I ducked behind a ruined row of seats.
Crafting on the fly? Nope. Not today. I didn't even know if combining moldy biscuits with monster bones was legal in this system or if it summoned Gordon Ramsay to yell at me in demon-tongue.
I had maybe five seconds. I opened my system panel with my mind, fingers twitching like I was diffusing a bomb. Mental Fortitude Level 1 to Level 5. Done.
I felt the upgrade hit like a brain espresso shot. Clarity sliced through the mental fog like a hot knife through a nervous breakdown. No more panic. No more scattered thoughts. Just one clear mission: survive, roast things, don't die.
Then came the sound-based magic attack like a dubstep explosion and a banshee scream had a baby. My ears rang. I dove for another pile of rubble just before the blast shattered my former cover.
Maybe five more seconds. Tops.
I needed a counterattack. Something clever. Something loud. Something that said: surprise, I've been shopping!
The system shop.
Of course. I yanked it open in my mind like I was flipping through a magical Amazon Prime account.
Come on, come on, give me something stupid and overpowered.
I scrolled like a man on a mission then bingo.
Flash Bangs. Sound Bombs.
I could've kissed the glowing icon.
Only 10 ancient coins each?
Limit: 5 per item.
Do they restock daily?
No idea. Don't care.
"Purchase. Confirm. Equip."
Two clicks later, my inventory looked like a fantasy SWAT team's starter pack.
Just in time.
The violin started its death-wail again, glowing brighter than a rage-quitting streamer. But this time?
I lobbed a Flash Bang straight at her face.
BOOM—!
Light exploded. Her shriek glitched into static. The music hiccuped and died for a beat.
She reeled in midair, gown stuttering like a buffering ghost, violin arm twitching like someone yanked her ethernet cable.
"Yeah, how's that for a solo?"
Time for round two.
I yanked the pin from a Sound Bomb and hurled it right at her ghostly mug. Then I dove behind the seats, slapped both hands over my ears, and braced.
BOOOOM.
The blast was louder than a zombie soprano with a megaphone. The walls shook. Dust rained from the ceiling. I think I saw a chandelier flinch.
I threw everything I had.
Fireballs. Inferno Burst. Mana Arrows.
The works. My magic lit up the theater like a Fourth of July concert gone very, very wrong.
BOOM!
The stage exploded in a chorus of fire and crackling spells. The Opera Hostess shrieked as flames wrapped around her, and when the smoke cleared—
Her HP bar dropped below 50%.
"Yes!" I pumped a fist.
"Take a bow, banshee!"
And then… she did.
She screamed a long, piercing wail that made my spine tap-dance and floated backward into the shadows of the stage.
The moment her ghostly hem vanished from view, the backstage door exploded off its hinges.
Crash!
And out poured twenty to thirty zombies, all in tattered leotards and rotting ballet slippers. Their movements were jerky, unnatural but weirdly synchronized.
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me."
[Minions Summoned: Undead Dancers – Lv 27~30]
They spilled onto the stage like cursed backup dancers ready for a Broadway horror show. Tattered tutus, broken limbs, and dead eyes locked onto me with one shared goal:
Dance me to death.
They spread across the stage in perfect, rotting formation. One snapped its neck into place with a crack like a metronome. Another did a pirouette that somehow looked more threatening than graceful.
Then the music started again.
The Opera Hostess, somewhere in the shadows, began to play.
The violin's eerie notes drifted through the air and the dancers moved.
[Status Alert: Cursed Choreography – Dodge Difficulty Increased!]
"Oh no. No, no, no—this is a rhythm game from hell!"
One dancer leapt at me in a flawless grand jeté except, you know, with claws.
I rolled back, narrowly missing a pointed toe trying to cave in my chest. Another twirled like a ballerina blender, forcing me to duck before I got a face full of twirling doom.
I launched a Mana Arrow mid-roll and nailed one in the chest. It staggered but didn't fall.
"Seriously? Y'all are tanky and coordinated?"
My Combat Instinct kicked in hard, throwing alerts like my brain had gone full gamer mode. Red arrows, danger pings, the whole HUD freakout. I dove left, fireballed right, kicked a zombie in the tutu, and sprinted behind the ruined curtains.
Time to think.
New plan: Break the rhythm.
I yanked another Sound Bomb from my inventory, thumbed off the pin, and lobbed it straight into the middle of their dance circle.
BOOM.
The blast hit like a bad dubstep drop. The music faltered. The dancers staggered. One zombie fell flat on its face, limbs twitching.
"Ha! Guess you're not so graceful after a mosh pit!"
I charged forward, saber in one hand, axe in the other, swinging like I was auditioning for a metal band. The dancers couldn't keep their formation. Without the beat, they were just angry corpses in tights.
I slashed, ducked, kicked a toe-shoe across the room, and channeled Inferno Burst right into the heart of their chaotic chorus line.
Flames danced. Zombies didn't.
Half of them were down. A few more were burning. The rest?
Still twitching. Still deadly.
But I had the rhythm now.
The last dancer fell with a pirouette that ended in a headshot.
Silence.
Smoke curled off the scorched stage. Cracked chandeliers swung gently overhead. The floor was littered with ash, torn lace, and whatever passes for zombie glitter.
Then ...
The spotlight hit.
The Opera Hostess hovered center stage, violin cradled in her arms like a dying lover. Her gown was torn, scorched at the hem, and her once-perfect poise now trembled with fury.
She raised her head slowly. Her eyes blazed with unholy light.
[Mini-Boss: Opera Hostess – obsessed with mad music
System Alert: [Aria of Wrath] Engaged – All sound base spells enhanced. Dodge chance reduced.
"Oh great," I muttered. "Now we're doing second round?.
She played.
The music that followed wasn't just sound. It was pressure, force, like the stage itself turned traitor and wanted me flattened.
My Mental Fortitude screamed as I staggered, magic flaring just to keep upright.
-70 HP. -70 HP. -70 HP.
I leapt sideways, fireballs flying, just to break line of sight. Behind a half-burned harp, I downed another potion and peeked out.
Her violin was glowing so hard it looked radioactive. Every note summoned mini shockwaves. Floorboards cracked. Rows of seats exploded like they owed her money.
"Time to cut the concert short."
I pulled my last two Flash Bangs, yanked the pins, and sent them flying, one high, one low.
BOOM. FLASH.
She shrieked, staggered back mid-aria, and clutched her face. Her music faltered again.
I charged.
Inferno Burst—
Mana Arrow—
Fireball—
Saber swipe—
Axe swing—
Combo combo combo!
Her HP bar plummeted.
40%. 25%.15%
She screamed again, pure rage, and launched a final, wide-area violin blast.
[Combat Instinct] flared like a fire alarm, I dove, rolled, but it was no use. I couldn't dodge the full hit.
HP: -190
Status: Dazed
I slammed into a wall, stars exploding behind my eyes. The world spun like I'd just tried to suplex a merry-go-round and lost.
But then, Mental Fortitude kicked in.
The confusion hit a wall of pure stubborn focus. My thoughts snapped back into formation like a drill sergeant had just yelled at them.
I could see. I could think.
And I saw it, just for a second, the core of her violin. Faintly glowing, right where the strings met the wood. The magic heart.
"Lights out, lady."
I fired a Mana Arrow straight at it.
Missed.
Of course I missed. Dazed status: ruining aim since five seconds ago.
But Mental Fortitude lifted the fog fast, and I wasn't done.
I hurled another combo: Mana Arrow, Inferno Burst.
KABOOM.
The violin shattered mid-note.
The magic recoiled, backfiring like a cursed stereo. She shrieked, not the haunting kind, just pure, raw, everything-is-on-fire agony as ghostly energy exploded from her chest.
She floated upward...
And exploded midair in a burst of sound and shadow.
[Mini-Boss Defeated: Opera Hostess – Lv 36]
Level Up!
Loot Acquired:
Cursed Violin (Superior… but cursed.)
System Remark: "Warning: May play itself at 3AM. Use with emotional support."
Songstone Core (Used in Magic Sound Equipment)
Tattered Stage Pass (Grants access to Ballroom – consumed on use)
Potions x7 (finally, something that doesn't scream)
Soul Shards, Ancient Coins, and Loose Cash
Mystery Ticket (???)
---
I dropped to my knees, panting.
"Two down," I muttered. "No earplugs, no sanity left… but hey. What's a dungeon without a little trauma?"
I glanced toward the ballroom doors.
Still closed. Elegant. Menacing.
As I stepped closer, the Tattered Stage Pass glowed—then disintegrated in my hand like old paper in a fire.
I pulled out the Butler's Key. It lit up too. The lock clicked, waiting.
I could open the next door any time.
But not yet.
Rest first. Prep second.
Because if the butler and the banshee were just the warm-up acts…
The ballroom boss was going to be the main event.
I leaned back against the cracked wall of the theater, sucking down a potion like it was a sports drink after gym class in hell.
[Doomsday Clock: 6h 03m]
Tick. Tick. Tick.
That number had been steadily dropping while I was getting rag-dolled by a violinist banshee.
Six hours left. And something told me the final boss wouldn't be offering tea and cookies.
"I swear," I muttered, eyes flicking from my HUD to the ballroom doors, "this place makes skeletons and goblins look like tutorial mobs."
Two mini-bosses down. And they were no joke, each one felt like it should've been the final act. But this dungeon? It kept escalating. Polite zombie butlers. Opera banshees. Dancing undead flash mobs.
What's next? A necromancer DJ dropping a death rave?
I opened my inventory, scrolled through loot, and frowned.Some healing left. A few bombs. No more Flash Bangs.
My new cursed violin glared at me from the corner like it wanted to whisper secrets into my nightmares. I wasn't ready to play that tune.
I needed to think. Plan. Prep. Maybe finally look at crafting like a grown-up adventurer instead of a goblin with ADHD.
Because that ballroom?
That was the final act.
And I was running out of time.
.....
Kyle Walker (Lv. 31 )
HP: 1040/1040
MP: 1340/1340
SP: 1040/1040
Stats:
STR: 97 (+3 from Arm Guard) ( +5 leather armor ) ( Orc Chainmail +10) ( Achievement +1 ) ( 115 )
VIT: 76 (+3 from Arm Guard ) ( +5 leather armor ) ( Orc Chainmail +10) ( 94 )
DEX: 48 (+1 from Title ) ( Cloak of Swiftness +20 ) ( 69 )
INT: 124
WIS: 49
LUK: 30
Unassigned Stat Points: 69
Unassigned Skill Points: 84
Att: 115 ( weapon+20 ) ( 135 )
Def: 94 ( Leather Armor +20 ) ( Orc Chainmail +30) ( 144 )
Eva: 69 ( Cloak of Swiftness +20 ) ( 89 )