"Go!"

Marcus urged Blackie forward as they raced toward the cave wall. The crystals embedded there caught his attention immediately. Their glow was too steady, and too pure to be ordinary decoration. If they had any crafting or enhancement value, he intended to take as many as he could carry.

He dismounted and stepped closer, raising the Bat Dragon Cloud Sword. The mythic blade struck the crystal surface with a sharp clang.

Nothing happened, the crystal did not even crack.

Marcus tried again, putting more strength behind the swing. The result was the same. The crystals remained firmly rooted inside the stone wall, unmoved as if they were part of the mountain itself.

’Too bad they can’t be removed.’

In reality, If he possessed something like the legendary Fishgut Sword, a weapon famous for slicing through metal like wet clay, harvesting these crystals would have been effortless.

"What a waste," Marcus muttered under his breath.

Reluctantly abandoning the idea, he continued deeper into the wide cave tunnel.

After walking roughly three hundred meters, faint sounds drifted toward him. At first it resembled wind moving through hollow rock, but as he approached, the noise became clearer. Wailing. Crying. Low, miserable sounds that carried an unsettling human quality.

Marcus slowed his steps.

Ahead lay the monsters of Level Two of Mystic Turtle’s Tomb.

Several frenzied figures staggered across the cavern floor, wild hair hanging over their faces as they carried oversized digging hoes. Nearby, translucent shapes floated without fixed form, drifting through air and stone alike like restless ghosts. Scattered among them were small hunched creatures clutching shovels, pacing nervously back and forth like tireless laborers unable to rest.

Marcus observed silently.

He had no idea what abilities these monsters possessed, and charging blindly was the fastest way to die in a dungeon like this.

’Better to test them first.’

He signaled his Sea Demon Soul forward. The summon moved cautiously, edging into the monsters’ awareness range to pull aggro.

The reaction was immediate; these creatures were absurdly aggressive.

Three frenzied zombies lurched forward first, leaping with surprising agility as they swung their blackened hoes toward the Sea Demon Soul. Four wandering souls followed, slower to react but gliding forward at frightening speed once engaged, eerie cries echoing as waves of debuff energy spread outward. At the same time, three hunched shovel wielders whipped their tools through the air, releasing clouds of dark mist that rushed toward Marcus’s summon.

Within seconds, the Sea Demon Soul was engulfed in layers of black light.

Status effects stacked rapidly. Its attributes dropped, and the drifting black clouds imposed a heavy slowing effect that dragged down its movement speed.

Fortunately, the Sea Demon Soul’s natural agility allowed it to maintain distance. Against slower summons, those hoe wielding zombies might have trapped their target immediately.

Marcus watched the damage numbers carefully.

The shovel creatures were only dealing around one hundred thirty damage per hit. Considerably weaker than the four statue guardians on Level One.

That was manageable.

"Kill."

The moment ten monsters locked onto the Sea Demon Soul, Marcus gave the signal. Goldie, Wyvern Saint Knight Lyanna, and Vixen Queen Camillo, all positioned safely beside him, unleashed overwhelming magic attacks that tore through the cavern like falling meteors.

While the spells flew, Marcus activated Insight repeatedly to analyze the enemies.

—

Frenzied Digger Corpse. Level 48.

Health: 11,000.

Originally low level excavation workers forced to construct the Four Spirits’ defensive structures. They died from relentless overwork, their bodies discarded carelessly by overseers. Over time, earth energy within Mystic Turtle’s Tomb fused with their lingering resentment, transforming them into frenzied undead. They crave human blood in a futile attempt to reclaim life. Their digging hoes have become deadly weapons.

—

Their skills included standard warrior techniques alongside two notable abilities.

Resentful Leap Slash allowed them to use jumping momentum to deliver powerful attacks with high critical potential, surprisingly effective even against distant targets.

Hoe Triple Dig functioned as a close range assault, swinging their hoes rapidly in three consecutive strikes at terrifying speed.

Marcus had barely finished reading when the monsters reacted.

"ROAR!"

The three digger corpses realized they could not catch the Sea Demon Soul through normal pursuit. Their movements halted simultaneously as black energy surged through their bodies, spreading like cracks of darkness beneath their skin.

Resentful Leap Slash activated.

They kicked off the ground in unison, launching themselves forward while raising their hoes high overhead, dark energy blazing around the weapons.

Marcus’s eyes sharpened. Yeah. They were angry.

"Desperate Strike!"

Marcus and Pebble moved at the same instant. Two level thirty five longswords, already prepared for interception, shot forward through the air.

Thunk. Thunk.

Both blades pierced directly through two airborne diggers before their attacks could land.

Damage numbers exploded upward.

Two agonized screams echoed through the cavern as the corpses lost all momentum and crashed heavily onto the stone floor. One dropped a piece of level forty five blue grade equipment as it shattered into gravel.

Only the third digger completed its leap, its hoe slamming into the Sea Demon Soul and dealing three hundred and fifty damage.

Marcus clicked his tongue.

"Son of a bitch."

He stepped forward, switching fully to the Bat Dragon Cloud Sword as irritation crept into his voice.

"Let me show you what a real slash looks like. What a real critical looks like."

As he advanced, he scanned the next enemy type.

—

Wailing Wandering Soul. Level 48.

Health: 9,800.

These spirits were once laborers who helped construct the Four Spirits’ defenses. Though their physical bodies had long decayed, the suffering they endured prevented their souls from passing on. Bound by resentment, they now attack any living being that enter their domain.

—

Their abilities were far more troublesome. Wailing Lament emitted a sonic attack that reduced enemy attributes.

Drifting Loiter granted partial immunity to physical damage due to their incorporeal nature, though they were highly vulnerable to fire based magic.

Ceaseless Resentment allowed them to rush targets with claw like attacks, striking rapidly while clinging to enemies. The skill carried a five percent chance to reduce all stats by ten percent and a fifty percent chance to latch onto targets, preventing escape during the assault.

Marcus grimaced.

Partial physical immunity was practically a nightmare for Fighter class players. Anyone relying solely on weapons would struggle badly here. Fortunately, his companions specialized in magic damage.

If he had to kill these things alone, it would take forever.

Still, reading the description of Ceaseless Resentment stirred a hint of envy in him. A skill that locked onto opponents at close range while shredding them continuously was every melee fighter’s dream.

The wandering souls moved with terrifying speed.

Four of them had already surrounded the Sea Demon Soul, activating Ceaseless Resentment simultaneously. Spectral claws blurred through the air as they clung tightly to the summon.

Damage numbers appeared nonstop above its head.

-90 -80 -80 -90 -100.

Their attack frequency was absurd, and their accuracy remained unnervingly high. Without the Sea Demon Soul’s exceptional defense and massive health pool, it would have collapsed almost instantly under such pressure.

But because all the aggro remained focused on the summon, Marcus’s pets attacked freely from the rear. Spell after spell crashed into the wandering souls, tearing through their health bars at alarming speed as waves of magic illuminated the cavern in violent flashes of light.