The Priceless Skull
He coated the protruding blade of his Skull Staff with the slowing poison, then approached the Lizardman Knight directly in front of him.
After stabbing each of the three Lizardman Knights in the thigh one by one, he moved to the Bone Archers.
He applied the slowing poison to the ribs they used as arrows. To the third Bone Archer, he applied hallucinogenic poison.
Bone Archer Attack
He snapped off a rib bone and nocked it to the bowstring.
Bang!
The flying bone arrow struck the massive Lizardman Knight square in the chest.
Affected by the slowing effect, the creature's movements visibly slowed to the naked eye.
This should do it.
He then pulled the hallucinogenic poison from his inventory and coated the blade with it before striking the remaining three in quick succession.
While they flailed in hallucination, he reapplied the slowing poison and focused his attacks on one unscathed Lizardman Knight.
Now only the blinded one and two with minor damage remained.
His remaining MP was around 500.
He could hold out for maybe eight minutes at most.
In contrast, his HP sat at about 800.
He decided not to worry about his body.
*
He closed in and thrust out his staff.
The sharp blade sank into the Lizardman Knight's forearm. In that instant, he spotted the greatsword descending from above.
One hit won't kill it.
Mu-hyuk ignored the incoming greatsword and stabbed the same spot again.
How many times did he strike in rapid succession?
Kraaaargh!
-236 Damage
Critical hits landed one after another, drawing a scream from the beast. He dispatched it quickly, but his own HP dropped significantly in the process.
"Hoo…."
Remaining HP: around 500.
He turned his head.
The massive Lizardman Knight—the boss—had already reverse-summoned most of his skeletons.
Only one Bone Sword and one Bone Archer remained.
He faced forward again. There stood the blinded Lizardman Knight.
Without hesitation, he turned his back on it and charged the massive boss Lizardman Knight.
Bone Sword, fall back.
He stabbed the creature's back as it pursued the retreating Bone Sword. Hallucination took hold, freezing its actions.
In that moment, Mu-hyuk positioned himself in front of it.
He thrust into its abdomen.
Pulled out and thrust again.
-236 Damage
He pressed the attack relentlessly.
Bone Archer, hold.
Bone Sword, advance.
As he issued commands, the massive Lizardman Knight shook off about 10% of its HP loss and snapped out of its daze.
Seizing the moment, he ordered the Bone Sword to thrust its sword.
Bone Archer, attack.
The bone arrow flew in and embedded in the Lizardman Knight's chest.
Kraaaargh!
The boss's greatsword grazed Mu-hyuk's shoulder.
Fast!
He couldn't dodge it.
His knee buckled.
The impact was tremendous, but his shoulder held—thanks to his armor.
Still, his HP plummeted. Mu-hyuk rose and stabbed the same spot again.
-228 Damage
+30 Bonus Damage
As the greatsword pulled back.
Mu-hyuk stabbed again.
-231 Damage
+60 Bonus Damage
Stab, stab, stab again.
The beast's greatsword battered his body, but Mu-hyuk ignored it, targeting the same spot relentlessly.
Remaining HP: around 280.
The greatsword slammed his shoulder once more.
HP -156
Remaining HP: now 124.
One more hit and he'd die.
The enemy's HP bar was invisible.
It seemed close to death, but the uncertainty gnawed at him.
Damn….
No other options remained.
He steeled himself and thrust again.
Squish.
The beast still moved.
This level 30 normal dungeon's difficulty was set way too high.
Difficulty scaled with party size and levels, but this felt off no matter how he sliced it.
No time for such thoughts. He thrust the staff once more.
-235 Damage
That was the moment.
Krr… krrruk….
The massive Lizardman Knight froze. Then it turned gray.
I won…!
"Corpse Dissection."
He hurriedly activated the skill.
Performing Corpse Dissection.
Progress: 5%. 7%. 11%….
Corpse Dissection complete.
Acquired: Variant Lizardman Knight Tendon (x1), Skull (x1)
The name was odd.
Variant?
But that word vanished from his mind the instant he saw the skull.
Skull…!
His fist trembled violently as he gripped it. It transcended mere surprise.
A kind of ecstasy, but deeper, vaster.
He quickly checked his inventory.
The skull was really there.
"To get this here…."
This was hidden knowledge vital to all necromancers—more valuable than any other tip.
He'd chosen necromancer precisely because he knew this.
Otherwise, he never would have.
"Hoo…."
His heart pounded wildly.
The sensation lingered for a long while.
He finally regained his composure.
First, get out.
A smile crept across his face as he stepped forward.
A door loomed in the distance.
As he reached for it.
Normal Dungeon Cleared.
Linked to Quest.
Contaminated Dungeon Cleared.
Reward: Item Chest acquired.
Special Reward: Title acquired.
Light burst forth with the messages.
When he opened his eyes again, he was outside the dungeon where the Dark Tiger appeared.
He scanned the surroundings. No monster presence, but he didn't light a fire this time.
He'd only done so before to find the entrance.
He swiftly exited the Dark Tiger Forest.
Only now could he properly review the messages.
Contaminated Dungeon….
And linked to a quest?
Mu-hyuk checked his quest log.
Swarming Darkness
From ancient times, necromancers lurked in the shadows, enduring the contempt and mockery of white mages. The founder of the Gangster Necromancer class, unable to bear it, stormed out and stumbled upon darkness festering among the white mages. Believing that exposing this darkness would banish white magic and bring necromancers into the light, he delved into it—but its true nature remains unknown. As his direct disciple, you must uncover this darkness to pave the way for necromancers.
📍 Contaminated Dungeon: Confirmed Variant Lizardman Knight tainted by darkness.
🎁 Success: ?
🎁 Failure: Loss of class
📍 Judged later
That thing was tainted by darkness….
Meaning the darkness lurks among white mages. He pondered briefly, but this revealed nothing concrete.
More hints will come eventually.
He closed the quest window.
Now, the title.
All Stats +1
HP/MP +200, Recovery +5
+5% Damage vs. Darkness monsters
+5% Defense vs. Darkness monsters
The new title, "Untainted by Darkness," was excellent.
Huh, demons count as darkness monsters too, right?
It would prove invaluable for major episode quests later.
Finally, he pulled the item chest from his inventory and opened it right there.
Item randomized.
Acquired: Ring of Wisdom
An accessory.
Grade: Rare
Wisdom +2
MP Recovery +10/min
Wisdom +2, MP recovery +10 per minute.
Perfect for Mu-hyuk, who focused on strength, agility, and vitality.
He slipped the ring onto his finger right there.
Save the skull for later growth.
With his thoughts sorted, he strolled leisurely back to the kingdom.
After quite some time, he arrived and used the warp gate to head to the north gate hunting grounds of Mulan Kingdom.
His second level 30 target.
The special dungeon.
*
A low-level hunting ground.
So crowded with users it was suffocating.
Which led to plenty of amusing incidents.
"This is our spot."
"Hunting grounds don't have reserved seats."
"We've been hunting the monsters respawning around here. Can't you see the other users have their own areas too?"
"We don't care about that. Handle it yourselves."
Words falling on deaf ears.
What to do?
In reality, you'd yell first. The loudest voice wins—that's universal.
But in a game? In unrestricted Illusion?
The violence lurking in people's hearts surfaces more readily.
"Fuckin'…."
"What?"
"Can't you understand? This is our hunting ground!"
"Wh-what the…."
"If you're pissed, come at us!"
Just like now.
Shing.
The two groups drew swords and glared. Then they charged.
In reality, it'd be a trivial spat. But in the game, it was paramount.
Hunting grounds were essential for growth. Lose yours, fall behind. Hence the clashes.
Yet those users wouldn't dare challenge guild tyranny.
Mu-hyuk watched the fight briefly before turning away.
A few minutes of progress later.
He spotted a small pavilion in a remote, sparsely populated area.
Users rested there, but he ignored them and sat in a corner.
"Shall we head out now?"
"Yeah, good rest."
But another group stayed.
And when they left, more came to rest.
Finally, after over two hours, the last team departed.
He slowly scanned the area.
Empty.
He moved to the opposite corner and inspected the floor.
Tap, drip.
Not easy to find.
But certain it was here, he persisted.
User presence returned. He frowned and paused. Once gone, he resumed.
Then.
Creeeak.
He found the spot with a distinct sound.
He pressed it hard.
Level 30 confirmed.
The pavilion's central floor vanished, revealing stairs descending underground.
As he descended.
Swish.
After Mu-hyuk vanished below, the pavilion floor slid back into place.
Other users came to rest but couldn't press the button-floor due to level restrictions.
No message appeared either.
It would remain undiscovered until some level 30 user accidentally palm-pressed that tiny button.