"AAAHH!!"

With a final, piercing shriek, the teddy bear's body was torn in two. That made five hundred. The ground was a grotesque landscape of bisected bears, their cotton stuffing strewn about like freshly fallen snow. After finishing off the last one, Wuther sheathed his sword.

[You have cleared the 34th room.]

[Congratulations.]

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

The mission clear message appeared. Hunting five hundred teddy bears would have been a challenge for most, but for an A-rank raider, it was a trivial warm-up. As the room around him began to transform, Wuther's thoughts turned to Belmere.

'Just wait,' he vowed silently. 'I'll have my revenge for you soon.'

He never would have cleared the fourteenth room without her advice. He had hesitated then, balked at the thought of killing his fellow raiders. But now, for the sake of vengeance, he would do anything.

[Welcome to the 44th room.]

Wuther surveyed his new surroundings. It was another vast field, much like the plaza.

"A forest environment?" he murmured, taking in the dense trees and thick undergrowth. He was standing in the heart of a sprawling woodland.

[The mission for the 44th room will now begin.]

[Find and kill the archer hiding in the forest.]

This time, the target was a living enemy. The forest setting was clearly designed to favor the archer, its massive trees providing perfect cover. Wuther drew his sword, his senses on high alert. Just then, two arrows shot toward him from behind.

"There you are!" he roared. He batted the arrows aside with a flick of his blade and spun around, but there was nothing there. Not even a whisper of a presence remained; his foe had already vanished.

'Are they that fast? No, if they had moved, I should have heard something, felt a presence.'

No matter how skilled an archer was at stealth, sound was unavoidable. In a forest like this, snapping twigs and rustling leaves were a dead giveaway. Any sane opponent would risk discovery to reposition. But this archer was a ghost, leaving no trace. He had no choice but to wait and observe.

Suddenly, arrows rained down from every direction. North, south, east, west—they came in a dizzying, unpredictable pattern. Wuther tracked their trajectories, his sword a blur of motion.

After parrying countless arrows, he finally caught a flicker of movement in his peripheral vision. His eyes gleamed. He unleashed a devastating sword strike in an instant.

The wave of energy tore through the forest in a straight line, uprooting trees as it went.

"There you were!" Wuther bellowed, spotting an archer scrambling to flee through the newly cleared path.

"Oh my!" the woman cried, a look of dismay on her face as she hovered in the air, bow in hand. She tried to activate her stealth again, but it was useless. Wuther was already upon her. He thrust his sword forward, aiming straight for her heart.

An instant later, an arrow pierced his ankle.

"Tch!" Wuther grimaced, the unexpected attack sending him stumbling to the ground. In that brief moment, the woman vanished back into the trees, and he was right back where he started.

"So there were two of you little rats."

He'd thought it was strange, arrows coming from so many directions at once. Two enemy archers. Or perhaps more. The mission objective was simply to 'find and kill the archer.' It never specified a number.

Wuther yanked the arrow from his ankle, his eyes scanning the trees. Now that he knew he was outnumbered, he had to be faster.

'Where are you! Where are you!'

His furious gaze swept the area. The forest had fallen silent, likely because their cover had been blown. He considered leveling the entire grove with another powerful strike but quickly dismissed the idea. An attack like that consumed a massive amount of energy. Even if he razed the entire field, he might be too exhausted to handle whatever came next.

"Whew…"

In the end, there was only one option. Wuther closed his eyes and activated his one-time skill: Sixth Sense.

[Sixth Sense has been activated.]

[All movements of beings within a certain range will be detected.]

[The range of your attacks will increase within a certain range.]

A shimmering barrier of perception expanded outwards from him. He could sense every living thing within its radius as if he were looking down from the sky. He closed his eyes, focusing his mind.

'One between the old trees to the left. Another one up high and behind me.'

Exactly two archers were in position. He detected no others. It was clear the two of them had been using their stealth skills in tandem to disorient him. Wuther acted instantly, hurling his sword toward the archer behind him.

"Eeek!"

'That's one.'

Even with his eyes closed, he knew the archer had fallen.

"Sister!"

The archer on the left broke cover, enraged, and drew her bow. But anywhere his Sixth Sense reached was within his attack range.

"Aargh!"

He threw his sword again, and the second archer fell.

[The duration of Sixth Sense has ended.]

[Your energy will drop below 50%.]

His energy plummeted by half, but the objective was complete. Wuther opened his eyes and looked down at the two archers writhing on the ground.

"Ugh… How did you know where we were? Our stealth was perfect!"

"You're… you're too strong, sister."

They were twins, their faces nearly identical. They glared up at him through their pain.

"I see," Wuther said, his voice cold. "You wenches are Guardians."

"Th-that's right! So what?!"

"Wh-what are you going to do!"

They possessed perfect stealth he couldn't have broken without Sixth Sense, rapid-fire attacks, and the reflexes to twist away from his blade at the last second. They were every bit the A-rank Guardians of Antelos Dungeon. Wuther thought of Belmere and raised his sword.

"If you want to live, answer me. Do you know anything about the A-rank raider, Belmere, who came here before?"

"We don't know anything!"

"That's right! Our only role is to defeat enemies!" the younger one blurted out.

"Hey! Why would you say that!" her sister hissed.

"Oh my!"

The older sister tried to silence the younger, but it was too late. Judging by their panicked reactions, they were telling the truth. Wuther sighed, about to sheathe his sword, when a cold realization washed over him.

'No. These wenches are still Guardians of the dungeon that devoured Belmere. They deserve to die!'

His quest for vengeance had expanded. The dungeon itself was now his enemy. He raised his sword again, ready to execute them. At that moment, a message flashed before his eyes, and the world dissolved around him.

[Welcome to the 45th room.]

[Unfortunately, it's a boss room.]

[Please do your best.]

He was in the final room, where the dungeon's crystal sphere resided.

---

"Bwahahaha… You bastard. You're damn strong."

He had used every single one of the Reaper's skills. He'd even played his trump card—a one-time-use skill—and activated his special ability. And yet, the enemy before him refused to fall. Junhyun Cha looked up at the man from where he lay crumpled on the ground.

"What's your secret? How are you so strong? Let me in on it."

"A dying man, muttering to the very end," the Guardian observed coolly.

"Hehehe. If I'd known you were this tough, I would've run away a long time ago."

It had been a fatal miscalculation. He should have fled the moment he felt that constricting aura. This was no ordinary A-rank Guardian. Junhyun lay sprawled on the floor, filled with regret.

"Ha! Whatever. Kill me or don't. Do what you want."

"You'd be wise not to think about escaping," the Guardian advised. "All your companions are dead, after all."

He was right. The raiders on the other side of the bridge were all dead, likely cut down by other dungeon soldiers while he was busy fighting. Not that Junhyun cared. He'd never given a damn about them in the first place.

"What bullshit. I don't keep companions. I couldn't care less if they're dead or not."

"I see. Understood. Then die…"

Just then, a figure appeared on the far side of the bridge.

"…What is this place?"

It was none other than the raid leader, Wuther. The Guardian lowered the sword he had raised and surveyed the chamber. A slow, wicked smile spread across Junhyun's face.

"Here! Over here!" he shouted.

"Are you a survivor?!" Wuther called back.

"Yes! Hurry and help me! This A-rank Guardian is incredibly strong!"

Wuther took in the scene and immediately charged forward.

"A pointless gesture," the Guardian beside Junhyun muttered, clicking his tongue as he turned to face the newcomer. "He'll be no match for me."

"So you're the Guardian of the final room," Wuther stated, his voice tight.

"And what if I am?"

"Do you remember an A-rank raider named Belmere? She came here before."

Wuther, with an enemy standing right before him, began asking about his dead lover. This was not the development Junhyun wanted. If they just stood there talking, he'd never get an opportunity to use his instant return scroll. A vicious grin stretched across his face.

"That's him!" he screamed. "I confirmed it! He's the Guardian who killed Belmere!"

"What?!" Wuther's head snapped toward him.

The Guardian scowled, but Wuther's eyes blazed with fury as he raised his sword.

"You bastard! I will avenge Belmere!"

"Hmph. I have no idea what you're talking about, but I will be your opponent," the Guardian replied calmly.

"You dog! I'll make you remember right now!"

Hundreds of swords materialized in the air before Wuther. The sheer magical energy radiating from them confirmed it was a one-time-use skill. As the situation unfolded exactly as he'd planned, Junhyun secretly pulled out his hidden instant return scroll.

"I'm leaving first. Goodbye, you bastards!"

"You wretch!" the Guardian roared.

He moved to stop the teleportation, but Wuther was in his way, a whirlwind of vengeful steel.

'Shwaaaa.'

Junhyun vanished in a column of light. The Guardian, seething, turned his full attention to Wuther.

"You dare interfere with me! I will not forgive you!"

"That's exactly what I wanted, Guardian!" Wuther snarled.

And so, their battle began.

---

Dozens of swords danced through the air, each one crackling with the immense power of an A-rank raider's ultimate skill. But the Guardian he faced, Badon, was no pushover. He parried every blade, seamlessly turning defense into offense. It was a fierce, evenly matched battle between two A-rank powerhouses.

Of course, that wasn't how it looked to the sole spectator.

"…How boring," Songyi sighed.

"If you are bored, you may return to the Master Room, Lady Songyi," her supporter, Rubin, suggested from beside her.

Songyi glanced at the screen, where Badon was fighting, and nodded. Badon, the A-rank Hero Guardian. The former commander of the Frost Queen's army, he was the strongest A-rank Guardian in existence. He could even hold his own against an S-rank raider; a single A-rank was no challenge at all.

Songyi returned to the Master Room.

—Wuther: Die, Guardian!

—Badon: That doesn't even tickle!

The battle was still raging on the monitor, undoubtedly prolonged by Wuther's one-time skill. Songyi sank onto the sofa with a sigh. She had been managing this dungeon for years, and fending off raids had always been a tedious affair. Besides, Rubin handled everything, leaving her with nothing to do. She pulled a communication device from her pocket.

'Why hasn't he called?'

She had given him the other half of the device when the Holy Kingdom invasion ended. But no matter how long she waited, the call never came.

'I even told him my name.'

She fiddled with the device, her thoughts drifting to Taehyun. Just then, a scream erupted from the monitor.

—Wuther: 'Kaaargh!' I must… I must avenge Belmere!

—Badon: You're a persistent one!

—Wuther: 'Keo-heok!'

The moment his skill's duration ended, Badon's attack found its mark.

—Badon: Time to die!

A final, brutal punch sent the raider coughing up blood as he collapsed to the ground.

—Wuther: Be… Belmere…

—Badon: Tsk. Spouting nonsense to the end. Just die.

With a final, contemptuous kick from Badon, the A-rank raider breathed his last.

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