Jiwon's fingers trembled slightly as a small notification blinked into existence.
[Kim Jiwon: What…what even is this place?]
Minjae didn't answer immediately, instead moving forward cautiously as he checked his surroundings before sighing softly.
[Kang Minjae: This was one of the first Dungeons humanity ever cleared. People didn't understand Dungeons back then.]
[Kang Minjae: It belonged to an Archbishop named Amon, who was actually a half-demon. He used this place and his position to lure people in, devotees, pilgrims, what have you.]
He rounded the corner and peeked into one of the completely dark hallways before shaking his head and turning the other way.
[Kang Minjae: Before sacrificing them brutally to prolong his lifespan. The skulls? That's them.]
The text seemed to make Jiwon nervous, as she physically gagged from behind him.
[Jiwon: That's great, hyung. But let me rephrase my question. WHY are we down here in the first place?]
[Kang Minjae: Oh.]
[Kang Minjae: Amon was a collector. Anyone who came here to kill him and failed—he kept their stuff. Treasures that could give huge stat boosts enough to turn the tide of a fight.]
Jiwon blinked behind him.
[Kim Jiwon: …What? Then why didn't we come here first?! We already lost the initiative. They probably have all the good loot already!]
That was when Jiwon noticed a small smirk start to emerge on Minjae's face from behind.
[Kang Minjae: I can guarantee you, they don't.]
[Kim Jiwon: …How do you know that?]
Minjae slowed as he reached the intersection, stopping just short of the turn before he nudged his head.
"See for yourself," he grinned.
Jiwon stepped forward, only to see an entirely different world. For a brief second, it didn't even feel like they were still underground.
Grass stretched unevenly across the ground, pushing through the cracks of old stone as if it was reclaiming the space. Trees grew along the edges of the chamber.
But the thing that stole her attention was the small fountain in the middle, filled with sparkling water that never seemed to go stagnant, unlike the rest of the place.
Minjae stepped up behind her, pointing toward the fountain.
Two figures stood, one of them swinging his greatsword wildly through the air, only for something to slip right past it. The other was already backing up, breathing heavily as his back hit the stone as the hand holding his shortsword went limp.
"What the hell?! Why are there so many of them! Didn't that prick Jisung say it was doable?!"
"Yeah, should've never trusted that guy to begin with!" the second one replied.
Around them, shadow-like creatures hovered. Humanoid shapes flickered in and out of existence, more like a shadow than of actual substance. Faint embers replaced where their eyes were supposed to be, glowing a faint red that only conveyed one emotion:
Anger.
"Wait, remember what he said…Use the fountain!" the first exclaimed.
Immediately, they both dipped their weapons into the fountain, sparkling water coating their blade before the steel started to glow brightly. This time, each of their swings managed to wipe out one of the shadow-like creatures.
Minjae drew his knife from the shadows before receiving a message from the girl by his side.
[Kim Jiwon: What are we doing?]
[Kang Minjae: Waiting. Once their HP gets low enough, we'll go in for the kill.]
[Kim Jiwon: What? No, no. I can't, you do it!]
[Kang Minjae: You're way faster than them. They won't even see it coming.]
[Kim Jiwon: You can't guarantee that!]
"Trust me, I can," Minjae whispered as two translucent blue boxes appeared in his vision.
[Agility: 15]
[Agility: 14]
Lower than Jiwon's. Good. All there is to do now…is execute the plan.
The fight dragged on. For a moment, the two players from Jisung's team managed to push the first wave of shadows back.
Minjae's eyes flicked upward. The HP bar that hovered over them just barely hit the fifty percent mark.
This time, he wasn't taking another chance.
"Now."
[Stat Conversion]
[Agility: 22 → 40 ▲; Endurance: 18 → 0 ▼]
[Strength: 20 → 30 ▲; Mana: 12 → 2 ▼]
In that quick instance, Minjae was already behind the man holding the shortsword. The guy never even realized what was happening, attention still locked on the swarm in front of him.
By the time he felt it, it was already over.
A cold flash slipped past his guard and buried itself into his throat. His body stiffened, falling onto the ground before disappearing in a poof of blue pixels.
The second guy barely managed to turn, his expression twisting from confusion to shock as his eyes locked onto Minjae.
"…What—?!"
Minjae was already stepping forward, ready to end it just as cleanly. But before he could move in, a blur cut across his vision.
Jiwon emerged from the shadows, blade in hand as she sprinted across the grass.
"Mark!"
A small symbol appeared, locking onto the target as the player's body seized for a brief instant. But that was all it took.
Jiwon's blade followed immediately, driving forward with almost perfect precision that surprised even Minjae himself.
The strike landed cleanly as the man's HP went to 0, dissolving into blue pixels just like his teammate. Jiwon let out a shaky breath, quickly wiping the sweat off her brow as the adrenaline wore off.
"…I did it," she said, almost in disbelief. "I actually did it."
Her grip tightened slightly around her blade, a small, nervous laugh escaping her.
"My first elimination…!"
Yet, from her side, Minjae straightened, eyes already moving through the area.
"Don't relax just yet," he said flatly. "We're not done."
Jiwon blinked, the moment snapping almost instantly as she followed his gaze. The spirits hadn't stopped.
If anything, they were starting to drift closer now, drawn by the absence of the two players that had been holding them back.
"…You've gotta be kidding me," Jiwon muttered under her breath.
"There's way too many of them!" she exclaimed. "If we fight them head-on, we're just going to end up like those guys—bleeding HP and wasting time."
Minjae exhaled quietly. "I know."
"Then…what do we…?"
"Run."