Ch.3814. A-Rank Dungeon Conquest (3)

Uncle Donghyuk’s shield glowed.

A special shield, an A-grade Ancient Gear. Flame boldly provided such expensive items even to interns.

‘Arin’s rosary too. They said it was directly sourced from the Vatican.’

The gear emanating light from these two people had a completely different aura.

They don’t skimp on equipment costs. That’s why Flame can maintain its S-grade guild status with just a small number of members.

‘And that’s why they’re struggling financially.’

I put that thought aside for now. I decided to focus on the battle. Sister Arin cast a buff, and Uncle Donghyuk, the tank, took the lead.

Until now, that method alone was enough to handle the monsters in the dungeon. Uncle Donghyuk was a tank but also a damage dealer who used weapons. And Arin could use offensive holy spells too.

‘But for high-grade monsters like those, and in such numbers, we lack firepower.’

And filling that firepower gap is my role as the damage dealer for this mission. I had already given tactical instructions to the two of them.

“Then I’ll give the charge order. Wait, are you sure you’ll be okay without Ancient Gear?”

Uncle Donghyuk asked me before charging. As he said, I don’t have any Ancient Gear.

‘Well, I do have the Red Jade, but…’

However, that Red Jade is currently substituting for my mana heart. This means I can’t use the mana amplification function and special options unique to Ancient Gear.

“I’ll be fine, Uncle! Let’s charge!”

But for now, it’s not a problem. When we spotted that group of goblins on the bridge earlier, I had already thought through all the possibilities in my head.

In that brief skirmish that just ended, the result was undoubtedly the annihilation of those creatures.

“Everyone get behind me!”

Uncle’s gear emitted even more light. And a large yellow shield formed. A mana barrier that towered over Uncle Donghyuk’s already large frame was created.

The hemispherical shield was large enough to cover me and Arin as well.

“Gyahahahaha!”

Being undead, they let out even more unpleasant screams as they spotted us. They immediately moved their rotting bodies to surround us.

Normal goblins are small like children, but since this was a high-grade dungeon, most of these goblins were large, about the size of an average human male.

“You stinking corpses!”

Uncle Donghyuk charged like an angry bull. His shield had spikes on it, sending several goblins flying.

‘As expected of Ancient Gear. The performance is definitely impressive.’

It seemed like the gear not only boosted defense but also had attack power built into the shield itself. Arin’s body also glowed, centered around her rosary.

A pale green holy power continuously enveloped the three of us. It was a spell that increased resistance to the demonic energy emanating from the undead.

‘My turn now.’

The goblin front line was momentarily shaken. If that’s the case, it’s time to create even more chaos.

‘Blue Flame. Firepower…’

It was time to throw something big into the center of those undead goblins. I raised my hand and summoned a fireball.

‘Although it’s only C-grade. A fireball of that awakening grade.’

So it was just the size of a baseball, much smaller than the usual size. But I threw that fireball like a baseball into the midst of the goblin horde.

“Flesh is going to fly!”

As I shouted, Uncle Donghyuk’s shield grew even denser. And then an explosion erupted.

KWAKWAKWAKWABOOM-

“What, what is this? What kind of fireball…”

The shockwave pushed back Uncle Donghyuk’s large frame several steps despite his deployed shield.

And the ten goblins blocking Uncle’s path vaporized in an instant. No, they were reduced to pieces of meat.

Witnessing the shocking scene of their comrades being incinerated, the undead goblins screamed.

“GUWAAAAAK!”

“GYAAAAAAAK!”

If there had been a status window like before, I would undoubtedly have seen the goblins’ status ailments in my view.

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[Confusion][Fear]

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For a moment, I imagined such a status window in my mind, but even without it, I could immediately tell that they were terribly shocked by the power of my fireball.

‘At this level, it seems I haven’t forgotten what I learned at Ains.’

I shouted to both of them simultaneously.

“Now’s the time! Uncle, Arin!”

At those words, Uncle Donghyuk swung his mace. He had brought various equipment, but blunt weapons were indeed the best against undead.

Rather than clumsily cutting them, it was better to simply smash their bodies.

And Arin’s holy spell incinerated the goblins. I clutched my chest for a moment.

‘As expected… high-compression spells still have recoil. But I can bear it.’

Gritting my teeth, I threw another fireball toward the remaining undead horde.

***

The battle on the bridge, and another small skirmish with the undead afterward.

“My goodness, it feels like we’re possessed by ghosts. The number of monsters visible in this area alone exceeds three digits, yet we’ve already come this far with just two battles?”

Uncle Donghyuk muttered in disbelief.

As he said, our party had traversed a considerable distance of the dungeon we entered.

Now that night had fallen, we couldn’t move any further. But considering the normal dungeon clearing speed, we were extremely fast.

‘An A-grade parallel dungeon. Our party’s dungeon progress so far is about 72%. Compared to typical clearing cases…’

I briefly examined the clearing data from other dungeons that Team Leader Seo Duho had sent me through the earpiece. As expected of someone from Manseong, the data provided by Team Leader Seo was of excellent quality.

‘Our party is in the top 10% speed group.’

It would be nice to be in the top 5%, but parties that achieve such records are composed of multiple A-grade hunters at minimum. This wasn’t bad. Our party’s competitors were rookie interns anyway.

‘Well, I guess I’m a rookie too.’

Come to think of it, this was also my first time acting as a damage dealer since graduating from Ains.

But I had done so many dungeon part-time jobs at Ains that the musty and unpleasant atmosphere of dungeons somehow felt familiar.

Uncle Donghyuk continued his words.

“I already heard from Team Leader Seo Duho that your awakening grade is C. So I was planning to run around more to make up for that deficiency… but at this rate, it’s like I’m getting carried by you. No, I was getting carried even when you were just operating.”

“You’re exaggerating, Uncle. It’s not that much.”

Hearing that, Arin also smiled proudly.

“No, Senior. Uncle is right. If you’re C-grade… generally, you’d be limited to third-tier magic spells at most. At best, you’d only be able to burn one undead with a fireball. You’ve already transcended common sense.”

Even as she said this, Arin glanced at me with concerned eyes. Ignoring that gaze, I continued.

“If you really want to praise me, do it after we take first place in this mission. Then I’ll sleep outdoors around here.”

“Let’s do that!”

“Sounds good!”

I had already found a suitable place for camping with the drone.

After dawn tomorrow, it was a location not far from the route that would lead directly to the boss area. On the other hand, there seemed to be few monsters nearby, making it an ideal place to spend the night.

We set up camp at one of those ruined medieval-style abandoned buildings. The group quickly finished their meal with the ready-to-eat food they had brought before entering the dungeon.

“Although we have drones, they’re not omnipotent. Let’s take turns keeping watch according to this order.”

After deciding that, everyone took out their sleeping bags and got in. The first watch was mine. Sitting among some collapsed stones outside the abandoned building without lighting a fire, I kept vigilant of the surroundings.

“Huu…”

And I carefully let out a small sigh. No, it was closer to a faint groan.

‘As I expected, the pain is terribly severe.’

With the first-stage unsealing of the Red Jade, I can now use some mana. But the amount of mana I can use is the small amount of a C-grade awakening, as measured recently.

However, I maximized the efficiency of that mana. I had already mastered the theory and circuits for creating high-level fire magic, Blue Flame, at Ains.

Even if the absolute mana is insufficient, its efficiency varies completely depending on which circuit amplifies and transforms that mana.

‘Especially with fire spells.’

So the baseball-sized Blue Flame I created was completely different from ordinary ones. It was a highly compressed fireball spinning at an RPM impossible for a C-grade awakener.

To evaluate myself coldly, my fire spell could at least be compared to that of a B-grade or a mediocre A-grade awakener. That was my conclusion.

However, as expected, the recoil was tremendous for the power that exceeded specifications. As I created the high-speed fireball, the mana inside my body also rapidly accelerated.

Due to that acceleration’s recoil, I felt a burning pain as if my mana heart was being incinerated. That hot pain that a fire mage should never feel.

‘Burning pain… they say it’s the most painful of all pains humans can feel.’

And I was directly experiencing that knowledge I had known. If I hadn’t been in front of Uncle Donghyuk and Arin, I might have screamed right there.

Fortunately, that pain has subsided now, but…

Just as Professor Seong Chaerin and Old Man Yeon Munwoo had warned, I could properly feel that my body was definitely not normal. I understand why my lifespan would be shortened if I opened the seal.

But, conversely, that’s why I could maintain my reason even more coldly. This burning pain was the price for my mistakes. And it was a vivid brand that reminded me of the revenge I must accomplish.

‘I’ll return this heart-burning pain to the Red Lake.’

I deepened that resolve within me. But at this rate, I won’t be able to recover all the skills I had at Ains.

As Uncle Donghyuk and Arin demonstrated, having or not having Ancient Gear makes a huge difference in battle efficiency.

‘The current Red Jade is a mana heart, not an Ancient Gear.’

That’s why this bet was important. If I could get a large amount of gear through the reward, there was something I definitely wanted to try.

While I was lost in thought, my watch time had passed. Uncle Donghyuk, who was next in line, came out on time.

“Minsu! Good job. You must be more tired after using spells today. Go inside and get some sleep quickly.”

“Thank you, Uncle Donghyuk. Take care too.”

I went back inside the abandoned building where Arin would be sleeping. But due to an unexpected event, I couldn’t fall asleep right away.

“Senior, I told you this afternoon, didn’t I? That I’d give you something better at night.”

From behind me as I lay in my sleeping bag, Arin’s soft voice was heard.