Light of Arad: Forerunner

Chapter 14

The Dungeon Area: Sky Castle is different from the usual dungeon areas.

This is because it’s one of the places where the background and circumstances change the most as the scenario quest of the game Dungeon & Fighter progresses, and it’s also a place entangled with so many forces.

“You cannot enter Sky Castle without a pass. I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but the Empire is investigating, so go back.”

A guard of the Empire said this to Jinseong, who was looking up at the barricade in front of Sky Castle.

Jinseong nodded and stepped back.

“Yes, I understand.”

Although it was indeed located in the Duchy of Bell Meyer, Sky Castle was a problematic place entangled with the De Los Empire.

At this point, both nations had formed a joint investigation team to uncover the true nature of Sky Castle, but since the setting indicated that the relationship between the two countries wasn’t good, it was inevitable that various NPCs would be irritable.

Above all, Jinseong knew why the security at Sky Castle was so tight at the moment.

‘One of the princesses of the Empire… was it Isabella or Isabela? Because of her presence, the Empire has no choice but to be even more vigilant.’

This was precisely what Jinseong was concerned about.

Enter Sky Castle with such stringent security, without a legitimate pass?

‘Moreover, once inside… I don’t even know how far up that long tower I’ll have to go. Do I have to wait for Seria and the Female Brawler, who could show up anywhere at any time?’

Although he could endure without eating, it still wouldn’t be easy.

Jinseong surveyed his surroundings.

In any case, it was something to worry about after he managed to enter Sky Castle.

‘Should I cover myself with a box? Or maybe throw a gold coin to distract them and then dash in-.’

He first needed to find a way to get in.

Ideas came to mind, but Jinseong shook his head at his own thoughts.

‘It’s not going to work. This isn’t a stealth action game.’

In the end, only one method remained.

To quickly infiltrate under the cover of darkness when night fell.

‘That might be the most realistic approach.’

Wasn’t it something he’d experienced a few times when clearing dungeons in other regions, rather than the Dungeon Area: Sky Castle?

In the game Dungeon & Fighter, there were certainly patterns where you had to strike at the monsters from behind or move stealthily, avoiding their line of sight or their guard range.

‘…But I’ve mostly just beaten up all the monsters after getting caught.’

Here, however, he couldn’t be sure what disaster might occur if he were caught.

Sneaking into a place where a princess of the Empire was present—what kind of treatment would he receive if caught?

‘Far from becoming Bucipke… I might even be tortured to death as Bucipke.’

If caught, a situation threatening his life might unfold, but there was something else that made Jinseong anxious.

Time.

‘I’ve already spent some time just getting here. But if it’s a Female Brawler player… she would’ve just made a few trips back and forth in Hendon Myre and then entered straight away, as per the scenario quest.’

Could he wait until nightfall when every minute counted?

Jinseong bit his lower lip tightly.

‘But realistically… Ah?’

How far had he moved away from the barricade guarded by the Empire’s soldiers?

Something suddenly came to Jinseong’s mind.

A short while later.

The Empire’s guard scowled.

He was about to warn the person who had been a thorn in his side until just moments ago…

“….”

But he couldn’t say anything.

He just had to glare at Jinseong, who was walking past the barricade, unable to do anything to stop him.

Although Jinseong flinched when his eyes met the guard’s, he didn’t panic.

The mere fact that he’d gotten this far was proof that his plan had worked.

Seeing that the guard didn’t stop him, Jinseong puffed out his chest and said.

“I was waiting for a comrade with a pass… Thank you for your hard work.”

He followed behind a Level 15 Male Lancer user.

This was Jinseong’s plan.

‘It worked. Yes, it worked!’

To enter Sky Castle by joining a party with a low-level user still clearing the main scenario quest, who had received a pass from NPC Roger Levin!

“Huh? What did you say?”

However, it wasn’t without its risks.

It was certain that he mustn’t reveal his true identity to the “user sitting in front of the computer.”

Even so, compared to sneaking in during the dead of night, how much safer and more useful was this plan?

“Ah, I was about to whisper, ahem, sorry. My mistake.”

“Ahem? Haha okay.”

As long as Jinseong didn’t act strange in front of the users who would perceive his words as “chat,” he should be fine.

Jinseong passed through the strict security of the Empire’s guards without a hitch, keeping his mouth shut.

‘Alright. Success.’

Feeling a sense of satisfaction from successfully executing his plan, Jinseong disbanded the party at the entrance to the dungeon in Sky Castle and said,

“Thank you.”

“No problem. It was fun having a random party at this level. Take care.”

“Yes, take care. Enjoy the dungeon.”

“Enjoy, haha. Bye.”

As Jinseong disbanded the party with the Level 15 Lancer user, he was newly convinced.

That user must have a “Seria” too.

That user must also be progressing through the main scenario quest to repair the grand magic circle in Sky Castle.

‘From now on, I have to survive in this kind of place… until I finish my task.’

A user who could communicate and party with him, but existed in a completely different world from Jinseong himself—a user who was in the very position Jinseong had been in not too long ago.

‘For now, let’s focus. I need to find that Female Brawler.’

Jinseong shook off his thoughts about the “two realities” he knew and was experiencing, then entered Sky Castle.

It was the entrance of a building like a long tower, made of endless spirals.

As Jinseong disappeared from view, the Level 15 Lancer user spoke up.

[Channel] PureSlash: Hey, can you create a character with no nickname?

Jinseong didn’t realize that the chat window had briefly become noisy afterward.

***

It was immediately clear that this wasn’t a completely intact building.

It was shaped like a winding corridor, with no outer walls so the outside was clearly visible, and in some places, even the pillars that made up the tower were partially destroyed.

‘…It’s amazing that it hasn’t collapsed. If it were a regular building, it would have crumbled long ago. Is it because of Bakal’s power? Or the magic of the Tyrant Dragon?’

Jinseong was moving forward with conflicting feelings of unease and safety, knowing that the reason it defied the usual laws of physics was something he could guess.

The fortunate thing for him was that there were hardly any monsters around, and naturally, no users or other people were in sight.

‘In the past, everyone used to party here to level up, but recently, you can reach max level just by pushing through the main scenario.’

In this sense, what Jinseong had to worry about wasn’t joining the maps with users but rather the NPCs running around in places that were practically invisible to the users.

More specifically, the Iron Wolf Knights of the Empire and the NPC adventurers who had received passes from Roger Levin.

To avoid being caught by them, Jinseong heightened his senses, listening for any sign of people as he climbed the stairs.

Floating boxes and statues shaped like dragons began to appear.

Moreover, when he reached the point where the stairs to the top of the tower were formed outside, with no railing, making it seem like a life-threatening climb if he were to fall…

“…Of course. It had to be here.”

Jinseong realized.

He had entered one of the dungeons in Dungeon Area: Sky Castle, the Dungeon: Tower of the Dragonkin.

“Kiiiiiiik?!”

The eerie sound came from a Dragonkin that was at least 20 centimeters taller than Jinseong’s own Dark Knight body.

And its threatening appearance was made even more menacing by the long spear it held, capable of piercing in either direction.

Jinseong steadied his breathing.

“There’s no one watching right now… and I didn’t receive for nothing, did I?!”

Among the systems that applied to the game Dungeon & Fighter, Jinseong wasn’t limited to using only [My Info] or [Inventory].

Naturally, Jinseong also had access to another feature!

“Kyaaaaa-!”

As the blue Dragonkin, Minius, charged, Jinseong gripped Yaiba tightly.

Then, he shouted as he executed a horizontal slash followed by a vertical slash in quick succession.

“!”

─────────────!

Using the skill he had newly learned through the [Skill Window], Jinseong split Minius’ body into a cross.

“Kiii-.”

That wasn’t the end.

As Jinseong leaped and struck down with Yaiba, another Minius,

which had hesitated momentarily upon seeing its comrade fall, was met with the next attack.

“!”

The heavy downward slash, carrying the weight of his entire body, dug into Minius up to where its lower half began, ending the attack.

“Kiii….”

Minius collapsed as its body crumbled.

Jinseong briefly furrowed his brow.

‘This… will take a bit more time to get used to.’

Even though he knew he was possessed by Dungeon & Fighter and understood what he had to do…

It wasn’t something he could adapt to instantly—the sight of a living being dying and the act of killing it.

“Phew, but I see that the combos work well, thanks to the weapon-.”

“Kiii…!”

“Kyaaa, Kyat-!”

“-Let’s move up.”

Even as the swarms of blue Minius and white Mirkius closed in, Jinseong wasn’t afraid.

Now that he knew his attacks worked, all that was left was a kind of “test.”

“, !”

Jinseong naturally moved his body and activated the skills.

Perhaps it was because he had once navigated the dire situation in Dungeon: Dark Thunderland—his movements were smooth, like water flowing.

One of the keys to this was Jinseong’s own combo system.

Unlike other classes in Dungeon & Fighter, the Dark Knight employed a unique skill system, which was the combo system.

Compared to other classes, where a single skill was usually mapped to a single hotkey, the Dark Knight’s hotkey system worked differently. For example, the A hotkey had five slots formed in a sequence.

“-, -.”

In other words, by pressing A-A-A-A-A in succession, Jinseong could use the five pre-set skills, followed by sequences like S-S-S-S-S or D-D-D-D-D.

‘That’s both the strength and weakness of the Dark Knight. It’s literally a double-edged sword. The cooldown calculation is also unconventional-.’

The first four moves became “setup skills,” with the last, fifth skill in the slot being the “main skill,” essentially the source of the “burst damage.”

Without understanding this and forming a combo, you might find yourself flailing around near the monsters without dealing significant damage—something so foolish that it even spawned a meme called “Talchum” (Korean masked dance).

‘But I’m different!’

, , , and —four consecutive skill uses.

Knowing that the next combo skill would deal the most powerful damage, Jinseong had placed what he considered the most potent, area-of-effect attack right there!

“Kyaaaaaa-!”

“-!”

Jinseong shouted as he raised his hand high.

A skill that exploded dark energy in a small area within a 360-degree radius, launching all approaching monsters into the air.

His plan was to immediately trigger the next combo he had prepared and finish them all off.

“Kik?”

“Kya?”

The Minius and Mirkius, which flinched and stopped, weren’t the only ones surprised; Jinseong was even more bewildered.

“Why didn’t the skill… Oh!?”

Then he realized.

In Dungeon & Fighter, while some skills could be used without conditions…

“This is a Mukyu skill.”

There were also skills that required an item called Colorless Cube Fragment, commonly referred to as “Mukyu.”

Naturally, since Jinseong didn’t possess any Colorless Cube Fragments, the skill didn’t activate.

“Kiiik…!”

“Kak- Kyaaaak-!”

Facing the seemingly enraged monsters, Jinseong swallowed nervously.

“Hmm… This is bad.”

From now on, he would have to fight with his most powerful skill sealed away.