Day 7 – 3:52 PM – Resting in Unease
The chamber was silent except for the heavy breathing of the exhausted survivors.
Kyung-min hadn't lifted his weapon once in the previous trial, but his body still ached from the endless walking. His limbs were stiff, his mind drained from maintaining focus for nearly four straight hours.
The others?
They were worse.
Ji-hye sat against a stone slab, rubbing her sore shoulders. Her uniform was damp with sweat and monster blood, her usually sharp eyes dull with fatigue.
Tae-sik muttered under his breath as he checked his dulling blade, frustration plain on his face. "Another fight like that, and I swear, I'm just lying down and letting the damn monsters eat me."
Seok-hoon exhaled sharply. "We made it through. Complaining won't change anything."
The Silver-Haired Woman remained as composed as ever. She leaned against the cold stone wall, arms crossed, her gaze resting—not on the floor, not on the others—but on Kyung-min.
Unlike the rest, she didn't seem exhausted.
She hadn't voiced her thoughts about Kyung-min's lack of action in battle. She hadn't looked at him with the same resentment as the others.
But she was watching.
Day 7 – 4:10 PM – Dividing the Loot
The group had barely spoken after escaping the labyrinth, but eventually, Seok-hoon sighed and motioned for everyone to gather.
"We should check what we got from the last trial," he said. "Even if the monsters didn't have cores, the dungeon still rewarded us, right?"
Min-jun nodded and pulled up his System Log.
🔹 [System Reward – Labyrinth of the Forgotten Cleared!]
🔹 [Each Participant Has Received: 500 Gold, 1 Lesser Recovery Potion.]
Tae-sik groaned. "So we went through all that just for pocket change?"
Ji-hye clicked her tongue. "Better than nothing. We need all the supplies we can get."
Seok-hoon ignored them and turned to Kyung-min. "What about you?"
Kyung-min checked his inventory. The gold was there, along with the potion.
"I got the same."
"Of course you did," Ji-hye muttered.
Tae-sik scoffed. "Must be nice, taking a free ride."
Kyung-min clenched his fists but didn't respond.
Because what could he say?
He had guided them, yes. But he hadn't fought.
He hadn't bled like they had.
He wasn't one of them.
And they all knew it.
All except one.
The Silver-Haired Woman said nothing, but when Kyung-min risked a glance at her, he caught something—
A knowing smirk.
Like she had already expected this outcome.
Day 7 – 6:00 PM – The System's Warning
A System Notification flickered before Kyung-min's eyes.
🔹 [Final Announcement: The World Reset Will Occur in 6 Hours.]
🔹 [Prepare Accordingly.]
The Silver-Haired Woman tensed.
For the first time since they entered the dungeon—she looked genuinely worried.
She pushed herself off the wall, voice sharp. "We don't have time to rest."
Tae-sik groaned, throwing his head back. "Are you serious? We just got out of that maze!"
Min-jun frowned. "What's wrong?"
She didn't answer immediately. Instead, her gaze flickered toward Kyung-min.
And then—she forced a smile.
Too forced. Too unnatural.
"Nothing," she murmured. "But we need to finish this dungeon before reset."
Day 7 – 6:15 PM – Entering the Final Chamber
The last door loomed before them.
Unlike the previous two trials, this one was different. The door was massive, ancient-looking, with jagged bone-like engravings stretching across its surface.
Kyung-min's chest tightened.
This place…
Felt wrong.
Seok-hoon exhaled, rolling his shoulders. "Let's get this over with."
The Silver-Haired Woman tilted her head. "Kyung-min."
He looked up.
She gestured at the door. "You know what to do."
He hesitated.
But he understood.
This dungeon wanted him to lead.
He raised a hand—placed it on the cold surface—
And the door shuddered open.
Day 7 – 6:20 PM – The Lich's Awakening
The chamber beyond was a vast cathedral-like expanse, pillars of dark stone stretching into the void above.
And at the far end of the room—
A throne.
A towering seat of blackened bones, pulsing with a sickly green aura.
And on that throne sat a figure draped in ruined ceremonial robes.
The Lich's skull tilted forward, its hollow sockets burning with unnatural light.
The dungeon trembled.
A System Alert flickered.
🔹 [Final Trial: The Undying King]
🔹 [Defeat the Lich to proceed.]
🔹 [No Time Limit.]
Tae-sik swore under his breath. "Great. Just great."
Seok-hoon drew his sword. "Stay sharp."
The Lich's skeletal fingers twitched.
A voice echoed through the chamber.
"…Who dares disturb my rest?"
Kyung-min shivered.
The air itself felt heavy.
Then—
The Lich raised its hand.
And the battle began.
Day 7 – 6:25 PM – The First Strike
The Lich didn't move.
But the shadows did.
From the ground, spectral warriors rose—ghostly knights in rusted armor, their hollow sockets burning with green fire.
Seok-hoon reacted first. "Here they come!"
Ji-hye vanished from sight, reappearing behind one of the knights—her daggers slicing into its back.
Tae-sik let out a battle cry, bringing his sword down on another. The moment he made contact, his blade passed through as if cutting air.
The specter didn't even flinch.
"What the—!?"
Min-jun analyzed the situation instantly. "They're not physical! We need magic!"
The Silver-Haired Woman's eyes flickered. "Then let's give them magic."
She raised her hand.
And the air trembled.
Day 7 – 9:00 PM – The Turning Point
After nearly three hours of battle, the first sign of progress finally appeared.
Ji-hye managed to break through a specter's core—and the rest followed suit.
Tae-sik collapsed against the wall, panting. "Tell me that's the last of them."
The Silver-Haired Woman exhaled, brushing dust from her sleeves. "No."
Seok-hoon looked up. "The Lich hasn't moved."
Everyone turned.
The throne at the end of the chamber was still occupied.
The Lich remained seated.
Its bony fingers drummed against the armrest.
Slowly.
Rhythmically.
Like it had been waiting for this moment.
Then—
It stood.
And the real battle began.
Day 7 – 9:00 PM – The Turning Point
The battlefield reeked of death.
Spectral remains littered the ground—half-formed phantoms fading into nothing, shattered armor turning to dust. The air was thick with the fading echoes of combat, the clashing of steel and the inhuman wails of the spirits they had finally begun to cut down.
Ji-hye staggered back, her daggers dripping with ectoplasmic residue. "That's the last of them…" she panted, wiping sweat from her brow.
Tae-sik groaned, slumping against a pillar. "If I have to fight one more of these ghost bastards, I'm throwing myself into the nearest pit."
Seok-hoon was breathing heavily, his sword's edge dull from clashing against the intangible. "We took too long."
The Silver-Haired Woman exhaled, dusting her sleeves. "No." She turned her gaze toward the throne.
"The fight isn't over yet."
Everyone followed her stare.
And that's when they saw it.
The Lich hadn't moved.
The skeletal king still sat upon its throne, its fingers drumming idly against the armrest, the slow, rhythmic tapping sending unnatural vibrations through the air.
Not once had it lifted a hand.
Not once had it engaged them directly.
Because it hadn't needed to.
Because this fight had been a warm-up.
Kyung-min's pulse quickened.
This thing…
It had never been in danger.
It had merely been watching.
And then—
It stood.
A deep, guttural chuckle echoed from within its hollow ribcage, the sound reverberating like an unholy choir.
Then—it raised one hand.
The torches along the chamber's walls flickered violently, their pale flames turning a sickly green.
The air rippled.
And the dead rose again.
Day 7 – 9:05 PM – The Cycle of Death
Ji-hye's eyes widened in horror. "No way…"
Tae-sik froze. "You've got to be kidding me."
Before their very eyes, the shattered specters they had just slain—reformed.
Their burned-out cores reignited, their tattered armor stitched back together by dark energy.
The once-fallen spectral knights rose again, their empty sockets burning with renewed hatred.
All across the battlefield, bones rattled against the stone floor as discarded remains stitched themselves back together.
The air grew thick with necrotic power.
And one by one—the undead stood once more.
Ji-hye's grip on her daggers tightened. "It's reanimating everything we just killed."
Min-jun's hands trembled. "No… It's worse than that."
Seok-hoon gritted his teeth. "Explain."
Min-jun's voice was a whisper, his expression turning grim.
"It's not just reviving them."
"It's making them stronger."
Day 7 – 9:10 PM – Undead, But Stronger
The newly risen warriors were different.
Where before they had been slow, unstable, breakable—
Now they moved with purpose.
Their forms were sharper, the spectral essence around them denser. The hollow emptiness in their sockets had been replaced with something worse—
Intelligence.
These weren't just disposable minions anymore.
They were evolving.
Kyung-min swallowed hard.
It was as if the Lich had been waiting for them to clear the first wave.
It had watched, studied their movements, and now—it was adapting.
Tae-sik took a step back. "We… We just spent three hours killing these things, and now they're back!?"
Seok-hoon's jaw locked. "This fight isn't just about brute force."
The Silver-Haired Woman nodded. "It's a war of attrition."
Ji-hye cursed under her breath. "It's wearing us down on purpose."
The Lich tilted its head slightly, the bony ridges of its skull clacking together.
Then—it raised its other hand.
A second wave of new undead emerged.
Day 7 – 9:15 PM – More Than Just Specters
It wasn't just knights anymore.
🔹 Skeletal archers materialized along the chamber's edges, their bows strung with arrows of condensed necrotic energy.
🔹 Fanged ghouls crawled from the cracks in the stone floor, their deformed limbs twitching unnaturally.
🔹 Chains slithered through the air, connected to unseen wraiths that flickered in and out of existence.
The battlefield had just tripled in danger.
And the Lich hadn't even moved from its throne yet.
Seok-hoon's breath was measured, but his knuckles were white around his sword. "We need to change our approach."
Tae-sik snapped. "Oh? And how do we do that, genius? Because unless you've got a 'kill all undead permanently' switch, we're screwed!"
Kyung-min watched in silence, his heart hammering.
This… wasn't a battle.
This was a lesson.
The Lich was showing them what it meant to fight against something that could not die.
They could keep swinging their weapons all night.
But as long as the Lich remained standing…
It would never end.