Chapter 18
“Phew.”
I exhaled a deep breath.
The boss of a C-rank dungeon.
And that name—it wasn’t something to take lightly.
The king of scorpions in the ancient desert?
Not a commander, duke, or general—but a KING?
“……”
Once upon a time, I wouldn’t have even dared to dream of facing something like this.
I mean, I used to struggle against even a high-grade D-rank orc.
‘But now…’
It felt doable.
I had no trouble taking down C-rank scorpions earlier.
And according to the World Hunter Association:
“When a group of five or more Hunters of the appropriate rank fail to clear a dungeon, the dungeon will be reclassified to a higher rank!”
Which meant even fewer than five C-ranks could still beat this one.
Even if it’s C~D-rank, I’d already beaten five Hunters in a 1:5 fight.
[The Ancient Desert Scorpion King has appeared!]
[‘Awakened Skeletons’ (D-rank) are overwhelmed by the pressure of a powerful foe. All stats reduced by 20%!]
“Wow.”
I shivered.
The ominous aura pouring from behind the door made my heart race.
“This is intense…”
“N-Necromancer… will you be okay?”
The younger sister of the porter duo asked hesitantly.
I smirked.
“Who knows? But one thing’s certain—this is a better situation than when I had to fight those Shadow Severance bastards.”
“Y-yeah, that’s true.”
As scary as the Scorpion King might be…
Could it possibly be stronger than an A-rank Hunter?
“Hoo… hoo…”
I took a few deep breaths and shook off the tension.
At the same time, I checked my stamina.
[Hunter: Joo Donghoon]
[Stamina: 50/120]
Summoning the old man had cost me 20.
Summoning the skeletons took another 50.
I still had five more casts left.
‘Still…’
The downside was that the skeletons weren’t in top condition.
And I was utterly exhausted from the earlier fight too.
But I still had the old man’s guidance!
“Hoho, my disciple. You’re not saying you need my help to take down that trash mob, are you?”
‘…What?’
I was thrown off.
“Bah, a disciple who can’t even handle something like that deserves to die rather than be trained.”
‘W-wait a sec.’
“No waiting. I’m off. Don’t forget to summon me again tomorrow.”
‘What? Elder? Hey?!’
[Skill ‘Legacy of the Ten Thousand Arts’ (S-rank) has expired.]
[The summon ‘Master of Ten Thousand Arts’ has been dismissed.]
[This skill will be available again in 24 hours.]
Damn.
Time limit was up already?
Useless old man.
I grumbled to myself.
Ha…
This was going to be harder than I thought.
Gulp.
I swallowed dryly.
For now, I had to focus on what was in front of me.
I turned to the open door and scanned the scene.
-Screeeee!
Far off, I spotted a colossal scorpion.
Roughly the size of a five-ton truck.
Its massive yellow-brown pincers were as big as an adult human.
Its venomous tail stinger in the rear looked dangerously sharp.
And the curved legs between its body segments were grotesque.
“Man… I’m really supposed to kill that?”
RUMBLE!
That’s when the scorpion suddenly dove underground.
What? Attacking from below?
“Bone Five!”
I called out instinctively.
Creak!
[‘Bone Five’ uses skill, Air Shield (Lv.1).]
It wasn’t much, but I got a shield up just in case.
A quick glance showed Bone Five had only 20 stamina left.
“Everyone else, spread out and form up!”
Creak, creak!
They moved just as they were trained.
Reliable Bone Four took the front, slamming his shield into the ground like he was saying, “Bring it on!”
But then—
“What the…?”
My eyes widened.
CRASH!
The Scorpion King burst from underground—not at Bone Four, but directly at Bone Three.
Clack?
Bone Three, caught off guard, dropped his bow and jumped back in surprise.
‘Whoa, it’s smart?’
This was definitely a different level from anything I’d fought so far.
The way it fought was one thing—
‘But it’s massive. And sturdy.’
Not to mention fast.
-SWISH!
The creature spun its entire body, threatening Bone Three, then lunged straight at Bone Two.
“Bone Four!”
[‘Bone Four’ uses skill, Low-Grade Taunt (Lv.1).]
I had no choice but to use the aggro skill.
-GRRAAA?
It worked—the creature’s attention shifted to Bone Four.
Oh, it actually worked?
Even on a boss-level enemy?
RUMBLE!
This time it didn’t burrow—it charged head-on.
[‘Bone Four’ uses skill, Low-Grade Block (Lv.1).]
Bone Four was fearless.
Even I wouldn’t want to take that hit head-on, no matter how tough I was.
BOOOOM!
The explosion-like sound slammed into my ears.
The ground trembled, and clouds of sand shot up.
“Ugh!”
My stomach churned a bit, but I held on.
Once the dust cleared—
“He blocked it?!”
I shouted.
It was incredible.
Bone Four’s shield was pressed against the scorpion’s claw.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the shield, and he’d been pushed back ten steps, but he held.
“Everyone, attack!”
I gave the full assault order.
Fwoooosh!
Bone Five used up his remaining energy to fire a Fireball.
Whoosh! Shoom! Bam!
Bones One through Three charged in using their skills.
My blood vessels bulged with focus.
I ordered them to beat the hell out of that thing.
Weak spots? Critical hits?
Forget that.
I told them to put everything they had into each strike.
Pound its entire body.
After about 10 seconds—
-SKREEEEE!
The beast let out a deafening roar and spun around.
A splash-type attack that hit everything nearby.
“Crap.”
WHOOSH!
All melee units were knocked back—except Bone Four with the shield.
Creak!
Bone One and Bone Two clacked angrily after being forced to retreat.
‘Still worked.’
I grinned.
Green liquid oozed from several parts of the monster’s body.
Definitely its blood.
‘So that’s the power of an Awakened Skeleton, huh?’
As expected of high-grade D-rank units—their attacks were landing.
“Good! Even if you die—keep going!”
Creak!
Bone One and Bone Two nodded vigorously.
As long as they could hit, nothing else mattered.
No need to conserve them.
Why?
[Hunter: Joo Donghoon]
[Stamina: 50/120]
I still had energy.
And as long as I had stamina, my skeletons were virtually immortal.
This was the power that made the necromancer ability broken.
Crack, snap!
[‘Bone One’ has been unsummoned.]
[‘Bone Two’ has been unsummoned.]
Even if they went down—
[Skill, ‘Summon Awakened Skeleton’ (D-rank) used.]
[Consumes 10 stamina.]
[‘Bone One’ has appeared.]
[Skill, ‘Summon Awakened Skeleton’ (D-rank) used.]
[Consumes 10 stamina.]
[‘Bone Two’ has appeared.]
I could just summon them again.
-Screeeee?
The scorpion paused mid-fight, blinking at the skeletons in disbelief.
I could feel its confusion.
‘Yeah… I know exactly how you feel.’
But what can you do?
Sorry, but I’m the one winning this.
I kept ordering the charge.
Bone One and Bone Two were each summoned twice.
And finally—
CRACK!
Bone One’s greatsword snapped the scorpion’s neck.
“Whew.”
I let out a sigh of relief.
Honestly, that was a close one.
I had 10 stamina left.
If it had held out any longer—
I probably would’ve died.
[Ding!]
[‘Ancient Desert Scorpion King’ has been defeated.]
The notification signaled the end of the dungeon.
At the same time—
[‘Bone One’ has leveled up.]
[All stats increased by 1!]
[Skill, Low-Grade Slash (Lv.4) has increased by 2 levels.]
[‘Bone Two’ has leveled up.]
[All stats increased by 1!]
[Skill, Low-Grade Thrust (Lv.2) has increased by 2 levels.]
[‘Bone Three’ has leveled up.]
[All stats increased by 1!]
[Skill, Rapid Shot (Lv.2) has increased by 2 levels.]
[Skill, Vision Boost (Lv.2) has increased by 2 levels.]
[‘Bone Four’ has leveled up.]
[All stats increased by 2!]
[Skill, Low-Grade Block (Lv.1) has increased by 3 levels.]
[Skill, Low-Grade Taunt (Lv.1) has increased by 3 levels.]
[‘Bone Five’ has leveled up.]
[All stats increased by 2!]
[Skill, Fireball (Lv.1) has increased by 3 levels.]
[Skill, Air Shield (Lv.1) has increased by 3 levels.]
“Holy…”
My jaw dropped.
So this is what a C-rank boss is like?
The growth boost was on a whole other level compared to training.
Every stat increased.
Skills leveled up dramatically.
An absolute growth spurt!
‘Forget training—I should just run dungeons from now on.’
The pride swelling in me instantly wiped out all fatigue.
I blinked and stared at the climbing skill levels.
For reference, skill levels max out at 10.
According to veteran Hunters,
Once a skill hits max level, it upgrades into a higher-tier skill.
‘Almost there.’
The day I shed the “Low-Grade” tags was approaching fast.
And that wasn’t all.
[You have discovered ‘Ancient Desert Scorpion King’s Poison Gland’ (C-rank).]
[Would you like to acquire it?]
“Ooh, loot?”
Of course I’d take it!
I nodded, and a flash of white light burst forth.
In my right hand appeared a black orb.
[Item: Ancient Desert Scorpion King’s Poison Gland]
[Rank: C]
[Type: Material]
[Description: The distilled venom hidden in the Scorpion King’s tail. Contains around 20 types of potent toxins.]
[Effect 1: Can be used as crafting material.]
[Effect 2: Can be used as a skill reagent.]
“What, just a crafting material?”
It wasn’t an elixir, which was a bit disappointing—but still not bad.
A C-rank crafting item would definitely have buyers.
‘Of course. With so many Hunters around, someone’s bound to want it.’
Usually, D-rank gear was the standard.
But from C-rank up, prices jumped steeply.
Consider it a kind of hazard bonus.
As I grinned and moved to store the item—
Creak.
Bone Three approached, eyes gleaming.
He was staring hungrily at my pocket.
“What’s with you?”
[‘Bone Three’ reacts to ‘Ancient Desert Scorpion King’s Poison Gland.’]
“Huh?”
[Hidden condition met!]
[Condition: Craft Poison Arrow!]
– To acquire the new skill ‘Poison Arrow’ (Lv.1), a unique opportunity is required!
– Obtain a poison-type skill material of D-rank or higher!
“What?”
I was stunned.
So this is how new skills unlock?
Wow.
Now I understood why the Dark Lord kept chanting “dungeons, dungeons~” all the time.
One boss kill, and this many rewards?
[Would you like to learn the skill, ‘Poison Arrow’ (Lv.1)?]
“Okay.”
I nodded.
This was the better choice.
Sure, I could sell the material for some cash.
But becoming a Ranker was my goal.
Making my skeletons stronger came first.
[‘Bone Three’ has been upgraded.]
[Skill acquired: Poison Arrow (Lv.1).]
‘Glorious.’
A truly satisfying moment.
[Congratulations!]
[You have cleared ‘Stage: Ancient Desert Scorpion King!’]
[Your clear reward has arrived!]
Swoosh!
My vision blurred for a moment.
Having cleared the dungeon, I was now being returned to the entrance gate.
“We—we’re alive!”
“Hic… We really survived… Thank you, Necromancer… We’ll never forget this.”
The porter siblings wept with joy.
A brush with death would do that.
I smiled softly.
“Think of it as a valuable experience. And don’t just go running into places just because the pay is good, alright?”
They were still young.
With this experience, they had room to grow.
I quickly sent them on their way.
Because—
[Clear reward has arrived!]
I had something else to check.
Boss loot and dungeon clear rewards were treated separately.
[Reward incoming!]
[Congratulations!]
[Item acquired: Trace of the Ancient Desert (B-rank)]
Whoosh!
Just like with the poison gland, an item materialized in my right hand.
‘Huh.’
Its shape was unfamiliar.
“What is this…?”
I tilted my head.
“It’s… a key?”
A key-type item?
As an E-rank mercenary, I’d never seen anything like it before.