Dungeon Hunter
Chapter 21's

Secret Scrooves

After finishing exercising early in the morning and having breakfast, Jae Woo walks into Arth. 

Before heading to the Altein Gorges, he visited the Holiseum.

"Darion, I'm here!"

Darion is like a thief who steals his experience points, but taking him along does make things easier. 

After all, he would not torture his back by picking up any bone fragments. 

"Ugh," Darion groaned.

She laments the fact that she has to travel with Kang Oh again.

“Let's work hard today,” Kang Oh grinned.

"Hoo. Understood."

Darion's shoulders slumped.

Seeing that, Kang Oh said, "If you do well, then I will raise your wages to 10 silver."

He tried to push it with more than three times his salary. 

But for Darion, 1 silver, 3 silver, or even 10 silver were all foolish changes.

It was not enough to hire the last student of the Invincible Gladiator, Burkan.

Not to mention, he was not at all satisfied with his master.

But what can he do?

He took the bet and he lost. 

Moreover, as a gladiator, he could not retract his words, and Kang Oh would not let him renege on his words.

In the end, he had no choice but to last for a week.

Darion forces herself to follow Kang Oh.

"This is... Altein's culverts."

Their goal was clearly the Altein Gorges. 

Crunched.

The door seemed to cry.

"Huh?"

The old man guarding the entrance of the culvert was asleep like yesterday.

They said that the old man had trouble sleeping, but this man had no such problem. 

Clang.

The old grandfather muttered something indistinctly and carelessly opened the door, immediately returning to his sleep.

Kang Oh and Darion passed by the old man and entered the culvert. 

* * *

The skeleton head rolled on the floor until it reached Kang Oh's heel.

Kang Oh looked back.

Darion was fighting against the 5 skeletons surrounding him. 

He is tasked with fighting the skeletons while Kang Oh comfortably examines his basement and statues. 

"..."

Darion did not respond. He just swung his sword and scowled. 

"You just cursed me, didn't you?"

"No," said Darion, pretending to be innocent.

"Man, you really didn't help at all!" Kang Oh scolded, and went back to inspect the wolf statue.

The wolf statue, like the gargoyle statue yesterday, made a clicking sound when its head was pressed.

The results are almost the same. It simply lowered its head; there was no real change to the dungeon.

"Hm."

In any case, Kang Oh inspected every statue inside the dungeon in this manner.

There are 20 statues in total.

Their appearances were all different, but they had the same feature: when their heads were pushed, they would bow their heads and let out a click sound.

However, every time he checked the statues, his Hyper Intuition was off; not even once.

'Is there nothing here?'

His dormant Hyper Intuition might be a sign that there are no hidden dungeons below here. 

'Well, since I'm here, I might as well go all over the place. And if my Hyper Intuition doesn't explode, I'll go and look elsewhere.'

As expected, finding a hidden dungeon was not an easy matter.

Then Darion approached him.

"I took care of them all."

Kang Oh stretched out his hand.

Darion handed all the fragments of the fallen skeletal bones to him. 

Kang Oh walked towards the end of the hall without even saying thank you. 

Darion just sighed and followed him.

How long has the time passed?

"That's here!"

His Hyper Intuition tells him that something is here; that something is out of place!

It was that feeling that helped him find Alishi's Nest. 

He felt it from the pool where the sewers gathered. 

'What's this!?'

He doesn't know how deep it is, but his Hyper Intuition tells him that something is wrong about it. 

However, it did not look strange on the outside.

“Darion, watch,” says Kang Oh.

Darion responded with an expression similar to 'What are you talking about?'.

"I'm going in, so make sure no skeleton or player can get close."

After all, there were rumors that the culvert contained a hidden dungeon, so he did not want to attract attention. 

"If a player actually comes, you could say that the area is under construction or something."

If Darion, an NPC, said so, then they would probably believe him and leave the area alone.

Kang Oh releases all his equipment and plunges into the pool.

He splashed into the pond, causing the water to overflow and submerge the path. 

Seeing that, Darion quietly muttered, "I hope you drown."

He could not forget the day when Kang Oh threw dirt into his eyes, nor could he forget his embarrassing loss and the resulting slave contract. Then there is a constant stream of abuse and unfair treatment!

Darion prays for Kang Oh's misfortune, pouring all of his deep hatred into it. 

***

The pool was deeper and longer than he thought.

But Kang Oh won't drown. 

Kang Oh is a good swimmer. Plus, he is currently in the game, so he can swim for a longer period of time than he can.

However, it was dark, making it difficult to see underwater. 

Despite that, Kang Oh continued forward, walking into the area that Hyper Intuition told him. 

It doesn't seem to take long. 

He saw a faint light. That's where his Hyper Intuition leads him.

"Whoops!"

His face emerged from the water and he took a deep breath to catch his breath.

He looked around and his face brightened with excitement.

It was a doorway with a series of strange red characters written on it.

Even at a glance, it seemed clear that this door was special.

Kang Oh came out of the water and approached the door. He then examined it closely.

He was checking to see if there was some sort of special device like a gargoyle or a wolf statue. 

But it's just a door.

It was as if the statues were just bait; the door did not have such a device, as if laughing at them for trying to use status.

He stretched out both his hands and forcefully opened the door; to his surprise, the heavy door opened easily. 

[You have found the hidden dungeon, He Who Opposes Death, Eder's Secret Laboratory.]

[You were the first to discover this basement.]

[Truth has increased.]

[You will receive double the experience while at He Who Defies Death, Eder's Secret Laboratory. The item drop rate will also be doubled.]

'I understand. The statues are just bait. They were designed to conceal the existence of this door.'

Those poor Underground Prison Hunters, who had taken the bait and were still fiddling with the statues.

If not for his Hyper Intuition, he would have gone through the same futile quest as the hunters.

"But I have Hyper Intuition."

Kang Oh smiled.

After all, he was the first to discover this dungeon!

He had another chance to strike gold.

***

"Whoops!"

Darion's pale face emerged from the water.

"Heok, heok."

Darion came out of the water and breathed heavily. He's not good at swimming. 

"Whoops!"

Kang Oh appears next. 

He quickly looked at Darion and then patted her on the back. 

"Are you okay?"

He did not hear her say anything, as the door to the hidden basement opened.

Crunch!

"Let's go!"

Both of them descended the stairs covered in darkness. 

[Entering Him Who Opposes Death, Eder's Secret Laboratory.]

The layout of the Eder Secret Laboratory and the Altein culverts is very similar. 

Arch-shaped hallway.

But there are no drains on either side. 

The skeleton here is much stronger. 

Skeleton Warrior and Skeleton Mage! The Skeleton Warrior used a rusty sword and shield, while the Skeleton Mage carried a staff. 

He estimated that they were around level 50.

Kang Oh is currently level 22, while Darion is level 38.

Normally, the difference in levels would greatly discourage them from fighting them. 

But that only applies to normal players; Kang Oh is a player who defies all norms.

He had his special ability, Hyper Intuition, was a Demon Swordsman, and used an SS-ranked demon sword. 

Of course, Darion was also a disciple of a legendary gladiator, so the level difference was also not very meaningful to him. 

Level 22 Kang Oh fought with one of the level 50 Skeleton Warriors. 

He let Darion deal with the two Skeleton Warriors because his level was higher than his.

"Now we're talking!" 

Kang Oh grinned.

He was fighting against the Skeleton Warrior now, not the weak skeleton from before, so he felt like he had actually met a good opponent.

Crunching, tinkling. 

The Skeleton Warrior attacked him, its bones sounding terrifying like musical instruments as they rubbed against each other.

Kang Oh swung his demonic sword. 

Clangs!

They exchanged blows long enough.

"It's really powerful."

The Skeleton Warrior was much stronger than the Skeleton Beginner.

Unlike the Beginner Skeleton, the Skeleton Warrior matched swords, shields, helmets, and armor, all of which were rusty. 

It could also use basic skills as well!

The impulse!

A rusty iron sword flew towards him, enveloped in a deep red aura. 

Kang Oh parried it with his sword. 

Clangs!

Their blades met, causing his hands to throb. 

"Houp."

Kang Oh took a breath and swung his sword; a white line followed the path of his sword. 

Cut it!

The Skeleton Warrior raised its shield.

Clangs!

His demonic sword smashed into his shield. 

He swung down with a two-handed grip, repeatedly banging his sword into the shield. 

The Darkness Attack is activated on the third attack. A jet-black wave of darkness, which resembled a ferocious beast, pounced on the Skeleton Warrior. 

It's ticking!

The Skeleton Warrior shook its head, as if in pain, and then counterattacked!

His Hyper Intuition lit up, allowing him to predict where the attack would land. Kang Oh turned his body, dodged the attack, and swung his sword upwards.

The Skeleton Warrior defended itself with its sword.

Clangs!

The two blades clashed!

Again and again!

Kang Oh and the Skeleton Warrior exchanged blows for some time. 

But as time went on, Kang Oh gained more profits. 

While Kang Oh constantly corrupted the Skeleton Warrior, the same did not apply otherwise. 

Alishi's necklace also helps. 

Since the Skeleton Warrior was an undead, the poison would not work on him. However, the other abilities of the necklace, especially its ability to slow down and fire off ground shards, were quite effective. 

In the end, Kang Oh managed to defeat the Skeleton Warrior.

[You have defeated the Skeleton Warrior.]

[You have leveled up.]

Due to the huge level difference, he gained a lot of experience.

Plus, he gained twice as much experience as being the first to discover a hidden dungeon.

It took me a while to bring it down, but it was worth it. 

Yet…

"Ughs. When you're done, please come and help me!" Shouted Darion, barely defending against the two Skeleton Warriors. 

"I'm on my way!" Shouted Kang Oh forcefully, and entered the fray once again. 

***

In general, it took about 10 minutes to defeat a Skeleton Warrior or Skeleton Mage.

If a total of 4 or more Skeleton Warriors or Skeleton Mages appeared, then victory was not guaranteed. Therefore, they had to follow a different path each time they found a large group. 

This slowed down Kang Oh's exploration speed. 

Contrary to his exploratory speed, his level rose rather quickly. 

He leveled up so quickly that other players would stare at him wide-eyed with their mouths agape!

It had only been about 6 hours since he entered the hidden dungeon, yet he had already climbed 8 levels. Now, he was at level 30. 

Therefore, he could equip the ghost pattern armor he had obtained from Alishi. 

Kang Oh is currently engaging the Skeleton Mage to further raise his level.

Ticking. 

The Skeleton Mage wearing a robe was clenching his teeth together.

It cast a spell.

The fire was burning from his skinny hands. 

"Block, Darion!" Kang Oh yelled.

Magic is very powerful. So even being exposed to magic once often means doom for a player. 

That's why he decided to use Darion as a human shield.

Sure oes…

"No thanks!" Darion resolutely refused.

"You!"

Meanwhile, the Skeleton Mage finished chanting his spell. 

Fireball!

A red fireball flew towards Kang Oh. 

'Damn.'

Since magic usually affects a large area, avoiding it would be a foolish move.

Because of his AoE tick damage.

Kang Oh quickly stuck his sword on the ground and hid behind it.

The explosion!

The fireball hit his sword hard .

The flame spread over his sword and spread throughout his body like a flickering serpent tongue. 

[You've taken 210 fire damage.]

[You've been burned, so you received 50 additional damage.]

[Show HP: 318]

He had received a little damage, but he avoided death.

Meanwhile, Darion thrust his sword. 

This was Darion's ultimate combat skill, Vital Thrust!

His glory, shrouded in a red aura, pierced through the Skeleton Mage's neck. 

Like other mages, the Skeleton Mage's defense was extremely low.

Having fought Kang Oh and Darion all along, he was injured everywhere and did not have much HP left. 

In the final act of defiance, he unleashes one more spell, but Kang Oh survives the spell and Darion's attack kills him. 

[You have defeated the Skeleton Mage.]

[You have leveled up.]

After dying, Kang Oh pointed his sword towards the junkyard.

His demonic sword ate the piece of the old robe.

[Ubist has consumed the Foul Smelling Old Cloak. Satisfaction has increased by 0.7%.]

[Ubist satisfaction has reached 100%.]

[The demon sword is becoming stronger!]

at that moment, jet-black energy erupted from his blade.