Chapter 99 – Hong-sunggoo’s Rush (2)
“Isn’t that person a bit suspicious?”
The employee shrugged his shoulder at Woo-soonghoon’s words.
“People like that are quite common. He’s probably a Roused.”
“Is it?”
Artifacts came in a variety of forms.
People took out insurance on it, since the precious Artifacts might be stolen. Still, there were those who wore it out in the open occasionally.
Moreover, it wasn’t rare to see people wearing swords and spears near the stations.
Ddi-ri-di-ri ding ding!
Soonghoon’s handphone rang. When he took it out, he saw that it was Kim-haemin who had been promoted to the position of director.
“Uh? I wonder what’s the occasion. Just buy me any juice.”
“Yes, chief.”
He sent the employee into the coffee shop ahead of him. Soonghoon sat on the chair out on the terrace and answered the phone.
“Yes, director.”
[Mr. Soonghoon. Did Mr. Sunggoo and Ms. Haesol go into the Dungeon right now?]
“Yes. They just went in right now.”
[Ha. This is bad. There was a Break at the Sadahng station. Don’t come to the office. Please evacuate for now.]
“What?”
Woo-soonghoon was blinking his eyes when the noisy siren started to wail.
Ehhh-ehhhhh-ehhhhh-ehhhhng!
It was as if they were running a civil defense drill. However, the sound sent chills down Woo-soonghoon’s spine. He thought about the Dungeon Break that happened at Daegoo not too long ago. Sahdahng Station was merely one station away.
[This is an announcement. Currently, a Dungeon Break is occurring at the Sadahng station. Civilians should immediately evacuate. This is an announcement…]
After the announcement ended, people started to pour out from the buildings. This was also true for the employees of the secretary office.
“C…chief!”
“Hoo. Everyone follow me. Let’s go.”
Wasn’t there a saying that said an office makes the man? Woo-soonghoon led his panic-stricken employees. He told himself he had to keep a level head.
At Soong-hoon’s word, the employee followed him to their cars, and they quickly got in.
“Everyone get in the vehicles, and for the time being, we are putting some distance to the Sah-dahng Station. Please hurry.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Dungeons were safe. The Dungeons wouldn’t fall even under bombardment. Whatever inside the Dungeon posed more of a threat than an assault from the outside. Sunggoo and Haesol would be fine. They would exit after they finish clearing the Dungeon.
He thought it would be better for them if they took their time in clearing the Dungeon. Then, they would be able to come out after the situation outside had settled.
Soonghoon quickly got into the passenger seat, then opened his handphone to check the news. As soon as he opened his internet browser, he tapped for the breaking news.
“Shit. It’s a 6 star Dungeon!”
Of all the Dungeons to break, it had to be the 6 star Dungeon that was located at the 1st exit. He quickly opened the Dungeon Forum to gather information about that particular Dungeon. The main monsters were Gray Wolves.
They were as big as cows and possessed great mobility. They were adept at hunting, and their specialty was to attack the Roused in a pack.
“Shit!”
At the very least, several hundred of these bastards had been set loose in Seoul. They were smaller than the Ice Troll and much faster. It would probably take much them longer to eradicate these monsters. As time passed, the casualties would mount.
“Where are we going, chief?”
“Let’s start moving for now. The nearest shelter….”
Woo-soonghoon was checking the Dungeon Forum when he felt a weird sense of danger at the intersection. His eyes became fixed on a particular location.
Leesoo station’s 8th Exit.
It was the Dungeon where the eccentric man wearing the black robe and mask had gone in. A large snake with its mouth open suddenly shot out from the entrance.
Woo-soonghoon’s eyes became wide.
It was an incredibly large snake. Its head was as big as a person’s body.
“Step on it!”
“…!”
At Woo-soonghoon’s yell, the employee on the wheels pressed hard on the gas pedal.
Boo-ahhhhhbng!
“Kyah-roooooo!”
It moved at a speed that wasn’t comparable to a normal snake. After popping out from the Dungeon, it opened its jaws wide and slithered towards the intersection.
Kooohng!
The car following behind Soonghoon rammed into the head of the snake and flipped over. Poison fell from the snake’s fang, falling onto the windshield of crashed car.
Poo-shi-shi-shi-shi.
The poison was so strong that it melted through the glass. The poison fell on the driver, after which the man yelled out in agony.
“Ggoo-ahhhhk.”
Shwee-shwee-shweek.
The snake’s flicking tongue wound around the driver and the man was lifted straight into its mouth.
“Crazy!”
If Woo-soonghooon had been a little bit late, he might have been the human inside the snake’s maw. The thought sent chills down his back. Accompanying the large snake, monsters that lived in jungles started to flood out from the Dungeon.
“Shit! Just step on it.”
“Yes, sir.”
The employee who was driving had working eyes, so he could see the monsters coming out from the side mirror. He kept pressing on the gas pedal like a madman. In a flash, the monsters ruthlessly slaughtered several dozen people.
“Shit. That’s a 5 star monster.”
Woo-soonghoon spat out a curse when he searched for information on the Dungeon Forum. It was a situation where curse words came out automatically from his mouth.
It was another Dungeon Break without any warning.
Daegoo was merely the beginning.
Monsters were running amok near the Seoul’s Dungeons.
*
“Ha-ah. Ha-ah.”
Haesol gathered her breath. Sunggoo smiled as he extended his hand towards Haesol.
“Heh heh. Well done.”
“Ha-ah. You are incredible, director Hong. You close combat ability is just as good or even better than a physical Roused.”
It was important for her to learn other form of combat techniques alongside developing her Monster Taming skill. The matches with Sunggoo proved to be very insightful for Haesol.
“Heh heh. I’m still a ways off. If I compare myself to hyungnim… No. I can’t even reach the shoulders of his knights. Heh heh.”
Was he being serious?
It was a waste of time to say anything about Kahng-woojin. However, the Death Knights were the definition of monsters. Haesol and Sunggoo had sparred against them, and she had felt the true gap between her and the Death Knights.
These two men were gifted warriors.
If she wanted to become as strong as them, she would have to train more in the future.
“Let’s head out.”
“All right.”
Sunggo and Haesol retrieved the Return Stone together. After that, they headed towards the barrier. When he brought up the Return Stone, the barrier dimmed as it disappeared. After ascending the stairway, the two were greeted by a street that was much changed.
“Uh?”
For a brief moment, they couldn’t comprehend what was happening. There were craters here and there on the road, the vehicles were damaged, and windows of buildings were shattered. There were also some fire, accompanied black smoke rising into the air.
“Oooh-ahhhhhk!”
“Koo-rwahhhhh.”
Screams and horrible shrieks.
Too-doo-doo-doo-doo!
Pah-jee-jee-jeek!
It was the sound of guns and Electric magic going off.
“Huh.”
Sunggoo expelled a short breath from his mouth.
He wasn’t a dummy. He soon realized what was happening.
Dungeon Break.
Sunggoo’s face became serious.
His heart was beating at an acceptable rate. His muscles were taut like a drawn bow and his senses became sharp.
“Ms Haesol. You take care of that bastard.”
“Yes. Let’s go, Jackson!”
“Kwahnng!”
As if Jackson was showing off his sharp canines, he roared as he jumped. The Roused and a large bear was in the midst of a battle when Jackson jumped in. Haesol sent a telepathic message to each Roused.
[Let’s divide and conquer.]
Haesol quickly assessed the battlefield. She quickly formed teams to fight the monsters and helped those who were engaged in battle with the monsters. Most of them were Rank C and below Roused.
Only the sabre-toothed tiger Jack had Rank B fighting power.
When the Roused joined up with Haesol, they started hunting the monsters at a much faster rate.
Sunggoo’s gaze was drawn to the Bloodstone Exchange store located near the Dungeon.
“Koo-roo-rook. Koo-roo-rook.”
A large snake was busily eating bloodstones after it had knocked over the building.
Every time it ate the bloodstones, it let out a soft light and its body was slowly getting bigger. If it wasn’t busy eating the Bloodstones, it would have probably killed all the Roused in the vicinity.
Hwah-roo-rook.
Sunggoo immediately shot his Fireball towards the snake.
“Chweek.”
As if it felt the threat, the snake raised its head to evade the Fireball.
Kwahng!
The Fireball created by his ability didn’t hit its target, but when the ball of flame hit the floor, it exploded.
“Chweek?”
The snake’s tongue darted in and out as it slowly moved towards him. Its body was large enough to be compared to the monster serpent, leemoogi, from the legends. Moreover, its shiny skin was letting out a 5 colored light.
It was a Rainbow Cobra.
‘I’m capable of facing it.’
Its scales had 5 shades of color. It meant it was a 5 star monster.
Sunggoo narrowed his eyes as he glared at the snake.
“Shwee shwee shweek.”
It flicked its tongue as it headed towards Sunggoo, its scales turning cloudy.
“Uh?”
Unless it suddenly developed a skin disease, there was only reason why it was doing this.
“Shwee shweek.”
The bastard started shedding its skin. The shining scales held 6 shades of color.
“Hah hah.”
Sunggoo wiped the sweat coming down his forehead.
This was a 6 star Rainbow Cobra.
According to the published documents, this was the boss monster that had appeared on the very first clear. After the 6 star Dungeon was cleared, only the 5 colored Rainbow Cobra and the basic monsters had appeared…
‘Will I be able to do it?’
He had successfully raided the already cleared 6 star Dungeons before, but he had never attempted a 6 star Dungeon that hadn’t fallen yet. Sunggoo swallowed dryly. He thought about the words he heard when he first met Woojin.
‘A man doesn’t show he is afraid even when he is afraid.’
He could almost hear the sound of Woojin’s voice in his head. Sunggoo followed his example and, with a smirk, activated the Iron Skin.
“Shwee-sweek.”
He glared at the Rainbow Cobra which had developed 6 colors. Then he ignited the magic that was flowing over his strengthened skin.
Hwah-roo-rook.
Sunggoo’s body started to burn. He literally became a smoldering human torch.
“Kyahhhhk.”
The Rainbow Cobra showed its imposing fangs and spit out its poison. However, it evaporated as it neared the fire. Sunggoo started throwing fire towards the Rainbow Cobra.
Kwahng, kwahng!
The bastard was so big that he didn’t have to aim carefully to hit it. It didn’t seem like it was taking much damage, since the scales were too thick. Still, it was enough to annoy the bastard.
“Kyahhhk!”
The bastard was pissed as it fiercely charged towards Sunggoo.
“Blaze”
Just as Sunggoo turned around to run away, a road of flame was formed in his wake. The skill only charred the scales, but it couldn’t cause burns to the snake. However, Sunggoo razed the floor as he kept dodging the snake.
Hwah-roo-rook.
The road was filled with fire. Sunggoo was running away, and the Rainbow Snake was chasing him.
After a long time, Sunggoo looked at the entirely red road filled with fire. It was hot enough to give stabbing pains to his heart. He smiled.
“Chweek.”
The pissed off Rainbow Cobra glared at Sunggoo and coiled its body. As it unfurled, the bastard sprung towards Sunggoo.
“Flame Absorption.”
Sunggoo spoke the incantation and the flame filling up the road was being sucked entirely into Sunggoo. The flames from vehicles in mid-explosion, the flames ignited from the gas main, and even the flames burning up the entire commercial buildings were all sucked towards Sunggoo.
The flame over his entire body that was being protected by the Iron Skin was also absorbed. It all coalesced on Sunggoo’s right hand.
Amongst the Flame manuscripts acquired by Woojin, this magic produced the most powerful and destructive force. It was the Essence of Flame made by gathering all the flames in the surrounding.
“This will be a bit hot.”
“Kyahhhh.”
Sunggoo jumped while holding on to this ball of fire. The Rainbow Cobra was stretched to its full length in the air. It opened its mouth as if it planned on swallowing Sunggoo. Sunggoo grinned with the ball of flames in his right hand.
He threw the Hell Fire into the 6 colored Rainbow Cobra’s mouth.
“I’ll roast you!”
Kwahhhng!
The Fireball exploded inside its mouth and the Cobra’s head exploded. Sunggoo was swept up in the aftermath of the explosion and was sent flying. He became embedded in a vehicle.
“Director Hong!”
The surprised Haesol ran towards him, but physical Roused weren’t even capable of taking blows like him. Sunggoo stood up as he moved his arm around in a circle. He stretched his shoulder. As he was being thrown towards the car, he had tried to stop his momentum using his arm. As a result, it had almost fractured.
“Ooh ooh. My arm almost broke.”
“You are really incredible!”
“Heh heh. It’s nothing.”
Haesol’s eyes were filled with admiration as she looked at Sunggoo, who was letting out an honest laugh.