Chapter 111 – Hansen Von Dorthe (6)

[Paul Zero...]

The level 7 Chimera Avenger repeated and nodded in satisfaction. Most of the other Chimera Avengers either had four legs or another two arms coming out of their backs, but aside from his gray skin and his pupil-less eyes, this Chimera Avenger looked no different from a giant human being.

It looked so normal that it was unbelievable it had been created through the fusion of dozens of knight corpses and Golems. Lee Shin-Woo felt jealous once more. Could he become like that if he fused with something else!?

[Are you going to give us that thing now, a name?]

"After those guys are taken care of."

[Indeed. I'll take care of them immediately.]

The level 7 Chimera Avenger nodded and quickly assumed a running position. Then he conjured a spear out of nothing in his hand; there seemed to be traces of Golem left in him after all.

But it does look like the cores have been completely dismantled and absorbed...

Regardless of whether one thought they knew how progression, evolution, and mana manipulation worked, they really didn’t, not in this world. This was good, though. Things were going his way! Each Chimera got ready to charge like the level 7 Avenger, and Lee Shin-Woo ordered them coldly.

"That guy over there. Stop him. He's the Emperor's hunting dog. You don't need to risk your lives. You just need to keep him busy for a bit."

[Ah, keeping him busy is good and all, but... It doesn't matter if we take him down, does it?]

"No, absolutely not. Your priority should be to keep yourself safe. Are you going to stop after taking down just one hunting dog? Our goal is to kill the Emperor, not die here!"

[Keuk...]

Statements like that were a red flag for a premature death, so it wasn’t something to joke about. Lee Shin-Woo glared and gave them an order once more; after seeing the level 7 Avenger agree and nod, Lee Shin-Woo ran forward with the other Avengers!

[Keuk, you insects. You dare... Know your place...!]

[The Emperor's hunting dog. Pay for your sins!]

[Revenge on the Emperor!]

As soon as the 38 Avengers entered the fray, the already hectic battle turned into utter chaos. Hansen, who was about to corner the Treasure Eater, was forced into parrying dozens of swords coming at him whilst letting out his frustrations; the Treasure Eater seized the opportunity and attacked the general as well!

[You hybrid bastards!]

[Hybrids... And who's the one who made us into hybrids!?]

[He's strong!? Is he level 7...!?]

The level 7 Chimera Avenger definitely stood out!

As a newly-evolved level 7, he was objectively much weaker than Hansen in terms of stats, but because the Treasure Eater and the other Avengers were attacking as well, and Hansen's attention was all over the place, he could certainly inflict significant damage on the general!

[You're just the beginning. We'll say that to the Emperor someday; that he’s made the worst decision possible!]

[This energy is... Are you Golems!? How dare you refuse His Majesty's grace and betray him!]

[How dare you speak of betrayal!]

[Kuwaaaaaaaaahk!]

Everywhere, mana and armaments crashed into each other. The Chimeras threw caution to the wind and attacked with reckless abandon, and Hansen couldn't respond to all of their attacks properly. On the other hand, the Treasure Eater had become relatively safe in comparison, and leisurely attacked Hansen. That was exactly what Lee Shin-Woo had been waiting for.

"Nice. Now the Treasure Eater's mine to control."

"You sure act carefree, like you knew this was how it would turn out..."

"No, I didn't. But I was hoping to get a similar result through numbers before."

He had thought it once, and the same thought came to him again: in this world, quality was much greater than quantity! The result was really satisfying to Lee Shin-Woo. How could it not be? Since the Chimeras, which he'd thought to be expandable, would become of use later on if he played his cards right!

[All of you, get lost!]

[No matter what... We'll kill you no matter what!]

[Kwaaaaaaaaaaah!]

The Chimera Avengers plunged the battle into chaos instantly. Lee Shin-Woo pulled a Drake Horn Lance from the air towards him and grabbed it as he thoroughly surveyed his surroundings. Sensing the end was fast approaching, Jin turned his back hoofs into springs and prepared to charge.

"We're taking down the Treasure Eater first, right?” Jin asked. “When are we doing it?"

"It's still a level 7 elite, so taking it down like that seems wasteful. We're going right after it exhausts its energy on the Lightning Shadow General with a huge attack."

"..."

Jin was speechless. Lee Shin-Woo spoke like he could see the future, that the Treasure Eater would have no choice but to move as Lee Shin-Woo had predicted. The important part was how they would act following that attack.

Lee Shin-Woo knew that he couldn't kill the Lightning Shadow General himself. Thus, he would make his move while the Lightning Shadow General was temporarily paralyzed by the Treasure Eater's attack. No matter what else was going on, Lee Shin-Woo simply needed to swoop in to claim his target before running away.

"So, Jin. The timing's really important. In that small window right after it attacks the Lightning Shadow General and turns to me... We have to get the first hit in."

"Easy for you to say... Shin-Woo!"

Jin suddenly called out mid-complaint. Like Lee Shin-Woo had said, the Treasure Eater was channeling all its mana in preparation for a powerful attack at the Lightning Shadow General!

[You idiot! Insignificant creature, you’re playing to his tune even till the very end!?]

[We won't let you get away!]

[Grab him!]

The Lightning Shadow General realized what the Treasure Eater was up to and attempted to block it before launching a counterattack, but the Chimeras got in his way, and he couldn't move as he'd liked.

With one strike of his sword, Hansen cut one of the level 6 Avengers to pieces, but then two other Chimera Avengers held onto his back, keeping him from moving.

[You insects!]

[Kuhwaaaaaaahk!]

The moment he realized he had been caught, he channeled powerful lightning within his body and flung the Avengers away from him, but they had achieved their goal.

In that extremely short moment following their skirmish, the Treasure Eater shot a mana shell from its giant mouth, striking the general true!

[Keuuuuuk!]

Now!

Hansen screamed and passed out. Seeing that, the Treasure Eater cheered and turned around, but at that very moment, Jin kicked off the ground and dashed with ridiculous acceleration; he seemed to be moving at light speed, albeit for only a moment!

The Drake Horn Lance in Lee Shin-Woo's hand radiated red and turned into a single, giant black horn!

"Shadow Horn!"

[Kyaaaaaaaaaahk!]

At the moment of impact, the Drake Horn Lance burrowed deep into the Treasure Eater's neck. Lee Shin-Woo felt his shoulder and wrist cracked, unable to withstand the strain of wielding the lance. It hurt so badly that Lee Shin-Woo wanted to just pop his arm out and throw it away.

Of course, he wouldn't even have the time to regenerate it. The Treasure Eater was furious from taking a good hit from its prey, and was drawing its remaining mana to burn him to a crisp!

[Gugeugaaaaaaaaaahk!]

"But it won't work...!"

Where was Lee Shin-Woo's lance? It was buried in the area where Hansen's Lightning Shadow had struck. Although the Treasure Eater had absorbed Hansen's lightning and regenerated itself, it wasn't completely healed. That was where Lee Shin-Woo's mana infused spear had pierced through.

"Melt away!"

While the physical attack was enough to injure it, Lee Shin-Woo revealed his hidden card—his level two High Rank Acid Poison!

The lance filled to the brim with mana exploded with acid poison, filling the injured area.

[Gugeuaaaaaaaaaaaaahk!]

The Treasure Eater writhed, unable to endure the awful pain of acid poison seeping deep into its body. However, Lee Shin-Woo didn't stop there. He still had four fully-charged Drake Horn Lances!

"Eat another one!"

[Kuaaaaaaaaaaaah!]

Like a falling guillotine, a Drake Horn Lance shot down from the air and precisely pierced through the area Lee Shin-Woo had hit prior. He detonated the lance again, spreading acid poison throughout its body once more!

[Gu...gureureuk...]

Though the Treasure Eater was a high rank level 7 elite, it couldn't endure anymore. The combo was too much for the Treasure Eater, as it had fought without rest and sustained injury.

Since finding Lee Shin-Woo, the Treasure Eater had continuously charged and rammed into the castle walls, destroyed 100,000 skeletons, fought a general, and had its body pierced through once... Treasure Eater remembered all these past events as rotten discharge welled in its eyeballs. It just wanted the treasure; that treasure was right before its very eyes...

"You've done well, Steve."

[Guaaaaaahk...!]

Lee Shin-Woo spoke calmly and opened his palm. The other three Drake Horn Lances floating in the air burrowed into the Treasure Eater's body one after another. He didn't even need to blow them up. That was enough to push the Treasure Eater over its limit.

[You have safely defeated a high-level foe with every dirty means possible! But so long as you do not take care of the other calamity that you called here, you will not be properly rewarded for this achievement. If you would like your feats to be recognized, please defeat him as well.]

As Lee Shin-Woo defeated the Treasure Eater, a tremendous amount of Perium dropped, as well as two bones! A shiny treasure popped out as well, but before he could collect it, Lee Shin-Woo saw a message that spoiled the mood. He had expected it somewhat, of course, so Lee Shin-Woo didn't let that get to him and collected the loot.

[You have acquired 7,893,450 Perium.]

[You have acquired the Lv7 Treasure Eater's jawbone.]

[You have acquired the Lv7 Treasure Eater's rib bone.]

[You have acquired the Sacrificial Gate. Through Bone Reinforcement, the item is transformed! You have acquired the Lv8 Bone Gate! You have acquired the title 'Treasure Master'. You can now more easily find all the treasure hidden in the world!]

[Bone Reinforcement is now Lv9! All abilities related to Bone Reinforcement have become stronger!]

"What...?"

He knew a treasure would come out of the Treasure Eater, but he didn't think that that treasure would increase in level through Bone Reinforcement. Moreover, a Bone Gate? This tiny bone? Satisfied, he checked the item...

[Bone Gate]

[Lv8]

[Durability - 1,550/1,550]

[A treasure that allows one to create a gate leading to a designated area by sacrificing a bone. Currently, the user can only create gates leading to areas he is completely familiar with, and it is impossible to cross dimensions. As the item is imperfect, the number of people able to enter the gate at once is significantly limited.]

As expected, it was an amazing item befitting the title of 'treasure'. It was a transportation item that could travel unlimited distances!

Moreover, using it would cost him only bones. While he didn't know what the price was prior to its transformation, Lee Shin-Woo had plenty of bones. The cost was thus negligible to him.

[You dirty son of a bitch... How dare you! You vulgar, wicked insect! How dare you covet what's not yours!?]

The moment Lee Shin-Woo collected the loot from the Treasure Eater, he heard a loud yell from behind him. That was obviously the Lightning Shadow General, Hansen's voice, who played a huge role in taking down the Treasure Eater. However, Lee Shin-Woo didn't even look back as he responded.

"You guys can still fight, right?"

[Of course.]

[For...revenge!]

More than half of the Chimera Avengers had collapsed, but surprisingly, only a few of them had died. Monsters boasted an odd life force that couldn't be seen from the outside. This was especially true for the level 7 Chimera; it was still hearty while Hansen had been physically hurt, albeit slightly.

They quickly recovered and each conjured a new weapon to attack Hansen. There was no one better at buying time!

"Nice. Keep him busy for a bit. Jin, this is yours. Can you absorb it? You have to even if you can't."

"I wouldn't have to absorb it if only one bone came out… Uaaaaaaaaaah!"

Lee Shin-Woo first stored the Bone Gate into his inventory very carefully before quickly using Bone Reinforcement on Jin with the Treasure Eater's jawbone. Lee Shin-Woo himself absorbed the Treasure Eater's rib bone. At that moment...

[Reinforcing your partner, Jin Taylor, by consuming the Lv7 Treasure Eater's jawbone. You have learned Lv1 High Rank Lightning Resistance. Magic has increased by 15.]

[Reinforcing your rib bone by consuming the Lv7 Treasure Eater's rib bone. Endurance and Magic have increased by 20. Intermediate Lightning is now Lv8. High Rank Lightning Resistance is now Lv2. You have learned Lv1 Element Absorption! Magic has increased by an additional 30!]

[Guuuuuaaaaaaaaaaaah! (Precious... My precious...!) - Treasure Eater]

He'd obtained the final puzzle piece to defeat one of the twelve generals.

That was a lie though.