Chapter 162: Machine Civilization

The Greed Death Lord, Dvergr Andvari.

It had been one month since they defeated the second of the Seven Traitors.

Life had returned to normal, and nothing particularly unusual had happened so far.

Andvari’s golden city still had not been revealed to the world.

It was probably because it had been warped deep into the Amazon rainforest.

Meanwhile, during the conquest of the golden city, they hadn’t obtained any particularly useful artifacts.

They had only picked up some mana stones and a few mediocre artifacts.

However.

‘……I gained things far more valuable than artifacts.’

-Ding!

[Skills]

▶ Heat — <Rank: ?>

▶ Close — <Rank: ?>

▶『Seven Demon First Strike Secret Art (七鬼第一咤 奧義): Gluttony Kill (暴食殺), Beelzebub』 <Rank: S>

▶『Seven Demon First Strike Secret Art (七鬼第二咤 奧義): Greed Kill (貪慾殺), Mammon』 <Rank: S> [New]

▶『Cordyceps』 <Rank: A+>

▶「Descent of God」 <Rank: A+> [New]

▶『Oil Skin』 <Rank: A>

▶『Embers』 <Rank: A>

・「Superhuman Strength」 <Rank: A>

・「Ink Stealth」 <Rank: A>

Two new skills had been added to the skill window.

One A+-rank skill and one S-rank skill.

-Descent of God <A+>: Receives dark energy to strengthen physical abilities by ten times. However, the physical enhancement effect only lasts while holding one’s breath.

It was the A+-rank skill essence ‘Descent of God’ obtained from the Dark Elf Legion Commander.

A strengthening-type A+-rank skill that explosively increases strength, stamina, and agility—all physical stats.

‘While maintaining Descent of God, I was even able to dodge the attacks of an S-rank Death Lord.’

The only drawback was that one had to hold their breath to maintain the state.

It couldn’t be sustained for long periods, but it would be extremely useful for delivering instantaneous burst damage.

Moreover, the amplification of Descent of God changed according to the user’s base stats.

This meant its efficiency would increase exponentially as he grew stronger.

Next was the S-rank skill, ‘Seven Demon First Strike Secret Art: Greed Kill, Mammon’.

Following the Gluttony Kill secret art, he had now obtained the Greed Kill secret art as well.

Due to the brand left by Peter Binsfeld, the Greed Kill secret art had also been passed on to Jeanne.

‘Though I still can’t use it perfectly yet.’

Just like with the Gluttony Kill secret art, it seemed he would need to raise the skill proficiency through training.

Therefore, after returning to Korea, he and Jeanne had been visiting various dungeons to accumulate experience.

And currently.

He and Jeanne were standing at the entrance to a sewage treatment plant on the outskirts of Dongincheon.

Vrrr— Vrrr— Vrrr— Vrrr—

The blue light emanating from the gate shimmered unsteadily.

Flutter—

<Nostra’s Compass>

– Storage Number: MRG-771

– Storage Rank: Safe

A dungeon discovered using Nostra’s Compass.

It was a fresh A+-rank dungeon that the Hunter Association had not yet discovered.

However, something felt strange.

‘……Is this really a gate?’

Since awakening, he had passed through dungeon gates dozens of times.

Even so, the gate before him felt markedly alien.

Gray steel masses encircling the gate’s border.

It looked like an artificially created mechanical gate.

Yet Nostra’s Compass was pointing accurately at this location.

He stepped toward the bizarre gate.

A brilliant light engulfed his vision.

-Ding!

<You have entered the dungeon ‘Steel Labyrinth’.>

Soon, the interior landscape of the dungeon unfolded before his eyes.

A dim bluish light flowed from jewels embedded in the walls and ceiling, softly illuminating the area.

A straight cave covered entirely in jet-black obsidian.

It was an underground tunnel spacious enough for dozens of people to walk through comfortably.

“The inside looks more normal than I expected?”

Unlike the strange gate, the interior didn’t differ much from other dungeons.

At that moment.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

A tremendous roar began echoing from the passage ahead.

A heavy vibration could be felt through the soles of his feet.

Soon, large figures revealed themselves.

“Is that…… a golem?”

Massive monsters covered entirely in steel.

Their sizes varied, but even the smallest was about twice the size of a human.

Then, Morgue Mu Featherback’s journal opened.

Flutter—

<Goblin>

-Threat Rank: E

-Discovery Location: Incheon Metropolitan City, Republic of Korea ‘Steel Labyrinth’

<Troll>

-Threat Rank: C

-Discovery Location: Incheon Metropolitan City, Republic of Korea ‘Steel Labyrinth’

<Orc Champion>

-Threat Rank: B

-Discovery Location: Incheon Metropolitan City, Republic of Korea ‘Steel Labyrinth’

<Ogre>

-Threat Rank: A

-Discovery Location: Incheon Metropolitan City, Republic of Korea ‘Steel Labyrinth’

“?”

For a moment, he wondered if he had misread the journal.

“Goblins, trolls, orcs, and ogres? Those things?”

No matter how he looked at them, they only appeared to be steel golems.

Then Jeanne spoke.

“Master, I can faintly sense the aura of life from inside the steel.”

Only then did he notice the bright red muscles visible through the gaps at the joints of the limbs.

Creatures that fused biology and machinery.

“……Cyborgs.”

They were monsters of a type he had never seen or heard of before.

Soon, the mechanized monsters began charging all at once.

[Grrrrraaaah—]

Even their roars had a cold, modulated tone as if processed through a voice changer.

He quickly analyzed the situation.

One A-rank Ogre.

Three B-rank Orc Champions.

Eight C-rank Trolls.

Fifteen E-rank Goblins.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The cyborg monsters charged with ferocious momentum, shaking the ground.

‘Well, cyborg or not, it doesn’t matter.’

Whether they were cyborgs, aliens, or Cthulhu, it didn’t make any difference.

The goal was the same.

“Alright then…….”

The current time displayed on his smartwatch was 2:45 PM.

He looked at Jeanne and said.

“Let’s finish this within thirty minutes.”

“Yes, Master!”

The speedrun clear of an A+-rank dungeon had begun.

***

Boom!

The massive body of the Mecha Ogre collapsed onto the ground.

Its upper and lower body were cleanly severed.

Jeanne straightened her posture.

“This area has been completely cleared, Master.”

Not a single scratch, not even a strand of hair out of place.

Jeanne was now displaying overwhelming prowess even in an A+-rank dungeon.

Meanwhile.

Boom!

Fierce flames engulfed the surrounding area.

The steel covering the monsters melted away, revealing what was inside.

Bodies with skin peeled back, exposing bright red muscle.

Complex steel hoses and wires were intricately connected across them.

Soon.

Fwoooooosh!

The ogres, now reduced to pitch-black charcoal, began collapsing one by one.

At the same time, the flames rapidly gathered into one spot.

-Ding!

<Activating skill ‘Embers’!>

All the flames seeped into his body and were converted into energy.

Gigasnail’s oil mucus and the Fire Crow’s Embers.

When combined with the Descent of God skill, it produced enough destructive power to kill an A-rank monster in a single blow.

Thirty minutes after entering the ‘Steel Labyrinth’ dungeon.

He and Jeanne had smoothly taken down the monsters and arrived in front of the boss room.

However.

‘……This dungeon definitely has something weird about it.’

He had noticed several differences from regular dungeons.

1. The monsters here possessed combat power stronger than the threat ranks listed in Featherback’s journal.

If listed as B+, they were stronger than B+ but not quite reaching A-rank.

It was as if they had been selectively bred.

2. The monsters here did not drop items.

They had slaughtered mountains of monsters, yet not a single artifact or even a potion had dropped—only mana stones.

The Steel Labyrinth was an A+-rank dungeon.

Normally, after progressing this far, at least four or five artifacts should have appeared.

The only thing the monsters in the Steel Labyrinth dropped was one thing:

Mana stones ranging from low-grade to high-grade.

Pure, refined mana stones.

“Well…… it’s better than getting nothing at all.”

Fortunately, he was in a situation where he desperately needed a mountain of mana stones.

-Ding!

[Mana Spear Quest]

– Collect mana stones to distribute to the items stored in the Mana Spear.

•A-rank Mana Stone (9/10)

•B-rank Mana Stone (100/100) [Completed]

•C-rank Mana Stone (300/300) [Completed]

Since there was a Mana Spear quest requesting an entire truckload of mana stones.

‘Feeding it mana stones as food. Quite the luxurious taste.’

He inserted the A-rank mana stone dropped by the Mecha Ogre into the Mana Spear.

-Ding!

<You have successfully completed the quest!>

<The Warehouse Keeper ‘Cha Hasang’ has been awarded the ‘Growth Elixir’ as a completion reward!>

Along with a brilliant light, a glass bottle was delivered.

It was filled with rainbow-colored liquid.

He drank it down in one gulp.

-Ding!

<All stats have increased by 10!>

<Stats>

Strength: 480 <10UP↑>

Stamina: 480 <10UP↑>

Agility: 480 <10UP↑>

Intelligence: 480 <10UP↑>

Mental Power: 750 <10UP↑>

Thanks to focused investment, Mental Power—which directly affected the Mana Spear exploration and Shadow Knights—had risen to 750 points.

The other stats were also approaching 500 soon.

If he took the Association’s rank test in his current state, he would likely be measured at the very bottom of A-rank.

Meanwhile, Jeanne was carefully examining the surroundings of the dungeon.

“Something feels off. I can sense a mana field, but it is subtly different from those of the Lokpia Continent. Moreover, monsters of this form do not exist in any records.”

Soon, she looked at the patterns engraved on the wall and said.

“However, since the Lokpia Continent is so vast with so many extraordinary terrains and races, it wouldn’t be strange for a nation like this to exist.”

Remnants of a highly advanced civilization far beyond golems.

Its scientific level was several steps ahead of modern Earth civilization.

He followed Jeanne and examined the wall patterns.

A snake coiled in a circle, eating its own tail.

‘It was called Ouroboros in mythology, right?’

A symbol representing infinite cycles, primal unity, and immortality.

He remembered learning about it in a liberal arts lecture.

At that moment.

Clank— Rumble rumble rumble!

The sound of interlocking mechanisms rang out, followed by something opening.

At the same time.

Rumble rumble rumble—

The entrance to the boss room blocking the path ahead began to open.

A large dome-shaped space.

The floor, walls, ceiling—everything was covered in steel plates.

Copper-colored cylinders and gears installed on the walls were operating vigorously.

A scene that brought steampunk to mind.

Soon, the object placed at the center of the boss room caught his eye.

A capsule-type machine filled with a special solution.

A complex control panel was attached to the lower front.

The Ouroboros mark was also stamped on the front of the capsule.

“……Is this some kind of symbol for a machine civilization nation? I’ll take a photo just in case.”

Just as he was about to photograph the Ouroboros pattern with his smartphone.

Pssshhhhh—!!

The capsule tank began emitting hazy white steam.

At the same time, the hoses connected to the capsule were pulled out one by one.

Then, a slender silhouette rose from within the capsule.

Long, flowing black hair.

Refined features and a sharp jawline.

Eyes moist with emotion and a voluptuous figure.

A woman who seemed to embody the word “sensual.”

<Succubus Queen>

-Threat Rank: A+

The threat rank listed in Featherback’s journal was A+.

Which meant this monster was likely an entity that transcended even A+ rank.

‘Perfect timing.’

The S-rank skill inherited from the Greed Death Lord, Andvari.

The ideal sandbag for testing the Seven Demon Greed Kill secret art had appeared.