BXBX NOVEL Chapter 129
“Is this even possible…?”
HoneyTube’s LIVE broadcast had taken place while he was briefly out on an errand.
Honey 2, Ha-Jin, was absent from the broadcast, and instead, Ha-Jin’s friend, Honey 1, Jeong-Hoon, and a new figure, Honey 3, appeared.
At first, he was confused.
Why did they suddenly start a broadcast?
Still, it was a good opportunity.
He thought they could actively promote enhancements here and achieve good results.
However, instead of enhancing, they were heading into the Wyvern’s Nest, a dungeon that many people avoided. He was frustrated.
‘No! You should be enhancing! What are you doing?’
The reason for HoneyTube’s rapid growth was not just the honey tips but also, recently, the Enhancement Exchange.
So, they should be actively using it to grow HoneyTube.
Why were they going in a different direction?
But he was an editor.
Hadn’t he had frequent conflicts with the YouTuber he was in charge of before because of this kind of thing?
‘I can’t repeat the same mistakes.’
Understand the theme.
Jang Dae-Hwi decided to clear his mind and just observe.
And when Honey 1 hunted the wyverns using a sword and bow, he was quite surprised.
‘Wow, an Enhancer has those kind of combat skills too?’
It was truly amazing.
How could an Enhancer have sword and bow combat skills?
That wasn’t all.
Honey 1 and Honey 3 suddenly took out shovels and started digging the second nest.
‘What are they doing now?’
At first, he was puzzled.
What kind of honey tip was that…?
And then his eyes widened.
‘The Bone Lord Wyvern…?’
The existing dungeon disappeared, and a new hidden boss appeared.
It wasn’t even a normal boss, but a raid boss.
‘Why is that here…?’
A raid boss couldn’t be defeated by two people.
Not only were its basic stats high, but its health points were set absurdly high.
But what was this?
Every time Honey 1 shot an arrow, the Bone Lord Wyvern’s health dropped rapidly, and it quickly entered its second phase.
“Crazy!”
Jang Dae-Hwi couldn’t help but curse and jumped up from his seat.
This was unbelievable!
He hurriedly checked the time.
“It took less than 30 minutes….”
Was it even possible to finish the first phase in less than 30 minutes?
What kind of trick did they use?
And that wasn’t all.
As the second phase began, over 100 Death Wyverns swarmed Honey 1.
Then, Honey 1, instead of using the bow, took out a sword and started wiping out the Death Wyverns.
“Huh…”
His swordsmanship skills were remarkable.
It was a powerful display of swordsmanship, far beyond what one would expect from a mere second advancement class.
The problem was that Honey 1’s class was an Enhancer.
“No… That’s not an Enhancer, is it…?”
When they first hunted the wyverns, he assumed that the Enhancer was simply displaying some combat skills, but now he realized he was wrong.
That was a performance an Enhancer couldn’t possibly achieve.
– Wow… Shit, this is gonna blow up.
– Seriously, HoneyTube is gonna hit it big with this, right?
– I don’t know who Honey 1 is, but this is driving me crazy. Subscribing right now.
The viewers seemed to share similar thoughts, as they all rushed to hit the subscribe button after the broadcast ended.
[HoneyTube]
– Subscribers: 403,400
The broadcast had barely ended, and the number of subscribers had already surpassed 300,000 and was approaching 400,000.
“…That guy is insane. Absolutely insane.”
* * *
[Controller Materials]
– Squishy Tears (Not Acquired)
– Unidentified Battery (Not Acquired)
– Celestial Ore (Not Acquired)
With this, he could stop worrying about the Unidentified Battery for now.
‘But is it really okay to just leave it to her like that? What if she can’t find it?’
Anima tilted her head and asked.
“It’s fine. That’s an item that can be found quickly.”
The problem was the Squishy Tears and the Celestial Ore.
To obtain Squishy Tears, he needed to travel to the Erheim Kingdom, not Märchen.
‘Fortunately, Squishy Tears are already a common material item.’
Squishy Tears could be obtained in the Erheim Kingdom.
Like Märchen, the Erheim Kingdom was one of the areas accessible after level 151.
Currently, it was known as a region that most players didn’t choose, because all the dungeons were located underwater.
To clear even one dungeon, players had to acquire the ‘Passive: Fish Transformation’ from the kingdom’s capital, and even that had a time limit.
If they couldn’t clear the dungeon within the time limit, they would die.
The water pressure, which couldn’t be endured even with defense, would crush their entire bodies.
As a result, there were significantly fewer players hunting in Erheim compared to other kingdoms.
Moreover, there were no particularly useful drop items or consumables used as main materials, so it wasn’t popular.
However, when ‘Squishy Tears’ became an essential material for crafting items later on, the region’s popularity exploded.
[Lv.180 Myu Fish]
Myu Fish.
These creatures were characterized by the slippery mucus that covered their entire bodies, and Squishy Tears were a material item that could be obtained from them.
===
[NPC Information]
– Nickname: Oring
– Level: 160
– Occupation: Dungeon Entrance Assistant
===
Dungeon Entrance Assistant Oring.
Half-human and half-fish, he was quite a sight.
“You want to enter the dungeon?” he asked.
“Yes,” Jeong-Hoon replied.
Oring gave Jeong-Hoon a cursory glance and nodded.
“Alright, I’ll grant you a passive skill.”
[Passive: Fish Transformation has been granted.]
[The skill will activate upon entering the dungeon, and the time limit is ‘6 hours’.]
Having received the skill, Jeong-Hoon immediately headed for the dungeon.
[Geez, why is the procedure so complicated?]
‘Hmm? What’s so complicated about getting one skill?’ Anima retorted.
[There’s a time limit, you know. What kind of place is this?]
‘But they’re giving you the skill without asking for anything in return,’
[Hey, if they asked for something in return, that would be really messed up.]
‘That’s true, too.’
While Mukho and Anima were chatting, Jeong-Hoon arrived at the outer field.
The sea started from the outer field.
As soon as he entered the sea, the passive skill granted by Oring activated.
[This is not a dungeon. The time limit will not decrease.]
The time limit didn’t decrease in the outer field.
Jeong-Hoon swam quickly into the sea.
The passive skill, Fish Transformation.
Perhaps because of it, swimming was very comfortable, and his speed was about 1.5 times faster than a human swimming.
‘Hmph! Die!’
As he went deeper into the sea, he saw players hunting.
Although there were fewer players compared to other kingdoms, it was such a popular game that there were always players wherever he went.
‘This spot is mine!’
‘Come on, let’s hunt together!’
‘No way! Go to another field!’
As always, the competition for hunting spots was fierce.
Jeong-Hoon passed them and went further down into the sea.
Players, transformed into fish, naturally communicated using sonar.
There was no more light.
But thanks to the passive skill, his vision wasn’t impaired.
[Lv.180 Abyssal Fish Cave – 3]
The place Jeong-Hoon arrived at was the third Abyssal Fish Cave.
This was where the Myu Fish appeared.
[Would you like to enter Lv.180 Abyssal Fish Cave – 3?]
* * *
One additional thing to mention.
Hunting underwater was naturally twice as difficult as hunting on land.
The passive skill, Fish Transformation, created gills on the neck and an invisible barrier to withstand the water pressure.
So, there were no restrictions on movement, but since the environment was different from the usual hunting grounds, most players struggled at first.
However, Jeong-Hoon was different.
He had already experienced everything there was to experience in his previous life.
‘I’ll go with Underworld King’s Fist Technique.’
Jeong-Hoon decided to slaughter the mobs using the Underworld King’s Fist Technique, without relying on any weapons.
Swoosh.
Just then, the monsters in the vicinity were caught by Jeong-Hoon’s keen senses.
[Lv.167 Yale Fish]
A creature with red fins and scales filled with deadly poison.
Its size was also considerable, about that of an adult male.
Whoosh.
It was lunging from behind.
Jeong-Hoon turned his body and delivered an uppercut with his fist.
Bam!
Gurgle gurgle-
The uppercut landed squarely on the Yale Fish’s jaw.
His fist was imbued with a faint aura of the Underworld King.
He had unleashed the Underworld King’s Fist Technique, 1st Form.
‘Still a long way to go, you bastard.’
Jeong-Hoon gently inserted his left hand into the creature’s gills and grabbed hold, then pummeled it with his right fist, infused with the Underworld King’s energy, using the 1st Form of the Underworld King’s Fist Technique.
After a little over 10 strikes, the creature’s head was smashed.
‘One down.’
After the commotion, Jeong-Hoon sensed dozens of Yale Fish surrounding him.
[Oh, hello there, punching bags.]
‘I hope they perform well this time.’
Jeong-Hoon smirked.
Then, the Yale Fish charged at him all at once.
‘Underworld King’s Fist Technique, 2nd Form.’
Jeong-Hoon chose to overpower them with brute force.
His fist struck a Yale Fish’s face.
At that moment, two Yale Fish bit down on Jeong-Hoon’s shoulder and waist.
Although not as sharp as a great white shark’s teeth, their fangs pierced his skin and injected poison.
[Resisting poison.]
However, the poison couldn’t penetrate Jeong-Hoon’s Epic-grade Poison Resistance.
[Using Intermediate Healing.]
He healed the wounds inflicted by the creatures.
[Intermediate Healing level has increased.]
At that moment, his Intermediate Healing leveled up.
Jeong-Hoon used the 2nd Form of the Underworld King’s Fist Technique to crush the Yale Fish’s head.
One, two, three, four.
As more and more Yale Fish had their heads smashed, the aura of the Underworld King around Jeong-Hoon’s fists grew denser.
He kept swinging his fists, and before he knew it, he had reached the 4th Form.
He could no longer sense any Yale Fish around him.
They had been annihilated.
‘Easy.’
Jeong-Hoon moved forward swiftly.
He continued to crush the Yale Fish that attacked him with the Underworld King’s Fist Technique.
[Lv.180 Myu Fish]
Finally, a Myu Fish, much larger than the Yale Fish, appeared.
‘Uoooooh.’
The creature opened its mouth wide towards Jeong-Hoon, emitting a sonar wave.
[Myu Fish uses Powerful Absorption.]
Jeong-Hoon’s body was pulled towards the Myu Fish.
As the distance closed, Jeong-Hoon extended his right hand.
‘Lightning Bolt.’
A Lightning Bolt manifested from his hand and struck the Myu Fish.
Crackle.
The Myu Fish, hit directly by the lightning magic, trembled violently.
Seizing the opportunity, Jeong-Hoon drew Leviathan.
[1st Form: Initiation activated.]
Jeong-Hoon’s sword mercilessly sliced through the Myu Fish.
‘…!?’
The creature emitted an ultrasonic wave.
[2nd Form: Devour activated.]
[Leviathan’s Wrath activated.]
He then activated Devour and struck the Myu Fish, marking it with the 2nd Form’s stigma.
[Myu Fish uses Slippery Poison.]
Poison spewed from the Myu Fish’s body.
[Resisting poison.]
But the poison, as expected, couldn’t harm Jeong-Hoon.
‘Let’s end this.’
Jeong-Hoon aimed the tip of Leviathan at the Myu Fish.
[3rd Form: Annihilation activated.]
In an instant, Jeong-Hoon vanished from his spot and pierced the Myu Fish’s gills with precision.
* * *
Jeong-Hoon returned to Märchen three days later.
[Controller Materials]
– Squishy Tears (Acquired)
– Unidentified Battery (Not Acquired)
– Celestial Ore (Not Acquired)
He hadn’t expected it to take three days to get the drop.
He must have hunted at least 700 Myu Fish.
[Whisper/Minzi -> Hoon: I sent you the Unidentified Battery. Please check!]
Just then, the Unidentified Battery he had requested from Yeo Min-Ji arrived in the mail.
Hoon immediately claimed the Unidentified Battery from the mail.
With this, he had acquired the Unidentified Battery as well.
[Whisper/Hoon -> Minzi: I just received it. Thank you.]
As soon as he sent his thanks, a whisper from Yeo Min-Ji arrived as if she had been waiting.
[Whisper/Minzi -> Hoon: Okay! Then can I ask you something I’m curious about?]
[Whisper/Hoon -> Minzi: Something you’re curious about?]
[Whisper/Minzi -> Hoon: Yes. What on earth did you do to your bow?]
It seemed she was quite surprised by how quickly the Bone Lord Wyvern’s health had depleted.
[Whisper/Hoon -> Minzi: I embedded a rune in it.]
[Whisper/Minzi -> Hoon: A rune…? Hoon, you’re not level 201 yet, are you? You couldn’t have reached level 5 in the Achievement Shop…]
There were two ways to obtain runes.
One was to hunt in territories accessible after level 201 and obtain them with a low probability.
The other was to purchase them directly from the Achievement Shop.
From Yeo Min-Ji’s perspective, Jeong-Hoon didn’t seem to meet the requirements for either of those methods yet.
[Whisper/Hoon -> Minzi: I just got it while completing a quest.]
[Whisper/Minzi -> Hoon: What kind of quest did you do…?]
[Whisper/Hoon -> Minzi: A quest in Märchen’s Royal Capital. Thanks to that, I can now freely enter the palace.]
[Whisper/Minzi -> Hoon: What…?!]
Jeong-Hoon closed the whisper window.
With the Unidentified Battery acquired, the only thing left was the ‘Celestial Ore’.
‘I know where that ore is too.’
Unlike the Squishy Tears, the identity of the Celestial Ore was revealed quite late.
Although its acquisition method wasn’t publicly known at this point, it would be in the not-so-distant future.
Jeong-Hoon headed towards a small cabin located far from Märchen’s capital.
Rustle. Rustle.
As Jeong-Hoon approached the cabin,
Crackle.
A sound came from the bushes, and a man in his late 30s stood up.
He pulled back the string of his bow, aiming it at Jeong-Hoon.
“Turn back if you don’t want to die.”
Found him.
Jeong-Hoon smiled leisurely and spoke towards the man.
“Do you happen to know anything about the Celestial Ore?”
Celestial Ore.
At the mention of the ore, the man’s eyes trembled wildly.
“…How do you know about that?”
———