Immediately upon entering the dungeon, a strong sneezing fit overwhelmed him. Thinking quickly, Baek Yu-Seol put on his gas mask.

"Oh, pollen allergens."

He couldn't recall the exact name, but players often referred to it as "pollen allergens." It caused characters to repeatedly sneeze, interrupting their actions and leading to precarious situations.

Fortunately, he had prepared multiple gas masks in advance.

"Oh, how beautiful."

Since he had never been here before, he vaguely imagined it would resemble a cave. However, the blooming petals emitting a verdant light created a dreamlike atmosphere. Among them were the writhing roots of the plants, the Leafbane, the demons of this dungeon.

These roots moved swiftly and flexibly, strangling and draining the life force of their victims. Fire was their obvious weakness, but it was not as simple as dousing them with oil and igniting them.

Unless the fire was magically generated, plant-based demons wouldn't burn easily.

That was why he chose alchemy as his technique.

Of course, as an accomplished alchemist, it was possible for Baek Yu-Seol to instantly combine gunpowder and magic to create powerful explosives. But, he didn’t have enough mana to unleash offensive alchemy.

What he intended to do was simply throw a level 1 Firebomb, which might be bothersome but could still be helpful in its own way.

Moving stealthily, as soon as he spotted a wandering Leafbane, he took action.

Bang! Whoosh!

Kyaeeek!

He swiftly threw the Firebombs.

"Woah. It seems like its screaming."

As soon as he confirmed the Leafbane’s agony, he used Flash to approach and swung his Argento Sword. However, before he could land a hit, the creature lashed its head like a whip.

"Ugh!"

Swiftly, Baek Yu-Seol flashed upward, planting his feet to the branch, and then propelled himself towards the Leafbane, aiming the sword at it once again.

The creature momentarily lost track of his position as if it was startled, and he managed to strike its waist in the exact moment. Despite his intense thrashing, the rebound almost caused him to lose the grip on the sword.

"What kind of strength does this thing have?!"

Baek Yu-Seol missed the sword attack. He quickly tumbled backward, and in order to not give the creature any opportunity, he used Flash diagonally without hesitation.

The roots immediately lunged to coil around his body, but he rolled on the ground to evade them and seized the opening to strike a spot with a blue mark.

Pwoosh!

...

Then, the Leafbane slumped, losing its strength. It was fatally attacked at its vulnerable point.

[You obtained EXP.]

"Phew... Well, at least it gave me a lot of EXP."

The Danger Level of the Leafbane was about 3, and indeed it was highly threatening. In reality, it would be impossible to hunt even a single one if confronted directly.

It was thanks to the gas mask that resisted the pollen scattered by the Leafbane and the forced damage he managed to deal with the Firebomb.

Otherwise, Baek Yu-Seol wouldn't have even thought of coming here in the first place.

Struggling, he managed to get up. He barely hunted down this one. There was still a long way to go.

That way, Baek Yu-Seol continued the dungeon exploration for about three more hours and achieved the feat of defeating a dozen or so Leafbane.

"Gulp! Oh, I'm exhausted."

He sat on the ground, changed the gas mask, and sipped water through a straw connected to a water pouch.

Baek Yu-Seol’s upper body was encompassed with makeshift armor made from Leafbane, utilizing the blueprint and materials he had prepared in advance. It was a method that players in the game often used and he decided to try it himself, and it proved to be effective.

Leafbane had a tendency to attack and coil around the upper body of humans and they hesitated to initiate an attack if they sensed the smell of their own kind. Even if they did attack, they would momentarily hesitate, or thanks to their tough body, he could avoid taking significant damage.

In fact, there were a few instances where he miscalculated the cooldown of Flash and could have been in big trouble, but thanks to this armor, he managed to survive unscathed.

Looking at the time, it had already passed midnight and it was now Saturday. Baek Yu-Seol’s goal was to fully conquer the dungeon by Sunday, and for that, he needed to hurry.

"Sigh… Let’s go again."

Nighttime hunting in the game and real-life were different in terms of quantity and quality.

Moving the character with the mindset that he could just resurrect even if he died made him feel like he could move lightly, but in reality, a single mistake proved to be fatal.

As he continued hunting, he could feel his body getting stronger, but his mind was gradually becoming exhausted. It was inevitable that his stress would reach its peak due to excessive concentration.

"I'm dying..."

Baek Yu-Seol collapsed in front of the "Boss Room" and gasped for breath. He couldn't hunt down all the Leafbane, but he had taken care of all the obstacles blocking the shortest path to this Boss Room.

After all, his goal wasn't those small fry, but the Sacred place located deep in the dungeon.

"Phew."

He drank a vitality potion to slightly relieve his fatigue and then reached out his hand to the Boss Room. If he came here with this purpose, he couldn't afford to not make proper use of it.

[Entering the dungeon's Boss Room.]

With a heavy creaking sound, the massive wooden door opened, and a gentle breeze brushed past his cheeks.

Swish!

More magnificent than the Earth's moon, a full moon hung in the sky. The Milky Way, adorning the night sky, cast a dreamy glow in the flower-studded field.

Beneath the vast flower field where moonlight shattered, she was sleeping. Imprisoned in a timeless stillness, the spirit Leafbane, trapped in eternity, had her hands folded as if in prayer, and she knelt in a translucent form.

She was even colder and more ethereal than the moonlight, filling the flower field with a bluish hue.

At first glance, she might appear like a ghost offering a prayer, but it was the moment before a deity transforms into a spirit, and anger the gods with the same feat.

Spirits, the most mysterious beings in the world. They were pure souls that had trained for hundreds of years and finally attained enlightenment, transcending into new existences. In the Aether World, such beings were not abundant.

However, the presence before him was not a perfect spirit.

That woman had her heart stolen just before becoming a spirit, making her forever frozen in that state. Now, she was nothing more and less than a plant.

Nevertheless, she was still a spirit, so when he entered her presence, an immense pressure of "mana" would surely bear down on his entire body.

Taking a deep breath and gathering his resolve, Baek Yu-Seol took a step towards the flower field.

Thud!!

Crunch...!

As if being trampled by an elephant, the pressure crushed his body. It was so intense that it felt like his skin might burst, and despite reading the warnings to always wear high-level protective gear, he was currently completely defenseless, stripped of even the Leafbane Armor.

He was bearing the pressure purely with his body in order to overcome it.

"It seems like my Mana Accumulation Retardation is holding up to some extent...!"

With great effort, step by step, he walked forward and collapsed onto the ground. At that moment, he had only one thought.

"Fuck.”