Chapter 848

“

Ah!

”

The party members gasped in shock after seeing Siegfried.

“L-Level 300...?!”

“A Master?!”

“Lord of Despair...? Hold on... Is that his second awakening?!”

They were utterly stunned after realizing that Siegfried had broken through the insurmountable wall and reached Level 300.

“You crazy bastard, owner punk! You finally did it!

Kyuuu!”

Hamchi exclaimed and darted toward Siegfried.

“Yeah, I did.”

“

Kyuuu!

You’re amazing! Incredible!”

“

Haha!

Well, I guess I’m kind of awesome!”

“

Kyuuu!

The best! You’re the best, owner punk!”

Hamchi could not help but be proud of Siegfried's achievement, and he showered the latter with affection and praise.

“Oppa! Congratulations!”

“

Hahaha!

I knew my son-in—err, I mean my nephew had it in him! This will make tomorrow’s headlines for sure!”

Yong Seol-Hwa and Yong Tae-Pung celebrated Siegfried’s achievement as if it were their own.

If Seung-Gu were present, he would congratulate him just like everyone else. It would have happened had he not foolishly rushed in and succumbed to radiation poisoning.

“What? Siegfried hit Level 300?”

“Where?!”

“No way! He broke through Level 299?”

“How’s that even possible? I thought you couldn’t gain experience points from Level 299?”

The other Adventurers loitering around the entrance of the Great Rift quickly heard the news of Siegfried breaking through Level 300.

“Wow...”

“I guess legends are legends for a reason.”

“How did he do that?”

Countless Adventurers flashed their Rune of Insight at Siegfried to check his level and class.

[Alert: Numerous Runes of Insight are directed at you.]

[Alert: Do you wish to conceal your information?]

A notification popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes, which was most likely due to his rune getting upgraded after reaching Level 300.

[Yes!]

[Alert: Your information will now be hidden from all Adventurers below Level 300.]

Cheon Woo-Jin was right. Upon reaching Level 300, one would unlock the ability to conceal one's information from others.

“Not bad,” Siegfried muttered with a smirk. Then, he looked around at the gathering crowd before asking, “But which dungeon failed?”

He was itching to dive into a dungeon to test out his newfound power.

“The party that entered the Endless Descent dungeon was wiped out,” Yong Seol-Hwa quickly replied.

“Got it. Prepare yourselves, everyone. We move out in thirty minutes,” Siegfried announced.

The reason he chose to rest for a while rather than move out immediately was for one reason—Gosran.

She had just recovered, so she needed some time to recuperate before being able to participate in battle.

Thirty minutes later, Siegfried finally said, “We’re moving out.”

Then, he headed toward the entrance.

He was more than ready to take on the dungeon. After all, his Vanquisher’s Grasp had been enhanced to +16, and he had achieved his second awakening.

‘

Let’s go. I want to test this out,’

he thought.

His body was itching to test out his newfound powers, and he was feeling so impatient that a single second felt like an eternity to him.

[Great Rift: Endless Descent]

Upon entering the dungeon, a message popped up in front of the party member’s eyes, showing them their location.

And then—

“W-Whaaat?!” Siegfried screamed as he began to fall as soon as he appeared in the dungeon.

The same thing happened to everyone else.

“

Aaaaah!”

“Arghhhh!”

“What the hell is going

oooon?!

”

Siegfried and his entire party were falling at dangerous speeds.

The reason?

Simple.

The dungeon Endless Descent had no ground; the entrance itself was mid-air.

Whooooosh!

Thus, Siegfried along with approximately one hundred twenty party members fell

endlessly,

truly befitting of the dungeon’s name.

***

The Endless Descent’s concept was quite peculiar. Just as its name stated, it was an endless drop with no ground in sight.

Ding!

A string of messages popped up in front of Siegfried’s eyes.

[Alert: You are falling!]

[Alert: You will continue to fall for another 4 hours until you reach the ground!]

[Alert: Protect the falling angel until you reach the ground!]

[Alert: You will fail the dungeon if the angel dies!]

“Protect the falling angel...?” Siegfried muttered, baffled by the alerts.

It was then.

“Over there!” Gosran shouted and pointed below, drawing everyone’s attention.

There was a figure falling underneath them—an angel.

The angel looked truly majestic with twelve wings on its back, but upon closer look, it was bloody and pale. It was plunging helplessly, and none of its wings were moving.

‘T-That’s Mikhail!’

Siegfried exclaimed inwardly, immediately recognizing the angel at once. He spread out his +10 Black Crow Wingsuit and accelerated downward, catching the angel in his arms.

“Hey! Mikhail!” Siegfried shouted, hoping for a response.

“...”

Unfortunately, Mikhail remained unresponsive and unconscious.

‘

Hold on... Protect Mikhaeil? Then does that mean there’s going to be an attack?’

As soon as the realization dawned on Siegfried, the party members above shouted at once.

“Enemies incoming!”

“Prepare for battle!”

“Get ready!”

Siegfried turned to where the party members were pointing.

Fallen Angels.

Hundreds of angels with wings as black as night flocked from above, and they were flying toward the party’s position at terrifying speeds.

‘Ah, I get it now,’

Siegfried finally understood the clear condition of the dungeon.

The mission was simple. They had to hold off the Fallen Angels for four hours and protect Mikhail, but there was one big problem here.

With the exception of Siegfried and Gosran, the rest of the party members couldn't properly maneuver in mid-air.

Yes, there was no risk of falling to their deaths. The fall was a controlled one, as it was part of the dungeon mechanics. However, it did not mean that they could move freely in mid-air without any flying abilities.

Shwiiik! Shwiiik!

Gosran unleashed a dozen arrows at once at the Fallen Angels, but they dealt no damage whatsoever.

“Divine Power...” Siegfried muttered, immediately understanding the problem.

Without divine energy, the Fallen Angels were impervious to the party members' attacks, and it was the reason why Gosran’s arrows were ineffective.

‘

I guess I’ll have to handle this alone,’

Siegfried quickly realized that this dungeon would be another solo raid, just like the one they had cleared earlier.

It was indeed a daunting task to solo raid a Great Rift dungeon, but he didn't mind it at all. In fact, he found that this was the perfect opportunity to test his newfound power.

“Everyone! Focus on defending! I’ll take care of the rest!” Siegfried shouted.

He entrusted Mikhail’s protection to the rest of the party before soaring toward the incoming flock of Fallen Angels.

“

Kyuuu!

Go, owner punk!”

“Just shut up and fight!”

“

Kyuuuu!

All right!”

Hamchi was a Great Spirit, so he was using an energy markedly different from mana. This meant that he could deal damage to the Fallen Angels, unlike the party members.

In other words, Hamchi was Siegfried’s one and only reliable ally.

“

Kyuuuu!”

Hamchi began firing laser beams at the Fallen Angels while he was perched on Siegfried’s back.

“Good! Let’s do this!”

Siegfried immediately channeled his Divine Power, activating both Eternal Flame and Embrace of Despair.

Wooong!

A powerful aura formed by the fusion of mana and Divine Power radiated from Siegfried’s body.

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

‘More!’

He used Discharge to exponentially increase the Divine Power that was fueling his Eternal Flame and Embrace of Despair.

Fwooosh! Fwooosh!

Seuruk...! Seuruk...!

The range of both skills expanded dramatically and covered the entire area around him.

“...!”

The Fallen Angels looked like they were moving in slow motion after getting caught in the oppressive debuff aura.

But that was not the end of it...

Shwaaaak!

Dark hands emerged from within the darkness created by the Embrace of Despair, binding the Fallen Angels and restricting their movements.

“S-Stop!”

“

Aaaargh!”

The Fallen Angels were afflicted by the oppressive aura of the debuff that they succumbed to fear. Only the strongest of beings could maintain their sanity within the Embrace of Despair, and these angels weren't one of those beings.

“Perfect,” Siegfried muttered with a smile of satisfaction.

The Embrace of Despair was satisfactory, and it was time for him to test out the Eternal Flame.

“Let’s see how much damage I can do with it.”

Siegfried swung his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp.

Bam!

The weapon struck the head of the nearest Fallen Angel.

[Alert: You have obtained Experience Points!]

The angel’s head exploded, and Siegfried’s experience bar, which had been stagnant, finally began to rise.

However, Siegfried wasn't particularly surprised by the fact that he could accumulate Experience Points again. He was more shocked by the damage he somehow managed to deal to the angel.

A single strike.

Before his second awakening, killing even a single one of these angels was a struggle, but now, he could kill them with just one basic attack.

The combination of Living Curse and Eternal Flame allowed Siegfried to deal damage that was beyond the realm of absurdity.

“So this is what Master meant by killing them in style...” he muttered, recalling Deus’ words.

“You just have to make them weaker than you, and then... Kill them in one blow. It wouldn’t look cool if you have to hit them twice, so it has to be in a single blow.”

This was what Deus meant by killing them in one blow.

The thrill! The satisfaction!

Siegfried finally understood what Deus meant by killing them in style.

“Time to enjoy this thrill,” he said with a smirk before unleashing a relentless barrage of attacks with his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp.

“

Argh!”

“Ugh!”

“Ack!”

With each devastating strike, the Fallen Angels fell like leaves being shaken off their branch in a storm. Their cries of agony reverberated in the air before being silenced by their demise.

[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]

[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]

[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]

(omitted...)

[Alert: You have gained Experience Points!]

[Alert: You have leveled up!]

[Alert: Congratulations!]

[Alert: You have reached Level 301!]

Siegfried wiped out nearly one hundred Fallen Angels in no time, and he leveled up in the process.

One shot, one kill.

The Eternal Flame's Defense and Magic Resistance shred was simply overwhelming. It shredded the defenses of the Fallen Angels so much that their stats dropped into the negatives, making even Siegfried’s basic attacks lethal against them.

“Whoa...”

“Is he even human...?”

“That’s insane...”

“How is his basic attack stronger than my ultimate skill?”

“Bruh...”

The party members guarding Mikhail could only watch with their mouths agape.

Siegfried’s overwhelming power made the Fallen Angels seem no more than a bunch of goblins one could find at the beginner’s zone.

***

The battle continued for another ten minutes.

Smack!

The +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp crushed the head of the last remaining Fallen Angel, bringing an end to the aerial battle.

“Did he just do all that... alone?”

“He’s seriously insane.”

“He is on a completely different level.”

“This is just absurd...”

The party members were utterly stunned and could only stare agape in disbelief. Siegfried had single-handedly exterminated nearly a thousand Fallen Angels in just thirty minutes, putting on a dominating one-man show.

The way he cast his debuffs and then tore through his enemies was beyond awe-inspiring, and everyone's feelings for him already bordered on reverence.

Strength? Unmatched.

Gear? Overgeared.

At this point, Siegfried probably was sitting on the pinnacle of the game; he was truly worthy of being called the best player in the world.

However, Siegfried himself was far from basking in the glory of his newfound strength. Instead, his mind wandered to something else entirely.

‘

I think it’s time to start recruiting Adventurers as paladins for my church...’

While he had easily won against the Fallen Angels, stronger angels would eventually appear in the future. And when that happened, even he would have a hard time taking them on all alone.

Thus, to prepare for the future invasion of the angels, his allies had to be able to wield Divine Power.

‘

I should start recruiting once this dungeon is over.’

“They’re coming back, oppa!” Gosran shouted, pointing at the sky.

Siegfried's planning was interrupted by Gosran's scream.

“Again?” Siegfried muttered, looking up. Then, he grimaced and grumbled, “

Ugh...

That’s a lot...”

The new wave of angels had far more angels than the previous group, and they were charging toward them at terrifying speeds.

Obviously, the earlier wave of angels was only the first wave of this dungeon.

‘

I guess I’ll just have to kill them all again,’

Siegfried thought with a smirk as he tightened his grip on his +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp. This time, he decided to test out one of his favorite skills that was recently enhanced, Splitting Heaven and Earth.

He channeled his mana into his weapon and swung it with all of his might toward the incoming flock of angels.

Vwooooom!

A massive shockwave burst forward from the +16 Vanquisher’s Grasp, engulfing the Fallen Angels.

Three, two, one...

KABOOM!

Hundreds of Fallen Angels disintegrated in mid-air, and their forms dissolved into tiny particles of light, leaving no traces behind.

“...!”

“...!”

“...!”

The party members were stupefied. The attack Siegfried had unleashed just now was so overwhelming that it hadn't seemed like something a human being could do.

The destruction he caused felt more like a magic trick that made enemies disappear, erasing them from existence.