Even the sheep.
It lay there, barely able to move, staring at him as if caught in the same spell of confusion that had gripped the others.
They all stared at him, processing what had just happened.
Why would he react so strongly over saving a creature that had been moments away from killing them all?
Talia was the first to break the tense silence.
“What’s going on with you?” she asked, suspicion lacing her voice. “We’re in a dungeon. We’re supposed to kill that creature.”
She expected a sharp retort. A reason. Something.
But Kei said nothing.
Even though his back was turned to her, she could feel his presence. His gaze—that piercing, unreadable weight that pressed against her, despite not looking at her directly.
The hairs on her arms stood on end.
Reese, seemingly the only one who had put something together, exhaled slowly.
“Kinda makes more sense now.”
The group turned to him, confused.
Reese adjusted his glasses, his expression neutral but thoughtful.
“Back then, after every creature we killed, he always did that gesture—almost like a silent prayer.”
The realization dawned on them.
Kei had been doing it this entire time.
They had been so caught up in combat—in survival—that they hadn’t questioned it. They had assumed it was just a weird habit. A ritual of sorts.
But now?
Reese’s tone was unreadable as he continued.
“I ignored it because, frankly, your reasons weren’t my business. I left you to your own vices.”
But now it was their business.
Owen, still tense from the unspoken warning Kei had just given him, swallowed down his frustration and forced himself to speak.
“Do you understand what it is you’re doing?”
Kei still didn’t answer.
Owen gritted his teeth.
“It’s either us or that creature.”
And finally, Kei turned around.
Secondary Objective: Recover the Lost Relic of the Fellhorn.
- Details: A relic of great significance to the Fellhorn creatures has been stolen, disrupting their natural order and increasing their hostility.
- Requirements: Locate and retrieve the relic before engaging the Dungeon Boss.
- Hidden Condition: Returning the relic instead of keeping it may lead to unexpected rewards or alternative dungeon outcomes.
- Time Limit: If the relic is not recovered before facing the boss, the Fellhorn creatures will enter a frenzied state, greatly increasing their speed and aggression.
[Warning: Ignoring this objective will result in the boss gaining an additional phase and unique abilities. Choose wisely.]
Kei repeated the secondary objective to the group, his voice calm but firm.
He completely ignored the realization of his actions that had dawned on them moments ago, as well as Owen’s question.
Instead, he pressed forward.
“You barely survived against this Fellhorn. What makes you think you’d survive against the boss of this dungeon?”
His words settled over them like a cold reality check.
Kai, as if coming to a sudden realization, narrowed his eyes.
“The relic... That’s what you’re after.”
Owen, still not understanding, frowned. “What are you talking about?”
Kai turned toward him, his expression serious.
“Remember, this was supposed to be a moderate dungeon, but something changed it to hard difficulty. That change also gave us a secondary objective—to locate a relic. If we fail, we risk fighting a dungeon boss that’s more difficult than it should be.”
Owen’s expression twisted as he processed what Kai was saying.
“Wait… So other than protecting that Fellhorn’s life, you’re saying Kei is hoping it can lead us to the relic?”
Kai nodded. “Like he said, we barely survived against that thing.” He motioned toward the still-weakened Stormbringer Fellhorn. “If the boss is even stronger than it should be, our deaths are more than guaranteed.”
Silence.
A heavy silence.
And in the center of it, Kei stood there, watching them all.
Kei returned to the sheep, placing his hand on its thick, static-charged wool. The Stormbringer Fellhorn shivered beneath his touch, instincts screaming at it to flee, but it quickly calmed as if sensing Kei’s lack of hostility.
The others watched cautiously, still unsure about his reasoning.
Kei, however, spoke as if the sheep would understand.
“Hey buddy, we’re looking for a relic here in this dungeon. You wouldn’t happen to know where it is, would you?”
He patted the creature gently.
The Fellhorn’s ears flicked, its glowing white eyes scanning Kei, then the others. It hesitated, almost as if contemplating the request.
Kei crouched beside the Stormbringer Fellhorn, patting its still-trembling form as it let out another weak, mournful bleat.
“Huh? Oh, your body’s still numb?” Kei blinked in mock surprise, his expression the very picture of innocence. “Weird how that happened. Wonder who could’ve done that.”
The others just stared.
Talia crossed her arms. “You’re a terrible liar.”
Ignoring her, Kei reached into his collection of plants and herbs, pulling out a few he had marked for reducing numbness and paralysis. He quickly applied them to the sheep’s legs, rubbing the mixture in while humming to himself.
The Fellhorn shuddered, a faint spark of energy returning to its limbs. Its movements became steadier, its footing regained.
Kei nodded in satisfaction. “Word of advice from a doctor—always make sure you have a cure for the poisons you create. You never know when you’ll need it.”
The sheep stared at him, perhaps contemplating what kind of twisted lunatic would poison something and then cure it just to ask for help.
Then—
It let out a low, resigned baaaaa and began to move.
Kei’s grin stretched. “Oh? You do know something.”
The rest of the group stared.
Talia let out a long, suffering sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. “…Are we seriously following a sheep?”
Kai exhaled, running a hand down his face. “This is our life now, huh?”
Reese muttered under his breath. “Strangely… this feels on-brand for whatever this guy is.”
Owen, still doubtful, lowered his guard slightly. He shot Kei a glance, then the Stormbringer Fellhorn, before finally giving in and choosing to follow. Not like there was much choice in the matter.
As they followed the Fellhorn deeper into the dungeon, Kei spoke casually, as if none of this was out of the ordinary.
“Ever since the secondary objective popped up, I’ve been using the wind to scout for the relic.” He gestured vaguely. “I noticed a few odd areas, but before that, I saw this Fellhorn on its own—wandering, as if abandoned.”
The group listened intently, curious about what he had pieced together.
“While you guys were fighting it, I scouted a bit further,” Kei continued, “and I sensed a unique Aether signature from the path it came from. I don’t know much about dungeons, but I ventured a guess—that’s where we should be heading.
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He turned his gaze to the Fellhorn, still grinning. “Isn’t that right, buddy?”
The Stormbringer Fellhorn, resigned to its fate, let out another low, tired bleat.
And with that, they followed the Stormbringer Fellhorn deeper into the dungeon’s depths.
As they trekked through the dungeon, an eerie silence settled over them. No creatures. No ambushes. Nothing.
At first, it was unsettling, but it became painfully obvious why—they had a Stormbringer Fellhorn walking alongside them. Any lesser creature would think twice before picking a fight with something that exuded enough Aether to fry a squad of adventurers.
More than that, however, the group kept throwing sideways glances at Kei.
Back when he mentioned sensing a unique Aether signature ahead, they had assumed it wasn’t too far off. Yet here they were—still walking—and the signature had yet to come into view.
Just how far could this guy sense Aether?
Even Reese, whose Vector Force was tied heavily to calculations and angles, found himself reevaluating everything he thought he knew about perception.
Owen, still processing everything from earlier, eventually spoke. “You really sensed something all the way from back there?”
Kei nodded. “Pretty sure.”
Owen hummed, “Guess it makes sense. You’ve been ahead of us this whole time.”
Kai exhaled. “I don’t think any of us expected you to have scouting abilities on top of everything else.”
Even Reese, skeptical as he was, muttered, “That range is insane.”
Kei grinned. “I get that a lot.”
At the very least, the long trip gave them time to recuperate. Healing potions had been used sparingly, and their wounds had started to properly close up.
Then, Reese turned to Kei, curiosity evident. “Come to think of it, you used some sort of paste to treat our injuries. Why not just use healing potions?”
Kei shrugged. “I ran out.”
Reese raised a brow. “Then why not buy more?”
Kei scratched the back of his head, looking vaguely sheepish. “…I’m broke.”
Silence.
Talia stared at him. “You’re telling me the guy who took down a Stormbringer Fellhorn, throws bones like a damn sniper, and apparently has god-tier Aether control… is broke?”
“Yup.” Kei said without a hint of shame.
Kai sighed, shaking his head. “You’re an anomaly.”
Then—
Kei suddenly halted.
The group followed suit, instantly on alert.
His eyes flickered as he scanned the air around them, his Breeze Force extending outward, tasting the flow of Aether.
His voice dropped. “We should be getting close. Prepare yourselves.”
The others tightened their grips on their weapons.
Kei’s smirk widened slightly. “The Fellhorns up ahead… they don’t seem all that friendly.”
As if agreeing, the Stormbringer Fellhorn let out a low, mournful bleat.
A sound of sad understanding.
Then—
The first set of glowing eyes flickered in the darkness ahead.
The air was thick with tension.
A herd of Fellhorns stood before them, their postures rigid, hooves scraping against the dungeon’s rocky terrain. Their hostility was clear, but something about the Stormbringer Fellhorn’s presence made them hesitate.
A silent standoff.
The Stormbringer Fellhorn took a measured step forward, crackling energy dancing along its silver-blue wool. The other Fellhorns flinched, uncertain, yet refusing to back down completely.
The group stood frozen, waiting for what would happen next.
Then—
A sharp cry.
"BAAAAAA!"
The sound came from behind them.
The entire group turned, eyes widening at what they saw.
A Shadowmane Fellhorn—distinguished by its dark grey wool, sharp, curved horns, and unnaturally silent movements—was staggering, one of its legs buckling under its own weight.
Blood pooled beneath it.
A bone projectile was embedded deep in the bark of a nearby tree, and a clean hole ran straight through the Fellhorn’s leg.
The group turned, as one, to look at Kei.
Who, at that moment, was still twirling another bone projectile in his fingers.
His expression?
Utterly blank.
“…Huh,” Kei muttered, flicking the projectile into the air before catching it again. “Figured that one was trying something.”
Silence.
Talia slowly inhaled, then let out a sharp exhale through her nose. “…Trying what?”
Kai’s grip tightened around his spear. “You want to explain before we all get gored to death?”
Kei shrugged, spinning the projectile between his fingers. “It was creeping up on us. Looked like it was about to lunge, so I threw something at it.”
Reese, rubbing his temples, muttered, “…Do you just… casually notice these things?”
Owen, now eyeing the growing hostility of the herd, kept his focus on the immediate problem.
Because the Fellhorns, now seeing one of their own wounded, had just reached a very clear decision.
Their bodies tensed.
Their Aether surged.
The hesitation they once had?
Now completely gone.
One of them snorted, stamping its hoof against the ground.
Another lowered its head, horns crackling as Aether gathered.
Then, in the span of a single breath—
They charged.
Several sharp cracks echoed through the air—a concussive symphony of precise, lethal strikes.
One after another, several Fellhorns collapsed, their bodies crashing onto the dungeon’s rocky floor, holes cleanly punctured through their skulls.
The remaining Fellhorns froze, their anger and hostility dying just as swiftly as it had flared.
The entire group turned again, their eyes snapping toward Kei.
He was standing still, head slightly bowed, his hands pressed together in a silent prayer.
The Stormbringer Fellhorn, despite its wounds, watched the scene unfold, its ears twitching in response to Kei’s strange, almost ritualistic behavior.
Kei finished his prayer with a slow, deliberate exhale. Then, lifting his gaze, he fixed his blank, unreadable stare on the remaining Fellhorns.
His next words weren’t loud.
But in the absolute silence that followed his display of overwhelming force, they carried weight.
“We don’t have much time to waste here.”
His tone was calm. Matter-of-fact.
And yet—
Every single Fellhorn in the vicinity stiffened as if it could feel something shifting in the air.
Kei continued.
"I don’t enjoy taking a life. But one way or another, we’re taking that relic. The only question is…”
He tilted his head slightly, his voice dropping just a fraction.
“Will you still be alive by the time we walk away with it?”
The wind howled through the dungeon.
And the Fellhorns shuddered.
Walking past the group along with the Stormwind Fellhorn, Kei approached the relic, his gaze locked onto the Crown of the First Storm resting atop a raised stone pedestal.
As his hand reached out, the Stormwind Fellhorn let out a low, mournful bleat, its body tense as if recognizing something lost to time—something rightfully its.
Then—
A System Notification appeared before them.
[System Alert: Secondary Objective - Relic of the Fellhorn King Acquired]
[Item: Crown of the First Storm]
[Type: Relic]
[Description:
A crown forged from woven lightning, once worn by the First Storm Fellhorn—the progenitor of all Stormbringer Fellhorns. It was said to have been bathed in the breath of the tempest, absorbing endless storms until it became a living conduit of raw, untamed power.]
[Effects:]
- Amplifies the wielder’s control over Storm Force and Wind-based Aether.
- Grants Domain Influence over all Fellhorns within the dungeon.
[Verifying Ownership Conditions…]
[Entity Detected: Stormbringer Fellhorn]
[Relic Bound to Dungeon Core: Domain Control Limited to Dungeon Grounds.]
Kei paused, narrowing his eyes at the last notification.
"So we can’t take it with us?"
The rest of the group stepped closer, their eyes drawn to the Crown of the First Storm, its woven lightning pulsing with untamed energy. Even without touching it, they could feel the power humming in the air, static crackling in rhythmic surges.
“Figures,” Reese muttered, crossing his arms. “A relic that lets you control an entire species? No way the system lets us just walk out with it.”
Talia frowned, arms folding. “Then what do we do? The whole point of this was to complete the dungeon.”
Owen, now standing and fully recovered, studied the system notifications. “The objective was to find the relic, not necessarily take it. Maybe just activating it is enough?”
Before anyone could respond—
A deep, resounding BAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH echoed through the chamber, shaking the cavern walls.
The remaining Fellhorns, the ones that had stood against them, suddenly stepped back. The tension in the air shifted. Their heads lowered—not in hostility, but in submission.
The Stormwind Fellhorn stepped forward, its wool crackling with lightning—but something was different this time. The electricity that had once surged wildly through its body now pulsed in controlled waves.
A system prompt flickered before them.
[Relic of the Fellhorn King Recognized.]
[Domain Influence Granted.]
Kei’s brows lifted. “Huh.”
Talia barely had time to process what was happening when the air in the chamber suddenly shifted. The momentary warmth from the lightning-infused Fellhorn was snuffed out, replaced by a suffocating, bone-deep chill.
Then—
[Dungeon Boss Manifestation Detected.]
[WARNING: Unique Variant Encountered.]
[Boss Name: Frost Tyrant Fellhorn]
[Level: 15]
[Force Alignment: Glacial Dominion]
A deep, unnatural cold surged through the cavern, crystallizing the ground in a spreading wave of frost. Their breaths fogged instantly, mist escaping from their lips as the air itself seemed to freeze around them.
Then—it emerged.
From the depths of the cavern, a colossal Fellhorn stepped forward, its entire body cloaked in ice-laced fur, glowing an eerie cerulean blue. Its massive curved horns were jagged and sharp, encased in permafrost, exuding an overwhelming cold aura that sent violent shivers through the group.
Its eyes—pale, glowing orbs devoid of warmth— locked onto them.
It exhaled—
A howling blizzard erupted from its maw, swallowing the chamber in a spiraling storm of ice and cutting winds. The cavern walls froze over instantly, thick layers of ice creeping outward, as if the dungeon itself was bending to its dominion.
[Status Effect: Encroaching Frost]
[All entities within range suffer progressive movement impairment. Failure to resist will result in Frozen Status.]
Owen staggered back, gripping his sword as the ice began to slow his movements. “My legs—shit, I’m freezing up!”
Kai clenched his fists, rubbing his arms as frost clung to his skin. “Damn it, this is bad! If we stay here too long, we’re gonna be frozen solid!”
Reese pulled an arrow from his quiver, eyes locked on the towering Fellhorn. “We hit it fast, or we’re done.”
Talia exhaled sharply, her breath escaping in wisps of frost. "Yeah, well, unless you got fire arrows in that quiver, I don’t think it’s that simple."
Kei, despite the overwhelming cold, grinned. His orange-veined staff rested loosely in his grip, his eyes flickering with an almost giddy amusement.
“Heh,” he muttered, cracking his knuckles, his breath curling into the frozen air.
“This is gonna be fun.”
The Frost Tyrant Fellhorn lowered its head.
Kei descended from above, his grin wide as blood already ran down his arm, dripping freely.
“First thing first,” he murmured, eyes practically glowing in excitement.
Then—he pressed his bleeding hand directly onto the Frost Tyrant Fellhorn’s icy mouth.
A chill surged through his palm, but he didn’t care.
“My benefits—hehehehe.”
His laughter was almost childlike, as if he were waking up on Christmas morning.
“Black sheep. Storm sheep.” He leaned in, whispering as if telling a secret. “Now Frost sheep. Best. Day. Ever.”
The Frost Tyrant Fellhorn’s pale blue eyes widened as Kei’s blood seeped into its system.
It lurched, staggering, its icy aura flickering unsteadily, veins pulsing as the overwhelming rush of Aether flooded its body.
Then—its body convulsed.
Aether surged violently.
It reared up, letting out an earth-shaking, frenzied bleat—a sound that sent splintering ice shards flying in every direction.
The dungeon itself seemed to shudder.
Then—it flung Kei off.
He was already midair, tumbling casually, as if he expected that reaction.
"Alright, Storm Sheep!" Kei called out as he flipped through the air. "This is your fight! You better win since you have that relic!"
The Stormwind Fellhorn, which had been stunned by Kei’s earlier antics, snapped its attention back to the Frost Tyrant.
Its lightning-crackling wool bristled.
The Frost Tyrant Fellhorn, still reeling from the foreign Aether surge, locked eyes with the Stormwind Fellhorn.
The temperature in the cavern plummeted even further.
A storm of lightning and a blizzard of frost clashed in the air, raging against each other as if the dungeon itself was about to split in two.
Then—
A bestial roar erupted from both of them.
The battle of kings began.