Lee Ayeon beamed, her voice bright and lively, eyes crinkling in a smile.

“Wow~!!!! That was Straight Punch just now, right??~ One-shotting a D-rank Monster~!! Amazing~”

Lee Ayeon walked over to the undead knight’s corpse and peered around.

“No items though. Bummer~ Still, that EXP is insane~? I went up three whole levels~ Oppa, how about you~?”

*Gulp-*

[MP recovered: 10.]

Ha Gangwoo chugged an MP Potion as he answered.

“I went up about the same.”

Gangwoo brushed it off vaguely and opened the Party window.

Because now that he thought about it, he hadn’t checked the distribution settings.

[Party Settings]

-EXP: [Split] by Contribution

-Gold: [Split] by Contribution

-Items: [Dice] by Contribution

‘Default settings, huh.’

It was the default configuration, untouched.

“Aww~ Stop being so formal~ I’m nineteen~.”

“It’s fine. Let’s head in.”

Ha Gangwoo brushed off Ayeon’s banter lightly and got to his feet.

“Whoa—fast reply! Hold on a sec~”

Lee Ayeon picked up the undead knight’s head from the ground and said.

‘Why the head all of a sudden…’

With that sly smile and those odd moves, she was one unsettling woman.

“Don’t you feel a bit cheated? I mean, I didn’t do anything, and we’re splitting the EXP and Gold fifty-fifty~”

Lee Ayeon spoke with a crinkly-eyed grin. Was it because she was holding the knight’s severed head? A chill ran down Gangwoo’s spine.

“Not cheated at all. You gave support, didn’t you? Thanks to you, the hunt ended without any injuries.”

“Aww—still, I didn’t take any risk, just used a skill. I may not look it, but I’m an A-Rank Trait-holder~ Gotta earn my keep~”

*Wooong—*

The moment Lee Ayeon finished speaking, a black aura rippled from the undead knight’s head and body.

*Pssss—* It crumbled into dust.

*Wooong—* From the center of that dust, a blue orb rose into the air. It looked exactly like what a visible soul might be, Gangwoo thought.

Lee Ayeon picked up the blue orb and cradled it in both hands.

“Rise.”

*Pat—*

With her Activation word, something began writhing beneath the ground.

*Psssss—*

A skeletal hand emerged first, then a human skull and ribcage—a Skeleton revealed itself.

‘Summoning magic?!!!’

A Player who hadn’t even undergone a Job Change was already using summoning magic? What kind of Trait was this? It seemed even better than A-Rank.

‘What is her Trait…’

Just as Ha Gangwoo was puzzling over Lee Ayeon’s Trait—

*Clatter—*

The Skeleton started walking, making a bizarre rattling sound.

“I’ll take the lead~”

Lee Ayeon stepped forward with a wide, crinkly-eyed grin.

And so, with the Skeleton at the forefront, their two-man hunt began.

***

[You have slain the Undead Knight.]

[Acquired 700 EXP!!]

[Acquired an additional 700 EXP from the Perk effect.]

[Acquired 1,300 Gold.]

[You have slain the Undead Knight.]

[Acquired 700 EXP!!]

[Acquired an additional 700 EXP from the Perk effect.]

[Acquired 1,300 Gold.]

….

…

..

.

“We’re almost there now~!!!!”

Lee Ayeon called out to Ha Gangwoo with a crinkly-eyed smile.

Gangwoo shuddered at her words. Why?

*Rattle— rattle—*

Because over thirty Skeletons swarmed around Lee Ayeon. The sight of her smiling beside a mass of bones was hardly pleasant.

‘She’s completely broken…’

Ha Gangwoo’s Trait was S-Rank. So why did Lee Ayeon’s Trait seem even better?

Gangwoo opened his Shop window.

[DLC Shop]

–

DLC: Curse of the Black Plague – 10,000,000 Gold

–

(Refresh)

‘Refresh, huh…’

The Plague Curse cost a staggering 10 million Gold — a sum utterly untouchable inside the Tower of Tutorial. The smart move was to abandon that item and search for something else.

‘Once this dungeon clear is over, I’ll have to look for another item. The Jumping Character was good, and so was the Starter Pack, right?’

Ha Gangwoo, who had been mulling over his Trait, shook his head.

‘For now, let’s just focus on the Quest.’

[Time until Demon Summoning: 82:51]

Roughly forty minutes since entering the dungeon.

[Ha Gangwoo]

Level: 16

HP: 810/810

MP: 60/60

Strength: 70(+10)

Agility: 50(+35)

Vitality: 51(+30)

Mana: 50(+10)

Sense: 40(+10)

Luck: 40(+10)

Strength: 68 → 70 (2↑)

Sense: 20 → 40 (20↑)

Luck: 20 → 40 (20↑)

He’d achieved the feat of reaching level 16. The points earned totaled 42. He invested them into Sense and Luck, the stats he’d felt were lacking.

With this, he could now clearly grasp the effect of the Luck stat.

[Mana-Imbued Pistol]

Grade: E

Durability: 14/15

Attack Power: +30

Agility: +11

Description: A pistol containing faint Mana. Though small in size, it possesses great destructive power.

Effect

– Upon firing, there is a 12% (2↑) chance to grant the bullet the Explosive Round effect.

‘It actually went up…’

The proc chance on firing had increased by a whole 1%!! This meant that among his current stats, there was no longer a single dump stat.

That was when it happened.

Lee Ayeon stopped in her tracks.

Before allocating his stats, he wouldn’t have known why. Now, he could sense why she had halted.

‘The Sense stat, boosted by ’20’ points, was picking up on their surroundings.’

‘A Boss…?’

He could feel an aura distinctly different from the monsters so far — one that seemed almost twice as powerful.

“There’s something up ahead. Looks like either an Elite monster or a Boss monster.”

The smile vanished from Lee Ayeon’s face. That alone told him how formidable this monster was.

Ha Gangwoo drew the pistol he’d been saving. It was only a 1% increase, but hadn’t the Explosive Round chance gone up? It would definitely be more useful than before.

“Then, let’s start right away~”

Lee Ayeon adjusted her grip on her sword and spoke to Ha Gangwoo.

Ha Gangwoo met her eyes and nodded.

“Charge!!”

Lee Ayeon raised her right hand, commanding the Skeletons.

Clatter!!

Over thirty Skeletons charged forward. The ground trembled and dust flew as if a war had broken out.

Ha Gangwoo, as always, tailed the Skeletons.

The hunt, which lasted about thirty minutes, proceeded like this. While the Skeletons drew attention, he exploited the openings. During that time, Lee Ayeon neutralized the enemy with Debuffs.

It was a flawless hunt.

Ha Gangwoo followed behind the Skeletons and began searching for the monster radiating that immense aura.

‘What kind of bastard is this?’

Was it another Undead monster, like all the others he’d faced? He had to know.

But that curiosity curdled into fear in an instant.

BOOM!!!

A colossal dust storm erupted with it.

Shhhh—

Thirty-odd Skeletons simply evaporated.

“Whoa!!”

Ha Gangwoo was caught in the blast wave and sent tumbling backward across the ground.

Sprawled on the floor, he fixed his gaze on where the Boss stood.

The monster’s form, hidden behind the dust cloud, slowly began to reveal itself.

Gangwoo swallowed dryly without realizing it.

‘This is no joke…’

Twice the bulk of a standard Undead Knight, muscles bulging *tight* across its entire frame. A round hole pierced its chest plate, as if something had punched clean through.

Grrrr—

*Whirrr—*

A pulsing blue light rippled along the great Undead Knight’s blade.

‘This is going to be a pain.’

*BOOM!!!*

With a thunderous blast, the battle with the ‘Undead Knight Commander’ began.

***

*THWACK!!!*

The wet sound of impact hammered the earth.

Each time — *CRRUNCH* — blood and chunks of flesh sprayed through the air.

‘That I lost?!’

*THWACK!!*

That was the sound of Kang Seongbin’s greatsword cutting through the air.

*THWACK* — predictably, another gush of blood burst forth.

“Fuck! FUCK!!!”

Seongbin’s right eye blazed red. His pupil had stretched vertically, resembling a beast of prey.

*THWACK — THWACK — THWACK —*

Seongbin’s greatsword mangled the corpse.

[The Demon Hand’s power is encroaching on your body.]

The System message clouded his judgment. Only rage swelled larger.

*—Just a Demon Hand… How disappointing.*

His father’s words echoed in his head. Calling a Trait others praised a *disappointment*.

‘What’s wrong with it!!! The Demon Hand is fucking enough!!!!’

The angrier Seongbin grew, the wider the eye on the back of his right hand opened.

“Die!! Die!! DIE!!!”

*THWACK — THWACK — THWACK — THWACK — THWACK — THWACK —*

Seongbin’s rage-fueled sword strikes butchered the corpse.

“All of you… DIE!!!”

Just as the Demon Hand was steadily consuming his body—

*Tap!!*

Someone tapped Seongbin’s shoulder.

A powerful golden light enveloped Seongbin’s body.

[Holy light imbues your body.]

*Fwoosh—*

In an instant, Seongbin’s mind cleared. The encroaching corruption receded, his body restored to normal.

“Hahh… Hahh…”

Seongbin stared at his blackened arm, at the back of his hand. The eye that had been widening was now shut.

Finally coming to his senses, Seongbin looked around.

Roughly forty Undead Knights lay scattered around him. Beneath his feet, the massive ‘Undead Knight Commander’ — now horrifically shredded — was still gasping its last.

“Secured.”

Chae Seohyun spoke in a low voice. A massive spear rested in her hand, its golden glow plain evidence of its quality.

‘An Armament…’

Kang Seongbin shifted his gaze to where the pillar of light had been. The blazing column was gone.

‘So the light vanishes once the Armament is claimed.’

“Looks like they’ve retrieved theirs too,” she said.

Chae Seohyun stared at the western sky as she spoke.

The pillar of light that had been shooting violently upward from the west had disappeared as well.

It meant the opposing team had finished recovering their Armament.

Kang Seongbin’s expression twisted.

‘Filthy luck…’

The taste in his mouth was foul. The Undead Knight had been a monster overwhelming even for him. In the end, he’d only cleared it by unleashing the Demon Hand fully, losing his sense of self in the process.

And that bastard—as if mocking him—had finished the quest in nearly the same time, despite Seongbin pouring out everything he had.

Kang Seongbin pulled an HP Potion from his Inventory and downed it in one gulp.

“Let’s move.”

Wiping the potion from the corner of his mouth, he started walking.

[Time Until Demon Summoning: 62:36]

Barely an hour remained. There wasn’t even time to rest.