Chapter 8
Part 7
“Ugh... The smell...”
As they reached the center of the garbage mountain, Mincheol frowned even harder.
The stench seemed worse than when he had visited in the past.
“Hyung, are you really okay...?”
He stared at Yugeon, who remained completely expressionless.
How could anyone stay that calm in a smell that made breathing difficult?
This is nothing.
Before regressing, Yugeon had lived in a destroyed world.
He had eaten and slept in places filled with rotting corpses.
Compared to that, this garbage mountain almost smelled pleasant.
“Mincheol. Let's call the boss.”
“Yes.”
Hummmmm!
At Yugeon's words, Mincheol immediately raised his hammer.
[Earth Shatter]
BOOOOOOM!
RUMBLEEEEE!
He slammed the hammer down.
Just like on Floor 23, the earth shook violently.
Earth Shatter also had a Taunt effect, making it useful for summoning bosses.
Rumble.
BOOM!
The huge garbage mountain in the distance suddenly burst apart.
A Giant Toad leaped out.
[Lv. 5] Pukel
The enormous monster opened its mouth and blinked.
Pukel.
A giant monster belonging to the toad species.
Shrrrrrk!
The Floor 5 boss immediately began summoning its young.
“Hyung, leave this one to me!”
Mincheol adjusted his grip on his hammer and charged forward.
In truth, there was no need for him to act so serious.
Mincheol was Level 50.
There was no chance he would lose to a Level 5 boss.
Even if it was a boss monster, a difference this enormous could not be overcome.
Whoosh!
BOOM!
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Mincheol jumped into the air and brought his hammer down.
The resulting shockwave spread in every direction.
The summoned young toads exploded at once.
BOOM.
Hssssss.
Pukel began releasing poisonous smoke.
“Not happening!”
[Explosive Pressure]
BOOOOM!
As poison spread everywhere, Mincheol planted his shield into the ground.
Then he slammed his hammer into the back of the shield.
An enormous pressure wave exploded outward.
He immediately grabbed his shield again and rushed toward Pukel.
WHOOSH!
The giant toad opened its mouth.
Its long tongue shot toward Mincheol like it was catching a fly.
[Revolving Heaven Smash]
WHIRL!
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Mincheol spun violently through the air.
His hammer smashed into Pukel's tongue over and over as he advanced.
“SKREEEE!”
Its tongue was crushed.
Pukel screamed and thrashed wildly.
Whether from pain or rage, it went completely berserk.
“Just die quietly.”
Mincheol reached its head and adjusted his grip.
Then...
WHOOOOSH!
BOOOOM!
CRACK!
He smashed Pukel's head apart in a single blow.
Rumble.
“It's dead, hyung.”
“Good work.”
Mincheol smiled and walked back.
Honestly, he was slightly embarrassed that it had taken him this long.
Yugeon had killed Drogas instantly.
Meanwhile, Mincheol needed dozens of seconds to defeat a Level 5 boss.
Hmm... I was planning to finish it myself.
Unlike Mincheol's smile, Yugeon was disappointed.
Pukel was Level 5.
And Yugeon's current level was...
[Lv. 4]
Exactly one level below Pukel.
It would have been a perfect sparring opponent.
What a shame.
“Should I take only the Mana Stone this time too?”
“No. Take the poison sac as well.”
Pukel's hide was useless.
But its poison sac had many applications.
Awakeners who specialized in poison especially had a strong demand for it.
“I'll go find the item in the garbage mountain.”
“Yes.”
Squish.
Squish.
As Yugeon climbed the garbage mountain, sticky sounds came from beneath his feet.
Waste and filth had mixed together until the entire mountain was more adhesive than glue.
While Mincheol fought the boss, I already figured out where the item was.
Yugeon reached the middle of the mountain.
Without hesitation, he plunged his arm deep into the filth.
Then...
Grab.
Pull!
He drew out a weapon.
[Item: Rusted Old Scrap Sword]
Grade: Common
Type: Weapon
Yugeon checked it, then immediately climbed back down.
“Is that what you were looking for?”
“Yes.”
“...”
Mincheol scratched his cheek.
The blade was completely rusted.
The handle was broken.
It was literally garbage.
Even ordinary cheap swords usually had a short description.
This scrap sword did not even have that.
“You're wondering why I went looking for this, aren't you?”
“Yes. No matter how much I think about it, I can't understand why you'd take that. It doesn't look usable as a weapon at all.”
“Not in its current state.”
“?”
CRACK!
Without hesitation, Yugeon destroyed the sword.
It had decayed so badly that one hard strike from his palm shattered it.
Then...
SHIIIIING!
An enormous light erupted.
The broken fragments began rebuilding themselves.
The first person who found this sword never knew it had a secret like this.
The sword's original owner had thrown it away on Floor 57, [Cultivation Room], while clearing out useless items.
The scrap sword fell into a cultivation solution capable of dissolving objects.
And from there...
It was reborn in a completely new form.
[Item: Godslayer Sword]
Grade: Mythic
Type: Weapon
There was once someone who asked whether even a god could die.
The sage gave no answer and merely pointed toward a sword.
Fools laughed when they saw it.
The wise remained silent.
And when the blood of a god finally soaked the earth, no one ever asked that question again.
[Weapon Trait]
Indestructible.
Yugeon smiled.
“From now on, I'm your master.”
He took the sword.
Before regressing...
How desperately had he wanted this weapon?
During his battle against the god, he had needed it more than anything.
But in his previous life, another Awakener had owned the Godslayer Sword.
Worse, that Awakener disappeared together with the sword.
There had been no way to recover it.
But now...
The Godslayer Sword was finally in Han Yugeon's hands.
Clank.
“What the hell happened here...?”
Hwang Mungi arrived carrying twenty pickaxes.
He stared at the canyon with his mouth hanging open.
Yugeon had said he would deal with all the monsters, so Mungi had trusted him and entered.
But the entire canyon looked like it had been bombed.
There was even a gigantic hole in the ground.
“That hole looks like a Giant Worm came out of it.”
At least there was only the hole.
No monsters appeared.
“Haa... Why did I agree to this deal...?”
Clank.
Hwang Mungi sighed and picked up one of the pickaxes.
When he finished his military service, he had sworn never to touch a pickaxe again.
Yet here he was.
“That bastard... He doesn't know I served in the combat engineers, does he?”
Grumbling, Hwang Mungi began digging through the canyon.
[Breaking news. Yesterday morning, a Level 88 boss monster named Baruoden appeared at the stagnant pool on Sector 1, Floor 4.]
[Baruoden caused numerous casualties before an individual believed to be a Great Star appeared, eliminated the monster, and disappeared.]
[We now connect to reporter Kim Munjeong at the scene.]
[Yes, this is reporter Kim Munjeong. Behind me, surviving Awakeners are currently receiving treatment under the guidance of the Association. We will speak with some of the Awakeners who were present.]
“I'm telling you, it's true! A man suddenly appeared and killed Baruoden in one hit! There wasn't even a fight. He attacked once and the monster just dropped dead.”
“I couldn't see his face clearly. But he spoke Korean, so I don't think he was a foreigner. I've never seen that Awakener before.”
“People say he was probably a Great Star, but I'm not sure. I'm a huge fan of the Great Stars, so I know all ten of their faces. That man wasn't one of them.”
“The strangest thing is that he didn't even take the materials. Baruoden's remains alone would be worth an incredible amount of money... But he just told us to take everything and left.”
“Don't tell me...”
Mincheol tilted his head while watching the news.
Someone had killed Baruoden in one attack?
The story felt strangely familiar.
Baruoden was a Fragment of the Abyss.
A Rift Boss.
Not an ordinary floor boss.
It was not simply a powerful monster.
It was considered almost impossible to kill.
Even a Great Star can't normally defeat a Fragment of the Abyss.
That was why even Great Stars fled whenever one appeared.
Fragments of the Abyss were not truly immortal, but their strength existed on a completely different level.
Several years ago, one of the Great Stars had formed a party and tried to kill one.
The result had been disastrous.
Ten minutes.
In only ten minutes, every member of the party, including the Great Star, was dead.
And that Fragment of the Abyss had only been Level 70.
But someone killed a Level 88 Fragment of the Abyss in one attack?
One person immediately appeared in Mincheol's mind.
Ding-dong.
Mincheol flinched at the doorbell.
“Yes! I'm coming, hyung!”
He quickly ran to the door.
There was only one guest expected today.
Han Yugeon.
Click.
“Come in, hyung.”
Mincheol smiled and welcomed him inside.
Today was finally the day his mother would be treated.
Yugeon had said he needed a few materials and had gone somewhere to collect them.
