Chapter 45

“I plan to prevent shadows from forming.”

Finally understanding my words, the two let out exclamations of amazement.

“Indeed… if that’s the case…”

I cut off the admiring female mage and continued.

“But even with this method, shadows can still form. If someone’s shadow appears despite this method, use three light sources to shine from multiple directions and follow the person with the shadow. That should prevent the shadow from forming.”

Since Light Source Magic consumes very little mana, this is a feasible method.

Kim Myung-jun and the female mage had much higher mana stats than me, so it should be entirely possible.

The two nodded and began to use Light Source Magic continuously.

At first, everyone fighting looked at us with questioning eyes, wondering what we were doing, but it didn’t take long for their reactions to turn to amazement.

“This is…”

“The shadows disappeared…!”

“How…?”

Even Seo Yoo-ju, the Returner, looked at us with wide, surprised eyes.

As the shadows disappeared, the Boss Monster let out a scream and revealed itself.

– Kyaaaaaaah!

“Attack now!”

When I shouted, everyone finally snapped out of it and began attacking the Boss Monster.

– Kyah! It hurts! It hurts!

The monster screamed as Kang I-seo’s arrows pierced it several times.

With the monster unable to hide in the shadows, the difficulty of the battle became much easier. It wasn’t strong enough to withstand the coordinated attacks from everyone.

Kim Myung-jun and the female mage looked dazed by the results they had created.

Since Light Source Magic is a utility spell rather than an offensive one, they probably never imagined it could be used like this to defeat a Boss Monster.

‘I bet they never thought it could be this easy.’

To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure this method would work either. It was just a gamble since the mage had nothing else to do.

If it’s a gamble with nothing to lose, why not try it?

Of course, the result was a huge success.

I could see Seo Yoo-ju swinging her spear and driving the monster back.

After a few exchanges, the Boss Monster blocked Seo Yoo-ju’s attack for a moment and swung its scythe, but…

– Huh?

Seo Yoo-ju had already disappeared from that spot. While the Boss Monster lost track of her presence, she appeared from behind and stabbed it with her spear.

Thud.

– Heee… Zephar… my lord…

The Boss Monster let out its final words as it began to disintegrate after being stabbed by the spear.

“Phew…”

Seo Yoo-ju, who had defeated the Boss Monster, was catching her breath for a while.

Everyone was in awe of her overwhelming performance.

The first to speak was Park Da-rim.

“Really… truly amazing. How is this someone who just graduated from the Training Facility?”

Indeed, Seo Yoo-ju’s genuine performance was beyond standard. While others couldn’t fully utilize their stats, Seo Yoo-ju was the opposite.

Her lacking stats couldn’t keep up with her experience.

“No. It was possible because of everyone’s help. I didn’t do much.”

As Seo Yoo-ju humbly replied, Park Da-rim continued in a surprised tone.

“…No. It’s true that Seo Yoo-ju did an incredible job, but… I’m talking about your entire party. Especially…”

Park Da-rim turned her gaze from Seo Yoo-ju to me and continued.

“Lee Yun-seong… how on earth did you come up with that idea?”

While the others were focused on the battle and didn’t know the details, Park Da-rim had been observing the entire situation. She seemed to know that I was the one who came up with the idea to eliminate the shadows.

“…It was just a sudden idea. It’s nothing special.”

At my answer, everyone seemed to realize that I was the one who thought of the method to eliminate the shadows.

“Nothing special? Being able to think like that is amazing. Normally, since this place revolves around military power, players always try to solve everything with force.”

‘I get what she means.’

Indeed, in this world, players tend to prioritize military power, automatically thinking that any problem should be solved with force.

‘In a way, strong military power is holding players back.’

Being so strong that they only think of solving things with force, even when there are easier solutions they fail to consider.

“Well… I think it’s because I’m weak that I could come up with such an idea. Being weak makes you think more.”

“…An idea that came because you’re weak…”

Park Da-rim began to ponder my answer deeply.

Lee Jae-hyo started speaking to everyone.

“…Everyone did really well. Let’s clean up the scene now. We should collect the rewards and head back.”

At Lee Jae-hyo’s words, everyone began to clean up the scene. It’s common for Boss Monster rooms to have some rewards, so everyone started searching the room.

I grabbed Yoo Rim, who was about to search the room, and spoke to her.

“Yoo Rim.”

“Yes…?”

“Are you hurt?”

“Ah… no. I’m fine, oppa.”

“…….”

‘Bullshit.’

Others might not know, but I saw something during the battle.

“…Roll up your left pant leg.”

“O-oppa…”

At my request to roll up her pant leg, Yoo Rim’s eyes began to shake.

‘As I thought, it’s not my imagination.’

During the battle, I saw Yoo Rim get stabbed in the calf by a Wraith. I wasn’t entirely sure since I only caught a glimpse, but her reaction confirmed she was hurt.

Sure enough, when I checked her leg, there was blood flowing from her left calf. Quite a lot of it.

“You…!”

“…….”

“Sigh… never mind. Let’s go get treated by Yoo Hyun quickly, okay?”

She probably didn’t want to worry Yoo Hyun, and during the battle, she got injured…





I didn’t want to show my younger sibling that I got beaten up, so I get it.

“…. I understand.”

In the end, Yoo Rim was sent to Yoo Hyun, and she started getting treated. Yoo Hyun was tearing up again while treating his sister’s wounds.

‘…. This place is too harsh for kids to survive.’

Pushing those thoughts aside, I approached the remains of the Boss Monster. I had seen it drop something when it disappeared.

As I got closer to the Boss Monster’s remains, all I could see was ash and, buried within it, a small black cube the size of a finger.

‘What’s this?’

I picked up the cube and examined it, but it was just a black cube. Nothing special stood out.

‘Judging by its appearance, it looks like a material or catalyst.’

While rolling the cube around in my hand, Kang I-seo approached me and started talking.

“Oooh ~ Lee Yun-seong. How did you come up with that idea earlier?”

“Just… it came to me suddenly.”

“No, at first, when you suddenly used Light Source Magic like crazy, I was like, what’s going on? But then I was shocked when the shadows disappeared.”

‘Well, at first, everyone was looking at me like, what the hell are you doing…’

“But what’s this? It looks like some kind of cube.”

“Ah… it’s something the Boss Monster dropped… probably a catalyst or material.”

“It looks pretty useless.”

“Well, it’ll probably have some use somewhere.”

While talking with Kang I-seo, someone from the Hwashin Clan shouted loudly after finding something.

“Here! There’s a safe here!”

Everyone gathered where the woman shouted, and inside the safe, there was gold and equipment.

Using the magnifying glass Artifact we brought, everyone started examining the equipment. Me included.

[Decorative Sword of the Fallen Marquis Omorig (Rare Grade) – A sword displayed in the mansion of the fallen Marquis Omorig. Increases Strength by 3 when equipped.]

[Marybeth Kelly’s Necklace (Rare Grade) – A necklace kept by Marybeth Kelly in memory of her deceased husband. Increases Magic Power by 3 when equipped.]

[Old Dagger (Common Grade) – An old dagger.]

The equipment turned out to be rewards fitting for a Rare Grade dungeon. Setting the equipment aside, I checked the information on the black cube in my hand.

[Shadow Cube (Hero Grade) – A cube left behind by the vanished maid Marybeth Kelly, who turned into a vengeful spirit. Can be used as a material or catalyst and has a high probability of granting shadow-related abilities.]

‘This… I have to take it.’

I could give up everything else, but not this. I was confident it would help with the experiments I was planning.

Sure enough, not long after, discussions about item distribution began.

If there was any equipment our party needed, it would be the necklace.

The necklace could be worn by Ha-eun or me, and as for the rest, since we already had Hero Grade weapons and armor, even if we got them, the clan would probably sell them.

Comparing our clan’s performance with the Hwashin Clan’s in this dungeon raid, I naturally thought our clan was superior.

It’s not that the Hwashin Clan did poorly, but Yoo Ju’s performance and the strategy I came up with had a significant impact on clearing the dungeon.

I raised my hand and cautiously began to speak.

“May I make a suggestion?”

“…. Yes. Go ahead.”

As soon as Kim Myung-jun responded, I started making my request regarding the spoils.

“Could our clan take the byproducts of the Wraiths and the Boss Monster’s byproduct, this Shadow Cube?”

Everyone expected me to ask for equipment, so they were taken aback when I asked for the byproducts.

Our party members also seemed surprised since it was the first time they’d seen me ask for something.

Honestly, I’ve always given up all the spoils to others before, so their reaction was understandable.

“…. The Shadow Cube, you mean?”

“Yes. Honestly, I don’t think my contribution was nonexistent. That’s why I’d like to request the Shadow Cube.”

The Wraith byproducts were practically worthless, so no one would care, but the Shadow Cube would definitely make them hesitate.

‘Well, the item description says it grants shadow-related abilities, so of course they’d hesitate.’

The Shadow Cube was clearly a valuable byproduct. Whether used for equipment or potion-making, there were plenty of ways to utilize it.

“Hmm…”

After some discussion between Kim Myung-jun and the Hwashin Clan members, Kim Myung-jun started to respond.

“In that case, how about we take the sword and necklace, and you take the Shadow Cube?”

‘Sigh… the dagger is trash, and not getting the necklace is painful…’

The dagger was definitely useless. Selling it wouldn’t even fetch a few gold. But honestly, I wanted to take the necklace and give it to Song Ha-eun.

It’s greedy, but in this world, having good equipment is directly tied to survival.

Yoo Ju, who had been listening to the conversation next to me, seemed to have the same thought and spoke up.

“Then how about this, Myung-jun? Since I also contributed, we’ll take the necklace and the cube. In exchange, the Hwashin Clan can take all the other equipment and 70% of the gold. How does that sound?”

‘Nice! Yoo Ju!’

Honestly, more gold is always good, but the necklace was more tempting than gold. I felt like applauding Yoo Ju for the perfect assist.