NOVPUBBoom!
A pair of enormous rock palms, each the size of a dump truck, hurtled through the air, colliding at the spot where Su-ho had just been standing.
A deafening explosion erupted as the two massive hands crashed together, disintegrating into fine dust the moment they made contact.
Of course, Su-ho was unscathed.
He had swiftly dodged at the last second, avoiding the impact altogether.
“So this is the famous Seopji Palm Strike.”
Seopji Palm Strike.
Not an official term.
He had simply read it in the records as it was written.
The term was a combination of "Seopji" from Seopjikoj and "Palm Strike" from a legendary martial art. Since it was the signature move of Seopjikoj’s boss monster, it had earned this name.
The way the massive hands flew toward players resembled the divine palm strikes of martial arts legends.
That was also why the Cliff Golem’s nickname was Seopji.
– Hmph.
Seopji’s eyes narrowed at Su-ho’s effortless evasion.
Anyone would react like that if their attack missed.
And so, it began.
Seopji’s relentless barrage of applause.
Clap!
Another clap.
This time, instead of striking horizontally, it slammed its hands together vertically.
As a result, Seopji Palm Strikes descended from both the front and back.
“Hm.”
Su-ho mimicked the creature’s groan and moved his body.
Boom!!
He dodged.
And another clap.
Clap!
Boom!!
Clap!
Boom!!
Clap!!
The cycle of claps and Seopji Palm Strikes continued in rapid succession.
For a while, Su-ho didn’t attack—only dodged.
There was no particular reason.
Dodging wasn’t difficult, so he was simply curious to see how long it would take before the monster lost its patience.
It turned out Seopji’s patience was even worse than expected.
– You insolent wretch! Are you mocking me?!
Enraged, Seopji let out a furious scream.
This thing was hot-tempered.
Hearing its outburst, Su-ho finally stopped moving.
“Then shall I stop dodging?”
– Die!!
Su-ho remained rooted in place.
True to his words, he didn’t move an inch.
Seopji Palm Strikes came crashing in from both sides.
Boom!!
The strikes landed cleanly.
Su-ho didn’t evade.
As always, the moment the rock hands clashed, they crumbled ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) into dust.
And from the settling debris, Su-ho emerged, completely unharmed.
– ......!
Seopji’s crimson eyes widened in shock.
It had expected a direct hit, yet Su-ho stood there, barely dusted, without a single injury.
Small pebbles fell from Su-ho’s body.
He casually dusted himself off and muttered,
“As expected, an unenhanced Seopji is nothing special.”
The first reason why the Seopjikoj Gate was considered difficult was that players often failed to eliminate the Rock Golems early, allowing Seopji to grow stronger.
However, Su-ho had wiped out all the golems using his clone soldiers.
Since Seopji had not been strengthened, it couldn’t unleash its full power.
Without that enhancement, it was incapable of breaking through Su-ho’s reinforced physique or Iron Cannon Three.
Su-ho raised his Blood Sword.
“Let’s speed things up.”
– Nonsense!!
Seopji, furious, clapped its hands once more.
New Seopji Palm Strikes rushed toward Su-ho.
Boom!!
Shattered rock fragments scattered.
Yet, Su-ho didn’t dodge.
To him, it felt no different than a mosquito bite.
Step.
He casually took a step forward.
Clap! Boom!!
Another clap.
Another Seopji Palm Strike.
Nothing changed.
Even if Seopji clapped until its hands bled, or even if it stomped its feet instead, the outcome remained the same.
Su-ho kept walking forward.
And as soon as he closed the distance, he swung his sword.
Swish!
[ Steel Slash has been activated. ]
Empowered by his magic stat, the Blood Sword was far harder than Seopji’s unenhanced body.
As a result, a single swing severed Seopji’s left arm.
– Damn it!!
Seopji gritted its teeth as it prepared for the next phase.
Su-ho stepped back, patiently waiting for it to enter Phase Two.
If he wanted to get what he needed from Seopji, he had to let it transition into its second phase.
Crrrk! Crrrk! Crack!
Seopji’s body began shifting as it regenerated its severed left arm.
Then, as if realizing its current size was limiting, it absorbed more surrounding stone dust, further increasing its mass.
However, rather than becoming bulkier, its body became noticeably more agile.
So much so that it no longer looked like a typical golem.
Yet its ominous crimson eyes remained unchanged.
Seopji finished transforming and spoke.
– From here on, you’d better be careful.
Having issued its warning, it pressed its hands together.
Then—
Boom!!
A massive black stone pillar erupted from beneath Su-ho’s feet.
“Whoa.”
Of course, the pillar never touched him.
Su-ho already knew what Seopji’s second phase entailed.
‘So this is the infamous Gravestone Uprising.’
Gravestone Uprising.
If Seopji’s first phase was Seopji Palm Strike, its second phase was launching stone pillars from below.
The monster’s hands tightened further, and its crimson eyes glowed intensely.
[ Corrupted Cliff Golem is using Gravestone Uprising. ]
A system notification appeared.
At the same time, another pillar shot up beneath Su-ho.
And it didn’t stop with one.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Everywhere Su-ho stepped, stone pillars surged up, desperately trying to strike him.
Soon, his footsteps left behind an array of towering stones, forming a domino-like chain—this was the second reason why the Seopjikoj Gate was considered difficult.
‘Even if players managed to get through Phase One, most failed during this Gravestone Uprising phase.’
Every attack required some delay, but Gravestone Uprising had none.
This was why so many teams got wiped out by it.
Thus, Su-ho didn’t counterattack.
Instead, he maneuvered around the area like a game of tag.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
He kept moving, continuously avoiding the stone pillars.
To an outsider, it might have looked like he was being chased.
However, one look at Su-ho’s expression would erase any doubts.
His face was utterly relaxed.
Su-ho kept running.
Until the entire area was densely packed with stone pillars.
Then, scanning his surroundings, he nodded.
‘That should do it.’
Having intentionally circled the battlefield, Su-ho finally changed direction and charged straight toward Seopji.
– ......!
Seopji, clearly not expecting this, flinched in surprise and hastily backed away.
At the same time, it summoned pillars at its feet, erecting barriers to block Su-ho’s approach.
But obstacles like these?
He could just go around them.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Frustrated, Seopji unleashed a barrage of Gravestone Uprisings.
– Die!!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A pursuer below.
A blocker ahead.
Yet Su-ho weaved through them all without the slightest difficulty.
And still, Seopji kept chasing.
– Tch!!
Seopji ground its teeth in frustration.
Su-ho relentlessly chased after Seopji, closing the gap between them. In an attempt to keep his distance, Seopji continuously retreated while summoning more obstacles in his path.
At the same time, it didn’t stop its previous attacks, launching everything it had at Su-ho.
This went on for quite some time.
Then, just as Su-ho closed in once more, Seopji hastily attempted to summon another Gravestone.
But at that moment—
– ......!!
Seopji’s crimson eyes flashed with shock.
The Gravestone that should have appeared... didn’t.
There was only one explanation.
Seopji had finally exhausted its mana.
Seeing the flustered monster, Su-ho grinned.
“Looks like you’re finally out of juice?”
– Shut up!!
Whoosh!!
Whether it was a human or a monster, those with short tempers always lashed out when panicked.
Although Su-ho couldn’t see Seopji’s mana gauge like in a game, its reaction made it obvious.
If it weren’t the case, there was no reason for Seopji to abandon its Gravestone Uprising and charge at him directly.
Su-ho met the attack with his Blood Sword.
Then, calmly, he swung his blade once more.
[ Steel Slash has been activated. ]
Swish!!
Even in its second phase, Seopji’s body was not harder than Su-ho’s Blood Sword.
Just as repeated strikes caused greater pain, Su-ho deliberately aimed for the same target.
He severed Seopji’s left arm again.
– Kraaaghh!!
Seopji staggered backward, howling in agony.
But this time, Su-ho didn’t let it escape.
He pursued immediately.
And then, he cut off its right leg.
Swish! Crash!!
Seopji lost its balance and crashed to the ground.
But the monster wasn’t finished. It struggled to rise again, trying to retreat.
Su-ho didn’t give it the chance.
He stomped on Seopji’s chest, pinning it down.
And then, he activated a skill.
[ Hundred Pounds Throw has been activated. ]
Boom!!
With the skill activated, Su-ho’s weight pressed down on Seopji like an enormous boulder.
But Seopji still had one remaining arm and one leg, thrashing in desperation. Su-ho couldn’t hold it down forever.
So, he cut them off.
When all was said and done, Seopji’s limbs were severed.
And this time, they wouldn’t regenerate.
It had already expended all of its mana during Gravestone Uprising.
– Damn... it...!
Its limbs were gone.
Ordinarily, that would be enough to break one’s will to fight.
But Seopji’s eyes still burned with fury.
The name of this gate was "The Howling Cliff."
The exact backstory was unknown, but Seopji was born from the coastal cliffs, and the very name of the gate contained "Howling" for a reason.
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That meant its will would never break.
Even if it had to throw everything away to ensure mutual destruction.
Seopji roared furiously.
– Die!!
At that moment—
Fwoosh—
With its cry, not just its body but all of the Gravestones it had summoned began glowing white-hot.
This was Seopji’s final trump card, the last-ditch effort to take its enemy down with it—self-destruction.
And this was the final reason why the Seopjikoj Gate was considered so difficult.
Two seconds after the light flared—
Boom!!
Seopji and all of its summoned Gravestones exploded simultaneously.
The sheer force of the blast was massive.
In the aftermath, a gigantic crater remained, as if a meteor had struck.
However—
Thud—
Among the falling debris, a single red sphere was embedded within the crater.
The sphere’s surface began to melt like melting chocolate, revealing what lay inside.
It was Su-ho.
“As expected, even self-destruction can’t break through Blood Weapon.”
At that moment—
[ You have defeated the Corrupted Cliff Golem. ]
[ The gate has been cleared. ]
[ The MVP of the gate conquest is ‘An Su-ho.’ ]
[ Additional experience has been granted for MVP selection. ]
[ A bonus stat has been granted for MVP selection. ]
[ Level up! ]
[ All stats increased by 1. ]
[ You have gained 1 bonus stat. ] 𝑛𝘰𝘷𝑝𝘶𝑏.𝑐𝘰𝘮
System messages flooded his vision.
Finally, the Seopjikoj Gate had been conquered.
Su-ho dismissed the notifications without a second thought.
That wasn’t what mattered.
“Now, let’s see...”
Even though the boss monster had ended things with a massive self-destruction, the loot hadn’t been destroyed along with it.
A boss was still a boss, and loot was still loot.
The only problem was that Seopji had made such a mess of things that now he had to dig through this enormous crater to find it.
But there was no helping it.
Su-ho had deliberately pushed the fight into its third phase because there was something he needed from Seopji.
Just as he was about to start searching through the crater, a thought crossed his mind.
“Bulgasari.”
“Bulbul!”
At Su-ho’s call, Bulgasari popped out for the first time in a while.
There was no better worker for this kind of task.
After quickly explaining what to look for, Su-ho began the loot search.
And before long, he found exactly what he was looking for.
