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Chapter 06
Attribute Rune Dungeon (3)
《You have cleared the Dark Attribute Rune Dungeon (Rare) – Floor 1.》
《Unbelievable Record!》
⁝
《You have cleared the Dark Attribute Rune Dungeon (Rare) – Floor 5.》
《Unbelievable Record!》
《Clear Time: 1 minute 34 seconds》
Behold.
Following the rift downward, I breezed through to Floor 5 in no time at all.
《Proceed to Floor 6?》
《YES or NO》
Of course, I proceed.
From Floor 6 onward, it became even easier.
Normally, this stage would be a nightmare — constantly ambushed by dark spirits while balancing on unstable platforms over a toxic swamp.
“Here, take my hand and cross.”
“Much obliged.”
But with Hertia’s skill active, it was basically a picnic.
The rest of the floors were similarly trivial. It took about 1 minute 20 seconds to break through to Floor 9.
Counting the time spent setting up on Floor 1, the total was 2 minutes 50 seconds.
And finally, we arrived at Floor 10 — the boss room.
If there’s any variable, it’ll be here.
Opening the black door, the air grew heavy.
The boss room was a large circle, and in the center stood a massive golem possessed by a dark spirit.
Whoa… five meters at least?
Its main skill: Smog Field.
Once the battle begins, two vents on its shoulders belch out thick, sticky smoke.
If the smoke fills the room, it’s game over.
That’s because the moment the golem begins to move, the smoke grants it massive buffs — making it completely invulnerable to damage and debuffs.
The adventurer must find and kill the hidden dark spirit lurking somewhere in the room before that happens.
AoE skills won’t work either — the smoke is highly reactive to magic. If you fire off an attack spell, the smoke explodes instantly.
The most dangerous moment is when the smoke rises to ankle height.
The dark spirit here is weaker than others but small and fast, hiding in the smoke to toy with its prey.
Typically, adventurers bring healer or archer-type summons to slow it down, or they go all-in on speed to chase it down.
But me?
I picked up the clay slime right beside me and cradled it in my arms. Hertia’s eyes flicked toward me.
“What are you planning to do?”
“Just watch.”
I had three clay slimes left. One of my main party slimes was unsummoned earlier when I widened the rift, so there were no spares now.
I’d been thinking for a while about how to use Hertia’s skill in reality.
In the game, summoners couldn’t operate outside the system’s rules.
But here, it’s different.
My limbs are fine, I can run around myself — meaning I can devise far more flexible strategies.
I stopped in front of the golem.
With Hertia’s skill active, the battle hadn’t started yet.
But the moment I attacked, the dark spirit would pop out from its chest and hide.
Then the smoke would start pouring out.
Before that could happen, I stuck clay slimes in three places: both shoulder vents, and the chest where the spirit would emerge.
“Hertia.”
“Yes, my noble one.”
“Attack.”
“I’ve been waiting for that command.”
Fwoosh!
Her violet flames engulfed the golem.
At the same time, a nasty laugh echoed out.
— Heeheehee! Foolish humans. Come to di—
The slime on its chest suddenly bulged, then snapped back, revealing a miniature form of the dungeon’s target — the dark spirit.
— Wha— what is this?!
Normally it would have fled immediately, but it couldn’t break free from the slime’s sticky grip.
At the same time, the slimes on its vents began to swell, trapping the smoke inside.
“Your face is as pathetic as ever. Makes me want to crush you right now.”
Hertia spat an insult at the exposed spirit, then glanced my way.
“Shall I crush that wretch now?”
I could — and the dungeon would be cleared.
But our score would be lousy; we’d skipped most fights and had too few points for a top reward.
And I’m not here for measly loot.
“Wait. I’ll show you something more entertaining.”
“If my noble one commands, I could wait until the end of days.”
…Her dramatic flattery made my chest feel itchy.
But pointing that out would probably bring about my end before the end of days, so I simply nodded gravely.
— Let me go! Let me go right now!!
The spirit thrashed, but its low attack power couldn’t pierce the slime’s viscosity.
【Shoddy Afterimage】
Description: So fast it leaves afterimages, but all stats are invested in speed, making it incredibly fragile.
Great at running, terrible at breaking free.
Meanwhile, the vent slimes kept swelling until they looked ready to pop.
《Clay Slime (Brown) has expanded to maximum capacity! Remaining in this state will slowly drain HP.》
《Clay Slime (Gray) has expanded to maximum capacity! Remaining in this state will slowly drain HP.》
“That should be enough.”
Remember: the golem’s smoke is extremely volatile to magic.
A bit of detection magic is fine, but any real attack spell causes an instant explosion.
And those slimes? They’re now packed full of that dangerous smoke.
“Step back, Hertia.”
“Yes, Master.”
We retreated to the far corner, checking the slimes’ HP — about 20% left.
Time to act.
“On my signal, hit the shoulder slimes.”
Violet flames bloomed in Hertia’s hands.
I gave the final command to the slimes.
“Clay Slime! Use Hardened Shell!”
Crk-ckkk!
At my command, the slimes expelled the compressed gas back into the vents all at once.
— Ghhkk!
The spirit grimaced in pain from the sudden pressure spike.
Skill: Hardened Shell
The slime’s surface rapidly hardens, releasing stored substances all at once.
Normally useless for tanking — no aggro effect, unclear purpose — but…
Any summon’s worth depends on the user.
Right now, the golem’s insides were overflowing with explosive gas.
All it needed was… a spark.
— No! Stop! I don’t want to die like th—!!
“Fire.”
“Haaah!”
Fwoosh!
Twin fireballs slammed into the hardened slimes.
And then—
BOOOOOOM!!
The deafening blast rattled the entire boss room.
When I opened my eyes again…
《Clay Slime (Brown) has taken fatal damage and has been unsummoned.》
《Clay Slime (Gray) x2 has taken fatal damage and has been unsummoned.》
The notification of their sacrifice came alongside…
Rumble…
The shattered remains of the golem.
— …
And the utterly obliterated corpse of the dark spirit.
The messages rolled in.
《You have cleared the Dark Attribute Rune Dungeon (Rare).》
《Level Up! Adventurer Level is now 2.》
《Level Up! Adventurer Level is now 3.》
…
《Level Up! Adventurer Level is now 5.》
《You have cleared Floor 10 of the Dark Attribute Rune Dungeon (Rare).》
《Unbelievable Record!》
《Clear Time: 04 minutes 34 seconds》
《Clear Rank: SSS》
《You have achieved the highest clear rank!》
Easy. Too easy.
Why does everyone else take over ten minutes?
Now… what kind of reward will they give me?
Hertia glanced at Lucifer smiling beside her, and a smile of her own crept up.
I’ve never seen him smile like that before.
She was convinced after this battle:
The cunning to overcome overwhelming power differences.
The unshakable composure to give precise orders in any situation.
Above all, that fierce desire to always aim beyond the ordinary.
Appearance aside, Oh Hyun-woo in front of her could only be the Lucifer she once served.
Even his act is perfect. Pretending to be a frail human, even when no one but me is here to see it.
She hadn’t understood at first why Lucifer would play such a clownish role, but as a great being, he must have had his reasons.
And now, she realized:
It must be to avoid revealing any weakness — so he’s careful with every move, even in daily life.
If the other Seven Deadly Sins saw him startled and flustered like this, none of them would believe it.
The fact that she alone knew of this side of him sent a strange, thrilling shiver down her spine.
Thorough. And all the more fearsome for it.
Hertia decided to play along with Lucifer’s human act for now — savoring the joy of serving a great being until the day his power returned.
