"Kuaaaargh!"

"Kuaaaah!"

"Kieeeek!"

Trolls, gargoyles, even salamanders charged with savage fury. At the front, Deriman's shield groaned under the assault, the man clearly struggling. They had endured Death's Breath and clawed their way to the seventeenth room, only to be met by buffed dungeon soldiers.

'He's using only one buff item at a time on purpose,' Junhyun realized, his knuckles white around the Effect Reversal Card. 'It makes using this too awkward.'

Even if he reversed the buff here, another wave of empowered soldiers would be waiting in the next room. It felt like a waste to burn his best counter on a single buff, and he couldn't shake the feeling that Taehyun had another trap waiting for him.

"Sebastian, use the card! At this rate—ugh!" Lebex yelled.

"Damn it, my body won't respond! The debuff has drained too much of my health!" another raider gasped.

"I can't hold them back much longer," Deriman grunted. "If this keeps up, I won't even be able to lift my shield."

The raiders fought with the last dregs of their strength. Even for elite warriors recognized by the Association, this situation was a nightmare. Just then, the warrior Lebex let out a roar and swung his sword in a massive arc.

[Top-tier B-rank raider Lebex has cast Great Strike.]

[The dungeon soldiers at the front are obliterated.]

[Great Strike usage limit 1/1]

It was his one-time-use skill. With a single blow, he wiped out the immediate threat.

"Who gave you permission to use a one-time skill?" Junhyun snarled. "There are still rooms left!"

"Tch, I'm about to drop dead! I had to use it!" Lebex shot back, his face contorted with rage. "This is your fault for not using the Effect Reversal Card!"

"You son of a bitch. Are you defying my orders now?"

Junhyun's glare was murderous, but Lebex merely snorted and turned away. It was clear his stress was reaching a breaking point. As their camaraderie disintegrated, such insubordination was inevitable. With their camping items nearly gone, they couldn't afford to slow down. Nor could they simply wait for Death's Breath to end. Hemmed in by constant ambushes, their only hope was to reach the final room as quickly as possible.

Without a moment's rest, the party stumbled into the next room, where another wave of soldiers awaited them.

"Damn it! More buffed soldiers."

"I can't take any more! Just use all the one-time skills!"

"I agree!" Chieftain declared. Even he, who had been conserving his ultimate skill, began to channel mana into his spear.

[Top-tier B-rank raider Chieftain has cast 14-Shot Mana Spear Thrust.]

[Dungeon soldiers within range are impaled.]

[14-Shot Mana Spear Thrust usage limit 1/1]

They had burned yet another one-time skill to clear the eighteenth room. It was a desperate move born of exhaustion, but the final room was still a long way off. With their radar sealed, they were advancing blind, making such a waste of their limited resources a catastrophic error. And though two of Taehyun's key units had deserted, he still had more in reserve. The situation in the next room would be no different.

"We need to camp. I can't go on like this."

"Let's rest in the corridor over there."

"Use up all the remaining camping buffs."

The raiders were now acting completely on their own. Junhyun fought to suppress his fury as he scanned the room. The sinister energy of Death's Breath still permeated the air. Camping now wouldn't fully restore their stamina or fatigue. Gritting his teeth, he followed the others into the corridor.

As he did, Lebex, holding a torch aloft, stepped on a pressure plate.

[Top-tier B-rank raider Lebex has triggered a trap.]

[The walls of the corridor begin to close in.]

A trap in the corridor. The raiders' eyes widened in horror as rows of sharp spikes emerged from the encroaching walls.

"Run!" Junhyun bellowed.

"What about the camping gear?!"

"Leave it and run!"

At his command, the raiders broke into a panicked sprint.

---

[Top-tier B-rank raider Lebex has triggered the Wall Spikes.]

[Spikes emerge from the walls of the corridor.]

[Due to the corridor's modification effect, both walls slowly close in.]

One of the raiders, about to set up camp, had stepped on the trigger. Normally, they would have spotted such a trap before entering the corridor, but not in their current state. Their Bounty Hunter was dead, their radar was sealed, and Death's Breath had left them utterly drained. With their stress levels maxed out, their awareness was shot.

'Too bad for you,' Taehyun thought with a smirk. 'There's a Skill Restriction Prison there, too.'

He watched the raiders flee. In their panic, they wouldn't notice the second trap laid in the corridor leading to the twentieth room. The S-rank raider had bypassed both with ease, but this broken party was a different story.

[Top-tier B-rank raider Ruah has been trapped in a Skill Restriction Prison.]

[All of Ruah's skills are sealed.]

Fleeing for their lives, they never saw it coming. Taehyun sneered at the sight of Ruah, caught helpless in the cage.

"Damn it! Help me!" Ruah screamed. "My skills are sealed! I can't get out on my own!"

"We have to save ourselves! Sorry!"

"It's a shame! Forgive us!"

His pleas were swallowed by the grinding of stone. With the walls closing in, there was no time to break the prison. Ruah's face twisted in rage as he watched his comrades abandon him. The spikes drew closer, inch by agonizing inch. With his skills sealed, his scimitar was useless against the iron bars.

"You bastards!" he shrieked, his voice cracking with despair. "I'll curse you forever! I'll curse you even in death!"

The prison cage crumpled like paper as the wall spikes pierced through it.

[Top-tier B-rank raider Ruah has died to the wall spikes.]

[The entire raid party's stress index increases by 10.]

[Dix's stress index has surpassed 100.]

[Dix uses an Instant Return Scroll.]

[Dix deserts the raid party.]

"Hah! To think those elite raiders are just… disappearing, one by one. It's unbelievable," one Supporter stammered.

"This is an unexpected turn of events," the other added. "Even with Death's Breath, there was no reason for them to be so hasty."

They still didn't fully grasp the situation.

"They were overconfident," Taehyun explained patiently. "They trusted in Warm Embrace and slowed their pace, believing they could hold out with a Bounty Hunter and plenty of camping supplies. But then the radar was sealed and Kino died."

"They used up their exclusive items and both charges of Warm Embrace. When I cast Death's Breath again, panic set in. Their camping supplies aren't infinite, after all."

At the start, the raid had been proceeding smoothly. They managed their stamina with Warm Embrace and easily bypassed traps with their Bounty Hunter. But Kino's death and the sealed radar changed everything. They began struggling with the traps, and the constant ambushes made managing their fatigue impossible. When Death's Breath returned, it was the final nail in the coffin.

With their exclusive items gone and their camping supplies dwindling, they had no choice but to rush. Their decision to reach the final room before things got worse was logical. 'But I was never going to just stand by and watch.'

Taehyun watched the screen with immense satisfaction. Behind him, his Supporters' eyes sparkled with awe.

---

[Top-tier B-rank raider Ruah has died to the wall spikes.]

[The entire raid party's stress index increases by 10.]

The raid party escaped the corridor, but Ruah was left behind, impaled and dead.

"I-I'm done! I can't do this anymore!" Dix cried, his face a deathly white. "How is anyone supposed to clear a place like this? I don't need the Zen. I'm going back!" He pulled out an Instant Return Scroll.

"You son of a bitch! You're just going to run away after coming this far?!"

"There's no hope for this party!" Dix retorted, his voice trembling. "Sebastian, if you had just used the Effect Reversal Card when you had the chance, this wouldn't have happened! Don't try and stop me!"

"Hey," Junhyun's voice was dangerously low. "Put that down if you don't want to die."

"I'm sick of your orders! I hope I never see you again!"

With a final, defiant glare, Dix tore the scroll. Even knowing Junhyun was backed by the powerful Peyton Duchy, he chose to flee. His stress had pushed him far beyond his breaking point.

[Dix has used an Instant Return Scroll.]

[Dix deserts the raid party.]

Just like that, the party's only mage was gone. Junhyun's eyes turned bloodshot with fury.

"That bastard! I treated him like a top-tier raider, and he stabs me in the back!"

"…Dix was right," another raider muttered. "There's no hope. We should all just go back."

"What?" Junhyun's laugh was a dry, rasping sound. "Hehehe. You all feel the same way? You're going to run away now?"

The chilling aura of a Reaper exploded from his body. It was a pressure far beyond that of a mere B-rank raider, but the others didn't back down, their own hostility rising to meet his.

"What do you think you're doing? Have you finally lost your mind, pointing your weapon at us?"

"I never liked you from the start. It was sickening, watching some brat who grew up in the shadow of the Peyton Duchy act like he was our leader."

"If you had just used the card sooner, this wouldn't have happened. You're not fit to lead, Sebastian."

The fragile alliance had shattered. Junhyun and the seven remaining raiders faced off, the air thick with killing intent.

Just then, soldiers burst from the surrounding forest. The standoff broke instantly as they scrambled to defend themselves.

"Damn it, they're buffed again."

"Deriman, your right flank is open! What are you doing?!"

"Shut up! If you can't handle that, how do you even make a living as a B-rank raider?"

Their coordination was gone. Instead of fighting as a unit, they snapped and snarled at each other, deflecting blame. With their stamina gone and their trust broken, they began to fight as individuals, ignoring all commands.

"Ugh! I'm hit! What the hell is the shield bearer doing?!"

"Damn it, that so-called magic lancer can't even handle a single werewolf! It's coming for me!"

"Ryurik, what are you doing?! Heal me! You should be healing me the second I get hurt, you don't need me to ask!"

Soon, injuries began to mount. After the internal collapse, the party's entire combat balance had been destroyed. Realizing how precarious their situation was, Junhyun finally pulled out the Effect Reversal Card.

'Death's Breath will end soon anyway. If I lose even one more person, we're finished.'

It was a waste to use it on a single buff, but he had no other choice. He crushed the card, turning the soldiers' buffs into debilitating debuffs.

[Using the Effect Reversal Card.]

[The buffs of Balak's forces are converted to debuffs.]

[The stats of Balak's forces decrease for a certain period.]

Finally, the soldiers were weakened. The raiders began to cut them down with ease. But just as a sliver of hope returned, the debuff on the soldiers flickered and transformed back into a buff.

[The Dungeon Master of Balak has used an Effect Reversal Card.]

[The debuffs of Balak's forces are converted to buffs.]

[The stats of Balak's forces increase for a certain period.]

It was Taehyun's counter. The re-empowered soldiers surged forward, pushing the raiders back. Gritting his teeth, Junhyun unleashed his own special ability.

[Reaper's Dance has been activated.]

[For a certain period, the scythe's destructive power increases threefold.]

A ferocious aura erupted from his body. With a furious roar, he carved through the soldiers, single-handedly ending the onslaught.

---

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