The forced battle at the edge of the Forest of Silence had sent the situation spiraling from bad to worse. His ambush unit was annihilated. Grai was saved but critically wounded. And he had already burned one of his precious Return items. Fighting outside the dungeon was no longer an option.

'What was my mistake? Should I have broken their buffs? Should I have realized sooner that they had vision on my ambush unit?'

The fact that they knew about the unit meant they had their own source of vision. They had pre-set a location for their Position Shift, meaning the entire engagement was a deliberate trap. Taehyun had made two critical errors. First, he'd failed to notice the magical marker left behind when they saved their position. Second, he had hesitated to use his Effect Reversal Card, wanting to save it for a more critical moment. If he had just broken their buffs and bought time for a clean retreat, Grai would never have been caught by that completely unexpected ability, Time Freeze.

"And what the hell is Time Freeze?" he fumed. "He definitely cast a skill, so why wasn't his disguise broken?"

"From what I infer," Kinjo offered, "it is because it is a special ability."

"Don't tell me special abilities aren't affected by disguise items."

"That is correct."

A raider's special ability was not governed by the rules of exclusive items. Having never encountered one before, Taehyun had no way of knowing. He shot a glare at Kinjo for the frustratingly late piece of intel.

"Wh-what is it?" the goblin stammered.

"Haaah. No, it's not your fault," Taehyun sighed, rubbing his temples. "How could you have known Rexner had an ability like that? My bad."

"M-Master Taehyun…"

Rexner's special ability was a devastating wild card. Taehyun recalled the rumor from Junhyun. 'One moment, he was standing still, and the next, the monster was in pieces before he even saw him move.'

He had assumed it was a speed-based ability, but now he knew the truth: it was time manipulation.

'It makes sense now. Of course, you wouldn't see him move if time itself were stopped.'

Leaving the teary-eyed goblin, Taehyun went to check on Grai, who was being tended to by Riel.

"I have failed you, my lord," Grai said, his voice strained. "I lost all my subordinates. I will accept any punishment."

"I don't need that," Taehyun cut him off. "Riel, what's his status?"

"Fortunately, the wound wasn't fatal. He should be fully healed by tomorrow."

It wasn't a total disaster, then. Grai would be back in the fight. Taehyun let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "Grai, what did it feel like when he used Time Freeze?"

"It was as if my body had turned to stone. I barely managed to throw myself back to avoid a fatal blow, but the sensation was… chilling."

"Any clues? A guess as to who the real Rexner is?"

"I do not know. From the width of the wound, I can only surmise he wields a large greatsword."

A greatsword. That matched Junhyun's intel. The other clue was the white gloves, but every single raider was wearing them.

"So he only draws his greatsword the moment he freezes time."

"It would seem so. But for an attack that took advantage of frozen time, it was surprisingly sloppy. Without that special ability, he is an enemy I could easily handle on my own."

Now Taehyun understood how Rexner had fought three B-rank Guardians. The ability had a casting time, but if he could use it repeatedly, he was practically invincible.

'The problem is how to interrupt the cast. If it can even negate area-of-effect skills like Grai's Storm Splitter, we're in serious trouble.'

The raiders had charged in a group not just to hide Rexner's identity, but to act as a human shield, preventing anyone from canceling the cast. As long as they could protect him while he channeled the ability, victory was guaranteed.

'I have to find the real Rexner. If I can just identify him, I can keep Time Freeze in check and have Grai and Mederia focus him down.'

He had an expensive Dungeon Master item that could strip away an opponent's disguise, but it was single-target and, due to item limits, could only be used once.

'I know his class is Holy Knight, but there are nearly twenty-five of them in that group. How am I supposed to pick one out of that crowd? It's a complete gamble.'

There was no immediate counter. He had to stall until Grai was healed.

'Riel is busy with Grai, so she can't support the other troops. I have to buy as much time as possible with minimal forces.'

Taehyun returned to the Dungeon Master's room. The entry message hadn't appeared yet; the raiders were still in the forest, likely making camp for the night.

"Alright, let's do this," he said, turning to his other supporter. "Kinjo, you've been managing dungeons for a long time. I need your help."

"I-It would be my honor!"

"From now on, the goal is to buy time and minimize our losses. Understood?"

"Understood! I have already familiarized myself with the layout of the original Balak. I will do my best to assist you!"

---

On Day 2, after spending a day in the Forest of Silence, the raid party finally entered the dungeon. The monitor in the Master's room flickered to life.

'Two objectives,' Taehyun thought, his focus narrowing. 'Buy time, and find the real Rexner. Even a single clue to his identity would be a victory.'

If he couldn't unmask Rexner or find a weakness in Time Freeze before Grai recovered, the dungeon was as good as lost. Even with both Guardians fighting together, an ability that stopped time was an absolute counter.

[Rexner's raid party has entered the first room.]

The raiders stepped into the first chamber. Unlike the second Balak, the original dungeon was a dense, forest-like environment. Though his ambush unit was gone, he still had soldiers. Taehyun had already positioned his goblin archers throughout the foliage.

'I'll hit and run, force them to burn through their items.'

He would have to use some of his own items, of course, but he would save the most crucial ones. Besides, the raiders' skills weren't infinite. They were likely overconfident, relying on Time Freeze, and probably hadn't brought a large supply of items.

[Ten Elite High-Rank Archer Goblins draw their bows.]

[Accuracy: 60%]

The command was given. A volley of arrows shot out from the trees. Caught by surprise, the raiders failed to react in time. Several cried out in pain as the arrows found their marks. The others frantically scanned the trees, but the goblin archers had already vanished.

'A B-rank raid party can't even handle a simple ambush like this?'

Taehyun was stunned. It was a basic harassment tactic, yet they had fallen for it completely. A moment later, the Priest raiders began casting their heals.

[C-rank Priest raider Rexner has cast Holy Touch.]

[C-rank Priest raider Rexner has cast Holy Touch.]

[C-rank Priest raider Rexner has cast Holy Touch.]

'So they just heal through the damage? You bastards. They must have been raiding like this all along.'

They were so used to their convenient healing skills that they didn't even bother to defend themselves properly. Given the versatility of Holy Knights and Priests, perhaps it was to be expected.

[Rexner has used the raider-exclusive item 'Radar (Medium)'.]

At least one of them had the sense to prepare. The radar would reveal the dungeon's layout up to the fourth room.

'Still, forcing them to use a radar in the very first room is a small win. Haaah! To think I'm struggling against these simpletons all because of one special ability.'

Taehyun pushed down his frustration and ordered his soldiers to fall back.

---

Meanwhile, using the radar, the raid party pushed through to the fourth room in a single rush. They encountered a few traps and obstacles but bypassed them easily with items.

"Don't you think we're using our items too quickly?" one of the raiders asked nervously. "The Holy Knight Commander did warn us to be careful with this dungeon."

"It doesn't matter," a heavy voice replied from within the group. "I had some expectations after hearing Sebastian was defeated here, but this is nothing. As long as I have Time Freeze, that Dungeon Master bastard can't stop me."

"Well, I suppose that's true. Understood."

The Dungeon Master was surely wary of Time Freeze by now; the fact that he wasn't committing his soldiers to a direct fight was proof. But it didn't matter how much he schemed. The entire raid party had been built around this one ability. They even had members ready to cast defensive barriers to protect the caster. No matter how many area-of-effect skills he threw at them, it would be useless.

"We're at the fifth room."

"This area appears clear as well, Sir Rexner."

"Good. Advance."

The party entered the fifth room. There were still no signs of the dungeon's main forces. They checked their surroundings and moved forward, spotting a single, flimsy-looking pit trap in the center of the path ahead.

"Ha! Now he's resorting to such obvious traps? How pathetic."

"I think it's bait for a real trap."

"He underestimates us."

Even if they relied on their holy power, they were still a B-rank raid party. They wouldn't fall for such a simple double-trap. They quickly assumed a defensive formation, scanning the area. As expected, soldiers emerged from the corridor leading to the next room.

"I knew it. Everyone, prepare your blessings."

"Yes!"

An ambush following a double-trap. A plausible, if predictable, strategy. But the raiders had conquered dozens of dungeons; they were prepared for this. Clad in holy buffs, they engaged the monsters. The dozen or so soldiers were cut down in an instant, and the battle seemed to be over.

"Aaargh!"

"Wh-where did these bastards come from!"

Suddenly, screams erupted from the rear of the formation.

"What is it?!" Rexner demanded.

"Soldiers! They appeared right behind us!"

"What do you mean? We just came from that direction!"

The rear path should have been clear. They had checked it themselves. It made no sense. The front line turned to support the Priests, but it was too late. Five of them were already dead.

"For crying out loud…" Rexner growled, looking down at the corpses of his comrades before turning his gaze back the way they came. The flimsy trap he'd dismissed earlier caught his eye. The branches covering the pit were scattered and broken.

"I see," he snarled, grinding his teeth. "It was a triple trap."

The soldiers that had appeared from behind had been hiding in that pit the whole time, bursting from the ground when their backs were turned.

"Using cheap tricks to cling to life until the very end."

---

At that same moment, in the Dungeon Master's room, Kinjo was cackling.

"Did you see that, Master? Raiders are beings who, in their very attempt to remain vigilant, inevitably let their guard down! Muahahaha!"

"That's certainly true," Taehyun admitted with a slight smile.

The entire setup in the fifth room had been Kinjo's design. He had created a second, obvious trap near the real one and hidden soldiers inside it. Then, he used another group of soldiers as bait from the front, luring the raiders into position before springing the real ambush from behind. It was risky, but the moment the raiders dismissed the flimsy trap, the plan had succeeded.

"We lost fourteen soldiers, but taking out five of their priests is a favorable trade! Muahahaha!"

"It's a shame they weren't Holy Knights, but you're right, we came out ahead. Good job, Kinjo."

"Oh, it was nothing! Muahahaha!"

Kinjo preened under Taehyun's praise, his grin widening. Thanks to his supporter's clever plan, Balak had finally drawn blood.

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