Chapter 11

My throat is parched. It dawned on me that I hadn’t had a single drop of water since I entered this strange place.

There’s a common saying, the 3-3-3 rule. Three minutes without air, three days without water, three weeks without food. Sometimes hypothermia replaces one of these three, but that’s roughly how it goes. People often forget this because food usually contains some moisture, but in absolutely dire situations, water should take precedence over food.

“…” The man pulled out a bit of wolf meat from his pocket and began to chew it like gum. He hoped to stave off his thirst with the saliva that naturally comes when eating…

But that caused his attention to be somewhat distracted from the new crossroads, and because of it, he allowed a surprise attack. Fortunately, however, the Crimson Wolf, a summoned creature, was standing by the man’s side.

-Grrr! The man stared blankly as the wolf, which had been quietly following him, suddenly roared and charged forward, only to be struck by a fist swung by a black, shadowy figure.

But then, hearing a whimper and seeing the wolf tumble to the side, he sharply pulled back the reins of his scattered thoughts.

“Grrr…” The man carefully examined the human-shaped being blocking his path, which had a muscular build unlike ordinary zombies. It wasn’t just its size that was different. A beast-like red glow emanated from its eyes in the darkness, and unlike the cold, desiccated zombies, a strange heat radiated from its body. Unlike the shriveled, blackened skin of zombies, this bizarre entity possessed pale blue skin.

The man realized instinctively. This creature was the master of this dungeon!

“…” He glanced over; the wolf seemed severely injured from the first blow, limping and unable to stand properly. His only ally in the current situation had been neutralized so absurdly, but the Crimson Wolf had done its part by anticipating and blocking the surprise attack.

The man threw the torch he was holding at the creature. There was no need to hold the torch anyway, as the area was brightly lit by three or four other torches.

The man watched as the blue-skinned monster casually swatted away the torch he threw with one hand, then he gripped his wooden spear firmly with both hands. And then, he regulated his breathing. He tried to heighten his tension with short inhalations and long exhalations, but the monster moved before he could achieve his goal.

As the monster’s punch, more akin to a hammer than a fist, flew towards him, the man thrust his wooden spear forward and tried to dodge to the side. But the monster’s punch was more powerful than he expected. The wooden spear, crude as it was, which had been his sturdy weapon until now, broke powerlessly the moment it was struck.

“Tch!” Though broken, the man didn’t discard the wooden spear. Instead, using the sharply angled, broken part like a blade, he powerfully thrust it into the monster’s flank, which was exposed from swinging its punch.

Clang! It was a well-aimed strike he had finally landed, but the wooden spear slid off with a sound like scraping tree bark, and the impact transferred directly to his grip, causing the man to lose a piece of the broken spear from his hand.

“…” The man frowned. His aching hand was a problem, but… More seriously, the creature’s skin was much tougher than an ordinary human’s.

The monster swung its other fist. Whoosh! A chilling sensation ran down the man’s spine as the massive, hammer-like fist grazed his head, causing cold sweat to break out. He quickly ducked and retreated, dodging the attack, but he realized he was now backed against a wall.

“Gah!” The monster swung its massive fist again, aiming for the man’s head. It was an impact he couldn’t possibly withstand, so the man quickly ducked and rolled to the side to avoid it.

Thud! Then, the sound of the fist, which had just grazed the man’s hair, smashing into the wall followed. The man clearly understood through that blow that he, too, could end up like the zombies whose heads he had shattered like watermelons with his fists or feet.

Furthermore… With an attack of that magnitude, his arm would surely break the moment he tried to block it. Superior offensive power that could shatter even stone walls. And defensive power that repelled a wooden spear aimed at an opportune moment. This monster was on a completely different level from the zombies he had faced so far.

The man looked at the monster, which had shattered the stone wall and was slowly turning towards him, wondering what he could do to defeat it. The answer wasn’t difficult. If the skin was tough, then he just needed to attack the parts that weren’t.

The monster raised its hand towards the man again. But at that very moment! The Crimson Wolf, injured and retreated to the side, leaped forward, seizing the monster’s opening.

The wolf aimed for the neck, but the monster sensed its presence and twisted its body, thwarting the surprise attack. However, the monster didn’t completely evade the wolf’s surprise attack. The wolf’s teeth latched onto the monster’s blunt ear.

“Kuwwoooooh!” The monster’s ear didn’t tear off even after being bitten by the wolf, its hide was that tough. But with the large wolf clinging to one ear, the absurd monster seemed unable to bear the pain and began to writhe, trying to shake the wolf off.

That’s when the man moved. “Hup!” Holding his breath lightly, the man crouched and lunged, slipping between the monster’s legs, and with both hands, he firmly grasped the broken wooden spear and thrust it upwards with all his might.

Thwack! The sensation of wet hide tearing reached his fingertips, and simultaneously, a scream of pain erupted from the monster’s mouth as it thrashed to shake off the wolf clinging to its ear.

“Kwaaaaargh!” The monster couldn’t endure the pain and dropped to its knees. Yet, even in that state, the monster displayed monstrous strength, grabbing the wolf’s body and slamming it to the ground.

“Kyaang!” The wolf yelped, rolling on the ground, twitching a few times as if trying to get up, and then faded into light and disappeared. The man noticed a message had arrived on his phone, but he didn’t have the luxury to take out his phone and check it right now.

Black bodily fluid was flowing from the monster’s ear. This was thanks to the wolf not letting go of its bite, even as it was slammed to the ground.

“Grrrk…” The monster awkwardly got to its feet and pulled out the wooden spear lodged in its anus. Since it hadn’t been lodged very deeply, the spear came out without much difficulty, but the monster screamed in pain once more.

The man seized the opportunity while the monster was howling in pain and lunged. “Haaaah!” A double attack activated, and his fists repeatedly hammered the monster’s head.

But the monster, staggering, reached out and grabbed the man’s outstretched arm. A terrifying grip clamped onto his wrist, and the man’s face contorted in pain and surprise.

“Kuk!” He hastily reached with his other hand to strike the monster’s wrist, which was gripping his arm, but the monster, even in its dazed state from the blows to its head, snatched that hand as well.

The man was now greatly alarmed. This monster’s monstrous strength… He realized anew that it could tear his body apart alive.

“…” If this continued, he would surely die! No matter his regeneration and having potions… If his body were torn in two, injuries or not, he would simply die.

It was at that moment, faced with the undeniable proposition of death, that a method flashed into the man’s mind. “Mad Dog!”

The moment those words burst from the man’s lips, the cards currently equipped in his card slots were automatically unequipped, and new cards were consecutively equipped into the slots. Bite, Double Attack, Rampage, Blood-Soaked, Blood-Soaked (R).

The moment these five cards were equipped in the slots, a combo card was activated. Its name was none other than ‘Harias’s Mad Dog’!

The man opened his mouth and bit down hard on the monster’s hand gripping his wrist. The increased attack speed from the combo card gave the monster no time to pull its hand away.

Crunch! The moment his upper and lower jaws met, the monster’s fingers, which had been like steel, broke limply and lost their strength.

But the man’s counterattack wasn’t over. The hand gripping his other arm also couldn’t escape the man’s teeth.

Crack! The monster instantly lost all the fingers on both hands, and screaming from the pain, it stumbled backward.

The man frowned at the disgusting smell of the monster’s dark red bodily fluid pooling in his mouth, but he could also discern a faint fear in its eyes. Fear inducement, which renders the opponent incapable of counterattacking! That very characteristic was now manifesting.

The man lunged like lightning and shouted, “Berserker!”

Again, cards left the slots, and new cards filled their place. Rampage, Blood-Soaked, Blood-Soaked, Blood-Soaked (R).

The moment these four cards were equipped in the slots, the combo card ‘Janthunsen’s Berserker’ activated, applying the effects of 100% increased additional attack power, 30% increased additional fear inducement, and 50% reduced cooldown for physical attack skills to the man’s body in succession.

And finally, the Double Attack skill, now in place, burst forth from the man’s fists. The monster tried to quickly dodge, but its attempt failed because the injury to its groin had made its feet sluggish.

Thwack! The rapid one-two straight, delivered like that of a skilled boxer, directly hit the monster’s philtrum again, and struck by the powerful barrage, the monster suffered a temporary concussion and fell into a fear-induced state once more.

The man shoulder-charged the swaying monster. The monster, whose lower body strength had already given out, couldn’t withstand the tackle and collapsed backward. The man didn’t miss the chance and mounted its body.

And he repeatedly punched its head. Bang! Bang! Bang!

As powerful and rapid blows continued to rain down, the monster, due to the fear inducement effect, couldn’t even counterattack and had to continuously endure the assaults.

The man used his Double Attack, which was off cooldown, on the monster’s unfocused head. Thwack! Finally, the monster’s head couldn’t withstand the cumulative impact and shattered with an eerie sound.

“Huff… huff…” The man slowly withdrew his fist, which had plunged into the monster’s head.

Then, as if signaling the end of the battle, the sound of a message arriving on his phone was heard.