Translator: Seven
Editor: Ana_Banana
[Proceed to the Second Floor.]
The first thing that greeted the group of 100 players as they entered the second floor was a wave of sweltering heat.
“Ah!”
Extremely high heat without any moisture wrapped around them as they finally looked around at the land which welcomed them.
'A desert!'
A seemingly endless desert filled with red sand was the stage for the second floor of the dungeon.
'Oh my G.o.d…'
'This is the worst.'
They despaired because they encountered one of the worst situations they could possibly find within a dungeon.
Their feelings were understandable. A desert stage was one of the scenarios where humans had the most disadvantages.
'We have to catch the Firefox here…'
'Even if this is an rank Dungeon, isn't this too much?'
Faced with such a situation, if the players didn't show expressions of despair when realising that they had to face extremely difficult monsters while also fighting against the environment, it would be strange.
'Just as expected.'
Kim Woo-jin, who had already expected such a situation, didn't change his expression.
He knew the danger of this desert stage more than any other person there.
'But the heat is worse than I expected.'
In the desert stage, it was not easy to find a place to rest and the most pressing concern would be the availability of drinking water.
Of course, most of the people who entered the dungeon brought enough water to last them at least 5 days in the dungeon, and if they simply drank enough to survive they should be able to last much more than 5 days.
The problem was that if they wanted to stay in a shape that allowed them to battle at any time, the situation would be different.
'The limit would be 2 days.'
Kim Woo-jin estimated that the maximum amount of time the people here could fight at their optimal conditions was only 2 days.
And 2 days could only be guaranteed if the opponents the players faced were not too difficult for them to handle.
“There!”
Suddenly, someone shouted, pulling Kim Woo-jin out of his thoughts.
“There's something over there.”
Everyone turned to look toward where the person was pointing.
Then, a giant fox about 5 meters long and covered in flames, appeared before their eyes.
No one reacted to the unexpected appearance of the Firefox. Similarly, when the Firefox noticed the 100 players before it, it didn't move.
It was as if time had stopped.
[Horus' Eye has opened.]
Only Kim Woo-jin tried to understand and a.n.a.lyze the current situation they were in.
The Firefox's information appeared in front of Kim Woo-jin's golden eyes.
His eyes swept across the Firefox's body before settling on one of its tails that was glowing brightly.
[The Nine-Tailed Fox's Third Tail]
->Rarity: Legendary
->Level: Level 1 or higher
->Description: The Third Tail of the Nine-tailed Fox which holds mysterious power. If all nine are gathered, the holder will gain the power of the Nine-tailed Fox.
->Effects:
All stats +5%
+10% Health Recovery rate
+10% Magic Power Recovery Rate
Upon contact, blind an enemy for a certain period of time.
'The Third Tail.'
The Tails of the Nine-tailed Fox was a group of nine items which had never been completed, not even before Kim Woo-jin had returned.
Therefore, he had no idea what effect it would have if all nine tails were collected.
The obvious thing was that they were incredibly rare and hard to collect, so their power could go without saying.
'There is nothing better than blinding.'
Even then, the effect of the Third Tail was more than enough for a legendary item.
'I need to get it somehow.'
Kim Woo-jin's eyes were glowing.
Then, the eyes of the Firefox and Kim Woo-jin met, following which the fox's eyes changed.
Until then, no matter how you looked at it, to the Firefox, the eyes of the players were that of prey. In them was nothing but fear, surprise or worry, without daring to harbor any hostility or murderous intent toward it.
However, Kim Woo-jin looked at the Firefox as if it was a prey.
This was enough to ignite the fighting instincts within the fox.
'It's coming.'
Kim Woo-jin noticed immediately that the fox had switched from it's inquisitive mode into a hunting mode.
His prediction soon became a reality.
Hoooh!
The Firefox made a bizarre sound as it pounced toward the 100 players. It's speed was fast, appearing to be even faster than a bullet.
“Huk!”
It was too sudden!
By the time the first victim noticed the Firefox's approach, it was already biting into their shoulder. The people around them were not even fast enough to recognize what happened much less to respond to it.
“Kuuaak!”
Eventually, the player whose shoulder was bitten by the fox let out a loud shout.
Chiiik!
The players could feel the great heat even in the current hot environment and a greasy smell, like cooked meat drifted into their noses.
A chill went up their spines.
The fear moved them.
“Tanks!”
The players were shocked by the sudden situation but they were already prepared to lose their lives in the battle against the Firefox anyway.
“Stop it!”
If they were afraid and were going to hesitate before they even tried to fight, then they wouldn't be there in the first place.
“Huoh!”
“Huoh!”
Tanks who seemed to be wearing armor with fire resistance, rushed toward the Firefox while shouting to showcase their fighting spirit.
Of course, they rushed in after ensuring that their fire resistance was as high as it could be.
Each of them had items that increased their fire resistance as well as buffs that increased resistance.
'We just have to hold out.'
'We'll take turns dealing with it.'
Furthermore they were prepared to deal with the firefox sequentially.
'Then we can at least get some casting time.'
During this time, the mages also casted their magic at the Firefox.
But it didn't take them very long to realize that it wasn't very effective.
“This monstrous b.a.s.t.a.r.d.”
The moment a tank charged toward the fox and made contact with its flames…
[The powers of an unknown and powerful being gives you darkness.]
“Huh?”
Those nearby clearly noticed the darkness that covered his eyes before he became the second victim of the fox.
'What the?'
'So suddenly?'
They realised that there was more to the Firefox than they'd initially thought and so they had to change their plans.
Of course, it wasn't that easy.
'What do we do?'
No one had an idea as to how they should progress. This situation was expected since the group had no information, and no experience dealing with the Firefox.
Ppiiii!
Suddenly an ear piercing whistle spread through the battlefield.
Ppiiii!
The whistle sounded again.
Ppiiii!
Soon after the players heard the third whistle, they began to move.
'Retreat signal!'
When they heard the whistle three times, the players all scattered without looking back.
'They all scattered!'
No one hesitated when they heard the previously agreed upon signal.
Prioritizing the agreed signals was something that any player who survived till the second floor could understand.
'Let's run for it!'
It was a time when a retreat was necessary so naturally everyone ran away as fast as they could.
There was only one person who interpreted the signal differently.
“Spasiba!”
The moment he heard the signal, Lee Jin-ah charged toward the fox with all his might.
This move was completely unexpected. No, it would be strange if anyone could see it coming.
“Run away!”
“Don't hesitate to run!”
The moment the retreat signal sounded, everyone ran wildly across the desert sand without looking back.1
No one looked back and even if they did, they would only think that Lee Jin-ah misinterpreted the signal.
The sacrifice of the rest of the group to save one was the greatest taboo during group activities like this one.
Of course, the Firefox wouldn't reject such a situation.
Hoooh!
It willingly watched as Lee Jin-ah rushed toward it.
Soon the distance between them was very small and the Firefox opened its mouth wide to welcome Lee Jin-ah.
However, Lee Jin-ah wrapped his arm around its neck as if holding it in a headlock.
At that moment Lee Jin-ah's eyes shook as the pain of being burned alive, which was one of the greatest pains a human could suffer, spread through his entire body.
“Kuuuuh!”
The fact that he didn't scream was a surprise in itself.
But that wasn't the end.
Hoo! Hoo!
The Firefox that was caught by its neck obviously struggled so the pain Lee Jin-ah felt also increased.
Nevertheless, Lee Jin-ah did not let go of the fox in his arms.
Lee Jin-ah held on for dear life. He gave his all as he kept repeating his goal in his head.
'I will hold on for 6 seconds and eat Hokkaido Snow Crab!'
1 second then 2 seconds…by the time 3 seconds pa.s.sed, Kim Woo-jin finally appeared.
In his hands was a 2 meter long black spear that had sunlight reflecting off of its neck.
In this state, Kim Woo-jin rushed across the desert.
Eventually, Kim Woo-jin thrust the tip of the spear into the mouth of the Firefox that was desperately trying to escape from Lee Jin-ah's grasp.
Puk!
The spear went in so deep that the fox was not even able to scream.
Soon however, the spear began to melt.
The heat from the Firefox's body melted the spear that had pierced its mouth in no time.
Naturally, this wasn't enough to kill the fox.
Instead of dying, it stared at Kim Woo-jin with eyes that promised murder.
However, Kim Woo-jin was not surprised or scared and he simply gave an order.
“Let it go!”
The instant Lee Jin-ah let go of the fox's neck, Kim Woo-jin grabbed him and retreated.
“Kuuuh!”
As he hung on Kim Woo-jin's shoulder, Lee Jin-ah couldn't help but let out a moan.
“How many seconds?”
Kim Woo-jin answered with a smile.
“5.99 seconds.”
“Re-, really?”
Kim Woo-jin only responded to him briefly.
“Good job.”
“No, was it really 5.99? Are you sure it's not 59 seconds?”
At that moment, a notification sounded in Kim Woo-jin's ear.
[The Firefox has been afflicted by Black Blood.]
[The Firefox's health has been greatly reduced.]
[The Firefox's attack has been greatly reduced.]
[The Firefox's defense has been greatly reduced.]
[The Firefox has been poisoned by deadly poisons and its vitality is rapidly reducing.]
This was the result after the Firefox consumed the blood of 3000 monsters as well as the black blood formed by condensing the blood poison.
'This should reduce the Firefox's abilities to less than half its usual.'
Of course, this still wouldn't kill the Firefox immediately.
Rattle!2
So the moment he received the notifications, the skeletons that Kim Woo-jin had already summoned all began to charge toward the injured fox.
At the same time, Kim Woo-jin threw Lee Jin-ah onto the desert sand.
'It ends here.'
“Book of the Dead!”
Then immediately summoned a large book.
After Kim Woo-jin opened the book, the slabs that filled the inside were taken out and destroyed.
[The pages of the Book of the Dead have been destroyed.]
The fragments of the destroyed slabs soon mingled together and transformed into Skeleton Soldiers in white armor.
Ten Skeleton Soldiers who had been prepared specifically for this stage had finally made their appearance and started running towards the Firefox without hesitation.
Lee Jin-ah who saw this sight could not stop himself from commenting.
“I now know the power of money…”
Kim Woo-jin raised an eyebrow at this.
'He has more vitality than I expected.'
He considered if he should push him more in battle.
Meanwhile a great fight had begun.
(Note
1.The constant repet.i.tion is something that adds nothing to the story but word count, but it's not my place to delete what the author writes, my job is to simply translate
2.The sfx for the skeletons, it had confused me before and I'd defaulted to using 'Boom' but it recently clicked that the sound was supposed to be the rattling of their bones)
3.For any errors and issues contact me through discord:-
