Luluwo stared at the mysterious hooded man who had suddenly appeared before her, her expression freezing solid.
She never imagined she would actually run into a newly risen, urban-legend–level figure like this.
And why the hell was this guy's title Warrior of Sunlight?!
Since when did the warm, helpful sun become an evil invader?
Your "sun" has to be an impostor from the Abyss, right?!
The man standing before her was the very culprit who had ruined all of her plans. By all logic, when enemies met like this, sparks should have flown.
Yet before she could even open her mouth, Belto and the others had already made their move.
Skills and magic surged forward in a relentless barrage, flooding toward the intruder!
In contrast, the hooded man showed almost no reaction at all.
Leon himself was also a little stunned.
"Huh… I just tried using the Red Eye Orb. How did I actually succeed in invading?"
He shared the same confusion as Luluwo.
Why could a Warrior of Sunlight invade other people?
As for how he'd obtained the Red Eye Orb, the explanation was simple.
Whether invaders or cooperators, everyone could give themselves a codename. Some people chose the strangest aliases imaginable.
But there were always a few straightforward types who honestly entered their real names.
Leon happened to run into one such honest soul. By following the trail, he tracked down this notorious troublemaker, beat him up, and conveniently took the Red Eye Orb along with everything else.
He'd only tested it once inside the dungeon and never expected it to actually work.
And now that he looked closely at the people he'd invaded…
Why did they seem so familiar?
The moment he saw Belto, it clicked.
Wasn't this the New Group?
Judging by the lineup, it was definitely them.
What rotten luck.
Originally, Leon had planned to kill himself and leave immediately if he invaded innocent people. But running into these guys—well, they weren't exactly enemies. Just people he found unpleasant.
If all this invasion nonsense really was their doing, though, then they would be enemies.
"I won't offend others unless they offend me."
Even now, Leon still had a trace of goodwill left. If they could just stop and talk things out, a peaceful resolution wasn't impossible.
Unfortunately, Mira suddenly pulled a round iron hammer from who-knows-where and smashed it straight toward him.
Belto followed closely behind, while Ais and Aim began chanting ice and fire spells.
It was obvious.
They were trying to delete him in one go.
The last shred of Leon's goodwill vanished.
Whoosh!
Just as all the attacks converged and were about to land, Leon's figure disappeared.
In the next instant, he reappeared several steps away, completely unharmed.
"What kind of combat skill is that?!" Belto shouted.
BloodHound's Step, kid.
Leon glanced at the grappling hook in his hand, silently praising his foresight for borrowing it from Stella before invading.
The mysterious "Hooded Trio" consisted of Leon, Stella, and the mage Roger.
They all shared one defining trait—
Dirty.
Just how dirty hardly needed explanation.
Stella, with BloodHound's Step paired with a greatbow loaded with Arrow Rain and a shortbow capable of Rapid Shot, was downright shameless.
As for Roger?
What kind of mage obsessed over invisibility sneak attacks? And when pushed too far, he'd even release his pet female dragon, letting invaders experience the terror of a full dragon charge.
Sadly, no one had managed to push him that far yet.
Back to Leon's fight.
After blinking away from attack after attack, Leon was stunned by just how absurdly useful BloodHound's Step was.
Paired with Cancel, it was the perfect combination.
"What—?!"
Mira slammed her hammer into the ground. Before she could recover from the shock, Leon appeared right in front of her and swung his straight sword down!
Clang! Clang! Clang—!
Sparks flew as Mira barely managed to raise her hammer to block.
The handle shattered instantly.
The unstoppable blade came straight toward her face.
At that moment, a chain suddenly wrapped around Leon's arm.
It was Luluwo.
Dozens of chains extended from beneath her cloak, making her look like some upgraded Doctor Octopus. So this was her weapon?
What a bizarre sight.
"Do you really think you can hurt my companions in front of me?" Luluwo said coldly.
"…"
Leon glanced at her, then lifted his foot and kicked Mira away.
With a scream, Mira was sent flying.
Idiot. You should've tied up my legs too.
"You—!"
Furious, Luluwo clenched her fists. The chains twisted together, forming a massive iron fist that smashed toward Leon.
He dodged easily.
Then the fist suddenly dispersed, chains striking from every tricky angle, making them impossible to fully defend against.
Offensive magic formed above Leon's head.
Slowing magic activated beneath his feet.
Ais and Aim—one focused on offense, the other on support.
Belto, the fastest among them, grabbed Mira and hurled her like a cannonball.
She screamed in rage, determined to crush Leon in a single blow.
After grasping how BloodHound's Step worked, Luluwo reacted swiftly.
Chains shot out, sealing off every direction.
No matter where Leon fled, he'd be caught.
Faced with this blood-boiling combo attack, what would Leon do?
Naturally—
He used BloodHound's Step.
"Now's our chance!" Luluwo smiled.
She'd predicted his movement in advance.
Countless chains surged toward him.
But in the next instant, her entire body stiffened.
She couldn't move at all.
What happened? Why can't I move?!
The answer was simple.
Stun.
Leon struck the chains, and as their owner, Luluwo herself was dragged into hit-stun!
Leon grabbed several chains and activated BloodHound's Step again.
When he reappeared, Mira was already tied up like a dumpling.
For good measure, he added another stun to Luluwo.
A massive ice spike slammed down, snapping several chains—but nothing more.
The swamp spell meant to restrain Leon missed completely.
"This guy…" Belto stared, eyes wide.
Leon dealt with the Luluwo Group's attacks with ease, thinking only one thing:
Still relying on traditional weapons? Pathetic. You should become hardcore Sein Dungeon fans like me.
As the mysterious hooded man drew closer, Luluwo felt a pressure she hadn't experienced in a long time.
"Ah! Gah! Wah!"
After a few miserable screams, the entire Group lay defeated, unable to stand.
Especially Luluwo.
She knelt on the ground, barely injured, yet completely hollow—like someone who'd lost at life itself.
They'd been invaded many times before.
But this was their first true defeat.
And worse—
They'd lost spectacularly.
They simply couldn't beat the hooded man.
Leon admired his handiwork, then mercifully used a Black Separation Crystal to leave.
Naturally, it was stolen.
In his eyes, aside from being competitors, he didn't harbor any deep hatred toward the Luluwo Group.
His darkest thought had only been to beat them up a little.
Only after a long while did Luluwo shakily stand.
Her confidence was nearly shattered, but she forced herself to recover.
One loss wasn't the end.
What mattered was learning from it.
"It's fine… we just lost a fight."
She patted her cheeks.
"I didn't come here just to fight. I'll definitely get the first clear. I definitely will…"
Her voice grew weaker, as if the air itself were draining from her lungs.
Soon after, the recovered Group set out once more.
Everyone walked with their heads lowered, spirits crushed.
Belto was the first to recover.
In moments like this, someone had to lift morale.
Gathering his emotions, he said loudly,
"That despicable hooded man only won because of those weird combat skills! Without those two techniques, victory would've been ours!"
It was a lie.
In truth, even without them, Belto felt he still couldn't beat him.
Leon's PvP experience was simply overwhelming.
But to comfort everyone, Belto could only spout such hollow, cannon-fodder words.
"Don't kid yourself," Mira shot him a glance, her voice tired. "He blocked my attack with a shield. That's not something you can do without real skill. Don't belittle him just because we lost."
"Yeah," Ais sighed. "Whether it's you or us, we were completely outmatched."
"Belto," Luluwo said earnestly, patting his shoulder. "I know losing hurts, but you have to accept reality. Belittling the opponent isn't good."
"…"
Belto nearly suffocated.
I was trying to play the fool to comfort you—why are you all suddenly so morally upright?!
Still, his attempt broke the ice.
Everyone began talking again.
Luluwo dropped her leaderly composure, pumping her fist.
"But I've memorized his fighting style! Next time we meet, I'll win!"
"I won't let him deflect my attacks again!" Mira clenched her fists. "I'll smash him flat!"
"Next time, our magic won't miss," Ais and Aim said together.
Good.
Morale was slowly returning.
Belto was relieved. He whistled cheerfully—
—and the instant the sound left his lips:
[You are being invaded by Warrior of Sunlight "Mysterious Hooded Man"!]
As the familiar red phantom began to form, the Luluwo Group froze.
It felt as if someone had grabbed their throats.
The joyful atmosphere vanished.
Luluwo's fist was still raised.
Her arm stiffened, pointing straight up like an antenna.
Hadn't even half an hour passed?
Why were they being invaded again?
And by the same person?!
Leon was equally baffled.
Why is it them again?
He'd planned to leave immediately using the Black Separation Crystal.
But seeing them draw their weapons, he sighed and raised his own.
"…Fine. Round two."
A few minutes later, the Luluwo Group was defeated again.
This time, recovery took twice as long.
[You are being invaded by Warrior of Sunlight "Mysterious Hooded Man"!]
Seeing the red phantom appear for the third time, Luluwo's mind could only sum it up in two words:
I'm numb.
What the hell is wrong with you?!
You're a Warrior of Sunlight—are you addicted to invading?!
Her knees gave out.
She collapsed to the ground with a dull plop.
She couldn't muster even a shred of fighting spirit.
She wanted to go home and rethink her life.
Leon wiped them out again.
Invading the same group three times in a row—what kind of fate was this?
It'd be a waste not to kill them.
This time, Leon obtained a Sun Medal.
As for the others—
At Firelink Shrine, the entire Group sat slumped on the stone steps, heads hanging low.
A full-scale "Depressed Bro" cosplay.
They looked as if a Paramecia-type Spirit Spirit Fruit ghost had passed through them.
Utterly despondent.
They felt that their existence was a waste of the world's resources—and that any future cosmic collapse should probably be blamed on them.
Especially Luluwo.
As the one who had single-handedly ushered in the "Great Invasion Era," she was now suffering its consequences.
She was so depressed she looked on the verge of tears.
Since entering the Sein Dungeon, her philosophy of "taking shortcuts" had failed repeatedly.
Sometimes, it even backfired and hurt her instead.
She'd begun to doubt herself.
Belto watched all of this, teeth clenched.
No.
This won't do.
Everyone needed their spirits back.
As the most responsible member of the team, Belto made a decision—
He would publish all of their current intel on the Catacombs Area.
Publishing intel meant public praise.
Public praise meant morale recovery.
The equation formed clearly in his mind.
And luckily, he already had a summarized version prepared.
It wasn't perfect.
But it was useful.
Surely they'd receive praise, right?
After much persuasion, he finally dragged everyone out of the dungeon and toward the Adventurers' Guild.
Belto was confident—
Until he overheard conversations along the way.
"Living Pots are just too cute. If the Catacombs weren't so dangerous, I'd go play with them every day."
"Hey, didn't the Leon Group already release info about that area? Just follow the guide. After a few tries, you'll get through."
"And the rewards from Warrior Pots are amazing! I used them to beat my enemy. Hehehe, I love them."
Living Pot?
Warrior Pot?
Belto's pupils shrank.
He didn't understand what pots or rewards they were talking about.
But he caught the key point—
The Leon Group had already released intel?
Impossible.
How could they progress that fast?
It had to be partial information.
Their progress was behind theirs—there were things they definitely didn't know.
Our intel still has value.
At least for now.
Urgency surged through him.
He dragged his companions straight to the Adventurers' Guild.
No time to prepare multiple copies.
He'd just announce everything publicly.
Maybe they could turn things around.
The moment he pushed the door open, he froze.
…Had he entered the wrong place?
Why was everyone wearing flower crowns?
Most adventurers wore yellow wreaths.
The craftsmanship was rough, but they carried a strange, childlike sincerity.
Even the burliest men were touching their crowns fondly, faces flushed.
Belto heard words like "Living Pot," "Friendly Pot," and "cute" again.
Someone was even selling earth-magic constructs called "Living Pot" models.
He leaned in for a closer look.
Wasn't that just a miniature version of the Warrior Pot they'd killed?
They'd only spent one day in the dungeon.
How had this become a citywide trend?
Something felt very wrong.
But Belto still climbed onto a table and shouted,
"Everyone! We have cutting-edge dungeon intel to publish—for free!"
Adventurers immediately gathered around.
Some recognized them as the self-proclaimed New Group, making the intel even more attractive.
As Belto rapidly read out each piece of information, murmurs spread.
"Didn't Maru's already say this this morning?"
"Listen closely—some of it's different. Still useful."
"Yeah, it's more detailed. The New Group's pretty capable."
Praise spread.
Adventurers were straightforward—when pleased, they didn't hold back compliments.
Light slowly returned to the Luluwo Group's eyes.
Their spirits lifted.
See?
Their intel really was better than the Leon Group's!
Belto smiled as he reached what he considered a minor detail.
"On the path to the Death Knight, you'll encounter a Warrior Pot being attacked by monsters. Killing it drops yellow flowers. Their use is currently unknown!"
The guild fell silent.
Unaware, Belto pulled a crumpled yellow wildflower from his pocket and held it up.
"In the room where the Warrior Pot blocks the door, there's a hidden passage. Inside, you'll find a grave covered in flowers and grass. There—"
A burly man wearing a flower crown suddenly interrupted him, face dark.
"You killed Living Pot?"
"…What?"
Belto froze.
Only then did he notice—
Something was very wrong.
Why did everyone's expression look like that?
Where had all the praise gone?