As more and more players started gathering at the dwarf settlement, the excavation of the elite dungeon entrance proceeded at an increasingly rapid pace.

The skilled hands of the dwarven miners, aiming to reveal the ancient dwarven heritage as intact as possible, were opening the way to the next elite dungeon, *Verbeia Ancient Temple*. Just like with the *Demon King's Outpost* and *Aspiro Fortress*, it was a form of content pacing.

Now that the dwarves had welcomed adventurers from the stars into their settlement and were actively stepping onto the world stage, the weapons and items forged from the minerals they mined would provide great strength to the people of this world.

I had easily earned the *Friend of the Dwarves* achievement, but it seemed that the reputation quest required for it was more difficult than I expected. Simply mining minerals couldn’t raise my reputation beyond 40. Once the elite dungeon opened, it would likely provide further opportunities to increase reputation through exploration and conquest.

Time passed, and many advance players finally reached the minimum reputation requirement to enter the elite dungeon.

At last, the day came when *Verbeia Ancient Temple* would open.

---

Since I didn’t need to grind for reputation, I didn’t have much to do in the meantime.

I would simply complete my daily quests, help Chris unnie level up, and then we’d explore various parts of the Rock Mountain or the Verbeia plains together.

And, in the end, I’d always retreat to a quiet spot.

I thought I had forgotten it all. I thought it no longer mattered to me.

But as long as I continued to live in this world, I couldn’t help but think about the past.

Especially when I found myself sitting in a cave corner, staring at these carvings.

[The Dwarven Hero, Ain]

Uncle Ain.

Honestly, I don’t know.

Why am I still here?

Is it some kind of after-service for protecting the continent of *Astra*? Heh. They couldn’t even properly after-service my own body.

There are plenty of fine adventurers in this world now.

They don’t really need me, do they?

All I want is to feel my body move as I please, enjoy the scenery of this world, and adventure with peace of mind.

But...

I stood up, looking at the face of my former companion.

After all, it’s something we fought to protect together.

As long as I’m still here, I might as well honor the duty of watching over it in place of the companions who are no longer here.

And make some money while I’m at it.

---

As I left the cave, sunlight streamed across my face, casting a red glow.

I squinted up at the red hue.

"Rain, are you ready?"

"Yes."

Still, I have something precious I gained by coming to this place.

Someone I wouldn’t have met if I hadn’t returned to the continent of *Astra*.

A person who pulled me out of the pit of my past—someone I’m grateful to.

"Unnie, I like the color red."

"Hehe, do you? I prefer white."

I held Chris’s hand, and we headed toward the next stage of our adventure.

---

*Rustle, rustle.*

A large number of players gathered in front of the ancient temple entrance, which had finally been revealed.

Compared to the *Aspiro Fortress* event, the number of players here was noticeably fewer. The requirement of 40 reputation with the dwarf settlement was more challenging than expected.

While more players would eventually make their way here over time, for now, only those present had met the entrance conditions.

“I barely had time for the arena, and now I had to grind reputation with a pickaxe too. How utterly annoying,” Deathmaster grumbled.

"I've noticed you've been putting a lot of effort into the arena lately, Death. Are you doing arena too, Rain?" Beimerung asked.

"I only do daily quests."

"Really? I think I saw the name ‘Rain’ on the first page of the arena rankings. Although, only the last two letters of nicknames show up after the top three, so it could be a similar name."

I blushed slightly at Beimerung's remark.

Since I hadn’t lost any matches in the arena, my ranking had climbed significantly. Even just completing daily quests had unexpectedly pushed my name into the public eye.

Should I deliberately drop my rank by surrendering a few matches? But then again, the ranking rewards were too good to pass up.

As long as I didn’t meet anyone I knew in the arena, it would be hard for them to recognize me.

…Hopefully.

"No way! I started the reputation grind first in our party, and I still couldn’t get past 40! Do you know how much effort I put into kissing up to the dwarves, trying to do even the most menial tasks? I even helped them with their baths! Can you imagine?"

"I’d rather not imagine that," Beimerung said with a smirk.

*Whoooom.*

*Rumble.*

While we chatted, the seal on the elite dungeon entrance was finally broken.

The giant doors of the temple parted, slowly opening wide.

Chris, who had been holding my hand tightly, lowered her head slightly to meet my eyes.

A memory of the past flashed by—when we used to hide in the corner to avoid others’ gazes.

Thanks to her clinging so close to me back then, I found the courage to stand and wait in front of everyone.

"Rain, let’s do our best again today," Chris said, glancing around as if checking whether my party members were nearby.

Was this what parents felt when they dropped their kids off with a babysitter they didn’t know well?

I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, then gently let go and stepped back.

I stood alone in front of the dungeon entrance.

"Unnie, good luck to you too."

A hint of confusion appeared on Chris’s face.

"Rain, where are your party members—"

*Hop.*

Before she could finish, I lightly jumped backward into the dungeon. Soon, Chris’s face disappeared from view.

---

“Wow.”

The inside of the temple was unbelievably vast. The ceiling was absurdly high.

The dungeon was structured to go deeper and deeper. It seemed to extend not just under the mountain but beyond that. It was more like a labyrinth than a temple.

A true ancient labyrinth.

This dungeon, built by ancient dwarven architectural techniques, must have been constructed long before the time when I was active.

The smooth, intricately carved walls were covered in strange patterns and glowed faintly blue.

Minerals like these that gave off such a light were rare. I reached out and touched the walls.

“Mana stones.”

These stones naturally absorbed mana and allowed one to use the stored mana. And yet, here they were, being used just for the dungeon’s lighting.

I wanted to take them all, but since they were classified as part of the dungeon structure, it seemed I couldn’t.

Clicking my tongue, I continued descending.

*Thud, thud.*

---

I arrived at the first room in Sector 1.

The interior of the room, a large cube-shaped space, housed four bizarre-looking statues.

Gargoyle statues. A type of golem.

It appeared that this section of the dungeon was puzzle-based.

I recalled the cave I had passed through to enter the dwarf settlement. That had been a dungeon composed of simple mazes and puzzles, but this elite dungeon was clearly designed to kill players. The specs of these golems would be on a whole different level.

*Wooooom.*

As soon as I fully entered the room, a series of blue squares lit up beneath my feet and spread across the floor in a specific pattern. The pattern connected to the exit on the opposite side of the room.

*Tap.*

When I took a step forward, the blue light beneath my foot disappeared.

“Aha.”

I understood the puzzle of this room.

It was a single-line drawing puzzle. I had to step on every blue tile and turn them all off, ultimately reaching the exit on the other side.

If I stepped on the same spot twice, or on a tile that wasn’t lit, the golems would immediately wake and attack.

“Hmm.”

I’m not great at puzzles, but...

Might as well give it a try.

---

*Rumble, rumble.*

“Sigh.”

I sighed as I looked at the open door after defeating the final gargoyle.

Every time I made a mistake, a gargoyle would attack. Since they were gimmick monsters, they had a lot of HP.

I ended up using all four chances, forcing me to take down all the gargoyles.

Puzzles really aren’t my thing. Smashing everything is my only option.

---

After passing through a few more puzzle rooms, I came across a differently shaped room.

Unlike the cube-shaped rooms from before, this one was a long corridor.

However, the path was broken. I could see a door on the other side, but the floor leading to it was missing.

I approached the edge of the broken path and peered down.

“Oh.”

Below, there were countless gargoyle golems like the ones I had seen earlier. It wasn’t a fatal drop, but I’d have to fight my way back up if I fell.

*Woom.*

At that moment, with a resonant hum, blue platforms began forming from the cliff where I stood.

*Woom, woom, woom.*

The platforms appeared at irregular intervals, floating in midair.

The path of platforms stretched across to the other side of the corridor.

The platforms were narrow, and the gaps between them were wide.

But if I used these floating platforms to cross, I wouldn’t have to fight the golems below.

I grinned.

This required physical skill. This was my specialty.

*Tap.*

With a light

 step, I leaped onto the first platform.

*Woom.*

The platform flickered as if it were about to disappear. I immediately jumped to the next one.

*Tap, tap, tap.*

Repeating that action a few more times, I soon arrived on the other side of the corridor.

*Tap.*

As I landed in front of the exit, I stretched my arms out to the sides.

If this had been a gymnastics competition, the judges would have given me a perfect 10.

“Made it!”

---

Though the puzzle rooms had taken quite some time, I had breezed through the platform corridors.

After clearing several more of those rooms, I finally arrived at a room twice the size of the others.

This was the first named boss room.

Proving as much, a massive golem statue stood in the center.

A golem with the head of a bull.

It stood firm on two legs, like a human.

A bipedal bull? This is a fantasy world, so it’d probably be better to call it *Minotaur Golem*.

The mineral that made up its body emitted a faint blue light. It was all pure mana stones. How much could those be worth?

As soon as I fully entered the room, the golem’s head began to move.

*Creak, rumble.*

The movement started at its neck and spread throughout its massive body.

*Boom.*

And then, it took a single step toward me.

*Oooooohhh—!*

The resonant hum of the mana stones making up its body, combined with the bull’s roar, echoed throughout the room.

---

[First Named Boss]  
[Level 45 Ancient Golem Minotaur]  
[HP 8,600,000/8,600,000]