The dagger had a shorter reach than the steel sword he'd used before. To inflict deep wounds, he'd need to concentrate his force even more tightly. Jin-Woo gripped the dagger in a reverse hold. He figured the inverted grip would make it easier to deal damage.
"Skrrk."
At last, the spider came to a stop in front of Jin-Woo. It then raised its two front legs and held them straight up in the air.
'What's it trying to do?'
The question barely had time to form before Jin-Woo's eyes sharpened. Crack! If he hadn't instinctively twisted his body, the spider's leg would have pierced clean through his chest. The leg, which had stabbed into the floor behind him, folded at its joint and swung upward again. Tap-tap-tap. Stone dust trickled down from the tip. Jin-Woo glanced behind him. A clean hole had been punched through the stone floor.
'Getting hit wouldn't just hurt—it'd kill me.'
Jin-Woo's gaze sharpened. Now was the time to focus.
'Here it comes!'
Shhk-! He was starting to pick up the spider's legs, which had been striking down like bullets. Left. He ducked his head to dodge the spider's left leg. Right. He twisted his body sideways to deflect the right leg and took one step forward. Right. He evaded another leg aimed at his head and closed two more steps. Left. Right. Right. Left. Right. Right. Right. Left. Left. Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! The spider's legs hammered into the floor with a noise so loud it stung his ears. Jin-Woo dodged the relentless barrage of attacks one by one, closing the distance. Yoo Jin-Ho couldn't believe his eyes.
"W-What kind of person is that?"
From a distance, the attacks looked terrifying enough to make the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. And yet Jin-Woo was dodging every last one of them right in front of the monster, closing the gap with calm, efficient movements that gave Yoo Jin-Ho chills.
"That guy is an E-rank Hunter?"
No way. If he were the one standing there instead of Sung Jin-Woo, his body would already be torn to shreds. He wasn't confident he could dodge even once or twice. But Jin-Woo hadn't made a single mistake yet—he'd dodged everything. If it was impossible for him as a D-rank Hunter, then how could an E-rank do it? There was only one conclusion.
'...An illicit ranker!'
Yoo Jin-Ho's face darkened. Among talented Hunters, there were some who could freely control their mana. If they wanted to, they could suppress their rank. These were Hunters who concealed part of their mana to receive a lower rank than they truly deserved. They were called "illicit rankers." And most illicit rankers tended to have very malicious intentions.
'A murderer who enjoys slaughtering lower-ranked Hunters in low-rank Dungeons...'
Anything that happened inside a Dungeon was known only to those involved, making it the perfect place to commit a crime. Yoo Jin-Ho swallowed hard. Suddenly, Jin-Woo seemed more terrifying than the spider.
'Why did I agree to come to a place like this...'
Yoo Jin-Ho suddenly felt like crying. Shhk! Shhk! Shhk! Meanwhile, the spider's attacks poured down without cease. Jin-Woo dodged them all and grew confident of victory. As he steadily closed the distance, the spider's head had already come within striking range. Its pattern was simple, making it easy to approach.
'First, the eyes.'
Aiming for weak points was a basic rule of raids. He decided to start with the eyes, which looked the most vulnerable.
'Now I just need to drive my blade into those eyes!'
That was exactly when Jin-Woo had made up his mind. He suddenly got the feeling that the spider's attacks had slowed. Shhk! Shhk! Was his eye adjusting to the fast strikes? Crack! Crack! No, that wasn't it. Even if the eyes could lie, the ears couldn't be fooled. The deafening sound of the legs smashing into the floor had been growing slower by one beat since a moment ago. Jin-Woo prided himself on his exceptional hearing. A bad premonition suddenly flashed through his mind. Looking closely, the muscles around the spider's mouth were trembling slightly.
'Why is it opening its mouth at this moment?'
Jin-Woo, who had been about to leap toward the spider's head three meters above, sensed something was off. He quickly changed direction and launched himself sideways instead of upward. That moment. Splosh-! A murky liquid erupted from the spider's mouth. Jin-Woo, who had been rolling across the floor, regained his balance and looked back. The ground where he'd just been standing was smoking, charring black. Sssssssss- The stones in the floor were melting into a soupy mess. Jin-Woo swallowed hard.
'If I'd jumped up like I planned...'
It wouldn't have been just the rocks that melted. Sensing Jin-Woo's unease, the spider closed in fast. Tssssss. Jin-Woo raised his head. The spider was right in front of him. Shhk! Jin-Woo jumped in place to dodge the spider's leg. Crack! Its attacks resumed.
"Damn it!"
He'd gotten close to the spider's head multiple times, but had to retreat each time to dodge the digestive fluid. Once the spider's attack pattern doubled, it became incredibly difficult to fight. If he got past the legs, the digestive fluid sprayed at him. If the fluid forced him back, the legs came swinging.
"Shit!"
Frustrated, he tried striking the legs with his dagger. But the legs, armored in thick hide, wouldn't so much as scratch no matter how many times he slashed. Jin-Woo bit his lower lip.
'This isn't working.'
The spider only used its two front legs to attack, while he had to use his entire body to dodge. Who would tire first was obvious.
'Fatigue.'
[Fatigue: 57]
Sure enough, his fatigue was climbing rapidly. Once it hit 70, his speed would drop. Past 90, he'd be too winded to move. Time was running out.
'If only I could close the distance faster...'
Speed. Speed was the problem. Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
'Wait—speed?'
Something flashed through Jin-Woo's mind as he barely dodged the rain of legs.
'That's right!'
The one and only skill he had available. He'd forgotten about it since he'd never had occasion to use it.
'Dash!'
[Using skill: Dash.] [Movement speed increases by 30%. During use, 1 mana is consumed per minute.]
With the message, Jin-Woo's body accelerated as if a booster had been attached. Dodging the spider's legs became much easier. Shhk! Shhk! Shhk! Crack! Crack! Crack! He shot past the lightning-fast legs and arrived in front of the spider in an instant. The panicked spider hastily sprayed its digestive fluid. Splosh-! But with his increased speed came greater composure. Jin-Woo sidestepped the fluid with ease and leaped toward the spider's head. Shk! The dagger slashed diagonally across the spider's eye.
[Effect: Paralysis activated.] [Target's resistance is high. Effect has been cancelled.]
[Effect: Bleed activated.] [Target's stamina is being consumed at 1% per second.]
"Yes!"
The special effect of the dagger "Kasaka's Venom Fang"—Bleed—had successfully triggered.
"Graaaaah!"
The spider shrieked and staggered. Jin-Woo didn't miss the opening. The moment he landed on the ground, he jumped again, climbing up the spider's body to the top of its head. The spider thrashed and swung its legs wildly, but Jin-Woo wasn't about to be hit by blind attacks. Crack! Crack! Crack! The helpless ground just kept getting more holes punched through it. Riding on top of the spider's head, Jin-Woo drove the dagger into its eyes again and again. Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
"Graaaaah!"
Thunk! Thunk!
"Graaagh!"
The spider went berserk, but Jin-Woo held on without falling and kept stabbing into its head.
"Skrrk!"
The spider began to stagger. The damage was taking effect. Jin-Woo's hand moved faster and faster. The massive body of the spider finally began to topple. Thud! But Jin-Woo didn't stop. Not until the spider drew its last breath. Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!
"Krrk... krrrr."
With the spider's death cry, a message appeared.
[You have slain the master of the Dungeon.] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Level Up!]
"Done!"
Jin-Woo, drenched in the spider's blood, threw both hands in the air. Since it was a boss, he'd leveled up three whole times.
"Status window."
Name: Sung Jin-Woo Level: 21 Class: None Title: Wolf Slayer HP: 2,600 MP: 391 Fatigue: 0
[Stats] Strength: 53 Vitality: 30 Agility: 38 Intelligence: 30 Perception: 32 (Available stat points: 0)
[Skills] Passive Skills: (Unknown) Lv.MAX, Tenacity Lv.1 Active Skills: Dash Lv.1
He'd jumped from level 18 all the way to 21. But that wasn't all. Another message appeared beyond the level-up notifications. Ding.
[Level has exceeded 20. 'Shop: Purchase' is now available.]
'Can I finally spend gold?'
It was good news. But there was no time to leisurely browse the shop right now.
Rumble.
The cave shook slightly.
[The master of the Dungeon has been slain. The Dungeon entrance will vanish in 1 hour.] [Time remaining: 59 minutes, 58 seconds.]
He needed to get out before the Gate closed. He could browse the shop after he was safely outside. As Jin-Woo climbed down, he spotted a glimmering light about halfway down the spider's head.
'An item?'
But unlike with monsters, no item discovery message appeared, and it wasn't automatically collected. What was it? After a moment's thought, Jin-Woo quickly realized the reason.
'Ah, right—the mana crystal.'
No matter how busy, you had to take what was yours. Jin-Woo pried out the mana crystal hidden inside the spider's head. Being a C-rank mana crystal from a boss, it was easily worth at least ten million won. A fine trophy for a victorious battle. Jin-Woo hopped down from the top of the spider's head. Tap. He landed lightly and turned around, only to see more glimmering light coming from the spider's belly. And there were several of them! Jin-Woo was puzzled. He'd heard that a single monster sometimes yielded two or three mana crystals, but there were too many glimmers for that.
'What the hell are those?'
He sliced open the belly with his dagger and tore through the stomach, and the half-digested remains of bug monsters came pouring out. The light was coming from inside those bugs.
"No way?"
Jin-Woo sifted through the bugs one by one. Sure enough, every single one contained a mana crystal. Some were small, half-digested, but many were perfectly intact. All told, there were over ten.
"Jackpot!"
He'd come here to earn a little and was about to walk out with a fortune.
"Hyung-nim."
He turned to find Yoo Jin-Ho standing there.
"Let me put those away for you."
Yoo Jin-Ho carefully placed Jin-Woo's mana crystals into his equipment bag, stacking them neatly. Then he took out a thermos from the corner of his bag and poured its contents into the lid.
"You must be thirsty, Hyung-nim. Please have some. It's water."
It was cold water, so chilled that condensation had formed on the outside of the lid.
'Why is he doing things I didn't even ask for?'