Chapter 168 …
They say everything depends on your mindset.
And the effect of that firm determination was tremendous.
[You use “Thunder Dragon Descent.”]
—!!
Thunder roared as if the sky itself were being torn apart.
A bolt of lightning shaped like a dragon flashed down from the heavens.
Just as the name implied, a Thunder Dragon descended, sweeping across the surrounding area.
Crackle— Crackle—
The Forest Troll King stood there twitching like a roasted electric chicken, trembling as currents surged through its body.
On top of that, electricity continued to flow through the surrounding area, dealing constant damage to the Troll King.
[Field Boss ‘Forest Troll King’ HP is below 30%.]
[Field Boss ‘Forest Troll King’ takes damage from the electric field.]
But the true finishing touch was Dohyun himself.
Crackle—
His hair had turned white like lightning, electricity sparking around his body.
The sight stirred a man’s sense of romance.
It truly looked worthy of being called a Legendary-grade skill.
“Whoa…!!”
“So that’s a legendary skill. That’s insane.”
Since he had already used Thunder Dragon Descent, Dohyun had no intention of dragging the fight out.
His body felt light.
Clenching his teeth, he increased his speed, unleashing a storm of attacks far faster than before.
Grrraaaah!
Slash! Stab-stab! Crunch!
He kicked with his feet, slashed with his sword, then transformed Cheonbyeon into a dagger and stabbed the heart repeatedly.
Using Back Grab, he moved behind the monster and struck its weak point.
When the creature turned around, he used Lightning Movement to instantly move back to the front and grab its back again.
BAM BAM BAM!
Another relentless barrage of attacks followed.
“Man, that’s so satisfying to watch.”
“Damn… watching Kaiser live like this? I used to envy those Sargis guys, but not anymore!”
“With a legendary skill active he’s just playing with it. This is the first time I’ve ever felt sorry for a monster.”
Naturally, cheers erupted at the dazzling battle.
“WAAAAAA!!!”
“You’re amazing, oppa!”
“Kyaaa!”
“Dark-colored Kaiser!”
Among them were Hyuna and her friends.
Seeing his even more dazzling movements, they screamed with excitement.
“Tsk…”
“He’s going to kill it all by himself. Sigh… what am I supposed to report now?”
“Well, we have to report it anyway. Of all people, it had to be Kaiser… the guild master’s going to go crazy.”
Members of the Hero Guild watched with displeasure while reporting somewhere.
But Dohyun didn’t notice any of that.
Seeing those idiots praising Kaiser without realizing it was him was far more painful.
GRAAAH! GRAAAH!
No matter how violently it rampaged, there was a wall it could never reach.
Perhaps angered by that fact, the Troll King howled in agony.
Dohyun nodded as he watched.
“Does it hurt? Me too.”
Finally unable to endure it, the Troll King spun around like a top and unleashed a massive spinning attack.
[Perfect Parry Successful!]
[You completely deflect ‘Raging Spin Slash’.]
[Status effect ‘Shock’ inflicted.]
[Field Boss ‘Forest Troll King’ is stunned for 1 second.]
Dohyun had been waiting for that moment.
He interrupted the attack pattern with a perfect parry, immediately launching a counterattack.
“That actually triggered.”
The probability was extremely low.
Normally you’d need around fifty hits, sometimes even a hundred, before it activated.
He had been lucky.
[Back Grab reused.]
[Mark disappears.]
[A powerful strike proportional to the mark is unleashed.]
[Enemy is shocked. Additional damage applied from Thunder Dragon Descent.]
Without hesitation, Dohyun detonated the mark with Back Grab and drove a powerful strike into the Troll King’s heart.
GRAAAAAAAH!!
A guaranteed critical hit triggered.
Electricity exploded outward in every direction as the monster screamed.
[Field Boss ‘Forest Troll King’ has been defeated.]
[Would you like to harvest the Essence Orb of the Forest Troll King?]
[Recorded in the Adventurer’s Journal.]
[Level Up.]
[Swordsmanship proficiency increased.]
[Swordsmanship Lv. 18.]
It was the creature’s final cry.
The battle between the two men—who had felt like monkeys in a zoo under the spectators’ gaze—had finally ended.
“Huh? Master, aren’t you checking the loot?”
“Later. Let’s get out of here first.”
Normally Dohyun would have made a huge fuss checking the rewards.
But now he immediately tried to leave.
Jihad found it strange, but there was nothing he could do.
Dohyun just wanted to escape this place as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.
“Kaiser!”
“Could I get just one handshake? It’s my lifelong wish!”
“That fight was amazing! Please give me an autograph… or at least take a picture with me!”
“Hey, aren’t you scared he’ll cut you down? I heard he splits rude people in half.”
“How can a member of the Church of Kashin not ask Kaiser for an autograph after seeing that fight?! I’d gladly die by Kaiser’s hand! That would be an honor!”
A huge crowd surrounded him.
Even worse—
Dohyung and Jaeyeol were among them.
Seeing them there made Dohyun feel even more miserable.
He wondered if he should use Back Grab just to escape.
At that moment—
Tap tap tap.
Someone pushed through the crowd.
A very familiar silhouette approached.
A wizard’s pointed hat.
A flashy robe.
Cute medium-length hair.
A girl whose rabbit-like appearance hid a devilish personality.
“Um… Kaiser.”
It was Kang Hyuna.
She approached with a shy expression Dohyun had never seen before.
Carefully, she held something out.
“Could I… get an autograph?”
Before his brain could process it, a word slipped out of his mouth.
“Ah, shit…”
“…What?”
The sibling DNA was simply too strong to endure his shy little sister asking for an autograph.
Later
In front of countless people,
a complete disaster had nearly occurred—he had almost cursed at a girl asking for an autograph.
Fortunately, it was resolved.
“…Sorry? I didn’t hear you.”
“…It was nothing. Sorry, but my logout time is approaching.”
Because the surroundings were so noisy, Hyuna hadn’t heard his muttered curse.
And the other users certainly hadn’t either.
Using the excuse of his login time ending, he managed to escape.
“Damn… Jonghyun and Dohyung were way too persistent.”
The problem was his friends.
Everyone else had given up quickly.
But those two clung to him stubbornly, begging.
In the end, he had to scribble an autograph for one of them before leaving.
“Waaah!! Thank you so much! I’ll treasure it forever!”
“Damn, I’m so jealous…”
Thinking about them celebrating that autograph made Dohyun laugh helplessly.
“If they ever find out it was me…”
They’d probably flip out.
Maybe even try to fold him in half.
After thinking about it for a moment, he nodded.
“Yeah.”
Sometimes ignorance is bliss.
Since things had turned out this way, it would be better to keep the secret even more carefully.
Anyway, that funny yet sad incident ended there.
He checked the rewards.
[Forest Troll King Claw ×2]
[Concentrated Troll King Blood ×1]
[Forest Troll King Hide ×1]
“Just junk as usual.”
Without the first-clear bonus, the drops were terrible.
Thinking about it, he rarely got good equipment without that bonus.
It annoyed him, but it didn’t matter.
[Forest Troll King Fang ×1]
He had gotten what he actually needed.
“And I leveled up too.”
He was now Level 59.
The remaining materials were:
3 Resonance Tree Root Leaves
5 Blue Leaves
[Remaining Play Time: 01:05:17]
Only a little over an hour remained.
Searching the entire field alone would be difficult.
But he had a good idea.
“Jihad. Summon the undead.”
“Yeah? For hunting?”
“No. I’m going to use them somewhere else.”
“Somewhere else?”
Jihad leaned closer curiously.
After hearing the explanation, his eyes widened.
“Oh, that’s actually a great idea. Come to think of it, I used them like that before too.”
“An excellent plan, my lord. Your insight is always admirable.”
“Liza! Liza!”
“See, even Eliza agrees.”
“Liza!”
With Charlie and Eliza also agreeing, Jihad raised his mana without hesitation.
Soon, twelve undead were summoned.
Clack… clack…
At the front stood Gotong, greeting his master after a long time.
But chaos erupted immediately.
“Hey! I’m your lord, you know! Why do you keep greeting the master instead?”
Clack… clack…
“What? Ignoring me? Master, can I discipline him?”
Clack.
“Kyaaaah!”
As usual, Gotong and Jihad started bickering.
Jihad jumped around angrily asking for permission.
But Gotong simply snorted as if mocking him.
You think our lord would grant such a request?
Even though he was a skeleton, his expression somehow made that perfectly clear.
“He probably does need some discipline.”
Dohyun didn’t normally interfere.
But hierarchy mattered.
In battle, a subordinate without discipline could be fatal.
If a soldier disobeyed their commander, they were no longer a subordinate.
That was why Dohyun had beaten Jihad half to death when he first became his guardian.
“It’s unlikely while I’m here… but better to remove the possibility entirely.”
After deciding, Dohyun spoke.
“…Do whatever you want.”
“Wait—really?”
…Clack?
Jihad looked shocked.
When Dohyun nodded casually, Jihad brightened instantly.
Meanwhile, Gotong froze like a broken robot.
“You’re dead now. I’ll show you what real training is.”
Clack… clack…
Watching the sudden reversal of fortune, Dohyun chuckled.
“Alright. Let’s begin.”
“Roger!”
With a gesture from Jihad, the undead scattered in every direction.
The search operation had begun.
Later
Dohyun’s method was simple.
Use Jihad’s undead as a search party.
After all, nothing beat numbers when it came to searching.
Of course, not every necromancer could do this.
If they could both fight and search efficiently, necromancers would be the ultimate explorer class.
But Jihad’s undead were different.
[You obtained Resonance Tree Root Leaf.]
[You obtained Blue Leaf.]
“Their AI is unusually high… I hoped this would work.”
From their strange combat behavior and independent actions before, he had guessed.
And sure enough—
they performed the search perfectly.
[Eye of Truth activated.]
With Eye of Truth added to the mix, their search ability became absurd.
Once Dohyun pointed out a location, the undead retrieved the materials instantly.
Because of that, the task was almost finished within 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, next to Dohyun—
CLACK! CLACK! CLACK!
“Hey! Louder! Shout louder!”
CLACK CLACK!!
“Your posture is sloppy! Do it properly!”
Gotong was doing duck-walk drills while being yelled at.
And Jihad, who had become stricter than any drill instructor, shouted loudly.
A cheerful notification appeared, reflecting his mood.
[Guardian ‘Jihad Black’ is extremely happy performing actions aligned with his guardian traits.]
[Loyalty greatly increases.]
[Loyalty: 75 / 100]
Dohyun could only stare.
“Wow…”
He simply decided to admire it.
