Chapter 98: Howling Mine (2)

With pressure shot and his various other skills and soul traits, one monster after another fell.

Aiden never wasted a movement. Luna followed closely behind.

She didn’t use offensive skills. There was no need.

She occasionally waved her staff, causing gentle moonlight to descend upon Silas.

The restorative energy stabilized his already steady HP while the tremendous mana regeneration provided by the [Moonlight Meditation Set] ensured that Luna herself remained in peak condition.

The three moved as one. Silas was the unshakable fulcrum.

Aiden was the blade revolving around that fulcrum, harvesting everything in his path.

And Luna was the invisible bond holding the entire formation together.

The moment one wave of monsters died, they didn’t stop.

They immediately advanced toward the next.

No unnecessary recovery. No hesitation. No wasted movement. Just efficiency.

...

The difference between the two teams began widening almost immediately.

Dragon Sovereign had just finished clearing the monsters in the first large hall.

Their members were cautiously checking the branching tunnels for traps and hidden enemies.

The Abyss Squad had already swept through two mine tunnels.

They moved through them like a whirlwind.

More importantly, Aiden possessed something Dragon Sovereign didn’t.

Knowledge of the future.

Using his memories from his previous life, he recognized a hidden shortcut and led Silas and Luna through it, completely bypassing a large bat nest that would normally require considerable time to clear.

The difference continued to grow. Deep within the mine, both teams eventually encountered a sealed gate.

Dragon Sovereign’s mage crouched beside the mechanism, carefully calculating the energy nodes required to activate it.

The warriors stood guard while they waited.

The Abyss Squad simply arrived. Aiden glanced at the gate.

He didn’t even bother examining the mechanism. Instead, he walked toward an inconspicuous crack beside it.

He drew the Devouring Soul Blade.

Then—

He stabbed it into the crack and twisted.

Click!

The mechanism core shattered. The massive gate trembled.

Then slowly began to rise. Another shortcut from Aiden’s memories. Another obstacle erased.

---

Eventually, the two teams encountered the dungeon’s first mini-boss.

[Level 12 Elite — Overseer Chief]

The enormous creature wielded a gigantic mining pick, its body covered in layers of crude armor.

Dragon Sovereign immediately entered formation.

The tanks rotated positions to absorb its [Heavy Strike].

Healers focused on keeping the frontline alive.

Mages and ranged damage dealers continuously attacked from a safe distance.

The fight was methodical.

But slow. It took nearly five minutes for them to finally grind the Overseer Chief down.

And they still paid a price. A thief misjudged his positioning.

The Overseer Chief’s mining pick descended.

BOOM!

The thief was killed instantly. On the other side of the dungeon— The Abyss Squad had already begun fighting.

Silas went straight for the boss. He didn’t dodge the first Heavy Strike. He took it head-on.

BOOM!

His HP dropped sharply. But at that exact moment—

[Unyielding Bulwark]!

The defensive effect triggered. A powerful shield appeared and absorbed the follow-up damage.

Silas held the boss firmly in place.

Aiden moved. He clung to the Overseer Chief like a shadow that couldn’t be shaken.

[Heaven-Binding Roots]!

Roots erupted from the ground and wrapped around the boss’s legs.

The Overseer Chief struggled.

Aiden’s blade flashed. ’Its wrist.’

Slash!

The hand gripping the mining pick was struck. ’Its knee.’

Slash!

The blade found another weak point. Again and again, Aiden targeted the boss’s vulnerabilities instead of wasting attacks against its strongest defenses.

Behind them, Luna calmly raised her staff.

Moonlight descended.

[Moonlight Mark]

A faint mark appeared on Aiden’s body, subtly increasing his damage output.

The entire battle proceeded with almost mechanical precision.

Two minutes.

One minute.

Thirty seconds.

Then—

BOOM!

The massive body of the Overseer Chief crashed onto the ground.

[Soul Essence absorbed!]

[Absorbed Strength +3 from the target — Overseer Chief!]

[Soul Essence absorbed!]

[Obtained 200 Soul Trait Essence from the target — Overseer Chief!]

Aiden’s eyes flickered slightly. He could feel the satisfying surge of power flowing into his body.

But there was no time to admire it. The gap between the two teams was already widening with every obstacle.

Dragon Sovereign was clearing the dungeon. The Abyss Squad was dismantling it.

There was a fundamental difference. Dragon Sovereign relied on numbers, preparation, resources, and cautious execution.

Aiden’s squad relied on overwhelming individual strength, perfect coordination, advanced information, and his knowledge of the dungeon itself.

Every advantage was being converted into speed.

While Dragon Sovereign’s Elite Team 1 was still struggling through reinforced monster groups in the middle section, carefully calculating potion consumption and waiting for skill cooldowns, the Abyss Squad had already pierced through layer after layer of the dungeon.

They were approaching the latter half.

---

Outside the mine, the spectators could see nothing happening inside.

Yet some experienced players were watching the dungeon’s entrance closely.

The light curtains on both sides displayed subtle energy fluctuations corresponding to the teams’ progress.

Most players wouldn’t notice the difference.

But veterans could. And gradually, the fluctuations on the Abyss Squad’s side became noticeably more active.

Faster. More frequent.

One veteran’s eyes widened. "Could it be..."

’The Abyss Squad was already far ahead?’

Inside the dungeon, Wildland Dragonfang had just watched his team finish clearing another wave of monsters.

The frontline needed to recover. The mages needed to restore their mana.

Potion consumption was beginning to climb. Wildland Dragonfang’s expression darkened.

That ominous feeling in his chest had grown stronger.

’Those three bastards... Where exactly had they reached?’

Meanwhile—

At the end of a long mine tunnel, Aiden stood before the entrance to the final Boss area.

Behind him were countless defeated monsters. The Devouring Soul Blade trembled faintly in his hand.

He could feel the satisfying throbbing of the weapon as the accumulated Soul Essence settled within it.

His own attributes had risen once again. Yet Aiden’s expression remained calm.

He looked toward the enormous gate ahead. Then quietly spoke.

"Not fast enough." Silas and Luna immediately looked toward him.

Aiden tightened his grip on the Devouring Soul Blade.

"Next section." His eyes became cold. "Accelerate."

The three figures moved simultaneously..They transformed into three shadows and surged toward the final battlefield.

The silent race was far from over. But from the very beginning, the scales of victory had already begun to tip.