The shadow beneath Park's feet erupted.
Four skeletal arms reached out like a trap, grabbing Park's ankles and shoulders before he could even blink. The 'Broken Soldier' emerged, its pale purple eyes glowing with a renewed hunger for violence.
"What—what is this?!" Park screamed.
The dagger fell from his hand. He struggled, but the skeleton's grip was like iron vices. The sheer aura of death radiating from the summon paralyzed Park's mana circuits.
Kang-woo stood up slowly, leaning against the cold cave wall. His legs were still shaking, but his eyes were as cold as the abyss.
"You said it yourself, Park," Kang-woo whispered, walking toward him. "A useless G-rank doesn't deserve treasures. But what about a man who's about to become fertilizer?"
"Wait! Kang-woo! We're a team! I was coming back for you!"
"You were coming back for the loot."
Kang-woo placed his hand on Park's chest. The 'Harvest' skill hummed under his skin, eager to be fed.
"Don't... please..."
"Harvest."
[Skill: 'Harvest' activated.][Target: Human (Rank E).][Efficiency increased due to target's fear.]
Unlike the Ogre, Park's life force felt thin and greasy. As the black tendrils invaded his body, Park didn't just wither; his eyes rolled back, and a soundless scream escaped his throat as his very memories and vitality were stripped away.
[Stamina increased by 0.5.][Mana increased by 1.2.][You have stolen a fragment of the Skill: 'Viper's Sense'.]
The notification flashed, but Kang-woo barely felt the joy of growth. His heart felt heavier, colder. Park's body slumped into a dry, gray husk. The Broken Soldier let go, and the remains shattered like old parchment.
[Warning: First Human Kill recorded.][Alignment shifting toward 'Depravity'.][The Relic of the Nameless Grave is satisfied.]
Kang-woo ignored the warning. He knelt and picked up Park's discarded dagger and a small leather pouch. Inside were three E-rank mana crystals—the group's entire haul for the day.
"Let's go," Kang-woo commanded.
The Broken Soldier dissolved back into his shadow. Kang-woo turned toward the exit, but as he neared the mouth of the cave, the air changed.
A sharp, whistling sound sliced through the wind.
Clang!
A silver arrow embedded itself in the stone inches from Kang-woo's foot. The shaft vibrated with holy energy, white smoke rising from the impact site.
"Stop right there, Hunter."
A woman stepped out from behind a jagged rock. She wore the navy-and-gold uniform of the Hunter Surveillance Bureau. Her long hair was tied back in a strict ponytail, and she held a recurve bow made of translucent glass. Her eyes, sharp as a hawk's, scanned Kang-woo's blood-soaked clothes and the gray streak in his hair.
"My name is Han Seol-ah, Investigator for the Bureau," she said, her voice steady but lethal. "We detected a massive fluctuation of forbidden mana in this sector. Where is the rest of your party?"
Kang-woo felt the Broken Soldier stirring in his shadow, sensing her hostility.
If I fight her, I die, Kang-woo thought instantly. She was at least C-rank.
"They're dead," Kang-woo said, his voice flat. "The Ogre... it was stronger than the report said."
Han Seol-ah narrowed her eyes. She walked toward him, the bow string still taut. She stopped three paces away and sniffed the air. Her expression darkened.
"The smell of ozone and rot," she muttered. She pointed her arrow directly at Kang-woo's heart. "That's the signature of a Necromancy-type awakening. But Necromancy was banned by the Global Accord five years ago."
She stepped closer, her gaze dropping to Kang-woo's shadow. The shadow was slightly too thick, pulsating with a life of its own.
"Open your status window for inspection," she commanded. "Now. If you refuse, I am authorized to use lethal force."
Kang-woo's pulse hammered. If he showed his window, the 'Necrotic Butcher' class would be his death warrant.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Kang-woo said, his hand tightening on the hidden dagger in his sleeve.
At that moment, the ground groaned. Deep within the cave, the sound of a hundred skittering legs echoed. The scent of the Ogre's blood had finally attracted the rest of the nest.
A swarm of Shadow Spiders—Rank D monsters—began to pour out of the darkness behind Kang-woo.
Han Seol-ah's eyes widened. "Move! Get behind me!"
She released an arrow, which exploded into a burst of holy light, incinerating the first wave of spiders. But more were coming. Hundreds of them.
Kang-woo didn't move toward her. He moved toward the shadows.
"I'm not going back to a cell," he whispered.
He dove into the middle of the spider swarm.
"Wait! You'll be eaten!" Seol-ah screamed.
But as the spiders lunged at Kang-woo, they didn't bite. They recoiled. A dark, suffocating fog began to leak from Kang-woo's pores.
[The Grave is hungry.][Objective: Sacrifice 100 souls to unlock the 'Domain of the Dead'.]
Kang-woo looked back at the investigator, a twisted, pale smile on his face.
"Watch closely," he said. "This is what you're so afraid of."