Into the Sea of Chaos
After taking down the boss and emerging outside, Taemin checked in with Yoon Ji-young and Seo Ji-hoon on their progress.
"How much did you guys get?"
"One level up and halfway?"
"About the same for me… no, maybe a bit more? But damn, this is insanely fast. It's only 5 p.m. already."
"Yeah? If your agility stats come up a bit more, we could wrap even quicker than this… but hey, you leveled up anyway. At this rate, promotion next week won't be an issue."
The next day, and the day after that, their hunting sessions continued relentlessly. Excluding workdays, about two days after they'd been steadily grinding—
Yoon Ji-young finally hit level 60.
Two days after that, Seo Ji-hoon reached level 60 as well.
Having completed their rank exams on the same day, the two proudly ascended to B-rank together and expressed their gratitude to Taemin for his help.
"Thanks, hyung. I'll never forget this favor for the rest of my life."
"Thank you. You worked hard."
"No big deal. I'll help out again next time."
With Yoon Ji-young and Seo Ji-hoon safely promoted to B-rank, he dove back into solo hunting.
Rising early in the morning, Taemin headed to one of the upper dungeons: the Sea of Chaos. Having already cleared Death Land, he'd come straight here next.
Handing over his access pass at the entrance, Taemin vanished into the portal.
The first thing that caught his eye upon entering was the endless expanse of emerald ocean and pristine white sands. It was so picturesque, it almost tricked him into thinking he'd stumbled onto a foreign resort.
"Whoa, what a view."
Of all the dungeons he'd seen so far, this backdrop was by far his favorite.
Glancing around, Taemin soon crossed the beach to the water's edge. Dipping a hand in, he felt a cool sensation mingled with something slightly off-putting.
"Hm? Gel?"
Pulling his hand out completely dry—not a drop of water on it—he curiously plunged both hands in, then rubbed them together after withdrawing.
Not a single bit sticks.
He'd known about this from the guild info desk beforehand, but it was still astonishing up close.
"Let's try wading in up to my waist first."
Taemin stepped into the water. When it reached his waist, he walked back out—and again, not a drop clung to him. Staring at his perfectly dry pants, he repeated the process several times.
In truth, there was no real issue with just diving in—the guild data wouldn't lie. But for Taemin, without prior experience, caution was key.
He tested dunking his face, even holding his breath underwater a few more times. Finally satisfied, he fully submerged and vanished beneath the waves.
Inside the sea, Taemin opened his eyes and cautiously breathed in.
Just like during the tests, breathing came without hindrance.
Whoa, this is wild.
Even fully submerged, air flowed effortlessly into his lungs. With basic survival assured, he finally took in the underwater scenery.
The seascape resembled those occasional foreign documentaries he'd watched—dense fields of seaweed, colorful unnamed rocks everywhere, all so convincingly oceanic.
No fish around?
Being near the entrance might explain the lack of life so far. Gripping his dual swords tightly, Taemin braced for unseen enemies and advanced carefully.
Movement felt slightly awkward compared to land, and the deeper he went, the stronger the resistance, demanding more effort to maneuver.
How long had he swum? Suddenly, thousands—no, tens of thousands—of fish schooling past caught his eye.
Wondering if they were monsters, he activated his appraisal skill, but they were just ordinary Santiaamo fish worth less than 100 EXP each.
A bit farther in, more varied fish appeared, along with cephalopods like octopuses, and cnidarians such as sea anemones and jellyfish. None suitable as prey.
What the hell? Why only these weaklings?
Despite venturing deep, no proper monsters in sight—Taemin started getting impatient.
At this rate, it'll take all day.
Feeling time slipping away, he unleashed Arrainba and shot forward at high speed. Underwater dragged his pace below land levels, but his sky-high agility still outstripped most fish.
After dashing for over ten minutes, he finally encountered worthy prey.
A shark rivaling a truck in size—pure shark in appearance.
Not that strong. Let's cook it quick.
Taemin activated his skills and lunged. No need for scouting with those stats.
As he charged, the shark barreled toward him, jaws agape. Its terrifying visage would horrify any civilian, but Taemin—seasoned against countless beasts—felt nothing.
As distance closed, a few routine slashes ended it.
You have acquired 424,000 EXP.
The shark's blood clouding the water drew more monsters—mostly fellow sharks like Shabel. Stronger stats, but none a real threat to Taemin.
His reduced speed meant packs could be tricky even for weaklings, but the fourteen whirling blades around him formed an impenetrable guard.
He dispatched the dozen gathered in seconds and pressed on.
Naturally, deeper in, monsters grew fiercer—and stranger. No longer fish-like, they resembled massive reptiles.
Long necks like giraffes, bloated bodies, four legs below, huge fins from spine to tail—dinosaur vibes.
The one facing Taemin now was a "Canomayer"—appraisal failed, high-level beast. At least stronger than ruin bosses.
Unlike fang-only Shabel, it had claws as secondary weapons and blistering speed—tricky opponent.
Speed penalty here, so smoke screen it is.
Taemin dashed in, deploying smoke to blind it. It worked perfectly here too.
As black smoke billowed from the Canomayer, he surged up to slash its neck.
It twisted late upon sensing him—but the blade had already bitten deep.
You have acquired 1,420,000 EXP.
The headless corpse faded away with the chime. Scanning the spot briefly, Taemin sought new prey and advanced.
After battling various powerful beasts, one question nagged him.
This feels easier than the last dungeon.
It made sense. Local monsters had lower defense and HP than the mausoleum's. Average speed 30-50 points less, fewer per pack. Yet EXP nearly doubled.
No need for mausoleum at all—straight here works. That was his takeaway.
But only Taemin could think that. Others faced different realities.
Even with Haste buffs, their agility lagged far behind. Even generous equals couldn't grind freely.
Entering Sea of Chaos dulled not just speed but all movement. Taemin's 40% evasion let him near-normal motion, but zero-evasion hunters suffered.
Slower movement? Attack speed tanks—basic swings halved, efficiency plummets.
Reduced range, tougher dodges too. Hunters deemed this tougher than mausoleum.
Good for Taemin regardless. Fat EXP, easy kills—he was glad he'd come. Excitement built for other dungeons too.
Been going a while, but no boss yet?
To gauge position, Taemin pulled up the map.
He was a handspan from the entry beach. Opposite shore stretched farther than arms wide—hinting at vast scale.
Came today, might as well peek at the boss before leaving.
His main reason: the "Kraken" boss. Killing it dropped two items.
One: complete rare gear set.
Two: Kraken's Tear gem, market value 30 billion won.
Kraken's Tear held purer mana than standard magic stones—prime energy source, equipment processing staple. Hot item for leveled hunters.
One drop equaled three months' earnings.
Keep grinding, it'll drop eventually.
After pondering the map, his figure blurred forward again.