Chapter 20. No Way

Lee Jin-Ho was a D-rank Hunter with the clearance to lead his peers through D-rank dungeons. He went about his job as usual, assembling a party of ten D-rank and E-rank Hunters. Their latest venture to-be was into a dungeon of trolls, spawned in Guro-gu, Seoul.

If there was one thing posing the rare obtrusion, it was the F-rank joining them.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Collectively, the group had no expectations for their neophyte, whom they only allowed to tack on to inflate their headcount. They were more than capable of clearing the dungeon without him.

To deal with the powerful trolls and their speedy healing factor, Lee Jin-Ho had made sure the team was filled with Hunters with potent skills of their own.

It was all smooth sailing until they stumbled on their last opponent.

Why is the boss so strong?

In the face of its overwhelming strength, frustration ate away at the once-harmonious atmosphere of the group. The Troll Shaman stood chanting in the center of the boss arena. Protected by a translucent barrier, it readied yet another spell.

"Damn it! Another spell incoming! Tanks, hurry up front!"

"We have our eyes on it! Never mind that! What are you all doing, hiding in the back? We're putting in so much work!"

"What the hell do you want us to do? Our hits don't matter—it'll keep healing up anyway!"

Finishing its chant, the Troll Shaman launched a fireball from its staff, forcing Park Ga-Ram, their main tank, to intercept it with a large shield. The damage dealers shot out from behind him, tearing through the barrier and creating an opening for the rest of the team to unleash their skills.

Thunk! Thunk thunk!

Attacks rained down on the shaman. Breaking through the troll’s tough skin was challenging, but they managed to strike its vital points.

"Damn it..." Lee Jin-Ho muttered under his breath.

The monster was still standing! Moreover, the painstakingly shattered shield regenerated, flinging the Hunters back as the Troll Shaman's wounds healed instantly.

The monster's strategy was simple yet effective. Its barrier and healing provided an impenetrable passive defense, allowing it to continually cast spells.

Despite the Hunters' frantic efforts, they were unable to deal any lasting damage. Instead, Troll Shaman's relentless fireballs wore them down, causing the group to slowly lose steam.

Damn it! If only the Troll Shaman weren't specialized in healing...

Lee Jin-Ho bit his nails. Bosses often possessed remarkable traits that set them apart from the lesser monsters, be they overwhelming strength, impenetrable skin, or some uniquely nasty ability.

For the Troll Shaman, that trait was its extraordinary healing factor. No other troll could match its vigor.

Just our rotten luck...

The Troll Shaman's fiery assault and tough troll skin were within their expectations. Unfortunately, its healing ability made it comparable to a C-rank dungeon boss.

Lee Jin-Ho weighed his options and clicked his tongue.

"Everybody, retreat! Back up slowly while keeping it at bay... huh?"

Someone was ignoring his orders! With an axe in one hand and a knife in the other, a Hunter was sneaking up behind the Troll Shaman.

Lee Jin-Ho's face twisted in frustration.

Ugh, it's that F-rank!

Lee Jin-Ho had brought him along to bump up their numbers, expecting him to obediently follow orders and stay out of the way. He had clearly miscalculated.

He felt a torrent of curses rise up his throat. However, before he could let them out, he suddenly froze.

Crash!

The F-rank had raised his axe high and brought it down like a hammer, shattering the Troll Shaman's barrier.

"W-what..."

He broke the shield with a single strike! Earlier, a team of two had barely managed to accomplish the same.

Lee Jin-Ho was speechless.

Kim Do-Joon, however, surveyed his results with an appreciative eye.

I've struck gold.

He had specifically sought out a troll dungeon to test the non-regenerating effect in combat. While testing against normal trolls would have sufficed, being able to test on a boss that specialized in healing was a welcome bonus.

If the effect applies here, it'll work on most monsters.

As the barrier shattered, the Troll Shaman turned to face Kim Do-Joon with a still-calm expression, clearly trusting in its own healing. Seeing him approach with his knife, the Troll Shaman smirked.

Why use a flimsy dagger when even his menacing axe might not be enough?

"Reare!" the troll roared, recklessly swinging its staff without thought for defense. Though a shaman, it still had the strength of a troll. It would be an easy task to make a paste of a single human's skull.

Clang!

Kim Do-Joon deflected the attack with the side of his axe and drove his knife into the Troll Shaman's shoulder.

[The effect of the Knife can be copy-pasted onto the Troll Shaman.]

[Item effects available for copy-pasting:]

1. Unrepairable

Copy-paste.

The Troll Shaman's eyes, once full of mockery, widened to the point of tearing.

"Huh?"

To trolls, healing came as naturally as breathing. At Kim Do-Joon's hand, the Troll Shaman was bereft in an instant. Experiencing overwhelming loss for the first time in its life, it panicked.

Seeing the protective barrier had yet to be restored and realizing something was off, a nearby Hunter joined their scuffle, thrusting his spear forward. "You damn bastard! Stop healing already!"

The wound he left showed no sign of disappearing.

"Bros! This guy isn't healing anymore!" the spearman hollered, drawing the attention of the team.

"What?"

"You’re kidding, right?"

"You think I'm the type to joke around at a time like this?"

Convinced, the other Hunters charged in. They were ignorant of what gave them the opening, but they wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth.

The Troll Shaman tried to fend them off with a swing of its staff, but it was quickly overwhelmed.

A troll without its healing was no different from any other tough-skinned monster.

Kim Do-Joon took a step back and observed their assault, verifying that there were no signs of healing.

Great to know it works on a boss specialized in healing.

His experiment resulted in a resounding success. If it worked on a monster with such a powerful healing effect, Kim Do-Joon could be confident that it would work when he needed it.

Eventually, the Troll Shaman fell to the accumulating damage, and a message from the Yggdrasil System toasted their victory.

[You have defeated a monster. You have gained Experience Points(EXP).]

Having lost its boss monster, the dungeon trembled and began to close.

***

Heading back the way they came, the team safely made its way out of the roots of the World Tree that formed the dungeon’s entrance. While still mostly intact, close inspection would reveal signs that the entrance was starting to crumble. It would have vanished by the same time tomorrow.

The Hunters were in high spirits. While trolls were notoriously troublesome to hunt, their blood was a valuable potion ingredient, making this a very profitable hunt.

"Great job, everyone!"

"Good work today."

As the team celebrated their triumph over the earlier disaster of a boss without casualties, Lee Jin-Ho alone maintained a frown.

One of his companions curiously commented, "Jin-Ho Hyung, why do you look so serious?"

"Huh? Oh, it's just that..." Lee Jin-Ho started. Trailing off, he abruptly turned his head. "Mr. Do-Joon."

Hearing his name, Kim Do-Joon faced Lee Jin-Ho. "Yes?"

The team leader swallowed hard before asking, "Did you do something to make the Troll Shaman stop healing?"

The question sounded ridiculous. Nobody had ever seen or heard of a skill capable of stopping regeneration. It was even more inconceivable for an F-rank to possess one.

If a skill with the potential to prevent healing truly existed, the world would have gone bananas over it long ago. After all, many S-rank dungeons or higher were infested with monsters that were troublesome to handle due to their regeneration.

Kim Do-Joon only smiled faintly in response.

Lee Jin-Ho's heart sank. Trying to figure out what the smile meant, his imagination began to run wild.

"No way. I don't have a skill like that," Kim Do-Joon said conclusively.

His response was too natural to be read as a lie. As Lee Jin-Ho wavered, the other party members grumbled at him.

"What are you on about, bro? There's no such thing as a skill that can stop a Troll's healing."

"It probably ran out of energy or had a cap on its regeneration."

"Isn't Mr. Do-Joon an enhancement type? How else could he have broken the boss's barrier?"

"Oh, that's right! Mr. Do-Joon, you were amazing back there! I was shocked."

"Thank you," Kim Do-Joon replied.

Lee Jin-Ho was persuaded by their words. After all, people were social animals easily molded by their company.

Man, I must be losing my touch. What's gotten into me, feeling that Kim Do-Joon was the one to open our way?

Thinking back on it, he couldn’t remember anything that really justified his supposition. It must have been Kim Do-Joon's intense expression preceding his merciless stabbing that convinced Lee Jin-Ho that something was up.

Nodding with understanding, Lee Jin-Ho moved on.

Another party member asked, "Mr. Do-Joon! We're going to the bathhouse before grabbing dinner. Are you free?"

"Dinner?" Kim Do-Joon replied.

"Yeah, we were thinking of paying a visit to a nearby barbecue place."

Though grateful for the invitation, Kim Do-Joon shook his head. "I have something to do, so I should be heading back as soon as possible."

"Aw, come on! It's a chance to bond with the team."

"Sorry."

"Well, suppose it can't be helped," the disappointed Hunter said, returning to the group.

Kim Do-Joon parted ways with them and headed back to his store.

***

An empty and silent general store greeted him. Still, it was home, and returning to it brought him a sense of peace.

"

Phew

."

Sitting down, Kim Do-Joon shot Lee Ji-Ah a message.

Kim Do-Joon: I've returned safely. Please schedule me for another dungeon as soon as possible. It doesn't have to be a troll dungeon this time around.

At thirty-five years old, Kim Do-Joon was a latecomer to the trade. Most Hunters his age were already tackling B-rank dungeons. He needed to work hard to catch up.

I can only climb my way up by clearing dungeons. The problem is my skill level...

Labyrinths had worked for his initial growth, especially since soloing let him monopolize the experience. The Catacomb, however, was proving very challenging. The monsters' stats far outstripped those of the Elemental Island, making it impossible to make quick work of them.

Ha... How am I to pick up steam if I can't even clear through the mobs easily?

At the rate he was going, Kim Do-Joon would need months to regain momentum.

He had to find a workaround. Fortunately, undead monsters had a nemesis of their own: weapons with a divine attribute.

I’ll give the Flea Market a try.

The next day, Kim Do-Joon headed to a capsule room to access the online market.