Eternal Art Online

"Snap!"

A sharp sound cracked through the silence of the cave, echoing eerily off the walls.

Above Yuna's head, a vivid red number flashed into existence—428!

Her frail, mage body had no chance of withstanding such a sudden blow. Her HP plummeted in an instant, and she stumbled back in panic, frantically pulling a health potion from her inventory and chugging it down.

With her other hand, she swiftly raised her staff, chanting softly. A fiery crimson barrier burst outward, rippling around her like blazing wings, enveloping her in a shield of flame.

Only then did Kiriya catch a glimpse of their assailant—

Nether Assassin!

The creature had materialized out of the shadows, its form nearly transparent—its stats unreadable.

Kiriya tightened his grip on his sword, eyes sharp. Yuna's expression turned uncharacteristically grim as well—it was clear this monster was no ordinary foe.

The Nether Assassin gave them no time to recover. It lunged forward again, dual daggers slashing through the air.

Yuna twisted away with agile footwork, slipping just outside its reach, then countered with a flick of her staff—Frost Arrow!

A shard of icy magic shot forward, slamming into the assassin and coating it in frost. Its movements slowed, joints stiffened, and its blades flailed uselessly midair.

Kiriya didn't waste the opening. He flashed forward like a shadow, his blade gleaming.

Blade Wave!

An arcing wave of sword energy erupted from the ground, interrupting the assassin's attack. Yuna followed up instantly—several fireballs crashed down in a cascade, bursting against the monster's frozen form.

The creature let out a final screech before collapsing into a shimmering pile of silver coins.

And that was all—just silver.

Kiriya sighed and crouched to scoop up a few of the scattered coins. "These monsters move too stealthily. Yuna, better keep your Flame Shield up."

Yuna pouted. "But it burns through mana like crazy! Just one minute of that thing and I have to chug a 500-MP potion. It's super expensive!"

Kiriya chuckled softly, but his gaze was steady. "Keep it on. If you go down and lose a level, that's gonna cost way more. Don't worry—I brought plenty of mana potions. We're stocked."

Yuna blinked, then smiled sweetly. "Okay, then~"

With the flame shield glowing steadily around her, Kiriya felt more at ease. Even if another Nether Assassin showed up, Yuna wouldn't be taken out in a single blow.

And as for himself, he'd just hit Level 27. With his HP breaking past a thousand, he could now go toe-to-toe with most enemies without flinching.

The first floor of the Shadow Crypt was mainly populated by two kinds of monsters—Nether Warriors and Nether Assassins.

Both lurked in the darkness, revealing themselves only when players drew close. For lightly-armored swordfighters like Kiriya, it was a nightmare.

A Berserker in full bronze armor could push their defense to over 350, which meant the Shadow Warrior's 320 attack would barely scratch them.

But now, with Yuna's expert crowd control and Kiriya's precise strikes, the two carved through the dungeon with deadly coordination.

Monster corpses littered the floor behind them. The XP bar climbed higher with each fight. Kiriya hit Level 28, and Yuna—already ahead—shot up to Level 31, clapping her hands in glee.

Then, at last, a faintly glowing staircase appeared in the shadows ahead.

Yuna leaned over, nudging Kiriya's arm. Her voice was soft and sweet. "Kiriya, you go first~"

Kiriya twitched visibly but nodded in silence. After all, she was the daughter of Bluestar Group's CEO—his boss.

If he ignored her now, no matter how fast he leveled in the game, he could end up jobless in real life.

With a resigned sigh, he stepped cautiously onto the stairs leading to the second floor. Yuna followed close behind, her snow-white hand slipping around his arm.

In that instant, Kiriya's heart gave the faintest shudder.

This adorable girl... is the top mage in Eternal Art Online?

There's just no justice in the world.

Seriously, what are the male mage players even doing with their lives…

"Clack."

With a soft sound, Kiriya's boot landed on the ground of the second floor of Nether Hollow. A faint echo trailed off in the distance—and then, in the very next moment, the surroundings lit up.

A vast chamber stretched before them, teeming with monsters far more numerous than expected.

Unlike the first floor, the enemies here made no effort to hide.

Nether Warriors still roamed alongside Nether Assassins, but their levels had noticeably increased—now a solid 36.

"This is going to be trouble…" Kiriya muttered under his breath. From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Yuna, noting the sharp focus in her eyes. She'd sensed the rising pressure as well.

They moved forward cautiously.

Kiriya stepped out first, his sword flashing as he unleashed a precise Armor Breaker slash. The blade tore through the air, slamming into a Nether Warrior and dragging it cleanly out of the pack.

Yuna followed up instantly with a frost spell to slow it down, then called down a searing blaze. The fire engulfed the monster before it could even close in—it crumpled to the floor in flames.

But things didn't always go that smoothly.

At one point, Yuna's aim faltered, and her Ice Arrow veered off course, striking another monster square in the face.

That was enough to alert two enemies at once.

They charged with fury. Kiriya rushed to intercept, his sword clashing with steel, while Yuna dodged and cast spells on the move.

The fight turned messy in an instant.

Potions were chugged like water—but even so, they held their ground, felling the enemies one by one.

With every battle, their coordination improved.

They needed no words—just a glance was enough to target the same foe. Kiriya dashed in, struck, and retreated; Yuna delivered flawless fire support from behind.

Step by step, they fought as if bound by instinct. The Level 36 enemies provided generous experience, and their levels began to rise rapidly.

"If we clear the whole floor, I'll probably hit Level 32!" Yuna grinned as she looted the corpses.

Kiriya sheathed his sword with a faint smile. "Don't level up too fast. Let me catch up a little."

"You've got a silver-tier sword and the Armor Breaker skill. Even grinding solo, you'd still level fast." She giggled. "Just don't leave me too far behind."

Kiriya let out a small laugh. "Then let's keep leveling together."

Yuna lowered her gaze, whispering a gentle "mm." Her voice was soft, carrying a warmth he hadn't heard from her before.

Just then, another Nether Warrior came barreling toward them, a massive great sword slicing through the air.

Yuna's Ice Arrow struck it squarely in the chest, halting its charge for a heartbeat.

Kiriya's sword followed up in a flash, multiple Armor Breaker strikes hitting their mark.

By the time the monster reached them, it was already on the brink of collapse.

It managed a final, guttural roar before shattering into bones and dust.

In its place, a pile of silver coins—and a dull chest plate—hit the ground with a thud.

Kiriya crouched and picked up the armor. As he turned it over in his hands, the cold gleam of its metal reflected the faint light. A flick of his finger brought up its stats.

[Vengeance Cuirass] (Bronze-tier – Chest Armor)

Defense: 72

Strength: +8

Required Level: 30

(Unidentified)

...

Yuna glanced at the armor and let out a soft gasp. "Whoa~ That defense is high! Once it's appraised, it might even break 100!"

Kiriya smiled and nodded, then offered to trade the unidentified armor to her. But to his surprise, Yuna quickly canceled the trade with a mischievous smile tugging at her lips. "Why would a mage like me need something like that?"

Kiriya was half amused, half exasperated. "But I'm a swordsman—I can't wear heavy armor like this either…"

"Then just hang on to it for now," Yuna said with a playful wink. "After we get it appraised back in town, if the defense goes over 100, it's mine. If it doesn't, it's yours. Sounds fair, right?"

Kiriya was rendered speechless. What kind of bizarre logic was that? Just like Lina, her sister was someone who couldn't be understood by normal reasoning.

He didn't bother arguing. With a shake of his head, he stashed the armor into his inventory.

His gaze swept over the monster-infested hall ahead—on this second floor alone, there were likely over five hundred enemies.

Even with the two of them working together, clearing out the entire area would take at least two to three hours.

The real headache, however, was the fact that the monsters were clustered tightly around the entrance to the third floor.

There was no passing through without taking them all down first. Thankfully, the respawn rate wasn't too fast—only once every six hours, which gave them room to clear the area methodically.

If monsters had respawned with each kill, it would've been an endless nightmare.

Still, the grind was worth it. These high-level enemies offered massive experience gains, and occasionally they'd drop powerful gear.

The drop rate, however, was abysmal. These level-36 monsters were eight levels above Kiriya, and yet after hundreds of kills, they had only managed to get a single bronze-tier item.

And even that one item was already immensely valuable. Most level-30 players were still wearing level-15 black iron gear.

Actual level-30 bronze equipment was nearly impossible to come by.

Yet Yuna already had a full set of bronze armor known as the "Flame" set, sparking Kiriya's curiosity about how she had obtained it.

Perhaps, just like him, she had once experienced a stroke of incredible luck.

At last, they finished off the final wave of monsters on the second floor. Kiriya leveled up to 29, now only halfway from 30, while Yuna smoothly advanced to level 32.

But she shook her head with a sigh. "To hit 33, I think we'll need to clear floors one and two at least two or three more times."

Kiriya let out a soft breath. As expected, the higher the level, the harder the climb.

Now, the third floor awaited them. The Nether Hollow had five floors in total, and they had already conquered two.

But the moment they stepped onto the third floor, Kiriya's heart tensed.

Gone were the Nether Warriors and Nether Assassins. In their place stood sharp-eyed Nether Archers, each gripping a longbow with precision and deadly focus.

Even the "Scan" function failed to read their levels—clearly, they were above 38. Their field of vision was incredibly wide.

The moment Kiriya and Yuna appeared, five archers immediately locked onto them with murderous intent.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Arrows sliced through the air. Kiriya instinctively drew his sword and swung wide, trying to deflect the barrage.

But several arrows still grazed past, tearing open crimson gashes across his chest. His health plummeted—over 300 points gone in an instant.

Individually, the hits weren't fatal, but under focused fire, the damage piled up fast.

Yuna wasn't doing any better. Two archers had zeroed in on her. Their arrows crashed into her Flame Barrier with a piercing hiss.

The magical shield flickered violently, then dimmed, and her HP dropped by nearly half in seconds.

Kiriya's eyes sharpened. He dashed forward, his blade trailing a silver arc as he slashed into the formation of archers, forcing them to scatter and reposition.

Yuna, meanwhile, remained composed. She began a long incantation, her voice steady.

Flames surged in her palm, and in the next instant, the sky above them ignited—a blazing rainstorm descended from above.

True-fire Tide. The very spell Kiriya had recently passed on to her.

The inferno erupted at the feet of the archers, and damage numbers burst above their heads like fireworks.

Within seconds, they were already down to half health.

"This True-fire Tide is amazing~" Yuna said with a radiant smile, though her eyes gleamed with unshakable focus.

The effect duration was short—ten seconds at most—so she quickly began a second cast.

Another wave of fire rained down, engulfing the battlefield in searing heat. Amid pained shrieks, the five Nether Archers fell one by one, leaving behind a small mountain of silver coins.

Unfortunately, the area was still swarming with enemies. The coins had dropped right in the middle of a mob. Anyone who went to retrieve them would be instantly turned into a pincushion.

Yuna looked visibly disappointed. "What a waste…"

Kiriya tightened his grip on his sword. "Staying alive is more important… Still, the difficulty spike on the third floor is brutal."

"Yeah…" Yuna murmured in agreement, her eyes now filled with subtle tension.

Suddenly, voices and footsteps echoed from the corridor beyond.

Yuna froze. She turned sharply to Kiriya, eyes narrowing, and whispered in a low voice.

"Kiriya, we've got company. Other players are coming."