Chapter 75: Warlord: Tier-4 Portal Gate
Chapter 75: Warlord: Tier-4 Portal Gate
Ji-woo got greeted with a rather dark scene and a chilly breeze. The knee-high grass stretches along the road. The trees were thin and tall, with wet leaves dangling from the tops of the trees. The lights entered between the gaps in the tall trees.
The soil was also slightly muddy, and in some areas, there were swamps. The smell of dirt exposed to water was very sharp in the nose. It was a quiet and eerie environment.
No one could guess what creatures would live in that dungeon.
Ji-woo used his Mana sense to check the surroundings. And nothing was detected. He then walked over to search and looked around.
After an hour of exploring the dungeon, Ji-woo found nothing. It was a completely different situation from before. There were no Magic Crystals and Magic Stones. The Spheres also had not come into sight at all.
It made Ji-woo wonder whether he was inside a dungeon or just an inhabited place on earth. He decided to climb the small hill in front of him to observe the land.
The hillside grass was short and slightly wet. The road became slippery, and anyone would slip if not careful.
However, the small hill was still not high enough to overcome the height of the trees. So, Ji-woo couldn’t pay attention to the surroundings very well.
Ji-woo shook his head. There were no creatures, no beasts, and no magical items either. In simple words, there was nothing except the environment.
Inevitably, Ji-woo must explore the vast dungeon. More spacious than the others he had visited. After all, this was his first time entering a tier-4 Portal Gate.
Each Portal Gate would always have a different dungeon size for each level. The higher the tier, the wider the dungeon. And this time, the place that Ji-woo entered was the size of the country of Denmark.
Of course, it would take weeks if it was just a leisurely stroll. But with Ji-woo’s current speed, two or three days should be enough to explore the core area of the dungeon.
At another Portal Gate, in a dungeon, the hunt carried out by Dong-hyun’s team was going smoothly. Although some suffered minor injuries, the situation was still under control. Dong-hyun also played an active role whenever his team fought against the beasts.
It was also the same on Yu-jin’s side. The situation was safe and under control. Even though her team had several times fought against beasts.
Yu-jin and Dong-hyun had better conditions in the dungeon. Magic Crystals and Magic Stones were there, albeit few. They also found some low-quality magical weapons and armors.
Judging by the condition of Yu-jin and Dong-hyun’s team, they might be able to close the tier-3 Portal Gates in about 1 hour in real-time. It was because the obstacles didn’t seem challenging enough for them.
“You’re better now. Did it because you trained very hard?”
Dong-hyun blushed and replied. “Ah. It’s nothing, sir.”
The team leader shook his head.
“That’s amazing. Look at the other E-rank hunters on our team. Some of them are out of breath while you’re still moving vigorously without getting tired.”
Hehe–
Dong-hyun caressed the back of his head. His cheeks flushed red from the compliment from his superior. Something he would never get from Ji-woo while they were training.
“Huh!? My ears suddenly itch.”
Ji-woo scratched his ear. He had been exploring the dungeon for a day and had not found anything. It felt like he was the only living being in there. He then lightly kicked a thick, broken tree branch on the ground.
‘What a strange place!’
Zzzrt–
On the spur of the moment, Ji-woo stopped moving and looked to the left side where the thick branch flew. He faintly saw a space glitch in the distance. He jumped and ran toward the place.
Ji-woo watched the small air space crack closely.
“O, human. Just come inside.”
Kikikik–
Ji-woo frowned at those words. However, he just went forward, passing through the gap of the air space. Inside the circular range, Ji-woo could still see the scenery outside. It was like a space that isolated a spot from its surroundings. It created another dimension but was still in the same place.
It was the first time his Mana sense couldn’t reach it. Or it might get related to the Nullifier’s True Strength as the cause.
Ji-woo was surprised to see that there were two creatures inside it. Probably, the sources of the voice from earlier. Both were Trolls. However, they were different from what often got depicted in novels or movies. Where the trolls look shabby, dirty, hair disheveled, and had a large, fat build.
The Trolls in front of Ji-woo exuded an aura of warriors. Those Trolls grinned, displaying a haughty and arrogant attitude. Their physique was the same as Ji-woo in both height and weight.
The Trolls wore fur leather pauldrons, fur leather vambraces, fur leather armor, and fur leather tasset battle armor-plated steel waist fauld belt. Their teeth were sharp. Their eyes were white and blue like humans. Their hairstyle was mohawks. The only difference between the two Trolls was the color of their skin. One was the Crimson color, and the other was the Emerald color.
“Initially, we just wanted to see without any intention to disturb. But, waiting is tiring and boring.”
“Right. Right. Good thing you passed near us, not the others.” The Crimson Troll chimed in.
Kikikik–
The Crimson Troll wielded a spear with a wooden shaft and a pointed head of steel. Meanwhile, the Emerald Troll held the Whirling Axe with a wooden handle.
Ji-woo could see the quality of the weapon when he saw the magic inscriptions on the shaft and the handle.
‘Are they Dual Owners? or not? Does that mean there are other creatures in the dungeon?’
Ji-woo contemplated it. He had been wandering around all day and had never seen any creature before. He tossed it aside and then let out his Aura of Fear while taunting the Troll.
“A creature of your caliber shouldn’t be hiding in a dimension space like this. It’s a disgrace to use such tactics. Am I right?
“Hehm!?”
Bang!
Kaboom!
Ji-woo got hit by the Emerald Troll in the face. The speed of the Trolls was faster and caught him off guard.
“Your trick is unique and different from anything we’ve experienced before. However, mere fear is nothing but child’s play for us!” Said the Crimson Troll as he placed his spear behind his shoulder and rested his hands on it.
The Emerald Troll shouted. “Get up. Don’t waste too much time lying on the ground under the rubble.”
Hehe–
Haha–
Ji-woo laughed. The Nullifier already got in him. And not long after that, he stood up and cleaned himself from the rubble of the ground. His hunter gear suit got slightly stained with mud due to the moist soil.
“Amusing! Creatures that depend on Mana dare to look down upon my existence!”
Ji-woo let out a loud voice shattered the space circle that isolated them from the outer area. He smirked after that. His devilish smile showed his excitement about the upcoming fight with powerful opponents.
“We are the greatest and strongest race. We don’t rely on magic. O, human. How dare you underestimate us? The superior race! You are but a speck of dust!”
Bang!
Kaboom!
The Emerald Troll flew away after getting kicked in the neck by Ji-woo.
“F*ck*ng sh*t. Talking too much!”
Ptui–
Ji-woo spat out a small amount of blood. It was from the Troll’s punch earlier.
The Crimson Troll didn’t startle at the sight of his comrade got thrown. He was still smiling, enjoying the show with the previous pose.
Ji-woo’s veins bulged on his forehead. He was annoyed at being belittled by the Trolls.
“You two should have come to me. Or do you want to die that badly? By going one by one, huh?!”
The Emerald Troll got up and looked at Ji-woo with a deadpan expression. He massaged his neck with one hand.
“Strong. That’s good. Let’s continue the fight.”
“F*ck! You trash creatures!”
The Emerald Troll jumped up and swung the Whirling Axe, targeting Ji-woo’s head. Ji-woo ducked to dodge and countered it with a kick to his side. But, it got blocked by the Whirling Axe. After that, he landed a blow with his knee into Ji-woo’s stomach.
Ji-woo wasn’t got pushed back and hit the Emerald Troll in the face with his right hand.
Haa!!
Kaboom!
Ji-woo did not continue his attack at the Emerald Troll that got flung to the ground. He instead charged toward the Crimson Troll on the side.
“Ha!?”
The Crimson Troll was surprised to see Ji-woo coming to him instead of attacking the Emerald Troll. He had no other choice but to respond to it.
Ji-woo launched several punches, and the Crimson Troll managed to dodge them all. He then landed another punch that targeted the Crimson Troll’s head.
The Crimson Troll ducked and released a spear thrust from below.
Ji-woo dodged thinly, and the thrust only cut his hair a little bit. He continued to circle backward and kicked the spear upward. It was followed by a punch to the Crimson Troll’s chest and sent him flying deep into the ground.
Ji-woo jumped up and was about to land another punch on the Crimson Troll’s face. However, the Whirling Axe was coming to his head. He didn’t have time to dodge and chose to block with both hands.
Bang!
Kaboom!