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chapter 74
-Ranger is insane;
-Don’t underestimate the King Vanguard.
-But he didn’t kill it, right?
-In low-level dungeons, he can’t fully flex…
-The skills were flashy though. Cheers.
Ranger’s earlier skill had drawn everyone’s attention.
Thunder Sniping.
The guidebook listed it as a Rank 4 skill.
The greater destructive power likely came from his weapon or stats.
‘That’s the level it should be.’
Out of 300 million players, only 10,000.
Those who survived such brutal competition were the vanguard.
Perfectly suitable materials for clearing this dungeon.
Swoosh—!
Kwaang—!
Chasing the doll, Hanbit continued pouring out attacks.
There was only one reason he unleashed maximum power.
To avoid Ranger’s suspicion.
Crackle—!
Then, from behind, an electric arrow split into several branches.
Ranger’s skill.
Kwaaaang!
‘No need to worry.’
Having already decided to kill the doll, Ranger poured out firepower without hesitation.
But the wide maze walls became obstacles.
Whoosh—!
The fleeing doll counterattacked, spewing flames from its mouth.
Hanbit dodged lightly, gradually closing the distance.
Clang—!
Crackle—!
The continuous chase and exchange of blows drew the stage back to the maze’s center.
Whooo—!
Sticking close, Hanbit narrowly avoided the doll’s attacks while maintaining close range.
To Ranger, that was extremely irritating.
“If you don’t have the ability, get out of the way!”
Sweeping away both Black Dragon and the doll would be easy.
He was prepared to accept PK, but the difference in power was already clear.
Even if he only stole the dungeon clear, he could still make Black Dragon taste failure.
As long as he didn’t keep buzzing around so close.
“You should’ve killed it in one hit earlier. What kind of vanguard can’t one-shot something like that?”
“I have no reason to listen to that kind of crap from you!”
-He’s triggered. LOL
-Black Dragon, you’re going to get killed;
-Oh oh, Ranger is going dark.
-He was always like that though.
-Mocking a vanguard after playing for a week is hilarious. LOL
Crackle—!
Fueled by anger, Ranger’s skills flew in more dangerously.
Once again, the sharply bent maze walls blocked his attacks, but the impact points were getting closer.
Swoosh—!
Without stopping his sword, Hanbit lured the doll down toward the floor.
Even so, his mouth didn’t stop.
“You really are a vanguard, right? Losing a spellbook and failing a dungeon clear would be pretty embarrassing.”
“You rat bastard!”
-Stop provoking him. LOL
-Ranger’s eyes are flipping.
-Look at that prickly personality.
-He even sounds like an old man. LOL
“Hoo.”
Ranger stared at Hanbit with blazing eyes.
The penalty for killing another player was far worse than death.
Even so, the disgust and rage filling him drove his body.
No matter how many times he hesitated, with Black Dragon right in front of him, reason had already vanished.
Whooo—!
The near-collision between Black Dragon and the doll gradually moved toward the floor where the magic circle had been.
Both sides showed agile movements far from ordinary.
At this point, small doubts no longer mattered.
“Just die together.”
Crackle—!
With Ranger’s voice, arrows began appearing in the air above.
The strongest Rank 6 skill he possessed.
Thunder Arrow Rain.
‘That’s it!’
Recognizing the skill, Hanbit clenched his fist.
It was exactly the destructive power he’d been waiting for.
Clang—!
Blocking the doll’s incoming sword, Hanbit maintained elemental manifestation and held his ground.
Above, yellow arrows had already formed.
Woooong—!
As the resonant hum rang out and the arrows began falling all at once—
Bam—!
Kicking the doll’s chest, Hanbit used the recoil to leap backward.
He stuck to the wall and sprinted with all his might.
“You look ridiculous running away!”
Kwaaaang—!
With Ranger’s voice, the rain of arrows poured down, covering the entire field of view.
Focused solely on running, Hanbit barely escaped the affected area.
“…?”
Ranger’s eyes followed Hanbit’s strange behavior.
There was no need to run that far.
‘Whatever. It doesn’t matter anymore.’
On the ground where the skill struck, the doll lay completely destroyed.
That meant he had successfully stolen the first dungeon clear.
More than anything, the fact that he had humiliated Black Dragon pleased him.
But then—
Kugung—!
A huge rumble echoed from the far edges of the maze.
Turning his head, Ranger saw the massive outer walls beginning to move.
“…?”
The atmosphere was strange for a dungeon-clear effect.
Realizing something had gone wrong, Ranger tried to chase Black Dragon.
At that moment—
Kwaaaang—!
The entire floor suddenly collapsed, and a tremendous torrent of water surged upward.
“Tch!”
Reacting quickly, Ranger kicked off and leapt into the air.
A mere trap like this wouldn’t catch a vanguard.
That confidence and pride were there.
But what followed was completely beyond expectation.
Kugugugung—!
From the collapsed floor’s torrent emerged a gigantic shadow.
Sensing danger instinctively, Ranger drew his bowstring.
Crackle—!
A massive arrow wrapped in electricity spiraled into the water.
Tempest Shot, a Rank 5 skill.
In a dungeon of this level, it was a mass of power capable of destroying even the map.
But—
Splaash—!
The unknown shadow that should have died pushed through the torrent without hesitation.
“What…!”
Looking down, Ranger’s eyes widened.
Revealed was a gigantic fish with its jaws wide open.
The name tag floating above its head made him doubt his eyes.
[Boss: Lord of the Aquarium (Lv.500)]
“Gah!”
Something was very wrong.
Ranger frantically searched the surroundings for an escape.
But the maze walls that once stood tall had already collapsed and sunk.
Splaash—!
The fish’s jaws lunged at his body.
Sensing death, Ranger shouted toward Hanbit, who was climbing the stairs far away.
“Black Dragon!”
***
“Black Dragon!”
Ranger’s rage-filled voice was quickly drowned out by the torrent.
After glancing outside briefly, Hanbit resumed climbing the stairs.
“He’s got a lot of anger issues.”
-That’s because of you, you lunatic. LOL
-Never imagined a plan to farm the vanguard. Holy shit.
-Ranger won’t sleep tonight.
-Level 500 is real?
-It wasn’t an aquarium, it was a graveyard.
“But it’s not my fault, is it? They chased me.”
-Well… that’s true?
-Yeah, nobody told them to come.
-Who threatened them with a knife?
-They came to steal the strategy anyway.
-And the one who got fed was the fish. LOL
-Ranger is hilarious.
-???: Let’s die together!
No matter Hanbit’s plan, all choices and decisions were made by the players themselves.
If they felt wronged, they should’ve researched better.
“Hyung! This is insane!”
Approaching Yeonwoo, he raised his voice excitedly.
Looking down, the maze filled with water was now packed with fish.
Players were being devoured deliciously.
Only a few remained now.
“But the strategy was to gather bait, right? Is it okay to use people?”
“People or monsters doesn’t matter. If they take the bait, they become food. Of course, the vanguard has to be strong enough.”
The bait doll of unknown level was a tool to evaluate prey for the Lord.
Detecting destructive power, it summoned the Lord when conditions were met.
Making it viewable from above was Irtelloger’s hobby and taste.
Still, considering it was a game, maybe it was possible to clear it without the vanguard.
No idea how much the rewards would drop, though.
‘Back then, it was truly horrific.’
The first time he entered this dungeon, it was through the aquarium fish’s entrance.
After somehow solving the maze and interpreting the sign’s conditions, he went down to fight the doll.
Then the floor collapsed, and he was eaten by the Lord, ending that run.
The pain aside, it was so absurd it stuck with him for a long time.
Splaash—
The fish that had continued feeding gradually disappeared into the water.
When even the last remaining Lord vanished, an alarm rang.
Ding—
[You have successfully cleared the dungeon.]
[Special rewards have been granted for the first clear.]
[Rewards have been increased due to exceeding clear conditions.]
[Achievement: Aquarium Feast has been unlocked.]
[Rewards have been increased for first achievement completion.]
[Rewards are distributed based on party contribution.]
[You have received 1,000,000 gold.]
[You have received Soul Horn (Rank 4 – Unique).]
[You have received Fire Abrasive (Rank 3 – Unique).]
[20 stat points have been awarded.]
[Experience has increased by 300,000.]
[You have leveled up by 4.]
[4 stat points have been awarded.]
“Wow, we’re getting rewards like this again?”
-Is this real?
-Can’t you just run dungeons all the time?
-True. Vanguard heads will roll soon.
-Fact) Dungeons get insanely hard as you go up.
-This place was easy, so Ranger couldn’t clear it?
-LOL yeah.
Not a single reward was lacking.
It really felt like you could become strong just by running dungeons.
Truly becoming strong—only that, though.
“How much did you get?”
“About ten percent this time.”
“…Isn’t the contribution evaluation too strict?”
“Otherwise people would just bus runs everywhere. I still got this much because I killed some monsters and searched the maze properly.”
Yeonwoo nodded as if it were obvious.
Just like during the episode, the reward structure was ruthless.
But it was also fair—getting what you worked for.
“But what’s the Soul Horn? I’ve never heard of it.”
“It’s a buff item. You’ll need it in the next episode.”
[Soul Horn]
Rank: 4
Grade: Unique
Description: A horn that produces a sound that stirs souls. Strengthens the abilities and mental power of living beings within a certain range.
The Soul Horn, obtainable only from this dungeon.
An item that would be useful in the next city, Ifrit’s story.
It practically enabled a near-perfect clear.
“Let’s get out.”
“Yeah. Are we going to Ifrit now?”
“That depends on the privileges… Ah.”
Something came to Hanbit’s mind mid-sentence.
After a brief hesitation, he sent a message to Kim Jaeha.
「If you have time, could you log in?」
Contact that had been cut off for quite a while.
He seemed so busy he didn’t even have time to check messages.
If there was no reply this time either, maybe he’d have to go see him directly.
Click—
Closing the message window, Hanbit turned his gaze to the camera and said,
“Avantgarde, if you’re watching, please give me a call.”
