Translator: WH

(T/N: I realized that the name Daun Jung will cause some inconsistencies with the other characters’ naming styles, hence it will be changed to Jung Da-woon to keep the naming style consistent from this chapter onwards. Thank you and enjoy. Signing off, WH.)

……Drip, drip.

Red blood flowed down the shaft of the two swords he was holding with both hands.

“Phew. Is it finally over now?”

With an exhausted expression, Ryu Seung-woo breathed a sigh of relief whilst wiping his sweat.

He has always been risking his life since the moment he arrived at the dungeon, but he almost died this time.

But…… He survived this time too.

“Oh my god. Did you kill all these boars? Did you get hurt?”

His companions approached him and glanced around with an overwhelmed look.

The bodies of the one-horned boars were piled up like mountains around him.

Ryu Seung-woo smiled back.

“Yes. Fortunately, I didn’t get any major injury. How was it on your side, Ho-yeol-hyungnim? Did anyone get hurt?”

“ Don’t worry about us, we went off in groups…..Rather than that, I’m sorry we couldn’t come to help you because we were caught up in the midst of a battle.”

“Don’t worry about it. Thanks to that I received a reward too.”

“Reward?”

Upon hearing Seung-woo’s words, The muscular Goo Ho-yeol holding a big axe asked with his eyes widened.

Ryu Seung-woo smiled widely and checked the message he had just received.

“One-Horned Boar Slayer!”

You have hunted 100 one-horned boars!

The dungeon pays tribute for your great achievement.

– Reward: Skill

“It seems that the number of one-horned boars I’ve killed till date exceeded 100. I got a skill as a reward.”

“Ohhhh! Really? What kind of skill is it?”

After hearing what Ryu Seung-woo said, his other companions also flocked to him with a surprised look.

Vigor of the One-Horned Boar (Level 1) NEW

– Your whole body will be surged with the strength of the one-horned boar

– Temporarily amplifies your physical stats by 2x.

– Duration: 10 seconds, Cooldown: 100 seconds

“……Wait, physical stats means that your strength and stamina will be boosted. Seung-woo, you’re becoming more of a monster day by day.”

Goo Ho-yeol looked at Ryu Seung-woo with a disbelief and overwhelmed expression.

Ryu Seung-woo shuddered with his signature gentle smile.

“Haha. What do you mean a monster? What will I do if you call me like that, Ho-yeol-hyungnim?”

“Wow. It’s like attaching wings to the back of the tiger. I can’t believe that you now have monster-power on top of being a Technician class. That’s just unfair!”

A short boy came up to their side and gave a series of exclamations.

The words growing wings on the back of a tiger was indeed a fitting comparison.

If the muscular giant Goo Ho-yeol was a fighter who fought with his crazy raw strength, Ryu Seung-woo was a genius that fought with skills and techniques rather than raw strength.

Such a person has now developed a skill that amplifies his strength.

Although the cooldown time was 100 seconds, it was clear that the cooldown duration would gradually decrease and the skill duration would gradually increase as the skill level went up.

In addition, that ‘2x’ effect was very likely to also increase.

It was a fitting skill to be rewarded for all his achievements.

“Wowww, Hyung, you’re the best. I’m so glad Seung-woo-hyung is on our side.”

“I know right. Seung-woo, let’s stick together for the rest of our lives.”

“Haha. Don’t be like this, guys. I’ll be embarrassed if you praise me too much. Let’s not do this here, let’s go back to the cave.”

“Well then, shall we? But…….”

Behind Ryu Seung-woo’s back, Goo Ho-yeol’s footsteps lingered

“It’s a bit of a waste. Right?”

“Well.”

At the same time, their eyes turned to the 100 dead one-horned boars that were piled up like mountains.

100 bodies of pork meat.

Instinctively, saliva went down their throat.

“It looks delicious…”

“If we butcher all this, we’ll get a ton of meat…….”

“There’s nothing we can do about it. The meat of the one-horned boar is poisonous. You’ll get an upset stomach if you eat it.”

“……If only Da-woon-hyung had been alive, he could use his Purification skill to–”

“Yoon Jin-soo!”

Eeekkk.

As soon as Jung Da-woon’s name came out of the boy’s mouth, Goo Ho-yeol reflexively shouted at him and glanced over towards Ryu Seung-woo.

Yoon Jin-soo muttered in a sullen voice.

“Phew. I never imagined that Da-woon-hyung’s vacancy would be this big of an effect to our team. He used to always just cook for us while hiding behind us.”

Ryu Seung-woo’s face, who always smiled, hardened for the first time upon hearing those words.

“……Just cooked? Do you really mean that?”

“No, it’s-…….”

As he suddenly looked serious, Yoon was flustered.

They didn’t know when it started, but the name Jung Da-woon was like a taboo word.

Ryu Seung-woo, who muttered that name in his mouth, opened his mouth heavily.

“Jung Da-woon, he……was the center of our team no matter what anyone said.”

Goo Ho-yeol sighed after he heard what Seung-woo said.

“That’s right, We were all half-wits who only knew how to fight.”

Half-wits.

Ryu Seung-woo truly thought that it was a fitting expression.

Until that day, he, who didn’t know anything but Taekwondo.

In this world that no one knew, fear overtook his whole body, and he didn’t know how he could survive in this unknown world.

The reason why he could forget about everything and just ran forward was all-…….

“Because he was always supporting me from behind.”

“Yes, that’s right. Battle? Everybody can do that if you just give them a knife. But he-…….”

Goo Ho-yeol laughed as he recalled the first time he saw Jung Da-woon.

The first day of the dungeon game.

The participants were at a loss at what to do when they saw a knife suddenly appearing in their hands.

Were they supposed to stab the person next to them with this weapon, or to join forces to fight someone or something else?

Or was it given so they could kill themselves early on? The 99 remaining people panicked because they couldn’t find the reason as to why or what they were supposed to do.

There was only one person among them, which was Jung Da-woon, that began to act completely different from others.

“He…… he made a whetstone first. He said the blade looked a little dull.”

“Huh? A whetstone?”

Yoon Jin-soo, who had not seen the situation at the time as he was busy panicking, asked back with a curious look.

“Oh? Don’t tell me Da-woon-hyung made all the whetstones that we are using now? Where did he get it? Or how the hell did he make it?”

Smirking.

When he thought of that time, a smile appeared on fRyu Seung-woo’s mouth.

“He tore apart the summoning stone. Man, that guy.”

“……Huh? What kind of stone?”

“a gigantic monument on which the Helper stood. The magic stone that brought us to this cursed land. According to Jung Da-woon’s, the surface and hardness were perfect for sharpening a knife.”

“……?”

Yoon Jin-soo lost his words for a moment.

“Ho-, how did that Hyung rip it off?”

“Well, by using his know-how?”

“Know-how?”

Goo Ho-yeol nodded.

“He had a knack for it, you see. He’s also skilful with his hands. In fact, he was good at everything beisdes fighting.”

“Everything except for fighting…….”

“Yes. Except for fighting. But the purpose of this game in the first place was not to be strong, but to survive. In that sense, he was the strongest out of all of us.”

“To survive.”

Yoon Jin-soo was already fully aware of how heavy and scary those words meant.

And finally, the countless roles he took on for the team began to come to mind.

‘Ahhhhh, I see now.’

Purification skill?

It was only a small part of what he had.

Even without the Purification skill, Jung Da-woon…. would still be Jung Da-woon.

Ryu Seung-woo said solemnly.

“So we will continue to survive from now on. More tenaciously than anyone else. That will be our memorial and prayer in memory of the death of Jung Da-woon.”

“Hmmm.mm The atmosphere has become too heavy.”

Trying to get rid of the somewhat awkward atmosphere, Goo Ho-yeol patted Yoon Jin-soo on the back.

“That’s why, you bastard! Let’s get rid of any lingering we have for the poisoned pork and go back and chew on some potatoes!”

“Ughhh! Potato, potato! Noooo, what are you talking about? What potatoes! Potatoes again! Why can’t any toxin-free monsters just appear now, PLEASE!”

“Huhuhhh. Come to think of it, Jung Da-woon was also the first person to find potatoes under the monster’s nest during the beginning, right?”

“That’s right. Let us be grateful and be happy when we think of Jung Da-woon that is buried in the cold earth at this moment.”

“Phew, alright I got it. No matter what great discovery we had, it was all thanks to Jung Da-woon. I’m hungry, so let’s go back to the cave.”

Yoon Jin-soo sighs deeply and moved to a place where his companions were waiting.

Just thinking about the fact that he would have to eat potatoes again for dinner made him choke.

* * *

And at that time, Jung Da-woon was-…….

Today was also a pork belly party.

Shiiiiiiiiishhh!

“Keuuuuu, this is what I’m talking about!”

The oil splashed on top of the heated stone plate.

The thickly sliced red meat sizzled on top of the white oily fat!

And if he pick up a piece of this perfectly grilled meat that was shimmering like gold and ate it in one bite?

The meat juices would explode! And his salivary glands would salivate!

“Keuuuuu! Am I in heaven!”

Pork falls from the sky every day, and chubby fishes grow in his pond.

If this isn’t heaven, where else would this be?

[Ahhhh, come on, it’s too damn noisy! Why can’t you stop talking every time you eat! When you eat, just focus on eating! PLEASE!]

“Hoho. Having a reaction is important when you eat something delicious. Don’t you know, huh?”

Flinch?

The Rabbit was visibly furious when its pride as a Helper of the Dungeon was hurt.

[What, what, what don’t I know?] Do you think as a Helper, there would be anything I wouldn’t already know?]

“I don’t think so. I don’t think you know.”

[No! Of course I know. I don’t know what it is exactly, but I’m sure I know.]

“Really? Actually, the meat of this one-horned boar is poisonous and it usually can’t be eaten. But if you use the Purification skill, the toxins disappear, leaving only a bit of the bitter taste of the poison. Do you know what that means?”

[……?]

Jung Da-woon whispered in the rabbit’s ear as if he was letting it in on a big secret.

“It’s delicious even without salt.”

[Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I don’t need to know that kind of shit!]

“Muahahaha! Isn’t this great?”

[I’m going to kill him! I’m definitely going to kill this human!]

Just then, another boar crashed behind Jung Da-woon’s back, who was having a good time.

Kwoong!

“Kwoooik!”

“Oh? Another big catch!”

[Oh, come on! You stupid piggies!] No matter how much your brain resets, isn’t it time to stop jumping? ……Huh, HUHHHH? What do you think you are doing now?]

The Rabbit’s eyes, which were furious, widened at the moment when he saw what Jung Da-woon was doing.

“Hurkkkkkkk!”

Jung Da-woon was lifting the body of the dead one-horned boar with both hands.

Just yesterday, he was dragging it on the floor for a long time just to move it somewhere else.

[What, how are you so strong all of a sudden! Is it because you always eat meat?!]

“No. It’s just a skill, a skill.”

[A skill out of nowhere?] There’s no way you’ll have a strength-related skill here too.]

“Well, I saw that the skill’s name was the or something like that.”

Flinch.

[……you’re not talking about the achievement, are you?]

“That’s right. Slayer.”

The Rabbit was visibly flustered.

[This, this can’t be? You’re supposed to catch 100 one-horned boars alone to unlock that achievement.]

“I know right. I guess I’ve caught about 100 boards with the trap after all this while.”

[Huh? No, wait a minute? Something’s not right though? You’ve reset a few times, right? Then how did you hunt 100 of them?]

Jung Da-woon tilted his head at the Rabbit’s gibberish comment.

“Hmm? What does that mean?”

[There’s only about 40 of them living near the trap. ……Holy shit, don’t tell me?]

Jeong Da-woon nodded at the Rabbit’s anxious gaze.

“Ah-ha. So even if the dungeon is reset, I guess the count continues to accumulate. Was it supposed to be something impossible?”

Eventually the Rabbit exploded.

[Ughaaaaaaahhhh! Of course not! You error seed! It’s obvious that the kill count is reset when the game is over!]

“Oh, is that so! Then, don’t tell me, if I hunt other monsters in the future, will the kill count accumulate too? If we catch 100 monsters of another type, will that give me another achievement? Ahhh, but it’s going to be hard to hunt without a trap, right?”

[Don’t ask me, you shitty pig!] This shitty human has been eating pork meat all this while that he’s actually become a pig!]

Jung Da-woon suddenly became anxious.

“……Don’t tell me I actually look like a pig now? No, right? It’s not true right? Hurry up and tell me it not true.”

[I don’t know, you pig!]

Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.