Chapter 57

The crimson muscles wrapped tightly around its body like armor, and over them, bone plates fused together. Along its spine, jagged protrusions grew threateningly, while its gaping jaws swung loose as if the jawbone might snap off at any moment. Its once-crumpled body stretched out, doubling in size.

The wyvern, having shed its skin, had become an ancient wyvern. Slowly, it descended toward the ground. From atop the tower, Theo could sense it instinctively.

The moment that ancient wyvern landed, the space would be sealed, and the battle would begin.

A co-op dungeon consisted of two mini-boss monsters and one final boss. But when and where a mini-boss would appear was never fixed. Except for the final boss, Hexi, the mini-boss monsters and their spawn points were randomized.

Once the battle began, the mini-boss would isolate the surrounding area, and only those trapped inside could participate in the fight. If a small group got separated inside the dungeon and no one managed to encounter the mini-boss when the battle triggered, the dungeon raid would immediately end in failure. That was why up to ten parties—sixty people in total—had to cooperate.

“We need to get down there!”

Theo shouted urgently, leaping straight out of the tower’s window instead of taking the stairs. With their own group plus Parties 4, 7, and 10—four parties in total—they should be able to handle the mini-boss without much trouble.

Midair, Theo fired a chained arrow back toward the tower. With a sharp whistle as it cut through the air, the arrow struck the tower’s wall. Using the chain connected to it, Theo swung down and landed safely on the ground.

By then, the ancient wyvern had already touched down, and around the courtyard’s center, a magnetic field-like barrier was forming. Theo clenched his teeth and used a Movement Action. He regretted not using the chain’s recoil to launch himself farther, even if it meant taking some damage.

Just before the barrier sealed shut, Theo managed to slip inside. Panting for breath, he turned to check if the others had made it in as well.

“……”

But he was the only one. Not a single member of Party 10 had made it past the barrier. Unlike him, who had jumped from the tower, they had apparently taken the long way down by the stairs.

Meeting their defeated gazes through the barrier, Theo gave them a small bow before turning back to rejoin his teammates. Three parties against the mini-boss—grim odds, but not the worst.

He checked the barrier’s color. Still white. Once combat began, it would turn red. Relieved at the extra time, Theo headed toward the gathering parties. As soon as Blaine spotted him, he rushed over.

“Hyung!”

Theo waved lightly.

“No trouble on your end?”

“None. How about you, Hyung?”

“Hey, they say there might be treasure up on that tower.”

“Huh?”

Theo pointed to the tower in the far corner of the courtyard, and Blaine’s eyes followed his finger.

“Once we finish this fight, don’t look back. Just run for the tower and grab the loot.”

“Huh? Y-Yeah…”

Blaine nodded blankly, and Theo gave his shoulder a reassuring pat.

“You’re here?”

Aslan came over as soon as the brief chat ended, clearly waiting for the chance. Together they began discussing strategies for the Ancient Wyvern. Theo stood with his arms crossed, trading words with Aslan, but he never mentioned anything about treasure.

Moments later, the ancient wyvern lifted its head and let out a thunderous roar. At the same time, the barrier that had been white began to glow red.

The battle had begun.

All the players encircling the ancient wyvern in a crescent formation turned their eyes to Blaine. Right on cue, Blaine summoned an orb and cast gravity magic on the wyvern. Bound and unable to move, the ancient wyvern became the perfect target for everyone’s Tier Actions.

Some Tier Actions guaranteed heavy damage, but required precise control. Theo’s was one of them. Every strike had to be aimed with pinpoint accuracy. For attackers like him, Blaine’s gravity spell was as good as painting a giant bullseye—concentric circles laid out perfectly.

A storm of Tier Actions rained down on the ancient wyvern. Brilliant effects exploded in rapid succession, their residual light chaining into the next. Even after exhausting their Tier Actions, everyone kept hammering it with their strongest skills while the gravity spell held.

The offensive was overwhelming. The ancient wyvern, thrashing helplessly under the gravity bind, had one of its wings snap apart like dry wood, the shattered pieces scattering across the ground. Its bloodshot eyes flared open, and with a scream-like roar, it twisted free of the crushing gravity.

The spell shattered, and with the backlash, Blaine—the caster—was flung across the battlefield.

“Blaine?!”

Startled, Theo shouted his name. Blaine tumbled across the ground and came to a stop, groaning as he pushed himself upright, clutching his head. Theo abandoned his casting and sprinted to him, pulling him up.

“Sorry… I ran out of mana.”

Scattered around him were unused mana potions. The spell had weakened because his mana was gone, and in that instant, the ancient wyvern had broken free.

“This much is enough. Just drink the potion fir—”

A shadow fell over them. A prickle of dread ran up Theo’s spine, and before he could even glance up, someone shouted a warning.

“Hey, watch out!”

Theo spun quickly. The ancient wyvern, wings tattered and torn, lurched into the air and came crashing down toward him and Blaine. Its true target seemed to be Blaine, but there was no time to debate that.

Theo clenched his teeth and looked to the ground. This was the sixth step.

With a sharp stomp, a black veil surged up behind him like a waterfall. It spread from the spot where Theo had been standing. Faces turned toward it in shock, but Theo focused only on holding onto Blaine and activating Stealth.

The ancient wyvern slammed down with a thunderous impact. Dirt and dust billowed up, but it wasn’t satisfied with just one strike. Again and again, it leapt into the air and came crashing down, gouging craters into the ground each time. It was as if it meant to crush everything beneath its body into dust.

But Theo and Blaine had already slipped away through the veil. Aslan exhaled in relief when he spotted them emerging from the starting point of the shrouded path. He rushed over, still shaken.

“You two okay?”

“Yeah, we’re fine.”

“Damn… I thought my heart was going to stop.”

“Blaine, did you restore your mana?”

Theo asked him, and Blaine—still dazed from how easily they’d escaped that deadly moment—snapped back to focus. He quickly pulled a mana potion from his inventory and drank it.

“Yeah, I’m full now.”

“Then lock it down again.”

Blaine nodded and stretched out his hand. The tattoos covering his arm glowed with a blue light, and gravity pressed down on the rampaging ancient wyvern. The beast flinched as if a boulder had been dropped on it, then turned its bloodshot eyes wide, realizing Blaine wasn’t beneath its feet but standing elsewhere.

With a shriek that rattled the skin just from sound alone, it thrashed wildly.

The Ancient Wyvern slammed its back and head into empty air, as if trying to smash through invisible walls of gravity. Every impact rebounded straight back at Blaine.

“Ugh…”

He bit down on his lip to stifle the groan, furrowing his brow as he forced more concentration into the spell.

The gravity magic could snap again at any moment. Aslan hurried to direct the others, shouting orders while rushing toward the wyvern’s feet. Meanwhile, Theo slipped into Stealth and stepped back into the veil he had cast earlier.

Inside the shroud, Theo moved under the wyvern’s massive body. He passed by the melee fighters rushing in behind Aslan, then positioned himself beneath the beast’s belly. Without hesitation, he began swinging his bow stave like a blade.

Damage numbers that exceeded the normal range exploded in rapid succession, critical hits chaining nonstop. The players at the wyvern’s feet froze, staring wide-eyed at the barrage.

In the middle of the relentless assault, the veil finally dissipated. Theo tried to escape with a Movement Action, but the ancient wyvern spotted him and lashed its tail at high speed. He yanked an arrow from the quiver strapped to his thigh, slashing upward to parry the attack, and narrowly escaped to the wyvern’s side.

Unlike the muffled silence within the veil, the battlefield outside was chaotic. The wyvern’s roars and screams clashed with the detonations of attacks and effects, while the shouts of players echoed from every direction. It all blended into a dizzying storm of noise.

Fighting alongside the other melee users at the wyvern’s feet, Theo caught sight of spells with distinctly powerful impacts and dazzling effects streaking in from behind. He didn’t need to check—those were Blaine’s.

The onslaught never let up. Finally, the wyvern’s remaining wing shattered apart, pieces crashing to the ground. With a death-cry, the ancient wyvern collapsed. Its ruined body stiffened to gray stone, then cracked apart into countless fragments.

Everyone nearby froze, panting, staring at the fallen wyvern. The silence lasted only until cheers erupted behind them.

As players dispersed to regroup with their parties, the melee fighters closest to Theo couldn’t help but glance his way with questions in their eyes.

Most of the co-op members already knew Theo carried an Eternal Item. Seeing him swap fluidly between bow and dagger marked him clearly as a Hybrid. But what they couldn’t wrap their heads around was this—how could his damage output so vastly exceed even that of an Eternal-bearing Hybrid?