Chapter 98

[We express our utmost admiration. You have created a substance worthy of being recorded in history for the first time.]

[Kainium]

[Nullification Metal]

[Possesses the power to remove all forms of magical devices and abilities]

After confirming the effect, Jaeha smiled. Then, as he pondered whether to use it to craft a weapon, he began striking the kainium with a hammer.

‘No. It’s too soft for that.’

It was only slightly harder than ordinary steel. That meant even if he made it into a weapon, it would break easily. After thinking for a moment, Jaeha called for Bloodia.

“You called?”

“Come here.”

Then Jaeha took out what he had made before she arrived.

“A dagger……?”

“Yeah.”

“……It’s kainium, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

“Then why are you pointing it at me?”

“I need a test subject to experiment on.”

“……That’s too cruel.”

“It’ll heal anyway.”

“Still……”

Jaeha smiled as he spoke.

“You’ll only hurt for a moment.”

Then Jaeha threw the dagger at Bloodia.

“Eek.”

As it pierced her body, she let out a small sound. Then Jaeha looked at her and spoke.

“How’s the effect?”

“Ugh…… this is more than I thought……”

“Why?”

“The effect is powerful……!”

“Oh. Really?”

“My…… healing factor seems to be disappearing too……”

“Is that so?”

“Yes……”

“Good.”

Nodding, Jaeha pulled the dagger out of her. Blood flowed from her wound.

Even after the dagger was removed, the effect seemed to persist, as she continued to wobble unsteadily. Confirming that it worked, Jaeha nodded and used the kainium he had created to forge a large number of daggers.

“It’s not a consumable anyway, so I can keep using it.”

After making a bunch of daggers, Jaeha packed them away while Bloodia sniffled in the corner.

“What’s with you? You’re being noisy.”

“I’m hurt. Until recently I was living treated like a queen. And now I get this kind of shabby treatment.”

“What do I care? You should’ve beaten me then.”

“You’re so mean.”

“You should be grateful I didn’t kill you. You were begging me to spare you, saying you’d do anything.”

“How cowardly, throwing facts in my face……”

Then Jaeha got up from his seat. After thinking for a moment, he stepped out of the blacksmith shop and called John Smith.

“Hello. It’s me.”

<Yes. What’s the matter?>

“You said you were preparing to clear the SS-Rank dungeon, right?”

<That’s correct.>

“How far along are the preparations?”

<They’re almost complete.>

“Is that so?”

<Yes.>

“Then I’ll send you something.”

<What is it?>

“I found out something recently — it seems most of the bosses in SS-Rank dungeons have physical immunity.”

<……Physical immunity, you say?>

“Of course it’s not 100% immunity, but some bosses have healing abilities strong enough that you can’t kill them unless their physical immunity is removed.”

<I see.>

“But this time, I managed to create a metal that breaks through that physical immunity.”

<Is that true?>

“Yeah. I’ll send it to you. I made it into daggers — as long as you land a hit, it’ll take effect. I don’t know the exact duration yet, but I’m going to an SS-Rank dungeon within a few days, so I’ll find out then.”

<Yes. Understood.>

“Good. I’ll let you go then.”

<Yes. Take care.>

After hanging up, Jaeha organized the daggers and sent about ten of them to him. The total number of daggers Jaeha had made was roughly five hundred.

Since making them thin and small didn’t matter much, he crafted them at the size of a slightly thick, long needle. That was why he could produce such a large quantity.

After sending them off, Jaeha began to take a short rest. Then he started looking into SS-Rank dungeons.

There wasn’t much solid information available, and in the end, Jaeha confirmed the locations of all dungeons owned by the Blue Dragon Guild.

“The number of newly appeared dungeons is about fifty. Of those, the Blue Dragon Guild owns about forty, and there are just over twenty SS-Rank dungeons. And the Blue Dragon Guild owns all of the SS-Rank dungeons.”

Jaeha nodded as he read what was written on the internet. Then he began scanning through the names of the dungeons.

Slowly going through the names of the twenty dungeons, Jaeha started picking out the ones that caught his interest. From among them, he selected three. The Swamp of Medusa, the Land of Cerberus, and Balrog’s Colosseum.

He chose the Swamp of Medusa simply because it was Medusa, so there might be poison involved, and Cerberus because he was just curious about Cerberus. As for Balrog’s Colosseum, the name “Colosseum” piqued his expectations.

‘I picked these pretty haphazardly. Well, I’m the one going anyway. Better to go where I want to go.’

With that thought, Jaeha rose from his seat.

* * *

And so, the dungeon he moved to in order to clear it was the Swamp of Medusa.

Arriving at the entrance of the Swamp of Medusa, Jaeha looked around. Unlike other dungeons, there were no Hunters at the entrance of this one.

“Why isn’t this one guarded?”

At that moment, someone approached Jaeha from a distance.

“You can’t go in.”

The people approaching from afar were wearing the clothes worn by Blue Dragon Guild members, and they spoke while looking at Jaeha.

“This dungeon is owned by the Blue Dragon Guild. You are not permitted entry.”

“I’ve already received permission from your side. It’s fine.”

“We haven’t received any notice about that……”

They seemed to recognize Jaeha’s face, scratching their heads in confusion at his words.

“Why didn’t the notice go through. They said I could go anywhere. Well, you do know that I’m acquainted with both Chairman Ju and Juinhwa, right?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“I’ll take responsibility, so please let me in. Though since I already have permission, there shouldn’t be anything to take responsibility for anyway.”

“Well, since you put it that way, we understand, but still, this dungeon is a bit serious…… Wouldn’t it be better to go somewhere else?”

“Huh?”

“It’s because the poisonous energy emanating from within the dungeon has encroached upon the area around the entrance. You can’t even stand nearby.”

“Ah, so that’s why you were all standing far away.”

“Yes. So…… wouldn’t it be better to go somewhere else?”

“It’s fine. I have immunity to poison anyway.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Don’t worry.”

With that, Jaeha stepped into the dungeon.

Chapter 18

Entering the Swamp of Medusa, Jaeha looked around.

“It really is a swamp. But it’s a bit different from the Swamp of Poison.”

In the Swamp of Poison, every part of the surroundings was poisonous. The terrain, structures, and everything else had been altered by the poison, with colors different from normal trees—but the Swamp of Medusa that Jaeha had just entered was not like that.

‘There seems to be a fairly strong poison in the air, though. The toxicity is on the strong side, but the amount is pretty small.’

Thinking this, he began moving forward. Before long, he spotted a monster.

“Medusa…… doesn’t look like it.”

The monster that revealed itself was not a Medusa. The Medusa Jaeha knew was a monster with a snake’s lower body, a woman’s upper body, and snakes for hair.

But the monster Jaeha was looking at now held twin swords in both hands, with a snake’s lower body and a woman’s upper body.

“A Lamia?”

After thinking for a moment, Jaeha shrugged and charged toward the monster. As he approached, the monsters let out a “kiiiek” sound and attacked him with their twin swords.

Jaeha naturally dodged the Lamias’ attacks and struck back, and the Lamias eventually fell without being able to withstand his assault for long. After finishing off about ten Lamias, Jaeha began dissecting them.

While dissecting, he found something just below the collarbone.

“A poison sac.”

After thinking for a moment, Jaeha opened the poison sac and dipped his finger in the poison to taste it.

‘About the same level as Darkin’s poison.’

Feeling the toxicity, Jaeha nodded.

“So the boss is a Medusa, then. The Medusa’s poison must be much stronger, right?”

With that thought, Jaeha rose from his spot and began moving forward.

* * *

After clearing the Wave Room, Jaeha extracted the poison sacs from the numerous Lamia corpses. After organizing the byproducts, he gathered up the poison sacs to head to the Boss Room.

Glancing around for a moment, Jaeha spotted the twin swords the Lamias had used. Picking one up, he realized the material of the twin swords was the same as the Centaurs’ spears.

“Hmm. It seems all the weapons from SS-Rank dungeons are made of this metal.”

It might have been a hasty judgment, but with kainium playing such a crucial role, the fact that two different dungeons produced items of the same material strongly suggested the others would be the same.

‘Anyway, I’ll find out soon enough when I broadcast the dungeon raids tomorrow or the day after.’

Saying that, Jaeha smiled and headed toward the Boss Room. Entering the Boss Room, he spotted a stone statue in the center.

“A stone statue?”

The statue was the familiar form of a Medusa that people commonly knew.

‘So that’s the boss.’

Nodding, Jaeha slowly approached the statue, and as he drew near, the statue began to shake and crack apart. Then the Medusa looked at Jaeha and spoke.

“Hehehe. Another piece of material to become a statue has come to me.”

Along with the Medusa’s words, the sound of snakes flicking their tongues and hissing filled the air. Watching that, Jaeha drew his sword.

‘Before trying the dagger, I should check whether she has physical immunity.’

Then, sword in hand, Jaeha charged at the Medusa. As he lunged, the Medusa attacked him with her snakes. Jaeha twisted his body this way and that, dodging the onslaught of snakes pouring in from all directions.

After cutting down the snakes surging toward him, Jaeha pulled back. The severed snakes slowly began to regenerate.

“So she has regeneration too.”

Having confirmed that, Jaeha charged in at full speed. Caught off guard, the Medusa crossed her arms to block his attack, and Jaeha put his strength into the blow, slicing her hands clean off.

“So no physical immunity?”

Jaeha paused to think, staring quietly at the Medusa. But she grabbed her severed hands with her snakes, pressed them back to the stumps, and they reattached in an instant.

‘Her regeneration is incredibly strong.’

He still couldn’t tell for certain whether she had physical immunity or not. So Jaeha retreated and pulled a gun from his Inventory. Loading a bullet enchanted with Piercing, he immediately fired at the Medusa.

Thunk—

The bullet sank in with a small sound.