A low growl slithered into the cave.
Geowha crept toward the jagged hole in the stone wall and peeked out.
Then fear. Paralyzing, skin-crawling fear.
His body refused to move. Not even the agony in his legs, mangled earlier by the system could compete with the primal terror now coursing through him.
A lion. No, not just any lion. Its massive, burning eye glared into the cave like a god hunting vermin. Geowha shrank back instinctively.
He was trapped. Caged. Armed with nothing but a power labeled "???" and an overwhelming desire to curse the hellish creature behind this twisted game.
He clenched his jaw. Twenty-five years of clawing his way through life. Chasing success. Losing sleep. Dying from overwork and coffee.
And this was the afterlife? A joke?
"Seriously?" he hissed. "I die once and now I'm gonna die again?! In hell?!"
The system's interface hovered in front of him like it was watching. Mocking.
"Is there anything in you that can help me?!" he snapped, fists clenched.
With a soft beep, the current system notification flickered and vanished.
> A gift has been sent to you.
A sudden shimmer in the air then, out of nowhere, a small pink box appeared before him. Red ribbons. Too cheerful for a moment like this.
Geowha snatched it as if it were salvation itself. Tore it open.
His heart sank.
Brass knuckles.
Tiny. Puny. Barely worth calling a weapon.
He stared, insulted. "What the hell am I supposed to do with this?"
The system gave no answer.
Still… he slid the brass knuckles onto his small, trembling hands. Better than nothing.
His mind raced. Think. Tactics. Bait. Escape.
Then the cave trembled.
His head snapped toward the entrance.
The lion's eye was gone.
A terrible sound filled the chamber stone cracking, paws smashing, claws grinding against rock. It was breaking in.
Geowha sucked in a breath and looked down at the brass knuckles. "Fuck it."
He waited. Every heartbeat was a countdown.
Then he bolted.
The lion's eye reappeared in an instant, locking onto him with terrifying speed. A roar cracked the air. The chase was on.
Geowha ran, legs screaming, hands shaking until his eyes landed on a pile of magma stones. Glowing. Deadly.
He didn't stop.
He grabbed one with his bare hands.
Agony. The burn shot up his arm like lightning. His skin blistered, nerves howling for mercy but he turned, roared back, and hurled the burning stone straight at the lion's eye.
CRACK!
It hit.
The lion flinched.
But only for a moment.
The stone fell harmlessly to the ground. The beast blinked, almost confused.
Of course it didn't work. The stone bounced off the lion's head like a pebble tossed at steel.
Geowha staggered back, panting. His hands were scorched. His weapon was a joke. His body was already breaking down.
"Obviously," Geowha muttered, gritting his teeth as the burning pain crawled up his arms. "Brass knuckles and lava rocks? That's my entire arsenal now?"
The lion let out a low growl, deep and bone-rattling. The sound echoed through the cavern, making the jagged walls tremble. Geowha nearly lost his footing.
Its eyes were locked on him. No longer curious, but aware. Not the awareness of an animal, but something deeper. Smarter. Like it saw something in him he didn't even understand himself.
The air buzzed around him. Then a new popup flickered into view in angry neon red.
> System Intervention in Progress
Danger Level: Critical
Calculating Outcome…
"Oh, now you care?" Geowha shouted. He ducked behind a chunk of broken stone just in time to avoid the lion's massive paw smashing into the ground. The impact sent a spray of ash and fire into the air.
The brass knuckles on his hand gave a sudden pulse. It was subtle, almost like a heartbeat. Then it lit up with a faint blue glow. It was soft. Ridiculous. He stared at it.
"You're fucking adorable," he muttered.
Another message appeared:
> Unlocked: Skill – [Glassbreaker] Lv. 1
Passive Bonus: 3% chance to ignore defense
"Three percent?! I'm gonna die, and you're giving me gacha odds?"
But there was no time to complain. The lion lunged again, teeth flashing, claws carving lines into the black stone. Geowha moved, fast, slipping between pillars, ducking into shadows. His body screamed in pain, every movement sharp and raw.
Then there it was. Just behind the lion, partly hidden by a cluster of glowing rocks. A crack in the cavern wall. It shimmered faintly, pulsing with pale blue light.
A way out. Maybe.
He didn't question it.
Geowha pushed himself harder, zigzagging toward the gap. The lion was close. He could hear it breathing hot and furious right behind him.
Five feet. Four.
He turned sharply, spinning on blistered heels. The lion's head lowered for the strike.
Geowha lunged forward and slammed his fist, brass knuckle first, straight into the side of the lion's jaw.
Nothing.
A sound. A thin crack, sharp and bright, split across one of the lion's glowing eyes like glass under pressure.
[Glassbreaker] Triggered. 3% Success.
The beast roared in agony, stumbling back as it clawed at its face.
Geowha didn't hesitate. He bolted for the crack in the wall, dove headfirst into the light
And everything went black.