Level Up Machine

Chapter 31 Another Jackpot (4)

Upon seeing the Stone Golem, Ara swallowed nervously, overwhelmed by its intimidating presence.

Yeong-sik, sensing her unease, spoke in a low voice.

“First, tie down the zombies. I’ll buy us some time against the Stone Golem.”

“…Are you sure about this?” Ara asked, her face filled with concern as she glanced at the Stone Golem, whose formidable appearance was anything but reassuring.

Yeong-sik nodded confidently and charged forward.

The Stone Golem, much like the Orc, had a massive build and incredible strength, but it moved relatively slowly. Yeong-sik was confident he could delay it long enough.

“Ice Boom!”

Ara’s magic targeted the zombies.

While Yeong-sik distracted the Stone Golem, Gil-soo charged at the zombies.

Crash!

A zombie’s arm hit the ground after being struck by Gil-soo’s axe.

However, the zombies, immune to pain, continued to shamble toward Gil-soo.

Using his shield, Gil-soo pushed them back, glancing towards Yeong-sik.

Thud!

“Intruder. Eliminate.”

Yeong-sik twisted and dodged, evading the Stone Golem’s attacks. Its massive fist, made of solid rock, pounded the dungeon floor with enough force to create a crater.

‘This thing is way faster than an Orc.’

Yeong-sik dodged the Stone Golem’s punches, swallowing hard. Though it was slower compared to its strength, it wasn’t an easy opponent like the Orcs.

Yeong-sik knew that without using Boost, he would have struggled to dodge the Stone Golem’s attacks. So, he intermittently used Boost to evade its strikes.

Boom!

The Stone Golem clasped its hands together and slammed them down where Yeong-sik had been standing.

Yeong-sik felt the intense shockwave on his skin. Using Boost on his knees to dodge, he pushed off and moved behind the Stone Golem. After its powerful attack, the Stone Golem’s back was left exposed.

Yeong-sik’s eyes gleamed.

‘Now!’

Seizing the opportunity, Yeong-sik thrust his blade at the Stone Golem’s nape. The timing was perfect, and he put all his strength into the attack. Yeong-sik thought he might be able to kill the Stone Golem on his own.

But.

Clang!

“Kuh!”

Yeong-sik felt a heavy sensation travel through his hand. Despite putting all his strength into the strike, his blade couldn’t penetrate the Stone Golem’s solid body and bounced off uselessly.

His expression twisted in frustration.

‘Again…’

Just like when he fought the Chieftain Rakan, his weak attack power was holding him back. For someone without combat skills, facing an opponent impervious to attacks felt incredibly frustrating.

Boom!

“Argh!”

The Stone Golem twisted its body and swung its arm. Yeong-sik, momentarily confused by his ineffective attack, couldn’t dodge in time. He hastily raised his blade to block the attack.

A terrifying force shook Yeong-sik’s body.

He was flung backward, rolling across the floor.

“Yeong-sik!”

Ara called out urgently. Yoo-na stepped forward, shouting.

“You two handle the zombies! I’ll take care of Yeong-sik!”

She dashed towards Yeong-sik, drawing two red swords from her waist.

Yeong-sik held up a hand to stop her.

“No. I’m fine.”

He spoke briefly, then stomped his foot. The glow of Boost flickered at his feet.

‘If regular attacks don’t work…’

His eyes sharpened as he twisted his body.

If he couldn’t damage the Stone Golem with regular attacks, he had to use his ability, Boost.

A heat haze rose from Yeong-sik’s left wrist, and his blade slashed forward at an incredible speed.

Crash!

The blade dug into the Stone Golem’s chest. Cracks formed, revealing a blue-glowing mana stone within the Golem’s chest.

Yeong-sik’s eyes gleamed. He aimed to shatter the mana stone with another strike.

But before he could, the Stone Golem’s massive arm swung towards him.

Thud!

Yeong-sik kicked off the Stone Golem’s body and retreated. He crouched slightly, raising his blade. The light of Boost flickered along his back.

At that moment.

“Ice Spear!”

Ara’s clear voice rang out as a long spear of ice formed in mid-air and shot towards the Stone Golem. The ice spear pierced the mana stone, shattering it into pieces, and the Stone Golem’s body collapsed to the ground.

Ara and Gil-soo, having finished off the zombies, joined them.

Yeong-sik stood up, letting out a deep sigh.

The now familiar chime of clear bells rang in his ears.

Ding.

[You have defeated one Stone Golem and five Zombies.]

[2570 experience points and 80 silver have been distributed based on contribution.]

“Oh.”

A short exclamation escaped Yeong-sik’s lips as he looked at the message window.

2570 experience points.

Considering that he had earned 1274 experience points from defeating four Rakans, this was nearly double the amount.

‘It was much tougher, though.’

Yeong-sik let out a deep sigh as he looked at the fallen Stone Golem.

While the zombies weren’t particularly difficult to deal with, the Stone Golem had been a formidable opponent.

‘My damage is still too weak.’

Yeong-sik glanced down at his blade, feeling a twinge of disappointment. Using Boost made it manageable, but the lack of substantial damage remained a consistent problem.

‘Boost isn’t limitless either.’

He rationed his use of Boost, so it wasn’t as if he would run out after just a few uses, but the fact that it wasn’t infinite required him to be cautious.

“Still, you managed to take it down on your own. Good job.”

Yoo-na smiled broadly and patted Yeong-sik’s head as if he were a child. He looked uncomfortable at her sudden gesture.

Watching them, Chae-rin raised her hand and shouted.

“Yoo-na unnie! Praise me too!”

“Why would I praise you when you didn’t do anything special?”

Yoo-na frowned and flicked Chae-rin’s forehead.

Snap!

A loud thud echoed from Chae-rin’s forehead.

“Ow!”

Chae-rin squatted down, her face contorted in pain.

The guild members chuckled softly.

Yoo-na turned back to Yeong-sik and spoke.

“So, how was your first experience fighting dungeon monsters?”

“It’s much harder than fighting regular field monsters.”

“Well, dungeon monsters are usually stronger, even if they’re the same level.”

Yoo-na nodded in agreement with Yeong-sik. She then smiled slyly and continued.

“But the rewards are better, right?”

“Yes, the experience points are amazing.”

Yeong-sik replied with a satisfied smile. Yoo-na laughed heartily and turned around.

“Let’s keep going and hope this dungeon is a goldmine! If we’re lucky, we might get two or three rare items!”

She shouted energetically and walked ahead. Yeong-sik and the others, their eyes gleaming at the mention of rare items, followed her.

The hunt continued.

Dungeons already provided more experience points than field monsters. With the added first-time bonus for defeating dungeon monsters, experience points started piling up at a frightening rate.

Yeong-sik’s party steadily conquered the dungeon with Bae Han-seong’s support. Whenever more than three Stone Golems appeared and they couldn’t handle them alone, Yu-na stepped in to deal with the Stone Golems, allowing the hunting to proceed smoothly.

*Ding.*

[Your level has increased to 33.]

“…Indeed, the level-up speed in a dungeon is on a different scale.”

Two days had passed since they entered the dungeon. Yeong-sik couldn’t believe he had gained six levels in just two days, looking incredulous. It was a level he wouldn’t have reached in two weeks, let alone two days, if he had continued hunting Rakan.

“It’s fortunate that hunting has become easier with the level up.”

Gil-soo, who had struggled to tank the Stone Golems’ attacks in the early stages of the dungeon, sighed in relief as he spoke.

Yeong-sik nodded in agreement.

“Yes. My attacks are finally starting to be effective, so it’s becoming more manageable.”

At first, Yeong-sik’s attacks barely affected the Stone Golems unless he used a boost, but now he could inflict some damage on their hard skin. As he realized the importance of levels anew, Yeong-sik walked forward.

Just then, the wall of the abandoned mine collapsed with a heavy sound. Inside the collapsed wall stood a golem that looked like a Stone Golem.

“Mr. Gil-soo!”

“Got it!”

Thinking it was another Stone Golem, Yeong-sik turned his head and shouted to Gil-soo.

Gil-soo nodded and stepped forward.

Yeong-sik squinted at the golem.

‘The color is different.’

The golem standing tall in the collapsed wall wasn’t the dull brown of a Stone Golem but a slightly shimmering gray. Seeing this, Yeong-sik’s expression hardened.

Yu-na also stepped forward with a sharp look in her eyes and spoke.

“It’s an Iron Golem. It seems to be an elite monster.”

“An elite monster…”

“Haha, if we can catch it, it’s a jackpot! With the first-time bonus, it will definitely drop at least one rare item.”

She looked at the Iron Golem with expectant eyes.

At the mention of a jackpot, Yeong-sik’s eyes sparkled as he prepared for battle.

‘If its body is made of iron, even boosted attacks might be blocked.’

Thinking this, Yeong-sik examined the Iron Golem’s body to find its weak points.

A tense standoff ensued between the Iron Golem and Yeong-sik’s party. Gil-soo gazed at the Iron Golem’s hard, grayish skin with a nervous expression.

But.

“…?”

“What the…?”

No matter how long they waited, the Iron Golem didn’t show any sign of moving, standing still in its place. Yeong-sik, puzzled, looked at Yu-na and Han-seong.

But they also looked at the unmoving Iron Golem with puzzled expressions.

“Wait a minute, could it be…?”

Yu-na, as if she had a sudden realization, approached the motionless Iron Golem. She extended her finger and poked the Iron Golem’s body.

*Thunk!*

[You have successfully cleared the ‘Abandoned Mine’ dungeon.]

[There are no rewards remaining, so you cannot receive any rewards.]

“What… What is this!”

Yu-na, staring at the message window that appeared before her eyes, shouted as if she had a headache.

Yeong-sik’s party was just as dumbfounded. They had been so tense at the appearance of the first elite monster they encountered in the dungeon, only for the dungeon to be completed in such an anticlimactic manner, without any chance to fight.

“…Is the dungeon over?”

Seo Ara asked Han-seong with a hollow smile.

Han-seong nodded with a bitter expression and responded to her.

“Yes. It seems this dungeon was… just an empty shell.”

“An empty shell?”

“It’s a dungeon that had already been cleared once in the past and then reformed over time. However, since all the good rewards were taken during the first clear… only the empty shell remained.”

At his words, the expressions of Yeong-sik’s party turned sour. It was unimaginable that they would complete a dungeon so anticlimactically, with the first-time bonus period still ongoing.

Bae Han-seong sighed deeply and continued speaking.

“Sigh. I didn’t think it was a regenerated dungeon. We didn’t get any rare items… Let’s just consider this dungeon run as a learning experience.”

He turned around with a regretful look in his eyes.

“So, is this it then?”

Even Gil-soo, who rarely contradicted others, looked at Han-seong with an aggrieved expression. Han-seong sighed and nodded.

“Yes. But at least we leveled up quickly.”

“That’s true, but…”

Gil-soo scratched his head, feeling somewhat empty.

*Sigh.*

Yeong-sik was equally dismayed by the anticlimactic end of the dungeon. He slowly walked over to the Iron Golem’s corpse. Being a monster made entirely of iron, it seemed like it would yield valuable materials if extracted.

“Hm?”

At that moment, Yeong-sik noticed the scene beyond the collapsed mine.

There were dozens of Iron Golem corpses scattered around. Monsters, each three meters tall and made entirely of iron, lay all over the place.

“What…?”

A sly smile spread across Yeong-sik’s lips.

No matter what others thought, one thing was certain. For Yeong-sik, this place was a treasure trove.

“A jackpot, indeed.”