Chapter 56

< The Cursed Dragon of Midnight (1) >

Before entering the dungeon, I had already taken off my earrings, so my equipment was just a single sword. It was a thin, jungle-like blade, more of an auxiliary tool than a weapon, similar to the one I used to extract the magic stone from the F-class dungeon last time.

I don’t know if there will be a limit of three this time, but I decided to leave one spare. Since all the equipment increases in essence anyway, if a situation arises where I must use an item, a potion would be better. I also have a high-level vitality potion for emergencies.

- Click

The long antennae twitched in the glow of the fireflies. The appearance of the large insect made me frown involuntarily.

A well-located, low-difficulty, and decently rewarding E-class dungeon that is still avoided. Known as the 'Wheel Nest.'

The monsters here aren’t actual wheels, but they resemble cockroaches. I had never visited this dungeon before the regression. Ah, I really hate it. This time, I just want to quickly clear it and get out.

- Click

“Shit, don’t come. Get lost.”

I didn’t want to use the tentacles, so I knocked it out with a thorn trap.

[° ? ° ┒┷○┰┖馬 ○=∥￦━ helf 馬 ? ??]

...Just get lost. Do you have nothing to do? What’s with the fancy talk?

The common monster in this dungeon, the black flat-backed beetle, has low intelligence and a strong appetite. They are even dumber than cockroaches and readily accept poisoned bait. However, their strong poison resistance is a nuisance.

But they are just E-class common monsters. The simple poison they can’t withstand will melt them when applied four times as strong.

I took out a piece of monster meat from my inventory, which I had prepared for peace. I’m not sure if it counts as an item, but this is the second one. I deliberately prepared the largest piece. It’s fresh meat, still dripping with blood.

“Cockroaches really need bait.”

I cut the meat into thirds and placed it in the middle of the path, then smeared sticky poison around it. I covered the floor, walls, and even the ceiling with the tentacles, leaving no gaps.

- Click

Scritch scritch scritch

Ugh, they’re coming, they’re coming. The black beetles crawl over, moving their long antennae from side to side. As I step back, they charge towards the meat without hesitation.

- Squeak!

- Squish!

They step on the poison and flip over. The giant cockroach, using the dead bodies of its comrades as a bridge, grabs the meat with its mouth. The meat, of course, is also smeared with poison, causing it to flip over and twitch its legs.

The small piece of meat disappears in an instant.

- Click

Crunch, crunch, crunch

Shit, they’re eating the bodies of their own kind. I knew they were like this, but seeing it in person is really disgusting. The poisoned bodies create more bodies, layering on top of each other.

Occasionally, some of them even attack me, but I knock them out with thorn traps.

‘If I make a few more traps, they’ll be wiped out quickly.’

I need to finish quickly and go home to take a shower.

Damn, I really hate this! Why do they lay eggs while dying? Why do the eggs hatch immediately? And they keep eating each other! The babies are the size of real cockroaches, but there are so many of them, ugh.

‘I understand why people avoid this place.’

I have to find the magic stone in this mess. Among all the monsters, I really hate insects. They’re not only disgusting, but their bodily fluids are dirty, they have poison, and they can spawn parasites. They also reproduce quickly.

I really shouldn’t look at a cockroach nest again. What’s the point of that title, huh? Sob, sob, sob.

‘The boss is a spider.’

It has poison, but it’s weak for an E-class. The warning says to be careful of the spider webs. There are three to four of them, and sometimes they have babies.

Please, no babies, no babies.

I prayed as I entered the deepest part of the cave.

The walls are damp, and the smell of moss is strong. Faint light seeps through the cracks in the high ceiling. Below, there are giant spider webs and three giant spiders.

The baby spiders are scurrying around.

‘Ah, damn it.’

There are so many. An overwhelming number. Red and black stripes wriggle densely. I should have brought a lighter. I could have set it on fire. Normal fire probably wouldn’t work, but...

Suddenly, I miss my brother. I also have a fire skill... or even Yelim. They could freeze everything. It would be great to have a wide-area attack skill.

Muttering, I smeared poison around the entrance. I’ve blocked the escape route, but spiders rarely leave their webs.

I picked up a stone from the ground, dipped it in poison, and threw it at the web.

Thud, thud

The thrown stone cut through the web, dissolving in the poison as it moved inward, but it soon got stuck. As the web shrank, the spiders began to spin white, thin threads again. They’re fast.

Damn, I guess I have to go in a bit.

‘I don’t have enough mana to use thorn traps on the babies.’

Do I have to kill all the baby spiders to clear it? I’ll use the wall lizard skill to get closer... get closer... and either spray poison or step on them...

I sighed and used the wall lizard skill. The king spider, which was lurking in the center of the web, stared at me with its eight eyes, startled.

- Hiss

The other two large spiders also looked around. As I walked towards the giant, intricately woven web, I used thorn traps on the three of them in sequence.

- Squeak!

- Hiss!

The poisoned spiders struggled and got entangled in their own webs. The baby spiders scattered like a wave. A few of them got stepped on.

Crunch, crack

The feeling is spine-chilling. I extended my tentacles to pierce the shells of the large spiders and inject poison. The spiders, which were trembling, soon became still. A magic stone fell from the melted abdomen of one of them, which I picked up with my tentacles. Thanks to the Miracle title, there were two.

Please, let the achievement window pop up, let the escape gate appear, please...

“...It’s not showing. Do I have to kill all the baby spiders...”

[ ? (· ?·)┘☆π∈┃○★]

It was quiet, but they appeared again. I can’t really say anything in real voice.

“Do you have nothing to do? Why don’t you update the skill description window? Stop following me like a stalker.”

[Hit song...]

...What does that mean?

I swallowed my anger and killed the baby spiders that were running around. I miss Yuhwan and Yelim. They could finish this in one hit.

Fortunately, I didn’t need to kill all of them. As the baby spiders became scarce, the escape gate appeared. Then,

[Amazing achievement! Successfully soloed an E-class dungeon with F-class stats, F-class or lower attack skills, and five or fewer items!]

This time, there was a limit of five items.

[S-class title, 'Veteran F-class' granted!]

Veteran F-class, I don’t like this title. Even if an F-class is very experienced, they can’t solo an E-class dungeon with such low equipment.

Before the regression, I was a well-worn F-class... but never mind. Complaining about what’s lost won’t do any good. I opened my status window.

[Veteran F-class (S)

A superhuman with the ultimate experience of an F-class hunter.

The effects of all attack skills are doubled]

...Wow, really, really, really, really.

I looked up at the sky, no, the cave ceiling for a moment.

Shit, I don’t have any attack skills!

I have two useless titles.

‘But, they are good... The Miracle and Veteran titles both have S-class effects...’

What’s going on.

The effects of attack skills are doubled. Doubling dungeon rewards is good, but this is really a game changer, even at B-class. At S-class, it would break the balance.

The S-class skill, Lautistas, which is the nemesis of the Cursed Dragon species, has a doubled effect, but there’s no target restriction. It’s an S-class title because it can only be obtained at F-class. If there were no such restrictions, it might be an L-class.

But it’s useless to me.

I have ten skills, but only auxiliary and resistance. Wow, with the Veteran and Miracle titles, I have twelve skills. Haha.

‘Since it says “possessed,” equipment skills don’t apply. Maybe it will be useful when the final reward is applied.’

I tried to confirm by extending my tentacles. The length, hmm. It’s definitely over 4 meters. So, am I at least A-class in terms of skills?

‘A C-class sticky poison can’t be withstood by S-class without S-class poison resistance skills or items. The thorn trap is D-class, so it might not work well.’

I can neutralize anything up to A-class unless it has high curse resistance. My stats are a bit lacking, but I should be able to easily defeat an A-class combat hunter in a direct fight.

But I only have about two days left.

The keyword application will only work on A-class or higher hunters and monsters, so it’s like being invincible for 7 days if an accident happens.

‘...Of course, there’s a way, but...’

With a strong resolve, I can use these titles effectively.

If I tame and raise monsters of an appropriate level and apply the keyword, I can kill them every 7 days. Especially against Cursed Dragon species like the black ones, I might be able to reach A-class or higher with C-class skills.

But.

‘If I could do that, I wouldn’t have regressed.’

Cursed Dragons aren’t common, and regular monsters require days of coaxing, feeding, and loving before I can kill them. I would have to thank the magic stones they give me and review the memories. Is that something a person should do?

If I could do it easily, I would have wished for my brother’s well-being and become the strongest with the wish stone, living well.

If I didn’t have the memories, I might not know, but this is a mental hospital ending. I should give up cleanly.

I sighed and checked the reward items.

‘Oh, high-level vitality potions.’

I got two, thanks to the double bonus. They are usually only seen in A-class dungeons and occasionally as first-clear rewards in B-class dungeons. I doubt I’ll get an elixir as a D-class solo reward.

‘Even if anyone else came, with this level of reward, they could solo this dungeon if they have decent attack skills at C-class.’

It seems like the F-class hunter reward bonus is applied. The rewards are too good to be just for soloing.

The other items were at the C to B-class dungeon level. Of course, they are doubled. I didn’t get any magic stones, but it’s quite satisfying. I got two C-class equipment items, which became four with the bonus. The Miracle title is really good. If I could only do high-level dungeons, it would be perfect. I feel a bit regretful.

‘But, is this title part of a double series?’

F-class has double rewards, and E-class has doubled attack skill effects. Is D-class maybe doubled stats? It wouldn’t make much difference to me even if they were doubled. I wish the auxiliary skill effects were doubled. Then, raising monsters would be twice as fast, and I could optimize awakening twice a month. Applying keywords would also be twice as easy.

Please, let the D-class achievement title be doubled auxiliary skills. I need to get at least one good one.

“When did you go out?”

When I got home, Myungwoo asked in surprise. I showed him the bag in my hand.

“To the convenience store for a bit. Didn’t you hear me leave?”

To have a solid alibi, I used the wall lizard skill at the door, went out again, and went to the first-floor convenience store with the hunter guarding the entrance.

“I didn’t notice. What did you buy?”

“...Cockroach spray.”

“What? Are there cockroaches in the house?!”

“No, there aren’t. It’s for my peace of mind.”

As soon as I saw the cockroach spray on the shelf, I picked it up like I was possessed. It even works on spiders. Insecticides are the best.

I went straight to the bathroom and took a shower. I haven’t heard of E-class dungeon monsters spreading diseases, but I used Dongi’s body wash. I wanted to douse myself in disinfectant.

After showering, I came out and prepared dinner for the kids with Peace and Piyak.

“Piyak, this isn’t for you to eat.”

-Piyak!

I forcibly pulled Piyak away from the bottle of C-class magic stone powder. Why does this little guy have such a strong desire for magic stones? He grumbles when I give him F-class magic stones but still eats them. I just got E-class magic stones, so I’ll try giving him some.

“Here, Piyak.”

-Piyak Piyak Piyak!!

He really likes it. When I gave him finely crushed E-class boss monster magic stones, he was almost dancing. Peace eats the exact amount and then loses interest, but Piyak is unique. He ate the two E-class magic stones like they were nothing and then hugged the bottle of C-class magic stone powder with his wings.

-Piyak Piyak Piyak

“It’s not yours.”

Should I give him higher-grade magic stones? E-class seems fine, and I’ll get some D-class magic stones tomorrow.

‘...What is this?’

I had to go to the dungeon again tomorrow, so I went to bed early. In my half-sleep, I suddenly felt the Weakling’s Premonition activate. Is Yelim raiding the kitchen again... with S-class stats, poison skills... huh? Curse skills? What?

I was wide awake. I saw a message window pop up.

[All skill effects are doubled when facing Dio Balshesis!]

What the hell?! Doubled? Cursed Dragon?! S-class? Is there an S-class dungeon in my bedroom? But it’s too quiet for that? My mind was in a panic, but thanks to my fear resistance, my body didn’t freeze.

As soon as I regained my composure, the Weakling’s Premonition provided information. The premonition skill, with its doubled effect, located the opponent before my eyes.

I jumped out of bed and immediately used a thorn trap.

“Annye- Yuck!”

...Why did a person fall?

< The Cursed Dragon of Midnight (1) > End

ⓒ Geunseo