/

chapter 23




Stronger monsters appeared on the 2nd floor of the palace.
Monsters such as Ghost-Possessed Chairs and Tables, Storage Closets, Ornamental Swords, Beds, etc.
But regardless of what ghost-possessed monster appeared, it didn’t make any difference.
One down. Two down. Three down.
Then they encountered a roaming Maid Marionette.
“It’s a Maid Marionette. It’s kind of like the mid-boss of this dungeon.”
Kang Oh pointed towards the puppet in a maid uniform, which was sweeping the corridor.
Ddak, ddak.
The marionette’s jaw rattled. Its specialty was shooting knives from its mouth!
“When it opens its jaw, don’t attack; instead, either completely dodge the knives or block them.”
Asu nodded her head.
“Go ahead and try fighting it.”
Kang Oh slightly nudged her back, and Asu energetically rushed forward.
Knight’s Vow!
Asu’s sword gleamed. Knight’s Vow was a knight exclusive skill that increased both her attack and defense.
“Yap!”
Asu swung her sword downwards, aiming for the marionette’s head, but her sword ended up clashing with the Maid Marionette’s broom.
Pabak!
They clashed for some time, but eventually disengaged, widening the distance between them.
The marionette opened its mouth.
“The knives are coming,” Kang Oh yelled.
Twang!
With a sound akin to a bowstring being released, the maid shot out knives from its black mouth.
Asu, who had readied herself in advance, crouched and dodged the knives.
“It might continuously shoot out knives, so please remain on guard.”
At best, a Maid Marionette could shoot out three knives.
Before he’d even finished speaking, the marionette shot out a second knife. At the same time, it swung its broom.
Asu quickly evaded it.
Fortunately, the knife merely grazed her. She was struck by the broom but didn’t take too much damage.
The marionette opened its mouth once more.
Ggigik!
They heard it loading the third knife within its open mouth.
At some point, Kang Oh had approached the marionette and stuck the magic sword into its open mouth.
Pook!
Critical Hit!
Red shards of light gushed from its mouth.
“You can also strike when its mouth is open. Since its weak point is the core within its throat.”
“Ok, Oppa!”
Asu beamed.
* * *
Kang Oh and Asu had almost finished conquering the Maumbharat Palace.
Now the only place they hadn’t cleared was the noblewoman’s room.
The other areas had already become scorched earth!
‘There’s plenty of time too.’
Their quest, as per the viewer’s votes, was to clear the entire dungeon.
But because Kang Oh’s hunt had been without any obstacles, they had only taken 1 hour thus far.
Thus, they would successfully complete the quest so long as they defeated the monster within an hour.
“The boss is the only thing left,” Kang Oh said.
“Already?”
Asu widened her eyes. She had been so absorbed in the hunt that she had no idea how much time had passed.
“Yes. Now let me explain the boss to you.”
Kang Oh briefly explained the characteristics of the Maumbharat Palace’s boss and opened the noblewoman’s room door.
There was an ornate table and a giant bed! There was red lace draped over it.
And the boss monster was at the center of the bed.
The Ghost-Possessed Jewel Box, Sharobea!
A ghost had possessed the jewel box that the palace’s lady had used, and was both a vicious and giant monster.
Kya!
Once trespassers had entered, Sharobea’s lid opened. Its teeth, which was attached to the lid, shined.
“It looks dirty and expensive at the same time.”
Kang Oh knew about Sharobea but had never actually encountered it before.
Within the heap of gems, a single eye shone, and a black tongue darted in and out, both dirty and odd.
Furthermore, it wasn’t the size of a normal, petite jewelry box. Instead, it was the size of a huge treasure chest, which only made it even more disgusting.
Kyak!
Seemingly as if it had understood him,it shrieked and shot out its jewels.
Rubies, sapphires, emeralds, topaz, and black pearl!
Of course, it wasn’t giving them gems for free.
It was summoning its minions!
The gems changed into the form of butlers, the same color as the original gems.
For example, the Ruby Butlers were embedded with a ruby in the middle of their foreheads, were garbed in butler attire, and their entire bodies were a shade of red.
The others looked exactly the same, aside from their respective colors.
Kyaoh!
Sharobea shrieked, and the butlers began to move.
The first that came forward was one of the red Ruby Butlers.
The Ruby Butler came very close to Kang Oh and threw a punch. But Kang Oh countered, swinging his magic sword.
The magic sword and its fist clashed.
But the butler was the one to fall.
Then, the Emerald Butler followed up with a kick.
“I’ll block it!”
Asu took charge this time. She swung her sword, deflecting the Emerald Butler’s kick.
Once the Emerald Butler retreated, the Black Pearl Butler came forward.
“Hueup.”
Kang Oh tightened his muscles and swung his sword vertically. At the same time, Darkness Strike activated.
Kwang!
The powerful strike felled the Black Pearl Butler and Kang Oh quickly rushed forward.
Swish.
Hyper Intuition had guided him to its weak spot: the gem at its forehead! Kang Oh slashed at the gem.
Peok.
Red shards gushed out, and the black butler’s gem cracked.
While Kang Oh was busy attacking the Black Pearl Butler, the Topaz Butler seized the opportunity and rushed forward.
“Yahp!”
However, Asu covered Kang Oh’s back.
She firmly swung her sword.
Her sword and the Topaz Butler’s fist intersected.
Kang!
There was no clear winner and the two simply widened the distance between each other.
At that moment, the boss, Sharobea, opened its lid once more.
But only the deep blue sapphire within shined.
“Get behind me!”
Seeing that, Kang Oh pulled Asu behind him.
Shaoh!
Sharobea fired a blue beam at Kang Oh.
It had cast a powerful spell by sacrificing a gem; Gem Magic.
Based on the color, it was Ice Sapphire magic.
“Not a chance.”
Kang Oh sliced the incoming magic with his blade.
The blue beam was sucked into the blade as if it were water being drained into a sinkhole.
He had used the magic sword’s magic absorption ability!
“Let’s continue defeating its minions.”
“Ok.”
Asu came out from behind Kang Oh and faced the Emerald Butler.
The other butlers were Kang Oh’s responsibility. Kang Oh gripped the magic sword with both hands and swung it in a wide arc, simultaneously engaging four butlers.
Kyaahk!
Sharobea didn’t sit still.
The Sharobea brandished its sharp teeth like a feral dog and rushed towards him.
Thanks, that saves me the trouble!
“You came over voluntarily.”
While he evaded the butlers’ punches and kicks, he approached the Sharobea and slashed it.
The slash caused a white line to form atop Sharobea’s body.
Sharobea, which had arrogantly approached Kang Oh, shrieked and quickly hid behind its minions.
Then, all the other butlers, aside from the Emerald Butler, stood protectively in front of Sharobea.
“You really think grouping together will do you any good!?”
Kang Oh struck the floor with his sword.
Koong.
Once it did, the ground parted and shards of earth shot out in every direction.
It was one of the Alishi Necklace’s special abilities: Earth Shards!
The four butlers, which had grouped together to protect their master, were caught unprepared.
They impeded each others’ movements and took direct hits.
Pabababak!
One attack, four monsters hit!
Struck by the barrage of shards, the four butlers wobbled.
‘Now’s my chance!’
As if he were drawing his sword, he readied his sword at his waist and then swung horizontally.
Swish.
From above, it looked as though his sword had cut in a semicircle.
The very edge of this semicircle had made direct contact with the four butlers’ gems.
Pak! Pak! Pak Kwak!
The butlers’ gems were their greatest weak point.
Red shards of light gushed out of their foreheads, and their gems cracked.
The Black Pearl Butler’s gem, which had already been cracked prior, had completely broken apart.
Once its gem shattered, the Black Pearl Butler fell to the floor, like a marionette that had its strings cut.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
[You have defeated the black butler, Black Pearl.]
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Once he’d defeated the Black Pearl Butler, he immediately charged at the other butlers.
Having composed themselves, the other butlers counterattacked. And even Sharobea, with its slash injury, rushed forward once more.
Sharobea, as well as the Ruby, Sapphire, and Topaz Butlers, surrounded Kang Oh and attacked him.
Despite that, Kang Oh wasn’t in much trouble.
His Hyper Intuition activated, allowing him to predict their avenues of attack. He freely manipulated the giant magic sword and counterattacked himself.
‘It doesn’t matter how many rabbits come; they can’t beat a wolf.’
Kang Oh was completely relaxed.
Tang!
Sharobea unleashed a second gem spell as if it were making a last-ditch effort.
It consumed a ruby and cast a Fire Ruby spell, which inflicted severe fire damage!
However, it had already been 30 seconds since the magic sword had absorbed the sapphire magic.
The magic sword gulped down the magic like it was nothing!
Kang Oh kicked off the floor and leaped into the air, putting all his weight behind his sword.
Kwak!
The edge of his blade lodged into the Topaz Butler’s forehead, exploding the gem held within.
And with that decisive strike, it met the same fate as its black pearl brother.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
[You have defeated the yellow butter, Topaz.]
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
In the midst of that, Asu had inflicted a fatal blow unto the Emerald Butler.
“Iyahp!”
Asu’s Apprentice Knight sword slashed through the Emerald Butler’s gem.
That was the fourth time she’d struck its forehead.
Kwaahk!
The emerald burst.
And the Emerald Butler had fallen as well.
“I beat it,” she yelled happily.
“Good job.”
Now all that remained were the Ruby and Sapphire Butlers, as well as Sharobea itself!
Spheres of green and orange came rushing towards him. They were Poison Emerald and Lightning Topaz spells.
Noticing that only two of its minions remained, Sharobea had multi-casted two spells at the same time.
“Be careful!”
Kang Oh stood in front of Asu.
He could absorb one of the spells, but he was forced to either evade or block the other spell.
Kang Oh decided to block it.
He shielded his body with the magic sword.
The Poison Emerald spell was absorbed by his blade, while the Lightning Topaz spell struck his sword.
Kwajijijik!
The lightning magic made contact with his sword and emitted sparks.
“Ugh.”
Kang Oh sustained some damage from it, but it wasn’t enough to kill him. Of course, Asu was completely safe.
“Haahp.”
Asu popped out from behind him and swung her sword at the Ruby and Sapphire Butlers.
“Die!”
Kang Oh stopped protecting himself with his blade and swung his sword at Sharobea as if venting his anger.
Kiya!
He struck the wound left behind by Slash, causing it to shriek.
“Shut up.”
Kang Oh continuously swung his sword and pushed on.
Because Asu was doing her very best to keep the Ruby and Sapphire Butlers busy, there was no one that could get in his way.
It was completely a one-on-one scenario!
Obviously, the battle was overwhelmingly in his favor and he was much stronger than it as well.
Sharobea shrieked at his sword strikes and was forced into a defensive.
“Ha!”
He swung his sword downwards! A rush of wild beasts were unleashed from the blade and ripped Sharobea apart.
Darkness Strike!
Then, Kang Oh pressed his blade into the floor.
He activated Alishi Necklace’s special ability once more: Earth Shards. The barrage of shards struck Sharobea every which way.
As a result, Sharobea was in tatters.
The once ornate jewel box had been ruined.
Kyaahk!
In a last act of defiance, Sharobea opened its mouth as wide as it could and attacked Kang Oh one last time.
“You can’t even go Berserk!”
Sharobea didn’t even possess a Berserk skill that explosively increased its abilities at a certain HP threshold.
It was only good news to Kang Oh, who had struggled first hand against a berserk Alishi.
Of course, even if it did go berserk, he would only have it a little tougher.
Kang Oh swung the magic sword.
Slash!
The lengthwise white line!
He cut along the same vertical line, causing it to explode in red shards of light like firecrackers.
Kang Oh quickly took a deep breath and swung his sword downwards along the same line once more.
Then, Sharobea was bisected from top-down, following the line of his Slash.
Ggieh!
That was its last cry.
At the same time, the butlers Asu had been facing turned to smoke and disappeared.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
[You have defeated the Maumbharat Palace’s boss monster, the Ghost-Possessed Jewel Box, Sharobea.]
[By defeating the boss monster, your fame has increased.]
[You have defeated all the monsters within the Maumbharat Palace. There are no longer any monsters left here.]
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
They had successfully killed the Maumbharat Palace’s boss monster, Sharobea!
Of course, they had also successfully completed the viewer-voted quest of clearing all the monsters as well.
“Phew, we’re finished.”
Asu looked refreshed.
“It was fun, wasn’t it?”
“Yes!”
Hunting a boss monster was much more exhilarating than hunting a normal monster. There was a reason fishermen were obsessed with catching the next big fish.
“Then shall we take a look at the items?”
Kang Oh stretched out his hand towards the items that Sharobea had dropped.
There was a level 40 restricted B-rank pair of shoes and a hand mirror, as well as a scroll containing the Ice Sapphire spell.
The scroll contained a magic spell and could be used as a one-time use magic item.
‘How stingy.’
These rewards sucked compared to the one’s Alishi had dropped.
But still, they had to divvy it up.
“I think you should use these, Ms. Asu.”
Kang Oh passed her the B-rank shoes. The design was better than its performance.
“Ok, I’ll use them well.”
Asu smiled.
“These too.”
Kang Oh passed her the hand mirror too. It was clear that it was designed for women.
“Hehe, now that you mention it, I really did need one of these.”
“I can take the scroll, right?”
“Yes.”
Kang Oh stashed the magic scroll.
“Let’s leave.”
They’d finished dividing up the loot, so there was nothing left to do here.
Plus, Kang Seol Hee was waiting for him in the studio.
‘No one will want to marry you once I’m through with you.’
Kang Oh had thought of quite the severe punishment for her.