CHAPTER 61

The Correct Way to Backstab

ROAAARR!

"Ah, crap! It's back again!"

As Kichan swore, Seowoon and a martial artist dashed forward.

"Move! Everyone scatter!"

A golden, two-meter-tall crowned skeleton holding a sword in one hand and a staff in the other burst onto the scene. The group ran without looking back.

Crackle! KA-BOOM!

The golden sparks from its staff barely missed—exploding into the ground and sending shockwaves out.

"Don't get close!"

limin shouted, but the monster's agaro was annoyingly persistent.

To fully pull it away from the party, Seowoon had to stall for time—alone.

CLANG!

As soon as he got close, the Wraith swung its flame-coated sword downward.

Seowoon barely parried it aside. His arm oozed fluid from the burn, but he kept dodging and circling.

limin tried to throw an attack, but Seowoon yelled:

"Don't steal agaro! If it switches to magic patterns, we're screwed!"

That's why he risked staying close—to force melee behavior.

We're clear! Kichan's voice crackled in team comms.

Seowoon started backing off, timing it just right.

Downswing. Thrust. Diagonal slash.

He dodged each familiar pattern. The Wraith roared in rage.

NOW!

Crunch!

As it howled, Seowoon ignored the debuff warning and drove bloodbone clan into its knee—shattering the joint.

The monster staggered and dropped.

As Seowoon sprinted away, a surge of mana exploded behind him.

CRACKLE!

"Ghh!"

Being within the roar's radius triggered a debuff that halved magic resistance and durability.

His normally high resistance plummeted—making the Wraith's lightning deadly.

Seowoon absorbed the blast with his body and grounded it into the earth with Jin-gak footwork. He emerged scorched and steaming.

"RUN!"

Finally reaching the group, he collapsed to his knees.

"Hyung!"

Lyle healed him, and Seowoon slowly stood, exhaling deeply.

"Phew… That thing's terrifying."

"Don't push that hard again. I nearly had a heart attack."

Seowoon nodded with a bitter smile.

They'd first encountered the Wraith a few days ago—right after forming their team. It had appeared just as 24 hours passed in the dungeon.

Even that brief encounter nearly wiped them out.

Since then, the Wraith had roamed the dungeon unchecked, while ominous messages popped up repeatedly:

[Ding! Epic Monster: Kutrapha's Wraith has slain a player.]

The count of fallen players reached five.

Some groups had tried to hunt it—unsuccessfully. The Wraith showed up later with fractured bones but never dead.

Two conclusions became clear:

Some teams were trying.

None of them succeeded.

Its regeneration is so busted it's practically immortal.

This led Seowoon to a theory.

The regenerating gems that spawned Specters.

The area titled Kutrapha's Sanctuary.

The Epic Monster that had awoken.

It all sounded like a classic game event sequence.

Since then, Seowoon focused on gathering the gems—avoiding both players and the Wraith.

If I'm right… someone else will notice too—eventually.

And that moment would be Seowoon's.

Until then—run, survive.

"But why doesn't that damn monster trigger detection magic?"

Seowoon didn't answer. It was still just a theory.

"'Cause it's Epic."

"Epic my ass."

Even Kichan, normally the polite one, was swearing.

It was the third time Seowoon had taken heavy damage.

Two more days passed.

The number of survivors remained unchanged.

Then they encountered the Wraith again—limping, cracked, but alive.

As they fled once more, Seowoon's belief in his theory only strengthened.

"Found it."

The martial artist stood before a high-ceilinged chamber at the dungeon's edge, nine players behind him.

There, embedded in the ceiling, glowed a softly pulsing golden gem.

He tightened his grip on his blade. A red aura surged.

Leaping up, he stabbed the gem.

The entire dungeon trembled.

"Tch. Tougher than I thought."

Before he could say more—

ROAAAAAARRRR!

The entire dungeon shook. A deafening roar exploded outward.

[Ding! Yeoh Haoran's Quad has initiated the hunt for the Epic Monster.]

Seowoon scowled. He hadn't expected the game to broadcast it.

"Move!"

He sprang to his feet and opened the map.

Sure enough, a blinking icon lit up a corner of the dark map.

Seowoon and his party raced toward it.

ROAR!

THUD!

ARGHH!

Near the source of the noise, they ducked behind cover.

The battlefield was a walled chamber with a single narrow entrance.

"Ten."

"Three."

"Ten."

"Ten."

"Three, sir."

"I have no idea," Dumph muttered with a puzzled tilt of his head. They were whispering under a Silence spell, trying to suppress all sound.

Each person voiced the number of enemies they sensed from within, using their awareness. But Dumph, who hadn't learned magic and only knew the basic movements of martial arts, couldn't detect a single presence.

"Then it's ten we've got now, and eighteen more that haven't arrived yet. They'll be here soon."

That was the main reason they hadn't entered the area yet.

Sade bit his nails nervously.

"If they end up getting the kill..."

Seowoon tried to calm him, keeping his eyes locked on the loud battle echoing in the distance.

"I get it—you want that epic monster loot. But let's stay focused. The epic monster isn't our goal. Our goal is to climb as high in the rankings as we can. No matter how great the item is, it's useless without the coins to afford it."

Sade took a breath and steadied himself. He realized he had let greed blind him to what truly mattered.

Seowoon had spoken firmly to Sade, but in truth, he too coveted the epic monster.

'It'd be nice if we could steal it.'

In games, one of the most thrilling moments is stealing the last hit from an enemy and claiming the monster.

As that thought crossed his mind, a booming voice echoed from inside the cavern.

"Unless I'm drawing its attention, hold off on using magic!"

Yeoh Haoran, his sword ablaze with white flames, deflected the monster's flaming weapon and shouted as he clashed with it.

When they first fought the monster, one teammate had been sacrificed due to the initial panic. But its attack patterns were ridiculously simple.

From afar, it shot golden lightning. Up close, it swung a flaming sword. That sword swing repeated in only three predictable patterns. For a martial master like Yeoh Haoran, holding it in place wasn't difficult.

Clang! Crack!

He sidestepped a large downward slash and, with a smooth counter, broke the monster's ribs. The wraith threw its head back and screamed.

"Kraaaargh!"

[Due to Wraith's Fury, its magic resistance and defense are halved.]

Despite the notification, Yeoh Haoran didn't even blink. Against such a low-tier opponent, there was no chance he'd even be hit.

Meanwhile, outside the cavern, Seowoon—still lying flat on the ground—was growing anxious. He'd said the right things to calm Sade, but if they missed the opportunity and failed to claim anything, it would all be for nothing.

'Hurry up and come already.'

As if in response to his silent wish...

"Hyung! The alarm spell triggered!"

Despite the Silence spell, Kichan whispered urgently, and the whole team held their breath.

Thirteen players appeared at the cavern's entrance, rushing forward like the wind.

"It's them."

The ones who'd been ambushing other players at the dungeon entrance.

Seowoon nodded as he recognized several familiar faces.

"Only three left unaccounted for."

"Maybe the last ones are camping out to survive?"

"Could be. Fewer players here only helps us."

If they hadn't filled their own team, they might've made the same decision.

As the new team entered the cavern, chaos erupted.

Shouts and clashing weapons escalated the already wild battlefield.

"Perfect timing to jump in."

With that, the party, still lying flat, rose to their feet.

Peering in from the entrance, they saw utter pandemonium. The wraith, nearly shattered, flailed with its staff, and several treasure chests lay scattered around. Two teams fought fiercely, vying for control over a cracked yellow gem embedded in the ceiling.

Though Seowoon had never seen Yeoh Haoran in person, it was obvious who he was.

Anyone could recognize the master who severed the wraith's staff arm with a single swing of red sword energy.

The damage threshold must've been breached—the wraith collapsed to its knees, its glowing blue eyes flickering out.

At the same time, the golden gem radiated light and began to heal the wraith.

"Kill them all!"

As he swept his sword across the battlefield like a storm, Limin spoke with a grim look.

"So it really is that guy..."

"You know him?"

"Grand disciple of the Four Strongholds. In our world, he's called the Strongest of Past and Present."

Strongest of Past and Present.

A title even martial arts novels rarely dare to use. If someone earned that name, their skills were undoubtedly worthy.

Seeing Limin this tense—more so than when facing that lunatic who loved wearing blue—Seowoon patted his shoulder and said:

"This is the perfect situation. Let's do it. Everyone, bring them out."

At his command, the team drew out glowing white gems from subspace and hurled them into the cavern.

Twenty-one gems fell into the center of the chamber. The enemies, already mid-battle, noticed Seowoon's team at the entrance and began to react—only to be completely distracted by what came next.

Hundreds of Specters burst forth, wailing and filling the chamber in a wild storm.

"Kyaaaaahhh!""Haaaahhhh!"

Specters tore through the battlefield, confusing the players. At the same time, the wraith, its eyes glowing again, regained strength.

And with sword energy flying, a martial master slashed both players and specters alike.

"If this keeps up, we're all screwed! Work together—clear the monsters first!"

Someone shouted in desperation, but Seowoon's eyes gleamed.

"Since when do you get to decide? Smash them!"

The wraith rose, the swarm of specters screamed, and chaos reigned. Seowoon's team charged into the fray.

In one corner of the chamber, separated from the main clash, three players—a mage duo and a knight—were hit by the team's concentrated assault.

They didn't stand a chance.

Crunch!

The knight's helmet caved in under a crushing blow, blood spurting from the cracks.

"Watch out! They're flanking us!"

"Those bastards are behind this!"

Some players tried to warn the others.

But with the wraith rising and the specters flooding in, there was little they could do about Seowoon's team.

"Kyaaah!"

Seowoon watched Limin slice through the flying specters like nothing and said:

"Gathering them took effort. Just push them back. All the agaro's on those guys anyway."

For their team, armed with weapons blessed with holy water, the specters weren't much of a threat.

They were no more annoying than flies.

But for the rest of the players?

The specters were nightmares—monsters that could only be dealt with using magic.

So mages were quickly surrounded, becoming the focal point of the defense.

Of course, there was one exception.

"Strongest of Past and Present, huh?"

Seowoon's gaze rested on Yeoh Haoran, who, while deflecting the wraith's strikes, effortlessly sliced through flying specters with his sword energy.

[T/L: Read extra chapters on my ko-fi page "Pokemon1920" : https://ko-fi.com/pokemon1920 ]

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