Shin-jae squinted at the orange bottoms, which were closer to hot pants than shorts. The overly revealing outfit made him look like an exhibitionist, but it was actually a seasonal summer item—a swimsuit. The unfamiliar beach volleyball tucked under his arm confirmed that it was a limited edition item released before he had joined.
With a click on a saved shortcut, Killer swiftly reverted to his usual outfit. It took less than a second for a nearly-naked beach bro to transform into a devout Holy Knight. The real problem, however, was that RPG veterans had absurdly wide field-of-view settings.
[Guild] Swakkoong: ? What was that just now
[Guild] Shokrates: I’m questioning my own eyes right now
[Guild] Furple: I heard animals act weird when they’re stressed… Could it be?
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: Well, it has been a while since we stayed in the same dungeon for this long
No way was he missing this opportunity. It was like watching a school of piranhas thrash through turbulent waters after spotting prey. Ignoring the swarm of carnivorous fish, Shin-jae leaned back in his chair.
[Guild] Swakkoong: But seriously, what was that? I almost thought it was ♡♡♡ and freaked out
[Guild] Swakkoong: ㄴshow yourself
[Guild] Chasa: Oh, that’s a limited swimsuit only given to open beta players
[Guild] Freedeal: LMAO, out of nowhere with the swimsuit. Thinking about the beach or what?
“The beach sounds nice.”
“Hm?”
“Should we go after finals? Talking about it makes me want to see it again.”
Out of nowhere?
“Sounds good.”
It was abrupt, but he nodded anyway.
But wasn’t the beach a summer thing? What do you even do there in the winter? That thought hit him a beat too late. Still, if Sa-yoon wanted to go, then anywhere was fine.
His first trip. Shin-jae fidgeted with the fingers gripping his mouse.
[Guild] Killer: Quit the nonsense and move already.
Clicking on Pomegranate triggered a screen transition, and soon, they arrived in a new room.
Jeon-gi: Grand. Absolutely grand.
The map where Hades resided was clearly designed to be an imposing final boss stage. The circular room had an extremely high ceiling, densely packed with black stalactites. On top of that, its sheer size dwarfed Persephone’s chamber beyond comparison.
At the very center, standing on a narrow, round platform just big enough for one person, was the ruler of the underworld. This was it—the final named boss of the new dungeon.
Oath’s Vow: Going in.
Jeon-gi: Final boss, let’s go!
[Hades: Foolish humans, you’ve dared to crawl this far.]
The moment Oath’s Vow charged in, Hades ascended into the air. A few quick dots were thrown at him, but not a single one landed.
“He’s untargetable.”
Like dogs chasing a chicken beyond their reach, the party could do nothing but stare up at Hades.
[Guild] Swakkoong: Is that a couple weapon?
Now that he mentioned it, the split-tipped spear did look familiar. It was identical to the one Persephone had used to beat them senseless just hours ago.
[Guild] Jeon-gi: All couples should just go to hell.
[Guild] Furple: We’re already in hell.
Hades spread his arms wide and began chanting a spell. The skill name appeared: “Prayer.”
No one knew what he was praying for, but the seasoned players instinctively adjusted their positions, predicting where he would land. The tank and melee fighters took their place in the center, while the ranged DPS lined up at the edges, creating an ideal formation.
Suddenly, the entire map started shaking violently, as if an earthquake had struck. Characters that had been standing steady lost their footing, staggering.
“Oh.”
Sa-yoon was impressed. They actually thought of implementing this? He kept mashing the capture button, taking multiple screenshots. Even after he had saved plenty, the tremors still didn’t stop.
Surely, they weren’t expected to fight like this, right? Forget the characters struggling to stay balanced—the players were about to get motion sickness.
“Huh?”
Then, the edges of the platform began to crumble.
As Chasa plummeted helplessly into the abyss, Sa-yoon let out a hollow, disbelieving sound.
[Guild] Shokrates: LOLOLOLOLOL
[Guild] Chasa: LOLOLOLOL
[Guild] Freedeal: Where’d everyone go?
Chasa wasn’t the only one falling. Every ranged DPS who had positioned themselves away from Hades was now being eliminated from the map. The ground was littered with countless white bones, their skeletal arms reaching upward in agony. The moment they made contact, their health drained instantly—dead on the spot.
A clean wipe. Time to restart.
***
For the second attempt, everyone agreed to gather near the central platform. With the edges now collapsed, the battlefield was even smaller than before. The moment Hades descended, he unleashed a knockback effect, shoving all characters outward. Chasa barely managed to stop himself at the cliff’s edge.
[Guild] Jeon-gi: Holy shit.
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: Turning him toward 3 o’clock.
[Guild] Freedeal: Healer at 12 o’clock.
The ranged DPS quickly positioned themselves near the healer as the real fight began. Once they had shaved Hades’ HP down to 10%, two glowing diamonds—one black and one white—appeared at 6 and 12 o’clock.
[Guild] Furple: What the hell is that?
[Guild] Killer: Taking 6 o’clock.
They weren’t just for decoration, that much was obvious. Sa-yoon attacked the white object nearby, but the word “Resist” popped up above it, indicating that it was immune.
[Guild] Guri: Huh? I don’t think we can break these.
[Guild] Furple: Wait, I can damage mine?
Some players could attack them, while others couldn’t. As confusion spread through the party, both diamonds suddenly launched an attack—straight at the healer.
[Guild] Swakkoong: If you can hit it, take it down fast
[Guild] Killer: 6 o’clock is immune to damage.
Furple: Heading over to help.
After destroying the white diamond at 12 o’clock, Furple moved to assist with the black one.
Furple: I can’t damage this one.
No way.
“Moving to assist.”
As Harpas dashed across the map and struck the diamond, its HP drained rapidly.
Jeon-gi: So, only physical attacks work on white, and only magic attacks work on black?
“Looks like it.”
That meant they had to reposition toward 6 o’clock. As they crossed the massive map, Swakkoong grumbled about the developers making things unnecessarily complicated.
Meanwhile, Hades’ HP reached 75%. It was time for a special phase.
[The Lord of the Underworld, Hades, begins summoning.]
Oath’s Vow: Summoning adds.
Furple: Minions incoming.
The party tensed, bracing for whatever creature would appear.
[The Lord of the Underworld, Hades, has summoned his loyal servant, Cerberus.]
And then… nothing happened.
Hades, unfazed, simply swung his spear down at Oath’s Vow’s head.
GegulGegulFrog: Is this bugged? …
Shokrates: Maybe it’s because we already killed him earlier? T_T
Furple: What if he’s just hiding somewhere?
But there wasn’t a single hiding spot in Hades’ meticulously minimalist lair.
Shokrates: Looks like the phase just got skipped.
GegulGegulFrog: Lucky Frog ><
[Guild] Freedeal: Screw it, just go.
Even amid the chaos, the seasoned players instinctively continued dealing damage.
[Failed to eliminate the summoned Cerberus.]
[You have died.]
The moment Hades’ HP reached around 50%, the entire party was wiped out—without warning.
[Guild] Swakkoong: ?
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: But he didn’t even summon anything?
[Guild] Shokrates: This has to be a bug, right?
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: Let’s try again.
[The Lord of the Underworld, Hades, has summoned his loyal servant, Cerberus.]
Again, nothing happened.
Sa-yoon rotated his camera 360 degrees, scanning the entire map, but there was nothing in sight.
[Guild] Furple: What the hell is going on?
[Guild] Swakkoong: This is so frustrating.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Let Frog escape from this hell T_T
[Failed to eliminate the summoned Cerberus.]
[‘Oath’s Vow’ has used Indomitable Will.]
[You have died.]
[Guild] Oath’s Vow: Ah, even invincibility doesn’t work. If we don’t kill the summon within the time limit, it’s an automatic wipe.
After dying twice to this unexplained mechanic, the party members collapsed at the starting point. The rough stone floor beneath them shimmered faintly as mysterious engravings appeared and vanished. In the distance, Hades loomed once more.
Hades leisurely ascended the platform.
Oath’s Vow: Looks like no one else has made it this far yet.
Furple: No matter how many times I review it, I have no idea. There aren’t any summoned mobs on the field at all.
Sa-yoon rewatched the footage, and his impression was the same. Neither during the fight nor in the recording was there any sign of the summoned monster.
Jeon-gi: But there’s no way they’d launch with a bug this severe.
[Guild] Swakkoong: Fr, if that were the case, they’d have done an emergency patch by now, lol.
That made sense. In the end, they decided to proceed under the assumption that it wasn’t a bug and give it another shot.
[The Lord of the Underworld, Hades, has summoned his loyal servant, Cerberus.]
And just like that, they entered the dreaded phase once again.
GegulGegulFrog: Holy shit!
Suddenly, GegulGegulFrog stopped attacking, lowered his spear, and jumped in place.
GegulGegulFrog: Holy holy shit!
Furple: Frog, what’s up?
GegulGegulFrog: Guys!! I found it! I found Cerberus!
Where?!
Sa-yoon quickly swung his camera around, but he still couldn’t see anything. Clicking on GegulGegulFrog, he checked the target distance of whatever the frog was focusing on.
[The Loyal Servant, Cerberus] – ▼32m
Underground?!
why is there so much game content 😭 i just want fluff