[You have died.]
Once the summoning resolved the distance issue, we resumed heading in.
GegulGegulFrog: From Frog’s perspective—
GegulGegulFrog: Seems like whoever lands the first hit gets transformed?
Freedeal: Whoa, I just had the same thought.
Suddenly, GegulGegulFrog proposed the theory that “whoever initiates the attack gets transformed.” After several attempts, to everyone’s shock, the hypothesis turned out to be true.
Furple: It’s real?!
To test it out, Furple landed the first attack—only to end up hopping around as a skeleton.
GegulGegulFrog: Damn, what do I do with this genius-level intellect?
Oath’s Vow: So, who should we offer up as a sacrifice?
Freedeal: Is this the underworld or the Indangsu River?
Jeon-gi: At least Simcheong got three hundred sacks of rice. What do we get out of this?
Swakkoong: A sense of self-sacrifice?
Jeon-gi: Anything that lacks material value is utterly worthless.
Furple: Feels like I’m possessed by a snowman.
The saying “the dead tell no tales” was a thing of the past—our fallen teammates were already holding a debate about who to sacrifice next.
“It’s too dangerous if the Tank gets transformed.”
Oath’s Vow: Then it has to be the Archer.
Furple: Am I supposed to just accept this?
GegulGegulFrog: Guys… at least react a little…
Freedeal: Do we really need a secondary Tank?
Jeon-gi: Since we have two Priests, what if one of them transforms?
Swakkoong: Who said that? Who just spewed that bullshit?
There were no volunteers, only endless nominations. Sa-yoon quickly scanned the party members lying on the ground.
Excluding the sub-Tank and Priests just in case, that left four DPS. If he removed the Hunter and the Black Mage, who had strong damage output…
“Should I just go?”
Even if the Warlock was rendered unable to attack, as long as he wasn’t dead, his summoned creatures could keep fighting. Wouldn’t this be the best option?
GegulGegulFrog: A true god among men. Mother Teresa in the flesh.
Swakkoong: Can’t believe someone in our guild actually said something selfless.
Furple: Oath’s Vow should learn from this.
Oath’s Vow: And why are you volunteering?
[Guild] Killer: No
[Guild] Killer: No
[Guild] Killer: No
[Guild] Killer: Nonononono
[Guild] Killer: Nononononononono
While everyone was indulging in pure self-interest as long as it wasn’t them, Killer suddenly launched into fierce opposition. The chat scrolled so fast it might as well have been a server-wide announcement—he was holding his ground like an army of one.
Swakkoong: Okay, you have the floor.
[Guild] Killer: What if the demon lands the first hit?
[Guild] Killer: If you unsummon it, the problem is solved.
“Oh?”
It was, undeniably, the best idea. The demon could just be resummoned afterward anyway.
GegulGegulFrog: Whoa. As expected from an expert in the dark arts. Big respect.
[‘Furple’ has been removed from the party.]
Furple: Summon me back when you’re done.
A unanimous decision was made to sacrifice the demon.
Later, when the demon turned into a skeleton and was subsequently dismissed, Persephone showed no reaction whatsoever.
And so, they finally entered the next phase. The second wave of summons, floor hazards, AoE attacks, and laser beams followed in quick succession. It was a relentless gauntlet, as if they were climbing every one of the twelve thousand peaks of Geumgangsan.
Oath’s Vow: Chasa-nim, flowers!
Chasa quickly stepped back, avoiding the cluster of black flowers blooming beneath his feet. Resembling morning glories, these black blossoms inflicted a poison debuff upon contact.
Swakkoong: What are you, a florist? Why do you keep summoning flowers?
Because Persephone was not only the queen of the underworld but also a goddess of spring. Not that it would matter to an enraged Swakkoong, so no one bothered explaining.
Jeon-gi: Guys, 10% left.
Oath’s Vow: Curse incoming.
Freedeal: Curse.
Swakkoong: Curse.
Furple: Curse.
The moment Persephone slightly raised her arms, the entire party echoed in unison. At this point, they had learned to recognize her skills just from her movements. The power of repetitive learning was truly impressive.
Victory was just within reach.
At that moment, Persephone swung her spear in a wide arc. A dazzling visual effect of petals scattering filled the screen—and when it cleared, nine bewildered skeletons stood in place.
As skeletons, their surroundings flickered between pitch-black darkness and a spotlight effect, as if they were standing alone on a stage.
From the shadows, Persephone emerged and slashed her spear at Chasa. Unable to use any skills, the skeleton crumbled to dust.
[You have died.]
Swakkoong: What the hell was that?!
Freedeal: Ah, fuck.
The continuous string of curses revealed that the culprit was, unsurprisingly, Freedeal. Another attempt had ended in a full wipe.
Swakkoong: Goddamn it, I’m so pissed. Let’s take a 10-minute break.
Furple: Are we even gonna clear this today?
Oath’s Vow: We’ll run one more attempt in ten minutes.
Freedeal: Okay, I need a break before the next run.
Hearing Furple’s words, Sa-yoon glanced outside. Dusk had already settled in. With victory so close, only to be wiped out at the last moment, the mood in the group was downright grim. As soon as Oath’s Vow suggested taking a break, one by one, microphone icons were crossed out—muted.
“Wow… this is seriously rough.”
Sa-yoon ran a hand down his face, then immediately uploaded the recorded footage. Since it had come to this, they might as well review everything from the start.
…But no real insights came of it.
Swakkoong: Who’s still here?
Oath’s Vow: I am.
[Guild] Freedeal: Here
[Guild] Furple: Eating dumplings.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Sounds tasty.
[Guild] Chasa: I’m here too.
Swakkoong: Alright, everyone pull up the voice chat window.
Following his instructions, they switched windows—revealing Swakkoong sharing his screen. Half of it displayed the recorded gameplay footage, while the other half… was an Excel spreadsheet listing Persephone’s attack patterns.
When the hell did he put all this together?
Even though Sa-yoon had spent the break analyzing the footage, he had to admire the dedication.
Swakkoong: I organized the patterns. Now, look here—see how the floor hazard triggers at the start?
A laser pointer appeared, circling the top of the table. The neatly arranged spreadsheet was impressive enough, but his presentation skills screamed “corporate warrior.” Everyone silently listened as Swakkoong continued his briefing.
Swakkoong: So instead of burning all our skills during the second wave of adds, how about saving them for the final 10%?
Freedeal: Yeah, since there’s no time limit, that should be doable.
Swakkoong: Can’t we stack the Guardian’s Roar debuff, use the Black Mage’s blink ult, Priest’s ult, and Warlock’s DoTs to grind her down?
Oath’s Vow: Hmm…
[Guild] Furple: But won’t we all die before Persephone does?
Oath’s Vow: Let’s start by using Guardian’s Roar and Ally Protection. After that, we’ll just run for our lives as best we can.
In short, the plan was to dump all their damage and hold out for dear life.
Freedeal: Let’s do it.
Swakkoong: Okay, gogogogo.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: Lets go
[Guild] Shokrates: I’m here.
[Guild] Shokrates: Can someone?? Fill me in?? On what was decided??
[Guild] Shokrates: Why is everyone suddenly getting ready? Are we just charging in?
[Guild] Furple: This guy’s late no matter where he goes.
[Guild] Freedeal: Just go while Oath’s Vow explains.
[Guild] Shokrates: — So we’re not talking to each other now?
It had been strangely quiet. Did they fight while he wasn’t looking? Sa-yoon tilted his head but quickly refocused as the battle began.
Frog: This is ridiculously fast. Infuriating.
Freedeal: That legit felt like a horror game just now.
They had transformed into skeletons, but for some reason, they could only hop around like hopping zombies. With their movement speed severely reduced, getting beaten to death was inevitable.
Truly… a shit game.
[Guild] Swakkoong: I just got a great idea.
[Guild] GegulGegulFrog: You said that last time too.
[Guild] Swakkoong: No no no no no, this time it’s real. Trust me.
[Guild] Freedeal: Okay, brief us.
[Guild] Swakkoong: Looking at it, this whole dungeon seems completely tailored for Warlocks. Lol. Like, it’s impossible to clear without one.
Wait, me?
Sa-yoon blinked, utterly dumbfounded, like an actor unexpectedly called up on stage at an awards ceremony.
[Guild] Swakkoong: It’s a long shot…
[Guild] Swakkoong: But what if we try combining Warlock’s skills?
At this point, they had no better ideas. Might as well try.
There were a total of 16 combination skills. Excluding ultimates, the party members had access to 4.
It was madness.
After a grueling discussion, they decided to start with Swakkoong, the Priest, using his shield skill.
Swakkoong: Thank you for choosing me. I shall repay your faith.
[Persephone: The price shall be your life!]
Frog: If I hear that line one more time, I might actually throw up.
The execution of the strategy flowed seamlessly. Sa-yoon suddenly understood why companies preferred hiring experienced workers—everything was smoother when people knew what they were doing. Thanks to the endless adds pouring in, their resource gauge filled up nicely.
And then, they approached the crucial 10% mark.
“I’m ready!”
Swakkoong: Now!
[An allied support skill has been activated.]
[Combat] ‘Swakkoong’ has used Veil of Light.
[Combat] ‘Chasa’ has used the combination skill Demon’s Blessing.
[Harpas’s Flock: Caw!]
Blessing? Demon’s Blessing sounded like a skill that would demand a pure soul as payment.
The moment the skill activated, small firebirds emerged, circling above each party member’s head, cawing loudly. If Harpas was the size of an eagle, these minions were tiny and sparrow-like—small, cute, and harmless-looking.
The party held their breath, waiting for the new skill to take effect.
And then… nothing happened.
Jeon-gi: Huh? Is it a pet demon or something?
