Levelling Up In An Exclusive Dungeon

Chapter 13

It was a simple task to aim for the exposed core of the Golem.

The baseball bat swung with both hands struck the Golem’s chest precisely in the center.

However, it only broke the armor covering the core, and the force was slightly insufficient to inflict decisive damage to the core itself.

The Golem that appeared as the mid-boss was a formidable level 120.

Kang Jin-hyuk’s level was currently a mere 55 at best.

Even with the significant stat boost from the baseball bat’s enchantment, it was not enough to bridge the gap of more than double the level difference.

If it were an ordinary monster, he might have been able to put up a decent fight, but the opponent was a mid-boss.

With stats superior to ordinary monsters, it was not an opponent to be taken lightly.

“Damn it.”

The Golem quickly regained its lost balance and raised its sword.

It was obvious what the sword, raised high above its head, was aiming for.

Kang Jin-hyuk tried to quickly step back to avoid the sword that was about to split him in half.

But before he could, Lucia’s shout reached him first.

“Don’t be scared and swing again!”

“Huh?”

It was an unreasonable demand to not retreat when a house-sized sword was about to fall on his head.

Could he really trust the words of someone he had only met a day ago and risk his life?

Kang Jin-hyuk took a gamble.

Of course, he didn’t blindly risk his life.

He thought that with the armor he received from the Dwarf, even if he got hit, he wouldn’t die, although he might suffer a critical injury.

If he survived, he could just heal with the potions he had brought.

“Oh, whatever!”

Kang Jin-hyuk gritted his teeth and leaped forward.

It looked like a suicidal act, as he moved even closer to the descending sword.

If the arrow that flew from behind hadn’t knocked the Golem’s sword away, he would have been cut in half.

Kang Jin-hyuk calmed his startled heart and hurriedly swung the baseball bat.

“Die!”

Crack!

The moment the bat collided with the core, a refreshing hitting sound rang out.

Along with the core shattering into pieces and scattering, the Golem’s magnificent body also collapsed.

Kang Jin-hyuk, watching the scene, collapsed on the spot and gasped for breath.

“Phew……. I thought I was going to die.”

Even though he trusted the armor, rushing head-on towards that huge sword was something that only someone with an incredibly strong heart could do.

Perhaps because he had been overly courageous, his hands trembled as the tension left him.

Even though he knew Lucia was approaching, he couldn’t stop it on his own.

“If you were that scared, you should have just backed off.”

Lucia had thought Kang Jin-hyuk was someone accustomed to fighting.

But seeing him now, she realized she was mistaken.

“It wouldn’t have been a big problem if you had retreated there.”

“I guess so…….”

Thinking about it, it was a gamble he didn’t need to take.

It might have been foolish to risk his life on something that had little risk even if he failed.

Nevertheless, there was a reason why Kang Jin-hyuk didn’t stop and kept moving forward.

“I thought it would be better to trust and go forward so we could work better together in the future.”

If he had retreated once, Lucia would have adjusted her strategy accordingly.

No matter what happened after that, Lucia would have acted with the awareness that Kang Jin-hyuk didn’t trust her and prioritized his own safety.

Kang Jin-hyuk didn’t want that to happen.

It wasn’t right for their trust to break down over a mere mid-boss, not even a boss monster.

Lucia understood Kang Jin-hyuk’s feelings.

“I like you quite a bit.”

Of course, she meant she liked him as a colleague, not romantically.

Kang Jin-hyuk wasn’t stupid enough to not be able to distinguish that.

“What was your name again?”

“Kang Jin-hyuk.”

“Drop the honorifics and just speak casually.”

“Huh?”

Telling him to drop the honorifics was Lucia’s way of acknowledging Kang Jin-hyuk.

But Kang Jin-hyuk couldn’t readily accept her offer.

“That’s a bit…….”

“Why? Am I making you uncomfortable?”

“No, it’s not that. It just feels wrong to speak casually to someone older than me.”

Mid-sentence, Kang Jin-hyuk felt an intense chill that made his hair stand on end.

Wondering what was happening, he looked up and saw Lucia’s face.

Her face was expressionless, but all her emotions were in her eyes.

He had assumed that, being a Half-Elf, she would naturally have lived longer than ordinary humans, and his comment had touched a nerve.

“….What did you just say?”

The meaning behind Lucia’s question was for him to think carefully and revise what he had just said.

Kang Jin-hyuk didn’t want to imagine what would happen if he chose the wrong words here.

The fleeting happy memories of his childhood might have been a brief glimpse of his life flashing before his eyes.

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He explained passionately that he had misspoken, that she wasn’t old, but rather had more experience hunting monsters.

He was sweating profusely from making such a ridiculous claim with such fervor.

Afraid of making another slip of the tongue, Kang Jin-hyuk kept his mouth shut as much as possible on their way to the next stage.

Lucia also remained silent, perhaps because she was still angry.

It was quite uncomfortable to just walk in silence with a cold atmosphere between them.

Kang Jin-hyuk, wondering how to lighten the mood, took out an item he had packed in his inventory.

“Would you like to have this?”

Lucia reacted to the chocolate bar he had taken out because he was feeling a bit hungry.

“‘Would you like to have this’?”

However, contrary to his expectations, she was more interested in Kang Jin-hyuk’s words than the chocolate bar.

Ever since she learned that the reason he was using honorifics was because she was older, Lucia glared whenever she heard polite language.

“Do, do you want to eat it?”

“…….”

Lucia stared at Kang Jin-hyuk’s hand for a moment before snatching the chocolate bar he was holding.

Then she ripped open the packaging and took a bite.

Kang Jin-hyuk didn’t miss her surprised reaction as she widened her eyes.

“What is this made of?”

“I don’t know the details, but it’s probably cocoa powder and almonds.”

“I’ve never heard of those names. It must be food that only exists where you live.”

Lucia seemed to like the chocolate bar, as she held out her hand to Kang Jin-hyuk as soon as she finished it.

“You want more?”

“Yes. Hurry up.”

Since there weren’t many sweet foods in Lucia’s hometown, the taste of chocolate, which she was experiencing for the first time, was a fresh shock.

But even considering that, it was absurd for her to eat three boxes of chocolate bars by herself before they even reached the boss’s room.

Could it be that she usually eats this much?

If so, he wondered where all those calories went.

Judging by her slender arms and legs, there was only one place he could imagine.

“Ahem!”

Kang Jin-hyuk cleared his throat and shook off his wicked thoughts before they could take root.

In front of the boss’s room, Lucia gave Kang Jin-hyuk a strange look.

“What are you doing? Are you nervous or something?”

“Ah, it’s nothing.”

Kang Jin-hyuk tried to brush it off, but Lucia’s gaze was still fixed on him.

Embarrassed, thinking that she might have caught on, Kang Jin-hyuk soon noticed her outstretched hand.

“Why?”

“Why what? I want more.”

“You mean the chocolate bar? That was the last one I had.”

“What?!”

Kang Jin-hyuk was startled by Lucia’s outburst.

He hadn’t expected her to react so strongly.

“Don’t joke around and hand it over.”

“I’m telling you, I really don’t have any more. I’m out of what I brought.”

“Then go back and get some more!”

Lucia’s appearance was like that of soldiers who hadn’t had anything sweet for months.

The tenacity of someone who would change their religion for a single Choco Pie.

She was displaying even more extreme behavior than that.

Lucia, realizing her actions belatedly, let out an “Ah” sound.

“So, sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”

Her judgment had been clouded by the sweet food she had tasted for the first time.

Lucia didn’t understand why she was reacting this way either.

She managed to calm herself down with superhuman patience, but her body still craved sweets.

Lucia wasn’t aware of it, but this phenomenon was due to the Elven blood flowing through her veins.

The reason why Elves living in the forest could survive on just fruits and water without proper food.

The Elven trait of being able to obtain sufficient energy from a small amount of sugar was interacting with her human blood, causing a strange reaction.

It was ‘appetite’.

‘This is crazy, really.’

Due to the large intake of sugar, which she had never experienced before, Lucia’s suppressed appetite began to explode all at once.

Enduring it was like the withdrawal symptoms experienced by someone addicted to drugs.

“Hey, this won’t do. Get me some more as soon as this is over. I’ll teach you something good in return.”

“Something good?”

“Do you know what ‘Aura’ is?”

“Aura?”

“If you don’t know, watch. I’ll show you what it is.”

Before Kang Jin-hyuk could say anything, Lucia opened the giant door and stepped into the room.

As Kang Jin-hyuk hurriedly followed behind her, the dark room lit up as if someone had turned on a light.

In the wide and empty room, like an open field, only a single statue stood in the center.

The statue, sensing the presence of Kang Jin-hyuk and Lucia, began to move with a sound like a cry.

“Groooo.”

The statue, clad in armor and equipped with a sword and shield, was more elaborate than any Golem they had seen before.

It resembled an ancient sculpture, making it seem more like a decoration than something meant for combat.

Lucia drew her bowstring before the statue could attack them.

“I’ll only show you once, so watch carefully.”

Kang Jin-hyuk witnessed the tip of Lucia’s arrow glowing with a blue light.

The light of the arrow grew stronger as if gathering power, and when Lucia released the string, there was a loud bang.

Bang!

With a sound like an explosion, the fired arrow struck the statue’s shield.

And it blew away the statue’s left arm along with the shield.

The statue, as if in disbelief at its own state, stared blankly at its broken body.

“Groooo.”

Kang Jin-hyuk was just as incredulous as the statue at what had just happened.

Seeing the statue crumble so easily, like a clay doll, Kang Jin-hyuk couldn’t help but be astonished.

Only then did Kang Jin-hyuk realize that Lucia had been deliberately holding back her power.

If she killed all the monsters in one shot, Kang Jin-hyuk wouldn’t have a chance to gain experience, so she had been matching his level as much as possible.

“What are you doing?”

Lucia pointed at the dying statue and smiled faintly.

Perhaps because he had witnessed her true strength firsthand.

Shivers ran down Kang Jin-hyuk’s spine when he saw that smile.

“You should go finish it off.”

As Lucia said, if he finished off that dying statue, he could gain a massive amount of experience.

But Kang Jin-hyuk had something he wanted to ask her before gaining experience by defeating the boss monster.

“How did you do that just now?”

“How did I do what? I infused the arrow with Aura and shot it.”

“Aura……? Can you use it on other things besides arrows?”

“Of course, there’s no reason why not.”

Kang Jin-hyuk’s eyes sparkled at Lucia’s answer.

That power that could destroy a giant statue in one shot with a small arrow.

If he could imbue his baseball bat with that, he would never run out of power like he did with the mid-boss.

Lucia, noticing Kang Jin-hyuk’s interest in Aura, asked him.

“So, do you want to learn it?”

Kang Jin-hyuk nodded his head without hesitation.

There was no way he would refuse to learn a skill that could give a normal arrow the firepower of a missile.