Ranker's Return

Hyeonu’s party was now larger than before as they headed toward the instance dungeon with the lich. Cancun and the five Pioneer Guild members joined the party that previously only consisted of Tang-E and Hyeonu.

“Is it here?”

They were chatting when they arrived in the vicinity of the dungeon.

[Would you like to enter Cardum’s Laboratory?]

“Shall we go in?”

“I’m looking forward to it. It is a chance to see Alley Leader hunting up close.”

Asu was looking forward to confirming Hyeonu’s skills. The others nodded in agreement.

“Then let’s go in.”

[You have entered Cardum’s Laboratory.]

***

Unlike its name, the interior of the dungeon didn’t have anything to do with a laboratory. Instead, it was a vast plain filled with graves all over. It seemed more like a cemetery than a laboratory.

“I feel uncomfortable.”

“Yes.”

“I think Maha should do well? You are the only priest among us.”

“Why am I the only priest? You’re a paladin. You just don’t have heals.”

The Pioneer Guild members exchanged jokes without any nervous comments. It was the same for Hyeonu. He wasn’t nervous.

‘I’m glad it isn’t narrow.’

That would have been a concern as there were too many magicians in the party. In particular, Asu’s specialty was fire magic. Most fire spells were explosive and were likely to be risky in confined spaces.

“Haven’t I seen this somewhere?”

“Yes, why is it so familiar?”

Jewel, the paladin, and Nix, another magician, started to talk.

“Did I see this in my dream?”

“Lunatic. It is impossible to see such a terrible place in your dream.”

“Ah, that’s right. Didn’t I see it in those Phoenix guys’ video?”

“Yes, I’ve seen it three times. The special magic should’ve been used there.”

“If you did it, you would’ve been the first to die, idiot.”

At this time, Hyeonu participated in the conversation, “The Phoenix video? What does that mean?”

“Oh, haven't you seen it? The main scenario quest clear video, taken by Phoenix and New World, was a massive battle in this cemetery.”

Hyeonu heard Nix’s explanation, and it was only then that the video of the monk army of New World breaking skeletons and zombies came to his mind.

“Then is there a chance that the lich will summon the undead legion as well? This cemetery is wide. It is the perfect environment for an undead army.”

Clack clack clack.

At this moment, a strange sound rang out. It was the sound of something bumping together.

“Yes, it’s a great environment to use necromancy. There is no better environment than this. Besides, this is my dungeon.” The lich showed up.

“You!” Cancun saw the lich and recognized him instinctively as the black magician he encountered just a few months ago. Cancun immediately pulled out a giant sword and rushed toward the lich. However, the lich didn’t allow Cancun to cling to him. He had already suffered once. Additionally, the biggest reason he became a lich was due to the wounds Cancun had inflicted on him.

“I became a lich due to an inferior orc.” Black Magician Cardum, now Lich Cardum, held a lot of bad feelings toward Cancun and forgot that he had cursed Cancun. Only the scars left behind by Cancun and the experience of becoming a lich remained in Cardum’s memory.

“Come out! My children.”

Skeletons started to appear from the graves all over the plain. One, two, three… The skeletons came out endlessly. It seemed Cardum was showing what an offensive using great numbers looked like. Then special skeletons started to emerge from among the ordinary skeletons.

Clack clack.

A knight on a skeleton horse appeared. This was the appearance of a skeleton knight.

“Cancun! Get out of there!” Hyeonu called out to Cancun. It was the worst situation for Cancun to get isolated on his own. After all, Cancun was an NPC. There was no way for him to survive after he died. It was a priority to protect him.

“Gather together in a formation. Defense position,” Asu started to give commands in a composed manner. Following Asu’s order, Ket and Jewel blocked the front. The others were in charge of firepower support from behind.

Tang-E spoke, “Cancun, calm your excitement. You will lose if you’re too excited. Don’t you want to release the curse? Come back here now!”

Tang-E’s words grasped Cancun’s spirit. Cancun felt his mind become a bit clearer. “I’m sorry, I lost my temper for a bit. Thank you, friend,” Cancun said while stroking Tang-E’s head.

***

A well-prepared magician was powerful. Cardum’s skeletons rose endlessly.

‘An immortal army’—this was the most appropriate expression for Cardum’s skeletons.

“I told him to give up...” Asu muttered with a lost expression. No wonder why he bought good information so cheaply. This was a trap… a complete trap.

“F*ck him.”

Asu had run out of magic power and only had three magic power recovery potions left. Despite him using magic, the skeletons would stand back up like nothing had happened just with one gesture from the lich.

‘Those guys are similar to me.’ Asu turned his head to look at Nix’s and Maha’s faces.

They were frowning like they were going to run out of magic power.

“If this continues, it looks like it’ll be over?”

At this moment, there was a deafening noise in the cemetery. Hyeonu’s sword energy shattered the skeletons. His sword energy never turned off for a moment. He was burning it continuously.

“I don’t understand.”

“What are you thinking? Aren’t you really relaxed?” Maha took a breather because his divine power was on the verge of being depleted. He sat down next to Asu to drink a divine power recovery potion.

“Isn’t Alley Leader’s level lower than 100?” 

“I guess? Common sense says he is level 70. Well, it is Alley Leader, so he might have reached level 80.”

“Then is it possible to pour out magic power like that?”

“…? Yes? How is he doing it? Sword energy is a skill that requires a bit of magic power. Did he raise his stats like us?” Maha agreed with Asu’s opinion.

It was beyond common sense. The situation didn’t make sense. Alley Leader’s strength and ability weren’t low. They were so high that they could not be gauged by measuring his level. In fact, at first glance, he seemed to be the same as Ket and Jewel who were level 150.

“Is his class a combat specialized class? That could explain his magic power.”

***

While the magicians in the rear were discussing about him, Hyeonu was thinking about how to kill Cardum.

‘In all games, you have to get rid of the life vessel to kill the lich.’

Life vessel—it was an item that contained the lich’s vitality.

‘I just have to find it.’

Hyeonu thought about it and called out to Cancun, “Cancun, do you know where that guy’s magic power comes from?”

“Magic power? Why are you asking the obvious? It is naturally coming from his body,” Cancun reproached Hyeonu for asking an obvious question during this urgent situation.

“Yes, but what parts of the body is it coming from?”

“It is coming from his neck and left hand.”

‘Neck and hand?’

After hearing Cancun’s words, Hyeonu immediately observed Cardum’s neck and hands. His neck was covered, but his left hand was clearly visible. A small jeweled ring was on his left hand.

“Cancun, aim at that red ring on his left hand. I will aim for his neck.”

“Understood,” Cancun gave a brief answer and jumped forward with his huge sword. In order to reach Cardum, Cancun had to deal with the skeleton knight guarding him. The skeleton knight had already been defeated three times by Hyeonu and Cancun. It was unknown if the Pioneer Guild side felt it against the ordinary skeletons, but Hyeonu and Cancun definitely felt it.

Every time a skeleton collapsed, it was slow to recover. In particular, the knight’s recovery was slow enough to be visible. The first time it was smashed, it was restored as quickly as it appeared. The second time also had a fast restoration, but it was not as fast as the first time. By the third time, it definitely slowed down. It became visible. Now it was the fourth time. The skeleton knight no longer revived.

“How dare you...” Cardum was furious. Not only did these people break into his dungeon, but they also smashed his favorite skeleton. A long spear emerged from Cardum’s fingertips. The spear floating in the air was very ominous. The black-violet spear was enough to make the viewers think ‘this isn’t right.’

“That’s it. It is what I suffered,” Cancun said after seeing the spear. It was the curse he suffered from.

“Be careful,” he added.

However, from Hyeonu’s viewpoint, it was just the skill of a powerful boss. Even if he couldn’t stop it, he wouldn’t die as he had recovery potions and Tang-E’s buffs.

‘I’ll come back to life anyway.’

Hyeonu approached Cardum carefully. The most important thing in a battle against a magician was naturally to prevent the use of magic. The process by which NPCs used magic was more complex than that of players. It was easy to stop the magic from being cast. Hyeonu didn’t wield his longsword. He just moved around Cardum.

It was a threat, not an attack. He threatened that he could wield the sword at any time. It was the best way to disrupt Cardum’s concentration. Cardum felt annoyed when he saw Hyeonu moving around him. ‘This fly!’

Cursed Spear had to be used with caution. The spear was created through an artifact. It was over if he missed. There wouldn’t be a second chance. Even if his concentration were at the maximum, it would still take a minute for him to recast the Cursed Spear.

‘Shit, it’s too fast.’

Hyeonu’s movements were too fast for Cardum’s eyes to follow.

‘There’s no way.’

Cardum was worried. There was no way for him to continue fighting like this in his current state. However, he had no other choice. His magic power had been reduced by the amount of time he spent retaining the skeletons. This dungeon might be called his front yard, but he couldn’t keep pouring out magic power like this. It was impossible unless he was a dragon.

Cardum had to make a decision. Should he continue to maintain the skeleton army or come up with other means to fight? He couldn’t afford to think for a long time as Hyeonu kept targeting him. Cardum soon made a decision. He recovered the skeletons. To be exact, he sucked back his magic power.

“It can’t be helped. Come out.”

The moment Cardum’s words finished, a magic circle appeared in front of him. Cardum’s magic flowed toward the magic circle that was a mixture of all types of shapes and unknown characters. There was a strong tremor, and a knight wearing stylish bone armor appeared in the magic circle. This knight had one special characteristic. He held his head in his left hand.

The top skeleton, the dullahan, had appeared.

“Dullahan!”

“Dullahan?”

A dullahan had been called an unbreakable iron wall just two months ago, and it frustrated numerous raid teams from large guilds and professional gamers.

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