Chapter 7

Chapter 7

“Gather!”

At the shout, the stone golems gather in one place.

It looked as if a small wall had suddenly appeared.

“Advance!”

The united wall, 1.5 meters tall and 3 meters wide, advances forward.

The black wolves charge without hesitation, but they cannot halt the movement of the massive wall.

Thwack!

As one black wolf bounced off, he thrust his sword in without hesitation.

Thud!

To the one that burst out from the side, he presents a stone fist—a fist made of real stone.

Ting-.

[Level Up.]

The cheerful notification sound rang out.

“Damn it!”

Thud-.

“Experience points!”

Thud-.

Following the stone golems, I take out each one crossing the wall.

The number of black wolves, which had been twenty, was cut in half in an instant.

“Fight!”

I issued the command once more.

The stone golems spread out, each landing punches and kicks on the black wolves.

While they didn’t deal significant damage, the wolves’ claws and teeth couldn’t pierce the golems, allowing them to relentlessly harass the creatures.

How much time had passed?

Not a single black wolf remained standing on all fours within the vast cavern.

[Level Up.]

“Already ten?”

The recent hunt had raised my level by another two.

Though not entirely intact, he could still gain experience points from the creatures the golems had hunted.

All things considered, summoning the golems had been a good choice.

Pah-!

[A new quest has opened.]

A new quest arrived the moment I hit level 10.

Without delay, he opened the quest window.

“Confirm quest.”

[Quest]

Category: Main

Content: You have met the minimum requirements. To regain your full power, you must gather the scattered fragments. (Achievement Progress: 1/7)

Restrictions: None

Reward: ???

Failure: ???

“Hmm…”

The quest’s content was utterly bewildering.

Because I couldn’t understand the quest’s content at all.

Where were the scattered fragments?

I couldn’t tell if it was a reward or a failure.

Just as I was trying to grasp what the quest intended.

A new quest arrived.

Ding-!

[Quest]

Type: Sub

Content: Hunt the boss. Hunt the boss of the dungeon you entered. (Completion: 0/1)

Restrictions: None

Reward: Points +10

Failure: Destroy 3 Golems

“What?”

What caught my eye first, more than anything else, was the phrase written under Failure.

I thought the golems would make hunting easier, but if I fail, I have to destroy them.

Magic stones aren’t exactly cheap.

‘Are you on my side or not?’

Just whose side is this quest on, anyway?

Still, this subquest made it crystal clear what needed to be done.

And what I could infer from this quest was that the boss was still waiting.

‘I should get going right away.’

It said the boss was still there, not that it was hunting.

I stowed the stone golems in my sub-space and hurried on my way.

***

‘And they call these things hunters…’

Deok-hoon sighed as he watched his nephews.

It looked pathetic, three of them floundering over a mere black wolf.

‘Giving these guys a C-rank? The Hunter Bureau has really gone downhill.’

In the past, C-rank hunters were those who could easily hunt monsters up to Grade 6.

However, as time passed, the variety of monsters increased and Awakened Ones kept appearing, leading to a more detailed ranking system for hunters.

E and F ranks were introduced. While some hunters saw their ranks drop, others like Dojae barely scraped by to become hunters and reaped the benefits.

‘Damn it.’

Shim Young-jin swings his sword horizontally, attacking the black wolf.

The black wolf leapt high, easily evading the sword’s trajectory.

Avoiding Shim Young-jin’s sword, which carried a thick scent of blood, posed no threat to the black wolf.

Instead, the scent of its own kind’s blood only made the black wolf more ferocious.

‘If the body can’t handle it, at least the head should be good, or the coordination should be solid.’

The coordination between the dealer, Shim Young-jin, and the tank, Kim Jun-soo, was nothing short of a mess.

It was hard to believe they were teammates who had fought together multiple times; their coordination kept grinding to a halt.

“Hey! Kim Joon-soo, what are you doing?!”

“Ah… Got it!”

“Hurry!”

Kim Junsu, who had been watching for a reaction, burst out at Shim Youngjin’s shout.

Clang!

He barely raised his shield to dodge the black wolf’s claws.

“Young-jin!”

“Dammit! I know!”

Thud-.

“Damn it. Shit!”

“S-sorry.”

The standard tactic for tank-DPS coordination is to attack the enemy after they pause following a blocked attack.

But the two collided while switching positions, missing that opportunity.

And that meant the situation favored the Black Wolf.

“Kraaang!”

The black wolf charged toward the fallen Shim Young-jin.

Thud.

Kim Junsu stared blankly at the black wolf soaring over his head, while the healer, Sung Minho, could only watch helplessly.

Thud-!

Boom-!

“Tsk. When hunting medium-sized beast-type monsters, you don’t just switch with the tank immediately.”

Deok-hoon said in an irritated voice.

When Shim Young-jin was in danger, he instantly closed the distance and kicked the black wolf away.

Deok-hoon’s footprint was clearly imprinted on the black wolf’s chest as it slammed into the wall.

“We’re at the boss room now. Get your head straight and go in.”

Deok-hoon frowned deeply.

Whether they noticed Deok-hoon’s expression or not, Shim Young-jin and his friends looked at each other and grinned.

“Yes, Uncle! Let’s go, guys!”

“Oki!”

“Let’s go!”

An incredibly confident attitude.

Shim Young-jin led the way and opened the boss’s door.

***

It had been a full 20 minutes since Shim Young-jin’s group and Deok-hoon entered the boss room.

CRASH-!

“Guhk.”

Splash-.

Kim Junsu was pushed back, shield raised.

The dungeon boss, Cerberus, rears its head and roars.

“Kwaaaaah!”

“Kwoooh!”

“Kwaaang!”

Each of the three heads let out a distinct cry as six eyes turned toward Shim Young-jin.

Whoosh-!

Claws larger than an adult man’s palm swept across Shim Young-jin’s torso.

He managed to block it with his sword, but the sheer force sent him flying backward, the claws slamming directly into his chest.

“Guh.”

Fortunately, they didn’t pierce Shim Young-jin’s leather armor.

The expensive armor Deok-hoon had given him did its job perfectly.

“Heal!”

Sung Min-ho quickly used his skill to heal Shim Young-jin.

The armor blocked the external blow, but it couldn’t absorb all the impact.

The proof was right there—his ribs were cracked, and he couldn’t even breathe properly.

“G-got it.”

Shim Young-jin, having received the heal, stands up once more.

Kim Jun-soo also raised his shield and took his stance.

‘Is this the limit now?’

Duk-hoon, watching from behind, shook his head.

Cerberus was taking damage too, but their side was suffering heavier losses.

If they keep up this meaningless attrition battle, they’ll likely be wiped out.

‘What was that confidence all about?’

The healer was already exhausted, cold sweat pouring down their face, and the tank was battered and bruised, with hardly a spot left untouched.

Only Shim Young-jin, who had received concentrated healing, was slightly fatigued.

Shim Young-jin, who had told Deok-hoon to stay put and watch over them.

Far from admirable, he now looked pitiable.

‘He’s got a lot more to learn.’

Duk-hoon brushed himself off and stood up, ready to finish this.

At that moment, the boss’s office door opened.

Squeak-.

Thud-.

‘Golem?’

The stone golem enters the boss room with heavy footsteps.

It was a sight I’d never seen before.

A monster entering the boss room?

Even in a dungeon where anything could happen, this was beyond his comprehension.

Swoosh.

Deok-hoon rose, his sword drawn slightly.

But he didn’t act immediately.

The mana he sensed was pitifully weak, and for some reason, it didn’t react to him.

Normally, monsters, whether strong or weak, would show hostility toward humans, but that stone golem seemed to have no emotion toward him whatsoever.

More than anything, one thing caught his attention.

‘Was there ever a golem that looked like that?’

No matter how he looked at it, the golem’s form was far too sleek.

Given the variety of golems out there, he couldn’t say for sure that such a form didn’t exist. Still, it felt closer to human than to monster.

‘It feels vaguely familiar.’

Duk-hoon felt like he vaguely remembered that form.

And suddenly, a form flashed through his mind.

‘Metallic Hero?’

The Stone Golem’s appearance bore a striking resemblance to the hero from the Wonder Cinematic Universe, Metallic Hero—the only movie he managed to watch despite having no time for films.

It was so similar that he wondered if that’s what it would look like if the Metallic Hero’s suit were made of stone instead of metal.

‘What the hell is that?’

Meanwhile, the Stone Golem walked unhesitatingly toward where Cerberus stood.

Deok-hoon now fully drew his sword and kept a close watch on the Stone Golem.

Ready to strike at any moment if it threatened his nephew.

He was merely watching a bit longer because it was such an intriguing sight.

***

Halt-.

Thud- thud-.

Dojae entered the boss room, paused for a moment, then began walking calmly again.

‘Maybe I should have taken off the golem armor before coming in.’

Dojae had stopped only because he was startled.

How could he not be startled when an A-rank Hunter drew a sword toward him?

But since the boss didn’t attack afterward and only watched, Dojae walked toward him.

‘I don’t know why, but…’

He hadn’t expected Deok-hoon to stay out of the fight and watch from afar.

The boss room was already unlocked, meaning the fight was underway. Since it was a quest, he’d entered wearing his golem armor, determined to land at least the final blow somehow.

He planned to take off the Golem Armor and talk afterward.

‘Honestly…’

I’d momentarily forgotten I was still wearing the Golem Armor.

‘The boss hunt comes first! I can’t let him steal my EXP.’

Putting his thoughts about Deok-hoon aside for a moment, Do-jae pulled the golem and sword out of his sub-space.

Thud-thud-.

“What… What the hell! It’s a golem!”

Only when the three golems appeared did Shim Young-jin realize Dojae was there.

– I’ll help too.

Dojae’s voice echoed from within the golem armor.

“Huh? It can talk?”

“Young-jin, get out of the way!”

While Shim Young-jin briefly took his eyes off Dojae, Cerberus charged forward.

Startled, Shim Young-jin tried to dodge but tripped over his own leg and fell flat on his face.

“Yikes!”

Shim Young-jin clenched his eyes shut.

A moment later, when he peeked open one eye, he saw Dojae standing before him, arms raised to block Cerberus.

– Cling on.

Following Dojae’s command, the three golems clung to Cerberus’s legs.

Being made purely of stone, the golems carried considerable weight.

Even at a glance, Cerberus’s movements visibly slowed.

Thud.

Dojae seized the opening and leapt onto Cerberus.

Thanks to his investment in strength stats, he could now jump 1.5 times higher than before.

“Kraaang.”

Dojae clamped down hard on the neck of the middle head of Cerberus’s three heads.

Still, a boss is a boss.

His grip was insufficient, and the beast thrashed violently to shake Dojae off.

– Attack!

Do-jae shouts toward Shim Young-jin and the others.

Shocked back to their senses, Shim Young-jin and Kim Joon-soo attacked Cerberus.

“Kwaaang!”

“Woof woof woof!”

“Kwaaaaah!”

A brief struggle ensues.

Just as Cerberus could no longer muster strength and staggered.

Thud-!

Dojai, still hanging on, thrust his sword into Cerberus’s back.

No matter how thick its hide was, it couldn’t withstand the sharp blade and Dojae’s thrusting force.

Kwoong-.

Finally, Cerberus collapsed.

It breathed its last, its red tongue hanging out.

Ting-.

[Level Up.]

[Quest completed.]

[Reward acquired.]

[Point + 10]

It was a melody that felt good no matter how many times you heard it.

But that wasn’t the end of it.

Ting-.

[New Title Acquired.]

[‘Wolf Slayer’ added.]

[Beast-type monsters fear you. Their movements are slowed by terror.]

[Deals 30% additional damage to beast-type monsters.]

[Loot from beast-type monsters enters your sub-space.]

“Ooh…”

Dojae’s eyes sparkled as he checked the new message.