182 – Jeong Jung-dong’s mindset
“Huh? You’re here right now?”
Yeon-hee said it unexpectedly, but the corners of her mouth rose to the sky.
Actually, it didn’t take long to come and go. If I hadn’t waited for the polluted breath to spread, it would have taken less than 20 minutes.
“Clack!”
After answering, I looked at her with eyes asking what the hell are you doing, and Yeon-hee hurriedly replied.
“Me! I… I just couldn’t sleep, I was hanging out with Ran!”
‘It’s back to normal.’
The adult version of Yeon-hee, who seemed somehow dangerous, disappeared without a trace.
Naturally, my eyes went to the little bird that was drooping on Yeonhee’s palm.
Ran, who said she would mentally train her lizard troops, had her wings messed up. It looks like she spilled some blood too. She seems to have been rather educated by No. 1… She’s nervous from the moment she makes fun of her mouth.
(Master… I don’t deserve to live any longer! hehehehe… All I did was say a few words to say goodbye, but you trampled on me mercilessly.)
“Don’t cry, Ran. Are you hurt a lot? No. 1! Why are you hitting the kid!”
“Churururu…(Fair confrontation…)”
“Are you talking back again?”
“Chew…”
“Ran, is this where you were injured?”
(Yes, there, there. Inside the wings. Yes. Master, I would really appreciate it if you could pour me a little bit of Irmana-sama’s energy… Keuhhehehe…)
‘……’
Shaking my head, I sat down in a reserved seat in the corner of the living room and entered the happy hour of making bombs.
‘Bomb making, sword training, magic training, and now even digging. I also have a lot of fun things to do, right?’
It’s a blissful skeleton life. I wish I could continue to live like this.
‘I wonder if there are so many human wastes like Nam Yong-seok within a radius of 500 meters right now…’
I was thinking that I should get out of this crazy town quickly, but I suddenly became curious about how the world works.
‘We were too preoccupied with our growth.’
I listened to the sound of the TV coming from another house while quickly letting the waves of my senses flow here and there. I need to find a house to watch a news channel… Oh? There are quite a few.
There was a broadcast on the news that was concerned about the appearance of a new monster.
「······ This is breaking news. It is news that a monster of the form first identified in the sea near Phuket, which was Thailand’s largest tourist destination in the past, has risen to the ground and caused hundreds of casualties.
Many eyewitnesses testified that unlike mermaids, they were huge creatures with black scales, red wings, and sharp teeth.
The Thai government immediately ordered all residents to evacuate and launched an investigation.
Experts raised concerns about the appearance of a new ‘monster’ considering the size of the monster and the amount of damage it caused in a short period of time… 」
‘… Thailand… Black scales, red wings… Was it the Ironclad Colossus? Yes, that was the name. Black scales are the monsters among monsters that are difficult to scratch even with most skills. It’s not the ‘Grand Monster’ level, but it’s a lower level… But it’s as difficult to defeat as the Great Monster. But is that time to appear already…?’
The news that hundreds of lives have been lost with just one appearance. But he wasn’t just one. That guy must be a scout.
‘… Well, there are many strong people in Thailand. I’ll take care of it.’
Then another news from another house caught my ears.
「······ The emergence of powerful mutants in dungeons has been increasing recently, and the authorities are in deep trouble. There were reports from the academic world that mutants were frequently appearing not only in high-level dungeons, but also in mid- and low-level dungeons… 」
‘Hmm, if you look closely, it’s safe to say that meeting Orcs in the Lizard Marsh was an encounter with a mutant. The difference is that there were a lot of dirty things, but…’
I think it would be better to increase the minimum number of Skull Bombs. Just like how I detonated 30 bombs at once to the boss of ‘Closed School’, I always have to secure at least enough bombs to avoid when a powerful guy comes out.
I feel that 10 pieces are not enough. Stock up on 30. Instead, increase the proportion of fire balls… To do so, it might be better to implant one or two magical runes.
—–
Skull Bomb Lv.9
– The bones of the monsters you killed are processed into magical bombs and stored, and when needed, they are thrown to inflict damage (380% of attack power).
– The higher the grade of the processed bone, the more damage occurs.
– In storage 0/66
—–
A skull bomb that has reached level 9. Although he used it frequently, his growth rate was much faster than all other skills. Is it because it is an ability that contains my identity as a skeleton?
However, even though I reached level 9, I was still dissatisfied with the quantity that could be stored. Will there be any other changes once you reach level 10? At least the number of bombs that can be stored would be greatly increased.
Then, news related to North Korea came out.
「······ North Korea’s erosion is progressing rapidly. Six months have passed since the Devouring Creeper, a giant monster in Deokcheon, South Pyongan Province, appeared, but no other solution has been found other than slowing down its erosion. As a result, experts analyze that the possibility of North Korea officially requesting a helping hand from the international community is increasing. 」
‘Ha… The debauling creeper? This isn’t coming out now either. What made everything so fast?’
That giant monster that is said to have settled in North Korea rapidly expands its territory and eventually swallows even the northern part of Pyongyang. Only then did Korea realize the seriousness of the situation and hurriedly dispatch top-tier hunters.
‘It’s really f*cked up… Those are the early Awakeners or early S-class Hunters, but there’s no answer.’
A monster called the ‘Great Monster’. Some people are fascinated by its mighty power and call it a divine beast.
Since only the Awoken who have their own ‘unique space’ can deal meaningful damage to the Great Monster, it was very difficult to deal with.
Of course, it wasn’t that it nullified the attacks of ordinary hunters at all, but it was the same as doing 1 point of damage to a monster with 10 billion HP so it wouldn’t show up.
Is it because of the physical superiority they have by birth, or does it really have more than 10 digits of stamina, as I mentioned in the example? I don’t know if it’s the strength of using enormous magical power freely, but the conclusion was that it was incredibly hard and strong.
However, no matter how strong you are, you might think that it would be okay if the early Awakeners gathered and beat them one by one, but there were two difficulties here.
The first was the penalty the early Awakeners had.
While going through the ‘First Wave’, all of them had monster-like abilities, but they always had problems that limited their activities. There is a saying that it is a reaction caused by receiving a powerful ability without conditions, but anyway, they are beings that cannot be easily moved.
The second is the finiteness of ‘unique space’. It was a resource that was consumed the more it was used. A considerable amount of power is consumed to defeat a ‘big monster’ class monster, and even once used, it cannot be recovered, but the cost of consuming and gaining one’s ability is not enough.
So, even if they appear in the world and cause enormous damage, there are few who actively step forward. It’s probably because you don’t know who will target you in the gap where you’ve consumed your strength, and it’s safe because no one can invade them if they’re in their space anyway.
‘Considering that the clock has sped up… Our growth might be lacking…’
The world is rapidly falling apart. This is why I can’t help but rush.
But.
‘What if I hurry, can I save the world?’
I shake my head. Impossible. It is impossible. To me, who was at the level of trembling for fear that only Jo Ki-man would even lift his finger, such a thing seemed far away, like a world in another dimension.
Pogak- Pogagak-
Today, the sound of making bombs felt dreary. As he became a skeleton, his emotional ups and downs were greatly reduced, but momentarily soaring worries and insecurities came at no time.
‘······ Useless. Did 5% of the things I worried about in my previous life come true? Come to your senses. Let’s focus on what we can do now. Nothing will change if you’re impatient.’
“……”
“Just right?”
Yeon-hee, who is approaching me before I know it, is staring at me with her big eyes blinking while supporting her chin with her hand.
Is he still sleeping? What are you going to do tomorrow? You shouldn’t trust Irmana’s water too much.
“…Are you worried? Is it because of me?”
‘Huh… What I’m worried about is obvious? Hmm… I guess I can feel the emotions of the summoned beasts.’
I shook my head vigorously. Then she looked at me as though she was a bit worried.
“Yeah…”
I gently brushed her soft hair and told her it was really okay.
“Come to think of it, I didn’t get a massage today!”
“Tak…”
“hehehe- I can’t even sleep. Please touch me a little.”
She didn’t even listen to my answer, and I looked down at her as she lay her head on her lap. Then, suddenly, she felt a new firewood ignite in her sunken heart.
‘Think of the time I met Cho Ki-man in this room. It took a few weeks longer than the situation I had assumed at the time. Let’s think positively.’
Kwook-Kkook-
“Ah… Good…”
So I comforted myself and touched her. And within a few minutes, Yeon-hee fell into a deep sleep. When I see her sleeping like a baby like this, I wonder if she is the same child who played with me earlier.
‘I want to protect you somehow…’
With that promise, I picked her up and carefully carried her to her room.
I hope that one day I will be able to keep her safe in her own space…
* * *
We entered the Orc-D-177 dungeon the next day as well.
‘I don’t feel much.’
Morning. Before leaving the door, Yeon-hee put a soft substance around my neck. Now, I quietly touched the shield, which was slightly greenish. Will this really help?
‘I don’t think I’ll ever get hurt in this dungeon… Do I have to be hit on purpose?’
“Ah… It’s your waist. Let’s go to battle quickly.”
“You want to consume your mana and drink water quickly, don’t you?”
“Oh no!”
“Would drinking that cure your hangover?
“…Th, wouldn’t that be a little helpful?”
“Since you’re going to drink soon, I guess you’ll find out soon.”
“hehehe…”
‘Using Irmana’s lake water as a hangover cure…’
I couldn’t help Yeon-hee’s request and gave each of the party members three bottles of Irmana’s lake water before entering the dungeon. Thanks to that, I was able to see Arin and Jua smiling happily from the start. Acting like you have the whole world just because you only received one item. Kids are still kids.
‘There is no Apex…?’
Am I taking a day off today to fix yesterday’s work?
Thanks to whatever it was, we were able to start exploring the dungeon with a light heart.
“Shall we go…? Today we will arrive 30 minutes earlier than yesterday!”
Nod-
From noble mtl dot com
Following Arin’s signal, we proceeded with our exploration more cautiously than yesterday.
However, the movement speed was much faster than yesterday, which showed that the level of party members and summons had clearly improved as they played yesterday’s boss fight.
*
After 7 hours, we arrived at the place where the boss battle was taking place.
“Okay! You definitely came earlier than yesterday!”
“As expected, it’s much easier because you use a lot of items, right? Ilwol-ah, have you seen it?”
“Tak…”
Somehow elated, Joo-a tapped the thorn on my shoulder with her staff and spoke again.