Former Ranker's Newbie Life

Chapter 67

[Spirit Dragon’s Remains has entered a berserk state due to corruption.]

Suddenly, two wings burst out of the darkened light and began to unfurl, only to be torn to shreds before they could fully extend. One of the falling stalactites slammed straight through a wing, and the Spirit Dragon shrieked incomprehensibly. Whether it was pain or rage, no one could say. The sound was immediately swallowed by the impact of another massive stalactite slamming into the ground.

“Th-the ceiling’s collapsing!” Theresa screamed.

Stalactites rained down on them as if hell itself had split open above, crashing in every direction with no distinguishable pattern.

“Just dodge them!”

“How the hell am I supposed to dodge all of thi—AHH! Soso!”

Do-Jin turned his head at the panic and clicked his tongue. Soso had failed to dodge or defend properly. Her body shattered into light as she was killed. Seeing one of his party members down, he felt a tight ache in his chest.

“Seriously?! At least drop a heal or a buff before you die!”

Perhaps the heavens didn’t appreciate the sarcasm, because a huge, spear-like chunk of debris came hurtling down directly above his head. Do-Jin dodged it by a hair, shifting his weight with incredible precision, his eyes never leaving the boss.

Corruption, huh. Looking at it now, there’s no damn way anyone would still call that a spirit.

Whatever resurrection this was, The Remains now looked far more like an undead monster than a spirit. Its body was visibly decaying in real time, like it had only temporarily delayed its own rotting. Yet, in that ruined, broken state, the thing was still trying to move. Even as stalactites rained down, the boss thrashed around, desperate to keep going. Letting it roam free would be insane. That much was obvious.

Do-Jin shouted over the chaos. “I don’t like the idea of letting it crawl out of here, so we’re gonna put it down. Keep hitting it while dodging whatever the hell’s still falling!”

Theresa’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Are you out of your mind? I’m literally about to die and you want me to run in and—UGH!”

A falling shard clipped her shoulder mid-sentence, sending Theresa tumbling across the floor.

Do-Jin sighed and let go of any hope he had left. “If the whole party can’t manage this, I’ll just do it myself.”

From that moment on, it turned into a solo performance. Do-Jin no longer needed to look up. The larger stalactites announced themselves with a roar as they fell, dense clusters of magic stones screaming toward the ground. The distortions they carved into the air made them easy to track. That was all the information he needed, and as long as he stayed sharp, he could avoid being crushed.

[Fireball]

With each step forward, death brushed past.

[Electric Shock]

Do-Jin cast another spell and took one step back.

A massive stalactite slammed down right in front of him. A shard chipped off and sliced across his cheek, but it barely registered. It was nothing worth worrying about.

Do-Jin’s Magic Circuits lit up again and more spells followed in quick succession. There was no room to breathe, and the only thing he could afford to do was cast spell after spell, slamming them into the boss as it stumbled around.

Normally, this dungeon’s boss wasn’t meant to take meaningful damage from player attacks. Attacking the boss had only ever been a way for it to charge up its special skills. However, this time was different. Do-Jin’s attacks were landing, each one carving into the weakened monster with solid damage. Although the collapsing ceiling had accounted for ninety-eight percent of the damage, he had to handle the final stubborn two percent that remained.

In the end, the Spirit Dragon’s revived body shattered into radiant light.

[You have dealt enough accumulated damage to prevent Spirit Dragon’s Remains from maintaining its form.]

Just like that, the newly released hidden dungeon, Lavre Lake Underwater Cave, was cleared. The moment the message appeared, Do-Jin let himself drop to the floor without hesitation.

“Holy shit... I actually feel lightheaded.”

His health was nearly gone and his mana was almost dry. There hadn’t been a single moment to rest, much less drink a potion. The entire fight had been relentless from start to finish. After all that effort, Do-Jin hoped the reward would be worth it.

***

[Lavre Lake Underwater Cave Cleared]

[Achievement Unlocked: Savior of the Spirit Dragon]

[Achievement Reward: Bonus Points +5]

[First Clear Bonus: Additional Experience Gained]

[Perfect Clear Bonus: Additional Experience Gained]

A generous pile of rewards came pouring in. The experience gain was massive, and the loot was just as impressive.

[Spirit Essence]

Grade: S

Required Level: 65

A gem infused with condensed spirit energy.

Gleaming brightly at the center of all the loot was the exact thing Do-Jin had been after. He had wanted the Spirit Essence badly enough that, in any other situation, it would have been the only thing he could focus on. However, Do-Jin’s eyes were fixed on something else right now.

What the hell is that?

It was a radiant, multicolored gem, perfectly spherical and just a bit larger than a human head. Do-Jin had no idea what it was, but his gut told him it had to be absurdly valuable. At the very least, he was sure it wasn’t listed anywhere in the known drop table for Lavre Lake Underwater Cave.

That could only mean this was a special reward, the kind that only appeared when all four conditions were met: discovering the hidden dungeon, being the first to find it, the first to clear it, and even defeating the hidden boss perfectly.

Do-Jin pulled out every type of potion in his inventory and downed them one after another. He then forced himself to his feet and tried to ignore the tremors in his battered body.

“Urgh.”

He gagged mid-step from exerting too much effort, but he kept moving anyway, dragging his half-dead body toward the loot.

[Spirit Essence]

There it was, the item he had wanted. But the real eye-catcher was this egg.

[Egg Left Behind by the Spirit Dragon]

Grade: ?

An egg formed from The Remains and the energy of the deceased Spirit Dragon.

What had looked like a massive gemstone was actually an egg.

If it’s an egg... does that mean it can hatch? Do-Jin’s heart pounded in his chest.

If this thing really did hatch into something, then this wasn’t just a rare drop. It was a jackpot. However, disappointment slowly crept in as he came to a realization.

Aww, it’s dead.

A quick glance with his Magic Eye told him the mana inside the egg wasn’t moving. There was a faint shimmer, but that was the same passive flow found in regular magic stones. If there had been even a trace of life inside, like a spirit or beast, the mana would have been pulsing like a heartbeat. This one was completely still.

Do-Jin quickly shook off the disappointment and consoled himself. “Still, it’s probably worth a fortune. Honestly, this thing’s on par with the kind of stones you’d only get after taking down a draconic-tier monster.”

Calling it disappointment felt a little dramatic. Whatever had been inside was probably long dead, possibly for centuries. The fact that something still remained at all was impressive. In life, the Spirit Dragon must have been an absurdly powerful being. Whether among spirits or dragons, it had clearly been a top-tier existence.

If something did actually come out of this thing...

Even near the end of his previous life, he had never seen an item like this. There was no way something this busted was supposed to drop at this stage of the game. Though, he figured it was better to hold onto it.

Do-Jin quietly organized his loot and stored it all safely in his inventory.

[The Secret Beneath the Lake: Hidden Quest Complete]

[The cause of the spirit-related incidents on the surface was the corrupted energy leaking from the Spirit Dragon’s decaying body. Now that the source has been eliminated, violent spirits should no longer appear endlessly near the lake.]

[You have gained experience.]

[You have received 10,000 Gold.]

[Quest item identified: Egg Left Behind by the Spirit Dragon.]

[Quest: The Spirit Dragon’s Legacy]

Grade: Hidden

Long after the Spirit Dragon’s death, when its body began to decay, a brief moment of resurrection may have been a final act to lay this egg into the world. However, the egg has been left alone for far too long. It no longer seems viable enough to hatch. If you have even a shred of sympathy, it might be worth holding on to and finding a way to help it.

Do-Jin stared at the quest log in silence.

These motherfuckers...

All he’d done was kill a boss monster, but somehow, the game had cast him in the role of the asshole who murdered a mother trying to give birth in her final moments.

Not that I would’ve spared her had I known, but still.

It was tragic, sure. But a rampaging, corrupted boss monster couldn’t just be left alone out of pity. Letting something like that live and choosing to die in its place wasn’t exactly an option. Even so, the whole thing left a bitter taste in his mouth.

He looked toward the spot where the Spirit Dragon’s body had disappeared, then closed his eyes and muttered, “Rest in peace, alright? I’ll put what you left behind to good use, so don’t worry.”

No matter how it ended up in his hands, what he had assumed was just a dead egg turned out to be a hidden quest trigger. If he could somehow complete the quest, he might hit another jackpot.

The problem with these vague hidden quests is that it’s nearly impossible to move forward without a damn miracle.

As he organized his thoughts and turned to leave, he paused. Theresa stood frozen in place, staring into empty air with a vacant, mournful look on her face.

“Soso died...” Her voice came out as a dazed whisper.

Do-Jin walked toward her, thinking quietly. Seeing a friend die in a place that looks pretty real... Sure could mess someone up, especially if they’re new to VR.

In this age of full-immersion virtual reality, there were more side effects than most people expected. Some players had panic attacks just from seeing their avatar die. Others broke down from watching a friend or even an NPC die in front of them.

For the ones who were too immersed, things got worse. Some even experienced phantom pain, regardless of their actual sync rate. There were even cases where people claimed to physically feel the pain in real life.

Not that I’m in any position to talk. I’ve been through all of that shit myself.

Do-Jin, having dealt with every VR side effect in the book, knew exactly what Theresa needed right now. “Snap out of it. Soso just game-overed, that’s all. This is still virtual reality. If you’re worried, just log out and check on her in real life. But don’t keep replaying that death scene in your head. That’s how people end up with real problems.”

What she needed was a firm reminder to separate the game from reality.

“That’s not the issue here...” Theresa became increasingly distraught as she continued, “Soso died. And now she’s going to whine about it. She’s going to pretend she’s really traumatized. She’ll probably lie down and refuse to get up. I know exactly how she works. She’s already planning how to use this to gain the upper hand in negotiations.”

Excuse me? Whining? Negotiating? What the hell is she even talking about? Do-Jin’s brain couldn’t keep up.

Without paying any attention to Do-Jin, Theresa dropped to the ground and pounded her fists in frustration. “Ugh... I should’ve died instead. Last time I got dragged all the way to Busan over something like this. She even faked crying. There wasn’t even a single tear, but she sobbed like she was in a drama. When I asked why there were no tears, she said it was dry eye syndrome. But in the end, I still got dragged there! This time, I might even get abducted overseas!”

As Theresa screamed in pure dread, Do-Jin just stared at her with a blank face. “Uhh... right.”

Well, she clearly wasn’t okay, but she was fine in her own way. Maybe even a little too fine. This really didn’t seem like the right time to split up loot or talk strategy. Whatever Theresa was dealing with, it was probably better to let her have a moment.

“Anyway, looks like you’ve got a lot going on, so let’s wrap it up here.”

With that, Do-Jin officially called an end to the party hunt.