Serpentine Assault
The snake that absorbed the light began to transform.
Chirrr, chirrrk.
Its slender body thickened to the girth of an adult man's waist, and its length tripled.
As its size increased, so did its destructive power. It had grown beyond something they could ignore.
Wind Step.
With no other choice, he activated the skill and closed in on the Armor Knights. He brushed past them, swinging his sword in swift arcs.
Whoosh, whish-whish.
Its defense was surprisingly high—perhaps even higher than its HP—or it simply refused to die easily.
Storm. Cross Slash.
Only after unleashing the skill did he manage to take down one.
The problem was that there were hundreds of these snakes. If he could kill them with a few strikes, movement wouldn't be an issue, but that didn't seem feasible.
No helping it—he'd stick to the original plan.
Fine. Let's see who drops first.
He focused fire on the Variant Hydra.
"Armor Knights, Heavy Strike!"
"Armor Archers, Power Shot!"
"Armor Archers, Bone Bows, Rapid Fire!"
"Burtan, Ki Wave!"
"Armor Knights, fall back."
"All Mages, magic attack!"
"Armor Cavalry, Charge! Accelerated Thrust!"
He issued commands without pause.
The skeletons obeyed Mu-hyuk's orders instantly, allowing them to concentrate all attacks on the Variant Hydra without major losses.
"Here I go too!"
Sung Min-woo and his spirits unleashed their assaults from the side.
Kaboom!
A dazzling barrage of skills.
But the Variant Hydra endured far longer than expected. It wouldn't go down easily.
In the meantime, the Bone Swords, constantly harried by the snakes, were all unsummoned one by one. Three Armor Knights also fell out of commission.
The longer this dragged on, the greater the casualties would mount.
"Hit it harder!"
"Got it!"
Mu-hyuk closed in himself and swung his sword.
Storm. Cross Slash!
The Variant Hydra twisted its body and thrust its spear, but he had already finished his attack and retreated.
Storm. Powerful Arrow Shot.
The arrow flew straight toward the Variant Hydra's face.
Multi Shot.
Five arrows burst forth simultaneously.
And it wasn't just Mu-hyuk's.
Bone arrows from the Armor Archers and Bone Bows filled the air.
Countless small snakes erupted from the Variant Hydra's arms to intercept them, but some slipped through, embedding into its body.
Mu-hyuk's Multi Shot did the same.
Transformation. Blessing of the Dead.
He followed up with magic right away.
"Hraaah!"
Sung Min-woo charged in, striking the Variant Hydra with flashy blows.
‘Armor Knight 2’ has been unsummoned.
‘Armor Knight 5’ has been unsummoned.
‘Armor Archer 2’ has been unsummoned.
‘Armor Mage 1’ has been unsummoned.
The skeletons fell one after another, but he ignored it.
Bam! Kaboom!
He poured on endless attacks.
*
Of the 78 skeletons, only about 30 remained at the end.
Of Sung Min-woo's 12 spirits, nine had been unsummoned.
That was how tricky the Variant Hydra was.
"Hoo, this is a real pain."
"Yeah, pretty tough."
Mu-hyuk sent all his summons away.
"Take a break."
"You?"
"I'll scout once."
"Huh?"
"With Stealth."
"Ah...!"
Mu-hyuk smiled and stepped forward.
Just as monsters came into view in the distance.
Stealth.
He vanished using the skill.
The Treasure Dungeon held 10 hidden treasures.
Claiming even one reset all treasures after 48 hours.
Their locations and types would change.
After seven such cycles, the entire Treasure Dungeon vanished.
He'd watched plenty of Treasure Dungeon videos before.
Mu-hyuk narrowed the distance to the monsters, lost in thought.
Some treasures were in easy spots.
Others were brutally hidden.
Purely random.
You needed luck.
Swoosh.
He slipped past the monsters and took the right fork.
Then he began meticulously checking the walls, floor, and ceiling. With only 30 minutes total, he couldn't cover much—maybe one or two blocks—but thoroughness in each area mattered more to him. By the time he'd inspected the floor, walls, and ceiling completely, 25 minutes had passed.
This should do.
With three minutes left, he had plenty of time to return. Starting tomorrow, he'd leverage his massive edge over everyone else for a full treasure hunt.
As these thoughts swirled, he arrived back at the starting point.
His Stealth wore off just in time.
"Whoa, when'd you get back?"
"Just now."
"Break's over for me. More scouting?"
"Yeah, let's check here too."
Mu-hyuk carefully examined the floor, walls, and ceiling.
Nothing unusual.
A smile crept onto his face.
The next day.
Tonum Plains buzzed early in the morning.
"This the spot?"
"Can't you see? It's crawling with players."
"Dude, I was just asking."
"Ugh, idiot."
"Touchy today, huh."
"Obviously! You think all these players can fit into one dungeon? I dragged my ass here, and now it feels like a total waste. Pisses me off."
"C'mon, it might work out."
"You see this crowd and still say that?"
The player turned his head.
It was an insane number.
"Holy crap, ant swarm central."
"Tch."
More players poured in as time passed.
Then the murmurs swelled.
"What's up?"
Curiosity burned, but he couldn't leave the line—abandoning it now would waste all the wait time. He held back, hoping for updates.
Soon, chatter from the front reached him.
"No way, for real?"
"Yeah, someone came out of the dungeon."
"What? We're dying to get in, and someone's leaving?"
"They clear it already?"
"No shot."
A player from the front rushed back, hyped.
"Yo, yo! Huge news. I got the scoop!"
"What?"
"Players came out of the dungeon."
"Yeah."
"And get this—that content opener dude!"
"No way!"
"Yup! He's going back in with Illusion's World staff and Yura, you know her?"
"Who doesn't?"
"They're re-entering together!"
"Whoa, that's massive."
"Right?"
Some curious players broke line and headed forward, but by then, Mu-hyuk, Sung Min-woo, and the entire Illusion's World crew had already entered the dungeon.
Before recording started.
Yura approached with a bright greeting.
"Long time no see, Mu-hyuk."
"Yeah, how've you been?"
"Swamped. I promised we'd hunt together before, but I couldn't... sorry."
"Nah, it's fine."
Mu-hyuk hadn't dwelled on it anyway.
"Well, this is a dungeon, so call it kept."
"You think?"
"Yeah. Oh, one thing I've been curious about."
"What?"
"Why you and your summons are so strong."
"Ah."
"You pumped Strength, Agility, and Vitality, right?"
It was public info now, so she'd guessed from that. Mu-hyuk nodded with a faint smile.
"Knew it. Not all mysteries solved, but that's enough for now."
Yura's smile beamed.
While they talked, the others prepped. Combat players checked gear; recording staff set angles and tested systems.
Then five players appeared in the same space.
"Huh...?"
Mu-hyuk and Sung Min-woo aside, everyone's eyes widened.
"What the hell?"
"What's going on?"
They stared at each other in shock.
Sung Min-woo glanced at Mu-hyuk and chuckled.
"Why?"
"Not gonna tell 'em?"
"I will."
He'd planned to watch longer, but they looked too flustered.
"PD-nim, I forgot to mention."
"Huh? What...?"
"Logged in this morning—tons of players already inside. I dipped out and back in a few times. Spawn shifted each time. Thought maybe separate areas, but ran into familiar faces farther in."
Kim Min-ho PD and everyone focused on Mu-hyuk.
"Seems the Treasure Dungeon drops everyone in the same space."
The impact hit hard.
"N-No way...!"
Most panicked.
Kim Min-ho PD grinned instead.
"Ha, haha!"
He clearly saw footage gold.
"This is huge!"
"Is it?"
"Totally! Anyway, we're rested—let's move? More players might make it awkward."
"Sounds good."
They hurried forward.
The five behind exchanged glances.
"Fuck, we're screwed."
"Haa, damn it."
Same space as everyone?
Chills ran down spines.
"Tch, worth a shot at least."
"Yeah, let's go."
They followed belatedly.
*
The Variant Hydra appeared.
Sung Min-woo's spirits annoyed it, so it spewed hundreds of small snakes in rage.
Yura stepped forward, frowning as she roared.
"Haaap!"
Taunt—drawing enemy aggro.
Hundreds of snakes charged her.
Iron Wall!
She tanked with defense skill, while casting heals from behind.
"Heal, Heal!"
As Yura's HP dipped and recovered, a mage chanted a long spell.
Powerful winds gathered on him; he opened his eyes.
"Now!"
Yura used an AoE to knock snakes back. A fierce gust swept them away.
Kaboom!
All snakes instant-killed.
They focused the lone Variant Hydra.
It raged again, spewing enhanced snakes via skill—but they wiped them the same way.
After repeats, it stopped summoning snakes. Exhausted, no doubt.
Hunting eased up.
"Whoa."
Sung Min-woo watched in awe from behind, then whispered to Mu-hyuk.
"Man, a proper party setup is nuts. Looks way easier than us."
"Jealous?"
"Kinda?"
"If they saw us, they'd cry foul to HQ."
"Oh, yeah?"
Sung Min-woo scratched his head.
Yura turned.
"Cleared. Onward?"
They moved.
"Fork ahead. Which way?"
"No clue—pick one."
"Right it is."
Mu-hyuk's brow furrowed mid-stride.
Players?
A group approached from ahead.
At least thirty.
Tension thickened.
Step, step.
Distance closed; their forms emerged.
No women. All burly, grim-faced men.
Mu-hyuk and the Illusion's World crew hesitated—but too late to stop.
They drew nearer, almost within arm's reach.
Gulp.
In the heavy silence, someone's swallow echoed.