The Sea Dragon's Lair
After an hour of sorrowful begging, Chairman Yoo finally grew annoyed and gave in. "Ah, just go and see for yourselves! Go!"
"Hooray!"
The members of the Power Warrior Guild moved in a flash. They scrambled as fast as they could, terrified that Chairman Yoo might change his mind!
Splash!
"Huh? What's going on?"
"Where is this ship going?"
The players who had lost their ships while fighting above the underwater kingdom and had been rescued tilted their heads in confusion. Unlike the Power Warrior Guild members, they had no idea where the ship was heading.
"We're going treasure hunting!"
"Wait, isn't the treasure down there in the underwater kingdom...?"
"Treasure isn't only found down there!"
"??"
Following the map, the entrance to an underwater dungeon appeared.
Your Reputation increases significantly.
If you share this discovery in a port city, you will receive a warm welcome.
"Ohhh!"
The Power Warrior Guild members were thrilled and about to dive right in.
"W-wait a minute. Are you sure we can clear this?"
"The name sounds way too powerful, doesn't it?"
The players who hadn't lost their minds yet spoke with cautious faces. Of course, you couldn't judge a dungeon's difficulty perfectly just by its name. But you could make a rough guess!
An Ordinary Dungeon was highly likely to be easy, but a Dragon's Dungeon was bound to be difficult.
However, the Power Warrior Guild members, blinded by greed, didn't care in the slightest.
"Don't worry! Since when did we ever clear dungeons with actual skill!"
"If it gets too hard, we'll just come back out! We're just going in to take a look! If it doesn't work, we run!"
"Ah, right..."
Faced with the sheer momentum of the Power Warrior Guild members proudly declaring their plan to run away, the other players took a step back.
Splash, splash, splash!
The Power Warrior Guild members dove in as a group and began entering the dungeon.
You have entered the Sea Dragon's Lair.
You are the first to enter this dungeon.
They'll give us an extra bonus, right?
Of course it's an extra bonus.
The Power Warrior Guild members looked at each other and smiled warmly. An extra bonus for being the first to enter a dungeon! Just getting that would be quite lucrative...
You are the first to enter this dungeon.
You do not possess the required qualifications.
Penalty Applied: All stats are reduced by 50%.
"????"
"What the?!"
Instead of giving them a bonus, they got a penalty?!
"Anyway, let's move fast!"
"We can't move fast here...!"
Just because it was an underwater dungeon didn't mean it was always filled with water, but this Sea Dragon's Lair was completely flooded. They had to swim to move around!
Oxygen is required when submerged for extended periods. Failing to breathe will result in continuous HP reduction.
-What kind of dungeon is this?! Usually, if it's filled with water, don't they give you a breathing buff or something?
-Just pull out the potions!
The Power Warrior Guild members quickly took out and drank their Underwater Breathing Potions. Potions that allowed them to breathe underwater! It was a waste, but they had to use them to get anything done.
-But there are no monsters?
-Yeah, right? Oh, look, there's ore here. Let's mine some ore before we go...
-Look at the potion's time limit, you idiot! We don't have time for that!
-No! Ore! Ore! That looks expensive!
The Power Warrior Guild members moved in a hurry. The Underwater Breathing Potions had a time limit. They had to move as fast as possible to map out this dungeon.
Because they were rushing, the guild members didn't stop to wonder, Why are there no monsters?
For a dungeon of this scale, it was bizarre for there to be no monsters!
-It's a fork in the road. Let's split up and find the way.
-Okay. I'll go this way.
-Hey, that's cheap...!
There were countless ways to tackle a new dungeon, but the Power Warrior Guild members used a very simple method. Human wave tactics! If there was a fork, they split up. If they combined their information later, the map would be complete.
It was a method perfectly suited for them, as their goal was to grab whatever was in the dungeon and run rather than fight monsters in the first place!
Of course, if they were unlucky, they would split up and all get wiped out, but then the next batch of guild members would just enter immediately. This was only possible because they didn't particularly mind dying.
The Power Warrior Guild members who went left at the fork swam forward, brushing against the walls.
Click—
The sound of something catching!
"...?"
*BOOOOOOM!*
Your HP has reached 0. You have died.
"???!?!?"
-Hey! We're dead!
-You died already? How long has it even been? What's over there? What kind of monster is it?
-No, it wasn't even a monster... something just exploded. A trap?
-We definitely shouldn't go down that path. Got it.
-No keeping it for yourself! Everyone is watching! We have to share the loot later!
There was not a shred of trust among the guild members! Even if they were logged out, the rewards that came out later had to be shared. That was the rule.
-Tsk.
-But seriously, what hit us? Are there traps like that? To die instantly without even seeing what it was...
The remaining guild members were puzzled. The guild members who had followed the expedition this time might be a bit low-level, but they were highly experienced. If nothing else, they were exceptionally skilled at surviving!
It made no sense that such players had been logged out instantly without even being able to react.
-What on earth did they get hit by...
*BOOOOOOOOOOM!*
-Argh!
-What the!
They found out immediately.
A massive forepaw burst through the wall of the passage. If they had been even a second faster, they would have all died instantly! Because it was so colossally huge, they hadn't even realized it was a monster.
-Who are you...
"W-wait! We don't know who you are, but we are not enemies! If you want us to leave, we'll leave right away!"
The guild members immediately prostrated themselves! It was one of their most effective tactics. Of course, it didn't work on mindless monsters...
-...
When the opponent hesitated, the guild members were hopeful. Was it working?!
Your Speech skill is too low. You cannot persuade the Ancient Sea Dragon, Okenoas.
Okenoas finds you annoying and refuses to listen to your words.
-Those without qualifications cannot enter this place... Leave...
"Yes, yes! We'll leave right away!"
Still, getting out alive was a win. The guild members intended to leave immediately and share the information.
However, Okenoas was not such a kind dragon.
*BOOOOM!*
Your HP has reached 0. You have died.
With another swing of the forepaw, all the guild members were logged out.
"It's because of you!"
"Why is it always my fault whenever something happens?!"
The Power Warrior Guild members were fighting, pathetically grabbing each other by the collars!
"Tsk, tsk..."
Chairman Yoo shook his head and cast his fishing rod.
◈ You are the first to catch a fish that no one else has ever caught!
'Ohhh!'
Meanwhile, the Power Warrior Guild members pondered their next move.
"We couldn't even start a conversation. Our Speech skills aren't even a match."
"Even with his Speech skill at Intermediate, it didn't work. That means dialogue is completely impossible..."
In Pan-On, having an Intermediate rank in Speech was considered extremely high.
"The hint seems to be that we don't have 'qualifications'."
"Qualifications... qualifications... Is it level?"
"No, I don't think it's level."
The guild members put their heads together and brainstormed, but no clear answer emerged.
Then, Choi Min-soo spoke up.
"I have a great idea."
"...?"
"Let's ask Tae-hyun."
"..."
It took a special kind of thick skin to suggest asking so shamelessly. The guild members stared at Choi Min-soo with cold eyes.
"No... I don't think that's a good idea..."
"If we cause trouble for no reason, the guild leader will scold us."
"I got scolded last time, so absolutely not this time."
"No, listen to me! Look at the rewards for this quest. If Tae-hyun hears about it, he might be interested too! And who's forcing him to come?! Is he even the type of person who can be forced to do anything?!"
"Well, that's true."
"Certainly..."
Everyone nodded. If Tae-hyun wanted to refuse, he would refuse; he wasn't someone who could be dragged along against his will.
"Alright! Let's contact him now!"
After hearing the explanation of the situation, Tae-hyun had a dubious expression on his face.
In Pan-On, dragons were monsters that were generally impossible to defeat.
'What was the average level of dragons in Pan-On 1? I think it was over 500...'
Even in Pan-On 2, no player had managed to hunt a dragon yet, and looking at the current level of players who were barely crossing level 200, it didn't seem like anyone would for a long time.
'A dragon... nothing good ever comes from getting involved with dragons...'
Tae-hyun had already made so many enemies that they'd have to take a number to fight him.
However, Tae-hyun had one thing that set him apart from the Power Warrior Guild members. Something that set him apart from every other player in Pan-On!
"Yong-yong. Heuk-heuk."
-...Huh?
-...Huh?
"Do you guys happen to know a dragon named Okenoas?"
He actually had two dragons tagging along with him!
-I do not know, Master.
"What a useless fellow. I wonder who you take after."
-...
Heuk-heuk drooped his tail, looking dejected.
But Yong-yong was different.
-Master. Okenoas... Are you perhaps referring to Okenoas, the Ancient Dragon who dwells beneath the sea?
"...!"
Unlike Heuk-heuk, Yong-yong correctly identified who Okenoas was.
Heuk-heuk hurriedly began to make excuses.
-No, Master! Unlike the Gold Dragon clan, we Black Dragons are not very good at socializing...
"Let's stop with the pathetic excuses, Heuk-heuk."
-Heuk... It is the truth, Master...
Most Black Dragons had nasty tempers and fell into the evil category. There was a reason they had contracted with the god Sadiq.
In contrast, most Gold Dragons were righteous, good, and easily fooled... no, kind. One could tell just by looking at how Yong-yong had made a Divine Beast contract with Archisus.
Naturally, Yong-yong, being a Gold Dragon, had a much wider social circle than Heuk-heuk, the Black Dragon.
"Good job, Yong-yong. I knew I could count on you!"
-...Master...
"Anyway, so what does this Okenoas do?"
-If my memory serves me right, he is a dragon living in seclusion in a nest beneath the sea. I heard he hasn't left it for thousands of years...
"Really? Did he make some kind of special promise?"
Dragons who made special promises did everything in their power to keep them. Even without looking at Yong-yong or Heuk-heuk, who had made Divine Beast contracts, if a dragon promised to 'protect a certain dungeon,' they would guard it indefinitely. If Okenoas was one of those...
-Probably not. Okenoas is simply famous for being incredibly lazy. It is highly likely he hasn't come out simply because he is too lazy to do so.
"...I-is that so?"
Tae-hyun was slightly taken aback.
"It seems there's a crown or something where Okenoas is. Can we go in and bring out whatever is there?"
-That would be impossible, Master.
Heuk-heuk quickly chimed in. Feeling threatened by constantly being outshined by Yong-yong, he knew that if he kept losing ground like this, he might really end up neglected!
"Heuk-heuk."
-Yes?
"When I asked 'Can we bring it out?', I wasn't asking whether it exists or not. I was telling you to find a way."
-Yes, Master...
-But Master, Heuk-heuk is not wrong. As lazy as Okenoas is, he absolutely detests anyone wandering around his nest.
"What about you guys?"
-Hmm?
"Since you're both dragons, wouldn't it be a bit easier for you?"
-N-no. I have never met Okenoas... and since he is old, he probably has a terrible temper...
-I-I am a Black Dragon, so Okenoas will hate me even more!
-No, Master! Okenoas will hate an intrusive Gold Dragon like me even more!
"Hmm. Well, we can decide who goes in once we arrive... First, let's figure out how to get there."
Whether it was Okenoas or the crown, they had to reach that underwater dungeon to solve it.
However, Tae-hyun was currently leading an expedition where more than half of the members disliked him! He couldn't drag them along without a good reason.
"Count Kim Tae-hyun!"
"Ahem."
"...Sir! I have... brought the maps... *grind*... so please check them."
Priest Hugo glared at him as he handed over the maps.