[You have entered Balak's territory.]

[The watchtower has spotted you.]

[Balak's soldiers are observing you.]

The moment he set foot in Balak's territory, all eyes turned to him—not just the dungeon soldiers, but the other raiders entering the passage as well. The man, his face hidden by a drab hood, fiddled with the scythe at his side as he stepped onto the path. His companions followed close behind.

'I wonder who will survive today. How much have you grown in a year? What have you prepared for me…?'

A storm of emotions churned within him. He had invested an entire year for this day. He'd had no interest in other dungeons, his thoughts consumed only by Balak and the man who ran it. The only man who had ever beaten him in a battle of wits. A normal Dungeon Master would have hidden behind his monsters, but Taehyun was different. He had desperately thrown everything he had on the line, fighting as if each day were his last.

Taehyun Yoo was no mere B-rank Master. He was a monster destined to reach the very heavens. But that destiny would end today. The monster hunt was about to begin.

'Sorry, Taehyun Yoo, but I'm the one who will be trampling his rival to climb higher.'

A wide, predatory grin split the man's—no, Junhyun's—face. The stage was set. The curtain was about to rise.

---

[? Raid Party has entered Balak's territory.]

Thirteen members. All had concealed their identities through information manipulation and disguises. Their faces were hidden by deep hoods, making them impossible to identify. But Taehyun knew instantly. It was Junhyun's party.

He had already assembled Balak's main forces. The moment they crossed the passage and entered the Arid Plains, the battle would begin.

"They're all hiding their information," Kinjo cackled. "But their identities will be revealed as soon as they use their skills! Muahaha!"

Taehyun didn't respond.

"Master Taehyun?"

Taehyun didn't respond. He was focused solely on the monitor, lost in deep thought.

'A small, elite team is best kept to ten or fewer members for mobility and ease of command. But he has three extra.'

Each of them was likely a top-tier B-rank expert, or even stronger. A small, elite party was designed to cut through his hordes of soldiers. But the number thirteen kept nagging at him. With Junhyun leading, he would have preferred a squad of ten or fewer. So why the extra three? Was it simply for more firepower? Or a miscalculation? No. Junhyun would never make such a foolish mistake.

'Then that means at least one of those thirteen is a sacrifice.'

The skill, Scythe's Pardon. It could remove all debuffs from the raid party, an effect on par with a legendary item, but it required the sacrifice of a companion. No matter how desperate he was, Junhyun wouldn't kill one of his core members. He must have brought a disposable pawn. Taehyun's first task was to identify that pawn.

"Riel, give an order to the soldiers on the Arid Plains. Tell them to place a teleportation marker at the location I specified."

"Understood."

Soon, soldiers were rushing to the designated spot. Taehyun had already sent the Catapult Drakes to the Forest of Silence, completing his two main preparations for the raid.

"Rabiz, can you use your summoning skill consecutively?"

"It is possible, as long as I have enough mana."

"Good. When I give the order, summon the Catapult Drakes."

"Understood."

With that, his contingency plan was in place. Rabiz's summoning skill would allow him to save the Catapult Drakes in an emergency.

Just then, Riel looked at the monitor and asked, "Master Taehyun, isn't the marker placed in a rather obvious location? A raider like Junhyun will spot it easily, won't he?"

"I placed it there so he 'would' notice," Taehyun replied, a faint smile on his lips. "All that's left is to stay one step ahead of him."

The teleportation marker was indeed placed conspicuously. Junhyun would surely discover it and prepare a counter.

But that was exactly what Taehyun was counting on.

[From the edge of the Arid Plains, the ? Raid Party has appeared.]

Right on schedule, the raid party entered the plains. Taehyun's lips curled into a smirk as he picked up his communication device.

---

Meanwhile, as Junhyun entered the Arid Plains, he felt a wave of nostalgia. He had walked this field once before. The memories surfaced like déjà vu, but this time, he was here with a completely different party. The outcome would be different, too.

"No traps or other installations in sight," a raider from the back reported. "Just the summoned creatures flying overhead. What are your orders?"

"Now that we've used the Vision Expansion Scroll, those familiars are just a nuisance," Junhyun said. "Take them out as we go. It's fine to reveal one person's class."

Simply hiding all their information wouldn't guarantee a smooth raid. A battle would reveal their classes and skills anyway, so exposing one now changed little.

"Understood."

The raider in the back nodded and drew his bow. A flash of a white scarf was visible beneath his hood, but no one paid it any mind. He drew the string and began systematically picking off the flying familiars.

'Kweek!'

'Kweeeek!'

'Kweeeeeek!'

One by one, the familiars fell, and Taehyun's eyes in the sky went dark. This revealed one of their members was an archer, but in exchange, they had secured a clear line of sight across the plains. The party advanced, constantly scanning their surroundings. Soon, the labyrinth built on the old fortress grounds came into view.

"Are we to leave that place alone?" another raider asked.

"The only thing I want is the Dungeon Master's life," Junhyun replied coldly. "Ignore that pathetic labyrinth."

"Hmm. Understood."

Junhyun's sole target was the original Dungeon Balak. His companions nodded, having been briefed beforehand.

Just as they passed the midpoint of the plains, Junhyun's head snapped to the side. A short distance away, an arcane mark was etched into the ground. He had spotted it just before they passed it completely, but he couldn't let his guard down.

'Why place a mark so openly?' he wondered. 'What kind of soldiers does he intend to teleport here? And what other tricks has he prepared…?'

Three questions flooded his mind. His ingrained strategic instincts brought the party to a halt. The dungeon soldiers had yet to appear.

Taehyun had no desire to fight on an open plain, yet Junhyun had tried to lure his soldiers into one using a Location Transfer, leaving an all-too-obvious marker as bait.

"Everyone, battle formation. For now…"

Before Junhyun could finish his command, a barrage of artillery fire erupted from the Silent Forest.

"Hehehe. The bastard's insane," he chuckled. "Is he really just going to fire blindly without any line of sight?"

"Some of the shells are landing near us," another raider observed. "I'll reveal myself first."

"Good," Junhyun agreed. "Deriman, you're up. Show us what that shield can do."

The raider named Deriman stepped forward, raising his shield.

[Top-tier B-rank Raider Deriman releases his information camouflage.]

[Top-tier B-rank Raider Deriman releases his information manipulation.]

[Top-tier B-rank Raider Deriman casts Invincible Shield.]

In an instant, the shield expanded to dozens of times its original size, enveloping the entire raid party. A shield user's information was always the first to be exposed. As Deriman braced against the bombardment, Junhyun turned to the others.

"I said form up around the marker," he snapped. "Fight with only your classes revealed. Save your skills unless you absolutely have to."

"Got it."

"Understood."

While the shield user held the front line alone, the rest of the raiders took their positions. A satisfied smirk touched Junhyun's lips as he caressed his scythe. He pieced it together instantly: the bombardment from the forest, the Location Transfer marker placed well behind the impact zone, the blatant way it had been left in the open. The questions answered themselves.

'He placed it so openly to create confusion, to split our focus between the marker and the shelling.'

'The soldiers he plans to send will be high-rank, forced to reveal their classes and skills upon arrival. He wouldn't risk a Guardian or a Keeper, not when he'd have to accept their sacrifice.'

'His final play is this random bombardment. It's a ploy to force our shield user forward so he can get a read on everyone else's skills and information.'

It wasn't a bad plan for a probe. But considering the cost—siege units, a Location Transfer item, and a significant number of soldiers—the potential intel was minimal. His party was composed almost entirely of top-tier B-rank Raiders. They could handle B-rank soldiers without breaking a sweat, even without using their best skills. Better yet, they were already in formation, ready to strike the teleported soldiers the moment they appeared.

And Taehyun knew he was the Reaper. He'd already seen a few of his skills; revealing his information now would be no loss at all.

'What a shame,' Junhyun mused. 'You were hoping to glean some intel, but I can handle those soldiers all by myself. If I forbid my comrades from using their skills and annihilate your troops with my Reaper abilities, you gain nothing. In fact, you lose, Taehyun Yoo!'

At last, soldiers began to materialize before them. A victor's smile spread across Junhyun's face as he swung his scythe.

"Kiek?"

"What?!"

The moment the scythe bit into its flesh, the D-rank Goblin's body began to swell. A flicker of wrongness shot through Junhyun, and he tried to pull back, but it was too late. A chain reaction of explosions ripped through the air.

His comrades were engulfed in the blast, and his vision dissolved into a blinding flash.

---

A cascade of explosions tore through the plains, one triggering the next. The soldiers sent via Location Transfer weren't elite troops; they were the lowest-grade D-rank Goblins, each one a walking suicide bomb.

Taehyun had never intended to gather information. His true targets were the sacrificial lambs hidden among the raiders. The elite members of the party might survive the blasts, but not the pawns brought along for their skills. Their comrades might have protected them, but with the shield user at the front and the rest caught completely by surprise, there was no defense.

The moment Junhyun's scythe swung, the battle was already over.

Taehyun watched the shared vision on his screen cut to static, a slow smile spreading across his face.

"I'm always two steps ahead, Junhyun," he murmured. "I wasn't after your information. I was after your skill."

The Reaper's Pardon ability, which could cleanse the party of debuffs, was a dangerous nuisance. Using a Location Transfer item was a steep price, but it was far from a loss. Ordering the suicide bombs from Lugo, sending the weakest goblins, ordering the Catapult Drakes to fire indiscriminately—every move had been orchestrated to seal away that one skill.

In doing so, he had exposed Deriman the shield user, confirmed the presence of an archer, and eliminated the raiders brought as sacrifices. It was a decisive victory.

"So that was why you ordered the suicide bombs. Truly incredible, Master Taehyun," Riel said, her voice filled with admiration.

"Heheheh! Summoning D-rank Goblins costs barely any Zen! And now we know about their archer and have Deriman's information!" Kinjo cackled.

"Considering the damage we inflicted, using the Location Transfer item was certainly worth it," Edchan added.

His three Supporters were right. He had achieved maximum gain with minimal preparation. That was Taehyun's way.

"Contact Raviz. Tell her to summon the Catapult Drakes immediately."

"At once."

Riel relayed the order. On the screen, the distant siege engines began to vanish as they were recalled to Balak. Junhyun would have expected him to use expensive return items, but he was wrong. As long as the numbers were manageable, Raviz's summoning magic was more than enough. With her in Balak, it was like having four transport items at his disposal.

"This first round is my win, Junhyun."

A predatory smile touched Taehyun's lips as he began planning his next move.

---

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