Berserk Phase
With dark clouds looming over and the storm descending around him, Jin Woo gulped his saliva with a palpitating heart.
This was clearly out of his expectations. After all, who could have guessed the boss monster would have different phases just like a video game. In his career as a Hunter, Jin Woo had not witnessed such a spectacle.
Should he retreat?
The broken wall through which he fell the first time was still the same, and making an escape through there might be the safest choice and easiest choice, or he could also use the "Instant Teleportation Stone" to exit the dungeon but-
'No.'
In the end, he had to come back to this place and could not advance otherwise. Running away would not present a solution, but rather only delay it. He had already done it once and doing it again would only develop a bad habit for him.
After some deliberation, he decided to forgo thoughts of retreating and face the issue at hand.
All of this thinking only took a handful of seconds.
Looking at the giant knight with sparks of lightning crackling around it standing as though it was completely unscathed, Jin Woo began to think up his next course of action.
'It could not have just healed all of the damage from earlier, a few strikes should be able to finish it…'
How hard getting in those 'few strikes' would be? It was completely another matter with it clearly getting a huge powerup.
'Heh, I am going to lodge a complaint to the developers if it really did heal fully…'
He jested inwardly to ease the tension, which proved to be somewhat effective, and took a deep breath that helped him further in focusing.
The giant knight lifted its huge hammer and struck it downwards, shaking the ground. It continued to do so in a haphazard manner, with streaks of lightning following each strike and charring the area black.
'It's going berserk.'
Jin Woo thought as he swiftly dodged a streak of lightning headed his way.
'How do I close in like this?'
As though aware of his thoughts, the giant turned its head and charged in his direction and brought down the hammer right on him.
[Skill "Sprint" has been activated]
[All movement speed will be increased by 30% and 1 mana will be consumed per 1 second.]
Activating Sprint, Jin Woo managed to get out of the way of the falling hammer but couldn't prevent the lightning from zapping him.
He felt his muscles convulsed a little as he thought.
'I can't let that hit me.'
What followed could be described as a funny scene of an elephant trying to stomp a rat to death but failing to do so, such was the difference between the two's sizes, but for Jin Woo, it was in no way funny at all.
Neither of them could score any hits other than some minor ones but if it continued, the outcome would not be in Jin Woo's favor.
Fortunately, or rather unfortunately for him, the giant knight seemed to lose its patience and raised its hammer high in the sky.
Lightning crackled at the surface of the hammer as a streak of lightning shot out from it into the dark clouds above, forming a connection. The clouds bubbled and boiled, and the sound of thunder resonated as bright light-filled Jin Woo's vision. The wind picked up speed and the rain poured down heavily.
Immediately, the giant brought the hammer down and slammed it into the ground.
A wave of lightning with the point of impact as the center spread out, and streaks of lightning rapidly fell from the sky, much like the falling rain.
No place was spared as everything was smelted down by the roaring thunder and Jin Woo was no exception either.
"Ack…!"
His muscles spasmed intensely under the relentless assault from the sky. He felt the pain of tearing his body apart as his vision flashed red. He was charred and could even smell the scent of roasted meat – whose meat was it was quite obvious.
After some time, as the storm subsided and the dark clouds scattered gradually along with the wind and rain stopping, the dust cleared to reveal a barely standing Jin Woo.
He staggered and almost fell face first before firmly stepping on the ground and managing to barely stay on his feet, coughing badly.
*Cough!* *Cough!* *Cough!*
'I thought I was going to die…'
Grumbling inwardly, he checked his profile and found his HP to be all-time lowest 2%.
His clothes were tattered and there were many burn marks on exposed areas. His muscles still spasmed from time to time. The scent of roasted meat filled his nose as smoke rose from his body. He had trouble breathing, feeling as though his lungs were fried to a crisp.
As his condition was, he was unable to even run, let alone continue the fight and win. How he even managed to stand was a complete wonder.
Jin Woo opened his mouth but only elicited a coughing fit. After some time, he barely managed to speak.
"Accept daily quest reward. Status Recovery."
As soon as the words left his mouth, a light covered his body. He could feel a warmth enveloping him, restoring his charred skin and fried lungs back to normal.
Jin Woo sucked in a deep breath and exhaled sharply, he could finally breathe again.
'If I lost consciousness, that would really be the end for me...'
Recalling the excruciating pain that was enough to knock the daylights out of him, Jin Woo couldn't help but wince. It was definitely not a pleasant memory.
"What a crazy attack. If I hadn't saved up my daily reward, I would most likely have not survived."
As to why he did not use this trump card in his previous fight, it was over too quickly to even give him a chance to do so.
Fortunately, the ceiling was now clear of the dark clouds and the storm had stopped, meaning the boss monster would most likely not be able to repeat such an attack again.
Only after he recovered did he have the ability to observe his surroundings.
The floor around him was no longer flat but broken and full of debris. Deep and wide cracks ran on the walls and scorched marks were everywhere, the wall or the floor alike.
And the one responsible for such destruction stood in the center. Smoke emitted from the black armor while the lightning sparks covering it and the hammer dwindled gradually.
It stood completely still, as though paralyzed by its own attack.
Apparently, in its berserk state, it did not care for its own well-being and unleashed a wide area devastating skill that swallowed it in the destruction.
Still, even if it was paralyzed and couldn't move, it was only a matter of time before it recovered, maybe even a few short seconds. And as such, Jin Woo could not afford to waste any time.
Picking up Knight Killer that had fallen beside him, Jin Woo pounced towards its head. It only took a second for the defenseless, almost dead giant to fall under Jin Woo's dagger.
[You have defeated Blue Tempest General!]
[You have gained experience!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[You have leveled up!]
[Congratulations! You have cleared Room 50!]
As the notifications piled up on top of each other, Jin Woo had an interesting thought and couldn't help but laugh.
"So…I won thanks to the attack that almost killed me?"
What this taught him was that rationality was one of the most important factors in a battle. If the monster hadn't been impulsive, then there was a high chance that the one lying dead now would be Jin Woo instead of it.
Shaking his head, he turned his attention to other matters. He would review the fight at a later time to correct any mistakes he might have done. He brought up his profile.
[<Status>
——————
Name: Sung Jin-Woo
Level: 42
Class: None
Title: The One Who Judges[+1]
HP: 6230/6230
MP: 510/510
Fatigue: 4
——————
Strength: 89
Agility: 77
Sense: 61
Vitality: 70
Intelligence: 51
——————
Remaining points: 0]
"Great, I leveled up thrice!"
Jin Woo was delighted. The higher the level, the harder and more time-consuming it was getting to level up, and as such, gaining three levels at once was really a joyous occasion. At the same time, it spoke of the strength of the boss monster.
Then he looked at the drops. It was a double-sided hammer with a long handle. There were light blue patterns that seemed to glow etched on the surface and sparks frequently appeared around it – it was the same hammer as the boss monster.
[Item: Hurricane Warhammer
Type: Hammer
Rarity: S
Attack +500
Description: A Warhammer brimming with the power of lightning. Whenever it is swung, the effect "Storm of Blue Lightning" is activated.
Effect:
Strom of Blue Lightning: Summons a storm of endless lightning within a certain area. It is passive thus does not consume any mana.
Restriction: 150 points in the strength Stat.]
Reading the information, Jin Woo's face alternated between joy and despair very quickly.
The performance of the hammer was beyond his expectations. Just its attack power alone was more than five times the dagger he had painstakingly bought, not to mention the cheat-like special options.
But then he noticed one issue…the size was too big for him to properly use it, reaching above 10 meters.
And not only that-
"Too heavy!"
As it stood, Jin Woo could not even lift it, making use of it was far from possible. Of course, he knew he could not lift it due to the strength restriction. The strength required…it only made him wonder once again how strong the monster he just fought was.
"Well, it's not I would have swapped to using hammers as my main weapon."
In the first place, a hammer this huge was not convenient as a main weapon. Maybe if he was a giant but…he wasn't.
Exhaling deeply, he shook off the regrets he had and stored the giant Warhammer in his inventory.
"I should get ready. There are still a lot of stages left. "
Someone was waiting for him, on the last stage.