Episode 74.
He found out that the essence of Dullahan’s Caina was a special processing material, but it didn’t change much. The only ingredient he had now was the essence of Caina, and he didn’t have the rest that was needed.
“It’s clear that the soul collection is the key point of this process, but with the soul, I have now, I don’t think the conditions are met.”
“We still have the scales and skeletons of the armor eel that contains god’s power, but it won’t be enough.”
“That means…”
The essence of Caina had to spend a long vacation in the inventory. It was a pretty painful loss, given that Caina’s Malice boosted his power by more than 50%. One good thing was that the amount of mana consumed in general attacks had decreased significantly as the thunder gods rifle awakened. Jung Si-woo also gained quite a lot of mana by raising his level and consuming the mana stones, so he wouldn’t be winded after firing the rifle once like before.
“It was nice to use the Caina…”
“Marina Bissett will be sighing.”
“Hyeong-nim, in the end…”
“Let’s just go to the dungeon.”
Jung Si-woo opened the gate to the dungeon with a sullen face. If it had been a strong dungeon, Jung Si-woo would’ve felt a little better, but it was a Goblin dungeon. Jung Si-woo murmured out of his wits.
“I can’t believe players are retiring in dungeons like this…”
[Oh, ohhh. A person…a person came…! A very strong man!]
“There’s a ghost!”
Was it because Jung Si-woo’s power had become too strong? Originally, ghosts appeared with a little bit of malice toward the world and players, and they’d looked at you and spat out quests very submissively. Maybe it instinctively realized that it wouldn’t be able to make a scratch on Jung Si-woo’s body even if it did everything it could.
[Huhu. Since you’ve completed the quest perfectly, I’ll give myself to you.]
“No, I don’t need that. Give me your skills.”
[Fortunately, you already have the skills to control the soul. Huhu, why did I…]
“I told you that I don’t need that! You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”
Jung Si-woo was a man who had exceeded the quest since he first entered the dungeon. Then, he emerged overwhelmingly strong, so whatever the ghost offered would’ve already been achieved. The ghost came to offer itself to Jung Si-woo…
[Number of souls in possession: 84]
“I don’t need it…!”
“Oh, but I think the pattern is getting darker and darker, Oppa.”
“It’s an optical illusion, Seonbae.”
Jung Si-woo was in a position to reap all the souls of the unjust people who fell underground. It took twenty minutes to an hour to find one soul. It was the moment when he was reborn as a true soul collector.
[You are being followed by countless souls. I’m sure you’re the Savior.]
“No.”
[But will you be able to reap me? This dungeon is full of tricky and overwhelming traps…]
“…Should I just kill all of these?”
If there were a goal that could be achieved immediately in front of them, humans wouldn’t stop easily. The same went for Jung Si-woo. Even if you know that you’re overachieving the quest and collecting the soul of a retired player, you can’t get out without pitching in all your might once you get the quest! After clearing countless dungeons, Jung Si-woo suddenly looked up and muttered.
“How long has it been?”
“It’s been exactly three days and two hours, Oppa.”
“Hmm.”
Jung Si-woo identified the number of souls sleeping in the pattern: there were 99. It was a remarkable achievement, given that not all dungeons had souls, and not all of them offered themselves as rewards.
“It’s already been three days?”
“Even if his level has raised, he still didn’t get any rest at all. And I don’t think he’s tired.”
“You must do something tiring to feel tired.”
Of course, he hadn’t just been gathering souls. Jung Si-woo’s level already reached 99. As with the mana stones, he couldn’t even dream of a level-up by clearing these low-level dungeons, but there were several dungeons with monsters above level 100 that appeared as regular mobs, so he was able to raise two more levels. And it was the same with this dungeon.
“Look, that’s the monster that stays here.”
[Kii, kiiiiii!]
The skull of the giant monkey burst as it was struck by the hammer that Jung Si-woo lightly swung. Then, the remaining monkeys screamed and grew warier of him. They were level 140 demon monkeys, which, like armored orcs, players generally wanted to avoid.
“Oppa, you might take it lightly, but…ugh, I still remember the nightmare of meeting these guys in the 25th-stage dungeon.”
“I wasn’t there then.”
“Oh, what a jerk.”
The characteristics of the devil monkeys, with their rugged size, were surprisingly magical. They fired magic with their black left hand, but it was difficult for players to resist because it fired warning.
[Kiiiiii]]
[Kikikig, kikiiii!]
The monkeys began to attack. Flying lightning, spears of dirt rising from the ground, flames, winds, ice balls! However, Jung Si-woo didn’t move an inch. The magical attacks covered his whole body in unison!
[Kkigigigigigigigigi!]
[Kihu-iiiii!]
The monkeys, who were sure of victory, burst into a mad fit of laughter. Soon after, however, a hammer popped out of the fog created by the magical explosions, cutting their victory short.
[Kkigigi!?]
“I don’t feel a drop of mana. I’m sure my resistance won’t rise from this.”
There were no signs of the attacks on Jung Si-woo’s body once the fog lifted. No matter how poor his armor was, his body became stronger as his level rose, and his powerful mana protected him. So, he couldn’t be hurt by the magic attacks of these demon monkeys. And the magic resistance that he gained from the whole dungeon battle was added onto that so that he couldn’t feel a thing!
[Resistance – Poison Lv10, Flame Lv6, Curse Lv6, Lightning Lv9, Ice Lv3, Wind Lv4, Earth Lv3]
“Hmm, I wanted to raise the ice and earth resistance to level 4.”
“People don’t usually think about getting hit on purpose to raise their resistance. You look more like a game player than the actual players.”
“What do you mean, a game? It’s basically physical training.”
“Yes, that’s what scares me the most!”
The reason that Jung Si-woo had been subjected to the magic of monkeys a while ago was to train his resistance, but perhaps because his body became too strong, so the growth of resistance began to stagnate. But he couldn’t lower his level, so the only way to train resistance was to fight against stronger monsters. It was impossible here; if there were a chance, maybe it would be the boss monster!
[Kyyiiiii!]
“Now that this happened, you guys have nothing to do here. Goodbye!”
[Kyik!]
Jung Si-woo’s hammer ended them. His blow, which ended their lives with a single swing, left only dollars and beads for loot. The strike seemed like a miracle that erased the past.
[Kyyiiiii]
No matter how many monsters there were, they couldn’t help but feel the distinct power gap between themselves and Jung Si-woo. However, the demon monkeys continued to run at him, screaming in agony and pain, then died in vain. Jung Si-woo clicked his tongue while killing them. An indescribable bitterness dominated him.
“Is it their faith to know death and not stop?”
“But we don’t even know how the monsters in the Ant Cave appeared. The first place where the monsters appeared was in the sky castle…”
“I think the Sky Castle and the Ant Cave are essentially similar.”
Monsters appeared repeatedly. He already heard that the Sky Castle dungeons don’t disappear even if they’re cleared, but the Ant Caves did. But there could be several dungeons that appeared by dead players in the same dungeon. But was it possible to call the monsters that appeared in the Sky Castle and the Ant Cave fake? Jung Si-woo thought they weren’t fake.
Even though they were trapped in a frame that someone had created and had no choice but to move in, the monsters operating in the dungeon were “real.” If they weren’t real, nobody could explain what happened when they were released to the ground.
“But an Ant Cave is a dungeon created by players who had retired from the Sky Castle.”
“You don’t have to focus on the player. It’s not like the Ant Caves are created by the power of the players.”
If you focus on where the monsters and mana possessed by the Ant Cave dungeon came from, everything was simple. Of course, they were from this world.
“Then, the invaders of another world will use the retired players and create dungeons on the ground…?”
At that point, Soo Ah-rin’s thoughts faced limitations. The cost of stepping into an area that players haven’t been willing to understand so far was devastating. Seeing Soo Ah-rin’s eyes twirling around, Jung Si-woo smiled bitterly and lifted his hammer.
“I’ve already decided not to think deeply. Monsters, gods, dungeons, whatever. I have to do what I can.”
Yes, he needs to destroy everything!
“Wow!”
He didn’t care what’s happening to the earth right now. If he just erased everything he saw in front of him, everything would be solved! Whoever made the Sky Castle and the Ant Cave, whatever his intentions were, had nothing to do with what the people from the world they were aiming for. Sooner or later, they wouldn’t be able to do anything anymore.
“How can we come to such an ignorant and faultless conclusion…?”
“As expected, Hyeong-nim.”
Thanks to the strong backup from the two supporters, Jung Si-woo went through the dungeon without any problems. The boss of the dungeon was a super-giant monkey that had never appeared in the dungeon of the Sky Castle. It was a monster that fired off enormous magic with its abnormally inflated left hand. However, while being hit by the magic of the level 200 elite monster, Jung Si-woo cheered.
“Okay, my resistance will rise now!”
“Why not!”
Three hours later, Jung Si-woo continued to receive all the magic until the moment the monster ran out of mana. He raised his ice, wind, and earth resistance to five levels higher than before and put an end to the monkey’s life.
[Ant Cave Area #121 The Devil Monkey Forest has been cleared.]
[The settlement begins.]
“Considering the power of the demon monkey at the last moment, I think I’ll be level 100 this time.”
“Let’s take a break to celebrate level 100. Please.”
“Yes, yes.”
Jung Si-woo smiled bitterly and nodded at Soo Ah-rin’s words. Then, there was a message that pooped up in Jung Si-woo’s retina.
[Experience settlement will be canceled.]
[The ground is changing. For your safety, you will be banished to the earth.]
“…What?”
Jung Si-woo asked back, but of course, there was no one to answer him. At the moment of unreasonable pressure on his body, Jung Si-woo was thrown to the ground side by side with his two supporters.
“No, they should at least do that after the settlement…what?”
There was a slightly strange thing in Jung Si-woo’s eyes, who raised his head while cursing. It was a scene where the ground was rising, and the buildings were collapsing.
