Once inside Balak, Sebastian's party immediately made camp. Their objective was to recover from the fatigue and stress they had accumulated in the Silent Forest. Sitting before the crackling fire, Sebastian mentally reviewed his companions' stress levels.

[Milisha]

[Stress: 30/100]

[Kelburn]

[Stress: 20/100]

[Isaac]

[Stress: 60/100]

[Bernard]

[Stress: 30/100]

[Coldron]

[Stress: 70/100]

[Ryu]

[Stress: ?/100]

[Zinus]

[Stress: 40/100]

'I should probably help them relax. Still, why are Coldron's and Isaac's numbers so high?' He recalled that Isaac had been treated like a brute, and Coldron was the one who'd tried to pick a fight only to be shut down. 'To think they're still stewing over something so trivial. What a pathetic bunch.' Glancing at the two sulking raiders, Sebastian retrieved an incense stick from his inventory and lit it.

"Huh. Something smells… nice," one of them remarked.

"Yeah. It's… comforting."

"I feel my fatigue just melting away."

It was a stick of 'Malanin Incense', an item that helped relieve stress. As he watched their stress levels steadily decrease, Sebastian deployed his final camping items.

[You have used Safe Camping.]

[Enemies cannot launch a surprise attack until camping is over.]

[You have used Warm Camping.]

[The raiders' fatigue will recover quickly during camping.]

[You have used Alarm Mana.]

[You will be notified of any approaching enemies until camping is over.]

'There. That should do it.' Sebastian nodded in satisfaction as he read the system messages. The next day's raid would proceed without a hitch. The real challenge was anticipating what the Dungeon Master had in store for them.

"Hey, why did you use Alarm Mana after already setting up Safe Camping?" Zinus approached, puzzled by the seemingly redundant combination.

"The first is to prevent a surprise attack. It keeps us alive," Sebastian explained patiently. "Now, Zinus, why do you think I used the Alarm Mana?"

Zinus followed his gaze and saw it was fixed on the dungeon entrance.

"Don't tell me… you're trying to stop his soldiers in the forest from re-entering?"

"Not at all. There's no need to fight them. They can't come back anyway," Sebastian said with a dismissive wave. "The Dungeon Master is undoubtedly watching us right now. Seeing me use Alarm Mana, he's likely already abandoned any thought of recalling those troops."

It was a blatant threat. There was a very specific reason he'd made camp just inside Balak's entrance: to block the return of the external forces. Any creature trying to enter now would trip the alarm.

"So the Dungeon Master can only fight us with the forces he has inside?" Zinus asked.

"No. He'll try to bring them back later, once we're on the move. We could even get pincered from the front and back."

"What? Isn't that incredibly dangerous?!" The thought of being attacked from both sides was terrifying.

But Sebastian just flashed a confident, predatory grin.

"We'll smash our way to the final room and destroy his crystal core before that happens. Victory will be ours. And if things get dicey, we can always hold the core hostage. It's a time attack, you see."

"I… I see."

Zinus broke out in a cold sweat and backed away. This man, who seemed to thrive on lethal thrills, was clearly unhinged.

---

'Camping right after entering, and using anti-ambush and alarm magic simultaneously. The man has guts,' Taehyun thought. This move made it impossible for his soldiers outside to return to Balak. A preemptive strike in the wide-open cavern would be suicide for them. Sebastian was daring him to try it. It was a clear challenge, and Taehyun decided to play along.

'I've secured one asset, at least. For now, I'll pretend to play the hand I was dealt inside the dungeon.' He designated the captured Rudin as another card up his sleeve. While he likely wouldn't work as a hostage, that wasn't Taehyun's goal.

[Director Gelix's Handwritten Letter]

He held the personal letter from Gelix, the director of the Partren Raider Association. 'With this, I can shatter their camaraderie in an instant. If I can get them to tear each other apart until only Sebastian is left, I win.' On the monitor, Sebastian's eyes burned with the certainty of his own victory, but Taehyun felt no less confident. He began by deploying a portion of his forces to the same forked path he'd used against the last raid party.

'Alright. Let's begin.' Balak now consisted of six rooms, and he had far more traps and installations at his disposal than before—more than enough to land a psychological blow. As he watched their fatigue and stress levels recover, Taehyun simply waited for their camp to end.

---

[Perfect Camping!]

[You have spent a safe night with your comrades.]

Their camping session ended. The night had passed without incident, and the entire party was rested and restored. With their stress levels lowered, they had no immediate worries.

"Everyone seems to have slept well," Sebastian noted.

"I can't stand you, but I'll admit that incense was decent," another raider grumbled.

"Heh. Good enough. Let's get moving."

After the brief exchange, the party advanced toward the first room. With Isaac leading the way with a torch, they stepped inside to find it completely empty.

"There's nothing here."

"Wait. Look closely. There's a single flower over there."

"Looks like a Landrozel. What do we do?"

The only object in the vast chamber was the abyssal plant. Sebastian stroked his chin, his mind racing. 'No soldiers here means he's planning to make his stand in the rooms ahead. A wise choice. Attacking a party fresh from a perfect camp would be a waste of troops.'

'Now then… which way will Lady Luck smile?' Sebastian smirked and strode toward the Landrozel.

"H-Hey!" his party members cried out, trying to stop him, but it was too late. His hand was already brushing against the plant's petals.

[You have touched the abyssal plant, Landrozel.]

[A random debuff has been applied to the raiders.]

[The Abyssal Aura reduces the raiders' stats by half.]

A spectral skull materialized above each of their heads as the debuff took hold.

"What the hell are you doing? It's a debuff!"

"Our stats are halved! This is all your fault!"

"Dammit! We should have just walked past it!"

They immediately rounded on him, their voices sharp with anger. Sebastian listened in silence for a moment before his expression hardened into a scowl.

"Tch. How irritating."

The moment he showed his annoyance, the others fell silent. They might be on the same team now, but they all knew his reputation: a crazed murderer feared even within the Raider Association. Having momentarily forgotten who they were dealing with, they shrank back. But Sebastian's irritation wasn't directed at them.

"Now I have to waste an item. Dammit. It pisses me off that I lost to that Dungeon Master."

It was the fact that he'd gotten a debuff, not a buff, that vexed him. He pulled another raider-exclusive item from his inventory and activated it.

[You have used an Effect Reversal Card.]

[The currently active debuff will be changed to a buff.]

The ominous skulls above their heads vanished, replaced by a warm, empowering aura.

[The Abyssal Aura increases the raiders' stats by 10%.]

Sebastian grumbled at the meager 10% boost, while the rest of his party stared, bewildered.

'Seriously? Why was he so pissed off when he had a reversal card the whole time?'

'Was he really that mad about losing a game of chance?'

'I can't tell if he's a genius or an idiot.'

And so, with their new buff, the raid party exited the first room.

---

Meanwhile, Taehyun was reviewing his own arsenal of Dungeon Master exclusive items. Unlike raider items, his were all designed to either strengthen his dungeon or cripple his enemies.

'I bought a decent selection, but I can only use them when the opportunity presents itself. First on the list: that Effect Reversal Card.' He watched Sebastian on the monitor. He had to reverse that buff immediately. 'It'll be a nightmare if those guys, already fully rested, get a 10% stat boost on top of it all.' He had hoped Sebastian's recklessness would get the better of him, but as expected, his opponent was thoroughly prepared. 'He was furious about getting the debuff, though. Let's see how he likes this.'

Taehyun pulled the Dungeon Master's version of the Effect Reversal Card from his inventory. The effect was identical.

[You have used an Effect Reversal Card.]

[The buff on Sebastian's raid party will be converted back into a debuff.]

[The stats of the entire Sebastian raid party will be reduced by half.]

The comforting warmth around the raiders instantly turned frigid and ominous again. The party, having just reached the corridor, froze in confusion.

'You're not the only one who has one of those,' Taehyun thought, a cold smile on his face. Sebastian's expression was now far more thunderous than he could have hoped.

---

He ground his teeth. Not only had the Dungeon Master countered him, but he was now being toyed with using the very same item. Sebastian felt the blood pound in his temples as the debilitating aura settled over his party once more. 'That son of a bitch. Is he playing with me?!'

This turned his gamble with the Landrozel into a complete blunder. He could feel his party's resentful eyes on him. Sebastian didn't care about losing or being outmaneuvered. But he could not tolerate being made a fool of. His eyes shot open, glaring at the cavern ceiling as if he could pierce through the rock and find his tormentor.

'He's watching me from somewhere. Dungeon Master!'

It was strange that the Dungeon Master even possessed an Effect Reversal Card. The System Shop was locked during a raid, meaning he would have had to purchase it beforehand. That meant the master of Balak had anticipated even this minor possibility and prepared for it. He was every bit as meticulous as Sebastian himself.

'I will see you crushed beneath my heel.'

He still had two cards left to play. Envisioning the humiliation he would inflict upon his rival, Sebastian turned his attention to the corridor ahead. It split into two paths. His eyes darted left and right.

'One leads to the second room, the other to the third.' Splitting his forces now, in their weakened state, would be idiotic. He chose the left path.

"We're going left."

"C-Can't we just split into two teams?" Isaac stammered.

"Hmph." Sebastian's voice was dangerously low. "I'm in a very foul mood. Shut your mouth and follow me."

A murderous glare silenced Isaac, who quickly scrambled to the rear of the formation. With Sebastian in the lead and the shield-bearer Isaac guarding the back, they prepared to move. Before they did, Sebastian had Bernard use a radar item. It revealed the dungeon's layout in their immediate vicinity, its range enhanced when used by a rogue.

[Radar (Small) has been used.]

[The structure of the two rooms beyond the forked path is now visible.]

A small map materialized in the air. Sebastian studied it intently and quickly spotted several anomalies. 'Why are the corridors different lengths? One is short, the other long. What's the purpose of that?' Questions flooded his mind. As he stared at the map, his gaze drifted to the torch in Isaac's hand.

'Don't tell me…'

[Torch Gauge: 40%]

A chill ran down his spine. He rubbed his arms, a slow, sinister chuckle escaping his lips.

---

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