Chapter 12: Sewer's Secret

Once Jae Woo was finished with his morning exercise and breakfast, he accessed Arth.

He visited the Holiseum, and then entered the Altein sewers once more.

"Darion, I'm here!"

Darion was basically a thief that stole his experience points.

But having him with him did make things easier.

After all, it wouldn't do for him to torture his back by picking up each and every fragment of bone.

"Ugh," Darion groaned.

He lamented over the fact that he'd have to travel with Kang Oh together again.

Seeing Darion's expression, Kang Oh's mood soured and said, "When you were caught in Alishi's optical illusion, who was the one who saved you again?"

"...It was you, Sir Kang Oh."

"Then do your job properly. You look like you were forced to eat shit."

"Hoo. I understand."

Darion's shoulders drooped.

Then, Kang Oh said generously, "If you do well, I'll increase your pay to 10 silvers."

To him, 1 silver was wasted on Darion.

He'd used the stick, so the carrot had to follow; he would encourage him by tripling his pay.

But to Darion, 1 silver, 3 silvers, or even 10 silvers was all chump change.

It was by no means enough to hire the last student of the Invincible Gladiator, Burkan.

Not to mention that he wasn't satisfied with his employer at all.

But what could he do?

He's the one who accepted the bet and also the one who'd lost it as well.

Moreover, as a gladiator, he couldn't go back on his word, and it's not like Kang Oh would let him go back on his word anyway.

In the end, he had no choice but to persevere for a week.

Darion forced himself to follow Kang Oh.

"These are... the Altein sewers."

Their destination was obviously the Altein sewers.

Creak.

The door seemed to cry out.

"Huh?"

The old man, who guarded the entrance to the sewers, was dozing off like yesterday.

They say that the old have trouble sleeping, but this guy didn't match that description at all.

Clang.

The old man insincerely opened the door and went back to his slumber.

Kang Oh and Darion passed the old man and entered the sewers.

* * *

Daegureureureu.

The skeleton's head rolled on the floor until it reached Kang Oh's heel.

Kang Oh had been inspecting a wolf statue, but his expression soured.

"Darion, do your job right."

Behind him, Darion was besieged by five skeletons and a battle had ensued.

While Kang Oh comfortably examined the dungeon and the statues, Darion was in charge of fighting the skeletons.

"..."

Darion didn't respond, merely swinging his sword as his expression soured.

"You were cursing me just now, weren't you?"

"No," Darion said, feigning innocence.

"Man, you're really no help at all!" Kang Oh scolded and went back to inspecting the wolf statue.

The wolf statue, like yesterday's gargoyle statue, made a clicking sound when its head was pressed.

The result was much the same as well. It merely bowed its head; there wasn't any noticeable change in the dungeon.

"Hmm."

In any case, Kang Oh examined each and every statue within the dungeon in this way.

There were 20 statues in total.

Their appearances all differed, but they shared a common feature: when their heads were pushed, they would bow their heads and emit a clicking sound.

Whenever he examined the statues though, his Hyper Intuition didn't activate; not once.

'Is it a miss?'

The fact that his Hyper Intuition hadn't activated may indicate that there wasn't a hidden dungeon within the Altein sewers.

'Well, since I'm here, I might as well go through the whole place. And if my Hyper Intuition doesn't go off, I'll go find another place.'

As expected, finding a hidden dungeon was no easy feat.

At that moment, Darion approached him.

"I took care of them all."

Kang Oh extended his hand.

Darion passed him all of the bone fragments from the felled skeletons.

Without even giving him his thanks, Kang Oh continued on to the end of the passageway.

Darion just sighed and followed him.

How much time had passed?

"It's here!"

The feeling that something was here, that something was suspicious!

That very feeling that had aided him in finding the hidden dungeon, Alishi's Nest.

He felt it from a pool where the sewer's waters gathered.

'Is this it!?'

He couldn't tell how deep it went, but his Hyper Intuition felt something was off about it.

Though it didn't look strange on the outside.

"Darion, keep watch," Kang Oh said, and Darion responded with an expression akin to 'What are you talking about?'.

"I'm going in, so make sure that no skeletons or other users can approach."

After all, the sewers were rumored to have a hidden dungeon, so he didn't want to draw attention to it.

"Or if a user does come, you can just say the area is under construction or something."

If Darion, an NPC, were to say it, then they'd probably believe him and leave the area alone.

Kang Oh de-equipped all of his equipment and dove into the pond.

Once he splashed into the pond, the water began to overflow the walkway.

Seeing that, Darion quietly muttered, "I hope you drown."

The day that Kang Oh had thrown dirt into his eyes, the humiliating loss and the resulting slave contract, as well as the abuse and unfair treatment!

Darion prayed, putting all of his resentment into it.

***

The pool was deeper and longer than he thought.

However, Kang Oh wouldn't drown.

Kang Oh was a proficient swimmer and because he was currently a game character, he could swim for a long time.

However, it was dark and it was difficult to see in the water.

Despite that, Kang Oh pressed forward, continuing towards the area that his Hyper Intuition had marked as odd.

It felt like it didn't take very long.

He saw a faint strand of light. That was where his Hyper Intuition was leading him to.

"Phew!"

His face surfaced from the water and he inhaled deeply to catch his breath.

He looked around and his face brightened with joy.

It was a door with peculiar red characters inscribed on it.

Even at first glance, it seemed clear that this door was special.

Kang Oh got out of the water and approached the door. He then examined it closely.

He was checking if it was some special sort of device like the gargoyle or wolf statues.

But it was just a door.

It was as though the statues were merely bait; the door had no such devices, as if it were laughing at them for trying to use the statues.

He stretched both his hands and forcefully opened the door, finding that the heavy door opened quite easily.

[You have discovered the hidden dungeon, He Who Defies Death, Eder's Secret Laboratory.]

[You are the first one to discover this dungeon.]

[Your fame has increased.]

[You receive double the experience while in He Who Defies Death, Eder's Secret Laboratory. The item drop rate has doubled.]

'I see. The statues were bait designed to conceal this door.'

Those poor dungeon hunters, who had taken the bait and were still fiddling around with the statues.

If not for his Hyper Intuition, he'd be doing much the same.

'But I do have Hyper Intuition.'

Kang Oh smiled.

In any case, he was the first one to discover this dungeon!

He had another chance to strike gold.

***

"Phew!"

Darion's pale face surfaced from the water.

"Heok, heok."

He'd escaped the water quickly and breathed heavily.

Kang Oh, who'd already gotten out, saw that and clicked his tongue.

"Tch. For a gladiator to be this pathetic."

Darion, in a sudden fit of anger, said, "You!"

He's the one who'd shoved him into the water and dragged him here.

"You?"

Kang Oh furrowed his brow and Darion bowed his head.

Darion had grumbled quietly, but Kang Oh completely ignored him.

"Shut up and follow me."

He opened the door and followed the stairs that went down.

[Entering He Who Defies Death, Eder's Secret Laboratory.]

Eder's Secret Laboratory was built similarly to Altein's sewers.

An arch-shaped passageway.

However, there were no waterways on either side where water traveled in the sewers.

The monsters were even stronger skeletons.

They were Skeleton Warriors wielding rusty swords and shields! There were also cane-wielding Skeleton Mages!

He assumed they were about level 50.

Kang Oh was currently level 22, while Darion was level 38.

They were much too under-leveled to take them on normally.

But that only applied to normal users; Kang Oh was a character that defied norms.

He had his special ability, Hyper Intuition, possessed the special class, Magic Swordsman, and wielded the SS-rank magic sword.

Of course, Darion was also the pupil of a legendary gladiator, so the level difference wouldn't matter much.

Thus, the level 22 Kang Oh challenged one of the level 50 Skeleton Warriors first.

He let Darion deal with two of the Skeleton Warriors since he was a higher level than him.

"Now we're talking!"

Kang Oh grinned.

He was fighting against Skeleton Warriors now, not those frail skeletons from before, so he felt like he had actually met a good match.

Ddak. Ddak.

The Skeleton Warrior attacked Kang Oh. Its bones smashed together, sounding like a castanet.

Kang Oh countered and swung his magic sword.

Kwang!

They exchanged blows for some time.

'It really is strong.'

A Skeleton Warrior was much more powerful than a Beginner Skeleton.

Unlike a Beginner Skeleton, a Skeleton Warrior boasted a sword, shield, helmet, and armor, albeit rusted.

And it also used a very basic skill!

Thrust!

The rusty iron sword came at him, enveloped in a dark red aura from the skill's effect.

Kang Oh parried it with the magic sword.

Kang!

Once their swords collided, his hand throbbed.

"Hueup."

Kang Oh breathed in and swung his sword. A white line followed the trajectory of his blade.

Slash!

The Skeleton Warrior raised its shield.

Kkang!

His magic sword met its shield.

He immediately gripped the hilt of his blade with both hands and swung downwards, clashing with the shield several times.

Darkness Strike activated on the third attack. A jet-black wave of darkness shaped in the form of a beast swooped on the warrior.

Dakak!

The skeleton shook its head, as if in pain.

And counterattacked itself!

His Hyper Intuition activated, allowing him to see the course of the enemy's attack; Kang Oh turned his body, evading the attack, and swung his sword upwards.

The warrior used its sword to defend itself.

Kang!

Both blades clashed!

Again!

And again!

For some time, Kang Oh and the Skeleton Warrior exchanged blows.

But as time passed, Kang Oh's advantage grew.

Whereas Kang Oh was steadily damaging the Skeleton Warrior, the Skeleton Warrior could not say the same.

Plus, the Hero's Alishi Necklace was doing its job.

The Skeleton Warrior was undead, so poison wouldn't work on it, but both of its slowing and shard spraying abilities were effective against it.

Ultimately, the Skeleton Warrior was defeated.

[You have defeated a Skeleton Warrior.]

[You have leveled up.]

Because of the huge level disparity, he'd obtained a ton of experience.

Plus, he gained double the experience for being the first to discover this hidden dungeon.

It took a while to take down even a single monster, but it was worthwhile.

However...

"Ugh. If you're done, please come over and help me!"

Darion, who was battling two Skeleton Warriors, was barely holding on.

"You idiot. Your level and face are wasted on you."

Kang Oh felt it was time to abuse him and entered the fray once more.

***

In general, it took about 10 minutes to take down a Skeleton Warrior or Mage.

If 4 or more Skeleton Warriors and Mages showed up, then victory wasn't guaranteed. Therefore, they had to follow a different path whenever they saw a large group.

So Kang Oh's exploration speed was slowed.

However, contrary to the speed of his exploration, his levels went up quickly.

He leveled up so quickly that any other user would look wide-eyed with their mouths agape!

It'd only been a quarter of a day since entering the hidden dungeon, yet he'd gone up 8 levels and hit level 30.

Because of that, he was able to equip the ghost-pattern armor he'd gotten from Alishi.

Kang Oh was currently engaging a Skeleton Mage in order to further increase his level.

Ddak.

The robe-wearing Skeleton Mage was mashing its teeth together.

It was casting a spell.

Fire blazed from its boney hand.

"Block it Darion!" Kang Oh yelled.

The power of magic was formidable. If he got hit by it, there was a chance he'd die right then and there.

Therefore, he decided to use Darion as a human shield.

Of course...

"No thank you!" Darion firmly refused.

"You!"

Meanwhile, the Skeleton Mage unleashed its spell.

A fireball!

The red ball of flames came flying at Kang Oh.

'Damn it.'

Since magic usually affected a large area, avoiding it would be a stupid move.

Because of its AoE tick damage.

Kang Oh quickly embedded his sword into the ground and hid behind it.

Pong!

The fireball hit his magic sword hard .

Its flames traveled up his sword and spread across his body like a snake's flickering tongue.

[You have taken 210 fire damage.]

[You have been burned and take 50 additional damage.]

[Remaining HP: 318]

He'd taken quite a bit of damage, but he'd avoided death.

Meanwhile, Darion's blade pierced the Skeleton Mage.

It was Darion's main combat skill, Vital Thrust!

A red aura permeated his gladius and he pierced through the Skeleton Mage's neck.

Like any mage, the Skeleton Mage's defense was extremely low.

And because it had engaged Kang Oh and Darion before, its HP had tanked and it was wounded all over.

In a last act of defiance, it unleashed one more spell, but Kang Oh survived the spell and Darion's attack had killed it.

[You have defeated a Skeleton Mage.]

[You have leveled up.]

Once it died, Kang Oh pointed his sword towards the junk items.

His magic sword consumed the old robe pieces.

[Ubist has consumed the Incredibly Foul-smelling Old Robe. Satiation has increased by 0.7%.]

[Ubist's satiation has reached 100%.]

[The magic sword has become more powerful!]

At that moment, a jet-black energy erupted from the blade.