Skull Snakes and the PK Duo
Mu-hyuk tested out the skill.
Hydra, Skull Snake Summon.
The bone fragments making up the Hydra's entire body shot forward, wriggling and crawling like snakes.
"Uh, what the hell is that?"
Sung Min-woo furrowed his brow.
"Well..."
Mu-hyuk wasn't thrilled with the Skull Snakes' squirming movements either.
Still, they had to be useful going forward.
He immediately activated the Skull Snake Enhancement skill.
The Hydra raised the weapon in its hand toward the sky, and light poured from it, enveloping the Skull Snakes.
The light thickened and lengthened their bones, making their movements even more grotesque.
"It's... a bit much."
"Yeah."
One last thing.
Field of Vision.
His fist clenched at the flood of visions that appeared.
It worked...!
The Skull Snakes summoned by the Hydra could also share their vision.
There were so many it was hard to check them all individually.
But if he focused, their efficiency would be on another level entirely.
"This is insane."
"Why?"
"Field of Vision works on them."
"No way!"
From then on, Mu-hyuk sat in place, focusing solely on directing the Skull Snakes.
It drained a ton of mental energy, but the results were perfect.
Unlike regular skeletons, the Skull Snakes spread everywhere in an instant and checked even the tiniest gaps without missing a thing.
"Whew, got a read on everywhere we can for now."
"That was crazy fast."
"Yeah, gotta push further and check more."
Mu-hyuk quickened his pace.
"Monsters up ahead, heads up."
"Got it!"
They fought monsters as they pressed on, farther and farther.
After passing about ten forks in the path, he stopped again and sent the Skull Snakes fanning out in all directions.
Sung Min-woo summoned his twelve spirits and started directing them too, not to be outdone.
They rushed to a suspicious spot they found, but unfortunately, no treasure.
2 treasures discovered in total.
Time until reset: 33 hours, 11 minutes, 28 seconds.
Another user must have found them instead.
Damn.
Tsking in disappointment, he refocused on the Skull Snakes' visions.
*
Rudolph's grumbling had reached its peak.
"Ah, damn it. It's already dawn. Haa."
"......"
"We've killed hundreds of users already. Hundreds."
"......"
"Let's just hunt tomorrow."
Asrahan finally spat out a word, unable to hold back.
"You're too talkative."
"What do you mean too talkative!"
"Noisy."
"Noisy my ass. Fix your own damn speech first."
"No."
"Fucking psycho."
The users behind them—19 following Asrahan and 29 tailing Rudolph—glanced at each other more and more as the bickering dragged on.
Like they were subtly measuring each other up, neither side willing to back down.
Of course, Asrahan and Rudolph couldn't care less.
Then, Asrahan, who had been walking ahead with an annoyed look, suddenly stopped dead.
"What now?!"
"Hmm."
Tilting his head, Asrahan jumped.
Puk.
His fist punched straight through the ceiling.
Something was caught.
Krak.
He yanked it down hard and examined the item in his hand.
2 treasures discovered in total.
Time until reset: 33 hours, 11 minutes, 28 seconds.
Treasure...?
He'd stumbled on one purely by chance.
"What the hell is that clingy tank top? And what was that message?"
"Item."
"Item?"
"Yeah. My personal T-shirt."
"Psycho..."
Asrahan lifted the sleeveless shirt.
◈ A man once called the Legendary Guardian always prided himself on his massive build. He crafted various T-shirts from fine materials that clung perfectly to his body. Most were failures in terms of performance, but exceptions exist. He named his one success "Sleeveless."
◈ Defense +15
◈ Magic Defense +20
◈ Shock Absorption (8%)
◈ Stamina +5
◈ Durability 400/400
◈ Requirements: Strength 40, Agility 40, Stamina 70
The shock absorption option was top-tier.
With a shield on top?
Nearly 80% shock absorption.
An outstanding T-shirt.
Asrahan's lips twitched upward.
"Good options?"
"Not bad."
"Lemme see."
Asrahan stepped back.
Without showing it, he stripped off his armor and equipped it right away.
"Hey, lemme see it!"
"No."
Rudolph cursed under his breath at the sight of Asrahan hurriedly donning his armor.
"You motherfuc—"
Asrahan ignored him completely.
Status window.
He was satisfied with the boosted stats.
Around the same time.
Mu-hyuk checked the sword being used by Armor Knight 3.
Blood-Drenched Drake Longsword.
He hadn't needed the damage absorption skill on its special option yet.
Still, its raw damage was exceptional, making Armor Knight 3 stand out.
A reminder of how crucial weapons were.
Should I try it once?
A sudden urge to test the damage absorption skill hit him.
No, better not.
Always prepare for the worst.
Today was no different.
Experience gained.
He held off on the skill in the end.
"Corpse Dissection."
After the hunt, he dissected the Variant Hydra corpse.
He swapped the obtained bones onto his skeletons, then scouted only the spots hard to reach with summons.
"Nothing here. On to the next."
"Moving now!"
They could move at this speed because he'd pre-scouted with summons.
Thanks to that, Mu-hyuk was searching much faster than at the start.
*
The dungeon had reset four times so far. This was the fifth fresh one.
"How many items now?"
"11."
"7 pieces of gear?"
"Yeah, rest are materials. Just one Variant Hydra skull."
The other three materials were unique and high-quality, but not usable for Mu-hyuk.
He'd gotten a lot, but couldn't hide the disappointment. Human greed has no end.
Yura, waiting in line with him, peeked over.
"You look bummed."
"Kinda. Still, compared to other users, it's a massive haul."
"True. You're amazing."
"Power of the summons, I guess."
Mu-hyuk smiled.
"Hey, how many more dungeon resets do you think?"
Mu-hyuk wanted to answer right away.
Seven total, so two more resets left.
But he couldn't say it.
"Who knows."
"If there are plenty left, filming might drag on longer than expected."
Yura's expression hardened a bit.
She seemed worried.
"It is getting tough."
"Yeah, everyone's worn out."
Most of the filming crew looked exhausted.
Kim Min-ho PD, on the other hand, smiled wider as time passed, brimming with energy.
His voice was brighter as he gathered everyone.
"Alright, we're about to enter the fifth dungeon. Before that, a quick announcement."
All eyes turned to him.
"Tonight, the Treasure Dungeon footage finally airs on broadcast."
"Ooh!"
"Gotta watch that."
"No choice."
"Does that mean we rest tonight?"
As cheers rose, Kim Min-ho PD glanced at Mu-hyuk.
"We'll leave it to Mu-hyuk-ssi."
Everyone shot him expectant looks.
How could he ignore that?
He nodded with a smile.
"Let's hunt till 5 PM and call it. I'm beat too."
"You're the best!"
"Knew Mu-hyuk-ssi had the right idea."
The line moved fast, and soon it was their turn.
"Alright, heading in—"
A user blocked Mu-hyuk's path as he tried to enter.
"Found you."
A robed figure with deep red eyes under the hood.
PK criminal, Asrahan.
"Told you. Just wait here and he'd show."
"Dumbass. Then wait from the start."
"......"
"Whatever. This the guy?"
"Yeah."
Rudolph tilted his head cockily.
"You the necromancer Mu-hyuk?"
"Hmm."
"Don't look like top-rank material. Whatever. Heard you beat my buddy here? So I brought some guildmates. Wanna throw down?"
Mu-hyuk's lips twitched.
Looks young too.
But that mouth was rotten from the start.
Irritation surged.
"Why so quiet? Scared?"
Any reason to hold back?
None.
Fine, if that's what you want.
He spoke slowly.
"Summon."
Warriors, archers, mages—all summoned.
Whoooosh.
A faint smoke haze accompanied the imposing horde of skeletons. Rudolph's eyes gleamed.
"Whoa, badass."
In that instant, a wave of energy enveloped him.
"Wha...?"
Mu-hyuk advanced on the staggering Rudolph.
Flash.
His swung sword shredded Rudolph's chest.
Storm Slash, Cross Cut.
As an archer-class user, Rudolph's HP and defense weren't high.
He'd normally hang back sniping, but excitement pulled him forward this time.
That one mistake exposed him to the aura.
"W-wait..."
Off-balance, he was done for.
What about Asrahan and the other 48 users?
Mages' spells.
Kaboom!
Armor Archers and Bone Bows' bone arrows.
Cavalry charges.
Armor Knights and Bone Swords' relentless advance pinned their feet.
"Heh, heh heh. Very enticing."
Even amid it, Asrahan laughed.
And spouted something incomprehensible.
"Rudolph, enough playing around."
What?
Rudolph, under Mu-hyuk's sword, suddenly smirked.
"Was I dragging it out too long?"
"...!"
Mu-hyuk's eyes widened.
What the—?
The Rudolph in front of him exploded with a pop and vanished.
Then, from the hostile users' rearmost line, a hand waved, and a face peeked out.
"Sorry, sorry! That was actually my clone!"
He drew his bowstring, aiming at Mu-hyuk.
"Anyway, you surprised me. Neat trick. Here's my reply!"
He released the string.
Bang!
An invisible arrow streaked toward him.