Just as Gangwoo was about to step toward the ‘Undead Imperial Knight Commander Reins’—

“RAAAAAAH!”

Kang Seongbin bellowed and charged straight at Reins.

And then— clank, clank— a dozen ‘Undead Imperial Knights’ converged around Ha Gangwoo.

Gangwoo, Lee Ayeon, and Chae Seohyun were surrounded by the undead knights.

“Whoa~ That’s a lot~!”

Lee Ayeon grinned, her eyes crinkling as black mana flickered in her hands.

“Let’s just handle our own for now.”

Chae Seohyun gripped her sword with cold eyes.

“Hmm…”

Gangwoo lowered his stance, studying the undead knights encircling him.

The armor markings were more elaborate than the other undead knights, and each carried a spear in one hand, a shield in the other.

‘Elite monsters?’

They felt stronger than the monsters Seongbin had been slaughtering moments ago.

That was when Gangwoo noticed—

BOOM!!! BOOM!!!

“Graaah!”

Seongbin’s shouts rang out from beyond the undead knights.

‘Looks like he took it from me.’

Seongbin had swiped the ‘Imperial Knight Commander Reins’ right out from under him.

‘Too bad…’

Gangwoo clicked his tongue and turned his attention back.

A little disappointing, but it didn’t matter. There was plenty of new material to experiment with.

He gripped his lance tight and lowered his stance.

Was it because he radiated hostility? The undead knight shifted— lifted its shield up with a sharp click.

‘Good. That’s how it should be.’

In all the fights since acquiring this armament, he’d never once pierced a shield. They were that tough, their defense that solid.

But Seongbin had just crushed a monster through its shield.

Gangwoo was determined to try cracking one himself.

Ha Gangwoo smirked as he drew the lance back, then snapped his arm forward like loosing a bowstring.

Short, clean motion. Maybe it was the raw Strength—175 points, after all. Air ripped apart with a shriek as the spear drove straight for the shield.

Whoosh—

Crack!!!!

It punched clean through the shield and tore the monster apart.

Ding—

[You have defeated an Undead Imperial Knight.]

[You have gained 400 EXP!!]

[Perk bonus: You have gained an additional 400 EXP.]

[You have acquired 750 Gold.]

The cheerful chime rang in his ears.

With Ha Gangwoo’s strike, the monster hunt began in earnest.

***

Swoosh— Clang!!!

Kang Seongbin’s greatsword split the air and slammed into Reins’ Shield.

“Die!”

Clang!! Clang!! Clang!!

A flurry of blows, but every single one was blocked.

Then, a thud—Reins’ boot caught him square in the chest, and Seongbin went skidding across the ground with a scraping roar.

Blood dribbled from Seongbin’s lips.

‘Dizzy… I’m getting dizzy…’

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

The Demon Hand’s power kept gnawing into him, his awareness growing fuzzier by the second.

Each time his mind blurred, rage surged up. He wanted to rip apart every living thing in sight, right now.

Gritting his teeth, he crushed the greatsword’s hilt in his grip and glared at Reins with murderous eyes.

“Damn it… Damn it… DAMN IT!!!!”

Whump—

Seongbin kicked off the ground and charged at Reins. Was it the Demon Hand’s power, unleashed so far? His speed was insane.

Whoosh—Closing at blistering speed, Seongbin seized his greatsword and swung it with all his might.

Swoosh—

Clang!!!

But, as always, the shield caught it.

“Damn it! DAMN IT!!!!”

Clang— Clang— Clang—

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

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

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

The more the Demon Hand consumed him, the more his power and speed surged.

Reins, blocking the attacks, began to slide backward, its feet scraping the ground bit by bit.

Clang— Clang— Clang—

Just when Seongbin thought he was overwhelming Reins, the knight thrust its spear from behind the shield.

Thud!!!!!

The lance drove straight into Seongbin’s abdomen, sending him tumbling across the floor once more.

“Cough…”

But this time, the damage was on a different level.

Warm blood splattered.

His abdomen was torn open, a torrent of blood pouring out.

“Shit…”

Seongbin ground his teeth as he glared at the knight before him. The towering figure gazed down at him with insolent disdain.

“You pathetic piece of…”

The knight’s form began to blur. His consciousness was fading fast.

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

Jolt!!

Every time a fresh wave of agony made his mind reel, his grip on the sword tightened without him even realizing it. Veins bulged along his arm.

Kang Seongbin clenched his jaw, his face twisted in a grimace.

‘Fuck—pull yourself together!!!’

The Demon Hand’s downside was that it consumed your reason, making clear thought impossible. But if you could just hold onto your wits, it was a disgustingly overpowered Trait with no real ceiling.

So Seongbin forced himself to focus.

“Hahh… hahh…”

He sucked in a deep breath and pushed himself upright.

“Fucking pathetic…”

Was it from all the blood loss? His vision was blurrier than usual. The sounds around him felt weirdly muffled, like a distant murmur.

‘Just… let go…’

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

Was this because he’d unleashed too much of its strength? A sweet temptation whispered through him, urging him to surrender to it.

Seongbin slowly began to loosen his grip on the greatsword held in his demonic arm.

‘Just let go…’

If he just gave in to the Demon Hand, everything would become easy. This sickening dizziness, the rage, this shitty situation—all of it.

The strength bled from the hand clutching the greatsword.

Srrrrk—

The blade was slipping from his fingers, inch by inch, when—

[A power you can’t control is worse than having none at all.]

His father’s words suddenly gouged through his skull.

Chak!!!

Snapping back to his senses, Seongbin seized the greatsword again just as he was about to drop it.

A crimson light flared in his eyes.

“Fuck!”

Gritting his teeth, he wrenched his mind back under control.

“You think I’d let some goddamn Demon Hand eat me alive!!!”

[The power of the Demon Hand—]

The black energy that had been spreading through his body like spilled ink came to a halt.

The Demon Hand’s power, which had been consuming him, was stopped cold.

Krrrrunch—

Seongbin’s right arm began to swell.

“Rraah!!!!”

Gripping the greatsword tight, he charged at Reins.

Klang!! He slammed against the shield once more.

Klang— klang— klang—

But maybe it was because he’d held back the Demon Hand’s power. Both his speed and strength had dropped sharply.

Seongbin ground his teeth and swung the greatsword again and again.

“Shit, shit!!!!”

He was cursing and swinging wildly when—

Chak!!!

Reins batted the greatsword aside with his shield.

Whoosh— whoosh— whoosh—

The greatsword tumbled through the air.

Seongbin stared blankly as it flew away from him.

A memory of an old conversation surfaced.

[The Demon Hand… how disappointing.]

“Why?! A Trait like this is more than enough!”

[A power you can’t control is worse than having none at all.]

“Then I’ll just control it!! Why don’t you trust me?!”

[Hmph… easy to say. I wish you were right, but…]

“…”

[You will never be able to control it.]

His father looked at him with contempt, like he was staring at worthless garbage.

‘Fuck! Why are you ignoring me?!’

Kang Seongbin’s rage surged without end, tormenting him endlessly.

Each time, he vowed through sheer spite to master the Demon Hand.

‘Really…’

As the greatsword slipped from his grip, the demon’s eye on the back of his black right hand began to flare open.

The crimson that had been confined to his right pupil bled into the left.

‘Fucking pathetic.’

And so his entire body was slowly consumed by the Demon Hand.

Then it happened.

Thump—

Chae Seohyun yanked Kang Seongbin out of the way.

[Sacred light imbues your body.]

In an instant, clarity struck, and everything flooded back into Kang Seongbin’s field of vision.

Clatter!!

Ha Gangwoo and his party had finished all their hunting.

Lee Ayeon summoned Skeletons from the monsters she’d captured, boxing in Reins.

Ha Gangwoo stood behind the Skeletons, steadying his spear.

Kang Seongbin’s face twisted. But his vision was already blurring.

‘What a joke…’

And so Kang Seongbin’s sight slowly darkened into nothing.

***

Ha Gangwoo gripped his spear tight, staring down Reins. *Crunch*—the leather-wrapped handle hugged his palm with a satisfying feel.

‘This should be fun.’

A perfect chance to test his strength against Reins—the one he’d thought was stolen from him. Now he had that chance back.

‘He’s insanely strong.’

To think even the mighty Kang Seongbin had shattered like that. Maybe that was exactly why he was even more excited.

Ha Gangwoo steadied his lance and smiled.

‘One big hit to end it all!’

After watching Seongbin’s fight, it was clear that petty attacks were useless.

So Ha Gangwoo made his decision.

A single strike with everything he had! He would unleash that attack.

Ha Gangwoo spread his legs wide, lowering his stance.

‘Attack Stance.’

*Whoosh—*

A crimson aura swirled, then *pop*—enveloped his entire body.

[Attack Stance has been activated.]

[Your next attack deals 2x damage.]

‘A shame.’

The ‘Extreme Strike Stance’—which would have dealt 10x damage—unfortunately didn’t trigger.

But even 2x was a satisfying enough effect!

*Crunch—* *Bang!!* *Clang—* *Clang!*

Reins was crushing the Skeletons prowling around him.

Lee Ayeon was pulling aggro.

‘That Trait is seriously tempting.’

Summoning Traits seemed incredibly useful across the board. Not just for splitting aggro—the only cost to the caster was soul and MP.

A bitter smile curled at the corner of Ha Gangwoo’s lips.

‘But my Trait isn’t so bad either.’

He’d felt it for certain watching Kang Seongbin just now. A full-fledged S-Rank Trait user—and yet he was clearly weaker than Gangwoo.

There was only one reason.

All thanks to the DLC!

Ha Gangwoo reversed his grip on the lance.

He widened his stance, coiling into a throwing position. He drew his arm back, muscles contracting. *Tension!* The muscle bunched, veins bulging.

A whopping 175 Strength—and with a 2x damage effect on top of that!

Ha Gangwoo swung his arm.

Whoosh—

Like releasing a drawn bowstring, immense elastic force traced an arc through the air.

Thwip—

Was this what it meant to face a monster of a different caliber? Sensing Gangwoo’s presence amid the Skeleton’s assault, Reins raised his shield high.

Sswish—

But the lance tore through the air with vicious speed, driving straight for Reins’ Shield.

Straight for that shield that had blocked everything Kang Seongbin could throw at it!!

Shwoop—

The moment Gangwoo’s thrown lance struck home.

Crrrrack—

The shield shattered like breaking ice, and with a dull thud—the lance punched clean through Reins’ chest.

Ding—

[You have defeated the ‘Undead Imperial Knight Commander Reins.’]

[You have acquired 3,300 EXP!!]

[Due to the Perk effect, you have acquired an additional 3,300 EXP.]

[You have acquired 9,300 Gold.]

[Your level has increased!!]

A cascade of gratifying notifications rang out in succession.