Dungeon Predator (WN)

Kang Oh visited the auction house. The Galmoss hunt was fast approaching, so he needed to pick up some fodder for Gluttony.

He sat on a sofa and opened the auction window. Then, he began carefully looking through the AA-rank items and up.

'What would be the most useful effect against it?'

Kang Oh had repeatedly asked himself this question, and he'd finally gotten the answer today.

'This is it.'

He finally came to a decision.

Crazy Fast Sailin's Boots! It was an S-rank item with an equip requirement of 300, and a 'buy now' price of 3,000 gold.

They lived up to their price tag. The boots themselves were amazing; plus, they had special abilities and stat bonuses too. They had everything you could want!

It would be a waste to use them as fodder for Gluttony. However, it couldn't be helped. The item's special ability would be really useful during his fight with Galmoss.

[Speedster]

Your movements gradually become faster. Stamina loss is proportional to the increase in speed. You may toggle this ability on and off.

[Destructive Speed]

You deal extra damage proportional to your speed, and your critical hit damage is increased.

Kang Oh immediately hit the 'buy now' button. His pocket became 3,000 gold lighter, and lightning-patterned shoes appeared in his hand.

'Alright, I'm ready now.' Kang Oh clenched his fist.

He'd spent a ton in order to hunt Galmoss. If he failed to hunt it, then he'd incur a huge loss. Thus...

"I'm taking it down no matter what!"

* * *

D-Day.

It was time.

However, Kang Oh was meeting with an unfamiliar man.

"Hello, Mr. Kang Oh."

"Hello, Producer."

The unfamiliar man was none other than First Hunter's main producer, Park Jin Cheol! This was his game character.

"Here." Jin Cheol passed him a key.

[Key to Taksen Castle Depths]

A key that will allow you to enter the currently blocked off Taksen Castle Depths.

The Taksen Castle Depths was not a spatiotemporal intersection point. Which meant that other players could get in his way, or someone might be hunting Galmoss already.

In order to stop such things from happening, GBS had asked Dreamgate, the producer of Arth, for a favor. They wanted them to keep other players from interfering.

Dreamgate loved the networks since they promoted their game. Thus, they had no reason to refuse GBS's request. They created the key that Kang Oh was just given.

No one could access the Taksen Castle Depths at this time, so long as they didn't possess this key. If players had gotten in before the area was blocked off, then they would've received a message.

The message asked them to leave, as there was filming planned here. They'd also receive a warning indicating that they'd be returned against their will if they didn't leave within a certain time period.

Kang Oh took the key and placed it into his inventory.

"I'll make sure you've turned on film mode too," Jin Cheol said.

"Alright."

"Please set it to live mode, and let me know your code."

Live mode would transmit Kang Oh's footage directly to them. The best comparison would probably be live streaming.

"Film, live mode," Kang Oh said, and film mode activated.

[Filming (live mode) has begun.]

[Your live code is #KangOh1403.]

"My code is #KangOh1403," Kang Oh said clearly.

If this code was inputted on Arth's homepage, or a TV/computer with the proper program, then you would be able to watch Kang Oh in real-time.

"As you know, the other contestants will be able to see your hunt," Jin Cheol said.

That was the reason he was using live mode, rather than filming normally and then showing it after it was edited.

Kang Oh nodded his head.

This was the core of First Hunter. The other contestants were allowed to see your hunt in real-time!

It gave the other contestants a chance to watch another contestant's hunt, allowing them to gain knowledge that they wouldn't otherwise have in real-time.

"You can't turn off film mode halfway through! If you do, then you'll receive a harsh penalty."

The penalty was simple. If film mode was turned off halfway through, then you'd forfeit the prize, even if you succeeded, and if you failed, then you couldn't see the other contestants' hunts.

"Understood." He'd already agreed to this prior, so he nodded his head.

"Good luck." Jin Cheol clenched his fist.

"Yeah!" Kang Oh did the same.

* * *

A black castle resided in-between a cliff, a canyon, and a sharp mountaintop. This was Taksen Castle.

The castle was divided into two sections: the outer wall and the castle. Galmoss resided within the latter.

They didn't really encounter anything along the way. The named monsters that appeared within Taksen Castle were all low level Ghost Knights, so Kang Oh's party just avoided them.

A short while later, they reached the entrance to the castle. However, the entrance was tightly shut; there was a keyhole there, one that hadn't been there when he'd come to see the Ghost Knight, Angel, a few days prior.

Kang Oh placed the key inside.

Screech.

Then, the old hinges 'screeched' and the door opened.

"Let's go."

[Entering the Taksen Castle Depths.]

The pillars were cracked, and so were the square stones that lined the floor. The pile of rubble and debris was piled up like a grave.

The interior was in ruins. It only made sense. It'd already been several years since anyone had lived here.

Anyhow, the depths consisted of a central passageway, which led to the exit, and four other areas. A jousting arena, a church, a central conference hall, and an armory.

Galmoss would endlessly roam across these four areas!

"First, we'll hide and figure out where Galmoss is."

Kang Oh hid behind a pile of rocks, while Darion and Eder hid behind a pile of debris. The twins, Karin and Soren, hid behind a pillar.

How much time had passed?

Galmoss finally showed up. It was slightly floating over the ground, and was walking right to the central conference hall.

Kang Oh peeked his head out and carefully examined Galmoss. Especially its cheat-like weapon, the Reaper of Souls!

The Reaper of Souls bypassed any and all defenses! Kang Oh's main priority was to keep Galmoss occupied, so that it didn't aim that weapon at his teammates.

'I can do it.' Kang Oh was confident.

Anyhow, Galmoss disappeared within the passageway leading to the conference hall.

"Alright. Let's head to the jousting arena and wait for it there."

Of the four areas, Kang Oh had decided that they'd fight Galmoss in the jousting arena. The reason was simple. It was a large area, there were few obstacles there, and it was outside.

"Ok."

"Yes!"

Kang Oh and his teammates moved quickly.

There was a stand there, which was on the verge of collapse. Aside from that, it was no different from a stadium filled with weeds.

"Let's clean up the area."

They were akin to a catastrophe to the Ghost Knights that roamed the jousting arena.

"I am Cristaga's Knight..."

"Shut up."

It was a one-sided massacre.

There were no longer any roaming Ghost Knights here.

After that, Kang Oh, Eder, Soren and Karen waited for Galmoss near the jousting arena's entrance. Darion was outside of the entrance, watching for Galmoss's approach.

'It's about time it came.'

He was absolutely right.

Rat-a-tat-tat.

Darion quickly rushed into the jousting arena. "He's coming."

"Everyone, take the medicine that Eder made and drink your buff potions. Get ready to hit it with everything you got."

"Yes!"

Kang Oh swallowed the drug Eder gave him.

[You have consumed Eder's Special Energy Egg.]

[Stamina and HP will regenerate more quickly.]

[Physical +40]

[Stamina +200]

[Remaining time: 10 minutes]

Eder's drug was actually more effective than most Alchemists' potions. Moreover, it stacked with alchemical buff potions too.

Kang Oh then pulled off a strength and speed potion from his belt and drank them. His body overflowed with power, and he tightly gripped Ubist.

"Hoo." Kang Oh took a deep breath and stared at the entrance.

His party eventually saw the 3 meter tall Ghost Knight, Galmoss, fully covered in armor and carrying his greatsword, the Reaper of Souls.

"Attack!" Kang Oh yelled.

The pig-tailed girl, Soren, struck first. The sphere at the end of her staff, which largely resembled a mirror ball, radiated bright light.

Giant's Stomp!

Her talent lies in manipulating gravity, and using it to flatten her opponents. Giant's Stomp would allow her to exert the most amount of pressure she could on her opponent.

Thud!

A 3 meter radius beneath its feet sunk. It was as if it'd been crushed by an actual giant's foot. Even Galmoss itself was crushed. However, it didn't take as much damage as Soren had hoped.

It easily escaped the gravity zone. As stated in their info, it had extremely high resistance to magic.

After that, Karin and Eder simultaneously cast their spells. The bells jingled as she swung her staff, and Eder's skull staff radiated green light.

Sand Bind!

Surging Fang!

Sand and sharp bone rose from beneath its feet. However, neither sand nor bone proved to be very effective at keeping Galmoss in place.

Karin and Eder were well aware of this fact. They'd obviously prepared their next move already.

"Die!"

"Explode!"

Desert's Fury!

Bone Bomb!

A heap of sand and bone exploded like an erupting volcano.

Boom!

Did it work? It seemed to, as Galmoss flinched.

"Let's go!" Kang Oh swung Ubist.

Lightning Breath!

Darion swung his gladius, Steel Heart. He chose this one over the others, as Steel Heart possessed the highest attack power.

Fighting Spirit Aura!

The lightning blast and blazing red aura mixed together, striking Galmoss head-on.

Bam!

All of their spells and skills had worked. However, most players started a battle with Galmoss like this. Despite that, no one had ever managed to defeat it.

In other words, there was no way it'd be dead already!

Kuooh!

Galmoss pierced through the dust cloud. At the same time, Kang Oh rushed forward.

Swish!

Galmoss raised the Reaper of Souls into the air, and then let it fall like lightning. Kang Oh turned his body to the side, and slightly swung Ubist. There was something he needed to check.

The Reaper of Souls was an overpowered blade that bypassed everything, allowing it to inflict tremendous damage. But would it bypass Ubist as well? After all, Ubist was just as special, and possessed Abyss Blade, which would allow him to cut through the immaterial.

He quickly confirmed his suspicions.

Their blades made contact, but no sound could be heard. The Reaper of Souls had passed right through his sword.

'It really is impossible to block.'

Now, Kang Oh's job was simple: avoid every single one of its attacks!

'Yeah, let's do this.'

"Haahp!" Kang Oh let out a battle cry.

Galmoss swung the Reaper of Souls. It was using a greatsword for god's sake, yet the sword flew through the air as if it were weightless!

Swish, slash, swish!

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

It was like they were Tom and Jerry. The battle of cat and mouse had begun.