Chapter 131 – The Blue-Shelled Tortoise

‘What? The monsters get twice as strong depending on day and night?’  

As Oh Yoon-sik ran through the dungeon with his team, hunting monsters, he recalled his conversation with Min Do-jun and let out a scoff.  

‘Nonsense.’  

There had been no such information in any of the guides he’d studied, so Yoon-sik was certain.  

Do-jun’s claim was nothing but absurd nonsense.  

But it didn’t take long for him to realize, after fighting the monsters himself—  

‘W-why are they this strong?!’  

—that the monsters were far tougher than the EXP they provided.  

In terms of efficiency, the Sand Worms of the desert had been far more rewarding.  

‘Even I’m struggling to take them down alone.’  

If even someone over level 2,700 found it difficult, that said everything.  

‘I poured everything I had into that fight and only managed 40% contribution…’  

No matter how much magic he unleashed from the back while his team tanked, the damage he dealt was pitiful.  

‘Was he telling the truth about them being twice as strong?’  

But if that were the case, why wasn’t this information widely known?  

The answer was simple.  

‘Because no one would enter the Oasis at night when it’s already cold.’  

Hadn’t they themselves rushed in during the day to escape the heat?  

‘Sub-dungeons only give you one chance. If you enter during the day, you’d never know.’  

The more he fought, the more convinced he became.  

These monsters were unnaturally strong for the EXP they gave.  

Even accounting for the missing support member who had died earlier, the monsters were still too powerful.  

The situation only reinforced Do-jun’s claim.  

At this point, he had no choice but to admit it.  

‘Maybe he was right about them being twice as strong…’  

Though his pride wouldn’t let him fully acknowledge it.  

‘The other teams must be struggling too. Even that hunter, Min Do-jun.’  

—  

Slash! Thud-thud-thud!  

The sight of Do-jun effortlessly dismantling the lizards that had given them so much trouble left the team members utterly dumbfounded.  

“Let’s go.”  

The way he cleared the path ahead, cutting down every monster in an instant, was enough to inspire awe in their eyes.  

“Ugh, isn’t it getting kind of cold now?”  

“Yeah… At first, it was just pleasantly cool…”  

The team members who had earlier praised the dungeon for being cooler than the desert now shivered, hugging themselves for warmth.  

‘It’s only been an hour, and they’re already freezing? What a mess.’  

Clicking his tongue lightly, Do-jun took the lead.  

With his natural resistance and the elixir he’d taken, the cold didn’t bother him at all.  

‘The boss room should be coming up soon… Ah, here it is.’  

Do-jun spotted a stone door engraved with eerie patterns.  

A boss room that required at least five people to enter.  

“What’s this?”  

Pretending it was a chance discovery, Do-jun placed his hand on the door and turned to the team.  

“Everyone, put your hands here too. I think there’s something special about it.”  

Once all five members touched the door—  

Whoosh!  

—their bodies were instantly teleported beyond it.  

“Huh?! Wh-what just happened?”  

“Where are we?!”  

The system answered their confusion.  

[You have entered the Oasis Dungeon’s Boss Room.]  

[You cannot leave until the boss is defeated.]  

Dragged into the boss room against their will, the team members panicked at the message.  

“B-boss?!”  

“D-did you all see that?! This is the boss room!”  

Even those who had studied the dungeon guides were shocked—none of them had known about this.  

“There was a boss room in the Oasis…?”  

If this was undiscovered information…  

‘We could sell it to the guilds or associations for profit!’  

But that was only possible if they survived.  

“But… can we really take down a boss with just us?”  

“……”  

No one could answer confidently.  

If a single lizard had given them trouble, what chance did they have against a boss?  

Maybe if the entire party were here, but…  

‘No, even the full party wouldn’t stand a chance.’  

Do-jun was pessimistic.  

‘The boss is also twice as strong during the day.’  

An S-rank boss, amplified by daylight, was enough to make even Do-jun tense.  

“Let’s at least move forward.”  

Taking the lead, Do-jun stepped ahead, and the team reluctantly followed.  

After a few steps, they reached a vast cavern.  

“There’s something over there.”  

Inside the cavern was a massive, glowing blue boulder.  

“What is that rock?”  

‘Not a rock.’  

Do-jun tightened his grip on his Ghost Blade.  

His detection trait confirmed it—this was no ordinary boulder.  

‘The boss—the Blue-Shelled Tortoise.’  

Sensing their presence, the boss emerged from its shell.  

“Gah! It’s not a rock—it’s a tortoise?!”  

“Th-this thing’s the boss?!”  

The sheer size and ferocity of the tortoise sent the team scrambling back instinctively.  

“L-let’s just leave the boss and go!”  

“Go where?! There’s no exit!”  

“Th-there’s gotta be one somewhere!”  

“Didn’t you see the message?! We can’t leave until the boss is dead!”  

“H-how are we supposed to kill that thing?!”  

“I give up. I’m not even trying.”  

Watching them surrender without even attempting to fight, Do-jun didn’t judge them—he just nodded in understanding.  

‘They’re right. Running is the smart choice.’  

If they charged in, they’d just die for nothing.  

This wasn’t the time for reckless bravery.  

“Can’t we just… not fight the boss?”  

“Then we’ll freeze to death in here!”  

“If we’re gonna die either way, I’d rather hold out a little longer.”  

Unlike the team, who had already lost all will to fight at the sight of the colossal tortoise—  

Step. Step.  

—Do-jun walked forward, Ghost Blade in hand.  

“M-Magic Swordsman! What are you doing?!”  

“You’re not seriously going to fight it, are you?!”  

“Get back here! Y-you’ll die!”  

Even if he had shredded lizards like a blender, the team couldn’t imagine him standing a chance against the boss.  

They called out to him desperately, but Do-jun didn’t stop.  

‘With full stacks of Battle God’s Rage, it’s possible.’  

Having built up his stacks from killing the lizards, Do-jun activated Berserk Mode.  

[Berserk Mode activated.]  

[Strength and agility increased by 1.5x.]  

[Strength +1,850 | Agility +2,020]  

[Duration: 2 minutes 59 seconds.]  

‘Three minutes. That’s all I need.’  

With a burst of power, Do-jun shot forward like a bullet.  

—  

The team, who had been ready to flee, now stood frozen, mesmerized by the sight of Do-jun battling the colossal tortoise.  

Groooaaar!  

The tortoise roared in pain as Do-jun’s Ghost Blade pierced its vulnerable flesh.  

SCREEEECH—!  

An eerie screech echoed as a shockwave of wind pressure blasted out, slamming Do-jun into the ground.  

Thud! Crack!  

But he was back on his feet instantly, relentlessly targeting the boss’s weak spots.  

GRROOOOAAAH!  

Enraged, the tortoise’s shell began glowing with blue patterns.  

It was preparing a spell.  

‘Can’t dodge this one.’  

The pattern on its shell confirmed it—this was the boss’s final, desperate attack: a high-pressure water cannon.  

‘Which means it’s almost dead.’  

Good news, but surviving the attack came first.  

KABOOOOM!  

The water cannon, guided by magic, struck Do-jun head-on.  

An unavoidable attack, strong enough to pierce solid steel in an instant.  

CRASH!  

Slammed into the cavern wall, Do-jun was surprisingly intact—just one broken rib.  

‘Only because of the elixir. Without it, that would’ve killed me.’  

Now, all that remained was finishing off the weakened boss.  

With Berserk Mode still active, it wouldn’t be hard.  

[You have defeated the Blue-Shelled Tortoise!]  

[EXP +1,296,000] (Contribution: 100%)  

[Level up!]  

[S-rank Magic Stone acquired.]  

[S-rank Magic Stone acquired.]  

[S-rank Magic Stone acquired.]  

[Highest-grade Random Box acquired.]  

[Skill Transcendence Stone acquired.]  

[Rune-Tortoise Shield acquired.]  

[Achievement unlocked!]  

A flood of joyous messages appeared, but Do-jun couldn’t even smile.  

He was utterly exhausted.  

‘If it were night, this would’ve been so much easier.’  

He’d learned firsthand how tough a twice-strengthened S-rank boss could be.  

‘But I did it without using Reflection or summoning the Ghost Wolf.’  

Meaning he still had some power left in reserve.  

‘If I push myself, I could take down even stronger ones.’  

This battle had been a test of his limits.  

[You have absorbed the target’s corpse.]  

[Health restored.]  

His broken rib healed instantly, and his fatigue vanished, replaced by surging vitality.  

[Party rules: Loot distribution by roulette.]  

[All items go to: Min Do-jun.]  

‘Th-this is insane…’  

The team stood slack-jawed as the massive tortoise’s corpse disintegrated into motes of light.  

‘What did I just witness?’  

‘H-he soloed the boss?!’  

Even as the system announced that all rewards went to Do-jun, none of them felt envy.  

They had no right to—they’d done nothing.  

‘That hunter’s name…’  

‘Min Do-jun?’  

Finally learning his name through the system, the team immediately checked his stats.  

They had to know—what level was he to be this strong?  

“2… 2,009?”  

“Huh…?!”  

Disbelief turned to stunned silence.  

Not a single one of them was below his level.  

Probably true for the entire party.  

Yet none of them dared to laugh at his low level.  

How could they?  

The power they’d just witnessed with their own eyes sent shivers down their spines.  

[Boss defeated.]  

[You will be teleported out shortly.]  

Under their gazes of reverence, Do-jun and the team were transported out of the dungeon.