“Well, we don’t know what might come out, so let’s proceed cautiously.”
“Why on earth did we have to come to a place like this?”
The dark, damp cave instills primal fear in ordinary people.
For those who can’t even craft a single torch, the only light comes from a few glowing mushrooms growing on the cave walls.
I couldn’t tell the trembling group raising their weapons not to panic since no particularly grand threats were likely to emerge.
Moreover, contrary to my expectations, some of the patrollers, who were originally supposed to stay quietly here, had rushed outside due to the death of the alpha.
Though a few people had died because of it, the difficulty of the dungeon’s interior had slightly decreased as a result.
“Wait, what’s that sound?”
Han Sunghoon stopped us by stretching out his arm, having seemingly heard something.
Gazing intently ahead into the poorly visible area, he pointed his trembling sword in that direction.
Watching him, I silently admired him.
My eyes, accustomed to the darkness familiar to a dark magician, could clearly see the patroller lying in ambush in the deeper shadows ahead, waiting for an opportunity to strike.
“There really seems to be something there.”
I still didn’t want the world to know that I could use magic—especially dark magic—’yet.’
Instead, I supported his claim and picked up a stone from the ground.
Throwing it precisely at the enemy’s head, I forced the patroller to abandon its ambush and reveal itself.
“It’s a monster!”
The creature let out a terrible shriek and charged at us, swinging its sickle.
The vicious and brutal foe moved with incredible speed.
Even though those who entered the tower had abilities beyond ordinary people, hesitation caused by overthinking could leave them cleaved in half by the enemy’s weapon.
Fortunately, neither Han Sunghoon nor Kim Sooyeon were the type to hesitate or overthink, which was why they were still alive and here now.
They instinctively swung their weapons, blocking the enemy’s attacks and launching counterattacks.
Han Sunghoon’s sword blocked the enemy’s sickle, and Kim Sooyeon’s spear pierced through its chest.
In that brief opening, I thrust my spear precisely, penetrating the weak point beneath its hooded face.
Before learning dark magic, I had roamed far and wide, trying to find if I had any real talent, learning various skills along the way—spear mastery being one of them.
The intense recoil that slammed into my body made me stagger, but I gritted my teeth and held onto my spear.
There was no way I’d lose momentum to a mere low-level monster.
“You fight… really well.”
Han Sunghoon muttered blankly as he watched me pull the spear from the enemy’s corpse.
His reaction was completely unexpected—had he thought I was just a pretty face?
“Let’s keep going. There’s definitely something ahead.”
I chuckled softly and pointed forward.
There wasn’t much left now.
The monsters in the dungeon, reduced significantly due to their frenzy after the alpha’s death, would be taken care of if we continued like this.
And once we advanced a bit further, the boss would appear.
Defeating that boss would clear the dungeon.
The hidden reward would go to the one who claimed the boss’s head.
“This positioning is great. Should we keep it up?”
We worked together to steadily defeat the patrollers that appeared one by one.
As Han Sunghoon suggested, we adopted a strategy: he stood at the front to absorb the initial attacks while the two of us with spears aimed for the enemy.
For an impromptu tactic, it was surprisingly effective and well-coordinated.
“Killed five enemies… an achievement!”
“We’re actually accomplishing something here.”
As we fought furiously and pressed forward, our bodies began to emit a faint glow one by one.
Realizing that this was an achievement that would be tallied when we ascended to the second floor, they smiled despite the difficulty, the corners of their lips curling up.
‘This must feel good,’ I thought.
I had felt like that before, too—in the past, when I achieved things one by one with my untalented body.
How wonderful would it have been if I could feel like that forever?
If I had chosen an ordinary path, rather than dark magic that only brought infamy with every accomplishment.
“Doesn’t it look like something’s over there?”
“What… is that?”
But I had to shatter their good mood soon.
We had reached the end of the dungeon.
At its end, waiting for us in its nest, was a slightly special patroller.
The Patroller Queen.
The alpha’s mother and the matriarch of all patrollers.
“What kind of monster is that? I’ve never heard of anything like this…”
“—, —!!!”
The Queen, who had been sitting silently in a chamber slightly larger than the dark passages we had passed through, cut off Han Sunghoon’s startled words with a chilling scream.
It then began to move, clearly hostile toward us.
It’s obviously a monster that wouldn’t appear in any strategy guides.
After all, until this moment, I was the only one who knew about it.
‘What an annoying racket.’
Having killed the Alpha and absorbed its magic, the Queen was no longer as daunting an opponent as it used to be.
My plan was to kill it just like the Alpha and drain every ounce of remaining energy from its corpse.
The problem was, I couldn’t afford to use conspicuous magic right now.
So, as I’d done up to this point, I decided to let Han Sunghoon and Kim Sooyeon handle one side, creating an opening for myself.
“Ahhh!”
“Hold on! It’s too strong!”
The Queen’s scythe strikes were far stronger than those of ordinary patrollers.
Han Sunghoon, blocking it with his sword, was sent flying in an instant.
Kim Sooyeon’s spear shaft snapped from the force of the Queen’s wild swing, sending her stumbling to the ground.
All of this was within my expectations.
No matter how talented or experienced these two were, this was a tough battle.
The Queen was originally an enemy meant to be taken down with a much larger group, suffering many casualties in the process.
“It’s dangerous!”
[Shadow Chains.]
Contrary to Han Sunghoon’s warning as he cried out in alarm, I, the last one standing, thrust my spear toward the Queen’s face while casting a spell.
Swirling shadows rose from the dark ground, binding the Queen momentarily.
“—?!”
Before the startled Queen could break free, my spear shot through its immobilized face, shattering its skull and exiting out the other side.
“Did… did we get it?!”
As the Queen’s body fell backward, Kim Sooyeon clutched her sprained ankle and groaned in pain.
Neither of them understood why the Queen hadn’t dodged my spear.
The Shadow Chains blended perfectly into the dim environment, and the Queen’s black cloak, skirt, and hood camouflaged it further.
“Look! It’s the clear reward!”
Smirking, I pointed at the air above us.
With its signature glow, the reward descended—a system-generated reward often seen in the Tower.
Unlike the rewards calculated upon leaving a floor, dungeon-clear rewards were distributed immediately.
[Ring of Original Sin: A power granted to the heinous. Temporarily amplifies magic upon use.]
Along with an intermediate enhancement stone—rare on lower floors and allowing stat boosts—this special item was granted to me, the one who defeated the Queen.
I immediately slid the crude silver ring onto my finger.
It was an overpowered item capable of amplifying one’s magic proportionate to their existing power.
Though obtained on the Tower’s first floor, it could be used all the way to the top.
‘A successful first step.’
Grinning at the ring’s rough texture, I turned to look at Han Sunghoon and Kim Sooyeon, who were rejoicing over their enhanced stats.
I had obtained what I wanted, wasn’t alone, and wasn’t being reviled or scorned by anyone.
It was a far better outcome than I’d anticipated.
“You were right, Ji-ah. I can’t believe we got a reward that wasn’t even in the guides!”
“How strong am I now? Look at this!”
Han Sunghoon’s eyes sparkled with excitement, and Kim Sooyeon, who had been grumbling when we first arrived, was now swinging her heavy spear with one hand, utterly thrilled.
These two had been ecstatic over even minor achievements earlier.
Imagine how exhilarating it must feel for them to directly experience such a boost in their stats.
Even I, having absorbed the Alpha’s magic and feeling my power surge again, found it hard to contain my excitement.
“I’m happy too, but shouldn’t we start heading back now?”
“Oh, you’re right…”
While they were distracted, I had already drained the Queen’s corpse and was eager to leave this place, which had nothing more to offer.
“Hey, since we’re already at it, should we explore again tomorrow? We might find another place like this.”
Even on the way back, their exhilaration didn’t fade easily.
Kim Sooyeon, leaning on my shoulder as I supported her limping form, was already talking about fighting again tomorrow.
If this excitement wasn’t properly managed, it could lead to overexertion and sudden death, but it also served to suppress fear.
‘Though honestly, I could just sleep now.’
I smiled at Kim Sooyeon’s sparkling eyes as she suggested we stick together because we worked so well as a team.
The Alpha was dead, and I had already secured the hidden reward.
With time to spare, I could spend it collecting minor achievements—it was nothing but gain and no loss.
[So, it’s been three days, as promised. It’s been a while since half the group made it through. Seems like something about your ‘strategies’ was different, huh?]
And so, three days passed.