. Black Route (2)
Maybe because it was annoyed by Yeon-woo repeatedly going back and forth while dodging, the Red O-Gong let out a sharp cry.
Ta-dak
‘Weak point. Where is its weak point?’
Yeon-woo got on the Red O-Kong’s nerves as he kept circling around it.
Thanks to the Dexterity and Health stats he had accumulated in section A, he didn’t have to worry about being slowed down or getting exhausted anymore.
Occasionally, he would also catch the Red O-Gong off guard.
There were some places where its flesh was exposed. Right where a segment of its shell connected with another.
Yeon-woo stabbed and sliced its joints, and then jumped back out.
Kyaaa!
As he repeated this procedure, the floor gradually filled with the Red O-Gong’s blood and body fluids. However, the Red O-Gong didn’t get exhausted. On the contrary, it was becoming more furious and more ferocious.
‘There is a tremendous disparity between clearing traps and slaying monsters. I just have to figure out the correct strategy.’
Unlike traps that only needed to be avoided, monsters needed to be hunted.
He had to deal with a predator that was trying to eat him.
Seen from a distance, it was not much different from his experience in Africa.
‘After all, a life is just a life, and that applies to monsters too. There should be some kind of weakness… Wait, weakness?’
Then an idea flashed across Yeon-woo’s head.
‘Draconic Eyes!’
As the black pupils in his eyes sank and expanded, his now black-and-white vision was focused on the Red O-Gong.
Everything he saw was now composed of only black lines, just like a drawing sketch, only the monster’s contour was shown. However, a few fine lines of flaws could be seen mixed among the black ones.
Then, with his eyes, he tracked the point where the flaws converged.
‘There it is.’
It was a spot in the the exoskeleton right between its head and neck. If it were a human, that would be its cervical spine.
Why did he never think of using his Draconic Eyes on living creatures? That was most likely because he had always been using it on inanimate objects, so he had thought that there was a limit to it.
But now that he realized it, things weren’t as bad as they appeared to be. So he continued examining Red O-Gong’s movements with his Draconic Eyes.
Of course, finding its weakness did not instantly turn his situation into an easy hunt. It still didn’t take away the speed, fierceness and strength of the Red O-Gong.
Most importantly, unlike inanimate objects, the Red O-Gong’s weak point was in constant, fast paced movement.
Pinpointing that small spot and accurately stabbing it wasn’t an easy task. The short duration of Draconic Eyes also added to the problem.
Kwang
Yeon-woo strengthened all of his senses as he tried to keep distance from where the dust produced by the debris was rising.
He wanted to examine the movements of the Red O-Gong in more detail.
Kikikick.
The Red O-Gong did a big turn and rushed down the concave wall.
Yeon-woo ran to its left side, aiming for the moment the Red O-Gong would raise its mouth and roar.
‘Now!’
Pat
Yeon-woo’s feet kicked the ground as he darted out.
The Red O-Gong clattered its forcipules as it thought the food that had been getting on its nerves had finally gone mad. Its dozens of feet moved, charging towards Yeon-Woo like a rhynol.
As soon as Yeon-woo avoided its head, he slapped its shell with his left hand, propelling himself high into the air and climbed onto its neck.
He held the dagger backwards, and then stabbed it into its weak spot.
Puck
[‘Draconic Eyes’ skill proficiency has increased. 2.4%]
[You have learned to strike into the opponent’s flaws.]
Spurt
Blood poured out like a fountain. That spot had probably contained an artery. The amount of blood that was gushing out could not be compared to what had been spilled so far.
However, the dagger was stuck midway through and did not go any deeper.
Just before reaching its weak point, it bumped into something hard and wouldn’t pierce further.
‘An inner shell?’
Yeon-woo’s face turned stern. He didn’t know there was still another shell protecting its weakness beneath the outer shell. His Draconic Eyes didn’t catch such detail.
Sensing the danger, Yeon-woo tried to get away from the Red O-Gong.
Swish
Before he knew it, the tail of the Red O-Gong was flying towards him like a whip.
Puck
Yeon-woo crossed his arms to protect his upper body as much as possible. With a crushing impact, his body bounced backwards and crashed hard into the wall.
Kuck!
Yeon-woo spat out a mouthful of blood. His body felt like it was going to shatter into pieces. He couldn’t think straight because of dizziness.
[Horrendous pain overcomes your body. You have been afflicted with ‘Stun’.]
[You have severe internal injuries. You have been afflicted with ‘Shock’.]
[Red O-Gong’s body fluid has seeped into your body. You have been afflicted with ‘Poison’.]
Yeon-woo, however, gritted his teeth and quickly checked on his physical condition using his strengthened senses.
‘Four broken ribs, two fractures in the spine. Vein in left thigh is ruptured. Achilles tendon in right ankle is torn.’
There was no doubt that he shouldn’t be able to move an inch due to the seriousness of his injuries.
The Red O-Gong took the opportunity to charge towards him with the speed of an arrow. Its forcipules were right in front of his face.
But even in such crisis, Yeon-woo managed to assess the best course of action based on his current situation.
In that brief moment,
[Your trait ‘Cold-blooded’ has helped you maintain composure.]
[The status effect ‘Stun’ has been removed. You have developed resistance to pain.]
[The status effect ‘Shock’ has been removed. You have developed resistance to impact.]
[The status effect ‘Poison’ has been removed. You have developed resistance to poison.]
······
[The skill ‘Physical Resistance’ has been created.]
[You have shown great presence of mind in any given situation. You have attained deep enlightenment in regards to perseverance and an indomitable will.]
[The skill ‘Combat Will’ has been created.]
Messages notified him that two new skills had been created. But Yeon-woo couldn’t afford to check his new skills. Still, he could tell what the skills were about by just looking at their names.
In that instant, the terrible pain greatly subsided. Furthermore, his consciousness also became clearer and he was now more capable of thinking and making decisions.
He felt as if time had slowed down for a brief moment.
Thought acceleration (思考加速).
Thanks to this, Yeon-woo was able to assess a number of actions he could take before the Red O-Gong reached him.
And he finally chose one of them.
At that moment.
Kieek!
The forcipules were closing in right in front of his face.
Yeon-woo pointed his dagger towards the front.
Kwang
Hup!
Yeon-woo was lifted up by the impact. His upper body dug deeper into the wall. His spine suffered yet another fracture and both of his arm were shaking from the pain.
Still, he forced himself to tighten his grip on the dagger. Blood drizzled down from his torn hands, but he clenched his teeth. Both his eyes were already red from being bloodshot.
Kakakac!
The Red O-Gong’s forcipules were being blocked by the dagger, as they kept opening and closing in front of Yeon-woo’s face.
Behind its forcipules, he could see deep into its throat, which was covered with countless fangs.
The Red O-Gong writhed to bite off Yeon-woo’s head. Whenever its forcipules clattered, his dagger trembled as if it would break any time soon.
In the end, Yeon-woo couldn’t hold any longer, and the Red O-Gong’s forcipules almost reached his face.
Tssss
A rock melted as the monster’s saliva touched the ground.
At that moment, Yeon-woo’s body slid downwards.
Once again, the Red O-Gong rammed its head into the wall. In the meantime, Yeon-woo was able to reach beneath it. Other than its joints, this was the only part that wasn’t covered by the hard shell.
‘This is its belly.’
There was the smooth abdomen of the Red O-Gong right before his eyes.
He stabbed it with the tip of the now badly chipped dagger.
Puck
Kieeek!
The monster raised its head and screamed in terrible pain.
Nevertheless, Yeon-woo tenaciously held onto the dagger stuck deep in its stomach.
The centipede twisted its body around and went on a rampage, trying to shake him off. But contrary to its wish, Yeon-woo shoved the dagger even deeper into its stomach.
Crunch
While dangling from the monster’s abdomen, Yeon-woo clenched his teeth and squeezed his arm right into it. The tip of the dagger had almost reached the point where the flaws converged.
Snap
He heard something breaking from the inside. He didn’t know what exactly it was, but he was sure it was critical to this centipede.
I won.
Yeon-woo smiled coldly and sliced its belly downwards.
Shlckt
Spurt
There was a long cut along the monster’s stomach. Its entrails poured out, and blood splattered everywhere. The whole cave was being painted with blood.
Kieek!
Red O-Gong was struggling with pain. Then as its strength started to drain out, the centipede’s head finally fell onto a puddle of its own blood and let out a wheeze.
Flop
Yeon-woo also fell to the floor.
His body was already a total wreck. He was so worn out that he couldn’t even lift a finger.
The Red O-Gong glared at Yeon-woo, its eyes filled with resentment.
After a lifetime inside this cave, its eyes had already degenerated. But at the end they were still looking at him.
And soon it stopped breathing.
‘This is ridiculous.’
Yeon-woo breathed heavily and frowned.
He thought he gained some strength from his time spent in Section A and dealing with a few players. But this stupid tutorial didn’t give him any chance to relax. It wasn’t lying when it said high difficulty.
However, he still concluded that his training so far didn’t let him down. If he hadn’t done that, it’d be him lying dead on the floor right now, not the Red O-Gong.
He already knew what to do after the battle.
With all the strength he could muster, Yeon-woo forced himself to move.
He had also spilled too much blood. For now, he was somehow maintaining his consciousness by relying on his skills, but he could pass out at any moment, like a candle in the wind.
He had to get everything done before that happened.
His body moved like a marionette without strings, but he managed to crawl along.
He tore some White Moss from the floor and crudely pushed it into his mouth. He had no strength to chew, but fortunately the moss melted like water and flowed down his throat.
Swoosh
He felt something cold slipping inside his body.
Before the feeling disappeared, Yeon-woo grabbed onto the hard shell of the Red O-Gong, raised his upper body and pushed his face into the open wound.
It was filled with a disgusting, rotten stench, but at the end he managed to find what he was looking for.
The centipede’s heart was still beating.
With his mouth wide open,
Chomp
He bit into the heart.
