LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 128
Chapter 128
Suho smiled as he thought.
“So, this place was a Hidden Gate.”
A Hidden Gate wasn’t just a secret that needed to be hidden, like the Cavern of Blood once concealed in Seoul’s Blood Center.
Even a Gate with multiple strategies could be called a Hidden Gate.
Naturally, he hadn’t initially known this was a Hidden Gate.
He chose this place simply because it was close to the Korean Hunter Association and had already been cleared in his previous life.
It was also convenient for him to fabricate a reasonable explanation with his current power.
But for this Gate he picked to actually turn out to be a Hidden Gate…
He hadn’t realized it even after seeing the parasites.
Parasites weren’t exactly unusual in Gated dungeons with internal themes like this.
However, thanks to the dead parasite he found earlier, he figured it all out.
Suho placed his hand on the trembling inner wall of the Mega Worm and spoke.
“My apologies, I didn’t know that’s how it was.”
He’d heard that in his past life, players who challenged this place held off the waves of stomach acid and parasites for hours, only to be swept out through the creature’s anus.
So Suho had planned to do the same.
For that reason, he wasn’t heading toward the esophagus but the large intestine.
No matter how dirty it was, he wasn’t going to avoid clearing the Gate over something like that.
But he hadn’t expected such a hidden strategy to exist.
“Well, I suppose I’ll have to adjust my approach from now on.”
Suho changed the soles of his shoes, which he’d sharpened to a point like ice skates, back to being flat.
Truthfully, it was easier to stimulate the inner wall of the intestine by sharpening his shoe soles than stabbing it with a sword.
By simply walking, he could irritate the Mega Worm.
But now, that was no longer necessary.
If his experience was correct, monsters of this parasitic nature would summon a boss if provoked enough.
Of course, he would have liked to keep poking at the intestines.
That would make the Mega Worm shudder and regurgitate stomach acid, endlessly spewing parasites in Suho’s direction.
But if he did that, he’d never find the parasite boss he was aiming for.
“Otherwise, I’d just get ejected through the anus.”
That was out of the question.
With a Hidden Reward within reach, there was no reason to endure such indignity.
So Suho gripped his Blood Sword and began running in earnest.
[ Mana Detection is activated. ]
All that time spent leisurely poking around in the intestines now felt like wasted time.
Suho spread his aura fully and began a massacre, hunting down the parasites hiding throughout the Mega Worm’s interior.
[ You have slain a Parasite. ]
[ You have slain a Parasite. ]
[ You have slain a Parasite. ]
[ You have slain a Parasite. ]
……
He slashed through every parasite in sight without mercy.
They weren’t difficult to handle.
Not the main body of the Mega Worm but mere mini-worm parasites.
Their soft, squishy flesh gave a satisfying resistance under his blade.
Moreover, with levels barely in the low 100s, even when they clustered together, they couldn’t compete with Suho.
Suddenly, an idea came to Suho’s mind.
“Judging by this, it seems this might turn into a prolonged battle…”
With that thought, he immediately summoned Bulgasari.
“Bulgasari.”
“Bulbul.”
At Suho’s call, the creature appeared.
Though it was still Maltese-sized, Suho gave it an order.
“Enlarge yourself.”
“Bulbul.”
Bulgasari began to expand.
It grew to the size of a pony, and Suho climbed onto its back, asking, “Heavy?”
“Bulbul.”
It shook its head.
Fine.
Even if it were heavy, it had to carry him.
That’s why he called it, after all.
“Go.”
“Bulbul!”
Riding on Bulgasari, Suho changed the form of his weapon.
Instead of his usual longsword, he switched to a soft, flexible sword with a whip-like blade.
Then, he began swinging it at the parasites charging toward him, like a flail.
[ You have slain a Parasite. ]
[ You have slain a Parasite. ]
[ You have slain a Parasite. ]
[ You have slain a Parasite. ]
……
The added momentum of riding while slashing made his strikes even sharper.
The whip blade, something he occasionally used for variety, was well-suited for mounted combat and had become a favorite for these situations.
How long had they been riding?
[ Bulgasari has leveled up. ]
[ Congratulations! Your summoned creature has reached level 100. ]
[ You are the first to reach level 100 with a high-ranking summoned creature. ]
[ The system rewards you with 5 bonus stat points for achieving an extraordinary feat. ]
[ A new evolution trait has been bestowed upon Bulgasari. ]
Seeing the system messages pop up, Suho raised a corner of his mouth in a smirk.
“Knew it, leveling up quickly.”
Simply summoning a creature didn’t let it share in experience points.
No pain, no gain—only by fighting together could it grow and gain experience.
The system wasn’t lenient enough to reward passive growth.
That’s why he had chosen to ride it deliberately.
Since it provided mobility, this had effectively become a team fight rather than a solo battle.
“You did well, Bulgasari.”
“Bulbul.”
After checking the evolution trait granted to Bulgasari, Suho dismissed it back to its realm.
Having acquired an evolution trait, Bulgasari could now evolve gradually.
Suho opened his status window and distributed four of the bonus stat points from Bulgasari’s evolution to his Stamina stat, with the remaining one going to mana.
[ Your Stamina stat has reached 100. ]
[ Your Stamina stat has advanced further. ]
[ Congratulations! Your Stamina stat level has risen to the Orange Grade! ]
This made two stats now at the Orange Grade.
Suho reviewed his updated status window.
[ Ahn Suho ]
– Lv: 99
– Class: Healer
– Traits: ＜New Blood＞, ＜Heracles Candidate＞
– Strength (O): 25
– Stamina (O): 1
– Mana (R): 63
– Perception (R): 61
– Bonus Stats: 0
“So now, I just need to reach level 100 myself.”
Though he hadn’t planned it, Bulgasari had reached level 100 before him.
Now, he only needed to level himself up to 100.
Just as Suho was finishing up his preparations…
[ Mana Detection is activated. ]
“Hm?”
The Mana Detection skill had triggered unexpectedly.
Suho raised his head and looked in one direction.
He sensed a massive concentration of mana in that area.
Rumble…
The ceiling and floor shook.
At the same time, the far end of his vision began to darken.
Like lights turning off at the end of a tunnel, the darkness swept toward him rapidly.
But it wasn’t darkness.
It was a living entity, brimming with powerful life force.
Just then, another system message appeared before Suho’s eyes.
[ A boss monster is approaching. ]
A boss monster was appearing.
Seeing this, Suho grinned.
“Finally, it’s here.”
In his previous life, challengers had never encountered a boss monster in this place.
But here it was, right before his eyes.
In other words, this could very well be the leader of the parasites he had been searching for.
Suho shifted his weapon back to its original form and gripped his Blood Sword firmly.
At that moment…
BAM!!
The darkness surged toward him like a train and slammed directly into him.
It was like a collision in a traffic accident.
An intense impact.
The pain was overwhelming.
The massive figure, filling the entire intestinal passage where Suho stood, wasn’t simply darkness.
Incredibly, it was another parasite, just much larger.
Only after colliding head-on did he manage to see the creature’s name tag.
– Mega Parasite Lv.131
A level 131 Mega Parasite!
The enormous black creature rammed him with its face and continued charging forward.
– Groooaar!!
[ The Mega Parasite unleashes a boss monster-level roar. ]
[ Dragon Blood is activated. ]
[ The Dragon Blood’s mental fortitude nullifies the effects of the roar. ]
With its face pressed against his, the creature let out a deafening roar.
It felt like his eardrums were about to burst.
Thankfully, thanks to Dragon Blood, he was protected from mental damage.
Suho spat out a mouthful of blood from deep within his intestines, then steadied himself on the creature’s face as he was dragged along.
He gripped his Blood Sword in a reverse grip and aimed for its forehead.
Clang!
His aim was perfect.
But sparks flew, and the Blood Sword deflected.
“Now, that’s impressive.”
For a mere parasite, its skin was absurdly tough.
It was the
same each time.
Suho repeatedly stabbed the creature’s face with his reversed Blood Sword, only for it to glance off each time, scattering sparks.
“Can’t believe it’s that hard to pierce.”
Apparently, his awkward posture was a problem.
A sword was meant for slashing, yet here he was stabbing it like an awl.
It was frustrating.
Had they been on even ground, he’d have used Severing Steel.
But now, Suho was practically clinging to the nose of a moving train.
All he could do was lift his upper body and wield his arms, with no room to engage his core or legs.
Then, a good idea came to him.
Suho immediately switched his Blood Sword to his left hand and extended his right hand.
A shadow coalesced below his hand, forming into the Ghost Shadow Spear.
“Let’s see if you can block this.”
Conditions were met.
The massive creature filled the tunnel, naturally casting shadows, and that darkness derived from its own shadow.
So, without hesitation, Suho plunged the Ghost Shadow Spear into the creature’s face.
KA-THUNK!!
[ Shadow Penetration is activated. ]
Suho grinned at the message.
No matter how hard it was, he knew Shadow Penetration would pierce anything beneath the shadows.
– GROOOAR!!
The creature howled.
Its forehead had been pierced straight through the center.
And that wasn’t all.
[ Shadow Bleed is activated. ]
Though Shadow Bind didn’t trigger due to insufficient conditions, the Shadow Bleed effect applied continuous damage, causing the creature to suffer further.
From then on, Suho held the Ghost Shadow Spear in a reverse grip and relentlessly stabbed its face.
– GROOOAR!! GROOOAR!!
The Mega Parasite howled.
Stabbed repeatedly in the face, its speed started to slow.
At the same time, it began twisting its body in agony.
– GROOOAR!!
The suffering Mega Worm also began to howl in pain.
Suho raised the Ghost Shadow Spear and spoke.
“Both of you howling in unison, what a racket.”
Squish!
Then let’s put an end to this chaos by killing you quickly.
Suho delivered one final thrust of the Ghost Shadow Spear into its forehead.
The creature finally stopped charging and writhed in place.
Seizing the moment, Suho leaped from its face.
He pulled the Blood Sword back to his waist and prepared his stance.
“Phew.”
He exhaled deeply.
It was frustrating to take a heavy hit from a mere level-130.
Now was the time to finish it.
In that moment, he released his breath, and his sword burst forward like a gunshot.
[ Cloud Slash is activated. ]
Shaa!
The Blood Sword carved a bright red line across his vision.
Simultaneously…
SLASH!
The Mega Parasite’s face and body, along with the Mega Worm’s entire intestine, split cleanly in two.