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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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Swoosh—
The Lunar Knight raised his sword. The guardian spirit of the Forgotten Moon Shrine.
‘Lunar Knight, Karuna.’
The Forgotten Moon Shrine’s notorious difficulty was partly due to the Moonlit Plaza, where he now stood.
‘It was a real challenge to figure out the strategy at first.’
The difficulty of the Moonlit Dance was beyond imagination, to the point where I wondered if this was really a game of rolling dice and having fun.
The goal was to avoid Karuna’s attacks and reach the safe zone in the distance. The problem was that even a single hit from Karuna would burn you to a crisp.
A terrible section with a boss monster that had an instant-kill pattern.
– Oh… a friend with an impressive aura appeared….
– Breaking News) This is the first player to reach the final gate ㄷㄷ
– We are at the forefront of humanity!
– The only information available is the setting book. Wow ㄷㄷ what are the stats!
– Is this the tutorial adventure?
A simple structure, like a game of tag. But if you looked closely, the simplicity was layered with more simplicity, and the result was far from simple, verging on complex.
‘The panels…’
The unyielding lion, the jealous wolf, the embracing moon, the meek sheep. All the panels were painted with the same symbols.
‘And the colors too.’
Red, blue, black. Every type of panel he had encountered before was present. Stepping on these panels while avoiding Karuna’s attacks to reach the end.
In the early days, those who had said, ‘This is easy,’ were all burned to death by Karuna’s moonlight.
‘It’s been a while.’
Choices appeared before his eyes.
He stepped on the first panel of the plaza. It was the red lion panel.
Tap.
“Arrogant!”
The order of the panels was, of course, based on the previous gate: lion, wolf, moon, sheep. This order remained valid until he passed the Moonlit Plaza.
If he made a single mistake, Karuna would charge his moonlight and cleave the player’s piece in half.
‘And each color has a different role.’
The red panels slowed Karuna’s movements and removed a layer of moonlight from his armor.
Zzzzing—
As Kang Seol stepped on the red lion panel, Karuna’s glowing armor dimmed slightly.
‘I have to step on the red panel at least three times.’
Only then could he completely break Karuna’s barrier and slow him down to a snail’s pace. Without this penalty, Karuna would majestically walk over and decapitate his piece.
Kang Seol continued to step on the panels.
Tap.
Red wolf.
Tap.
Red moon.
Zzzzing—
“S-Sooo… m-muuuch… paaaain…”
As the red panel activated and drained Karuna’s power, his speech also slowed down. But his movements weren’t completely negligible, about the same as Kang Seol’s walking speed.
It would have been great if Karuna lost all his power and stopped moving, but the red panels’ effect wouldn’t stack more than three times, no matter how many times you stepped on them consecutively.
‘Next is…’
Tap.
Black sheep.
Clank.
Bang!
Craaack!
As he stepped on the black panel, an iron ball shot out from somewhere and hit Karuna’s armor.
“Hmph!”
Whoosh—!
Although the armor was slightly dented, it was soon recharged with moonlight. The newly charged Karuna regained his original momentum.
The iron ball wouldn’t be able to damage him until the light on his armor was removed again.
“Stay there!”
Hooooong.
As the distance widened slightly, Karuna’s body suddenly glowed with moonlight. Karuna took a sword-drawing stance.
‘It’s the instant-kill pattern!’
Just when you thought you were safe because of the distance, Karuna’s instant-kill pattern would activate. That sword draw would affect the entire plaza, and an unequipped adventurer would be sliced in half like a straw doll if exposed to it.
There was only one way to counter it.
Tap.
Kang Seol stepped on the blue lion panel and stood still. Moonlight enveloped his body.
Hooooong—
Soon, Karuna’s instant-kill pattern, Moonbeam Slash, swept through the plaza.
Kaboom—!
The moonlight swept past Kang Seol, but he wasn’t burned or sliced in half.
“Farewell.”
Stepping on the blue panel allowed him to defend against Karuna’s Moonbeam Slash. He stepped on another red panel and started to move away from Karuna.
“Arrogant one! You will be judged…”
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
“S-Sooo… muuuuch… paaaaaain…”
This time, a black panel.
Tap.
Bang!
Crack!
Karuna’s armor was visibly damaged. But, recharged with moonlight again, he instantly closed the distance to Kang Seol.
‘New Moon Step…’
Karuna wouldn’t have been so infamous if he had only one pattern, Moonbeam Slash. The player was always in danger, no matter how far away they were from Karuna.
Karuna, having recovered his moonlight, instantly regained his momentum, as if he had never been hit, and charged at the player.
‘This is the most dangerous moment.’
This was the most dangerous moment for the player, when Karuna, hit by the iron ball from the black panel, charged at them again with his moonlight.
In the Eternal World, Karuna got a bonus to his dice rolls at this time. Although it didn’t mean much to the player, since one hit meant death, in reality, it was a different story.
‘He’s incredibly fast!’
Tap.
Tap.
“Hooww… daare… you…”
But after stepping on the red panel, Karuna was once again immobilized. Kang Seol had almost reached the end of the vast plaza.
“Iii… wiiill… nooot… leeeet… yooou… escaaaape…”
Kang Seol forcefully stepped on a black panel.
Tap.
Bang!
Crack!
Clank!
The iron ball hit Karuna’s left shoulder, and his pauldron broke off.
“Yooou… baaastard!”
Kang Seol was now in front of the last panel. He had successfully evaded Karuna, and now, by stepping on that panel and moving forward, he could obtain the reward.
The annoying Karuna would no longer chase him. His foot moved towards the last panel.
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There was a perfect strategy for the Forgotten Moon Ruin, designed by the gods who had previously conquered it. A strategy built on the corpses of new pieces.
If you followed the strategy faithfully, and the dice rolls weren’t terrible, it was possible to pass the final gate without taking any damage from Karuna. Many had passed this adventure that way.
Without any suspicion. Snowman’s pieces had also used this strategy to obtain the final reward. But was there anything more deceptive than the word ‘perfect’?
The now-exposed gods might have believed it, but at least Kang Seol, a human, was skeptical of most pre-arranged strategies.
‘Is this really the best way?’
Was escaping Karuna and passing the Forgotten Moon Ruin really the right answer? He had that question and asked the other gods about it. The answer was very disappointing.
– That’s dangerous. What’s the point if the piece dies?
– That would add another pattern. Why go through all that trouble?
– Is there really a reason to go that far?
At that time, Kang Seol had felt a slight sense of alienation from the gods, but he hadn’t shown it. The gods were afraid of failure. Fear of failure meant fear of trying. He soon tried his own strategy, without telling the others.
“See, it works.”
First of all, the method was correct.
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Thud.
Kang Seol, about to step on the last panel, turned back and returned to the plaza.
“Almost left this behind.”
The reward for clearing the plaza would be great and would play an important role in his future adventures. After a difficult adventure, the next one would be a little easier. But there was something more important to him here than such a reward.
“Do not disturb the moonlight!”
Tap. Tap. Tap.
“Thiiis… iiis… nooooot… oooover…”
Tap.
Bang!
Crack!
“Ugh!”
Now, every attack on Karuna was fatal. His armor was already broken in several places, and his movements were a little sluggish even when he was imbued with moonlight.
‘It’s almost time for Karuna’s last pattern.’
Why would it be difficult to execute a strategy he had created himself? Snowman was Kang Seol, and Kang Seol was Snowman, so there was no fear.
Hooooong—
Once again, the Moonbeam Slash pattern returned. Karuna, with a grim determination, gathered moonlight in his sword.
“Do you really have to go this far!”
Flicker—!
It was dangerous to underestimate the 10%. The percentage increased every 5 seconds, so if he delayed even a little, he could be decapitated by a sudden flurry of attacks. From now on, precise movements were key.
“Die!”
Karuna’s shout was meaningless. Kang Seol was already on a blue panel long before.
Kabooooom!
The moonlight that shook the plaza. Kang Seol just scoffed at it.
‘So this is the Moonlit Dance.’
It seemed like a metaphorical expression when rolling dice on a board, but in reality, there was no more direct expression. They were dancing.
Kang Seol didn’t antagonize Karuna, and they never clashed once. One was trying to approach the other, and the other was mocking him by stepping on the panels.
That was the scene in the Moonlit Plaza. And so, the battle of stepping on panels continued for a while. But it was about to end. Karuna, panting, looked at Kang Seol with blurred pupils.
“Let’s end this.”
“Be humble… invader!”
The death count. It seemed like a number was being counted down every time a red panel was stepped on.
Tap.
4.
Tap.
3.
“Myyy… maaaaster… will… nooot… for…”
Tap.
2.
And the last black panel he stepped on was the final blow.
Tap.
1.
Bang!
The iron ball that was fired this time was aimed at Karuna’s thick helmet. And it hit.
Craaaaaack!
“Ugh…”
Clatter…
Karuna’s head was thrown back, and his knees buckled. The helmet flew off from the impact, and now, his armor could no longer hold the moonlight.
“Master… I have… failed… my mission…”
Karuna’s face, revealed from under the helmet, was like that of an elf with snow-white skin. Blood flowed from all over his crushed head.
“I’m sorry…”
Tap.
Kang Seol stepped on a black moon panel a short distance away.
Bang!
Craaaack!
Karuna collapsed after being hit in the chest by an iron ball.
“…”
And at once, messages shot up.
“Haa…”
Kang Seol, bathed in moonlight, was now alone in the plaza. He approached Karuna before checking the moon box, the highest-grade reward.
“Master…”
He grinned, baring his teeth.
“From now on, I am your master.”
Is there really a reason to go that far?
The method was correct, and he could make up a reason. Now, he had a reason to defeat Karuna. He activated the Shadow Summoner’s authority.
“Serve me.”
Crackle—
Karuna’s shadow stirred.
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