Magical Thief (3)
Boom! Boom! Boom boom!
In an instant, the sound of over a dozen rock chunks merging rang out as the rock golems came charging after me in a herd. But I just silently pursued the fleeing archer in a straight line.
"Whoa, you're totally insane!"
Witnessing my antics, the guy finally gave up running and pulled out his last resort—a recall scroll. But the 10-second cast time was more than enough for me to kill him and loot his drops.
"You guys are all the same—greedy idiots. You could've just followed HandsomeZhuho off the cliff from the start. I would've given up and recalled by then!"
"Ah! Holy shit, you're right!!"
With that, the bewildered archer met his end, and HandsomeSeoJun's party was completely wiped out.
[Rock Golem dealt 165 physical damage.]
[Rock Golem dealt 184 physical damage.]
By then, the rock golems I'd aggroed had gathered in massive numbers, swinging their fists. I used Shadow Step—now off cooldown—on the one at the edge of the pack to slip away, then looped back toward the cliff.
"Haha! You haven't even made it halfway?"
Looking down, I spotted HandsomeZhuho far off, scrambling up the slope like a tiny ant.
My HP was nearly full thanks to potions, so I fearlessly leaped off the cliff, shedding the golems' aggro. Then, at my leisure, I activated a recall scroll to return to town.
Shiiiing!
[Arrived at Dawn Village, Primordial Island.]
I respawned at the goddess statue in the town square—the recall point—where some unexpected faces greeted me. The Handsome trio, freshly resurrected from their wipe, were huddled together.
"Oh? What're you guys doing here?"
"You bastard! So you were just leeching levels while pretending to be a noob? You totally baited us!"
"When did I ever pretend to be a noob? You spew nonsense—one look at my gear screams pro aura. If you couldn't tell, that's on you idiots!"
"Pro my ass! You ended up here too, so you must've died to Zhuho-hyung or the golem and respawned, right? Busted, lol!"
Losers always had plenty to say...
HandsomeSeoJun blabbered on shamelessly, oblivious to how pathetic he looked standing there empty-handed, his sword dropped on death.
"Spouting bullshit every time you open your mouth is a talent, I guess. Haven't gotten the whisper from Zhuho or WrinkleTeng yet? Oh, still grinding up that ridge like a trained mutt? Makes sense—you fell for a basic movement fake."
"Just admit you got lucky today! If I'd known you were a Thief in advance, I wouldn't have let my guard down—I'd have crushed you!"
"Quit the crap. You think backstabbing your trio was just luck? How many years of Tayen rice have I eaten?"
"Years? Even then, a real pro would've joined a guild. You're guildless, aren't ya?"
"Heh, think what you want. Anyway, big bro's busy leveling—gotta bounce. Thanks for the gear; it'll cover my potion costs nicely!"
I watched them fume as I teleported away as a space mage. Just as I was about to warp, HandsomeZhuho—back via recall—came sprinting over, but I flipped him the bird and vanished.
[Arrived at Ibashu Castle Outer Village.]
I'd warped to Ibashu Castle—a spot I frequented lately due to low player traffic.
I didn't know HandsomeZhuho's personality well. But given his murderer status and greedy tone, he wouldn't let me off easy.
Tayen was vast, but low-level hunting fields for noobs were limited. He'd no doubt stealth around, combing every beginner spot for me.
So, skipping field farming for fast instance dungeon grinding seemed smartest.
"As long as my blade connects... I can make it work, right?"
That's why I'd waited until my level-down's final day for the +10 Iverutan Holy Knight Order Longsword to hit the market. Its 'extra damage to undead' option shone brightest in an instance right here in Ibashu territory.
I fired back at HandsomeZhuho's sudden whisper, then added him to my block list.
This punk... true to a lowbie-backstabbing murderer, he was scum to the end.
'Should I grind hard for a week and teach him a real lesson?'
Judging by his gear and damage output, his level topped out around 200. If things went as planned, a week would be plenty to outgrow him.
I even toyed with luring him into a backstab spot and stripping him bare—but nah.
'No time to waste on trash like him.'
My goal left no room for even a second's delay.
I restocked potions from storage and headed to the castle outskirts. My target instance was in the nearby cemetery.
Soon, the area name popped up.
<Ibashu Castle South, Village Cemetery>
"Healer needed!! 4-man party leaves ASAP if a healer joins!"
"DPS mage with 3★ Shield, 5★ Heal—map expert, tons of clears! LFG!"
The graveyard keeper's house bustled with players recruiting. Tombstones and graves stretched behind them.
Ibashu had few users now because only lowbie fields nearby. As average levels rose, popularity waned—but a year ago, it teemed with noobs.
Still, the cemetery drew tons of level 100-ish players. The perfect instance for that bracket kept it hot, even with fewer newbies.
"Hey! Got a party? Our DPS dropped—wanna join?"
"Sorry, already in one."
"Alright, thanks!"
Some sharp-eyed guy—or alt account—spotted my Thief class and Iverutan sword, offering a scout. But I wasn't the type to chill in pugs, and time was short.
I pushed through the crowd and hailed the NPC keeper, Jefferson.
"What brings you to this plac—"
"Skip it! Heard undead plague this spot—open the dungeon already!"
"Not just passing through, eh! Adventurer Sandro, do me a favor. Slay the Skeleton King, culprit behind our cursed undead townsfolk! My reward won't disappoint."
Ding!
‘Slay the Culprit of Ibashu Cemetery’
[Enter Instance Dungeon ‘Ibashu Cemetery's Cursed Mausoleum’?]
I hit YES without hesitation, diving solo into an instance most tackled with 4+ players.
"Whoa... been ages since I was here. Never dreamed I'd return."
Despite fields dropping more EXP and loot, many preferred instances. Main reason: safety from murderer backstabs.
Second: the 'incapacitated' system. Inside, HP zero meant downed, not dead—revivable by allies. No drops even on death.
Player-friendly design let strangers form instant parties. Fields were wild jungles; instances, safe pastures.
Especially women and older players favored them.
"Less EXP than fields hurts a bit, but power-leveling's the same anywhere, right? Just chill here—no PK bus, but more flies than expected."
Undead here ranged level 80-100. In level-gap-adjusted Tayen, even level 10 me would've missed entirely. Level 30? Barely.
But calculations said doable—and my +10 rare full set bridged the gap.
A skull wielding a splintered wooden shield and rusted sword.
Rounding the first corner past the entrance, a basic skeleton soldier stood guard.
No need to measure up—I charged and swung.
[Low-level Skeleton Warrior dealt 225 physical damage.]
[Evaded Low-level Skeleton Warrior's attack.]
"Ow, stings a lot. But evasion procs at this gap? +10 reinforcement rocks!"
Swish, swish, swish—thwack!
We traded blows: 3/4 misses, one barely connecting.
Expected. What mattered? Hits landed at all.
"You're no elite like a rock golem—your HP's gotta be low!"
Gear advantage... it devoured level gaps and party comps. Amplified by the undead-slaying Iverutan sword.
Crunch.
Down two superior HP pots and five solid hits, the skull crumbled.
[Your level has increased.]
No combos—just basics—and I took a level 80 skeleton from half HP to zero. Massive EXP even leveled me up.
Top of my HUD: Theosis's Blessing still sparkling, boosting EXP.
"Buffs are the best! No wasting time—grind here till it expires. You're all dead, you skull bastards!"
For the buff's duration, I farmed Jefferson's mausoleum nonstop. By day 2, soloing the boss Skeleton King.
Result? Hit 99 right before it ended.
Just 3 days from level 10 restart. Dozens of times faster than first run—I was primed for the time attack.