The bottom of the mine was more spacious than they had imagined. The damp ground was covered with a thick layer of coal dust, crunching softly underfoot.
From cracks high above, a dim azure glow trickled down, illuminating a massive figure ahead: the level 20 Boss, Mine Lord, sat with its back to them, polishing a colossal Warhammer atop a pile of rusted ore.
Its stony skin blended seamlessly with the surrounding rock, almost impossible to notice without careful attention.
[Mine Lord]
[Level: 20]
[HP: 15,000/15,000]
[Skills: Hammer Sweep (AoE attack, knockback effect), Ore Armor (temporarily increases DEF by 50%), Earth Pulse (full-screen AoE, 3s charge time)]
Kiriya crouched behind a jagged boulder, tracing lines in the coal dust with his fingertip, sketching out the Boss's position and the terrain around it. "Its attack range is five meters. On the right, there are three stone pillars we can use to block its Hammer Sweep."
He turned to Lina. "You start with Ice Wall to draw its aggro. I'll send a Phantom Clone to bait out its skill cooldowns."
"Understood." Lina's frost-blue longsword shimmered with pale magic. She set a glow lamp atop a rock, just enough to reveal the Boss's entire figure. "Ready."
Just as Kiriya was about to summon his clone, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from the mine entrance.
Three players in black leather armor strode in, led by a hulking man with a mohawk. His ID read Corroded Crown—Garron, and on his chest plate was painted a twisted crimson crown—the emblem of the notorious guild Corroded Crown.
Kiriya froze, the summoning energy in his hands dissipating silently. He knew that emblem.
There had been plenty of forum warnings: Corroded Crown was infamous for stealing Boss kills and harassing low-level players. They loved lurking in dungeons, waiting for others to wear down a Boss before swooping in to claim the spoils.
"Well, well. Looks like some fools came to farm the Mine Lord." Garron's voice rasped like sandpaper on wood.
Behind him, Corroded Crown—Rufus and Corroded Crown—Jared unsheathed their weapons, smirking at Kiriya and Lina with open malice. "This Boss is ours. Be smart and get lost—or don't blame us if things get ugly."
Lina frowned, frost-blue eyes flashing coldly. "Dungeons are public. What gives you the right to claim it?"
"What gives us the right?" Garron sneered, slamming his axe against the ground. "The rules of this mine: the strongest fist decides."
His gaze slid over Lina's silver hair and light armor, curling into a greasy smile. "Of course… if the pretty lady here is willing to stay and keep us company, maybe we'll toss you a few copper coins."
Rufus and Jared burst into crude laughter, their eyes gleaming with undisguised malice.
Kiriya's grip tightened slowly around his bronze sword, a chill settling in his steel-gray eyes. Nothing disgusted him more than bullies who preyed on the weak—especially when they targeted his companion.
"Move aside," he said quietly, his voice laced with a suffocating edge. "Or die."
"What?" Garron barked a laugh, slapping Jared's shoulder. "You hear that? He told us to die."
Jared stepped forward, dagger flashing with cold light. "Enough talk. Let's just gut them. One swordsman, one knight—hardly worth the effort."
"Not yet." Garron stopped him with a hand, eyes glued greedily to Lina. "Let's give the lady a little taste of our power first. Rufus."
Rufus grinned, raising his staff. "Poison Mist!"
A cloud of noxious green vapor billowed out, drifting straight toward Lina. The poison wasn't deadly, but it inflicted Slow and DoT effects. Caught off guard, Lina raised her shield instinctively, but the mist spread faster than expected, clinging to the edge of her cloak.
-15! -15! (Damage Over Time)
A faint green Slow icon appeared above her head; her movements are visibly sluggish.
"You'll regret that!" Lina's anger spiked, frost crackling violently along her blade as she prepared to strike.
"Wait." Kiriya's hand pressed firmly on her shoulder; his eyes locked on Garron. "You said this was your 'rule'?"
Under that cold stare, Garron's confidence wavered for a moment, but he puffed up his chest. "Yeah. And what of it? No one crosses Corroded Crown in our territory—"
He didn't finish. Kiriya's body flickered, leaving only a pale-blue afterimage where he had stood. In the blink of an eye, he was before Rufus, sword point pressed against the mage's throat.
"Who gave you the right to touch my people?"
His voice was calm, but the mine's air turned glacial. Rufus went pale, trembling so hard his staff clattered against the stone floor.
"Y-You dare!" Garron roared, lifting his great axe threateningly. "Corroded Crown has fifty men stationed in Green Town! Kill him, and you'll never leave this mine alive!"
"Fifty men?" Kiriya let out a low, mirthless chuckle, eyes narrowing into slits of steel. "Perfect. Saves me the trouble of hunting them down one by one."
The bronze sword pressed deeper, a crimson line blooming on Rufus's neck.
"Help me!" Rufus's voice cracked, laced with panic.
Garron's face turned ashen. He hadn't expected this lone swordsman to be so utterly unflinching, treating Corroded Crown as nothing. But with his guildmate at sword point, he had no choice. "Fine! We're leaving! The Boss is yours!"
"Too late." Kiriya's gaze slid toward the poison still clinging to Lina's cloak. The storm in his eyes sharpened to lethal clarity. "You touched her. None of you walk away whole."
"You're pushing it too far!" Garron snarled, spitting with fury. "You think the two of you can take on the three of us?"
Kiriya's lips curved in a cold smile. "Only one way to find out. Lina—Ice Wall, seal the exit. Don't let them run."
"Got it." Lina moved without hesitation, her sword glowing frost-blue despite the poison's bite. "Ice Wall Barrier!"
An ice wall surged up at the mine entrance, sealing the three intruders inside. Lina leveled her blade at Garron, her frost-blue eyes glinting like sharpened steel. "Attack me from the shadows, and you'll pay the price."
Garron glanced between the sealed exit and his captured mage, veins bulging on his forehead. "Fine! You want to die that badly? Jared—do it!"
Jared pulled out a crimson potion, gulping it down in one go. His HP shot to full, and his daggers flared with blood-red light—the mark of a Rage Potion, boosting his attack at the cost of a later backlash. His grin was savage. "I'll carve her apart!"
"Then I'll take the swordsman!" Garron roared, charging forward, great axe howling through the air.
Jared lunged toward Lina, dagger gleaming, while Rufus—still trembling under Kiriya's blade—managed to release a Poison Arrow, streaking straight for Kiriya's back.
The air at the mine's bottom erupted with tension. Coal dust whirled in the wake of the great axe, while the ice wall's cold gleam and the poison's sickly glow painted the battlefield in eerie shades.
Kiriya's smile turned razor-sharp. He'd always thought parties were a hassle—but as he caught sight of Lina standing firm even while poisoned, he realized some hassles were worth it.
"Phantom Clone: Summon."
A burst of azure light flared behind him. Two clones of Kiriya appeared, blades raised, intercepting Garron and Rufus. The real Kiriya, like an arrow loosed, darted straight for Jared.
A battle that should have been between two players and a Boss had spiraled into a player-versus-player brawl. And this clash marked only the beginning of Kiriya's feud with Corroded Crown...