Chapter 20
[The Roar of the Enraged Lion has been activated]
[All enemies’ morale and stats have decreased]
Kang Hyeon rushed forward, drawing Bilgein’s longsword from his inventory.
Although he had Ronald’s armor obtained after passing the 7th stage, there was no time to leisurely change clothes.
“Kieeeek!”
The Keikas, intimidated by Kang Hyeon’s skill, screamed.
“Giant’s Strength!”
[Strength increases by 12 stats for 10 minutes]
As he used the skill, he felt a surge of power.
“Move!”
The Keika’s beak and Kang Hyeon’s sword collided precisely.
-Clang!
A sound like metal clashing rang out, and the Keika’s head tilted backward.
“Kieeee..!”
The Keika’s beak, as hard as steel, crumpled like paper.
Kang Hyeon swiftly beheaded the creature writhing in pain and continued forward.
“Ahhh! Help me!”
“Kiek!”
A man was desperately trying to escape from a Keika.
But he was quickly caught by the Keika with its fast movement speed.
Just as the Keika’s beak was about to strike the man’s head.
Kang Hyeon, running at full speed, kicked the man away.
“Kuuk!”
The beak barely grazed the man as it passed by.
“No need for thanks!”
“Ugh… I think my bones are broken.”
The man groaned on the ground, clutching his side.
Kang Hyeon didn’t even glance at the man and looked at the Keika.
“Kiek!”
“One Slash, Two Pieces!”
The creature charged with a terrible cry.
Kang Hyeon dodged the beak and used his skill to cut the Keika in half with one strike.
“Whew, why are there so many?”
The surroundings were in complete chaos.
The green grass was covered in red blood, and screams of agony could be heard.
“Die! Die! Kuhahaha!”
At that moment, Kang Hyeon’s head turned towards a laughing voice cutting through the commotion.
There was An Yu-seong, riding on top of a Keika.
-Bang, bang, bang!
An Yu-seong, holding a menacing-looking mace, was relentlessly smashing the Keika’s head.
It was clearly the weapon received after clearing the 6th stage of the tutorial.
“So you were originally a mace user.”
Finally, the Keika’s head burst open, spilling its contents.
Kang Heon, who was briefly feeling sorry for the Keika, shook his head.
“This is not the time.”
It wasn’t the time to be leisurely watching.
Kang Hyeon looked around again.
He could see that several ability users and instructors had taken down quite a few Keikas.
However, the boss mutant Keika, was still rampaging around.
Its beak was covered in blood and flesh from an unknown number of victims.
“Huap!”
Kim Yi-hyeon was facing the creature alone.
-Kwang, bang!
Threatening sounds echoed as the beak struck the ground.
Although Kim Yi-hyeon wasn’t directly hit by the attacks, he looked precarious as he continued to only dodge.
‘Now…!’
“One Slash, Two Pieces!”
-Slash!
Kang Hyeon quickly approached the boss mutant Keika and used his skill.
“Kieeek!”
Normally, Kang Hyueon doesn’t use his full strength while using ‘Giant’s Strength’.
It was because his body might not withstand it, and his muscles could be damaged.
But now was not the time to worry about such things.
Kang Hyeon’s sword, swung with all his might, cut about half of the boss mutant Keika’s wing, causing blood to flow.
-Thud!
At the same time, Kang Hyeon was hit by the creature’s swinging tail and flew a considerable distance before crashing to the ground.
“Cough!”
It was a tremendous impact, like being hit by a car.
Kang Hyeon, not wearing armor, felt like his entire body was breaking.
When Kang Hyeon spat on the ground, blood was mixed in.
“Ah… This is going to take some time.”
It felt like he had injured his internal organs, having been hit in a bad spot. It seemed it would take more than a moment to fully recover.
“Kang Hyeon! Are you okay?”
An Yu-seong, who had approached at some point, extended his hand to Kang Hyeon.
“Yeah…”
As Kang Hyeon was about to take his hand, he saw the blood and flesh pieces covering An Yu-seong’s hand and withdrew.
“You filthy bastard.”
“Ah, why are you like that~ We’re comrades!”
An Yu-seong, covered in blood from head to toe from who knows what, tried to embrace Kang Hyeon.
Kang Hyeon recoiled in horror.
“Take one more step, and you’re dead.”
“Tch.”
“Sigh, we don’t have time for this. It’s dangerous, so you stay back.”
Kang Hyeon picked up his sword again and rushed towards the creature.
“Are you alright?”
“Worry about yourself!”
Kang Hyeon responded to Kim Yi-hyeon’s greeting and deflected the rapidly approaching beak to the side.
-Clang!
Then, Kim Yi-hyeon, who was beside him, stabbed his dagger into the Keika’s head as it flew towards him.
“Keeeeee!”
The creature screamed with the dagger stuck in its right eye.
“Its right field of vision is blocked, so let’s focus on attacking that side. Aim for the legs first so it can’t escape!”
Kim Yi-hyeon gripped his remaining sword in reverse and leaped under the Keika.
“For someone with only one life, you’re quite bold.”
Kang Hyeon moved to the Keika’s left side, which was uninjured, and swung his sword.
It was to draw the creature’s attention.
-Bang! Bang!
The ground shook each time the creature’s beak struck down.
Kang Hyeon carefully dodged the attacks and brought his sword down towards the creature’s neck.
“Kugh!”
Although he swung with the intention of cutting it completely, it was difficult to even pierce the creature’s thick hide.
“I’ll help you!”
At that moment, a familiar voice was heard from behind Kang Hyeon.
“This voice…”
Kang Hyeon recognized it as Kim Seong-han, the assistant who had corrected him during the first day’s training.
“Huaaap!”
Kim Seong-han ran at high speed, swinging his sword towards the boss mutant’s face.
In that instant, the creature’s eyes flashed.
-Swish!
The creature impaled Kim Seong-han with its beak, which was much longer than other Keikas at 1 meter.
Kim Seong-han was skewered on the beak in an instant.
When the boss mutant raised its head, Kim Seong-han also rose into the air.
-Thud thud thud
As it violently shook its beak, blood and entrails rained down from the sky.
“That stupid bastard!”
“All the other assistants are out! We’re just increasing casualties!”
Kang Hyeon spat out curses.
Kim Yi-hyeon warned others not to join the battle.
“Kieek!”
As time passed, wounds multiplied on the boss mutant Keika’s body.
Especially its right leg seemed to have completely lost function now.
“Huff, huff…”
Kim Yi-hyeon was also panting heavily, completely exhausted.
He hadn’t allowed a single direct hit, but his chronic lack of stamina was the problem.
“Just a little more and it’s over!”
-Clang!
Kang Hyeon, who was striking away the tail with a shout, wasn’t in a normal state either.
The outside was healed due to skills, but the inside of his body was still a mess.
“Huh?”
Just then, Kang Hyeon’s head turned at a suddenly familiar voice.
“Wadadadadada!”
“Hey! Where are you going, man!”
An Yu-seong was running at an incredible speed, swinging his arms back and forth like a sprinter.
-Tap, tap!
Soon, An Yu-seong jumped right in front of the boss mutant, did a flip in the air, and landed on top of the boss mutant Keika’s body.
It was an incredible sense of balance.
“Kieek?!”
The boss mutant Keika turned around, feeling something climb onto its back.
An Yu-seong faced the creature with a smile.
“Hello?”
“Keeek!”
Enraged at the human who dared to climb on its body, it thrust its beak forward.
Seeing this, An Yu-seong instead kicked off the approaching beak and rose into the air again.
“Keek?”
The boss mutant Keika shook its head in confusion as An Yu-seong suddenly disappeared into the air.
At that moment.
-Kwang!
An Yu-seong, who had somehow taken out a mace from his inventory, struck precisely at the dagger that was stuck in the creature’s eye.
“Ke, kek, kieek…”
With that impact, the knife handle went completely into the eye, piercing the brain, and the creature slowly crumbled to the ground.
“Die! Die! Die-! Uhahaha!”
-Bang! Bang!
Even after it fell, the mace was driven into the Keika’s twitching head several more times.
The creature that had been trembling finally stopped moving.
“…”
Kang Hyeon blankly stared at the scene.
“What the hell is that bastard…?”
It wasn’t just a matter of physical stats.
That level of movement. That sense.
Kang Hyeon felt he understood a little of what true talent was.
‘He waited for the timing and moved without hesitation when the opportunity arose.’
Not only that.
Outstanding judgment and decisiveness. Perfect sense of balance. Even the sense to open the inventory in mid-air to take out equipment.
An Yu-seong was a born fighter in every sense.
“Kang Hyeon! I took care of it.”
An Yu-seong, covered in so much blood that you couldn’t tell if his hair was yellow or red, waved at Kang Hyeon.
“Crazy bastard.”
Kang Hyeon could only swallow a hollow laugh as he watched.
***
Ippotranslation
***
“Thank you very much.”
“Thank this guy. He wrapped everything up.”
Kang Hyeon pointed to An Yu-seong as Kim Yi-hyeon was expressing his gratitude.
“Thank… You.”
“It’s fine! I did it because it was fun too. Haha!”
Not long after, people from the Ability Management Agency came to clean up the scene.
As many as 23 people died and over 40 were injured.
Some were said to be so psychologically traumatized that even daily life would be difficult.
“I’ll speak to the higher-ups about compensation for this incident, so it will be deposited into both of your accounts. Even though we didn’t remove the main core ourselves, we still cleared the dungeon.”
The reward for removing an F-grade main core is as much as 40 million won.
Kim Yi-hyeon said that 20 million won each would be paid to Kang Hyeon and An Yu-seong.
“If everything’s done, can I go home? I’m tired.”
The aftereffects were quite severe due to overexertion while using the Giant’s Strength.
Moreover, fighting urgently without proper armor resulted in too many injuries, with broken bones and bleeding all over.
“Yes. We’ll send your ability registration card to your home. Will you be alright without going to the hospital?”
“It’s fine. It’ll heal on its own if left alone.”
“Understood.”
“Then I’m leaving.”
Kang Hyeon greeted and headed home.
He frowned as he dusted off the dirt and flesh from his clothes.
“Damn… I can’t even take the subway like this.”
What he was wearing could no longer be called clothes, but rather rags.
“Kang Hyeon! Where are you going?”
An Yu-seong, who had approached unnoticed, called out to Kang Hyeon.
“Home.”
“Want to go together with me?”
“What?”
Kang Hyeon stared blankly at An Yu-seong’s sudden invitation. Though he didn’t seem particularly injured, his clothes looked like they would drip blood if wrung out.
“If I go with you, it wouldn’t be surprising to see us on the news tomorrow.”
“Pardon?”
“Get lost.”
“Come on~ Why are you like that? I called a driver, so let’s go together. I’ll give you a ride.”
“Driver…?”
As An Yu-seong said, not long after, a luxury sedan stopped in front of them.
“Young master, please get in.”
An older man got out of the driver’s seat and politely opened the back door.
“Get in! I’ll take you to your house, Kang Hyeon.”
“You bastard! So you’re a silver spoon?”
Kang Hyeon felt annoyed for no reason, but he had no other way to get home.
He reluctantly got into the car.
-Vroom…
The car glided forward with a heavy engine sound.
“Geonu-dong, right?”
“Yeah. Just drop me off around there, I’ll manage on my own.”
Tired, Kang Hyeon closed his eyes, cutting off the conversation.
“But…”
“Hm? What?”
Kang Hyeon spoke calmly without even turning his head.
“Why are you being so friendly and following only me?”
“Is that not allowed?”
“Yeah. Not until I know the reason.”
Kang Hyeon, who had opened his eyes by now, glared at An Yu-seong with a cold gaze.
“I think it’ll be fun hanging out with you, Kang Hyeon.”
“You’re following me around because you think it’ll be fun? You expect me to believe that now?”
“But it’s true…”
An Yu-seong made a truly aggrieved expression.
“Give me another reason besides that.”
“Hmm… First of all, you’re strong, Kang Hyeon.”
“You don’t seem too bad yourself.”
“Nah, I’m still no match for you, Kang Hyeon.”
I’m not sure what basis he had for saying this, but An Yu-seong seemed confident.
“And? Is that all?”
“Because you’re similar to me.”
An Yu-seong was the craziest person Kang Hyeon had ever met.
When such a guy said he was similar to him, Kang Hyeon’s face crumpled.
“What nonsense? How am I similar to a lunatic like you?”
“Ahem…”
A fake cough was heard from the driver’s seat at Kang Hyeon’s blunt words.
“Come on, you know too, Kang Hyeon.”
“I don’t know. Speak clearly.”
“You can tell by looking at the eyes.”
You can tell by looking at the eyes.
Somehow, those words felt familiar.
Searching his memory, he recalled the night a few days ago when he visited Kim Yi-hyeon.
-Then why aren’t you making eye contact? Why don’t you try talking while looking into my eyes?
From the moment he first saw him, he could see the boredom and desire for victory in Kim Yi-hyeon’s eyes.
‘Did this guy see something in my eyes too?’
Kang Hyeon narrowed his eyes and asked.
“What about my eyes?”
“You know too, Kang Hyeon. That you’re crazy.”
Kang Hyeon’s eyes grew cold at An Yu-seong’s following words.
“The desire to destroy something. The pleasure when bones and flesh are crushed! You feel it too, don’t you, Kang Hyeon?”
***
Ippotranslation
***
-Vroom
“Sigh…”
Kang Hyeon, who got off near his house, walked with a tired expression.
An Yu-seong’s words kept echoing in his mind.
“That bastard. Making people feel complicated.”
-Beep beep beep beep, ding dong
Finally arriving, Kang Hyeon entered the password at the entrance and went inside.
“Looks like Kang A-hyun isn’t home yet.”
That was fortunate.
Kang Hyeon hurriedly took a shower and threw away his blood-soaked clothes, as seeing him in that state might shock her.
A moment later. Kang A-hyun, who had returned home, opened the door.
“Yo! You’re back!”
Kang Hyeon smiled slightly at the sight of Kang A-hyun entering with a bright smile.
“Still, it’s nice to see you after a while, right?”
“You’ll be even happier in a bit?”
Kang A-hyun tilted her head at Kang Hyeon’s words.
When Kang Hyeon checked his smartphone, he saw that 20 million won had just been deposited.
Quite fast processing.
Kang Hyeon grinned.
“Your brother has brought home some money. Let’s have a beef party today!”
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