Chapter 9
[You have crossed half of the desert.]
[Conquest Rate: 47%]
Boom!
Drip, drip!
Lee Hyun, boasting his large physique, struck the head of the desert snake that tried to coil around him with a single blow.
He almost lost consciousness for a brief moment from being pierced by the snake’s venomous fangs, but—
[Poison Resistance (F) has been created. You are now better at enduring poison.]
[Health has increased by 1.]
Thanks to the increase in his physical endurance from the rise in health, he managed to endure and chop off the snake’s head with his kukri.
Bang!
The head, as large as a human’s, fell to the ground with its long tongue sticking out.
A huge amount of blood poured out, soaking the dry desert.
“Haa… haa… I really almost died this time.”
Lee Hyun sat down weakly on the ground, finally catching his breath.
[You have accumulated too much fatigue. Anemia and dizziness are setting in. Rest is advised.]
[Fatigue level: 73]
[Excessive bleeding. Please provide nutrition and rest. Bleeding Resistance (E) has risen to D.]
[You endured the Desert Snake’s ‘Squeeze.’ Physical Resistance (F) has risen to E.]
“Are you crazy? Did you really intend to die?”
Son Goku came down with an expression that looked like he was fed up.
Throughout nearly half of the dungeon conquest, Lee Hyun had been pushing forward relentlessly.
[So far, you have cleared 6 monster lairs.]
[The desert monsters are starting to fear you. You have earned the title ‘Desert Slayer.’]
[You can now endure the heat and intense temperatures of the desert much better.]
Through the Hwaanggeumjeong (a specific technique), Lee Hyun confirmed that the water sources of each lair were connected via underground rivers and, while following them, continued to battle monsters without much rest.
“But thanks to that, I gained poison resistance, right? Two other resistances also leveled up.”
“If you die, it’ll all be for nothing, won’t it?”
“I have divine power, you know? Plus, there’s the recovery ability of the Ruyi Jingu Bang.”
“…You really are insane.”
Lee Hyun didn’t regret his decision.
Even just looking at his status window, he felt satisfied.
[‘Holy Relic: Hwaanggeumjeong’ has activated the user’s status window.]
[Lee Hyun]
-
Age: 27
-
Traits: Leader, Unyielding, Frozen Human, [Locked], [Locked]
-
Abilities:
Strength: 42
Agility: 31
Health: 30
Mana: 15
Intelligence: 37
Dexterity: 30 -
Powers: Hwaanggeumjeong, [Locked]
-
Skills: Two-Eokshini’s Breath (C), Combat Sense (E), [Locked], [Locked], [Locked]
-
Resistances: Cold (S), Curse (S), Pain (D), Bleeding (D), Paralysis (E), Physical (E), Fatigue (D), Poison (F)
-
Current State: You have gained too many resistances in a short time. Your overall metabolism is unbalanced.
-
Special Notes: You are rapidly recovering lost stats. Your sensitivity has greatly improved compared to your previous average.
In just a few hours, his stats nearly doubled.
Even the resistance section was filled up.
The rapid growth was evident. If it were up to him, he’d push himself even harder.
“Look. My legs aren’t bothering me anymore.”
Lee Hyun smiled brightly, showing off his now functional right leg.
Of course, it only irritated Son Goku.
“Even if the Ruyi Jingu Bang accelerates recovery, it only helps enhance your original recovery ability.”
“Then I should gain a recovery-related skill, right?”
“Do you think gaining skills is easy?”
“In that case, I’ll just push harder. Hey, wouldn’t that even increase related resistances too? Sounds like a win!”
“Ugh! That’s not what I meant!”
Son Goku was exasperated by Lee Hyun’s attitude, who was always thinking about how to turn everything into training.
‘He couldn’t even run properly for four years due to the curse, and he’s been able to endure that? How did he manage to hold up all that time?’
If his obsession with self-training was this strong, those years must have been like hell.
‘Wait, maybe it’s the opposite?’
Then Son Goku realized, looking into Lee Hyun’s calm eyes, that he had misjudged him.
‘He must’ve trained constantly, even during the curse! That’s why he was able to regain his senses so quickly!’
Lee Hyun had never skipped a single day of training.
Even when he was tortured by the curse, when he was in despair, he still trained within the limits of what he could do.
That’s why he was able to clear dungeons with his injured body and wake up Son Goku.
‘He had faith in himself.’
A belief that he would rise again one day.
A conviction that he should prepare for the chance when it came.
Son Goku had no choice but to acknowledge him.
‘I’ve been pushing him, and now I’m the one worried. What’s going on here?’
“Seems like you don’t doubt me anymore.”
“Shut up, you brat. If I had to choose new apostles, it would waste too much time. I hate busy stuff!”
Although Son Goku didn’t want to admit it.
But Lee Hyun knew exactly how he felt and grinned, which made Son Goku want to smack him on the head just once.
“How about teaching me some of your skills?”
“What?”
“You know a lot of tricks, right? If there’s anything related to physical combat, please teach me. I think it’d help lessen the worries and be useful.”
Son Goku frowned.
“You’re trying to con me?”
“Well, I’ve proven I’m useful as a temporary apostle, so I’m asking for a small reward.”
“Ha! Seriously, your mouth…”
Lee Hyun quickly changed the subject.
“The fish-shaped pastries were delicious, right? When we get out of here, I’ll buy something even better.”
For a moment, Son Goku’s ears perked up.
“…Is there something more delicious than fish-shaped pastries?”
‘As expected.’
Lee Hyun silently chuckled to himself.
He’d mentioned the fish-shaped pastries, knowing Son Goku would cling to the idea.
The little monkey seemed to have a taste like that of a child.
“Do you know about ‘Ddukcaron’?”
“Ddukcaron?”
“What about ice cream hotteok or rose tteokbokki?”
“I know what hotteok is, but they put ice cream on it? And rose tteokbokki, what kind of combination is that!”
“There’s a thing called sweet and salty. After eating something sweet, you have to eat something salty, and then back to sweet. That’s how your taste buds will say, ‘Ah, that was a fun day.'”
“…!?”
“Let’s go out and enjoy it, shall we?”
Son Goku stood dazed for a moment. Just hearing the description made his mouth water.
Then he realized Lee Hyun was grinning at him and quickly snapped out of it.
“…Heh. You’re so determined to learn even through the desert. It’s admirable. I’ve decided to teach you a little technique.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t misunderstand, it’s not because of the food.”
“Of course not. Nobody would think that.”
Son Goku looked at him suspiciously, but—
Thud!
He straightened up and lightly stamped his foot on the ground.
From the earth, a bar-like object shot up into his hand.
Even if it wasn’t for food, Son Goku figured it might be okay to start teaching Lee Hyun a little bit now.
“I’ve noticed you rely heavily on your senses and intuition in combat, and it seems like you mostly deal with brain attributes. How about learning techniques from Zeus rather than mine?”
The name caught Lee Hyun off guard.
Zeus.
Leader of the gods of Olympus, one of the most powerful figures in mythology.
Lee Hyun’s eyes widened slightly.
“Zeus? Isn’t he from a completely different mythology?”
“I once stole his power, you know.”
“…!”
Lee Hyun clenched his fist unconsciously.
He had been hoping to learn a little technique from Son Goku, but it seemed like something far greater had just fallen into his lap.
“It’s not just him. I’ve also taken powers from Jade Emperor, Odin, Osiris, Brahma… all their major abilities are inside me.”
Son Goku said with a mischievous grin, tapping his own head with his finger.
Lee Hyun now had a faint idea of the kind of humiliation Son Goku must have endured from these
