Chapter 38: The Final Wave
“No… no, this can’t be happening!”
Min Chorong jolted awake with a shout, her face drained of color as she recalled the last moments before she had lost consciousness. Drenched in cold sweat, she scanned her surroundings before her eyes settled on me, and she burst into tears, rushing toward me.
“Waahhh! What do we do? Gundan… Gundan, he’s…” she wailed.
Caught off guard by her sudden dash, I patted her back gently, whispering, “Gundan is right there, alive and well.”
“H-Huh?”
Min Chorong stopped crying and looked to where I was pointing, finding Gundan standing nearby, scratching his head sheepishly.
Immediately, she released me and hurried over to him, sobbing as she clung to him instead.
Considering she looked no older than a high school student, the ordeal had been too much for her to bear.
Watching her, I found myself cursing our predicament. Not a single moment passed without things getting harder.
What a cursed life this is.
“This damned dungeon. This damn misfortune.”
I clicked my tongue, muttering under my breath, then slowly stretched, feeling the stiffness in my body.
The system message in front of me revealed why the Queen had made her move.
〚Hidden Condition Met!〛
〚Condition – Invade the nest of the Ganggwi through the passageway and eliminate more than ten Ganggwi outside the nest〛
〚Dungeon Hidden Boss: Unique-Rank [C] LV 45 Ganggwi Queen has detected the presence of intruders through the elite soldier corpses in the passageway.〛
〚Time for the 4th wave has drastically shortened and is now intensified!〛
This was all my fault.
In my haste to end the dungeon early, I had given away our presence to the Queen, and in her fury, she unleashed her minions upon us.
This made my lack of dungeon experience painfully obvious.
I had lived mainly in the Tutorial Zone or the safest low-rank dungeons, so I hadn’t been prepared for the unpredictability of a dungeon like this.
It was probably my newfound strength that had gotten to me. I had been thrilled after defeating monsters stronger than me.
If I had simply endured quietly for five rounds, we could’ve escaped this dungeon without issue.
But unfortunately, my mistakes weren’t over yet.
〚Due to hidden conditions being met, the dungeon’s rank and stage have changed!〛
〚Hidden Stage – Unique-Rank [C]: Succession will commence!〛
〚The Queen’s egg begins to hatch! Endure until the egg has fully revived!〛
〚Time remaining: 1:36:43〛
Two hours.
If we can survive for just that long, we’ll be able to leave this cursed dungeon.
Of course, it wouldn’t be easy.
Another crisis like the one we’d just faced could happen at any time.
In just ten minutes, I’d cut down roughly 150 Ganggwi, yet an equal number remained, and they weren’t ordinary soldiers—they were elites and royal guards, much stronger than before.
And then, there was the hidden boss: the Queen herself.
To make matters worse, I couldn’t use Equivalent Exchange right now, a critical buff that had helped me until now.
It was a grim situation, to say the least.
The only silver lining was that Gundan’s unique ability had awakened.
It turned out that the powerful divine barrier he summoned in his near-death state had been his true ability all along.
The trigger for his awakening had been a willingness to defend someone to the death.
His resolve to stand and fight for my sister and Min Chorong had brought forth this power.
‘In my previous life, he must’ve scarred his face here, hence the mask he always wore.’
In any case, he would now grow to be the best tank I knew from my past life.
Although our power had greatly increased compared to the last three waves, facing this hidden stage and the remaining Ganggwi army left us with a lot more despair than hope.
Had I used my special skill to summon an artifact from a powerful deity, we might’ve been able to clear this stage easily. But that chance was gone.
But I couldn’t give up now. Not after coming this far. I’d use everything I had to survive, no matter what.
Opening my stat window, I checked the results of my relentless fighting.
<Status Window>
- Name: Shin Juha
- Title: World Destroyer [SSS]
- LV 21 (83%)
<Stats>
- Mugeuk (Myth) F (12+20/100)
- Sun (Myth) F (12+20/100)
- Heavenly Fortune (Myth) F- (11+20/100)
- Misfortune (Legendary) F- (12+20/100)
- Perseverance (Legendary) F- (16+20/100)
- Remaining Points: 7
<Authorities>
- [Golden Tower LV2]
- [Heavenly Fortune LV1]
- [Noon Sun LV2]
<Unique Abilities>
- [Curse of Misfortune (Legendary) LV MAX]
- [Mugeuk Heavenly Veins (Myth) LV2]
- [Ultimate Soul (Myth) LV1]
- [Equivalent Exchange (Origin) LV2]
- [Sun Eye (Myth) LV1]
<Skills>
- [Wing of Arrogance (Myth) LV1]
- [Heart of the Colossus (Legendary) LV1]
- [Flowing Water Form (Epic) LV1]
The reward for hacking through those Ganggwi was a seven-level boost. Without hesitation, I invested all seven points into the Mugeuk stat.
A surge of vitality swept through my body, my physical strength intensifying.
I closed the status window and glanced at Min Chorong, who had stopped crying, and at Gundan. Calmly, I spoke.
“Let’s prepare. They’ll be coming soon.”
The end was approaching. And I would not be the one lying down when it came.
***
For this final battle, the most important thing was stamina.
Our goal wasn’t to defeat the enemy but to survive until time ran out.
In that sense, this chamber was far from ideal for a defensive hold.
With all sides exposed, we’d have to be prepared to counter attacks from any direction.
First, it would be wise to block these entrances. Of course, it wouldn’t entirely prevent the Ganggwi, who burrow through earth, but it might buy us a little time.
I had considered this after finishing the first wave but chose not to block any passages at the time.
There was a risk of penalties, and I had also explored the enemy’s lair via the passages.
But the main reason was that even with the power of my Sun and my sword, I couldn’t destroy the passage walls.
Now, however, there was no room for hesitation.
If it meant raising our survival odds, I’d try anything.
I opened my inventory and selected the most powerful bombs from the Golden Tower’s collection, pulling out eight bombs with the highest explosive force.
Despite having used potions frequently to heal during the battle, my Authority proficiency had increased with my growth, allowing me more withdrawals from the inventory.
Even if I hadn’t had this luxury, I would’ve taken them out regardless.
〚Item: Magic Furnace Bomb [Advanced-S]〛
I took the strongest bombs I could pull from my inventory and attached two to the ceiling of each passage.
Then, choosing one of the four passages, I detonated the bombs.
—-!!!
With a massive boom, the passage collapsed.
The underground trembled, and even the chamber shook slightly from the blast.
Satisfied, I nodded at the destruction.
“Wow! Couldn’t you have brought out something like this from the beginning?” Min Chorong said, her words biting.
“…The firepower is…incredible!” Gundan added in awe.
Chuckling awkwardly, I turned away from Min Chorong’s remark. I held onto the remaining three bombs, keeping them in reserve as traps to tear into any advancing enemies.
“Remaining inventory slots: 18.”
I took out ten additional bombs of various types and installed them in strategic spots along the remaining three passages before returning.
It wasn’t over yet. I gestured at the pile of Ganggwi corpses stacked in a corner of the chamber and gave a command.
“Let’s use these to block the entrance once more. Stack them like a wall, Gundan.”
The Ganggwi corpses were large and solid.
While Gundan’s Divine Citadel had the defensive power to withstand assaults when used on a person, he could also apply this ability to objects, though with slightly reduced efficiency.
Thus, we began building a barricade, forming a crude fortress from the corpses.
Admittedly, it was just a round wall made of ant corpses, but it would serve our purpose.
“That’s it for our preparations.”
All that was left was to wait for them.
“Hold your ground, Gundan. If we endure this, victory is ours.”
“…Understood!”
With a determined gaze, he looked at me, as though eager to repay me for saving his life. I gave him a firm pat on the shoulder.
“But isn’t Gundan older than you? Why are you using informal speech, Oppa?” Min Chorong asked.
“I saved his life, didn’t I? The least I can do is use informal speech. Besides, we’re the same age—both twenty.”
“Whaaaat?”
Trying to lighten the mood, I laughed as she gave Gundan an incredulous look, masking her trembling hands.
I clicked my tongue.
“You too, Min Chorong. Focus on keeping Gundan healed and buffed. I’ll manage with potions. And…”
I trailed off, knowing how out of character it was for me to say what I was about to.
“Don’t worry too much. Just trust me.”
I patted her on the head, and she looked up at me, her wide eyes slowly calming as she playfully put a hand over her mouth, batting her lashes.
“Are you confessing, Oppa? Oh my, I’m still a minor, you know. But if you really like me, I might consider it. Now, go fight for me!” she teased.
Just as I was about to flick her forehead for her antics, I felt the Ganggwi approaching. My face turned serious, and Gundan straightened up, his massive frame ready, while Min Chorong quickly moved beside the egg capsule, taking a deep breath.
“They’re coming. Get ready.”
Despite our thorough preparations, it took some time before the Ganggwi broke through. There was less than an hour left until the Queen’s egg would hatch.
“Hoo…I’m nervous!”
Min Chorong tried to keep her tone light, though tension and fear were etched into everyone’s expressions. At the same time, the nearness of our goal gave us hope.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sound of the Ganggwi charging was unmistakable. I drew my fire blade from the inventory as they poured through the passageways and charged at us.
‘Not yet.’
I waited patiently, timing my attack to take down as many as possible.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
A massive Ganggwi at the front was halfway through the passage when—
I released my magic!
The bombs, primed with my magic, roared to life, erupting in a massive blast.
Ka-boom!!!
The traps set at the three passages exploded into flames, collapsing the tunnels and consuming the charging Ganggwi in the fire, marking the beginning of our final battle.
—
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