Dark Knight of the Depths
Six Bone Swords and three Bone Bows focused their attacks on a single small Agni.
Kirrik, kiririk!
Swords swung and bone arrows flew, striking the Agni.
-160 HP
Chunks of the stone that formed its body shattered and fell to the ground, only to shoot back into the air and reattach themselves, reforming the small Agni.
Its HP recovered swiftly, but the relentless attacks inflicted damage once more.
Kyuu!
Kiririk?
This cycle repeated amid the chaos.
“Hup!”
Mu-hyuk darted through the fray nearby.
Right in front of him.
A tiny Agni leaped up.
He slashed his sword from above downward.
-160 HP
All enemies within 2m radius take 16 damage.
The four tiny Agni nearby vanished simultaneously.
Diamonds dropped into view.
Mu-hyuk glanced at them in passing before thrusting his sword into another one.
Once again, the area damage kicked in, taking out the one beside it too.
Nice!
This is why people learn skills.
This incredible feedback.
And the overwhelming hunting speed.
Pabat.
All he had to do was dash around swinging his sword.
Srrek.
The tiny Agni around him vanished, leaving diamonds behind.
Mu-hyuk, who had been moving wildly, came to a halt.
“Hoo……”
There were no tiny Agni left alive.
For the first time, he had perfectly cleared over a hundred of them.
*
Several more days passed.
Today, too, Mu-hyuk slew small Agni and mopped up the tiny ones.
Whoosh.
With a single swing, a tiny Agni exploded.
-160 HP
All enemies within 2m radius take 16 damage.
Two diamonds dropped.
He collected them and pressed forward.
“Ah……”
With a gasp of admiration, he stopped in his tracks.
The stairs had finally appeared.
Along with the peddler stationed right before them.
It had been a tedious slog.
Seven days since entering the dungeon—it was only natural.
“You’ve made it this far.”
Mu-hyuk nodded at the peddler’s words.
“Upgrade again this time.”
He had 1,350 diamonds stockpiled.
Spending 1,080 of them upgraded the dungeon to level 50.
Dungeon Upgrade rises to Lv55.
3rd Seal Released
📍 'Critical Chance' Adjusted
Critical hits trigger with 5% probability even on non-weak points.
Critical chance adjustment.
Now he had unlocked three seals total: penetration effect, area attack effect, and critical chance adjustment.
Diamonds left…?
Save them?
Or spend them?
Mu-hyuk knew the Phoenix Guild’s scouting party had cleared the dungeon in just seven days.
Today was his eighth day.
For three of them to clear it in seven days was impressive. The dungeon was that long and grueling.
But Mu-hyuk didn’t think he was any weaker than them.
His hunting speed was fast—thanks to his summons, never slow.
Their party comp was solid, and they likely had high-damage skills.
Even accounting for that, he figured he was on par.
Which meant…
The third floor was the end.
The boss.
There was a high chance the final monster lurked on the third floor.
A very powerful one.
Maybe not, but he had to prepare thoroughly just in case.
Comparing times with the Phoenix Guild’s team made such deductions possible.
Without that, he’d have faced an even tougher fight blind.
“Show me the other stuff.”
“Understood.”
He browsed the wares slowly.
Yeah, buy them.
Decision made, he called out the items.
“Three Explosive Orbs, two Explosive Lights, one each of Strength Potion, Agility Potion, Stamina Potion, and Body Awakening.”
“Here you go.”
◈ 260 Diamonds consumed
260 of his remaining 270 diamonds were spent. He checked each item’s info before stowing them in his inventory.
10 diamonds left…
Only one thing he could buy with that.
◈ Instantly restores 200 HP
◈ Requires: 10 Diamonds
With the Potion of Life purchased, he descended the stairs at once. Piercing the darkness, he pushed open the sealed door.
Kkiiik.
A harsh metallic screech spread, accompanied by a chilling echo that prickled his spine.
*
How much resentment had built up here?
It felt like an endless abyss, a groan weighted as heavily as the depths themselves.
Maybe an illusion. Just a “virtual” creation by the system, after all.
Yet it was so real it sent shivers down his spine—not from the cold air, but from raw dread.
Clop.
Hoofbeats echoed too.
Clop, hurrrghhh.
The two sounds intertwined, exuding an eerie chill.
A shape gradually came into view.
That’s…
Mu-hyuk’s throat bobbed heavily.
He had identified it.
Unknown, it had been frightening; now known, it tensed him even more.
Dark Knight…!
The boss was a Dark Knight—the necromancer’s dream class.
At least level 50.
Hmm…
This was a heavy burden even for Mu-hyuk.
In Illusion, high levels meant high stats. Stats meant overwhelming power.
Just look at Guardian Guild’s Kim Bada. He’d nearly killed Mu-hyuk—confident even at mid-40s—with two skills.
“Haa…”
A regular beast monster would worry him less. Low intelligence, instinct-driven.
With his current stats, a 10-level gap wasn’t daunting. But humanoid monsters changed everything.
Knight-types honed their bodies through endless training—accumulated knowledge and experience.
Their methods accelerated it beyond normal.
Bodies moved before the brain commanded.
Humanoids retained that lifetime experience, making them tricky.
But…
Mu-hyuk’s eyes held not just tension.
Ambition too.
Dungeon bosses dropped high-grade materials with high probability.
Please drop ‘that’…
“Summon.”
He called his skeletons.
Coated their weapons with various poisons, then ordered the archers to fire.
Pang! Pang!
Four arrows sliced the air.
They thudded into the Dark Knight’s chest.
Kang!
But the Dark Knight, mounted and charging, showed no impact. The arrows bounced harmlessly.
Hurrrghhh!
The Dark Knight’s roar-like cry made its black-armored horse rear and stomp the ground fiercely.
The distance closed rapidly.
All Bone Bows, target change.
All Bone Bows, rapid fire.
The archers switched from Dark Knight to horse. Bone arrows targeted its face.
The horse startled, rearing up.
Hiiing!
In that moment, Mu-hyuk pulled an Explosive Orb from his inventory and hurled it.
Kwaang!
All enemies within 5m radius take 75 damage.
As they flinched, he issued commands.
All Bone Swords, charge!
Kirrik, kiririk!
The charging Bone Swords collided with the oncoming horse. It bellowed at their unyielding stance, then reared again.
Bone Sword 2 and 3, fall back!
They retreated in time, unscathed.
Relief hit, followed by opportunity.
From neck to belly.
The armored horse took little damage from Bone Sword strikes. HP ticked down minutely, but it’d be a slog.
But when it reared, its neck and belly were unarmored.
Target there.
Not easy, of course. The mounted Dark Knight couldn’t be ignored.
Whoosh.
Its swinging sword struck Bone Sword 5.
Kiririk!
Even blocked with shield, it was shoved back hard.
HP dropped significantly.
Bone Sword 5, fall back and recover.
Bone Sword 2, advance.
All Bone Bows, target change.
The archers pinned the Dark Knight while Bone Swords and Mu-hyuk hammered the horse.
Hiiing!
The horse reared again.
Now!
Mu-hyuk, waiting, kicked off the ground. He thrust between its falling forelegs.
Puk.
He felt it connect.
-185 HP
Plus, his sword bore hallucinogenic poison.
Effect immediate.
The armored horse’s pupils glazed over.
He slid under its unmoving neck, heaving its belly upward. Bone Swords’ blades flew at the unarmored spot.
Slow poison, bleeding tears, weakening paralysis—effects stacked.
It dropped, sprawling, and swung wildly.
A gruesome sound rang out.
Hiiing!
Even as it recovered, attacks didn’t stop.
-185 HP
-186 HP
Luckily, its HP wasn’t high. A few more strikes turned it gray.
“Corpse Dissection.”
Just before it vanished, he extracted bones and hide. Stowed in inventory, he turned to the dismounted Dark Knight.
It stood proud.
No—arrogant.
Time to use them.
The items from the peddler.
Bone Bows, rapid fire.
Bone arrows harried its approach as he activated items.
Base stats plus items brought his Strength to 38. Potion added 3 more, plus 5% for a total of 43.
Agility from 18 to 22 via potion and Body Awakening. Stamina from 24 to 28.
Skeletons gained at least +1 each in Strength, Agility, Stamina too.
Gangster Necromancer’s trait added 30% of his stats to them.
Perfect.
If he lost now, he’d have to admit defeat.
“Let’s go!”
He roared, charging forward.
Kiririk!
Not a single one reversed yet— all 12 skeletons advanced around him.
That alone surged his power.
Opponent: just one.
Confidence in victory, he unleashed attacks.
Bone Bows, rapid fire.
Bone Swords, shield charge!
Bone arrows filled the air, Bone Swords’ blades gleamed in the dungeon.
Mu-hyuk’s sword peeked through, dealing the heaviest damage, pushing the Dark Knight back.
Hurrrghhh……
Slow poison dulled it.
Blood flowed endlessly from wounds.
Physical abilities dropped.
Hallucination snagged 10% HP easily.
He dominated after.
Seized momentum.
A bit more, and it’d fall—or so he thought.
No. As HP dwindled, it grew faster, stronger.
Excited frenzy?
Mu-hyuk hadn’t realized yet.