Chapter 56: Ice Troll

'That thing is an Ice Troll.'

Trolls were monsters with green skin, similar to orcs.

They were Level 4.

They were generally larger than orcs.

Depending on the dungeon, they appeared as either normal monsters or boss monsters.

'They said you should treat it as Level 5 when it's a boss monster.'

That might be the case for a normal troll, but the one in front of him was an Ice Troll.

The creature had white skin and emitted a chilling frost from its entire body.

Unlike regular trolls, it utilized frost-attribute attacks.

In this environment, an accidentally frozen limb could lead to a major catastrophe.

It was a boss monster several times more difficult to raid than a typical troll.

That wasn't all.

Its regenerative abilities were also quite high.

In terms of grading, it would probably barely scrape into the B-grade category.

"Staff Sergeant Park Taek-jin. Are we proceeding with the raid?"

"It looks like it will be difficult since we don't have cold-weather gear."

The soldiers' eyes turned toward the leading NCO.

'An Ice Troll... This is tricky.'

Staff Sergeant Park Taek-jin shared the soldiers' concerns.

The raiding party's firepower wasn't bad.

After receiving the report that the boss monster was a troll, he had organized the party primarily with sergeants.

'The skill level of the raiding party is fine, but the lack of cold-weather gear is the problem.'

However, a troll had to be viewed as a long-term battle rather than a short one.

This was because of the creature's incredible regeneration. The Ice Troll was no different.

Specifically, the longer the raid took, the higher the risk of injury for the soldiers because of the frost the monster emitted.

Without cold-weather gear, they would have to be prepared for at least some degree of frostbite.

Yet, if they turned back now, it was certain the higher-ups would nag them about why they hadn't even attempted it.

The dungeon was deep, so traveling back and forth would take a significant amount of time as well.

"The raid will proceed as planned."

"...Understood."

After a moment of deliberation, Staff Sergeant Park Taek-jin decided to continue.

As if they had expected this, the soldiers began full-scale combat preparations.

The magic soldiers in the rear began casting fire magic.

The archers also began loading arrows imbued with mana.

The swordsmen and shieldmen maintained their formation as they approached the Ice Troll.

'I was wondering how I should convince him if the officer decided to turn back. I'm glad.'

Kim Hyeon-jun swallowed hard and walked toward the Ice Troll.

While the other soldiers seemed nervous about the unexpected monster, Kim Hyeon-jun was the opposite.

In his heart, he wanted to have a one-on-one duel with the boss monster.

It was the strongest creature he had encountered so far.

He wanted to use it as a benchmark to measure how much he had grown.

'The power I inherited when I reached Level 5. Plus, I even have the essence of the boss monster I got not too long ago.'

The Ice Troll's frost wouldn't be a major issue.

As long as he didn't take a direct hit from the monster, it would only result in minor frostbite at worst.

Of course, it could get dangerous if the fight dragged on... but if it looked like it was becoming impossible, the officer would issue a retreat order anyway.

'Minor frostbite can be cured by splashing some recovery potion on it anyway.'

Even that would become easier to withstand as his level increased.

Most importantly, the Ice Troll was the perfect target to test his inherited skill in actual combat.

A sturdy, resilient boss monster.

On top of that, it had that disgusting regenerative ability.

'Until now, I've only trained with the power significantly reduced in case of an accident.'

However, wouldn't it be fine to unleash its true power against that thing?

Of course, that was just a wish; he had no intention of acting alone.

Maintaining the formation, he coated his spear with mana.

"Over here!!"

*Clang! Clang!*

In the meantime, several shieldmen struck their shields, drawing the boss monster's attention.

*Roaaar!*

Aggroed, the Ice Troll's raid officially began.

The Ice Troll, which had been roughly 200 meters away, roared and charged toward the shieldmen.

The Ice Troll ran on all fours like a dog.

*Boom!*

The shieldmen, maintaining their formation, took the monster's opening attack.

A thunderous roar that made their ears ring echoed out, and the shieldmen's bodies wavered.

"Urgh!"

"Don't get pushed back! Keep pushing!"

True to their rank as sergeants, the shieldmen groaned but managed to hold the Ice Troll in place.

In that interval, long-range attacks from the magic soldiers and archers poured down.

'As expected of the sergeants, their firepower is strong.'

The Ice Troll's white skin turned red, and arrows buried themselves deep, causing gray blood to seep out.

If it had been an ordinary C-grade boss monster, the battle might have ended right then and there.

However, this was an Ice Troll with exceptional regeneration.

The bleeding stopped almost instantly, and its skin regained its original color.

*Kwoooo!*

The Ice Troll roared in fury.

At that moment, massive chunks of ice formed over both of its hands as if growing out of them.

They looked like giant iron maces.

Following a large wind-up, the monster threw its hands high into the air and slammed them down.

"Don't try to block this! Dodge!"

"Fall back! Quickly!"

The shieldmen and swordsmen quickly retreated.

Thanks to their fast reaction, there were no casualties, but the impact was so great it seemed to break the ground, causing the formation to crumble.

*Whirrrr —*

The Ice Troll didn't stop there; it began breathing out intense frost from its mouth.

A biting wind, sharp enough to cut skin, swept over the shieldmen and swordsmen.

"Back up further! It'll be a mess if your feet freeze!"

"Yes, sir!"

At Staff Sergeant Park Taek-jin's command, the shieldmen and swordsmen put more distance between themselves and the monster.

"Wait, was that thing's cold always this strong?"

"Ugh... My arm is already frozen."

Despite their quick response, more than half of their combat uniforms were covered in frost.

They were already starting to suffer injuries.

'Now is the chance.'

At that moment, Kim Hyeon-jun, who had been timing his entry, stepped forward.

Kim Hyeon-jun was also being pelted by the frost, but it was bearable for him.

More than that, his eyes were fixed on the opening the boss monster had created.

The dungeon raiding party's formation was currently broken.

Since they had retreated, he didn't have to worry about them getting caught in the aftereffects of his skill.

It was the perfect situation to step in for a moment.

'Even if things don't go well, I can just say I applied the debuff ability embedded in my mana.'

Using the Spearman's Footwork, Kim Hyeon-jun quickly moved in front of the boss monster.

Then, he took his stance while chanting the skill's activation word.

'Annihilation Spear.'

He couldn't use the skill exactly like that man he had seen in the hologram.

Their levels were simply in a different league.

So, when practicing the inherited skill, he had set a goal to follow at least half—no, even a quarter—of that man's prowess.

'Whether it's mana or stamina. Squeeze out as much power as possible. Don't hold back.'

The mana surrounding his arms and legs grew dense in an instant.

It was mana that brought to mind a pitch-black night.

*Swish!*

Soon, Kim Hyeon-jun's spear thrust forward.

How many times had he practiced this thrusting motion by now?

It easily exceeded tens of thousands of times.

However, of all those countless thrusts, this was the first one that possessed such overwhelming power and speed.

*Splurt! Splooosh!*

Large holes were torn through the Ice Troll's body.

There were three holes in total.

Two of them had been pierced almost simultaneously.

*Gwargh....*

The monster, which had been preparing another attack, let out a groan and collapsed forward.

It was still breathing, but it writhed as if it were on the verge of death.

The damage had exceeded a certain threshold.

It was because he had inflicted such massive damage that even a troll couldn't recover immediately.

"...."

"...."

The dungeon became as quiet as a tomb.

The soldiers who had been reorganizing their formation and those splashing potions on their injuries froze.

Even the magic soldier, who had been enduring the cold to cast a spell, stood rooted to the spot.

It was only natural.

The scene they were witnessing was just that shocking.

'Crazy. This is this powerful?'

Kim Hyeon-jun felt the same way.

He had squeezed out every bit of strength in his body to increase the power... but he hadn't expected to drive the Ice Troll to the brink of death.

'I might have actually fainted if I hadn't used my health recovery skill.'

Just using the skill once had nearly made him lose consciousness and collapse.

It was lucky he had used Spearman's Willpower to keep his senses.

'Embedding three strikes into a single thrust like the hologram was still impossible.'

Three strikes?

When training alone, even two had been impossible.

But this time, he had been able to imitate up to two.

The sensation remained in his hands.

When he turned his gaze, the boss monster was twitching with three large holes in its body.

While the skill's inherent power was great,

[**The effect of Gorgos's Essence is active.**]

The increase in the spear's piercing power due to the monster essence he had absorbed not long ago surely helped.

The combination of the two must have produced this result.

'I shouldn't use this recklessly.'

Kim Hyeon-jun quickly pulled out a mana recovery potion and drank it as he made his decision.

If he used it, he would have to use it with reduced power.

It was a skill far too powerful for him to handle comfortably yet.

"What are you doing! If you don't finish it off quickly, this thing will recover again!"

"Yes, sir!"

Meanwhile.

Snapped back to reality by Staff Sergeant Park Taek-jin's shout, the soldiers unleashed a fierce assault.

Since the Ice Troll was already on its last legs, finishing it off wasn't difficult.

[**The dungeon has been cleared.**]

A hologram appeared before the soldiers, signaling the dungeon's completion.

At minimum, one hour.

At most, it would have taken three hours of fighting the boss monster... but the total time was barely twenty minutes.

Thanks to a single spearman, the combat time had been drastically reduced.

And that spearman was, of course, Kim Hyeon-jun.

"Hyeon-jun! What was that just now? How did you do it?"

"It looked like you thrust twice, but how did that thing end up with three holes?"

"How powerful was that for that tough bastard to collapse without even being able to recover?"

The scene from earlier must have been quite shocking, as the soldiers showed no intention of leaving the dungeon.

They swarmed Kim Hyeon-jun, bombarding him with questions about how he had done it.

It made sense.

It wasn't just a troll; he had practically taken down an Ice Troll by himself.

And he was just a regular soldier.

For a single Hunter to produce that much firepower, they would need to be at least at the rank of Captain, not just an NCO.

'Even I think that was a bit too strong.'

Kim Hyeon-jun explained that he had recently manifested a new skill.

He added that he used it because the situation seemed perfect for it.

'The transition from Sergeant to Second Lieutenant is almost certain, but...'

Still, he hadn't intended to show off such an explosive display.

This wasn't something that could be achieved simply by working hard.

"Guys. Are you going to keep standing in this freezing place?"

Fortunately, Staff Sergeant Park Taek-jin cut them off.

Although they had finished the raid faster than expected, there were still injured personnel.

Returning quickly was the priority.

'...I’ve watched him since he was a private, but just what kind of guy is he?'

Of course, Staff Sergeant Park Taek-jin was also quite shocked internally, even if he didn't show it.

'I'm glad things worked out well.'

Meanwhile.

As Kim Hyeon-jun walked out of the dungeon, he couldn't help but smile at the notification ringing in his ears.

*Ding. Ding.*

'What kind of reward awaits me?'

It must be the notification for killing the boss monster practically on his own.

If he hadn't used his inherited skill, the Ice Troll would have taken over an hour to defeat.

Since the raiding party had entered without cold-weather gear, most of them would have likely suffered from frostbite.

'Rescuing all the civilians and taking down the boss monster.'

It was a solid achievement for something he had been suddenly called out for.

***

A few days later.

Rumors about Kim Hyeon-jun had spread throughout the entire unit.

It was an inevitable result.

A sudden civilian rescue and dungeon raid mission.

To make matters worse, a boss monster stronger than expected had appeared.

Yet, he hadn't been intimidated and had practically killed it single-handedly.

"Hyeon-jun. Weren't you scared of that Ice Troll?"

"You're a crazy bastard for charging at that thing alone."

"Exactly. It would've been hard to even get close without cold-weather gear."

The members of the Third Squad shook their heads in amazement.

Between his previous actions and this latest feat, they couldn't help but admire how he naturally stepped forward in dangerous situations.

"By the way, I heard those civilians who trespassed into the dungeon are going to get the maximum fine."

"How much is the maximum?"

"It's about 30 million won per person."

"Wow... burning an entire office worker's annual salary in one go."

"I think that's still too cheap. Think about how much it cost just to deploy the military."

"I can't argue with that."

Laws regarding dungeons were particularly strict.

Excuses like being drunk and not in one's right mind, or entering out of curiosity, didn't work.

The first offense resulted in a fine, but from the second time onward, it was straight to prison.

Well.

It was understandable since it was directly related to public safety.

"Wait a minute. If you think about it, Hyeon-jun did all the civilian rescues, and he basically soloed the Ice Troll."

During the conversation, Corporal Han Ji-han suggested that Kim Hyeon-jun might end up being promoted to Sergeant soon.

"Is a special promotion even possible at that level? It's difficult."

"As if the things you did yesterday weren't difficult? You even caught a villain last time."

In truth, Kim Hyeon-jun didn't feel much about it.

He had already received one special promotion, and moving from Corporal to Sergeant was notoriously difficult.

So, he was preparing for his daily routine without much expectation when...

"Hyeon-jun!"

Second Lieutenant Kim Dong-woo, the Third Platoon Leader, opened the door to the barracks and stepped inside.