episode_0017

An abandoned ruin located on the outskirts of South Korea.

This place, devoid of properly erected buildings, suffered such severe damage when the gate erupted in the past that it was deemed irreparable, leading to an evacuation decision in the area.

And this is also the place where the hidden dungeon entrance I’m looking for is located.

“Wow, the terrain here is so rough that even stretching your legs is difficult. It must be around here somewhere.”

I arrived at a place where buildings had collapsed, trying to recall the location of the dungeon entrance.

“Found it! It was here.”

Wooden planks on the ground, and a fallen tent on top of them.

It’s the same location as the top-view terrain seen in the game.

I moved to that spot, cleared the tent, and tore off the wooden planks on the ground.

Creak!!

Unveiling a hidden space as I removed the wooden planks.

Underneath the planks, stairs were constructed, leading downwards through here.

Perhaps a passage connecting to the dungeon was newly created with the emergence of the dungeon.

I descended towards the entrance of the dungeon.

As light struggled to penetrate, making it almost impossible to see anything, a familiar shape appeared from within.

A gate large enough for only one person to enter.

This is the entrance to the dungeon.

“Let’s go in~”

Boldly moving my feet, I threw myself into the gate.

Upon entering the dungeon, the first thing visible is the interior of a cave.

Due to not clearing the dungeon for quite some time, mana naturally permeated the surroundings abundantly.

Training here would likely accumulate a significant amount of mana in the body.

With no light entering, reaching out sideways would touch the wall, yet nothing could be seen.

I took out a headlight from my bag, put it on, switched it on, and illuminated the area.

“Preparations complete! Let’s go straight in.”

I took a strong step forward.

The structure here is a straight path.

There’s no risk of getting lost.

Just a few traps here and there.

It’s not really dangerous.

“25…26…27…28…here…uhh!!”

Clang! Crash!!

Boom!!

Counting steps and precisely placing my foot at the right moment, I immediately bent down.

Shifting my gaze towards the sound of something breaking, I saw a large ballista arrow embedded in the cave wall.

…It’s not really dangerous.

If there were any discrepancies with the game’s content, I would have doubted myself, but I’ve been confident for a long time.

‘Forward, left, down, jump, stay still, both sides, moonwalk.’

Swoosh- Swoosh-

Thud! Boom! Whirr!!

If you think avoiding all traps by knowing their locations will prevent harm, that’s a newbie’s perspective.

Experience points accumulate by taking specific actions.

The more I dodge, the more agility stats rise due to the gradual accumulation of speed experience points.

In practical situations, the rate at which stats increase is significantly higher.

‘In other words, this is a great place to work on stats.’

The dungeon map is needlessly long.

The larger the dungeon, the more traps and monsters there are.

What is there to fear?

I am a veteran, I am decayed!

Fear me, oh ye newbies!

Can you hear it? The sound of enemies trembling!

Clatter- Clatter-

Clunk- Clunk-

Well, there’s actually nothing to fear.

After all, they’re just skeletons.

In a short time, dancing to a rhythm while dodging various traps, I suddenly heard the sound of bones clashing.

The reason I didn’t set up fire here.

Even without fire, I can see ahead and maintain a human form because only bones remain of the beings present here.

Dozens of skeletal creatures, with only bones remaining, were approaching me, clattering towards me.

The skeletons in front of me are wielding various weapons and some are even wearing armor.

The task at hand for these skeletons.

Eliminate the intruder before them.

Tada-dot!

Clank, clank!

The sound of pounding on the ground, the clanging of metal, the sound of running.

Skeletons start rushing towards me with hostility.

I, too, prepare for their attack by wielding a weapon.

However, this time the weapon I will use is not a sword but gauntlets.

I tie the sword to my back for later use and put on the gauntlets.

For now, I plan to engage in combat primarily.

To efficiently deal with skeletons, wouldn’t this be better than a sword?

The skeleton at the front, wielding a shortsword, launches the first attack.

“Diagonal Slash.”

Dodging the attack using only my waist, I immediately counterattack.

Swish!

I swing my hand from inside to outside, cutting off the head in front of me.

As the fallen skeleton retreats, this time I launch my own attack.

One by one, I target the heads and bodies of the skeletons with each strike.

Although I am not a mage and cannot fight like Professor Pangdayoon’s Battle Mage, I can still mimic his style.

I may lack mana, but I am confident in my skillful mana manipulation learned from the techniques of the Sword Saint.

I delicately move mana, maximizing it at the moment of my attack.

Thud!

Blocking, dodging, parrying, and sometimes seizing enemies as a shield.

Waiting for the moment when the enemy’s attack ends, then striking.

Continuing to repeat this process.

Clang, thud!

Suddenly, there are more fallen skeletons than standing ones.

Three left.

Skeletons equipped with swords, spears, and bows begin their attack.

The skeleton with a sword lunges towards me.

While the sword-wielding skeleton attacks, the one with a bow shoots an arrow.

The spear-wielding skeleton steps aside to avoid interference from the other two attacks.

First, the arrow.

I concentrate on the trajectory of the arrow, watching it until the end and then swiftly catch it.

Unable to block the sword that follows immediately after catching the arrow.

How can I evade it?

Wasn’t there a similar situation recently?

I dodge the sword by leaning my body.

Feeling a presence beside me, I immediately support myself on the ground, push off with my leg, and spin around in a circle.

Whoosh! Thud!

As the spear-wielding skeleton attacks from the side, I strike down with my right heel, embedding the spear into the ground.

Then, I rise from the ground and extend my fist towards the exposed head of the vulnerable skeleton.

One down.

Thud!

The spear-wielding skeleton loses its head and falls, leaving two more. I quickly rush towards them.

A diagonal slash aimed at the shoulder.

It’s been a while since I’ve used this move.

Pressing the back of my hand against the sword blade, I exert force on my wrist, flicking it upwards.

I attack the vulnerable skeleton left defenseless after the failed attack, aiming for the next strike.

Two down.

Thud!

I grab the sword of the fallen skeleton and throw it towards the archer continuously shooting arrows from afar.

The sword lands precisely in the center of the head.

Maintaining the posture as if aiming the bow, the archer falls to the ground.

Three down. The battle is over.

“Phew, cleanup complete!”

Facing multiple opponents at once for the first time, I’m relieved that my body moved without error.

Losing to these guys would be shameful for a seasoned player. Yeah.

I lift my head again and gaze straight ahead.

The cave passage stretches so far that the end seems almost visible.

Traps and skeletons are still ahead.

Let’s proceed slowly, taking time to rest and regroup.

I set forth again towards the front.

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How many traps have I triggered, battles fought with skeletons, rests taken along the way?

The seemingly endless path finally begins to show signs of coming to an end.

A large door looms before me.

This is the boss room.

One of the named bosses who had players stoking fires in the community.

While traps and skeletons encountered along the dungeon corridor could be overcome with initial abilities, the difficulty level changes significantly from the boss room onwards.

Entering this place, users commonly held the concept of “deal-chick-nu,” hitting by dealing damage, to gauge the dungeon’s difficulty solely based on the abilities of the monsters appearing in the passage, then entered the boss room.

And they all perished.

Reading the abilities of the user entering the boss room, the boss also grew stronger to match their level.

Users were bewildered by the boss with its absurd gimmicks.

Those who fell to the boss began analyzing and deducing the boss’s abilities posted on the community.

It was the users’ judgment that the boss’s abilities were read based on the user’s specs upon entering the boss room, and the boss’s abilities were readjusted accordingly.

So, should one enter by lowering their specs to a minimum?

While it might be a valid choice, the boss is still the boss.

Lowering specs results in the boss effortlessly using techniques, reducing health even when guarding, and countering without giving a chance if not parrying the boss’s swordsmanship.

Even raising specs turns users into helpless individuals like unleashed dogs, unable to do much.

“Users who anticipated failure and bet on victory gambled on me. It’s funny to think about it now, heh…”

So, did I fail?

I shared my hard-earned achievement in the community as if boasting.

And the fiery comments continued.

“We’ve rested enough, let’s go in.”

I grabbed the doorknob and pushed.

Creak…

The door to the room with the boss opened, and I stepped inside.

Unlike the cave passage, the walls here had torches neatly placed at regular intervals.

What I saw was a floor and walls meticulously constructed unlike the rough cave floor.

I guess headlights are unnecessary at this point.

I walked towards what seemed like a tombstone in front.

In front of the tombstone sat a figure clad in black armor and a black cloak, with only a glimpse of a helmet visible.

“…Vazes Kyle.”

Vazes Kyle. A presence probably kneeling in front of the tombstone.

The name of the boss.

Clank, swish…

Whether my voice was heard or not, the figure stood up and turned towards me.

Fully armored in black from head to toe. Black cloak. And holding a longsword.

Upon turning towards me, the figure raised the sword in their right hand, pointing it towards me.

“Pleasure to meet you, …my mentor in imagination.”

The reason I brought the sword.

I could have easily defeated the boss with bare hands.

However, there was one swordsmanship manual obtained when I defeated the boss before.

A book containing the swordsmanship of Vazes Kyle, who had served as a knight commander before becoming a specter.

If I come back next time having learned this swordsmanship, an Easter egg awaits.

Step by step, swish, clank…

Fearlessly, I walked towards the boss, getting close enough for our swords to touch when I took one more step forward.

Then, lifting my sword, I touched it against the boss’s sword face, which was aimed at me.

Clang…

“···!”

After gesturing the clash of our swords, I stepped back, assuming a stance just like the initial sword stance, exactly like the one Knight Commander Vazes Kyle would take.

Left foot forward, right foot back.

Twisting at the waist, sword pointing backward.

Lowering the stance, ready to spring forward at any moment.

The unique posture of the knights to which Vazes Kyle belonged.

As I assumed the same posture as the boss, it momentarily flinched before starting to mimic my stance.

Clank, clank…

As we settled into the stance, a growing energy began to emanate.

The Easter egg I mentioned just happened.

Abundant mana around me started flowing towards me.

I accepted the mana without resistance.

Normally, accepting mana so recklessly would cause the body to explode.

But not here.

Like crafting an avatar, each drop of mana adhered to my body, moving as if becoming one with me.

In the current state of the country, Professor Pang Dayoon would probably be on par.

As I grow stronger, even the boss in front of me begins to get stronger.

“Knight Commander, Vazes Kyle. Haven’t had a satisfying fight while protecting your lord, have you?”

“·····.”

“Well then, let’s have a refreshing match right now!!!!!!”

Crash!-

I charge towards the boss in front of me, stepping on the accelerator.

Swish!-

The boss also charges towards me, stepping on the accelerator.

Clang!!!!!!

Our swords clash.