Admonâs roll was on a completely different level.
The speed and power behind it was tremendous. It reminded him of a trolley coming right at him.
Blocking its attack wasnât an option.
âDodge!â Kang Oh yelled.
âI already knowww!â
Admon rolled towards the nearest target, so Eder began to run like mad.
Sephiro shot a test arrow. However, Admon was fully covered by its tough shell, making the arrow largely meaningless.
âWeâll have to hold out until itâs finished rolling,â Sephiro said to Kang Oh.
Kang Oh, whoâd wondered whether it was worth trying a Tempest Tiger, nodded his head.
Admon rolled faster than Eder could run, so it ultimately caught up with him.
âUhahk!â
Right before he was flattened like a dried filefish filetâŠ
He wanted to live no matter what, so he threw himself into a crater formed by Admonâs headbutt.
âSummon Eder!â Kang Oh shouted.
Roll.
Admon swept through the area where Eder had once been, leaving behind tire track-like marks wherever it rolled. Of course, its spikes left behind circular marks as well.
âJeez, that was kind of close,â Eder said, reappearing right in front of him.
âIf you have to, abandon your body and return to being a ghost.â
Kang Oh couldnât always bail him out.
âDo you have any idea what I went through to get this body!? I canât do that.â
Eder stroked his body with both arms. How long had he spent in a fleshless, skeleton body!?
He would cherish this functional body of his until the day that he could return to his original body.
âUgh. Fine, do what you want.â
Kang Oh stared at him as if he were hopeless.
âWe should stop with the idle chatter,â Sephiro said.
Roll.
Admonâs rolling attack hadnât ended yet.
âSpread out!â
Kang Oh, Eder, and Sephiro ran in different directions.
Admon chased after Kang Oh.
âWhy me!?â
Kang Oh scowled and forcefully kicked off the floor.
He ran much faster than Eder. Not only that, but his speed was comparable to Admonâs rolling speed. Thus, he was able to maintain a distance between them.
Sephiro and Eder stopped running, and just vacantly watched the sight.
âMan, you sure are good at running!â Sephiro said.
âRun, run!â Eder yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth.
Their voices were filled with joy and ridicule.
âThose idiots!â
Kang Oh ran at full speed after dodging Admonâs attack. Then, he raised his eyebrows.
He had suddenly thought of a good idea.
Kang Oh quickly turned around and ran towards Sephiro.
Sephiro was taken aback.
âWhat the heck are you doing!?â
âGet out of the way!â Kang Oh yelled roughly, running as fast as he could.
Behind him, of course, was the rolling Admon.
âUgh!â
Sephiro dodged both Kang Oh and Admon, and crazily ran to the side.
Kang Oh passed Sephiroâs original position, and Admon soon followed.
However, Kang Oh couldnât run forward anymore; a wall was in the way. He turned his back to the wall and stopped.
Roll.
Admon rushed at him.
âNow!â
Kang Oh threw himself to the side, using his demon sword to protect himself as much as possible.
Boom!
Admon struck the wall and Kang Oh simultaneously.
Because heâd thrown himself out of the way, he didnât take the brunt of Admonâs attack. Heâd also shielded himself with his sword.
Thatâs why he was safe.
Even if he had taken the attack head on, his Baramut setâs Wind Shield wouldâve protected him, preventing his death.
Admon couldnât pull itself out of the wall as its spikes, which numbered in the dozens, were deeply embedded in the wall.
âThis is my chance!â
Kang Oh had planned for this.
âNowâs our chance; attack!â
âOoh!â
âRoger!â
Kang Ohâs party one-sidedly bombarded Admon with attacks.
Heavy Blow, Shield Bash!
Spinning Arrow, Homing Arrow, Triple Shot!
Slash, cut, Darkness Strike!
ThenâŠ
âHuahp!â
Kang Oh unleashed his final attack.
Intermediate Tempest Tiger!
The improved Tempest Tiger pounced onto Admon, whoâd become nothing more than a giant sandbag at this point.
Boom!
Whoosh.
The whirlwind rose into the air, completely engulfing Admon. Then, it dissipated into the air, leaving behind a very dead Admon.
[You have defeated the Great King Gubara, Admon.]
âIt dropped some equipment.â
Admon had dropped studded black metal gloves.
Kang Oh immediately appraised the item.
[Admonâs Black Spike Gloves]
Metal gloves crafted from the Great King Gubaraâs tough shell.
There are spikes on the surface of the gloves, which seems effective for attacking.
+ Iron Fist: When equipped, you will deal additional damage when punching. There is a fixed chance that your attack will decrease your enemyâs defense by 5% as well.
Rank: BB
Abilities: Defense +180, Physical +30, Sense +32
Minimum Requirements: Level 180, Physical 200
âOh, itâs a BB-rank item.â
It was tough to find BB-rank or higher item drops from named monsters, since the drop rate was so low.
But he was lucky to find one here.
âWhat a good find. I didnât have any items that I could use for Gluttony.â
Kang Oh was glad that he wouldnât have to buy fodder for Gluttony from the auction house, and placed the gloves into his inventory.
Then, Sephiro approached him.
âMr. Kang Oh.â
âYes?â
âPlease, letâs take a break,â Sephiro said, looking extremely worn down.
They hadnât rested ever since entering the abandoned mine, and had just taken down a named monster as well.
Now it was time to take a break.
The problem was⊠the person he was asking was an evil employerâŠ
Thatâs why he had kept asking again and again to rest.
âThey say that even machines have to rest from time to time⊠So what about humansâŠâ
HoweverâŠ!
âAlright,â Kang Oh readily agreed.
He was in a good mood, since he found a BB-rank item.
âHuh?â
Sephiro momentarily sported a vacant expression. âWhat was going on?â.
âI said letâs rest.â
âReally?â
âYou donât have to if you donât want to.â
âI want to rest. I definitely want to rest!â Eder, whoâd been listening beside them, raised his hand and yelled.
âAlright, letâs take a 10 minute break and then get going.â
âOoh!â
* * *
Two days laterâŠ
Kang Ohâs party had defeated 200 Steel Gubaras and had returned to the Balturon Inn.
âIâll stay outside. All of us donât need to go in, right? It reeked last time we went in there,â Sephiro said.
âThen Iâll wait out here too,â Eder said.
He didnât want to go into a bar filled with men.
âDo what you want.â
Kang Oh opened the door and entered the bar. As always, the bar stunk of sweat and alcohol.
âHeâs over there.â
The Master Miner, Bower, was drinking in the same seat as last time.
Kang Oh approached him.
âMr. Bower.â
âHuh?â
âWe defeated 200 Steel Gubaras.â
âAlready?â
Bower looked a little surprised.
âIâm pretty fast.â
Kang Oh grinned.
âTch. If Iâd known you would finish this fast, then I wouldâve told you to kill 300 or 400 of them.â
âNow itâs time for you to return the favor.â
âI got it.â
[You have completed the quest, Kill the Steel Gubaras.]
Bower stood up, placing the pickaxe heâd left to the side onto his shoulder.
âWhere is the ore?â
âItâs in Altein.â
Kang Oh replied as soon as Bower asked.
âAltein? Ore as precious as adamantium exists within such a large city?â
âYes. Thereâs a cave underneath the Holiseum. Thatâs where the adamantium is kept.â
âUnderneath the Holiseum, huh⊠What good timing. I was thinking of paying Burkan a visit.â
âThen, shall we go?â
Kang Oh wanted Bower to mine the adamantium ASAP.
âIf weâre heading for Altein, then weâll have to use a gate.â
âYes, thatâs correct,â Kang Oh said affably, as Bower had something he wanted.
âHeâs a Master Miner! Thereâs nothing wrong with getting close to him.â
He planned on flattering him a ton on their way to Altein.
âLetâs go.â
Bower strode forward.
Kang Oh smiled politely and followed him.
* * *
On their way to Altein, Kang oh stuck to Bower like glue, chatting about various matters.
When the time was right, Kang Oh began flattering him.
âMr. Bower, your eyebrows are quite thick.â
He started off slow.
âThat must be why you look so manly.â
âI am pretty good looking.â
Bower smiled happily and nodded his head.
âWith that face and body, you must be popular with the ladies.â
Kang Oh looked him over and then gave him a double thumbs up.
âI was, so much so that it was kind of troublesome.â
âHave you gotten married? No, thatâs not it; you mustâve gotten married to a beautiful woman by now,â Kang Oh asked with sparkling eyes.
âNot yet.â
âThatâs good! I know this rich, beautiful, and kind womanâŠâ
âReally?â
âIâll try to put in a good word for you.â
âHehehe,â Bower laughed.
[Closeness with the Master Miner, Bower, has increased significantly.]
[Closeness with the Master Miner, Bower, has increased significantly.]
After looking over the system messages, Kang Oh smirked.
âI still got it!â
After thatâŠ
Kang Oh laid it on thick.
Heâd be speaking about something normal, but would then âunintentionallyâ say things that would make Bower feel good about himself.
âHahahaha!â
By the time they reached the intercity transfer gate, Bower had been completely fooled by Kang Ohâs scheme; Bowerâs smile wouldnât leave his face.
âI like you. Letâs have a drink together next time.â
Bower tapped his shoulder.
âItâs an honor.â
âGive me a holler if you need my help with something or youâre having a tough time.â
âOk!â
Kang Ohâs eyes gleamed.
âGood!â
With this, heâd formed another personal connection!
Sephiro and Eder, whoâd witnessed this sequence of events, saidâŠ
âIf you want to flatter someone, then do it like Mr. Kang Oh!â
âSomeone whoâll say anything to survive!â
In any case, Kang Ohâs party safely reached Altein with Bower in tow.
âYou guys can go,â Kang Oh said to Eder and Sephiro.
âThen Iâll get going.â
As soon as Kang Oh was finished speaking, Sephiro left.
âIâll see you later.â
Eder pocketed his wage and disappeared into the crowd.
âLet us go.â
âSure.â
Kang Oh led Bower to the Holiseum.
* * *
Kang Oh went down the stairs, which led to the Holiseumâs underground arena.
However, there was someone coming up the stairs. Once the man saw Kang Ohâs face, he quickly turned around, trying to go back the way he came.
Kang Oh called him, forcing him to stop.
âHey, Darion!â
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
The man sped up.
âIf you donât stop right there, then Iâll make sure you regret it.â
Pause.
Darion turned around, forcing himself to smile.
âItâs been a long time, Mr. Kang Oh.â
âYeah, it has. Have you been well? No, youâve definitely been well. Considering how you ran without a second thought upon seeing me.â
âI wasnât running from you; I was going back to pick up something I forgot.â
Darion spoke at length in an attempt to justify himself.
âWhat did you leave behind?â Kang Oh asked.
âT-ThatâsâŠâ
Darion didnât know what to say. After all, he hadnât actually forgotten anything.
âWhatever.â
Kang Oh didnât question him anymore, as Bower was with him.
âLead me to Burkan.â
It was clearly an order.
âAhem. Please follow me.â
As always, Darion was the âlesserâ of the two.