Losing All Sense of Direction

The ground shook violently, and all spatial awareness vanished. It was impossible to tell front from back, up from down!

"Argh?!" Cain shrieked, instantly activating a skill. When you couldn't tell up from down or left from right, the only way to survive was to hunker down and endure!

Crash!! Fortunately, his split-second decision was spot on. A giant fist slammed down directly where Cain was standing.

"Urgh!" Cain groaned under the crushing weight of the impact reverberating through his shield.

Huh? It was one of the buffs Tae-hyun had cast on him before the battle. Luck Bestowal. It was a skill that granted random buffs to equipment, but...

"Aaaaah! No!" Cain felt his body suddenly lift into the air. Teleporting into the sky while his disorientation debuff was still active was a nightmare. Cain cursed Tae-hyun for giving him such a ridiculous buff.

"Why the hell did that bastard Kim Tae-hyun give me this?!"

Whoosh—grab! The one who saved him was Yong-yong. Seeing Cain in danger, the dragon had flown over at lightning speed, catching Cain mid-air right after he teleported, and carried him out of harm's way.

Once Cain cleared its aggro zone, the giant golem didn't bother giving chase. With a heavy thud, it immediately froze in place, returning to its waiting state.

"Pant, pant, pant..."

"You were cursing me just now, weren't you?"

"How could I not?! Who gives someone a buff like that?!"

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"Don't you realize that buff is the only reason you're still breathing?"

"Ugh..."

Tae-hyun actually had a point. Looking back, if Cain had stayed in that spot while disoriented, the golem would have pulverized him. Even with just a couple of hits, his HP had already plummeted by more than half!

"You're the one who gave me such an unreasonable task in the first place!" Cain hissed under his breath so the others wouldn't hear. It was his last shred of pride! Even though he kept his voice down, he made sure to sound as fierce as possible to let Tae-hyun know, I am extremely angry!

Watching this play out, Lee Da-bi couldn't help but marvel internally. Wow, that is a remarkably petty talent! Whispering so no one else could hear while packing maximum rage into his voice—how did he manage to execute such a hilariously pathetic yet impressive technique?

"I gave you an unreasonable task?"

"Yes! How was I supposed to charge in there alone and lure that thing back? It's spamming area-of-effect attacks and all sorts of crazy skills!"

"...Cain, what I meant was... just step forward and use your skill."

"..."

Cain stared at Tae-hyun, utterly dumbfounded. Because of the golem's massive size—towering over five meters tall—the thought of using his chains on it hadn't even crossed his mind. A wave of intense embarrassment washed over him.

"I-I was planning to do that! That was my plan all along!"

"Sure. I'll believe you. Now go do it."

As Cain turned and trudged back toward the golem, his retreating figure looked inexplicably pathetic.

Watching their exchange from a distance, the Woodstock Guild Leader muttered to himself, "Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. They really are a match made in heaven."

"Huh?"

"Look closely. They had zero information on how to deal with that golem. That's why they sent Cain in first—to gather data. While Cain was causing a distraction, Kim Tae-hyun was analyzing the pattern from behind to figure out a strategy. And look how quickly he pulled Cain out. That would be impossible without meticulous preparation."

"Ah, so that's what it was!"

Of course, it was nothing of the sort. Tae-hyun had simply pulled him out because Cain looked like he was about to die.

"Then what are they discussing now...?"

"They must be planning their next move."

"But it looks like Cain is throwing a tantrum?"

"He's merely expressing his tactical opinion with passion."

"I-is that so?"

"That is how true pros exchange feedback."

"I... I see."

"Regardless, it won't be easy. Even with some data, figuring out how to break through that golem is a different story. Soon enough, Kim Tae-hyun will swallow his pride and ask for our help. He'll want us to put our heads together to find a way to defeat it! I can't wait!"

The Woodstock guild members nodded in agreement at their leader's words. The image of Kim Tae-hyun giving up and bowing his head to them—just thinking about it made them giddy with anticipation!

...Wait, aren't we forgetting something?

They were supposed to be rooting for Tae-hyun's success, but somehow, they had ended up desperately wishing for his failure.

"Cain is heading back in."

"He must be going to gather more data."

"I guess so... Wait, huh?"

Swish—clank!

"It's the chains!"

"The combo skill!"

As the chains flew through the air and wrapped tightly around the golem, the Woodstock guild members let out a cheer of recognition.

"That's the exact skill from the Arena!"

"The one that instantly deleted a Ranker!"

"..."

The Woodstock Guild Leader stared at them, utterly dumbfounded. He was speechless at his own guild members, who were cheering like excited fanboys just because they recognized a skill. Sensing their leader's icy glare, the guild members quickly shut their mouths.

Meanwhile, Cain dragged the golem toward them. No matter how heavy or massive the target, his powerful skill forced it forward!

"I pulled it in!"

"Good job."

Now, it was Tae-hyun's turn. In his hand, he held a hammer instead of a sword. A hammer blazing with roaring flames!

Leaping into the air, Tae-hyun brought the hammer down with pinpoint accuracy right onto the golem's head.

A heavy, wind-splitting *whoosh* echoed, followed by a deafening CRASH!!!!

With a thunderous roar, the massive golem began to topple forward.

"..."

The Woodstock guild members, who had been gossiping just moments ago, stared at Tae-hyun with slack-jawed expressions. What on earth had just happened?

"W-what in the world..."

While they stood frozen in shock, the Power Warrior guild members began to rejoice.

"I leveled up!"

"Me too!"

When a monster was defeated, experience points were distributed based on contribution. For the Power Warrior guild members—who had done practically nothing—to level up, the experience payout must have been astronomical! In any other dungeon, that golem would have easily served as the final boss.

"Oh, I leveled up too!" Lee Da-bi told Tae-hyun, her voice bright with excitement.

Tae-hyun replied with a slightly sour expression. "G-good for you."

Tae-hyun hadn't leveled up, but he rationalized that it was because he had already leveled up recently. There were people around him whose levels had jumped by two or three, but surely that was just his imagination!

Turning around, Tae-hyun saw the Woodstock guild members gloomily unpacking and laying out various items on the ground.

"What are you guys doing?"

"These are the items we prepared specifically to fight the golem... but they take up too much inventory weight, so we're leaving them behind to move faster..."

"..."

No wonder a few of them had seemed a bit sluggish. They had prepared to the teeth to face the golem that had blocked their progress last time, only for it to be obliterated in seconds!

At any rate, having vanquished the golem, the party advanced deeper into the dungeon. However, aside from the occasional pack of grave robbers, no other boss monsters appeared. At most, they encountered a few traps.

"Oh, there's some writing carved into the wall here," one of the Power Warrior guild members called out, pointing at the stone surface.

"Can you read it?"

"Yes, I have a skill for this..."

"You actually have a skill like that?"

"How unusual."

The Woodstock guild members stared at him as if looking at a bizarre specimen. To players like them who strictly prioritized combat efficiency, a translation or deciphering skill was an utter waste of a skill slot.

"So, what does it say?"

"It says, 'The treasure of the God Tarka rests ahead. Let none who are unworthy enter.'"

"The God Tarka...?"

"Ah, what a bust."

The Woodstock Guild Leader grumbled in disappointment. He had been highly anticipating what lay at the end of the sixth floor, but this felt like a total letdown.

"Tarka is that... what was it, the God of Deceitful Mimicry, right? And the associated skill is Speech."

The Woodstock Guild Leader smacked his lips in distaste. The reward ahead was highly likely to be a Speech-related skill. Since barely any players worshipped Tarka and the skill was just Speech, selling it for a high price was out of the question.

"Of all things, why did it have to be that...?"

"What's wrong with Speech?"

"Who even learns Speech? Maybe merchants, but even they don't level it up past a certain point. They'd rather spend that time leveling up Appraisal."

The Woodstock Guild Leader had absolutely no idea that the player standing right in front of him had already leveled his Speech skill all the way to the Advanced rank. Tae-hyun saw no reason to boast about how incredibly useful Speech actually was. If other players didn't use it, all the more advantage for him!

They have no idea how much easier this game becomes when you have the Speech skill.

Instead, Tae-hyun casually asked, "So, are you not going to take the reward?"

"Well... we have to take it. We came all this way, and we need to clear the dungeon."

There was an additional reward for being the first to clear a dungeon. The Woodstock Guild Leader seemed far more interested in that clear EXP than whatever item lay inside. His face was already completely devoid of expectation.

"If it's something useless, can I have it?"

"...Let's look at it first. If it's truly useless, then sure."

The Woodstock Guild Leader momentarily grew guarded, wary that a genuinely good item might drop. But Tae-hyun didn't mind his suspicion.

"Of course, we should look at it together and divide the rewards. That goes without saying."

After all, even if you look at it, you won't have a clue how good it is!

With a pounding heart, the Woodstock Guild Leader stepped inside. He approached the stone coffin in the center and lifted the lid. What kind of reward would be waiting for them?

What lay inside was a single scroll. Hoping it might be a high-tier spell scroll, the Woodstock Guild Leader quickly inspected it, only for his face to instantly contort in disappointment.

"Ah, damn it..."

An Authority skill could only be learned by players who followed that specific deity. None of them worshipped Tarka. It was utterly useless! Even if they tried to sell it, the player base worshipping Tarka was so microscopic that finding a buyer would be a miracle.

"What the hell are we supposed to do with this...?"

"It's an Authority skill. Isn't that great?"

"Are you kidding me? We can't even learn it, and we won't even get a fraction of its worth if we try to sell it."

"You just have to find the right buyer."

"Ugh, stop talking nonsense!"

Grumbling, the Woodstock Guild Leader tossed the scroll to Tae-hyun. He was so thoroughly disappointed that he didn't even care to negotiate.

"Leader, are you sure we should just give it away? It's still the reward for the sixth floor..."

"Selling that thing wouldn't even cover the cost of the potions we used today. We might as well give it to him and score some favor."

The leader replied coldly to his guild members' concerns. Because of his dismissive attitude, he completely missed the way the corners of Tae-hyun's mouth twitched upward before quickly returning to a neutral expression.

Jackpot! Total freebie!

The Woodstock Guild Leader's logic wasn't entirely wrong. Normally, a deity's Authority skill was completely useless to anyone outside that specific faith. No matter how powerful a skill was, it meant nothing if you couldn't learn it.

Of course, Tae-hyun was a different story.

I'll have to use this the moment we get out.

If he used it right now, the visual effects might tip ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠off the Woodstock guild members.

"By the way, Kim Tae-hyun. Now that we've basically cleared the dungeon, what's the plan? Didn't you say you'd get us out of here?"

"Yeah, I did."

"How? Are we going to fight those Choigang Jizon Mussang Guild bastards?"

The Woodstock Guild Leader was secretly holding out hope. With Tae-hyun's insane combat power, maybe they stood a decent chance even if several enemies were waiting for them at the exit.

"No, we're going to sneak out."

"..."