Chapter 36: Ganggwi
Holding a flame sword imbued with frost, I took out a tracking turtle from my pocket, set it to remember my starting point, and placed it back as I ventured deeper.
My goal this time was to explore as far as possible and locate the Ganggwi Queen to eliminate her.
In wave-type dungeons like this, eliminating the boss governing the Ganggwi would make the dungeon significantly easier to conquer.
However, the primary objective was to find the queen first.
“Why does the queen want the queen’s egg destroyed?”
I mused, finding the whole situation strange. Normally, in any colony, having two queens was unheard of.
Typically, all the Ganggwi would gather to protect a queen’s egg, which would eventually hatch into a new queen.
Destroying such an egg was essentially a death sentence for the colony, as it meant no succession.
This dungeon—unique-tier, no less—seemed strangely straightforward in its clear conditions.
Although the Ganggwi displayed overwhelming strength, it felt prudent to stay cautious.
After drinking a sensory enhancement potion, I advanced, heightening my awareness of every little movement around me.
But no matter how far I traveled, winding through the tunnels, nothing appeared.
“What…?”
I hadn’t seen even a shadow of a Ganggwi, as if every living creature had simply vanished.
My sense of unease grew. A sudden disappearance of monsters meant only one thing: they were gathering in one place.
And the only being capable of uniting them was the queen herself.
With this realization, I quickened my steps.
There was no longer any need to conceal my presence. Propelling myself forward, I focused on finding where the Ganggwi had gathered.
It didn’t take long. I soon found myself standing before a vast chamber filled with hundreds of Ganggwi.
“Unbelievable!”
Their numbers far exceeded my expectations—at least 300 Ganggwi, all bowing in submission before a massive, furious queen at the front.
Gulping hard, I felt my confidence waver. It was inevitable. Through the Sun Eye, I discerned her rank: a unique-C grade.
With two major stats now at F-grade and my magic stat on the edge of D-grade, she was still a daunting force even a B-rank hunter might struggle to take on alone.
Now, I understood the dungeon’s unique-D+ rating; it probably assumed that without facing the queen, only defending against the waves would be feasible.
The ranks seemed clear: regular soldier, elite soldier, royal guard, and the queen herself.
The queen was twice the size of a standard Ganggwi, towering over the others.
Watching quietly, I observed the queen seething with rage, unleashing relentless screeches upon her minions, who shivered in terror.
At last, she issued her command: the majority of the Ganggwi were to join the search.
Abandon all previous tasks and focus solely on finding the lost queen’s egg and the intruder.
With her order, over 200 of the regular soldiers rose and dispersed through the tunnel network with terrifying speed.
“Damn it!”
I looked down the tunnel where the Ganggwi were now surging toward me.
Quickly, I retrieved a stealth item from my inventory, the same one I’d used against Ra.
Activating it, my body vanished, cloaked by the invisibility skill.
But this was a mistake—a foolish decision. I should have turned and fled immediately.
Ganggwi, particularly regular soldiers, have severely degenerated eyesight, allowing them only to detect brightness and vague shapes.
Adapted for dark tunnel life, they rely on their antennae to sense air vibrations and nearby movements.
My invisibility meant nothing; they would detect my presence through my breathing and movements.
-Squeak?!!
-Squeak, squeak!!!
Click, click, click, click.
Despite trying to meld into the wall, they found me, and with an echoing screech that filled the tunnel, they clacked their powerful jaws and charged.
“Dammit!”
This was dangerous, far too dangerous. Faced with dozens of Ganggwi, I turned and bolted.
“Equivalent Exchange! Max out the Mugeuk Stat!”
With a massive expenditure of coins, my body surged with strength. The boosted stat limit was 30, but it was enough.
Luckily, Ganggwi’s stats leaned heavily into strength rather than speed, so they weren’t much faster than me—though still close enough.
Grinding my teeth, I thought quickly.
“What do I do now?”
Heading straight for the queen’s egg would be idiotic, like leading the enemy’s army directly into our stronghold. But avoiding it wasn’t an option, either.
With this many Ganggwi loose, it wouldn’t be long before my allies were detected.
The worst-case scenario had come to life. Though I’d anticipated waves, an immediate Ganggwi invasion was the absolute worst outcome.
Without me there, my comrades’ only option would be to hold out as long as possible.
I had to decide quickly. Glancing back, I took in the 20 or so Ganggwi chasing me.
“Just hold on a bit longer,” I thought as I bolted in the opposite direction, drawing the Ganggwi as far from my allies as I could.
After what felt like an eternity, I finally came to a dead end.
Entering a small, enclosed chamber, I stopped to catch my breath.
-Squeak!
-Squeak, squeak!
-Squeak-screech!
Did they think I had given up? The Ganggwi slowly entered the chamber, grinning as if mocking their prey.
“Phew… This is seriously annoying.”
Watching the Ganggwi with massive jaws closing in on me, I shut my eyes, took a deep breath, and opened them once more.
Fwoosh!
Red flames flared from my left eye, meeting the gaze of the Ganggwi.
The moment the Sun Eye locked onto their vast, primal eyes, countless messages appeared.
Their degraded vision was irrelevant. Even in their dim world of shapes and vague light, the brilliance of the blazing sun was unmistakable.
〚Unique-Rank [D] LV 23: Ganggwi soldier is affected by status ailment: Intimidation!〛
〚Unique-Rank [D] LV 24: Ganggwi soldier is affected by status ailment: Fear!〛
…
〚Unique-Rank [D] LV 22: Ganggwi soldier is affected by status ailment: Confusion!〛
〚Unique-Rank [D] LV 25: Ganggwi soldier is affected by status ailment: Confusion!〛
Out of the 23 Ganggwi that had chased me, 14 fell into various status ailments, shrieking in disarray.
I seized the moment. The flame sword flashed, moving swiftly. I ducked beneath them, targeting their joints with precision.
-Squeak!!
I didn’t finish them off just yet. The priority was to incapacitate as many as possible before they shook off the effects.
Any Ganggwi unaffected by the status ailments lunged at me, desperate to tear me apart.
My flame sword sliced through their joints with fluid precision. By the time the eleventh Ganggwi collapsed from its severed limbs, the status effects wore off.
“About five minutes, it seems.”
Given my low skill proficiency and level, I couldn’t use the ability in quick succession.
When I tried to channel more mana into the Sun Eye, it felt as if the eye resisted, refusing the energy.
However, half of them had already been incapacitated, and that alone was worthwhile. I sprang from beneath a collapsing Ganggwi.
Thud!
-Squeak!
Paralyzed and unable to rise, the crippled Ganggwi cried out in fury and anguish, calling to its kin. In response, the remaining 12 Ganggwi charged at me with murderous intent.
The ground shook under their immense force. Focusing, I steeled my resolve and moved.
I ran head-on toward one charging beast. Anticipating my move, it crouched low to prevent me from slipping beneath it.
But that was precisely my plan. Leaping off the ground, I activated Manbyun to transform into a single item, unfolding a wing as I did so.
My body surged with enhanced physical stats as my shoes turned into azure sneakers adorned with clouds. I kicked off the air itself and landed above the Ganggwi.
-Squeeeeak!!!
It hadn’t expected me to jump over it. Furious, it screeched, but I had no time to care about its anger.
Intent on taking me down, the remaining 11 hurled themselves at me, jaws snapping, willing to sacrifice their ally in the process. Trapped on all sides, evasion was impossible.
I focused, allowing my movements to flow naturally, like water.
As one Ganggwi lunged to snap at my waist, I used my blade to guide its trajectory, redirecting its powerful force toward the body of a charging comrade.
Just as a master of Tai Chi, I spun, using my rotation to further amplify their overwhelming strength, directing them toward each other.
Crunch! Crack!
When the mighty jaws clamped shut, they tore into the flesh of their own.
But I wasn’t unscathed. Despite my skill, I couldn’t fend off all 11.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
In that fleeting moment, I managed to deflect eight attacks, but I had to endure the remaining three.
Crunch!
Their massive jaws closed powerfully around my right thigh, left arm, and abdomen, squeezing with crushing force.
〚Skill: Flowing Water Transformation deflects the attack!〛
By some stroke of luck—or misfortune—the Ganggwi aiming for my left arm bit into thin air, as if cause and effect had momentarily inverted.
But fortune only struck once. I still felt intense pain and crushing pressure around my abdomen and right thigh.
“Gahhh!”
Sensing my quivering frame, the Ganggwi’s antennae twitched, as if tasting victory.
“Nngh…!”
But it wasn’t over. I wouldn’t die here. Manbyun transformed into a high-grade sword that I gripped firmly with my still-functioning left hand.
Steadying my right hand with the flame sword, I plunged both blades into the necks of the two Ganggwi latched onto me.
Stab! Splat!
With the blades embedded in their throats, they immediately recoiled, releasing their jaws from my flesh and shrieking in agony.
“You damn… pests.”
Pulling potions from my inventory, I drank them and poured more onto my wounds.
Despite using the best of the high-grade potions, my injuries were too severe to fully heal.
Only about half of the gaping wounds managed to close, and the pain-relieving effects gradually spread through my body as I stood.
“You think this is over, you ants? Let’s finish this!”
I wasn’t going down like this. I would kill every last one of them—and ensure my sister survived!
Ignoring the blood pouring from my wounds, I leaped down from the Ganggwi’s back, wielding both blades, ready to continue the fight.
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