Dungeon Predator (WN)

Several areas in Mt. Helvert hadn't been explored yet. There was no way of knowing what would be there, or what possible dangers he might face.

Kang Oh had no choice but to adapt to the situation and respond accordingly. However, that was one of his specialties.

"This way." Kang Oh pointed in between a road and a pile of sharp rocks.

"That's not a road," Tasha said.

"Yeah. But it's almost certain that there's a dangerous trap waiting for us along the road." Kang Oh pointed at the road.

"Why?"

"The footprints."

"Huh?"

"The road looks nice, so why aren't there any footprints here?"

Tasha examined the road again. Kang Oh was right. It was free of any footprints, as if it had been covered in snow.

"You're right."

"The inhabitants here know that this road is dangerous."

They had warned him that even the strongest of monsters didn't pass through this road.

"Mm."

"But look at the rock. There are signs that people came through here." Kang Oh pointed at several areas on the sharp rock.

"Yeah."

Kang Oh and Tasha walked towards the sharp rock pile. It was a good decision.

What if they had picked the road instead? They would've disappeared in a swamp filled with poisonous gas.

In any case, Kang Oh and Tasha had avoided a dangerous trap, and continued to make their way up the mountain.

There was never a dull moment.

They were assaulted by lightning, fierce blade winds, powerful monsters, and various dangers without a moment's notice like spam messages.

"Are you ok?" Kang Oh asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"Isn't it hard to breathe? We're pretty high up now."

It was even slightly difficult for Kang Oh to breath.

"I'm ok."

"Alright then."

At some point, the ground shook and a giant sound rang out.

Thud! Thud!

It was the sound of a one-eyed giant's footsteps. This monster was called a Cyclops, which was considered the most powerful type of giant.

The Cyclops should be around level 600.

'So this is where you find the Cyclops.'

He'd only read about them in books. According to them, the Cyclops possessed immense HP and HP regeneration, so it was almost impossible to kill them.

[You have discovered the Metal Eating Cyclops, Vicekul.]

[You are the first to discover it.]

Kuha!

It munched on ore.

Now that he thought about it, it was no normal Cyclops. A few scale-like objects covered its body.

'Mm, maybe it's a Steel Giant.'

It was probably a more difficult foe than a normal Cyclops.

"What are you going to do?" Tasha asked.

"Let's just ignore it," Kang Oh said.

They had suddenly encountered an extremely powerful monster. He wasn't sure they'd be able to beat it, so avoiding it was their best option.

However, things don't always go as planned, now do they?

Sniff, sniff.

All of a sudden, the Cyclop's nostrils flared. Then, it flipped its lid.

"I smell meat!"

Thud! Thud!

The Cyclops thoughtlessly ran towards Kang Oh and Tasha.

Now that he thought about it, he read that they loved human flesh.

"Tch." Kang Oh clicked his tongue. "Let's fight."

Tasha gathered a ton of blood red energy in her hands.

"I'm hungry!" The Cyclops swung its cudgel, which resembled a Dokkaebi's magic club.

It had it all, whether it be range, power, or speed; it wasn't lacking in anything. And yet, this was just a normal attack!

Kang Oh and Tasha quickly backed off.

Boom!

It was as if dozens of sticks of dynamite had gone off simultaneously. Countless chunks of dirt, pebbles, and other objects flew through the air.

Then, Kang Oh threw Demon Sword Ubist.

Weapon Bombardment!

He used Sarahoff to deflect the debris coming at him.

Tasha shielded herself by extending her red dress.

Swish! Swish!

The jet-black greatsword spun like a helicopter's rotors, flying straight at the Cyclop's eye. That was its weakness.

However, the Cyclops guarded its eye with its palm.

Boom!

Demon Sword Ubist sliced through its palm instead of its eye. Shards of light exploded from the wound, but considering how much HP it had, this much damage was basically nothing.

Kuhahk!

It softly picked up the rough rocks nearby and forcefully threw them like a baseball pitcher.

How fast were they?

To put it simply, he should've learned the Cyclop's throw instead of Weapon Bombardment.

"Dodge it!"

Boom!

It was as if a giant meteor had fallen from the sky and smashed into the ground. A giant, crater-like hole was left in the ground.

Every single one of its attacks was like a one hit KO.

Kang Oh withdrew Demon Sword Ubist. Then, his body was coated in jet-black darkness.

Devil Trigger!

A beast mask covered his face, which sprouted twin ice horns, a jet-black tail came out from behind, and glacial gauntlets and greaves formed over his arms and legs. The Dual Demon had appeared.

"I said I'm hungry!"

It seemed intent on destroying the entire area, as the Cyclops violently swung its giant club.

Kang Oh disappeared inside the darkness.

Abyss Transfer!

In the midst of that, Tasha drew its attention.

Red Spear of Judgment!

Fresh Blood Wave!

Executing Harpoon!

The sky was filled with blood spears and harpoons, as well as an aura.

Kuha!

The Cyclops cried out.

Giant's Roar!

Smoke rose from its body, and its club became even fiercer than before.

Whoosh!

Bam!

In an instant, it had destroyed all of Tasha's attacks. It was stupidly strong. That pretty much summed up what a Cyclops was.

Anyhow, Kang Oh reappeared in the air. To be more specific, he appeared above the Cyclop's head!

"Haahp!"

Kang Oh quickly fell from the sky. It was only natural. He didn't have any wings, after all.

However, he had planned this. The Cyclops would think that it was nothing more than a fly that had passed by.

Transcendent Blade!

Abyss Predator!

Kang Oh used a secret move and an item effect in tandem. First, his blade passed through the cyclop's eye frighteningly fast, and then, a deluge of darkness came after.

Kuhaaahk!

The Cyclops clutched its eye and writhed in pain.

This was her chance. Tasha gritted her teeth and gathered all the power in her body.

However...!

"What are you doing!? Hurry up and run," Kang Oh yelled.

"Why?"

"Fighting it is pointless. We may be able to beat it, but it'll take at least a few hours. Are you still interested?"

Tasha quickly lowered her hand.

"Let's go!"

Kang Oh and Tasha quickly ran away.

"Kuhahk! Meat! I won't let you get away!" Though its eye was closed, the Cyclops sniffed the air and chased after Kang Oh and Tasha.

But soon after, it tripped over its leg and fell forward.

Thud!

The ground shook as if there had been an earthquake. Even so, Kang Oh and Tasha didn't stop running, allowing them to escape the Cyclops's grasp.

* * *

What a relief.

There were no monsters here that were more powerful than the Cyclops. Kang Oh aimed for the eye of any Cyclops they came across, which let them pass without much issue.

They were also forced to fight several other monsters too.

Kang Oh avoided the many dangers of Mt. Helvert like the exploding rocks.

In the end...

"We're here!" Kang Oh stepped foot onto the mountaintop and stretched out his hands.

[You have reached the top of Mt. Helvert.]

[You are the first player to reach the mountaintop.]

[Fame has increased significantly.]

[You have acquired the title, Great Mountaineer.]

[You have acquired the title, Helvert Conqueror.]

Whoosh.

All of a sudden, Kang Oh felt heat wash over him, and looked forward.

There was a lava lake at the top of the mountain. A lava temple was located right in the middle of the lake.

"Wow." Kang Oh couldn't help but gape at the sight.

"Mm." Tasha couldn't hide her astonishment either.

Shake!

Demon Sword Sarahoff shook violently. 'Me too, me too!'

Kang Oh grinned.

Demon's Descent!

Sarahoff transformed into Sara once more.

"Wow! It's amazing! This is the Great Temple of Lava!" She clapped her hands.

[You have reached an area you've never been to before.]

[You have acquired Sara's Collectible.]

'Oh, I wasn't expecting this. Nice.' Kang Oh grinned at the unexpected present.

"Here." Kang Oh gave her the collectible right away.

"One more until the next evolution."

With one more collectible, Demon Sword Sarahoff would evolve. Of course, Sara would too.

"Yeah. By the way, you called it the Great Temple of Lava, but isn't this Orgon's temple?"

"In the north, the Great Temple of the North Sea worships the Ice Soul. And in the east, the Great Temple of Lava worships the essence of fire, the Sacred Flame," Sara said.

She knew a lot more than he gave her credit for. It was due to the fact that she'd read every single one of the books in the Great Temple of the North Sea.

"Then what about Orgon?"

"Dunno. He must be inside." Sara shrugged her shoulders.

"Hmm. Does the Great Temple of Lava also function as Orgon's temple?"

He would find out soon enough, he supposed.

Kang Oh approached the lava lake. However, there was no path that led to the Great Temple of Lava.

'Should I fly over?'

He would, but there were flame pillars all over the lake. One wrong move and he'd be burnt to a crisp.

At that moment...

The lava parted, and a giant turtle appeared within it. Of course, it was no normal turtle; after all, it lived in lava for god's sake. Its skin was red, and its black shell reminded him of a normal rock.

Baaa!

The turtle extended its neck, stared at Kang Oh with its red face, and cried out. Then, it turned towards the temple.

[The Lava Turtle is waiting for you.]

'Waiting? Wait... I'm supposed to ride this thing?'

It felt like he was right.

'Deborah said I needed the Helvert Conqueror title in order to enter the temple. I guess you need the title to ride this guy.'

In an instant, he had completely organized his thoughts.

"Return to your sword forms."

The turtle could only accommodate one person.

"Ah, why!?"

"No thanks."

Tasha and Sara strongly refused. He scowled at them, and they returned to their sword forms, all the while complaining up a storm.

Kang Oh stashed his swords and carefully climbed atop the turtle's back.

Bau!

The Lava Turtle roared and swam over to the temple.

It wasn't a bad ride.

* * *

The Great Temple of Lava was made up entirely of lava. He was honestly kind of worried. Was there any person who could run through lava and not die?

However, he was worried over nothing.

The temple was made up of hardened lava, as well as flowing lava.

Kang Oh entered the temple via the hardened sections.

[You have entered the Great Temple of Lava.]

[Please be respectful.]

The inside of the temple was quite special. Thick pillars, which were made up of hardened lava, were equidistant from each other, and lava flowed from the grooves.

'It's pretty hot.'

Well, it certainly made sense. The heat made it feel like the insides of his lungs were on fire. However, Kang Oh kept moving forward regardless.

A short while later...

Kang Oh finally met a being even larger than the Cyclops. It was essentially a giant statue. And it shared some similarities to a dwarf.

[This is the Blacksmith God, Orgon.]

[Please be respectful!]

"Lord Orgon!" Kang Oh bowed deeply.

Orgon slowly began to move, though his movements were quite stiff.

"Who are you?" His voice was both loud and heavy.

"My name is Kang Oh. I dare ask you a favor, Lord Orgon," Kang Oh said as respectfully as possible.

"Not happening. Begone," Orgon said decisively.

Kang Oh had expected this. There was no way a god would easily fulfill a lowly human's request.

'So that's why you need a bribe.'

Kang Oh pulled out the meteorite from his inventory. Then, he respectfully presented it to Orgon with both hands.

"Lord Orgon, please accept a small token of my appreciation."

Then, Orgon's face did a 180.

"Ooh, that's...!" Orgon extended his hot, giant hand and grabbed the meteorite. It was as if a fully grown adult was picking up a grain of rice.

"Ooh! Oooh!" Orgon marveled at the meteorite, despite it being a mere fraction of his size.

"Metal that came from outside this world. You're giving me this precious thing!? Alright, tell me what you want. I'll do whatever you want."

"Anything?"

"That's right. Speak."

"Then..." Kang Oh pulled out Deborah's symbol from his inventory.

Whir.

A purple veil spread out from the black ring like an aurora.

Swish.

A black silhouette appeared.

"Orgon."

"Deborah!"

At that moment, the Goddess of Death and the Blacksmith God met.