The Cyclops Giant's Rampage and Pascal's Tomb
A vast hall.
At its center stood a single monster, utterly alone.
Yura and the users in panic.
Their charge toward it.
The clash that followed.
[Urk!]
[What the hell is this thing so strong?!]
Text appeared at the bottom of the screen.
[What is this monster's true identity?]
The battle resumed, capturing the creature unleashing a shockwave.
The surrounding users were blasted away in all directions by that single attack.
Some collapsed, others slammed into walls. It was a truly gruesome sight.
[Level 75 boss monster: Cyclops Giant!]
[Its estimated HP is...]
[Its skill is a shockwave that maximizes vibrations...]
Gasp rose from the ensuing text.
The viewing users felt the same.
Meanwhile, the battle raged on.
Boom!
But every shockwave sent users scattering in terror.
They were slowly adapting, starting to escape its influence, but they needed to hurry even more.
It was then.
The users unleashed a focused assault.
Kaboom!
The screen glitched oddly for a moment.
Few would notice thanks to slick editing, but it was definitely off.
But the next scene erased such thoughts entirely.
[Krr... Krr...]
The Cyclops monster's eye squeezed shut.
Its surging power and movements captivated all eyes.
In an instant, it trampled the surrounding users mercilessly.
[Uh... Uhhh...]
The screen warped violently and went black.
Pure shock.
As viewers sat stunned, the feed cut to the broadcast studio set.
"Did you all see that? Unfortunately, we got completely wiped. I don't know who cleared it around the same time as us, but all I can say is they're incredible. From personal experience, that monster was no joke."
The male co-host chimed in.
"I don't even play Illusion, but that footage gave me chills."
"Really?"
"Ugh, it was terrifying. Fighting something like that head-on? Aren't you scared, Yura?"
"Well, it's virtual."
The conclusion was drawn.
[Illusion's World did NOT clear it!]
[Shocking twist and chills! So who was it?]
The posts flooded the Illusion homepage again, but no one had answers.
Just meaningless speculation.
*
Mu-hyuk sighed as he gazed at the contract he'd drafted a few days ago.
"Tch..."
In exchange for keeping secret who killed the Cyclops monster, he had to hand over the next piece of info to Illusion's World.
The terms were the same as when he'd shared the Red Tower strategy.
It showed how much they trusted him, which felt good, but with no idea yet what info to give, signing the contract early nagged at him a bit.
Well, the right moment will come.
He slipped the contract into his briefcase.
Bzzz.
A text arrived then.
The final incentive payment from the broadcaster.
Not a huge amount, but it didn't matter.
It was bonus money.
Checking the balance in his living expenses account, Mu-hyuk stood.
Enough had accumulated to buy Illusion stock.
Still, buy in moderation.
He transferred as much as possible to his brokerage account first, then used the app to buy Illusion shares.
He set automatic buys at fair prices, and soon texts came.
Bzzz.
Illusion: 2 shares
Illusion: 1 share
Illusion: 1 share
Small quantities, but with shares at 3.9 million won each, chunks of cash vanished.
9 shares cost 29.7 million won.
Hmm...
He pondered, then stopped.
Just this much.
He'd save the remaining 18 million for emergencies.
Rent, utilities, car lease—plenty of bills, and life was unpredictable. A safety net eased the mind.
Still, over 30 shares now.
Total: 35 shares.
Grinning in satisfaction, he set his phone down.
He logged straight into Illusion.
Sung Min-woo was already online.
"You here?"
"Yeah."
They partied up immediately.
Party with user 'SteelFist'?
[Yes/No]
He selected Yes.
Then renamed the party to "Crazy Bastards."
Party name changed to 'Crazy Bastards'.
As if it were routine, no objections to the name "Crazy Bastards"—they headed out to hunt.
"Hunt, hunt! Time to hunt again!"
Nearly a week wasted searching for the tomb.
The more he thought about it, the more frustrated and stifled he felt, so he'd tried to forget the tomb entirely.
Thud, thud-thud!
Half out of his mind, he pummeled wild horses relentlessly.
Neighhh...
The mutant wild horse monsters almost seemed pitiful.
"Die! Die, you bastards! Hahaha!"
Watching him, Mu-hyuk nodded in satisfaction.
Party name: Crazy Bastards.
It suited that sight perfectly.
"Come on, more! Bring it!"
He rampaged everywhere.
Mu-hyuk had reverse-summoned four Bone Swords, so his MP was actually recovering. He hunted nonstop, chaining fights and travel.
Corpse dissection was essential, of course.
Catching so many monsters piled up materials fast.
To save time, he collected every bone and hide.
Bone Assembly could wait for a bulk session—no big deal.
"Raaah!"
Sung Min-woo went wild again.
It was then.
Crack.
A strange sound, and Sung Min-woo flailed.
"Wha-what?!"
Then plummeted down.
------!
The rising message left his jaw dropping.
Pascal's Tomb
Experience gain inside Pascal's Tomb: +50%
The quest changed.
Find Pascal's Tomb
Experience gained.
Continues to: Find Pascal's Soul
Finally found it.
Pascal's Tomb!
And it linked to another quest.
"Found it! We found it!"
Only then, hearing Sung Min-woo's shout from below, did he snap to.
Mu-hyuk hurled himself into the hole. He lost balance, tumbled, and took minor damage.
He stood and scanned around. Not too dark—visibility was fine.
"We found it."
"Phew, great... but isn't this insane? How were we supposed to find a place like this? Lucky I was stomping around like a maniac and stepped through the floor. If we'd just passed by..."
Sung Min-woo rambled on.
Mu-hyuk let it go in one ear and out the other.
"Illusion is such a bitch. Good thing it was me, or else..."
Or else?
Mu-hyuk figured such hole-like floors dotted the area.
Of course, he kept that to himself.
It had let them find it early, after all.
"Drinks on me later."
"For real?"
"Yeah."
"Sweet!"
Both their faces relaxed.
The tomb.
How much time wasted searching here?
Almost a week.
"Shall we go?"
He'd gained plenty of exp already, but it wasn't enough.
Resolved to break even—or better—he stepped forward with fierce eyes.
Only now curious, Mu-hyuk checked the quest details.
Find Pascal's Soul
Find Pascal's soul slumbering deep in the tomb.
🎁 Reward: ?
No failure penalty listed.
Reward was a question mark too.
A bit odd.
Find the soul. Fail if not? But why no mention?
Did it mean no failure even if they left now or after ages? Or no failure possible regardless?
The latter, probably.
Illusion was sly.
No failure penalty meant failure was impossible.
Something would happen even if they left immediately.
Paths were endless.
Pick one.
This'll be fun.
He ruled out leaving the tomb. Exploring inside beat quitting outright.
Step.
The pair halted.
"Fork in the road?"
One path empty, the other blocked by a pillar.
"What the?"
Looking closer, a gem inside the pillar gleamed iridescently.
"A gem?"
"Pretty, but..."
"Smash it?"
"Dunno."
Couldn't pass—the pillar blocked the way.
As if tempting: Destroy me or stay stuck.
Felt ominous.
Take the empty path instead?
What if trap?
Overthinking bred confusion.
He shook his head.
Keep it simple.
No guaranteed right path, so smash, observe changes, then move.
"What now?"
"Just break it."
"Got it."
At Mu-hyuk's word, Sung Min-woo approached the pillar.
Thrust his fist.
Thwack!
The pillar shook with a solid thud.
But didn't break.
"Hup...!"
Provoked, Sung Min-woo used a skill to strike.
Rumble-rumble.
Violent vibrations, and the pillar shattered.
The gem scattered, engulfing them.
'Pascal's Soul' wails.
All stats slightly decreased inside Pascal's Tomb.
Seeing the message, Sung Min-woo muttered.
"Stats dropped?"
Stat drop?
That wasn't the point.
The soul wails.
Needed to interpret that.
The gem absorbed into their bodies caused the drop—maybe it was Pascal's soul.
Or at least related.
Did they have to take it?
How?
Breaking the pillar absorbed it.
Stats dropped.
So don't break the pillar.
Now the empty path caught his eye.
That way.
Something waited at its end. Pillar broken, but had to check what lay beyond.
"Let's go this way."
"Not the pillar-blocked one?"
"Yeah. Probably something to release it if we'd gone there."
"Aha!"
"Pillar's smashed, but we check anyway."
"Right, better safe."
One mistake could mean death—and a 24-hour login ban. Caution was key.
They took the pillar-free path.
How far had they gone?
Swish.
Something slithering.
"Hear that?"
"Yeah."
They tensed, ready for battle.
Swish, swish-swish.
The sound quickened.
Then, far off, something approached.
"Urgh...!"
Sung Min-woo groaned.
Crawling from the floor: giant centipedes.
Huge bodies, hundreds of legs—grotesque amplified.
"Ugh, what ugly freaks?"
"Don't wanna fight."
"Sigh, backtrack?"
"..."
Couldn't, of course.
Damn.
Grotesque or not, fight they must.
"Better kill 'em quick."
They'd turn gray and vanish then.
Battle lust ignited.
Right—if can't avoid, slay!
Last word felt off, but whatever.
"Summon."
Hastily summoning skeletons.
Charge to the Bone Swords.
Attack to the Bone Archers and Mages.