Dungeon Steal (3)
“Uwaaaah! You again, Sandro?!”
As he closed in on the last remaining archer to finish him off, a massive roar echoed from behind the portal. Il Do Yang Dan had finally emerged from the instance dungeon, late as usual.
“Hey, it's been a while since we've met face-to-face like this, hasn't it? Good to see you, sucker!”
“You son of a bitch, how the hell did you know about this place?!”
“You guys were sneaking off somewhere so quietly, I got curious what was at the end and followed. Looks like something important's here, huh? Why so heated? It's not like this is the first time we've crossed paths.”
Sandro played dumb even though he knew full well. With this hot-headed simpleton, acting casual like this would throw him into a total panic—it was a given.
“Wh-what are you talking about?! Th-this is just your run-of-the-mill dungeon! We just came to level up!”
Even that obvious fluster wasn't easy to pull off... But sure enough, Il Do Yang Dan lived up to expectations.
“Come on, I heard everything. You said it yourself earlier—Darius doesn't need 'that thing.' So what the hell is 'that thing' anyway?”
“Sh-shut your trap! Die, you bastard!”
A wise choice, even if belated. Better to shut up and swing his sword than keep talking and give away more secrets.
But it was also a stupid one.
“Oh, nice! If a murderer like you comes at me, that's music to my ears!”
This guy still hadn't learned his lesson after handing over his sword to Sandro ages ago. Sandro met the blade that had once enraged him the most—but now just felt pitiful—with one of his own. Of course, he swung back at the same time.
“Gah! What the—? Why does this hurt so damn much?!”
“Hyungnim! Watch out! This guy's damage and tankiness are both insane. He's unbeatable— just run!”
The warrior who'd been chipping away at Sandro from the side shouted out. Sandro, cooldown refreshed, unleashed his swift movements and started landing real hits. Not just any sword, but a holy sword—how could the guy withstand it?
Acquired!
Il Do Yang Dan, the knight class, used Charging—typically a knight's charge skill—as a pathetic escape into the portal. Watching his aggressive approach turn into a frantic retreat melted away Sandro's lingering anger like snow in the sun.
“Yang Dan! Don't worry, I won't chase—just go slow so you don't trip! Why does your back look so pathetic today?”
“That motherfucker! Ugh, if I could just stun him, that no-name punk wouldn't be strutting around like this!”
“If he's no-name, then catch him! Huh? Playing with you filled my cooldown already? Magic Missile! Shadow Step!”
That was the whole reason Sandro had toyed with him. He'd been waiting for Shadow Step's cooldown while the archer was still a ways from the portal. He teleported behind in a flash, and right on cue, the pre-cast Magic Missile slammed home.
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!
The 5-star Magic Missile fired five shots, each one hitting the archer dead-on. His reflexive Backstep evasion got canceled by the missiles' stagger effect the moment he tried it. Sandro followed up with precise combo slashes and a sneaky backstab.
The archer, who'd taken prior damage and let his guard down thinking the attacks had stopped during the banter, vaporized in the blink of an eye.
“N-nooo!!”
With a dying scream, the archer oxidized into nothing. In his place lay a longbow crafted from World Tree branch, demurely dropped.
“Whoa! +9 Unique? What is this, do all Taesung guys swim in money or something?”
Sandro had targeted the archer relentlessly not just for low HP, but because he was in murderer state. And sure enough, the payoff was huge—a +9 Unique weapon, roughly on par with a low-enhance Legendary.
Dodak Tong hadn't formed Taesung's elite assassin squad for nothing, that much was clear.
“You bastard! Spit that back out! Do you know how much that's worth?!”
“Yang Dan, if I'd dropped a Unique quest item to you back then, would you have given it back? What kind of ranker whines like a noob?”
“Damn, I'm gonna lose my mind because of this prick! Argh! What do I even do about him?!”
“Why so noisy? Do you fight with your mouth instead of your sword? Want me to teach you what a real fight is?”
Sandro feigned a charge, and the guy freaked, diving into the portal like his life depended on it. The remaining two hurriedly followed.
Whether out of fear or using return scrolls, the portal stayed quiet. Soon, the full Burning Star crew assembled, all gaping at the rippling blue portal.
“Whoa! An instance portal hidden here? How'd it stay secret this long with all the explorers in Tayen?”
“Taesung must've activated it via quest recently. Kept it guild-secret, so Il Do Yang Dan only brought 6. Bringing more would've been safer, but spies would've leaked it fast.”
“Makes sense. Anyway, shouldn't we hurry in? They might come back.”
“Yeah. They won't be quick, but let's go! First clear might take time.”
With that, they passed through the mysterious instance portal one by one.
'Forgotten Underground City of the Magic Age (Desra West)'
“Huh? A Magic Age ruin?”
“Magic Age?”
“Ah, Dro hasn't done the main quest yet, so he wouldn't know. At 350, the main quest chain introduces the ancient 'Magic Age'...”
As Burning Star's top-level player and ex-Saint guild master, Chuk Bing knew things they didn't. Even Hyunjung knew more than Sandro in some areas.
“The Magic Age was before the Demon War a millennium ago in the lore. Tayen's original setting, not in PC version. Few quests yet, so casuals don't know...”
“Ah, the era before the Demon War in those CFs.”
“Yeah. Trailers showed humans using Titans against demons—story says Magic Age peak civ mimicked archangels to build them.”
Lord-grade Titans from the 7 Divine Weapons came from the Heavenly Realm, not Magic Age—that was secret to their owners only.
Anyway, first Magic Age dungeon ever. And Yeon Woo's boss intel. Suspicion turned to certainty.
“As expected... Hyungnims and noonas, I forgot to mention: the boss is a Titan.”
“What?”
“No way?”
Not just the elders—even Hyunjung and Ra Chan gasped in shock.
“Now you see why I called it critical? First clear reward is definitely a Titan. We have to clear this try, no matter what. Dungeon's exposed now—Taesung might bring masses, even Darius himself. This is our one shot.”
“Never thought I'd raid a Titan-reward dungeon...”
“I'm in! But Sandro hyungnim, can we 5 pull it off? My level's low—arrows might not even stick...”
Ra Chan, just past 300, voiced concern. His level was low, but others outleveled Sandro. And the comp was solid: healers, holy knight, mage, archer—ideal party setup. Their guild meshed perfectly, no overlaps.
“Top rankers are only 360s. Dungeon mobs max 400 probably. Damage reduction, sure, but bow mastery'll stick enough. Your gear's top-tier anyway.”
“Ugh... How'd I end up like this? I was Phoenix's hidden ace... Fine, after this, I'll grind nonstop—even if it means 3 hours sleep!”
“That's the spirit, Ra Chan. Level up quick to make switching to Burning Star worth it! Fighting!”
“...Can't even fake some worry?”
“Enough chit-chat—time to clear. Chuk Gol! Lead!”
“Yes, Chuk Bing hyungnim!”
The dungeon entrance was a long stone staircase descending into ancient ruins. Hyunjung led cautiously down, revealing a vast underground world. Crumbling brick houses in ancient style filled a massive cavern city, hundreds strong. At the edge, where buildings thinned, loomed a gigantic temple.
“That's it, the huge underground temple! Simple map—nice.”
“Roger! Unknown mobs, so careful. Open maps like this can swarm—don't get overwhelmed!”
“Got it!”
Since grabbing the holy sword, Sandro swapped routine dungeons for new ones often. But tackling one with guildmates for the first time felt... nostalgic. Like his first dungeon three years ago, post-Tayen launch?
Have I been giving up too easily all this time?
United against Taesung, no pretenses in the guild. Not super tight yet, but no pressure either. If he'd stuck with Olympus a couple more months early on, maybe...? Solo was comfy and efficient, selfish greed slamming the door shut.
The stronger he got, the more he reflected.
“Whoa! What? Cerberus? Isn't that a demon realm mob?”
Thoughts interrupted—aggro on lead Hyunjung pulled the first monster. A Cerberus, rare outside demon quests. Chuk Bing analyzed instantly.
“Cerberus means demon-corrupted zone? Or borderland? Demons or fiends possible. Definitely tough dungeon.”
“Nah, not tough—jackpot. Super jackpot.”
“Huh? Why, Dro?”
“Forgot maybe, but whose is Rune Paytona? Light God Luitus's! Useless till now, but anti-demon option: +2x physical damage! Uwahahaha!”
Titan-slumbering Magic Age underground city. After vampire dungeon, prime level-up spot again.