Chapter 398: Explosion Of Scorching Heat (1) |
An hour later.
“You learn insanely fast. Were you born smart too? Moving while keeping your breathing steady and holding your posture is way harder than it looks.”
“I’m focusing on everything you taught me. I’m so tense that it probably just looks like I’m doing well.”
“That’s not something you can do just by focusing and staying tense, though? You’re picking it up ridiculously fast, Kang-hoo.”
“It feels like one-on-one tutoring, so it clicks fast. Seriously, thank you. Should we stop here for now?”
“Yeah, I was just about to say we should. At this level, I can guarantee you’ll have at least a 50% hit rate in the dungeon.”
“Good work, Ayane.”
“Good work? Please. Seeing my student learn so well is making me weirdly proud. Is this why teachers feel all warm and fuzzy when their disciples are bright and talented?”
Ayane took a handkerchief from her chest and wiped the sweat beading on Kang-hoo’s forehead.
It looked nice.
They had drawn a line around their feelings a long time ago, because the future was uncertain.
So, paradoxically, they didn’t attach any particular meaning to what they were doing now.
It was more like the kind of friendship where you look out for a teammate. They didn’t pour romantic longing into it.
That was when it happened.
A message arrived for Kang-hoo and Ayane at the same time. It was from Lars Abel.
Stabilization has begun. Based on the data so far, entry should be possible in 12 hours.
Twelve hours from now meant tomorrow morning.
It would be after they slept and woke up, so the timing was perfect. Kang-hoo sent a reply, then rose from his seat.
“Let’s rest, Ayane.”
“Yeah. I’m tired after getting put through the wringer with dagger training for an hour.”
“Me too.”
If this weren’t right before an important request, a cocktail would have felt perfect for the soft night atmosphere.
But the only thing either of them could think about was a fluffy bed.
They headed straight back to the hotel, washed up, and fell asleep immediately. It was the deepest sleep they’d had in a long time.
The next morning.
“I pray you return safely. Since the client is difficult, the success fee will not change from what we promised. It’s been put into writing, but I’ll guarantee it once more.”
With Lars’s encouragement behind them, Kang-hoo and Ayane stood before the dungeon.
If they succeeded in carrying out this request, the rewards guaranteed to Kang-hoo and Ayane were as follows.
Kang-hoo would receive a full exclusive lease on two dungeons owned by the Stark Guild for nine years and nine months.
During the exclusive lease period, no hunter other than Kang-hoo could enter, and anyone who wished to enter had to obtain Kang-hoo’s permission.
The two dungeons were ones Kang-hoo had coveted among the Stark Guild’s holdings.
One was another dungeon located inside the “Golden Triangle,” meaning there was a strong chance its rewards would be excellent.
The other was a special dungeon where it wasn’t just a single middle boss that appeared, but multiple middle bosses.
From the Stark Guild’s perspective, these were dungeons they’d already cleared in the past, and ones whose usefulness had declined.
So they didn’t understand why Kang-hoo wanted them so specifically, but in any case, they had decided to accept his terms.
Ayane would receive a mana-shot rifle modification from Oliver Trask, a Stark Guild hunter and craftsman.
It was a modification that could raise the efficiency of an already-maximized firearm by another 15%.
Because improving a mana-shot rifle’s efficiency directly translated into increased firepower.
It was high-difficulty work, but if the modification succeeded, a gunner could experience growth beyond what leveling and stats alone could provide.
“We will return with the information you want. We just need to secure the main route, correct?”
“Of course.”
At Kang-hoo’s question, Lars nodded.
It was easy to say, but it was something the guild had already failed at repeatedly because it was that difficult.
To follow the main route, they had to keep confronting monsters with harsh conditions.
And it hadn’t been easy to get past them. Even Lars had monsters he simply couldn’t handle.
They were like a wall, and no clever solution came to mind for breaking through that section. They kept getting stuck.
“Just a moment.”
Kang-hoo asked for understanding, then stopped before the dungeon.
Just like he had when entering the gymnasium dungeon with Park Dong-jae before.
He went through the procedure of summoning and utilizing the ability of the mischievous traitor constellation.
【Internal information has been obtained.】
【All information and design related to this dungeon will be injected into the contractor at once. A headache will accompany it.】
Clench.
He endured the pain by gripping his fist, forcing down a groan as hard as he could.
He’d expected it, but the headache always had a way of making him feel awful.
Even when he knew it was coming.
He couldn’t get used to it.
Each pain was new and peculiar, never becoming something he could simply shrug off.
‘Now I get it.’
Every detail of the dungeon’s terrain became vivid.
There were no areas marked ???, but he could see which paths would let them push forward smoothly.
The dungeon’s scale was enormous.
If you lost your sense of direction, the internal layout could send you endlessly off course.
Now he understood why the Stark Guild had struggled even after organizing exploration teams and entering multiple times.
Even with the internal map engraved into his memory, Kang-hoo couldn’t immediately spot a route that looked truly usable.
For an exploration team that knew nothing, finding the optimal path would have been outright impossible.
“Ayane, let’s go in.”
“Yeah.”
“Then I’ll see you later.”
Kang-hoo gave Lars a brief nod and stepped into the dungeon at once.
At that moment—
‘We came to the right place!’
He cheered inwardly.
Two more signs confirmed that this dungeon belonged to the Golden Triangle.
Shaaahhh.
Blood-red rain falling from the sky.
Rumble. Rumble.
The rainclouds were swept away by the wind, and the weather suddenly cleared. The abrupt shift defied common sense.
It was a hallmark of Golden Triangle dungeons, mentioned again and again in the original story. There was no room for doubt.
‘If we just make it to the main boss, a Grade 0 item is basically guaranteed. And since it’s bound, I won’t have to play mind games with Ayane over it.’
Bound.
An item that imprinted its owner, making it impossible to transfer to someone else.
It wasn’t that handing it over was physically impossible.
But if a new owner wasn’t imprinted, the item’s effects couldn’t be used at all.
Usually, a bound item automatically performed its first—and final—imprint at the moment of initial acquisition.
After that, transferring it to someone else was impossible. Even if you “gave” it away, you’d only be handing over an empty shell.
“Kang-hoo. Before we start, can I check the scope one last time?”
“As much as you want. Once we really get moving, it’ll be hard to find time for maintenance. The environment’s perfect for monsters to hide.”
“Yeah. Just wait a second.”
Because the dungeon’s environment was so unpredictable, Ayane seemed to want to prepare thoroughly.
In the meantime, Kang-hoo examined two constellations he had taken by killing the leader and looting them during the “Jeonghwa Transport Bus Incident” in Daejeon.
Things had moved so quickly back then that he’d only confirmed the constellation theft, without checking the details.
He’d only gotten as far as thinking, This looks kind of unusual, and nothing more. He still hadn’t verified the exact effects.
【Apostle of Austerity】
【For three days and nights, you will not experience a decline in physical ability even without eating or sleeping.
However, after that, 24 hours of complete rest is mandatory.】
‘Forced wakefulness? It’ll be useful when I need to push through a forced march.’
It was a fairly good constellation ability.
During long dungeon runs, the first thing that usually dragged people down was hunger and sleep deprivation.
This was closer to postponing those problems. After three days, you’d probably crash completely.
【Dice of Fate】
【Immediately manifests one of the abilities of countless constellations.
The ability used is chosen at random, and no matter what it is, you cannot stop using it.】
‘So if it tells me to die, I have to die?’
Kang-hoo let out a hollow laugh.
It was the first time he’d ever thought a constellation’s name suited its description perfectly.
It was leaving everything to luck. Unless he was in a do-or-die situation, he’d never use it.
No—he had a feeling he wouldn’t use it even if he was about to die. The uncertainty was so large that it was the entire point.
“I’m ready! I’ll start right away!”
Bang!
Before Ayane’s words had even fully ended, she aimed at the cliff to the northeast and pulled the trigger.
A choking cry sounded—then something black toppled forward over the railing. It fell.
The defining feature of this dungeon’s terrain was the abundance of canyon zones.
That meant monsters often seized the high ground. Like now.
Monsters that waited for an attack window from above were hard for Kang-hoo to deal with aggressively.
He’d have to climb the slope, or detour using whatever paths existed.
The one who could solve that problem was Ayane.
That single shot proved why she was necessary in this dungeon.
“First, let’s clear the Dark Mana Archers. We’ll enter from the right side of the canyon—take out the closest ones first.”
Instead of answering, Ayane raised her pinky, giving the agreed-upon finger signal.
Bang!
Another gunshot rang out, and a Dark Mana Archer—its head smashed like a watermelon—tumbled down.
【Acceleration】
【Leap】
With the most basic skill combo, Kang-hoo quickly hugged the right side of the canyon.
The Dark Mana Archers, still holding the high ground with full quivers, aimed down at Kang-hoo and Ayane.
Then—
Kkiririk. Kkirik.
As Kang-hoo kept closing the distance, they all pivoted their aim toward him.
To anyone, the greater threat was the assassin who would charge into their midst and turn everything into chaos.
At that moment—
【Intuition has activated.】
【You can immediately recognize that you have become an attack target.
You detect the activation of ‘Sniping,’ ‘Precise Aim,’ and ‘Target Designation.’】
Intuition, the second perk of the Strategist of the Wasteland constellation, activated.
When a Dark Mana Archer targeted someone, it used a built-in Precise Aim skill.
If they were simply drawing their bow by feel and combat instinct, it wouldn’t have been detected.
But because it was “Precise Aim” enhanced by the system’s skill correction, the constellation ability saw through it instantly.
‘This makes it way too easy.’
A smile rose on its own.
Every aimed point from the Dark Mana Archers stationed along the cliff edge became marked.
Clear dots appeared—visible only to Kang-hoo. And the dots couldn’t keep up with his movement.
A few of the smarter archers aimed ahead, predicting where he would move.
But there was no way he would walk into a predicted path he could literally see. He could just change direction.
‘Being able to see the future is an enormous advantage. Same with reading someone else’s aim.’
Once he was sure the first fight would be easy, every Dark Mana Archer started looking like experience points.
The next moment—
Tiiing!
One Dark Mana Archer, pulling its bowstring to the absolute limit, fired a Precise Aim shot packed with all its strength straight at Kang-hoo.
KWA-BOOM!
The strike was so powerful it exploded with a roar that felt like it could tear his eardrums— and it was aimed perfectly at Kang-hoo’s heart.