abcnovels
Chapter 88
Chapter 88
Chapter 88 – Mad Dog (4)
“Kuheck!”
Thrown by a sudden kick, Kang Hyeon only came to a stop after crashing into a wall.
“That hurts like hell.”
The creature’s strength was as powerful as befitting its title of boss. It was puzzling how such a skeletal body could exert such force, but that wasn’t the important thing right now.
“What should I do?”
He couldn’t see any way to defeat this thing.
If he had Bilgein’s longsword, he would have used Light Warrior without hesitation, but it was quietly waiting for repairs in the lab.
“Still, our raw strength is similar.”
With his own buffs and Yoon Na-rae’s buffs added, his strength seemed to be slightly superior.
“Kang Hyeon! Run away. I’ll buy you some time!”
Shin Seong-a’s urgent shout was heard. This was no time to be lost in thought.
“Damn it! I don’t know what to do!”
Having finished recovering, Kang Hyeon charged at Veil again.
-You still haven’t realized? You cannot defeat me.
“You’re talking nonsense. Should I just die quietly then?”
-If you want to struggle and die, I won’t stop you.
The two lights intertwined again.
But before long, Kang Hyeon’s blue magic power visibly diminished.
-When your magic power runs out, you’ll be helpless.
Kang Hyeon somehow felt like the creature’s voice was laughing.
“I can’t do anything?”
That’s when it happened.
Kang Hyeon threw his sword at Veil with all his might.
-Have you finally gone mad?
And then he recklessly rushed at Veil.
“Kuk..!”
Though his side was badly cut by Veil’s swinging sword, Kang Hyeon paid no mind.
“You say I can’t do anything?”
Finally reaching right in front of the creature, Kang Hyeon grabbed both its hands.
-What are you doing?!
“Can’t you tell by looking?”
For a moment, Veil was flustered by the strength that surpassed his own.
“Let me see that fancy face of yours.”
Kang Hyeon tilted his head back and headbutted the creature’s helmet with all his might.
-Kaaang!
In one go, the creature’s helmet crumpled and fell off, revealing a skull of pure white bone.
-You…
Red light blazed from the creature’s empty eye sockets.
-Is this what an honorable knight does in sacred combat?!
“What nonsense! I wouldn’t do that even if you gave it to me!”
-Kwajik!
Kang Hyeon’s forehead collided with the creature’s skull once more.
-Kuaaa! Get off!
“I’m the mad dog of this area! You bastard!”
Kang Hyeon activated the Mad Dog skill embedded in Kamiel’s ring.
*Mad Dog – Once a mad dog bites, it doesn’t let go until death.
At the same time, he bit down on Veil’s cervical vertebrae (neck bones) as it thrashed violently.
“Do undead survive even if their heads come off?”
And then he pulled on the neck with all his might. Blood vessels bulged prominently on Kang Hyeon’s neck, which was too thick for an adult man to grasp with both hands.
“Kuuuu!”
-What are you doing! You crazy bastard!
The tremendous pressure felt on his neck.
Feeling a sudden crisis, Veil struggled with all his might, but it was useless.
Kang Hyeon was hugging Veil to prevent him from swinging his sword, and biting his neck with his mouth.
“Kuaaaa!”
-Do you think this will work?! Stop it!
“Why is it so tough?!”
However, Veil’s cervical vertebrae didn’t come out as easily as Kang Hyeon had thought.
‘That’s it!’
Suddenly remembering something, Kang Hyeon began to manipulate his magic power.
The magic power inherent in Kang Hyeon’s body gradually gathered around his mouth, and blue light began to emit from his teeth.
-Kadududuk
Cracks started to form on Veil’s neck bones. Feeling the crisis, Veil let out a horrible scream.
-Uaaaa! Let go of this!
Veil used his only free legs to charge towards the wall.
-Pueok! Pueok!
-Let go, I said let go!
He rammed Kang Hyeon’s body into the wall, but it was useless.
-Pueok, Puk!
-Let go!
Kang Hyeon was still straining to pull out Veil’s neck.
-Ttuduk, ttudududuk…
Gradually, sounds that shouldn’t be coming from neck bones began to be heard.
-Nooooo!
-Pagagak!
Finally, Veil’s cervical vertebrae were pulled out from his body.
“Uaaa!”
Veil’s skull dangled from Kang Hyeon’s mouth. Throwing it away, Kang Hyeon roared like a beast.
***
Ippotranslation
***
-Such cowardly…
Veil was still speaking even with his body and head separated.
But his body had already stopped moving, and his voice was clearly strained.
“What’s cowardly about fighting for your life?”
-You…
“That’s why you’re a skeleton, a ghost in a place like this.”
-Kuaaaa!
Kang Hyeon took out Ogre’s giant hammer from his inventory.
“Farewell.”
And he struck Veil’s skull with all his might.
-Peogeok!
Veil’s head shattered instantly, breaking into dozens of pieces.
“Ow… My teeth. I almost had to look into implants at this age. Damn.”
“Kang Hyeon. The magic stone…”
“Huh? Ah! The magic stone!”
Kang Hyeon hurriedly searched through the skull fragments.
“Haah, thank goodness.”
Fortunately, he was able to find a marble-sized magic stone emitting a mysterious light.
“I almost had to run to the dungeon again.”
A B-grade magic stone is absolutely necessary for weapon repair.
The magic power emanating from it seemed sufficient for weapon repair.
[Level up!]
[Ability Kang Hyeon-style Brawling (F) is created]
[Ability Kang Hyeon-style Brawling (F) merges with Intermediate Body Techniques (D)]
[Ability Kang Hyeon-style Brawling (F) transforms into Kang Hyeon-style Life-or-Death Combat (C)]
Suddenly, messages filled his vision.
“What does this mean…?”
Kang Hyeon, who had been blankly staring at it, checked the detailed explanation.
Kang Hyeon-style Life-or-Death Combat (C)
Ability: In life-threatening battles, the instinct to eliminate enemies and survive becomes even sharper.
Description: A gift from someone to Kang Hyeon, who tore apart a B-rank undead boss with his teeth. Kang Hyeon’s dog fighting seems to have reached a new level.
“…”
For a while, Kang Hyeon blankly stared at the explanation.
“First you make me out to be some Cruel Family Destroyer, and now what? Dog fighting? Are you kidding me?!”
“Why is he like that…”
Ignoring the contemptuous looks from those around him, Kang Hyeon continued his outburst for a while.
“So this is how it’s going to be, huh? Just wait. I’ll get you back someday.”
Kang Hyeon vowed to punch the administrator in the face before he died.
“Whew… Let’s check the dropped items for now.”
Having finally calmed down, Kang Hyeon checked the items that dropped from Veil.
Name: Veil’s Longsword
Grade: C+
Durability: 328/350
Description: The longsword used by Veil, Princess Elin’s bodyguard. This sword, which accompanied Veil as he trained his entire life to protect the princess, is imbued with his conviction.
Abilities: Calmness, Guardian
*Calmness – Stabilizes the user’s mind.
*Guardian – Enhances the user’s abilities in battles to protect something precious.
Kang Hyeon’s expression crumpled as he read the description.
“It’s garbage.”
At first glance, it seemed good with two abilities attached, but they were all vague abilities.
“I’ll have to keep using the craftsman’s longsword I got last time until Bilgein’s longsword is repaired.”
Kang Hyeon handed Veil’s longsword to An Yu-seong.
“You use this.”
“But you said it was garbage.”
“It’s better than nothing, isn’t it?”
“Tch.”
An Yu-seong reluctantly took the sword.
“Next is the armor?”
Kang Hyeon lifted up a pitch-black armor.
Name: Veil’s Armor
Grade: B
Durability: 2389 / 2500
Description: The armor used by Veil, Princess Elin’s bodyguard. Designed to emphasize practicality over appearance, fitting for one who always moves to protect the princess from behind.
Abilities: Durability Enhancement, Lightweight
*Durability Enhancement – Increases the armor’s strength and prevents it from wearing out easily.
*Lightweight – Reduces the weight of the armor.
“This is quite usable, isn’t it?”
It had abilities that were essential for armor and applicable to anyone.
Moreover, it seemed to have a high-grade lightweight enchantment, as it was the lightest full plate armor Kang Hyeon had ever held.
“Still, it’s not as good as Ronald’s armor… I’ll have to give it to someone who needs it.”
Kang Hyeon already had Ronald’s B-grade armor from the tutorial.
And Ronald’s armor had self-repair capabilities.
For Kang Hyeon, who wrecked his armor almost daily, there was no choice.
“Is there anything else?”
“There’s also a book and a ring here.”
“Oh, what are they?”
Just as the rewards were about to disappoint, Shin Seong-a handed over a book.
“I hope it’s an ability…”
He was already struggling to maintain his current skills with his magic power.
So Kang Hyeon hoped for something related to abilities that didn’t require magic power.
[Veil’s Swordsmanship]
“Jackpot!”
The name alone gave a feeling of hitting the jackpot.
Veil’s Swordsmanship (F)
Ability: Learn the swordsmanship used by Veil.
Description: Veil, renowned as a knight. Although he didn’t reach the highest position, he was enough to be the envy of aspiring knights.
“This is good, right?”
“Hmm… I’m not sure.”
Veil’s swordsmanship skills were good enough to surpass An Yu-seong, so it would probably be better than basic swordsmanship.
“I don’t know! It’s something to learn, so it can’t be worse than what I have now.”
Kang Hyeon immediately acquired the ability.
[Ability Veil’s Swordsmanship is created]
[Advanced Swordsmanship (C) merges with Veil’s Swordsmanship (F)]
[Veil’s Swordsmanship rises to grade D]
Checking his status window, ‘Advanced Swordsmanship (C)’ had disappeared and ‘Veil’s Swordsmanship (D)’ had been created instead.
“It dropped from C-grade to D-grade… But it’s better, right?”
It was clear that the grade had lowered to match Veil’s Swordsmanship, which was a higher-level ability.
“Yeah. It must be…”
Kang Hyeon still felt uneasy, but he nodded and tried to convince himself.
“What’s the ring?”
“It’s called Elin’s Ring, and it seems pretty good.”
“Elin? The princess Veil was protecting?”
“Yes.”
Elin was the name of the princess mentioned in the description of the items Veil had.
Name: Elin’s Ring
Grade: C+
Durability: 79/80
Description: A ring worn by Elin, the third princess of the kingdom. It has abilities tailored for Elin, who was usually sickly.
Abilities: Increases Vitality stat by 6, Magic Shield
*Magic Shield (C) – Uses the skill Magic Shield (C) once a day.
“The options are pretty good.”
While it wasn’t particularly necessary for Kang Hyeon himself, the ring boasted quite decent performance on its own.
“Who would this suit?”
“I think it would be good for me…”
Yoon Na-rae, who had checked the item, quietly raised her hand.
“You’re right.”
“Yes…”
“Okay.”
Kang Hyeon nodded and then put the ring into his inventory.
“…?”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I mean, I said it seems to suit me.”
“So what?”
“You son of a…!”
“What did you do in this dungeon?”
At Kang Hyeon’s words, Yoon Na-rae closed her mouth as if she had eaten honey.
Even she had to admit she hadn’t done much in this conquest.
“…”
“Puhuhub. I’m joking. Just kidding.”
Ganghyeon took out the ring again and handed it to Yoon Na-rae.
“If you were going to give it to me, just give it. Why tease me?!”
“It’s my choice, isn’t it? Hehe.”
“Ugh…!”
“If you’re upset, come at me. If you win, I’ll make you the guild leader, okay?”
“No thanks!”
Just as they finished sorting things out and Kang Hyeon was about to remove the main core, the Golden Beast Guild, which had run away earlier, was returning.
“What? If you ran away, you should have gone all the way. Why come back?”
Anyway, the moment the main core is removed, a portal is created for everyone.
It meant there was no problem escaping the dungeon without coming back here.
‘They’re not crazy enough to ask for a share of the rewards, are they?’
Kang Hyeon vowed to slap some sense into them if that was really the case.
“We’re truly sorry!”
“Please forgive us!”
Fortunately, that wasn’t their intention.
The Golden Beast Guild approached, knelt on the ground, and bowed their heads until their foreheads touched the ground.
“Sigh, it’s fine, get up.”
The reason the Golden Beast Guild returned was simple.
‘We can’t get on Kang Hyeon’s bad side!’
At first, they had planned to run all the way to the dungeon entrance, but when Kang Hyeon unexpectedly fought well, they stayed in place.
And watching Kang Hyeon fight, they realized:
‘If we’re not careful, we could all die…’
Rumors said that Kang Hyeon had no blood or tears, and that he had already quietly dealt with several guilds inside dungeons.
They were afraid of possible repercussions and felt they had no choice but to return.
“Just spare our lives!”
Jo Woon-seong, the leader of the Golden Beast Guild, apologized as if he had committed a mortal sin.
“It’s fine. We’re all just trying to make a living.”
“Thank you…”
“But!”
Jo Woon-seong’s expression, which had brightened with a smile at Kang Hyeon’s words, hardened again.
“But…?”
“Let’s do a few more interviews.”
Kang Hyeon needed supporting actors to widely publicize his glorious B-grade conquest.
***
Ippotranslation
***
After the chaotic one-day dungeon conquest ended, Kang Hyeon visited the exchange office to receive his dungeon reward.
“What brings you here today?”
“I’m here to collect the dungeon reward.”
“Can you show me the core you obtained?”
At the employee’s request, Kang Hyeon took out the core.
“This is…?”
“B-rank dungeon, Veil of the Maze. The main core.”
“Ah, please wait a moment.”
The employee made a call somewhere and explained earnestly.
“Yes, yes! This is Mr. Kang Hyeon from the Badass Guild.”
Repeatedly saying ‘yes’ and nodding, the employee finally ended the call.
“Phew…”
“Did something not go well?”
“No, it’s just that this amount is unusual for a dungeon reward… I had to ask my superiors.”
“Well, I did do something impressive. Haha!”
“…”
“Ahem, so how much is it?”
“Yes. The reward is 4 billion won.”
“Great!”
With this one conquest, he earned as much as all the money he had saved so far combined.
“If I’m not careful, I might become a tycoonl! Hahaha!”
A moment later. Kang Hyeon smiled contentedly as he looked at the newly inflated 4 billion won in his bank account.
“It’s fortunate that dungeons don’t deduct taxes.”
Kang Hyeon had almost been hit with a tax bomb of up to 1 billion won.
-Buzz buzz
“Huh? A phone call?”
Kang Hyeon checked his smartphone at the sudden vibration.
It was Team Leader Shin Tae-gil.
“What’s the matter?”
-Have you already cleared the dungeon?
“The news has already spread?”
-Yes. I thought you would clear it, but I didn’t expect you to clear that infamous dungeon so quickly.
“What’s the occasion? You’re praising me so much. Do you have a favor to ask?”
-Sigh, it’s not like that. Please send the boss’s magic stone directly to the lab. Director Jeong Seo-bin is waiting.
“Alright.”
-Yes. Then, goodbye.
Just as Shin Tae-gil was about to end the call, Kang Hyeon spoke again.
“Wait a moment. Remember what we talked about last time? YouTube.”
-Yes.
“I filmed a video as a test this time. It’ll be up by tomorrow, so check it out.”
-Alright. Seeing you tell me this, you must be quite confident.
“Just watch it when it’s up.”
-Then I’ll look forward to it.
“Yes. Take care.”
After ending the call, Kang Hyeon grinned, thinking about how people would react.
“This is definitely going to be a hit.”
***
Ippotranslation
***
It was a huge success. Literally a mega-hit.
“Hey, did you see the video Kang Hyeon uploaded this time?”
“Kang Hyeon? Which Kang Hyeon?”
“Badass Kang Hyeon, you idiot!”
“What’s that?”
“You crazy fool. You haven’t seen it yet? Watch it quickly. It’s on a different level. Completely insane!”
Everywhere on the streets, conversations about the Badass Guild and Kang Hyeon were overflowing.
-He clears Veil of the Maze in just two days. LOL
-Do those walls usually break like that?
-He just breaks through the maze and enters. LOL But the boss fight is even more shocking LOL
-I am Crazy Dog Kang Hyeon! LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL
-Crazy Dog LOL
Everywhere, people were talking about the Crazy Dog.
But what gained even more explosive popularity was the hamburger.
-A hamburger inside a dungeon? What’s that about?
-I hear if you put it in your inventory, it’s preserved semi-permanently.
-It seems it even recovers a bit of magic.
-Wow, magic recovery and semi-permanent preservation? That’s insane.
-And apparently, it tastes amazing too.
-Yeah. 2 million won each
-Are you serious? 2 million won? LOLOLOLOLOL
-When mass production starts, the price will drop a lot…
-Still, 2 million is a bit much.
There was a lot of discussion about the hamburger among people, but the overall reaction was mostly positive.
“How is it?”
Kang Hyeon struck a proud pose as he met Director Jeong Seo-bin.
“You’ve certainly done a good job with the promotion.”
“When I do something, I do it right.”
“We’re receiving an enormous number of supply requests from all over the country. Even from overseas.”
Kang Hyeon smiled contentedly at Jeong Seo-bin’s words.
“That’s enough about the promotion, shall we look at the magic stone now?”
“Ah, right.”
Kang Hyeon remembered the purpose of his visit today and took out the magic stone from his inventory.
“The color is good. Shall we start with measuring the magic?”
“Oh, that’s possible?”
Kang Hyeon tilted his head at the unfamiliar term of magic concentration measurement.
“With the whole world rushing to research, this much is basic.”
“Oh…”
“It’s not yet known to the public, but quite a lot of research has already been done besides this.”
As he spoke, Jeong Seo-bin placed the magic stone on a huge machine.
-Whiiiiirrrr
As noise came from the machine, the numbers on the screen kept rising.
“This… The speed of increase is not normal.”
“Well, I went through a lot of trouble to get this. It’ll probably be quite high.”
The numbers on the screen continued to rise, already surpassing 25,000.
“Wow.”
“What is it?”
“It just surpassed Korea’s highest record.”
Kang Hyeon smiled at Jeong Seo-bin’s words.
-33,700
“Is it over?”
“Yes. 33,700… that’s an absurd figure.”
“Is it that impressive?”
“Yes. It’s almost close to the currently known official world record.”
“Then there shouldn’t be any worries about repairs.”
“Wait a few days. I’m sure you’ll get results that will please you.”
Hi guys, please check out the second novel by the author of this novel “Not All Heroes From Earth Are Bad“