The smell inside the Marble Veil Dungeon was a dangerous mixture of sweet medicinal flower perfume and the cold fog of corrupted arcanum.
Unlike the rustic caves of the First Circle, the halls of this Second Circle dungeon were gothic works of art: polished white marble walls, gigantic statues of veiled figures wielding silver swords, and magical mirrors reflecting illusions to confound intruders.
Diana had handed over one silver coin and fifty bronze for the high-level hunting license at the guild's entry gate.
[HIGH-LEVEL DUNGEON LICENSE PAYMENT]
- Veil Catacombs Exploration Permit: -1 Silver Coin and 50 Bronze Coins (150 Bronze).
[TEMPORARY POCKET BALANCE: 28 SILVER COINS (2,800 Bronze)]
"Our goal today is to collect high-tier materials." Diana instructed, adjusting the bracer of her Dark Crystal Chestplate. "We need Magic Silver Ore and Arcane Silk so Master Volkan and I can forge our new gear set for Level 15."
Rhea held her new Corrosive Crystal Daggers, her amber eyes watchful of the marble pillar shadows. "Constant vigilance is needed here, Diana. The monsters of this dungeon use illusion magic and paralysis poisons."
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Second Floor.
The first high-level combat began on the second floor.
A horde of six Magic Silk Serpents (Level 12) and three Enchanted Silver Guardians (Level 13) emerged from the hall's mirror illusions.
[HIGH-LEVEL ENEMY HORDES DETECTED]
- Magic Silk Serpent (Level 12) - HP: 280 / 280
- Silver Guardian (Level 13) - HP: 340 / 340
Diana didn't wait. She activated her class skill immediately:
AURA OF ARCANE DOMAIN!
A wave of bluish-golden light expanded from Diana's body in a 15-meter radius, increasing magic damage by +15% and granting +20% movement speed to Rhea.
Rhea turned into a streak of green and silver light.
PHANTOM STEP!
Using her new class skill, Rhea instantly shadow-blinked through the gloom, appearing directly behind the back of the first Level 13 Silver Guardian.
CRUNCH! CRITICAL DAMAGE: 145!
Her corrosive crystal daggers ripped through the joints of the guardian's silver armor, melting its frame with elemental poison.
Meanwhile, Diana controlled the battlefield from medium range. With Intelligence 18, her Arcane Energy Arrows fired with devastating destructive power, shattering the silk serpents' scales before they could unleash illusion spells.
In under half an hour of flawlessly synchronized combat, the hall was cleared.
[HIGH-LEVEL HORDE LOOT]
- Coins Gathered from Guardians: +3 Silver Coins and 50 Bronze!
- Materials Harvested: 4x Spools of Arcane Silk + 3x Silver Serpent Scales.
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Third Floor.
It was on the third floor of the dungeon that the extraordinary event took place.
Diana approached a white marble wall decorated with reliefs of roses and silver veils, intending to use her harvesting knife to extract a piece of ore glowing between the stones.
The instant Diana's hand touched the marble, her anomalous soul energy, the Fragment of the Sin of Greed, resonated violently with the hall's ancient structure.
A dark golden light exploded from the palm of Diana's hand.
[SYSTEM: RESONANCE BETWEEN SINS ALERT!]
[The Candidate of Greed's Soul Reacted with Second Circle Ancient Runes!]
[SUPREME SECRET PASSAGE UNLOCKED!]
With a sepulchral rumble that shook the entire dungeon floor, the gigantic marble wall split down the middle, receding to the sides.
A deep passage bathed in pink and silvery mist revealed itself.
At the end of the passage opened a colossal hall that appeared on no guild map: The Crypt of Asmodeus's Veil, the secret sanctuary of the Deadly Sin of Lust, the Supreme Sovereign of the Second Circle.
Diana and Rhea took three steps forward, peering inside the secret hall.
And froze that very second.
An overwhelming, cold, suffocating, terrifying aura pressure leaked from inside the crypt, making the air around them weigh down as if they were submerged in molten lead.
Diana used [Analysis Vision] on the figure floating in the center of the secret hall:
[SUPREME SECRET AREA ENEMY DETECTED!]
[Shadow of Asmodeus's Guardian - Level 32 (Ancestral Boss)]
HP: 2,800 / 2,800
System Warning: Extreme Threat Level! Guaranteed Instant Death in Direct Engagement!
Level 32. Two thousand eight hundred HP.
Beside Diana, Rhea took two steps back, her breath caught in her throat, the involuntary shaking in her legs held back only by her high Agility. The difference between Level 12 and Level 32 was an unbridgeable abyss.
—Don't even think about it, Diana!
The System's voice shrieked in Diana's mind in a tone of pure emergency.
—This hall belongs to the Sin of Lust! Your Greed presence unlocked the ancient seal, but you are twenty levels below this room's minimum requirement! If that Level 32 Boss turns around, both of you turn to dust in a millisecond!
Diana stared into the secret hall.
She felt the crushing pressure of Level 32. She knew facing that Shadow was absolute suicide.
But her insatiable greed… Diana's dark eyes locked onto the threshold of the doorway.
Right at the entry of the secret passage, three meters away from the sleeping Level 32 Shadow, rested a Deluxe Stone and Gold Chest, left behind as an ancient offering.
A gold chest from the hall of a Deadly Sin… Diana thought, her heart pounding with dangerous euphoria. It's right there… within arm's reach…
"Rhea…" Diana whispered, her voice dropping to an almost inaudible murmur.
"D-Diana… we need to run…" Rhea stammered softly.
"That chest at the entrance." Diana said, her eyes shining with insane resolve. "You have [Phantom Step] with a 5-meter range. Can you shadow-blink to the chest, grab it, and leap back behind the doorway in less than a second?"
Rhea looked at the chest at the entrance, then at the sleeping Level 32 Boss a few meters away, and finally at Diana's hungry gaze.
Rhea swallowed hard. Her blind trust in her friend won out over the dread of the aura.
"I can do it." Rhea whispered.
"On three." Diana said, priming [Voracious Throw] anchored to her black steel dagger to yank Rhea back if something went sideways. "One… two… THREE!"
PHANTOM STEP!
Rhea turned into a streak of invisible shadow.
In a millisecond, she materialized at the crypt entrance, grabbed the stone and gold chest by its iron handles, and leveraged her Agility 28 momentum to leap back behind the door threshold.
The Level 32 Shadow opened its red eyes in the depths of the hall, sensing the air's vibration.
"CLOSE THE DOOR!" Diana yelled.
Diana unleashed a charged Arcane Arrow straight into the closing runes on the marble wall.
BOOM!
The gigantic marble wall snapped shut with a deafening thud, sealing the Crypt of Asmodeus once more and instantly severing the Level 32 crushing aura.
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Diana and Rhea collapsed sitting on the marble corridor floor, panting heavily, their hearts pounding in their chests like war drums.
They looked down at the stone and gold chest Rhea had managed to snatch from the secret room's entry.
With hands shaking from adrenaline, Diana used her dagger to break the chest's ancient lock.
The stone lid popped open, revealing the treasure contained within:
[TREASURE OF ASMODEUS'S CRYPT LOOTED!]
- Direct Coins: +8 Gleaming Silver Coins!
- Legendary Crafting Material:3x Purified Magic Silver Ingots of the Circle of Lust (Level 25+ Material)!
The System flashed an overwhelming experience notification for discovering the secret area:
[EXPLORATION MILESTONE ACHIEVED!]
[Experience for Ancestral Crypt Discovery: 1,000 EXP!]
[LEVEL EVOLUTION!]
- DIANA REACHED LEVEL 13!
- RHEA REACHED LEVEL 12!
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[FULL FINANCIAL AUDIT]
Previous Balance: 29 Silver Coins and 50 Bronze.
Dungeon License: -1 Silver Coin and 50 Bronze.
Subtotal: 28 Silver Coins.
DUNGEON EXPEDITION EARNINGS:
- 2nd Floor Horde Loot: +3 Silver Coins and 50 Bronze.
- Chest Loot from Asmodeus's Crypt: +8 Silver Coins.
GRAND TOTAL:
28 Silver + 3 Silver + 8 Silver = 39 Silver.
50 Bronze retained.
[NEW ABSOLUTE NET WORTH: 39 SILVER COINS AND 50 BRONZE COINS (3,950 Bronze! / Nearly 4 Gold Coins!)]
Nearly forty silver coins in the vault.
Three Level 25 Magic Silver ingots stowed in her bag.
Diana at Level 13 and Rhea at Level 12.
Diana stared at the purified magic silver ingots in her hands and let out a loud, proud, victorious laugh that echoed through the marble hall.
"Three ingots of Level 25 material…" Diana said, her dark eyes flashing. "With this, Master Volkan can forge the finest weapons in the entire Second Circle for us!"
Rhea smiled back, wiping sweat from her forehead, proud of the flawless heist they had pulled off right in front of a Level 32 Boss.
Final Notes:
Yes, being a Sin comes with perks beyond the system itself. Specifically, this boss will play a... relevant role in the future, hehehehe.