Chapter 74
The most dangerous moment had been when the mutt spellcaster had cast a reinforcement spell on the red-eyed twin-headed monster. While it equaled my agility and strength even with the Man Who Overcame Adversity active, the monster did not have Odin’s Wrath.
While all my other stats were the same, having a base Strength of E, raised to D in Strength and E rank in Agility made a big difference. The results were the corpses in front of me.
I had killed them all and still had two minutes remaining until the Man Who Overcame Adversity ended. Everything was perfect, except for the pain that will come after two minutes. I had killed the last spellcaster and I was deep in the room. While I saw Yeonhee Woo in the corridor, she could not see me. While tears rolled from her eyes, she was waiting with her bow raised. She was waiting for me with a rigid expression, and silent.
“Clear.”
I spoke as I approached her, and our eyes met.
“How many minutes left?”
“One minute and 53 seconds.”
“Let’s go to a cleaner spot first.”
She placed her arm around my neck and supported me while we walked on. I nodded as she helped me, and my body ached everywhere.
“This room means that the boss fight is coming up next. Don’t use Marie’s Hand, no matter how I look.”
Yeonhee Woo’s eyes shook like a scared child who had been caught lying, and my words seemed to have touched something in her, as her shoulders shook. I heard her stifled sobs, and she raised her face with closed lips.
“I can’t endure it with my stamina stats, right?”
“Yes. Sit here.”
[Adversity Overcomer time remaining: 0 hours 0 minutes 42 seconds]
“I will lose consciousness soon. How many points?”
“Two hundred.”
“Check the side caves, and the small passageways for boxes while I’m down.”
(EN: The room before the boss room, as per the last chapter, is actually a natural cavern, which is something that Sun obviously remembered. Apparently it is full of small caves leading off from the main cavern, and dungeon boxes can be found in some of them. Hence we now know why this was called “Treasure Room”. Also, please remember this dungeon is basically pitch black, with only their Night Eyes skill allowing them to see. So Yeonhee Woo has to check each little cave and passageways branching off from the main cavern.)
“I’ll treat you first.”
“Of course.”
[Adversity Overcomer time remaining: 0 hours 0 minutes 28 seconds]
“You will find dungeon boxes. This is the last time I will remind you, don’t touch them.”
“Other orders?”
“Stay away when I’m about to wake up, as I may attack you.” (EN: Yep, night terrors are often associated with severe PTSD. Poor Sun.)
“And?”
“Nothing else.”
[Adversity Overcomer time remaining: 0 hours 0 minutes 16 seconds]
I lay down and waited for the pain to come. It was then Yeonhee Woo grabbed my bloody hand.
“Your hand will break. Let go.”
“I will go against your orders just this once. Allow me that.”
[Adversity Overcomer time remaining: 0 hours 0 minutes 2 seconds]
[Adversity Overcomer time remaining: 0 hours 0 minutes 1 second]
[The Adversity Overcomer has ended.]
It was too late, and my back arched as the pure agony smashed the world apart. My world turned red, and I thought my eyeballs had exploded. My stomach felt like it had burst open where the twin-headed monster’s nails had clawed it. My thoughts ended there, and I convulsed in a bloody world while holding something small in my right hand.
***
I was in a bad mood having dreamt of the First Evil’s face when I woke up. I hadn’t thought much about his early days just because most of my memories are about him when he was powerful. I needed to search my memories about anecdotes regarding his childhood and youth, in hopes of providing more clues to the people I hired to find him. Yeonhee Woo was not there when I woke up, but I saw a precious bottle of water and painkillers where I could grab them.
She was in the Treasure Room.
“Sunhoo?”
Yeonhee Woo’s voice was surprised, and I walked up to where she could see me before sitting down.
“It’s not easy for me to walk around yet.”
“You can’t move now. You know better.”
“What about dungeon boxes?”
“I found three.”
I realized that she had been using empty food cans as markers, and there were three placed at different spots.
“I found them all and was about to recheck the caves again. You should have stayed in bed. I would have returned soon.”
“That would take too long.”
I tried standing up, and Yeonhee Woo supported me as if she could not help herself from aiding me. The passage was narrow, and I had to crawl in. I did not need to wait as she followed me in, and I reached out my hand when I approached the dungeon box.
[Will you open the box?]
“Yes.”
[The Man Who Overcame Adversity increases by 7.]
[Current level: F(7)]
It took a bit to reach the second dungeon box, though the small cave it was in allowed me to stand.
[You have been inflicted with the Fear Symptom (Gimlet)]
[Fear Symptom (Gimlet)
Effect: One becomes scared of sharp objects.
Class: F]
I saw that the teeth and claws of the monster corpses looked larger and fiercer. They were terrifying.
“Is it a curse?”
“Yes, heal me.”
[Yeonhee Woo used Heal Fear]
[Fear Symptom (Gimlet) has disappeared.]
I opened the last dungeon box the next day when Yeonhee Woo’s skill could be used again.
[‘Counter Strike’ has increased by 5.]
The results of the three boxes told me I was lucky. However, I could not enjoy my fortune because I knew that the next door would probably be the boss room. My mood was downcast.
***
[Name: Sunhoo Na
Stamina: F(23) Strength: E(0)
Agility: F(15) Perception: F(25)
Accumulated Points: 295
Traits (3) Skills (3) Insignias (2) Items (2)]
[Traits: The Man Who Overcame Adversity F(7) Counter Strike F(5) Explorer F(0)]
[Skills: Odin’s Wrath F(6) Iron Skin F(0) Night Eyes F(0)]
[Insignia: Speed-up (E) Escape (F)]
[Items: The Medal of Restraint (E) The Ring of the Blind (F)]
While the status window was minimal compared to my past life, my growth rate was incomparable. I would defeat the boss monster and become stronger. She was looking at the empty bottles of water and a few empty cans of food while thinking things over. I stood up quietly, as there was only one door remaining. Yeonhee Woo followed me, and I muttered inwardly that the corridor would be empty. (EN: It looks like some time has passed. Obviously they’re waiting out the cooldown for the Man Who Overcame Adversity, as they’ve done several times already. This seems to be the biggest reason they’ve had to spend weeks inside.)
I opened the door and saw the empty corridor. I had told Yeonhee Woo that while the dungeon would be reset at random, there was a rule in how the corridors were arranged.
The Treasure Room would always lead to an empty corridor that was connected to the boss room. Yeonhee Woo became quiet as a mouse in the corridor, and I was the same. We looked at it for a while before coming back.
“Let’s eat first.”
We did not say anything even after we finished eating. Time slowly passed by, and we held our breaths before going to sleep. We slept as much as we could, but I was still downcast. I had planned to wait for Yeonhee Woo, but she was moaning like she was going through a nightmare. I shook her awake, and she mumbled as she opened her eyes.
“I’m ready.”
“If my plan works, things will end more quickly than before. You won’t die because you can endure that instant, right?”
Yeonhee Woo stood up after listening to my warnings, and we went down the corridor where we could hear only our footsteps. Has the corridor been this long all this time, or were we slow?
We stood in front of the door, which was the same as other doors. However, it was more oppressive, and I could almost hear the boss monster’s growl. While I knew how to defeat it, knowledge did not mean success. I just knew what not to do, as one mistake would lead to instant death. My heart drummed out a warning to return, but I nodded to Yeonhee Woo. She nodded in return, albeit awkwardly.
[You have activated Odin’s Wrath.]
[Target: The user.]
My eyes widened, and I saw blue sparks. Sharp lines wrapped around my body and moved over my limbs.
“We are entering the boss room.”
I could not have known what was ahead of me, as I threw myself inside the door.
Edited by Userunfriendly