chapter 55
The moment Lee Hyun saw the dungeon report for “The Golden Axe, Silver Axe”, he instinctively realized:
“This is the quest I can clear most comfortably.”
Finding the real axe among thousands would be difficult for anyone else, but for Lee Hyun, who possessed the Flaming Eye Golden Insight, it was a piece of cake.
[Activate Relic: Flaming Eye Golden Insight to determine the authenticity of the item.]
Messages indicating true and false popped up over the numerous axes.
[False]
[False]
…
[True]
The real axe was right next to the mountain spirit who had been smiling kindly. Lee Hyun immediately attacked it as soon as he pulled it out. Fortunately, the spirit had let its guard down, and he was able to split it effortlessly.
“…Senior?”
Of course, Kim Min-jung and the rest of the team stared in disbelief at the sudden development, while Lee Hyun spoke casually:
“Everyone, prepare for battle.”
“Eh…? What do you mean?”
“Did you really think a 3-star dungeon quest would end this easily?”
“…!”
Assistant Director Eom Gi-seon hastily drew his halved greatsword.
[Activate Legacy ‘Baby General Uturi’ to use wings as weapons!]
Wings sprouted under his arms, wrapping around one arm and extending the greatsword into a complete weapon. At that moment,
Fwaaah…!
Curses from the dead mountain spirit rippled across the mountain slope:
“This….”
“You are quite the wicked woodcutter.”
“Since you showed honesty, I tried to accept you as a comrade… Hehehe.”
The axes embedded across the mountainside transformed one by one into mountain spirits, each with white hair and blood-tears streaming down their grotesque faces.
[Activate Legacy ‘Crimson Lotus Boots’ to overlay flesh!]
[Activate Legacy ‘Land of Darkness Fire Dog’ to attempt resurrection of Dire Wolf!]
Kim Min-jung drew a pistol from her holster and loaded bullets, while Assistant Director Seo Ae-ri popped a special pill in her mouth and began transforming.
Crack—
Roar!
As predicted when Lee Hyun had met her in the lab, Seo Ae-ri possessed a mutation-type legacy. Unlike Western lycanthropes, she used the claws of dead beasts as a medium to summon their spirits. In other words, she could transform into the vengeful spirit of the beast she had possessed. Now, she became a dire wolf: sleek, fierce claws, slightly elongated body, eyes turned feral.
“Hehehe.”
“Your spirit is strong, but let’s see if you can remain so confident after death!”
“Damn it! I knew the axes would turn into mountain spirits, but was the goal really to break all of them!? You could’ve told us earlier!!”
The laughter of the mountain spirits mingled with Eom Gi-seon’s frustrated complaints.
Fwap!
Without hesitation, Team Z and the mountain spirits collided. Or, rather, tried to.
“When you fight, don’t just fight—use this.”
Suddenly, an axe dropped in front of each team member. Identical to the one Lee Hyun had pulled earlier. Though all eyes questioned what was going on,
“You can catch them easily with this.”
Before anyone could protest, they wielded the axes and engaged the mountain spirits.
Bang! Kaang!
“What…? This is really easy?”
“Why are they being pushed back so easily?”
The attacks landed too effectively, surprising even the team members.
“Weren’t these mountain spirits supposed to be boss-level monsters?”
The moment thousands of axes transformed into mountain spirits had been dizzying. They had assumed they failed the first attempt. But this iron axe seemed to hold a hidden key.
“Wait… how can there be multiple real iron axes?”
Questions raced through the team’s minds, but they still had to clash with the mountain spirits:
Kwaang!
Eom Gi-seon swung his axe forcefully, and three mountain spirits were knocked back.
“Hahaha! Once you know the strategy, it’s all mine! You’re all done for!!”
Laughing loudly, Eom Gi-seon jumped among the spirits. Seo Ae-ri silently engaged in melee combat, moving far more freely than her status report suggested.
“Senior.”
Kim Min-jung approached Lee Hyun, her eyes gleaming like axes.
“Did you awaken the mountain spirits without warning just to check our strength?”
Lee Hyun grinned:
“Let’s call it training.”
“Are you kidding? You could’ve killed us.”
She couldn’t faze him.
“Just kidding. Nothing dangerous will happen, don’t worry. I’m planning a squad strategy.”
“Could’ve warned us… Ugh, never mind. How are you getting sneakier by the day?”
Kim Min-jung grumbled as usual but never fell behind. She held a magic gun in one hand and an iron axe in the other, shooting the spirits’ feet with bullets before finishing them with the axe.
Meanwhile…
‘As expected, these things originated from Baekgoljeong.’
Lee Hyun prepared for battle, holding the iron axe in one hand and Do-cheol’s fang in the other. Aside from Seo Ae-ri, no one seemed to notice the strange smell of decaying corpses.
[Using Flaming Eye Golden Insight, discovered hidden adaptations in <Story>.]
[1. Corpses disguised as mountain spirits]
The mountain spirits are actually long-dead corpses. The axes were originally buried at the cemetery, indicating it’s a communal grave.
[2. Mountain spirits disguised as axes]
The necromancer controlling these corpses is highly skilled, adept at deception and manipulation.
[3. Curse techniques embedded in necromancy]
[All clues combined reveal the hidden form of <The Golden Axe, Silver Axe>!]
The location of Baekgoljeong, hidden in the forest by the pond, begins to appear via Flaming Eye Golden Insight.
Interpreted ■■■■’s myth. Gain some Karma.
Rank increased.
“Baekgoljeong, huh.”
Sun Wukong chuckled at the white aura buried in the mountain spirits’ hair.
“Back then, because of that guy, I was mistreated by wizards and scolded by foolish priests.”
“Heheh. All in the past, master. Forget it all.”
“It’s none of your business, right?”
Saojeong, ever confident, glanced aside. The Baekgoljeong incident was one of the few where Wukong had been treated unfairly in Journey to the West.
‘They tried to eat Master Tripitaka, got caught by Wukong, left fake corpses, ran away, and later framed Wukong for killing people… right?’
Eventually, the truth came out, Tripitaka apologized, and Wukong faced significant trouble until then. The incident was all because the demon of Baekgoljeong was highly skilled in both disguise and necromancy—just like here.
‘The iron axe was always in the dungeon. There must be as many axes as needed.’
That’s why Lee Hyun had found the real iron axe and handed it to his team. The dungeon was easy once the secret was solved.
But…
‘Like with the Pied Piper, is there no acquaintance like Saojeong?’
Lee Hyun noticed Wukong’s small shoulders slumping slightly behind him. Even without words, he probably felt the same worry. Lee Hyun quickly moved on, as there were still many places to visit.
Fwaaah!
The battle with Baekgoljeong was nothing special. Aside from necromancy, the demon had no notable skills.
[Duke’s Fury of Douksini explodes!]
Lightning swept through. The skull-shaped demon split in half and crumbled to dust.
“Sun Wukong… descendants… because of you…”
Fsss!
[Successfully read and comprehended <Short Story>. Gain large amount of ■■■■’s Karma.]
[Karma enhances resonance with Ruyi Jingu Bang.]
[Rank increased.]
[Rank increased.]
[All stats increased by 5 according to rank.]
[Hidden achievement completed. As bonus, each receives ‘Baekgol Spirit Scripture Skillbook’.]
Baekgol Spirit Scripture—the necromancy that turned thousands of axes into mountain spirits.
‘Could work well with Curse Scrolls. Since it uses yin energy, it may suit other auxiliary functions too.’
Lee Hyun decided to examine the skillbook later and temporarily placed it in his inventory. Luckily, the rest of the team was fighting the mountain spirits effectively.
Soon…
[Dungeon cleared.]
“…Phew. Finally done. My muscles ache like crazy after running around. A can of beer would be perfect now.”
Lee Hyun approached Eom Gi-seon, who slumped by the closing gate.
“What are you doing? No time to rest. Move. Immediately.”
“Eh? Wasn’t this break time?”
“We have a long way to go. No time to rest if we want to finish in fifteen days. Follow me.”
“…!?”
Eom Gi-seon’s expression shifted oddly, suspicious of another trick. Lee Hyun ignored it and moved on. With fifteen dungeons to clear, time was tight.
[Entered new dungeon.]
After that, the forced march began.
[Entered Dungeon!]
[Dungeon ‘Hansel and Gretel’]
A poor woodcutter couple lived in a forest. They had two children, Hansel and Gretel…
…
[Dungeon cleared.]
[Excess achievement rewards granted.]
[Player: Jang Lee-hyun ranked first in contribution…]
…
The second day:
[Entered Dungeon!]
The third day:
[Entered Dungeon!]
Fourth day as well:
[Dungeon cleared.]
[Excess achievement rewards granted.]
…
Lee Hyun kept his promise. Entered and cleared a dungeon every single day, consistently exceeding expectations.
[Entered Dungeon!]
And he always ranked first in contribution. The team couldn’t voice complaints; Lee Hyun endured the most.
By day six, a common thought crossed everyone’s mind:
‘At this rate, we’ll die! From exhaustion!’
Even Eom Gi-seon, who initially enjoyed frequent battles, began showing fatigue from day eight. Kim Min-jung suggested taking a rest to conserve energy, but:
“Potions will be fine. I brought plenty, including mana and status-effect potions.”
“….”
Various potions appeared, including large-capacity ones nearly impossible to get even in White Burn. (Later revealed to have been sourced from Colonel Lee Gun-san’s house.)
Plans shifted.
“Want a proper meal? I brought emergency rations of every type.”
“….”
“Want a soft bed? Here’s a thicker sleeping bag.”
“….”
“No safe zone? This Plum Flower Hearth blocks monsters for four hours.”
“….”
Sometimes rest time even decreased.
‘Damn it! What’s in that inventory! It’s like Doraemon’s pocket!’
Kim Min-jung wisely decided not to dwell on the mystery.
By the eleventh day:
“Aaagh! I can’t! I can’t do this anymore! How can you work us to death without sleep!”
Eom Gi-seon collapsed, exhausted.
“Didn’t you sleep three hours yesterday?”
“That’s not sleeping!”
“You can sleep after death, too.”
“What kind of old-fashioned…!”
“Overtime pay will be claimed, now get moving.”
“Aaagh! Really! I’m exhausted!”
Repeated insubordination. Lee Hyun didn’t even listen, lifting Eom Gi-seon and throwing him toward the gate.
But this time:
“Alright. Let’s rest.”
“Huh? Really?”
Eom Gi-seon looked stunned, unsure of a trick. Kim Min-jung and Seo Ae-ri, eating cup noodles, also stared, like refugees on a battlefield.
Lee Hyun chuckled and shrugged.
“Even Astra can only do this much.”
“…!?”
Eom Gi-seon jumped up, red-faced. Lee Hyun gave a sly grin:
“Astra isn’t anything special.”
“…!!”
Eom Gi-seon flared, insisting:
“Not anything special!? Let’s go! That dungeon isn’t hard!”
Seeing Eom Gi-seon huffing and Lee Hyun grinning, Kim Min-jung and Seo Ae-ri sighed and set down their noodles.
On the fifteenth day:
“Finally!”
The team, ragged and exhausted, entered the final dungeon, crying tears of joy.
“…Where is this?”
Sun Wukong’s gaze trembled as he looked at a landscape overflowing with flowers and fruits.
