Kerberos's Hellfire, the Black Card Bought from the Mini Dungeon Shop
The Hellfire of Kerberos, acquired by purchasing the Black Card from the Mini Dungeon Shop. Han Ji-woo had only used this skill once while climbing up to the 29th underground floor. There simply hadn't been any situation threatening enough to warrant it for him. The last time he'd deployed it was on the 23rd underground floor.
A Stone Golem had appeared as the boss monster there, its nearly 3-meter height looking plenty intimidating at first glance. Just to be safe, in case his pets got hurt, Han Ji-woo had unleashed Kerberos's Hellfire right from the start. Before a full minute had passed, the Stone Golem in front of him crumbled into black ash.
Grrrrowl...
Now, a beast of equal power stood before Han Ji-woo. Towering over his head, its muscle-bound body was covered in black fur. From its massively pumped chest rose three necks, each topped with a head bearing glowing red eyes. Black hellfire flickered in the snarling maws.
"Blackgu."
Blackgu. The nickname Han Ji-woo had casually given Kerberos.
"Go bark!"
At Han Ji-woo's command, Kerberos leaped high into the air. It easily vaulted over the undead horde blocking the way ahead, landing on the ground and ripping open its three mouths wide.
KRAAAAAANG!
With a deafening roar, black flames erupted from its jaws. The inferno engulfed the densely packed monsters around it, spreading in all directions.
Kieeeek!Kyaak!Kirrrrk!
Hellfire turned everything it touched to ash. There was no burning process—it simply disintegrated flesh on contact, scattering it like dust. This terrifying blaze poured relentlessly from Kerberos's mouths. Like a janitor cleaning filth, it swung its three heads at every monster in sight, sweeping them away.
Nothing remained in the wake of the triple streams of hellfire. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of monsters vanished, and dozens more were dying in real time.
When the one-minute Hellfire finally ended, not a single living monster stirred within several meters of Kerberos.
"Good job, Blackgu."
Han Ji-woo happily stroked Kerberos's head, earning a growl in response.
—I was trapped in that Black Card and had no choice but to answer your call. If not for that damned curse sealing my soul in a blade, I wouldn't suffer this humiliation...
……Never touch my body again.
Han Ji-woo ignored the words entirely, pulling three chunks of beef from his Inventory and tossing them. Kerberos instinctively snapped them up, one in each mouth.
Munch. Munch. Gulp!
"Aigoo~ Eating well, huh? Tasty, right? Want one more?"
Having eaten the beef without thinking, Kerberos bared its sharp fangs and growled even louder.
—Shut up! If not for the contract, I'd rip your throat out right now...!
"Want more? Paw!"
Snap. Kerberos reflexively extended a front paw toward Han Ji-woo, then scowled fiercely.
Grrrrrrowl!
"Good boy~ Meat time."
Even as it grumbled, Kerberos caught another flying chunk of beef.
—You worm! How far will you humiliate me?!
KRAAAAANG! Kerberos's three heads lunged for Han Ji-woo's throat. Of course, it was just for show. Bound by the curse in the Black Card, it couldn't harm its owner. Han Ji-woo knew this full well, so he just grinned without dodging.
But then—
KROOOAAARRGH!BOOM!
Seibier, locked in aerial combat overhead, dove like a missile and stomped straight on Kerberos's heads. The pressure wasn't just physical—it was an overwhelming aura of dominance that crushed Kerberos's soul, choking the breath from it.
Grrrrowl...
Seibier lowered its long neck, pressing its face right up to Kerberos's.
Gulp!
A dragon hatchling's offspring. This was Kerberos's second encounter with such a being. The first time it was summoned, Seibier hadn't shown hostility. No reason to. But the moment Kerberos's fangs turned toward its master, Seibier unleashed wordless malice and pinned it down.
The enmity of a dragon was so fearsome that merely enduring it felt like it could snap your soul.
But pride demanded a response.
—...I'll withdraw this time.
With that, Kerberos sealed itself back into the Black Card. As soon as the situation resolved, Seibier soared back into the sky to smash flying monsters.
Han Ji-woo stroked his chin, chuckling in amusement.
"Looks like once summoned, it can choose to return on its own."
Kerberos's Hellfire. The skill description read: "Summon Kerberos to spray high-heat flames at enemies for 1 minute." Yet this guy had stuck around past a minute—eating beef, sassing its master, and only retreating after Seibier disciplined it.
"Ah! It's a play on words."
Re-reading the context, there was no clause limiting the summon to exactly one minute. It just meant the flames lasted a minute. In other words, once called, Kerberos could return whenever it wanted.
While Han Ji-woo bantered with Kerberos, his pets and summoned undead had fully dominated the battlefield. With Hellfire and Seibier's breath clearing hordes at the outset, it was inevitable. The swarming monsters had dwindled to a countable few.
"Time to finish this."
Han Ji-woo strode through the ranks of his skeletons and zombies. They pressed on relentlessly, even as mid-grade monsters severed limbs or bisected them. As long as heads weren't crushed or severed, undead kept moving—that was their nature.
"You're all doing great."
Encouraging his valiant undead, Han Ji-woo swung his twin blades.
Slash! Thunk! Slice!
Every swing felled at least one monster. As their master took the vanguard, his five pets rampaged with renewed fury, carving through foes.
The one-sided slaughter ended soon after, with Han Ji-woo's blade severing the last monster's neck. He gazed contentedly at the spoils littering the ground.
"Alright, kids. Let's collect the loot~"
At their master's call, the five pets scampered about, gathering trophies and bringing them over.
"Heh heh. How many's this gonna be?"
He couldn't keep previous loot—the Synchronization Shop had bought it all. But things were different now.
Rumble! The ground shook with a ku-gu-gung!, and stairs to the floor below appeared nearby.
Stairs to the lower floor discovered. Acquired 50 Synchronization Points.
"That's right, that's right."
Han Ji-woo's current Synchronization Points invested: 4,912. Adding the new ones made 4,962. He checked the loot piled in his Inventory: 418 items total. Converting just 38 to points left the rest for him.
Trophies from mid-grade monsters served as materials for various mid-grade potions—HP recovery, MP recovery, attack boosts, defense boosts, agility boosts, and more. Imagining a stockpile already made his stomach growl.
Han Ji-woo quickly sold some loot, investing to hit the mark.
Investment points have reached 5,000.
Synchronization beginning. One building, crafted item, or acquired pet from Hidden Space will be randomly shared.
With the message, a 30-pyeong wooden mansion materialized nearby. Now, everything Han Ji-woo had built, crafted, or acquired in Hidden Space was fully shared.
The aura of Hidden Space infiltrating the Mini Dungeon grows stronger.
Synchronization Points have reached 100%!
Hidden Space fully devours the Mini Dungeon.
Having ingested 100% of the Mini Dungeon, the system is fully comprehended.
Hidden Space slowly digests the ingested Mini Dungeon. Something amazing will happen once digestion completes.
Digestion progress of Hidden Space can be checked at any time.
Mini Dungeon digestion: 0.001/100%
"Digestion, huh."
Han Ji-woo muttered, lost in thought. Once digestion hit 100%, would Hidden Space gain the ability to generate Mini Dungeons like this one? Or could it directly interfere with dungeons conquered by other dungeoners? Either way, it sounded great. Hidden Space never disappointed him.
The promise of something amazing upon full digestion had him buzzing with anticipation. The only downside: the glacial pace.
"I'll forget about it and it'll be done someday. Let's head down!"
Han Ji-woo descended the stairs with his pets. This staircase was longer and steeper than any before, the dim surroundings giving off an eerie vibe.
The 30th underground floor contains a boss monster. Please prepare thoroughly.
Near the bottom, a message heralded the boss.
"Finally, the last floor?"
The Mini Dungeon's deepest level was the 30th underground. Regular dungeons for dungeoners must be at least 30 floors, then.
How many floors do those have? 40? 50?
He couldn't fathom how many trials Seol Ara and the others had to endure to reach the bottom.
Step. Step. Step.
Each footfall brought worry for them. Before he knew it, the stairs ended. A massive iron door blocked Han Ji-woo's path.
"Whew."
Tensing at the thought of the boss beyond, Han Ji-woo felt sweat on his palms. Hidden Space's growing influence had surely lowered the final floor's difficulty, but still.
"Better safe—let's make some potions."
He pulled out loot from the previous floor and mana grass from the Salt Mine.
"Should've harvested more mana grass."
Only 12 bundles left in Inventory. Combining them with monster trophies in the Creation window yielded 12 mid-grade potions: 2 each of attack and agility boosters, 4 each of MP and HP recovery.
He'd prepped 8 mid-grade defense boosters in Hidden Space using gargoyle loot.
Han Ji-woo gulped down one each of attack, agility, and defense potions. Each stat jumped by 20. Then a blue MP potion refilled his depleted 300 mana in one go.
"Good to go."
Fully prepared, Han Ji-woo heaved open the heavy iron door and entered with his pets. The boss monster greeted them.
"Welcome."