A man stood before the beast.
He was a sturdy man with black hair and black eyes.
Having well-developed muscles were clearly visible all over his puffy jacket. He looked so well trained that there was no fat left on his body. His body was like a carved and chiseled statue. It was clear and solid as a statue.
Ajin, a man who looked like a hero from Greek mythology, lit up his eyes.
Then, showing his daggers in his hands, he shouted at the monster.
"Come here!"
The monster opened its mouth and vomited flames.
"GROOOOAAARRGHHH!"
Red flames burned and melted the earth below. A flame powerful enough to change even the terrain quickly covered a range of tens of meters.
Ajin remained calm. He ran easily, dodging the flames. There was no sign of fear. Even the monster powerful enough to change his surroundings was just normal routine for him now.
When the monster lands, it charges towards him.
Ajin's eyes opened much, much wider.
'Too fast!!'
Ajin barely escaped the fangs of the Demon Dog as he slipped under the leaping monster.
The Demon Dog fell back to the ground and turned around, before starting to bite him with its three heads.
"Weft!! Bark!! Rower!!"
Sharp fangs gleamed coldly between biting muzzles.
Ti-ring!
['Title: The Slaughterer of Dogs buff effect has activated.]
[Title: The Slaughterer of Dogs]
Title given to a hunter skilled in hunting dogs. When facing animal-type monsters, all of your stats will increase by 40%.
He felt his body clear.
'Pleasant!'
Ajin quickly retreated and brandished his dagger at the Demon Dog as he continued to stick close to him.
Rustling!! Swish, swish, swish!!
Noise!! Hang on, click!! Claang!!
The dagger collided with the fangs and made loud noises.
The blade was moving with blinding speed, but all he could do right now was deflect the Demon Dog's attacks and little else.
‘Even after upgrading, it’s still going strong?!’
The Demon Dog's Agility had easily exceeded his imagination.
In order to reverse this situation, Ajin activated his “Intimidation” skill.
["Skill: Intimidate" has been activated.]
[The effect has been canceled due to the target's high resistance.]
Ajin's eyes widened.
'It did not work ?!'
That's when Demon Dog's long tail flew like a whip.
Whoooosh-!!
Ajin reflexively lowered his head and dodged the tail. But it stopped his legs from moving for a second. And the monster did not miss this opportunity.
One of its heads powerfully bit into Ajin's left shoulder.
“Uwaaahck!! »
Ajin summoned all his strength and stabbed the dagger in the middle of the biting head.
STAB!!
['Effect: Paralysis' has been activated.]
[The effect has been canceled due to the target's high resistance.]
["Effect: Bleeding has been activated.]
[The effect has been canceled due to the target's high resistance.]
"Groan!!"
The Demon Dog screamed and released him.
Fortunately, he was able to minimize the damage done before any other headers had a chance to join the attack, but his left shoulder was now in tatters.
What a scary biting power that was.
He tried to move his left arm, but he couldn't move. Ajin's expression wrinkled ungracefully.
He managed to injure the Demon Dog, but comparing the severity of their injuries, it was clear that he fared much worse in this exchange.
“If paralysis or bleeding worked, the situation would have been different now…”
Ajin glared at the Demon Dog and clicked his tongue.
Then something else happened.
'Eh?'
The Demon Dog's eyes were suddenly dyed a crimson color.
"Goulouhoulou."
Inexplicably, Ajin sensed that something sinister was about to happen.
'What could it be?'
[Demon Dog uses 'Skill: Rage'.]
[His rage state will persist for the next three minutes.]
[All Demon Dog stats will be increased by 100%.]
[Demon Dog will no longer feel pain.]
Ajin shouted.
"What the fuck?!"
A monster just used a skill!!
At that instant, the Demon Dog jumped off the ground.
‘Holy shit!!’
Before he could even react, the Demon Dog appeared right before his eyes. He swung his dagger hastily, but it only managed to graze the side of one of his heads.
And the three heads bit Ajin simultaneously.
Kwa jeek!!
"Uhhhhhh!!"
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Ajin gritted his teeth. Her neck, waist and thigh were all bitten.
The demon dog ran full speed and slammed Ajin against the castle door.
CLICK!!
Ajin's HP hit rock bottom in an instant.
"Keo-heok!!"
[HP: 201/3800]
Ti-ring!
[Your HP has dropped below 30% and "Skill: Tenacity" has been activated.]
[All damage received will be reduced by 50%.]
Thanks to the damage reduction and the Tenacity passive, he was able to avoid being killed in one hit.
“Uh…”
Ajin's eyebrows rose in anger.
It would be easy to go mad with pain and thrash wildly, but he would lose this great opportunity, which would probably never happen again. Losing consciousness now would mean his end.
‘….178, 179, 180!’
Ajin waited bitterly for the three minutes to end and finally revealed his hidden trump card.
"The first reward, give it to me now!" »
Right when he lay on the ground in complete exhaustion, what he needed most was Stamina.
He immediately collected the first daily quest reward he had saved up so far.
["Reward 1: Full recovery of current physical condition" has been applied.]
Suwhooosh!
A yellow light enveloped him and all his depleted health returned to full.
[HP: 3800/3800]
Even his tattered left arm was healed like new in the blink of an eye.
“This is my chance! »
[Warning: You have suffered a sudden increase in stamina and strength stats.]
He felt his body become more robust, and with that, his stamina and strength also increased by 10 points.
With stamina and strength recovered, Ajin was now ready to slay the monster.
But that didn't mean he could let his guard down.
Because the Demon Dog always got stronger as Ajin grew.
"Focus, focus!"
The monster turned its head towards Ajin, who had just escaped the breath of its flame. The beast's eight horns shone, and all kinds of lights, flames, and lightning flashed forth.
"It is magic!"
Ajin was nervous. Magical storms from all directions cannot be avoided with quick feet.
“The solution is frontal!
As he pressed his hands to his daggers, he burst into the spirit. He uses them to dig the ground and lift the rocks. The rocks and earth shield were blocking the magic. A frenzy sounded.
Damn! Damn! Damn!
Ajin rushed into the gap. With his well-honed daggers, he leapt to the left side of the monster, running dozens of meters at a time. And charged into a furious attack!
-Horizontal cut!
The monster's side was split open and blood flowed out.
Boom!
As she suffered, the beast reacted quickly. Soon a white light wrapped around the monster's wound. The wound has healed. It was the light of healing.
"What the hell?"
Well, that was very surprising.
As he withdrew his fighting spirit, Ajin fixed his position.
“I have touched enough. »
A dagger in each hand. Ajin stood staring at the demon dog.
As he fought The Demon Dog, he continued to discover his abilities. Because of his "Fury" Durability and resistance also became higher and almost as high as steel.
Luckily, Ajin's physical abilities also greatly increased and he was able to master them.
Holding his precious daggers, Ajin moved again.
"Say again!"
Step by step, he rushes a few meters and charges at a terrifying speed. It was already a model of movement that transcends human limits.
“Who! »
The monster kicked its forelegs one after another, aiming at the approaching Ajin.
He stamped his foot and jumped to avoid the offensive. Jumping in place, he flew more than 10 meters, reaching the level of the monster's eyes.
Then he stretched his sword and made a large diagonal gash.
"Die!"
It wasn't a possessed skill, but it had enough control and landed a sharp blow.
It was Ajin's own sword skill.
Up close, the monster turned its head and dodged the crushing blow. And his mouth was going to open and bite!
As if waiting for him to do so, Ajin turned around and kicked.
Slap!
The beast, which only paid attention to the great sword, was kicked on its nose and screamed violently.
“GRAAAAOOOW! »
It was his strategy from the start.
While deliberately pretending to be grand, he actually launched a light attack so that he could easily straighten his posture on the battlefield.
Ajin started to launch his real attacks after the opponent was shaken. A continuous flurry of diagonal slashes hit the monster's neck and horns at the same time.
Although not opened, the scales were split and more than half of the blade was embedded in the horns.
A series of blows threw the monster into confusion.
“Gargh! Gaaaaaarggh!"
This technique of deliberately showing an escape, then hitting a miss, then performing a fatal attack was one of Ajin's winning strategies.
Only the final blow remained. Ajin's eyes turn cold.
“Kaaaargh! »
As he burst into a murderous spirit, he collapsed. He kicked the ground at a huge angle, became a flashing meteor, and aimed for the monster's heart.
"It's finish!"
He cut the heavy torso with a horizontal cut and split the big head with a vertical cut. A huge cross of blood and sinew etched with an arched, island-shaped blow pierced its center. Everything happened at the same time, without a moment's delay in between.
"Cross impact!" »
This giant beast, shedding blood like a fountain, slowly crumbled as its body died.
“Grrrr……”
“Triple cross impact. »
It was the strongest blow Ajin had received in the last 20 years of living and fighting in this hell. Of course, Cross Impact wasn't a new skill, but he just gave it its own name.
Ajin landed on the ground, leaving the fallen monster behind.
"Huff huff huff…."
Then he smiled with satisfaction.
"Today I survive again."
As always, a message popped up.
[You have defeated Demon Dog'.]
[Required experience has been reached. [Higher level!]
[Higher level!]
[Higher level!]
[Higher level!]
[Higher level!]
[Strength +2, Stamina +2, Recovery +1, Defense +2]
In one breath, his level increased by 5. That was how difficult this battle was.
Plop.
Ajin put his hands on his knees.
“Ha-ah… Holy shit..”
Only now could he breathe a sigh of relief.
A monster that could use a skill - if it hadn't prepared a hidden asset, it would have been killed for sure. A shiver ran up her spine just thinking about it.
'Oh I almost forgot…. Items.'
Would there be so many rewards worthy of his life-or-death struggle to take down this monster?
After calming down, Ajin reached out his hand to the Demon Dog.
Ti-ring!
[You have discovered 'Item: Gatekeeper's Necklace'. Take it?]
[You have discovered "Item: Castle Gate Key". Take it?]
[You have discovered "Item: Demon Dog's Molar, x3". Take it?]
“Take them all. »
A steel collar originally found around one of the Demon Dog's necks, a gray key, and three monster molars appeared in his hand.
[Item: Guardian Necklace]
Rarity: A
Type: Necklace
Agility +30, Perception +30
[Subject: Castle Gate Key]
Rarity: A
Type: Key
The key to unlock the doors of the demon's castle. Can only be acquired after killing the Guardian.
[Subject: Demon Dog Molar]
Rarity: none
Type: Miscellaneous
"Ohh."
Ajin's eyes widened.
"This necklace can increase my Agility and Perception by 30 points?" »
A necklace with mind-blowing options came out. Its rarity was also rated A. Of all the items he had seen so far, this one had the highest rarity rating to date.
'Well, I had to go through so much to kill him, so...'
Indeed, there was no way its rarity was low.
However, when it came to putting on the necklace, he couldn't help but hesitate a lot.
The thing was, it was shaped like a rounded metal choker with spikes protruding at regular intervals, so no matter what it said on the cover, it was definitely… a necklace of a dog.
"Mmm..."
Ajin closed his eyes and thought about his choices for a long time, before deciding to try it at least once, and brought the necklace closer to his neck.
Then a message appeared.
Ti-ring!
[Will you wear "Item: Guardian's Necklace?"]
Ajin fell into another dilemma for a second, before helplessly muttering his answer.
"…..Sure thing."
It was then that the necklace slowly disappeared from sight.
[You are now wearing "Item: Necklace of the Guardian.]
"Eh?"
Ajin hurriedly summoned his status window.
[Statistics]
Strength: 60
Stamina: 39
Agility: 80
Intellect: 37
Perception: 67
(Points available to distribute: 0)
Physical damage reduction: 20%
“Holy shit! »
His Agility and Perception have been increased by 30 for real. The option was now in effect, in other words.
It seemed like he didn't have to worry about walking around displaying the "objects" he was carrying. The fact that he didn't have to be seen with a dog collar on his neck brought him immense relief.
“Then are the molars. »
Ajin then summoned the store.
He sold the japtem dogs Molar' and got 150,000 gold for each. He immediately sold all three.
Soon, 450,000 gold came into his hands.
[Current Gold: 762,562]
"What kind of japtem is that expensive?" »
It was a pretty nice baseline to judge the overall difficulty of this dungeon. In other words, the difficulty of clearing the Demon's Castle would be incredibly high.
However, not everything was necessarily bad news.
He didn't hunt many monsters, but he earned more than four times the amount of gold compared to the whole day spent inside the station's instant dungeon.
If he saved gold like this, he wouldn't be so far from here that he could buy all those items that cost millions and millions in the store.
‘That is, as long as I can clear this dungeon…’
Ajin looked at the burning tower.
Crackle! Pop!
The top of the structure was completely shrouded in some sort of hazy fog. He really had to enter the tower if he wanted to see what was going on inside.
But, Ajin shook his head.
" This is not the moment. »
He barely managed to track down a single sentry standing guard near the gate even with his title which buffed him and also used the quest reward.
He couldn't even guess what kind of danger awaited him beyond that door. So it was time for him to step back.
However, he was sure of one thing.
Just as the explanation said, this key to the demon's castle was indeed something he wanted. The name "Blessed Random Box" was not wrong.
Fast leveling, valuable items and lots of gold too. This place had it all.
And one day he might claim them all as his own.
Only that, today was not that day.
Even though he was completely unwilling, he stored the gray key in his inventory.
'I'll be back.'
Certainly, very soon.
Ajin smiled as he turned to leave.