A Harmless-Looking Exterior
They looked harmless enough. But what they didn't know was that in Fantasy Online 2, you should never judge a person by their appearance! The very fact that they had broken through the hordes of undead monsters outside to get here meant they had a trick or two up their sleeves.
Damn it. I really want to stop using Divine Foresight soon...
Tae-hyun clicked his tongue as he watched his MP rapidly deplete. Honestly, he wanted to practice dark magic right now, but his mana pool was too tight for that. The traps, which had been nonexistent near the entrance, were becoming more frequent and vicious.
Crash! Crunch!
Spikes burst through the walls with a sharp crunch, and with a heavy thud, the floor itself would occasionally collapse. These were traps so dangerous that navigating them without Divine Foresight was practically suicidal!
If another party wanted to clear this, they absolutely would have had to bring a thief.
Dungeons packed with traps like this were usually the playground for thief-class players. They could spot traps that ordinary players would completely miss. Yet, Tae-hyun was breaking through them all by himself, using his own body as a shield.
Watching from behind, Evangeline could only stare in sheer awe.
A disarmed trap has reactivated due to extreme misfortune!
Clang!
"..."
Evangeline shook her head, blocking a spear flying from the side with her gauntlet. When Tae-hyun ran over the traps, they all missed him, but even when she walked carefully over a disarmed trap, her rotten luck would cause it to reactivate. The difference was so unfair it made her want to cry.
"Senior, look on the bright side," Jeong Su-hyeok said, carefully sidestepping a gaping hole in the floor.
"...?"
"Since there are so many traps, at least there aren't any monsters."
"Hey. You..."
Tae-hyun glared at Jeong Su-hyeok. That was the number one thing you should never say! It was like a character in a horror movie saying, "I'll go check outside!" or "Why is it so quiet?"—an absolute guarantee that a monster would appear!
"Yes?"
Flap-flap-flap-flap!
At that exact moment, the sound of fluttering wings echoed from the distance.
Tae-hyun let out a deep sigh. "Right. It's not your fault. It's the universe."
Tae-hyun immediately prepared for battle. What he drew was not the Ancient Hammer, but his longsword, Meteor.
The sound of fluttering wings and irritating, squeaking screeches drew closer. This was undoubtedly...
"Of course, it's vampires, so it has to be bats."
A swarm of bats appeared! Normally, bat monsters encountered in the wild were weak, but this was the deep section of the Marden Castle underground dungeon. They were opponents that could not be underestimated!
"Master, let me handle this!"
Yong-yong spread his wings and immediately began spewing lightning from his mouth.
Due to the Divine Beast's attribute, additional damage is inflicted upon evil entities.
"...?"
Tae-hyun was slightly surprised when the swarm of bats, which had been flying fiercely toward them, faltered under Yong-yong's attack. It wasn't just that the dragon had recovered his strength; it was because of the message window that had just popped up.
Ah. Come to think of it, Yong-yong is technically a Divine Beast, isn't he?
A Divine Beast was, by definition, a holy existence. He had forgotten because the dragon usually acted like such a useless goofball, but Yong-yong's attacks carried the holy attribute. Thanks to that, the incoming swarm of bats couldn't even get close, hovering helplessly in the air.
"Curse of Forced Siphon!"
Evangeline reached her hand out toward the bats flying at her. The bats clumped together in midair and were violently pulled toward her hand. Aside from her Luck being locked at -999, her class possessed incredibly powerful skills!
Crunch! Snap!
"Aaaah! Kahladan's Lightning! Kahladan's Lightning! Kahladan's Lightning!"
Jeong Su-hyeok spammed his magic as if possessed. Whenever a bat got close to him, he cast the spell directly on himself!
Due to the effects of an Advanced magic skill, you are immune to self-inflicted spell damage.
Resistance Successful!
The continuous flashes of light made him look like a flickering fluorescent bulb. Jeong Su-hyeok poured out his magic recklessly, completely ignoring what might happen next.
"More are coming, Lord Tae-hyun!" Rufo shouted, slicing through the bats with swift, precise movements.
Although each individual bat had low health, their speed and attack power were no joke. If they allowed even one to get close, their HP would be drained in the blink of an eye.
"Move forward! If we go straight and then turn left, there's a room in the hallway!" Evangeline shouted urgently.
She was fine, but if Jeong Su-hyeok or Rufo stayed here any longer, they would be in serious danger. First, they needed to get to a safe place and recover!
Tae-hyun nodded. Evangeline knew Marden Castle quite well thanks to a few pre-requisite quests. Her judgment was trustworthy.
Patter-patter-patter—thud!
When Evangeline tapped on the wall, a seamless stone surface suddenly slid open, revealing a hidden room.
"Inside! Inside!"
Once everyone was in, Evangeline tapped the wall again to close the door.
So this is how she played solo.
Tae-hyun finally understood how Evangeline had managed to solo-play. If she knew about these secret spaces, she could rest and recover along the way.
"How did you find out about this place?"
"I heard about it while doing a quest. Why?" Evangeline replied grumpily. She wondered what Tae-hyun was plotting this time.
"I was just curious. It's a neat place. What is it used for?"
"These spots are scattered all over the first and second basement floors. Just common secret rooms."
According to the information Evangeline had gathered, the Marquis's bedroom was located in a luxurious chamber on the fifth basement floor. They were currently on the second basement floor. Even though they had overtaken the other parties at an incredible speed, they still had a long way to go.
"I'm glad a place like this exists," Jeong Su-hyeok said as he pulled out an MP recovery potion and drank it. "Senior, you should have one too."
"Ah. Thanks."
Lost in thought, Tae-hyun took the potion. He was pondering the nature of this hidden room. It was easy to overlook, but in Fantasy Online 2, there was no such thing as a meaningless location. Tae-hyun had always been able to stay ahead of others because he stopped to think when everyone else just moved on.
The sanctuary was completely empty. The only notable feature was a large, ancient mirror hanging on the wall.
Tae-hyun chugged several MP potions in a row. With a refreshing sensation, his MP rapidly filled to the brim.
Once his MP was fully restored, Tae-hyun habitually activated a skill without much thought.
Instantly, the room lit up with a blinding, brilliant white light.
...Damn it.
His body moved faster than his mind. Tae-hyun immediately put some distance between himself and Evangeline. Being near her meant being subjected to her misfortune.
Then, he immediately pulled out the Ancient Hammer.
His target was the wall right next to him. Tae-hyun swung with all his might.
Less than a second had passed. But despite his swift action, the large, ancient mirror shattered into pieces, and a dense black fog began to billow out from within like a raging storm.
A message window telling them to run rather than fight. That alone was enough to show how powerful this boss monster was.
Boom! Crash!
The sudden explosions echoing from all directions threw the other players into instant confusion. Marquis Marden had appeared at the exact moment Tae-hyun demolished the wall.
Evangeline let out a near-screaming cry. "He was supposed to be asleep?!"
According to the original quest details, Marquis Marden was supposed to be asleep in his sanctuary on the fifth basement floor, surrounded by his guards. While he was awake, he was insanely powerful, but while asleep, even Evangeline could have slit his throat. That was why the quest existed in the first place.
Yet, Marquis Marden was now wide awake from his long slumber.
Though he looked emaciated with hollow eyes—almost sickly—the aura radiating from his entire body was terrifying.
"I smell something unpleasant..."
Instantly, everyone's eyes darted to Evangeline!
Despite the dire situation, Evangeline felt a surge of anger. Just because he smelled something unpleasant didn't mean it was her!
However, Marquis Marden wasn't even looking at Evangeline. His gaze was locked entirely on Tae-hyun.
"How dare a servant of some petty god set foot in my domain!"
The players have fallen into a state of intense Terror!
Resistance Successful!
Crash! Boom!
Before the words could even finish, Tae-hyun quickly dodged to the side. At that exact moment, a blood-red spear erupted from where he had been standing, tearing the corridor to shreds. The power was monstrous!
"Insolent! Utterly insolent! To dare disturb my slumber! I do not care which god you serve, but today, I shall teach you a lesson you will never forget!"
Tae-hyun clicked his tongue. He should have used Divine Foresight inside the sanctuary first. If he had, he would have seen the danger warning.
That sanctuary was a passage the Marquis used to move quickly through the castle!
That in itself wasn't a problem. When Marquis Marden was asleep, no one would have used that passage. The problem was that he had woken up, and the even bigger problem was...
I'm pretty sure this is my fault...
Evangeline looked utterly devastated by the fact that Marquis Marden had awakened. According to the original quest, this was a boss monster that should never have woken up!
Yet, Marquis Marden was now lunging at Tae-hyun with ferocious hostility.
Clang! Clang!
Tae-hyun's longsword, Meteor, sparked as it deflected Marquis Marden's razor-sharp claws.
"You have some skill! Try blocking this!"
A blood-red wind began to howl, swirling violently around Tae-hyun.
Evasion successful.
Evasion successful.
Evasion successful.
"?!"
Marquis Marden stared at Tae-hyun with wide, astonished eyes.
"Are you a follower of Henen, the God of Thieves?! How utterly insolent! A mere thief dares to stand before me!"
Marquis Marden, having clearly misunderstood something, immediately began preparing his next skill. Whatever it was, it was clearly an unavoidable attack!
Tae-hyun didn't wait around. He immediately launched a counterattack.
His weapon of choice: the blazing Ancient Hammer!
"Lucky Strike, Lucky Strike, Lucky Strike, Urging, Lucky Strike!"
Marquis Marden also seemed startled by the appearance of the Ancient Hammer.
"A hammer?! Are you a follower of Phytos, the God of Hammer and Shield?!"
Instead of answering, Tae-hyun closed the distance using Shadow Dive. He materialized directly behind Marquis Marden and swung with all his might!
The attack has been completely blocked!
"..."
The moment the hammer struck, Marquis Marden burst with a loud *pop*, dispersing into a swarm of bats.
An evasion skill!
An ordinary player would have panicked when their perfect strike was completely negated, but Tae-hyun was different. In a situation like this, where would the opponent go?
Behind me!
Tae-hyun moved purely on instinct without even looking. He spun around and swung with everything he had.
"Argh!"
Marquis Marden, who had indeed materialized behind him, took the full force of the blazing Ancient Hammer and was sent flying backward.
"You... you servant of some nameless, petty god, how dare you..."
A heavy truth spoken entirely by accident!
Marquis Marden has begun to recover his strength.
His subordinates are awakening!
...We're screwed.
Tae-hyun felt it in his bones. The quest was completely, utterly derailed.
Marquis Marden was a boss monster of at least level 200, maybe even over 250. A boss monster that was never supposed to wake up in the first place!
And now, that very boss had awakened and was summoning his minions.
There was no winning this.
Tae-hyun took a deep breath and made his decision.
Time to run.
When victory was impossible, do not hesitate to flee!
"Hey."
Once Tae-hyun's attack connected with Marquis Marden, the Terror status effect wore off. Everyone turned to look at Tae-hyun.
What brilliant command would he give to lead them out of this crisis?
"Let's get the hell out of here."
"..."
For a brief second, Rufo almost dropped his sword.