Chapter 48
Step, step.
I slowly descended the staircase.
At some point, the old man had been reverse summoned.
Now only six skeletons formed formation around me.
[You have entered the ‘Seal of the Demon Dragon.’]
[Be cautious.]
[The vile dragon’s traces create horrific monsters.]
The Seal of the Demon Dragon wasn’t so different from any other dungeon.
If anything, it was surprisingly friendly.
There were stairs built in, and luminous stones embedded in the walls.
Normally, if a place had sealed away something as great as a dragon, there should have been violent scars left behind.
But here, there were none.
Either time had erased them, or…
‘The elves might have maintained it.’
Whatever the case.
It was simple enough.
This was a dungeon, so monsters would appear.
If I kept moving, I would eventually find a solution.
‘The problem is…’
I glanced behind me.
“Huuuuh, deep breaths! Don’t be nervous.”
Dagnard pressed a hand against his chest, inhaling and exhaling nervously.
“Yes, I’m just walking the glorious path of finding my ancestors’ relics. No need to be nervous! Focus! Huuh, huuh…”
“……”
This dwarf was the problem.
Honestly, I would’ve preferred to leave him behind.
Realistically, he wasn’t much help in a fight.
But—
“Hey! Didn’t I tell you not to look at me like that! Even if you are an outsider, I’m still of the Rock Tribe! I know our history better than you, so I can be of help!”
“Well, fine… but.”
Dagnard was stubborn.
Even at the risk of death, he insisted on following me.
“I already warned you. I might not be able to protect you if it gets dangerous.”
Suddenly, I remembered.
The dungeon where I had met the old man of the Legacy of the Ten Thousand Arts.
‘Wasn’t it Guide Kang Sunwook?’
Back then, that A-rank Hunter had told me he might not be able to protect me.
Only now did I begin to understand why.
“Either way, staying alone in that village would’ve been just as dangerous. You’re the bold one here. How can you just drop everything and rush straight here?”
“Well, you’re not wrong.”
From Dagnard’s perspective, the elf village was probably far scarier than this place.
“Let’s keep moving.”
I pressed on.
The staircase spiraled down along the wall of a massive pit.
At its center yawned a bottomless abyss.
It gave off the same eerie feeling as the “bottomless pit” of scripture.
I forced myself to ignore the chill and kept walking down.
Time passed.
“Ugh, are you alright? It’s getting damper. Really unpleasant.”
“Wait.”
I stopped.
Dagnard was right.
Through the Supreme Azure Mind Method, I could feel an impure energy drawing closer.
[‘Bone Three’ uses skill, Vision Acquisition (Lv.9).]
Fwoooosh!
A glowing arrow shot from Bone Three’s bow.
It flew into the abyss.
“Mm.”
Around the arrow, my senses sharpened.
The locations of monsters. The number of them.
Strange creatures shifting restlessly.
Hundreds of things writhing in the dark.
[Vision Acquisition (Lv.9) has detected something.]
[Discovered: ‘?? ????’]
They were too far to see clearly, but the situation didn’t look good.
‘So to go down, I have to get through all of that?’
So this was what an “Unmeasurable” difficulty dungeon meant.
“……”
I’d expected it, but it still made my chest feel heavier.
‘Well, there might be another way.’
The mission hadn’t given me a clear objective.
My task was to find the key to resolving the races’ conflict here, not to slaughter every monster.
Still, I needed to take down a few to investigate.
Basic scouting.
“Alright. Let’s start slow.”
There was no need to rush.
Carefully, steadily—one by one.
[Ding!]
[A connection between this dungeon and Hunter Joo Donghoon’s profession has been found.]
“Hm.”
It was the same as before.
Like the Ancient Desert dungeon where I met Sunny.
[Warning!]
[The dungeon is transforming.]
[Exit is no longer possible.]
“How familiar.”
In the past, just seeing those words would’ve filled me with dread.
Now, I was used to it.
Let the dungeon throw whatever it wanted.
“My lord.”
“Yeah.”
“We’re ready for battle.”
“Odds of winning?”
“I’m not certain. Judging by their aura, it may be difficult.”
Sunny was honest.
But he was fearless, carrying himself like the absolute ruler he once was.
“My lord.”
Sunny glanced down into the abyss.
“A group is climbing up. Do we begin?”
“Wait until they’re closer, then strike first.”
“Yes.”
Thud, thud, thud.
Something was getting closer.
Dagnard cried out.
“W-what is that?”
“What do you think? Monsters.”
“What kind of ancient ruin has monsters in it?”
“Not just ancient. It’s the lair of a demon dragon. A great one at that. Of course there’d be monsters.”
“D-damn it. That’s a piece of knowledge I wish I didn’t have.”
Ooooooo!
A horrific wail echoed up from below.
[‘Thorn Drake’ has appeared!]
[‘Thorn Drake’ has appeared!]
…
‘Thorn Drake?’
A monster I hadn’t heard of.
But I did know about drake species from old bestiaries.
They weren’t as smart as dragons and didn’t use magic, but their physical toughness was incredible.
They were ranked as fairly high-level monsters because of their brute strength and tanking ability.
“A-a dragon?”
Seeing their forms from below, Dagnard fell backward in shock.
“How can there be dragons? Damn elves! What were they doing here in the seal? Were they trying to wake the Great Demon Dragon…?”
“Quiet down for now.”
—Kieeeek!
—Kweeeegh!
About ten Thorn Drakes thundered up the stairs.
“Bone Four.”
Thud!
My reliable tank drove his shield into the steps.
[‘Bone Four’ uses skill, Intermediate Block (Lv.3).]
Like the roots of an ancient tree, he stood firm.
“Next, Sunny!”
“No problem, my lord.”
[‘Sun Spear’ uses skill, ‘Soulflare’ (Lv.4).]
[‘Sun Spear’ uses skill, ‘Sweeping Desert’ (Lv.4).]
Flames burst around Sunny’s body.
The Soulflare skill burned his spirit to boost his strength, and with it he unleashed his unique AoE, Sweeping Desert.
Rumble!
A sandstorm surged outward.
Whoosh!
As he swung his spear, waves of force tore into the climbing drakes.
“What kind of attack is that?”
Ignoring Dagnard’s amazement, I readied Bone Five.
“Bone Five!”
Magic.
Drakes had high physical resistance, so magic was the answer.
Creak!
The S-rank Flame Dragon’s Staff glowed red.
—Kwegh!
From below, ten pairs of crimson eyes gleamed menacingly.
Almost daring me to try.
But Sunny was bold.
He charged straight into them.
Creak!
Spurred on, Bone One followed.
“Bone One, strike their legs.”
Whoosh!
Sunny’s spear flashed.
Thwack-thwack-thwack!
Heavy impacts rang out as he and Bone One targeted the drakes’ legs.
“Physical damage won’t work. We need to break their balance and knock them into the pit.”
Creak!
Sunny explained, and Bone One obeyed without a word.
‘They’ve got it covered.’
Now it was Bone Five’s turn.
He looked at me, awaiting the order, his incantation complete.
“Fire away!”
Creak!
[‘Bone Five’ uses skill, Fireball (Lv.MAX).]
Fwoooosh!
A blazing inferno swelled into existence.
Three times larger than the usual fireball.
‘Hot just looking at it.’
Flare!
Bone Five swung the staff.
The roiling fire shot toward the drakes.
They had no room to dodge on the stairs.
Boom!
—Kweeegh!
The scorching blast filled the space.
The drakes, who had laughed off Sunny and the others’ blows, now shrieked in agony.
“As expected. Fire is best for beasts.”
I muttered in satisfaction.
Beside me, Dagnard gasped.
“A-amazing! You!”
But this wasn’t the end.
There was no way such high-level drakes would die to just one fireball.
“Again!”
Creak!
[‘Bone Five’ uses skill, Fire Field (Lv.2).]
Fwoosh!
It wasn’t as strong as Fireball, but flames stretched in a line along the stairs.
Sunny and Bone One pulled back from close combat.
—Kieeek!
—Kweeegh!
The drakes halted, hesitant.
‘Of course.’
They had already learned how terrifying fire was.
And this wasn’t ordinary fire.
It was powered by the S-rank Flame Dragon’s Staff.
[Name: Bone Five]
[Energy: 170/200]
‘Good.’
Bone Five still had plenty of energy, thanks to the staff’s bonus +100.
Solid as a rock.
“Lay one behind them too.”
Creak!
[‘Bone Five’ uses skill, Fire Field (Lv.2).]
I spread flames behind the drakes as well.
Now they were trapped between two walls of fire.
“You… you’re roasting the dragons slowly, aren’t you?”
Dagnard exclaimed.
I grinned.
“Lucky us. Turns out they’re weak to fire.”
“L-look!”
Dagnard pointed ahead.
—Kieeek!
—Kweeegh…
In front of us, Thorn Drakes flung themselves into the pit, unable to withstand the flames.
Their dying cries echoed until they faded away.
About a minute later—
[‘Thorn Drake’ has been slain.]
[‘Thorn Drake’ has been slain.]
[‘Thorn Drake’ has been slain.]
…
One by one, the messages appeared.
Even beasts that tough couldn’t survive a fall that deep.
‘Oh.’
My eyes lit up.
Even though it had only been indirect, it still counted as me defeating them.
And that was huge.
Because—
[‘Bone One’s Strength increases by 1!]
[‘Bone One’s Skill increases by 1!]
[‘Sun Spear’s Strength increases by 1!]
[‘Bone Five’s Skill increases by 1!]
…
The experience transferred straight to my summons.
As per the cursed necromancer’s unique ability, monster experience converted directly into stats for them.
‘Jackpot.’
If I could handle all the monsters swarming here this way—
A storm of levels.
No, a storm of stat growth.
“Heh.”
A laugh escaped my lips.
‘It’s about time we leveled up.’
Until now, it had been nothing but training.
Training could raise strength, sure.
But the real balance lay between training and hunting.
—Kieeeek!
Below, more drake cries echoed, trembling with unknown fear.
“I’ll kill every last one of you.”
My steps grew lighter as I walked forward.