Chapter 4
Let’s go back in time.
Back to when Do-jae was still in the unfamiliar dungeon sent by the quest, before he reached his younger brother and Eun-hee.
“Kieeeek!”
A harpy screamed, one of its legs broken.
Its flapping was weak due to the pain.
Thunk!
Do-jae didn’t miss the moment and drove his fist into the harpy’s stomach.
“Kuuek. Kuueek.”
With a voice different from humans, the harpy let out incomprehensible gags.
‘This one feels a bit human-like.’
Flap-flap-
The harpy tried flapping its wings energetically, but with one wing restrained, it couldn’t take flight.
It merely spun around on the ground.
Crack
[Your level has increased.]
Do-jae’s foot stomped down on the harpy’s neck.
In the end, the harpy went limp.
Do-jae hunted the harpy with ease, without taking any significant damage.
It was all thanks to the sturdy defense of the golem armor.
‘I’ve completed 95%!’
Seeing the quest window, Do-jae couldn’t hide his excitement.
Just a bit more hunting and the quest would be complete.
The quest’s progress increased even by just passing time.
After all, the quest wasn’t about hunting but surviving.
However, after hunting the first harpy, the progress rose even faster, which prompted him to seek out more harpies.
It was a natural course of action since he had now found a way to leave the place sooner.
Not to mention, hunting harpies also raised his level, killing two birds with one stone.
‘Each harpy increases progress by around 5%. I’ll take a short break, then finish this quickly.’
Maintaining the golem armor consumed mana at a rate of 1 per minute.
If he took damage or had to regenerate the armor, it would consume even more mana.
He needed to recover enough mana for the next battle.
“Put 5 into agility.”
His current level was 5.
After the recent hunt, he leveled up again and spent his stat points to increase his agility.
Each level granted him 5 points.
Now, his agility stat reached 30.
‘Let’s sit for a bit.’
Sitting on a rock, Do-jae looked up.
‘When was the last time I looked at the sky like this?’
Do-jae’s eyes had always been fixed on the ground, littered with the corpses of monsters.
‘The sky is really clear.’
The sky in this field-type dungeon was unexpectedly blue and clear.
A few scattered clouds moved slowly, offering a sense of refreshment.
“Kyaaaak!”
He thought he could take a moment’s rest, but unfortunately, this was a dungeon, and the sky was ruled by harpies.
Whoosh!
A gust of wind signaled the approach of a large shadow from afar.
This one was much bigger than the others.
With a light flap of its wings, Do-jae’s hair fluttered violently.
“Mother Harpy?”
The Mother Harpy.
A boss monster that could be found in harpy dungeons.
Its appearance was two to three times larger than regular harpies, with much thicker and stronger claws, legs, and wings.
More than that, its face was grotesque, making it hard to even compare to a human face.
‘It looks like a shoebill.’
Do-jae realized he had made a mistake.
‘I thought there wouldn’t be a boss. That was a mistake.’
This was a dungeon.
And a field-type dungeon at that.
It was not strange for a boss to appear anytime, anywhere.
In any case, this wasn’t the time for regrets.
The Mother Harpy’s attack began.
“Kyaaaaaak!”
Screech!
With an ear-piercing scream, the Mother Harpy struck the golem armor before Do-jae could even react.
Thud-thud-thud.
Unlike the regular harpies, its attack caused chunks of the golem armor to fall off in a flurry.
The impact reverberated through his body, making his head ring.
The continuous claw attacks and the regeneration of the golem armor consumed mana rapidly.
Bang!
Do-jae’s fist collided with the Mother Harpy’s foot.
He had planned to break its leg, but it blocked his attack more easily than expected.
‘I should have increased resistance and strength instead.’
But it was too late for regrets.
The golem armor was more than enough to handle the regular harpies.
His decision to put all his points into agility to increase his movement speed had seemed logical at the time.
“Kiiirrr.”
The Mother Harpy let out a sound as if mocking him, then soared high into the sky.
Its large claws spread wide, looking menacing.
Swish-
Sure enough, its massive claws barely missed Do-jae’s shoulder.
If he hadn’t ducked at that moment, he would have been grabbed for sure.
This time, the investment in agility paid off.
“Kyaaaa!”
But the Mother Harpy was relentless, diving in again and again, trying to snatch Do-jae.
It intended to carry him into the sky and drop him from a great height.
However, Do-jae wasn’t about to be caught so easily.
He dodged and rolled, doing everything he could to avoid being grabbed.
As he continued, he started to see the timing for dodging more clearly.
Wham!
“Kyaaak!”
“Whew, whew.”
Finally, Do-jae managed to land a solid hit.
The Mother Harpy was enraged.
At that moment, it stopped its physical attacks.
Instead of screeching, it began to emit a different sound.
Screeee-
The Mother Harpy used a supersonic attack, something only it could do.
It opened and closed its grotesque beak repeatedly.
As the frequency aligned, cracks began to form in the stones that made up the golem armor.
“Ugh…”
Moreover, the supersonic waves didn’t only affect the golem armor.
Do-jae’s own ears began to feel stuffed, and nausea welled up inside him.
The supersonic waves penetrated the golem armor, so blocking his ears wouldn’t help.
His mana was becoming unstable, and pieces of the golem armor started falling off rapidly.
‘I just have to endure.’
At this point, Do-jae focused all his energy on maintaining the golem armor’s regeneration.
The Mother Harpy seemed to be waiting for the armor to fall apart, continuing its supersonic attack.
Barely able to move, Do-jae clung to the thought of buying time.
With 95% of the quest completed, it wouldn’t take much longer.
Ding-
Amidst the chaos, after several minutes of constant crumbling and regeneration, a pleasant sound echoed in his mind.
[Your skill ‘Golem Armor’ has leveled up.]
[Your skill ‘Golem Armor’ has gained resistance.]
But Do-jae had no time to care about the notifications.
He had to keep sending mana to regenerate the disintegrating golem armor.
[Your skill ‘Golem Armor’ resistance is increasing.]
30 seconds…
[Your skill ‘Golem Armor’ resistance is increasing.]
1 minute…
[Your skill ‘Golem Armor’ resistance is increasing.]
[Your skill ‘Golem Armor’ resistance is increasing.]
[Your skill ‘Golem Armor’ resistance is increasing.]
—
And after 5 minutes passed.
All that could be heard was a faint ringing sound, and the nausea had disappeared.
[Skill]
– Skill Name: Golem Armor
– Level: 2
– Type: Active
– Description: Forms a golem armor using a golem’s heart as the core. The golem armor is affected by the user’s stats and skill level.
– Mana Consumption: 1 + α
– Resistance: Sonic (50%)
The Golem Armor leveled up.
It now had the effect of resistance.
The Golem Armor began to withstand the Mother Harpy’s ultrasonic waves.
“Kyaaaak!”
The Mother Harpy sensed the change in Do-jae.
It stopped its ultrasonic attack and swooped down again.
Bang!
“Kiaak?”
The Mother Harpy was startled.
Unlike before, its claws struck solid stone.
“Gotcha. Nice to meet you.”
Smack!
Doja’s fist slammed into the Mother Harpy’s face.
The Mother Harpy fell to the ground.
What followed wasn’t much different from what happened to the other harpies.
Fwoosh!
[Your level has increased.]
[Your level has increased.]
….
Several level-up windows popped up in quick succession.
Then another message appeared.
[You have cleared the quest.]
[You have received your reward.]
[Subspace]
[Achievement exceeded! Achievement exceeded 100%.]
[You have received an additional reward.]
[Brown Chest]
After confirming all the messages, a small brown chest appeared in Do-jae’s hand.
At the same time, his body was pulled somewhere by a powerful force.
More accurately, it felt like he was being pushed out.
***
Clunk.
The brown chest opened.
Clatter-!
Various items tumbled out of the chest onto the ground.
[You have obtained ‘Magic Stones’ from the Brown Chest.]
….
[You have obtained ‘Minerals’ from the Brown Chest.]
….
[You have obtained ‘Harpy Feathers’ from the Brown Chest.]
[You have obtained ‘Weapon’ from the Brown Chest.]
The chest disappeared along with the messages.
On the ground were three magic stones, three chunks of minerals the size of soccer balls, a bundle of feathers, and a longsword.
“Nice….”
It was fascinating to think about how all that fit inside the small chest.
‘I thought it was unfortunate that everything disappeared after completing the quest, but I got them this way.’
During the hunt for the harpies, Do-jae had plucked feathers and claws to keep.
But after completing the quest, everything had disappeared, except for the brown chest.
He had regretted it, thinking he could’ve sold them for some cash.
Yet, here they were, as loot from the chest.
‘Let’s see.’
Doja placed the items on a bench and began to examine them one by one.
‘These magic stones are clearly valuable.’
They were high-quality magic stones that he hadn’t seen in any of the dungeons he’d been through before.
While Do-jae wasn’t an expert on magic stones, they looked similar to the ones used by high-ranking hunters in their weapons and armor.
‘Selling just one of these….’
That would easily cover his brother’s hospital bills for this month.
Maybe he could even upgrade him to a private room.
‘No. I should hold on to them for now.’
If he sold the magic stones immediately, he could improve his brother’s environment, but only temporarily.
He wouldn’t be able to sustain the costs afterward.
However, if he used the magic stones himself…
Most hunters sold their magic stones for money, but Do-jae was different.
He could summon golems using magic stones.
For the sake of the future, keeping the magic stones was the wise choice.
‘Sorry, bro. Just hold on a little longer.’
Tap-tap. Rub-rub.
Do-jae turned his attention to the minerals, tapping and rubbing them.
But he had no idea what kind of minerals they were.
‘Well, I don’t even know what a random rock on the street is.’
Lacking any knowledge in that area, staring at them didn’t yield any results.
Still, since they were quest rewards, he couldn’t just throw them away.
‘I’ll sell the feathers to Mr. Choi.’
Freelance hunters each had a merchant they worked with to sell their loot.
Do-jae also had a long-standing shop where he sold his items. He knew they’d give him a good price for the feathers.
‘The only thing left is the sword…. This is perfect.’
The sword gleamed with a blue light.
Its decoration was crude, but the blade itself was sharp and formidable.
The longsword and dagger he had been using were left behind in the dungeon.
They were cheap iron swords worth 300,000 won, and he’d used them for more than two years, getting his money’s worth.
It was a wonder they had lasted as long as they had.
That was mainly because he didn’t often use swords in combat.
‘But how do I carry all this?’
The bigger question now was how to transport everything.
Previously, he’d used several large collection bags to move his loot, but he had left those behind.
‘An inventory would’ve been perfect.’
Every time he went on a raid, he wished he had an inventory.
An inventory is a kind of magical pocket made from mana.
Inventories come in different grades based on how much they can hold, but they are all expensive.
Way out of reach for the average person.
‘Wait a minute!’
He remembered the Subspace from the quest reward.
He had definitely received it after defeating the Mother Harpy.
If it was what he thought it was, it could perfectly store all the minerals and feathers scattered on the ground.
“Subspace.”
Crackle-
The air split open.
In front of him appeared the entrance to the subspace.
Gasp.
Startled, Do-jae gulped.
Fearing that someone might see, he hurriedly stuffed all the items into the subspace.
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