Mind Field, an ability that consumed one’s life force. No wonder so many Dungeon Masters had fallen to it. With shared vision and relayed commands, the dungeon’s side was at a clear disadvantage. However, the penalties on the raiders were just as severe—skill restrictions, item penalties, and various other debuffs meant that Inhye was also fighting uphill. She had only succeeded in the past because her high-A-rank companions could power through the penalties and destroy the dungeon core.

The real problem was the penalty imposed on the Dungeon Master. According to her, each side had three questions. If the playing field was level, it would be a different story. He couldn’t ask her location directly, but three questions were enough to narrow it down. So why, after six days, had he failed to find her?

The answer was deceptively simple.

During the very first question time, Inhye had lied. Not once, but twice.

“I see trees. I see bushes, too. And right in front of me, pretty flowers are growing.”

She had sent him on a wild goose chase, making him waste time searching every forest in his domain.

“Mind Field and Invisibility are active.”

She had also lied about the skills she was using, which allowed her to evade even the Hunter’s Eye. Out of three questions, she had only answered one truthfully. Afterward, she had answered every question about the raiding party honestly to build his trust, only to return to her pattern of lies whenever he got close to discovering her location.

The Dungeon Master never had three chances. Inhye had set it up so she only had to answer one of his three questions truthfully. She had exploited the common psychological tactic of using the first question to establish a false premise and the second to build upon it.

‘If the first two answers are lies, the opponent will be completely misled. By the time the third question comes, they’ll be asking the wrong things. Even if she answers the third question truthfully, it’s useless if the entire foundation is wrong. That bitch deliberately fed me accurate intel on the raiders to make me confident in her answers.’

He had been played from the very beginning. The reason for the additional penalties on the raiders was to balance the fact that the Dungeon Master was also severely handicapped by the Mind Field’s deception.

Realizing this, Taehyun had asked about the gender ratio. Sihan was her only permanent companion; the rest were hired hands. She would have organized them by class, not gender, and would have no reason to memorize the exact numbers. When she checked the screen, their appearances were already concealed and their information disguised. She had no way to verify.

She slipped up on the first answer and was forced to tell the truth on the third. She had been caught in her own trap. Having already lied twice, the rules of her own ability compelled her to answer the third question truthfully. Taehyun’s probe had worked perfectly.

‘Now I know the trick. That means her information about her location and skills were also lies. All that’s left is to use the question time to extract the truth.’

From now on, she would try to confuse him by giving three different answers to every question. Even if he asked the same thing three times, she would vary her responses to obscure the truth and buy more time. But Taehyun was ready for that. Now that he understood the game, he wouldn’t waste another second.

“…Just because you’ve seen through my trick doesn’t mean you’ve won,” Inhye said, her pride refusing to yield. Or perhaps, after so many successful raids, it was simply confidence. “The Mind Field is still active, and my party is clearing your rooms one by one. In the end, you will be eliminated.”

Taehyun took a deep breath and straightened his posture.

“Now, let’s begin for real.”

—

The air was thick with tension. Both of them stared at the button. Inhye wanted to seize the initiative to buy time, but her weakened state made it impossible. Taehyun’s hand shot out and pressed it.

“Go on, then,” she said with a defiant smirk. “You already know what kind of answers I’ll give, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” Taehyun replied smoothly. “First question. What do you see right now?”

“Umm. It’s dark. I can’t see anything.”

“Second question. What skills are currently active?”

“Mind Field and a Mana-Blocking Barrier, I suppose.”

“Good. Third question. What do you see right now?”

Inhye fell silent. She had planned to confuse him with three different answers, but he had asked the same question twice. She had to be hesitating. From her expression, she had already used up her two lies. A fatal mistake, born from trying to save her truthful answer for last.

Taehyun leaned in closer. “Third question. What do you see?”

“…I see a door,” she finally conceded. “And a flat floor and a ceiling.”

“I guess all the pretty flowers wilted. Suddenly, you’re inside a building.”

“Even so, you still can’t find me.”

“That’s right,” Taehyun agreed. “I can’t. Not yet.”

But he had a general idea of her location. The only place with buildings in his territory was the small city of Myol. He relayed the information to Riel before putting his communication device down. It was Inhye’s turn to ask, but he had already given her most of what she needed to know. She had nothing left to gain.

And so, Taehyun waited for the next question time.

—

“Sihan, he’s figured out the Mind Field’s trick. He has a rough idea of my location.”

While leading the party, Sihan received the message from Inhye. A flicker of unease went through him, but his first concern was for her.

“How are you holding up? It’s day six. You must have lost a lot of life force. Can you keep going?”

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me and focus on the raid. My life force will return once we conquer Balak.”

“How can I not worry, you idiot! A portion of it disappears permanently, even if you succeed. Dammit!”

“…Don’t worry. For Hendy, I’d do more than this. Just do your best, Sihan.”

The connection was cut off. She was pushing herself to the absolute limit to cure Hendy. Sihan gritted his teeth and urged the party forward. Death’s Breath had worn off; they had to pick up the pace.

“We’re heading straight for the room with the crystal core. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!” the raiders responded.

The Eleonora raiding party pressed on toward the thirtieth room.

—

[The second effect of Mind Field has been activated.]

[An opportunity to ask each other questions will be given at regular intervals.]

[The person who receives a question must answer truthfully.]

As the raiders approached the thirtieth room, question time began again inside the Mind Field.

“We’ve searched the entire city of Myol, but there’s no sign of her,” Riel reported. “It seems neither the Hunter’s Eye nor the radar detection is working.”

“…Wait,” Taehyun said, putting down the device and pressing the button.

“It seems I’m not the first Dungeon Master to see through your little trick,” he observed. “You don’t seem ready to give up yet.”

“Just ask your questions.”

“Alright. First question. What skills are currently active?”

“Mind Field and a Mana-Blocking Barrier.”

“Second question. What skills are currently active?”

“Mind Field and Shade of Erased Presence.”

“Third question. What skills are currently active?”

“Mind Field, Blessing of Darkness, and Invisibility.”

He had asked the same question three times, and as expected, she gave three different answers to hide her true skills.

“Asking the same question three times is pointless if I give different answers each time. Surely you know that?”

“No,” Taehyun said calmly. “This is enough.”

He contacted Riel again.

“Yes, Master?”

“Blow up all the inns in Myol.”

“Understood.”

A moment later, flying monsters appeared on the screen, following Kadum and the High Elves toward the city. Taehyun set down his communication device and watched Inhye. Her eyes were wide with panic as she stared at the screen.

“What’s wrong? It’s your turn to ask a question.”

“H-How did you—?!”

“Why so surprised? It’s simple. I just gave an order that accounted for all three of your answers. If a D-rank Raider is hiding inside a building, where else would they be but an inn? You must have used a skill to evade both the Hunter’s Eye and my radar.”

“Eek!”

She shot up from her seat and cast a skill.

[A-rank Raider Eleonora has cast Divine Precept.]

[A barrier with infinite Endurance will be maintained until all Divinity is consumed.]

[Divine Precept usage limit: 1/1]

She had finally used the one-time skill she’d been saving. A barrier with infinite Endurance. It would last until her Divinity was exhausted, which meant she planned to hold out until her party reached the final room. Inhye’s breathing steadied, and a triumphant smile returned to her lips.

“It’s useless now. Blowing up the inn only reveals my location; you can’t break this barrier. This is the Divine Precept. It can block an attack from an A-rank Hero Guardian.”

Taehyun remained silent.

“You’re right. A few others, like you, figured out the trick. But all they could do was find me. They couldn’t finish me off, thanks to this skill. My current Divinity can last for an entire day. You have no chance of winning now!”

She pointed at the screen, where her party had already cleared the thirtieth room and was moving on.

[The Eleonora raiding party has entered the thirty-second room.]

Just as the message appeared, the inns on the other screen exploded. Amidst the smoke, Taehyun saw her real body, completely unharmed inside the shimmering barrier of the Divine Precept.

“Dammit! I won’t lose my family because of one bitch like you!” a High Elf roared.

‘Kieeeek!’

“It’s no use! Mana arrows aren’t working!”

Kadum, the High Elves, and all the flying monsters unleashed their skills, but the barrier didn’t even crack. Any damage it sustained regenerated instantly, shielding her completely.

“Now, what will you do?” Inhye taunted. “It’s over for you, Taehyun.”

“…Riel. Have Kadum use Position Shift.”

“Even if you use Position Shift now, your remaining forces can’t break the barrier.”

“Shut up, you damn bitch,” Taehyun snapped. “Who said I was summoning my main forces?”

A marker appeared on the screen. Taehyun had Raviz summon Kadum to its location.

“What now?” Kadum asked.

“Send two of the cow-heads over there.”

“Understood.”

Riel teleported two Minotaurs. Inhye scoffed at the sight of them appearing before her real body.

“You should be using your guardians’ one-time skills, and you send Minotaurs? Have you given up?”

“No. Those two are special. They’ve got mad cow disease.”

“What does that mean?”

“If you’re so curious, watch and see.”

The two Minotaurs approached the barrier, became wildly agitated, and used their special ability.

[Elite Minotaur has cast Taunt.]

[A-rank Raider Eleonora has not been taunted.]

“N-No way!”

“That’s right,” Taehyun said, his voice dangerously low. “They’re not ordinary soldiers. They’re shieldbearers who’ve advanced to a special class. Their special ability is different from the others. Their Taunt proficiency is maxed out. It’s a fifty-fifty chance. So, what will it be? Your luck… or mine?”

Ordinary shieldbearers could only recover their shield’s Endurance. But these two were fanatical shieldbearers who had been with him since Balak was a D-rank dungeon. They were Elites, their Taunt skill honed to perfection.

As the second Minotaur used its ability, Taehyun’s lips curled into a victorious smile.

[Elite Minotaur has cast Taunt.]

[A-rank Raider Eleonora has been taunted.]

“Checkmate.”

—

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep