SLASH!
A bluish white crescent of light carved through the air, slicing cleanly through the monster before Lucas and continuing its deadly arc to fell a line of white beasts trailing behind.
Despite his steady, relentless assault, the sheer number of monsters filling the dungeon was beginning to test his nerves.
“Just how many of them are there?” he muttered, frustration creeping into his tone as he cleaved through another wave.
While individually weaker than most C-rank creatures, the monsters’ overwhelming numbers left him questioning if there was truly an end to this horde.
Nearby, Janica wiped sweat from her brow, her breathing ragged. “Ugh! This reminds me of that time when President Dorothy went on a rampage,” she complained, voice tense with irritation.
Every strike she delivered whittled away her mana reserves, leaving her painfully aware of how ill-suited she was to drawn-out fights.
Janica relied on quick, precise attacks to end encounters quickly, so this endless wave felt like an impossible grind.
Lucas glanced at her as they fought side by side. “Janica, don’t overdo it. Conserve your mana where you can,” he advised, his gaze flicking toward her strained stance. She managed a defiant smirk, though her arms trembled slightly from exhaustion.
“Easy for you to say, mister infinite stamina!”
“Stop complaining and move… you chose to come here, right?” I muttered in her direction, barely keeping up with the wave after wave of white-clad pawns.
Though these two just came in here and tagged along with us, after saying things they couldn’t just leave us alone inside such a dangerous dungeon.
The truth was, I couldn’t blame Janica for her frustration either.
Even I was starting to feel the strain from the sheer number of enemies.
They encircled us, an almost endless tide of white-armored pawns, each wielding an array of weapons—swords, spears, axes, even staffs—and displaying a disturbing versatility with mid-grade offensive and support magic.
Cutting them down was one thing.
But preventing them from reanimating was another.
Each time a pawn was felled, the core embedded deep within shifted positions, dodging what should’ve been a fatal strike and allowing the creatures to rise again.
Janica and Lucas managed to keep the front line steady, but I could see the fatigue in their movements, the slight drag in their steps.
They wouldn’t be able to keep this pace forever if we didn’t find a way to end this soon.
‘It would’ve been much easier if we could go all out….’
But…
We can’t afford to use aura as that would just drain our reserved mana much faster.
Just like in the game…. the Eternal White Army really lives up to its name.
We had barely entered the dungeon, yet the path was already swarming with pawns.
‘If this many were lying in wait at the entrance, just how many was the army lurking deeper inside?’
Now I understood why this scenario had been hidden in the game, reserved solely for senior Alice to handle—it was practically designed with her abilities in mind.
“S-Still… can’t we just run away and avoid these guys for now?” Janica suggested, glancing at the massive white trees towering around us.
It was true; we could probably slip away if we tried.
But letting these things roam freely wasn’t an option.
The exit of the dungeon was all too close.
“No. We’ll take care of them here,” I said, my tone leaving no room for debate.
Janica squirmed, clearly not thrilled, but I could tell she understood.
She knew just as well as I did what was at stake.
If these pawns managed to reach the dungeon’s exit, the repercussions would be severe.
The threshold between this dungeon and our world would crack wide open, allowing powerful monsters to spill out with nothing to hold them back.
Once a full-blown dungeon break happened, we’d be facing something far worse than this endless swarm of pawns.
The White Bishop was probably lurking in the dungeon’s depths, awaiting any challengers.
If my memories from the game served me right, the White Bishop was a mage-type boss—dangerous enough in open terrain but practically lethal on his own turf.
Even Alice had her hands full fighting him outside, where she had the advantage.
Charging in recklessly now would be tantamount to suicide, especially considering how well-defended he was here.
As strong as our team was, we couldn’t afford to gamble on that confrontation.
But this wasn’t a hopeless situation. Not by a long shot.
I glanced back, where my most valuable asset for this exact scenario was preparing.
Rose stood a short distance behind, her figure aglow with a radiant golden light.
As she chanted, dozens of magic circles shimmered into existence around her, each one humming with potent energy.
From her incantation, it was clear she was about to unleash something colossal.
Then she raised her hands high, and in her palms manifested a miniature sun, blazing with such intensity I couldn’t help but swallow hard.
‘Fuck me…. just how dense is that thing?’
Although I only took a single glance, it felt as if it was already beginning to crush me.
“Everyone, out of the way,” Rose commanded with a calm, unwavering tone. The gravity of her voice was enough to make us move instinctively, each of us scattering to clear her line of fire.
With a fluid motion, she extended her hand, pointing her finger ahead like a gun.
[High−Grade Light Magic]
[Solana(S)]
FLASH!!!
BOOMMMM!!!!
A blinding flash erupted from her fingertip.
The roar of mana surged forth, accompanied by an intense heat that instantly transformed the air.
The absurd amount of energy incinerated everything in its path, the golden light engulfing the once-serene white landscape of the dungeon, turning it molten and fiery.
For several long minutes, golden flames lingered, leaving pools of magma and charred remnants where the enemy once stood.
“W-Wow…” Janica muttered, her eyes wide with both awe and a hint of intimidation as she stared back at Rose, her face painted with disbelief and wonder.
Lucas, on the other hand, looked utterly stunned.
His mouth was slightly open, his gaze locked on the scene where Rose’s magic had leveled the field.
Even with his strength and experience, this was a level of power that seemed beyond reach—a single spell wielded with such precision and devastation that he couldn’t quite process it.
I could completely relate to Lucas’s shock—despite knowing that Rose could wield this kind of power, seeing it in real life was staggering.
In the game, [Solana] had been touted as the most destructive S-rank light affinity spell, but that description hadn’t prepared me for the reality.
The terrain in front of us, now a 400-meter stretch of melted rock and magma, seemed to pulse with residual heat, and I couldn’t help but swallow hard, glancing back at Rose.
She surveyed the aftermath with a slight tilt of her head, her expression more curious than anything. “Looks like I miscalculated,” she remarked, brushing a stray strand of hair back behind her ear. “It’s weaker than expected.”
Weaker than expected? Just how strong had Rose become over the past few months?
Rose turned to us with an air of calm curiosity, as though we were on a casual stroll rather than cutting through a dungeon teeming with white-armored monsters.
It was hard to shake the image of her spell’s sheer devastation from my mind.
If [Solana] could clear the way so effortlessly, maybe even the White Bishop wouldn’t be able to walk out of that blast unscathed.
Given enough space, could Rose potentially one-hit this dungeon’s boss?
“Shall we continue?” she asked, as if she’d just wrapped up something inconsequential.
The three of us exchanged looks, barely able to process what we’d just witnessed.
But there was no hesitation; we nodded in unison, ready to follow her lead.
Lucas, still stunned, stared at his sword with a look of deep contemplation.
He was likely gauging whether he could ever reach a level of power close to Rose’s.
It reminded me that, in the game, Rose had been a key figure in pushing Lucas’s growth.
Though the two of them weren’t quite as close here as they had been in the game, seeing him draw inspiration from her strength was promising.
‘Keep growing, Lucas…’
This was the exact kind of drive he needed to keep developing, and with every step forward, he was only becoming a stronger ally in our fight.
[Note: Would you like to see Party status?]
[Yes/No?]
[Yes]
[Party: X3]
[Status info:]
[Lucas]
[Race: Half Angel]
[Level: 114]
[Strength: S]
[Agility: A]
[Endurance: S]
[Luck: A]
[Power: A]
[Skills:]
[Advance Swordsmanship] [Proficiency: (100%)]
[Divinity] [Proficiency: (100%)] [Sealed]
[Aura] [Proficiency: (100%)]
[Golden Shower] [Proficiency: (98%)]
[Luminous Pierce] [Proficiency: (98%)]
[Verdant Slash] [Proficiency: (97%)]
[Solar Wheel] [Proficiency: (97%)]
[Chrysalis Strike] [Proficiency: (97%)]
[Golden Riposte] [Proficiency: (92%)]
[Twin Lights] [Proficiency: (91%)]
[Void Step] [Proficiency: (80%)]
[Luminous Armor] [Proficiency: (40%)]
[Golden Gaze] [Proficiency: (38%)]
[Hero’s intuition] [Proficiency: (29%)]
[World Shift] [Proficiency: (10%)]
[Lord of Light (S)] [Locked]
[Passive Skills:]
[Divine attack Immunity] [Proficiency: (100%)]
[Corruption Immunity] [Proficiency: (100%)]
[Elemental attack Resistance] [Proficiency: (90%)]
[Mystical attack Resistance] [Proficiency: (90%)]
[Evil Attack Resistance] [Proficiency: (90%)]
[Weapon Master] [Proficiency: (90%)]
[Sword Master] [Proficiency: (89%)]
[Sword Genius] [Proficiency: (85%)]
[Lion’s Heart] [Proficiency: (80%)]
[Knight’s Will] [Proficiency: (80%)]
[Fast Heal] [Proficiency: (40%)]
[Special abilities]
[Limit Breaker.]
[Description: No limits shall be placed upon the destined one]
[Overview: Beloved by the world]
[Status info:]
[Janica Mortelina]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 102]
[Strength: B]
[Agility: A]
[Endurance: D]
[Luck: D]
[Power: B]
[Skills:]
[Advance Swordsmanship] [Proficiency: (88%)]
[Aura] [Proficiency: (88%)]
[Piercing Death] [Proficiency: (77%)]
[Triple swallow] [Proficiency: (75%)]
[Swift Blades] [Proficiency: (74%)]
[Thought Acceleration] [Proficiency: (70%)]
[Accel Shift] [Proficiency: (70%)]
[Passive Skills:]
[Intuition (B)] [Proficiency: (80%)]
[Rapier Master] [Proficiency: (80%)]
[Adapting Sword] [Proficiency: (77%)]
[Aura Genius] [Proficiency: (75%)]
[Special abilities]
[Balance] [Sealed]
[Description: Balances and shares the status between the user and the opponent]
[Overview: Destined flower of the light]
[Status info:]
[Rose Brilliance]
[Race: Human]
[Level: 120]
[Strength: D]
[Agility: A]
[Endurance: B]
[Luck: A]
[Power: SS]
[Skills:]
[Light elemental magic] [Proficiency: (100%)]
[Mana Sense] [Proficiency: (100%)]
[Advance Magic] [Proficiency: (99%)]
[Mana Surge] [Proficiency: (99%)]
[Mana disruption] [Proficiency: (99%)]
[Mana Calculation] [Proficiency: (99%)]
[Light Aura] [Proficiency: (99%)] [Adaptable]
[Celestial Magic] [Proficiency: (90%)]
[Spell Disruption] [Proficiency: (90%)]
[All Elemental magic] [Proficiency: (80%)]
[Mystical Magic] [Proficiency: (79%)]
[Summoning Magic] [Proficiency: (20%)]
[Passive Skills:]
[Golden Will] [Proficiency: (80%)]
[Mind’s Eye] [Proficiency: (80%)]
[Mana Genius] [Proficiency: (80%)]
[Magic Genius] [Proficiency: (80%)]
[Mana Regeneration] [Proficiency: (80%)]
[Magic attack Resistance] [Proficiency: (80%)]
[Mana Core Duplication] [Proficiency: (80%)]
[Special abilities]
[Magic Emperor]
[Description: Magic and Mana shall bend to the user’s will and imagination]
[Overview: The Sacrificial Sun…]
