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Posted by Vibes107, Released on August 17, 2025

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Chapter 18 Guardian

I looked down at Geum Yang-tae, sprawled face-down on the ground, with contempt.

“Is that level of skill really enough for you to think you could kill me right now?”

“T-that was a mistake!”

“A mistake is still part of your skill.”

In battle, luck is skill.
Let alone mistakes—especially ones this basic? That can only mean he has no real skill at all.

“Damn it!”

Geum Yang-tae quickly scrambled to his feet and backed away.
He must have thought I’d attack him while he was down.

His face flushed red, he shouted,

“Y-you bastard. Why didn’t you attack? Do I look that ridiculous to you, huh!?”

The sight was indeed ridiculous.
And judging from his own expression, he knew that as well.

I sighed once and spoke.

“Phew… hey.”

“What, you bastard!”

“Do you know why I sent the rest of the team away?”

When I dismissed the others first, he must have been overjoyed.
He’d been searching for a chance to ambush me, but the moment I was left alone, he probably thought it was his golden opportunity.

But I’d known all along that he was lurking.
Sending the team away had been intentional.

“Wait… so you…”

As Geum Yang-tae belatedly realized this and froze in shock, I kindly explained.

“I’ll be staying in Hyeonung Clan for about three months, and I figured it’d be better if you weren’t around.”

In other words—I’m going to kill you.

Throughout today’s dungeon raid, I’d kept debating.
Should I just kill this bastard Geum Yang-tae, or let him live?
And my conclusion was clear…

‘Killing him will be cleaner.’

So I decided to kill him.
That’s why I deliberately created a one-on-one situation with him inside the dungeon.
If he dies in a dungeon, there’ll be no evidence left behind. For me, it was the perfect chance.

“Grr…”

Perhaps realizing he’d been dancing in my palm all along, Geum Yang-tae bit his lips.

Then suddenly, his attitude changed completely.

“Ha! I’ll at least admit—you’ve got guts.”

“…?”

“You think some newbie who just awakened can beat me? Me, Geum Yang-tae, a three-star Hunter who awakened over a year ago? That’s laughable. Hahaha.”

So that was it—he still thought of me as a rookie.

I chuckled.

Not that his assumption was entirely baseless.
Usually, newly awakened hunters—even those lucky enough to awaken at a higher star—struggle to properly control their own power.

But I was different.
Because of the side effect Mana Overflow, I’d lived as if unawakened, but in truth, it had already been more than three years since I awakened.
The power of a three-star Hunter? I could handle that just fine.

‘Honestly, if I could use aura, I’d be considered a four-star Hunter already.’

That was my own objective assessment, aside from Prill and the “One Punch” ability.

“Still bluffing to the end, huh? Hehe.”

But Geum Yang-tae continued to sneer, convinced I was bluffing.

“Fine then. Just die already!”

He sprang off the ground and rushed toward me.

This time, he managed to avoid the vines, so he didn’t look as pathetic.
But frankly, he wasn’t the least bit threatening.

‘What a mess… full of openings.’

At best, Geum Yang-tae barely scraped into the level of a three-star Hunter.
And even then, his lack of training was obvious—he wasn’t drawing out anywhere near his full potential.

His breathing was uneven, his center of gravity floated with every step, and he gripped his curved blade with way too much force.
I’m no master of swordsmanship myself, but this was below basic level.

“Hyaaah!”

With a loud shout, he swung his short curved blade.
I sidestepped and hooked his leg.

Thud!

“Ugh! You cowardly—!”

I pulled a Permafrost Dagger from my subspace ring and drove it into his chest.

Stab!

“Guhhhk!”

“Just die already.”

Eyes wide in disbelief, Geum Yang-tae collapsed and died.

And just like that, the leader position of our Hunter Team 3 became vacant.

Prill gave me a pitiful look, almost disappointed at his death.

【Aww… he died.】

“…Why? Do you actually feel sorry for him?”

【He was fun to listen to, spouting nonsense.】

“….”

So that was all.

I ignored her and searched Geum Yang-tae’s body for anything useful.

But there was nothing.
Not a single thing of value.

No armor, no consumables.
Just his weapon, and even that was half-broken—the blade chipped, the hilt joint loose.
Barely worth anything second-hand.

“…Why was he such a beggar?”

For a team leader, he was ridiculously poor.
The reason became clear soon after.

“…So this was why.”

I found a smartphone tucked deep inside his clothing.
It didn’t work properly in the dungeon, but its identity was obvious.

I let out a laugh.

“He was… a phone-poor.”

Phone-poor.
Someone who goes broke buying an ultra-expensive smartphone they can’t really afford.

【What’s that?】

“It’s a smartphone… basically an old relic of the past.”

【Hmm?】

Smartphones were expensive.
At least 10 million won apiece, with luxury models reaching hundreds of millions.
I’d heard they were once commonplace, but not anymore.

In today’s world where monsters could appear at any time, people preferred feature phones.
Smartphones had awful durability—one battle and they’d usually be smashed to pieces.

‘Unless you’ve got subspace storage, that is.’

With subspace gear, sure, you could keep them safe.
Which is why smartphones had shifted from a common tool to a luxury item.

Anyway—

“Lucky me.”

Finding one here was quite a haul.
I could reset it and use it myself, but more likely I’d sell it second-hand.
Feature phones had most of the practical functions anyway—smartphones were purely luxury.
Better to spend that money upgrading my gear.

“Well then…”

I stored the smartphone in my subspace and turned to Prill.

“Which way?”

【This way! I can feel the power of Authority from here!】

Now, time to search for the Dragon’s Authority in earnest.

“Is it far?”

【Not far!】

Following her guidance, I soon reached the location.

“…A submerged cave this time? Last time was a cliff.”

【They wouldn’t hide it in an ordinary place, right?】

“That’s true. It is the Dragon’s Authority, after all.”

It was a small pond with an underwater cave hidden at the bottom.
Without Prill, I’d never have found it.

【Didn’t I do great? Then I want ice cream!】

“Sure, I’ll buy it for you once we’re out.”

【Yayyy!】

Well, for that, ice cream was a small price to pay.

“Alright then.”

I loosened up and scanned the water.
The pond didn’t seem to have any dangerous creatures.

‘Not sure how long I’ll have to hold my breath…’

But I wasn’t worried.
I could swim, and awakened hunters had much greater lung capacity.

“Shall we go?”

【Yeah!】

And so, with Prill, I dove into the jungle waters.

Ding!

[Tenauses’s Arrangement 1]

The arrangement left by Dragon Lord Tenauses for the Last Dragon.
The Dragon’s Authority lies dormant here.
Entry restriction: None.

[You have entered the dungeon.]

“Puhah!”

Thankfully, the dive wasn’t long.
Just when I was running out of breath, I surfaced on the other side of the submerged cave.

What awaited was a dark cavern.

“That door, huh?”

At the center stood a massive door glowing faintly.

【That’s it! I can feel the Authority from there!】

“Good.”

As I approached, I thought back.

The first Dragon’s Authority I obtained—One Punch—had changed my life.
Not only did it resolve my Mana Overflow, its effect itself was overwhelming.

‘I wonder what kind of power waits here.’

I was excited.
How much stronger would it make me?
How much closer to vengeance would I get?

My heart pounded as I neared the door.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“!?”

【Ah! Danger!】

BOOM!

“Urghk!”

From the right, a massive metal giant slammed into me, sending me flying.
I barely blocked with my arm, but the force was terrifying.

“What the hell!?”

【It’s a Guardian! Tenauses must’ve left it to protect the Authority!】

“Damn it.”

A Guardian, huh?

Come to think of it, Prill had been a Guardian too.
Now just a low-rank spirit bound to me, but originally, she was a high-rank Guardian that protected a Dragon’s Authority.

‘…I underestimated this.’

I had to admit it.
I should’ve been more cautious.

If I’d expected a Guardian, maybe I couldn’t have prepared a countermeasure… but at least I wouldn’t be caught off guard like this.

Still—regrets could wait.
Right now, I had to figure out how to survive.

Intruder detected. Intruder detected.

Thankfully, the metal giant didn’t pursue me.
It just stood guard in front of the door.

Confirming intruder’s species.
If not a dragon, eliminate intruder.
Confirming…

And it even explained its process aloud.

‘Just like with Prill.’

Back then, I had to prove I was a dragon.

“I’m a dragon!”

I tried the same trick—lying straight-faced.

Confirmation complete.
Intruder’s species: Human. Not a dragon.
Beginning elimination of intruder.

…Didn’t work at all.

【Yujin… are you an idiot?】

“It was worth a try.”

It failed, but there was no harm in trying.

Thud! Thud!

The metal giant began moving toward me, intent on crushing me.

“Phew…”

I steadied my breathing, readying for battle.

‘Fine. Then I just have to beat it.’

Yes—that was the simple answer.
If I couldn’t prove I was a dragon, I could just defeat the Guardian.

But Prill frantically objected.

【No! You can’t! You’ll lose!】

Not entirely wrong.
If it was on par with Prill’s original strength, I couldn’t win.

But…

‘Really? Will I really lose?’

This didn’t feel like that.
When I first met Prill, she felt like she could kill me with a flick of her finger.
But this metal giant? Nowhere near that level.

‘And I’m much stronger now too.’

It was worth trying.

‘Besides, do we have another option?’

【……】

Prill had no answer.

If escape were possible, I’d have taken it.
Talk my way past it, or flee.
But lying had failed, and retreat wasn’t possible—I’d been knocked too far from the entrance.

Either way, I’d have to get past the Guardian to leave.

So there was only one choice left—

‘Fight, whatever happens.’

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The Guardian closed in, swinging its massive fist.

Eliminating intruder.

Whoooosh!

The colossal fist split the air with destructive force.

‘One Punch.’

[Using Authority: One Punch.]
[A small amount of mana is consumed.]

No time to test the waters.
From the start, I went all-in with my strongest move.

‘If only I hadn’t wasted One Punch on that boss earlier…’

Unfortunately, my mana reserves weren’t large.
But this was all I could rely on.
I clenched my teeth and swung.

Whirr!

All my mana concentrated into my fist.

Dodging wasn’t an option—the Guardian was too fast.
If I tried to evade, I wouldn’t even get an attack in.

‘Then head-on it is…!’

My fist collided with the Guardian’s.

BOOOOM!!!

“Ghhhk!”

My whole body shook violently.
Blood filled my mouth, my limbs trembled uncontrollably.

[You have entered Mana Exhaustion.]

To make it worse—mana exhaustion.

【Yujin! No! What do we do!?】

Prill’s panicked voice rang out.
If she had that much energy, I wished she’d use a skill or something.
Not that it’d help much.

‘Just… shut up for now.’

【Mmph!】

I silenced her—her voice was distracting.

Through the haze, I tried to see.

I was wrecked, but what about the Guardian?
My One Punch had landed full force—surely it took damage?

Eyes wide, I searched.

Intruder elimination. Intruder elimination.

‘Did… did I do it?’

The Guardian’s arm—the one that clashed with me—was completely destroyed.
It wasn’t unscathed after all.

There was hope.

‘Good. If I can endure this exhaustion, then…’

Arm destroyed.
Beginning self-repair.

To my horror, the Guardian’s arm began regenerating.

‘Damn it.’

I cursed.
If I could attack now, maybe I’d finish it, but in mana exhaustion, I couldn’t even move properly.
How could I possibly defeat this thing?

For a moment, despair clouded my mind.

‘If only I had a bit more mana…’

I might’ve destroyed it in one hit.
But that was meaningless regret.

‘Pull yourself together, Do Yujin!’

I had to think of the next move.

‘Prill—we need to escape.’

【H-how?】

I couldn’t move well, but I wasn’t entirely helpless.

‘Push me.’

【O-okay!】

Prill could use her limited power to exert some physical force.
It was weak, but better than nothing.
Certainly better than wasting it on a futile attack.

As for me—

‘Move, damn it.’

It became a battle of willpower.
Dragging my exhausted body forward.

Step. Step.

One step at a time toward the exit, eyes locked on the Guardian.
Luckily, while regenerating, it didn’t move.

‘If it attacks, I’ll try to angle it so I get knocked toward the exit.’

Plan B.
It sounded plausible.
The Guardian never attacked consecutively—always one strike at a time.
If I could survive one blow, I might make it out.

【Nnghh!】

Prill pushed at my back with all her strength.
Thanks to her, I moved a bit faster.

‘Please, body… move.’

Step by step, together we forced ourselves forward.

But then—