Chapter 2: Blacklung Burial Mine Dungeon Raid

Abel could barely feel any warmth in his chest.

He placed his hand on the table, understanding that his heart was hidden within it, just as the system had explained. He pushed the chair back and stood up from his seat.

He took a good look at himself. His body was covered in worn bandages except for his eyes, letting him see his surroundings. He wore miner’s clothes with a dirt-stained yellow vest.

Abel saw a construction hat and a large pickaxe with a long interlocking chain tethered to its handle hanging on the wall. He picked up the hat and wore it, then took hold of the pickaxe. The chains immediately wriggled and wrapped around his hand as though they were alive.

Abel swung the pickaxe forward at the other side of the room. The pickaxe extended outwards alongside the chains, and after reaching its limit, it returned to his arm.

"Amazing," Abel muttered, still getting used to his new abilities.

He walked over to one of the picture frames and cleaned it. The picture was of a group of men, young and old, with arms wrapped around each other. The picture was already damaged, so he couldn’t get a clear look at everything.

Still, Abel sighed, as he was aware of who they were from the memories of the Final Boss, which the system had integrated into his mind the moment he obtained the Persona.

Abel arranged the picture properly back to where it was and walked out the door. He began planning for the arrival of the Hunters.

***

[Blacklung Burial Mine [Level One Dungeon]]

Four people appeared outside a dark cave within a desolate compound.

There were two men and two women.

The first man appeared to be in his early twenties. A muscular physique accentuated his body even within his attire. Strapped to his back was a long, sharp sword and a shield.

The second man appeared to be in his mid-twenties. He had a lean, muscular figure. Hanging on his back was a quiver filled with arrows and a bow. Strapped to the side of his waist was a sword. They were both dressed in full-sleeve bodysuits with cuirasses and other armour arranged on their bodies for protection.

The first woman appeared to be in her early twenties. She wore a brown cloak over her attire and carried a staff. The second woman was also in her early twenties and carried a spear in her hand. They also wore full-sleeve bodysuits with cuirasses and other armour arranged over them for protection.

Above them was the night sky, and behind them was a distant forest. Due to the nature of the dungeons, everything behind them was a border which they couldn’t pass through.

The Hunters looked at each other. Each of them possessed different complex expressions, but there was one expression they all clearly shared... caution.

The first man stepped forward and said, "I’m Levi. A Level One Warrior. Since we’re all planning to conquer this dungeon together, let’s get to know each other." He stretched his hand forward.

The second stepped forward and shook his hand. "I’m Jonathan. I’m a Level One Archer."

"I’m Victoria. I’m a Level One Spearwoman," the second woman stepped forward.

"I’m Cynthia. I’m a Level One Healer," the first woman said.

"A warrior, an archer, a spearwoman, and a healer," Levi said. "Considering the kind of dungeon this is, we might be able to complete it easily."

"Does everyone know about the Blacklung Burial Mine instance dungeon?" he asked.

Blacklung Burial Mine was a Level One, popular beginner dungeon conquered many times by Hunters. Numerous tutorials covered how to beat it, making it the top choice for newcomers aiming to grow stronger. Hunters in the city often applied monthly to clear it.

However, because it had been conquered several times and now had a new completion rate, it was definitely one of the worst dungeons to stream in.

"I did my research before coming," Victoria nodded.

Jonathan and Cynthia nodded in response as well.

"That’s good. It seems that everyone did their research before coming," Levi nodded.

"To clarify, the only way to conquer this dungeon is to find the special cavern door in the first tunnel and set up our trap there. Once that’s done, we rush out and quickly head over to the office in the second tunnel. Underneath his desk is an item that we’re meant to destroy, to kill the final boss and conquer the dungeon," Levi explained.

"Although we might not be able to gain any new viewers, the faster the time we clear the dungeon, the more bountiful the reward. For now, the fastest dungeon clearance time for the Blacklung Burial Mine is ten minutes, and the person with such a record has now become a Level 5 Hunter," he added.

"If we’re able to clear it at that time, or heaven help us, before it, it means that our potential is high, and we might have the chance to get scouted into an official Hunter’s Guild."

The group nodded in understanding. This was one of their main purposes for challenging this dungeon. Though the fact that they couldn’t get any new viewers was the only downside of this.

"I will send you all a party invitation so we might begin," Levi said.

They hadn’t sent a party invitation before entering the dungeon because people usually bailed out on entering the dungeon at the last minute, so doing it at that time would be a waste of time.

Levi sent them a party invitation.

A holographic interface appeared before each of them.

The group nodded in understanding. Since Levi had taken the initiative to send the party invitation, they all came to an unspoken agreement of making him the party leader and accepted the group’s request.

[Lion Skin has accepted your party request.]

[Lady Gerald has accepted your party request.]

[Calmix Healer has accepted your party request.]

[Party Name: Blacklung Burial Dungeon Raiders#4252215325]

[Party Leader: Red Gale]

[Party Members: 4]

They all used their nicknames when joining parties. Introducing one’s real name was merely to form some semblance of trust with each other. If one did not feel like using their real names, then they might use their nicknames.

However, it wasn’t considered proper etiquette to do so when everyone was introducing their true identities. Since it was only a temporary raid party, they picked a random name associated with the dungeon and immediately went live.

[Live: Blacklung Burial Mine (Level One Dungeon)]

[Party Name: Blacklung Burial Dungeon Raiders#4252215325]

[Viewers: 4]

[-Live Chat-]

"Okay, we’re live," Levi said.

He sighed inwardly, noting that their viewer count was a measly 4. It was probably their friends, relatives or loved ones who were watching. He had hoped that one of them would be a secret beginner streamer with a strong viewer base; however, it seemed that he had been spending too much time in his imagination.

They each took the fire torch hanging outside the cave.

"Let’s go," Levi said.

They entered the cave together with their weapons, grasped tightly in their hands.

As soon as they stepped into the cave, a deep, creeping darkness enveloped their surroundings. Fighting back against it were the fire torches in their hands. By bringing their fire torches together at the edges, they were able to illuminate about ten meters in radius around them.

Jonathan held his guard up as he walked behind the group.

It was well-known that the Warden of Burial Mine, known as the Final Boss of the Blacklung Burial Mine dungeon, had a strong weakness to fire. He disliked fire and would never approach it.

Its chosen method of attack was a pickaxe with chains wrapped around its wrists to cut down enemies from afar without approaching the intruders.

It also allowed them to defend themselves far from the reach of the Warden. They were also aware of the Warden’s attack patterns, so as long as they saw the weapon coming early, they could dodge it and even trap it.

During the initial raid of this dungeon, Hunters were unaware of this fact and would allow their fire torches to mistakenly go out when fighting the final boss. This would then lead to a slaughter of all the Hunters. It was only after this discovery was made that people began completing the dungeon, even bringing in fire-related items to hasten the completion, earning it a 99 per cent to 100 per cent completion rate.

The Final Boss, which was once a menace among Hunters, resulting in high death tolls each month, was no longer a threat. Conquering the dungeon was a piece of cake. Still, they didn’t dare become careless because they still needed to follow the script to conquer the dungeon.

They stood close to the cave walls in order not to give the Final Boss the opportunity to attack them from around them. However, they couldn’t stand too close to the wall due to the jagged, pointed rocks shooting outwards.

Suddenly, they heard the sounds of hurried footsteps at the other end of the cave.

"He’s coming," Jonathan said.

"Everyone, be prepared. It will test our strength first, then attempt to scare us back with a few more attacks," Levi muttered almost quietly. However, his voice echoed in the group’s ears.

He tightly clenched his longsword.

The footsteps became louder, almost sounding hurried.

Then, it stopped.

The group also halted.

SWOOSSH!!

CLANGG!!

A large blood-stained pickaxe with chains wrapped around the handle shot from the darkness, heading straight at Victoria. She quickly dodged to the side and swung her spear beside her, knocking the pickaxe mid-strike and changing its direction.

The pickaxe was quickly pulled back into the darkness before it could touch the ground.

Victoria inwardly sighed in relief as she deflected the first attack. She brought her spear up once more, ready to defend against any attack.

The sound of footsteps echoed around them once more.

The cave was wide enough for the Warden to go around them, so they all stood close to the wall with their backs against each other, protecting one another.

Suddenly, the cave turned silent.

SWOOSSHH!!

The same pickaxe, tethered by chains, shot out of the darkness, and this time it shot straight at Jonathan.

Jonathan failed to defend in time.

However, before the attack could land, Levi swung his blade forward, deflecting the pickaxe away.

The pickaxe was quickly pulled back into the darkness once more before it could touch the ground, as though the chains themselves were alive.

"Raise your weapon and defend yourself, or move out of the way," Levi turned to Jonathan and said with a glare.

Jonathan gulped. He quickly nodded in understanding as he wiped the beads of sweat that had gathered on his forehead. He assured himself that he would be ready the next time the monster attacked.

SWISSHHH!! The next attack came quickly, but this time it was heading straight at Levi.

CLANG!! CLANG!!

Levi deflected the blow and quickly found an opening to grab onto the chains before they could return to the Warden. He quickly tied the chains of the pickaxe around one of the protruding, sharp-pointed rocks behind them and stabbed it into the rock.

If the Warden now attempted to pull the pickaxe away, it would need to exert a certain amount of force or approach it to pull it off. However, with them standing here, it would need to wait until they were gone with the light before it could attempt any plans.

"Now it’s trapped, let’s go!" John said, sprinting forward.

The others nodded. They rushed forward as well.

Soon after, the sounds of the pickaxe being slowly pulled through the punctured rocks echoed behind them.

They reached an endpoint with two tunnels before them. Understanding that the Boss’s lair was in the second tunnel, and the other was where the trap door needed for their plan to work was located, they quickly entered the first tunnel.