5:55 AM. Day Three.
The alarm went off. Siwoo reached for it. Missed. Tried again. Got it. Hit snooze.
Five minutes later.
[DAILY QUEST ACTIVATED]
[QUEST: MORNING DISCIPLINE]
[Objectives:]
[1. 15 push-ups]
[2. 15 sit-ups]
[3. 15 squats]
[4. 1.5 km run]
[Completion Deadline: 11:59 PM]
[Reward: 10 SP, +1 STR]
[Failure Penalty: Escalating physical discomfort (Stage 2: Persistent muscle cramps in both legs for 24 hours)]
The numbers had gone up.
"It increased."
[THE DAILY QUEST SCALES WITH HOST'S CURRENT PHYSICAL CAPABILITIES. AS HOST'S STATS IMPROVE, THE BASELINE REQUIREMENTS ADJUST ACCORDINGLY.]
"So I'm being punished for getting stronger."
[THE SYSTEM WOULD DESCRIBE IT AS 'MAINTAINING PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD FOR OPTIMAL PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT.']
"I would describe it as punishment."
[THE SYSTEM HAS NOTED HOST'S PERSPECTIVE.]
He got up. Did the push-ups. Fifteen. His arms shook on the last two but held. A week ago, three had nearly killed him. Now fifteen was difficult but possible. The stat increases were real. His body was different — subtly, but measurably. His arms had definition that wasn't there before. His shoulders didn't slouch as much. His posture had improved without him trying.
Sit-ups. Fifteen. His core burned but didn't fail.
Squats. Fifteen. Knees still popped. Probably always would.
Then the run.
One and a half kilometers. In the rain again. Seoul in June was basically a shower with buildings. He wore his hoodie, the new bat stored safely in inventory, and his sneakers — he'd bought new ones yesterday with some of the goblin core money. Nothing fancy. Twelve thousand won from a discount store. But they had intact soles, which felt like a luxury.
The run was hard but not devastating. His END was 10 now — average human baseline. He didn't feel like dying at the halfway point. He felt like dying at the three-quarter point instead. Progress.
He finished. Walked home. Shower. Ramen.
[DAILY QUEST COMPLETE: MORNING DISCIPLINE]
[REWARD: 10 SP, +1 STR]
[STR increased from 13 to 14.]
SP: 75 total.
He needed to sell the goblin cores today. The Association exchange opened at 9 AM. He also needed to figure out how to get from level 7 to level 10 within the next — he checked — forty-six hours.
He ate his ramen, got dressed, and headed out.
Mrs. Cha was in the hallway on the ground floor. Not outside. In the hallway. Blocking the exit. She held a watering can in one hand and a rent notice in the other. The dead plant sat on a small table beside her.
"Siwoo."
"Mrs. Cha."
"Five days."
"I know."
"Do you have the money?"
"I will."
"You said that last month."
"I paid last month."
"Three days late."
"But I paid."
She stared at him. Her eyes were small and sharp, like a bird of prey that had downsized but kept the intensity.
"Five days, Siwoo. Not six."
"Yes, Mrs. Cha."
She stepped aside. He walked past. She watered the dead plant.
He paused at the door.
"Mrs. Cha."
"What."
"That plant has been dead since April."
"It's resting."
He decided not to argue with a woman who could end his housing situation with a single phone call and walked out.
The Hunter Association Exchange was in Yeouido, inside the main Association building. A massive glass-and-steel structure that looked like it belonged in a corporate district — which it did, because the Hunter Association was essentially a government-run corporation with a military budget and a PR department.
Siwoo took the bus. Forty minutes. He fell asleep and missed his stop. Took the bus back. Got off at the right stop. Total commute: one hour and twenty minutes.
Inside the building, the exchange counter was on the first floor. A long counter with numbered windows, like a bank. Hunters lined up to sell monster materials — cores, hides, bones, fangs. Everything had value. The Association bought it all at market rate, minus their 10% commission.
The line was long. Mostly E and D-rank Hunters selling small batches of low-grade cores. Siwoo got in line and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Forty minutes later, he reached the counter. The clerk was a young woman with glasses and a name tag that read "SHIN YEJI." She looked tired. Probably because she'd been processing goblin cores all morning.
"Materials for exchange?" she asked without looking up.
"Twenty-three goblin cores, one hobgoblin boss core."
He pulled them from inventory. They materialized on the counter in a neat pile. Yeji glanced up — then did a double take.
"Did you just—"
"Inventory skill," he said. Which was technically true. The system inventory functioned like one.
She blinked, then recovered. Inventory skills were rare but not unheard of. Some Hunters had spatial storage abilities. She pulled out a scanning device and ran it over each core.
"Twenty-three E-rank goblin cores. Standard grade. Market rate: two thousand won each. Subtotal: forty-six thousand won."
She scanned the boss core.
"One E-rank hobgoblin boss core. High density. Market rate: fifty-five thousand won."
"The standard rate is fifty thousand."
"This one's above average density. Fifty-five." She looked at him. "You did well."
Total: 101,000 won. Minus 10% commission: 90,900 won.
She processed the payment. The money transferred to his bank account.
Previous balance: 102,000 won.
New balance: 192,900 won.
Still short on rent. But getting closer.
He thanked her, turned to leave, and nearly walked into someone.
"Oh — sorry."
The person he almost collided with was a woman. Tall. Black hair pulled back in a ponytail. She wore a tailored black coat over what looked like high-end Hunter combat gear — the kind that cost more than his apartment's annual rent. A longsword hung from her left hip in an elegant scabbard.
She looked at him. He looked at her.
Predator's Eye activated automatically.
[Kang Doyeon — Level ??? — S-RANK]
[Class: Swordmaster]
[Stats: CANNOT BE DISPLAYED — Target exceeds Host's Predator's Eye range by significant margin]
[WARNING: Target's combat capability is incomparably beyond Host's current level.]
Every stat was question marks. Every detail blocked. The only thing the skill could tell him was her name and that she was so far above him that the skill couldn't even measure the gap.
Kang Doyeon. The Queen of Blades. S-rank number one. The most famous Hunter in South Korea. Forty-seven billion won annual income. Clothing line. Talk show regular.
Standing right in front of him.
She was... tall. Taller than him by about three centimeters. Her eyes were dark brown, sharp, and currently looking at him with mild curiosity — the way someone might glance at a pigeon that walked into a glass door.
"You're fine," she said. Her voice was calm, measured. The kind of voice that came from someone who had never needed to raise it. "Watch where you're going."
"Right. Sorry."
She walked past him toward the VIP section of the exchange — a separate area with its own entrance, probably staffed by people who didn't look tired. The crowd in the main hall parted for her without anyone saying a word. People just... moved.
Siwoo watched her go.
[THE SYSTEM NOTES HOST'S ELEVATED HEART RATE.]
"She almost stepped on me. That's a normal response."
[HOST'S HEART RATE INCREASED BEFORE THE NEAR-COLLISION.]
"Shut up."
[THE SYSTEM DOES NOT SHUT UP. THE SYSTEM IS ALWAYS ACTIVE.]
He left the building. Took the bus home. Did not fall asleep this time because his brain kept replaying the moment Kang Doyeon looked at him like he was furniture.
CHA: 6.
He needed more Charisma points.
He got home at noon.
And stopped.
There was a gate in the alley next to his apartment building.
Not down the street. Not in a park. Not in an empty lot. Right there. In the narrow alley between his building and the next one. Ten meters from the entrance. Five meters from Mrs. Cha's dead plant.
It shimmered blue-white, humming quietly. Standard gate. About three meters tall. It had appeared sometime while he was out.
Mrs. Cha was staring at it from the building entrance. Arms crossed. Watering can at her feet.
"There's a gate in the alley," she said.
"I can see that."
"I called the Association. They said they'll send someone to evaluate it within twenty-four hours."
"Twenty-four hours?"
"They said it's low priority. E-rank gates are low priority." She paused. "It is E-rank, right?"
Siwoo activated Predator's Eye.
The information window appeared over the gate.
[GATE CLASSIFICATION: D-RANK]
[Monster Type: Orcs]
[Estimated Monster Count: 25-30]
[Boss: Orc Chieftain]
[Gate Stability: Stable — estimated 72 hours before break]
D-rank.
Not E-rank.
D-rank gates contained orcs. Orcs were larger, stronger, smarter, and significantly more dangerous than goblins. A single orc could kill an unprepared E-rank Hunter. A group of orcs required a full D-rank party — minimum one D-rank Hunter and four E-ranks — to handle safely.
And this one was next to his apartment. Where he slept. Where he kept his ramen.
"Mrs. Cha."
"What."
"Call the Association again. Tell them it's not E-rank."
She looked at him. "How do you know?"
"The color is different. E-rank gates are lighter blue. This one is darker."
That was a lie. He had no idea if gate colors varied by rank. But Mrs. Cha didn't know that.
She went inside to call. He stood in front of the gate and read the information again.
D-rank. Twenty-five to thirty orcs. Orc Chieftain boss. Seventy-two hours until gate break.
Gate break. That was the important part.
When a gate wasn't cleared within its stability window, it broke. The portal collapsed inward and the monsters inside poured out into the real world. E-rank gate breaks were manageable — a few goblins in the street, quickly dispatched by local Hunters or police. D-rank gate breaks were different. Thirty orcs flooding into a residential neighborhood would be a disaster. People would die.
His apartment was right there. Mrs. Cha was right there. The deaf old man next door. The college kid who slept until 2 PM.
Seventy-two hours. The Association would send an evaluation team within twenty-four. Then they'd schedule a raid party. That could take another twenty-four to forty-eight hours depending on availability. D-rank raid parties needed proper Hunters, proper equipment, proper planning.
The math was tight.
He looked at the gate again.
[QUEST UPDATED]
[QUEST: ABOVE YOUR GRADE]
[Kill 1 D-rank monster.]
[Reward: 50 SP, +2 STR, +1 AGI]
[NEW QUEST GENERATED]
[QUEST: NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH]
[Clear the D-rank gate adjacent to Host's residence before gate break.]
[Reward: 100 SP, Random Skill Box (C-rank or above guaranteed), +3 to all stats]
[Time Limit: 71 hours 47 minutes]
[Failure Penalty: Gate break. Civilian casualties. Host's residence destroyed.]
One hundred SP. A guaranteed C-rank or above skill. Plus three to ALL stats. That was massive. That was the biggest reward he'd seen.
But it was a D-rank gate. Solo. At level 7.
He was stronger than he'd been three days ago. Significantly stronger. His stats were at or above the D-rank Hunter baseline. He had Predator's Eye. He had a proper weapon now.
But orcs weren't goblins. Goblins were small, weak, stupid. Orcs were large, strong, and had basic tactical intelligence. They used formations. They communicated. They could set ambushes.
And there were thirty of them.
He stood there for a long time, looking at the gate.
[THE SYSTEM NOTES HOST HAS BEEN STANDING MOTIONLESS FOR 4 MINUTES AND 12 SECONDS.]
"I'm thinking."
[ABOUT?]
"Whether I should go in now or wait."
[THE SYSTEM RECOMMENDS GOING IN NOW. EVERY HOUR OF DELAY REDUCES HOST'S PREPARATION MARGIN.]
"I know. But I also know that rushing into a D-rank gate at level 7 is how E-rank Hunters become statistics."
[HOST IS NO LONGER A STANDARD E-RANK HUNTER. HOST'S STATS EXCEED E-RANK CLASSIFICATION.]
"My rank card still says E."
[RANK CARDS DO NOT DETERMINE SURVIVAL. STATS DO.]
Fair point.
He looked at his stats one more time.
STR: 14. AGI: 13. END: 10. INT: 14. PER: 13. CHA: 6. LCK: 8.
He pulled up the shop.
[SHOP — CONSUMABLES]
Basic Health Potion — 10 SP (Restores 50 HP)Basic Mana Potion — 10 SP (Restores 30 MP)Stamina Restoration Pill — 15 SP (Restores stamina to full)
He had 75 SP.
He bought three Basic Health Potions (30 SP), one Stamina Restoration Pill (15 SP), and one Basic Mana Potion (10 SP). Total spent: 55 SP.
Remaining SP: 20.
The items appeared in his inventory. Small glass vials — red for health, blue for mana, green for stamina. And a small pill in a clear capsule.
Five consumables. Thirty orcs. One boss.
He also checked the weapon shop.
[WEAPONS]
Basic Iron Sword — 50 SP
Too expensive. And he had the D-rank bat. The bat would do.
He took a breath. Rolled his shoulders. Pulled the bat from inventory. The matte black metal caught the afternoon light.
Mrs. Cha came back outside.
"The Association said they'll upgrade the evaluation priority. Someone will come by this evening or tomorrow morning."
"Okay."
She looked at him. Looked at the bat. Looked at the gate.
"No," she said.
"I haven't said anything."
"You're looking at that gate the way my late husband used to look at the horse racing channel. The answer is no."
"Mrs. Cha—"
"You're E-rank. That's a D-rank gate. I may not be a Hunter, but I watch the news. I know what D-rank means. Orcs. Big ones. You'll die."
"I probably won't die."
"'Probably' is not confidence."
"It's the best I've got."
She stared at him. The intensity was extraordinary. Four feet eleven inches of pure disapproval.
"If you die in there," she said slowly, "I'm renting your apartment to someone who pays on time."
"That's the most threatening thing anyone has ever said to me."
"Good."
She picked up her watering can, gave the dead plant one aggressive splash, and went inside.
Siwoo looked at the gate.
"Alright," he said to no one.
He walked in.
The dungeon was different from the goblin forest.
It was a canyon. Red stone walls rising fifty meters on either side. A narrow path winding through the base, barely wide enough for two people to walk side by side. The sky above was a bruised purple, casting everything in dim, reddish light. The air was dry and hot — a sharp contrast to rainy Seoul.
The ground was hard-packed earth with loose stones. Every step crunched.
[YOU HAVE ENTERED A D-RANK GATE.]
[MONSTER TYPE: ORCS]
[ESTIMATED COUNT: 28]
[BOSS: ORC CHIEFTAIN]
Twenty-eight orcs. Predator's Eye activated, and markers appeared at the edges of his perception. The nearest group was about sixty meters ahead, around a bend in the canyon.
He moved forward. Quietly. The loose stones made stealth difficult, but his AGI of 13 gave him decent control over his footwork. He placed each step deliberately, avoiding the larger rocks.
He reached the bend and peered around it.
Three orcs.
They were big. Each one stood about two meters tall — shorter than the hobgoblin, but wider. Muscular green-skinned bodies covered in crude leather armor. They carried iron weapons — axes, maces, a crude sword. Their faces were flat and brutal, with protruding lower fangs and small, angry eyes.
Predator's Eye gave him the readout.
[Orc Warrior — Lv. 9 — STR: 15 / AGI: 8 / END: 14 / INT: 5]
[Weakness: Slow lateral movement. Poor peripheral vision due to helmet design. Throat and inner thigh unarmored.]
[Orc Warrior — Lv. 10 — STR: 16 / AGI: 9 / END: 15 / INT: 5]
[Weakness: Same as above.]
[Orc Warrior — Lv. 8 — STR: 14 / AGI: 7 / END: 13 / INT: 4]
[Weakness: Same. Additionally, left knee shows old injury — reduced mobility.]
Level 8, 9, and 10. His STR was 14 — equal to the weakest one. The strongest had STR 16, which outclassed him. But his AGI was 13, which was higher than all three. And his PER was 13, combined with Predator's Eye, meaning he could see everything they couldn't.
Slow lateral movement. Poor peripheral vision.
Don't fight them head-on. Don't trade blows. Move fast. Hit weak points. Don't get hit.
Simple in theory. Terrifying in practice.
He gripped the bat. The D-rank reinforced bat. Attack power 45 with a 15% impact bonus and a 5% stun chance. Against orc flesh and crude leather armor, that should do damage.
Should.
He picked up a stone from the ground. Tossed it to the right, past the bend.
It clattered against the canyon wall.
The three orcs turned toward the sound. All three. Their backs to him.
Poor peripheral vision.
He sprinted. Silent as he could on loose gravel. Closed the sixty-meter gap in seconds — AGI 13 moved differently than AGI 7.
The weakest orc. Level 8. Old knee injury.
He swung the bat at the back of its left knee with everything he had.
CRACK.
The knee folded inward at an angle knees should not fold. The orc shrieked — a deep, guttural bellow — and dropped. Siwoo didn't pause. He swung upward, catching the orc under the chin. Its head snapped back. It hit the ground and didn't move.
[Critical Hit!]
[Orc Warrior (D-rank) defeated.]
[+15 EXP]
The other two spun around. They were fast for orcs — faster than goblins, with actual combat reflexes. The level 10 swung its mace in a horizontal arc aimed at Siwoo's torso.
He dropped low. The mace whistled over his head. He rolled sideways — gravel bit into his shoulder through the hoodie — and came up on the orc's right side. Its peripheral vision was weakest on the right due to the helmet's cheek guard.
He swung at the orc's right knee. The bat connected, and the impact bonus kicked in — the hit landed with significantly more force than it should have. The orc's leg buckled. It stumbled but didn't fall. STR 16 and END 15 meant it could absorb hits that would've dropped the level 8.
The level 9 orc charged. Axe raised for an overhead chop.
Siwoo moved. AGI 13 against AGI 8. He sidestepped the chop, letting the axe crater the ground beside him, and swung the bat at the orc's exposed throat.
[Critical Hit!]
[STUN activated! (1 second)]
The orc's eyes went blank for a heartbeat. One second of total stillness. Siwoo swung again — same spot. The throat crunched. The orc collapsed, gasping, clutching its ruined windpipe.
[Orc Warrior (D-rank) defeated.]
[+15 EXP]
One left. The level 10. It was on one knee, favoring its damaged right leg, but very much alive and very much angry. It roared — not in pain, but in fury. The sound echoed off the canyon walls.
Bad. That roar would carry. Other orcs would hear it. He needed to finish this fast.
The orc lunged from its kneeling position, swinging the mace in an upward arc. Siwoo stepped back — the mace missed his chin by centimeters. He felt the wind from it.
The orc followed up with a backhand swing. Faster than expected. The mace caught Siwoo's left forearm.
Pain. Immediate and sharp. His arm went numb from the elbow down.
[HP: 130 → 97]
Thirty-three HP gone from a single glancing blow. A direct hit would've broken bones. Maybe killed him.
He gritted his teeth and circled right — the orc's blind side. It tried to track him but the damaged knee slowed its pivot. He got behind it and swung at the back of its skull.
CRACK.
The orc pitched forward. Face in the dirt. Still moving. Still trying to get up.
He swung again.
CRACK.
It stopped moving.
[Orc Warrior (D-rank) defeated.]
[+20 EXP]
[LEVEL UP!]
[Level 7 → Level 8]
[+5 HP, +3 MP]
[Stat points available: 3]
He stood there, breathing in ragged gasps. His left arm throbbed. He could barely feel his fingers.
He pulled a Basic Health Potion from inventory and drank it.
[HP: 97 → 135/135]
The pain faded. Not instantly — over about ten seconds, the numbness receded and sensation returned to his fingers. The bruise on his forearm was still there but dulled to a mild ache.
Three stat points. He put all three into AGI.
AGI: 13 → 16.
Speed. Speed was survival. He couldn't trade hits with orcs. Their STR outmatched his. But if he was fast enough, they couldn't hit him at all.
Three orcs down. Twenty-five remaining. Plus the boss.
He looked deeper into the canyon. Predator's Eye showed more markers — clusters of orcs spread throughout the dungeon. Groups of two, three, four. One cluster of seven near what his perception identified as the boss room.
He had two health potions left. One stamina pill. One mana potion.
This was going to take a while.
He moved forward.
Two hours.
That's how long it took. Two hours of methodical, exhausting, terrifying combat through a narrow canyon filled with creatures that could kill him in two clean hits.
He developed a system. Lure one or two orcs away from groups using thrown rocks. Ambush from blind spots. Target knees, throats, and the back of skulls. Don't get hit. When he did get hit — twice more, both glancing — drink a potion and keep moving.
His AGI of 16 made the difference. At 16, he was fast. Genuinely fast. Faster than every orc in the dungeon. He could see their attacks developing before they committed — PER 13 plus Predator's Eye gave him what amounted to a combat preview. Swing coming from the left. Step right. Overhead chop. Sidestep. Lunge with axe. Duck under. Counter to the throat.
He wasn't graceful. He wasn't elegant. He was a guy with a bat hitting weak points and running away before things got complicated. But it worked.
[Orc Warrior defeated. +15 EXP]
[Orc Warrior defeated. +15 EXP]
[Orc Warrior defeated. +15 EXP]
[LEVEL UP! Level 8 → Level 9]
[Stat points available: 3]
All three into STR. STR: 14 → 17.
He needed hitting power. The higher-level orcs were tanking too many bat strikes. With STR 17, each swing carried significantly more force. Orcs that previously took three or four hits to the skull went down in two.
More orcs. More kills.
[Orc Warrior defeated. +15 EXP]
[Orc Warrior defeated. +20 EXP]
[QUEST COMPLETE: ABOVE YOUR GRADE]
[REWARD: 50 SP, +2 STR, +1 AGI]
[STR increased from 17 to 19.]
[AGI increased from 16 to 17.]
STR 19. He was now stronger than any orc in the dungeon except possibly the boss. The shift was immediate. His next swing caved in an orc's chest plate — the crude leather armor crumpled like paper.
The orcs started avoiding him. The ones deeper in the canyon heard the dying screams of their comrades and began clustering together. Groups of four and five, weapons drawn, watching the corridor.
He didn't care. He threw rocks to separate them. Used the canyon's narrow layout to funnel them into one-on-one fights. Hit and moved. Hit and moved.
His stamina flagged around orc number twenty. He took the Stamina Restoration Pill.
[Stamina fully restored.]
Back to full. Keep going.
[Orc Warrior defeated. +15 EXP]
[Orc Warrior defeated. +15 EXP]
[Orc Warrior defeated. +20 EXP]
[Orc Warrior defeated. +15 EXP]
[LEVEL UP! Level 9 → Level 10]
[+5 HP, +3 MP]
[Stat points available: 3]
Level 10.
[MILESTONE REACHED: LEVEL 10]
[CLASS SELECTION UNLOCKED.]
[AVAILABLE CLASSES:]
[1. WARRIOR — Balanced melee combat. Bonus to STR and END. Skills focused on weapon mastery and physical enhancement.]
[2. ASSASSIN — Speed and precision. Bonus to AGI and PER. Skills focused on critical strikes, stealth, and evasion.]
[3. MAGE — Ranged magical combat. Bonus to INT and MP. Skills focused on elemental damage and area control.]
[4. TANK — Defensive specialization. Bonus to END and HP. Skills focused on damage absorption and crowd control.]
[5. ??? (LOCKED) — Requirements not met.]
[6. ??? (LOCKED) — Requirements not met.]
Four available classes. Two locked. The locked ones intrigued him, but there was no way to unlock them right now.
He read through the available options while standing in a canyon filled with orc corpses.
Warrior was the safe pick. Balanced. Reliable. The default choice.
Mage required investment in INT and MP, and his build was physical. Switching to magic now would waste everything he'd built.
Tank was defensive. He didn't want to stand there absorbing hits. He wanted to not be where the hits were.
Assassin.
Speed and precision. Bonus to AGI and PER. Critical strikes, stealth, evasion.
That was exactly how he'd been fighting. Fast movement. Blind spot exploitation. Targeting weak points. Avoiding damage entirely rather than absorbing it. The Assassin class was literally his combat style codified.
And the AGI bonus...
He selected Assassin.
[CLASS SELECTED: ASSASSIN]
[Class bonus applied: +5 AGI, +3 PER]
[AGI increased from 17 to 22.]
[PER increased from 13 to 16.]
[CLASS SKILLS UNLOCKED:]
[SKILL: Shadow Step (Active) — C-rank]
[MP Cost: 15]
[Effect: Instantly move up to 10 meters in any direction. 5-second cooldown. Movement is silent and leaves no trace.]
[SKILL: Vital Strike (Active) — C-rank]
[MP Cost: 10]
[Effect: Next attack deals 200% damage and has a 30% chance to inflict Critical Hit regardless of target position. 8-second cooldown.]
[SKILL: Stealth (Active) — D-rank]
[MP Cost: 5/second]
[Effect: Reduces Host's presence. Monsters below Host's level cannot detect Host. Monsters at or above Host's level have reduced detection. Breaks upon attacking or taking damage.]
Three skills. All useful. Shadow Step was a short-range teleport — mobility and escape. Vital Strike was a damage amplifier. Stealth was infiltration and ambush setup.
AGI 22. That was... that was fast. Really fast. D-rank Hunters averaged around 15-18 in their primary stats. He'd just blown past D-rank baselines in his primary attribute.
He allocated his three level-up stat points. One each into STR, END, and LCK.
STR: 19 → 20. END: 10 → 11. LCK: 8 → 9.
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Yoon Siwoo
Level: 10
Class: Assassin
Title: None
HP: 150/150
MP: 80/80
STR: 20
AGI: 22
END: 11
INT: 14
PER: 16
CHA: 6
LCK: 9
Skills:
Predator's Eye (C) [Passive]Shadow Step (C) [Active]Vital Strike (C) [Active]Stealth (D) [Active]
Equipment:
Hunter-Grade Reinforced Bat (D-rank) [ATK: 45, Impact +15%, 5% Stun]
SP: 70
He looked at the status window.
Three days ago, he was an E-rank with STR 8 and a dumpster bat. Now he was level 10 with four skills, an Assassin class, and stats that would make most D-rank Hunters uncomfortable.
But there was still a boss to kill.
He turned toward the deepest part of the canyon. Predator's Eye showed the boss marker — large, red, pulsing. Surrounded by four orc warriors.
Four guards and a boss. His MP was at 80. Shadow Step cost 15. Vital Strike cost 10. He had enough for multiple skill uses.
He activated Stealth.
[Stealth activated. MP: 80 → 75... 70... 65...]
His presence dampened. His footsteps became truly silent — not just quiet, but soundless. He moved through the canyon like smoke. The remaining four orc guards didn't twitch.
Five MP per second was expensive. He had about thirteen seconds of stealth at current MP, minus what he needed for combat skills. He moved fast.
The boss chamber was a widened section of the canyon — a natural amphitheater of red stone. In the center sat the Orc Chieftain on a crude iron throne.
[Orc Chieftain — Lv. 15 — BOSS]
[STR: 28 / AGI: 12 / END: 24 / INT: 8]
[Weakness: Right eye is blind (old scar). Reduced reaction speed on right side. Joint armor has gap at neck. Arrogant — will not retreat.]
STR 28. Twenty-eight. His was 20. The Chieftain was dramatically stronger than him. END 24 meant it could absorb enormous punishment. Level 15 — five levels above him.
But AGI 12. His was 22. Almost twice as fast.
And its right eye was blind.
He deactivated Stealth to conserve MP. He was behind a boulder at the edge of the amphitheater. The four guards stood at the cardinal positions around the throne. The Chieftain sat with a massive iron club across its lap — thicker than Siwoo's torso.
Four guards first. Then the boss.
He activated Stealth again. Crept toward the nearest guard. Came up behind it.
Deactivated Stealth. Activated Vital Strike.
Swung the bat at the base of the guard's skull.
[VITAL STRIKE!]
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[Damage: 287]
The orc's head snapped forward at a catastrophic angle. It was dead before it hit the ground.
[Orc Warrior (D-rank) defeated. +20 EXP]
The other three guards spun. The Chieftain stood up, iron club in hand.
Shadow Step.
He blinked ten meters to the left. Appeared behind the second guard. Swung. The bat connected with the orc's spine. It crumpled.
[Orc Warrior (D-rank) defeated. +15 EXP]
Shadow Step. Cooldown wouldn't reset for another three seconds. The third guard charged him. Axe raised.
He ducked the swing, pivoted, and brought the bat up into the orc's jaw. The orc staggered. He followed up with a second swing to the temple. Down.
[Orc Warrior (D-rank) defeated. +15 EXP]
Fourth guard. Running at him from across the amphitheater. Shadow Step cooldown done. He blinked behind it. Vital Strike ready. Swung at the base of the skull.
[VITAL STRIKE!]
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[Orc Warrior (D-rank) defeated. +20 EXP]
Four guards. Fifteen seconds. All dead.
The Chieftain roared.
The sound was different from the warriors' roars. Deeper. Older. The canyon walls vibrated. Pebbles fell from above. The ground trembled.
It charged.
STR 28, AGI 12, and a three-meter frame carrying an iron club that could flatten a car. The charge was like watching a truck accelerate toward him.
He didn't meet it head-on. That would be suicide.
Shadow Step. Right side. The Chieftain's blind side.
He appeared on the Chieftain's right and swung the bat at its knee — the same strategy he'd used on every orc in this dungeon.
The bat connected.
The Chieftain didn't buckle.
END 24. The knee held. The orc grunted, pivoted — surprisingly fast for its size — and swung the iron club in a backhanded arc. AGI 12, but with its massive arm span, the club covered an enormous area.
Shadow Step was on cooldown.
He dove. Flat on the ground. The club passed over him and hit the canyon wall.
The wall cracked. A section the size of a door collapsed.
STR 28 was no joke.
He rolled and got up. The Chieftain was already swinging again — overhead this time, bringing the club down like a hammer.
He sprinted right. The club cratered the ground where he'd been. The impact sent a shockwave of dirt and stone that knocked him off balance.
Shadow Step ready.
He blinked behind the Chieftain. Right side. Blind side.
Vital Strike.
He swung the bat at the gap in the Chieftain's neck armor — the weakness Predator's Eye had identified.
[VITAL STRIKE!]
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[Damage: 341]
The Chieftain lurched forward. Green blood sprayed from the neck wound. It roared — this time in pain — and spun, swinging the club in a full 360-degree arc.
He couldn't dodge this one. The arc was too wide, too fast.
He raised the bat to block.
The club hit the bat. The bat held — D-rank reinforced — but the force transferred through his arms, through his shoulders, through his entire body. He flew backward. Hit the canyon wall. Slid down.
[HP: 150 → 74]
Half his health. From a blocked hit. If that had been direct...
He drank a health potion.
[HP: 74 → 124/150]
The Chieftain was bleeding from its neck. Heavily. The wound was deep. But it was still standing, still holding the club, still very much alive and very much intent on killing him.
It charged again.
Shadow Step. Left side this time. Not the blind side — a misdirect. The Chieftain anticipated the right side and swung preemptively toward its blind spot.
But Siwoo wasn't there. He was on the left. Open. Unguarded.
He swung the bat at the Chieftain's wounded neck. Full power. STR 20 with a 45 ATK weapon and 15% impact bonus.
CRACK.
The Chieftain's head snapped sideways. It staggered. The club dipped. Its legs trembled.
He swung again. Same spot.
CRACK.
And again.
CRACK.
The Chieftain dropped to its knees. The iron club fell from its hands and hit the ground with a boom. Green blood poured from its neck in a sheet.
It looked at him. One good eye. Yellow. Full of something that might have been surprise.
He raised the bat one final time.
"Nothing personal."
He brought it down.
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[Orc Chieftain (D-rank Boss) defeated.]
[+100 EXP]
[Boss Core (D-rank) obtained.]
[Rare Drop: Chieftain's Iron Grip (Accessory)]
[LEVEL UP!]
[Level 10 → Level 12]
[+10 HP, +6 MP]
[Stat points available: 6]
[DUNGEON CLEARED]
[QUEST COMPLETE: NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH]
[REWARD: 100 SP, Random Skill Box (C-rank or above), +3 to all stats]
[ALL STATS increased by 3.]
[STR: 20 → 23]
[AGI: 22 → 25]
[END: 11 → 14]
[INT: 14 → 17]
[PER: 16 → 19]
[CHA: 6 → 9]
[LCK: 9 → 12]
He sat down on the Chieftain's corpse. His second boss corpse chair in two days. It was becoming a habit.
He was covered in green blood. His hoodie was destroyed — torn in three places, soaked through with sweat and orc blood. His new sneakers were already scuffed.
But he was alive.
He checked the rare drop.
[Chieftain's Iron Grip (Accessory) — C-rank]
[Type: Ring]
[Effect: STR +5 when equipped. Grip strength increased by 30%. Weapons cannot be disarmed from Host's hands.]
A ring that gave +5 STR. His current STR was 23. With the ring, it would be 28. Equal to the Chieftain that had just been swinging at him.
He put it on. It was large — clearly made for an orc's finger — but it shrank to fit his hand the moment he slipped it on. Dark iron. Simple design. No decoration.
STR: 23 → 28.
[RANDOM SKILL BOX (C-rank or above) obtained. Open now?]
"Yes."
The box materialized. Cracked open.
[SKILL ACQUIRED: Mana Sense (B-rank)]
[Type: Passive]
[Effect: Host can detect mana signatures within a 100-meter radius. Detects hidden enemies, traps, concealed gates, and mana-infused objects. Range increases with INT stat.]
B-rank. A B-rank skill from a C-rank-minimum box.
LCK: 12.
"I take back everything I said about you," he told the Luck stat.
He allocated his six level-up stat points.
Two into AGI (25 → 27).
Two into END (14 → 16).
One into INT (17 → 18).
One into LCK (12 → 13).
[STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Yoon Siwoo
Level: 12
Class: Assassin
Title: None
HP: 170/170
MP: 92/92
STR: 28 (23 + 5 ring)
AGI: 27
END: 16
INT: 18
PER: 19
CHA: 9
LCK: 13
Skills:
Predator's Eye (C) [Passive]Shadow Step (C) [Active]Vital Strike (C) [Active]Stealth (D) [Active]Mana Sense (B) [Passive]
Equipment:
Hunter-Grade Reinforced Bat (D-rank) [ATK: 45, Impact +15%, 5% Stun]Chieftain's Iron Grip (C-rank Ring) [STR +5, Grip +30%, Anti-disarm]
SP: 170
Level 12. Day three. Starting from E-rank nothing.
He collected the orc cores — twenty-eight standard and one boss — and walked out of the dungeon.
The alley. Afternoon sun. The gate collapsed behind him with a quiet implosion of blue-white light.
Mrs. Cha was standing at the building entrance. Watering can in hand. Dead plant beside her.
She looked at him.
He was covered head to toe in green blood. His hoodie was shredded. His bat dripped. His face was spattered. He looked like he'd lost a fight with a lawn mower in a swamp.
"It's cleared," he said.
Mrs. Cha said nothing for five seconds.
Then: "You're not tracking that through my hallway."
"Fair."
He used the outdoor hose on the side of the building to rinse off the worst of it. The water ran green for a disturbingly long time.
Mrs. Cha watched. Then, quietly, she said something he didn't expect.
"Rent deadline extended. Two weeks."
He looked at her. "What?"
"You cleared the gate. My building is safe. Two weeks. Don't make me regret it."
She went inside.
Siwoo stood in the alley, dripping wet, holding a bloody bat, wearing a destroyed hoodie, and for the first time in a very long time, something that might have been a smile crossed his face.
It lasted about two seconds. Then he went upstairs and passed out on his bed without even making ramen.
He slept for fourteen hours straight.
[END OF CHAPTER 3]