Other than its darker skin, the boss looked like the Double-Headed Declan warrior. However, I knew how frightening it could become as it stood on the platform in the middle of the room, standing at the highest point like a god. It just stared at me even though I broke in. Although it looked like a lazy old king, I shouldn’t be deceived by its appearance.

In my past life, during my second entry into this dungeon, the boss monster had ripped apart six out of ten E-class hunters. As the mutts rushed at me, old memories like black and white photographs crossed my mind. It had started the exact same way in the past. We had snorted at the mutts since they had no sorcerer or warrior among them, and things seemed easy. We began hunting the mutts mercilessly without realizing that the boss monster became stronger in proportion to the number of dead mutts. By the time we noticed, it had already turned into a demon.

[You have used your ‘Speed-up’ Insignia.]

[The ‘Speed-up’ Insignia has been removed.]

I charged toward the mutts while they also narrowed the distance between us. I had to somehow dig into the empty spot, but there were too many of them. I had to create gaps, and I used Odin’s Wrath to improve my Agility instead of applying it as a weapon.

[You have used Iron Skin.]

I punched a mutt’s face, and I could’ve killed it with my E-class Strength and rock-hard fists. However, it was taboo since the boss monster would get more furious whenever it witnessed one of its soldier’s deaths and would turn into a bloody vengeful king that would slaughter innocent civilians. I was certain that it was the only one that deserved the title ‘king’ here.

BAMMM!

I stroked a mutt’s shoulder right beside my chest, and a small blue flame sparked. I shoved off the mutt and jumped over it. A sharp pain was radiating in my leg as the mutt must’ve scratched it, but I ignored it.

Since I was rushing through several layers of siege to get to the podium, I had to watch my back as the mutts attacked me from the front, back and sides. Even the fallen ones stood up quickly to kill me. If I possessed the class of Sense I had in the past, I would’ve been certain about their actions, but I had no time to even care about the mutts. I needed to reach the platform without killing any of them, which was a deadly and extremely burdensome task. I kicked and shoved the mutts in my way aside, and they tripped over. I finally saw the gap.

Just then, an extreme sense of pain covered the left side of my back. I would’ve been sent flying if my Strength was still in F-class. I saw the monster’s menacing wide-open mouth as it snapped at me. I kicked at another mutt while I grabbed at the mouth biting my shoulder and pulled it off my body as hard as I could. The burning pain began as my flesh was torn apart. Instead of checking the gushing blood and exposed bone, I looked for other gaps. I rolled my eyes and turned to the spot where only one mutt stood. It was there!

Like the other guys, it was staring and running at me.

[Woo Yeon-Hee has used Bravery.]

[Woo Yeon-Hee has used Physical Healing.]

[Your injury will be slightly recovered.]

I had told Woo Yeon-Hee earlier to make sure to keep me in her sights. The limit of her visibility in the dungeon was around twenty feet, so the fact that she was able to use her skills on me meant that I had not traveled very far yet. I was moving as fast as I could, but time had slowed down for me. When I was kicking and jumping over one, I saw the boss monster rising up beyond the shoulders of countless mutts. A mutt must have gone after Woo Yeon-Hee, and she must’ve succeeded in killing it.

[You have been distributed 1 point.]

There were so many disgusting mutts, so it was inevitable I’d be unable to stop them from approaching Woo Yeon-Hee. I told her earlier that I would take on the risk of not killing them. After all, I couldn't make her take on a task that could lead to her death. That’s why I ordered her to focus on staying alive and maintaining her sight on me.

***

It was extremely difficult to aim at a fast-running target, especially when the shooter was terrified.

Zing-

However, Woo Yeon-Hee’s arrow accurately pierced into the mutt’s eye. She hid in the wall behind the door right away without a moment of joy or relief. She immediately transferred the crossbow to one hand as there was no time for her to load another arrow. Following that, she quickly took out a dagger and saw the monster’s head that had come for her. She lunged without any hesitation like a reflex action of pulling out a hand after touching fire. The dagger was thrust into the mutt’s neck but the notification message informing her she had killed one didn’t pop up even when the blood sprinkled over her face. Therefore, she continued. She knew that the chest was the mutt’s fatal point, but it was lying face down. Blood gushed out of its stabbed throat with every heartbeat.

[You have defeated the Declan scout.]

Woo Yeon-Hee didn’t stand up immediately. Her face was covered with blood so she couldn’t open her eyes. However, she still wanted more blood on her and began to rub the black blood all over her exposed skin. Then, she stood up by stepping on the corpses. She was desperate when she put the arrow on the crossbow, and she thought Seon-Hu needed the Bravery skill more than herself. Her hands trembled, and she started moving after checking over the door. She didn’t see anything and only heard a roar in the darkness. She took a very careful and tense step while lowering her posture like a cat. Soon, the backs of countless mutts caught her eyes. She glared ahead to look for Seon-Hu, but there were too many mutts. Then, his face appeared for a second, disappeared, and appeared again from the frenzied pile of mutts that were tearing and biting into his flesh.

***

I could only see the mutts’ heads and claws, and I intuitively realized that this was as far as I could power through. The boss monster was still distant, but the hungry mutts’ arms were floundering in all directions. I covered my eyes with my left arm that was reinforced with Iron Skin and put my right arm over my chest. Although I had no choice but to let them bite my body, I couldn’t let them injure my eyes and major organs. I was enduring the pressure to take a step.

“Ah…ahhhhh…”

It felt like I had been dropped into a world where blades and hooks stabbed at me and fire burned me. Then, a message of hope popped up.

[Woo Yeon-Hee has used Physical Healing.]

[Your injury will be slightly recovered.]

I forgot about those killing me for a moment, so I took a few steps further while the mutts sunk their teeth in me.

[The Man Who Overcomes Adversity has been activated.]

[Your Health has increased by one class. Change: F → E]

[Your Strength has increased by one class. Change: E → D]

[Your Agility has increased by one class. Change: E → D]

[Your Sense has increased by one class. Change: F → E]

[The Odin’s Wrath has increased by one class. Change: F → E]

[You will be immune to pain temporarily.]

I had five minutes and swung my arms out as hard as I could. Those that had clawed me bounced off, widening the space. They were flung away like ragdolls from the force I used, and I moved forward with the determination that I would break the monster wall. My lightning burned brighter, and those who touched the sparks screamed in shock. It didn’t kill them but was enough to freak them out.

On the other hand, I was pushing two mutts away, but they were jammed as the other monsters were pushing on them. As the pressure mounted, my hands penetrated their chests, causing their flesh to be burnt. I threw them behind me before they died, and others took their place.

They didn’t know fear, and I was the only one bleeding. The blood dripping from my hair poked my eyes, and the scent stoked the mutts’ thirst more. I was desperate to kill them all as time was running out. Strength was useless since I couldn’t kill them, and Agility was the same as there was no room to avoid their attacks. The Man Who Overcomes Adversity wasn’t invincible and only allowed me not to feel pain. Even then, my flesh and blood were being ripped apart by their claws and teeth.

Shit! I saw two mutts jumping into me with their mouths wide open. Their fangs and hideous tongue flashed, and I shattered their faces.

[You have defeated the Declan scout.]

[You have defeated the Declan scout.]

The boss monster glared at me with interest. I could now see its face as I had shortened the distance between us. Then, it grimaced at Woo Yeon-Hee due to the message that followed.

[You have been distributed 1 point.]

She had been following me quite well while killing the mutt. So far, four mutts had died, which was okay. The boss monster was furious, but its body hadn't been physically buffed yet. In the past, we realized how to defeat it after it killed more than eighty percent of us. Compared to that, four mutts were nothing. I only needed to reach the monster before the Man Who Overcomes Adversity ended.

Damn it. Damn it!

My entire body went out of control like a loose screw. Every time I shook off the mutts, I could see how horrendous my arm looked. The armored side with Iron Skin was torn down. That meant the rest would be even worse.

“Ahhh!!!”

I headed to the newly created space and continued taking steps until I reached the slope. There were numerous mutts I had to push aside while climbing halfway up the slope. How much time do I have left?

[The Man Who Overcomes Adversity remaining time: 0 hours 1 minute 15 seconds]

I first needed to remove those in front of me. They were more frantic to protect their king than how the hedge funds were desperate to defend Russia.

[You have used Strongman.]

A mutt fell backwards as soon as it bit me. I ran with all the strength I could muster, and it was finally then nothing stood between me and the boss monster. I unsheathed the dagger that had never been taken out in the dungeon and threw it at the monster. If the boss had become the bloody vengeful king, it would’ve dodged or the dagger would only have a minimum impact. However, all it could do was flinch as I threw the dagger with D-class power. It became deeply embedded in the monster’s chest and the boss fell backwards. Then, I clearly saw the dagger disappearing into its heart.

“WOO YEON-HEE!!!!!”

[Woo Yeon-Hee has used Mary’s Hand.]

I heard the sound of a woman’s frenzied scream before it abruptly cut off. My body began to move properly again as the shattered cogs started working out in perfect shape. The monster who once slaughtered us in the shape of the devil was lying down with a perfectly normal look on its face. I stomped on its head.

Crack!

I shattered the other hand. Then, I saw the mutts around the boss were now being drawn to the scent of Woo Yeon-Hee’s blood. I crushed the boss monster’s chest and jumped down from the platform.

[You have fulfilled the conditions required to complete the quest ‘Joy and Sorrow.’ Please decide on the first and second person to finish the quest by agreement.]

From then on, nothing stopped me. I killed every mutt surrounding Woo Yeon-Hee like an unbridled bull by throwing, stabbing and crushing them. Then, I saw her motionless body in a pool of blood. When I lifted her up, her lips opened and closed as she had not lost consciousness yet.

“I… am… the… s…second…”

The System must have recognized her dying voice.

“Yes, I’m the first,” I said.

[You have completed the quest ‘Joy and Sorrow.]

[You have gained 1500 points.]

[You have obtained a ‘gold box’ for being the first one to complete the quest.]

[You have completed every quest.]

[Congratulations. You are the first one to complete all the quests available in the dungeon.]

[You have obtained a ‘diamond box’ for being the first one to complete the quest.]

[Congratulations. You are the first one to fulfill the conditions required to destroy the dungeon.]

[You have obtained a ‘master box’ for being the first one to fulfill the conditions.]

Last, but not least…

[Congratulations. You are the first one to kill the boss monster.]

[You have obtained a ‘challenger box’ for being the first one to kill the boss monster.]