Ha Gangwoo tightened his grip on the golden-glowing lance. The handle was wrapped in leather, the texture offering a satisfying grip.

He swallowed dryly, glancing around.

*Gulp.*

Everywhere, the corpses of what looked like medieval knights lay scattered, their rotting stench vibrating across the dead earth.

[Time Until Demon Summoning: 36:55]

About ten minutes had passed since they’d started walking toward the massive black orb pulsing in the sky, but there’d been no combat.

*Click.*

Lee Ayeon stopped in her tracks and extended a palm toward the party.

The signal to halt.

Without missing a beat, she sent one Skeleton ahead. Now only two Skeletons remained.

‘Interesting.’

That was how she’d been doing it the whole time — drawing the monster’s attention and moving forward.

This clearing method was Kang Seongbin’s suggestion.

What kind of training had he gone through? Was he one of those elites educated from childhood at some Academy? The way they approached clearing a dungeon was fascinating.

Gangwoo lifted his head to look at the sky.

A red sky, a red moon. And a giant black sphere. Even now, it was slowly absorbing something, growing larger by the moment.

‘A demon, huh…’

If they couldn’t stop the summoning, would an actual demon really come bursting out?

Ha Gangwoo found his hand tightening on the lance for no good reason.

Crack— Right then.

Lee Ayeon stopped cold. She turned back and spoke low.

“No more summoned beasts.”

She’d burned through every creature holding Aggro.

Kang Seongbin gripped his shield and stepped to the front.

“From now on, we hunt. Don’t jump in unless you have to. If things get too crowded, just pull Aggro.”

‘Aggro?’

Ha Gangwoo eyed the man’s words with curiosity as he stared ahead.

Temple architecture loomed before them, crowned by a massive sphere of energy. They were almost there.

‘We arrived early.’

He’d wondered why they got a rest break when they had no time to spare. Now it made sense.

‘Avoid monsters. Skip pointless fights.’

Not a bad strategy. The clear condition was just to stop the summoning, after all.

Ha Gangwoo reset his grip on the lance and moved up beside Kang Seongbin.

Kang Seongbin shot him a venomous glare.

Ha Gangwoo met the look head-on. With a “Tch,” Seongbin turned his face away.

Then muttered low.

“Don’t loiter around me if you want to live.”

With that, he Pft— and charged the enemy.

Between two pillars flanking the entrance stood a single Undead knight.

As Seongbin rushed, the Undead knight stirred to motion.

‘Let’s go.’

Ha Gangwoo was just about to step in and back him up—

Tuck— Chae Seohyun caught him by the arm.

“Leave that one to the captain.”

“Huh?”

Leave it? Was he supposed to just watch Seongbin fight?

‘Then why did he hand me that weapon?’

Before the question took root—

Seohyun continued.

“The captain’s Trait makes it hard to tell friend from foe. We let him handle one on his own and only support when the monsters pile up.”

“…”

Can’t tell friend from foe? What kind of Trait did that?

Ha Gangwoo frowned, his eyes fixed on Kang Seongbin.

‘He’s S-Rank, right.’

An S-Rank Trait—Demon Hand. What could it do? Maybe because he’d seen Ayeon’s Trait, but now he was even more curious about Seongbin’s.

And as Gangwoo watched him—

Thoom—

A sinister wave of Mana rolled across his body.

‘What the hell?! That ominous energy…’

In an instant, goosebumps crawled across his skin.

That Mana came from none other than Kang Seongbin.

Krrak—

Seongbin’s black arm swelled, doubling in size. The pupil of his right eye contracted like a predator’s.

Thud— Thud— Thud—

He tore toward the Undead knight with terrifying speed.

‘Fast…’

It wasn’t just his arm. His speed, the aura he radiated—everything had intensified.

Shrrk—

Kang Seongbin reached the undead knight in an instant, his blade already in motion.

A clean *woosh* as the greatsword split the air.

But *clang*—the knight’s shield turned it aside with casual weight.

Seongbin’s face twisted.

“Fuck!!! This piece-of-shit monster!!!”

Maybe it was because he’d lost to Ha Gangwoo in the test. Every fiber of Seongbin’s being itched at the very existence of Ha Gangwoo.

And now he was showing a pathetic display to some trash mob.

Seongbin ground his teeth and gripped his greatsword until his knuckles went white.

‘Full power, then!’

Steeling himself, he began to unleash the Black Demon’s Arm—the Demon Hand.

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

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

….

…

..

The grating System chime hammered at his ears, but he ignored it.

*Shiiink—*

Black energy slithered from his right arm up across his shoulder, crawling into his very flesh. His right eye twisted reptilian, its pupil burning red.

For an instant his consciousness went hazy, but Seongbin bit down hard.

He swung the greatsword again.

“Die!!!”

*Fwoom*—faster this time, the air screamed a sharper note.

*Thunk*—the undead knight raised its shield on cue.

But *crack—*

Seongbin’s greatsword tore through the undead knight’s torso, ripping it clean apart.

Ding—

[You have defeated an Undead Knight.]

[You have gained 350 EXP!!]

[You have gained 650 Gold.]

One blow had shattered it.

“Haaah… haaah…”

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

‘Not enough…’

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

Seongbin dragged in ragged breaths as the Demon Hand steadily ate into him.

Then, slowly, his gaze fixed on a single point. The crimson gleam of his eye locked onto a man.

‘Ha Gangwoo…’

Ha Gangwoo stood there.

*Gulp—*

He swallowed dryly, watching Seongbin.

‘No way… They said he loses track of friend and foe, didn’t they? He won’t charge at me… right?’

Only thirty minutes left. If that bastard came for him, it’d be a real headache.

Gangwoo readjusted his lance and dropped into a low stance.

‘If he does charge…’

His eyes sharpened.

‘I’ll kill him.’

Double stats from buffs, a C-rank weapon. He was confident he could do it.

But—*swish*—

Seongbin spun on his heel and charged between two pillars.

Gangwoo relaxed his stance.

‘At least he’s not completely insane.’

Thankfully, the guy didn’t seem totally lost.

“Let’s follow~”

Lee Ayeon tapped Gangwoo’s shoulder.

“Yeah.”

And so Gangwoo, Ayeon, and Chae Seohyun began trailing after Kang Seongbin.

***

*Crunch*—the undead knight’s spine snapped.

[You have defeated an Undead Knight.]

[You have gained 350 EXP!!]

[You gained +350 bonus EXP from the Perk effect.]

[You obtained 650 Gold.]

EXP and Gold trickled in steadily.

Split four ways, the numbers weren’t overwhelming—

*Fwoosh—* *Crunch—*

[You have slain an Undead Knight.]

[You gained 350 EXP!!]

[You gained +350 bonus EXP from the Perk effect.]

[You obtained 650 Gold.]

[You have leveled up!!]

This was pure honey.

Why? Because he was racking up EXP without lifting a finger.

In about ten minutes, they’d cleared a high-speed path right to the altar where the Boss waited.

And Kang Seongbin had done all the hunting.

“*Huff…* *Huff…*”

As time passed, Kang Seongbin only grew stronger—so strong that Ha Gangwoo and the other party members couldn’t find a single opening to jump in.

”He’s strong.”

At first, Gangwoo had wondered if it really was an S-Rank Trait. The penalty of an unhinged mind. And at the start, he hadn’t seemed all that powerful either.

But now, his opinion had changed.

”There’s no limit.”

Because he could feel Seongbin’s speed and power increasing without end.

[Time until Demon Summoning: 25:35]

At first, he’d thought they were pressed for time, but now it looked like they’d clear this faster than expected.

Only two monsters remained, pacing in front of the staircase that led up to the altar with the black orb.

“*Raaaaaah!!!*”

Kang Seongbin roared and charged at the Undead Knight.

*Crunch—*

True to form, he slaughtered it in a single blow.

[You have slain an Undead Knight.]

[You gained 350 EXP!!]

[You gained +350 bonus EXP from the Perk effect.]

[You obtained 650 Gold.]

[You have slain an Undead Knight.]

[You gained 350 EXP!!]

[You gained +350 bonus EXP from the Perk effect.]

[You obtained 650 Gold.]

”So this is what a carry feels like…”

Ha Gangwoo found himself being carried without even realizing it.

“*Huff…* *Huff…*”

Kang Seongbin’s breathing grew heavier by the second.

He staggered as he climbed the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, the black orb swirled.

The staircase was too tall to see what was up there, but that’s where the Boss would be.

”Is it okay to just let him go all the way? But what is that thing…”

Just as Ha Gangwoo began to question something—

“We need to stop now.”

Chae Seohyun stepped forward.

”He’s already too far gone…”

Seohyun stared at Kang Seongbin climbing the stairs.

”I have to block it before the Boss fight!”

The original plan was to seal Seongbin’s Demon Hand before taking on the Boss and regroup their full strength.

But the corruption had spread faster than expected.

”He’s already lost his mind almost completely… What is he thinking!”

The moment Seohyun was about to dash toward Kang Seongbin—

*Tak.*—Lee Ayeon grabbed Seohyun’s arm.

Seohyun looked at Ayeon in confusion, and Ayeon opened her mouth.

“It’s not over yet.”

“What??”

As if to echo that doubt—

*Boom!!!*

A thunderous explosion ripped through the air. Its source sat above the stairs, shrouded in a cloud of dust.

Kang Seongbin came flying through it.

CRASH—

His body tumbled down the stairs and hit the floor hard. At the same moment—

Ding-

[The knight guarding Beiron, ‘Undead Imperial Guard Captain Reins,’ has appeared!!]

The System announcement rang in their ears.

‘Reins?’

Ha Gangwoo frowned, turning his gaze toward the source of the blast.

If that was Reins, then he was the owner of this armament.

BOOM!!!!

Another massive explosion erupted in front of the stairs.

“Ngh!”

A blinding dust storm cut off their vision entirely.

Shhh— The dust settled, revealing a colossal silhouette.

‘That’s… Reins?’

He stood nearly three meters tall, built like a bear—thick, powerful arms gripping a spear and shield.

A small smirk curled at the corner of Gangwoo’s mouth.

‘Perfect.’

He’d been wondering just how much stronger he’d gotten.

A monster like that was exactly the right material for a test drive!

Gangwoo licked his lips and tightened his grip on the armament.