A gray blur burst from the brush, fangs bared, eyes burning like coals.
[Grimfang Wolf, level 7 (Rare)]
Seojin was already moving.
[Vanish]
The beast skidded where he'd been. A heartbeat later, green light cut the air.
[Poisoned Dagger]
[Passive 5 Activated — First strike after breaking stealth deals double damage.]
[Target has been Poisoned]
[Poison Tick]
[Poison Tick]
[Poison Tick]
The dagger sank to the hilt behind the foreleg. The direwolf jerked, a strangled snarl breaking into a cough. Seojin stepped out of its blind spot and drew his blade in a clean, rising line.
[Backstab Triggered]
[Weakspot Triggered]
The monster staggered, muscles seizing under the poison's slow bite. It lunged in a last, ugly arc. Seojin slipped past its jaw, pivoted, and let momentum carry his dagger through the throat.
[Weakspot Triggered]
Silence fell with it.
[Acquired 680 EXP]
[Acquired 3 Evolution Points]
[Aquired 280 TLE]
[Acquired 300 NTLE]
The body broke apart into drifting light, and loot orbs bobbed gently where it had died.
Loki, after picking up the loot, rolled his shoulders once and crossed to a thick-trunked tree at the edge of the clearing. He sat down with his back leaning against it. The mask faded at a tap, leaving only the hood's shadow over his eyes.
A small pause after a day of intense fighting. He let the forest sounds return, Wind through leaves, and the distant chitter.
After taking a breather, he checked his exp bar.
"All those bosses and it's not even halfway," he muttered, exhaling through his nose. "Figures."
After level 5, leveling became hell. An absurd amount of exp was needed from level 5 onwards.
Seojin opened his inventory, learned the two new skills he just got, and swapped into the fresh gear.
Then he pulled up his panel for a quick once-over.
[Alias: Loki]
[Class: GODSLAYER]
[Level: 5]
— Life Essence —
[TLE: 1,925] (+1,254 this chapter)
[NTLE: 2,017 years] (+1,238 this chapter)
— Core Attributes —
[Strength: 21 (14 base +3 class +4 weapon)]
[Constitution: 21 (14 base +2 class +5 coat)]
[Agility: 39 (14 base +10 class +6 allocated +4 weapon +5 coat)]
[Intelligence: 17 (14 base +3 class)]
— Special Stats —
[Critical Rate: +25%]
[Critical Damage: +300%]
[Stealth: +1]
[Aether: 0]
— Points —
[Free Attribute Points: 15] (+1 from first Uncommon-boss bonus)
[Evolution Points: 14] (+3 Rare +8 Uncommon +3 Common −2 spent on Backstab)
[Reputation Points: 10] (+1 from first Uncommon-boss bonus)
— Battle Status —
[Health: 210]
[Physical Attack: 86] (21 STR +65 weapon)
[Physical Defense: 126] (20 base +35 coat +30 trousers +6 hood +20 gloves +15 boots)
[All Elemental Resistances: 20] (15 base +5 trousers)
— Equipment —
[Poisoned Edge (Rare): +65 ATK, +4 STR, +4 AGI — Assassin, Lv 4+]
[Grimwolf Stalker Coat (Rare): +35 DEF, +5 AGI, +5 CON — Assassin, Lv 5+]
[Forest Stalker Trousers (Rare): +30 DEF, +5 All RES — Assassin, Lv 4+]
[Webweaver's Hood (Common): +6 DEF — Assassin]
[Gorebark Grips (Uncommon): +20 DEF]
[Webstalker Treads (Uncommon): +15 DEF]
— Accessories —
[Storage Ring (Common): Holds up to 20 items]
— Skills —
[Vanish (Rare), (Active)] — Enter stealth for 16 s. Attacking or being attacked breaks stealth. CD 22 s. (Skill book)
[Shadow Blink (Rare), (Active)] — Blink to a visible shadow within 10 m; on arrival, enter stealth for 3 s (breaks on attack/hit). CD 12 s] (New)
[Poisoned Dagger (Epic), (Active)] — Throw a dagger for 80 damage; apply +25% of on-hit damage as poison over 3 s. CD 8 s.]
[Umbral Pulse (Uncommon), (Active)] — Release a shadow burst, 5 m radius, dealing 40 damage and stunning enemies for 2 s. CD 13 s] (New)
[Backstab (Uncommon), (Passive)] — Attacks from behind deal +30% damage.] (Advanced via EP: 2)
[Assassination (Uncommon), (Passive)] — Deal +120% damage to targets below 15% HP](Uncommon skill book)
[Weakspot (Uncommon), (Passive)] — Reveal weak points; hitting them deals +30% damage.] (Uncommon skill book)
Four Uncommons, three Commons, and now this Rare—eight bosses in one day. For a newbie, this task was absurd. For Loki, it was just a start.
He'd pushed several skills up a tier through skill books, picked up a couple of new ones, and hauled in more loot than he could carry.
If not for the ring he'd found earlier, he would have been running back and forth to town or dumping half the haul.
[Storage Ring (Common): A ring that can store loot. (20 items space)]
"All this will trade for a decent amount of TLE," he thought, rubbing his thumb along the ring's edge.
'Still not enough to bring everything out.'
He gave the panel one last glance and stood, stretching.
"Let's get out of here and freshen up. When I'm back, I'll spend the free points and EP." He rolled his neck. "Then I'll start raiding dungeons until the other towns' portals open. With luck, I'll sniff out a few more rares. Maybe even an Epic."
With his plans in place, Seojin left GFS.
...
It was deep night when Eunha reached Seojin's apartment. After midnight, the city hushed to a glassy stillness. The hallway lights buzzed softly as she keyed in the door code and stepped inside.
Seojin lay on the bed, breathing slowly, eyes closed.
"He really is asleep", said Enuah as she took off her coat and got comfortable.
Eunha reached out to shake him, but her fingers passed straight through his shoulder like mist.
"What the-", she said in surprise.
She started to wave her hand inside Seojin, but the result was the same.
"This is so weird? What even is happening? Did he die and turn into a ghost?" she said and took out her phone to check the news.
"People are intangible? No one has awakened yet? happening all over the world? Don't fall asleep, or you might never awake again?" Enuah guled. "The aliens have finally come for us?"
The more clips she watched, the tighter her chest felt.
'Okay. Easy. I just… don't have to sleep. Simple. I can stay awake for hours. Days, even. I don't even need Caffeine anymore. I'm basically 90% iced americano already. The government people will fix it soon. I'll just sit here and-.
She pulled a chair close to the bed.
"Bring it on, aliens, who do you think I am! I am the cutest! the most beautiful! The pritiest! The great Shin Enuha", she declared while thumping her chest.
A couple of hours later—
Eunha woke in a dark hall scattered with slow-drifting gold-white motes.
"Wha—what is this? Where am I?" She spun in a circle
[Welcome to Gods' Fallen Sanctum]
[Please Select Your Class]
Eunha stared at the blue screen with wide eyes. Then, with the iron logic of a truly determined main character:
"Those alien bastards! They knew they couldn't get me, so they forced me to sleep and abducted me. Cowards!"
She sighed. "Well, fine. I'll play your little game. For now.", she said with a cheeky smile.
She started going through the classes.
[Warrior]
"Eugh, pass."
[Mage]
"Hmm, maybe."
[Assassin]
"Cringe. Who would even pick this?"
[Pristess/Prist]
"Oh, is this like those healing roles?"
She thought for a bit, and a calculating smile bloomed.
"I just have to cast a couple heals from afar while everyone else fights and protects me. Perfect."
[You have chosen: Priestess]
[Searching for Affinity…]
[Assigning Class Tier… Epic]
[Your Class is: Bloodbond Priestess]
"Epic? Bloodbond?" she muttered, not understanding its meaning.
[Please Enter an Alias]
"Hmmm… oh! Since I'm a Priestess and I'm pretty—"
[Your Alias is: PrettiestPriestess]
[Entering Gods' Fallen Sanctum…]
[A forgotten land that is starting to emerge again. Filled with monsters, relics, and opportunities. Explore it, discover all the secrets hidden inside this world.]
[Welcome to Gods' Fallen Sanctum]
"Get ready, aliens! Here comes Shin Eunha!"
A couple of hours later—
"Hey, lady, are you ok?" asked a man.
"I am the great Shin Eun— ha— I'm fine— totally— hic— fine." A woman sat hugging her knees, crying.
Shin Eunha, [NTLE: 1]
Unknown to Seojin, his revenge was dangerously close to auto-complete.