Flap, flap.

Whooooosh!

A fierce gust of wind swirled around the cavern as the wyvern's massive wings beat furiously. My small frame wavered, nearly swept away by the storm.

"Ugh!"

I lowered my stance, bracing myself against the wind to avoid being blown away.

Kaahhh!

The enormous wyvern ascended to a dizzying height in an instant.

Flap, flap.

Up there, it flapped its wings majestically, gazing down at me with arrogant eyes as I stood firmly on the ground.

Feeling the weight of its gaze, I quickly raised my sword.

"D-damn it!"

Frustration filled me as I realized my attacks couldn't reach that high. Was it 20 meters? 30 meters? At that height, even ranged attackers would have trouble landing a hit.

If I still had my old abilities and could unleash sword energy, I could’ve shot it down with ease. But for now, I could only bite my lip and wait for the wyvern's next move.

Keek.

"...?"

Keek, keek, keek.

What was that? It wasn’t the wyvern’s usual roar. It was a smaller, sharper cry.

Soon, I understood the source of the sound.

Keek, keek, keek.

Tiny wyverns began crawling out from holes scattered across the walls of the cavern.

[Level 25 Hatchling Wyvern]
[HP 11,000/11,000]

Clang! Clang!

Things were going from bad to worse. I could only think of words like “out of the frying pan, into the fire” as the hatchling wyverns crashed into me. I was already struggling to deal damage to the named boss, and now these minions were joining the fray.

But maybe, if I could deal with these hatchlings, the named boss might descend. Just like the last elite dungeon, I hoped I wouldn’t have to fight both the named and the minions at the same time.

Unfortunately, I soon realized that my hope was just wishful thinking.

Flap.

Kaahhh!

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

The massive wyvern, now hovering high in the air, let out a piercing roar and flapped its wings with great force.

Tatat!

Hearing the ominous sound of something slicing through the air, I instinctively activated my backward evasion skill.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Wyvern scales rained down where I had just stood.

"This... these are scales!"

Keek, keek, keek.

The hatchling wyverns lunged at me once more, closing the gap I had created.

Clang! Clang!

I blocked their attacks as they crashed into me from all directions, my eyes flicking upward to watch the wyvern above. I had to keep my focus on both the hatchlings and the named wyvern's scale attacks.

The wyvern's scale attack interval was about 10 seconds. My backward evasion skill had an 8-second cooldown.

That left me with a 2-second window to work with.

As soon as I used the backward evasion, I shifted into Draw Stance through Moonlight Slash.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

With each swing, the hatchling wyverns’ HP dropped rapidly as the slashes from Moonlight Slash in Draw Stance cut through them.

Keek! Keek!

The third wave of scales came flying down.

Tatat.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

The scales struck the ground where I had been just a moment ago.

I now had 10 more seconds.

For the next 10 seconds, I focused on whittling down the HP of the hatchlings.

As I readjusted my stance, I noticed a flicker in the sky.

A red light flashed overhead.

A cold sweat dripped down my forehead. I knew what attack the wyvern was about to unleash.

Fwoosh.

Flames ignited in the air, quickly gathering in front of the wyvern's mouth.

Keek!

With a deafening roar, the flames surged forth, engulfing the entire cavern.

The wyvern's breath attack.

The interval between the last scale attack and the breath attack was only 5 seconds.

My evasion skill's cooldown still had 3 seconds remaining.

I couldn’t dodge this one.

I was helpless as the flames consumed my body.

"Ahhhh!"

"Huff, huff."

Drip, drip.

Tears streamed down my face. The pain—unimaginable. What do I do? How do I deal with this?

Even if the agony lasted only a brief moment, it was far worse than anything I could have imagined.

Thankfully, the pain didn’t last long. My HP had been completely drained by the wyvern’s breath, and I had died almost instantly.

This time, I wasn’t kicked out of the game.

But having to experience this level of pain every time I died...

[Sync Rate 100%]

"Huff... Huff..."

I wrapped my arms around myself, trembling at the lingering sensation of pain.

I didn’t want to give up on Astra Online. This was the only place where I still felt alive.

Should I stop trying to clear elite dungeons? Maybe I could just enjoy the game at a slower pace, hunting safely in the fields and wandering the Astra continent.

Chris seemed to like me, so maybe I could get some items from her occasionally. I wouldn’t have to endure this pain just to clear an elite dungeon.

As I lowered my head, staring at the ground of the ruins, something unusual caught my eye—a single, out-of-place brick.

"...?"

I brushed aside the sand covering the brick.

And what I found was—

"Ah."

An emblem engraved on the brick—a family crest featuring an eagle.

I recognized it from the scabbard of someone’s sword.

‘…So, our ancestors sealed the demon somewhere in the desert!’

‘Melissa, your family is amazing!’

‘It’s a family of knights, after all. I think they’re a worthy, proud part of the hero’s party!’

Melissa, the female knight.

A stalwart companion who had doted on me and stood by me, sacrificing her life to get me to the Demon King.

Her mark was here.

For a moment, I silently caressed the brick.

If I hadn’t entered this dungeon, I never would have found something like this.

It wasn’t just the landscape that resembled the Astra continent. Traces of my companions were scattered everywhere.

Wiping away my tears like a child, I stood up.

And once again, I stepped toward the massive cavern. Not for some grand mission.

But simply to remind myself that I existed here.

[Named Boss]
[Level 27 Black Wyvern]
[HP 157,000/210,000]

The wyvern flew so high that even long-range attackers would struggle to hit it.

Kaaahhh!

Thwack! Thwack!

The wyvern let out a roar, and its scales rained down from the sky.

It had entered its special pattern, and this was the second wave of scale attacks.

Tatat.

I used my backward evasion to dodge the scales and once again faced the hatchling wyverns.

Keek, keek, keek.

If I could deal with all of these hatchlings, the named wyvern would descend to the ground.

Surely, the game was designed to make it possible to win. All I could do was bet on that possibility.

As I fought the hatchling wyverns, I mentally counted the seconds.

7 seconds, 8 seconds, 9 seconds, 10 seconds.

Kaaahhh!

Thwack! Thwack!

With a beat of its wings, the wyvern unleashed its third wave of scales.

In 5 seconds, it would unleash its instant-kill breath attack.

The cooldown for backward evasion was 8 seconds.

So...

Thwack!

This time, I didn’t dodge the scales.

The wyvern’s scales pierced my body, dropping my HP below half.

"Ugh!"

I gritted my teeth. It hurt, but I wouldn’t die from this.

Fwoosh.

Flames flickered at the wyvern’s mouth.

3 seconds, 4 seconds, 5 seconds.

Whoosh!

And then, the breath attack surged forth, covering the entire cavern.

Seeing the firestorm approaching, I smiled.

[Backward Evasion (E)]
[Move quickly 8 meters backward, avoiding attacks from the front (Invulnerable while casting)]
[Cooldown: 8 seconds]
[Increases movement speed for 5 seconds after activation (E Rank Skill)]

By taking the third wave of scales head-on, I had saved my evasion skill. The cooldown for backward evasion had already reset.

As the breath attack reached me, I activated the skill.

Tatat.

Whoooosh!

The flames swept over the spot where I had just stood.

But this time, I didn’t die.

I didn’t even feel the heat.

‘Invulnerable while casting.’

As expected, the breath attack looked terrifying, but it was still bound by the game’s system.

With a satisfied grin, I swung my sword once more.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Keek! Keek!

As moonlight shimmered on my blade, the hatchling wyverns began to fall one by one.

Kaaahhh!

The massive wyvern let out a final roar as its body, now covered in wounds, collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.

Kukoom!

The enormous body of the wyvern fell to the cavern floor.

Thud.

At the same time, I dropped to the ground, exhausted.

Just as I thought, the named wyvern had descended after I finished off the hatchlings.

But the wyvern had taken off into the air three times.

The named boss, Black Wyvern, had ascended at 75%, 50%, and 25% HP.

It unleashed three waves of scales at 10-second intervals, followed by a breath attack 5 seconds after the final scale wave.

By enduring the third wave of scales and saving my evasion skill, I could dodge the breath attack.

I sighed heavily.

"Haa."

This dungeon was designed to be annoyingly difficult.

It was structured with party play in mind.

If I had been in a party, the scale attacks would’ve been spread across multiple targets. And with a mage’s Mana Barrier or a shaman’s Talisman of Protection, we could’ve been shielded from long-range attacks.

To clear a party-play dungeon solo, I had to be prepared to take some hits and press forward.

Since the potion cooldown was 30 seconds, I could cover the damage from one wave of scales with a potion during the special pattern.

However, I had used up 10 potions just to clear this one named boss.

It wasn’t a sustainable strategy.

I opened my inventory and frowned at the dwindling number of potions I had left.

"I used way too many potions..."