Solo Resurrection

Chapter 38 – Dungeon Terror (3)

“Where does this sound of a pig squealing keep coming from?”

Kang Hyeon rubbed his ears with his fingers and blew out a breath.

“Whew~”

The brute’s expression twisted fiercely.

“Kill him!”

When the pig shouted violently, thugs rushed in from all directions.

Kang Hyeon calmly watched this and lightly avoided the attack.

-Whoosh!

“Eek, why can’t we hit him?!”

“You crazy bastard! Can’t you open your eyes properly?!”

Kang Hyeon easily avoided all attacks.

The desperate guys recklessly swung their weapons.

As a result, in the narrow space, their movements became entangled and they ended up interfering with each other.

“What are you guys doing?”

Kang Hyeon approached the thugs and slapped one of them hard with his palm.

-Smack!

The guy who got slapped spun three times in the air and collapsed on the floor.

“D-don’t let your guard down! He’s not ordinary.”

“Everyone stay calm.”

When they realized Kang Hyeon had extraordinary skills, the thugs’ attitude changed completely.

“Oh ho…”

Seeing this, Kang Hyeon let out a small exclamation.

‘They’re certainly a bit different from the riffraff I’ve met so far.’

Their reckless behavior from just moments ago was gone, and they quickly regained their composure.

As expected of skilled individuals capable of attacking a top-tier D-rank dungeon.

Moreover, the guy who had collapsed on the floor had already gotten up, clutching his cheek.

“Ptui!”

When the guy spat, something white came out along with blood.

“You bastard. I’ll never just kill you!”

“What are you going to do if you don’t just kill me?”

At Kang Hyeon’s words, the eyes of the man who was slapped widened.

“I’ll peel off all your skin and pull out all your teeth so you’ll never again…!”

***

Ippotranslation

***

“What did you say?”

“I said I’m sorry…”

The guy whose cheek had swollen up like a tiger muttered.

“What?”

“I’m sorr… Sorry…”

-Smack!

Kang Hyeon mercilessly slapped the cheek of the guy who was trying to say something.

“Why do you keep whining? It’s annoying.”

Dusting off his palm, Kang Hyeon made a satisfied expression.

‘I’ve finally realized the use of Entria’s Shell skill.’

Slapping with gauntlets feels less satisfying.

But hitting with bare hands lacks power.

As Kang Hyeon was pondering, using Entria’s Shell to slap felt like finding the perfect balance between power and satisfaction.

“Still, it was quite difficult.”

Especially the pig who first approached Kang Hyeon took quite some time to catch.

It seemed his unique skill was related to endurance, as he didn’t budge even after a few slaps.

“Well, that wasn’t bad in its own way.”

In the end, Kang Hyeon was only able to finish him off after slamming him to the ground and delivering dozens of pounding blows.

“Phew, anyway, I need to get stronger in the future. To be drained by guys like this…”

In fact, if he had drawn Bilgein’s long sword from the start, this incident could have been easily settled. Knowing this fact, Kang Hyeon deliberately ignored it.

‘The feel of the hit is important in everything.’

As Kang Hyeon was nodding and rationalizing to himself, it happened.

“Thank you.”

Shin Seong-a, who was in the corner, offered her thanks.

“It’s nothing. I just relieved some stress after a long time.”

“I’m Shin Seong-a.”

She was trying hard to hide her trembling voice.

Kang Hyeon noticed this but pretended not to.

“I’m Kang Hyeon.”

‘Not bad.’

He thought she was a strong woman.

Despite nearly experiencing a terrible ordeal just moments ago, she maintained her composure and even now refused to show any weakness.

“I will definitely repay this favor.”

As Shin Seong-a bowed her head and spoke, Kang Hyeon waved his hand.

“It’s fine. What favor?”

After exchanging greetings, Kang Hyeon was about to continue on his way when he hesitated.

“Can you get out alone?”

“I cannot.”

At the crisp answer, Kang Hyeon swallowed a chuckle.

‘Shouldn’t she normally ask for help then?’

It was funny to Kang Hyeon that she stood firmly even though he was about to leave right away.

‘What should I do? It feels a bit off to go back now…’

He didn’t feel like going back to the entrance now. But it also felt uneasy to leave her here knowing she would die.

In the end, they had no choice but to move together, but apart from it being troublesome, Kang Hyeon wasn’t confident he could keep this woman alive all the way to the core room.

“Ahem…”

While Kang Hyeon was pondering, Shin Seong-a spoke first.

“Are you perhaps planning to clear the dungeon?”

“I’m thinking of going to the core room for now.”

“Then may I accompany you there?”

“It will be dangerous.”

“I can protect myself to some extent. I will make sure not to be a hindrance to you, Kang Hyeon.”

“…”

“I will follow Kang Hyeon like a shadow and only collect magic stones. Of course, I will give all the collected magic stones to you, Kang Hyeon.”

“Oh ho…”

***

Ippotranslation

***

Kang Hyeon was quite pleased with Shin Seong-a’s answer.

She had said she would just follow him and collect magic stones, worried that if she said to go back now, it would be a burden to Kang Hyeon.

“Alright, let’s do that then.”

Kang Hyeon was already making a lot of money from removing cores. Therefore, unless they were from particularly powerful creatures, he left the magic stones alone without collecting them.

It was a waste of time and bothersome.

But if Shin Seong-a would do that job instead, there was nothing particularly disadvantageous for Kang Hyeon.

“When the battle starts, I won’t have the leisure to look after you, so you’ll have to survive on your own.”

“Yes. I understand.”

After that, Shin Seong-a strictly adhered to her words.

While Kang Hyeon swept through enemies in a trance-like state as he explored the dungeon, Shin Seong-a skillfully concealed herself.

And when the battle ended, she would appear and quickly collect the magic stones.

‘Does she have some kind of stealth-related skill…’

Moreover, she occasionally proved helpful to Kang Hyeon in urgent situations.

“Grrrr…”

A muzzle emitting a disgusting smell.

A creature with an unidentifiable grotesque mouth lunged at Kang Hyeon.

It latched onto Bilgein’s long sword like a tick.

Kang Hyeon tried to shake it off by swinging his sword, but it firmly refused to let go, clenching the sword tightly.

“How annoying!”

In a situation so urgent that even a single second was precious, a moment’s confusion instantly transforms into crisis.

“Keeek!”

While his attention was momentarily diverted to the creature, a chimera with sharp claws stabbed at Kang Hyeon’s neck from behind.

Just as Kang Hyeon was about to allow the attack, not noticing it,

An arrow flew in from somewhere and pierced the back of the creature’s neck.

“Kuhek!”

“Oh my!”

Startled by the scream from behind, Kang Hyeon checked the arrow lodged in the corpse.

“Thank you!”

After expressing his gratitude, Kang Hyeon finally managed to shake off the creature clinging to his sword.

“You bastard!”

“Kegung…”

The creature, sent flying by Kang Hyeon’s kick, let out a pitiful groan.

Having lost its will to fight with its teeth shattered, it fled inside without looking back.

“Phew, that was really dangerous this time.”

Indeed, this is a dungeon ranked in the upper echelons of D-grade.

They hadn’t even passed the core room yet, but they had already experienced several big and small crises.

“Let’s rest a bit.”

Kang Hyeon lay down carelessly on the blood-soaked floor. Only then did the pain surge through his entire body, but pain no longer had much effect on Kang Hyeon.

More serious than that was the depletion of magical power.

Due to fighting so recklessly, his magical power was already exhausted. It was difficult to even maintain Wayne’s secret technique, let alone magical explosion.

Kang Hyeon had no choice but to decide to take a brief rest.

“By the way, it’s the first time I’ve seen someone use a bow as their main weapon.”

Shin Seong-a, who was collecting magic stones even while Kang Hyeon was resting, nodded.

“Yes. I’ve been learning archery since I was young, so I’m quite confident with a bow. I was lucky enough to awaken an innate skill related to eyesight.”

“Is it okay to tell me that so casually?”

In the beginning, people used to boast about their innate skills without knowing any better, but not anymore.

An innate skill is literally a person’s one and only individual skill. It’s their trump card.

That’s why, at some point, ability users became reluctant to talk about their innate skills, and asking about it became extremely rude.

“I won’t hide anything from the person who saved my life.”

Kang Hyeon felt a slight chill, but was inwardly satisfied.

‘That’s a rare personality these days.’

While Kang Hyeon was resting with his eyes closed, Shin Seong-a spoke to him.

“Mr. Kang Hyeon.”

“Yes?”

“May I ask you something?”

“Go ahead.”

“How are you so strong?”

Kang Hyeon pondered the answer for a moment.

“Umm… Because I worked hard?”

“It’s a bit awkward to say this, but I pride myself on having worked harder than anyone. No, in dungeon battles where life and death are at stake, everyone works hard.”

“That’s true, but not all efforts are the same, right?”

“…”

“Just work harder. To the point where it wouldn’t be strange if you died right now. Or be born talented from the start.”

In fact, this was an effort Kang Hyeon could make because he could come back to life even if he died, but he wasn’t stupid enough to blurt that out.

“I feel like we’re getting close to the core room, so let’s take a good rest this time before moving on.”

“Yes.”

Shin Seong-a silently nodded at Kang Hyeon’s words.

[The dungeon’s Main Core has been removed]

[A portal to the outside opens]

“Huh? What’s this?”

Suddenly, a message appeared along with a portal in front of Kang Hyeon.

“There shouldn’t be any large guilds conquering this place right now…”

Shin Seong-a touched her lips with a serious expression.

“Let’s go out and think about it. It’s dangerous if the dungeon collapses.”

“Understood.”

***

Ippotranslation

***

Kang Hyeon came out of the dungeon. What he saw was a completely unexpected sight.

“What’s all this commotion?”

Before Kang Hyeon’s eyes was an incredible scene that made him think he was still inside the dungeon.

“Die!”

“Graaah!”

All kinds of monsters were rampaging everywhere. And ability users were pulling out their equipment to fight against the monsters.

“Let’s clean this up first and think later!”

“Yes!”

Kang Hyeon and Shin Seong-a jumped into the fray.

“Kuhak!”

Monsters touched by Bilgein’s long sword were sliced apart with screams.

‘My magic hasn’t fully returned yet. I need to conserve it as much as possible, not knowing what might happen.’

Kang Hyeon moved using only his innate abilities without using skills. Even so, he showed faster movements than any other ability user here.

“Aaargh!”

Most of the monsters were from E and F ranks, so there wasn’t a big problem. However, the situation was different for ‘Daience’s Laboratory’ where Kang Hyeon had been.

The ability users were helplessly pushed back by powerful D-rank monsters they had never encountered before.

“Don’t charge at the Chimera, get out of the way!”

[Roar of the Enraged Lion is activated]

[All enemies’ morale and stats have decreased]

Kang Hyeon activated the Roar of the Enraged Lion. A huge cry erupted, loud enough to be clearly heard even in the midst of the chaotic battle.

“Stick together, maintain formation, and focus on taking down the weaker ones!”

After giving instructions, Kang Hyeon himself ran around dealing with the Chimeras.

“Kieek!”

-Slash

Every time the red long sword was swung, monsters were helplessly cut down.

Thanks to Kang Hyeon’s storm-like performance, the situation soon began to stabilize.

“Who is that man?”

“Wow, is he from the Dangun Guild?”

People who now had some breathing room exclaimed in admiration as they watched Kang Hyeon rampage.

“Phew…”

The monsters were cleaned up before long.

Occasionally, powerful individuals like dungeon bosses appeared, but it wasn’t a problem.

Kang Hyeon had been defeating bosses alone before.

With Shin Seong-a’s support added, they could easily handle even the bosses.

“Good work.”

“Thank you so much.”

Finally, all the monsters in the vicinity were cleared, and relieved people approached Kang Hyeon to express their gratitude.

“Everyone worked hard.”

Kang Hyeon also smiled and returned their greetings.

-I’m fine. I checked the news, and they said only dungeons near Seoul burst open.

When he called Kang A-hyun to check on her, fortunately, nothing had happened.

“Now I can really take a breather.”

Kang Hyeon slowly looked around while catching his breath.

Around him, only the corpses of monsters were strewn about now.

“But why is that still open?”

At that moment, a man spoke while looking at Daience’s Laboratory, which still had its door open.

“Shit! The boss hasn’t come out yet!”

Kang Hyeon, too, had been so preoccupied that he hadn’t thought about the boss of ‘Daience’s Laboratory’.

“Everyone, step back. The boss will come out soon!”

At Kang Hyeon’s shout, people hesitated and retreated.

-Whoosh!

At that moment, an enormous number of Chimeras poured out of the dungeon. And behind them, a Lich wearing a brown robe slowly walked out.

Being a skeleton, the Lich couldn’t make expressions. But Kang Hyeon could feel the overflowing composure in its gestures.

‘Was it gathering Chimeras inside the collapsing dungeon until now…’

Kang Hyeon shook his head as he watched the Chimeras pouring out endlessly.

‘We’re screwed…’

Even for Kang Hyeon, it was impossible to handle such a large number of Chimeras at once.

[Lich Daience]

Finally stopping its steps, it spread its arms and raised its head.

-Good

It wasn’t a voice heard by ears. It was as if the language itself resonated inside the head.

“What? The monster is talking?”

People who encountered a monster speaking language for the first time became agitated.

“Everyone, listen to me carefully.”

Anxious gazes gathered on Kang Hyeon at his words.

“From now on, get as far away from here as possible. And request support from Dangun or the union.”

Shin Seong-a objected to Kang Hyeon’s words telling them to flee.

“No. Are you telling us to abandon you, Kang Hyeon?”

“Is there anyone here who can face even one of those Chimeras over there? You’ll be helping by not interfering and disappearing.”

At these undeniable words, people’s expressions became gloomy.

It wasn’t a long battle, but they had all survived thanks to Kang Hyeon’s help. Yet now Kang Hyeon was saying he would stay alone, so they couldn’t help but hesitate.

“We’ll stay and fight too.”

“You won’t be of any help! So hurry and go!”

Seeing the Chimeras flinch, Kang Hyeon shouted urgently.

It seemed like they would rush in and start a massacre at any moment.

“But…”

“Fuck! Just get out if I tell you to get out! Hurry!”

As harsh words burst from Kang Hyeon’s mouth, people finally turned and ran.

-Who said I would let them go.

At that moment, the Lich stretched out its hand. Then all the Chimeras started running at once.

Watching them, Kang Hyeon activated Wayne’s secret technique and Giant’s Strength.

“Geez, what am I doing…”

He didn’t want to become some cheap hero.

He wasn’t a good person, but he wasn’t a hypocrite either.

But right now, he just wanted to do this.

“I’ll come back to life anyway. So… Let’s play properly for once.”

Having made up his mind, Kang Hyeon pulled out Ogre’s Giant Hammer from his inventory.

“Where do you think you’re going! You mongrels!”

[Roar of the Enraged Lion is activated]

Kang Hyeon used his skill and swung the hammer with all his might. Unlike usual, it was a full-force strike without considering the strain on his body.

-Boooom!

The power was beyond imagination.

With a thunderous sound, the concrete floor shattered at once, and dust scattered.

The Chimeras hesitated at that momentum.

“Hey, you skull face over there.”

The Lich stared intently at Kang Hyeon’s call.

“How about clearing these small fries and having a hot boss battle?”

For a moment, a sense of bewilderment could be felt from the expressionless Lich.

-I refuse.

“Didn’t expect you to agree, you bastard. Ptui! Come at me, all of you!”