Skeleton Master Chapter 027
Once again, Illusion was shaken.
All programs focused intensively on it.
The message boards were in an uproar.
It even topped the search rankings on portal sites.
[Dungeon, what is it!]
The true nature of dungeons had been revealed.
[Many users are curious about dungeons right now. Miss Yura, did you know about dungeons?]
[I only found out recently.]
[Oh, but you still got the information faster than I did.]
[I suppose you could say that.]
[Then may I ask you about dungeons? What exactly are they?]
[Generally, monsters are in the field, right?]
[That's right. The field.]
[In contrast to that, wouldn't it be easier to understand if you think of a dungeon as a restricted area for obtaining special rewards?]
[Ah, a restricted area...]
[If you look at old PC games, they have something called instant dungeons, right? It's a limited map you enter and can only exit after clearing it completely. It's similar to that.]
[I see. Do you know about the rewards as well?]
[I'm not entirely sure. But from what I've heard, they're supposed to be incredible.]
[For example?]
[It depends on the dungeon, but I hear they often give very useful items. And occasionally, there are dungeons that give even more special rewards.]
[Useful items! Many users must be drooling over that, right?]
[I hear the top guilds are already busy trying to occupy dungeons.]
[It must be the start of true growth!]
[That's right. I'm really looking forward to it too.]
Their expressions were genuinely excited.
The homepage was the same.
Most of the users' reactions were favorable.
[Awesome, finally items are coming out, right?]
[Ah, so there was content called dungeons!]
[As expected of Illusion!]
[I'll be the first to find one! Definitely!]
But while they were getting excited, the large guilds had already taken action.
Especially the infamous High Guild, which had completely blocked off a hunting ground to monopolize a dungeon they had luckily discovered.
They had occupied the hunting ground area with 2,000 guild members.
"No further access allowed."
"Fuck, what's this about!"
"I was supposed to hunt here today!"
"Enter if you want to be on High Guild's kill list."
"What the hell..."
They cursed, but couldn't actually enter.
High Guild's kill list target.
What's the reason for their notorious reputation?
It's partly because of the trivial reasons they put people on the kill list, but mostly due to their viciousness and tenacity - once someone is on the list, they never give up until that user quits Illusion.
Nearby users whispered.
"Why are they suddenly like this?"
"Maybe..."
"What is it?"
"Did they find a dungeon?"
"Fuck, then they should share it. Why are they monopolizing it and acting crazy?"
"You idiot, think about it. If you were a guild leader, would you want to share it with other users?"
"..."
"Sigh, this game is so dirty. Hey, let's go somewhere else."
"Ah, damn it."
Countless users turned away like that.
Some users waited to see the situation through to the end.
At the same time.
Moo-hyeok was already walking inside the dungeon.
What kind of monsters would appear here?
Worry and anticipation.
He walked the seemingly endless path inside the dungeon, in a state tinged with strange excitement.
How far had he gone?
A fork in the road appeared.
After a moment's hesitation, Moo-hyeok chose the left path and entered.
As Moo-hyeok walked for a while, his brow furrowed. It was because of another fork in the road that appeared.
This time there were three paths.
Hmm...
Feeling a strange sensation, he chose the center path. This time, he didn't have to walk far before he could spot a living being.
A person...?
The shape was exactly like a human.
He summoned a skeleton just in case.
Kirik, kiririk!
Only when the distance was sufficiently narrowed could he tell what it was.
It was a rotting corpse, a zombie.
It felt strange to face as an enemy something he used to summon and keep around before becoming a Gangster Necromancer.
"Bone Archer, attack."
The bone arrow raced through the air.
As the arrow struck, the zombie fell backwards.
Grrrr...
But it slowly got up.
Then it approached.
Frowning, Moo-hyeok stepped forward. He swung his Skull Staff, striking the zombie's body.
[You deal 127 damage.]
[You deal 125 damage.]
It was so slow.
Grrrr...
It only let out strange cries. It had almost no combat ability.
"What is this?"
He dealt with the zombie in an instant.
Only emptiness remained.
Something feels off...
Although tilting his head in confusion, he had no choice but to move forward.
Moo-hyeok took another step.
Eventually, he discovered a fork in the road.
This time there were four paths.
As Moo-hyeok chose the rightmost path and advanced, he encountered another zombie.
After dealing with it, he looked at the dropped materials.
"......"
Without picking up those materials, he chose the right path again.
After passing several forks in the road, he noticed the zombie materials he had intentionally not picked up earlier.
"Ah......"
It was a maze-like dungeon.
He went back the way he came, choosing the center path.
Next, he went left.
After passing through several more forks in the road like that, the entrance to the dungeon came into view.
"Phew, thank goodness."
Luckily, he had returned to the beginning.
There's only one way to escape a maze-like dungeon.
From the moment you realize it's a maze, you must always take the leftmost path.
At every fork in the road, you must choose the leftmost path, and if you hit a dead end, go back to the previous junction and choose the next path. This is the only way to find your way out.
It might take a long time, but it's a sure method, so there was no other choice.
Still, this isn't so bad.
When your level gets higher and you enter special dungeons or unique dungeons, even the easiest ones will take at least 3 weeks of struggle.
If it's really difficult, it might even take 1 or 2 months.
Right, there was also that 18-floor dungeon.
You have to clear all the monsters on one floor before the door to the next floor opens.
Having to clear all 18 floors like that before you can get out, I can't even imagine how long it would take or how exhausting it would be.
Compared to that, well...
This is quite easy.
Of course, there's a difference.
Doing it together versus doing it alone.
But by that time, wouldn't you have at least one companion?
Kirik, kiririk.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of a skeleton.
When he turned his head, there was a black bone skeleton.
It was because he had only summoned one, feeling lonely walking alone.
It didn't put much strain on his MP either.
That's right, you guys are companions too.
His heart felt lighter.
Leisurely choosing the left path and advancing for an hour.
Hmm, it's blocked.
As he was going back, he saw a monster wandering there.
It wasn't there when he came...?
Tilting his head in confusion, he narrowed the distance.
Another zombie?
But its movements are a bit different.
Step.
Even so, Moo-hyeok advanced, and only when the creature's form became clearly visible did he hurriedly summon all his skeletons.
An enhanced zombie...!
It was a level 31 monster.
Much taller and bulkier than a regular zombie, and its movements were extremely natural.
Almost like a human.
Tension naturally flowed through him.
You might ask why he's tense when it's a lower level than the level 32 steel ant?
Sure, he knew the steel ant's weakness and dealt with it, but this thing has no weaknesses.
It doesn't flinch from pain and ignores wounds, just unleashing indiscriminate attacks.
It has high health and excellent defense. Its attack power isn't negligible either. So it was natural to be tense.
All bone archers, attack.
The bone arrows struck the creature.
Thud, thud.
But it approached unfazed.
Attack again.
The distance is sufficient.
Just as he made that judgment.
Whoosh.
The enhanced zombie suddenly increased its speed.
It was faster than he thought.
After firing one more bone arrow, he had no choice but to send the black bone skeletons forward.
After switching to defense mode, Moo-hyeok closed the distance.
He swung his Skull Staff, plunging into the battlefield where they were trading blows.
Thwack.
With a powerful sound.
[You deal 97 damage.]
The message that appeared caught his eye.
Only 97...
Moo-hyeok's current damage is about 150.
It was thanks to his high strength, the Skull Staff's damage, and the options attached to the item.
Yet the damage dealt was only in the 90s.
That means its defense must be over 50.
An incredible figure.
At this rate, the skeletons' damage will hardly make a dent.
How much is its attack power?
Moo-hyeok deliberately stepped forward to take a hit.
[You take 111 damage.]
Moo-hyeok's defense is over 30.
Yet his HP decreased by 111.
The enhanced zombie's attack power is at least 140.
The black bone skeletons' HP doesn't even reach 700.
Their defense is around 20.
If we assume they take 120 damage per hit, it would take six attacks to unsummon one black bone skeleton.
Body slam.
Biting.
Scratching.
Punching.
Kicking.
All of those would deal similar damage.
On the other hand, the skeletons' attacks would barely scratch it.
The worry was mountainous.
However...
Kirik! Kirik!
The situation didn't unfold as difficultly as expected.
When defending with the shield, the damage was significantly reduced, and in the meantime, Moo-hyeok managed to land several successful attacks, reducing the creature's HP more easily than anticipated.
After taking more than four hits, the black bone skeleton retreated, and he instructed a sturdier one to move forward and block the creature's attacks with its shield.
The occasional bone arrows that flew in disrupted the creature's actions, and Moo-hyeok also fired arrows to inflict damage.
Grrrr!
Thanks to this, the creature's entire body was now silver.
It meant it was covered in blood.
Its movements had even slowed down.
It meant its HP was below 10 percent.
Moo-hyeok intensified his attacks.
Gruk, gruruk...
Finally, the creature fell.
"Phew..."
He couldn't help but smile.
Is this really an enhanced zombie? He thought to himself.
At that moment, his summons caught his eye.
Kirik, kiririk!
Don't they seem to be enjoying themselves?
Right, that must mean they've grown to that extent.
Among monsters in the early 30s level range, the enhanced zombie is particularly known for its high defense.
It's no exaggeration to say it's on par with late 30s level monsters. And they handled such a creature with ease.
Although the summons' damage barely made a dent, it must have accumulated bit by bit, and it was also thanks to the black bone skeletons blocking attacks that would have hit Moo-hyeok.
That's enough idle thoughts.
"Corpse dismantling."
After performing corpse dismantling on the enhanced zombie, he put the materials in his inventory.
Afterwards, he moved forward again.
He dealt with monsters that appeared occasionally and turned back when the path was blocked.
There was always an enhanced zombie when he turned back from a blocked path.
Anyway, Moo-hyeok was clearly closing the distance to the exit, little by little.
It wasn't too difficult since it was a normal dungeon.
Did it take 3 days?
Just 3 days to the exit.
And what he gained were gloves and a large amount of experience.
[Your level has increased.]
With this, his level became 31.
Even after that, about 50 percent of experience had accumulated.
Let's see what kind of gloves they are.
Item check.
A hologram appeared.
[Gloves of Combat]
Attack Power 10
Strength +2
Durability 70/70
Usage Restriction: Strength 25
They were gloves with 2 strength attached.
And attack power too?
If sold, they would probably fetch at least a hundred gold.
What a jackpot.
He immediately put on the gloves.
Then he gripped the Skull Staff.
There was no sense of rejection.
It felt like a perfect fit.
Good.
With a satisfied smile, he passed through the dungeon's exit.
The place he appeared was the center of a pavilion.
What he saw were users in the same attire surrounding the area.
