Chapter 37 …
How many more of these sweet tips were still hidden ahead?
Thinking that, Dohyeon couldn’t help but smile.
He wanted to savor this thrill a bit longer, but unfortunately, that would have to wait.
Kiiieeeek!
[The dungeon boss ‘Goblin Chieftain’ is enraged.]
With even his elite soldiers dead and the human he tried to kill suddenly gone, the Goblin Chieftain was furious.
Beating his chest and screeching, he looked less like a goblin and more like an orangutan.
…Come to think of it, the way he swung his fists without using weapons and fought wildly did resemble a gorilla.
Maybe the boss had been modeled after one.
That’s not what matters.
Pushing that reasonable thought aside, Dohyeon gripped his greatsword.
He didn’t need the assassin’s dagger yet.
[Warrior Set is applied.]
[Status effect ‘Intimidation’ is inflicted on the Goblin Chieftain.]
[The enraged Goblin Chieftain resists ‘Intimidation.’ The effect is nullified.]
[Additional 7% damage is applied to Goblin-type enemies.]
What he needed right now was the greatsword to deliver heavier burst damage.
Still, it’s definitely different since it’s a boss.
Even though Intimidation vanished uselessly, it wasn’t completely without effect.
Perhaps angered by the attempt to suppress him, the chieftain’s presence became even more violent.
Maybe that was why—
BANG!
The Goblin Chieftain charged first.
No one could guess where that massive lump of fat got such elasticity from—it was an explosive rush.
Getting hit by that tank-like charge would almost certainly send someone smashing into the wall.
But attacks like that, while fast and powerful, were weak to lateral movement.
Normally, the correct move here was to dodge sideways…
[Skill ‘Backstab’ is used.]
[A mark is created on the Goblin Chieftain for a set duration.]
Dohyeon chose to attack instead of dodge.
The optimal route where evasion and offense happened simultaneously.
Kirrik!?
When Dohyeon suddenly vanished right in front of him, the startled chieftain tried to stop—but couldn’t overcome his own mass and slammed into the wall.
KWAANG!
Kiruk…
Rising amid a cloud of dust, the chieftain clutched his head.
It seemed he had crashed headfirst, unable to control his speed.
[The Goblin Chieftain is afflicted with ‘Stun’ for 3 seconds.]
Three seconds.
Barely enough to cycle one or two skills—but for Dohyeon, it was plenty.
Whoong—BAM!
He leapt forward and drove in a flying knee kick, sending the massive body airborne.
With Strength 88 behind it, the flying knee was a weapon more than sufficient.
KRAAA!
Seeing the chieftain smash into the wall again, Dohyeon steadied his breathing.
Then came the barrage.
Pupupupupup!
In this time window, it’s better to land two extra punches than swing the sword once.
In short free-damage windows like this, quantity beat quality.
A single greatsword strike might hit harder—but it couldn’t compare to three punches.
[HP: 23,913 / 30,000]
[The Goblin Chieftain recovers from ‘Stun.’]
Shaving off over 4,000 HP in an instant, Dohyeon rolled aside and immediately swung his greatsword.
The chieftain, having barely recovered from stun after being thoroughly beaten, was startled when a massive blade came flying from his blind spot and raised his arm to block.
He should have dodged—but when a sword suddenly appears from nowhere, rational judgment isn’t easy.
BAAANG—
Kreeeeek!
Clutching his limp wrist—apparently broken—the chieftain shrieked.
As expected of a boss, the arm wasn’t severed, only fractured.
Still, it clearly hurt like hell—tears and snot poured down his face.
But Dohyeon showed no mercy.
CRACK!
Kiiieee!
He slammed the greatsword down on the same wrist again.
The greatest weakness was always the injured spot. Nothing hurt more than hitting what already hurt.
[HP: 16,434 / 30,000]
Now below 20,000 HP, the chieftain finally sensed something was wrong.
Ki… kiruk…!
The orangutan-like berserker actually took a step back for the first time.
Bosses rarely retreated like this, but the overwhelming pain had awakened his suppressed Coward trait.
Despite quickly widening the distance with his large strides, Dohyeon simply watched.
Backstab.
He could close the gap instantly anyway.
[Skill ‘Backstab’ is reused.]
[The next strike is enhanced proportional to the mark.]
Kieek!?
Though he had clearly fled, the chieftain nearly collapsed in shock when Dohyeon appeared behind him like a ghost.
Dohyeon thrust straight into the chieftain’s belly.
[Critical strike inflicted.]
[Critical hit!]
KUEEEEEEEEK!!
A scream unlike anything before erupted.
Even Dohyeon frowned—but the damage number made it understandable.
[HP: 7,214 / 30,000]
Whoa… it hits this hard?
Nearly ten thousand damage in a single blow.
Technically around nine thousand—but still absurd.
“Critical strike,” indeed.
Dohyeon’s face twisted in disbelief.
This skill is ridiculously broken… Is assassin the strongest class or what?
The thought crossed his mind, but in truth it wasn’t just the skill—it was Dohyeon’s raw damage making it possible.
The strike scaled with the damage stacked on the mark.
And the amount Dohyeon stacked was simply insane.
He knew that.
But knowing and experiencing were two very different things.
Kieek! Kiek!
Sniffling and crying, the chieftain retreated backward.
It wasn’t a dignified sight—scrambling away while fallen—but image didn’t matter when fear took over.
While Dohyeon was briefly distracted, the chieftain successfully created distance and slammed his fists together.
[Entering Phase 2.]
[Trait ‘Selfish Defense’ activates.]
[Boss ‘Goblin Chieftain’ ignores physical attacks until a certain amount of magic damage is received.]
Selfish Defense.
The utterly infuriating cheat trait that countered all physical dealers had finally activated.
To the chieftain, Dohyeon looked like nothing but a swordsman.
And swordsmen were physical DPS.
Kiruruk! Kiruk!
Perhaps thinking he had won, the Goblin Chieftain broke into a wide grin.
With tears and snot still hanging from his face, the smile looked especially vile.
“Seven thousand, huh… Took more off than I expected. Thanks to that, this’ll be quick.”
“Kiruk…?”
He didn’t understand the words—but the lifelong coward’s instincts kicked in.
Watching Dohyeon walk forward calmly, an unknown dread crept in.
Will four stacks of Bleed be enough? Or five?
Normally, Selfish Defense triggered at 50% HP.
But thanks to Backstab chunking him down to 30%, the remaining amount was much smaller.
Dohyeon had prepared for ten Bleeds—
but at most, five would do.
Shing—
[Skill ‘Bleed’ is used.]
[On next hit, target will receive the ‘Bleed’ status.]
“Let’s see how well this works.”
“Ki… kiruk…”
Was it just imagination that the Goblin Chieftain’s gaze toward the dagger looked pitiful?
Anyone witnessing the scene would probably shake their head.
* * *
[Dungeon boss ‘Goblin Chieftain’ has been defeated.]
[Dungeon cleared.]
[Would you like to harvest the Goblin Chieftain’s Essence Orb?]
[Harvest rewards: Goblin Chieftain’s Sturdy Leather Belt, Goblin Chieftain’s Leather, 2 Gold acquired.]
[Recorded in the Adventure Log.]
[Level up.]
[Dagger Mastery increased.]
[Dagger Mastery reached LV5.]
After checking the messages, Dohyeon flicked the dagger clean and returned it to his inventory.
His expression was bright.
“Wow… Bleed damage is better than I thought.”
He had expected up to seven stacks—
but the boss died from just five Bleeds.
And purely from bleed damage alone.
That was huge.
Even with boss-level defense and regeneration, five Bleeds had shaved off 7,000 HP.
So this is the power of bleed stacking.
It was the result of high base stats, weak-point strikes, and stacking combined.
Because of it, the Goblin Chieftain couldn’t even cancel Selfish Defense and simply withered to death over a minute.
A miserable end fitting for a coward who abandoned his allies.
[Goblin Chieftain’s Sturdy Leather Belt]
Grade: Rare
Description: A leather belt worn by the Goblin Chieftain. Built sturdy enough to withstand his massive weight.
Level Requirement: 20
Equip Restriction: None
Physical Defense: 70
Magic Defense: 60
Strength +1
Vitality +2
“Nice, great rewards. Since when do items drop this cleanly?”
A rare belt drop in only his second dungeon.
That was a hand-countable probability in Dohyeon’s gaming life.
And the fact it was a belt made it even better.
It was about time to replace mine anyway.
He was currently wearing a Goblin Leather Belt obtained from a normal quest in Arde—basically a placeholder.
Compared to his other rare-grade gear, it had been disappointing.
Now he could finally cleanly match all slots to Rare–Rare+.
Without hesitation, Dohyeon equipped the item.
[Item removed: Vitality decreases by 1.]
[Strength increases by +1.]
[Vitality increases by +2.]
Confirming the net gain of +1 Strength, +1 Vitality, Dohyeon smiled in satisfaction.
He checked for more loot—
but unfortunately, only one item had dropped.
Would’ve been nicer with a time limit.
Time limits ranked players by dungeon clear speed.
But not every dungeon had that system.
Typically, it appeared in dungeons with elite-tier bosses or higher.
Well, this one was on the easy side.
Thanks to the rewards in Arde, it felt a bit disappointing—but thinking about it, it wasn’t bad.
He had fought PKers and held back his strength, which slowed the clear anyway.
He probably wouldn’t have gotten first place.
And if he somehow had—
those bastards might have received the reward.
No way I’m letting that happen.
There was no universe where he’d allow backstabbers to benefit.
And…
There’s still loot left.
With a sly grin, Dohyeon walked forward.
After about 30 meters, he stopped.
Three softly glowing items lay on the ground.
Dohyeon reached for the largest one.
[You have acquired an item dropped by a player.]
[Would you like to check the dropped item?]
Seeing the message, Dohyeon grinned.
“Yeah.”
It was time to check the spoils from educating those backstabbing punks.
