MDPS 05

  Chapter 05

Attribute Rune Dungeon (2)

The Attribute Rune Dungeon is divided into six difficulty tiers—just like summon rankings—from Common all the way to Mythic.

Each tier has 10 floors, and its main reward is the Attribute Rune, which can be used to strengthen a summon’s unique skill.

However, in order to enhance Hertia’s first skill, I’d need resources that only drop in Legendary-rank or higher dungeons.
That wasn’t the main goal of this run.

Even for me, taking on a Legendary Dungeon with just a single level 1 summon would be pure suicide.

But the Attribute Rune Dungeon doesn’t just give runes.

Like the Tutorial Dungeon, you can also earn summon tickets and other growth items as clear-time and rank rewards.

So my plan was to aim for the highest possible rank and get the best rewards.

My destination: the Rare-grade Dark Attribute Rune Dungeon.

It’s a dungeon recommended for teams of at least four summons in the level 20–30 range.

I, however, only had one summon—Hertia—at level 1.

Even with Hertia, there’s no way to overcome a thirty-level gap by fighting fair and square.

That is… if I were to go in by the book.

The Dark Attribute Rune Dungeon is considered the hardest among all Attribute Rune Dungeons.

On top of the monsters, there are numerous annoying hazards—poison gas and arrows fired from rune stones embedded in the walls, for example—deadly traps just waiting for you.

Back when this was a game, failure just meant you could try again. But this is reality.

Fail here, and it’s over. You could really die.

The Tutorial Dungeon might have been safe from death, but every other dungeon is merciless.

That’s why I need to be thoroughly prepared before going in.

My strategy required two very specific summons.

First—Hertia.
I needed her first skill.
It was essential to be able to move freely without letting the monsters attack first.

Sure, there were substitute summons that could do the job… but—

Hah. What a joke.

I’d checked the prices yesterday.
It wouldn’t even be possible with a hundred million won in hand.

The summoning ticket for that monster hadn’t even sold yet, and I had no cash anyway.

Well, I already have the best option—Hertia—so no need to overthink it.

The second summon was much easier to get—just a Common-grade summon.

However, if I wanted to clear all the way to the 10th floor, I’d have to fill my entire party with them.

I’ve got three main slots left, plus one in reserve. Four total should do it.

I opened the trading app right away.

What I was looking for was a common summon with a particularly bad reputation: the Slime.

Specifically, the high-viscosity Clay Slime.

70,000 won? That’s more expensive than I expected.

Each Clay Slime was going for 70,000 won—way higher than I thought.

Seriously, who else would even use this thing…? Oh, wow…

I skimmed through the purchase reviews and couldn’t help but laugh.

Apparently, the price had gone up because they were in high demand as educational toys.

Perfect for children’s tactile play, huh… Humanity’s adaptability never ceases to amaze me.

Shaking my head, I bought the least popular colors—brown and gray—two of each.

《Would you like to purchase this summon?》
《YES》
《Purchased: Clay Slime (Brown) ×1, Clay Slime (Gray) ×2》

The new summons were registered in my status window.
I immediately checked their unique skill.

[Unique Skill]
1st Skill – Hardened Outer Shell
A slime with a freely changeable shape generates a hardened mucus shell to protect itself. When the skill is reused, any absorbed materials are automatically released.

Good. Exactly as I remembered.

That unimpressive-looking skill was going to be the core of my entire plan.

Unlike the Tutorial Dungeon, the main target—the Tower—and other growth dungeons all have fixed entry points.

The Attribute Rune Dungeon entrance was near an amusement park in Jamsil.

It wasn’t hard to find.
After all, the enormous statue in the shape of a “highest-grade rune” instantly caught the eye.

Every time I see it, I’m reminded how much more imposing it is in real life than in the game.

To the left of the statue were the portals for lower-difficulty dungeons—Common to Rare.
To the right were the portals for higher difficulties—Heroic to Mythic.

Whoa. Look at all these people.

There was already a huge crowd of adventurers near the dungeon.

Strangely enough, there seemed to be more foreigners than Koreans.

Well, that was probably a good sign for the economy—more tourists.
Still, for a local like me, it was a bit… inconvenient.

If only they wouldn’t cause trouble… tch.

Today was Thursday, meaning all Attribute Rune Dungeons were open, so the crowd was even bigger than usual.

Enough people-watching. Time to move.

I stepped near the portal, which activated the “Enter Dungeon” button.

Just seeing it made me feel a little tense.

I’d cleared this dungeon thousands of times in the game, but now my real life was on the line.

Still, the moment I stepped in, I couldn’t afford to show weakness.

In front of Hertia, I had to be the flawless summoner—Lucifer.

Don’t chicken out. You’ve run this dungeon like it’s your daily bread. Nothing hard about it.

Hypnotizing myself with that thought, I slowly pressed the button.

A flash of blue light engulfed me, pulling me inside.

《Entering Rare-grade Dark Attribute Rune Dungeon.》

《Summon your creatures to proceed through the dungeon.》
《Warning: If all your summons are unsummoned, the run will be considered a failure, and you will die.》
《You cannot give up mid-floor. At the end of each floor, you will be asked whether to proceed or leave.》

The system messages rang out the moment I entered.

If you can’t clear a floor completely, you can’t retreat mid-way.
In other words—don’t push beyond your limits.

But I was going to clear all 10 floors in one go.

If I didn’t, she might not let me live it down.

“Aah… You’ve summoned me again, my beautiful master! And yet…”

Hertia looked around, her delicate brow furrowing.

“…This is hardly a place to enjoy our noble reunion.”

She wasn’t reacting well.
And I couldn’t blame her.

The rulers of the Rune Dungeons were none other than elementals.

“Elves’ groveling lackeys… nothing but worthless insects’ nests.”

Elementals had once allied with elves, granting them the powerful art of spirit magic.

From Hertia’s perspective, that made them one of her mortal enemies.

“How shameful that I lack the strength to purge this place in my current state…”

Her pride was clearly wounded.
The aura of the dungeon must have told her it was a challenge beyond her present power.

“But of course… you have a plan, don’t you, my noble one?”

She glanced at the cluster of Clay Slimes behind me, smiling faintly.

She said she trusted me—but for some reason, it was a little scary.

Maybe she was upset that I’d put the leader of the Seven Deadly Sins in the same party as a bunch of slimes.

Still, I couldn’t let my fear show.

If I ever looked weak, she might pounce on me again.

“Doubt me not. I came here precisely to restore your strength.”

“Then… you truly mean to conquer all ten floors in one go?”

Exactly.
For Hertia’s sake, I had no choice but to go all the way.

If she ever doubted my capability, it would be game over.

“Indeed. Let’s see if we still make a good team.”

“Fufu… I, Hertia, will follow my master anywhere.”

《Beginning Rare-grade Dark Attribute Rune Dungeon.》
《Dungeon timer: 00:01》

The Dark Attribute Rune Dungeon is a tricky one.

It doesn’t spawn a large number of monsters, but they hide in the shadows, waiting for adventurers to let their guard down before striking for the kill.

And there are traps everywhere.

Like that rune stone right in front of me—touch it or step on it when you’re distracted, and it’ll explode with massive force.

It’s basically a landmine that shreds your summons’ HP in an instant.

Meaning you have to constantly listen for lurking monsters while also keeping an eye out for traps—a real pain.

Thunk!

Without hesitation, I grabbed a rune stone embedded in the wall near the entrance.

It looked dangerous, but the first three meters from the entrance are a kind of safe zone.

Even if a rune stone spawns there, it won’t explode.

“Slime.”

At my call, the brown Clay Slime wobbled toward me.
Up close, it was kind of cute.

I picked it up and pushed the rune stone into its gelatinous body.

Then I ordered it to crawl into a shallow crack in the wall just beyond the entrance.

“Do your thing.”

As I stepped back, Hertia asked,

“Is the task complete?”

“Yeah.”

“How shameful that my noble one has to dirty his hands with such work.”

“It’s fine. I’ll need your abilities soon enough.”

We chatted for a short while—

BOOM!

A huge explosion erupted from the crack, collapsing the wall.

《Clay Slime (Brown) has taken fatal damage and been unsummoned.》
《Re-summon available in 10 minutes.》

“As they say, a tool is only as good as its user. Your wisdom is truly awe-inspiring, my master.”

“You flatter me.”

By embedding the rune stone in the slime and sending it beyond the safe zone, the rune detected the slime’s presence and exploded.

The result—

Rumble…

“Let’s go, Her.”

—was a passage wide enough for a person to slip through, leading to the lower floor.

This was a tactic you could only use on a wall within ten steps of the dungeon entrance.

From here on, it was Hertia’s turn to shine.

—Human. Human. Filthy-smelling human.
—Vile elf! Ugly, dark, wretched elf!

Dark elementals, as their name suggests, dwell in the shadows.

This lightless crack was their perfect breeding ground.

With the dungeon being Rare grade, their average level was over 20—meaning I’d stand no chance in a direct fight.

“How dare these insects speak such filth to my master!”

“Enough. That quick temper of yours is a bad habit.”

“Ah—my apologies. How unseemly of me.”

With Hertia’s Doctrine active, even battles I’d normally have no chance of winning could be avoided entirely.

Sure enough, beyond the edge of the light, dozens of dark elementals were frozen in place.

They’d lost their first strike advantage under the effect of her skill.

“Allow me to lead the way from here, my master.”

Following the purple glow in Hertia’s hand, I continued down the dark, narrow passage.