[The guardian of the Cradle of Oblivion, ‘Father,’ has been defeated.]
[Dungeon cleared. Please check your rewards.]
[The siege in the ‘Ancient Kingdom Territory’ has been unlocked.]
[First clear reward: You may participate as the defending faction in the first siege.]
[Word of this achievement has reached adventurers across the continent.]
[Special condition: Father defeated alone]
[Achievement unlocked: ‘What… how did you do that?’]
[Please check your mail for rewards.]
With the final boss defeated, the dungeon ended.
The walls that had divided the battlefield restored themselves.
The vicious monsters crumbled into dust and disappeared.
My body, which was dying from blood loss, regained some vitality.
If only they were going to restore my stamina, it would have been nice if they fixed the equipment durability too.
Looks like there’s no intention to repair the tattered clothes.
“Huh, what? Is it over? Why?”
Why? Because I won.
Seobin, who had been leaping with his great sword, seemed to have lost his target.
The awkward landing. The flailing upon landing was quite amusing.
He avoided my gaze when I teased him with a slight smirk.
Now the only remaining trace of the battle was Father’s corpse.
Since there was no longer a need to squat, I collapsed onto the ground.
The sensation of complete exhaustion. My body grew lethargic, and I closed my eyes for a moment.
Footsteps approached.
Seobin’s were heavy. Elderlyn’s were clicking. Sansa’s were light.
It seems I now recognize who’s who by the sound alone.
By the time the noise ceased and I opened my eyes, the three of them were looking down at me.
Elderlyn’s expression appeared particularly complicated.
“Is there anything you’d like to say…?”
“No. Good job. You’ve done well, Da-eun.”
“Phuh…”
Praise always feels good.
It seemed Elderlyn had something to say but decided against it. If she doesn’t wish to say it, there’s nothing I can do.
For now, I should savor this moment of peace.
After defeating a boss, it’s always necessary to check the rewards.
How many glowing columns of light must have appeared?
The screen filled with the names of items.
Even though they said there was nothing here before.
It appears they were indeed hiding treasures after all.
Party-based distributions are straightforward thanks to established rules, so it wasn’t overly complicated.
Still, the system messages that appeared midway did have some importance.
The sieges in this region have been announced.
[Siege Status: Ancient Kingdom Territory]
[Defenders: Jambbang (Guild Master: Seobin)]
It’s truly remarkable, but siege factions are divided into two: Attackers and Defenders.
It goes without saying that the defending side consists of guilds claiming ownership over territories.
The defenders win by simply preventing the fortresses from being destroyed within the set time. They win without needing to eliminate competitors, so as long as they don’t suffer a decisive defeat.
On the other hand, there’s no restriction on who can join the attackers’ side.
In extreme cases, dozens of guilds might participate as attackers.
To seize control of the fortress, they need to defeat all competitors.
So, participating on the defending side carries a significant advantage.
That is, if the guild survives until the day of the siege.
Seobin said with a determined look.
“Apparently, we’re the only ones listed so far. That’s fortunate. Did either of you receive any notifications?”
“Confirm your intention to participate within the deadline. Our federation also has the opportunity to join.”
“Then拖延 as much as possible and join late.”
“Yes, Big Brother.”
Naturally, participating in a siege means facing hostile guilds.
War starts even before weapons are drawn against each other.
The goal is to force rivals to abandon the siege.
Otherwise, they will start fighting in the field to suppress growth and induce defections from the guild members.
Time is short.
Even now, various guilds must be assessing the potential threat.
If they conclude it’s “worth a try,” they’ll issue a formal declaration of war on Seobin’s guild.
Initially, Jambbang was a mercenary guild specializing in sieges.
Are they well-prepared for even the most extreme battlefield scenarios?
I asked Seobin.
“A swift decision is needed. My value is more than you can imagine. Do you have the money to pay?”
“I…”
[Writer: IAmNotASlave]
[Title: Aftermath of the Cradle of Oblivion (Failed Attempt)]
Yesterday after watching Seobin’s video, I quickly assembled a party and dived in.
We attempted with a party of 10 members, luckily avoiding the maximum limit. But due to the increased number of players, the monsters seemed more numerous than before.
The patterns themselves haven’t deviated much from the story dungeon, except for slight adjustments—fewer “squid arms,” for example. The difficulty has slightly decreased.
The elite mobs still behave the same.
The problem is, Father at the end is really tough to beat.
Once the first phase ends, Father goes inside and kidnaps one person, just like in Seobin’s video.
If the inside explodes, the boss breaks free and wreaks havoc. If the outside wall breaks, the game doesn’t make sense.
There’s absolutely no way to withstand it.
We made several desperate attempts to break this phase.
We rotated who would be taken each time, including almost all the party members except the support, but none managed to last beyond 4 minutes.
But isn’t the first tier usually the hardest in story dungeons?
How did Gawol manage to take down that thing?
[Comments]
– Did you try putting in a support unit inside?
└ It was too dangerous to put the most vulnerable member where they could be taken.
└ Hmm.
[Writer: UhuRukukuRuhUh]
[Title: Cleared Cradle of Oblivion lolololol]
(Attached Picture: Father copying the Bard)
(Attached Picture: Father singing with the Bard)
(Attached Picture: Guitar solo in the dungeon)
Hahahahahahahahahahahaha
In the end, we held out long enough for party members to join and finish it off.
[Comments]
– What the hell? How did you do it?
└ (Attached Picture: Bard throwing small bombs)
└ We filled up the party member’s inventories with bombs, and I threw them myself.
└ Nobody else could deal any damage until the first phase ended.
└ Since I was the only one assessed as a significant threat, I was the one taken away.
[Writer: KimchiNinja]
[Title: Have You Guys Tried the Cradle of Oblivion Trial Mode?]
(Attached Picture: Father copying Gawol)
(Attached Picture: Clear Fail)
What is this? A bug?
(Attached Picture: Father copying Gawol Again)
(Attached Picture: Clear Fail Again)
Damn.
This mode doesn’t simply copy one party member.
It seems it copies the strongest player who has entered the dungeon.
And it seems the first player in the dungeon was Gawol.
[Comments]
– Hahahahahahahahahahah
– Hahaha
– Enjoy your one-on-one battle with the enhanced Gawol~
[Writer: ProperNickname]
[Title: Is Seobin seriously going to enter the siege alone?]
That guy?
With that power?
Hmm… lol
Just stick to the mercenary work.
[Comments]
– Seems he is confident, though this isn’t his first siege.
└ Can he pull it off?
*
The New Continent.
The fields of Zephyrion were a perfect representation of survival of the fittest.
Here, you don’t just worry about the monsters.
Unless you’re from a hostile siege guild, on the main continent, encounters with others were usually met with indifference—an unwritten rule of just passing by.
But on the New Continent, anyone not from your faction should be treated as a potential enemy.
In fact, even allies shouldn’t be blindly trusted.
Unless a long-standing relationship existed from the Main Continent, betrayal was quite common.
Disputes between individuals often escalated into guild-scale conflicts.
“Yes, bro. One mage, one archer, and two warriors. The healer is a Priestess.”
It was none other than the notorious Bloodsport Syndicate.
Since the patch, much of the control that the old siege forces held was lost.
While small-scale conflicts increased exponentially, the need for the Bloodsport Syndicate’s services decreased.
They could have ended up out of work. But…
Where was this place again?
Zephyrion—PVP-focused new territory.
For these Bloodsport Syndicate members, who now had some downtime, every wandering adventurer looked like a walking bag of gold coins.
It was quite convenient.
I was here as well.
“Yes, firing.”
From a well-prepared vantage point on a tree.
The sharp report of the gunshot reverberated after a few seconds.
In the distance, the Priestess hunting fell to the ground, spurting red blood. The clean hit and the blood on her head suggested that it was a headshot.
“…Priestess downed.”
The sniper, ‘Torch of Destruction,’ smirked.
It was unsettling, a sinister smirk.
When we met during a party hunt before, I hadn’t noticed such a side to him. Apparently, the old adage of ‘birds of a feather flocking together’ holds true. He’s already been corrupted.
I couldn’t help feeling slightly sad as I embraced him, pinning his arms and placing a dagger to his throat in a gesture of mutual respect.
“Long time no see. You remember me, right? Looks like you’re famous enough that everyone recognizes you these days.”
“Eh… uh, sista? Why are you here?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? Pass this message to your team: We’re collecting bounties on you. If you go down quietly, we’ll give you a break for a while.”
“That’s not what we intended to…”
This is where the deception ends.
The moment I noticed he was trying to redirect the weapon, I stabbed him. In one swift motion, I severed his larynx and trachea, leaving a long gash in the process.
I shoved Torch aside, not wanting to get blood on my clothes.
His body thudded onto the ground, twitched a few times, and then lay still.
[You have forcibly neutralized adventurer Torch of Destruction.]
[10,395,101 Gold acquired from the enemy’s belongings.]
[Bounty! 28,400,000 Gold acquired.]
“Not sure if the message got across well.”
Well, if it didn’t, that’s just too bad.
If losing a party member didn’t make them suspect something had gone wrong, it must be due to late recognition.
But it’s too late now.
Hiding my body among the leaves, I approached the next target.
The wind felt especially refreshing today.
It smelled like money.
