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Ding!
[Congratulations! You have discovered an Ethereal Core!]
[The clearer the Visionary’s eyes become as you destroy Ethereal Cores.]
As I brought down the following skeleton, a status message unexpectedly appeared.
“So this was it after all.”
One memory came to mind in my head.
─It’s quite simple to bring down people by tampering with their core. Like this.
The man casually waved his hand. The barrier of karma surrounding him collapsed as the superhumans fell.
The one who did this wasn’t me, nor was it the image of another player; it was Mine, known as the demon of Eternity, the “Night of Annihilation.”
He effortlessly subdued the superhumans opposing him with that ability.
A terrifying ability that I, too, couldn’t grasp the principles of.
The technique I used against the skeletons was precisely the same ability used in the “Night of Annihilation.”
“I had a hunch······”
Honestly, I had vaguely sensed it since acquiring the “Soul Harbinger.” Could this be the secret of the ability he used? And now, through the current message, I could be sure.
Night of Annihilation. He was an ability user like me, possessing the “Harbinger’s Eyes.”
“···Impressive.”
Unable to contain my rising excitement, I chuckled, shaking my shoulders.
Eungaye and Amelia looked at me strangely.
After the laughter subsided, I reread the status message. What caught my attention was the phrase that followed.
[The Harbinger’s Eyes become clearer as the core is destroyed.]
This meant that by destroying cores, one could see the cores not just in skeletons but also in humans.
Since any being with life would have a core.
“Hey, what are you doing?”
“Is it okay to go in?”
As I stepped into the dungeon, a surprised Eungaye and Amelia shouted.
Even the dungeon guide, who had been waiting, rushed over in surprise.
“It’s dangerous if you go in······!”
But the unfolding scene left everyone astonished.
Three skeletons that had been wandering ahead collapsed all at once.
The daggers of Gram, which shattered their cores, returned to me.
Clatter, clatter!
At that moment, a skeleton grazed by a core lunged at me.
“It’s tough.”
I scratched my cheek.
Since the cores were swirling within the skeletons’ consciousness, it seemed practice would be needed to swiftly hit the core of a moving skeleton.
Thunk!
After shattering the core of the charging skeleton, I moved forward. Walking like that, I suddenly turned around and asked.
“You’re not coming?”
“······.”
Eungaye and Amelia, who were wearing blank expressions, followed behind. The guide, who belatedly regained his composure, did too.
***
O Dong-jun, the guide of the Black Dungeon, couldn’t fathom how to handle the situation before him.
The pile of rocks conjured by Amelia’s magic tied up the skeletons’ legs.
Rumble, rumble!
The ones hit by the rain of Gram’s blades collapsed in a heap.
Yet, the one who maintained its form, Eungaya, rushed forward and shattered it.
In this manner, the skeletons handled by the three of them had already exceeded 20 counts.
The issue was that these were not ordinary skeletons.
The white skull that appears at the entrance of the dungeon and the black skull the three were hunting now differed in grade from the start.
The white skull was Grade 2, while the black skull was Grade 3. Naturally, the difficulty of this hunt was like night and day.
No matter how many times they fell, the black skull, embodying the existence of ‘undying,’ would rise again like a phoenix.
Dongjun had followed them to save them before they faced danger.
He had a sound device emitting ultrasonic waves that skeletons detested.
However, Dongjun, without even considering using the device, just blankly observed the three’s hunt.
“Were those who killed the black skull that easily?” Dongjun was at a loss, seeing the black skulls that remained motionless even after falling once, knowing that they would rise again as long as bone fragments were left.
To kill the black skull with one blow like that, one had to deliver a tremendous blow.
At least a Grade 3 or higher.
Does this mean that each raindrop contains a force of Grade 3 or higher?
“What kind of monster is this…”
He looked at Heaesol, who was waving the raindrops with an astonished expression.
On the other hand, Heaesol frowned as if she didn’t like the raindrops being waved around.
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“Well, it’s tough.”
Even with Amelia’s magic binding their movements, hitting the core was quite challenging.
Out of ten throws, only two hit, and each time the core didn’t break properly, Eungaya had to deal with the struggling ones.
If it was this difficult to catch one skeleton, it might be even harder to hit the core on a person, even if they saw it.
“It’s not easy to catch a meal on the fly.”
As he bit his tongue, Amelia asked with a surprised expression, “Was that raindrop a relic?”
“What, a real relic?”
A relic refers to a gift specialized in hunting negative beings like mines, maras, and undead among the various gifts.
“Oh, it’s similar.”
“No wonder, it didn’t make sense at all…”
When I accepted it without changing my expression, Amelia and Eungaya understood, saying, “I guess that’s true.”
It made sense, as each of them had been saved by me when they were in danger from mines before.
Eungaya from Park Yoocheon during dungeon practice. And Amelia from the mine Gu Junmyung who attacked the academy.
Each time, I had shown stronger abilities than usual.
With antimagic resistance and the power of a relic, their faces were more puzzled than ever.
“If we have relics, we can break through the dungeon together, right?”
“Yeah, let’s do that. We’ve brought plenty of potions too.”
I nodded at Eungaya’s hopeful words with a faint smile.
After all, I planned to destroy as many cores as possible to enhance the foresight of the vanguard.
[The Undying desires the undead.]
[The Undying desires the undead.]
[The Undying desires the undead.]
[Phoenix desires the undead.]
[Phoenix desires the undead.]
[Phoenix calls for an empty stomach.]
“Just endure a bit.”
I infused strength into the Bluebird’s spread wings.
*Squawk!*
[Phoenix vomits energy, complaining about its taste.]
[Phoenix seeks high-quality energy.]
“······.”
The Phoenix, acting up due to not being fully satiated, stuck out its tongue. I, with a cool head, blocked its demands. It was time to figure out how to fix its picky appetite. With that decision made, I continued hunting the undead.
“It’s best when carried like this.”
If I had come alone, I wouldn’t have had the courage, but with Amelia and Eungaye helping, the difficulty of the hunt became much easier.
Thanks to Amelia, who prevented the skeletons’ movements, making it easier to aim for the core, and Eungaye, who handled any mistakes when hit by accident, I was able to focus on targeting the core.
Although I had to pay attention to avoid Eungaye’s erratic movements and cast spells, she seemed to dodge so well from the start that there didn’t seem to be any major issues.
After 30 minutes of hunting Black Skulls and entering the dungeon, we encountered a lean, skeletal Mage Skeleton.
A being made of Gargoyle bones. Unlike the previous creatures, it emitted a creepy vibe.
“That one seems unusual.”
“If it’s a Blood Gargoyle, it could be dangerous.”
Eungaye and Amelia stiffened their expressions after seeing the creature. Following behind, the guide Odongjun whispered.
“It’s a Blood Gargoyle. A 4-star Mage, but due to its undead nature, hunting it is as challenging as a 5-star creature. It regenerates even if you cut it into pieces. So, let’s stop here······”
Whiiiiish!
Before Odongjun could finish his sentence, six darts flew.
Thunk!
Two darts missed, but four hit the core that was rotating around the creature’s chest. However, the core didn’t break, only cracks appeared.
────────!
A silent scream of a massive will echoed through the dungeon. The Mage Skeleton, who was crouching, suddenly showed a gleam in its hollow eye sockets.
“It’s not going down easily as expected.”
The tough core narrowed my brow more than I anticipated.
Kwoong.
The creature tried to get up but couldn’t control its body and fell. Bone fragments fell off as it struggled to regain its composure from the shock to the core.
“Amelia.”
“I got it!”
Fwoosh!
Massive fireballs flew, bombarding the broken wing of the Blood Gargoyle. Half of the wing disappeared, and part of the spine cracked. However, the creature crawled forward without care. Then, as it crawled, it suddenly slammed into the ground. It was Eungaye’s gift, gravity, pressing the creature down.
When the Gargoyle’s advance was halted, Amelia calmly prepared the next spell.
A large magic circle emerged, gathering a cluster of light.
The intricate spell combination continued until the creature came closer, escaping gravity.
“Tsk.”
Meanwhile, I tried to shoot several darts, but they all failed.
The creature that was conscious of me found it not easy to target my body using its last wing and head to protect itself.
As the moment of judgment approached, Amelia’s magic was complete.
『Judgment of the Stars』
A ray of dazzling light aimed and shot at the creature. The brilliance was such that the entire dungeon momentarily turned white.
Kwaaah!
A deafening roar reverberated, making the dungeon tremble as if it had encountered an earthquake, with rocks falling from the ceiling.
And Amelia saw it. The massive maw of the creature of the Underworld, revealing itself through the blinding light that was hard to even open one’s eyes to.
“!”
“Move aside!”
Pushing the frozen Amelia aside in panic, Eungaye stepped forward.
The creature’s red eyes glowed fiercely right in front of Eungaye.
Sharp teeth, hundreds of them, flashed open and swallowed her up.
Eungaye’s expression tensed. The power of gravity intertwined with the raised sword.
However, the creature’s looming head stopped moving, no longer intending to approach.
“······?”
As a question arose in Eungaye’s eyes, the trembling creature crumbled like a sandcastle.
Kwagwagwagwagwag!
[Defeated the Blood Bone Underworld Creature in the Black Dungeon.]
Amidst hundreds of bones hitting the dungeon floor, a status notification appeared before my eyes.
Following that, numerous experience points increase messages flooded my vision.
While Amelia and Eungaye diverted the creature’s attention, Gram’s sword had destroyed its core.
“Done.”
Seeing the blurry core faintly shining from the backs of the two, a smile crept up on my lips.
***
“Truly, truly remarkable! To capture the Blood Bone Underworld Creature!”
Amidst the guide of the dungeon jumping around in excitement, the relieved Amelia and Eungaye sat back down.
“Wow, thought I was a goner.”
“······I never dreamed I could withstand a Level 4 Compound Magic.”
Eungaye, who directly confronted the creature’s maw head-on, was drenched in cold sweat. That’s how tense the situation was. Amelia, too, shook her head and brushed off the dirt from her clothes.
As the two relaxed, I found myself in a dilemma.
By hunting the Blood Bone Underworld Creature, my sixth sense had reached the stage of vaguely seeing a person’s core.
No. While Amelia and Eungaye’s cores were not clearly visible, the guide of the dungeon, Odongjun, was somewhat visible, suggesting there were limitations to what I could see depending on the opponent’s level.
‘So who should I test this on······’
When a skeleton’s core was destroyed, it led straight to death.
However, this was a case of an ‘Entity’ that could not maintain consciousness.
For souls with intact willpower, even if their core was shattered, their existence did not disappear.
Once a core was broken, it would regenerate after a period. This was a fact I realized through the soul of Kim Dojun from the past.
‘Still, I should be able to render them unconscious.’
However, this was merely speculation on my part, and to know for sure what would happen, it was most accurate to try it out firsthand.
‘But I can’t just bring in a perfectly healthy person to shatter their core.’
I was contemplating what to do.
“Hmm?”
Eun-ga, who was leaning against the dungeon wall, turned her gaze outside. Soon after, Amelia did the same. I followed their gaze.
Gradually, the sound of multiple footsteps became audible, revealing a group of mercenaries.
They were clad in armor that bore no markings, concealing their affiliation. There was no need to ask about their purpose.
Their greedy eyes were fixed on our weapons and the corpses of the fallen.
‘These are just scavengers.’
Bandits.
Trash who prey on exhausted dungeon raiders or monster hunters to plunder their riches.
There was no room for doubt.
The souls of those scoundrels reflected in my eyes were tainted with a dark hue.
Bandits rarely got involved in such situations, so while luck seemed to be at an all-time low, I found myself rather pleased. It was the perfect moment to test an experimental subject.
“A test subject has walked right into my hands.”
A smirk tugged at the corners of my mouth.