Chapter 264: Mandra Fruit
Three was better than two. With the addition of Sephiro, Kang Oh's party cleared the dungeon even faster than before.
The Red Wyvern, Waryong, sat atop Sephiro's head as he readied an arrow.
"Watch daddy work," Sephiro said lovingly, and let go of the bowstring.
Ting.
A giant arrow flew from his fully drawn bowstring.
Whizz!
The arrow hit its intended target; the Blue Knight's helmet.
Earth Shaking Arrow!
The resulting shockwave swept through the Blue Knight, as well as the monsters around it. Seeing that, Waryong opened its mouth and spewed fire into the air. It was as if it were cheering for him!
"Grow fast, so you can come hunting with daddy!" Sephiro said.
Gyaa, gyaa!
The baby wyvern gurgled, as if it were saying 'Ok, papa!'.
Sephiro beamed. Waryong was just so precious.
Kang Oh vertically swung Blood. Then, the snow-white blade shined with a golden glow.
Tempest Tiger!
The golden aura dashed forward, ramming into the Red and White Knights.
Boom!
Kang Oh's necklace quadrupled Tempest Tiger's power. Thus, its destructive force was nothing to laugh about.
The Red and White Knights broke apart, as if their armor had exploded.
[You have defeated a Red Knight.]
[You have defeated a White Knight.]
Whoosh.
Tempest Tiger's secondary effect activated; a small, raging whirlwind arose, and then disappeared soon after.
At the same time...
[You have defeated 200 enemies with Tempest Tiger.]
[You have completed the spontaneous quest.]
[Proficiency with Tempest Tiger has increased by 5%.]
[Proficiency with Tempest Tiger has reached 100%.]
[Tempest Tiger has risen to high-rank.]
[Tempest Tiger's power and range increases.]
Kang Oh grinned. Tempest Tiger has finally reached high-rank.
His body itched. He wanted to try out his upgraded skill ASAP. However, he couldn't use it right away due to the '4 minute' cooldown.
Of course, 4 minutes wasn't a long time. It was the amount of time it took to cook cup ramen, after all.
Kang Oh passed the time by fighting against the most powerful monster here, the Black Knight.
'4, 3, 2, 1!'
Tempest Tiger was usable again. Kang Oh swung his sword upwards like a streak of lightning.
High-Rank Tempest Tiger!
Demon Sword Blood unleashed a more refined golden tiger aura.
'It's larger and more beautiful than before.'
Indeed, the 'tiger' was larger and radiated an intenser golden light than before.
Whoosh.
Boom!
Tempest Tiger struck the Black Knight. It was clearly more powerful than before. The sound it made was louder too. It was a sign of how much more powerful Tempest Tiger had become.
Not to mention...
Whoosh!
Tempest Tiger's secondary ability, the whirlwind, began to blow. It was obviously larger and quicker than before.
The whirlwind ripped into the Black Knight, causing it to continuously leak small shards of light.
'It's definitely gotten stronger than before.' Kang Oh was satisfied.
He had High-Rank Tempest Tiger, Lightning Breath, Everlasting Darkness, and Transcendent Blade! In terms of destructive power, he wouldn't lose to anyone.
* * *
Kang Oh's party repeatedly cleared Mandra's Helix. The tree, which had once been but a tiny sprout, had quickly grown into a fully grown tree.
At some point...
Kang Oh reached the end of the dungeon, only to smell a sweet scent in the air. He'd gone through the dungeon countless times before, but he'd never smelled this before!
'This is...'
[The Mandra tree has bore fruit.]
Kang Oh immediately examined the Mandra tree. As expected, there was a single fruit hanging from the top of the tree.
'Finally!'
The time for patience was over; it was time to partake in the sweet fruit. There was no reason to hesitate. Kang Oh stretched out his hand and picked the fruit.
Snap.
The Mandra fruit reminded him of an apple. It had the same size and shape. However, it was a deep blue. It was the same color as the eastern sea during wintertime. It also permeated the air with its sweet scent. Meaning it was completely ripe!
[Mandra Fruit]
The fruit of the Mandra tree, which is known to only bear one piece of fruit after growing for 100 years.
Permeates the air with a sweet scent.
Because it is both incredibly precious and difficult to cook with, only a chef approaching the skill of a Master can use it.
Material Rank: S.
"Mandra Fruit. I've only seen it in books before, yet to think I'd get the opportunity to see it in person." Eder came beside him, and carefully examined the Mandra Fruit.
"This is goodbye to this stupid dungeon too."
Sephiro wasn't really interested in the Mandra Fruit. He was satisfied enough by the fact that they wouldn't have to go through this dungeon any longer.
Then...
The ground and the dungeon itself began to shake.
"What's happening?"
Kang Oh's party looked around warily.
"Over there!" Eder pointed at the exit with a gaunt finger.
The exit, which was normally open, had been closed shut. That wasn't the end of it. Several Ghost-Possessed Armors had been summoned atop the helical road.
[The Ghost-Possessed Armors are coming to steal the fruit away from you.]
[Please escape the dungeon.]
"Of course. There's no way they'd let us go scot free." Kang Oh placed the fruit into his inventory and pulled out the jet-black sword, Ubist.
Sephiro also notched an arrow and prepared for battle.
Eder gripped his scythe with both hands and said, "They're coming."
Red Knights, Blue Knights, White Knights, and Black Knights. Hundreds of Ghost-Possessed Armor were charging at Kang Oh's party!
* * *
Kang Oh activated Gluttony, sacrificing one of his BB-rank mass-produced swords. Jet-black energy flowed from his body, and all of his abilities were doubled.
Ghost-Possessed Armors of various colors were approaching them.
'You're doing me a favor.' Kang Oh smirked.
Tempest Tiger, Lightning Breath, and Everlasting Darkness. He had several ways of dealing with many opponents at once.
'Let's start off with...' Kang Oh pointed Ubist at them.
Crackle!
The tip of his blade unleashed a mighty lightning blast.
Lightning Breath!
The Lightning Breath flew straight at them and split right through the middle of them like scissors cutting through paper.
Sephiro and Eder were up next.
'This is a great time to use Buster Shot.'
The enemies were coming down a helical road; in other words, their movements were restricted. What if he were to rain arrows down on them?
Sephiro notched an arrow. He didn't need to be precise. As long as he shot an arrow above their heads, it would work.
Buster Shot!
Ting.
The arrow flew through the air, and subsequently created six magic circles nearby. A hundred arrows shot out of those magic circles.
Whizz, whizz, whizz!
The Buster Shot continued what the Lightning Breath had started. As a result, countless Ghost-Possessed Armors were killed. However, this wasn't the end.
Eder raised his scythe.
Whoosh!
Several white bones formed within the monsters' formation.
"Break into pieces!"
Bone Bomb!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
This resulted in massive explosions that resounded with a giant 'boom'! Bone fragments and pieces of armor flew everywhere, and countless enemies were swept through.
It was Kang Oh's turn again. He assumed an iaido stance and swung Demon Sword Ubist horizontally.
Everlasting Darkness!
[You have used Everlasting Darkness.]
[Consuming stolen stats.]
[Physical -3]
A massive, spinning beam of darkness shot forward.
The enemies, or the Ghost-Possessed Armors, had already taken considerable damage from the Lightning Breath, Buster Shot, and Bone Bombs.
And Kang Oh had just added Everlasting Darkness to the equation. Sure, they may be over level 300, but even they wouldn't be able to withstand such a vicious assault.
However...
'This is weird.' Kang Oh furrowed his brow.
Several Ghost-Possessed Armors had fallen on the winding road, but he hadn't been informed of their death.
Which meant...!
'You can't kill them...'
His hypothesis turned out to be true.
The pieces of the fallen Ghost-Possessed Armors glued themselves back together. Then, they stood back up, fully restored.
"What's going on?" Eder looked shocked. 'Why are they still alive?'
"You don't think...?" Sephiro immediately shot another arrow.
Sun Piercing Arrow!
The arrow spun like an automatic drill, piercing right through a Blue Knight's helmet.
Headshot!
Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, the Blue Knight's armor broke into pieces. However, the Blue Knight rose again sometime after. In perfect health at that!
Seeing that, Kang Oh said, "They'll keep coming back." His voice was calm.
"Tch, you're right." Sephiro clicked his tongue.
"What do we do now?" Eder asked.
"We have to break through," Kang Oh said firmly.
Hundreds of unkillable monsters were approaching. There would be no retreat. If that's the case, then they only had one option: push through!
That was it.
* * *
Saharamant.
It was a cylindrical space with five doors. Four of the five were currently open.
Something made its way out of the fourth door. It was small, had a lizard-like face, and had red skin and wings; it was Waryong.
Gyaa, gyaa!
Waryong stared at the door and screamed. 'Papa!' It was desperately looking for its master.
Fortunately, the curly-haired, exhausted Sephiro came through the door. His armor was in tatters, so much so that he'd need an expert to repair it, and dust covered his entire body. He must've been attacked countless times, and rolled onto the floor dozens of times.
Eder came out next. He wasn't in good shape either.
"What about Mr. Kang Oh?" Sephiro asked.
"He'll be here," Eder immediately said.
The two stared at the door, waiting for Kang Oh to come out.
A short while later...
Kang Oh, assuming his Jet-Black Demon form, popped out.
"Phew." Kang Oh caught his breath as soon as he got out.
Breaking through hundreds of unkillable monsters was by no means an easy feat.
"Good work," Eder said.
"Yeah, you too," Kang Oh deactivated Devil Trigger and said.
"It was a tiring dungeon till the very end," Sephiro said indignantly.
"At least we got something in return." Kang Oh pulled out the Mandra Fruit from his inventory.
It was a ripe, blue fruit which looked like an apple! This was the key that would open the final door.
He strode over to the final door and forcefully pulled it open.
Creak.
The door opened all the way.
They'd finally opened all of Saharamant's doors!