[You have cleared the 24th Room.]

[Congratulations.]

[You will now be moved to the next room.]

The moment they stuffed the teddy bear, Martin, into the hole to fill the last bit of space, the scenery of the room dissolved around them. The raiders were startled but overjoyed. They had escaped the room without a single casualty, and it was all thanks to Junhyun. At first, they hadn't understood why he was taking out his equipment, but now they saw that it had been the only solution.

Junhyun, for his part, was satisfied that things had gone as he'd predicted.

"The reason it specified four people was to tell us the volume of the hole," one raider mused, finally putting the pieces together.

"And the teddy bear, Martin, was left here to make up for any shortfall," another added.

"The sign telling us we could leave when the hole was full was a hint to focus on filling it, not sacrificing people," a third concluded.

One by one, the puzzle's mysteries unraveled. It seemed the Dungeon Master had left hints throughout the room, wanting the raiders to solve them. In a way, they were being toyed with. The master was probably watching them on a screen somewhere, thoroughly amused.

"Eeek. This is fun," Junhyun chuckled to himself. "A different kind of fun from Balak. Now, what's next?"

A new type of dungeon, one he had never experienced before, always brought a thrill. He looked at the message that appeared before him, his eyes glinting with anticipation.

---

At that moment, Uther's party had arrived in a vast, open plaza.

[Welcome to the 14th Room.]

The message suggested a dungeon structure that was far from ordinary. They must have been split into groups of ten and teleported to different rooms the moment they passed through the castle gates.

'Items are disabled. What does that mean?' Wuther thought, scanning his surroundings. There were no dungeon monsters in sight. He tried to activate his radar again.

[Raider-exclusive items cannot be used within the A-Rank Dungeon, Antelos.]

[Dungeon Master-exclusive items cannot be used within the A-Rank Dungeon, Antelos.]

It was confirmed: item usage was completely restricted. But that meant the Dungeon Master was under the same limitation.

'He's blocked item-based psychological warfare because he knew he'd be at a disadvantage. Whoever this bastard is, he's a fool.'

Structuring a dungeon this way had its pros and cons. The Dungeon Master was clearly relying on the unique mechanics of each room to challenge them. However, no matter the design, it was impossible for a room to only penalize the raiders. The System required that there be hints and opportunities, forcing a fair fight. In other words, the Dungeon Master held no real advantage. With items out of the equation, the raiders didn't need to worry about mind games; they just had to solve the puzzle presented to them.

[The mission for the 14th Room will now begin.]

[Please find the red teddy bear among the brown teddy bears that have appeared in the plaza.]

As if on cue, hundreds of teddy bears holding balloons began to wander into the plaza. Just as he'd suspected, it was a dungeon composed of mission-based rooms.

'What a pathetic gimmick,' Wuther thought with contempt. 'He's not even worthy of being called a Dungeon Master. I don't know who he is, but I swear I will have my revenge for Belmeer.'

He scanned the bears roaming the plaza. They were all human-sized and brown. The other raiders were still standing frozen, trying to process the situation.

"Did none of you see the message?" Wuther barked. "There will surely be a time limit! Find the red teddy bear, now!"

"R-right! Let's find it!"

"But there are too many of them! It's impossible to tell them apart!"

The raiders scrambled, urgently searching for the red teddy bear. But the plaza was enormous, and the sheer number of bears made it nearly impossible to distinguish one from another. Wuther ordered his team to spread out in all directions to cover as much ground as possible.

'Where is it? Where are you? Red, red!'

Time was slipping away. Uther's anxious eyes darted through the sea of brown fur. Just then, a timer materialized in the center of the plaza.

[10:00]

"Damn it! That's all the time we get?"

"This place is too big! And with this many of these teddy bear bastards, how are we supposed to find one in ten minutes?!"

"Forget searching! Let's just use our weapons! We can blast them all with our skills!"

Panicked, some of the raiders drew their weapons. At this rate, they would never find it in time. They prepared to unleash their skills on the bears, but at that moment, a crimson system message flared to life, and an invisible force constricted their bodies.

"Aaargh!"

"S-stop, everyone! There's a penalty for attacking the dolls!"

"This is insane! We can't even use our weapons or skills?!"

It was the plaza's hidden penalty. The raiders hastily sheathed their weapons and read the message.

[Anyone who tries to attack a teddy bear will be severely punished.]

"What do they mean, 'severely punished'? That son of a bitch Dungeon Master!"

"H-hey! Are you okay?"

"Hah, haah! I thought I was going to die for a second. Thankfully, it seems the penalty is just this."

The penalty had been applied, but at least their lives were spared. The raiders redoubled their efforts, fanning out across the plaza once more. Still, there was no sign of a red teddy bear, or a bear of any other color for that matter. Even Wuther, with his superior physical abilities, was moving at a blinding speed, but the mission's target remained elusive.

'Damn it. As if finding a different color wasn't hard enough, all these balloons are so vibrant. They're just a distraction!'

The kaleidoscope of colorful balloons held by the bears was disorienting, making the task even more difficult. Wuther ground his teeth and checked the timer in the center of the plaza.

[7:42]

'Seven minutes left, and still no sign of a red bear. What should I do? What in the world do I have to do to clear this mission?'

The vast plaza, the thousands of identical bears, the ticking clock—everything was pushing Wuther to his mental limit.

A cold sweat slicked his neck. His trembling eyes remained fixed on the dwindling time. Then, a voice, clear as day, echoed in his memory.

"Wuther, you always rush in headfirst when you're pressed for time," Belmere's voice chided gently. "Sometimes, you should try to calmly manage your breathing and think things through. Even if you don't find the answer right away, you might find a hint."

At last, Wuther's frantic footsteps came to a halt. He had always relied on Belmere's guidance to navigate treacherous paths, but she was not by his side now. He would have to rely on his own wits to overcome this. He closed his eyes, forcing his breathing to steady. Slowly, a new perspective unfolded in his mind.

'A brown teddy bear, a red teddy bear, a wide plaza, a penalty… The target teddy bear is still nowhere to be seen, and these balloons are obstructing my view.'

He began to dissect each element, delving deeper. There had to be a clue somewhere. A mission like this was designed to be solved; it had to leave a trail for the raiders to follow.

[4:35]

Three minutes bled away while Wuther was lost in thought. The other raiders were still desperately searching for the red teddy bear.

"Where the hell is it!" one of them gasped, panting.

"I can't see it. I just can't!" another cried out. "There are only four minutes left, and we're no closer. We're screwed!"

"Maybe there was no red teddy bear to begin with!" a third raider despaired. "We've looked everywhere! What are we supposed to do?!"

They were at their absolute limit, both physically and mentally. Every glance at the timer only fueled their rising panic. It was then that they saw a figure in the distance. It was Wuther, dragging a teddy bear behind him.

"Huh? Look over there! Wuther is bringing a brown teddy bear."

"Does that mean he won't get a penalty?"

"Don't tell me he figured it out?"

A fragile hope began to blossom among them. An A-rank raider, who should have been leading the search, was walking toward them. With so little time left, he couldn't be wasting it on something so pointless. Their faces brightened as they ran to greet him.

At that moment, Wuther lifted his head, his expression grim and resolute. The raiders sensed the shift too late. They recoiled, but it was already over.

With a sickening slice, the first victim fell. The raider on the left stared in disbelief as his arm was severed, blood arcing through the air like a grotesque fountain. Wuther's eyes were hollow as he looked down at the doll, now spattered with crimson. It was certainly turning red.

"OWW!! My arm! My aaaaaarm!"

"W-Wuther?"

"What are you doing?! Have you gone mad?!"

Confusion and terror ripped through the group. They scrambled backward, their courage shattered. But Wuther had no intention of letting them escape. He cast a skill.

Dozens of swords materialized from thin air, surrounding them. The raiders stared in horror at the ring of gleaming blades.

"Wh-what? Why isn't he getting a penalty? He used a skill!"

"So that's it! We just couldn't attack the teddy bears!"

"Fine, but why the hell is he attacking 'us'?!"

The mystery of the penalty was solved, but it was a cold comfort. They thrashed and struggled, desperate to escape the cage of swords, but it was useless. Wuther lowered his hand, and the blades plunged downward.

"Aargh! Save me!"

"Gaaah… I don't want to die!"

The slaughter was swift and brutal. When it was over, Wuther soaked the teddy bear in the pools of blood that stained the ground. The crimson liquid seeped into the fabric, slowly eclipsing every last patch of brown. He stared down at the mangled corpses of his former comrades and sank to his knees.

"Ha… haha…" A lifeless laugh escaped his lips. The brown teddy bear in his hand was now completely, irrevocably red.

[You've found the red teddy bear, haven't you?]

[Congratulations!]

A message shimmered into view, but his eyes were unfocused, the words a meaningless blur. And so, Wuther cleared the fourteenth room alone.

---

[You have cleared the 42nd room.]

[Congratulations.]

[You will now be moved to the next room.]

Another message appeared. He had already cleared six rooms.

"Amazing! He's cleared six rooms already."

"He even won that chess game flawlessly. This guy is a genius."

"And what about the 'Catch the Thief' room? He figured out the traps in advance and turned them against the dungeon."

The raiders showered Junhyun Cha with praise and admiration. He had single-handedly carried them through every mission, a warrior who lacked nothing in either skill or intellect. But Junhyun ignored their fawning gazes, his eyes fixed dead ahead.

'He's been bothering me for a while now,' he thought, his eyes narrowing. 'Who the hell is that guy?'

The newly formed chamber simmered with an oppressive heat. Junhyun glared at the man standing on the far side of a bridge that spanned the center of the room. The aura radiating from him was anything but ordinary.

[Welcome to the 45th room.]

[Unfortunately, it's a boss room.]

[Please do your best.]

Even the System's message was a warning. Junhyun broke into a cold sweat, bracing against the crushing pressure.

"…Tch! Looks like my lucky streak just ran out."

The forty-fifth room. This was effectively the end of the dungeon.

"L-look! There's lava boiling under the bridge!"

"Who's that on the other side? Is that a dungeon soldier?"

"And who's that person at the very end?"

The other raiders were still disoriented, unable to grasp the gravity of the situation. Junhyun didn't wait. He drew his scythe and started across the bridge. The man on the other side began to walk as well. They met in the middle, sizing each other up.

"Well, well, if it isn't an A-rank Guardian," Junhyun drawled. "Perhaps even Hero-rank?"

"You're strong for a B-rank raider," the Guardian replied, his voice calm. "You might even be on par with the A-ranks."

"Wow. Did your precious little Dungeon Master tell you my rank?" Junhyun mocked.

"Of course," the Guardian said smoothly. "She's watching us right now."

He gestured toward a distant throne where a young girl sat, clutching a doll. Junhyun let out a dry smirk as the Reaper's aura billowed around him.

"Some little wench is watching me like I'm an animal in a zoo? I don't like that one bit."

"Do not speak so carelessly of my Dungeon Master," the Guardian warned, his tone hardening. "You'll die for it."

"Hehehe," Junhyun cackled. "Kill me if you can. Weren't we going to fight anyway?"

"True enough," the Guardian conceded. "Come at me."

With that, the two figures clashed violently on the bridge.

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