Trials of the Nameless God
The linked quest party began moving quickly. Their first destination was the 24th floor—the most urgent task was to complete the linked quest.
Four weeks later.
"Oh! Hyungnim, this dungeon's shaped like a temple?"
Lee Guho's words drew nods from the entire party. The building was made of white marble, exuding a sense of holiness with its overall bright tones, though it felt slightly neglected and unmanaged.
This was the final dungeon of the linked quest.
Namgung Seojun confirmed that everyone had entered the dungeon, then scanned their overall status. His Super Sense assured him there were no anomalies.
"No issues at the entrance for now. Let's head deeper. It's narrow, so single file formation."
At his command, the party took their assigned positions and followed him inside. They advanced down a long, straight corridor with Seojun leading as the guide. When they opened the door at the end, a Slush Drake awaited them inside.
The first trial of the Nameless God.
"Kyahaak!!!"
The Drake's breath attack froze the low-level porters in an instant, plunging them into terror.
"Snap out of it!"
The combat members shook off the fear at their leader's shout and immediately prepared for battle.
"Tuek... ek!"
The Slush Drake spat ice shards from its maw, scattering like shotgun pellets. Fortunately, the guards all held their shields firmly.
Clang! Clang! Clang!!
The ice shards were blocked by the shields, but they embedded deeply, drastically reducing their durability.
"Get those backup shields ready!"
At Jo Jaehun's cry, the combat members pulled out their secondary shields. But one failed to do so.
"......"
Anpisa Sarapova had forgotten to prepare her backup. She had no choice but to keep using her damaged shield.
"Attack!"
At Seojun's order, Lee Guho's magic fired first.
"Fire Burst!"
A powerful flame explosion dealt heavy damage to the Slush Drake.
"Kieek!!"
The momentary opening allowed Seojun to charge in and swing his sword. Slash! His Super Sense had pinpointed the Drake's wing as the must-hit target, and he struck true.
"Kiiiek!!"
The Slush Drake's left wing was severed by a third. Its crucial mobility was now crippled.
In desperation, the Slush Drake went berserk. Tuek! Tuek! Tuek! It unleashed its strongest attack—ice shard breath—continuously at the party.
"Block it! Block!!"
Jo Jaehun and the others barely held against the breath with their shields. The moment the Drake's assault ended, the counterattack began.
"Fire Burst!"
Starting with Lee Guho's spell, the ranged attackers poured everything they had. Pinara closed in and unleashed a powerful skill.
"Holy Shield Bash!"
Her shield smashed into the Slush Drake's face, forcing its neck to bend.
"Heavy Strike!"
Li Zhangwei hammered the Drake's head.
"Thrust."
Namgung Seojun's thrust landed as a critical hit, piercing straight through the Slush Drake's heart.
Thud!
The massive Slush Drake collapsed to the floor. Upon death, it melted away like water, leaving only a puddle of acidic liquid behind.
"Seojun-nim, we've got a seriously injured member."
At Gisohee's report, Namgung Seojun hurried to the wounded. It was Anpisa Sarapova—the casualty from this fight.
"Heal her! Heal!!"
Kim Juon, who had healing skills, applied them to her thigh, but the effect was minimal.
"Ugh..."
Anpisa's shield had shattered, and an ice shard from the Slush Drake had lodged in her thigh. The wound was now freezing over. Worse, her rare-grade healing skills weren't recovering it.
"Did you use a potion?"
"Yes, an intermediate one... but no effect."
They'd used the best intermediate potion available on the 20th floor range, but it did little. After all, this was an attack from a monster beyond that level's norms.
"Leader, what do we do? Any way to save her?"
Jo Jaehun's question drew a heavy sigh from Seojun. He'd noticed Anpisa's injury mid-battle and known it was beyond saving. A priest's mass heal might work, but the nearest village was two days away—she wouldn't last that long. Kim Juon's skills were barely keeping her alive as it was.
"Heal..."
Kim Juon's mana ran dry, halting the skill. The ice chunk on her thigh grew larger.
"Pl... please... save me. Please..."
The dying Anpisa begged desperately, but the party was powerless. Her body froze solid, and she breathed her last.
The group fell silent, staring at Anpisa's corpse. Moments later, Jo Jaehun stepped forward to handle it himself. He closed her unseeing eyes, pulled a shovel from his bag, and began digging her grave.
"I... I should've checked. Made sure she had her backup shield..."
Muttering to himself, Jo Jaehun dug. The others joined in. Burying Anpisa took only 30 minutes. Though grief hung heavy, Namgung Seojun forced a casual tone.
"Let's move out again."
Lingering would only sink morale further. Better to clear the dungeon quickly—that was his judgment. The party straightened up and proceeded to the next room.
The second room greeted them with 30 gargoyle statues.
The second trial of the Nameless God.
With the message, the gargoyles' eyes opened, stone fragments crumbling from their bodies as they awoke.
"Lee Guho! Magic Missile!"
Lee Guho swiftly multcasted. "Magic Missile! Magic Missile!" Six missiles launched before the gargoyles fully stirred, felling six of them.
As they dropped, Pinara rushed in. "Holy Strike!" Her holy-infused attack shattered the gargoyle, finishing it.
Gargoyles were no pushovers on lower floors— their physical defense made killing even one with cold weapons a nightmare. But weak to magic, Lee Guho's firepower softened them up, letting Pinara's Holy Strike clean house.
"Now hold the line."
As long as the others bought Lee Guho casting time, they could manage.
"Got it!"
The guards raised shields, protecting Lee Guho. "Magic Missile! Holy Strike!" While they tanked, his spells and Pinara's skills followed. Clearing them three at a time, the fight ended quicker than expected.
With the gargoyles down, they cleared the battlefield.
"Whoa! These gems the gargoyles dropped? Nice stuff!"
Lee Guho was mesmerized by the mana-infused gems—prime for a good price.
Meanwhile, Namgung Seojun checked his comrades closely.
"No casualties?"
Jo Jaehun replied, "Iban and Pinara-nim are mana-drained and need rest, but no injuries."
Mana depletion was inevitable—time would fix it.
"Good thing no one's hurt."
Jo Jaehun agreed. It hadn't even been an hour since Anpisa's death. Neither wanted more losses. The party rested to recover mana.
"Moving to the next room."
Repaired, they advanced. The room held several massive silver lumps—silvery stones.
The final trial of the Nameless God.
With the message, the silver lumps rose and assembled like robots.
"Silver Golem."
The whisper from a party member wasn't awe—it was horror. Silver Golems were beyond lower-floor foes.
Seeing the 4-meter giants, Seojun's first order was to scatter.
"Disperse! Everyone except Jo Jaehun—protect Guho!"
Non-combat porters and sex slaves fled as far as possible. Survival meant hoping attacks missed them—the worst scenario. Combatants didn't reform ranks but surrounded the golems at spaced intervals.
Scatter formation was for enemies whose attacks shields couldn't block. Rare on low floors, but they'd prepped it after the 19th-floor ogre raid—just in case. It sacrificed some to let others finish the job.
Namgung Seojun and the guards stood at the front with shields, eyes fierce with desperation under death's shadow. Free-roll dealers and others prepped attacks from behind, Jo Jaehun alone guarding Lee Guho farther back.
The formation set, a Silver Golem eyed the obstructive Seojun.
Qqqqqq.
Emitting a eerie sound, it slammed its arm down. Boom!! The impact cratered the floor.
He dodged with Domain Insight and Prediction, shouting, "Dodge! Don't even think about blocking!"
On cue, Lee Guho's first spell cast. "Fire Burst!" It hit, exploding in flames. Whoosh!
But the golem's body merely scorched—no real change. Not even minor.
"Oh... shit!"
Even Lee Guho's powerhouse magic failed. High attack power met golem magic resistance—the party's main DPS was useless against it. That was a Silver Golem.