wits or good evasion skills managed to escape alive.
Those with slow reactions became irretrievable guests without exception.
The archers were greatly encouraged by the fact that they were killing all intruders who rashly entered their territory without fail.
This time was no different.
Moreover, unlike before when they had come in teams of at least four or five, today there was only one.
In fact, there was a clear sense of disappointment among the archers because the number of potential targets was small.
Just then.
“Keuuk!”
“Klklkl.”
As expected, the intruder who had stepped two steps inside grabbed their neck and let out a groan.
The time had come.
How could one be so foolish!
“Kuut!”
The archer captain assumed this intruder’s fate would not be much different and immediately gave the attack order.
Ping! Ping! Ping!
Dozens of arrows flew in a parabolic arc from the darkness towards him.
The poison arrows, including corpse poison, would cause paralysis just by grazing.
Right at that moment.
Pajik!
The torch on the ceiling, which had been softly illuminating the stone chamber, was extinguished by something.
But the archers did not panic and continued to shoot arrows silently.
Ting! Ting! Ting!
“…?”
Something was strange.
If the arrow had hit, there should have been a sound of flesh being pierced. Something like ‘Puk’ or ‘Pushi’.
But a clear sound like hitting metal echoed through the stone chamber.
And that sound instantly came closer from the entrance to the center, from the center to the passage.
In other words, it was right in front of them!
“How was it? Feeling good?”
“Kek!”
The one who boldly revealed themselves was none other than the intruder from just moments ago!
Not only the stone chamber but also this place where the archers were waiting was a place with very little oxygen.
This was of no concern to the archers who were not affected by breathing, but it was different for the Awakener.
Here, they should have been gasping for breath and crying out in pain, but for some reason, this intruder was smiling innocently.
“Your bone powder is very useful. How fortunate. Looking at it, it seems perfect for extracting vitality from bones.”
“Haek!”
A lively declaration of war.
A natural enemy had appeared to the archers who boasted an undefeated record!
* * *
Ting! Ting! Ting!
The panicked archers continuously shot arrows at me, but they were useless.
This was because I had activated the Steel Reinforcement talent obtained using the Steel Flower from Magos.
Although it was a talent that consumed an enormous amount of magical power to maintain, I could currently sustain it for at least 30 minutes.
Although the talent itself was like a hippo consuming magical power, its value was certain.
“Should I play an actor later? Since the oxygen is low, I pretended to be out of breath, and they’re shooting arrows believing it?”
Ting! Ting!
Ppeok! Ppaak! Ppak!
I calmly received the poison arrows they were shooting and crushed their neck bones one by one.
Skeleton-type monsters do not have a heart.
So the fastest way to stop them was to shatter the cervical or spinal vertebrae to block the skeletal system’s connection.
“This is why Steel Reinforcement is broken. It’s a natural enemy to archer-type monsters and Awakener alike, right?”
With a proud expression, I crushed the archers who were retreating as if terrified.
They were dying in a state of confusion, having been too confident of their certain victory.
In fact, skeleton monsters around C- rank do have various reinforcement buffs on their bones.
However, perhaps because I could momentarily raise my firepower to B+ rank or higher.
The monsters scattered with a ‘Pas-seut’ sound, like a Jenga about to collapse.
The one-sided massacre ended in an instant. From the beginning, these creatures who relied only on arrows found my Steel Reinforcement to be a perfect counter-punch.
For these monsters with no way to overcome their inherent weakness, death was an inevitable fate.
“Indeed, the magical lungs and heart are the best at times like these. No need for an additional oxygen respirator.”
I satisfyingly brushed my chest area.
The enhanced respiratory ability through abnormality allows breathing more deeply even in places with thin air.
Unless it was completely filled with carbon dioxide, it wasn’t particularly difficult to endure for a few minutes.
Blocking the mouth and breathing through just one nostril?
It felt stuffy, but not to the point of being unbearable.
This is the power of my respiratory ability that I can demonstrate even in such trap zones.
A space that might be a realm of deadly suffering for someone becomes a non-threatening area for me.
Swish. Swish. Swish.
I carefully gathered the bone fragments of the dead skeleton archers in one place.
These would be the spoils I would collect on my way back after subduing Calais and obtaining the artifact.
Right at that moment.
Kisht. Kisht.
The distinctive breathing of a monster was heard from not too far away.
‘Calais’s sentinel.’
I know who it is.
One of Calais’s subordinates was sent as a scout outside the boss’s room.
Because they meticulously scan the intruder’s path, Calais often sets traps at the entrance or nearby.
Intelligent enough to prepare appropriate countermeasures according to the intruder’s movements.
‘How fortunate. I need to look through several rooms to find Calais, and this creature will help reduce trial and error.’
I quickly transformed the saliva I had gathered in my mouth into the desired form.
‘Tracking saliva.’
A saliva with tracking capabilities.
The forms I can transform my saliva into are largely four types.
Toxic saliva, Healing saliva, Adhesive saliva, Tracking saliva.
What I’m about to use is tracking saliva, which can follow the target’s traces.
The principle is simple.
The one hit by the saliva continuously emits a unique magical power.
Since I can detect this visually, I just need to follow the traces.
To draw a comparison, it’s similar to tracking a wounded person fleeing while bleeding. Because traces are left behind.
Having already subdued the skeleton archers, there was nothing more to do here.
Paat!
With a powerful leap, I ran towards the sentinel carefully observing me from afar.
Kisht!
The sentinel’s response was also quite fast.
As soon as I moved, it immediately began to flee.
Unfortunately, it hastily bumped into a wall once.
“Ptui!”
Cheop!
The saliva I forcefully spat landed precisely on its buttocks.
Startled, the creature rubbed and tried to wipe off the saliva on its buttocks.
But finding nothing unusual, it seemed reassured, glared at me once, and then vanished in an instant.
‘I can see it.’
The creature’s movement path began to appear.
My mutated eyes could track the magical traces in a light emerald color.
And along the path the sentinel had passed, a vivid emerald trace remained.
A color invisible to ordinary awakened, but visible only to me.
This was the fantastic synergy between the tracking saliva and my mutated eyes.
“Shall I guide you comfortably?”
I quietly began to follow the sentinel that had run away in a hurry.
Indeed, one must use their brain.
* * *
Battles of large and small scales continued.
Whenever it seemed quiet, C- rank monsters would suddenly appear and block the way.
‘Average C- rank. If I increase magical consumption by more than 3 times, it becomes B-rank. Momentary high firepower can reach A-rank level.’
This was an analysis of my objective power based on numerous monster practice targets.
In other words, if magical consumption and recovery are equally balanced, I can easily suppress C-rank monsters.
If I increase firepower by gradually consuming magical power, I can handle up to B- rank monsters.
And if I unleash explosive and powerful firepower in a short-term concentrated battle, I can cover up to A- rank.
‘Even so, the path to S, SS, SSS, and EX ranks is still far. Come to think of it, talking about S-rank on the third day of regression is even more ridiculous.’
I looked at the elder Hwang Seok-cheol’s suit without a single scratch and the clean, glossy artifact gauntlet.
The battles didn’t last long and ended almost in one decisive blow, so the overall condition was neat.
Usually, in a complex battle, the suit and even artifacts would be mixed with monster fluids and blood and become dirty.
“It took about an hour. I’ll precisely keep the promise I made to Jin Bo-mi?”
I looked at the electronic watch built into the sleeve of the suit and made a satisfied expression.
Without hurrying and precisely suppressing only the necessary monsters, it took an hour to reach the boss’s room.
“I’ll obtain Calais’s Chaos and then organize the hospital district’s residence. I should also start buying Gorim Chemical’s stocks.”
There are so many things I want to do, things I must do, and tasks to complete, and it’s a pity that I only have one body.
It would be great to have a division talent, but unfortunately, there’s no way to obtain it now. I need to wait about 5 more years.
“Grrr…”
Finally, from the boss’s room located one floor down following the spiral stairs, a monster’s voice filled with anger could be heard.
“The unpredictable Calais.”
In the central underground great stone chamber.
There, it was waiting for me with eyes full of murderous intent.
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