Chapter 256. Hamon's Culvert

Translator: Boko

Kang Oh's party passed through the second door using Samon's Token. It was the second smallest door of the five.

[Entering the dungeon, Hamon's Culvert.]

There was flowing water on either side of the semicircular passageway. The water flowed through circular holes in the walls, each one equidistant from each other. However, water wasn't the only thing that flowed through them. Monsters came out of them too!

Kuhahk!

It was long like a snake, yet had a fin and sharp teeth. The monster looked like a moray eel, which were known as the pirates of the sea.

Of course, it was much larger and more colorful than an eel. Above all, it possessed silver wings. What was the best way to put it? It was like putting a flying fish's wings on a moray eel.

Anyhow, the eel look-alikes came through the holes and began flying towards Kang Oh's party.

Eder quickly created a bone fence around him.

Munch, munch!

The monsters flew over and began chomping on the bone fence with their serrated teeth. Eder kept his cool and rammed his scythe into the ground.

AoE Curse: Age!

A purple ring spread outwards, and the curse began to take effect.

"Bones are sharp blades." Eder cast Bone Spike. Sharp spikes like a rose's thorns protruded from the bone fence, skewering the monsters.

Rather than use the Lasselpino Bow, Sephiro dual-wielded two axes instead. Giant Hunters could wield axes too, so they weren't that bad at melee combat.

"C'mon!" Sephiro swung his axes. Whenever his axes flashed, the eel look-alikes would be ripped to shreds.

Kang Oh entered the battle too.

Swish!

He cleaved through one of them using Demon Sword Blood. Then, the monster's body split into two equal halves. Its severed body writhed on the ground.

'Why are they so weak?' Kang Oh thought, while observing the easily killable monsters.

Strangely, the monsters didn't get any stronger, nor did they encounter anything different, so he just continued to swing his sword.

'Hmm, this is really weird.'

Whenever he swung his sword, he'd cleave through the monsters. Despite that, he wasn't receiving a system message indicating that he'd killed them.

'Which means we haven't been killing them...' Kang Oh observed the ground.

The monsters' bodies were sprawled across the floor. However, the monsters' corpses began to heal, and were eventually restored to perfect health.

"Proliferating monsters!"

Proliferating monsters would, for various reasons, continue to multiply. If these eel-like monsters were 'killed' using physical attacks, then they would multiply.

"Proliferating monsters?" Sephiro looked shocked.

"That makes sense. It felt like there were more of them!" Eder yelled.

"If you split its body, then it multiplies. So refrain from using a sword or an axe," Kang Oh said.

"Then what do we use instead?" Sephiro looked like he was about to cry.

"You'd usually use elemental attacks here." Kang Oh summoned a Fire Bomb and forcefully threw it at the ground.

Roar!

The mighty flames spread, consuming everything in their path.

[You have defeated a Proliferating Winged Eel.]

[You have defeated a monster that lives in an incredibly dangerous area (Despia).]

[You have received additional experience and proficiency.]

As expected, elemental attacks did work on them.

'A monster that's impervious to physical attacks is usually vulnerable to elemental attacks.'

Now it was Eder's turn. Whenever he used Bone Bomb, several Winged Eels would be killed at once.

Whereas Sephiro didn't really do much. Not only did his class specialize in physical attacks, but he couldn't use his bow either, as the eels swarmed him. Thus, he had no choice but to keep swinging his axes, regardless of the consequences.

Though Sephiro wasn't much help, Eder's Bone Bombs and Kang Oh's Fire Bombs and Lightning Breath were enough to finish off the Winged Eels.

"Phew, it's over." Sephiro caught his breath.

Then, Kang Oh approached him. "We don't have time to rest. Please pick up the junk items."

"Huh? Me?" Sephiro tilted his head.

Thus far, Kang Oh had always forced Eder to pick up all of the junk items.

"You'll be picking up the junk items from now on."

"Huh? Why?"

"Eder can buy items off of me! Besides, I'm the boss here."

"Alright fine. I'll do it."

Sephiro decided to just do it. It wasn't that hard to pick up the junk items after all.

"You have to either disarm or destroy the traps, and also make us a map too. Like always."

"I have to do that too?'

"You're the best at it. I trust you." Kang Oh patted his shoulder.

"Ahem."

"And per our slave... Ahem, excuse my language. As per our labor contract, none of the loot goes to you."

"Hey, that's not fair!" Sephiro strongly resisted.

It was only natural after all. No one was willing to work for free.

Moreover, this was Despia! Because it was such a difficult and dangerous place, it was an area that had a high probability of dropping extraordinary items.

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"Of course, that's only on principle. You really think I'm that bad?" Kang Oh grinned.

"R-Right?" Sephiro smiled awkwardly.

"How does 10% sound?"

Kang Oh was proposing that Sephiro receive 10% of the loot.

"That's it?"

"How about 5% then?" Kang Oh threatened.

"20%! If not, then I'll just go home!" Sephiro countered.

"Hmm." Kang Oh stroked his chin.

Then, Eder intervened. "Mr. Kang Oh. Why don't you guarantee him 20%?"

"Brother!" Sephiro looked moved. 'As expected of you, Mr. Eder. There's no one like you!'

"Fine. But it'll start at 15%. If you do well, then I'll raise it to 20%," Kang Oh said firmly.

"Understood. 15% it is," Sephiro agreed.

"Alright then. Chop-chop. Please pick up the junk items," Kang Oh said.

"Alright, alright!" Sephiro bent over and began picking up the junk.

Seeing that, Kang Oh smiled wickedly. 'I'm going to make you work like a dog. And I'm not going to raise your share to 20%, ever.'

This was his punishment too.

'How dare you lie to me!'

Kang Oh was the type to hold grudges for a long time.

* * *

Winged Eels kept coming out of the holes. They weren't a big issue. After all, they had Eder, who was currently a level 400 Lich! With his help, the Winged Eels weren't able to do much.

"I sense some monsters coming. They're eels and something else," Sephiro said.

They saw a shadow from afar. Eventually, its identity was revealed to them.

"Bowler." Kang Oh recognized the monster.

It was a monster crayfish, or Bowler. These creatures usually lived in the sea, but could occasionally be seen on the coast. Bowlers were larger than rhinos, were covered in a thick shell, and possessed two claws. They were around level 350.

There were three of them.

"Please be careful. They shoot water cannons from their claws," Kang Oh said.

Eder nodded his head and raised Munra's Bone Shield.

"I've fought them before."

Luckily, Sephiro had experience with them.

The three Bowlers opened their claws. The hole in-between their claws discharged a powerful jet of water.

Water Cannon!

Spurt! Gush! Spew!

"Dodge!" Kang Oh yelled.

Sephiro quickly moved to the side, while Eder backed off.

Bam, bam, bam!

Upon impact, the cannons broke the floor and the walls, causing both water and fragments to fly into the air.

'It's quite powerful.'

If a Bowler appeared on the coast, then fishermen or players that just wanted to enjoy the beach would run away immediately.

Not only was a Bowler a high level monster, but its shell was tough and its water cannons were weapons of mass destruction.

Still, they had their weaknesses. Bowlers were extremely slow at changing directions. Thus, a player could attack them from the side or from behind without threat of danger.

'Plus...'

Kang Oh pointed Demon Sword Ubist at the Bowlers.

Lightning Breath!

Crackle, crackle!

The lightning blast pierced right through a water cannon and engulfed them in electricity.

'You can also use an attack more powerful than a water cannon.' Kang Oh grinned.

After being struck by the Lightning Breath, a Bowler drooped. Sparks danced across its body, signaling that it'd been electrified.

Kang Oh swung his sword.

Tempest Tiger!

The golden aura pushed through another water cannon, and struck the paralyzed Bowler.

Boom!

Next, Sephiro was up to bat.

Sun Piercing Arrow!

The violently spinning arrow pierced through a water cannon, penetrating the Bowler's tough shell and embedding itself in the crayfish's flesh.

Such destructive power! As expected of a Giant Hunter, a class that maximized the power of each and every arrow.

It was even easier for Eder. He just needed to summon bones around a Bowler and then use Bone Bomb!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

He consecutively blew up the bones, the explosions resounding with a 'boom' and causing the passageway to shake.

Shake, shake.

The Bowlers began violently swinging their claws. They were definitely pissed. As evidence of this, the Bowlers began shooting quicker, more powerful water cannons.

'Doesn't matter what you do.' Kang Oh transformed into the Jet-Black Demon.

Abyss Transfer!

Kang Oh reappeared behind the Bowlers!

"You're still not a match for me." He swung his sword in a wide arc.

Abyss Claw!

The jet-black aura simultaneously swept through the three defenseless Bowlers.

Kang Oh kept attacking again and again.

They already couldn't turn that well, but they were also standing side-by-side, which further restricted their movement. Thus, they couldn't respond to Kang Oh's assault.

Plus...!

There weren't many beings that could withstand Demonic Swordsman Kang Oh's relentless assault. To his knowledge, only the Immovable Teynos, Burkan, and Valan could do it.

The Bowler didn't have absolute defense like the Immovable Teynos, and wasn't nearly as strong as Burkan or Valan. Plus, Sephiro and Eder would give him long-range support!

Shake, shake!

All they could do was attempt to turn around while moving their claws. However, their futile actions didn't go for long. Kang Oh's brutal assault killed them soon enough.

"Pick up the junk items. We're going right after."

Killing the Bowlers didn't really excite him. After all, it was really easy. Obviously, they wouldn't be allowed to rest either.

"Alright."

As soon as Sephiro picked up the junk, Kang Oh's party set off.

* * *

The Winged Eels and the Bowlers.

They encountered a new monster, one with a fish's body but arms and legs like a human being. It also wielded a weapon, like an axe or a spear. In other words, a Fishman.

Then there was the monster sea anemone, Veskracho.

There were even landmines here; if you approached them, they'd blow up.

Kang Oh's party encountered several other types of monsters here as well. All of the monsters that could be seen in the sea or the coast showed up in Hamon's Culvert.

'It's practically a seafood party.'

Because Hamon's Culvert was such a dense place, Kang Oh's party was forced to do battle continuously. However, none of the battles were difficult.

The Demonic Swordsman with Hyper Intuition and a member of the Numbers, considered a supernova by many!

Then there was the level 400 Lich, Eder!

Plus, the Giant Hunter, Sephiro.

The power of these three was incredible.

Kang Oh's party continued to make their way through the dungeon without rest. However, Kang Oh suddenly stopped.

"Man, it's been such a long time," Kang Oh said.

"What's the matter?" Sephiro asked.

"He's finally come."

"He?"

"Hyper Intuition!" Kang Oh beamed.

That feeling, the one where something felt suspicious and that there was something more to it! It'd been a long time since his Hyper Intuition had activated like this!