episode_0237

Jeong Yushin and his party members raced across the plateau.

Footprints were imprinted on the damp soil, and wild grass brushed against their legs.

Thump!!! Thump!!! Thump!!!

The giant iron golem followed close behind.

Jeong Yushin turned his head to glance at Armin.

Armin was clinging to the iron golem’s back, only his face visible.

Apart from his pale complexion, he looked quite alright.

“Two mountain trolls in the front!!! Three stone wolves!!!”

Karin shouted.

Thud!!! Thud!!!

The sound of the trolls’ footsteps shook the ground.

“Prepare for battle! Kenneth, to the right!!!”

“Leave it to me.”

Kenneth immediately raised his steel bow and planted it on the ground.

Thump!!!

The steel bow was deeply embedded in the ground.

Squeak.

The sound of the bowstring being drawn.

“Armin, block the troll on the left!!!”

“Yes!!!”

“Karin, let’s go!”

“Got it!”

Whoosh!!!

Kenneth’s arrow flew and lodged in the right troll’s head.

Instant death.

The troll running from the left was blocked by the iron golem.

Clang!!!

The troll and the iron golem grabbed each other’s hands and began a power struggle.

In the meantime.

Jeong Yushin and Karin charged towards the stone wolves.

“Grrr!!!”

A huge, gray wolf lunged at Jeong Yushin.

Sharp teeth gleamed within the drooling wolf’s mouth.

Here it comes.

Click.

He took out the crossbow fixed to his thigh, loaded it, and aimed.

The oncoming wolf leaped high into the air. It opened its mouth wide to bite his neck.

Take a deep breath.

One.

Two.

Three.

He pulled the trigger.

Thwack!!!

The bolt that flew pierced the wolf’s forehead.

“Keh!!!”

The charging wolf let out a death cry.

Jeong Yushin avoided the flying wolf.

The next one circled around and tried to bite his leg with sharp teeth.

Jeong Yushin floated the crossbow into the air, grabbed the broken greatsword with both hands, and swung it.

From top to bottom.

Whoosh!!!

Squish!!!

The greatsword, driven straight down, tore through the thick wolf hide, shattered the neck bones, and split it apart.

The wolf’s body, its head severed, collapsed with a thud, and the wolf’s head rolled down the slope and away.

He raised his head and looked at Karin.

It seemed Karin had also dealt with one wolf in an instant.

Only one troll remained.

The iron golem and the mountain troll were still locked in a power struggle.

Surprisingly, the iron golem was not being pushed back at all.

Now is the chance while the troll is distracted.

Jeong Yushin ran towards the troll’s legs.

He crouched low and swung the greatsword horizontally.

The greatsword cut through the troll’s ankle.

Squish!!!

A fountain of blood erupted.

Instantly, the troll lost its balance and staggered.

“Scar!”

Karin’s voice rang out from behind him.

Jeong Yushin immediately ducked. Karin stepped on Jeong Yushin’s back and leaped high into the air.

She swung her dagger and stabbed it directly into the inside of the troll’s eye.

“Kuaaaah!!!”

The troll screamed and flailed its hands.

Karin evaded like a loach and landed on the ground.

Whoosh!!!!

Kenneth’s next arrow tore through the air and pierced the troll’s other eye.

Thwack!!!

With a dull sound, the troll’s head snapped back.

“Guh!!!”

The troll staggered for a moment, then spread its arms and fell backward.

Thud!!!

Armin’s jaw dropped.

Contrary to expectations, the battle ended in an instant.

He thought it would take longer because the stone wolves, known for their toughness among monsters, had joined in.

But Barbaroi and Karin quickly eliminated the stone wolves and created an opening in the troll’s defense.

Kenneth didn’t miss that opening and shot an arrow through it.

Honestly, he had never seen a party with such good teamwork.

“Armin!”

Jeong Yushin shouted.

“Yes?”

“Don’t lose your mind. How much troll blood do you need?”

“About 10 bottles should be enough!”

“Hurry down and collect it!”

“Yes, sir!”

Armin got off the iron golem and stood by the troll’s Achilles tendon.

Blood was still flowing out.

Armin took out his backpack and collected the blood.

“Do you need those wolves?”

“Yes, sir! But I only need the hides!”

Jeong Yushin looked at Karin.

“Time to skin them?”

Karin shook her head.

“No time.”

[Eternal Ark]

Jeong Yushin summoned the golden coffin and put the wolf carcasses inside.

Armin, who had been fidgeting around the troll’s heel, wiped his forehead and stood up.

“Armin, did you collect all the blood?”

“Yes!”

“Let’s go.”

Jeong Yushin and his party members ran on.

The sounds of battle could be heard from beyond the faint mist, but they ignored it. The distance was quite far. There was no need to get involved.

After several hours, they arrived at the shelter.

The small brick building they had seen before. There were no other explorers.

The party members rested a little longer and then ran again, standing in front of the 16th-floor transition stone.

The transition stone was located on the mid-slope of the plateau.

Jeong Yushin turned around.

From the next 17th floor, the slope becomes steeper, and stronger monsters appear.

The party members looked a bit tired from the long jog. In particular, Armin’s expression was a sight to behold, as he looked like he was about to throw up.

Well, he had been clinging to the body of a giant iron golem, moving this way and that, so it was understandable that he was getting motion sickness.

“Should we rest for a bit?”

The party members shook their heads.

“I’m still okay. Let’s camp at the next shelter.”

“Yes, sir!”

“I can handle it.”

Jeong Yushin placed his hand on the transition stone.

Whoosh.

A red portal and a blue portal were created.

Jeong Yushin stared at the blue portal for a moment. If he took just one step here, he could immediately return to the city.

If he took the red portal, he would have to go up to the 17th floor and start the long journey again.

He wanted to run to the labyrinth city right away, grab the dwarf blacksmiths by the scruff of their necks and shake them, but he held back.

Incompetent guys couldn’t even lift this sword.

Fairly skilled explorers instinctively noticed the strangeness of the black iron greatsword and backed away.

‘Not bad.’

Jeong Yushin looked at the broken black iron greatsword.

It’s solid and heavy.

Besides, he can swing it with all his might, so it feels good in his hands. It had cut halfway through the ankle of the tough mountain troll.

Jeong Yushin stepped into the red portal first.

He felt a flash and a sense of floating.

And landed on the ground.

He immediately assumed a stance and looked around.

As expected, an endlessly stretching plateau.

Not much different from the 16th-floor mountain area.

Only the slope was a bit steeper.

Then a cave nearby caught his eye.

‘Lucky.’

Most of the shelters on the 17th floor are caves.

The party members came out of the red portal and looked around.

“Oh?! There’s a cave over there!”

Karin unfolded the map and nodded.

“That’s right. It’s a shelter. And it’s close to the transition stone. We might be able to reach the 18th floor faster than expected?”

“Let’s go. We’ll have to camp there for the night.”

Jeong Yushin led his party members towards the cave.

As they approached the cave, they smelled blood and a foul stench.

The other party members also smelled the odor and gripped their weapons.

Jeong Yushin raised his hand and gave a hand signal.

‘I’ll go take a look.’

‘Let’s go together.’

Karin gestured.

Jeong Yushin nodded and carefully headed towards the cave.

It would be a mistake to assume that monsters wouldn’t attack just because it was a shelter.

Jeong Yushin and Karin took positions on either side of the cave and slightly poked their heads out.

It was dark and difficult to see.

They made eye contact and nodded.

They had to go in a little deeper.

Jeong Yushin and Karin carefully stepped inside the cave.

The smell of blood and a foul, gamey odor became stronger.

It wasn’t the smell of blood that one person could shed.

Could it be a monster?

As they went further in, they reached a dead end.

At the end of the road, they saw a large cavity.

Jeong Yushin stood at the entrance of the cavity and looked inside.

Several torches were dropped on the floor in the center of the cavity, making it easy to secure visibility.

Jeong Yushin and Karin’s eyes widened as they looked around.

“…!”

A gruesome sight unfolded.

The corpses of explorers, their arms and legs torn off and their faces crushed, were scattered all over the place.

Women and men.

Various races.

There were signs of destruction all over the cave walls and floor, as if attack magic had been used.

“Tsk.”

Jeong Yushin, observing the cavity, clicked his tongue.

As expected, his prediction was correct.

In the center of the cavity, a huge monster was sitting with its back turned, chewing on something.

Crunch!!!

“Munch…munch…”

The foul odor became even stronger.

Jeong Yushin frowned.

‘That guy is.’

He saw it in a book.

Among the monsters that appear in the mountain area, it was the most difficult one.

It was a monster with the nickname “mid-level party destroyer” among explorers.

It was the mountain ogre.

Skin tougher than a troll’s.

The strength to crush huge rocks with one punch.

It possessed both regeneration and magic resistance, and it was also intelligent, knowing how to utilize the surrounding terrain and attacking the party’s weak points first.

Jeong Yushin held his breath and observed carefully.

The ogre groped the floor again and lifted something up.

It was a person.

It was a female magician wearing a robe, but surprisingly, she was still alive. Her arms and legs were twisted grotesquely, and she was shedding tears.

She was so afraid that she couldn’t even make a sound, and was just hiccuping.

‘The thing that ogre was chewing on a little while ago must have been a person.’

Jeong Yushin lowered his gaze again and calmly observed his surroundings.

When he looked closely.

All of those who looked like corpses were still alive.

Of course, they were half-dead and wriggling, but their eyes and heads were turned towards the ogre.

They were watching, terrified, as they were being eaten one by one.

A man couldn’t stand it any longer and screamed.

“Aaaaaah!!!”

The ogre let out a bizarre sound.

“Kukuku!!!”

Was that a laugh?

This labyrinth is truly malicious beyond words.

The eyes of the female magician, who had been wandering in the air, turned towards the entrance.

She immediately saw where Jeong Yushin was and shouted.

“Sa, save me…!”

“Suh…suhlve…khuhheuk!”

The ogre awkwardly mimicked the female magician’s words and laughed.

How cruel.

The ogre seemed very interested in the meal and still had its back turned.

Jeong Yushin turned his head and gestured.

‘Let’s go.’

No matter what, he had to meet with his party members and talk about it.

He couldn’t blindly charge in because of his sense of justice.

Karin nodded.

“Ah… ahh!”

The voice of the female magician, who had fallen into despair, flowed out from behind.

On the way back out of the cave, they encountered Armin and Kenneth.

“S, Scar!”

“Quiet!”

Jeong Yushin immediately covered Armin’s mouth.

“Mph?!”

“There’s a mountain ogre inside the cave.”

Kenneth’s face darkened.

“Scar, an abomination is rising.”

Jeong Yushin tasted the bitterness in his mouth.

He would reach the 18th floor if he went just a little further.

Jeong Yushin briefly explained the situation.

Currently, about six people were being eaten alive by the ogre.

Armin’s expression turned white again.

Jeong Yushin opened his mouth.

“Should we stay here in the middle for a while?”

“O, ogres have a good sense of smell. It’s possible that it already smelled us!”

Jeong Yushin quietly listened.

There was no sound coming from inside the cave. A sense of unease rose sharply.

It was even more so because it was an intelligent monster. They didn’t know what it would do.

“I’ll go take another look. Get ready for battle. Run to me if I call your name. And Armin, you stay close to Kenneth.”

“A, alright!”

Jeong Yushin headed back into the cave once more.

At the end of the cave.

He looked closely at the large cavity.

But the ogre was nowhere to be seen.

Only the explorers, covered in blood and gasping for breath, were there.

‘What is it?’

Jeong Yushin carefully observed the cavity and slowly stepped inside.

One step.

Two steps.

At that moment.

The sound of air being torn came from the side.

Whoosh!!!

A roar that ripped through the air.

Jeong Yushin immediately rolled forward.

Boom!!!

The floor exploded. Jeong Yushin’s body was caught in the aftershock and sent flying.

Jeong Yushin, who had been rolling on the floor, jumped up and turned his head.

“Shit!”

The ogre was standing right next to the entrance, holding a huge wooden club.

“Scar!!!”

Karin shouted.

“Su…car.”

The ogre repeated the awkward pronunciation and looked down at Jeong Yushin.

The female magician he had seen a little while ago was still being held in the ogre’s hand.

To think it was this powerful when he swung it with one hand.

An average house would be smashed to pieces by that club.

Outside the cave, an abomination was already rising.

This meant it was an unavoidable fight.

Jeong Yushin looked at the ogre, who was over 4 meters tall, and gripped the broken greatsword with both hands.

“Alright. Let’s give it a try.”