He flowed like water but struck decisively when attacking. The guard’s left arm was cleanly severed by the swinging sword. Though the guard switched his greatsword to his right hand, the outcome was all but decided the moment he became one-armed.
Geon-joo exploited the creature’s opening, thrusting his blade deep into its thick neck. His movements were efficient, as if he had observed and learned from somewhere.
Squelch!
As he drove the sword in deeper with force, a single cry burst from the creature’s mouth.
“Gurgle.”
The once massive body slowly crumbled downward.
Thud!
The guard fell to his knees, head bowed, with the greatsword plunged deep into the ground. Geon-joo was startled by the posture, which resembled someone paying homage. Sa-yoon jumped down from above and stroked Geon-joo’s head.
“Is it trying to submit or something?”
“Me?”
“No, that thing.”
Geon-joo, who had been looking at Sa-yoon as if he was spouting nonsense, gestured towards the guard. The posture of kneeling on one knee with head bowed while gripping the sword handle tightly was perfect for a knight’s demise.
“Does it still look alive to you, pretty one?”
“What?”
“That thing’s dead.”
“…”
“The guards of the City of Dwarves die like that. Well, it’s about maintaining their pride as protectors of the world called a city.”
To prove it wasn’t a lie, Sa-yoon tapped the guard’s shoulder. The lifeless creature didn’t budge. Sa-yoon drew his sword and decapitated the guard, holding the head in his hand. Soon after, the body, minus the head, turned to dust and disappeared, leaving behind only the greatsword which transformed into the map Sa-yoon and Geon-joo had been seeking.
Without needing to be told, Geon-joo efficiently picked up the map and unfolded the old paper.
“There’s a secret passage.”
“Lead the way.”
“I was going to do that anyway.”
Geon-joo replied with a hint of backtalk and started walking while looking at the map. Dangle, dangle, Sa-yoon followed behind him, carrying the guard’s head.
The secret passage was connected to the underground. Upon opening the door leading downwards and entering, a white corridor reminiscent of a container box stretched out before them. It wasn’t called a secret passage for nothing; there was no sign of any dwarves.
“There are no monsters at all.”
“Strictly speaking, that’s not entirely true.”
“What do you mean?”
“In secret passages, instead of other dwarves appearing, hidden monsters sometimes show up.”
“Hidden monsters?”
“They’re the ones that give you items just for defeating them.”
In terms of rank, they were about sub-boss level. Seeing Geon-joo’s eyes sparkle at the mention of items, Sa-yoon let out a chuckle. His pretty merchant-to-be was dreaming big.
“Why are you so excited? You think you can take them on?”
“…I wasn’t that excited.”
“Wipe the greed from your eyes before you speak.”
Responding with a smile, Geon-joo actually raised his hand and rubbed his eyes. After rubbing them audibly, he meekly protested, “Really, I wasn’t.” Sa-yoon snorted and adjusted his grip on the guard’s head.
“They’re sub-boss level, so you can’t kill them anyway.”
“How strong is sub-boss level?”
“At least A-rank.”
“Ah…”
At minimum, they’d be A+ rank. In terms of level, it was still too much for Geon-joo, who fluctuated between A- and A rank, to handle. No sooner had he said this than the sound of flapping wings was heard from ahead, and a masked monster rushed in.
“What great timing!”
Noticing the hidden monster, Sa-yoon grinned and swung his sword.
It was bonus time.
“…How many is this now?”
One, two, three, four, five.
Geon-joo muttered with a nauseated expression, cradling a total of five items in his arms. Thanks to the appearance of five hidden monsters, as if Sa-yoon’s earlier words about praying not to encounter them had become some kind of spell, they had acquired these items.
It was hard to tell if this should be considered good luck or bad.
“Hold onto them well. Don’t go losing them carelessly.”
“Can’t I just put them in my inventory?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“It doesn’t have the same feel.”
“What feel…”
A mocking voice followed by a dry laugh. Sa-yoon paid no attention to Geon-joo’s words and shook the monster blood off his sword. Judging by the quality of the items they’d obtained, it seemed appropriate to consider this good luck.
Hidden monsters typically dropped B-rank items, but today there were many A-rank drops. They even managed to obtain a rare clothing item.
Sa-yoon glanced at the sunglasses in Geon-joo’s arms, then smiled contentedly as he resumed walking towards the boss room. According to Geon-joo, the boss room was just ahead.
“We’re at B3 now, so… it’s right around that corner.”
“Oh.”
Hearing the welcome news, he slightly increased his pace. Geon-joo stuck close behind Sa-yoon and spoke up.
“Do you think it’ll be strong?”
“It’s bound to be strong.”
“How strong?”
“Well…”
He couldn’t yet guess how strong the creature would be. Unlike before when they had recklessly clashed with dwarves along the way, this time they had minimized friction, so it would likely be similar to or below the Rat King’s level. That is, if you excluded the number of hits Geon-joo had landed while fighting the guard.
Geon-joo had dealt quite a few attacks in the fight with the guard. Considering how much stronger he might have become from those hits, Sa-yoon shrugged his shoulders after some thought. It was difficult to estimate how much stronger the boss might have become before even reaching its room.
“Well, as long as it’s weaker than Unknown, it’s fine.”
As he spoke nonchalantly, he could feel Geon-joo squirming behind his in response. The events at the Tower of Disbelief must have left quite an intense impression on him.
Concerned that he might have developed trauma, he turned the corner and, just as Geon-joo had said, saw the iron door leading to the boss room. Sa-yoon rubbed the guard’s head he had been carrying against the door. The entrance opened, revealing another long corridor. Tossing aside the head with a thud, Sa-yoon grabbed Geon-joo’s arm and entered.
“Stay close behind me.”
Perhaps because the cumulative damage hadn’t been that great, the aura he felt was less intense than expected. It was incomparable to the last time when it had seemed to surpass Unknown. Still, it was strong. At least stronger than the Rat King.
Sa-yoon took off his coat again and handed it to Geon-joo. When he urged him to wear it, he put it on without protest this time. Being an item, the coat transformed to fit the wearer’s build, stretching to fit Geon-joo’s body perfectly.
“It’s weaker than Unknown but stronger than the Rat King. Do you understand what I mean, pretty one?”
“…That means it’s dangerous for me.”
“Yes, so stay put and make yourself comfortable here. I’ll go inside alone.”
Dwarves were quick and swift. In terms of speed alone, they were comparable to him. The boss of the City of Dwarves, whose size increased with the number of hits taken, was no exception.
Among its abilities, agility was the highest. As it was a target to be wary of, Sa-yoon firmly pressed Geon-joo’s shoulder before releasing it and grasped the final door leading directly to the boss room.
“I’ll go take care of the boss.”
Turning back with a smirk, he spoke, and Geon-joo waved his hand as if telling his to hurry up and go. Sa-yoon clicked his tongue, muttering about his lack of affection, and opened the door to enter the boss room.
The door closed with a clank. As if it had been waiting, red eyes leaving afterimages rushed towards Sa-yoon.
Boom!
It was a full-power strike from the start. The body, having gained momentum as if it had dashed from the far end upon noticing his presence at the door, was heavy.
Screech.
Sa-yoon blocked the dwarf’s spear by tilting his sword sideways and smiled viciously as he looked into the red eyes that had come close to his face. The dwarf, instinctively sensing danger, tried to retreat as if to escape.
But it was already too late.
Splatter!
As Sa-yoon strongly twisted the sword he was holding, the liquid coating the blade scattered in all directions. It was poison that he had applied before entering the boss room. Sa-yoon, having closed his eyes in advance, suffered only minor damage, but the dwarf was not so fortunate. The poison had entered its eyes.
“Kieeek!”
The dwarf screamed in agony.
<You have inflicted the first injury on your opponent through curse, trickery, etc. The special ability ‘Dirty Play’ has been activated.>
As the special ability activated, a red energy sparked in the creature’s eyes. From now on, it would receive additional damage from all attacks that landed. The dwarf, clutching its eyes, staggered backward. Sa-yoon smirked at the creature unable to regain its senses.
“I can’t show this kind of battle to my pretty one.”
Of course, he had awakened with Disillusionment, but he didn’t want to erase the good feeling of admiration with his own hands.
Sa-yoon pulled out a smoke grenade from his pocket as he watched the dwarf charging at his again with an expression contorted by rage, as if furious at having fallen for such a cowardly trick.
Bang!
A light explosion was heard, and a hazy mist enveloped the boss room. The thick fog obscured visibility, making it impossible to see ahead, but Sa-yoon, with his S-rank vision, could make out faint silhouettes. Sa-yoon moved swiftly through the smoke like a fish in water.
Slash!
With each strike he unleashed, the sound of cutting echoed.
“Kieeek!”
The screams of the monster, unable to see in the fog having never fought in such conditions before, reverberated throughout the boss room.