Endless Waves of the Time Attack Dungeon
Skeleton Master 251
Only a handful of monsters managed to punch through the wall of skeletons. Even those that did were quickly surrounded and overwhelmed by other skeletons before they could go far.
It was a time without major threats, but the undeniable fact was that their skeleton numbers were dwindling. There were so many at first that it wasn't immediately noticeable.
Crack.
Another skeleton shattered.
Again. And again.
How many had been destroyed?
The atmosphere began to shift gradually.
How many minutes had passed?
Why were monsters still pouring out endlessly?
"Hmm."
"This getting dangerous?"
"Dangerous? Nah."
"Plenty of skeletons left still."
"R-Really?"
About two more minutes passed.
"Crazy, when's this gonna end?!"
"Ha, now it's getting risky."
"Damn...!"
Confusion spread.
Of course, some were still acting nonchalant.
"Death Knight, shift left!"
"Heh, Death Knight? Looks scrawny as hell, just a cool name."
"Bullshit. Yours?"
"What's mine."
"Your skeleton's name, Ribcage or whatever, tsk."
No, maybe they were just pretending to be chill.
In any case, the endless monsters were pressuring the skeletons hard. Now, gaps had opened up all over the hall. Monsters darted through them, targeting users at every opportunity.
"Ngh!"
Mu-hyuk finally intervened, unable to just watch any longer.
Armor Archer, Bone Arrow.
Power of Darkness, Wind Step, Storm.
The monsters started getting cleared out rapidly. When they snapped out of it, the light on the walls had vanished.
"Huh...?"
"It's over!"
Mu-hyuk hurriedly checked the remaining time.
Remaining Time: 39 minutes 52 seconds
Roughly 10 minutes had been used up.
Was there a next stage? Or...
As he scanned the surroundings, pondering a few possibilities, the walls suddenly crumbled all around, revealing a staircase descending below.
"Looks like the way down appeared."
"Ah...!"
"This must've been stage 1. Before we head to stage 2, one thing to say."
It was something the users needed to know too.
"I don't plan on using Revive for now."
"Huh? Why not?"
"I've grasped the patterns, but need to confirm a few more things."
"Confirm what...?"
"Eh, various stuff. Hard to explain."
"Hmm."
It was an ambiguous situation.
Holding back the skill would make clearing the dungeon tougher, maybe even deadly.
But they couldn't force him to use it.
Mu-hyuk was the leader, and he'd decided against it—what could they do?
"I'll use it once a few things are confirmed. Shall we head up?"
Mu-hyuk took the lead toward the stairs.
The users followed with uneasy expressions.
They soon arrived in a wide hall.
Light burst from all sides again. Sensing monsters would emerge from there, the users clustered in the center and hurriedly positioned their skeletons on the perimeter.
The problem was that the emerging foes were flying monsters.
*
Spectators watching via Illusion TV started debating how many minutes it'd take to clear stage 2.
At that moment, Mu-hyuk's mage skeleton unleashed magic once more.
Thanks to Mu-hyuk and his summoned skeletons' efforts, they finally cleared stage 2.
It took 17 minutes.
Remaining time: about 22 minutes.
A few users had logged out from death, but it wasn't a big loss.
They'd reconnect after 24 hours and challenge again together.
Of course, if Valsian mentioned a perfect clear before then, no choice.
"Now for stage 3."
They descended the revealed stairs.
Mu-hyuk's gaze lingered on certain people mid-descent.
Three of them.
Daedan, Baekbon, and Seoryang.
Still alive, huh?
He'd observe their skill this time.
In stages 1 and 2, he'd been too busy grasping the situation to watch individuals.
Now with fewer users and some adaptation, he could.
"Another hall."
"Yeah."
"Hmm, wonder what monsters this time..."
Then the walls lit up.
Kieeeeeek!
Monsters appeared with eerie shrieks.
"Haa."
A sigh escaped involuntarily.
Ground and air types.
Two kinds at once.
*
In the end, they burned through the time limit, and the first attempt failed.
"Tch, tougher than expected."
"Whoa, what is this..."
"They made this to be clearable, right?"
"Wonder if we can..."
"More like, how many stages even?"
"50 min limit, probably 3 stages max. We almost cleared 3 with a bit more adaptation."
"Yeah?"
"Can't say for sure. Might be 4."
"Then impossible."
"It's tough, but that's why it's a group quest, right?"
As users exchanged opinions,
Mu-hyuk checked remaining members.
Quite a few had died.
But they couldn't wait 24 hours for re-logins.
Had to keep challenging.
"Focus up."
Users turned at Mu-hyuk's words.
"Everyone rest 20 min, then retry."
"What about the others?"
"Can't wait 24 hours."
"Hmm."
"No guarantee we clear this run. Need to keep challenging, nail down patterns."
Most users nodded.
"Yeah, can't waste a day."
"Right. EXP's juicy too."
"Good. Rest and challenge."
"Assuming agreement."
Mu-hyuk sat after speaking.
Swish.
He pulled out disposable crafting tools, made gear.
Clang, clang!
In 20 min, crafted a few pieces, but crafting skill EXP barely rose.
Still, it adds up: 1%, 10%, eventually 100%.
Stored gear in inventory, stood.
"Before retry, a few words. Stages 1-3 have common points everyone should have noticed."
"Common points?"
"Yes. First, light bursts from hall walls."
"Ah...!"
Someone continued.
"Second, monsters spawn from there."
"Correct. So we'll prep fully, take positions. When light bursts, spam skills in assigned directions. We wasted time fumbling first round—focus on speed this time. As stage 1 nears end, hold skills for stage 2 air monsters."
Users nodded.
"Solid. Assign directions?"
"Yeah."
Mu-hyuk roughly divided.
"This is 1 o'clock direction. This 2 o'clock..."
Down to 12 o'clock precisely.
"Entering."
Mu-hyuk headed to iron door.
Fwaaah.
Same method, massive hall.
Entered Time Attack Dungeon.
Time Limit: 50 minutes
Remaining Time: 49 minutes 59 seconds
Clear the dungeon.
Advanced through wide hall, summoning skeletons and Dark Spirit.
Status window.
Dark Spirit's info appeared.
Leveled up nicely from prior dungeon runs.
Hit 100 soon.
Seemed like +5 attack per level, so level 100: 545 ignore-defense damage.
Would be a solid dealer at higher levels. Closed status, scanned around.
"Coming soon. Prep."
"Got it."
Remaining users clustered center, facing assigned directions.
Light burst—users ordered skills on skeletons.
Arrows flew first, then spells filled the air.
Explosions chained into massive blasts, vibrations shaking bodies.
Kuhuuung.
As explosions ceased.
Command Authority activated.
Burtan, Armor Archer 1, Armor Cavalry 1, Armor Mage 1 stepped forward. As if sharing Mu-hyuk's thoughts, they naturally began their tasks.
Nice.
Mu-hyuk smiled, facing front.
Time to move.
Used Power of Darkness.
Power of Darkness spreads around.
Within 10m radius, fixed damage (20) to hostile lifeforms.
MP -1.
Level 1, so low fixed damage, but scales hugely later.
Now used as HP/MP source. Plenty useful already, no regrets.
Wind Step, Cross Slash, Storm.
Dashed walls at blinding speed, damaging visible monsters.
HP (+2) recovered.
MP (+2) recovered.
MP plentiful despite frenzy.
Awesome!
Monster cleanup at otherworldly speed vs first run.
Acquired EXP.
Acquired EXP.
'Dark' level up.
Acquired EXP...
Stage 1 clear.
Remaining Time: 43 minutes 41 seconds
Just over 6 minutes elapsed.