ocean-life Chapter 22: Someone Else's Opportunity is Best Taken First (2)
Chapter 22: Someone Else's Opportunity is Best Taken First (2)
[Translator - Hestia]
[Proofreader - Kaya]
Chapter 22: Someone Else's Opportunity is Best Taken First (2)
"Ehehehe!"
A grotesque shriek echoed as soon as they entered the temple.
A half-naked giant with red tattoos and two horns protruding from the top of its head glared at Yoojin's group with murderous eyes.
A Fallen Worshipper, one of the guardians of the Forgotten Temple.
【How can they not be ashamed, dressed like that?】
"You're not exactly wearing anything either."
【Hmm. Even the dead have the right to be respected, Master.】
Muttering nonsense, Fafnir stepped forward and clashed head-on with the Fallen Worshipper.
The monsters grappled, their hands intertwined in a contest of strength.
"Hyung, the Fallen Worshipper has the strength of a high-ranking 2 Star. Shouldn't we assist...?"
Crack!
Before Kang Minho could finish his sentence...
All five fingers of the Fallen Worshipper were bent in the opposite direction.
"Ugh?"
【How insignificant. That power of yours.】
The worshipper, seemingly bewildered, tried to pull his body back.
As if anticipating this, Fafnir didn't pull back, instead pushing forward to match the worshipper's retreat.
With his balance broken, the Fallen Worshipper fell. Fafnir mounted him in a pounding position and...
Crunch!
He struck down hard with his fist, shattering the worshipper's skull.
Blood splattered across the floor.
Even without the limp hand, the message [Experience has been gained] confirmed the creature's death.
"A monster with power comparable to a high-ranking 2 Star martial arts Hunter..."
【Hahaha. It was nothing to me.】
Fafnir imitated a hearty laugh with his thoughts.
Unaware that only an eerie aura spread as the energy of the dead dispersed.
"You did something useless."
【Wasn't that a splendid fight to start the Gate raid?】
"I can't turn it into an undead because you smashed its head."
The head is where spirit power gathers.
Other body parts can be used as necromancy material even if they are somewhat damaged.
But if the head is shattered, it's useless.
【Ah.】
"What do you mean 'Ah'?"
【I'll be careful next time.】
Sigh.
Yoojin clicked his tongue lightly and channeled his spirit power.
[Using Flesh Control.]
Flesh and bones separated.
'I'll secure the bones in advance.'
A catalyst is needed to create an Armored Zombie.
The Forgotten Temple is a high-difficulty Gate that hasn't been conquered for a year.
The temple's structure changing every 24 hours is a problem, but...
The monsters that randomly spawn in the reconstructed temple also drastically increase the raid's difficulty.
- Fallen Worshippers: Vulnerable to magic attacks but with high physical defense.
- Devil's Eyes: Weak to physical attacks but attack with instant magic and have high magic resistance.
- Masked Ones: Use all kinds of curses and buff spells through their masks.
'To eliminate variables, I need to prepare in advance.'
〔Uncharacteristically cautious, aren't you?〕
'I'm only a 1 Star, you know. At best, I'm a 2 Star, but the actual difficulty is that of a 3 Star Gate. How can I let my guard down?'
Around the time he finished retrieving the bones he separated with Flesh Control...
"Ehehehe!"
"Eheet!"
Four Fallen Worshippers spotted us and charged with bloodshot eyes.
【Perhaps being too popular is also something to consider.】
"This time, I'll join in."
[Using Bone Control.]
A Necromancer's exclusive magic armament.
Five [Cursed Fang] he made at the workshop soared into the air.
He grasped the Staff of Resentment to reduce mana consumption.
He maximized his concentration to amplify the power loaded into Bone Control.
Whoosh!
Spirit Power rotated around a sharp, awl-like axis.
As he swung his hand, the Cursed Fang, launched diagonally, tore through the air.
"Heet!"
The Fallen Worshippers didn't slow their charge.
The Cursed Fang embedded themselves in their bodies, but only slightly, as if they had struck iron armor.
"That must hurt."
He released the spirit power rotating around the Cursed Fang.
"Eheeheet?"
A foreign energy seeped inside their bodies, restricting the Fallen Worshippers' movements.
An energy that opposes life force.
Directly pouring spirit power into the body is like injecting poison.
'This amount should be fine for a healthy person.'
Manipulating bones to tear through skin consumed a lot of energy.
If it were a normal creature, overflowing with life force, exposure to this level of spirit power wouldn't be fatal.
At most, they would feel fatigued.
However, it was a different story for the [Fallen Worshippers], who enhanced their physical abilities through corrupted curses but had negative elemental resistance.
Scratches appeared on the scales.
The shock that couldn't be deflected seeped into the muscles and bones.
A blow that would cripple any living creature.
【I don't usually prefer this kind of fighting style, but...】
Fafnir, with his hand clenched, slammed it into the head of the nearby Fallen Worshipper.
Bang!
The half-naked giant collapsed with its crown caved in.
Even though a few more Fallen Worshippers were clinging to him, preventing him from using his full strength...
Thanks to the [Punishing Spike] stacks accumulated through repeated battles, his stats had greatly increased.
【You'll have to get used to it now.】
Fafnir's past life.
He mustn't fight like Park Haneul.
He fully utilized the enlightenment he gained during sparring and charged into the enemy lines as the vanguard.
Silently enduring attacks with his body, he took down the Fallen Worshippers one by one.
"Groaaaaar!"
The Armored Zombies followed with a charge.
Thanks to the bone armor covering their entire bodies and the flesh added to their insides to increase their strength, the Fallen Worshippers, distracted by Fafnir, were flung about.
The number of Armored Zombies quickly swelled to nineteen.
As the size of the undead army grew, so did the hunting speed.
"Ugh. Here we go again."
"It's a good thing we bought gathering tools with the settlement money."
The Little Runts team also kept their hands busy without rest.
Mana Stones embedded in the hearts of the monsters.
The bodies of the worshippers were tougher than orcs, so they had to exert more force.
'So it wasn't just Kang Minho who had the knack for this.'
Rumble!
While they were engrossed in hunting, the ground shook, and threatening sounds emanated from all directions.
Kang Minho shouted urgently—
"The temple will be reconstructed soon. We have to get out!"
Yoojin nodded, his eyes darting from side to side.
Even with the entire temple shaking, pillars that remained motionless came into view one by one.
〔 ⦿ 〕
A mark that was barely visible even with intense focus.
'If it's the eye mark... that guy will appear after the reconstruction.'
〔That guy?〕
'The eyeball monster. You'll know when you see it.'
Yoojin and his party retreated from the reconstructing temple.
How much time had passed?
The reconstructed temple greeted the Hunters with a completely different appearance, starting from the entrance passage.
"Wow. It's an unconquered Gate for a reason."
"Oppa, is it really possible to conquer this?"
Pretending not to hear the twin siblings' complaints, he immediately re-entered the temple.
"Kwiririri!"
Devil's Eye.
About two meters long. A hideous monster with more than half of its body comprised of eyes, and the rest a bundle of tentacles as thick as ropes.
[PR/N: Nightmares from GOW?! ????️]
The moment the monster met Yoojin's gaze, a crimson light flickered in its huge pupil, the size of a human torso.
The Devil's Eye opened wide, lifting its eyelids.
A death ray flew in at supersonic speed.
A powerful eye laser with outstanding activation speed and destructive power.
'I already know your characteristics.'
He crossed five Cursed Fang, blocking the direction of its gaze.
The death ray, fired in the nick of time, was blocked by the crossed bones, leaving only blackish ash.
'The mana consumption is intense.'
The enhancement inscription engraved on the Cursed Fang was a favor from Shin Joonseok.
It's thanks to that that the magic armament maintains its original form even after being hit by the Devil's Eye's attack.
However, the driving force that activates the enhancement inscription is the spirit power that controls the magic armament, so it's not cost-effective.
'It would have been better if I had brought the Skeleton Guard.'
An undead that he had meticulously crafted using the Orc Chieftain's corpse as a medium.
Since the Ring of Darkness could only hold one corpse, he couldn't bring it along for the Gate raid.
【Its gaze? Quite a dangerous attack method.】
"Hide me from its sight."
【Stay behind me, Master.】
The red beam fired once again melted some of Fafnir's scales, but...
Its destructive power and attack range were insufficient to incapacitate the three-meter-tall giant.
Crack!
Because of its structure, which concentrates mana in its abnormally large eye, its defense was practically non-existent.
As Fafnir silently endured the laser and approached, it quickly collapsed.
【Are you not going to make this monster into an undead?】
"What use would it be even if I turned it into a zombie?"
A corpse suitable for creating a Dark Hood, a magic-type undead.
It wasn't of much use to Yoojin, who could only use [Raise Undead], the basic necromancy spell.
'Just as I remember.'
Yoojin glanced at the fallen Devil's Eye.
The symbol he saw right before the temple's reconstruction.
That mark was the secret to conquering the Forgotten Temple...
'I just need to gather the materials.'
Before his return.
He swallowed a laugh, recalling the Forgotten Temple's capture method that Jang Miseon had discovered.
[Translator - Hestia
[Proofreader - Kaya]