What the hell just ambushed him?

Marcus barely had time to steady himself before instinct took over. He was about to scan the surroundings for the attacker when the sound came again.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

He looked up.

About thirty feet ahead, more than a dozen black wind-type monsters floated silently in the air. They had clearly been waiting right at the entrance to the third level of the Mystic Turtle’s Tomb, lying in ambush for careless players who rushed in without checking their surroundings. The realization hit immediately. He had not been struck by a single enemy. He had walked straight into a coordinated swarm.

No wonder the first hit had shredded over three thousand of his health.

Each of these monsters was above level fifty. Individually dealing roughly three hundred damage to him made perfect sense. Together, they were lethal.

And they were already launching another attack.

The creatures resembled distorted humanoid figures formed from swirling black clouds. Their heads were oversized and grotesque, faces compressed unnaturally so that noses, eyes, and ears crowded together above gaping mouths. From those mouths poured a freezing, shrieking wind that sounded almost alive.

The gales released by more than a dozen monsters merged into a single flowing black storm that surged toward the Sea Demon Soul. Because the attack covered a wide area, Marcus and Pebble were dragged into the blast as well.

"Adamant Shield Wall!"

He reacted instantly, raising his Divine Artifact, the Adamant Shield. The skill could only be used three times per day, and this was his final charge. Golden energy began gathering as he prepared to activate the massive damage reduction.

’Too slow.’

The storm moved faster than his reaction.

His shield had barely lifted above his head when the black wind slammed into him. The golden barrier had not even formed yet. The seventy percent damage reduction never activated in time.

The impact tore through him. Another three thousand health vanished.

Then things spiraled downhill even faster.

Golden light finally cascaded downward like a curtain, enveloping him in the protection of Adamant Shield Wall. Marcus prepared to drink a Super Health Potion and counterattack, already planning to charge forward and slaughter the ambushing monsters.

Before he could move, dizziness exploded inside his skull. The black storm had triggered a Stun effect.

A spinning halo appeared above his head, and his body locked in place. His hand froze halfway to his potion.

Crap.

Marcus cursed internally. His Luck stat was high, and his resistance to status effects was strong, but the level difference was simply too large. Higher-level monsters gained hidden bonuses that increased the chance of triggering abnormal effects.

Bad luck chose the worst possible moment.

He could only stand there helplessly as the monsters continued their assault. Against enemies more than ten levels higher, a stun could last up to five seconds instead of three.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds...

All he could do was count while watching his health melt away at roughly one thousand damage per second. The real problem was obvious. He had failed to drink the Super Health Potion before being stunned. Now every hit landed directly on his shrinking HP bar.

His health plummeted.

Before entering the third level, he had been at full health: 12,300. Now, after two attack waves and three seconds of paralysis, he had already lost 10,030 HP.

"Damn it..."

Only 2,070 remained.

"Move. Come on, move!"

Four seconds passed but he still remained stunned.

Whoosh!

Another attack wave struck. Another 1,300 health disappeared. This was bad, the stun duration was not three seconds. It was five.

Off to the side, Pebble collapsed first, shredded by the relentless wind before Marcus could do anything. The Sea Demon Soul desperately tried to reposition, attempting to drag the monsters’ aggro away from him.

But the black wind carried a Freezing Effect.

The Sea Demon Soul slowed, its movement hindered at the worst possible moment. It could not reposition fast enough to save him.

By the third second, the Sea Demon Soul had already drifted seven feet away, outside the protection range of Adamant Shield Wall. Its health began dropping rapidly, losing nearly three thousand HP each time the storm hit.

Everything was falling apart, he had capsized in a gutter.

These monsters were only level fifty. Under normal circumstances, Marcus could have handled them. If they had not ambushed him, or if Adamant Shield Wall had activated a fraction earlier, this situation would never have happened.

Fifth second.

The stun finally began to fade. Control returned to his body at the exact moment the Sea Demon Soul nearly succeeded in pulling aggro away.

Then another attack landed. Cold wind pierced straight through him, hitting for 1,350 damage.

No miracle came as his vision darkened. Marcus died.

A system notification followed immediately.

Ding!

[Stonehaven, you have been killed by a monster. The Ring of Resurrection has revived you. All stats restored. You have three seconds of invincibility.]

Light flashed around him as he revived on the spot, fully restored without penalty.

But every buff was gone.

Adamant Shield Wall. Battle-Wolf’s Fury. Dragon Soul Aegis. All erased. His combat power dropped to barely half of its former peak.

The difference was immediately visible in the Sea Demon Soul. Moments earlier it possessed over five thousand HP and could survive multiple attack rounds. Now Marcus watched helplessly as a single storm dealt nearly six thousand damage, instantly destroying his tank.

The black wind monsters shifted their attention toward him, distorted mouths opening in silent hunger.

’Damn it.’

A group of trash mobs had completely humiliated him. There was no time for pride.

"Run!"

His invincibility lasted only three seconds. That was nowhere near enough time to rebuild his buffs or resummon Pebble and the Sea Demon Soul. Worse still, all three charges of Adamant Shield Wall were already spent. Fighting now would be pure suicide.

Marcus turned and sprinted toward the entrance barrier, intending to retreat back to the second level and reset the fight.

Battling enemies more than ten levels above him required preparation, initiative, and ultimate skills. Right now he had none of those advantages.

Staying meant dying again.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh.

The black wind monsters attacked relentlessly. Just as Marcus reached the entrance, another storm slammed into him. Thanks to his remaining invincibility, the attack caused no damage at all.

’Perfect.’

Using the impact’s momentum, he rushed straight toward the exit. Then the system notification appeared.

Ding!

[Player Stonehaven, you are currently in combat. You cannot pass through the entrance to the third level of the Mystic Turtle’s Tomb.]

THUD.

Marcus bounced off the black light barrier like he had hit a wall. The recoil forced him back three steps.

"What?!"

Seriously?

That trick had worked before in Black Rock Spire. Apparently the system update had patched it out without warning.

"Son of a..."

Fine. Updates happen. But changing mechanics without notice? That was just cruel. If he had not prepared a backup plan, this would have been a guaranteed second death.

There was no time to hesitate.

"Run for Your Life!"

He activated the escape skill at the final moment of his invincibility. Just as another storm struck, combat status broke.

He was still three steps from the barrier. Charging again felt too risky. Instead, he triggered his contingency.

"Wanderlust!"

The instant his invincibility faded and another wave of black wind rushed toward him, pale light surrounded his body like drifting mist. His figure vanished completely from the monsters’ sight, disappearing from the third level altogether.

He reappeared at his Wanderlust waypoint, which he had wisely set at the entrance of the Mystic Turtle’s Tomb before venturing inside.

Preparation had saved him.

Marcus let out a long breath, tension finally draining from his shoulders.

Still, frustration lingered. He should have been capable of killing level fifty monsters by now. Instead, a pack of them had forced him into a panicked retreat. Good thing no one was here to witness it. That kind of embarrassment would have followed him forever.

Unfortunately, fate had other plans.

"Hey, big bro. How’s your quest going?"

A soft fragrance drifted into the air. Marcus opened his eyes to find his younger sister, Amber, leaning casually against his gaming pod, smiling brightly at him.

"Marcus, which level of the Mystic Turtle’s Tomb are you on?"

On his other side, Jade leaned in with far too little personal space, her jade-like face inches from his own as if she might topple straight into his chest at any moment.

Marcus froze.

Awkward did not even begin to describe it.

Thankfully, neither of them could see his in-game situation. If they realized he had just been chased out of the third level moments after entering, he would never hear the end of it.

He cleared his throat.

"Ahem. Not bad."

Then he quickly changed the subject before either of them asked something dangerous.

"So... what’s up? Why aren’t you two playing?"