Dungeon Predator (WN)

Have you ever seen a Tyrannosaurus?

Clavik looked just like one. It was a giant reptile that stood on two thick legs!

However, it had two heads like a dicephalic snake. The left head had green stripes, while the right had red stripes. It was also around level 450!

Its thick skin, which was covered in black bumps, was like armor, and it had menacing, sharp, yellow teeth. Clavik's tail seemed just as dangerous. Getting hit by that would snap his bones like straws.

A carnivorous dinosaur versus a human being. It was clear who the predator was. If this were real life, that is.

However, this was a game world; a playground where humans killed monsters!

To Kang Oh, Clavik was just another level 450 boss monster. It was neither a unique monster nor a raid boss, and it was nowhere near as strong as the ancient Mayanes, who possessed the God of Creation's sources.

'This won't be difficult.' Kang Oh used Gluttony on a mass-produced sword, which doubled all of his abilities.

"Die!" Kang Oh charged, his body releasing plumes of darkness.

Kuhaahk!

Two-Headed Clavik roared ferociously and charged at Kang Oh. Its right head spewed lava, while its left head sprayed yellowish poison gas.

Lava spread across the floor, and the poison gas permeated through the air. Fortunately, both the lava and the poison gas spread slowly, so Kang Oh was able to dodge them with ease.

However, it didn't change the fact that the room would soon be filled with lava and poison gas.

'I'm on a clock.'

He needed to kill Clavik before the lava or poison gas got to him.

Kang Oh was confident he'd win this.

"Let's play!"

Whack, whack, whack, whack!

Consecutive 'whacks' echoed through the room!

Fire Bomb's flames surged. Darkness Chain flew through the air, while Abyss Claw cleaved through the ground. Last but not least, a golden tiger rushed at the dinosaur.

It was flashy and awe-inspiring!

Kang Oh, who had already assumed his Jet-Black Demon form, had no intention of slowing down. He dodged Clavik's large, weighty tail, leapt into the air, and then swung his sword.

Lightning Breath!

Was this what Zeus's lightning bolt would look like? A gigantic lightning blast split the world in two, and struck Clavik dead on!

Crackle!

Clavik grimaced in pain. Nevertheless, it rushed forward and attempted to devour Kang Oh with its two heads.

At that moment…

Kang Oh swung horizontally, and then swung upwards.

Everlasting Darkness!

A blade of darkness, darker than even the demon sword itself, followed his swing and cleaved through Clavik.

Thud! Thud!

The two heads fell to the floor in different directions!

[You are the first to defeat Two-Headed Clavik.]

[As a reward, Clavik will drop its highest rank items.]

[You have completed the quest, Kill Clavik. Return to Latnia City and obtain your reward from Dimitri.]

Kang Oh examined the loot.

It had dropped gloves shaped like a tyrannosaurus's head! The gloves were an S-rank item with a level 400 equip requirement and three items effects to boot!

"Heh." He'd be able to sell it for a lot too. 'As expected of Despia!'

Was it because he'd cleared one of Despia's dungeons? It dropped items that matched the difficulty level of the dungeon.

'I'm getting all of the first time bonuses here!' Kang Oh clenched his fist. Then, he immediately opened his map and searched for the next dungeon.

"Muto Cave."

His course was set, so Kang Oh headed for his next dungeon without delay.

* * *

Within the Black Hammer Dwarves' smithy…

Hoffman pounded on scarlet metal with his hammer.

Clang!

'Liza!'

First, he saw his dead wife. Hoffman swung his hammer once more.

Clang!

'Hoff!'

Then, he saw his son; he had been more precious to him than life itself.

Clang, clang, clang!

Metallic 'clangs' echoed through the smithy in a steady rhythm. At the same time, the rhythmic pounding of his hammer made the fire-shaped sword, 'Fire's Heart', shake.

At some point, Fire's Heart began to radiate intense light.

'Huh?'

Only then did Hoffman realize that something was amiss, and raised his head.

"What is going on..."

Hoffman didn't understand what was happening. The Fire's Heart was glowing all of a sudden.

However, the surprise didn't end there.

"A song?"

The sword played a beautiful song!

They say that there's an unearthly metal!

No one knows how this metal came to be.

Come, come close.

I'll tell you what it is!

This is none other than the metal's mystery!

...

"Aah!" Hoffman's body shook.

The song he'd just heard… It was connected to the 'metal's mystery', the secret method that Master Blacksmith, Sunlei, had used to create the Fire's Heart.

'No way!'

The metal's mystery was Sunlei's method of creating alloys. It was priceless information!

At that moment...

The metal's mystery was passed down to Hoffman.

* * *

After clearing Clavik's Nest, Kang Oh came to Muto Cave. The cave was located beneath a giant tree.

'The quests here are Exterminate the Mutos and Find Radal.'

Kang Oh went inside.

[Entering the dungeon, Muto Cave.]

Muto Cave was filled with tree roots, which covered the walls and the ceiling. However, the path itself was simple; all you had to do was follow it.

But…

Plant-type monsters, which disguised themselves as tree roots, or 'Muto', would pop out of the ceiling or the walls, so he had to keep a lookout for them.

Case in point.

Swoosh!

Dozens of Mutos, which resembled wooden snakes, came rushing at Kang Oh. If he were a normal player, then there would be nowhere to run. But he wasn't a normal player, now was he?

Red Butterfly's Dance!

[For 10 seconds, your evasion is doubled.]

His movements were as soft as a butterfly, yet as agile as a cat. Plus, his movements left behind an afterimage wherever he went.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The Mutos went rigid, as if they had become spears, and attacked. They lunged at Kang Oh with their sharp 'mouths'.

Gii? Gii?

They struck an afterimage, nothing more. Their actual target had disappeared like a mirage, greatly confusing the Mutos.

Then...

Kang Oh counterattacked.

Swish, slash, swish, slash!

Whenever he swung Blood, a Muto would get shredded to pieces. Eventually, 15 stars manifested on the blade's length.

'Fully charged!'

"Hoo." Kang Oh caught his breath, and blood red energy shined over his heart. It soon exploded outwards, sweeping through anything nearby.

Blood Bomb!

Boom!

Those caught in the explosion were flung into the walls or the ceiling.

Kang Oh horizontally swung Blood in a wide arc, leaving a long scar in the walls. Of course, he'd also sliced through the Mutos that'd slammed into the walls!

The Mutos that'd fallen to the ground or slammed into the ceiling stood up and attacked him once more. However, they were no match for him.

"Rest in peace!" Kang Oh continued his assault. The remaining Mutos died soon after.

* * *

[You have completed the quest, Exterminate the Mutos.]

By the time he'd reached the end of the cave, Kang Oh received a system message stating he'd completed the quest.

Now all that remained was his quest to find the missing person, Radal. However, there was nowhere else to go, and he didn't see Radal, let alone any trace of him.

'Hmm, I wonder where he went... Huh?'

At the end of the passageway, Kang Oh saw a wall that looked different from all the others. His eyes gleamed.

"Hoh."

It's been a while!

His Hyper Intuition warned him that something was off about that wall; there was something more to it. In other words, it was hiding something!

Kang Oh examined the wall. He extended his hand, spread open an area covered by a tree root, and dusted off the dirt. This revealed a stone slab underneath.

The stone slab was about 1 meter tall, and had a pentagonal groove within it. Clearly, something had to be placed inside.

'Something pentagon shaped.' Kang Oh sifted through his inventory, looking through all the junk items that the Mutos had dropped.

However, none of them would fit in the groove.

"Hmm."

There was a door in front of him, but it was locked. Moreover, he didn't know what kind of key it needed.

'I need some more information.'

Kang Oh left the dungeon and returned to Latnia City. Then, he went to an old woman's house; she was the quest giver.

"Hello."

"Oh, Savior. What about Radal?" She immediately asked about Radal. It was only natural. Radal was her one and only grandson, after all.

"I looked through Muto Cave, but I couldn't find him.

"N-No..." Her face darkened.

"But it looks like there's a secret area inside. That's probably where he is."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, but the door requires a pentagonal key. Do you know what it is?" Kang Oh asked.

"Mm." The old woman groaned and shook her head. She clearly didn't know!

"Would you mind if I look through Radal's things?"

"Go ahead."

Kang Oh looked through Radal's room. However, there weren't any pentagonal items inside.

But... there was a diary there instead.

Kang Oh carefully read the diary. Eventually, he came across an interesting passage.

I finally solved Geskal's secret code. The code points towards Muto Cave. I'm going to investigate the area soon.

I found the door. But the key's not here. Where exactly is the key?

The key's closer than I thought. It took me so long to figure it out! I'm an idiot! Now it's time to see what's hidden in Muto Cave! Is this the right answer this time?

That was the final entry. Radal had gone missing after writing this; he had found the key, and had gone to unlock the mystery of Muto Cave.

'The key's closer than he thought...' Kang Oh closed the diary and met with the old woman again.

"Has Radal ever told you about a key?"

"Mm... No." The old woman weakly shook her head.

"Where did Radal go before he set off for Muto Cave?"

"Hmm... Ah, I heard that he went to a smithy and asked them to make him something."

Kang Oh's eyes gleamed. "Where is the smithy?"

"So it's..." She explained where the smithy was located.

"Then, if you'll excuse me!"

"Please bring my grandson home!"

"I'll do my best." Kang Oh left the old woman's home, and came to a smithy with a sign that read 'Brandon'.

The brazier's flames swayed to and fro, and a bulky man welcomed Kang Oh.

"Oh, aren't you the savior? What business do you have with me?"

"Did Radal come and see you a short while ago?'

"That's correct."

"Do you remember what he asked you to make for him?"

The blacksmith nodded his head. Perhaps it was due to Kang Oh's reputation.

"Let's see here..."

The piece of paper had a triangle drawn on it. The exact length of its three sides were written explicitly, and it also had a complicated pattern too.

"Is this it?"

"Yes. These are the plans that Radal gave me. I made it according to the plans and gave it to him."

"How many of these did you make?"

"I made him five."

'Five triangles... Perhaps!'

Kang Oh assumed that these triangles were the key to opening the door.

"Could you make them for me too?"

"I have the mold, so I'll make it for you in a flash."

How much time had passed?

Kang Oh had gotten his hands on five intricately patterned metal triangles.

'Good. Let's go back.'

Kang Oh headed for Muto Cave.

* * *

At the end of Muto Cave, there was a stone slab with a pentagonal groove. Kang Oh placed all five triangles within the groove. They fit perfectly!

However, nothing happened.

'Hmm.'

Kang Oh extended his hand and slightly turned the filled groove.

Squeak.

The slab moved forward, sounding like a spring being wound up, and revealed an entrance!

[You are the first to discover the hidden dungeon, Geskal's Secret Storehouse.]

[Fame has increased.]

[Hunting within Geskal's Secret Storehouse yields double the experience points. Proficiency gain is also doubled.]

"It's been a while since my last hidden dungeon." Kang Oh grinned. 'Me being the first to discover it makes it even better.'

Which meant that no one had gone through the dungeon before! There may be a huge fortune buried within.

'Or maybe... a soul dungeon.'

If a player owned a soul stone, then they could own the entire dungeon. And guardians were beings that protected the soul stones.

He wouldn't know whether it was a hidden dungeon or a soul dungeon until he found a guardian.

In any case, it was a chance to either make some money, or find a soul dungeon!

Kang Oh immediately went inside.