Light folded inward and spat him out onto black stone.
The air here was heavier, metallic, hot. The skyline was carved from jagged towers of volcanic glass that reflected a red-orange sun. Fire runes pulsed through the streets like veins of lava.
[Second Floor - City of Obsidian]
Hyun-jin didn't even pause to admire the city's design. He tightened the straps on his new armor, stretched his wrists once, and broke into a run.
Guards shouted warnings as he passed. Vendors blinked in confusion. Players turned, pointing after the streak of black and red darting through the streets.
"Is that... ZeroGod?!"
"He's on the Second Floor already?!"
"Didn't he just started playing a few hours ago?!"
"He's heading straight for the wild zone! He's probably going to fight the Field Boss!"
He vaulted the last wall section and dropped into the wasteland beyond.
[Molten Wastelands - Novice Area]
Recommended Level: 12 - 18
The ground glowed beneath a layer of ash. Lava vents hissed in the distance. From every crevice, things stirred. From scaled beasts, obsidian hounds, creatures stitched from molten rock.
The first one lunged. A blur of claws, heat, teeth but Hyun-jin's daggers moved faster. A fiery glow enveloped around his daggers as he activated his skill and attacked.
[Skill: Flame Edge]
[Abnormal Status: Burn has been applied]
[CRITICAL HIT! 710 Damage]
[21 Burn Damage]
[EXP +180]
The corpse hit the ground before its attack animation finished.
Another came. Then two more. Every swing was a clean arc, every motion deliberate, no wasted movement, no panic. He wasn't farming for EXP. He was testing reflexes.
The system tried to keep up, notifications spilling across his vision like rain:
[EXP +100]
[EXP +250]
[EXP +210]
[EXP +180]
[Chain Kill Bonus +12%]
[Level Up: 13 > 15]
He ignored all of it.
Farther out, the terrain cracked into a glowing canyon. Roars echoed between the cliffs. Low, rhythmic, too big to belong to normal mobs.
Hyun-jin slowed, scanning the horizon.
There. Something moved, dragging a tail through magma. Each step shook the canyon floor.
[FIELD BOSS: Magma Tyrant - Lv. 30]
Recommended Party : 15
He grinned.
"Perfect."
Without hesitation, he sprinted toward the roar.
Any monster that tried to intercept him died mid-charge, decapitated, burned, or cut clean through by the orange flare of his twin daggers.
Ash swirled behind him like a comet's tail.
At the canyon's edge, the Magma Tyrant, a golem made of molten rock and lava, a molten crown forming as magma dripped from its jaws.
Hyun-jin rolled his shoulders, stretching his neck until it cracked.
"Direfang and Lava Lizard were fun prey... So let's see if you can top them, Magma Tyrant!"
He muttered, eyes bright.
He kicked off the ground, twin blades igniting as he jumped straight into the monster's shadow, vanishing from it's sight.
[Skill: Shadow Step]
He reappeared behind the golem, a blur of motion and heat distortion.
His blades plunged deep into the creature's molten spine. Lava exploded outward like blood, splattering across the rocks. The Magma Tyrant roared, swinging a burning arm the size of a house toward him
but Hyun-jin was already gone, sliding beneath the strike, boots skidding across obsidian shards. A notification caught his eye.
[Ashweave Leathers has patially negated Terrain Damage: Lava]
[You will now loose 3 HP per second]
Tch. Now he was on a time limit. He didn't waste it.
[Skill: Flame Edge ]
Twin arcs of fire carved through the monster's arm, severing it cleanly. The limb crashed into the lava with a hiss loud enough to shake the canyon.
[CRITICAL HIT! 2,950 Damage]
[Magma Tyrant is immune to Abnormal Status: Burn]
The Magma Tyrant bellowed again, its molten core pulsing faster, brighter, runes along its body glowing like brands. The heat spiked, air shimmering.
"Enrage phase already, big guy?"
Hyun-jin muttered, smirking.
"Good."
Chunks of molten rock detached from the boss's body, levitating, orbiting it like fiery satellites. Each one pulsed before launching in his direction.
Hyun-jin dashed, weaving between the projectiles. Explosions followed. Deafening, blinding bursts that turned the air into pure flame.
He wasn't running. He was calculating. Every explosion's rhythm, every delay between shots, every breath of the boss.
When the last chunk fired, he darted forward, straight into the smoke and vanished. The Tyrant raised his arm and slammed it down onto the smoke, Hitting nothing but the ground.
Hyun-jin reappeared launched upward, spinning midair as both daggers burned white-hot.
He roared with a smirk on his face.
"Die. My Experience points!"
[Skill: Phantom Reaver]
A black aura enveloped the twin blades as they pierced straight through the Magma Tyrant's core. The world went silent for a heartbeat then erupted.
A shockwave of fire and ash tore through the canyon.
[FIELD BOSS DEFEATED]
[EXP +19500]
[Drop Acquired: Heart of the Magma Tyrant]
[Level Up: 15 > 22]
Hyun-jin landed on one knee, smoke curling off his armor. The ground glowed beneath him, the corpse of the golem already cooling into black stone.
He exhaled once. Then grinned.
"...Not enough."
He sheathed his daggers and looked toward the horizon, where, far in the distance, another tower of light pierced the red sky.
"Guess I'll keep looking for Field Bosses."
Hyun-jin stood, brushing ash from his armor. The wind shifted. Dry, searing, whispering through the canyons like a living thing. His system interface flickered as a new notification slid across his vision.
[Title Unlocked: Field Boss Slayer]
Effect: +10% AGI | +10% LCK
Condition: Slay 3 or more Field Bosses alone within a specific amount of time
A faint hum followed, his armor resonating as runes along the chestplate briefly glowed crimson. He flexed his hands.
"Not bad."
The world shuddered. A low rumble rolled through the ground. Not from the Tyrant's corpse, but deeper, beneath it.
"...Tch."
He glanced down at the fissures spreading under his boots. The lava veins beneath were glowing brighter... unstable.
He turned sharply, sprinting toward higher ground as the canyon began to buckle and collapse behind him. Molten geysers erupted, fire raining down in streaks.
He leapt from one collapsing ledge to another, movement fluid, instinctive. Every jump was framed by bursts of molten light.
Then... a flash of motion on his minimap. A blue marker, distant but distinct, pulsing near the far ridge.
A player. Alone.
He narrowed his eyes.
"Someone else made it here?"
He crouched down to avoid being seen and got closer, just close enough to make the Player Tag appear.
AzureMist (Lv.18)
He was dressed in a long white robe, he held a silver staff with a cross.
"What's a lone cleric doing in a boss zone..."
Before he could decide, the sky cracked open. A column of light shot down beyond the ridge, a dungeon gate materializing from swirling flame.
[Dungeon Emergence Detected: Infernal Depths]
[Entry Requirement: Defeat Field Boss Magma Tyrant]
[Status: Locked - Party Requirement: 2]
Hyun-jin stopped on the ridge's edge, smirking as he looked toward the light.
"So that's why."
He drew his daggers again, their edges flickering with embers.
"If it's locked to parties... Then I'll just find my temporary partner."
His eyes glinted red in the reflection of the lava flow as he started running toward the blue marker, ash spiraling around him.
Somewhere ahead, the cleric turned sensing movement, as the legendary solo player known as ZeroGod closed in.
Hyun-jin's grin widened.
"Let's see what kind of player you are. AzureMist."