Dungeon Predator (WN)

[You have reached Despia's Saharamant Region.]

"I don't sense any monsters nearby," Sephiro said, sporting an anxious expression.

"I don't see the temple either." Eder was clearly disappointed.

'Saharamant, huh...' Kang Oh took a look around.

It was a cylindrical space, similar to the Holiseum's circular gladiatorial arena. The ground was made of dirt, and the walls and ceiling were black.

Plus...

'Doors?'

There were doors here too; five of them to be exact. Fanciful ornaments hung from each one of them! They also differed in size. The smallest door was about 2 meters tall, while the largest one was almost 10 meters tall.

Where there's a door, there's a desire to open it and see what's inside! Kang Oh approached the largest door and forcefully pushed it. However, the door wouldn't budge.

[You are not qualified.]

'Not qualified, huh...'

What kind of qualifications was it referring to?

Then...

"Huh? It opened," Sephiro said.

"It opened?" Kang Oh turned his head. Both Sephiro and the open door were in view. The smallest door had opened.

"Mr. Sephiro," Kang Oh called.

"Yes?"

"Please try opening this door." Kang Oh pointed at the largest door.

"Understood." Sephiro approached the door and forcefully pushed it. However, the door wouldn't budge. "It's saying that I'm not qualified," Sephiro said.

"Please try opening the other doors."

Sephiro then attempted to open the other doors. However, none of them would open.

"I get the same message. It says I'm not qualified. This is... probably that, right?" Sephiro stared at Kang Oh.

"Probably." Kang Oh nodded his head.

"What is that?" Eder asked.

"Only one door opened, and the other doors won't open until you're qualified. That means you have to do something through the door for the next one to open."

"Aha."

"Let's go."

Words were no longer necessary. Kang Oh strode forward and entered the open door.

"Wait for me."

Eder and Sephiro immediately followed him.

* * *

[Entering the dungeon, Samon's Room.]

'It's a dungeon.'

Once they passed through the door, they entered a dungeon. If that's the case, then it was highly likely that the remaining four doors were the entrances to dungeons too.

"Mr. Kang Oh, it's a boss," Sephiro said.

"Indeed." Kang Oh saw a giant monster sitting upon a throne! Samon's Room was a boss-only dungeon.

"We're hunting it, right?" Sephiro asked.

"Of course we are."

There were five doors, but only one had opened. They'd need to prove that they were qualified in order to get through the other doors. But the first door led to a dungeon, and the only thing here was a boss.

'Which means that killing the boss will open the next door.'

Of course, he would've hunted the boss monster regardless. A sparrow can't pass by a mill without stopping! As a Dungeon Hunter, he couldn't help but kill the boss monster!

Anyhow, Kang Oh carefully examined the monster sitting upon the throne.

[You are the first to discover Comdo's Champion, Samon.]

It was a lion man. A golden mane surrounded its fearless face, and a three-lined scar covered its right eye.

Samon didn't wear armor. Its bare upper body was lined with thick muscle, and its chest was filled with crooked scars. Its lower body, however, was covered by pants made of tiger skin. It also held a crude podao.

"It looks like a warrior-type that specializes in one-on-one combat," Kang Oh said.

"It's called Comdo's Champion. Do you know what Comdo is?" Sephiro asked, glancing at Eder and Kang Oh.

"I've never heard of it before," Eder immediately replied.

"Comdo. It's the name of a great tribe that lived in the western grasslands. Of course, it's been extinct for quite some time."

Kang Oh had spent a lot of time as a mercenary in the west. Thus, he was well-versed in its history.

"A warrior that came from a long dead tribe appearing here as a dungeon boss..." Sephiro muttered.

There had to be some history here. Most of the time, this is where they'd get a special quest.

"Don't worry about it. Let's just try and kill it," Kang Oh said.

He was the hunter, it was the prey. That was enough.

'If it can talk, then we can talk then.' Kang Oh drew Demon Sword Blood. The snow-white blade radiated a faint red light.

Eder pulled 'Eclipse's Scythe', which resembled a reaper's scythe, from his subspace, and lifted it in a two-handed grip. He was ready for battle!

"Umph." Sephiro pulled out his signature weapon, the Lasselpino Bow.

"It looks different than before," Kang Oh said.

"It's bigger and more beautiful, isn't it?" Sephiro grinned.

As always, the Lasselpino Bow resembled a silver wing. However, it was about as tall as Sephiro now. Of course, it had gotten much thicker too. It had become an English longbow.

"Does it have something to do with your hidden class?" Kang Oh asked.

"Yes. When I class changed, my bow got an upgrade too," Sephiro said.

"What hidden class is it?"

"I'll explain later. I'll show you firsthand how powerful my new class is."

"Sure, if that's what you want."

Now that they were ready for battle, Kang Oh's party approached Samon's throne. Then, Samon lifted its podao and stood up. It'd likewise readied itself for battle.

The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.

Kang Oh made the first move. 'Let's see how powerful my new weapon is.'

A ball of flame, which was about the size of a baseball, appeared in his palm. It was transparent like a bead, but flames were stored within it. It was the effect of his new Fire Bomb Belt: Fire Bomb.

"Hueup." Kang Oh threw it as if he were throwing a rock.

Swoosh.

The Fire Bomb flew through the air!

Salmon quickly cleaved through the Fire Bomb with its podao. However, the Fire Bomb was, as advertised, a bomb. Once Samon slashed through the bomb, it exploded.

Boom!

The Fire Bomb unleashed the flames stored within. In an instant, the tips of Samon's golden mane were singed black.

'Nice.'

The Fire Bomb was more powerful than the Gladion's Dagger, which he kept stored in his inventory.

Samon spun its podao, using it like a shield, and minimized the explosion's damage. Then, Eder entered the fray.

"Seize him!"

White bone grew around its body. However, Samon immediately swung its sword four times and then charged.

Whack, whack, whack, whack!

The bones were ripped to shreds, causing bone fragments to fly into the air.

Samon had already gotten right in front of Kang Oh. It swung downwards, its podao surrounded by a golden aura.

Aura of Bravery!

Kang Oh didn't back off. Instead, he swung Blood upwards.

Slash!

Clang!

Upon contact, a metallic 'clang' rang out.

'Hmm.'

Their clash had given him insight into Samon's might. For a boss monster, it wasn't very strong.

Then...

Samon suddenly withdrew its podao and quickly thrust it like lightning.

Lightning Thrust!

Swoosh. The podao came flying straight at him.

'Tch!' Kang Oh gritted his teeth and bent backwards.

Swish.

Samon's blade grazed Kang Oh's forehead and shards of light burst from the wound. He didn't take much damage, but he felt cold at the realization that 'If I had been even a little slower, then...'.

However, he wasn't out of danger yet. Because he'd bent back, his stance was unstable. Grasping this, Samon attacked him immediately after.

Aura of Bravery!

Whoosh!

Its podao, surrounded by a golden aura, cleaved through the air.

At that moment...

An arrow, about as thick and long as a javelin, struck the blade.

Clang!

Which forced the podao away, giving Kang Oh the chance to stabilize himself.

"Hoo." Kang Oh caught his breath and quickly counterattacked. The tip of his blade went for Samon's throat, as if it were a snake aiming for its prey.

At the same time, an arrow that very much resembled a javelin came flying at Samon's side. This was obviously Sephiro's handiwork.

Kyaahk!

Samon scowled and swung its podao once more.

Clang.

Samon first fended off Demon Sword Blood and then quickly turned its body, dodging Sephiro's arrow.

Then...

Eder's bone spear pierced Samon's body. Kang Oh and Sephiro's attacks had been bait; Eder's attack had been the real deal!

Bam!

Kuahk!

Creases filled Samon's face.

"Explode!" Eder immediately used Bone Bomb.

Boom!

The embedded bone spear blew up, splitting into bone fragments that further pierced Samon's body. Kang Oh threw a Fire Bomb at Samon's feet too.

Roar!

The flames surged, engulfing Samon's body.

Sephiro's eyes gleamed. This was his best chance to do a ton of damage!

Sun Piercing Arrow!

This skill was, like Spinning Arrow, a spiraling arrow, but it rotated much quicker than the latter.

Whirl!

The arrow, which spun like an electric drill, struck the top of Samon's head.

Headshot!

Samon, its body engulfed in flame, was unable to withstand the arrow and fell backwards.

"Attack!" Kang Oh yelled.

Samon wasn't just a boss monster; it was one of Despia's boss monsters. It wouldn't go down this easily.

Tempest Tiger!

The golden aura roared and pounced on Samon.

Eder swung his arms. He summoned a giant bone scythe and swung it at the downed Samon.

Sephiro barraged it with arrows. Each and every one of his arrows was brutal.

Focus fire!

A short while later...

There were holes, giant arrows, and bone fragments spread across the room. It was a mess!

Samon didn't move an inch. Despite that, Kang Oh's party didn't let up. After all, they hadn't gotten a message indicating that Samon was dead yet!

Whir!

Samon was suddenly surrounded by a barrier.

Clang.

Both Sephiro's arrow and Eder's bone mass bounced off of the barrier.

Kang Oh swung downwards with Blood, but he wasn't able to break through. His hand tingled from the powerful repelling force.

Samon slowly stood up. Its body radiated bright light. By the time that light faded, Samon was fully garbed in golden armor.

Its weapon had changed too. Samon was now wielding a giant single-bladed sword with a lion head ornament hanging from the hilt! It was clearly a good weapon.

Kuhaang!

It let out a lion's roar. Samon was basically saying, 'The real fight starts now!'.

Then, it swung its blade, unleashing a golden blast.

Lion King's Claw!

The golden blast split into three, flying towards each member of Kang Oh's party simultaneously.

'An aura!'

The golden blast was definitely an aura, or a crystallization of Samon's power. It was an extremely powerful aura at that! Moreover, the aura followed Kang Oh's party like a homing missile.

"Everyone, be careful," Kang Oh yelled and swung his sword.

Lightning Breath!

The lightning blast and golden aura clashed head-on.

Boom!

The two opposing forces dissipated with a loud 'boom'.

"Tch." Sephiro also realized how dangerous the golden aura was. Thus, he immediately used Absolute Evasion.

It was an invaluable skill, which allowed him to dodge any one attack!

Boom!

The golden aura past him, leaving a lengthy scar in the ground. It looked as though a lion's claws had scratched the floor.

Eder hid behind a bone wall. However, the golden aura broke right through it.

"Summon Eder!" Kang Oh yelled.

Eder's body faded.

Bam!

The golden aura swept through where Eder had once been. At the same time, it left behind a claw mark in the ground.

"Thank you," Eder said, having reappeared beside Kang Oh. If Kang Oh had been a little slower, then Eder would've taken a ton of damage.

"It's fine. Focus on the battle. Looks like we've awoken the sleeping lion." Kang Oh observed Samon. It was emanating a tremendous fighting spirit.

Kuha!

The enraged king of beasts came rushing at them!