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Prologue: The Jeju Island Dungeon
Kang Hyun-woo, leader of South Korea’s top guild [Beckho], clutched his sword in the depths of a cave.
Five comrades remained.
There had originally been over fifty.
“This is unbelievable.”
A single bizarre pink monster had wiped out most of his forces.
Countless strategies had been planned for this raid, but he never imagined it would be this difficult.
‘This isn’t right. Staying here means certain death.’
His remaining comrades likely felt the same. But the entrance was sealed.
To escape, they had to kill the boss and open an exit.
‘Except for me.’
Kang Hyun-woo fingered the escape scroll hidden in his coat—purchased for a fortune on the black market.
‘Let’s go just a little further.’
The scroll activated instantly. He could use it even at the brink of death.
Just as he thought that, lights began flickering on in the distance.
Someone was approaching.
“A boss?”
“Prepare for battle!”
Kang Hyun-woo took a step back, raising his sword—a signal for long-range attacks.
Soon, a powerful combined spell from two A-rank mages surged toward the far end of the dungeon.
The moment the swirling magical storm exploded—
Swish.
Bang!
A single sword cleaved through all the magic, flying forward.
It pierced the shield of the comrade in front, straight through his heart.
Precision. Destructive power. Both were overwhelming.
“You—” Hyun-woo looked up.
It appeared to be an ordinary skeleton. But the aura it exuded was suffocating.
“I am not the boss.”
The skeleton spoke as it pulled the sword from the comrade’s heart. The sound of its jaw clicking carried a palpable killing intent.
“Ugh!”
A brave swordsman screamed and swung his blade, only to be bisected instantly.
He was a young hunter renowned worldwide.
The skeleton didn’t stop. It swung horizontally once more.
Two mages behind him died from that single strike.
Only Hyun-woo and the raid’s deputy leader, Hyun Sang-beck, remained.
“Fuck, Captain, what do we do?”
“Sorry.”
“For what—”
The escape scroll in Hyun-woo’s coat activated.
A brilliant light enveloped him, and he vanished. Left alone, Hyun Sang-beck met the skeleton’s gaze.
“Ah, one rat managed to escape. He seemed the strongest, too. Oh well, I’ll have to play with you instead.”
I shouldn’t have come here.
Chapter 1
At the same time, in Busan.
“Putting on quite the show.”
Han Do-yoon muttered while watching a video of [Beckho] guild setting off for the Jeju Island dungeon on his phone.
In the video, the man raising his sword to the crowd’s cheers was Hyun Sang-beck.
“You don’t seem to like him much?” a voice came from behind.
Turning, he saw Irina in front of a blue portal—a fellow mage in his current party.
“I don’t.”
Hyun Sang-beck was Do-yoon senior from the Theater and Film department, a man who had achieved great success as both an actor and a Hunter. But he had many secrets the public didn’t know—from kickbacks and abuse to assaults. He also had the connections to blacklist anyone he disliked from the film industry. Han Do-yoon was one of his victims.
Once hailed as a genius in university theater, every project Do-yoon touched afterward failed. After standing up to Hyun Sang-beck, he was blacklisted and relegated to perpetual extra roles. Finally, when money ran dry, he chose survival over acting. Three years had passed since then.
Dungeons were both battlefields and high-income workplaces—the best choice for Do-yoon, who had no skills other than acting.
Well, that was old news. He wasn’t even angry anymore. It just made his stomach churn to see that man succeeding.
‘Even here, I’m just an extra.’
Just then, the raid leader, Park Geon-woo, approached Irina.
“Are you sure you can really use this?”
“Of course.”
As Do-yoon took the offered pouch, a [C-rank Dimensional Pouch], it emitted a white light before turning purple upon touching his hand.
Park Geon-woo lips curved into a smile.
“Wow, that’s a useful ability.”
F-rank Hunter. The reason Han Do-yoon, with stats comparable to an ordinary person, could scrape by as a Hunter: the ability he awakened upon becoming a Hunter—[Adaptation].
“Well, take good care of it. It’s expensive, so if you lose it or break it, you’re in big trouble.”
“Yes, don’t worry.”
“It’s amazing every time. Being able to use artifacts freely.”
Park Geon-woo amazement was understandable. The [C-rank Dimensional Pouch] was a conditional item that required C-rank or higher magical power to use.
Most good artifacts had stat restrictions. [Adaptation] ignored them.
So, wouldn’t he be the strongest with good equipment? No. There were many problems.
First, money. Good equipment cost billions. Loans were difficult for Hunters, whose lives were always on the line, and even more so for an F-rank.
Moreover, even with a good sword or shield, he couldn’t fully utilize its performance. With his abysmal stats, it was like putting pearls on a pig.
At best, using magical artifacts like this pouch was efficient.
Speaking of which…
“What kind of dungeon requires a D-rank party to bring something like this?”
“It’s a Legacy-type Ruins dungeon,” Irina answered. “Officially, it’s a C-rank dungeon, but it’s a strange one with no boss, only trash mobs. Usually, such dungeons are good for stable farming. That’s why the leader invested heavily, even borrowing that pouch.”
“C-rank?”
She chuckled at his follow-up question.
“The leader has connections at the Association; he got reliable info from a friend. So don’t worry too much. If anything dangerous happens, I’ll protect you!”
He wasn’t particularly worried. He was, after all, an actor. Controlling his emotions was his specialty. Still, eliciting sympathy was good for gaining their help.
He bowed his head, biting his lip slightly as if nervous.
“Please take care of me.”
[Script Effect Activated. The target trusts your actions.]
“Just trust me!”
His second awakened skill, [Script]. The higher his acting level, the more perfect the aura he projected.
Additionally, by closely observing someone’s actions or touching an item used by a master, he could replicate them as if a script had entered his mind. He could imitate, but his stats didn’t change. In short, it was just a means of deception—the most useless skill when fighting mindless monsters.
‘Unless I meet a monster that can talk, but I’ve never even heard of such a thing.’
Anyway.
The dungeon was a bonanza, just as they expected. Countless magic stones embedded in the walls, herbs blooming everywhere, and occasional treasure chests. It was almost suspiciously beautiful.
‘In three years, I’ve never seen a place like this.’
The others seemed the same. They were thrilled.
“We could earn half a year’s worth of work here!”
“Selling it all will be a hassle.”
“Maybe I’ll buy a car?”
“Save the happy troubles for later. Don’t let your guard down. This is still a dungeon.”
Even Irina’s stern face blossomed with a smile.
Park Geon-woo spoke as he stuffed magic stones into the dimensional pouch.
“I’ll make sure Do-yoon gets a generous share, too. Just a little more, and we’re done.”
His gaze turned forward. Soon, the entrance to the final chamber came into view.
“At least there’s no boss, that’s a relief. I’ve seen a C-rank boss before—it was truly terrifying.”
“Speaking of which, didn’t [Beckho] guild raid the Jeju Island dungeon today?”
“Finally, we’ll see that damned dungeon disappear,” Park Geon-woo grumbled. “Jeju is my hometown. That dungeon scares me to death.”
Another comrade chimed in. “An S-rank Hunter went, so it should be fine.”
“He has a 100% raid success rate, right?”
“Even C-ranks scare me to death; I can’t imagine A or S-rank bosses.”
“They live in a different world. Don’t even wonder about it.”
While idle chatter continued, the door to the final chamber opened.
The sight that followed was spectacular. The ceiling was high as the sky, and the plain-like floor had massive fissures as if hit by artillery.
“No boss, but it’s completely empty.”
Park Geon-woo cautiously entered first.
“Wait. There’s something over there.”
At the very center of the chamber—no, the cavern—a single sword was lodged in the ground. The only object there.
“Jackpot! This must be worth a fortune!”
“Right?”
Park Geon-woo stepped forward and gripped the hilt tightly.
“Huh!”
With a loud grunt, he poured all his strength into it. His face turned red as he twisted his body, straining with all his might.
But.
“It won’t budge an inch.”
The sword didn’t move. The other team members took turns pulling.
The result was the same.
“Is this Excalibur or something?”
Park Gunwoo made a joke after struggling with the sword for about thirty minutes before collapsing.
“I give up. I guess this isn’t meant for us.”
“What a shame. Weapons from dungeons start at hundreds of millions at auction.”
“We’ll have to report it to the Association or a guild and get a finder’s fee.”
“Shall we head back then?” Irina added, scanning the surroundings. “No good comes from staying in a dungeon too long.”
“Let’s rest for five minutes. We haven’t stopped for hours.”
Park Geon-woo lay down, groaning.
“Do-yoon, why don’t you try pulling that sword?”
“Even the leader couldn’t?”
“Who knows? Maybe only the chosen one can pull it.”
An old man’s joke. Han Do-yoon shook his head but still approached the sword.
It was a sword that seemed molded from darkness itself.
The moment he instinctively reached out—
“Ah.”
A reflexive gasp escaped him.
It’s cold.
Cold enough to freeze his heart.
With the chill, a system window displayed a message.
[Adaptation ability activated.]
He understood why his teammates couldn’t pull it.
‘It’s not just deeply embedded.’
The stat restriction was so powerful that they couldn’t even lift it.
“Ugh.”
He couldn’t breathe.
He couldn’t move his hand.
The veins in his forearm bulged as if about to burst.
He felt his blood, flesh, and life force being drained directly into the sword.
“Hey, hey!”
“What’s wrong?!”
As his teammates, sensing something amiss, rushed over—
The ground beneath his pupils began to warp.
The space in front of Do-yoon split open with a crack.
The floor shattered as the sword was pulled free,
and he fell.
He saw his teammates desperately reaching out.
But his vision was blocked by another rising system window.
[You have obtained the Monarch’s Token – Levatein. You have been promoted to the position of Boss.]
“Cough
Han Do-yoon jerked upright as if waking from a terrible nightmare.
Gasping for breath, he looked up at the sky. He had clearly fallen, but the sky was blocked by rock.
“What is this…?”
Was it a dream?
As if to deny it, his hand throbbed with pain. He was still tightly gripping the sword.
Carefully opening his hand, it was red and blistered as if burned.
Biting back the pain, he checked his body. Thankfully, nothing was broken.
The dimensional pouch was still safely in his coat.
‘What on earth just happened?’
“Where is this…?”
Using the sword as a cane, he struggled to his feet and looked around.
It was pitch dark.
“A path, maybe…?”
Only the large luminous stones embedded in the walls illuminated his face.
“Which way do I go…?”
As he pondered which way to return—
A light flickered ahead, then one by one, lights began turning on toward him.
Someone was coming.
The leader?
Irina?
That hope crumbled with the eerie sound of clattering bones.
A skeleton was leisurely walking toward him.
The moment he saw it, his entire body froze.
From the suffocating, profound killing intent.
“Oh!”
The problem started now.
The skeleton saw Do-yoon, opened its jaw, and charged menacingly.
“Oh!!!”
Han Do-yoon reflexively raised his sword.
He knew he couldn’t win.
He was going to die.
“Boss! You’ve returned!”
‘Me?’
“Finally!”
‘Me?’
Even as the sword pierced its body, the skeleton hugged Do-yoon tightly, spewing incomprehensible words.
“This aura, that sword! I truly missed you. The boss has returned, and I even caught that human who fought so bloodily! What a lucky day.”
The skeleton cackled as if joking. “Of course, I don’t have blood.”
“Fight?”
“It’s been a while since humans entered. Killed them all, except one I captured!”
A skeleton chattering about killing humans, right in front of a human.
He desperately maintained a blank expression.
For the first time, he felt grateful for choosing acting as his profession.
