“Ugh, the air is seriously stale.”
Choi Sang-ho waved his hand and wrinkled his nose. The air that poured out when the enormous iron door opened was filled with dust and musty mana that had stagnated for countless years.
Kang Cheol-jin coughed and adjusted the straps of his gear bag.
“I never dreamed a place like this would be hidden here. This entire area was missing from the map, wasn’t it?”
“Yes. Every team that came before us was probably bewitched by that damned bell and spent all their time wandering through the maze.”
Ju-min calmly answered and stepped inside.
The space beyond the open iron door was incomparably larger than the previous mineshafts. The ceiling towered far overhead, while roughly carved rock walls surrounded them on every side.
Choi Sang-ho carefully muffled his footsteps as he walked, then abruptly stopped.
“Is that a rock?”
He pointed with the tip of his sword.
A pile of rocks the size of a house crouched in the middle of the vast cavern. Its shape was far too artificial for an ordinary natural formation. It resembled a crudely carved armored vehicle curled into a ball.
Ju-min narrowed his eyes.
A faint red light was leaking through the gaps between the rocks.
“Step back.”
The instant Ju-min issued his warning, the pile of rocks began to vibrate.
CRUNCH! CRASH!
The enormous rocks rose with grotesque grinding noises.
Its crouched joints unfolded, revealing a humanoid outline. It was a massive figure covered from head to toe in thick ore armor.
A large golem-type monster—the Mine Guardian.
Two red eyes flashed from the Guardian’s head. At the same time, a heavy wave of mana comparable to an upper-tier D-rank monster spread throughout the cavern.
“Damn, what’s with that size...?”
Choi Sang-ho swallowed hard and raised his shield.
Kang Cheol-jin was already pressed against the wall, trembling uncontrollably.
The Guardian took a massive step.
THUD!
The ground shook, and dust billowed into the air.
It advanced relentlessly toward the intruders and raised a fist as large as a cauldron lid.
“I’ll block it! Sang-ho, move to its flank!”
Ju-min charged forward with his left arm, clad in Giant’s Mining Hands, extended before him.
The Guardian’s enormous fist plunged toward him.
CRASH—!
The impact produced an explosion and carved a deep crater into the ground.
Ju-min retreated by a hair’s breadth, then sprang onto the Guardian’s forearm and ran up it. He violently swung the sword in his right hand.
CLANG—!
Sparks scattered in every direction.
However, the sword’s sharp edge bounced away without leaving even a shallow white mark on the ore armor’s surface.
‘It’s tough.’
Ju-min clicked his tongue, twisted backward, and landed on the ground.
Meanwhile, Choi Sang-ho had circled to the Guardian’s flank. He condensed mana into his sword and unleashed a Skill at its thigh.
“Take this!”
His slash struck its target precisely alongside his thunderous shout.
However, the result was dismal.
A heavy impact rang out, but the Guardian didn’t even stop walking. Instead, it swung its arm and knocked Choi Sang-ho away as though swatting an annoying insect.
“Argh!”
Choi Sang-ho barely blocked the strike with his shield, but the recoil lifted him off his feet and sent him rolling across the ground.
“Damn it, what is that thing?! Why is its defense so ridiculous?! My Skill didn’t do anything!”
Choi Sang-ho spat out dirt and shouted angrily.
Deep bewilderment appeared on the party members’ faces.
Fighting an opponent completely unaffected by their attacks couldn’t help but feel hopeless. Intimidated by the Guardian’s beastlike roar, Kang Cheol-jin could only stare with his mouth hanging open.
Ju-min, however, remained calm.
Rather than breathing heavily, he used Perfect Breathing to regulate the mana circulation within his body. His gaze persistently followed the Guardian’s every movement.
‘It isn’t invincible. Its armor is relatively thin around the joints, and gaps appear whenever it makes a large movement.’
The Guardian clasped its hands together and brought them crashing down toward the ground.
Ju-min threw himself sideways.
The instant he dodged, a thunderous explosion erupted, and dirt shot into the air.
At that brief moment, a strange gleam entered Ju-min’s eyes.
When the Guardian raised its arms high, the thick ore armor covering its back split apart to both sides and revealed something beneath it.
A red stone pulsed within the open gap.
It was the mana core that powered the monster.
After completing its attack, the Guardian corrected its stance, and the armor on its back firmly closed again.
‘The core is exposed whenever it delivers a heavy downward strike.’
Ju-min had identified its attack pattern.
All that remained was determining how to strike the opening.
He rapidly assessed the situation and formed a strategy.
It was impossible to accomplish alone.
While he faced the Guardian head-on, endured its attacks, and held its attention, someone else would have to circle behind it and destroy the core.
“Sang-ho!”
Ju-min’s voice echoed through the mineshaft.
“Yeah, what is it?!”
“You’ve seen how absurd that thing’s defense is! From now on, target only its joints! Concentrate your attacks on its leg joints and restrict its movement!”
“But even hitting its joints doesn’t leave a scratch—”
“If you keep attacking, the impacts will accumulate inside the gaps between its joints! Immobilize its legs. When I force it to raise both arms, the armor on its back will open. Strike the exposed core when it does!”
Ju-min firmly cut him off, then turned toward Kang Cheol-jin.
“Mr. Kang, maintain a safe distance and throw rocks around it to distract it! Don’t let it hit you. Just keep moving!”
“Y-yes! Understood!”
After giving his instructions, Ju-min readjusted his grip on his sword and charged directly toward the Guardian.
“I’ll draw its aggro!”
The Guardian’s red eyes locked firmly onto Ju-min as he rushed toward it.
An enraged metallic roar erupted from the monster.
It repeatedly swung its rocklike fists.
Instead of dodging, Ju-min raised Giant’s Mining Hands and intercepted their trajectories.
CRASH! CLANG! CRASH!
Every collision sent bone-shattering vibrations through his entire body.
An ordinary C-rank hunter would have struggled to endure even one such impact.
However, Giant’s Mining Hands deflected a considerable portion of each strike, while Perfect Breathing suppressed Ju-min’s stamina consumption to the extreme and continuously supplied him with vitality.
Ju-min gritted his teeth and refused to retreat even a single step.
He redirected the Guardian’s relentless attacks and thrust his sword into every opening, persistently provoking it.
“Over here, you pile of rocks!”
Ju-min shouted, keeping the Guardian’s attention completely focused on him.
Meanwhile, Choi Sang-ho had moved to its flank. Gritting his teeth, he began relentlessly striking the Guardian’s knee joint.
“Just break already!”
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
His rough sword strikes hammered the gaps around the joint without pause.
Kang Cheol-jin also picked up large stones from behind them and desperately threw them at the Guardian’s shoulders and the back of its head.
The countless minor impacts raining down from every direction gradually reduced the Guardian’s mobility.
The damage accumulated in its knee became obvious as it began dragging one leg.
‘Now.’
Ju-min stomped heavily before the Guardian and taunted it.
He drew up his mana, causing his sword to shine brightly. The Guardian’s red eyes flickered wildly.
As if determined to crush the enemy before it completely, the Guardian raised both arms high above its head.
VMMMMM!
Overloaded red mana erupted through the gaps in its ore armor.
Its back stretched taut, and the thick plates of armor finally spread wide to either side.
The pulsating red mana core inside was left completely defenseless.
“Now! Strike the core on its back!”
The instant Ju-min gave the signal, Choi Sang-ho kicked off the ground and rushed behind the Guardian as though he had been waiting for that exact moment.
He gathered all the power he had left into his sword and thrust it toward the gap in the open armor.
“Die!”
Choi Sang-ho’s full-powered attack struck the mana core directly alongside his thunderous shout.
CRACK—!
A horrific fracturing noise split the cavern.
A thick crack opened across the surface of the red mana core.
“GRRRRRGH!”
The Guardian staggered violently while emitting a grotesque metallic groan.
Its arms, which had been about to strike downward, stopped weakly in midair. Its massive body lost its balance and pitched forward.
Choi Sang-ho’s attack hadn’t completely shattered the core.
However, it was enough to stop the monster.
Ju-min kicked hard off the ground.
Soaring into the air, he gathered all the strength remaining in his sword arm at once.
Ju-min descended upon the staggering Guardian’s back.
Without hesitation, he drove his sword deep into the half-shattered mana core.
BOOM—!
An ear-splitting explosion erupted as the red mana core shattered into countless pieces.
Fragments scattered everywhere, and the expanding red mana instantly dissipated.
The light in the Guardian’s eyes abruptly went out.
With the power supporting its massive body severed, its enormous rock-built frame began collapsing.
RUMBLE—!
The Guardian’s remains crashed to the ground, raising an immense cloud of dust.
As the thick dirt slowly settled, Ju-min landed atop the wreckage. Breathing slightly harder than before, he gave his sword a light shake.
Silence descended upon the mineshaft.
Choi Sang-ho and Kang Cheol-jin sat on the ground, staring blankly at the sight before them.
The enormous pressure that had weighed upon them moments earlier had disappeared without a trace.
“H-haha. We actually killed it. This is insane. Seriously.”
Choi Sang-ho let out an incredulous laugh and sprawled flat on his back.
At that moment, brilliant golden light erupted in the air.
A clear System message appeared before every party member.
[You have successfully completed the first clear of the Special D-rank Dungeon ‘Echoing Abandoned Mine.’]
Ju-min looked up at the dazzling message before sliding his sword into its sheath.
“Good work. Let’s gather our gear.”
Ju-min lightly dusted off his hands and turned his gaze.
Among the remains scattered across the ground, a faint glow visible only to him was preparing to emerge once again.