Chapter 36

No, at first it was just a chill, but as he was continuously exposed to the black energy, it began to shimmer like water poured onto a hot dish. This meant his regeneration was actively working. If it had been anyone else, they would have quickly lost their vitality to the black energy and, due to their weakened physical abilities, would have been unable to escape death from the endless stream of undead pouring out.

Going further inside, the black energy began to do more than just drain stamina; it also started to obscure his vision.

“Open Will-o’-the-Wisp.”

At Jun-sang’s command, a small, illusory fireball appeared. He had summoned it to use as a light source to replace a torch, but pop-pop-pop! As the Will-o’-the-Wisp appeared, the dense black energy around it burned and disappeared with small sparks. It seemed the black energy’s weakness was fire.

Thanks to the Will-o’-the’-Wisp, the black energy that had been draining Jun-sang and the wolves’ stamina found it difficult to approach, and as the black energy receded, his visibility improved. The revealed interior of the cave was surprisingly spacious, wide enough for six or seven people to walk side-by-side. Jun-sang cautiously entered, preparing for unexpected ambushes and traps.

Soon after, he spotted a zombie shambling out.

—Groooowl!

But this zombie didn’t even require Jun-sang to act. The three wolves, who had been ahead of Jun-sang, attacked it simultaneously. As three large wolves lunged at once, the zombie flailed its arms, collapsed, and was instantly torn limb from limb, disintegrating. Jun-sang patted the wolves’ heads, then searched the zombie’s corpse.

Clink.

Nothing came from its head, but he was able to pick up two gleaming coins scattered among the fragmented corpse. Picking them up and examining them, he realized they were gold coins, similar to those he had picked up during the Forest Purification Quest.

“…”

For the first monster caught upon entering the cave, the reward was quite decent. Jun-sang pocketed the gold coins and continued forward. Soon after, the cave widened, revealing a rather exquisitely crafted stone chamber.

“This is…”

Jun-sang could tell at a glance that this stone chamber was artificially made. The walls and floor were smoothly polished, and what appeared to be a stone coffin lay against the wall, with jars and boxes, seemingly burial items, placed next to it. Jun-sang positioned the wolves at the exit ahead to keep watch, then first examined the boxes and jars.

“Hmm…”

Only rotten water came from the jars, but inside the boxes, he found several gold ornaments. He checked them, wondering if they might be items, but unfortunately, they were just ordinary ornaments.

Jun-sang then opened the stone coffin. As he lifted the lid of the large stone coffin, likely made of sandstone, a mummy that seemed quite old appeared inside. Jun-sang briefly bowed his head in silent tribute to the deceased, then examined the mummy, and soon discovered a ring on its hand. The silver ring, set with a gem resembling a cat’s eye, looked quite luxurious even to Jun-sang, who wasn’t well-versed in such jewelry.

“…”

Jun-sang immediately removed the ring from the mummy’s finger and inspected it.

Item Information

• Name: Guardian’s Cat’s Eye Ring
• Level Restriction: 10
• Type: Ring
• Grade: Rare
• Effect: Vitality Enhancement 5%, Poison Resistance 10%, Magic Resistance 5%
• Seed: 3 slots
• Description: A ring that protects the wearer from subtle threats.
• Seeds can be equipped in the grooves around the cat’s eye gem.

“Oh!”

It offered vitality enhancement, poison and magic resistance, and even had three seed slots. While its performance felt slightly low for a Rare grade item, it was undeniably superior to all three accessories he had obtained so far combined. Just in case, Jun-sang searched the stone coffin more thoroughly, and as a result, he found a small pouch filled with gold coins, which might have been money for the afterlife journey. There were ten gold coins in the pouch. Jun-sang discarded the worn-out, hole-ridden pouch and only kept the gold coins. He then put the lid back on the stone coffin and opened the stone coffin on the opposite side. This time, he found a silver necklace with a cat’s eye gem similar to the ring.

Item Information

• Name: Guardian’s Cat’s Eye Necklace
• Level Restriction: 10
• Type: Necklace
• Grade: Rare
• Effect: Vitality Enhancement 5%, Poison Resistance 5%, Magic Resistance 10%
• Seed: 3 slots
• Description: A necklace that protects the wearer from subtle threats.
• Seeds can be equipped in the grooves around the cat’s eye gem.

“Is it a set?”

The necklace had almost identical performance to the ring the mummy in the other coffin was wearing, differing only slightly in the poison and magic resistance values, and their names were similar. Jun-sang put on the necklace and ring. Immediately, a message arrived on his phone.

Set Item Equipped.

• Some items form a single set when multiple items are equipped.
• Completing a set grants a corresponding set effect.
• The currently completed set item is as follows:

1. Guardian’s Emblem [View Details]

• If you want information on the set item, check the details.

“…”

Jun-sang immediately tapped on the details.

Set Item Information

Guardian’s Emblem

• The mysterious magical power contained within the cat’s eye gem protects the wearer’s body.
• Components:
  1. Guardian’s Cat’s Eye Necklace [View Details]
  2. Guardian’s Cat’s Eye Ring [View Details]
• Set Effect:
  1. All skill cooldowns reduced by 5%
  2. All elemental resistances increased by 10%

“Excellent.”

The moment he confirmed the set effect, Jun-sang couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration. The cooldown reduction for all skills was self-explanatory, and the resistance effect to all elements was an exceptionally fitting trait for Jun-sang, who fought bare-handed. He had initially felt the performance was a bit lacking for a Rare grade item, but to think it had such effects!

Jun-sang bowed in silent gratitude to the mummy lying in the stone coffin, then returned the lid to its original position and resumed his advance. Perhaps it was because he had spent time rummaging through the stone coffins? Soon after, he encountered two skeleton soldiers. The skeleton soldiers, marching shoulder-to-shoulder with swords and shields down the passage, charged with increased momentum upon encountering Jun-sang.

“…”

This time, Jun-sang extended his hand to signal the wolves, who were about to rush forward, to wait, then confronted the skeleton soldiers himself.

“Open Shoulder Charge.”

The skeleton soldiers had been preparing to thrust their swords from behind their raised shields, but as Jun-sang appeared to thrust his shoulder forward, his body suddenly stretched out towards them, causing them to miss their attack timing.

CRASH!

And the moment Jun-sang’s shoulder collided with the skeleton soldiers’ shields, the iron-reinforced wooden shields shattered uselessly. Of the skeleton soldiers who had been crouching behind them, one was instantly shattered, and the other skeleton soldier had its shield-wielding hand crushed, leaving it with one arm, tumbling to the ground. The fallen skeleton soldier quickly tried to get up, but the moment its sword-wielding hand touched the ground, Jun-sang’s military boot came flying, crushing its elbow and sending it sprawling again. Then, its head was crushed by the obscuring black sole of the military boot, bringing its movements to a halt. Jun-sang checked the heads of the skeleton soldiers, but nothing came out this time.

After dispatching the skeleton soldiers and moving further inside, a wider space appeared this time, larger than the previous stone chamber. The only difference was that while the previous stone chamber was an artificial structure, this was a natural cave. The cave interior was filled with a black aura incomparable to the passage, making it impossible to see far ahead.

“Hmm…”

Jun-sang thought for a moment, then took out a portable solid fuel from his inventory and ignited it with Will-o’-the-Wisp. As he held the burning solid fuel like a torch and sent the Will-o’-the-Wisp deeper into the cave, bam-bam-bam! A noise like popping beans, accompanied by dazzling fireworks, began to unfold in the cave wherever the Will-o’-the-Wisp passed.

As he watched the black energy react fiercely to the Will-o’-the-Wisp, sparking flames, a massive roar suddenly echoed from within.

—GROOOOOAR!

And no sooner had the sound been heard than something jet-black from deep within the dense black energy charged towards the Will-o’-the-Wisp, swinging a giant zhanmadao (a type of Chinese sword).

“That’s…”

The monster was clad in heavily rusted, black-corroded armor, and the exposed skin beneath was also decayed and melted, revealing the bones within. Jun-sang had a sudden moment of alarm, but the Will-o’-the-Wisp gracefully dodged the monster’s zhanmadao like a petal fluttering in the spring breeze. The monster swung its zhanmadao again and again, trying to cut the Will-o’-the-Wisp, but its massive weapon was too clumsy to cut something as light and nimble as the Will-o’-the-Wisp.

Jun-sang placed the solid fuel on the ground. And he was about to rush towards the armored monster attacking the Will-o’-the-Wisp when, at that very moment, another armored monster appeared and began to double-team the Will-o’-the-Wisp. Every time the Will-o’-the-Wisp moved to avoid the armored monsters’ attacks, the black energy filling the cave sparked and dissipated, and before long, Jun-sang had the entire cave interior within his sight.

“…”

A monster, resembling the armored monsters but seemingly 1.5 times taller, sat in a corner of the cave, leaning on a large axe. The moment Jun-sang saw the black energy emanating from its body, he instinctively knew that this large armored monster was the final boss of this quest.

Just then, two glowing red lights emanated from inside the boss’s black, rusted helmet, meeting Jun-sang’s eyes. Jun-sang felt a chilling sensation, as if his entire body was being bound, and involuntarily flinched, but then a refreshing aura emanated from the ring and necklace he was wearing, calming his mind. The Guardian’s Emblem had reacted to the boss’s unknown mental attack.

Thump!

As the mental attack was nullified, the boss slammed its axe into the ground. Black, smoky mist rose from the cave floor, and about five undead figures appeared. The undead writhed as if screaming, then their red eye-lights flashed, and they charged towards Jun-sang. The three wolves, as if they had been waiting, darted out towards the undead. Watching the wolves and undead clash, Jun-sang finally stepped forward.

One step.

And then another.

The boss glared at Jun-sang with a gaze that seemed to tear the surrounding space, then slowly began to rise its heavy body.

Screeeech!

A sound like the scream of a malevolent spirit echoed from the rusted armor, making Jun-sang frown. But that was only for a moment. As the boss adopted a half-crouch to straighten its back, Jun-sang’s body shot forward like an arrow, as if it had never hesitated.