‘The quest is exactly as expected.’
Dahav’s eyes widened as he looked at the quest he had just received from the Tik Monk at the Ayumur Temple in Daru Milda.
‘Clear 50 waves up to the fifth stage of the Ayumur Temple.’
Ayumur Temple.
It was a dungeon located in Daru Milda, a sacred city in the far west of the Palestan Kingdom.
Just being located inside the city made Ayumur Temple intriguing enough, but what made it truly special was the hunting method.
‘This is the first dungeon using the Wave method.’
It was a siege-type dungeon where monsters continuously swarmed, and the core of the temple had to be defended.
Additionally, there was a restriction that no potions or doping items brought in from outside could be consumed, somewhat forcing groups of three to five well-positioned members to enter.
‘Despite that, there’s still a reason it’s popular from level 30 to mid-40s.’
Completing just the fifth stage, known as the midpoint, was remarkably efficient compared to ordinary hunting grounds.
‘That said, the monsters up to the fifth stage aren’t even hard to kill. Compared to the Sky Hills Harpies, the monsters here aren’t demons, nor are they fast.’
The monsters that appeared in the dungeon resembled chess pieces—Pawn, Knight, Rook, Bishop.
‘Even so, only Pawns appear until the fifth stage.’
Pawns had short-range attacks, predictable patterns, and moderate speed, making them ideal for hunting.
In other words, those who met the appropriate level and had above-average gear, combined with proper positioning, could clear up to stage five without major difficulty.
On top of that, the convenience of movement within the hunting ground and the city made it even easier.
Most importantly—
‘Just being able to hunt in one spot reduces fatigue by a hundredfold.’
Moreover, the restriction was only on consuming potions and doping items that were ‘brought in’ from outside.
After each wave, before moving on to the next, a traveling merchant would appear to sell potions and doping items using the points earned from defeating monsters, known as WP.
Simply put, if you had the skill, you didn’t have to spend money on potions and could enjoy great rewards.
That’s why it also served as a sort of “Cull Net.”
‘Since the number of people increases the amount of loot per enemy.’
The experience points earned per wave remained the same regardless of party size, meaning the fewer members, the faster the level-up speed.
While casual players might not mind, those aiming to become professionals or already professional ‘Pros’ had far superior skills compared to regular players.
In other words, it wasn’t impossible to solo play Ayumur Temple.
Because of this, users aspiring to be Super Rookies or Super Players often used Ayumur Temple as a benchmark to truly test their skills.
‘Thanks to that, the gap widened even more starting from Ayumur Temple.’
Those with talent either soloed or formed parties with similarly skilled players, enjoying synergy effects to clear the temple quickly and grow exponentially.
Parties left behind, consisting only of mediocre players after the strong and skilled had quit, naturally fell behind.
‘It’s a perfect stage for someone like me to break through.’
In fact, Ayumur Temple was initially included in Dahav’s plans, but he hesitated due to its remote location.
However, Alexandra solved that problem with Great Teleportation.
‘And with a round-trip ticket, no less!’
Not only that, he even received an item so valuable it wasn’t an exaggeration to call it a path to the Redeemer, the “Purification Gloves.”
[Purification Gloves]
- Grade: Unique (Exclusive, Set)
- Type: Upper Body
- Usable Level: 30 and above
- These are gloves infused with the power of Redeemer Helkite Servantes.
- Although neglected for a long time and thus weakened, if you find and purify other parts, you can restore their original power.
- Stat Options: Strength +10 / Vitality +10 / Agility +10
- Special Options:
- Death Purification — When attacking monsters of the Demon attribute, deals an additional 10% damage.
- Exorcism Strike — When attacking targets of the Demon attribute, has a 10% chance to ignore defense and evasion abilities.
- Special Notes:
- When all remaining Purification set items are found and equipped, the item’s type and grade will upgrade, unlocking special options tailored to the user’s characteristics.
The stats and skills were good, but what truly left a strong impression was the final sentence.
“A set item…”
And it was a ‘Purification’ set item.
Since special options would unlock depending on the user’s traits, the exact abilities couldn’t be confirmed yet, but there was little doubt.
‘Judging by its appearance, it was obvious that even Babylon wore this item when facing Andromallius.’
That alone guaranteed the set option.
And even if the set option turned out somewhat lacking, considering the worldview centered around the 72 Demons, it was safe to say this was an item with a bright future.
Besides, with the solid base stats, it was an excellent piece even among unique items.
‘It’s good enough to use in the current field right away.’
Moreover, considering that the real core monsters of Ayumur Temple had the attribute of demons, the special options were perfectly fitting.
Not only did the item reduce movement time, but it also helped clear quests—truly generous support.
To exaggerate a bit, Dahav felt like he could bow deeply every day in Alexandra’s direction.
At the same time, he also felt the resolve to give his best to live up to Alexandra’s expectations.
‘They even laid out the banquet, so there’s no way I’m going to die miserably because I can’t eat.’
Dahav stepped deeper inside Ayumur Temple.
***
Ayumur Temple was a dungeon with both the Wave format and an instance dungeon feature, making it have clear pros and cons.
The advantages were that there was no need to hunt monsters actively—they just kept coming in waves—and only potions and doping items bought from the traveling merchant appearing between waves could be used, so basic potion costs were null.
Lastly, as a dungeon, if the incoming monsters were handled properly, there were no variables.
Though it might sound ironic, the disadvantages closely mirrored those three points above.
“Why aren’t the tanking tanks tanking! Quickly grab the Pawns and hold them!”
“The taunt skill’s on cooldown! Healers, start healing first! The heals haven’t been coming through properly for a while, so it’s hard to handle the tied-up Pawns!”
“What are the healers doing?!”
The tank’s outburst naturally fell on the party’s healers.
However, very few admitted their own shortcomings, and those who did were met with harsher words than before.
“The dealers’ damage is crap, so as the waves keep pushing, healing is needed more, and naturally, the natural heal potions are being used up quickly, right?!”
“Stop blaming others! Look at the recovery-increasing item you’re wearing and the level 1 recovery equipment…”
The fight escalated rapidly, but the waves continued relentlessly, as if unwilling to allow any forgiveness.
“Hey, the Pawns are swarming again! Catch one more monster during the fight!”
Eventually, everyone became exhausted and faced the black screen of death.
Monsters continuously rushing meant there was no time to rest whenever desired.
Likewise, the fact that potion and doping costs were null depended heavily on having the proper specs, gear, level, and completed achievements before entering—which was hard for general players to meet.
Finally, failing to properly handle the monsters only increased the endless variables as they kept swarming.
Of course, Dahav’s case was different.
Kraang!
With an outstanding tank possessing a wide-area taunt skill and a dagger capable of turning all attacks into critical hits, his damage output also stood out.
Usually, his hunting speed was so fast that he lacked monsters to kill.
Monsters swarming in waves were handled so instantly that no variables existed.
Swoosh—!
While ghouls and dark knights focused their gaze on him, Dahav darted back and forth, attacking the Pawns.
Occasionally, a crowd suddenly broke aggro and attacked unexpectedly, but it was no problem at all.
‘Thanks to Skill Rune: Servant Contractor, self-healing is possible even without potions.’
The self-healing ability of Servant Contractor was only 3% of the summoned creatures’ attack power, but since Dahav summoned many creatures at once, the total healing amount was absolutely not negligible.
There was no longer any need to overly worry about the rear lines, and with all equipment, strength, and damage in place, Dahav’s hunting speed was naturally astonishing.
Ping—!
[Defeated 17… 24… 30 Pawns of the fifth wave.]
[All Pawns have been defeated. Stage 5 has been cleared.]
“This is complete cheating.”
Of course, even with dazzling play, if you can’t use skills in the game, speed limits remain.
However, that was no problem thanks to Mai’s ‘Karzan’s Mana Circulation Bracelet.’
Especially the 10% mana regeneration efficiency and its effects were beyond imagination.
“I didn’t expect it to apply so widely.”
The mana cost to maintain summons and to regenerate mana was even affected.
Thanks to this, Dahav’s summoned undead held their ground firmly against the Pawns as if they were immortal.
Having an unkillable tank hunting alongside was no different from the typical help or ‘bus’ that Helpers provided.
If a video of hunting in Ayumur Temple were uploaded now, it would be criticized as relying on gear and skills rather than skill.
“But I’m too happy.”
Anyway, the materials in videos would only increase as levels rose.
“Until then, the ideal is to level up as fast as possible to catch up with the front runners.”
So Dahav prepared to re-enter the dungeon immediately after exiting.
***
Spending three whole days on easy hunting that didn’t require intense concentration, Dahav essentially ran a ‘grind run’ in Ayumur Temple.
“Thanks to that, my level-up speed was incredibly fast.”
Starting from level 31 to now level 35, which usually takes about ten days on average, was accomplished in just three days.
It was truly a result worth widening the gap, but leveling up wasn’t the only achievement.
Thanks to persistent effort, quest completion speed was equally fast.
In just three days, he had filled the 50 waves as if he had used the core skill.
Even the Tik Monk who had stayed longest in Ayumur Temple was baffled by this unprecedented visitor who returned with such miraculous speed.