Chapter 257: Tidecaller Hamon

Hamon's Culvert was a semicircular passageway with waterways on either side. Soccer ball sized holes lined the walls from which water continuously flowed. One of the holes, however, caused Kang Oh's Hyper Intuition to activate.

"This is it." Kang Oh pointed at one of the holes. It appeared no different from any of the other ones.

"I see."

Sephiro and Eder nodded their heads. Because they'd spent so much time with Kang Oh, they knew that his Hyper Intuition was the real deal. He was either inherently talented, or he had a skill that allowed him to find secrets easily!

"Is there something inside of the hole?" Sephiro asked.

"We'll see if we put something in there." Kang Oh put his hand inside.

"Please be careful. There might be a Winged Eel or a landmine inside," Eder said concernedly.

"Yeah," Kang Oh replied absentmindedly.

Eder had worried over nothing. There weren't any Winged Eels or landmines inside.

Instead...

'This is...!'

His palm felt a familiar shape.

'It's like the faucet that we used when we were still living in that half-basement!'

Though he couldn't see it, he could recognize the feeling. It was a turnable faucet.

Kang Oh turned the faucet counter-clockwise, locking it. Then, things happened as he'd expected them to. The amount of water flowing from the holes noticeably decreased!

He only pulled his hand out after he was sure that it wouldn't move anymore.

"Was there something inside?" Sephiro asked.

"A faucet. I locked it," Kang Oh said.

"Ah, so that's why the amount of flowing water decreased." Eder clapped his hands.

"Yeah. There are probably a few more of them here, and locking all of them will probably reveal some sort of secret."

'The dungeon's shaped like a culvert, and if you can control the amount of water by using the hidden faucets... Well, I suppose it's obvious.'

Kang Oh had found several hidden dungeons and unearthed several secrets thus far. His experience hadn't gone anywhere.

"Then we have to find the remaining faucets."

"Yes."

If not for Kang Oh, then they would've had to put their hands in every single hole and checked them for a hidden faucet. But what if they put their hand in a hole and they were either bitten by a Winged Eel or they set off a landmine... It would've been a huge mess.

With Kang Oh, however, they had no need to do that. Whenever they passed a hole with a hidden faucet, his Hyper Intuition would tell him.

'Hoo, hoo.'

Hyper Intuition. A mysterious psychic ability he'd gained after spending 2 years in a coma. He was really milking it for all it was worth.

* * *

There were four other faucets.

Due to Kang Oh's Hyper Intuition, they weren't particularly hard to find. Kang Oh locked every single one of them. By doing so, the water stopped flowing out of the holes entirely.

Rumble!

The culvert began to shake, and it sounded like a device was activating.

"Seems like you were right," Eder said.

"Mm. A new section must've opened up. We have to find it," Kang Oh said.

Now that the flow of water was blocked off, there should be a new door or passageway that had opened up.

Kang Oh's party began looking for it.

How much time had passed?

"It's here," Kang Oh said.

Kang Oh's party was in front of a fountain. However, the water from the fountain spilled onto the floor like a bathtub with a hole in it. There were also stairs on the floor that led underground.

[You are the first to discover the hidden dungeon, Hamon's Hideout.]

Kang Oh grinned. 'A hidden dungeon, huh... It sure has been a while.'

Because of Valan's quest, he hadn't been completely focused on his original job, being a Dungeon Hunter. But he'd managed to find a hidden dungeon. In Despia, no less!

'I hope it has a ton of money and expensive materials (magical and otherwise).'

Clearing a normal hidden dungeon yielded a ton of rewards. As long as no one had gone through the hidden dungeon before, that is. However, he didn't have to worry about that, as the message had confirmed that he was the first.

'It'd be even better if it was a soul dungeon.'

"Shall we go?"

"Yes."

Kang Oh's party made their way down the stairs.

[You have entered the hidden dungeon, Hamon's Hideout.]

There was a small lake at the end of the stairs. A small, flat island lay at the center of the lake, and there was a wood bridge that'd allow them to cross.

Kang Oh's party crossed the wooden bridge and got onto the island. There, they met Hamon.

[You have discovered the Notorious Tidecaller, Hamon.]

Hamon was an old man. Several age spots covered his face. The 'notorious' title made it clear that he was evil and ill-natured.

He wore robes with a blue, wavy pattern, and held a black staff embedded with a radiant crystal.

"Intruders! Good of you to come. I needed some more corpses." Hamon sported an evil smile and raised his staff into the air. "Arise, my minions!"

Hamon's staff exuded blue light like an aurora.

Gush! Gush! Gush!

Water pillars surged from the lake, revealing monsters that they were already familiar with. Hamon had summoned a Bowler and a Fishman.

"Eder, take care of the Bowler. Mr. Sephiro, please deal with the Fishman. You can leave Hamon to me," Kang Oh quickly ordered.

"Ok!"

"Understood."

Eder threw a bone spear at the Bowler. Meanwhile, the Fishman rushed at Sephiro with its spearhead pointed at him. However, Sephiro hit it with a headshot.

Kang Oh charged at Hamon head-on. Then, Hamon pointed his staff at him.

Surging Water's Fury!

The ground underneath Kang Oh's feet suddenly split, causing him to lose balance.

Then...

Boiling water surged from the cracks.

"Ugh."

Since he'd lost balance, dodging would be an impossible endeavor. Plus, the stream of water was too fast!

Kang Oh twisted his wrist, blocking the stream of water with Demon Sword Ubist. Fortunately, his sword sucked the spell right up!

[Demon Sword Ubist has absorbed Surging Water's Fury.]

[Satiation has increased by 0.0002%.]

Abyss Blade had activated.

Although his spell had ended in failure, Hamon wasn't all that worried.

"You have quite a strange blade. I'll take it off your hands after I kill you." Hamon swung his staff.

Surging Water's Fury!

The land cracked in several places below his feet, gushing with streams of boiling water.

Kang Oh gritted his teeth. Hyper Intuition had warned him of the danger beforehand, and with his outstanding evasion, he was able to avoid all of the streams.

"Haha. How fun." Hamon was treating Kang Oh like a plaything.

Hamon slammed his staff into the ground. Then, the ground began to crack and the surging water began to gather in a single location.

Summon Hot Water Golem!

The giant Water Golem's body was about 10 meters tall and was entirely composed of water. Steam rose from its body, signaling just how hot it was.

The Water Golem swung its open palm, as if it were trying to crush a cockroach.

Whoosh!

Kang Oh ran in a diagonal line. Because he was so good at dodging, Kang Oh was able to approach the Water Golem while avoiding its palm strike.

'That's the core!'

A golem was an incredibly powerful and durable summon. However, it possessed a weakness known as a core.

Kang Oh's Hyper Intuition pointed out exactly where one's weaknesses were. Moreover, Demon Sword Ubist could cleave through the immaterial!

Cutting through the golem's water-based body and destroying its core was nothing to him.

"Haahp!" Kang Oh thrust with Ubist.

His demon sword cleaved through its body, and at some point, touched something hard. It was the golem's core. Kang Oh pushed through all the way.

Crack!

He could feel the core breaking.

The Water Golem's face contorted. At the same time, it burst like a popped water balloon.

"What?"

The suddenness of it all left Hamon dazed. Even in his wildest dreams, he hadn't expected Kang Oh to destroy his Water Golem in a single hit.

"Ugh."

The hot water doused Kang Oh's body.

[You have been doused with hot water.]

[The Draka set has reduced water damage by 30%.]

[You have lost HP.]

Although the Draka set had reduced the amount of damage he'd taken, he took a significant amount of damage nonetheless. Thus...

'I can't let this opportunity go.' Kang Oh swung his sword.

Lightning Breath!

A blue lightning blast violently flew towards Hamon.

"Damn it!" Hamon quickly swung his staff.

A water wall surged from the ground, but it was already too late. The Lightning Breath swept through him before his spell was ready.

"Guaaahk!" Hamon's body tingled, his face creased, and he screamed in pain.

Kang Oh didn't share Hamon's hobby of playing around with his food.

'If there's a chance of victory, then take it!' Kang Oh quickly rushed towards Hamon and swung Ubist downwards.

Slash!

He cleaved a vertical line.

"Guahk!"

Demon Sword Ubist sliced through Hamon's chest. Huge shards of light exploded from his body.

"S-Save me!" Hamon desperately yelled.

The Bowler shot a water cannon at Kang Oh, and the Fishman rushed over to protect its master too. However, Kang Oh had companions of his own.

"We have to keep them away from Mr. Kang Oh," Eder yelled. He simultaneously cast his bone magic, dealing with the Bowler's water cannon before it could reach Kang Oh.

Sephiro shot an arrow.

Earth Shaking Arrow!

The arrow arced. Once it landed on the floor, a giant shockwave rocked the ground. As a result, the Fishman fell on its back, unable to keep its balance.

"Huahp." Kang Oh cleaved through Hamon's shoulder joint.

"Ugh." Hamon cried out in pain, opened his palm, and launched a baseball-sized waterball at Kang Oh.

Kang Oh didn't let down his guard. He tilted his head and easily dodged the waterball.

"Water is a passage..." Hamon quickly chanted a spell. But Kang Oh, having not even been hit by the waterball, wouldn't leave him to it.

He immediately swung downwards, aiming for Hamon's head.

"Kyaahk!" Hamon screamed in agony and randomly swung his staff. It was so slow that it almost made Kang Oh yawn.

Kang Oh deflected the staff, eyes as cold as winter, and repeatedly swung his sword.

Whack! Whack! Whack! Whack!

Ugh."

Refreshing 'whacks' and Hamon's cries dissonantly resounded throughout the island.

"S-Save..."

Ultimately, Hamon surrendered and begged for his life.

"Rest in peace."

Kang Oh's blade didn't stop.

"Even if I die, I'll get my revenge..." Hamon suddenly opened his eyes wide.

Swish!

Demon Sword Ubist cleaved through the middle of his body. Hamon stopped moving.

[You have defeated the Notorious Tidecaller, Hamon.]

[Fame has increased.]

[Side stat, Righteousness +3]

Once Hamon was defeated, the Bowler and Fishman faded out of existence. The summoner had been killed, so the summons were disappearing!

Kang Oh's party had cleared Saharamant's second dungeon.