He twisted his body, breath held short, right foot forward. Extending his shoulder to its limit, he thrust the sword straight out, a flash of light erupting in a straight line.

The Flash Pierce, a technique as sharp and sudden as a gunshot, was executed. Its target: the enemy's heart. Grai's Dragon Flame Sword shot forward without a hint of hesitation.

"Hoh. That one was pretty good," the man commented. "And your buff was doubled, too. How about it? Can you feel the difference?"

But his opponent had dodged it with insulting ease. Dozens of attacks had met the same fate. Frustration and futility washed over Grai.

"…You're really toying with me, Raider."

"You're a Guardian of Balak, aren't you? Try a little harder."

"The outcome is already decided," Grai stated, his voice grim. "You are stronger. Even with my buffs doubled, I cannot defeat you."

The completely unexpected Double Amplification item had been used not on the Raider, but on Grai himself. His power had doubled, but he was still no match for the man before him, who seemed to be enjoying the fight like a casual game.

'This is a disgrace to me as a swordsman.'

He had entered the battle alone to save the other soldiers, but he had only found shame. At this rate, he couldn't even buy time. But as a member of Balak who had sworn fealty to Taehyun, he could not retreat. Grai gritted his teeth and created distance between them.

"Hmph. A Guardian with Swordsmanship Mastery shouldn't be backing away."

"Storm Splitter!"

"You retreated just to use a skill? This is starting to get boring."

A storm of elongated blades of wind rushed violently toward him. Faced with the wide-ranging attack, the man clicked his tongue and raised his wooden sword at an angle. As if taming a wild beast, he deflected the blades, letting them flow harmlessly over the surface of his sword. Grai's eyes widened in disbelief. The very skill that had cut down hundreds of Raiders was useless. His frustration morphed into sheer astonishment. The man's equipment was nothing more than a simple wooden sword and thin leather armor, yet it remained undamaged. The difference in their fundamental stats was absolute.

"I'm bored now," the man declared. "You should make way."

His eyes flashed. The wooden sword was already closing in on Grai's solar plexus. Grai belatedly twisted his Dragon Flame Sword, but the wooden sword's trajectory shifted, unerring.

Blood burst from his abdomen. A searing, white-hot pain followed, contorting his features. Grai choked back the breath-stealing agony and swung his sword in a wide, horizontal arc. But again, the man dodged with fluid grace and thrust his own weapon forward, aiming for the neck, clearly intending to end it.

—"Return."

At that moment, a voice echoed in his mind, and his vision went black.

"Where am I?"

When he opened his eyes, he was inside the Master Room. Grai looked up at Taehyun, who stood before him.

"Drink this and get some rest."

"…Understood."

Grai accepted the intermediate potion and glanced at Raviz standing nearby. The Ruler of Space. He owed his life to her power. He gave a slight nod of gratitude, but Raviz paid him no mind, her gaze fixed solely on Taehyun.

'Well, at least I'm alive.'

Grai finally let out a sigh of relief and downed the potion.

---

[?]

[Rank: ? (High)] [Level: ?]

[Class: ?]

[Title: ?]

[Affiliation: ?]

[Stress: ?]

[Status: ?]

[Relationship with Comrades: ?]

[Description: ?]

Even with True Identity active, the information window was a blank slate. The question marks remained, revealing nothing.

[?-rank Raider ? has entered the thirteenth room.]

The Raider had already reached the thirteenth room, having single-handedly dismantled every soldier, trap, and installation in his path. He was a one-man army. Taehyun took Riel's place at the monitor, taking stock of his remaining items.

'Position Transfer, Effect Reversal Card, Return Item, and a vision item… that's it.'

Losing the Item Nullification was a massive blow. Riel explained she had used it to cancel the Raider's buff and set up a counter to his Effect Reversal Card. But this opponent was an unknown, wielding items they had never seen before. She should have started conserving items the moment she realized he'd breached the ninth room alone.

'But it happened while I was away. No use regretting it now. I wonder what his rank is.'

On the screen, the man effortlessly blocked a rolling boulder with his wooden sword. For someone wearing the lowest grade of equipment, that kind of strength was absurd.

'He toyed with a doubly-buffed Grai using a wooden sword.'

Taehyun had actually returned the moment Grai had first crossed blades with the Raider. But he hadn't immediately summoned him back with Raviz. Instead, he had watched, gauging the man's strength, waiting until Grai was wounded. He had used his Guardian as a sacrificial pawn, but now he had a rough estimate of the Raider's rank.

'A-rank. No… S-rank or higher.'

He glanced at Grai, who was now being healed by Riel, a deep sword wound marring his torso. He was out of commission for now. Mederia and Angelina came to mind, but even with their combined forces, it was doubtful they could win. Over a hundred B-rank soldiers had already been defeated; reinforcements would change nothing.

'First, one more test.'

Taehyun dispatched his rogue and scout units into the forest.

[Vision Priority has been used.]

With Vision Priority active, the scouts' superior sight quickly located the man.

[A Position Transfer marker has been left.]

A soldier in the final room laid down a Position Transfer marker, completing the preparations. Taehyun watched as a set of dice materialized in the air.

[The vision of Balak's soldiers and ?-rank Raider ?'s vision are clashing.]

[The Win/Loss dice will be rolled.]

The opponent had definitely used a vision-enhancing item. The dice tumbled through the air, and the result was revealed.

[The number on the dice is 5.]

[Victory for Balak's soldiers, who held the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 cards!]

[Balak's soldiers gain the upper hand in the vision battle.]

As expected, Balak's soldiers won. The Evil Goblin scouts slowly drew their bowstrings.

[52 elite Evil Goblin scouts draw their bowstrings.]

[Accuracy: 77%]

The accuracy was higher than he'd anticipated. Taehyun ordered the rogues into stealth and gave the command to fire.

A volley of arrows flew in a straight line toward the Raider. As predicted, the man reacted before the arrows even entered his line of sight. Taehyun immediately sent in the rogues for a surprise attack. At that moment, a powerful aura erupted from the Raider.

[?-rank Raider ?'s Don't Hide skill has been activated.]

[All stealth and ambushes throughout Balak's fourteenth room are detected.]

[The stealth of the elite Evil Goblin rogues is broken.]

[Don't Hide uses remaining: 1/3]

An unexpected limited-use skill. The advancing rogues were thrown into confusion as their stealth was shattered. The Raider instantly closed the distance, striking down the goblins with brutal efficiency.

The scouts fired another volley, but it was useless. The man weaved through the arrows, dispatching the rogues with single blows.

"Master Taehyun?!" Riel cried out.

"…Don't panic. I know."

He couldn't afford to lose all his soldiers. Taehyun used Position Transfer on the scouts.

[Position Transfer has been used.]

[The scout goblins' positions will be changed to their previously saved location.]

The scout goblins vanished. The man, who had been about to turn on them next, paused.

—"Saving the archer goblins, are we? A wise decision."

The Raider's words echoed through the monitor. No, he was speaking directly to Taehyun.

"Master Taehyun, shouldn't we contact the other Balak dungeons and summon all our troops? At this rate, we could be conquered by this one Raider."

Taehyun remained silent.

Riel was right. They were on the verge of being defeated by a single person. But as he'd already concluded, even their full military might would likely be no match for him. Their only hopes were Deshkar and Raviz, but Deshkar was too large to fight inside the dungeon, and Raviz could only hold him down for a moment.

"Hah… I suppose you're right. We'll gather everyone," Taehyun finally conceded. "It's better than nothing."

He followed Riel's advice and began contacting his other Supporters.

---

A steel cage dropped from the ceiling, just large enough to imprison one person. The man stepped back lightly, avoiding it.

"A Skill Restriction Prison, I see."

His wooden sword flashed a few times, and the cage on the floor was instantly sliced to pieces.

[You have destroyed the Skill Restriction Prison.]

[The Performance Score of S-rank Raider Player Wigan has increased by 50.]

"Tsk. I don't need a performance score," the man—Wigan—muttered to himself in the quiet space. A score of 50 from a mere B-rank dungeon was useless to an S-rank Raider like him. He clicked his tongue and pressed forward.

[You have entered the twentieth room of Balak.]

'Already the twentieth room, huh.'

He had destroyed every trap and installation along the way, subduing every B-rank soldier in a single blow. He had inflicted more than enough damage. There was nothing left to look forward to. Wigan surveyed the forest within the room, then his eyes settled on the soldiers assembled before him.

'One that looks like a Keeper, another that looks like a Supporter. The rest are all B-rank or C-rank soldiers. Is this the extent of their power?'

His energy drained away. He sighed and took a step forward.

'Thud!'

His body became as heavy as lead. He couldn't move an inch, pinned down by an immense gravitational force.

'Fwoosh.'

Walls of fire erupted on either side of him, and the very space around him was bound, sealing his movements.

"Now!" Riel commanded.

Ranged soldiers emerged from hiding. Led by a fairy's magic bullets, a storm of arrows and spells rained down on Wigan's position, instantly devastating the area and kicking up a thick cloud of smoke.

"…Is he dead?" the fairy wondered aloud.

As the assault subsided, a large crater was all that remained. The fairy flew closer to confirm. At that moment, a crescent of light shot out from the smoke.

"Ahhh!"

One of her wings was severed, and she plummeted to the ground. Wigan strolled casually out of the smoke, letting out a long yawn.

"Whether I use Don't Hide or not, the result is the same," he said, his voice laced with amusement. "Did you really think you had me all figured out just because I showed you a few skills, Taehyun Yoo?"

"…So you do know my name." Taehyun emerged from behind his soldiers.

Wigan shrugged with a laugh.

"There's always a way to find things out. Why act so surprised?"

"Right. So what's an S-rank Raider doing here? Did someone so powerful come all this way just to play?"

"You're quite perceptive. Well? Can you guess why I'm here?"

"You were bored, or you were curious. Or maybe you just don't like me and came to conquer my dungeon."

"Is that all?"

"If not that, then it must be a favor or a request from someone," Taehyun's eyes narrowed. "A faction, for example?"

His last word hung in the air. Wigan's lips curled into a smile.

"So, do you think I'll conquer Balak, or not?"

"Cut the crap. What do you want? Someone like you has no reason to be here this early. There's a limit to being a thorn in my side. An S-rank Raider? Don't make me laugh."

"Hmm. It is indeed too early for me to be here. And I don't want anything. Unless… you're going to create something for me to want?"

"If it meets my expectations, I can. If it's a disappointment, I can't."

"Heh. Interesting. You're certainly a rookie on the rise. It's hard to even call this a B-rank dungeon anymore. But it's still not to my liking. Unfortunately, my expectations have long since turned to disappointment."

Mana erupted from Wigan's body. He tossed the wooden sword aside and summoned a massive holy sword into his hand.

"Sorry, but this is the end for Balak."

"Damn you."

Taehyun ground his teeth and ordered the shield bearers forward in a last, desperate act of defiance. Wigan smirked, raising the holy sword for the final blow. Just then, a hand gently landed on his shoulder from behind.

"So sorry to interrupt," a cheerful voice chimed in. "I need to get by. Would you mind stepping aside?"

A carefree smile, a cascade of fluttering red hair. It was none other than the leader of the Resistance, Hyeon Seonghwi.

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