"Unbelievable."
When Song Cheon-hwa and the other players reached the source of the scream, the worst-case scenario had already unfolded.
"…We're late."
The healer inspecting the four bodies on the ground shook his head.
There were clean, sharp wounds on the backs of their heads—clearly ambushed from behind and killed instantly.
But their deaths weren't even the biggest problem.
Woong!
A black sphere floated ominously at the entrance of the ruins.
Someone…
…had awakened the Guardian.
['Guardian of the Ruins' notices the trespassers.][Time left: 09:59]
A Guardian.
A monster that protected the entrance to the ruins.
They possessed power equivalent to upper-floor dungeon bosses, but never woke unless touched or stimulated by a specific item.
Thus their nickname:
"Sleeping Bomb."
Harmless if left alone.
A catastrophe once awakened.
"What idiot touched it?!"
"What good is knowing that now? It's already awake!"
Right.It was too late.
Only 10 minutes left.
If they didn't evacuate the ruins right now…
…the Guardian would fully awaken.
"H-hyung!"
"I know, I know!"
Song Cheon-hwa bit his lip.
They couldn't fight the Guardian.
It would be suicide.
'At least half… no, more than half will die.'
They would have to abandon the raid.
They wouldn't stand a chance at the boss if they lost this much combat power here.
But—
'Do we really end it before it even begins?'
Because of something so stupid?
That wasn't even the biggest problem.
The real nightmare was what would happen to him.
He would be expelled from the guild.
'Do you know how much hell I went through to secure this raid's captain position…?!'
Clench.
He gritted his teeth.
It couldn't end like this.
Never.
Then Song Cheon-hwa shouted:
"Let the Guardian wake up. We keep heading inside!"
At that insane decision, the raid members murmured loudly.
"Hyung, are you serious?!"
"If we make one mistake, we're all dead! Think!"
Porters had already entered.Three teams were still outside.Other guilds meant to join later hadn't even arrived.
Pushing forward meant sacrificing over 20% of their total force.
"Stop wasting time and follow me. I'll take responsibility!"
He dismissed their objections outright.
"And even without the others, as long as Teresa is with us, the odds are good."
This was the trump card he was relying on.
He glanced sideways.
At the blonde woman.
Against undead monsters, Teresa was the strongest player in the world.
With her…
It was possible.
Truly possible.
News soon reached the porters.
"I-Isn't this wrong? The Guardian woke up so we can't get out?!"
"So what, now they're going to continue the raid?!"
"If I knew it'd be this dangerous, I wouldn't have come!"
The porters panicked.
But the response they got was cold.
"Someone assassinated the guards. By the time we arrived, the Guardian was already awake."
Assassination…
Jin-hyuk, who had been silent, listened carefully.
'The culprit is among the people here…'
In the current world, murder wasn't shocking.
The motive was.
Profiting from waking the Guardian—
Interesting.
Jin-hyuk could already guess who had done it.
And why.
Perhaps this mess could even be used to his advantage.
Just then—
He turned his head, but a second too late.
"A monster from the side! Mid-level… too many of them!"
A scout shouted.
"P-Prepare for battle!"
Song Cheon-hwa yelled.
But because it was a surprise ambush, the players reacted slowly.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The tall grass thrashed violently as the ground trembled.
They were coming.
And fast.
"Tanks to the front!"
"Move the porters back! Don't get in the way!"
KWAANG!
Trees fell. Grass split apart.
"Gooooo!""Kaaaaaa!"
Dullahans.
Twelve of them.
Each nearly 2.5 meters tall, wielding axes and maces.
"U-ugh…"
"D-Dulahan?!"
Among the thirteen monster types in the ruins, the Dulahan ranked near the top.
They exuded a suffocating intimidation aura powerful enough to break a man's will.
Thick hide.Terrifying strength.Fast.Relentless.
"Aux buffs on the tanks! Damage dealers, prepare your skills! Collect mana now!"
Song Cheon-hwa commanded as he moved.
[Song Cheon-hwa activates Lv3 Iron Shield!][Go Yeon-deok activates Lv2 Formation!][Lee Yunmi activates Lv2 Song of Warriors!]
Woong!
Buffs stacked.
Then—
Kuaaal!!
KWAANG!
The Dulahan's mace slammed against a shield.
Jin-hyuk watched quietly from the rear.
'As expected, guild units have strong resistance.'
They weren't being overwhelmed by the Dulahan.
The real problem was the non-guild solo players.
They had no teamwork.
They started collapsing almost immediately.
Crack!
The sound of bones breaking echoed.
"Kuaaaak!"
A man fell, bleeding heavily.
"They're too fast!"
"H-healer! Where's the healer?!"
"Front line tanks! I'm getting pushed back—at this rate we die!"
As expected.
This ragtag force wasn't enough to handle Dulahan.
It was inevitable the solos would be first to fall.
But despite their desperate cries—
Song Cheon-hwa didn't even look at them.
He allowed more victims to fall.
Because…
It was intentional.
A satisfied smile touched his lips.
To create a dramatic moment…the "trash" needed to die.
This raid had a second purpose beyond clearing the ruins.
They needed to secure new subscribers.
With view counts only recording once per person per day, competition was fierce.
To lock in loyal subscribers—
They needed drama.
Cruelty.
Sensational scenes.
Blood.
Death.
Kill shots.
'With some tragic casualties, the video will go viral.'
He waited for victims to pile up.
Then finally—
"Dong-young!"
"Yes, hyung!"
The mage raised his hand.
Psssss!
Cold wind whipped through the battlefield.
A white sphere formed in his palm.
Ice Orb.
Freezing magic condensed to its limit.
Then—
KWAKWAKWAK!
A storm of ice slashed between the Dulahans.
Their movements slowed.Their weapons frosted over.Their legs stiffened.
"Now! Move!"
Tankers opened gaps on the sides.
Damage dealers charged the center.
Slash! Stab! Kwak!
One by one, the Dulahans fell.
A guild member recording video grinned.
"Hyung, this clip will hit 300,000 views easy."
300,000…!
Song Cheon-hwa smiled.
This would make him rise.
The battle ended.
The solos were almost gone.A few unlucky guild players had fallen.But sacrifices only made the clip better.
Meanwhile—
25-year-old Kim Somi, an intelligence worker, collapsed.
A Dulahan's axe descended toward her.
'I just… wanted to live a normal life…'
She closed her eyes.
But—
Nothing.
No pain.
Curious, she opened her eyes.
"…!?"
A surreal sight.
Dududud!
The axe was stopped.
The Dulahan strained, muscles bulging…
…but the weapon didn't move an inch past the man holding it back.
With a dagger.
'He's… stopping it?'
Not stopping.
Overpowering.
With ease.
And despite being a melee fighter—
He felt more solid than a tank's shield.
Then—
Wheik!
Flames burst from his left hand.
Not tiny flickers.
A torrent of fire.
"M-magic too?!"
She couldn't understand.
Balanced combat ability like this didn't exist.
Never equal strength in every area.
What rank…?
What level…?
She couldn't even guess.
KWAKWAKWAK!
The Dulahan was engulfed in flames, its flesh melting and collapsing.
Another one down.
Jin-hyuk glanced at the corpses.
He had used only Lv1 Shallow Breath—even that made him practically invisible.
'Final touches.'
He brushed ash off his dagger.
Honestly?
He hadn't even warmed up.
The Dulahans were too weak.
Primitive attack patterns.Predictable movement.Raw strength with no refinement.
He eliminated four in under three minutes.
'This is strange… why is it so much easier than before?'
Originally, it took him at least ten minutes.The fastest was seven.
Either he was absurdly stronger…
Or the Dulahan were weaker.
As he pondered this—
A shocked voice called out from behind him.
"You… how could you…"
Unexpected.
He hadn't thought anyone else was watching.
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