The Path of Luck

Whatever, Tae-hyun thought.

Now, whenever he heard his Luck stat was going up, his only thought was, Great, now it's going to take even more experience to level up.

What was even sadder was that he couldn't even control this stat himself! Thanks to his passive skills, he could obtain stats much more easily and in greater quantities than other players, but... it was completely random!

Anyway, what kind of dungeon is this? Tae-hyun wondered, his curiosity piqued.

A dungeon. A word that never failed to make a player's heart race!

Especially a dungeon located near a castle or a city—this was the kind of dungeon every player coveted. It was practically prime real estate! Players could easily buy consumables from city NPCs, receive buffs, and tackle the dungeon with a massive advantage.

...It looks like the Suning Guild had no idea this was here.

Judging by the system message calling it an "undiscoverable dungeon" and the complete lack of any footprints or traces of players nearby, the Suning Guild was entirely oblivious to its existence. If they had known, they would have been crying tears of blood twice over!

No... now isn't the time to worry about what ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠kind of dungeon this is.

Tae-hyun immediately called out to the others. What mattered right now wasn't the nature of the dungeon, but the simple fact that there was a dungeon underground!

Usually, a dungeon's exit was in a different location from its entrance. That meant if they followed this dungeon to its exit, they could escape the castle. It was a golden opportunity to run away, leaving the Suning Guild and the oncoming horde of Orcs behind.

"What is it?"

"Clear everything around here and get inside! I found a dungeon!"

"Huh? What kind of dungeon is it?"

"Does that matter right now? Do you want to stay and fight the Orcs?"

"W-well, no, but..."

Faced with Tae-hyun's resolute tone, the others began filing into the dungeon entrance, completely ignorant of what lay ahead...

"This is definitely a high-difficulty dungeon," Smith remarked, swinging his sword at an oncoming Ancient Imperial Warrior.

Even though he was using a sword instead of his main weapon, the lance, Smith was a walking human tank. He blocked all attacks with his immense defense and countered not with complex skill combos, but with heavy, devastating basic attacks.

Yet, the enemy monsters crumbled before him!

An excellent class, top-tier equipment, powerful skills, and a perfect stat distribution. He was the textbook definition of ideal character growth.

The relatively cramped space wasn't an issue for him either. While Smith advanced through the dungeon as easily as if he were taking a stroll, the members of the Black Rock Sect behind him were not having such an easy time.

"Pant, pant..."

"Wait a minute! Let's get some healing before we move on!"

The guild members following him caught their breath while receiving heals from their priests. Even though Smith had handled most of the enemies, their HP had still dropped to dangerously low levels.

The problem with this dungeon wasn't just the high level of the monsters. They spawned in massive numbers and at high speeds, but more than that, their combat style was vicious and relentless. It was a situation where you were bound to get hit no matter how hard you tried to dodge!

Walls would suddenly slide open for enemies to leap out, monsters crawled out from beneath the floor, and spells aimed at Smith would ricochet and fly toward them...

"We never would've cleared this without Smith."

"Just 'Smith'? Show some respect! It's Lord Smith!"

Before they knew it, the guild members were all singing Smith's praises, filled with admiration and respect. He was a leader who led from the front, and despite being a top-tier ranker of a high level, he possessed a kind personality and never bragged. He was a true leader who let his actions speak for him!

"Are you mapping this out?"

"Yes! I've marked this, this, and this spot. If we keep going like this, we should reach the next floor within an hour."

"The layout is incredibly complex. I wonder who designed this..."

In Fantasy Online 2, dungeons with simple terrain were rare. When tackling a complex dungeon, mapping it out was crucial. It was no wonder that one of the most popular traits of a highly rated dungeon was a simple layout.

"Going this way will take too much time. What do you think about trying another method?"

"Pardon? Another method?"

"Yes."

"If it's a method you recommend, Lord Smith, we are more than happy to—"

Boom!

Before ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the guild member could even finish, Smith swapped his weapon to his lance and thrust it directly into the wall.

The wall shattered!

It was made of thick, ancient brick that usually wouldn't even take a scratch from standard attacks or magic, but Smith had punched a hole straight through it.

"Let's go in a straight line."

"..."

It's a bit reckless, but so cool!

With that thought, the Black Rock Sect followed closely behind him.

While Smith and the Black Rock Sect were brute-forcing their way through the dungeon, Lee Se-yeon was clearing it using an entirely different method.

She had come alone, but she was the server's top Necromancer. And a Necromancer was never truly alone.

Dozens of dark red eyes materialized in the air and flew forward at high speed.

And with them came shared vision!

It might have seemed simple, but when clearing a dungeon like this, it was a spell that felt almost like a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cheat.

The Ancient Imperial Warriors spotted the floating eyes and quickly shot arrows or swung their swords, but there were dozens of them. Even if some were destroyed, the remaining eyes swirled around, mapping out the path.

"Like this, then like that... Ah. I see. This is the way to go."

Lee Se-yeon began to walk, whistling softly.

"Intruders—ugh!"

It was a spell that even novice Necromancers used, but in Lee Se-yeon's hands, its power was on an entirely different level. The Ancient Imperial Warrior's torso was pierced clean through, and he collapsed.

Instantly, the fallen warrior's body changed color, and he stood back up, his eyes glowing with a crimson light!

"Brother! How could you... ugh!"

"You betray us?!"

The other Ancient Imperial Warriors raged at the sight of their comrade suddenly turning against them. But Lee Se-yeon's magic show had only just begun.

A triple-chain of undead buff spells!

In an instant, the Ancient Imperial Warrior grew so powerful he could easily slap a Death Knight across the face.

Boom! Crash!

The corridor was cleared in no time. The warrior, now a loyal slave, swept through his former comrades.

Though she was taking a different route than Smith, Lee Se-yeon's dominance was just as absolute.

Currently, in Fantasy Online 2, anyone who surpassed Level 100 had earned the right to walk with their head held high. At that point, they were high-level players with very little difference from rankers.

In fact, because Fantasy Online 2 was a game where skills, stats, and items could overcome a level gap, it wasn't uncommon for lower-level players to defeat higher-level ones.

Though Tae-hyun, whose level was still stuck in the 60s, didn't know it, Cain had long since recovered everything he had lost while following Tae-hyun and had surpassed Level 100.

Even Jeong Su-hyeok was growing at a terrifying pace and was currently on the verge of reaching Level 100.

Even Lee Da-bi had managed to surpass Level 100, though her class was merchant-focused...

Tae-hyun was simply indifferent to the growth of others, but if he ever found out about this, he would probably grab the back of his neck in sheer, indignant frustration.

However, top-tier rankers like Lee Se-yeon and Smith were rumored to have already broken past Level 150. They were the ones leading the charge at the absolute peak of the level rankings!

I wonder what level Kim Tae-hyun is right now, Lee Se-yeon thought, twirling her staff.

Smith and the Black Rock Sect were using brute force.

Lee Se-yeon and her undead army were using magic.

Each was tackling the dungeon in their own way.

So, what about Tae-hyun's party?

Their only reliance was sheer luck!

The Black Rock Sect and Lee Se-yeon knew exactly how dangerous this dungeon was. They had cleared several pre-requisite quests before coming here.

But Tae-hyun's party had just stumbled in by complete accident! They had no idea what kind of dungeon this was.

"What level do you think this dungeon is?"

"Who knows? It's under a castle in the Auston Kingdom, so maybe it's on the lower side."

The members of the Power Warrior Guild chattered as they followed behind Tae-hyun.

Stop.

"Let's go through this door."

"Huh? No matter how you look at it, shouldn't we go straight?"

"And that's not even a door, is it? It's just a hole in the wall."

When Tae-hyun pointed to a tiny crawlspace off to the side of the wide corridor, the Power Warrior Guild members tilted their heads in confusion.

"Are you the guild leader?"

"...I'll go in first!"

The Power Warrior Guild was a group that cowered before the strong and bullied the weak! Lee Da-bi looked away, embarrassed by her guild members' behavior.

Slither, slide—

"O great Tae-hyun. We cannot fit inside..."

"Ah. Is that so?"

When the Winged Demons expressed their dilemma due to their massive size, Tae-hyun gave a simple reply.

"Go back up to the castle and pretend to be statues."

"Senior, should I try to shrink their size with magic?" Jeong Su-hyeok offered, but Tae-hyun pretended not to hear.

In a place like this, Jeong Su-hyeok's magic was a ticking time bomb more terrifying than anything else!

"No. Go back up to the castle and pretend to be statues."

"..."

"Nobody will notice anyway."

Since they had only recently captured the castle, no one would think twice if a few gargoyle-like statues suddenly appeared on the inner walls.

"Come back when I send the signal."

"Yes..."

The demons climbed back up with reluctant expressions.

Seeing this, Yong-yong spoke up, sounding highly amused by their misfortune.

"To think they can't even shrink their own bodies. As expected, demons are truly incompetent fools."

"Strictly speaking, isn't it that you can't shrink your body either, but were forced to?"

"Let's not dwell on the details, Master!"

In any case, the rest of the group, excluding the demons, entered the crawlspace and began to crawl.

A line of players, NPCs, and Orcs crawling on their bellies—it was a bizarre and comical sight!

Cain and Jeong Su-hyeok, who were well-accustomed to Tae-hyun's antics, followed him in silence, but the other players couldn't help but wonder what on earth Tae-hyun was doing.

Why are we leaving a perfectly good road to go this way?

Who knows? It's Kim Tae-hyun, so he must have a plan.

Are we sure we made the right choice following him?

As they crawled, Jeong Su-hyeok noticed something carved into the wall of the narrow crawlspace.

"Senior, it says there's ancient imperial script here."

"Someone must have carved it. Can anyone read it?"

No one could.

"Then let's leave it and keep moving. We have to get going. The Orcs will be swarming the place above us soon."

"!"

Tae-hyun's words brought the players back to reality. Escaping this place as quickly as possible was the best way to keep their lives!

Tae-hyun, who was about to start crawling again, suddenly paused.

Because of that, Cain, who was crawling right behind him, slammed his face directly into Tae-hyun's shoe.

"You son of a—"

Wait, if this is a dungeon with ancient imperial script carved into it... what kind of dungeon is it?

His curiosity was piqued, but he didn't want to linger in this crawlspace. They had to move.

At the very back of the group were the Orc tribesmen following Jeong Su-hyeok.

The Orc bringing up the rear blinked and stared at the characters carved into the wall.

He muttered to himself:

"Chwek. To write down a path like this as a shortcut. Whoever made this was a weirdo."

And so, without even realizing it, the three factions were racing toward the center of the dungeon.