Chapter 6
I had already heard about the dungeon over the phone.
A D+ rank radial dungeon.
It’s shaped like a spider web, with interconnected passageways and a boss room at the centre.
The dungeon is so vast that clearing it takes a long time, but the difficulty itself is on the lower side.
In the early days of the world’s transformation, there was no information about dungeons, and with so few Awakeners, gathering intel like this was impossible.
However, as time passed, through trial and error, accumulated knowledge, and continuous research, we managed to decode dungeons to some extent.
It was during this process that both hunters and dungeons began to be categorized by rank.
“Do-jae, can you see this?”
Shim Yeong-jin shows me a map displayed on his smartphone.
It’s the same map I had received earlier.
Since GPS doesn’t work inside the dungeon, it’s just a simple image.
“We plan to push forward straight to the boss room from here.”
His finger traced along the optimal route, bypassing winding passages to reach the boss room.
“Honestly, since you’re an F-rank, it’ll be tough for you to keep up with us. So…”
F-rank and D-rank.
Though both might be considered low-tier, the gap between them is quite real.
Naturally, to Shim Yeong-jin, I’m just dead weight.
Dragging me along wouldn’t be of any help at all.
Understanding that, I quickly cut him off before he could continue.
“Yeah, don’t worry about me. And leave me out of the loot distribution as well.”
“Oh! Thanks! I’ll still make sure to give you something at the end, though.”
Shim Yeong-jin smiled.
It must feel good to have someone excuse themselves from the loot distribution without him having to bring it up.
“And you said I could move freely, right?”
“Yes, of course. You can rest here or sleep in the safe zone we’ve secured.”
“Got it. I’ll be moving separately.”
“Huh? Separately?”
“Yeah, just as the contract states, I’ll take full responsibility for my own actions.”
Shim Yeong-jin looked at me, confused.
I nodded again, affirming that I would handle myself.
After a moment of hesitation, he turned his gaze deeper into the dungeon.
“Alright, we’ll head off first then.”
Shim Yeong-jin’s party set off.
Once they disappeared from view, I checked the map again.
‘Good. That means all the remaining monsters are mine, right?’
**********
“Graargh!”
Thud!
A black wolf leaped at me.
“Graargh!”
Its massive jaws were lined with thick fangs, each as big as a person’s finger.
“Graah!”
The black wolf bit down on my shoulder.
Its powerful jaws and the strength of its muscles made me stagger.
But that was all.
It couldn’t penetrate the stone surface of my golem armor.
I quickly steadied myself and drove my sword into the wolf’s neck.
“Gaaah! Gack! Gawk!”
The wolf gagged and tried to escape.
But I wouldn’t let it. (T/L: “Dojae – Is somebody gonna match my freak?”)
“Seven down!”
With a strong swing of my sword, I severed the black wolf’s neck.
Its head hung halfway off its body.
Before long, the wolf went limp.
Swoosh!
[You have leveled up.]
“Oh, another level up!”
It had been about thirty minutes since I entered the dungeon.
I had been moving in a direction where I wouldn’t run into the main raid party, hunting all the while.
In this short time, I had leveled up quickly, either because my level was initially low or because the black wolves gave a lot of experience.
‘Check status.’
[Information]
Name: Lee Do-jae
Level: 8
Title: Golem Master
HP: 1900 / 1900
[Stats]
Strength: 20 / Stamina: 10 / Agility: 30 / Mentality: 10 / Resistance: 10
(Points: 5)
[Skills]
Passive: Heart of the Golem Lv. Max / Pocket Dimension Lv. Max
Active: Summon Golem Lv. 1 / Golem Armor Lv. 2
Just a day ago, I wouldn’t have thought it possible to hunt 7th-grade black wolves alone.
These creatures are well-adapted to the dark dungeons, relying not on sight but on their keen sense of smell.
They can even detect hunters who have stealth skills.
The darkness is their ally, and ambushing from the shadows is their specialty.
But for me?
‘They can’t even scratch this.’
I pried open the black wolf’s jaws for inspection.
Its long fangs were cracked.
It had bitten down on my golem armor and broken its teeth.
‘It’s a shame, but what can I do?’
Using one hand to hold the wolf’s jaw, I yanked out a cracked fang with the other.
When intact, black wolf fangs are pure white and highly sought after for use in stamps or decorations.
But broken ones, like these, are ground down for use in cosmetics.
K-beauty is indeed remarkable.
“Pocket Dimension.”
Whirrrr.
In response to my command, my pocket dimension opened, and a status window appeared before me.
[Pocket Dimension]
- Magic Stones: 3
- Harpy Feathers: 57
- Minerals: 19
- Water 500ml: 20
- Black Wolf Fangs: 11
The pocket dimension was a passive skill that far surpassed the usual inventory systems available.
While typical inventories are enchanted bags requiring physical space, and only allow you to retrieve everything at once, the pocket dimension has none of those limitations.
Many hunters carry multiple inventories just to store only essential items.
Whoosh.
I reached into the pocket dimension.
When I withdrew my hand, I was holding a bottle of water.
The pocket dimension lets me pull out exactly what I want, without taking up any physical space or having weight limitations.
I could even store a truckload of items if I wanted to.
For the record, I can’t store living beings, though I can stick my hand in, but entering it myself is impossible.
Gulp.
The water was ice-cold, straight from the fridge, since the pocket dimension preserves items exactly as they were when stored.
‘At this pace, I’ll probably level up a few more times before they finish the boss.’
I started moving forward again.
I didn’t have a specific destination.
Since the boss wasn’t my goal, I’d just keep wandering and hunting anything I came across.
“Grrr.”
“Grrr.”
“Grr!”
After advancing about 30 meters, I came across three more black wolves.
Beast-Type Monsters’ Characteristics:
They act in packs.
So it’s not surprising that three of them appeared together.
And this also means that their base is nearby.
We’re getting close to one of the large bases I saw on the map.
“Come here, come on! Scratching is fine, but let’s not bite, okay?”
I clicked my tongue and spoke gently, as if coaxing a small puppy.
As though the massive black wolves, each the size of a tiger, were adorable little Pomeranians.
After all, they are part of the canine family, right?
“Growl!”
Of course.
They weren’t the type to be soothed by such words.
Leap!
The one in front jumped, and the rest followed suit, pushing off the ground.
“Watch out!”
One of them lunged at me, its black tongue flicking out towards my face.
I narrowly dodged it by twisting my upper body.
It was intentional.
I needed to make sure to get its fangs in good condition.
Swoosh—
My sword traced a graceful arc, slicing through the thigh of the first wolf.
This wasn’t any kind of swordsmanship.
It’s just that I could see it coming and move in the optimal way.
Drip—
Thud!
“Yelp!”
With its hind leg half-severed, the wolf couldn’t land properly. It lost its balance and skidded, slamming its head against the wall, letting out a pitiful sound.
“Next!”
I adjusted my grip on the sword and turned its edge toward the other wolves.
Thanks to the golem armor covering my arms, the sword and my body seemed like they were one.
But the armor didn’t restrict the movement of my wrist at all.
“Growl.”
“Snarl!”
The remaining two wolves leapt at me.
This time, I charged at them.
‘Hand over that experience!’
**********
“Whew.”
I let out a small sigh.
Fighting three wolves took twice as long as fighting just one.
On top of that, the amount of mana required to repair the golem armor had significantly increased.
‘If more of them show up, it could be tough.’
Three wolves were manageable.
I could probably handle four or even five.
It would take more time, and I might take some damage, but it seemed possible.
However, more than that would be pushing it.
That’s why I hesitated to move forward.
I was getting closer to their base.
‘Should I turn back now?’
But leaving behind a pile of experience points right in front of me felt like such a waste.
My stamina wasn’t depleted, and I still had plenty of mana.
Besides, my only skill wasn’t just the golem armor.
‘I saved this for moments like this.’
I pulled out the three magic stones from the brown box in my pocket dimension.
Initially, I had hoped to improve my combat sense and raise both my golem armor skill proficiency and level.
However, I wasn’t foolish enough to willingly put myself in danger.
I placed the magic stones on the ground.
Now it was time for the skill that forms the basis of the golem armor.
Summoning the golems.
“Golem Summon!”
Rumble.
Scattered stones gathered around the magic stones.
They piled up rapidly, like an apartment building rising day by day.
10 centimetres.
30 centimetres.
100 centimetres.
And they stopped once they reached around my shoulder height.
[A stone golem has been created.]
[A stone golem has been created.]
[A stone golem has been created.]
The three stone golems stood motionless in place.
They didn’t move at all; from a distance, they would look just like statues.
‘They’re a little different from each other.’
The basic form of the stone golems was the same.
They resembled the angular robots that were popular with children a long time ago—and still are.
However, there were slight differences in their height and thickness. The first golem was the tallest, standing at about 160 centimetres.
And it was easy to figure out why there were differences.
[Information]
Name: Stone Golem
Level: 5
Title: Summoned Creature
HP: 1000 / Mana: 0
[Stats]
Strength: 10 / Stamina: 20 / Agility: 5 / Mentality: 0 / Resistance: 30
[Skills]
Passive: None
Active: None
‘So I can check the golems’ stats too, huh?’
I checked the stats of the other golems as well.
The conclusion?
Their performance depends on the quality of the magic stone.
The level and stats of the golems were determined by how good the magic stone was.
Dungeon-obtained magic stones, unless they were crafted by humans, were never identical, and that meant the golems’ abilities also varied.
‘Their stats are lower than mine, but they’ll still be helpful.’
The golems’ stats were generally inferior to mine.
However, their stamina and resistance were on par with mine.
Even if they couldn’t contribute directly to the attack, they seemed capable of distracting enemies or holding them off.
‘How do I get them to move?’
I didn’t know how to control the golems.
They weren’t living beings, and they didn’t have ears or mouths, so I had to try different methods.
After several attempts, I realized they could follow simple commands.
“Move forward! Stop! Turn around! Roll! Line up!”
The golems moved according to my commands.
Their responses were quite quick and accurate.
I tried giving them orders to fight or flee, but since there were no enemies, they didn’t react.
Still, judging by the way they followed commands like “line up,” they seemed fully capable of responding to combat orders.
‘Not bad at all.’
With three tanks to distract the monsters, absorb attacks, and buy me time to strike, I was feeling much more confident.
A base filled with black wolves?
It didn’t scare me anymore.
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