The world I had studied was close to the 'regular world'. World history, the general outline of Korean history, knowing the key elements of a few important events, that sort of thing. Universal elements the vast majority of Players had to know.
'But there must be a Ranker world for Rankers.'
Apparently, that fact applied even now, during the 'beginner' period.
What Sung-gu described was a monster that took the form of a large horse, a red steed with a mane and tail made of flames. Wherever its hooves touched, flames would burst forth, dealing fire damage.
'Has a level of around 32. A Flame Horse.'
The Flame Horse was an animal-type monster usually around level 32. It took the shape of an animal and was simultaneously a spirit-type monster, just like the six-tailed fox.
'I don't think the former Choi Sung-gu revealed the fact that there was a Flame Horse here.'
Of course, there was the world of top Rankers that I didn't know about.
'Then how come the former Sung-gu hid the fact he met a Flame Horse in this dungeon?'
I didn't know if it was simply because there was no need for him to say so, or because there was a specific reason why he wasn't supposed to reveal it.
Sung-gu shook his head back and forth. "Haah. Thank god that monster lets you go if it thinks you're weaker than it. If not for that, I would've prolly been reduced to ash by now."
To summarize Sung-gu's words—
"If someone'll take on its attack instead of me, I'll give it a thrashing. Huhuhu."
Flame Horses were offensive powerhouses, but they had weak defense. Because they were animal-type creatures, they had a glaring weak spot—their heads. So basically, Sung-gu was saying, "You get hit instead of me, and I'll attack."
"It seems you've had some amount of success fighting it already."
"Yes. Even on my own, I was able to get it to bleed once."
That's why he was able to get out of there alive. If the Flame Horse's blood fell under 20%, he wouldn't have even been able to flee.
'I never thought a Flame Horse would ever show up in a beginner dungeon.'
After hearing about the Flame Horse, I understood.
'That's why it's a dungeon you can freely enter and leave.'
It was because the fundamental difficulty was too high. Players were allowed to run away in order to balance the difficulty. Flame Horses were monsters that were inherently lenient to the weak. If you turned tail and ran, they wouldn't give chase. They would simply look on with the attitude of the strong.
"That means you certainly haven't progressed to the next gateway, then," I said.
"Yes. There wouldn't be an even stronger guy at the next gateway, right?"
Yeah, there probably would be. This called for a little preparation.
"Please wait a moment. I need to take care of something real quick."
"Eh? So suddenly?"
We didn't nail down a time for the raid, anyway. Sunhwa and I merely had our first meeting with Choi Sung-gu. Though, well, the person in question seemed to have thought that we would be going straight into the dungeon.
"What do you need to do so suddenly?"
"Unexpected poo."
Sung-gu nodded sagely. "I get it."
He sent me a look of encouragement. At the same time, I also felt jealousy from him. Because he was being protected by the 'Giant of the Sunset', I couldn't read his exact state, but I did feel a powerful emotion from him.
'He's sincerely jealous?'
Sung-gu said to me, "Stay strong. Best of luck. I'm cheering you on. Man, I'm jealous."
Suddenly, I remembered a line in an article saying that for a while, Choi Sung-gu had suffered from severe constipation.
* * *
We met up with Sung-gu again.
"Shit. That frickin' flamin' donkey. It's too strong."
He was right. The Flame Horse was too powerful a monster for us to defeat right now. For one, it was over level 30. It was correct that the beast was difficult to kill.
The inside of the dungeon was, as per usual, like an underground cavern.
"Once we pass this part, we'll reach the 1st gate. I killed a Goblin Soldier there, along with a few black cow-looking guys."
By black cow, he was probably referring to Black Yaks.
'As expected of a one-time dungeon, the monsters don't respawn.'
Killed monsters either didn't respawn, or had an extremely long respawn time.
We encountered a forked path once.
"This path is a dead end, and if we keep going on this one, that monster will show up."
"You said the field changes, right?"
"Yes. It changes to a, what's it called, a grassland."
The field would change to a place perfectly suited for a Flame Horse to romp around, an expansive grassland. On such terrain, the 'Fire Walls' the monster put up would be very powerful.
"The jerk spews fire, so you have to be careful. If you get hit by that, it's game over." He glanced at Sunhwa. "Man, it still bothers me. Making a young lass like her do the tanking is a bit…" After mumbling to himself for a while, he shrugged. "Well, it's fine since I'm not the one getting hit, I guess…"
Even though he was saying it didn't matter since he wasn't the one getting hit, there was still a glimmer of worry in his eyes.
Sung-gu pleaded for the umpteenth time, "If you end up needing to bounce, you gotta say so before you book it, alright? So I can book it, too. Got it?"
"Got it."
Sunhwa looked a bit done with Choi Sung-gu now. Just then, the field changed.
[You have entered the 'Flame Horse's Grassland' within the Shot Table Dungeon.]
A green grassland stretched out in front of us. A warm sun hung in the sky that was high above us. It almost felt like we were on a Mongolian grassland.
"Jesus, fuck. Gave me a scare."
And just three meters in front of us was the Flame Horse. I observed it with interest. It was a monster I already knew, but it was my first time seeing it in person.
Flame Horse LVL 35
'It's higher than normal Flame Horses?'
They were usually around level 32, but this one was 3 levels higher. Also, even though it was quite a bit higher than me, I could still see its level.
'It's not normal.'
There was no doubt. Something was hidden in this dungeon. Everything was pointing towards that, starting from being freely excitable to the strange actions of the 'Giant of the Sunset'.
Sung-gu seemed a little nervous. "When shall we attack?"
The Flame Horse was looking this way almost like a ruler, like the strong staring down at the weak from above.
[Eye of Perception's proficiency is too low to produce a detailed explanation.]
If my Eye of Perception proficiency had been a little higher, I would have been able to see more detailed information about the Flame Horse, but… At least for now, the Flame Horse lined up with what I had studied.
'It's a neutral monster, alright.'
I took one step. The Flame Horse's gaze followed me.
"Sunhwa and I will do the tanking."
It was alright to leave the damage dealing to Sung-gu, at least until it was at half HP. Since he had a few rounds of experience, he should be able to manage that easily. Sunhwa followed me in taking one step forward.
"Sunhwa. You must always be sure to block the flames it spews from its mouth with your shield. That means avoid direct contact. Are we clear?"
"Got it."
Sunhwa's body would automatically protect her from any other attacks.
"Sung-gu, please make your preparations as well."
Sung-gu clenched his fist hard. The flames flickering around his fist showed that he had already awakened his 'attribute ability'.
'As expected. The ability to wield flame.'
He had already awakened the power of the fire attribute. He might have even advanced already.
'He fought well, considering he got to half HP with the same attribute.'
"For now, it's most wary of me," I said. "I'll take the front."
I bought a shield from the Item Shop. It was my first time actually tanking. It wasn't as if I wasn't nervous being pinned by that monster's gaze.
"Sunhwa, you get behind it. Watch out for its kicks."
"Okay."
Sunhwa moved forward. The Flame Horse continued to stand in place and stare at us.
"Sung-gu, please attack the side. The goal is to bring its HP down to 40%." I continued, "If you happen to have a buff that increases crit chance, be sure to use it."
"Mm? A buff that increases crit chance?" Sung-gu scratched the back of his neck. "How'd you know? I do have a skill like that."
"Because crits are super effective against animal-type monsters."
I didn't give him more details. I turned my attention to the Flame Horse, approaching it first. Now, it was right in front of me. Level 35. One wrong hit, and I could kick the bucket. The fire ball it spewed from its mouth was particularly dangerous—taking a frontal hit from that was basically almost impossible to recover from.
With the shield in one hand, I took out a dagger with the other.
'I'll aim for the middle of the forehead.'
I wasn't thinking about landing a fatal blow with this. If I could hit it, that was great, and if I couldn't, then it couldn't be helped.
Fwip–!
I hurled the dagger. Although I had never learned knife throwing, I did my best to make use of the experience I had throwing the dagger that one time.
Neeeeeeeeeeigh!!
The Flame Horse screamed, rearing and flailing its front legs, reaching a whopping four meters in height.
My dagger had struck it right in the middle of the forehead. But unfortunately, I was apparently unlucky, because it didn't register as a crit. The HP went down by a bit, and that was all. I hadn't expected much, anyway.
'The battle starts now.'
My first battle in this place, which was hiding something, began.
Choi Sung-gu felt his confidence grow.
'Gosh, the two of them are doing great, huh?'
The aggro didn't jump to him a single time. The Flame Horse was fighting back in a rampage, but it only attacked Kim Hyukjin or Kim Sunhwa.
'A fireball!'
The Flame Horse suddenly whipped its head around and fired a fireball. Sunhwa turned her body slightly to the side and blocked the flames with her shield, like she had anticipated the attack.
'She bounced it off by changing its trajectory.'
She blocked it in the way that put the least amount of strain on her body.
'This brother and sister duo is seriously great.'
[Using the skill 'Fatal Flames'.]
Flames flickered around Sung-gu's fist. While the Flame Horse had its attention on Hyukjin and Sunhwa, Sung-gu planted his fist in the monster's ribs.
['Fatal Flames' is taking effect.]
[+3% crit chance]
They had accumulated a staggering +33% crit chance, and they had already shaved off at least 30% of its HP.
'This is going way more smoothly than I expected.'
The Flame Horse's movements were swift and dangerous, but Hyukjin and Sunhwa's timely aggro switching and blocking were able to contain it.
['Fatal Flames' is taking effect.]
[+3% crit chance]
[+36% accumulated crit chance]
Only Sung-gu could hear the game notices. Hyukjin couldn't hear the notices, but he could still guess.
'He's stacking up Fatal Flames.'
Hyukjin made a calculation with Sung-gu's current level in mind.
'The accumulated crit chance should be around 35%.'
He was almost exactly right, despite not hearing the notices. It was like he was taught by someone, even though that was far from the case.
'An additional 35% crit chance.'
Plus its fatal weakness of being a beast-type monster.
'It also has some prominent weak points, like the middle of the forehead and heart, the neck, and the spine.'
There was already a dagger embedded in its forehead. In its current state, the chance to land a crit on the Flame Horse was even greater.
'Now's the time.'
Hyukjin shouted, "Sunhwa! Get close to it! Towards its side."
She understood immediately. If you approached it in a straight line, there was a high chance you'd get kicked.
"Got it!"
Sunhwa closed in rapidly, making a big motion like she was going to swing her shield. The Flame Horse responded to that movement, turning as fast as Sunhwa, and backed away a little, intending on defending against her attack.
Hyukjin had learned the Flame Horse's habits from fighting it. He judged the distance and waited.
'Now.'
Stowing away the shield, he pulled out his sword, taking advantage of the brief moment the Flame Horse's gaze was away from him.
[Using the special skill Flash Step.]
He reappeared above the Flame Horse, landing on its back. Because its mane was made of flames, it was rather hot.
[Mandra's Cuirass resists fire.]
Mandra's Cuirass, an item with a +3 fire resistance, gave Hyukjin the strength to endure.
'If this guy's master shows up, it'll be way too tiresome.'
It wouldn't just be tiresome—the ones to die would probably be them. Hyukjin saw the back of its neck.
[Using the special skill Excellent Strike.]
Spurt!
He plunged into the back of the monster's neck, not with a regular attack, but with a special skill granted by a title. The tip of his sword went through its neck.
'It's not over yet.'
It hadn't been a crit. With some luck, he could have landed a crit with this attack, but he hadn't had high expectations for getting a crit with just this.
Neeeeeeeeigh!
The Flame Horse's HP began to rapidly drop.
The flames of the spirit-type Flame Horse, which had special abilities, started becoming even more fierce. It was about to call its master.
'Now,' Hyukjin thought, pulling out yet another thing from his Inventory.
Seeing that, Sung-gu's eyes grew wide.
'Da fuq? Are you for real?'
____