Chapter 64. Draconian Lin (2)
Chapter 64. Draconian Lin (2)
When someone heard the word ‘undead,’ what were the monsters people would usually think of? Right, first were the zombies. The wraiths that appeared on the dungeon’s 6th floor also counted as undead.
The ones people would think of second were of course…
“Human.”
“Human with juicy ribs.”
“Splint bone is mine.”
“Screw off, I can’t even make beef bone soup with you guys!”
Skeletons. They were undead creatures without a single bit of flesh and were made of white or black bones.
[Lightning doesn’t work well on bones, Master…]
“Don’t be sad, Peika. We just have to thoroughly crush them to make up for it.”
Using my spear like a club, I shattered the incoming skeletons. They were much tougher and had much stronger attacks compared to the zombies or the ghouls. Even so, they were much weaker than me. Their attacks were only strong to the point that they could scratch my armor if I just let them freely attack. In other words, they could just barely break through my defense to deal a tiny bit of damage. Of course, they were embarrassingly weak.
However, their defensive power was quite good, and they were more troublesome than zombies or ghouls in terms of their regenerative powers. If I broke them without pouring mana into my spear, they regenerated, so I had to go through the trouble of destroying them with my spear imbued with a mix of lightning elemental power and mana.
Although they didn’t smell as bad without rotting flesh, they were still extremely dirty and annoying to deal with. Just the way they moved irked me. For mere skeletons, they moved with dance steps as they tried to attack me with their swords. It really wanted to make me crush them.
Plus, these guys loved bones too much!
“His skull looks good.”
“I like his third cervical vertebrae.”
Every time they saw me, they charged towards me as they complimented my bone structure. I wondered if this floor was designed to irritate me. Perhaps it was a common feature of undead-type monsters, but their attainment in martial arts was pitifully low. I simply put one spear in each hand and flowed Spirit Aura into them to use them as electric beating clubs. Just like that, I crushed the skeletons’ skulls as I made my way forward.
“T-The bones I spent my entire life polishing up…!”
“He breaks skulls…!”
“S-Skull Breaker!”
“Run away, it’s the Skull Breaker!”
“Shut it!”
These guys! For monsters without brains, they sure were smarter than the zombies! I should’ve known when they said something like third cervical vertebrae!
[Thunder Bomb!]
“It’s the Skull Breaker!!!”
“The Skull Breaker is coming!”
“Now you’re calling me Skull Breaker no matter where I attack you…”
They called me Skull Breaker when I broke their ribs. They called me Skull Breaker when I crushed their arms. I didn’t understand.
I couldn’t just charge forward like I did in the 21st floor. Thus, I took a fast-walking pace, swinging my two spears and shooting out Thunder Bombs until I reached the 26th floor. The time it took to accomplish that was about 7 hours. After confirming that my level had gone up to level 27 and confirming that there were no more skeletons nearby, I put away the spears and sighed.
“Loretta, I’m he… Ah.”
On the 26th Floor Shop, I couldn’t find Loretta. Instead, there was a young man resting his chin on the shop desk as he smoked a cigarette. Discovering me, he looked around and muttered as he chewed on his cigarette.
“Eh? … Oh, right. It was from today. Welcome.”
“Hello, are you Loretta’s replacement?”
“Hm, you really do look like noonim’s1 taste… What, a Hero? Noonim’s quite skilled.”
The young man glanced over me with sparkling crimson eyes. Although he sounded mumbly as he was still chewing on his cigarette, his voice was still extremely pleasant to listen to. He had snow-white skin and was pretty enough to be mistaken for a girl. However, there was something else that caught my attention.
“Um… on your head… there are horns.”
“Yea, I’m a Draconian.”
After answering me casually, he puffed out the cigarette smoke. Then, he put the cigarette back in his mouth. Don’t tell me he thought that was enough of an explanation? Dumbfounded, I stared at him smoking his cigarette.
His hair was black just like mine. However, his hair was extremely long, which was tied at the top of his head in a ponytail. On each of his temples, a curly silver horn was protruding out, forming a symmetry. Finally, his eyes were a bit dirty.
He had a black garment draped over his body, which didn’t seem to have any muscles. I then noticed the area behind his butt, where a scaled tail dozens of times larger than a lizard’s tail swayed gently. It was then that I remembered something.
“Um, are you perhaps a beastman?”
“Beastman? Mmm… no. Beastmen are beings blessed by God to take animals’ traits. On the other hand, Draconians get their traits from their draconic bloodline.”
“Dragons?”
“Ah, that’s all you need to know. It’s nothing important.”
He seemed too lazy to explain further as he waved the smoke away with his hands. Although there was a mountain load of questions I wanted to ask, I decided to just let it go. However, he seemed to have his own questions. After finishing his cigarette, he glanced at me and asked.
“So, you’re Kang Shin, right? Earth’s Hero.”
“I don’t really like being called Hero.”
“Really? Mm, then just Kang Shin. Know this. Noonim pestered me quite a bit to take good care of you.”
“She pestered you?”
“Loretta noonim was in charge of almost 4,000 explorers. Don’t think my real body will be at all those places.”
“Oh, so you aren’t a puppet, but the real one?”
“What, she even told you about the puppets? …She fell deep, that person.”
What did he mean Loretta fell deep? This new Floor Shop owner was unfriendly and liked to talk to himself. When I was already starting to miss Loretta, he blurted out as if he had just remembered something.
“Lin. You can call me Lin.”
“Okay, Lin. Take good care of me for a while.”
“Mm, yeah. I’m curious as to how many floors you can climb during this one year. According to noonim, you’re a real one that hasn’t been seen for a while. I can expect at least five floors, right?”
He glanced over me with narrow eyes as he spoke arrogantly. Oh, you’re provoking me? I, Kang Shin, manliest of men, will take on that challenge.
“Lin, do you like betting?”
“Kukuku, I love it.”
Lin and I exchanged smiles. As expected of Loretta’s replacement. He was walking the same path Loretta once walked! I had to rein in my laughter from bursting out. Lin, on the other hand, was looking at me like I was a naïve child. I was already looking forward to the day his expression would change.
“Kang Shin, let’s decide on our bet. There’s what noonim said, so I doubt you won’t make it to the 30th floor in 1 year. Right, if you defeat the 35th Floor Master by yourself within one year, I will make a gauntlet suitable for you. If you even defeat the 40th Floor Master by yourself within one year, I will make you a weapon that contains my essence.”
“Lin, you’re a blacksmith?”
“Yep. I’m the Red Dragon’s descendent, so I have close affinity to fire. In any case, if you can’t break through the 35th floor within one year, I will take the pocket watch back from you. Along with your subclass of course. I’ll also take away the pocket watch if you party with other people to clear the 35th Floor Master, though, I doubt you have many skills in there anyways.”
I already had five. Not that I’d tell him, of course.
“Is it possible to take away someone’s class?”
“I wouldn’t have said it otherwise. Though, not anyone can do it.”
Indeed, it was a scary penalty. The pocket watch was a treasure that made up quite a bit of my overall strength. That said, this person was too soft. Did he think I couldn’t climb 14 floors in one year? I asked with a bashful smile.
“Then, what if I break through the 40th floor even earlier?”
“What? Earlier than 1 year? Puhat.”
The Draconian snorted.
“There’s no record of such a thing happening. Don’t look down on the 40th Floor Master. He forced countless First Dungeon challengers to their knees. The legend says that he’s even stronger than the 45th Floor Master. You think you can reach the 40th floor and defeat him within one year? Don’t kid.”
“But a man should dream big. If there’s a bigger reward, wouldn’t I be more motivated to try?”
“… You aren’t wrong. Right, explorers these days really lack that sort of attitude. Hmm.”
Lin started a second cigarette. He didn’t take out a lighter, but the cigarette was set on fire on its own. It seemed the power of the Red Dragon was used to set cigarettes on fire. While I nodded my head in appreciation of gaining new knowledge, Lin murmured with the cigarette in his mouth.
“If you can do it within 9 months, I’ll make you a helmet along with the weapon. If you do it within 8 months, I’ll add in the gauntlet. 7 months, I’ll add in boots.”
“Ah, I already have boots to wear though.”
“If you manage to succeed, you can give me your boots. I’ll do some work on them.”
“Ah, got it.”
“Finally, though I think it’s completely impossible, if you succeed within 6 months… ha, I can’t even say it with a straight face. Anyways, if you succeed in breaking through the 40th floor within 6 months, I’ll make you a full plate armor set. Along with a weapon, of course.”
“Wow, you really are generous.”
“Puhahahaha! Climbing 14 floors in half a year, I think you’re a lot more generous than I am! Ku, kukukuk! I know you’re a Hero, but your liver is so big that it’s hanging outside your belly2! Agh, my sides! I understand a little bit why Loretta noonim likes you so much!”
“Ek, but I’m into women…”
“I’m into women too, you bastard.”
Because he suddenly emphasized his words with sharp eyes, I flinched a little.
“Well, do your best, Kang Shin. Don’t give up in the middle. I hate people that give up the most.”
“What a coincidence.”
After getting ample rest, I stretched and loosened my body. Holding up my Black Earthen Spear, I shouted at Lin as I took a step on the stair to the 27th floor.
“I hate giving up the most too.”
1. Noonim is a more formal version of noona.
2. Korean proverb meaning you’ve got a lot of nerve.