Soon, the entire group reached the massive main gate. As they arrived, Snow turned to Nitish and gave him a subtle nod.
"Smight, the key."
At her words, Nitish quickly stepped forward and placed the square box into an empty slot carved into the gate.
The moment the box touched the slot, a deep, thunderous rumble echoed through the temple walls. The colossal gate began to creak and groan before slowly opening on its own. As it parted, every single person felt a chill crawl across their skin — goosebumps rising on their arms — though none of them could quite explain what they were feeling. It wasn't excitement. It wasn't fear. Just… something heavy.
"Let's end this," Nitish said firmly, his voice full of determination. The team began moving forward, stepping into the darkness beyond — and the gate slammed shut behind them.
"Are… are we trapped inside?" Blazy asked anxiously, eyes darting to the sealed entrance.
"Of course we are," Snow replied, her tone suddenly serious. "It's a dungeon. Until we defeat the boss, we're not getting out of here."
The temple's interior was haunting — an eerie, echoing silence cloaked the halls. Strange statues of demons stood everywhere, each one twisted in horrifying poses. It felt like they could spring to life at any moment and tear the intruders to shreds.
One word crossed everyone's mind as they advanced further:Terrifying.
After passing through rows of these demonic effigies, they arrived at the temple's central hall — and there it stood.
A towering statue, larger than the rest — not made of ordinary stone, but of something otherworldly. A hulking demon figure, carved with unnatural precision, seated imposingly on a massive throne.
But what sent true fear down their spines wasn't the statue.
It was the figure kneeling at its base.
A creature the size of an ordinary human, yet far more ominous. Clad in a full set of dark, jagged armor, the being radiated killing intent. In its hand, it held a colossal longsword, the blade gleaming faintly despite the dim light.
Something about it felt... alive.
It almost looked like the demon was kneeling beneath the statue… in prayer.
"That statue... Could it be Fire Demon Samael?" Nitish wondered silently.
Samael — a terrifying entity of flame — had once brought death to countless lives during the Great Ancient War. He was one of Ragnar's most trusted allies and counted among the forty demon generals under his command.
As the team stood there for a few more seconds, the kneeling figure slowly rose to its feet. Now they could finally get a proper look at him.
He, too, was a demon — eyes glowing with a molten golden hue. The longsword he carried seemed to be forged from pure lava, glowing with a searing red pulse. Two enormous horns curved back from his forehead, completing his intimidating form. For a demon, his face was strikingly handsome — in a chilling, monstrous way. He stood tall, locking eyes directly with the team... or more precisely, with Nitish.
"You filthy humans... How dare you barge into the sacred temple of the great Samael and interrupt my prayer!" the demon roared, his voice echoing with fury. "I'll slaughter you all and send your corpses to hell — where Lord Samael himself will decide your punishment!"
With that, the demon charged forward, his bloodlust unleashed.
IFRITLevel 8 – Special Elite (Boss)HP: 20,000 / 20,000
As soon as the group saw the monster sprinting toward them, they quickly snapped into formation — but Ifrit was far faster than any of them had expected.
In a flash, he closed the distance, heading straight for Nitish.
"DIE!!" Ifrit howled, swinging his lava-forged longsword with devastating force at Nitish.
Nitish managed to parry the attack just in time — but the sheer impact of the strike sent him flying several meters back, crashing hard onto the cold temple floor.
"BOSS!!" the team shouted in alarm.
Bear let out a fierce roar, activating his Distract skill to force Ifrit's attention onto himself. Blazy quickly followed up, casting a barrage of fire spells to protect Bear.
"BLAZY, NO!" Nitish suddenly panicked, his voice sharp with alarm.
"You dare use fire in the house of the Fire God?" Ifrit sneered, eyes glowing with fury. "Let me show you what real fire looks like!"
With a wide arc, Ifrit spun his massive sword through the air — absorbing every single fireball Blazy had just hurled. The weapon pulsed ominously as the flames merged into it.
"EVERYONE MOVE!!" Nitish screamed, but before anyone could react, Ifrit swung his empowered blade directly toward White Jade, who was standing only a few feet away from Bear.
Ifrit wasn't just strong — he was cunning. He'd noticed Bear had already activated his Guardian Knight skill, meaning Bear wouldn't die in one hit. So instead, he targeted the weaker one nearby.
SLASH!!
"AAARGH!"With a single devastating blow, White Jade's entire HP bar dropped to zero — instantly killed.
"NOOO!!" Nitish yelled, his voice raw. His eyes blazed with hatred as he glared at Ifrit, who was now smirking — effortlessly deflecting the rest of the team's attacks like a devil dancing through chaos.
"Nitish! Stay focused!" Snow shouted, trying to pull him out of his rage. "This boss isn't ordinary — you need your mind, not your anger!"
Without hesitation, Nitish signaled toward Blue Gem, who immediately fused the Eagle Spirit to Snow.
He knew only Snow's greatsword had the strength and precision to land hits on a flying elite like Ifrit. As for the Night Ranger, despite being an archer, Nitish had deliberately chosen not to boost his role — knowing well that this demon could easily deflect arrows. Besides, the ranger's damage output was nowhere near Snow's.
The battle had only just begun — and now it was personal.
Nitish quickly surged forward, activating his powerful ability.
"DRACONIC STRIKE!" he shouted, unleashing a ferocious blow with his sword.
Ifrit raised his own blade to block — but this time, he struggled. The force of Nitish's strike sent Ifrit's sword reeling backward, nearly slipping from his grip. In fact, Ifrit himself staggered slightly, his feet sliding a few inches back.
"NOW!" Nitish roared.
Seizing the opportunity, the entire team launched a coordinated assault on Ifrit, doing everything they could to chip away at his massive health pool.
Among them, Snow was performing exceptionally well — her damage output was the highest by far. Coming in second was Nitish, who not only managed to constantly distract Ifrit but also landed consistent, well-timed strikes.
Blazy, however, wasn't doing as much damage this time. Most of her spells were fire-based — ineffective against a fire demon like Ifrit. The frustration was starting to show on her face as she realized she couldn't contribute as much as she wanted to.
Suddenly—"ARGH!"
Bear took a heavy hit. Even though he tried to dodge, one of Ifrit's attacks still managed to land, causing a significant drop in his health.
Without hesitation, Brown and Sparky began casting healing spells on Bear, rapidly restoring his HP.
To them, both Bear and Hemant were playing an absolutely vital role in the battle. If either of them went down, Ifrit's full attention would shift to the rest of the team — and within just four minutes, the entire squad would be wiped out.
After an intense, drawn-out fight, the team finally managed to bring Ifrit's health down to 50%. The biggest credit for this went to Snow, whose relentless attacks were clearly wearing the boss down.
"ALL OF YOU… I WILL KILL YOU ALL!" Ifrit roared furiously.
He raised his sword high into the air, and suddenly, molten lava and swirling magma began erupting around him.
Nitish's heart sank the moment he saw this. He instantly recognized it — it had to be an area-wide skill, and if it activated, the entire team could be wiped out.
Before Nitish could rush forward to interrupt the cast, a massive greatsword flew straight at Ifrit's hand, striking it with force. Snow had thrown her own weapon at the demon, trying to break his concentration.
"ARGH!" Ifrit let out a furious scream, clearly enraged at Snow. But even then, the lava storm didn't stop. The burning heat and searing magma damage had almost incinerated nearly five team members.
But then… Snow did something that left Nitish absolutely stunned.
"Return!" she shouted.
In the blink of an eye, the greatsword that had hit Ifrit exploded with a burst of force, struck him once again, and then flew back through the air, returning perfectly into Snow's hands.
"Return Blade?! Where the hell did she get that skill!?" Nitish's mind was racing in disbelief.
Return Blade was a legendary-level skill, usually wielded only by berserkers. It had two distinct phases:
Phase One: Throw — where the user hurls their weapon with immense force.
Phase Two: Return — after impact, the weapon is summoned back with a violent blast, often capable of staggering or finishing off enemies.
It was a rare and powerful skill, almost impossible to acquire easily. The fact that Snow had it…
Nitish couldn't help but feel a mix of admiration and shock.
As soon as Ifrit was stunned and his special skill was interrupted, the entire team breathed a sigh of relief. Without wasting a second, everyone renewed their attacks with explosive enthusiasm.
In particular, the team's assassin — Paradise — moved in like a blur, striking with lethal precision.
Just as Paradise was about to activate his signature move, "Killspree," something unexpected happened.
Ifrit suddenly slammed his sword into the ground.
With a deafening roar, a violent fire blast erupted outward — and since Paradise had been the closest to him, his health dropped straight to zero in an instant.
The team stood frozen.
They all now understood one thing:This was no ordinary boss.
Even without his named skills, Ifrit was constantly lacing every attack with raw fire energy, turning every moment into a potential death sentence.
After an extended, grueling struggle, the team finally managed to reduce Ifrit's health by another 25%.
Now, only one-quarter of his HP remained.
But just then — something changed.
Ifrit's golden armor suddenly turned into roaring flames, encasing his body in a blazing inferno.His speed and strength skyrocketed, to the point where landing even a single hit on him became nearly impossible.
"Berserk Skill…" Nitish muttered through clenched teeth.
Berserk skills were feared and powerful abilities, giving users a temporary yet massive boost, either to their overall stats or a specific one.
Even Nitish's Draconic Strike was technically a form of berserk ability — it supercharged his attack power and speed when activated.
But what Ifrit just used?
It felt deadlier than anything they'd faced so far.
The entire team was visibly shaken.Two members were already dead…And the rest had no idea what to expect next.
However, there was one more problem.
Since activating his berserk form, Ifrit had locked onto a single target — almost like he was blinded by hate, obsessed with taking that one person down.
And yes — that one unfortunate target was none other than…our beloved, fan-favorite, punching bag of fate — Nitish.
"Why the hell are you after me?! What did I ever do to you?!" Nitish shouted in frustration, cursing Ifrit as he desperately dodged another fiery strike.
Bear and Hemant had already tried to pull aggro using their distraction skills, but it was no use.
For some reason, Ifrit had taken an unhealthy liking to Nitish.
"Isn't it obvious?" Ifrit bellowed, rage dripping from his voice."You're clearly their leader! And not just that — you're the most disgusting one of them all!How dare you bring that filthy elf tablet into this sacred temple?!"
"Elf TABLET?! BRO, I HAVEN'T EVEN GOTTEN ANYTHING FROM THAT STONE YET!" Nitish screamed back, nearly ready to bang his head against a wall.
This was exactly like being blamed for breaking the glass at a party you never even drank at.
But Ifrit wasn't interested in reason.
As the relentless attacks kept pouring down on Nitish, the rest of the team saw the perfect opportunity to strike.
They began bombarding Ifrit with everything they had.
Dodge! Parry! Defensive Blade! Dodge again!
Nitish was locked in a brutal rhythm just to stay alive — narrowly evading, deflecting, and bracing through each blow.
But there was one growing problem —His sword's durability was nearly gone.Blocking and parrying Ifrit's berserk attacks had pushed it to the edge of breaking.
Still, the others kept the pressure on, and finally, Ifrit's health dropped to just 10%.
But the moment that happened—
"YOU PATHETIC FLIES — STOP DISTRACTING ME!"Ifrit let out a deafening roar and slammed his sword into the ground, unleashing a violent shockwave blast that sent the entire team flying 40 to 50 meters back.
But Ifrit wasn't done.
He had anticipated the blast — and made sure that Nitish wouldn't escape.
With frightening speed, he reached out mid-air, grabbed Nitish by the throat, and slammed him hard into the ground.
"YOU SON OF A—! WHAT KIND OF PRINCE TREATMENT IS THIS?!" Nitish yelled as the pain surged through his body.
His eyes were now filled with something far more intense than fear —pure hatred for this boss.
Ifrit suddenly launched another attack at Nitish — a devastating strike that, had it landed, would've ended it all.
But just before the blow could connect, Nitish activated his Draconic Strike and slammed his sword upward into Ifrit's weapon.
Ifrit immediately recognized the danger —a Draconic Strike was powerful enough to nullify his special ability if it landed correctly.
So he instinctively canceled his special move mid-execution, saving it for later instead.
But then — something happened that left Ifrit completely stunned.
CLANG!
"Parry," Nitish whispered with a smirk.
Ifrit's eyes widened.
"He didn't use that move?! But— how could my instincts be wrong?! That was the same energy!"Ifrit was thrown into confusion. His gut had never betrayed him before.What the hell was going on?
And just then — Nitish clenched his fist and drove it straight into Ifrit's face with brutal force.
"DRACONIC STRIKE!"
The blow sent Ifrit flying, crashing into the far side of the chamber.
Yes, Nitish had long known that Draconic Strike wasn't limited to swords.It could be channeled through fists, too.
But that was something Ifrit had no clue about.
-250 HP
The sudden impact bought the entire team the perfect opening.
They surged forward without hesitation and resumed their relentless assault.
-150, -120, -200, -90, -68, -145
Ifrit was now being bombarded from all directions.
Seeing the boss's HP rapidly falling, the entire team was buzzing with adrenaline. And then—
a system notification appeared.
Congratulations!You have killed the dungeon boss: Ifrit!You gained 1 full level worth of experience!
Everyone stared at the message, stunned.There was no fixed XP count—Instead, they had been granted a full level-up straight away!
"WE DID IT!"The whole team erupted in celebration, some of them even dancing in sheer joy.Even Snow, usually calm and composed, couldn't hide the genuine smile on her face.
"Quick! Summon White Jade and Paradise back, Sparky!" Nitish called out, not wasting a second.
As an Oracle, Sparky didn't have the same healing output as Brown, but he had a critical edge:Oracles could revive fallen players inside dungeons, as long as they themselves were still alive.
"On it, boss!" Sparky responded with a grin and immediately activated his Revival Skill.
A soft golden light spread across the chamber, and within moments, both White Jade and Paradise reappeared—revived from the brink.
Thankfully, they hadn't been dead too long; otherwise, revival would've been impossible.
Nitish turned toward the center of the battlefield, where Ifrit's corpse had disintegrated into loot, scattering across the lava-scarred ground.
Congratulations!You are the first party to complete a Corrupted Dungeon!Loot increased by 4×
That message sent a wave of exhilaration through the entire group.
Their efforts, their pain, the deaths—they'd all been worth it.
They had done the impossible.
"It's time for the rewards."Snow smiled warmly at Nitish, clearly pleased.
It was obvious she wanted him to collect the loot himself.After all, she'd seen how fair Nitish had been with distributing drops so far—always prioritizing her team's share over his own.
So, in her mind, even if Nitish claimed a few extra items now, he absolutely deserved them.
Nitish stepped forward and began collecting the loot—and the moment he did,he fell in love.
There were tons of rare materials, some even essential for high-level forging.
Unfortunately, half of it was going to Snow's team, per the prior agreement.
But what truly caught Nitish's eye—the crown jewel of the loot—was a full armor set dropped by Ifrit.
Unlike standard equipment, an Armor Set was a special tier of gear.Only by equipping every single piece of a set could a player unlock its true potential.
And in this case, Nitish had just obtained the complete set in one go—exactly the same armor Ifrit had been wearing.
"Let's see what else we've got," Nitish said, excitement in his voice, as he reached for another item.
But the moment he did—
his eyes widened. His breath caught.
"NO WAY!"
That was the only thought running through his mind.
Nitish was stunned.