Skeleton Master Chapter 038
Behind him...!
Not missing the opportunity, he quickly gave the command.
Bone Archer 1, attack the master!
The Bone Archer twisted its body and shot a bone arrow toward Moo-hyeok.
The distance was too short to even think about reacting. The moment he saw the bowstring release, he immediately dropped flat to the ground.
The bone arrow flew over Moo-hyeok's head by a hair's breadth. It struck Moulking in the chest as he was approaching to attack Moo-hyeok from behind.
Kieeek!
The creature flew through the air, hit the dungeon's outer wall, and fell to the ground, where it lay writhing.
Meanwhile, Moo-hyeok got up and rushed at the creature.
He pressed the skull head of the Skull Staff to extend the blade, then stabbed one of its eyes.
Squelch.
A critical hit landed.
He pulled it out and stabbed the other eye.
[Critical hit triggered.]
[Deals 290 damage.]
[Deals additional consecutive critical damage (10).]
Perhaps due to the pain.
Moulking swung its claws violently.
Slash.
As the claws grazed Moo-hyeok's body.
[You take 80 damage.]
[You take 81 damage.]
[You take 79 damage.]
In an instant, taking three hits reduced HP by 240.
Damn...
But there was no backing down.
Moo-hyeok stabbed the creature's face again.
[Deals 121 damage.]
Even then, he was hit twice.
He dealt 121 damage, but Moo-hyeok took 160 damage in return.
A losing trade.
Had no choice but to back off.
Bone Swordsmen 1, 2, fall back.
After that, he left his back to the Bone Swordsmen and focused on commanding.
When openings appeared, he would occasionally close the distance and deal damage to Red Bear.
Kwoooooor!
Red Bear was certainly strong, but it couldn't help being overwhelmed by numbers.
Seven Bone Swordsmen and four Bone Archers.
You might think the damage is weak?
No, it's sufficient.
They got stronger once when changing weapons. They got even stronger when replacing bones.
As Moo-hyeok grew, the summons' stats increased accordingly, and their damage was definitely making an impact.
The summons' average damage alone was in the mid-110s.
Assuming Red Bear's defense is around 60, each attack deals close to 50 damage.
Eleven such summons were concentrating their attacks. Even if each one landed just one hit, they would deal well over 500 damage.
Of course, Red Bear's HP is high. Being meant to be taken down by a party, it's incomparable to a user.
But if that small damage accumulates, we can definitely take it down.
Now, again...
Chichichik!
As Moo-hyeok was looking for an opening, Moulking suddenly burst up from the ground in front of him.
Hup!
While quickly dodging.
Bone Swordsman 1, forward.
I gave the command to send the Bone Swordsman forward.
It took the hit in Moo-hyeok's place.
After one attack, Moulking burrowed back into the ground.
I didn't bother trying to find where Moulking had disappeared to. I simply pressed forward, attacking Red Bear.
It was the same afterwards. Moo-hyeok no longer paid attention to Moulking. He focused solely and persistently on Red Bear.
The more he did so, the more enraged it became, and the Bone Swordsmen were unsummoned one by one.
Even seeing this, he didn't stop.
More, just a bit more!
Relentless attacks continued one after another.
Perhaps this effort was paying off.
Its movements had slowed.
It wasn't due to the slowing poison.
It was exhausted.
Not much longer!
Moo-hyeok intensified his attacks.
Though his HP dropped when Moulking approached and swung its claws, he ignored it.
He swung the Skull Staff again and again at point-blank range from Red Bear. Meanwhile, Moulking approached again and aimed for Moo-hyeok's side.
Damn.
His current HP wasn't high.
He couldn't keep taking hits.
He twisted his body to block the attack.
Clang!
He stretched his foot forward and kicked the creature in the stomach.
Tststst!
The fallen creature immediately dug into the ground and disappeared.
Moo-hyeok turned his head and attacked Red Bear again, who was pressuring the Bone Swordsmen.
Grr, grroaaar...
Perhaps their efforts had paid off.
Red Bear lost its balance and fell sideways. He plunged the blade of his staff into its face.
Squelch.
It twitched and then went still.
[You gain experience.]
Red Bear had been defeated.
Crackle...
Moulking's sound quickly faded into the distance.
It had fled.
Moo-hyeok unsummoned his skeletons and used Body Disassembly to obtain materials.
['Body Disassembly' complete.]
['Red Bear's Bone (x2)' obtained.]
Just as he was about to start assembling bones.
Hm?
There was something shining where Red Bear had disappeared.
What's this?
He picked up the coin-like object and examined it.
[Dungeon-Specific Currency (10 Diamond)]
[Currency that can only be used in designated dungeons.]
Moo-hyeok's eyes widened.
This is...
The fact that this currency dropped means this dungeon isn't just one floor.
At least two floors, and if unlucky, it might be over ten floors. But as difficult as it is, the rewards for clearing it are guaranteed.
Plus, dungeons like this are more fun than expected.
Why?
Footsteps.
Looking at the goods the approaching peddler has and purchasing and using those items with diamonds was all there is to it.
Moo-hyeok approached the peddler with a smile.
"Oh my, it's good to see you."
"Yes."
"Ah, well..."
The peddler's voice trailed off.
"Did you... come in alone?"
"What about it?"
"Oh my, how can this be!"
As the peddler expressed surprise, a message appeared.
[You have acquired the title 'Solo Journey'.]
Such luck right from the start.
This was going to be a very interesting exploration.
-
After subduing the Phoenix Guild, they finally secured the dungeon.
Guardian Guild Master Kim Bada, unable to hide his joy, gathered 100 promising level 38 recruits.
"From what we've assessed, this place has an extraordinary level of difficulty. But with great difficulty comes great rewards. Those of you who enter here will be able to grow quickly. While obtained items will be distributed to guild officers as needed, you'll get your share too, so don't feel disappointed."
"Yes!"
Honestly, in the Illusion where leveling up was difficult, there was no better benefit than being able to level up quickly.
As such, most of the 100 promising recruits here were content with the situation.
While some might have complaints, it wasn't possible to cater to each of them individually.
If someone expressed dissatisfaction, they would try to persuade them once, and if that didn't work, they would simply be removed from the guild.
After all, there were many who wanted to join.
"Keep sending updates through the guild chat."
"Yes!"
"Good, enter."
They headed toward the dungeon entrance.
The guild party members all received the same message simultaneously.
[There are other users inside the dungeon.]
[Entry is not possible.]
The expression of the user at the front turned to bewilderment.
"W-what?"
They reached out again.
The same message appeared once more.
"...!"
Only then did Kim Bada approach, sensing something was wrong.
"What's the matter?"
"Guild Master..."
"Yes, speak."
"It says we can't enter because there are other users inside the dungeon."
"What...?"
Kim Bada also wore a dumbfounded expression.
A memory flashed through his mind.
Could it be that person...?
They were definitely a necromancer. There's no way they could have survived being hit twice by his attacks.
But if it wasn't them, there was no other explanation.
"How dare they, how dare they...!"
Anger welled up naturally.
Nothing had been going right lately.
"Check again."
"Yes, sir."
The level 38 guild member tried several times, but the result remained the same.
"Aaaaaargh! Damn it! Damn it!"
Exploding with rage, he ordered.
"We wait for that bastard to come out."
With bloodshot eyes.
-
Moo-hyeok first checked his title.
[Solo Journey]
All stats increase by 5 percent in dungeons
This was a title that only applied inside dungeons.
Not bad.
If damage increases even slightly, dungeon clearing becomes that much faster.
In the long run, this would be quite profitable.
"May I see the merchandise?"
"Ah, of course!"
The peddler extended his hand.
"Just take my hand."
When he grabbed the hand, a hologram appeared.
Various items were listed.
Hooh.....
He began examining them one by one.
[Dungeon-Exclusive Item List]
[Instant Use Items]
- Potion of Strength (20 diamonds): Increases strength by 3 for 10 minutes
- Potion of Agility (20 diamonds): Increases agility by 3 for 10 minutes
- Potion of Health (20 diamonds): Increases health by 3 for 10 minutes
- Potion of Intelligence (20 diamonds): Increases intelligence by 3 for 10 minutes
- Potion of Wisdom (20 diamonds): Increases wisdom by 3 for 10 minutes
- Body Awakening (100 diamonds): Increases all stats by 10 percent for 5 minutes[One-time Items]
- Explosive Orb (20 diamonds): Throw the orb to deal 50 percent of your damage to monsters within 5 meters
- Piercing Arrow (10 diamonds): An arrow imbued with penetration ability. The penetration effect disappears 10 minutes after dealing damage to a monster.
- Piercing Dagger (10 diamonds): A dagger imbued with penetration ability. The penetration effect disappears 10 minutes after dealing damage to a monster.
- Light of Explosion (20 diamonds): Grants explosive damage to your weapon for 3 minutes.[Dungeon Upgrade 0Lv]
[All damage is increased by 0 percent.]
- 1Lv (10 diamonds): All damage is increased by 0.5 percent.
There were many other items, but he didn't look further. Moo-hyeok's attention was already captured by something.
"There's so many."
"Of course. They're very powerful, though they only work in here."
"I'll buy one for now."
"Excellent choice. What would you like?"
Moo-hyeok smiled and said,
"I'll upgrade the dungeon to level 1."
The peddler's expression became subtle.
"The upgrade?"
"Yes."
"Hmm, the effect is quite minimal..."
"That's fine."
"Well, if that's what the buyer wants."
Moo-hyeok handed over 10 diamonds, and the peddler accepted them.
[Dungeon upgrade rises to 1Lv.]
[All damage from the user or any summons related to the user increases by 0.5 percent.]
This is enough for now. The primary goal was to hunt monsters to gather diamonds and use them to upgrade the dungeon to level 10.
Yes, just level 10.
When that time comes, one secret will be revealed.
"Summon Bone Sword 7."
After organizing his thoughts, he summoned the bone sword and began bone assembly.
['Bone Sword 7's' 'Health' decreases.]
[Influenced by 'Dexterity', decrease of '0.17' occurs.]
['Bone Sword 7's' 'Health' increases.]
[Influenced by 'Dexterity', increase of '0.37' occurs.]
The stats increased more than expected.
Bone Swords 7 and 8 were recently acquired, so he hadn't been able to perform much bone assembly with them.
In this situation, suddenly replacing bones with those from a strong monster like Red Bear naturally led to a significant increase.
Therefore, he planned to focus on developing Bone Swords 7, 8, and Bone Bow 4 here.
"Unsummon."
He moved forward again.
Tss tss tss.
The monsters that appeared were the same as before.
Moulking and Red Bear.
