Chapter 18
Having already assessed the information through appraisal, Johan had anticipated the lightning to some extent. The electric attack might be the only true counter to the coffin, given that the coffin had no durability limits.
To avoid getting electrocuted, Johan put the coffin down.
He leaped over the coffin and quickly positioned himself behind the opponent. Drawing the Priest’s Dagger, he activated the “Slicing” skill.
[Spending 1 Stamina point to activate ‘Slicing’ skill.]
A flash of light emanated from the dagger as Johan swiftly swung it sideways.
To block, Lee Kang-han laid down his sword, but the Priest’s Dagger was a superior item compared to his sword.
Clang!
The sword lost its power and fell to the ground. Lee Kang-han looked at the two halves of his sword with a desolate expression.
“My, my sword.”
At that moment:
Crackle!
As the broken sword touched the ground, an explosion occurred. It was an explosion infused with lightning.
“How!”
It was an unexpected explosion, and it seemed that Lee Kang-han was also caught off guard by the surge of lightning. Unable to escape the relentless lightning, he was struck helplessly.
Both Johan and Lee Kang-han were momentarily paralyzed.
Clang!
Johan’s dagger also fell to the ground. He was now defenseless, and both of them exerted all their effort to recover from the paralysis.
In this life-or-death game, the winner would be the one who recovered from paralysis first.
“Please, please!”
Johan’s anxiety grew.
Lee Kang-han’s paralysis was lifting earlier than Johan’s, possibly due to the recovery function in his armor.
Already moving his fingers, Lee Kang-han had started a life-or-death gamble.
“Minion.”
This was an experiment to see if Johan could call his minion and give orders even while paralyzed.
Rustle—
“Got it!”
Fortunately, the coffin could still respond to Johan’s commands without any issues.
Thud—
As if on cue, Kowon appeared. The now level 11 Kowon ‘s legs were lighter than before. Following Johan’s gesture, Kowon rushed directly at Lee Kang-han.
“Get away! What is this!”
Just as Lee Kang-han recovered from the paralysis and frantically rolled to avoid the attack, the axe embedded itself where Lee Kang-han had been.
Barely escaping the attack, Lee Kang-han picked up the broken sword and charged at Johan.
The smart and precise thought was that if he killed Johan, everything would be resolved.
“All you need to do is die!”
Clang-!
But Kowon was not an easy opponent. He quickly deflected the sword and kicked Lee Kang-han in the abdomen, creating some distance.
“What kind of strength is this…”
Breathless and pushed back, Lee Kang-han was left vulnerable to an incoming axe aimed at his neck.
Lee Kang-han, who had turned pale, managed to retrieve another sword from his dimensional bag, but it was not enough to counter Kowon ’s rapid attacks.
Slash-
The axe cut through the seams of his armor, which had failed to protect him. Lee Kang-han staggered and further distanced himself.
“Good job. As expected, you’re the best.”
Wobbling~
Johan, having recovered from paralysis, slowly stretched his body while Kowon blocked Lee Kang-han’s attacks with enthusiasm. Johan could just cheer from the back while Kowon overwhelmingly pressed the attack on Lee Kang-han.
Lee Kang-han’s face, reddened from the humiliation of being pushed around by Kowon , couldn’t hide his anger.
“Well then, shall we make one?”
Johan ignored Lee Kang-han and drooled over the shimmering Maul in front of him. His anticipation grew because the Maul would become a valuable asset.
“Minion.”
Rustle-
The coffin emitted tentacle-like bandages.
Even Lee Kang-han, who had been preoccupied with fighting Kowon , was mesmerized by the sight.
“Crazy bastard, have you made a pact with a demon or something!”
He cursed in disbelief at the absurd situation.
He threw a spell to cut the bandages coming out of the coffin, but they were not damaged at all.
The Maul was being drawn into the grotesque coffin.
Lee Kang-han fell silent at the sight of the coffin moving on its own.
He realized something was going terribly wrong, but it was too late.
Desperate to escape, Lee Kang-han found that Kowon would not let him go.
Bang
To make matters worse, Johan, having sensed something amiss, closed the iron door, blocking the escape route.
“Where did it all go wrong?”
“What could possibly have gone wrong? So, what’s the real reward you were trying to get here?”
“If I tell you, I’d be crazy!”
“Depending on the reward, I might let you live. Think carefully.”
Blood dripped from Lee Kang-han’s lips, which he bit down on. He had risked his life for this information, but the current crisis was more immediate than death.
As Kowon ’s relentless assault continued, Lee Kang-han’s desire to speak the truth and escape grew stronger. After all, wouldn’t it be better to survive even in a shitty place?
“Do you think I’ll talk! Even if I do, you wouldn’t spare me anyway! Ha ha ha!”
But he steeled himself. If he couldn’t have it, then neither would they. That was the only revenge he could offer them.
“First, get rid of that damned coffin!”
He changed his target to the coffin. He thought that eliminating the coffin which had summoned this monster would increase his chances of survival.
Thud-
Using the rebound from clashing with the axe, he launched an attack on the coffin.
Lee Kang-han, wielding a giant hammer, put all his strength into smashing the coffin.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Why! Why isn’t it breaking! It’s just a wooden coffin!”
It was a good plan, but the result was starkly different from what he had expected.
The seemingly flimsy coffin was not only intact but showed no signs of damage.
Instead, he was diligently destroying the sword, fulfilling his role.
“This is ridiculous. This can’t be happening, damn it!”
“You’re not the only one with luck.”
As Johan took a step forward, Lee Kang-han took a step back.
Even after using every possible trick, he couldn’t inflict any damage.
Despair wrapped around his body, making him feel as if there was no way out.
“Please spare me. I made a mistake.”
“Only now?”
“Spare me now, I made a mistake now.”
“How brazen of you. You’re S-class in that regard.”
Lee Kang-han threw the sword he was holding to the ground. As if losing his will to fight, he closed his eyes and raised his hands.
“I’ll tell you everything. So please spare me.”
“What will you tell me?”
“The secrets of this place. And the hidden reward’s key.”
Finally, he began to speak. The true treasure he had sought, even at the cost of sacrificing people.
“First, promise you’ll spare me.”
“I’m the one in charge here. I’ll make the decision.”
“…You never let anything go. Take this first.”
Johan pulled out a key from his pocket and waved it. It looked like an expensive golden key at first glance.
Click-
Johan caught the key Lee Kang-han threw. But it looked shoddy upon closer inspection.
It seemed like it was hastily made.
“This is… the hidden key?”
“It’s a key. The key to the hell train you’re going to.”
Zing-
Smoke began to rise. The key, heated instantly, then caused a powerful explosion.
‘Damn.’
Boom!!
“Ha ha ha! Did you really think I’d cooperate? Die, you bastard… Gah!”
“You’re really dead.”
Whoosh-
Johan, emerging from the still-smoking explosion, punched Lee Kang-han in the face.
Lee Kang-han, unable to dodge in time, had three of his teeth sent flying through the air.
“Spit. I knew it would end up like this. My instincts were right after all.”
He had a strong premonition that something was about to happen. His senses were indeed useful even in this situation.
Fortunately, he had only scorched the ground slightly before the explosion.
Instead of wounds, what arose was hatred towards the bastard who dared to lie.
“You must have deceived and killed everyone this way. You despicable bastard.”
Now he completely abandoned any thought of getting something from Lee Kang-han.
Trying to extract information from someone like him would yield nothing but lies.
“Get lost, F-grade idiot!”
Whizz-
He threw something again. Believing it to be a bomb, Lee Kang-han avoided it, but the object didn’t explode and just rolled on the ground.
“Ha! It’s a fake. You’re such a fool.”
What Lee Kang-han threw was just a rock. A meaningless stone that looked somewhat like a bomb.
Truly, this guy’s cunningness is unmatched.
This guy’s cunning is truly unparalleled. He ran in a brief moment and pushed against the iron door.
“Where do you think you’re running to!”
He closed the distance immediately. A dagger was thrown towards his back.
The dagger was aimed to pierce his spine.
Whoosh-
Something crossed paths with the dagger, moving so fast it was almost invisible.
‘Dangerous.’
Accepting the warning from heightened senses, he instinctively turned his body.
At the same time, a line-like wound appeared on his cheek.
The cause of the wound was a bullet.
“Such trash.”
He clicked his tongue upon seeing the pistol in Lee Kang-han’s hand.
It was a weapon that couldn’t do much damage to monsters, only intended to kill humans.
“I thought you were dead, but your reflexes are better than expected.”
Lee Kang-han, who seemed disappointed, was no amateur. How many lives had he trampled to reach this point?
Clop clop
He approached with heavy steps. He couldn’t forgive this man.
“If you were going to aim, you should have aimed for the heart.”
That pistol was probably his last resort. The anxious look in his eyes was a clear indicator.
Bang!
Another bullet was fired, and Johan slightly tilted his head, relying on his senses.
Now fully focused, the trajectory of the bullet was clearly visible.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
“Why, why, why! Just die already! You’re F-grade, trash!”
Lee Kang-han fired desperately, but Johan calmly dodged every bullet.
Having used up all the bullets, Lee Kang-han, having exhausted his final defense, despondently lowered the gun.
He was so overwhelmed by despair that he couldn’t even think of hitting the wall.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
Crack-
With the sound of something breaking, Lee Kang-han fell pathetically.
His dislocated shoulder meant he couldn’t push the iron door or even hold a weapon.
“I hate two types of people in this world. One is those who judge others by their rank, and the other is those who value human lives lightly. You fit both categories, don’t you?”
Thud
Johan placed the coffin in front of the iron door. A deathly aura began to seep out from the open coffin.
“Monster. You’ve accepted a power that brings harm to the world.”
“Well. I’m sure of one thing: your presence is definitely harmful to this world.”
Unable to stand, Lee Kang-han, trembling, picked up the broken gun in a frantic manner.
Seeing this, Johan smirked and quietly cast his summons.
“Come out.”
A long-clawed foot emerged from the coffin. Specifically, it was a foot bound in bandages.
“Mummy..?”
Lee Kang-han muttered unintentionally.
The emerging entity sniffed the surrounding air as it slowly revealed itself.
At the same time, a new summon, Moul, approached Johan.
Surprisingly, Moul appeared to be acting affectionately towards Johan, as if it were a long-lost dog.
[Moul]
– Level: 1
– Grade: C+
– Special Ability: Sensory (B),
– Skills: Cutting, Digging
– A creature that has lived for centuries, mutated by the power of a supreme being, and has grown in size. Moul’s innate senses are more than three times superior to those of ordinary beings, and its claws are as strong as steel.
“A creature that has lived for centuries. It has grown in size due to mutation caused by the power of a supreme being. Moul’s innate senses are more than three times superior to those of ordinary beings, and its claws are as strong as steel.”
“From now on, your name will be Durzi, Durzi.”
Durzi flapped the bandages around its buttocks like a tail.
And Lee Kang-han watched this in horror.
“This… this is a dream.”
He lost his fighting spirit. He had rubbed his eyes so many times that they had become bloodshot.
“Oh, no. I absolutely can’t win.”
The boss, who had even used underhanded tricks to try and win, had now ended up teaming up with the very opponent he was supposed to kill.
And in a grotesque form that seemed impossible to defeat.
“I couldn’t even defeat Covard earlier… How am I supposed to handle that…?”
Even Lee Kang-han, who was good at strategy, was overwhelmed. The sheer helplessness was beyond his mental capacity.
“You said earlier that you would kill the dying one.”
Johan raised his hand, and Durzi, with its eyes shining, extended its claws. Seeing this, Lee Kang-han dropped his gun and raised his hands in surrender.
“This guy is already dead. How about it? If you fight, you might be able to win.”
“This time, I’ll make the proposal. If you can survive for 5 minutes against Durzi, I’ll give you the chance to reveal the secrets you have.”
