The yellow door groaned open, metal hinges screeching like tortured spirits. Beyond it lay a massive, circular chamber shrouded in mist. The floor was slick with seawater, glinting with scattered gold coins, bones, and broken weapons.
The old healer laughed, rubbing his hands together. "This sure gives me the creeps!"
At the center stood a cracked, barnacle-covered treasure chest. It pulsed once. Then it exploded.
"Brace yourselves," the Archer in Gold said, crouching slightly, eyes narrowing. "It's coming."
From the shards rose a tall, towering, ghostly figure clad in tattered admiral's garb. His skeletal frame shimmered with cursed energy, seaweed entangled in his ribs, and his hollow eyes glowed like twin lanterns.
A massive anchor dragged behind him, scraping grooves in the floor.
Then a window popped into visibility over his head:
[DUNGEON BOSS]: BLACK BEARD THE PIRATE - (LEVEL 45)
[HP]: [100/100] ->[100/100]
[MP]: [100/100]
"Holy shit…" I froze, my chest tightening. "Level forty-five… are you kidding me?"
He raised his bony hand and activated a skill: Reanimation. The chamber's water surged, forming six level twenty Spectral Sea Serpents and eight level fifteen Ghost Pirates, floating like summoned minions awaiting a command.
The monsters lunged at us as Black Beard shrieked.
"Scatter!" the old healer shouted, springing to the left, activating a skill: Purification, targeting the monsters. "I'll take care of the monsters, you guys take care of Black Beard!"
"Got it!" I responded, hiding behind an old wooden box.
"Go!" the old healer shouted, holding the monsters in place. "My attacks are effective against undead monsters. They won't be able to move!"
Black Beard activated a skill: Anchor Throw, targeting the Archer in Gold and me.
The Archer in Gold and I split instinctively to avoid the incoming attack of Black Beard.
I stayed on the left, ducking behind jagged coral as Black Beard threw his anchor. It bounced off the walls, almost hitting my face. Almost.
I took a shaky breath. "That was close!"
The monsters killed by the old healer let out shrill screams as a red mist crept out from their body, filling the air.
We didn't know that those monsters contained spectral toxins.
A system window appeared in front of me:
[STATUS: POISONED]
[HP]: [57/100] -> [55/100]
[MP]: [100/100]
"This is bad," I thought, looking at my depleting health points. "Can we even make it outta here?"
Black Beard stomped the floor, making the entire room flip. Literally.
We were thrown upward as gravity reversed for three seconds, then slammed back down as the floor reasserted itself.
I coughed, slowly getting on my knees. "Fuck... That hurt my back!"
"FOCUS!" shouted the old healer from across the room, activating a skill: Cleanse. It removed the poison status, restoring our MP and HP as well. "WE CAN WIN THIS FIGHT!"
"You're way too noisy, old man," the Archer in Gold muttered coldly, adjusting her stance.
Then, dozens of Spectral Pirates slowly appeared in the air.
The Spectral Pirates raised their cutlasses and attacked.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" I shouted at the Archer in Gold, dodging a slash from a spectral pirate. "He literally helped us!"
"Silence," she replied, coughing, activating a skill: Volley Shot. It unleashed a barrage of arrows into Black Beard's chest, staggering him.
I looked at her. "Are you serious?"
The old healer pointed at Black Beard and shouted, "You guys fight later, let's kill that bastard first!"
The old healer held the Spectral Pirates in place using a skill: Purification.
The old healer looked at me and shouted. "Go, boy!"
I nodded, charging toward Black Beard with my rusted dagger, striking at his knees, dealing a small amount of damage.
Black Beard howled, shaking the room with cursed energy. He slammed both palms on the ground and activated a skill: Demise. A purple vortex appeared in the center of the chamber, dragging everything, including us, toward it.
I activated my copied frenzy skill, boosting my speed to get away from it, dodging a falling harpoon.
The old healer activated a skill: Greater Protection. It shielded himself and the Archer in Gold from the attack.
"I didn't need that, old man," she said, brushing spectral water from her armor.
"We're a duo," the old healer said, chuckling. "No need to be stingy about it."
"Only in this dungeon," she replied. "And it only happened because you insisted."
"So they're a duo…" I thought. "Wait… did that old man just try to kill me by not protecting me using his skill? What the hell..."
The room slowly filled with spectral water, dragging at our legs and slowing our movement.
Black Beard channeled an unknown attack.
The old healer activated a skill: Shield Bash. It blocked any potential damage for thirty seconds.
"We must attack while he's still channeling something!" I shouted.
The old healer nodded.
The Archer in Gold activated a skill: Materialization. She fired golden swords that came out of thin air, hitting Black Beard with great damage.
I darted and ducked behind Black Beard and stabbed him several times with my dagger, doing chip damage at best. But then—CRITICAL HIT!
My blade pierced a glowing rune hidden behind his ribs.
Black Beard shrieked, his body shaking violently.
A system window appeared above its head:
[DUNGEON BOSS]: BLACK BEARD THE PIRATE - (LEVEL 45)
[HP]: [54/100] -> [24/100]
[MP]: [25/100]
My eyes widened, realizing that it was his weak point. "Let's hit the glowing rune hidden behind his ribs altogether! It's his weak spot!"
"Just say the word, kiddo!" The old healer responded. "We got ya!"
Black Beard activated a skill: Spectral Slash, sending multiple crescent moon-shaped attacks toward us.
I dodged. The Archer in Gold and the old healer dodged.
"NOW!" I shouted.
We charged at Black Beard together, striking one final blow.
Black Beard let out one last unholy screech before exploding into a blinding flash of cursed light.
Then came the system message in gold:
[DUNGEON CLEARED: TREASURE ROOM UNLOCKED]
A system window appeared in front of me:
[+3 Levels gained]
Black beard's remains melted into coins and faded curses, revealing a door to the treasure room. We stepped inside cautiously. Three passageways lay ahead.
"I'll take the left," the old healer said, smiling. "Something's drawing me that way."
The Archer in Gold stood before me, glare sharp as a blade. "Next time you dare command me," she warned, "I'll have your head." Then she walked into the middle passageway.
I put my palm on my face. "She gotta manage her anger issues..."
Only one passage left. Narrow. Unlit. It felt like a dead end, but I didn't have the luxury of choice.
I stepped in.
The room was small, circular, and silent. Dust hung in the air like frozen mist. At the far end, a stone altar sat beneath a single shaft of light breaking through the ceiling. Resting on the altar was a chest, plain and unadorned. No gold trim, no glowing runes—just old wood and a lock that looked like it had not been opened in centuries.
I approached, heart pounding. "Let's see what we got here…" I murmured.
The chest opened with a soft click.
Inside was a treasure. Real treasure. A dagger, gray and black, carved with runes that shimmered like oil on water. The air around it vibrated faintly. I picked it up, and a system window flashed.
[ITEM ACQUIRED]: [SPIRIT DAGGER] — (UNIQUE WEAPON)
—Grants 5 seconds of intangibility. Cooldown: 15 seconds. Mana Cost: 25
—Grants Ownership skill. Cooldown: 30 seconds. Mana Cost: 10
Beneath the weapon was an attack and dexterity attribute potion, a scroll that was sealed in hard coral wax, and ten ether.
I removed the seal on the scroll and opened it with care. "Hmm... What do we have here?"
The scroll detailed a secret mechanic: A hint on how to hatch an easter egg.
"This is what I just needed," I thought, gripping the scroll. "And that ownership is great because I can rematerialize myself back to my weapon if I lose it. Or was it the weapon that rematerializes? Damn, I forgot..."
A system window clarified.
[Ownership skill]: [Allows both the user and the weapon to rematerialize.]
"There goes my answer..." I said.
I exhaled, the weight of it sinking in. This wasn't just a weapon drop. This was something bigger. I knew the moment I stepped outside, I would no longer be walking in as just another player.
I opened the dexterity and attack attribute potions' lids and drank them one by one.
"The dexterity potion tastes like orange juice..." I said, staring at its empty container. "I hate orange juice...'
A system window appeared in front of me.
[CHARACTER ATTRIBUTE STATUS]:
[HP]: [46/100]
[MP]: [100/100]
[ATTACK]: [1/50] -> [2/50]
[RESISTANCE]: [0/40]
[SPEED]: [0/75]
[DEXTERITY]: [0/85] -> [1/85]
[VITALITY]: [0/40]
[INTELLIGENCE]: [0/45]
Suddenly, everything exploded into blinding white.
When my vision cleared, I found myself high in the sky, standing atop a floating obsidian platform suspended by nothing but light and magic.
The air was thin and charged with power, the clouds swirling beneath our feet like an ocean of mist.
To my left stood the old healer, holding a dark tome that emitted ominous energy he probably got from the treasure room. On my right was the Archer in Gold. Her golden armor shone as bright as the sun. I had no signs of what she got, though.
"Hey, Goldie," I said, half-grinning. "What did you get?"
Her eyes flicked to me, distant. "None of your business," she said, voice sharp as a blade.
The old healer patted my shoulder. "Let her be, boy," he said, smiling tiredly. "She's probably exhausted."
I nodded. "Yeah... You're right. Or maybe she's just an asshole," I muttered.
Below us, the city of Arkanos stretched wide and gleaming.
My eyes widened. "W-Woah..."
Its towers shimmered in the morning sun, domes of gold and sapphire reflecting pure light. The plazas were packed. Citizens' and players' heads tilted skyward, mouths open in shock. People stood on rooftops, leaned from balconies, gathered in the streets with wide eyes and disbelief and excitement.
Then the sky itself opened. A massive system window shimmered into view, letters burning like fire across the heavens:
[CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR FIRST DUNGEON CLEARERS!!!]
[DUNGEON STATUS]: [COMPLETE]
The moment it flashed into existence, the crowd below erupted.
The sound was deafening.
Cheers, whistles, applause. It all blended into a storm of celebration.
Confetti spells burst into the air like fireworks, and enchanted banners unfurled across rooftops, bearing our names in glowing letters.