Monster Heavenly King - Chapter 22



Only Noblemtl

22. Rest

“So, what was the reward?”

As we headed to where the boss monster had disappeared, we saw a small necklace lying there.

A simple necklace with a single tooth adorned on a leather string.

I looked around to see if there was anything else, but I couldn’t see anything.

“… … Is this the end?”

I wasn’t expecting a bunch of stuff to come out, but still, it’s just a necklace.

Hyunseong looked at the necklace he had lifted up and clenched his teeth.

“Well, what’s important is performance.”

So what if it wasn’t flashy? After all, equipment was all about performance.

A system window pops up as you look at the necklace.

[Great Warrior’s Fang]

[Rank: Ancient]

[Description: This is the tusk of Lark, known as the greatest warrior of the Orcs.]

[Effect: Grants +5 to the equipped Awakened’s Strength.]

“oh?”

Hyunseong, who read the effect, let out a sigh of admiration.

Because plus 5 is by no means a small number.

Even if you just think about it simply, it’s a number that requires raising five levels to catch up.

This item was like rain in a drought, especially at a time when leveling up was already slow.

‘I don’t think there will be many of these.’

Considering that the grade is ancient, it must be incredibly rare.

Moreover, this necklace was an item that was increasingly difficult to find at higher levels.

If the wisdom teeth of the warrior Hyunseong had actually been auctioned off, they would have been worth tens of billions as a basic price.

“Let’s go and take a look.”

[Name: Kim Hyun-seong.]

[Race: Skeleton Knight]

[Characteristic: None]

[Level:20]

[Strength: 16 (+5)]

[Stamina: 10]

[Endurance: 12]

[Agility: 11]

[Magic Power: 12]

[Remaining points: 3]

“Oh, it really went up. The performance is definitely good.”

At this point, I don’t think there’s any need to invest points in strength, at least for the time being.

Since my attacks weren’t working and my internal energy was lacking, I had no choice but to invest most of my points into strength.

However, now that I have melted away some of my fraud and have accumulated enough internal energy, I can invest the remaining points in other abilities that I am lacking.

“I think I should use the remaining points… but where should I distribute them?”

As your stamina level drops, you cannot take a single hit as you go up, and depending on the opponent, even blocking can be dangerous.

If you lack stamina, your body, legs, and bones will crumble first and that’s it.

Magic power is an ability that cannot be overlooked, as it is as important as internal energy in battle.

The only fortunate thing was that physical strength and agility could be covered by skill.

“That’s just talking at this level.”

If stronger enemies continue to appear in the future, there will come a day when you will need to increase your stamina and agility.

This damn body was lacking in so many things.

Hyunseong, who had been lost in thought, let out a deep sigh.

“At least I could use all my internal energy.”

There would have been no need to worry about this.

A body made up of nothing but bones was not capable of utilizing everything it had.

Since I didn’t have a proper body, there was a limit to how much strength I could draw from my internal energy.

‘That one also has really bad fuel economy.’

It would be more efficient to protect the bones with internal energy so that they don’t break when attacked.

It could be said that in his current battles, magical power was more helpful than internal energy.

Up until now, I had been doing well somehow, but to me, every moment felt like walking a tightrope.

‘Some special measures will be needed.’

I had to find a way to properly use my internal energy even with this body that was nothing but bones.

Hyunseong, who was worrying like that, soon distributed the remaining points to physical strength, endurance, and magic power.

[Name: Kim Hyun-seong.]

[Race: Skeleton Knight]

[Characteristic: None]

[Level:20]

[Strength: 16 (+5)]

[Stamina: 11]

[Endurance: 13]

[Agility: 11]

[Magic Power: 13]

[Remaining points: 0]

While distributing points, the level suddenly caught my eye.

“Finally level 20?”

It takes 1 level to reach the dungeon boss.

Defeat the dungeon boss to reach level 2.

Hyunseong finally reached level 20 after climbing like that.

“Is this good enough?”

Hyunseong looked at the level with proud eyes.

Since there was no comparison group, I couldn’t tell if it was high or low.

Hyunseong looks around as if he is looking for something, thinking it is time to go back.

Soon he blurted out a word as if he was disappointed.

“Isn’t it common sense that when you defeat a boss, an exit door appears?”

However, such a door was nowhere to be seen, and Hyunseong eventually had no choice but to go back the way he came.

.

.

.

“Are you here?”

When we arrived at the hideout, Brin was sitting eating something.

“What are you eating?”

“It’s a monster caught nearby.”

There were a few things I learned about the labyrinth while walking around the 2nd floor with Brin.

That’s right, the monsters that Brin catches, unlike himself, don’t disappear from their corpses.

I thought that the monster’s corpse might become the awakened person’s experience point, but this is just a guess.

‘and…’

By eating its corpse, you accumulate some of the monster’s magical power within your body.

In fact, Brin, no, all monsters were born from the overflowing magical power in the labyrinth, so there was no need to eat.

Even when he was the boss of the first floor, he was fine for over 6 years without having to eat anything.

But the reason why I hunted and ate monsters like this was because it was a way to become stronger faster.

‘Even if you don’t die and time passes, you will gradually absorb the magic of the labyrinth and become stronger…’

By eating monsters, you can become stronger more quickly.

As if a normal goblin had eaten the essence he had been given and evolved instantly.

‘Now that I think about it, it suddenly feels like shit again.’

He’s a monster himself, so he can’t eat it because he only has bones.

If I could eat it, I would be twice as strong by now.

‘No, if you think about it, is that difficult too?’

Even if you said you could eat it, the monster’s corpse would disappear just like that because it’s an Awakened being.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized how fucking annoying the bugs were.

A question that arose while watching Brin chewing on a part of the monster.

“But, are you eating it raw?”

“Keruk? Then how do you eat it?”

Hyunseong sighed softly at Brin’s question, which seemed to be asking something so obvious, and picked up some small branches from nearby.

And then, as I raised my internal energy, a fire started to burn on the tree branches, creating a small bonfire.

Brin, who was seeing the Samadhi True Fire for the first time, opened his eyes wide and stared at the sight quietly.

Then, Hyunseong put a piece of meat that was nearby on a branch and brought it over the fire.

“Ke, Keruk?! What are you doing?!”

Brin shouts with a startled expression.

Hyunseong clicked his teeth in a calm voice, as if he were a Taoist who had attained enlightenment.

“Ah, don’t you know? This is what is meant by ‘baking.’”

He looks like a prophet who imparts knowledge to people from another world.

Brin opened his mouth as if to ask what was going on.

“No, I know that, but why are you grilling it?”

“…hmm?”

This time, Hyunseong tilted his head.

You know how to bake.

“Then why haven’t you been grilling it all this time?”

“Most of the magic power disappears when grilled.”

“… … Oh really?”

He scratched his skull as if it was embarrassing.

Who would have thought that grilling meat would make its magic disappear?

Brin looked at himself with pitiful eyes.

“Didn’t you know? This is common sense.”

“Haha”

I never thought I’d hear common sense advice from a monster in my lifetime.

Hyunseong continued speaking in a seemingly relaxed voice.

“Common sense…”

“Keruk.”

Only then does Brin realize his mistake and cover his own mouth.

Hyunseong clicked his teeth with the generous tone of a great sage.

“Then, in return, I’ll teach you some common sense.”

“Wh, what is it?”

From inside the skull, crimson eyes fit for the undead gleamed.

“Whether it’s a person or an animal, they grow more after experiencing a crisis.”

“Oh, I see. But the reason you’re saying that now is…”

“No, I was just thinking about starting practical training today.”

“… … ”

“Don’t worry, you won’t die. If you do well, that is.”

“Ke, Keruk?!”

The second floor of the forest labyrinth is enveloped in darkness.

The goblin’s scream echoed.

.

.

.

“Keruk, I’m dying…”

Brin muttered in a voice that was not at all like MacAri.

His appearance now was no better than a rag.

Even if an Awakened person saw it, they would probably feel sorry for it or pass it by as a goblin that someone was already hunting.

And, the master, Hyeonseong, gritted his teeth as if he was dumbfounded by his disciple’s words.

“Hey, no one has ever died doing this.”

“Really. I wonder if the pain here and there is a broken bone… ”

“Don’t worry, I beat you so well that you wouldn’t break anything. You wouldn’t even get a bruise.”

“… … ”

Brin had nothing to say.

Even though my whole body was aching, there really wasn’t a single dullness in my body.

It was so surprising how such a beating so close to a dish was possible.

“Well, it seems true that we can’t go on like this anymore, so let’s take a break.”

“Keruk.”

The fact that it was only for a moment bothered me, but I didn’t have the strength to argue.

Brin collapsed on the floor, as if he didn’t even have time to talk.

Hyunseong was looking at his disciple who had fallen on the floor and was inwardly admiring him.

‘My senses are becoming sharper.’

Even though I raised the level to a level that I thought was the limit, I persevered.

I got curious and tried going up two levels, but it held on for a while and then collapsed like this.

Although the results were a mess…

‘What’s important is that you held on, even if only for a little while.’

If things were as they were, it would have been normal for him to collapse without even receiving a single hit.

From the day the labyrinth appeared until now.

Since he had survived on the first floor for six years without dying even once, his sense of survival may have been more developed than anyone else’s.

‘You were unlucky to meet me.’

Because he himself went to find it.

No matter how much of a survival expert he was, what could he do when the disaster that came to him was none other than himself?

‘Am I just lucky?’

Because you can meet yourself and become stronger.

It seems to contradict what I thought a while ago, but whatever.

Wasn’t the world originally all about self-interest?

‘It seems like the body is starting to find its footing’

Brin’s body muscles were prominent as he stretched out on his back.

He had muscles to begin with, but now they were clearly asserting themselves.

‘Because recovery itself is fast, you can spend more time on training.’

Is it a characteristic of the goblin monster, or is it something special about Brin?

Either way, it was definitely a good thing.

Hyunseong clacked his jaw at Brin, who was still lying down.

“Brinah.”

“Keruk.”

“I think it’s time to start learning the basics now.”

“… … Keruk?!”

Brin’s body jerked up.

Because he realized what his master meant.

That means…

“Are you finally able to learn?!”

“Just the basics though.”

That alone was enough.

Because all this time, I just felt like my body was being squeezed and I didn’t learn anything.

I felt like my heart was going to break as I was subjected to beatings called Dalian.

“Finally… I’m getting out of this life.”

I was able to rejoice, thinking that I was learning the truth and being liberated from this suffering.

But that was only for a moment.

Shocking news came from his teacher.

“huh?”

“… Keruk?”

“Get away from what?”

“Haven’t you been trying to build a body to learn the Heavenly Demon Sword Technique until today?”

“yes.”

“Then you don’t have to do it anymore…”

“Heh heh, Brin. What are you talking about, nonsense?”

“… … ”

Brin had a gut feeling that something was wrong.

He had endured this hellish training until now, thinking that it would end.

But it is not the end, but the beginning of a new, even more difficult hell.

Hyunseong started talking, clicking his chin as if he was happy.

“Didn’t you know? This is common sense.”