Elian stopped running.
Behind him, the pile of shattered bones from the "Mob Train" he had just dismantled was slowly turning into grey dust. It had been efficient, yes, but exhausting.
Stamina: 30/100.
Mana: 10/50.
"If I keep running like a maniac, I'll be empty before the boss," Elian muttered, sheathing his sword. "And I'm not here just to clear the dungeon. I'm here to rob it."
In the first timeline, the "Crypt of the Forgotten" was cleared millions of times. But it took three years for a player named "Digger" to discover that the dungeon layout wasn't just a maze—it was a puzzle.
Elian stood in a T-junction on Floor 3.
To the Left was the path to the Necromancer (the sub-boss). That was where 99% of players went.
To the Right was a collapsed tunnel. A dead end.
Elian turned Right.
He walked up to the pile of rubble blocking the tunnel. Most players would hit it, see "Indestructible Object," and leave.
Elian knelt. He wasn't looking at the rocks. He was looking at the moss on the floor.
"Three red, one blue," he whispered, reciting a memory from a forum post he read decades ago.
He found three patches of Red Moss and one patch of Blue Moss growing near the wall. He pressed them in a specific order: Red, Red, Blue, Red.
Click.
A grinding sound echoed through the damp corridor.
The "indestructible" pile of rubble didn't move. Instead, the floor beneath Elian's feet slid open.
He dropped silently into a hidden chute.
[Secret Area Discovered: The Architect's Study]
[XP Bonus: +500]
Elian landed in a small, circular stone room. The air here was dry, preserved for centuries. There were no monsters. Just a desk, a dusty skeleton sitting in a chair (not an enemy, just a corpse), and a bookshelf.
"The Architect," Elian said, brushing dust off the desk. "The lore says he built this crypt to hide his own treasures from the King."
Elian ignored the gold coins scattered on the table. Gold was easy to get. He went straight for the bookshelf.
He pulled out a rotting scroll case.
[Item Acquired: Blueprint - The Hidden Passages (Passive)]
[Description: Unlocks the mini-map data for the secret rooms in the Crypt of the Forgotten.]
"Now I can see everything," Elian smirked.
A map appeared in his mind. It showed the dungeon not as a linear line, but as a honeycomb. There were three other secret rooms he would have missed if he had rushed.
He turned to the Architect's corpse. On its bony finger sat a tarnished silver ring.
Elian slid it off gently.
[Item Acquired: Band of the Grave-Walker]
[Rank: Rare (Set Item 1/3)]
[Effect: +10% Damage to Undead.]
[Hidden Effect: Mana Regeneration +1 per minute while in darkness.]
"Mana regen," Elian breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally."
It was small (+1 per minute was nothing at high levels), but at Level 4, it was a lifeline. It meant he didn't have to rely entirely on potions.
Elian spent the next hour in the secret room. He didn't rush out. He sat in the Architect's chair and waited.
HP: 110/110.
Mana: 50/50.
Stamina: 100/100.
He waited until his condition was perfect. Only then did he climb the ladder back up to Floor 3.
Floor 5: The Hall of Whispers.
Elian moved differently now. He wasn't running. He was stalking.
He checked his new mini-map. It showed a red dot behind a false wall two corridors away.
[Monster: Crypt Keeper (Elite Skeleton) - Level 9]
A normal player would bypass this room to save health. Elian kicked the false wall down.
CRASH.
The Crypt Keeper, a massive skeleton wearing rusted plate mail and holding a tower shield, roared at the intrusion.
Elian didn't flinch. He had the Band of the Grave-Walker.
The Keeper swung a heavy mace. Elian sidestepped, the "Terror Gaze" skill activating for a split second.
[Terror Gaze Active.]
[Target Willpower Check: Failed.]
[Target Stunned (3s).]
The massive skeleton froze, paralyzed by the sudden aura of fear emanating from the small human.
Three seconds was an eternity.
Elian stepped in. Black-Iron Sword. Two-handed grip.
WHAM.
WHAM.
WHAM.
Three strikes to the spine. The heavy sword shattered the vertebrae.
The Keeper crumbled into dust before the stun even wore off.
[You have defeated an Elite Enemy.]
[XP Gained: 250.]
Elian sifted through the dust. He found a Bone Key.
"Key to the Treasury on Floor 10," Elian noted, pocketing it. "Most people pick the lock and break their thieves' tools. This saves me 20 gold."
He continued deeper.
Floor 6. Floor 7. Floor 8.
He cleared every room. He killed every skeleton. He mined every node of Grave Iron (a crafting material he knew Kael would buy).
He wasn't speedrunning. He was vacuuming.
By the time he reached the door to the Floor 10 Boss Room, six hours had passed.
Normal clear time: 45 minutes.
Elian's time: 6 hours, 12 minutes.
But the difference was in the stats.
[Status Window]
Name: Elian
Level: 7 (Leveled up 3 times from the full clear)
Class: None (Novice)
HP: 180/180
Strength: 25
Agility: 20
Inventory: Filled with Grave Iron, Bone Dust, 3x Uncommon Weapons (to sell), and the Set Ring.
He stood before the massive double doors of the Boss Room. The Death Knight waited inside.
Elian took out a piece of dried meat and ate it slowly. He checked his boots. He sharpened his blade.
"Slow and steady," Elian whispered, feeling the strength of Level 7 coursing through him.
He pushed the doors open.