New Title Earned.
Title: The One-Man Army,
You single-handedly obliterated a group of trained hunters and conquered an F-rank dungeon alone. Your name will spread in the underground circles.
Effect: +100 to all attributes.
Effect: Enemies below your level are 30% more likely to flee upon confrontation.
Henry's grin widened as he absorbed the new information.
"Damn," he muttered, a low whistle escaping his lips.
A few seconds ago, he'd been at Level 1 F rank. Now? He was now at level 9 F rank. He'd shot up multiple levels in a single run. His strength had nearly tripled. His agility was through the roof. Even his Mana had been buffed—he was practically a walking powerhouse now. And those new skills? They were ridiculous.
Domain of the Stonebreaker, was just absurd. Double damage and extra defense? He could practically walk into any fight with that, and no one would stand a chance. And Dash? A five-second speed burst at 500%? Henry would be moving faster than his enemies could react.
And Titan's Grip… that was just the cherry on top. No wonder his hands had crushed Boros' axe like it was paper.
Relentless: was the real game-changer, though. His stamina drain was halved. He could keep fighting, keep moving, and never tire. Against opponents who wore themselves out, he'd just keep going.
He could already picture it—his enemies couldn't touch him.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, eyes flicking to the new title.
The One-Man Army.
It sounded perfect.
He'd earned that name. He'd earned every last bit of it.
The laughter, the defeat of Boros and his crew—it had all been worth it.
But now, there was more. He'd only just begun to tap into the power he'd been granted.
Henry leaned back, the smirk still tugging at the corner of his mouth.
"What's next?" he murmured aloud.
He needed a job. A faction. Something to use all this power for.
A dungeon? Maybe. But right now, he was too damn hungry.
His stomach growled loudly, as if to remind him that even a one-man army couldn't fight on an empty stomach.
He laughed softly to himself.
First things first—he needed food.
For the next few minutes, The taxi ride home was uneventful, but Henry's mind wasn't.
His body still buzzed with raw energy, the aftermath of battle still coursing through him. His muscles thrummed, filled with strength that hadn't existed mere hours ago. He felt powerful, almost unstoppable.
But at that moment?
There was only one thing that mattered.
Food.
By the time the taxi pulled up outside his apartment, Henry practically threw open the door, stepping onto the sidewalk without even looking back at the driver. The man gave him a wary glance—understandable, given Henry's current state.
Bloodstained, tattered clothes.
Messy, sweat-soaked hair.
A bag stuffed with loot slung over his shoulder like a war trophy.
Yeah.
Not exactly the image of a guy who just had a normal day.
But Henry didn't care.
His stomach growled aggressively, pushing aside every other thought.
Get inside. Get food. Don't pass out.
He climbed the stairs to his apartment and knocked once before pushing the door open.
Home.
The apartment was quiet at first.
Then—footsteps.
Light, hurried steps.
His siblings were home.
Henry had just kicked off his shoes when Lily and Tom came around the corner, chatting about something.
They didn't see him at first.
Then—
They froze.
Lily's schoolbag nearly slipped off her shoulder.
Tom's eyes went wide.
"…Henry?" Lily's voice was barely a whisper.
Tom took one long look at his torn clothes, bruises, and dried blood stains. His brow furrowed deeply.
"What the hell happened to you?"
Henry, completely unfazed, waved a lazy hand and trudged past them, tossing his battle-worn jacket onto the couch like it was just another Tuesday.
"Not now," he muttered. "Food. Need food."
His siblings exchanged frantic glances, too stunned to react.
Then—
A soft clinking sound.
Something dropped onto the floor when Henry shrugged off his bag.
Tom instinctively bent down and picked it up.
And froze again.
A beast crystal.
A large, among of beast crystal.
Lily's breath hitched. Her eyes snapped to the bag Henry had tossed onto the floor—
And her stomach dropped.
Because inside that bag—were dozens.
No. Hundreds.
Lily went pale.
Her voice was shaky when she spoke. "H-Henry… where did you get these?"
Tom's grip tightened around the crystal. "You—You didn't steal this, did you?!"
Henry, already-LineBreak halfway inside the fridge, blinked. "Huh?"
Lily took a step forward, her expression a mix of panic and disbelief.
"You look like you got the crap beaten out of you. You walk in here covered in blood, dump a bag full of beast crystals on the floor, and you're acting like this is normal?!"
Tom was still staring at the crystal, like it might explode in his hands.
"Who did you rob?"
Henry, who had just shoved an entire sandwich into his mouth, blinked at them.
Then, realization dawned.
Oh.
Right.
From their perspective, this looked really bad.
Huge bag of rare loot?
Torn-up clothes?
A face that screamed, "I just fought an army and won"?
Yeah. No wonder they were freaking out.
He tried to respond—
But his mouth was still stuffed with food.
"Mmfgh."
Lily crossed her arms, eyes narrowing. "What?"
Henry swallowed painfully fast, grabbed a water bottle, chugged half of it in one go, and finally managed to speak.
"I didn't steal it."
Tom's brow furrowed. "Then where—"
Henry leaned against the counter, grabbed another bite of food, and mumbled through a full mouth:
"Cleared a dungeon."
Lily's face went blank.
Tom just stared at him.
Then—
"…You what?"
Henry, now fully committed to ignoring their shock in favor of inhaling everything edible in the fridge, shrugged.
"Cleared. A. Dungeon."
Lily took a step closer, her voice rising.
"You mean you went into a dungeon? Alone?"
"Mhm."
"An F-rank dungeon?"
"Mhm."
"And you…cleared it?"
Henry grinned, opening another food container. "Yup."
Tom's hands clenched. "No way. That's—That's impossible! You only just—"
"—became a hunter?" Henry finished for him, grabbing a fork and shoveling in more food.
"Yeah. Turns out, I'm pretty good at it."
Lily's voice cracked. "That's not how this works! Hunters train for months before they go into a dungeon! They don't just—just walk in and clear the whole thing!"
Henry, still stuffing his face, shrugged again.
"I did."
Tom looked between the massive pile of beast crystals and Henry.
His expression twisted into something unreadable.
"This… doesn't make sense," he muttered.
Henry simply grinned, finishing off another plate.
Lily dragged a hand down her face.
"You could have died."
Henry finally paused, meeting her eyes.
But instead of cracking a joke, instead of brushing it off—he just smiled.
Not a cocky smirk.
Not a playful grin.
Just a calm, confident smile.
"But I didn't."
Lily opened her mouth to argue, but the way Henry said it—so certain, so unshaken—left her speechless.
Tom exhaled sharply, rubbing his face. "This is insane."
Henry chuckled, finishing his ridiculous feast. "No argument there."
Another silence.
Then—
Lily sighed, shaking her head. "You have to be more careful."
Henry winked. "Noted."
Lily gave him a long look, then sighed.
"…I'm going to regret asking this, but… what now?"
Henry stretched, feeling the satisfying pull of his enhanced muscles.
Then, he grabbed his bag of crystals, picked up his rickety stool, and started toward his room.
He called over his shoulder—
"Now? I get some damn sleep."
And with that—
He disappeared upstairs.
Lily and Tom, still standing in the kitchen, exchanged exhausted looks.
"…He's insane," Tom muttered.
Lily nodded.
"Absolutely."