Two Minutes and Fifty-Six Seconds
A Special Dungeon was an event held simultaneously across several neighboring countries, including South Korea and China. Its defining feature was cutthroat competition—and an infamously brutal difficulty.
Or so they said, anyway.
Purge the Temple Guardians and Shatter the Crystal
Guardians Purged: (30/30) | Crystal Shattered: (0/1)
Wait, what? I'm already done?
“Well, that was easy.”
From the outer courtyard all the way to the inner sanctuary, statues resembling small stone golems had stood vigil over the temple grounds. I had already smashed every single one of those guardians to dust. Now, only one thing remained: a crystal glowing an ominous crimson directly in front of me.
In that case, there was only one thing to do.
Crunch!
Purge the Temple Guardians and Shatter the Crystal (30/30) / (1/1)
“Whew...”
Was that it?
Special Dungeon, Quiet Abyssal Temple has been conquered!
Clear Time: 00:02:56
Individual rewards are being distributed.
The national buff Song of Victory is granted to all Awakened affiliated with South Korea for a duration of 3 months.
All right, done. And the time taken... two minutes and fifty-six seconds. I managed to wrap it up just shy of the three-minute mark.
Not bad at all.
Inside the grand martial training grounds of the Heavenly Martial Alliance, a tense, razor-sharp atmosphere hung in the air as reports continued to stream in.
“Heavenly Emperor, we have just confirmed the coordinates of the dungeon gate. Spatial anchoring is underway, and the transit passage will stabilize in approximately sixty seconds.”
Finally. The time has come.
Luo Qin, who had been meditating with his eyes closed to compose his spirit, offered a curt nod.
“Very well.”
The moment he rose to his feet, the executives of the Heavenly Martial Alliance moved with practiced precision to carry out their preparations.
“All support-type Awakened, cast your enhancements immediately!”
“Understood!”
A cadre of standby Awakened rushed forward and began layering buffs onto his frame. There were thirteen of them in total—and every single one was at least an A-Rank support specialist. The cumulative potency of their spells was staggering beyond words.
◈ Torrent of Power: All attack damage increased by 10% for a set duration.
◈ Reinforced Carapace: Generates a protective barrier that absorbs physical and magical damage.
◈ Blessing of the Gale: Attack speed and movement speed greatly increased.
· · · Additional support buffs applied · · ·
“Heavenly Emperor, the elixirs and draughts you requested have been prepared.”
Good. The secret medicines and concentrated potions were the true heart of this undertaking.
◈ Elixir of Extreme Fire: All attack damage increased by 50% for a set duration.
◈ Century Snow Ginseng Wine: Physical strength and reflexes significantly enhanced.
· · · Additional medicinal effects active · · ·
Ignoring the flood of notifications rolling across his vision, Luo Qin downed every prepared vial without hesitation. With that, his setup was complete.
“Splendid.”
He didn't even need to move to feel the surging power coursing through his veins. In his current state, he was at least one and a half times stronger than usual. It was only natural, considering this was the absolute pinnacle setup he reserved exclusively for challenging the highest floors of the Tower. The exorbitant fortune poured into these preparations was enough to purchase a skyscraper outright.
“The portal is opening!”
The cost was inconsequential. So long as he secured the national buff, that wealth would be recovered many times over in the blink of an eye.
“Hah.”
It's open.
With a low hum, a shimmering blue portal materialized in the center of the training grounds, hovering within the open space cleared for it. An indoor dungeon gate might have bewildered an amateur, but to Luo Qin and the elites of the Heavenly Martial Alliance, it was a familiar luxury. It was the fruit of an A-Rank support skill—spatial transfer.
Stepping through that gate would deposit him straight into the Quiet Abyssal Temple, just as it had every previous quarter.
“I shall return shortly.”
Leaving behind that single declaration, Luo Qin took long, confident strides toward the portal. But just as his boot was about to cross the threshold—
Ssssshh...
The blue light dissolved into thin air. At the exact same moment, a cold system chime rang out across the hall.
The Special Dungeon, Quiet Abyssal Temple raid has ended.
Conqueror: ??? (South Korea) / Clear Time: 00:02:56
Previous: China → New: South Korea
...What? What kind of nonsense is this?
“The Special Dungeon... is already cleared?”
They had literally just anchored the entrance. How could it be over?
“How many minutes have passed since the event began?”
“...N-not even three minutes, my Lord.”
Right. Barely three minutes. How does that make any sense?
“Did you not report that those insects in the small country require tens of minutes simply to locate the entrance?”
That was how it had gone last time, and every single time before that.
“T-that is correct! There should have been no difference this time, yet...!”
Luo Qin ground his molars together so hard that the metallic tang of blood seeped onto his tongue.
“No difference, you say?”
There was one difference. One glaring anomaly.
That bastard. The question mark.
He had already seized two divine blessings, and now he had stolen the national buff right out of their grasp. If that wretch was permitted to run rampant any longer, there was no telling how far he would overstep his bounds. He could not be left alive.
“Liu Wei. Cast aside all other duties immediately and focus every ounce of your sensory abilities on tracking down that bastard.”
“Yes, Heavenly Emperor!”
A Special Dungeon could not be entered without leaving some trace behind. It was impossible. Residual traces of mana or spatial distortion were bound to linger somewhere, and an S-Rank detection specialist like Liu Wei would ferret them out without fail.
“The rest of you, listen well,” Luo Qin snarled, his voice laced with venomous intent. “Find that rat by any means necessary. I do not care what methods you employ—drag him out into the light!”
“Understood, Heavenly Emperor!”
Meanwhile, inside a conference room at the Awakened Management Bureau in Seoul, South Korea, the atmosphere was steeped in deep, familiar exhaustion—just as it had been every quarter for the past three years whenever a Special Dungeon opened. No one in the room harbored even a shred of optimism.
“What is the status on the ground?” the bureau chief asked, his voice entirely devoid of energy. The meeting was a purely perfunctory exercise.
“All strike personnel have arrived in Yongin, the predicted spawn sector. Search operations have commenced, but they have yet to pinpoint the dungeon gate.”
“...And China?”
“Well... given their track record, their vanguard has likely already breached the interior by now.”
“Haah...”
The director leafed through the dossier before him and let out a heavy sigh. It was the predictable outcome. The Chinese had detection capabilities on a scale South Korea could only dream of. They mobilized faster, cleared dungeons faster, and naturally claimed the national buff every single time.
“Must be nice to have so many people,” an official muttered bitterly.
With such a massive population, S-Rank Awakened were plentiful, and A-Ranks were practically a dime a dozen. And on top of that inherent advantage, those bastards locked down the national buff every three months, widening the gap even further. It was infuriating, but protocol had to be observed. As the saying went, as long as one didn't give up, the odds were never truly zero.
“So... realistically, how long until our team finds it?”
“My apologies, Director. It will likely take as long as it usually does.”
“No need to apologize. That's just the nature of Special Dungeons.”
The most exasperating aspect of a Special Dungeon was that detection skills were rendered completely useless against it. Climbers had to scour the terrain entirely on foot. To make matters worse, the spawn location was utterly randomized; the portal could appear in the middle of a bustling boulevard or tucked away in the musty basement parking lot of an abandoned complex. Three months ago, it had taken their strike team nearly forty minutes just to find the entrance.
“Sigh. Even if we do find it, what's the point? The Chinese will wrap it up before we even take off our coats.”
The quiet grumble slipped out from one of the analysts, and not a single soul in the room offered a rebuttal. Everyone was harboring the exact same sentiment. What was the use of running until their lungs burst when China would just speedrun the boss? In all likelihood, an announcement would flash across their screens before their hunters even made it past the threshold.
Ding!
The Special Dungeon, Quiet Abyssal Temple raid has ended.
Conqueror: ??? (South Korea) / Clear Time: 00:02:56
Previous: China → New: South Korea
Right on cue. Just like that.
“Huh? Wait... did China finish already?”
“Hold on a second...”
“What in the world is this?!”
The buff beneficiary had been updated. The newly designated nation was—
“South Korea?!”
And the conqueror was...
“Those question marks... isn't that EX-jwa?!”
The room erupted into sheer madness. Someone had conquered a Special Dungeon in two minutes and fifty-six seconds? How was that even physically possible when their own vanguard hadn't even found the front door yet?!
At that exact moment, the internet exploded under the sheer weight of the unbelievable news. From mainstream media headlines to underground Awakened communities, every single webpage was plastered with the identical shocking proclamation.
Conqueror: ??? (South Korea) / Clear Time: 00:02:56
The collective public reaction was pure, unfiltered disbelief.
Conquering a Special Dungeon was shocking enough on its own, but doing it in under three minutes was beyond the realm of mortal comprehension. Soon, firsthand accounts from the field began surfacing on major community boards.
We were busting our asses running in circles across the entire district when the completion banner suddenly popped up out of nowhere.
Didn't catch a single glimpse of him;;;;
Seriously, who the hell is this guy????
Is he even human?
Thanks to the rapid exchange of information across global networks, leaks regarding China's internal situation began trickling out as well.
Apparently Luo Qin chugged every top-tier elixir and buff potion he owned to guarantee a sweep this time around lololol.
He prepped like he was doing a world-first clear on the highest floor of the Tower.
And then he got door-banned before he could even take a single step inside lolololol
Stealing the buff was a massive victory in its own right, but learning that Luo Qin had been thoroughly humiliated turned the triumph into sheer euphoria.
What kind of buff was it?
“A ridiculously good one, that's what,” I murmured with a grin.
◈ Type: National Buff (Special Dungeon: 'Quiet Abyssal Temple')
◈ Effect: All attributes—including combat power, mana, sensory perception, and physical parameters—increase by 30%. Mental focus and recovery efficiency are vastly amplified.
※ The beneficiary nation will transfer based on the outcome of the subsequent Special Dungeon.
※ Duration: 3 months.
“Man...”
Looking at it again, the numbers were downright absurd. A flat thirty percent increase across every single combat-related statistic, coupled with enhanced concentration and recovery speed? The internet was calling me a hero, and honestly, with a contribution like this, a hero felt like an accurate title. Mmm-hmm.
Now, what about my individual clear reward?
◈ Crimson energy ripples across the spearhead like flowing liquid, leaving behind trailing afterimages of scarlet light with every thrust.
◈ Possesses a fixed chance to discharge intense heat upon impact, searing the target.
◈ Grants the user the special skill Red Stream Slash.
◈ Slightly increases Fire-attribute attack power.
Hmm... a spear?
I wasn't particularly interested in spear techniques at the moment. Swords and bows felt far more versatile for my fighting style.
“Should I just sell it?”
If I didn't plan on using it, pawning it off to buy something useful made far more sense. But how much would a Special Dungeon drop fetch on the market? I recalled seeing figures tossed around online before—items from these quarterly events went for anywhere from tens of millions to several hundred million won.
I pulled up the auction house listings on my phone to check the baseline value.
“Holy crap... two hundred million won minimum?!”
Wait a second.
If I liquidated this, wouldn't I have enough cash to stock up on premium elixirs in the Tower of Transcendence? That greedy golem Cassius was always grumbling about profit, but with a two-hundred-million-won windfall in hand, he'd be rolling out the red carpet.
Cassius, you old stone block. Just you wait. I'm coming back with some serious capital.