A Silent, Pitch-Black Sanctuary
"For a Necromancer of your caliber to be unable to summon anything, it must be pretty serious. Just how hard did you get hit?"
"I-I can still use other offensive magic and curses, you know. It's just my summoning that's blocked," Lee Se-yeon stammered, almost defensively. In her entire life, she had never felt intimidated or self-conscious about her skills, but now...!
"Whatever. We can still explore even without your undead summons."
"Should I take the lead?"
"A mage taking the lead? Since when?" Kim Tae-hyun shot her a look that clearly said, What is wrong with her?
"Don't tell me you're... Duck!"
Clang!
You have successfully parried the enemy's attack!
Your mastery of Swordsmanship has increased.
What was that?Tae-hyun was startled. He had parried that attack purely out of luck, relying on his raw instincts and natural kinetic vision.
I didn't hear a single sound. In Pan-On, players didn't rely solely on their eyes to predict attacks; sound was just as crucial. No monster attacked without making some noise, and many players tracked their enemies this way. Tae-hyun, too, usually relied on his five senses to pinpoint targets. But that attack had come out of nowhere, completely silent.
Carbanog remarks that an Avatar who can react to a completely silent attack is far more terrifying.
He had felt a sudden chill, swung his sword on a whim, and luckily connected. Even so, hitting it under those conditions was incredible—his reaction speed was monstrous.
Lee Se-yeon, watching from the side, was awestruck. He actually parried that...! Even as a mage who rarely fought in close quarters, her reaction speed wasn't lacking; she had to be fast to cast spells in response to enemy attacks. But Tae-hyun's movement just now was on a whole different level. It was ghost-like.
"This dungeon... the enemies don't make any sound, do they?"
It seemed to be a place where all monster sounds were completely erased. Some dungeons had these tricky, specialized environments.
"Heuk-heuk, Yong-yong, Golgol-i, get out here! If anything gets close, blast it!"
Tae-hyun summoned all his companions. The best way to deal with stealthy, ambushing monsters was sheer numbers. But since Lee Se-yeon couldn't summon...
Well, we'll just have to make do.
Sssssst— Tae-hyun pulled out a bomb and tossed it into the darkness of the cave. Thud, thud, thud! He threw them precisely in different directions. The bombs detonated, unleashing bursts of bright light.
So they're bat-type monsters. He had suspected they were flying creatures because of how quickly they flew in and vanished, and they indeed looked like bats.
The darkness of the cave swallows the light!
The light has vanished!
"...What kind of godforsaken dungeon is this...?" Tae-hyun muttered under his breath. Some dungeons were designed solely to annoy players. It didn't matter how high-level the monsters were; an annoying dungeon was annoying regardless of its difficulty. This place reeked of that exact design. No sound, and pitch-black!
"Hold on. Let me grant you some vision."
—Eyes that Pierce the Darkness!
The darkness of the cave interferes with the skill!
The skill has failed.
"……."
"……."
"What kind of bullshit dungeon is this?!"
Lee Se-yeon and Tae-hyun put their heads together and tried everything they could think of: casting Sadik's Flame, throwing various bombs, using different light spells, and activating illuminating items. But the cave ignored all of it, stubbornly maintaining its absolute darkness. Eventually, they had to accept the reality: clearing the darkness completely was impossible.
Honestly, I'm fine. No matter how strong these bats were, they would struggle to bypass Tae-hyun's absurd evasion. Most of their attacks would just result in a 'Miss.' The problem was Lee Se-yeon. A mage with no summons, left completely exposed to constant attacks in the dark, was in serious danger. Especially since she hadn't fully recovered from the ancient giant's curse.
Master. I can barely see a thing. Can I please go back inside?
"Hmm. Heuk-heuk, Yong-yong. Stick close to Lee Se-yeon."
"W-Why? I'm fine, you know? I'm totally fine!"
"Sure you are. You look absolutely thrilled."
Tae-hyun positioned his summons around Lee Se-yeon. Even if attacks came, they were high-level enough to tank the hits.
Swoosh— Without a sound, the monsters began lunging from the darkness again. Their faint outlines were barely visible. Tae-hyun kicked one of his tossed bombs, detonating it mid-air, and swung his sword toward the fleeting silhouette. It was like trying to hit a fast-pitched baseball in pitch-black darkness, but Tae-hyun pulled it off.
You have performed an incredible acrobatic feat in the darkness!
Your mastery of Swordsmanship has increased.
Its surviving allies grow even stronger.
As one bat collapsed from a critical hit, the other bats rushed in and devoured their fallen comrade. It was a mechanic where killing one monster made the remaining ones stronger.
They really packed every annoying mechanic possible into this place. A dungeon where every kill buffed the remaining enemies! The only silver lining was that the extreme difficulty was causing his Swordsmanship skill to level up. It was the kind of dungeon players would normally seek out specifically to grind their skills.
I don't usually mind grinding skills, but this place is just...Tae-hyun focused his senses. If he were alone, it would be one thing, but with Lee Se-yeon behind him, he couldn't just dodge. He had to parry every single attack.
Slide—Tae-hyun stepped closer to Lee Se-yeon. He couldn't afford to ignore the enemies, but killing them made the others stronger. There was only one answer.
I'll just slaughter them all as they come. So what if they got stronger with every kill? He just had to wipe them all out before that buff mattered!
"Kim... Kim Tae-hyun. Aren't you a bit too close?"
"What do you expect when you're made of glass? Shut up and stay put. If I miss even one, you're in danger."
Given Lee Se-yeon's level, she wouldn't die from a few hits, but there was no reason for her to take unnecessary damage.
Wait, is this a fork in the road?Tae-hyun immediately tried to use his pathfinding skill. But... I can't see it! The path of light that normally guided him was nowhere to be seen. Seriously, what is this place?
Carbanog also trembles in fear, muttering that this place is highly unusual.
Tae-hyun began to regret fleeing the ancient giant only to end up in this bizarre place. If the boss monster here turned out to be some freak...
"When does your curse cooldown end?"
"I need at least twelve more hours."
"That's tight... Well, let's just take it slow."
He had cleared plenty of dungeons without his skills before. It would just take a bit longer. Tae-hyun advanced slowly. The absolute silence ahead was deeply unsettling.
Rustle—
"...?" Tae-hyun paused. Something felt off.
Carbanog screams that you should strike first just in case!
Yeah, my thoughts exactly. When in doubt, strike first!
—Aki-sus's Divine Territory!
Tae-hyun coated the ground with his domain and hurled bombs in every direction. Even if the light vanished instantly, it would briefly widen his field of vision.
Boom! Boom! Crash!
The bombs receive an additional effect within Aki-sus's Divine Territory!
The Chain Shrapnel Bombs split into additional fragments!
Patter-patter-patter!
The bombs, which already scattered shrapnel over a wide area, split into even more fragments under the domain's influence, blanketing the surroundings. No matter what kind of monster was hiding, at least one fragment would hit!
The enemy has been temporarily stunned!
First bats, now spiders. Looking around, he saw spiders hanging from webs they had silently spun in all directions, waiting to ambush them. If they had walked in blindly, they would have been instantly bound.
—Aura of Death, Petrifying Gaze, Gargantua's Finger, Blackened Stone Wall!
As long as the enemies weren't lunging at high speeds like the bats, Lee Se-yeon could counterattack immediately.
A synergistic passive skill is active!
The party's dark magic has been amplified!
"????"
"????"
Tae-hyun and Lee Se-yeon stared at each other in shock.
Why do you have that skill?!
I was going to ask you the same thing.
They exchanged a silent conversation with their eyes. Neither of them was foolish enough to waste time bickering right now. They had to deal with the monsters first!
Still, this is better than the bats. The spiders were large, so he wouldn't have to strain his nerves to protect Lee Se-yeon as much as before...
Carbanog screams that they are shooting poison needles!
Without a sound, the spiders began firing needles in all directions. On second thought, the bats were better. The needles were practically invisible. Oh, come on! It would have been so much easier if he had come alone!
"Lee Se-yeon, you'd better pay me back for this later!"
—Archisus's Blessing!
Tae-hyun finally activated Archisus's Blessing. Saving his skills here would only make things more troublesome. During the dozen or so seconds they shared his luck, they wouldn't have to worry about enemy attacks. He had to slaughter them all within this window!
—Lucky Strike! Lucky Strike! Lucky Strike... Critical Explosion!
Tae-hyun, who had been playing defensively, shifted entirely to offense. In an instant, the combat prowess of one of the world's top damage dealers was unleashed.
Thud, thud, thud!
He closed the distance with Archisus's Charge, unleashed a barrage of high-damage skills, and triggered a Critical Explosion! In less than a second, the first spider collapsed. Tae-hyun immediately drove his Dae-man-bul-gang-geom into the next spider and activated his next attack.
Screeech!
"Move, you pests! Stop getting in my way!"
Before the dead spider could even hit the ground, Tae-hyun was already charging the next target.
—Critical Explosion! Archisus's First Strike!
In the pitch-black darkness where even outlines were barely visible and all sound was muted, landing hits was an incredibly difficult task, even without having to worry about defense. Yet, Tae-hyun accurately tracked the fleeting silhouettes and landed devastating blows. His technique was flawless and incredibly precise.
Incredible...!
Lee Se-yeon, who had been casting spells to support him, found herself staring in a daze. Having watched and analyzed countless professional players in the league, she knew exactly how refined and precise Tae-hyun's movements were. It was a masterpiece. It felt like a waste to watch it alone; she wanted to share this footage with the world so everyone could see just how amazing he was.
"Lee Se-yeon, what are you doing?!" Tae-hyun barked when her spellcasting paused. If she stopped now, she was the one who would die, not him!
"Sorry! I got distracted!"
"If you have a conscience, I hope you weren't planning to backstab me in a place like this!"
"……."
Slap!Lee Se-yeon slapped both of her cheeks hard. Tae-hyun looked even more dumbfounded by her sudden action.
"Seriously, what the hell are you doing?!"
"Shut up! I was just waking myself up!"
The remaining spiders melted under her concentrated magic. Ultimately, the two rankers managed to obliterate all the surrounding spiders before Archisus's Blessing wore off. Their hunting speed was terrifyingly fast.
"The experience points here are surprisingly good," Lee Se-yeon muttered in surprise.
The absolute top rankers were currently racing toward Level 300, but the wall at Level 300 was no joke. The closer they got, the more absurd the experience requirements became. For Lee Se-yeon to call it "good," the experience yield had to be extraordinary.
"I was too annoyed to notice earlier... but is this place actually a goldmine?"
"Hmm. It might be." Tae-hyun nodded. Indeed, this dungeon possessed all the qualities of a perfect grinding spot.