Victor, the Guild Master of Silverfang Union, finally opened his eyes and looked toward the middle-aged man.
His expression remained calm, almost indifferent.
"It doesn't hurt to give it a try," he said in a steady voice.
"Unique items were way too invaluable to not trying."
He paused briefly before continuing,
"Our deal will only be finalized if the information he provided turns out to be valid, so there is no loss for us in this deal."
The middle-aged man frowned, his expression turning slightly absurd as he shook his head.
"No matter how I think about it, there's no way someone can actually see through the conditions required to obtain a unique items from a dungeon like he claimed. The claim itself feels like a joke."
Victor neither agreed nor disagreed.
He simply stood there, calm and composed, as he spoke,
"…We'll know soon enough whether it's real or not. Are the preparations complete?"
At that moment, one of the guild raiders stepped forward, a man clad in robes, faint spiritual energy swirling around him.
"All Tier 3 attack scrolls have been prepared," the mage reported confidently.
"If our strategy is executed without any mistakes, we can eliminate the boss within an hour."
Victor gave a small nod.
His mind briefly returned to the words spoken by the blond-haired young man of the Zorvath Family:
'To obtain a unique item from the Chains of the Devouring Pit, you must enter Nightmare difficulty with ten or fewer members and defeat the boss within one hour.
The unique item you obtain will be extremely valuable for our future cooperation… and it will prove my credibility.'
Victor clenched his fist.
'If it's end up being true, then our guild will become the strongest in the city in no time…'
Then, without hesitation, he stepped forward and placed his hand against the dungeon gate.
The swirling surface reacted instantly, turning deep crimson as the difficulty selection was made.
A heavy pressure spread outward as the ten members of Silverfang Union stepped forward one by one, entering the gate without any fear or hesitation.
Their figures disappeared into the distorted surface of the gate.
The next moment, the group of ten stood in the middle of an underground cave-like interior.
But instead of a ceiling above them, there was an endless void, where faint, broken chains hung from nowhere.
The ground was uneven, made of blackened rock and hardened flesh-like terrain, pulsating faintly, giving the impression that the landscape itself was alive.
Massive broken pillars and chained structures stood at the edges, as if something had once been bound there with no chance of escape.
But everyone in that group was already used to such an atmosphere.
Their expressions remained completely calm.
Everyone moved without hesitation, the ten members of Silverfang Union quickly spread out and formed a precise formation, each taking their designated position with practiced ease.
There was no confusion, no wasted movement, only discipline forged through countless raids.
Victor's voice echoed calmly through the dim, oppressive space.
"Elric."
A hooded young man stepped forward instantly.
"Leave it to me."
Without wasting a second, he activated his skill, [Astral Domain Perception].
A surge of spiritual energy burst outward from his body, spreading across the dungeon like an invisible wave.
In the next moment, the surrounding terrain, structures, and fluctuations of energy began flooding into his mind.
Every detail, even the cracks in the ground and the chained pillars, was mapped instantly within his consciousness.
Clang
Clang
Clang
At the same moment his spiritual energy spread, the broken pillars and the chains hanging from the endless void trembled violently.
"Kiiieeechchchch—!!"
Everyone looked upward at the same time, their expressions turning serious as the source of the ear-piercing screams revealed itself.
Dozens of figures crawled down from the darkness above, descending through the chains like grotesque puppets with eerie, distorted movements.
The shield-bearing men's expressions hardened as they saw their details, despite having encountered these creatures many times before.
[Chainbound Crawlers]
Strength: 120
Agility: 180
Constitution: 90
Spirit: 70
Skills: [Chain Lash] [Void Pull] [Hunger Resonance] [Void-Tether Bite]
Twisted humanoid creatures fused with rusted chains, their bodies pitch black.
From the back of their necks extended crimson chains connected directly into the void above, as if something unseen was controlling them.
Their lower jaws were fully metallic, clanking with every movement, while their hollow black eyes stared hungrily at the team.
Drool dripped from their mouths as they shrieked and lunged forward in a frenzy.
"SKRREEEEEE—!!"
"KEKEKKEKEK—!!"
Their screams tore through the air, sharp and unnatural, like metal scraping against bone.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The sound echoed endlessly as the chains collided with each other, lashing wildly in every direction as the creatures lunged forward.
"Darius. Holt."
Victor called out the names of the two tanks of the team, holders of the professions Aegis Guardian and Sanctuary Bulwark.
Both of them stepped forward immediately.
At the exact same moment, they raised their shields in perfect sync.
BOOM—!
The ground beneath their feet cracked slightly as they planted themselves firmly.
CLANG—!!
Chains slammed continuously into their shields, sparks flying as dark, void-infused energy erupted upon collision.
"SKREEEE—!!"
Seeing their attacks completely blocked by two shield-wielding humans, the creatures let out ominous screams in unison as they continued their assault.
Their chains struck relentlessly, without pause, like an endless storm.
But the formation didn't break, not even slightly.
Golden light flared across the shields as the two defenders absorbed everything head-on.
"KEEKEKEKKKE—!!"
With an even louder shriek, all the monsters gathered a whirlpool of ominous dark energy and hurled it toward the team at once.
Victor spoke again, turning toward the woman dressed in a clerk-like uniform.
"Now."
She stepped forward instantly, her expression calm and focused as she raised her hands.
"[Divine Protection – Halo Blessing]"
A soft golden radiance spread outward, enveloping the entire team.
Transparent halos appeared above each of their heads, spinning faintly as divine energy settled over them.
The incoming dark energy shattered on contact, like fragile glass breaking apart.
Seeing the oppressive aura disperse completely, faint smiles appeared across the faces of the team.
[Hunger Resonance] was the skill the monsters attempted to use in unison.
It allowed the Chainbound Crawlers to synchronize their spiritual energy and unleash a curse upon their opponents.
The curses inflicted by this attack were completely random.
Most of the time, they weren't directly fatal, but instead applied debilitating effects that made dungeon raids nearly impossible to complete.
A slow curse, for example, could delay reaction time significantly.
In a dungeon filled with monsters capable of mid-range attacks, even a slight delay in response could turn into a death sentence.
That was precisely why the team had prepared in advance.
Their countermeasure, [Divine Protection – Halo Blessing], was a job-exclusive skill of their Holy Archivist, a rare divine support class that blends administrative precision with holy authority.
This skill granted allies immunity or strong resistance to negative status effects such as fear, corruption, curses, and mental interference for two hours, effectively nullifying the curses the monsters had attempted to inflict.
At the same time, after their attempt failed, the monsters began to show signs of fatigue.
The weight behind their attacks lessened, their movements becoming slightly sluggish.
Then, the voice of the hooded young man echoed across the battlefield,
"…I have found the location of the boss. It's at the two o'clock direction. There are several groups of Abyssal Chain Wardens guarding the underground gate…"
***
Author's note:
Guys, I'm sorry for the delay with chapters. There was cut around 12 PM. I'm not sure why this keeps happening, but because of it, I'm currently writing the chapters on my phone.
I also want to apologize in advance, this chapter and the next one will be from the perspective of another team. This is to show how normal teams raid dungeons, their coordination, preparation, and also to include a bit of foreshadowing for the first villain of this arc.
Thank you for your understanding.