“What do you mean we can’t reach the next floor if we miss it!?”

Meiling shouted as she ran.

“That giant worm tunneling underground—that’s this dungeon’s boss.”

The ground ahead bulged, leaving a long trail as the creature moved.

“A boss? That thing?”

“Yeah. It’s called the Lord Worm.”

“So if we kill it now, we’re done?” Seo Yui asked, sprinting with shield and spear in hand.

“Not yet. If you attack it now, it’ll just keep burrowing deeper. You won’t be able to catch it.”

“Then when do we attack!?” Meiling demanded.

Right then, the worm’s trail stopped. The ground shuddered violently, as if another earthquake had struck.

“Meiling, raise your staff.”

I pointed straight ahead.

“All you have to do is wipe out whatever comes out of there.”

“What—?”

The ground exploded like a buried mine had gone off. Dirt showered upward, and monsters erupted from beneath. Around thirty of them.

Meiling’s eyes gleamed, her lips curling into a smile. Without hesitation, she began casting.

“Should we stall for time?” Seo Yui asked, glancing at the swarm. A blue half-mask covered her face.

“No need. These are floor-one mobs. A stagger skill alone could drop them. Let’s just let Meiling blow off steam.”

Seo Yui glanced at her and nodded. “Got it.”

Meiling’s casting finished.

A condensed orb of mana, the size of a basketball, flew straight into the charging monsters.

KWA-BOOOOM!

The explosion hurled dozens of them into the air.

“Ahahahahaha!”

Her high-pitched laughter rang out.

Meiling’s face shone with delight as she watched the monsters—once fierce beasts—scatter helplessly through the air.

…What is wrong with her?

RUMMMBLE!

As the last of the mobs collapsed, the Lord Worm resumed tunneling.

“That’s its pattern. It stops, spawns mobs, and moves again once they’re cleared. Eventually, it surfaces itself. Kill it then, and you’ll unlock the next floor. But if you take too long, it burrows away completely. That’s game over. Fail to kill it, and you’re stuck.”

“So that’s how it works? Then we don’t have time to waste—let’s go!”

Meiling dashed off, chasing the worm with newfound energy. Her steps were light, her earlier battle joy still written all over her face.

“Senior, we don’t have to do a thing on floor one. Meiling’s got this.”

“Yeah. She seems to be enjoying herself, so let’s let her have it.”

Together, we followed.

Six more times, Meiling annihilated summoned mobs.

Each time, the earth-shaking blast of her spells sent monsters flying, and her laughter echoed across the Ashen Plain.

Finally, the Lord Worm itself surfaced, towering before us.

RUMMMBLE!

Fifty monsters burst from the ground all at once.

“Ugh, even bomb spells feel like a waste now! Nam Yein—necklace!”

Meiling called out.

I put on Ezonil’s Teachings, the necklace that granted curse immunity. Seo Yui followed suit.

Closing her eyes, Meiling gripped her staff.

Darkness spread outward.

Her ability: the Death Domain.

Slowly, the world around us dimmed, until a hemispherical monochrome field had swallowed everything.

Five seconds later, the Death Domain was complete.

Meiling stepped forward. The domain moved with her.

While active, the Death Domain locked her actions—no casting, no attacks. All she could do was walk.

But that was enough.

The fifty monsters lunged into the darkness.

That was the end of them.

Inside the Black-and-White world, they faltered, collapsed, and never rose again.

Slow, weakened, drained by lethal ticking damage.

Even back when her level was low at the start of the semester, Meiling could massacre monsters with this ability.

Now, at level 41, armed with gear leagues above what she had then, the floor-one mobs didn’t stand a chance.

Every beast swallowed by the domain turned to ash and vanished.

The Lord Worm included.

“Kyiiiiiik!?”

Its squeal was absurdly cute for such a grotesque creature. But it writhed helplessly, unable to last even two seconds inside the Death Domain, before dying outright.

Immediately, two portals appeared—one leading out, and one descending to the second floor.

“Come on! Let’s hurry to the next floor!”

Meiling shut off her domain, cheeks flushed with excitement.

Floors two and three followed the same pattern.

The only differences: the worm was faster, and the number of mobs grew.

By the third floor, Seo Yui and I joined in.

I hurled level-40 Spike Bombs from my sling, while Seo Yui drew aggro.

The three of us together cleared the mobs with ease, advancing without difficulty.

“This dungeon’s actually fun!” Meiling exclaimed with a bright smile.

“Yein, the material you’re after—it drops on the fourth floor, right?” Seo Yui asked.

“Yes. From the Lord Worm there.”

That’s where the real challenge began.

“From floor four onward, the mobs increase drastically. Plus, mini-boss-class enemies start appearing among them. And the worm moves much faster. Things won’t go as smoothly.”

“But you’ve got a counterplan, don’t you?” Seo Yui asked. She sounded utterly confident I had a solution for everything.

She wasn’t entirely wrong.

“Yes. I’ve thought of something. Never tested it, so I don’t know if it’ll work.”

“Then out with it already! Let’s hurry to floor four!” Meiling pressed.

“Alright, but first—take this.”

I pulled a staff from my inventory, topped with a black gem.

[Deformed Dark Mana Staff]

< Lv.40 >

< Weapon > < Rare >

A staff shrouded in dark mana. Though ominous in aura, it grants its wielder immense power.

Attack Power: +121 ~ 162

Magic Attack Power: +2,854 (1,427) ~ 3,736 (1,868)

Casting Speed: -100%

The moment Meiling took hold of it, her eyes widened. Then her face twisted.

“What is this thing… It feels insanely powerful, but ugh… It makes me sick. My stomach’s churning—urk.”

She clutched her mouth, groaning.

I’d specifically crafted it with the enchants “Dark” and “Deformed,” doubling its magic attack power.

In terms of raw power, it was comparable to something nearly twenty levels higher.

But with great strength came devastating side effects: drastically reduced casting speed and halved HP.

For a mage, casting speed and HP were the most crucial stats. Slow casts meant a higher chance of being interrupted—and lower DPS. And halved HP, when a mage’s health was already paper-thin, meant shattering glass instead of fragile crystal.

On top of that, the fivefold mana cost meant that, long-term, even boosted magic damage would result in net loss.

Normally, I never would’ve touched such a weapon back when Latessai was just a game.

But this wasn’t the game anymore.

“Hold onto it. Senior.”

I turned to Seo Yui.

“…Okay.”

“Stow your shield and spear in your inventory, then lift Meiling with both arms.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

Both of them stared at me, mouths agape.

“Pick me up!?”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Just do as I say for now.” I nodded at Seo Yui.

“Yein! Don’t you dare—what are you doing—waaah!?”

Meiling squealed as Seo Yui scooped her up from behind, holding her aloft.

“Seo Yui! Why do you always follow his insane ideas! Put me down now!”

“Meiling, calm down. Activate your Death Domain like this.”

“What!?”

“Hurry.”

“No! Why would I—”

“Please. We need your power if we’re going to clear the fourth floor.”

I locked eyes with her.

“Ugh…”

Meiling groaned, hesitated, then finally shut her eyes.

Obediently, she triggered her Death Domain.

The slowed casting speed made its spread agonizingly gradual. After more than ten seconds, the monochrome sphere stabilized.

I turned to Seo Yui.

“Meiling will focus on maintaining it. You, Senior—carry her and run.”

“Got it.”

Seo Yui nodded and sprinted around the portal, Meiling still in her arms.

The Death Domain moved with them.

I grinned as I watched.

“Perfect. That’s all I needed to confirm.”

Seo Yui set Meiling back down.

“What the hell is this supposed to be!?” Meiling demanded, staff clutched in both hands.

“When you use the Death Domain, you can’t move. But if Seo Yui carries you, that weakness disappears. That’s how we’re clearing the fourth floor.”

“What!? You’re telling me I have to stay in her arms the whole time!?”

Her face turned bright red as she shouted.

“…That might be a bit much,” Seo Yui admitted, awkward. “Carrying her on my back would be easier. More natural to run that way.”

“Seo Yui!”

“Good idea. Meiling, you heard her. On her back.”

“Here.”

Seo Yui crouched, offering her back.

Meiling stepped back quickly.

“Come on. If this works on the fourth floor, we’ll need it for the other dungeons too.”

“Yeah, hurry up.”

Both of us pressed her.

“Y-youuuu!!”

She gnashed her teeth and let out a furious cry.

Moments later, we tore across the fourth floor of the Ashen Plains.

Seo Yui sprinted with Meiling clinging to her back, the Death Domain trailing behind.

Inside its reach, the boosted damage from the deformed staff turned the domain into an unstoppable meat grinder.

Over a hundred monsters spawned, only to crumble instantly the moment they entered.

Watching them drop en masse, I couldn’t help but smile.

This was a tactic impossible in the game—systems simply wouldn’t allow it.

But this was reality.

And in reality, strategies like this could exist.

Five minutes later—

“Kyiii-iiiiiik!”

The fourth floor’s Lord Worm squealed in an absurdly cute pitch, then collapsed in a heap.

Its corpse vanished, leaving behind a scatter of glittering loot.

I rushed forward immediately.

There! Got it!

Smiling, I picked up a black orb.

“Did you get what you wanted?” Seo Yui asked as she walked up.

Behind her, Meiling stood red-faced and exhausted.

“Yes. Now we can head to the next dungeon.”

“Good. I’m glad.”

Then—smack.

Meiling hurled the staff to the ground.

“I’m never hunting like this again!”

Her cheeks were scarlet.

What, is being carried that humiliating? I’d think it was pretty convenient.

“Fair enough. The rest of the dungeons only go to the third floor anyway. Use your usual staff.”

I picked up the weapon and stored it in my inventory. I wouldn’t dismantle it—might need it again someday.

We cleared three more dungeons after that, gathering every material I needed.

That night, back at the dorm, I washed up and sat at my desk past midnight.

Summoning my hammer, I laid out the collected materials and began pounding away.

“…Done.”

I felt my lips curve into a smile.

Resting in my palm was a crimson-glowing lens.

(End of Chapter)

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