Getting past the guards was absurdly easy. I scraped off some of the blade of Exa, which was in its ‘White Dream’ state, and wrapped it in a piece of paper. Then, Bi-soo approached the guards while in Stealth and sprinkled the White Dream powder on the ground.
And after a minute or two, "Zzzzz." Just like that, the guards forgot their duties, slumping against the wall and falling asleep where they sat. The guards protecting this dungeon weren't contract workers but E-rank Hunters.
However, when it came to being neutralized by White Dream, there was no difference between an ordinary person and a Hunter.
"If you think it's getting dangerous, get out first. It doesn't matter to me, but you're not immune to poison."
"Hey. Are you going to keep looking down on me? I have my fair share of dungeon experience, you know."
"Overconfidence will get you killed. Who knows if there's another creature like Ppori in here?" -Kkuwang!
"Ugh..."
Bi-soo glared at Ppori with displeasure. As always, Ppori was quite excited before entering the Poison Dungeon.
"Damn miniature dragon..." -Kku?
After grumbling at Ppori, Bi-soo rummaged inside her clothes.
"Here. You take one too."
"What's this?"
"It's an ampoule my family developed. The scent in it stimulates Monsters and gathers them in one place. Poison-types go absolutely crazy for it."
"A lure... something like that?"
"That's right. You catch on quick. You sprinkle this in a quiet spot, and the rest of the team starts working from a good distance away. It’s better for you if the path to the boss Monster is clear, isn't it?"
"Oho..."
It was certainly a good item. Though in a slightly different way than Bi-soo was thinking. But I had another question.
"I don't think Yaksha ever told me about this ampoule."
"Why? You don't want it even though it's free?"
"Of course not. It's just..."
I gave a strange smile as I looked into Bi-soo's sharp eyes.
"It seems like you're looking out for me, worried I might get hurt."
"What a load of nonsense."
Bi-soo scoffed without a moment's hesitation. Though I thought her lips twitched slightly before she answered. Was it just my imagination?
"It's easier for me if you finish your work quickly, you know? The antidote doesn't last all day."
"As they say, a strong denial is an affirmation..."
Whoosh.
As if she didn't want to hear any more, Bi-soo tossed the ampoule to me. Then she tipped a few small pills into her mouth.
"Ugh... bitter."
It was an antidote she took before entering the Poison Dungeon. Bi-soo entered the dungeon in Stealth, so she wouldn't be attacked by Monsters. However, she had to prepare for the toxins flowing through the air.
This was the part that even renowned Hunters struggled with before they even met a Monster. Forget fighting, just breathing was difficult, so they were at a disadvantage from the start.
"How much time?"
"Three hours. But I'm heading back after two and a half."
"Two and a half hours... That should be enough."
"Hah. So confident. How do you know where the Monsters are swarming?"
"It doesn't matter where they are."
When I gave a strange smile, two thin lines formed between Bi-soo's brows.
"Because I'm going to call them all out."
"What do you mean..."
Before Bi-soo could finish, I sprayed the ampoule she gave me all over my body.
"What! Hey, you crazy bastard!"
Bi-soo jumped on the spot, staring at me with horrified eyes. I had doused myself with an ampoule that was meant to be a lure; from her perspective, it was completely incomprehensible. But the ultimate reason I sought out Poison-type Monsters wasn't for the rare plant.
I absorb Cores from Poison-type Monsters to accumulate Black Ether. To get stronger, and stronger still. Strong enough that my life would never be weighed on someone else's scales.
This is why I've been seeking out Poison Dungeons even before I became a Hunter. In that sense, this ampoule was an absolutely wonderful item for me. Just like hunting in an online game, all I had to do was gather the mobs in one place and start an experience point event.
"Haha. You'd better hurry. Nothing good will come from sticking around me."
"You psycho! You nutcase! You maniac!"
With those heartwarming farewells, she quickly left the area. Encountering Monsters was exactly what I wanted. Rather than having them get in my way, it's easier to wipe them all out at once.
Yes, indeed. Vwooom.
The blade of Exa, which had been in its White Dream state, returned to its original black color. Now, any who were cut by this dagger would enter an eternal slumber, deeper than any sleep.
"Woah..."
The ampoule's performance was undeniable. Not long after I entered the dungeon's forest, a massive Goblin assembly (!) was being held. -Gerururuk. The black market really is something else.
The performance is guaranteed. I activated my Black Ether and gripped Exa tightly.
This was the information on the creatures displayed by the V1. Needless to say about their ‘Other Attributes’ which reflected their toxicity, their physical level was also a rank below mine. At this level, there was no need to even use ‘Poison Step’.
I cut them down like autumn leaves, to the point that their Warrior type seemed embarrassing.
Swish. -Geleuk!!
A hundred of them? No, it seemed like there were over two hundred. The King of Poisons, fatal with a single touch.
Black Ether was not only the source of my body's energy but also the most potent poison in the world. Its danger was on a level that overwhelmed the ‘Monster Poison’ that had tormented my body my entire life.
Swish.
Thud- I cut the throat of the last Goblin in sight. The creatures, who had only looked confused as the blade grazed them, soon rolled their eyes back and collapsed. It took longer to extract their Black Cores than to subdue them.
Eventually, due to time constraints, I had to just pass by the weaker-looking ones. This was the information the V1 showed after the Goblin massacre. The amount of Black Ether I had created and absorbed on my own now surpassed what Kiril had given me.
It was a shame that my other levels were stagnant, but seeing my Black Ether increase day by day was satisfying.
"Sniff, sniff."
A familiar scent. No, to be precise, it was a scent I had tried to get used to. When Black Ether takes root throughout the body, not only are muscle tissues strengthened, but all senses become heightened.
I couldn't detect a Stealth skill yet, but I could now pick up on a special scent from far away. My enhanced sense of smell was pointing me in the right direction. A rare plant.
A scent similar to the Copper Eternal Flower was beckoning to me from beyond.
"A desert?"
A lush forest was right behind me, and now a desert. A very strange sight. They said any environment could exist inside a dungeon, and it wasn't a lie.
A rare plant in the middle of a desert. How strong must its life force be to grow in such a desolate place?
Shhhk, shhhk.
I walked across the desert, following the scent. My view was unobstructed in all directions. In other words, the one that should be here was nowhere to be seen.
‘Where is it?’
A rare plant only grows near a boss Monster. The strong scent of the rare plant meant there was definitely a boss Monster nearby. But no matter where I looked, I couldn't see a single Goblin, let alone a boss Monster.
Had someone already taken care of it? No, if the boss Monster had been killed, the dungeon would have already collapsed. Just as I was scanning the area for the rare plant.
Suddenly, goosebumps ran all over my body.
Pssh! Fwoosh!!
It was such a fast ambush that I had to use ‘Poison Step’ unconsciously. The attack came from directly below. Underneath the desert sand.
‘I almost died.’
It was a threatening attack that sent a chill down my spine. It was a creature with countless legs and a hard shell that looked like it could deflect most weapons. A large species, peeking out with half its body and tilting its head.
I glared at the creature and called up the V1.
"Shit..."
I had been prepared since the dungeon's difficulty was 4-star(★★★★), but a tougher foe than I expected had appeared. It was my first time facing an ambush pattern from underground, and more importantly, the matchup was bad. The sandy desert was a difficult stage on which to use ‘Poison Step’.
Fwoosh!
"Keuk!"
The Venomous Centipede, having burrowed back into the ground, once again thrust its vicious horn from beneath my feet.
Damn it.
I couldn't sense the Monster's presence well because it was under the sand. Forget finding the rare plant, I was busy just dodging its attacks.
‘Poison Step’ couldn't even perform at half its capacity on this soft desert sand.
On top of that, its physical level was ‘B’. It wasn't a level I could handle, having just reached the ‘D’-rank.
‘What should I do...’
While I was contemplating my options, it shot up from the ground again.
Pssh!
This time, I couldn't dodge it completely. Its horn grazed my thigh.
Drip.
Blood soaked into my pants, but I had no time to worry about that. What do I do?
‘I can kill it. But...’
If I take one of its hits and slash it with Exa, it'll be over quickly. But if I do that, the nearby rare plant will also lose its life. I had to neutralize a 4-star(★★★★) Monster without killing it.
That would be a difficult task even for a decent A-rank Hunter.
"Why is it staying still?"
The creature, which had been hiding under the sand as soon as its attack failed, was now peeking out with its grotesque upper body.
As if.
It were waiting for something. Come to think of it, have I even seen its full body? I wonder how long it is...
Wham!
Before I could finish my thought, I felt a dizzying blow from behind.
"Keuk."
I was sent flying several meters and crashed face-first into the sand. Is this the attack of a ‘B’ physical level? It felt like my spine had been crushed.
With no time to ease the pain, something gleaming shot up from under my head.
Fwoosh!
I rolled over and over, barely managing to block its attack. A two-pronged attack, charging with its horn from the front and striking with its tail from the back. Gritting my teeth, I got up and took out some small spheres from my pocket.
Jiii...
Monsters that have been hit usually react like that. A reaction that says, ‘How is it still alive?’ What they don't realize.
Is that this brief moment is one of the few chances they have.
"Ptui!"
I spat out a mouthful of blood and began to dissolve the black spheres with Black Ether. They were the leftover Black Cores I had just extracted from the Goblins. I could have absorbed them all, but leaving some just in case turned out to be a godsend.
Absorbing Black Ether not only restores stamina but also instantly heals wounds. I absorbed the Black Ether into my body as if drinking a potion.
Sssss...
The wound on my thigh and the pain in my back gradually subsided. Was it angry seeing me heal? The creature dug into the sand with an agitated movement.
Shit.
I'm the one who's angrier, you know? Even though I healed quickly, the situation remained the same. With my inefficient Poison Step, I was barely managing to dodge its attacks.
Exa, in its ‘White Dream’ state, was stuck in my hand, unable to find an opportunity to swing.
"This is useless."
Twitch.
"?"
Did I feel that wrong? It seemed like Exa had flinched at my words, "useless." Vwoooooom- It wasn't my imagination.
Exa began to tremble on its own before slipping out of my grasp.
Fwoosh!
With no time to grab it again, I rolled once more to dodge the centipede. In that time, Exa began to transform its body, ‘in mid-air, no less’.
Kiring, kiring. Oh.
I'd seen something like this in a movie before. Scenes where machines transformed themselves. Exa, now in a cube form, split in half and changed into a long, oval shape.
If I had to describe the shape... a footprint. Yes, it resembled a footprint.
Clank.
Having found its master, Exa dug into the sand and attached itself to the sole of my sneaker. What on earth is it doing? The V1 provided the answer.
Booster?
Did it say Booster?
"Oh..."
The feeling under my feet was definitely different. It felt like I was standing on flat ground, no, it felt even firmer than flat ground. Curious, I lifted my foot slightly and saw that Exa, attached to the sole of my sneaker, was emitting Black Ether towards the ground.
Exa had solved the problem of the soft and uneven desert floor.
"Good. At this rate..."
The effectiveness of Exa in its Booster form was immediately proven.
Pababak!!
I used ‘Poison Step’ just like before, but after missing its attack, the Venomous Centipede couldn't even locate my shadow. I was able to move much faster than my usual ‘Poison Step’...!
‘At this speed, I might even be able to compete with Kiril's Poison Step.’
Behind the bewildered Venomous Centipede, I smiled with satisfaction.