The blue light of the monitor was the only thing illuminating the cramped room. It reflected off the grease of a half-eaten cup of ramen and the mountain of thick, dog-eared textbooks titled Introduction to Public Administration and Civil Service Law.
Hakyun's fingers flew across the keyboard. On the screen, his character—a low-level warrior—dodged a boss's swing by a pixel's breadth.
Click. Click-click.
"Pattern recognized," Hakyun muttered, his eyes bloodshot. "Third frame, left tilt. Now."
With a final strike, the monster fell. A small loot window popped up.
'You have obtained [Rusty Iron Ore].'
Hakyun sighed and leaned back, his chair creaking loudly in the silent apartment. "All that work for a common drop. Just like real life."
He looked at the clock: 3:42 AM. He had to be at the library by 8:00 AM if he wanted to snag a seat with a power outlet. Living in Seoul was expensive, and the allowance his parents sent from the countryside barely covered the rent for this "Gosiwon"—a room so small he could touch both walls if he stretched his arms. His parents thought he was studying to become a stable government official. They didn't know he spent his "study breaks" analyzing game mechanics to earn a few extra won selling virtual items.
He stood up, his joints popping, and walked to the tiny window. Outside, the Seoul skyline was divided by a glowing crack in the sky—a C-Rank Gate hovering over the Gangnam district, held in place by massive containment pylons.
"Must be nice," Hakyun whispered, watching a fleet of high-end Hunter SUVs speed toward the Gate. "One mana stone from that raid could pay for my tuition and my parents' retirement."
But Hakyun wasn't a Hunter. He was twenty-two, unawakened, and painfully ordinary. In a world of superheroes, he was the guy who made sure the paperwork for their permits was filed correctly—or at least, that's what he was studying to be.
He turned back to his desk and opened his notebook. He started writing, but not about law. He was calculating the efficiency of his last raid.
Efficiency Log:
Time spent: 4 hours.
Gold earned: 12,000.
Current Stat Distribution: Balanced.
Note: If I had 2 more points in Dexterity, I could have finished the boss 15% faster.
He was obsessed with stats. It was the only way he could make sense of a world that had become a chaotic game ten years ago.
Suddenly, a strange vibration shook the room. It wasn't an earthquake—it was a low-frequency hum that made the water in his ramen cup ripple.
A notification sound, like a digital chime, echoed not from his computer speakers, but from inside his head.
[Condition Met: 'The One Who Measures the World'.]
[Synchronizing Soul with the 'Gamer' Logic...]
Hakyun froze. "The hell? Is the neighbor's TV too loud?"
Then, a transparent blue window flickered into existence, floating right in front of his tired eyes. It wasn't the government-issued ID screen or a Hunter's Status window. It was cleaner, more detailed, and pulsing with a strange gold light at the edges.
[Awakening Complete.]
[Trait: 'GAMER' (Rank F) has been activated.]
[Name: Kang Hakyun]
[Level: 1]
[Title: None]
[Potential: F (Locked)]
"Potential... F?" Hakyun stared at the screen. A bitter laugh escaped his throat. "Even the universe wants me to be a civil servant."
But then, he scrolled down to the bottom of the window.
[Current Stat Points: 5]
[Note: As a 'Gamer', you receive 5 points per level. Standard Hunters receive 3.]
Hakyun's heart stopped. He did the math instantly.
Level 10... Level 50... Level 100...
"Wait," he whispered, his eyes widening as the gamer in him took over. "The potential is F... but the math doesn't add up. If I keep leveling... I'll become a monster."
Hakyun stared at the blue window, his heart hammering against his ribs. He reached out to touch it, but his hand passed right through the light. This wasn't a hallucination brought on by sleep deprivation and caffeine. This was real.
As he focused on the word [GAMER], another chime rang out—this one sharper, more insistent.
[New Quest Available!]
A second window snapped open next to his status.
[Daily Quest: The Foundation of Grinding]
In every game, the protagonist starts by hitting training dummies. Since you lack a training ground, the world is your gym.
Goal:
Push-ups: 0 / 50
Sit-ups: 0 / 50
Squats: 0 / 50
Running: 0 / 5.0 km
Time Limit: 18:46:12 (Until the end of the day)
Reward: EXP: 50
1 Random Loot Box (Rank F)
Full Recovery of Health and Mana.
Failure Penalty: Stat Reduction: -1 to all stats for 24 hours.
Title: 'Lazy Slacker' (Duration: 24 hours).
Hakyun looked at the list, then at his thin arms, and finally at the stack of textbooks on his desk. 50 of each exercise and a 5km run? To an elite Hunter, that was a warm-up. To a student who lived on instant noodles and spent fourteen hours a day sitting in a chair, it was a death sentence.
"Fifty push-ups?" he muttered, looking at the floor of his room. There was barely enough space to lie down between his bed and the desk. "And a five-kilometer run in the middle of Seoul? People will think I've lost my mind."
He glanced at the Failure Penalty. A reduction in stats was bad, but the title 'Lazy Slacker' sounded like a debuff that would make his already difficult life even harder.
But it was the EXP and the Loot Box that caught his eye. In every game he had ever played, the first quest was the most important. It set the pace.
"Five points per level," he reminded himself. His eyes hardened. "If I want to get out of this room, I can't fail the first quest the world gives me."
He cleared the floor, pushing his trash bin and a pile of laundry into the corner. He got into a plank position. His arms were already trembling.
"One," he gasped as he lowered himself.
[Push-ups: 1 / 50]
A small counter appeared in the corner of his vision. It was working. Every grueling movement was being tracked by the system.
Two hours later, Hakyun was drenched in sweat, his lungs burning as he finished the last squat. He didn't wait to rest. He threw on a pair of old sneakers and a hoodie, heading out into the cold, pre-dawn air of Seoul for the 5km run.
As he ran past the closed convenience stores and the silent bus stops, his legs felt like lead. But every time he looked at the floating counter—[Distance: 3.4km / 5.0km]—he felt a surge of adrenaline he hadn't felt in years. He wasn't just a student anymore. He was a player.
When he finally stumbled back into his room, collapsing onto the thin linoleum floor, a glorious golden light washed over him.
[Quest Complete!]
[You have earned 50 EXP.]
[You have received 'Random Loot Box (Rank F)'.]
[Reward: Full Recovery is being applied.]
The exhaustion vanished instantly. The soreness in his muscles evaporated, replaced by a strange, cool tingling sensation. He sat up, breathing perfectly normally.
"Full recovery... this is broken," he whispered. "I could study all night, do the quest, and feel like I slept for ten hours."
But then, the screen flickered.
[EXP: 50 / 50]
[Level Up!]
[You have reached Level 2.]
[You have gained 5 Stat Points.]
Hakyun's eyes widened. He hadn't even entered a Gate yet, and he was already growing. He opened his status window, seeing the 5 unallocated points shimmering, waiting to be used.
Hakyun's breath hitched as he stared at the small, pixelated chest floating in his vision. It was a Rank F Loot Box, a simple wooden crate tied with a rough hemp rope. In any other game, this would contain trash—a rusty spoon, maybe a single health potion.
But in the real world, where even the lowest-tier magic items cost a year's tuition, this was a jackpot.
"Open it," he whispered.
The chest rattled, the rope snapped, and a burst of white light filled the dark apartment.
[System: Opening 'Random Loot Box (Rank F)...']
[Congratulations! You have obtained a unique Growth-Type item!]
The light faded, and a small, weathered leather pouch appeared on his desk. It didn't look like much, but when Hakyun hovered his hand over it, a description window popped up.
Item: The Bottomless Pouch of the Hoarder (Rank F)
Type: Accessory / Storage
Description: A tattered pouch once owned by a legendary miser who refused to leave a single copper behind.
Special Trait [Hoarder's Greed]: * Increases the drop rate of low-rank Mana Stones by 10%.
Automatically "vacuums" any Mana Stone within a 3-meter radius.
Special Trait [Growth]: * This item levels up with the user. Current Inventory Slots: 10 (Weight is reduced by 90%).
"Even a pebble has value if you have enough of them."
Hakyun picked up the pouch. It felt lighter than air.
"Growth-type?" his gamer brain screamed.
In the world of Hunters, items were usually fixed. If you found a D-rank sword, it stayed a D-rank sword until it broke. But a Growth-Type item was a myth—something usually reserved for S-rank artifacts found in the deepest dragon dens. Even if it was Rank F now, the fact that it would get better as he did was priceless.
And that 10% drop rate increase...
"Wait," Hakyun muttered, his eyes gleaming. "If my Luck stat also increases EXP and loot gain... and I combine it with this pouch... I'm not just a Gamer. I'm a gold farmer."
He looked at his character window again. He still had 5 Stat Points to spend and a decision to make.
Hakyun didn't hesitate. In the early game, fancy tricks and high luck didn't mean anything if you were too weak to swing a weapon. He needed a physical foundation to survive his first real encounter.
"Put everything into Strength," he commanded.
The blue window shimmered as the points were allocated.
[Strength: 10 -> 15]
[Physical Attack Power has increased significantly!]
A sudden, sharp heat surged through Hakyun's muscles. It wasn't painful, but it was intense—like a wave of electricity remapping his muscle fibers. His thin frame didn't bulk up like a bodybuilder's, but his muscles became denser, more defined.
He stood up and gripped the edge of his heavy wooden study desk. Usually, moving it required a grunt and a struggle. He lifted.
Creak.
The desk rose into the air with a lightness that startled him. He was lifting it with one hand as if it were made of cardboard.
"This is... unbelievable," he whispered, setting the desk down gently. "Five points made this much difference? Most people only get three. I'm already nearly twice as strong as a normal person."
He looked at his status one last time to confirm the change.
[Status Window]
Name: Kang Hakyun
Level: 2
Title: None
Potential: F (Locked)
Health: 150 / 150
Mana: 50 / 50
Strength: 15 (+5)
Vitality: 10
Intelligence: 10
Dexterity: 10
Luck: 10
[Available Stat Points: 0]
Now that he had the power, he needed a place to use it. He couldn't just walk into a high-rank Gate; the Guilds would kick him out, and the monsters would shred him.
He grabbed his phone and opened a popular app used by low-rank hunters: 'GateLink.' It showed real-time openings for freelance workers.
One notification was blinking red, just three blocks away from his apartment.
[URGENT: Porter Needed]
Location: Construction Site, District 4.
Gate Rank: E-Rank (Sub-type: Insectoid).
Pay: 100,000 Won + 1% of miscellaneous loot.
Requirement: High stamina. Must bring own backpack.
Note: The "Iron Fist" party is short one person. Departure in 20 minutes.
Hakyun grabbed his new Bottomless Pouch and shoved it into his pocket. A 100,000 won (about $75) was more than he'd make in a week of gaming. Plus, it was an E-Rank Gate—the perfect place to test his Strength and see if he could "accidentally" kill a monster to gain more EXP.
"If I can just get one kill," he thought, his eyes narrowed, "I'll level up again. Five more points."
He grabbed his hoodie and ran out the door, his new Strength making every step feel like he was wearing spring-loaded shoes.
Hakyun arrived at the construction site breathing hard—not from exhaustion, but from the sheer speed his new Strength allowed him to maintain. The site was cordoned off with yellow "Gate Authority" tape, and in the center of the unfinished concrete foundation sat a swirling vortex of sickly green energy: the E-Rank Gate.
Standing near the entrance were four people checking their gear. These were the "Iron Fist" party.
"You the kid from the app?"
A man with a buzz cut and a scarred chin looked Hakyun up and down. He wore a chest plate made of reinforced polymers and carried a heavy, blunt mace. This was Park Cheol-su, the D-Rank leader of the group.
"Yes. Kang Hakyun," Hakyun replied, trying to sound more confident than he felt.
"You look a bit thin for a porter," a woman leaned against a pile of rebar, sharpening a short sword. She was the party's scout, probably an E-Rank. "You sure you can carry 40 kilos of equipment plus whatever mana stones we find?"
"I have good stamina," Hakyun said, patting his pocket where the Bottomless Pouch sat hidden.
"Fine. We don't have time to be picky," Cheol-su grunted. He pointed to a massive, oversized hiking backpack sitting on the ground. It was packed with extra rations, medical kits, and empty containers for loot. "Put that on. Your job is simple: stay five meters behind us. If we fight, you crouch. If we run, you run faster. Don't try to be a hero, and don't touch the monsters. Understood?"
Hakyun bent down and grabbed the straps of the massive pack. Usually, a bag this size would make his knees buckle. But as he hoisted it onto his shoulders, he felt the 15 points of Strength kick in.
It felt light.
The woman with the sword raised an eyebrow. "Huh. Maybe he's sturdier than he looks. He didn't even wobble."
[System Note: Your Strength stat allows you to ignore the 'Weight Burden' debuff for this load.]
"Alright, listen up," Cheol-su commanded, his voice turning serious as he looked at the green vortex. "It's an insect-type hive.
Expect Giant Centipedes and Workers.
They're fast, but their shells are brittle. We go in, clear the main chamber, grab the stones, and get out before the Queen notices we're there. Move out!"
As the party stepped into the shimmering light of the Gate, Hakyun followed close behind.
[Warning: You have entered the 'E-Rank Dungeon: The Emerald Hive'.]
[Detection: A hidden quest has been triggered due to your 'GAMER' trait!]
Hakyun's eyes darted to the new window appearing in his peripheral vision.
[Hidden Quest: The Opportunistic Scavenger]
A true gamer knows that the party leader doesn't see everything.
Goal: Collect 5 'Cracked Mana Stones' that the Iron Fist party misses or discards.
Reward: 100 EXP, +1 Luck.
Hakyun's heart raced. The hunters only cared about the high-quality stones in the monsters' hearts, often leaving the "cracked" or low-energy shards behind because they weren't worth the weight. To them, they were trash. To Hakyun, they were his ticket to Level 3.
Hakyun took a deep breath, adjusting the straps of his pack. "Understood. I'll stay back and stay quiet."
As they crossed the threshold, the air changed. The humid, exhaust-filled scent of Seoul was replaced by a pungent, earthy smell—like rotting leaves and vinegar. The "Emerald Hive" was a network of tunnels lined with a glowing, translucent green slime that acted as a dim light source.
The Iron Fist party moved with practiced coordination. Cheol-su took the lead, his heavy mace resting on his shoulder, while the scout, Min-ah, crept ahead with her short sword drawn.
Skreeee!
A Giant Centipede, the size of a motorcycle, skittered down the tunnel wall. Its chitinous shell clicked against the stone.
"Contact! Front!" Cheol-su bellowed.
Hakyun immediately dropped into a low crouch, moving back five meters as instructed. He watched as the party engaged. Cheol-su smashed the creature's head with a single, brutal swing of his mace, and Min-ah darted in to sever the twitching legs. It was over in seconds.
"Check for the core," Cheol-su grunted.
Min-ah dug into the creature's chest, pulling out a small, glowing green pebble—a Rank E Mana Stone. "Got it. Let's keep moving, the smell of its fluids will attract more."
They hurried deeper into the hive, leaving the carcass behind. As soon as their backs were turned, Hakyun moved.
He didn't care about the main core; his eyes were glued to the floor where the centipede had been smashed. Amidst the green ichor, a tiny, flickering shard lay forgotten.
[Found: Cracked Mana Stone (Rank F)]
[Progress: 1 / 5]
He reached out, and as soon as his fingers got close, the Bottomless Pouch in his pocket reacted. A faint vacuum-like pull sucked the shard right out of the slime and into the pouch.
'This is perfect,' Hakyun thought. 'They're moving fast, and they only want the "Gold." I'm here for the "Copper."'
Over the next twenty minutes, the party cleared three more encounters. Each time, Hakyun stayed back, played the role of the "scared porter," and vacuumed up the fragments they ignored.
[Progress: 4 / 5]
He was one shard away from completing the quest. However, the tunnels were starting to narrow, and the walls were now covered in thick, pulsating egg sacs.
"Hold on," Min-ah whispered, her hand raised. "The vibrations... something big is moving in the next chamber. This isn't just a Worker patrol."
Hakyun looked at the egg sacs. His gamer instincts were screaming. In every dungeon crawl he'd played, this kind of environmental change meant a Mini-Boss or a Trap.
Just then, he spotted it—the fifth shard, wedged deep inside a cluster of egg sacs five meters to his right, away from the main path.
Hakyun's eyes locked onto the faint glimmer wedged between the pulsating sacs. It was a risk, but in a world of Hunters, "F-ranks" didn't get ahead by playing it safe—they got ahead by being efficient.
'One quick dash. In and out in three seconds,' he calculated.
As Cheol-su and Min-ah crept toward the bend in the tunnel, their attention entirely focused on the heavy thumping sounds ahead, Hakyun moved. He didn't make a sound; his 15 points in Strength made his legs powerful and his steps light.
He reached the egg sacs. The surface was warm and translucent, showing the curled-up shadows of centipede larvae inside. He reached his hand out, and the Bottomless Pouch did its work.
[Found: Cracked Mana Stone (Rank F)]
[Hidden Quest: The Opportunistic Scavenger — COMPLETE!]
[Rewards Obtained:]
100 EXP
+1 Luck
Status Updated.
[Level Up!]
[You have reached Level 3.]
[You have gained 5 Stat Points.]
The golden light of the level-up washed over him, but he didn't have time to celebrate. The sudden surge of mana from his awakening and level-up acted like a flare in the dark.
The egg sacs beneath his hand shuddered.
Creeeee-ack!
"Kid! What the hell are you doing?!" Cheol-su yelled, spinning around.
It was too late. The vibrations from the "Mini-Boss" ahead had already been waking the hive, but Hakyun's level-up had provided the final spark. The egg sacs began to burst open, spilling dozens of dog-sized larvae onto the floor.
Worse, the "big thing" around the corner finally emerged. It was a Soldier Centipede—twice the size of the others, with jagged red mandibles and a shell that looked like armor plating.
[Warning: Elite Monster 'Hive Soldier' has appeared!]
"Dammit, the porter triggered the nursery!" Min-ah hissed, drawing her sword. "Get back, you idiot! If you get eaten, we don't get paid!"
Hakyun scrambled back, but his mind was racing. He was now Level 3. He had 5 fresh stat points and a Luck stat that had just increased.
He looked at the Hive Soldier. Because of his GAMER trait, he could see something the others couldn't: a flickering red health bar above the monster's head and a glowing "weak point" on its underbelly that pulsed every time it roared.
Hakyun is in the middle of a chaotic fray. He needs to spend his 5 points immediately to survive or help the party.
Current Stats:
Str: 15 | Vit: 10 | Int: 10 | Dex: 10 | Luck: 11
Available Points: 5
Hakyun's mind worked with the cold speed of a veteran tactician. He knew that in a chaotic raid, balance was for those who had time. He needed to be a glass cannon—hard enough to break the shell, fast enough to hit the gap.
"System," he thought, his eyes locked on the charging Soldier Centipede. "3 into Strength, 2 into Dexterity."
[Strength: 15 -> 18]
[Dexterity: 10 -> 12]
[Your movements become more fluid. Your muscles coil with explosive power.]
As the Hive Soldier lunged past Min-ah, its massive mandibles snapping toward Cheol-su's shield, the force of the impact threw the party leader back. The monster reared up, exposing its soft, pulsating underbelly—the "weak point" Hakyun's Gamer vision had highlighted in a neon red.
"Get back, kid!" Min-ah screamed, busy kicking off three larvae that were clinging to her boots.
Hakyun didn't get back. He spotted a rusted, heavy steel reinforcement pipe—rebar—jutting out from a pile of construction debris that had been sucked into the Gate.
He grabbed it. To a normal student, the four-foot rod would have been a heavy burden. To Hakyun, with 18 Strength, it felt like a baseball bat.
He didn't just throw it; he aimed for the timing.
'Three... two... one... the frame is open!'
Hakyun twisted his torso, drawing on his gamer instincts for projectile physics. He hurled the steel pipe with every ounce of his new power.
[Skill 'Throw' (Temporary) has been activated!]
[Critical Hit!]
The pipe whistled through the air, propelled by 18 points of raw power. It didn't just hit the Hive Soldier; it impaled the soft underbelly, burying itself deep into the creature's internal organs.
SCREEEEEEE!
The monster's health bar plunged from 80% to 15% in a single second. The Soldier Centipede thrashed wildly, its massive body slamming against the tunnel walls before collapsing into a heap of twitching legs and leaking ichor.
Silence fell over the tunnel, save for the sizzling of the larvae.
Cheol-su stared at the dead Elite, then at the steel pipe still vibrating in the creature's gut, and finally at Hakyun, who was standing there breathing hard, trying to look as "surprised" as possible.
"Did you... did you just throw that?" Cheol-su stammered, his mace lowering. "That was a fifty-pound rod of steel. You threw it like a dart."
Min-ah looked at Hakyun with narrowed, suspicious eyes. "I thought you were an unawakened civilian, Hakyun-ssi. That wasn't a 'normal' throw."
[System Notification: You have contributed 65% of the damage to an Elite Monster.]
[Massive EXP Gained!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
Hakyun's vision was flooded with blue windows. He had jumped from Level 3 to Level 5 in a single heartbeat.
Hakyun is now standing in a pile of dead larvae and a dead Elite. The party is looking at him with a mix of awe and deep suspicion.
Current Status:
Level: 5
Available Stat Points: 10 (2 levels worth)
Hakyun quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead, making his hands shake slightly to sell the act. He looked at his hands with a horrified, wide-eyed expression, stumbling back a step.
"I... I don't know!" he gasped, his voice cracking perfectly. "I thought it was going to kill us! My heart just started racing and everything went into slow motion... is that what they call 'Hysterical Strength'? I just grabbed the first thing I saw!"
Cheol-su looked at the dead monster, then back at Hakyun's thin frame. It was a common phenomenon in the news—non-awakened people doing incredible feats of strength during Gate breaks to save their families.
"Hysterical strength, huh?" Cheol-su grunted, though he still looked skeptical. He walked over and yanked the pipe out of the carcass with a wet squelch. "Usually doesn't involve hitting a moving target in the heart with a fifty-pound rod, but... lucky for us you did. If that thing had pinned me, we'd be in trouble."
Min-ah sheathed her sword, her eyes still lingering on Hakyun. "You should get tested at the Association when we get out. You might have had a 'Late Awakening.' If you did, you're wasted as a porter."
"I'll... I'll think about it," Hakyun muttered, looking down to hide the gleam in his eyes.
[System: 10 Stat Points are currently 'Stored'.]
Tip: You can allocate these points at any time, even in the middle of a strike.
He watched as Cheol-su carved out the Hive Soldier's core. It wasn't a normal green stone; it was a Deep Emerald Stone (Rank E+).
"This is worth at least three million won," Cheol-su said, whistling. He looked at Hakyun. "Since you basically took it down, I'll increase your cut. You're getting 5% of this one. That's more than your base pay."
Hakyun nodded, but his mind was on something else. He looked at the Bottomless Pouch in his pocket. It was vibrating. It wasn't just Mana Stones it wanted—the Elite monster had dropped a small, glowing blue crystal that the others seemed to ignore, thinking it was just a piece of the monster's shattered shell.
[Detected: Rare Crafting Material 'Soldier's Chitin Shard'.]
[The 'Gamer' system can use this to upgrade your equipment.]
Hakyun's eyes narrowed as he looked toward the end of the tunnel. Through the thick, green mist, he saw a pulsating orange glow—the heart of the hive.
But it wasn't the glow that stopped his breath. It was the floating text that appeared above the massive, shadowy silhouette within the chamber.
[Boss: Empress of the Emerald Hive]
[Level: 12]
[Health: 2,500 / 2,500]
[Status: Enraged - Protecting the Brood]
Hakyun's internal alarm went off. He looked at Cheol-su and Min-ah.
'Cheol-su is a D-Rank, but in game terms, he's probably only around Level 8 or 9. Min-ah is maybe a Level 6. They think this is a standard E-Rank Gate, but this Boss is a "Hidden Variant."'
If they walked in there now, they would be wiped out in minutes. The "Queen" wasn't just a bigger bug; she was a Level 12 monster with an "Enraged" buff.
"Wait," Hakyun said, his voice firm, dropping the 'panicked student' act for a second.
Cheol-su stopped, his hand on the hilt of his mace. "What now, kid? We're almost at the payday."
"The vibrations," Hakyun lied, pointing at a puddle of water on the floor. "The ripples aren't consistent. Whatever is in there is much bigger than a standard Hive Queen. I think... I think the Gate is 'Evolving'."
Min-ah frowned, looking at the water.
"Evolving? That only happens in 1% of cases. Usually, the Association detects the mana spike before—"
SCREEEEEEEEEE—!!!
A piercing, high-frequency shriek ripped through the tunnels, so loud that the hunters had to cover their ears. The walls of the tunnel actually cracked.
[Warning: The Empress has detected your presence!]
[The Chamber Entrance is being sealed!]
A massive wall of chitinous plates slammed down behind them, cutting off their exit. The only way out now was through the Queen.
"Damn it!" Cheol-su yelled, his face turning pale as he saw the Empress emerge. She was the size of a transit bus, covered in jagged spikes, and her mandibles were dripping with a purple, corrosive acid.
"That's not an E-Rank monster. That's a D-Rank Boss! We're trapped!"
[New Quest: Survival of the Fittest]
The hunters are outmatched. Lead the party to victory or be the only survivor.
Objective: Defeat the Empress.
Bonus: Ensure no party members die.
Reward: 500 EXP, 'Random Skill Book (Rank E-D)'.
Hakyun felt the cold weight of the 10 unused Stat Points burning in his mind. He couldn't hide his power anymore. If he didn't use them now, he was going to die in this hole.
Hakyun didn't have time to explain. As the Empress lunged, her massive weight shaking the very foundations of the cavern, he dumped all 10 points into Dexterity.
[Dexterity: 12 -> 22]
[Your reflexes have surpassed the limits of a human. Your perception of time begins to slow.]
To Cheol-su and Min-ah, Hakyun suddenly became a blur. The world slowed down for him—the Queen's dripping acid moved through the air like slow-motion rain.
He reached into his Bottomless Pouch and pulled out the Soldier's Chitin Shard. It was a jagged, obsidian-like fragment of armor, sharper than any surgical scalpel.
"Stay back!" Hakyun shouted, his voice echoing with a new-found authority that made the D-Rank hunters instinctively freeze.
He didn't run away; he ran toward the monster.
The Empress swung a massive, bladed leg at him. With 22 Dexterity, Hakyun performed a mid-air twist that would have been impossible for an Olympic gymnast.
He stepped onto the monster's own leg, using its momentum to launch himself upward.
'There.'
The Queen had six eyes, glowing with a malevolent orange light.
Hakyun drove the Chitin Shard deep into the central eye.
[Critical Hit!]
[The Empress's vision has been impaired!]
[Status: 'Blinded' (Partial) applied!]
SCREEEEEEE!
The monster thrashed in agony, its massive head slamming into the ceiling. Purple ichor sprayed across Hakyun's hoodie as he tumbled back to the ground, landing in a perfect three-point stance.
"He... he's a Speed-Type Awakened!" Min-ah gasped, her eyes wide. "But that movement... that's at least C-Rank agility!"
Hakyun didn't correct her. He stood up, the jagged shard in his hand now glowing with the monster's blood.
[Empress Health: 2,150 / 2,500]
"Cheol-su! Stop staring!" Hakyun barked.
"She's blinded on the left side! Hit the joints on her right legs now! Min-ah, circle behind and wait for the tail to drop!"
The hunters, startled by the sheer pressure Hakyun was emitting, didn't even think to argue. They moved. The "Porter" had just become the "Raid Leader."
The Empress is enraged. She begins to pulse with a dark green light—she's about to release a Poison Cloud that will fill the entire sealed chamber.
"Cheol-su! Throw me!" Hakyun yelled, sprinting toward the dazed leader. "Use everything you've got! Aim for her head!"
Cheol-su didn't hesitate. He dropped his mace, cupped his hands, and braced his feet. As Hakyun's foot hit his palms, Cheol-su roared, putting every ounce of his D-Rank Strength into a massive upward heave.
Hakyun took flight.
[Warning: The Empress is casting 'Toxic Miasma'!]
The Queen's abdomen swelled, ready to burst with lethal gas. But Hakyun was already descending like a meteor. With 22 Dexterity, he adjusted his pitch in mid-air, gripping the Soldier's Chitin Shard with both hands.
"Checkmate," he whispered.
He drove the shard into the soft, pulsating junction between the Queen's head and thorax.
[Ultimate Critical Hit!]
[The Empress's Spinal Nerve has been severed!]
[Lethal Damage Dealt!]
The Queen's massive body went limp instantly. The swelling in her abdomen subsided as she crashed to the floor, the impact sending a cloud of dust and green ichor into the air.
[Quest Complete: Survival of the Fittest!]
[EXP Gained: 500]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[You have reached Level 8.]
[Reward: 'Random Skill Book (Rank E-D)' has been sent to your inventory.]
Silence returned to the chamber. Hakyun stood atop the dead Empress, his clothes shredded and soaked in purple blood.
Below him, Cheol-su and Min-ah looked up in absolute shock.
Hakyun jumped down, landing softly. Before they could speak, he held up a hand. His eyes, usually dull and tired, now held a sharp, dangerous edge.
"We need to talk," Hakyun said, his voice cold.
"Kid... no, Hakyun-ssi," Cheol-su stammered. "You just... you just soloed a D-Rank Boss. You're not a Porter. Who are you?"
Hakyun walked over to the Empress's head and pulled out his Chitin Shard. He turned to them.
"I'm a guy who wants to live a quiet life," Hakyun said. "If the Association finds out about this, my life gets complicated. Reporters, Guild recruiters, government tracking... I don't want any of it."
He pointed to the massive Mana Stone shimmering in the Queen's chest—a Deep Emerald Stone (Rank D) worth tens of millions of won.
"Here's the deal," Hakyun continued. "You two take the credit. Tell the Association you worked together and barely survived. You get the fame, the Rank-up points, and 60% of the stone's value."
Min-ah narrowed her eyes. "And what do you get?"
"I take the other 40% in cash, tax-free, and you two sign a Mana-Contract to never mention my name or what I did here today. To the world, I'm just the lucky porter who hid in a corner while you heroes saved the day."
Cheol-su and Min-ah exchanged a look. This was an incredible deal for them—D-Rank hunters usually struggled for years to get this kind of recognition.
"You're serious?" Cheol-su asked. "You'd give up a C-Rank evaluation for money and silence?"
"I prefer to play the long game," Hakyun smiled thinly.