"Wait a second," Kelburn interjected, his voice tight with alarm. "That forest could be crawling with his soldiers. You want to create a diversion 'in there'? What if he's deployed C-rank monsters?!"

"Tsk. You're only seeing half the picture, my friend," Sebastian chided. "Fine. Since you brought up C-rank monsters, allow me to enlighten you."

Even in a D-rank dungeon, raiders had to account for the possibility of C-rank units. It was a rookie mistake to assume a dungeon's rank dictated the absolute limit of its forces. To survive, one had to be prepared for enemies a tier higher. Kelburn, despite his objection, knew this basic principle. What Sebastian was about to share, however, was a secret known to very few.

"You all seem to think that if a D-rank dungeon summons higher-ranked soldiers, it can deploy them all at will. You're wrong."

"…What do you mean?"

"Even if a D-rank dungeon possesses ten C-rank soldiers, it can only deploy a maximum of five at any given time. And it can't deploy anything a rank higher than that." He let the information sink in. "For example, if this dungeon has ten C-rank Minotaurs, only five can ever be on the field. B-rank units? They're completely sidelined."

He leaned back, enjoying their stunned silence. "In other words, he can't even bring them out to stop a raid. Sure, he can use them for hunting or scouting. He can level them up, gear them out, and even get them class advancements. But when it comes to actually stopping raiders? Impossible. See? That's the penalty Dungeon Masters live with. Now that you know, their position doesn't seem quite so advantageous, does it?"

"So you're saying the most C-rank soldiers we'll face is five?" Bernard clarified.

"Exactly. Not even Supporters know this little tidbit, so you can relax. Even if our Dungeon Master has some powerful C-rank or B-rank units ready to go, he's capped at five C-ranks, and his B-ranks are useless. He's probably just now realizing that harsh reality. And if he summoned them recently, they'll be under-leveled and poorly equipped. He won't risk sending them out."

"…Where in the hell did you get information like that?" Bernard's eyes narrowed with suspicion.

A cruel smile twisted Sebastian's lips.

"Dungeon Masters aren't the only ones who can torture people."

A palpable chill descended upon the group.

Bernard swallowed hard. "Are… are you saying you've tortured Dungeon Masters?"

"Now, now, let's not get sidetracked," Sebastian said, cutting him off. "Pay attention. Opportunities like this are rare, so listen closely. I'm about to tell you something even more interesting." He waved away their morbid curiosity, his expression turning serious. "For a D-rank Dungeon Master, the soldier summon cards in the System Shop are dirt cheap. A random summon card is only 300 Zen. Once their dungeon is established, they can go on a shopping spree without a care in the world."

"Shopping? What's that?"

"Oh, right. You wouldn't know. My apologies." His tone was anything but apologetic. "It just means browsing and buying things."

"…Sorry for interrupting. Go on."

"Right. So, when they have Zen to spare, many of them summon soldiers until they hit their population cap. But, as I just explained, higher-rank soldiers come with a deployment penalty. So what happens?" Sebastian's gaze landed on Ryu, who had been listening in silence.

Ryu considered it for a moment.

"It's a waste of Zen. The units are excluded from his active forces, so they just take up population slots for no reason."

"Correct!" Sebastian beamed. "Imagine a D-rank dungeon with a population of one hundred. Forty D-rank soldiers and sixty C-rank soldiers. How many can he actually deploy? Only forty-five. The other fifty-five are completely useless, just dead weight on his roster."

He spread his hands. "So, even a clever Dungeon Master, if he doesn't know about the penalty, ends up wasting Zen and population slots. Sure, he could raise his Crystal Sphere and dungeon rank to eventually use those soldiers, but right now, Balak is D-rank. No matter how strong his units are, the vast majority are D-rank."

"I see."

"Besides, we came prepared for C-rank soldiers. There's nothing to fear." Sebastian made a move to stand, but Zinus shot up a hand.

"Wait. This might not be our problem, but listening to you talk about those summon cards… isn't it far more profitable to just keep buying random summon cards instead of specific ones?"

"Oh, that. You're not wrong. You could buy random cards forever, especially since Zen becomes easier to get later on. However, the moment a dungeon hits C-rank, the prices on everything in the shop skyrocket—summon cards and dungeon items included. That's why some Dungeon Masters try to hoard high-ranking soldiers early. Of course, the odds of pulling them at low levels are abysmal."

"I-I get it. But I thought you couldn't sell soldiers back. How do they manage their roster and get rid of unwanted units?"

"Simple. You keep the ones you need and send the ones you don't on suicide missions. After C-rank, a random summon card costs ten times as much—3,000 Zen. It gets even worse at B-rank. It's a real catch-22, isn't it? You try to use the cheap early-game prices to build an army, but you're hit with a penalty. You try to cull the herd, but raiders invade and interrupt the process."

Sebastian's point was clear: being a Dungeon Master wasn't the cakewalk many assumed. Raiders had their own items, party compositions, skills, and tactics.

"And for the record," he added, "any items or equipment purchased from the shop that don't match the dungeon's rank are unusable. If he didn't find it himself, he can't use it."

He paused, letting the silence hang in the air.

"Alright, lecture's over. Let's get a move on. It's time we went to see what kind of man our Dungeon Master really is." With a sharp clap, Sebastian rose to his feet. The other raiders, shaken from their thoughts, scrambled to follow. As they did, Zinus stared at Sebastian's back, Gelix's words echoing in his mind.

'"Zinus. You and the others must follow Sebastian's lead. While you're with him, extract every piece of information you can—his connection to the Peyton Duchy, his past, anything."'

'"How can you ask me to follow him? He's a demon! One wrong move and he'll get us all killed!"'

'"I don't like sending you into danger, but this is for Viscount Crowley. And now that we know Sebastian is from the Peyton Duchy, Duke Peyton himself is involved. He accepted our request, so he can't act recklessly. Just in case… take this."'

'"What is it?"'

'"An Instant Return Scroll. If he does anything suspicious, use it to get back to Partren immediately. You, at least, must survive."'

Zinus's hand tightened around the scroll in his pocket, his lip caught between his teeth. Gelix had given him a separate payment for this mission; failure was not an option. 'This man is even more dangerous than I thought. He knows secrets about Dungeon Masters that most raiders have never even heard of, and his connection to the Peyton Duchy is deeply unsettling.' Sebastian was C-rank now, but Zinus knew he wouldn't stay there for long.

He continued to follow, watching Sebastian from the corner of his eye, completely unaware that Ryu was watching him with a strange, calculating gaze.

---

On the second day of the raid, Taehyun was spiraling. He had sent his soldiers into the Forest of Silence, but the raid party was nowhere to be found. 'What the hell happened? They damaged the fortress and retreated, so they should have pushed through the forest immediately. Why aren't they showing up? Don't tell me they've already passed through…'

He checked the feed from his familiar near the Valley of Silence, but saw nothing—not a single living creature.

"What in the world…?"

"…Master Taehyun."

Riel watched him, her expression laced with concern. He was more agitated than she had ever seen him. 'He's trying to hide it, but he's deeply unsettled,' she thought. 'He's been defeating raiders so easily that he started to underestimate them. And this is his first real psychological battle. Falling into his opponent's trap right from the start has dealt a massive blow to his confidence.' Even now, his eyes darted around the screen, full of anxiety.

"Master Taehyun, perhaps you should rest for a moment," she suggested, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "The raiders are still missing. You can afford to take a moment to collect yourself and rethink your strategy from the top."

"…No," he bit out. "This isn't the time to rest. I can't let my guard down for a second. That's how you create an opening."

"Master Taehyun, I will be honest," she said, her tone firm but gentle. "You are far too anxious. If this continues, you will be playing right into that C-rank raider's hands. Please…"

"Shut up! I'm fine!" he roared, shoving her hand away. He glared at her, his chest heaving. "I have fought like a dog to survive this long! I've killed every raider who has come for me, and this time will be no different! I will not be conquered! I've defended this place perfectly until now! Besides, I still have the Minotaur! That's more than enough!"

The Minotaur he'd summoned by a stroke of luck. The fortress he'd acquired because of it. The massive advantage it gave him over other raiders. All of it had planted a seed of arrogance in his heart. The first raid parties had been annihilated by his unexpected defenses, unable to react, and somewhere along the way, he had begun to look down on them. Outwardly, he remained cautious, preparing meticulously and predicting enemy movements, but inwardly, a dangerous thought had taken root. 'Their items and strategies are no match for me. I've seen unexpected skills and tactics, but I've countered every single one. I'm actually… incredibly good at this, aren't I?'

As Balak grew stronger, so too did his hubris. He never said it aloud, but the feeling was undeniable.

"Huff… puff…" He panted, squeezing his eyes shut. "Damn it!"

Riel said nothing.

"I'm sorry," he finally managed, his voice strained. "I shouldn't have taken that out on you. You're right. I need to calm down."

"It's alright, Master. You have every reason to be angry. I am simply grateful that you understand."

Riel had managed to cool his temper, but even as he leaned back in his chair, his eyes remained locked on the screen. He hadn't truly accepted his mistake. 'Still, this has bought him some time to recover,' she mused. 'The real problem is the next phase of this mind game. I pray he comes to his senses before it's too late.' If he could just acknowledge his opponent and shed his arrogance, the situation could be salvaged. This psychological stalemate, born of overconfidence, was a losing battle. 'For now, I should leave him be. My presence will only be a distraction.'

Her duty for the moment was done. With a slight bow, Riel slipped out of the Master's room. Left alone, Taehyun stared blankly at the empty space she had occupied before letting out a ragged sigh. 'This isn't right. I'm losing my mind.' A single raider had thrown his entire world into chaos.

But the raid wasn't over. They hadn't breached the dungeon, nor had they even entered the Forest of Silence. This was just the opening move. 'That's right,' he thought, forcing himself to focus. 'Just because he won one exchange doesn't mean my dungeon is lost. He knows about the fortress, but I haven't even begun to fight. They are going to fail. That much is certain.'

Taehyun pushed down his anger and started again, from the very beginning.

---

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