[0:57:54]

Roughly one hour until the tournament.

Beneath the massive gates where the tournament was held, people stood in anxious silence.

But not everyone.

“Ah~ I’m bored. Hey!!! Let’s have one match before the tournament. What do you say?”

His name was Hwang Taeseong—pale gold hair, short sport cut, the textbook definition of a chaebol heir.

“Hey!! What the hell?? You’re more down than usual today.”

Hwang Taeseong stomped up to a man, bellowing at the top of his lungs.

The man clenched and unclenched his black arm, grinding his teeth.

“What the hell? Let’s go one round.”

The man Hwang Taeseong was talking to was none other than Kang Seongbin.

Seongbin slowly raised his head to look at Taeseong. A red pupil in his right eye shimmered with a faint, eerie green glow.

Flinch—!

Taeseong, meeting that gaze, seemed startled for a moment but pressed on, ignoring it.

“What are you gonna do if I look? If you’ve got a problem, let’s throw down!!!”

Hwang Taeseong was the same academy cohort as Kang Seongbin. They’d always considered each other rivals and fought often, so this time he naturally picked a fight. But today, the atmosphere was especially tense.

Kang Seongbin opened his mouth, voice low—and for a moment, the scrape of metal threaded through it, making the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

“Shut the fuck up, before I kill you for real.”

“Wha—what?!”

Hwang Taeseong, pressed by Seongbin’s oppressive aura, stumbled back and scowled—just as—

“Ah! Would you two just shut the hell up!!!”

A middle-aged man spat out his complaint.

Hwang Taeseong’s face twisted into a deeper scowl.

*Shrrng*—he thrust his arm into thin air and pulled out a long greatsword.

“You shut up, gramps.”

Hwang Taeseong started taking his anger out on some random guy.

“Wha—what?! Gr-gramps?! You insolent little brat!!!”

The middle-aged man bellowed.

Seeming to have a temper himself, the man pulled a massive spear from his Inventory and stomped forward, threatening.

A murderous tension hung in the air, but the crowd just watched with mild interest, making no move to intervene.

“Good that they’ve got spirit—fewer competitors is fine by me.”

After all, on this floor, every person standing next to you was a rival. No need to help, no need to stop it.

Hwang Taeseong let out a heavy sigh and opened his mouth.

“Been bored anyway. This’ll do. Let’s have a round.”

Before Taeseong even finished speaking, a system window rose in front of the middle-aged man.

[Player Hwang Taeseong has requested a PVP match.]

[Victory Condition: Opponent’s surrender or death]

[Victory Reward: The defeated playe—]

In that instant, the middle-aged man’s face twisted as he scanned the reward.

[Do you accept?]

[Yes/No]

“Fine, then. Let’s see who dies!!!”

*Ding-*

[Hwang Taeseong vs. Kim Gabwoo]

[Starting PVP~!]

The furious middle-aged man lunged, thrusting his spear straight out.

*Clang!!*

Hwang Taeseong met it head-on.

And so the fight began.

***

*Shweck-*

“U-ugh!!!”

The middle-aged man screamed.

*Thud thud*—his wrist, cleanly severed, tumbled across the floor.

“Ha… surrender!! I lose.”

The moment the middle-aged man cried out his surrender—

*Ding~!*

[PVP has ended.]

[Winner: Hwang Taeseong]

A system window appeared.

And in that instant, *shrrk*—the equipment the middle-aged man wore vanished entirely.

In the blink of an eye, he stood in nothing but his underwear.

Hwang Taeseong, greatsword in hand, grinned wide.

“Uncle’s got some nice gear on him, huh.”

With every step Taeseong took, blood *drip-dropped* from the blade, stirring a raw fear in the air.

“H-hey… I surrendered!!! Taking my gear should be enough!!”

The middle-aged man spoke, cold sweat beading on his brow, but Taeseong didn’t stop.

He stopped right in front of the man.

*Shrrng*—he swung the greatsword down at him.

“You—you crazy bastard!!”

The middle-aged man defended desperately, but *squelch*—his arm was cleanly severed.

“Ugh… aaagh! S-someone… help me…”

The middle-aged man crawled across the floor, pleading to those around him, but their faces were cold.

“Die now or die later—same shit. Just get outta here.”

“Pathetic. Get lost. With that skill, you were doomed anyway.”

After all, this was the Tutorial’s fifth floor—the final floor.

There were only two ways out.

Win the tournament… or die.

So there was no reason to interfere.

*Damn it…*

The middle-aged man knew that too. But when death actually loomed, he couldn’t stay quiet.

His face crumpled, and he screamed at Hwang Taeseong.

“You son of a bitch! Do you know who I am?”

*Squelch—*

At the same time as the shout. *Thud.* The middle-aged man’s head hit the ground.

“Don’t know.”

Just as Hwang Taeseong was about to kick the head away—*whoosh*—it vanished.

“Fucking idiot.”

Hwang Taeseong stored his sword in his Inventory and spat.

“Too weak. Didn’t even get a warm-up.”

The moment he voiced his complaint—

The crowd, which had been quiet, began to murmur.

“Hey… hey. Look over there. Isn’t that the guy who did the badge hunt?”

“Oh—shit, yeah… Fuck. Might as well just prep for the next match.”

The murmuring was because of Ha Gangwoo, who had just arrived at the tournament entrance.

“What? What’s a badge hunt?”

“You don’t know? That guy went around the House of Training, taking Antero’s heads.”

“Huh? He took Antero’s heads? Bullshit.”

Those who hadn’t seen it laughed it off, but the ones who had grimaced and put their weapons away.

Even if this floor ended only in victory or death, performing well in the tournament affected your final rank.

So anyone confident in their skills didn’t want to risk their rating dropping based on a bad matchup against a monster.

The murmuring reached Hwang Taeseong’s ears too.

“He took Antero’s heads?”

Rumors were always exaggerated, but this one was ridiculous.

Antero was a weapon master—even someone like him, who’d been trained in elite swordsmanship since childhood and called a prodigy, had struggled.

He’d spent two days challenging Antero and barely won. So hearing that someone had hunted his headfor sport pissed him off.

Didn’t that make it sound like that guy was stronger than him?

Hwang Taeseong strode over to Ha Gangwoo.

His eyes narrowed as he looked at Ha Gangwoo.

*What the fuck, a Glove?*

The green Glove fitted on Ha Gangwoo’s right hand, and the rest of his equipment was shabby as hell.

*They’ve gotta be kidding me.*

As Hwang Taeseong stared at him, Ha Gangwoo slowly opened his mouth.

“Is there a problem?”

“Yeah, I heard some annoying bullshit.”

At Hwang Taeseong’s curt remark, Ha Gangwoo’s eyebrow twitched.

“Rumors, huh… So what?”

Gangwoo shot back just as tersely.

Hwang Taeseong grinned wide and drew his blade with a metallic slither.

“Heard you took Antero’s head off. Let’s see what you’ve got. We’re both bored anyway, right?”

He cocked his chin at the remaining time.

[0:40:26]

Roughly forty minutes until the tournament started. Plenty of time.

Beside Gangwoo, Jo Seunghyun stepped forward with a frown.

“Bit informal for a first meeting, don’t you think? You look younger than me too. And we’re going to fight in forty minutes anyway—why force it now?”

“But why must you be like this?”

As if to answer Seunghyun’s question—

Whoosh—

Hwang Taeseong swung his sword without warning.

The blade shot toward Seunghyun’s shoulder with respectable speed.

‘Huh?!’

Same academy as Kang Seongbin, was it? The guy had some real skill.

Case in point—

Jo Seunghyun didn’t have time to react before the blade swept down — slicing toward his shoulder.

But just before it bit into muscle, the sword stopped. Jerked to a halt.

Ha Gangwoo had caught the blade with his bare hand.

Hwang Taeseong’s lips curled wide.

“You caught that with your bare hand? Interesting.”

He pulled his sword back and created distance.

And then — a system window appeared in front of Gangwoo.

[Player Hwang Taeseong has requested PVP.]

[Victory Condition: Opponent’s surrender or death]

[Victory Reward: The loser’s equipped items are all transferred to the winner.]

Hwang Taeseong had challenged him to PVP.

Gangwoo stared at the window. The corner of his mouth lifted in a thin smile.

‘So PVP has a function like this too.’

A fight staked on something. Now that was interesting.

[Do you accept?]

[Yes / No]

Gangwoo rolled his shoulder, loosening up.

He’d been needing armor anyway.

And the gear the other player was wearing looked pretty good.

Ding-!

[Hwang Taeseong vs. Ha Gangwoo]

[PVP Initiated~!]

A system window blazed into existence against the blue sky.

People swarmed in, drawn to the sight unfolding before them.

“They say he took Antero’s head? Come on, that’s gotta be an exaggeration.”

Those still hearing the rumor clung to doubt, but the ones who’d already seen it kept their mouths shut and just watched.

[3]

[2]

[1]

The second the timer hit zero—Pop!—Hwang Taeseong lunged.

His speed was considerable.

In an instant, Hwang Taeseong was upon Ha Gangwoo.

He gripped his longsword with both hands, traced an arc, and swung.

A smile spread at the corner of his mouth as he swung the sword.

‘What? He took Antero’s head? This fucker can’t even react—’

True to Taeseong’s thought, Ha Gangwoo stared blankly at the spot where Taeseong had stood, as if he hadn’t even seen the sword.

The sword drove toward Ha Gangwoo’s collarbone—a vital point. If he stayed still, it would kill him outright.

Whish—the blade screamed through the air, tracing a line across Gangwoo’s body. Or so Hwang Taeseong thought it did.

‘Huh?!’

For an instant, bewilderment flickered across Hwang Taeseong’s face.

“What the hell?!”

Because the sword had seemed to touch him—yet hadn’t. Taeseong stared at Gangwoo. Not a single cut marred his form; he stood perfectly clean.

“You fucking bastard!”

Gritting his teeth, Hwang Taeseong swung the sword.

Whish—whish—

He poured every ounce of his strength into the blade.

And with every swing,

Whish—the sword cut through empty air. It almost touched him, almost, but never quite made contact.

As if Gangwoo was deliberately dodging by a hair’s breadth.

“Fuck!!!”

Hwang Taeseong bellowed.

“Why aren’t you fighting back?!”

The insolent bastard was toying with him.

‘Let’s see how long you stay relaxed!!’

Hwang Taeseong gripped the sword with both hands.

Whoosh—black smoke billowed outward from him, spreading in every direction.

‘Damn it! I was saving this for the tournament!’

His Trait, his finishing move—Black Smoke.

“Argh! You crazy bastard!”

“Can’t see a thing. Cough… cough… what the… can’t breathe…”

The onlookers writhed in agony, watching the scene unfold.

A cruel smile spread across Hwang Taeseong’s lips.

Black Smoke was a Trait optimized for combat—blocking vision, inducing breathing difficulty, even triggering Derangement.

A Trait on par with what a Ranker would wield.

Its greatest advantage?

‘I can still feel everything.’

Ha Gangwoo’s silhouette was perfectly captured in Hwang Taeseong’s malicious gaze.

The true strength of Black Smoke lay in sensing every inch of the space it filled.

Hwang Taeseong drew his sword and walked forward slowly.

‘First, I’ll cut off both arms and have some fun.’

With a light sweep of his arm, Hwang Taeseong thickened the smoke around Ha Gangwoo.

A perfect block against any possible contingency.

‘Drink too much of this and you’ll pass out.’

Hwang Taeseong, a cruel smile curving his lips like a mockery, grabbed Ha Gangwoo from behind and raised his sword high with both hands.

‘One arm first!!!’

The blade split the smoke with a vicious hiss.

Just as the edge was about to slice into Ha Gangwoo’s shoulder—

Clang!! The sword struck the floor.

“Wh…?”

Taeseong blinked in confusion, trying to piece together what had just happened.

Then his eyes met Ha Gangwoo’s.

Ha Gangwoo was staring straight at him—as if he could see through the thick of it.

‘What… the hell…’

In this dense smoke, with his mind supposedly clouded, he had dodged the attack with precision.

It didn’t make sense.

And then—

Thud!!!!

A massive impact slammed into his abdomen.

“Kkheuk…”

CRRRRAAAASH—

Hwang Taeseong’s body tumbled across the floor.

BANG!!!!! A thunderous explosion followed.

Whoosh!!! The smoke vanished in an instant.

As the smoke cleared, Ha Gangwoo stood at its center.

Hwang Taeseong clutched his abdomen, lifting his head to look at Gangwoo.

“Khak…”

Blood spattered from his mouth in thick droplets.

‘This… this can’t be real…’

The image of the ground around Gangwoo screaming seared into his mind, and he understood.

‘He’s a monster…’

***

[Derangement effect resisted.]

[Breathing difficulty effect resisted.]

[Sensory Dulling effect resisted.]

A thin smile crept across Ha Gangwoo’s lips.

‘Oh. Feels good.’

Every time those system windows chimed—

*Huum*—

The gem embedded in the Runetail’s Necklace on his chest blazed with fierce light.

The necklace’s [Magic Resistance +150] was blocking all status ailments from the skill.

‘Told you, lucky pouch always pays off.’

Gangwoo rolled his shoulder and walked toward the man sprawled on the ground.

[Victory condition: opponent’s surrender or death]

Face settled in cold calm, Gangwoo looked down at him.

Hwang Taeseong grit his teeth and forced himself up.

“What’s that look? You fucking piece of shit, do you know who I am?!”

Taeseong roared at the top of his lungs.

“I’m the Seilo chairman’s son. The second you kill me, you’re buried. You get that?!”

Murmurs rippled through the crowd around them.

“Seilo? Isn’t that the magic-stone processing company? The one ranked tenth in market value?”

“Yeah, mess with him and you’re screwed.”

Even Ha Gangwoo, who barely cared about the Gaia System, had heard of Seilo.

If that guy really was the chairman’s son, there was nothing to gain by making an enemy of him.

Seilo’s capital ranked tenth in the world—they practically monopolized everything from magic-stone processing to distribution.

When Gangwoo just stood there blankly, Taeseong grinned and went on.

“Yeah, how ’bout that? Changed your mind, huh? The second you touch me, you’re dead outside. I’ll make sure you can’t join any guild or even the Association. What do you say?”

Taeseong sneered, his grin twisting into something wicked.

He staggered right up to Gangwoo and put a hand on his shoulder.

“First, let’s take a beating. You arrogant bastard, who do you think you are?!”

Taeseong clenched his fist and swung at Gangwoo.

*Whoosh*—His fist flew viciously toward Gangwoo’s face.

That was the moment.

*Crack*—

With a gory sound.

*Thud*—Taeseong’s arm hit the floor.

“Ugh… Aaaargh!!!”

Taeseong screamed, clutching his torn shoulder. A fountain of blood erupted from the stump.

He writhed on the ground in agony.

Gangwoo watched him coldly.

He spoke slowly.

“So you’re the aftershock.”

Hadn’t he sworn it? Crush the aftershock before it ever comes.

Perfect timing — the experiment was just wrapping up.

Ha Gangwoo reached out and spread his palm.

With a soft rustle, an item materialized, settling snugly into his grip.

[Mid-Grade HP Potion]

Gangwoo twisted off the potion’s cap and shoved the bottle into Hwang Taeseong’s mouth.

“Let’s start with Step One.”

Crunch-

“Aaaaaah!!!!!!!”

Taeseong’s scream flooded the space before the tournament exam grounds.