The journey to the coordinates marked on the Rusty Iron Shard was not a leisurely stroll. The "Crypt of Silence" was located in a region known as the Dead Man's Gorge. A zone that the current player base—mostly hovering between Level 5 and 8—avoided like the plague. The air here was thick with necrotic mana. A suffocating grey mist that clung to the skin. Sapped stamina by 1% every ten seconds without the proper resistance potions.
Sebastian walked with a steady, predatory rhythm. His Drifter rags billowing in the unnatural wind. Beside him, Valerie, the heiress of the Blue Rose Guild, struggled to keep pace. Her breathing ragged. Her stamina bar flashing yellow. She didn't complain though. She'd paid for a service. Was determined to get her money's worth.
Behind them trudged "Grog."
Grog was a Level 15 NPC Mercenary Sebastian had hired at the village tavern for a measly 50 silver. A brute of a man. Clad in thick iron plates. Carrying a tower shield that looked like a tombstone. His AI was simple: Aggro everything, soak damage, die so the players didn't have to.
"We are here," Sebastian announced. Stopping before a sheer cliff face.
No door. Just solid, weathered rock covered in moss that looked like dried veins.
"Here?" Valerie panted. Leaning on her staff. "It's a wall. Did the map glitch?"
Sebastian ignored her. Retrieved the [Rusty Iron Shard] from his inventory. The moment the jagged metal appeared in the gloomy air of the gorge, it began to vibrate. A low, resonant hum emitted from the shard. Causing the pebbles at their feet to dance.
He pressed the shard into a seemingly random depression in the rock face.
CLICK.
The sound was like a gunshot in the silence.
RUMBLE...
The cliff face groaned. Dust and rock chips rained down as a section of the stone dissolved into a swirling vortex of black and green energy. Not a mechanical door. A spatial tear.
[System Notice: You have discovered the Hidden Dungeon: 'Crypt of Silence'.]
[Recommended Level: 20+]
[Danger Level: Nightmare.]
"Level 20?" Valerie's eyes widened as she read the system prompt. "We're going to die. I'm Level 9. You're Level 10. Even with Grog... this is suicide."
"Levels are just numbers for the masses," Sebastian said. His voice devoid of fear. "For me, they are merely suggestions. Grog, front."
"Yes, Boss!" the NPC grunted. Banging his mace against his shield.
Grog stepped into the vortex. Sebastian followed. After a moment of hesitation, Valerie stepped in too.
The interior of the Crypt was a masterpiece of atmospheric horror. The walls lined with skulls that seemed to track their movement. The floor covered in thick, magical fog that obscured anything below the knees. No light source. Yet everything bathed in a sickly, bioluminescent green hue.
"Stay close," Sebastian ordered. "The mobs here aren't standard undead."
"I don't see anything," Valerie whispered. Her staff glowing with a fire spell. Ready to cast.
"Exactly."
SWISH.
A sound like tearing silk echoed through the hallway.
"URGH!"
Grog, who'd been walking five meters ahead, suddenly jerked. A massive gash appeared on his iron chest plate. Sparks flew. Blood sprayed.
[-450 HP!]
Grog roared. Swung his mace at the empty air. "Show yourself, coward!"
SLASH. SLASH.
Two more wounds opened up on Grog's back and leg. He fell to one knee. His HP bar dropping to 60% in seconds.
"What is hitting him?!" Valerie screamed. Casting a [Fireball] blindly into the darkness. The fire exploded against a wall. Revealing nothing.
"Phase Specters," Sebastian analyzed calmly. "Level 18. They exist in the ethereal plane. Invisible to the naked eye. Immune to physical damage until they strike."
To a normal party, this was a wipe. You couldn't kill what you couldn't see. Couldn't hit what wasn't there.
Sebastian wasn't normal though.
He opened his Skill Interface.
[Skill Tree: Sensory Magic]
[Basic Identify (Tier 0)] -> [Evolution Available]
"You want to hide in the dark?" Sebastian sneered. "I am the darkness."
He focused his mind on the Infinite Skill Points counter. He needed eyes that could peer into the abyss.
[Ding! Basic Identify evolved to... Mana Sight.]
[Ding! Mana Sight evolved to... Arcane Vision.]
[Ding! Arcane Vision evolved to... True Sight (Tier 3).]
He kept pushing. Poured thousands of points into the passive skill. The icon shifted from a magnifying glass to a golden eye with a vertical slit pupil.
[Ding! Skill Evolution Complete.]
[New Passive: Eye of the Void God (Divine Tier - Incomplete)]
════════════════════════════
[Eye of the Void God]
Type: Passive / Ocular Jutsu
Effect 1: Grants absolute vision of all hidden, invisible, or phased entities within 500 meters.
Effect 2: Highlights Weak Points (Critical Hit Chance +50% when striking marked areas).
Effect 3: User can see through illusions and lies.
════════════════════════════
Sebastian blinked. His irises, originally a dark brown, flashed with momentary golden luminescence.
The world shifted. The darkness of the dungeon stripped away. Replaced by a wireframe grid of mana.
There they were.
Six floating, wraith-like figures hovered around the bleeding NPC. Hideous. Elongated claws and faces twisted in eternal screams. They were preparing for the killing blow on Grog.
"Six of them," Sebastian said. "Three on Grog. Two flanking left. One right behind you, Valerie."
Valerie froze. "Behind me?"
Sebastian didn't turn. Pointed his finger over his shoulder. Directly at Valerie's face.
"Duck."
Valerie dropped to the floor instinctively.
"Solar Flare. Output: Precision Mode."
A beam of concentrated sunlight, no thicker than a pencil, shot from Sebastian's finger. Passed inches above Valerie's head. Struck the empty air behind her.
SCREEEEECH!
An unholy wail tore through the dungeon. The invisible monster materialized as it burned. Its spectral form catching fire like gasoline-soaked paper.
[-9,999 (Holy/Fire Damage)]
The Phase Specter disintegrated instantly.
"Grog, shield up!" Sebastian barked.
He dashed forward. With the [Eye of the Void God], the monsters were moving in slow motion. He could see the flow of their mana. The exact moment they were about to attack.
He drew the [Shadowfang] dagger.
"You rely on being untouchable," Sebastian whispered. Sliding between two Specters that were harassing the NPC. "I can touch you just fine though."
[God-Slayer's Edge] activated.
He slashed. The dagger, coated in shadow mana, cut through the ethereal plane.
SHING. SHING.
Two heads flew off invisible bodies. As they died, their corpses flickered into visibility. Black ichor pooling on the floor.
The remaining three Specters shrieked. Abandoned the tank. Rushed Sebastian. They realized the threat level had changed.
"Too slow."
Sebastian spun. His body leaving afterimages thanks to his high Agility and [Shadow Weave] stacks.
He channeled mana into his palm. Didn't use a massive explosion this time. Didn't want to collapse the ceiling. Used [Wind Blade], evolved into [Vacuum Slash].
"Sever."
A horizontal crescent of distorted air swept through the hallway at chest height.
The three Specters tried to phase out. Return to the deep void to escape. [God-Slayer's Edge] ignored their immunity frames though.
The wind blade sliced through them. Three distinct thuds echoed as their upper halves separated from their lower halves.
[Ding! You have killed Phase Specter (Lv 18). EXP +850.]
[Ding! You have killed Phase Specter (Lv 18). EXP +850.]
...
[Ding! Level Up!]
[Name: Zero]
[Level: 11]
Silence returned to the hallway.
Grog was panting. Chugging a health potion. His AI clearly traumatized by the encounter. Valerie stood up slowly. Brushing dust off her robes. She looked at the six piles of ash and black sludge.
"You... you can see them?" she asked. Her voice trembling. "That skill... is that an advanced Hunter track skill?"
"Something like that," Sebastian replied vaguely. He walked over to the loot piles. "Pick up the Essence Dust. We move."
"We move?" Valerie pointed at Grog. His armor was shredded. "He's at 30% durability. We barely survived the trash mobs!"
"We survived because I tested the waters," Sebastian said coldly. "Now I know their patterns. I can see everything now."
He turned his golden-flecked eyes toward the deeper darkness of the crypt.
"The boss is waiting. I hate keeping loot waiting."
They pushed deeper. With Sebastian calling out positions, the threat of the invisible ghosts evaporated. He became a conductor of death. Directing Valerie's fire spells and Grog's shield blocks with absolute precision.
"Fireball, 30 degrees left. Now."
"Grog, taunt. Two seconds."
"Freeze."
They tore through the dungeon like a special forces unit. By the time they reached the massive iron doors of the Boss Room, Valerie had reached Level 10. Sebastian's inventory was full of high-grade crafting materials.
Grog, somehow, was still alive. Though he looked like he'd been through a meat grinder.
Sebastian stopped before the door. The air here was colder. Heavy with the scent of ancient decay.
"Inside is the Crypt Lord," Sebastian explained. Checking his cooldowns. "He summons armies. If we get swarmed, we die."
"So what's the plan?" Valerie asked. Gripping her staff. "Do I focus the adds?"
"No," Sebastian said. A strange light entering his eyes. "You watch the door. I'll bring my own army."
He opened his Skill Tree one last time. Found the [Illusionist] tab.
[Skill: Mirror Image (Tier 1)] -> [Evolution Available].
"Let's see if the system can handle a little... multiplication."