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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: Entering Babel (1)
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"Kee-yeeek! Spare me, spare me!"
"Monster! It's a monster!"
'You're the monsters, though.'
They're monsters, after all.
Gonghyuk swung the steel bat in a full swing, his face impassive.
A barrage of fierce thwacks echoed endlessly through the dim dungeon boss room.
The orcs' screams grated like metal on metal, while sprays of blood and shards of bone painted a gruesome mural across the floor.
"Orc surrender! We didn't know!"
"We didn't know! Now we do! Human scary..."
Crack!
No matter what the monsters babbled, wherever the steel bat swept past, teeth and skull fragments flew.
Dungeon 450 boss: 'Bavangaru Orc Warrior Squad'
Under orders from their chieftain warrior Bavangaru, these ten orc warriors moved in perfect squad formation.
Famous among hunters for avoiding them due to their un-monster-like organization and numerical superiority.
Yet now, those words rang hollow as the orcs lay scattered on the floor, their thick skulls cracked open and bodies mangled.
The orc captain, Bavangaru, clutched his blood-soaked, swollen head and wailed.
"Human! Human! Orc didn't know! Bavangaru wrong! Won't touch human woman no more!"
"Don't play pitiful. Just a minute ago, you were saying, 'Won't leave human woman or her shithole intact!' while trying to turn me into dinner, right?"
"B-Bavangaru..."
Ignoring the words, Gonghyuk smashed the orc captain's temple like a golf tee shot.
Crack!
With the sound of a shattering skull, one eye popped out.
Blood pooled on the floor in another grotesque painting as the orc captain screamed and buried his face in the ground.
"Ooh, your skull's pretty tough. Took three hits and it's still holding up."
"Spare me, spare me, spare me, spare me!"
Gonghyuk's heart didn't budge even a millimeter at the sight of the orc captain groveling, rubbing his face on the floor and abandoning all pride.
'Sigh, damn. That hurts a bit.'
Gonghyuk slung the bat over his shoulder and let out a breath.
"Alright. I'll give you a simple quiz. Get it right, and I'll let you live."
"Kee-yeek? I-I'll get it, human!"
"Do you know what the red firework launching in three seconds is?"
"Kee-yeek?"
The three seconds slipped by amid the cryptic mystery of the quiz.
[One-Strike Firework (F) activated]
Crunch!
"It's your skull, punk."
The orc's head exploded in a wet burst under Gonghyuk's full-force swing.
Innocent curiosity still lingered in the orc's eyes.
[You excel at taking down groups. You could handle a hundred foes.]
[Title 'One Against Hundred' acquired.]
[Your fights resemble massacres more than battles.]
[Title 'Merciless Butcher' acquired.]
[Achievement 'Tutorial Destroyer' 10/10 completed.]
[Cleared 10 dungeons in 3 days (67 hours).]
[Achievement completion rate 322%. A miraculous feat.]
[400 purple coins and 1 indigo coin awarded.]
[Overachievement bonus! All stats increase by 3!]
[3 indigo coins awarded!]
"W-Wow, bro. Isn't that a bit too much?"
Yeonsi watched him slaughter the bosses with a slightly queasy expression.
Gonghyuk had seen monsters rip hunters' limbs off and torture them countless times. He'd also witnessed hunters toy with monsters like playthings before raping the halves.
Mutual brutality didn't make it even.
But after 200 years of it, normal sensibilities went numb.
"You'll get used to it soon enough, so hurry and grab the items and coins."
Gonghyuk opened his status window.
[Titles]
「Horn Breaker」
「One Against Hundred」
「Merciless Butcher」
「Duelist on the Edge of Death」
「Horn Breaker」 deals 30% extra damage to Minotaur-type monsters and boosts strength and endurance by 5 points.
「One Against Hundred」 raises all stats by 10% when facing groups.
「Merciless Butcher」 increases instant-death chance by 50% against fear-stricken foes.
「Duelist on the Edge of Death」 boosts strength, agility, endurance, and will by 5 points.
'Merciless Butcher looks useful.'
[Title 「Duelist on the Edge of Death」 unequipped.]
[Title 「Merciless Butcher」 equipped.]
Gonghyuk's incomprehensible strength and proficiency easily instilled fear in monsters. He'd often face groups alone against parties of three or four in the future.
He had no plans to lead mid-sized strike teams of five to twelve.
Unless climbing to Babel's 15th floor, too many comrades bred discord and leaked priority intel.
For those chasing gains and tailing him, he'd lead them along just enough, then shove them into the fire pit or use them as meat shields.
"Achievements"
[Soul's Match Dye (3) 44/40] Achievement completion rate 110%
Reward - 240 purple coins, 1 indigo coin
Overachievement bonus - 1 indigo coin
[Bloodstained (3) 800/800] Achievement completion rate 100%.
Reward - 400 purple coins, 1 indigo coin.
[Tutorial Destroyer 10/10] Achievement completion rate 322%
Reward - 400 purple coins, 1 indigo coin.
Overachievement bonus - 3 indigo coins, all stats +3.
Current coin balance.
Indigo coins: 7.
Purple coins: 1,548.
Coins amassed from grinding dungeons hard for three days.
Gonghyuk flicked an indigo coin, and the Observer behind him snatched it up quick.
The Observer, having eaten five indigo coins, glowed with neon delight.
"Observer. Awaken True Sight."
[Unique skill Forced Awakening (SSS) applied.]
[Final seal 'True Sight' unlocked.]
A strange lens protruded from the Observer's forehead.
True Sight itself didn't grant great power or skills. At best, it revealed hidden enemy stats or boosted 'Prediction Path (U.S)' skill accuracy.
But True Sight, which let one see the world's essence, wielded effects beyond system abilities.
With it, Gonghyuk in the past had uncovered dungeons' true natures and seized boss monsters' powers.
"Bro, got everything. Let's go home."
Yeonsi smiled brightly and handed over 60 coins. Gonghyuk gave 20 back to her.
He gave Ha Yeonsi a third of the coins. Her contributions were low now, but watching fights built experience.
Babel dropped ranged attack skill coins too. If Yeonsi mastered those, her high mana and spirit stats would let her crush most foes from afar.
And Babel, as mentioned before...
"Nah, we're not going home today."
"Why not, bro?"
"Didn't you think we had more luggage than usual today, Yeonsi?"
"It was a few days' food and supplies, but you said you'd prepare..."
Gonghyuk pulled out a pipe tobacco he'd stockpiled in advance.
Rolling paper cigarettes in Babel was tough. A pipe workable with substitute leaves was ideal.
He filled the pipe named 'Ivonne,' lit it after effort. He stroked the seductive line finished in brown lacquer and drew in the smoke.
As Gonghyuk savored the aroma filling his nose and mouth, Yeonsi asked cautiously.
"Are we heading somewhere just like this?"
That's when it happened.
An ominous red magic circle etched itself beneath Ha Yeonsi's feet.
"B-Bro, this is!"
The same magic circle appeared under Gonghyuk.
Yeonsi knew well what it meant.
The start of Babel's 7th Great Summoning.
Babel's shadow would now mirror across skies worldwide.
Gonghyuk exhaled what might be his last Earth smoke, slow and deliberate.
"Yeonsi. Listen well. In Babel's dungeons, there's no good or evil. Just choose based on your goals."
"What do you..."
"I'll clear Babel and save the world. I'll do whatever it takes. Don't forget that."
With Gonghyuk's murmur ending, he stepped to Yeonsi, overlapping their magic circles. The light soon swallowed them both.
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