NOVEL NEXT Ch. 18
Chapter 18: Vampire Baron ‘Garbiten de Rohar’ (1)
The pocket watch used by Sa Junhyuk was, in many ways, exceedingly dangerous.
Because—
[‘Clock of the Dead’ leads to the Prelude of Reversal.]
[All monsters that have died in the dungeon until now are resurrected.]
[However, the user of the clock receives 50% reduced damage from monsters, and the drop rate of items is doubled.]
It was, quite literally, a self-destructive item capable of turning the entire dungeon into hell itself.
“Am I... alive again?”
Frankenstein muttered as he inspected his body.
“Grrr…”
“Kieeeek!”
From 2-Star to 4-Star rank—
Skeleton Warriors, Mages, Patchwork Golems, and Corpse Wolves all rose again.
Not just a few—hundreds of them surged up like an army.
Moreover—
The pocket watch didn’t just rewind the past.
[Dungeon Boss, Vampire Baron ‘Garbiten de Rohar,’ awakens!]
Normally, it should have taken about two more hours before the boss appeared.
However—
The clock had drastically advanced that moment.
＊＊＊
Elegant formalwear.
A beautiful yet extravagant appearance.
“Hot, pure blood! Sweet and mellifluous screams! Ah, welcome. Welcome to my garden.”
Garbiten revealed his sharp fangs, licking his lips in delight.
Though the raiding party had considerable numbers, Garbiten was surrounded by countless subordinates, including Frankenstein.
Even by the most generous odds, the chances of victory were barely half.
“Form ranks! Don’t let the boss rampage freely!”
Lee Junho charged forward with the raiders toward the undead.
“Sa Junhyuk, you damn bastard! This is a blatant breach of contract! Are you saying you don’t want to work as a mercenary anymore?”
Kang Cheolwoo shouted, veins bulging in his neck.
“Contract? Feel free to break it if you wish. If you manage to leave this place alive, I’ll personally wrap up your deposit and penalty fee in a pretty package and hand it back to you.”
Sa Junhyuk retorted, utterly unbothered.
As if the contract he’d signed with the Daesan Industrial Association had never mattered to him from the beginning.
“You lot, go complete the mission. The situation here’s gone to hell, but our promise with them must be upheld.”
“Yes, sir.”
The mercenaries nodded, understanding.
Their true mission hadn’t come from the Daesan Industrial Association.
“What about you, Captain?”
“I’ll be settling things with that bastard.”
Sa Junhyuk’s gaze turned toward Yohan.
A monster who had seen through everything he had prepared, and even designed a counter-trap against him.
Sa Junhyuk’s instincts—honed through countless brushes with death—screamed in alarm.
If he didn’t finish it here, this man would surely become a threat later on.
“Don’t look at me with such passionate eyes. I’m not interested in men.”
“Still joking till the end, I see. But... this time won’t be so easy for you. You can’t possibly handle both our undead forces and us at once.”
Sa Junhyuk’s eyes narrowed.
“Judging by your look, it seems you haven’t Awakened yet… meaning your mana must be limited. That makes you weak in prolonged or group combat, doesn’t it?”
A sharp provocation.
Experience truly was something that couldn’t be ignored.
In that sense, perhaps it was time to reveal one of his own cards.
Yohan lightly raised his hand.
And then—
“To your positions!”
“Uwooooh!”
A thunderous roar erupted from the side passages.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Paladins and Priests, clad in armor and bearing shields, appeared.
“We have come, answering your summons.”
The faithful fanatic Pack Bedro stepped forward, his massive muscles twitching.
“Are you unharmed?”
“Yes.”
Yohan’s finger pointed straight at Sa Junhyuk and the mercenaries.
With utmost solemnity—
and filled with divine conviction—
he uttered in a low, resonant voice,
“As a bearer of the Stigmata and an Inquisitor, I command thee—those men are the heretics we seek.”
Strike them down.
And while you’re at it, retrieve the Hidden Piece they took when they dealt with the statue.
＊＊＊
A declaration like a bomb.
“Oooooh!”
“The Messenger of God has spoken!”
“There lies the heretic! Let the dawn of the East banish the darkness of the West!”
The Priests of the Sun wept tears of zeal as they received Yohan’s command.
“Wait, hold on! You’re seriously calling him a Stigmata bearer and an Inquisitor? Use your heads for once! Cool them down before they boil over!”
Sa Junhyuk shouted, trying to sound reasonable.
But of course—
To those who had just witnessed the miracle of a Stigmata, such words meant nothing.
Besides, the sheer number of heretical traces scattered throughout the dungeon had long since rendered rational judgment impossible.
“Purge the heretics!”
“The Saint walks with us!”
The Priests of the Sun charged toward the mercenaries.
KWAANG!
BOOOM!
[‘Blessing of the Sun’ has been activated!]
[‘Holy Benediction – Burning Sword’ has been activated!]
[‘Holy Light’ infuses your armor!]
The Paladins swung their holy-powered swords at the frontlines, while the Priests fortified their path with buffs and healing spells.
Yohan scribbled something down on a piece of paper with his pen—
a habit he’d developed during his 999th run.
Even with the Eye of the Prophet, writing by hand was still the best.
[As expected, the psycho mercenaries and musclebound fanatics are evenly matched—perfect for exhausting each other’s strength. () Especially, Pack Bedro’s sweat-glossed muscles have stolen the hearts of many men. It was summer.]
Rustle.
Yohan tucked the newly written note into his pocket and surveyed his surroundings.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA!
The ceiling tore apart, the collapsing debris connecting the underground to the surface.
“Grrrragh!”
“The living... kill... kill them all!”
Through the breach, undead swarmed down like a flood of ants.
The situation was far from easy.
Above all—
the presence of the newly awakened vampire was overwhelming.
[Garbiten de Rohar activates skill ‘Blood Wave’!]
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA!
A crimson storm of blood erupted.
“Kyaaaah!”
“Aaaargh!”
The Iron Sword Guild’s tanks were shredded instantly.
Even considering the hunters’ weakened state, the strike was far too powerful.
“No, no... If they die here… so many precious lives lost in vain. This is a nightmare. A nightmare!”
Lee Junho screamed, clutching his face in despair.
“Magnificent, my Lord. Even freshly awakened from slumber, your power has grown immensely.”
“Frankenstein. It’s been a while.”
At Garbiten’s call, Frankenstein knelt down on one knee.
“I have failed to protect the Garden due to my own inadequacy. Please, punish me.”
“That’s enough. Judging by what I see, the enemies who came here must be quite strong. Even you would’ve found it difficult to hold them back.”
“Thank you for your understanding.”
The reason Garbiten showed mercy wasn’t because he was kind or gentle.
It was because, surrounded by his overflowing army and immeasurable power, he was already certain of victory.
Had the situation been against him, his rage would have surely been directed at Frankenstein instead.
“Handle the lesser ones. I shall hunt down the strongest among them and feast upon him.”
From earlier, something about one of those humans had felt different.
A strange aura scratched at his nerves.
＊＊＊
Yohan clicked his tongue toward Sa Junhyuk.
“In the midst of this, you sent some of your subordinates elsewhere? You already have too few people as it is. Are you sure that’s wise?”
“Forget about my subordinates and focus on me. You’re getting distracted, and that hurts my feelings.”
“Hmm. I’d like to, but… I couldn’t help noticing that one of your subordinates was carrying a glass bottle filled with black liquid just a moment ago.”
“…!”
For an instant—
Sa Junhyuk’s pupils trembled faintly.
“Judging by your reaction, I must’ve hit the mark. What you’re after isn’t mining Magic Stones… it’s contamination, isn’t it?”
Though Sa Junhyuk was affiliated with the Daesan Industrial Association, his true backer wasn’t them—it was Taehwa Pharmaceuticals.
The massive conglomerate with a market capitalization exceeding ten trillion won—Taehwa Pharmaceuticals.
A corporate giant that grew fat manufacturing countless potions and drugs—Yohan knew them all too well.
‘Their real aim was to crush others’ shares while inflating their own power.’
Taehwa Pharmaceuticals had secretly developed a drug capable of contaminating Magic Stones on a massive scale.
And once those contaminated Magic Stones flooded the market… chaos would erupt.
Until the cause of contamination was identified, the use of all distributed Magic Stones would have to be suspended.
At that very moment—
Taehwa Pharmaceuticals would conveniently release a “reagent” or a “magical device” that could detect the contaminants.
Of course—
“If they also tank the price of Magic Stones through contamination, then reap profits several times over, it’s a perfect plan.”
Yohan added dryly.
Derivatives.
Financial products that let one bet on whether a certain asset’s price rises or falls—dangerous beyond measure.
A person could become a billionaire in a moment—or lose everything.
It was clear that Sa Junhyuk had bet heavily on the collapse of Magic Stone prices.
“Really… this is terrifying. I never imagined our entire plan would be seen through by someone I just met today. Not exaggerating—it’s the first time in my life I’ve ever felt this kind of fear in my line of work.”
“It’s nothing special.”
Perhaps it was around the 113th regression—
when Yohan had once decided to conquer the world through wealth as a conglomerate—that he learned all this.
Thanks to that, he’d gained some understanding of modern capitalism’s terrifying precision and greed.
The information he’d glimpsed about Sa Junhyuk through the Eye of the Prophet had also helped immensely.
And then—
Whoooosh!
A fierce gust swept through, bringing with it a powerful aura.
It was the lord of this Garden—the Vampire Baron Garbiten.
“When humans gather, they usually join forces to kill us. That’s common sense, that’s principle. But…”
In the vampire’s eyes glimmered amusement.
“You lot seem more eager to kill each other than to kill us.”
Lee Junho of the Iron Sword Guild, despairing at his failure to protect lives.
Kang Cheolwoo of the Daesan Industrial Association, fretting over the ruin of his reputation.
The Priests of the Sun, blinded by faith, forgetting their purpose.
The treasure hunters and murderers, driven purely by greed.
All of them wandered aimlessly, unable to unite.
And the reason was someone’s trickery.
And the one who played that trick—was here.
“I like those who bring forth chaos.”
A crescent smile curved along Garbiten’s lips.
Crackle—
His nails lengthened, one by one, imbued with crimson mana.
“Such people are always worth devouring.”
Ku-ku-ku-ku-ku!
A blood-red shroud began to take form.
Yohan stared at Garbiten.
A Baron—classified as a 12-Star being.
Considering that even a vampire’s mere birth guaranteed them a noble title, it meant this one was among the lowest of the low.
That explained why his rank wasn’t even under the Moon (月) system but merely 12 Stars (星).
However—
‘Strange.’
The power emanating from his body far exceeded what a 12-Star should possess.
Such growth was impossible without some special variable at play.
Had someone intervened?
Yohan quickly glanced toward Sa Junhyuk.
But it was clear that even Sa Junhyuk was unaware.
If not him, then who…?
As he pondered—
“Getting caught up in that would be fatal.”
Sa Junhyuk, gauging the situation between Yohan and Garbiten, swiftly pulled out a brooch.
[Sa Junhyuk has used ‘Brooch of the Gray Zone’!]
One of the Hidden Pieces obtained from the statue—Brooch of the Gray Zone.
Though limited to three uses, it granted complete safety from a boss’s attacks for ten minutes.
Yohan’s face twisted bitterly.
‘Damn it. To waste such a precious item here.’
He’d hoped to seize it unopened, but the fool had squandered one of its priceless charges.
“Unfortunately for you, the boss seems to want you. Fight him to your heart’s content and wear yourself out. I’ll deal with you afterward.”
That wouldn’t do.
“Park Yeri!”
“Uh… yeah!”
At Yohan’s call, Park Yeri, who had been lying down, suddenly rose.
Her neck was broken, her head dangling loosely—
She tried to hold it steady with one hand, struggling to maintain balance, but...
Hmm.
She might’ve been even more terrifying than the undead.
‘In that condition, she won’t fight properly.’
Yohan pulled a glass vial from his pocket and tossed it.
It was 50mg of Skeleton Bone Extract, acquired earlier when he dealt with the Skeleton Mage in the Sealed Church.
“Take care of Sa Junhyuk. Use the Prophet’s Bug Collection Box or whatever other items you have—just make sure he doesn’t interfere.”
“You son of a—! You’ve really done it now. Not only alive but working together?”
Sa Junhyuk spat curses, but Park Yeri moved first.
Kagagagang!
Her hands, glowing dark red, slashed mercilessly toward Sa Junhyuk’s heart.
A flurry of daggers and claws crossed violently.
“I’m not feeling great, so could you just give up quietly? I’ve been playing dead for too long—running low on blood. Might as well grab another heart while I’m at it.”
“So the ‘angel in white’ was actually a damned monster.”
“Oh my. Is that how you talk to a lady? I’ve been getting scolded by that human lately—my stress is off the charts. You picked the wrong day, pal.”
Without mercy, Park Yeri darted straight into Sa Junhyuk’s range.
And in that moment—
The one-on-one battle between Yohan and the dungeon’s boss monster began.