Chapter 14: Chapter 14

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Chapter 14

[You have discovered an undiscovered dungeon! 1,000 achievement points have been awarded.]

All the dungeons in New World were discovered by users.

So, discovering an undiscovered dungeon didn’t mean there was something amazing hidden.

However, the undiscovered dungeon in front of Jeong-hoon would play an extremely important role.

[Would you like to enter the Lv.38 Poison Crusher’s dungeon?]

Poison Crusher is a centipede-shaped monster.

It carries poison, so you need to be extra careful when hunting it.

“Hiss- Who dares enter this place!”

And this dungeon is a mini-dungeon.

The clearing is complete once the Poison Crusher is hunted, regardless of whether it is normal or boss.

Of course, it cannot be said that the difficulty is easy.

A giant centipede crawling on the ceiling of the cave.

Crusher itself is quite powerful for level 38.

‘The discoverer eventually failed to clear it, and users over level 60 gathered in a party of 4 to deal with Crusher.’

Jeong-hoon first took out his bow and pulled the string.

If it didn’t intend to come down from the ceiling, he had to force it down.

When he released the string, the magic arrow was shot in a parabola.

However, the arrow that hit Crusher’s body bounced off weakly.

Crusher scoffed, as if it hadn’t been hit at all.

“How absurd. You think you can do anything to me with something like this!”

Swoosh-

Poison gas spewed from Crusher’s mouth.

Right. If he couldn’t figure this out, he would die.

This was a cave.

The poison gas from its giant mouth filled the air in an instant.

[You have been poisoned.]

[HP is rapidly decreasing!]

[You will die within 20 seconds if you don’t detoxify!]

The level difference between Jeong-hoon and Crusher was a whopping 17.

Since he had inhaled the poison of such a creature, it was natural that he couldn’t last long.

‘Not yet.’

He had experienced this kind of status ailment to the point of nausea before returning.

He had been poisoned and cursed worse than this.

Jeong-hoon pulled the string again and shot an arrow.

“Your desperate struggle is laughable.”

Crusher didn’t even bother to dodge the arrow and just took the hit.

Of course, the arrow couldn’t penetrate Crusher’s skin and bounced off again.

Nevertheless, Jeong-hoon repeated the action.

‘1 second.’

Jeong-hoon took out the ‘Status Ailment Recovery Potion’ he had received as a gift and drank it all.

[You have recovered from poisoning!]

He recovered from the poisoning, but his HP was on the verge of reaching 0, so he used the lowest grade healing continuously.

And once again, he pulled the string and shot an arrow.

[Martial Artist exclusive skill, ‘Steadfast Will’ has been activated.]

[Skill, ‘Arrow (Normal)’ has been acquired.]

Yes!

This is the basic skill obtained by users who choose the Archer class.

I’ve acquired Arrow.

[Arrow]

-Type: Active

-Level: 1

-Grade: Normal

-Consumes 1 mana to increase the arrow’s attack power by 10.

Arrow is a skill that can only be obtained by repeatedly attacking monsters that cannot be damaged by normal arrows.

Jeong-hoon shot another arrow.

The arrow, empowered by 1 mana, had its attack power increased by 10.

A slight flinch.

With the increased attack power, the arrowhead managed to inflict a small wound on Krash’s skin.

The skill’s effect was definitely noticeable.

However, the arrow didn’t pierce through and quickly fell to the ground.

That was enough.

“Shhhhk! Human! I played along with your little tricks!”

Crusher, seemingly enraged, charged at Jeong-hoon, rapidly moving its 150 pairs of legs.

Its massive fangs were bared.

Jeong-hoon slung his bow on his back and drew his sword.

‘Vital Strike.’

The Vital Strike skill provides a correction, allowing him to accurately hit a monster’s vital point.

Clang!

Jeong-hoon’s sword and Crusher’s fangs clashed, producing a heavy impact sound.

The Crusher continued to press Jeong-hoon, thrusting its fangs forward.

Clang! Clang!

Jeong-hoon blocked the monster’s attacks while stepping back to create distance.

He needed to recover from the poisoning.

[You have recovered from poisoning.]

He consumed another antidote potion.

Due to the poison gas filling the surroundings, a 20-second timer started.

[Casting Lowest grade Healing.]

He quickly cast Lowest grade Healing.

[The level of Lowest grade Healing has increased.]

Yes!

Repeatedly using Lowest grade Healing caused the skill level to rise.

[Martial Artist exclusive skill, ‘Steadfast Will’ has been activated.]

[Skill, ‘Poison Resistance (Normal)’ has been acquired.]

After drinking Crusher’s poison consecutively, Steadfast Will reacted, and he acquired the targeted skill.

[Poison Resistance]

-Type: Passive -Level: 1

-grade: Normal

-Increases resistance to poison. (Poison Resistance)

-Resists health reduction caused by poison.

Poison Resistance.

A passive skill that grants resistance to the Crusher’s poison.

‘This will eventually lead to Complete Poison Resistance.’

The realm of Complete Poison Resistance, which he couldn’t reach in his previous life.

This time, he was determined to achieve it.

[Resisting poison.]

Upon acquiring the skill, the rate at which he succumbed to status ailments noticeably slowed down.

“Shhhhk! Human! What trickery are you using?!”

Crusher, confirming that Jeong-hoon was resisting its poison, pressed its attack.

Its intent to end this battle quickly was clear.

However, Jeong-hoon, unwilling to let it end easily, raised his sword and clashed with Crusher.

Clang!

The fierce clashing sounds repeated once again.

[Martial Artist exclusive skill, ‘Steadfast Will’ has been activated.]

[Skill, ‘Swordsmanship Mastery (Normal)’ has been acquired.]

Yes!

If his previous acquisition was Vital Strike, this time he obtained a skill that enhances his swordsmanship overall.

[Swordsmanship Mastery]

-Type: Passive

-Level: 1

-Grade: Normal

-The sharpness of swordsmanship deepens.

-Sword attack power increases by 5%.

-Critical hit chance increases by 2%.

The repeated confrontations had paid off.

Indeed, continuously clashing with a higher-level monster allowed him to acquire skills quickly.

The corners of Jeong-hoon’s mouth twitched into a smirk.

“How dare you face me!”

The Crusher, seeing that smile, became enraged.

‘Shall we move on to the next skill?’

Jeong-hoon’s eyes turned fierce.

At that moment, sword strikes that couldn’t even be compared to before unfolded.

Slice.

With each swing of Jeong-hoon’s sword, the Crusher’s legs were severed.

The monster’s vital points weren’t just its head.

The joints between its body and legs.

By accurately targeting those joints, severing its legs was a simple task.

“Keeek!”

The Crusher writhed in pain as its legs were cut off.

It became even easier to attack.

Jeong-hoon continued to swing his sword.

[Martial Artist exclusive skill, ‘Steadfast Will’ has been activated.]

[Skill, ‘Vertical Slash (Normal)’ has been acquired.]

Following Swordsmanship Mastery, he acquired Vertical Slash.

This skill is obtained when repeatedly slashing and inflicting consistent damage.

‘Magic Missile.’

Simultaneously, he rapidly rotated the circle to circulate mana and then released it according to the incantation.

A blue mass of energy appeared in mid-air.

Jeong-hoon marked the Crusher’s head, and the Magic Missile shot towards it.

Bang!

The Magic Missile collided with the Crusher’s head, causing a small explosion.

“Keeek!”

The Crusher’s scream became sharper than before.

It meant the damage was significant.

Jeong-hoon continued to cut the Crusher’s legs with his sword.

After a while, the Crusher finally collapsed to the ground, unable to endure any longer.

Thud!

The Crusher’s body was so massive that the cave’s ceiling shook as it fell, and rocks tumbled down.

[Using Lowest grade Healing.]

However, Jeong-hoon started pouring Lowest grade Healing onto the Crusher, depleting his mana.

“Shhhhk…?”

The Crusher was puzzled.

Why was this crazy human, who had just severed all its legs, healing it?

“Get up. We need to continue, right?”

“Wha, what…?”

“Try to defeat me.”

Jeong-hoon beckoned with his finger.

“Shhhhk!”

Provoked, the Crusher charged at Jeong-hoon once again.

* * *

“Is that even possible…?”

The Earth Korea management team was watching the user’s subjugation process in real-time.

They had their doubts when he entered the northern portal alone, but he ended up discovering an undiscovered dungeon there.

That wasn’t the only surprising thing.

“Wow… how is he fighting so well?”

“Right? Normally, he should be knocked out in one hit, shouldn’t he?”

A beginner user was fighting on par with a boss monster from an undiscovered dungeon, a level 38 at that.

“Wait, isn’t he a Martial Artist?”

“His skill with the bow and sword doesn’t seem to be lacking compared to Warriors or Archers at all.”

“But how is he enduring the level 38 poison?”

The user was proficient with both the sword and bow, despite being a Martial Artist.

Did this mean he wasn’t just skilled in martial arts?

He even used healing?!

“Wow, look at him using healing. Does it make sense for a Martial Artist to have divine power…?”

“This is crazy. He’s even using Magic Missile.”

“Oh my… I’m so surprised I can’t even speak properly.”

How could a Martial Artist use skills from other classes?

The staff, speechless, stared blankly at the user’s hunting.

Goosebumps crept up their arms.

“Management team! Didn’t you hear the announcement to gather in the auditorium?!”

At that moment, someone interrupted their viewing.

It was Team Leader Park Geon-ha from the system management team next door.

While the user management team, led by Oh Jin-soo, managed users, they were responsible for the overall system management.

And there was a training session scheduled for 3 PM today in the auditorium.

“Ugh! This was an important scene!”

“Why is time going by so fast?”

The clock showed 2:50 PM.

“This was the highlight…”

“I know, right?”

In the end, the staff headed to the auditorium, feeling like they had been interrupted in the middle of something important.

* * *

Jeong-hoon continued his battle with the Crusher, repeatedly consuming potions.

[The level of Lowest grade Healing has increased.]

After raising the Healing skill level once again.

[The level of Magic Missile has increased.]

[The level of Arrow has increased.]

[The level of Swordsmanship Mastery has increased.]

[The level of Poison Resistance has increased.]

He continued to raise the levels of the newly acquired skills.

[Martial Artist exclusive skill, ‘Steadfast Will’ has been activated.]

[Skill, ‘Horizontal Slash (Normal)’ has been acquired.]

[‘Strong Will’ merges ‘Horizontal Slash’ and ‘Vertical Slash’.]

[‘Continuous Slash (Normal)’ has been acquired.]

By acquiring additional skills, he finally obtained his target skill, Continuous Slash.

“Shhhhaaa….”

And the Crusher didn’t attack anymore.

It was huddled in the corner of the cave, unusually docile.

‘Monster… monster…’

The Crusher just wanted to be healed now.

Please, if you’re going to end it, just end it.

‘I think this is enough, right?’

Having lost its will to fight, the Crusher even gave up on spewing poisonous gas.

As a result, the thick gas had thinned considerably.

He had extracted almost everything he could from the level 38 Crusher.

There were a few more things he wanted to get, but that was only possible if the Crusher attacked him with the intent to kill.

In this state, there was no point in continuing the fight.

Jeong-hoon approached the Crusher and pierced its head with his sword.

[You have cleared the ‘Lv.38 Poisonous Crusher’ dungeon for the first time.]

[You have been awarded 1,000 achievement points.]

[Additional experience points have been awarded.]

[Your level has increased.]

[All stats have increased by +1.]

[Bonus stat +1 has been awarded.]

After defeating the Poisonous Crusher, he immediately gained one level.

Considering the considerable time it took to go from level 21 to 22, this was a very satisfying achievement.

“Good.”

With a satisfied smile, Jeong-hoon picked up the two items and the magic stone dropped where the Crusher’s body had disappeared.

[Due to the first clear, boss monster items are dropped at 100%.]

These items usually had a low drop rate and rarely appeared.

[Crusher’s Fangs]

The Crusher’s fangs were in Jeong-hoon’s hands.

And one more.

A small, purple-tinged bead.

Like the Crusher’s fangs, this wasn’t an item for his own use but a material needed for a quest.

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