Chapter 39 – Ancient Tablet

[Suraksan Red-Billed Ancestral Bird Dungeon]

– Difficulty: B

– Personnel Limit: 4

– Entry Restriction: Level 500 or higher

– Conquest Goal: Exterminate 200 Red-Billed Ancestral Birds

– Failure Penalty: Random stat decrease by 3

– Time Limit: 6 hours

– Time remaining until dungeon break: 119 hours 51 minutes 29 seconds

Min Do-jun entered the dungeon and looked around.

An environment similar to the Mesozoic era* when dinosaurs lived greeted him.

Note- Mesozoic Era means Age of Reptiles which lasted 250 to 60 million years ago.

‘It’s been a while.’

Although alien, it was nothing surprising to Min Do-jun.

After all, he had conquered this place countless times before his regression.

‘Still, it’s my first time entering at level 500.’

Even before regression, he had grown remarkably, but he wasn’t capable of entering a B-rank dungeon alone when he wasn’t even B-rank himself.

‘But now it’s different. I’m several times stronger than back then.’

It was because he had transitioned to a magic swordsman, but the perception of magic swordsmen was nothing but trash.

‘So it’s natural for them to think I’ll fail.’

Four people approaching level 800 barely managing to conquer a place that a level 500 attempts to conquer alone?

It seemed impossible to anyone.

Even if that person had single-handedly prevented dungeon breaks and leveled up quickly.

‘They won’t believe it until they see it.’

Therefore, Min Do-jun’s task was to conquer it spectacularly, win the bet, and earn some easy money.

‘It’ll be done in 3 hours.’

Wooong-

‘Let’s go. Au.’

[Woof!]

Min Do-jun moved together with the ghost wolf after buffing his sword.

Naturally, the level 1 ghost wolf had nothing to do.

‘Still, I need to keep it summoned to level it up.’

He had been keeping it summoned since before entering the dungeon, but Park Dongyun and other hunters hadn’t noticed.

Min Do-jun couldn’t help but envy that aspect.

‘It’s annoying when people recognize you.’

As Min Do-jun was seriously considering learning an invisibility skill, he suddenly spotted an ancestral bird.

As he approached it.

‘Hm?’

He could see a hologram appearing.

[Red-Billed Ancestral Bird]

– Description: The ancestor of birds meaning “ancient wings”. It’s quite agile and flies away if at a disadvantage.

– Combat style: Bites with its beak, and if that doesn’t work, it grabs and tears with its claws.

– Weaknesses: Wings, tail

Information about the monster appeared automatically.

It was the effect of the characteristic stolen from Kang Cheolgyu.

‘Not bad. Though it’s information I already know.’

It seemed useful for dealing with unfamiliar monsters or hunters.

As he got closer, the ancestral bird spotted Min Do-jun and flew towards him with a fierce momentum.

Keeaaak!

Min Do-jun took no action while the creature approached.

‘Au, stay back.’

[Woof!]

He only moved the ghost wolf back to prevent it from getting hurt.

Keeaaak!

Just as the ancestral bird came within reach and opened its mouth wide, Min Do-jun finally moved.

Whoosh-

He dodged the creature trying to bite his neck and.

Chwaaak!

He slashed upwards diagonally, tearing its wing joint.

Keeak!

The ancestral bird, fatally wounded with just one strike, tried to fly away but.

Whaaak!

He had already cast Fire Blast, burning all its feathers.

Slash! Slash!

Eventually, he cut off its wings and tail, making it unable to fly.

Keak- Keak-

He easily finished off the ancestral bird that had fallen to the ground.

[Experience +5,400]

[Your summon has leveled up!]

[Your summon has leveled up!]

……

[Your summon has leveled up!]

Looking at the continuously appearing notifications, Min Do-jun wore a somewhat dumbfounded expression.

Just from killing one ancestral bird, the ghost wolf’s level had instantly risen to 10.

‘That’s no joke.’

As far as Min Do-jun knew, summons were relatively easy to level up.

‘I heard the experience required for leveling up is half that of awakened ones.’

Moreover, summons don’t steal experience from their master.

Like in a game party, they share the same amount of experience regardless of who kills the monster.

‘So that’s why they say summons catch up to their master’s level after just a few months of hunting.’

However, summons couldn’t exceed their master’s level.

‘But at this rate, it’ll catch up soon, right?’

Since the summon shared the same amount of experience Min Do-jun gained, it would also fully benefit from the tripled experience bonus.

‘This makes it worth raising.’

Min Do-jun continued hunting ancestral birds.

Of course, the ghost wolf was safely kept back.

Keeaaak!

[Experience +5,400]

[Your summon has leveled up!]

……

[Experience +5,400]

[Your summon has leveled up!]

……

With each kill, the ghost wolf’s level rose exponentially.

Min Do-jun also leveled up occasionally, but it was nothing compared to the summon.

‘I was worried about when I’d hit level 500, but at this rate, it’ll be soon.’

[Awooo!]

Seemingly happy about constantly leveling up, Au did consecutive somersaults in the air behind him.

After being absorbed in leveling up and hunting for a while, he opened the conquest window to check:

– Conquest Progress: 190/200 Red-Billed Ancestral Birds

– Time Remaining: 3 hours 36 minutes 4 seconds

The conquest was nearing its end.

‘Plenty of time to get out within 3 hours.’

By now, the ghost wolf’s level had risen to 180.

It was a remarkable growth compared to when it was just level 1.

‘I need to distribute its stats.’

Min Do-jun opened the summon information.

[Ghost Wolf]

– Name: Au

– Level: 180

– Rank: B

– Combat Power: 1

– Strength: 3, Vitality: 3, Agility: 3

– Undistributed Stats: 179

– Characteristics: Ghostification, Bond

– Skills: Tracking, Fierce Attack

‘Combat Power 1?’

The previously unmeasured combat power was now reflected.

‘Probably because it bit Kang Cheolgyu’s nose tip.’

Since he hadn’t made it fight after that, it made sense that it hadn’t been updated.

‘Quite a lot has accumulated.’

Being absorbed in leveling up, a lot of undistributed stats had accumulated.

‘How should I allocate them……’

Summons can also allocate stats like awakened ones.

Of course, the master has to do it directly.

‘I should allocate them like a warrior for now.’

The ghost wolf is ultimately a melee summon.

To use it in combat, it’s better to raise it like a warrior.

And the ideal stat ratio for a warrior is 2 Strength, 1 Vitality, 1 Agility.

‘Done.’

He finished the distribution, but the summon was still too weak to use in combat.

‘Well, the ghost wolf’s strengths are its characteristics and skills anyway.’

Thanks to the Bond characteristic, Min Do-jun’s magic power increased by 10% of the summon’s level.

‘It’s only increased by 18 now, but it’ll be a tremendous help as the level rises.’

What he gained from killing 190 ancestral birds wasn’t just experience for the summon.

[Achievement – B-rank Monster Hunter!]

– Condition: Hunt 100 B-rank monsters

– Reward: Experience +36,000

Min Do-jun also gained a decent amount of experience through the achievement.

‘Seeing that the summon didn’t level up, it seems achievement experience isn’t shared.’

Anyway, with only 10 ancestral birds left to kill, the bet was already as good as won.

‘Now I should use the tablet.’

It was time to move for the real purpose.

‘Was it that way?’

Min Do-jun walked around, estimating the direction by looking at shadows.

If he saw an ancestral bird on the way, he avoided it to a secluded place.

‘I’ll hunt later.’

After walking for a while like that, he found some trees.

‘These trees!’

There were trees lined up that were thicker and larger than the others.

‘If I follow these trees, I’ll reach the cave, they said.’

He moved his steps, tracing his memories from before the regression.

And indeed, he was able to find a cave.

It was a cave just big enough for one person to enter.

‘Bingo.’

This was the ancient cave that could only be found in the ancestral bird dungeon.

‘It’s amazing that you can find the same cave no matter which region’s ancestral bird dungeon you enter, but.’

He decided to focus on the fact that he could receive rewards using the ancient tablet.

Whoosh-

Min Do-jun illuminated the darkness of the cave with Fire Blast and entered.

The cave wasn’t as deep as he thought.

He encountered a dead end after walking for a short while.

‘An ordinary person would have turned back thinking there was nothing, but……’

Min Do-jun took something out of his inventory.

It was the ancient tablet he had taken from Kang Cheolgyu.

‘With this, I can’t just leave.’

When he placed the tablet against the dead-end wall.

Rumble-

Amazingly, the wall moved sideways, revealing a hidden space.

The tablet in his hand had disappeared.

‘The tablet is the key after all.’

As the saying goes, the tablet was the key to open the door of the blocked wall.

‘And not just any key, but a treasure chest key.’

In the revealed space, there was an armor that looked old on display.

Min Do-jun’s eyes sparkled.

‘Ancient armor.’

It was the hidden item of the ancestral bird dungeon.

‘People hunted ancestral birds so desperately to get this.’

Before the regression, when information spread that armor could be obtained with tablets dropped by ancestral birds, a craze for ancestral birds swept the world for a while.

‘Even hunters over level 1,000 were hunting ancestral birds.’

The performance of the armor was exceptionally good for a B-rank equipment, enough to make people grind in a dungeon they had already graduated from.

‘Well, the moment the information spread, the meaning of a hidden item disappeared, but.’

As long as the usage of the ancient tablet was unknown until now, Min Do-jun could be considered the first user.

Thud-

The moment he touched the displayed armor.

[You have acquired the Ancient Armor.]

The armor disappeared and entered his inventory.

[Ancient Armor]

– Category: Armor

– Rank: B

– Defense: 2,500 (+7,500)

– Effect: All Stats +25, Additional defense equal to durability

– Durability: 7,500/7,500

– Usage Restriction: Level 500 or higher (Bound)

– Description: Armor passed down from ancient times. It looks worn but is surprisingly sturdy. Only one armor can be obtained per person.

An armor with amazing options for something wearable at level 500.

‘The all stats are high, but above all, the defense is insane.’

Usually, the defense of a level 500 armor is 2,500.

But the ancient armor adds an additional 7,500 defense.

‘A total defense of 10,000……’

This is similar to the defense of a level 2,000 armor.

‘No wonder people were desperate to get it.’

If there’s a downside, it’s that the defense decreases as durability is reduced.

Moreover, since only one armor can be acquired per person, tablets don’t drop for those who have already obtained one.

‘Even considering that, it’s undoubtedly a useful item.’

But he didn’t intend to use it for long.

Given the magic swordsman characteristic, a magic power option was better than an all stats option.

‘I’ll use it until about level 1,000 and then switch.’

After obtaining the new armor, Min Do-jun checked the remaining time.

‘3 hours and 10 minutes left.’

If he killed the remaining 10 ancestral birds in 10 minutes and left the dungeon, it would be exactly 3 hours to conquer.

‘I should quickly conquer and collect some easy money.’

He was already looking forward to seeing the expressions of the hunters who lost the bet.