CH 40

Heading up the stairs, I could see the hallway again. Large frames with unknown figures, countless doors clinging to the walls like parasites, carpets on the floor, and spooky decorations.

If I had to pick the most noticeable thing among them, it would be the grand doors locked behind the bars.

This dungeon, which consisted of a large mansion, did not match its name of <Tomb of the Awakened>. It had a strong boss compared to the weak monsters that appeared so far. And that boss was just beyond these bars.

Lee Myung-won, who was shaking the bars, slowly frowned.

“I think we’ll have to cut it. Baek Tae-beom-ssi, can you help me?”

Baek Tae-beom slowly took out his sword. And I was then sure.

[Sword of the Lowly D+]

[It’s a bit chipped, but its shape is of a proper sword. New skills may be acquired when used. (Cannot duplicate)

The energy of the red mist hovers over the sword. More powerful attacks can be created.]

“It’s a really old thing, yet you still have it?”

Having heard my words, Baek Tae-beom, who was about to swing the sword, flinched and stopped moving. He then looked back at me as he smiled softly.

“Hyung gave it to me.”

“…then, good luck I guess.”

Baek Tae-beom, who was still smiling calmly at my words, strode toward the bars. He swung his sword.

A huge wind pressure passed by us. The moment I reflexively covered my face, a large thud resounded throughout the hallway, and when I looked up, the bars were split in half and had fallen to the floor.

Did you just cut that with a D+ weapon?

I touched the bars, thinking if they were soft like tofu, but unfortunately, they were made of perfect steel. Lee Myung-won had a nonchalant expression on his face, and Kang Si-hoo didn’t say anything as he was exhausted.

“Hyung.”

“Hm?”

“Please praise me.”

I couldn’t help but panic as Baek Tae-beom leaned his head forward first. I gently stroked his hair messily, making it a mess, but he pulled the corners of his mouth upwards as if he were satisfied with such behavior.

I slowly started to wonder whether or not I was talking to a dog.

“There’s a keyhole over there.”

Lee Myung-won said as he looked at the door slowly. As he said, there was a hole in the middle of the door engraved in the shape of a large bird, big enough for the key to fit in.

“There’s a high probability that the others who went missing are beyond this door.”

“Bo, boss, that is a, that is a high probability… It, it must be….”

Kang Si-hoo hesitated, then said.

“I, I, I’m so weak… I don’t know if I can help, but, I….”

“I think it would be better to have at least one more person. Don’t you think so?”

“Yes, well….”

Baek Tae-beom replied indifferently. When I pinched his side, he made a fuss, saying it hurt when it didn’t really.

No matter how much I thought about it, Kang Si-hoo’s behavior was all acting. Is he weak? His titles were something the weak would never be able to attain. I wish I could learn more about that <Obscure Mask> skill. As I stared at him, Kang Si-hoo shifted uncomfortably.

Baek Tae-beom stood next to me as if to block the view.

“You have to stay by my side, Hyung.”

“…Alright.”

‘I really need to train him.’

Thinking about this and that, I put the key in the door. With a click, the key turned around the hole.

The door slowly opened as if it had been waiting for us to enter. We faced the scorching heat on the other side. Scorching flames burning hot as if they would ignite the world, people melting as opposed to the intact furniture, the unpleasant smell stinging my nose, and a nest in the middle of it all.

And a giant egg.

That was the phoenix, the boss of <Tomb of the Awakened>.

“An egg?”

At the same time Lee Myung-won spoke with a puzzled expression, the surface of the egg cracked. After I hurriedly pushed Baek Tae-beom and Kang Si-hoo back, I raised my staff.

“Save the people before the egg breaks!”

Baek Tae-beom ran out as soon as he heard my words. Kang Si-hoo hesitated a bit before following him. After they cut the ropes holding the people together, they began to move the living people behind us. Meanwhile, I spoke to Lee Myung-won.

“Prepare for battle.”

“What is in there?”

“There must be something that flashes like Lee Myung-won’s skill. The phoenix isn’t even born yet. You can feel it, right? An unusual one will come out. Do you have any defense skills?”

“I do.”

“Then, once I give the signal, share it with me.”

[CH.#990O3/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun]: Can you really stop it with that much power?

[CH.#990O3/One Seeks To Avoid The Fall] : What can’t I do? Then, why don’t you tell me what to do.

It was better than dying in the flames. While I was muttering like that, Baek Tae-beom and Kang Si-hoo brought the people away. The cracking egg completely shattered and revealed a bird shrouded with red feathers.

Immediately, I slammed my staff to the floor.

[You used a skill. Skill : Condemned]

[Commencing Judgment.]

But what came out of the air was neither a piano nor a sink, but a small squeaking doll. It fell over the phoenix’s head with a squeaking sound.

‘Damn this luck!’

At the same time, the phoenix howled in anger.

[The last room of the dungeon has been opened.]

[New quest has been updated.]

[Dungeon <Tomb of the Awakened>]

[There is one who repeatedly wakes up between death and life.

Stop him.

Reward: ???]

“Lee Myung-won-ssi!”

A golden musical instrument was created in Lee Myung-won’s hand. As he slammed the instrument down hard on the floor, a drilling, chirping melody resounded, and in an instant, something in the shape of a shield formed in front of us.

[You use a skill. Skill: Falling Stars]

[Activating Falling Stars.]

Stars of pure blue water poured out of my gloved hands, covering the shield and those behind us. And the scorching heat began to blow.

“Hyung!”

“It’s okay, stay behind me!”

I focused on using the skill while making a noise. There was a vivid sensation of something escaping my body. The hot wind scorched the ends of my hair and further soared to the ceiling. By the time I thought I couldn’t hold out any longer, the fire stopped.

“That phoenix. It’s not looking at us, is it?”

Lee Myung-won muttered, but unfortunately, I was not in a state to answer. I was able to withstand the heat thanks to the armor I was wearing, but it seemed like I would only be able to withstand the heat twice, or at most, once.

The phoenix in front of us was looking at us quietly, waving its wings as if it were annoyed by the disturbance of its sleep.

Originally, it should have swallowed all those people’s lives and woken up as a complete adult, but now it was smaller than I thought. The amount of time it took to wake up was less than that of the original novel, but it was worth a try.

“What should we do, Hyung?”

“You have to shut its beak first.”

“Its beak?”

“You have to make sure it can’t scream. Can you do it?”

“I think I can do it.”

Just as Baek Tae-beom was about to speak, Kang Si-hoo intervened.

“I, I have some related skills.”

“I never asked you.”

“Tae-beom-ah.”

“What? Did you get attached to this guy?”

[Your contractor feels angry.]

“Now is not the time to argue about that. What’s wrong with you?”

“Why are you being like this? He’s—”

“What are you two doing right now? At a time like this….”

Just as Lee Myung-won was about to speak, Baek Tae-beom grabbed his sword and ran out.

“Tae-beom-ah!”

The Phoenix stayed still even when Baek Tae-beom was a short distance away. Baek Tae-beom’s sword then cut the phoenix’s head off. The flames shot up splendidly. The moment I frowned and covered my eyes from the heat, the phoenix’s head began to regenerate slowly.

“Damn it!”

“Baek Tae-beom, come back!”

[The constellation, ‘One Who Seeks To Avoid The Fall’ shouts to Baek Tae-beom to return.]

The Phoenix’s wings flapped. The Phoenix quickly struck Baek Tae-beom. The man, who seemed to be flying, lightly kicked the wall and jumped over the phoenix.

I could see its flesh ripping. I used my skill urgently on the phoenix’s face full of pain. 

[You used a skill. Skill: Hand of the Golden Sun]

[Activating Hand of the Golden Sun. The blessing of the constellation is transferred.]

“Choi Ga-hyun-ssi, that skill…!”

Whether Lee Myung-won was surprised or not, the skill I used flew to the phoenix. The phoenix opened its mouth as if to scream again at the arrow pierced into its body.

“No!”

[You use a skill. Skill: Falling Stars]

[Skill: Falling Stars has been canceled.]

[Reason: Cannot be used consecutively]

Surprisingly, it was Kang Si-hoo that caught me as I tried to run out. He dragged me back and drew his sword. Lee Myung-won accepted my trembling body. After confirming that I was fine, Kang Si-hoo looked to the front again.

For a moment, his mouth under the mask seemed to be smiling.

And Kang Si-hoo cut off the rushing heat at once.

I had no choice but to open my mouth at the sight of the flame splitting in half behind Kang Si-hoo. It was the same with Lee Myung-won.

A hot haze ran down my cheeks. When Moses split the sea in half, did the spectators feel this way? A fire that could never be said to be comfortable has been cut down.

As the flames subsided, I shook off Kang Si-hoo’s arm and stepped forward. My thoughts about Baek Tae-beom went crazy. The Phoenix’s flame was more unusual than the ordinary flames. It was literally a fire that kills life. If exposed to the blaze as it is, a life’s vitality will be drained.

“Tae-beom-ah…!”

However, I was overly underestimating an S-class Hunter.

Baek Tae-beom, who was revealed over the collected flames, stood with his sword nailed to the ceiling as if he were receiving gravity backward. Except for his hair flowing down, he stood so calmly that I felt I was the one standing incorrectly.

He glistened his sullen eyes, raised his sword, and sprinted away.