abcnovels
Chapter 62
Chapter 62
Chapter 62
‘Crazy… Now he can even use healing?’
Lee Si-Woo couldn’t help but be astonished as he followed Jeong-Hoon through the dungeon.
Before entering, he had received healing.
How many times had he received healing from healers after reaching level 200?
That’s why he could be sure.
What healed him was healing magic.
And the only one who could have cast that healing was the martial artist.
There was no one else there except for the martial artist and himself.
‘Where the hell did he learn divine power?’
It was possible to switch from magic power to divine power.
But that martial artist definitely used magic power.
That meant that magic power and divine power coexisted within him.
‘Damn, I’ve never even heard of such a thing.’
Magic power and divine power coexisting?
That couldn’t be possible, could it?
Lee Si-Woo looked at Jeong-Hoon with confused eyes.
He was punching the ogres in the dungeon instead of using a bow.
“Human! I’ll kill you!”
An ogre that had run away from Jeong-Hoon rushed towards Lee Si-Woo.
Of course, it couldn’t withstand Lee Si-Woo’s sword strike and died.
After that, it was a breeze.
Whenever Lee Si-Woo was in danger, Jeong-Hoon would cast healing on him.
Thanks to that, Lee Si-Woo’s ogre hunting was much easier, and Jeong-Hoon was even more so.
In less than three hours, they reached the chamber where the Ogre King was hiding.
“I’ll go in alone from here.”
“You’re going alone?”
Lee Si-Woo was a little surprised at Jeong-Hoon’s words.
He had naturally assumed that they would face the Ogre King together.
At the same time, he felt relieved.
From the field to the dungeon, he was mentally exhausted from the constant running.
He wanted to log out and rest right away.
“You can come with me if you want.”
“No! I’m not that clueless.”
“Is that so?”
Jeong-Hoon chuckled and entered the chamber.
He had brought Lee Si-Woo along as a minion to use until the boss fight.
Since they had been hunting non-stop until now, Lee Si-Woo chose to rest without hesitation.
‘Then shall I start too?’
There was a reason why he had entered after leaving Lee Si-Woo behind.
[You have explored an unknown area alone. 20,000 achievement points have been awarded.]
[Achievement Shop level has increased to 4.]
If he entered alone, he would receive 20,000 achievement points.
With this, the Achievement Shop level had increased to 4.
Leveling up to level 3 was quick, but after that, the required achievement points increased significantly, making it difficult to level up.
Therefore, if he could get achievement points, he had to get them no matter what.
“Roar! Human! You dare harm my children!”
In front of him, the Ogre King glared at Jeong-Hoon with bloodshot eyes.
[Lv.190 Ogre King]
The level 190 Ogre King.
A whopping 86 levels higher than Jeong-Hoon, who was level 104.
Nevertheless, Jeong-Hoon was overflowing with confidence.
Not only did he have vivid memories of his past regression, but he had also recently defeated the level 200 Guardian of Darkness.
Anima was already in his hand.
“Take him down in one shot.”
Anima shouted loudly, perched on Jeong-Hoon’s shoulder.
As if responding to the shout, Jeong-Hoon drew the bowstring.
‘Extreme Archer: Soul’
A passive skill, not an active one.
Of course, his magic power decreased sharply every time he released the bowstring, but it was immediately covered by his divine power, so there was no problem.
“You think you can stop me with that?”
The Ogre King scoffed and rushed towards Jeong-Hoon.
He intended to ram him with the giant horns on his forehead.
[Ogre King uses ‘Pause’.]
[Ogre King uses ‘Enhance: Horns’.]
As the Ogre King used his abilities, Jeong-Hoon couldn’t move, as if his legs were frozen.
However, he could still move his arms. Pause was simply an ability that bound his legs to prevent him from dodging attacks.
Also, flames erupted from the giant horns, and their size doubled.
But Jeong-Hoon, without a single breath out of place, aimed precisely at the Ogre King’s forehead and released the drawn bowstring.
Whoosh!
The arrow shot out and hit the Ogre King’s forehead accurately.
“Kuaaak!”
It didn’t pierce the forehead completely, but it was enough.
‘3 seconds of incapacitation.’
The Ogre King was greatly confused by his body suddenly not obeying him.
“Damn human!”
He roared towards Jeong-Hoon.
“Let’s end this quickly.”
Jeong-Hoon drew the bowstring again.
The incapacitation time was 3 seconds.
It didn’t stack, so he had to wait 300 seconds for it to activate again.
But that was fine.
3 seconds was more than enough time to strike the Ogre King’s vital points.
Jeong-Hoon, aiming his bow, released the drawn bowstring.
Whoosh!
The arrow was fired, and at the same time, the Ogre King’s incapacitation time ended.
The Ogre King staggered as the paralysis suddenly wore off.
But the arrow accurately hit and pierced the back of the Ogre King’s neck.
“Kuaaak!”
He screamed in pain.
“That’s art. In some ways, it seems even better than a divine archer…?”
Anima tapped Jeong-Hoon’s back rhythmically with his tail, as if clapping.
Jeong-Hoon drew and released the bowstring once again.
The arrow shot out and pierced the Ogre King’s neck.
Two arrows pierced vital points, and the Ogre King, who boasted a strong defense, collapsed to the ground.
He trembled for a while and then went limp.
He was dead.
[You have defeated the Ogre King for the first time.]
[A special item is dropped as a first clear reward.]
One item was dropped next to the fallen Ogre King.
Jeong-Hoon approached and picked up the item.
[Radiant Star]
What the Ogre King spat out was not his horns, nor the shoulder armor he was wearing, but just a small shining stone.
It was safe to say that there were no items he dropped.
He was just a monster needed for the lord’s castle quest.
However, Jeong-Hoon knew the true value of this stone better than anyone.
It was this Radiant Star.
[Radiant Star]
-Type: Material
-Grade: Epic
-A small star that shines on its own.
There was only a description of the item, and nothing about how to use it.
However, Jeong-Hoon knew better than anyone where to use this star.
He had heard it from Alessandro Bryden before his regression.
‘Hoon, have you ever heard of the Radiant Star?’
‘Radiant Star?’
At that time, I was obsessed with growth, so I was curious about the unusual name.
Alessandro chuckled at my sparkling eyes and explained the Radiant Star.
‘Yes, it’s the item that leads to the hidden theme!’
Alessandro was pathologically obsessed with hidden themes among all the opportunities.
Originally, the hidden theme in the starting village would have been his, but Jeong-Hoon had snatched it after returning.
And he would snatch this hidden theme as well.
The Radiant Star was an item given only upon the first clear.
In other words, there was no chance to obtain the Radiant Star unless it was the first clear.
‘It was luck.’
No one had hunted the Ogre King for a week after its release.
Users over level 200 were leveling up in their respective suitable levels, and users between levels 100 and 150 didn’t dare to challenge the level 190 Ogre King.
Furthermore, the reward offered by the lord was ridiculously low.
However, it wouldn’t be long before it was revealed to be a honey pot, and the users who hadn’t accepted the quest would regret it.
But Jeong-Hoon wasn’t interested in their reactions.
‘I’m already curious.’
He was only curious about Alessandro Bryden’s reaction.
Even now, he would be diligently searching for clues to the hidden theme in his spare time.
“What are you thinking about?”
Anima asked with a suspicious look.
“Ah, just someone I remember.”
“Really? That guy is pitiful too. What did he do wrong to get on your bad side?”
Anima had seen it.
The fate of those who got on Jeong-Hoon’s bad side.
Anima shuddered at the murderous intent he felt from Jeong-Hoon just now.
It was an incomparably stronger killing intent than the one he felt from the Ora-Knight and the assassin.
“He made a grave mistake. So I’m going to give him the worst possible ending.”
Jeong-Hoon cut off the Ogre King’s head and put it in his bag.
* * *
A few days had passed since Jeong-Hoon left.
Thanks to him leaving alone, Isaac was able to return home and spend a cozy time with his wife, Charlotte.
Of course, it was only superficial coziness.
Isaac was trembling with anxiety as he paced around the house.
“They say the Ogre King is incredibly strong. What do you think?”
“I don’t know.”
“I’m not doubting Hoon, but it seems like the Ogre King has a lot of minions.”
“If you’re so worried, why don’t you go help him?”
“…I can’t do that.”
Before Jeong-Hoon left, Isaac had seen the look in his eyes.
A resolute look that seemed to say, “Don’t interfere.”
In the end, Isaac could only watch him leave.
“Then why don’t you just wait patiently? He must have gone alone because he’s confident.”
Jeong-Hoon was a knight.
A knight with a perfect chivalric spirit.
Of course, he had heard the stories about the Ogre King, but he had even rescued Isaac, who was trapped in a dungeon alone.
There must be a reason why he had stepped up so bravely.
Knock. Knock.
Someone knocked on the door of the mansion.
“Isaac! Are you home? Your benefactor just returned!”
At those words, Isaac jumped up and opened the door.
It was Shuren, Isaac’s colleague.
“Is that true?”
“I’m telling you, it’s true! He came back after subjugating the Ogre King!”
“I must go see him right now. …Would it be alright if I step out for a moment?”
Isaac asked Charlotte for permission before leaving immediately.
He had been away from his wife for so long that it had become a habit to ask her permission before going out.
“Go ahead.”
“Thank you.”
Only after Charlotte’s permission did Isaac head to the lord’s castle with Shuren.
* * *
‘May I take my leave now…?’
As soon as the subjugation was over, Lee Si-Woo spoke up as if he had been waiting.
Since he had achieved his goal, Jeong-Hoon let him go.
Jeong-Hoon tilted his head as he watched Lee Si-Woo run away with his tail between his legs.
‘No matter how I think about it, I don’t think I’ve done anything wrong.’
He was the one who had tried to kill him on a request.
Shouldn’t he be grateful and bow down to Jeong-Hoon for letting him off the hook with just being a minion?
Anyway, Jeong-Hoon immediately returned to the lord’s castle.
An exclamation mark was blinking above Blaine’s head.
“Did you succeed in the subjugation?!”
“Yes. See for yourself.”
Jeong-Hoon held out the Ogre King’s head in front of him.
“It’s the Ogre King!”
Blaine exclaimed in surprise at the sight of the Ogre King’s head.
“They were tougher than I thought, so it took a while.”
“…Thank you very much. Since you have returned safely, how about I prepare a banquet?”
“Sounds good.”
“I’ll have it prepared immediately. Before that, to our benefactor…”
Blaine signaled, and the butler came in carrying a box covered in a red cloth.
When the cloth was removed, a box made of glass on all sides appeared.
Inside was a small golden badge.
“What’s this?”
“Yes. I would like to bestow this honorary badge upon our benefactor. With this badge, you can freely move within the territory and receive appropriate treatment even when visiting other territories.”
“I see.”
“Please accept it.”
“Yes.”
[Quest completed.]
[You have acquired ‘Honorary Knight of Autobahn’.]
Perfect.
With this, he could now go find the hidden theme.