Overwhelming firepower.
Having endured it many tis against the Molten Dragon, Su-ho understood the power of Heatstorm better than anyone.
Right now, Su-ho was the sun.
With each step he took, he delivered hellish, blazing agony to his enemies, and the Lake of Serpents began to boil away—evaporating under his heat.
How many had he burned down like that?
[You have leveled up.]
[All stats have increased by 1.]
[You have acquired 1 Bonus Stat.]
He leveled up.
Even though their levels weren't displayed, the experience from these serpents was clearly enough to push him up a level.
Su-ho allocated the bonus stat to Strength, then continued forward.
Sizzle—
“Kiaaaaah!!”
[You have defeated ???.]
[You have defeated ???.]
[You have defeated ???.]
[You have defeated ???.]
...
Su-ho continued eliminating serpents as he moved deeper in.
At the sa ti, he never let up in his search for the Imoogi.
And finally—he saw it.
Or more precisely, he saw a presence with its reverse scale in a different location.
Su-ho canceled Heatstorm, then raised the Guiyeong Spear and hurled it.
[Javelin has been activated.]
CRACK!
Like spearing a fish, the Guiyeong Spear hit the suspected Imoogi dead-on.
And then—
“Kiaaaaaaaah!!”
The Imoogi scread.
A deafening high-frequency screech.
Simultaneously, the surrounding serpents scattered in all directions, like eels doused in saltwater.
Then ca the long-awaited ssage.
[A Boss Monster has appeared.]
‘Got it right.’
As the snakes scattered, the Imoogi—still impaled by the Guiyeong Spear—shot upward into the sky.
Sothing massive beneath the water had lifted it up.
What erged was far larger than any serpent Su-ho had seen in this gate so far.
Larger than a python—sothing that brought to mind the mythical Leviathan.
‘But in the end, it’s just a glorified snake.’
Su-ho looked up to read its na.
[One Who Envied the Imoogi Lv.???]
“One Who Envied the Imoogi.”
That was its actual na.
Su-ho scoffed.
‘Seriously? It doesn’t even have a real na?’
In most runs of this gate, Players had failed because they killed the Imoogi by accident, causing the gate to collapse.
But those who succeeded in identifying the Imoogi late in the ga confird: the boss here had no real na.
And now Su-ho saw that truth firsthand.
The serpent raised its head and wrapped the Imoogi—still impaled—with a bubble-like mbrane, lifting it high into the air.
It was a bizarre sight.
You’d think a snake finding an Imoogi would kill it imdiately. Instead, it protected it—covering it in a bubble as if shielding it.
And yet... its na was "One Who Envied the Imoogi."
But there was a reason for this contradiction.
Once the Imoogi grew strong enough, the serpent would devour it—
And by doing so, beco the true Imoogi.
‘So basically, it's raising it as food.’
Once Players understood that, they started calling this type of monster a Water Worm—a snake neither noble nor powerful enough to be a dragon or Imoogi, and petty in heart as well.
Now, as the Water Worm lifted the Imoogi high into the sky, it turned its glowing yellow eyes on Su-ho and bared its fangs.
KIAAAAAHHHH!!
[One Who Envied the Imoogi uses boss-level Fear.]
[Dragonblood has been activated.]
[Due to Dragon Spirit effect, Fear does not apply.]
The boss launched itself while simultaneously using Fear.
A pattern Su-ho hadn't seen before.
Normally, they'd roar first.
Not that it mattered.
Unaffected by the Fear debuff, Su-ho swiftly dodged its charge.
But the mont he dodged, hidden snakes leapt from the surroundings, fangs bared.
Yet they never reached him.
[Heatstorm has been activated.]
FWOOSH!
Did these fools really think they could survive Heatstorm?
Su-ho had no desire to drag this fight out.
Frankly, he wasn't excited about this fight at all.
No matter how powerful the enemy, it was still a re wannabe Imoogi.
There was no way it could match the Molten Dragon he had fought earlier.
He ramped up the firestorm and activated a flurry of skills.
[Blessing has been activated.]
[Holy Enchant has been activated.]
[Magic Detection has been activated.]
[Endurance has been activated.]
[Enhancent has been activated.]
[Weaken has been activated.]
[Eye of the Master Blacksmith has been activated.]
A huge list of activated skills.
But that only ant one thing—how far he’d co.
No big deal.
This wasn’t a battle worth dragging out. Better to end it all at once.
As the Eye of the Master Blacksmith activated, a grid pattern lit up over the Water Worm’s body, revealing its weak points.
Despite its massive size and different na, it was still fundantally a snake.
And just like the others, its weak point glead brightly—between the eyes.
Su-ho hurled the Guiyeong Spear high into the air.
Then he activated Shadow Shift, positioning himself above the beast.
Kiruk?!
The Water Worm was certainly tall.
But Su-ho had seen plenty of large monsters before.
Now in position above it, he gripped his sword.
Then, using the montum of his Double Jump skill, he launched himself downward and slashed.
[Cloud Cutter has been activated.]
[Enhancent has been applied.]
[Cloud Cutter’s power has been greatly amplified.]
The enhanced Cloud Cutter, brimming with mana, turned into a steel rainbow—slicing straight through the Water Worm from forehead to tail.
KRRAAAAAAAAAACK!!
Its body split completely down the middle.
And—
[You have defeated One Who Envied the Imoogi.]
Su-ho had slain the Water Worm in a single blow.
WHUDUDUDUDUK!
The massive corpse split apart, chunks of flesh flying in every direction.
Su-ho was doused in its blood.
But he didn’t mind.
Getting splashed with monster blood in a gate was hardly unusual.
What mattered more—was still floating in the air.
‘Do I have to retrieve it myself?’
The Imoogi remained trapped in the bubble conjured by the Water Worm.
Just as Su-ho pondered that—
POP!
The bubble burst, and the Imoogi—still pierced by the Guiyeong Spear—began to fall.
Su-ho instantly activated a skill.
[Shadow Shift has been activated.]
As the spear vanished, Su-ho teleported to its position and caught the Imoogi mid-fall.
“Kiiiii!”
The Imoogi couldn’t speak.
But even in its injured state, it bared its fangs and hissed Ki! Ki! at him, clinging to whatever pride it had.
“Calm down, you brat.”
Su-ho landed gently, then healed the creature.
[Heal has been activated.]
[Recovery has been activated.]
The healing was quick.
Yet there were no notifications about quest completion or gate clearance.
Su-ho knew why.
So he summoned Bulgasari and placed the struggling Imoogi in its jaws.
“Hold it gently.”
“Bulbul!”
The quest had stated: Eliminate the uninvited guests and return the lake to its rightful master.
But that didn’t an killing all the snakes was the solution.
No—the quest's true condition was the Imoogi’s empowernt.
Only when the Imoogi was strong could it keep the lake from being taken again.
‘Like they say—if you want to help the poor, don’t give them money. Give them a job.’
Sa logic.
And giving the young Imoogi power? Surprisingly simple.
Su-ho looked at the dead Water Worm.
Though the Eye of the Master Blacksmith still marked its body with harvest points, that wasn’t what he needed now.
He deactivated the skill, then activated Magic Detection to find the densest concentration of mana in its body.
He reached in—and pulled out a grayish-white orb.
[Old Serpent’s Spirit Core]
Grade: A
The power held within an ancient beast.
A simple description.
Its na: Spirit Core.
‘If it were held by an Imoogi, it’d be a Dragon Core.’
Despite living longer than the Imoogi, the Water Worm’s core could never beco a Dragon Core.
Because it had been a snake from the start.
Su-ho held it out to the Imoogi.
At first, the creature hesitated, wary.
But after sensing its value, it cautiously swallowed the core.
And once it had gone down—
FWWOOOOOOOSH!
Light burst from the Imoogi’s body, engulfing the area.
HWAOOOOOOOH!
Through the blinding light, the Imoogi let out a long, high cry.
Su-ho watched as the creature rapidly grew and soared into the sky.
And the mont the light faded—
[The rightful master has reclaid the lake.]
[Quest Complete.]
[The Imoogi expresses its gratitude to you.]
[Congratulations! You have obtained “Imoogi’s Dream (A)”]
Quest complete.
And with it—
[Gate Cleared.]
[Gate Clear MVP: [N O V E L I G H T] An Su-ho.]
[Bonus EXP awarded for MVP status.]
[Bonus Stat awarded for MVP status.]
[You have leveled up.]
[All stats have increased by 1.]
[You have acquired 1 Bonus Stat.]
Su-ho had successfully cleared the gate.
He also obtained sothing akin to the Water Worm’s Spirit Core—an item called Imoogi’s Dream.
He checked the information of the fist-sized orb.
[Imoogi’s Dream]
Grade: A
The dream of an Imoogi who wishes to beco a dragon.
If the desire is strong enough, the dream will co true—and the fulfilled dream will grant great power.
It was exactly the sa item acquired by Players who had successfully cleared this gate in his past life.
Su-ho didn’t yet know how powerful it was—but he did know what it was used for.
In his past life, they’d figured it out at the Yalu River, but ultimately couldn’t collect enough of them to see results.
‘But this ti will be different.’
He carefully stored it away and exited the gate.
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