Chapter 187 – Reason to Hide (3)

Translator: Seven

Editor: Ana_Banana

Psh!

In a hellish scene where the ground was riddled with cracks from which yellow sulfuric smoke spewed, a hole could be found.

And in this hole which appeared to have been dug artificially, was a man with a skull mask covering his face.

Before long, the man climbed out of the hole carrying a square shaped shield in his hands.

Then the item’s status window appeared before the man’s eyes.

[Aegis Shield]

– Rating: Legendary

– Required Level: Level 1 or higher

– Description: The strongest shield made by Hephaestus. When magic power or stamina is injected into it, God’s protection will be activated.

– Magic Power or Stamina can be used to activate God’s protection. (TL: yes the same sentence with some variations…)

– Cannot be destroyed

Aegis Shield.

Kim Woo-jin was currently looking at an item that he’d only heard rumors of in his past life.

‘He hid it well.’

The moment the shield’s previous wielder realised that they would fail the dungeon, he proceeded to use all kinds of means to hide the Aegis Shield.

‘If it wasn’t for Anubis’ Eyes, I never would have found it.’

Kim Woo-jin also admitted that he would have never found it if he hadn’t used Anubis’ Eyes, which showed just how well the previous wielder hid the item.

‘He risked his life just to hide this item… he was incredibly loyal to the Sword Saint.’

For him to be so willing to give his life for the Sword Saint, the amount of loyalty he had couldn’t be small.

Of course, his efforts had been futile in the end.

The Aegis Shield, which he had worked so hard to hide, had fallen into Kim Woo-jin’s hands.

However, nothing in Kim Woo-jin’s expression showed joy at obtaining such a remarkable treasure.

It was then.

-Was there supposed to be two Hellhounds?

Lee Jin-ah, who was on Hellhound reconnaissance with a linked skeleton soldier, asked Kim Woo-jin a question.

-Huh? Or am I just seeing things?

To that question, Kim Woo-jin gave a simple answer.

“Two is right.”

The reason that Kim Woo-jin did not show any joy was the fact that there were two Hellhounds instead of one.

This was the reason the previous team failed the dungeon even though they had an amazing item like the Aegis Shield.

No matter how amazing the Aegis Shield was, there was no way that it could defend against two Hellhounds at the same time.

-Dammit, I would’ve preferred if you’d said I was seeing things. It’s such a scam to have two monsters like that!

It was terrible news.

Who could imagine fighting two Hellhounds when even one was considered a nightmare?

-What will we do?

Lee Jin-ah asked this question with a tense expression on his face.

Instead of answering, Kim Woo-jin contemplated silently.

He grew more worried as the silence stretched on, but Lee Jin-ah did not rush Kim Woo-jin.

-Take your time, even I could not have imagined such a situation.

Even Lee Jin-ah, who had experienced all kinds of ridiculous situations with Kim Woo-jin, knew that this situation wasn’t normal.

“It’s not a situation that I couldn’t imagine.”

-Huh?

“This is within the range of my expectations.”

-What?

Kim Woo-jin didn’t bother to explain to the surprised Lee Jin-ah.

As Kim Woo-jin said, although the current situation was not the best, it was still within his estimated range.

‘If they failed even with the Aegis Shield, then there must be a reason.’

To be precise, he had come to this conclusion after learning on the third floor that the Aegis Shield was in the dungeon.

-D-, do you have a plan?

“The strategy is the same. First remove the Hellhounds’ minions, the Helldogs. Afterwards, you’ll hold the Hellhound’s aggro while the Skeleton Soldiers attack it.”

The Hellhounds couldn’t only be hunted using magic attacks, they could also be hunted with physical attacks.

As long as they used weapons that were strong enough to not dissolve because of the corrosive blood, then, no matter how resilient the Hellhounds were, would they still be able to demonstrate their full abilities when there were weapons stuck all over their bodies?

Of course, something like that would require at least 100 unique grade weapons.

“The material used will be the Hatchling’s bones, as I mentioned before.”

So he’d prepared the Hatchling’s skeleton for this specific reason.

There was very little value in creating a Hatchling Skeleton Soldier.

The Hatchling Skeleton Soldier, which could not fly, would merely be a large Skeleton Soldier which required an enormous amount of man to maintain because of its tremendous size.

This was why Kim Woo-jin used the term ‘material’.

“If it’s a weapon made from the Hatchling’s bones then it wouldn’t be corroded by the Hellhound’s blood.”

Kim Woo-jin had used the Hatchling’s skeleton to create Dragon Bone Swords.

This was the preparation he had made to hunt the Hellhound, and it was also the plan he had made with Lee Jin-ah before.

-I know that. That’s why you made me fight the Ogre, wasn’t it?

Kim Woo-jin had used the boss of the third floor, the Ogre, to train Lee Jin-ah’s senses and combat ability to the limit.

-But what about the other one?

The problem was that there would still be another Hellhound that they had to deal with.

Kim Woo-jin gave a simple answer.

“I’ll kill the other one.”

-So you’re going to stall the oth…

It was then.

-Huh?

Lee Jin-ah realised that Kim Woo-jin’s words didn’t match what he had been expecting, so he asked again.

-Kill it?

Instead of answering, Kim Woo-jin equipped the Aegis Shield to his left hand.

[Gained Achievement ‘The One Blessed By God’.]

[Gained Achievement ‘The Legendary Collector’.]

[The Ring of Hercules has unlocked a new ability.]

[All recoveries increased by 100%.]

[You can use God’s Protection.]

Following the notification, Kim Woo-jin unsheathed the Makya that he had at his waist.

…

A day in the life of a predator was usually quite peaceful.

The same was true for the Hellhounds and their minions.

The Hellhounds and their minions simply lay around their lair filled with the smell of sulfur, some of them were yawning while some were already asleep with their stomachs in the air.

Rattle!

It was two skeletons, who appeared from the sulfuric smoke, that broke the ambience and tranquility of this scene.

The skeletons didn’t try to hide their presence at all as they began to move toward the group of Helldogs.

Grrr!

Instead of being surprised at their appearance, however, the Helldogs immediately prepared for battle.

Awoo! Awoo!

The reason they showed such a reaction was because they had experienced this situation numerous times before.

Unsurprisingly, one of the Hellhounds, the leader of the Helldogs, also made its move.

Grrrr!

While its minion let out loud cries and made a fuss, the Hellhound simply let out a low growl as it appeared in front of them.

It was 8 or so meters long, and its body was so black that it was difficult to fully distinguish its shape. Nevertheless, its presence was overwhelming.

Grrr!

Moreover, globules of black fire would drip from its mouth with every breath that it took.

Tssss!

The flames that fell to the floor burned mercilessly even though they had nothing to fuel them.

Hellfire!

Fire that never went out after it appeared.

“What a bullshit dog.”

Then Lee Jin-ah also showed up.

Dressed in the Nemean Lion’s leather, Lee Jin-ah looked at the giant beast in front of him and muttered.

“After I kill it, I’ll specifically ask him to make it into my own skeleton dog and name it Ferrari.”

That was the end of his muttering.

Kyaha!

The battle began immediately following the charge of a Skeleton Knight atop a skeletal wolf.

The battle was quite simple.

The skeletons fought against the Helldogs, and at the same time, Lee Jin-ah faced off against the Hellhound.

“Drah!”

Awoo!

Lee Jin-ah stalled the Hellhound by constantly provoking it to gain its attention.

Grrr!

It was at that time that the other Hellhound, who had remained silent this entire time, began making its move.

As soon as the battle became chaotic, it lifted its body off the ground and carefully began moving through the sulfur fumes.

Its movement was very reminiscent of an assassin.

It was clear that this monster intended to use the cover of the chaos to eliminate what it perceived to be the head of the opposing group.

Naturally, this couldn’t be seen as a predatory act.

Grrrr!

Instead, this was evidence that it had already experienced similar situations numerous times before and had developed its own way of handling it.

Of course, Kim Woo-jin was also aiming for this point.

Puht!

Kim Woo-jin, who had been hiding nearby with the Desert Chameleon Cloak, used the Makya to cut a piece of the Hellhound’s flesh off.

Guhu!

Surprised, the Hellhound shot a fireball towards Kim Woo-jin’s direction.

Paht!

However, the fireball hit an invisible wall before it quickly began to disappear.

The moment the Hellhound shut its mouth in surprise at what happened, another piece of flesh was cut from its side.

Tuk! Tuk!

Its corrosive blood flowed from the wounds and melted the ground.

Of course, the injury healed almost immediately.

The problem was that the wound did not recover to its original shape.

To put it simply, its body’s volume had decreased.

This was considered the best method to deal with monsters who had high resilience.

‘This reminds me of when I hunted the Cerberus in the 8 Floor dungeon.’

Naturally, it was a method that had already been confirmed to work exceptionally against Hellhounds.

‘At that, I had to hunt 23 Hellhounds.’

And the confirmation was very reliable.