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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: Cerberus Devour
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"Gahhhhh!"
Hot! So hot!
Ting Zie clutched his face with his fingers, now melted together into a single lump.
'My throat... can't breathe... I'm breathing, but no air.'
The magical heat from the boss room's "Hell Lava" terrain assaulted his respiratory system. Ting's tongue, esophagus, and lungs had been medium-well done for ages.
The boss room had been tolerable at first. But when the Hell Twin-Headed Hound spewed flames from its maw, the lava pooling on the floor erupted violently, turning the room several times hotter. It was beyond what Flame Resistance (E) could handle.
"Crystal orb, where's the damn crystal orb?"
Ting's comrade, Dane, muttered through his melted lips.
The crystal orb X had mentioned was nowhere in the boss room. No matter how they scurried in all four directions or along the edges, all they saw was lava and pitch-black basalt.
Grrrraaaah!
The Hell Hound, now single-headed after losing one neck, stomped down on Dane's waist.
From the charred leather gear, yellowed molten fat and lightly cooked innards squirted out with a squelch.
"Muu... thii..."
Had the heat reached his brain? In Ting's eyes, the Hell Hound's face overlapped with the black Chow Chow he'd raised at home twenty years ago.
"Mui, hand..."
Grrrrr.
As the Hell Hound lifted a massive forepaw in response to Ting's words, he spotted a golden star falling from the ceiling.
[One Stroke Dual Sever (D-) activated]
A golden flash sliced across the Hell Hound's nape in the blink of an eye. The golden axe-spear embedded in the floor, splattering thread-like lava droplets, and the hound's remaining head tumbled off.
'Mui... is dead.'
Memories flooded from the Hell Hound's face, tongue lolling in death. That's what Mui's face had looked like before being cooked. It was the day he'd first defied his father, vowing never to trust anyone again—twenty years ago.
A fleeting spark of life gleamed in Ting's eyes, rage surging forth.
"You, where's the crystal orb?"
Ting pointed at the man's face with his fused hand.
"Oh, sorry, that was bullshit. Truth is, the boss room terrain damage splits evenly among the number of people who enter. If I come in alone, I take 100 damage; with you guys, it's like 15 each. Honestly, after killing that thing, I need to expand my skill permissions, but I'm short on indigo coins."
[Hellgate Labyrinth Boss "Twin-Headed Hellhound" defeated!]
[Raid Contribution: 1st Ju Gonghyeok 100%, 2nd Ting Zie 0%]
[Damage Dealt 100% Achieved! Title "Perfect Slayer" partial conditions met (1/10).]
[Rewards: 800 purple coins and 2 indigo coins granted!]
[Acquired Title "Hellgate Butcher."]
[Please select labyrinth clear rewards.]
['Black Fangnet Iron Chain' 'Lava Bubble Pierce' 'Hellhound Mask']
[Achievement "Hellgate Labyrinth All Areas Swept"....]
[Rewards....]
A few indigo coins dropped in front of Ting too.
"Grr, grraaah."
Blood frothed from Ting's mouth. He wanted to kill him. Wanted to so bad, but he had no sensation in his limbs. One eye was milky white from corneal burns, and the other's focus wavered.
"Feeling wronged? Don't be like that, Ting. You betrayed people coolly 270 years ago and 44 years ago too. Thinking back still makes my severed ear throb. I've backstabbed about four times up to now, so we're even."
Muttering to himself, Gonghyeok picked up the "Hellhound Mask" as his reward.
Donning the Hellhound Mask enveloped his body in black shadows. Even the golden axe-spear lost its color, transforming into a sleek obsidian edge.
Gonghyeok, now resembling the Grim Reaper, raised his axe-spear.
"Alright, catch you later if you respawn. Assuming I'm sane then."
Crack!
Ting's distorted head flew through the air. As it rolled, blood and coins spilled out jingling below the neck.
Gonghyeok shook off his axe-spear once and picked up the indigo coins spilling from Ting's neck.
'Hellhound Mask plus Shadow Hood should get me through floor 10 no problem.'
The Hellhound Mask offered stealth effects and resistance to all info-scanning. Even a GM could resist it, but other avatars couldn't defend and would reveal stats and skills outright—essential stealth gear.
"Congratulations, Gonghyeok."
In the boss room empty save for Ju Gonghyeok, a mysterious voice rang out.
Turning, he saw a succubus sitting cross-legged in midair right beside him.
"Hehe, first time meeting? I'm Lilianne, subordinate to the Four Heavenly Kings' Cluesti. Lately, Lady Cluesti's been in Sector 1, Sector 10,000..."
"Busy showing up simultaneously in 10,000 sectors at once? Get to the point."
"Oh my~? So perceptive. No one else deduces it even knowing 2 million are summoned at once. Truth is~."
Lilianne recrossed her legs the other way, flaunting her voluptuous curves and the teasing skirt length that hinted without revealing.
"Fuuu...."
Gonghyeok jabbed Lilianne's forehead.
"You really don't get it. Hurry up. Yeah? Hur.ry."
He prodded her forehead, poke poke.
Lilianne stared blankly at Gonghyeok for a moment, then tilted her head slightly. With a whoosh, black mana erupted from behind her wings like a storm.
[Demon Realm Quest "Floor 1: Kill 5 Players" completed. Next quest: "Floor 1: Kill 10 Players."]
[Reward: 3 indigo coins and "Laplace's Poison" granted.]
Mana swirled, eroding the surroundings. Just from revealing her power, it was this intense—truly a Thousand Knight-grade demon.
"Yeah, pissed? Pissed off? Come at me if you are."
"You bastard, right now!"
Lilianne twisted her head grotesquely and pointed at Gonghyeok. A lethal surge of mana gathered at her fingertip, enough to obliterate him without a trace.
"Nothing to say? Then fuck off. I'm busy."
"You...!"
"Code 011a01wc1k10, message to Admin Angel Sandalphon. Setting change. Reject demon quests for 48 hours. Block access too."
Vwooom.
A massive hand appeared in midair and seized Lilianne.
"See you later..."
Lilianne vanished, gripped in the hand, and Gonghyeok dug in his ear.
"All talk and no kill. GM, achievements and coins."
[Floor 1 achievements: 38 total, 6 titles acquired, purple coins 15,238, indigo coins 51. Achievement list....]
"Nah, enough."
Gonghyeok tossed the indigo coins Lilianne and Ting had dropped upward. The GM's mouth gaped wide and gulped them down.
[Expand "Skill Devour" permissions with 20 indigo coins?]
"Expand."
[New skill "Skill Devour(?)" added to this Game Master (GM).]
[Looking forward to the first meal.]
"Yeah, yeah. Perfect timing—dog meat incoming."
Gonghyeok pointed to the cavity's end, where lava and basalt had eroded away. There, a three-headed hound bound in chains staggered to its feet.
- Grr, what the hell. That hurt.
S+ grade avatar, Cerberus. Excellent fire skills and ultimate, plus massive physical stat buffs—it was one he'd once taken in over Ra-Djehuty.
Avatars were near-spirits, but the sudden mana storm had damaged it; its form flickered unsteadily, disoriented. Watching Cerberus, Gonghyeok snapped his fingers.
"Eat."
[Executing "Skill Devour."]
The GM's mouth stretched impossibly long, lined with sharp, grotesque teeth.
Crunch.
- Kyeng! W-wait, what are you— Kyeng! Kekeng!
Crunch munch crunch munch.
With each bite, the avatar's shadow spurted like blood. Cerberus wailed noisily from its three heads, but soon went silent after a few more chomps.
[Plenty of meat, but tough texture. Feels raw despite fire affinity. Necromancy attribute makes it heavy too.]
"S+ grade and that's 'tasty.' First meal and you're already picky."
[Fire skill "Ignite (E)" acquired. Remaining devour slots: 1/1]
Gonghyeok sat atop Cerberus's lone remaining head and pulled out his pipe tobacco. He yawned, packing it.
'Hope those demons don't make a fuss later, but can't let them catch me chatting with a dungeon avatar.'
If demons learned Gonghyeok devoured dungeon avatars, Hollywood blockbuster Babel expeditions would await—bypassing rules against touching neutrals or hunters to eliminate him.
"Ignite."
[Ignite (E) activated]
It should've exploded, but Gonghyeok's fine control lit just the tobacco center.
"Fuuu, finally ditching the matches. Feels great."
Normally, he'd have Yeonsi light it while bullshitting.
Gonghyeok held the pipe in one hand and raised the golden axe-spear. Time to test the new skill.
"Ignite variant: rear exhaust limited, convert to forward physical force."
[Ignite (E) variant activated. Specify activation point.]
"Axe-spear 0.9cm behind."
[Activates in 2 seconds.]
Boom!
Flash and explosion.
Fierce flames burst behind the raised axe-spear, propelling it with immense force.
Krrrack!
A man-sized Hellhound head before him shattered like glass.
It had looked easy earlier, slicing from the ceiling—but that was skill effects, fall momentum, martial arts buffs, and techniques combined. Plus, the skull was harder than the neck bones.
This strike was pure overhead swing—no simian martial arts or transcendent skill. Just a casual one-handed "normal attack."
[Left wrist ligament damage, elbow ligament spasm]
'Haven't used it in ages—nearly dislocated.'
The explosion's thrust was too strong; his body nearly lifted off mid-swing. Balancing in real use would be tough—mess up, and he'd hurt himself.
[Skill derived from Ignite (E).]
[Ignition Booster (D) discovered.]
[Increases speed and destructive power several-fold when used on body or weapon.]
"Nice, nice. This is the way."
Gonghyeok stored the axe-spear in inventory and leisurely puffed away. After about 20 minutes, a realization hit him.
"Oh, right. Gotta level Ra-Djehuty with the dead guys' coins."
He looked around, but not a coin fragment—just mana-shattered basalt dust swirling.
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