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Chapter 11
As soon as Shin Juha stepped into Area 7, system messages appeared before him.
You have entered Tutorial Area 7.
First Entry! A Tutorial Quest has been assigned.Tutorial Quest: Ember of the Unsetting Sun
Category: Special – Tutorial
Rank: Special – TutorialDescription:
For an unknown reason, a fragment of the sun that burns every day of the year exhausted its power and fell to the earth, becoming embers. Collect them.Objective: Collect at least 7 Embers (0/7)
Success: Move to the Abyss. Rewards vary depending on completion rate.
Failure: X
Juha skimmed the quest and closed the window without another glance.
He had already memorized all fifteen tutorial strategies from his previous life. He knew the Embers only dropped from monsters at an extremely low rate.
“Damn, it’s so hot! Why did I have to start in Area 7 of all places? I didn’t even get to put sunscreen on! My skin!”
Lee Ji-hyung grumbled endlessly despite being the one who insisted on following Juha.
For a brief moment, Juha seriously considered cutting him down where he stood.
Only a deep breath suppressed the murderous urge.
On the opposite side, Seo Mina observed the desert thoughtfully.
“So there’s something here… I understand why the top student would choose the hardest area, but why this one specifically? Other high-difficulty zones have more monsters and better rewards.”
Her insight surprised Juha.
Not wanting to spend another second with either of them, he kicked off the ground and sprinted into the endless desert.
I’m not planning to awaken Seo Mina or deal with Lee Ji-hyung today.
The examiner was still waiting outside the tutorial.
Those important tasks—including entering the Hidden Stage—would begin tomorrow.
The hidden stage was called the Ancient Ruins for a reason. Even with complete knowledge, clearing it would take at least a week.
“Tch! You’re hunting alone? Fine! Let’s see who gets the first kill!”
Lee Ji-hyung dashed off in another direction, determined to beat Juha.
Meanwhile, Seo Mina simply followed behind him with obvious curiosity.
“Let’s finish this quickly.”
After running for a while, endless yellow sand stretched in every direction.
Then Juha noticed several unnatural bulges rising from the dunes.
“Found you.”
Area 7 contained only three monster species:
- Desert Scorpion — F-rank monsters found throughout the desert.
- Sand Lizard — F-rank monsters that appeared only near the center.
- Bomb Cactus — Extremely rare monsters living around hidden oases.
Every one of them was notoriously difficult.
Even knowing their weaknesses didn’t guarantee victory.
The creature before him was a Desert Scorpion.
It hid beneath the sand, waiting to ambush unsuspecting prey.
Humans shouldn’t fall for something this obvious…
Anyone with common sense would recognize those strange mounds as suspicious.
Unfortunately—
“AAAAAH!!”
Lee Ji-hyung’s scream echoed across the desert.
Juha sighed.
“You’re really hopeless.”
The Desert Scorpion hunted by injecting a paralyzing venom through its tail.
A Hunter with Fire Mana like Lee Ji-hyung wouldn’t be fully paralyzed by a single sting.
“Die! Die! Die!!”
Explosions of flame erupted in the distance.
Idiot.
The monsters of Area 7 possessed naturally high resistance to fire after living beneath the blazing sun their entire lives.
Some rare individuals that had absorbed Solar Embers were nearly immune to lower-ranked fire magic.
Juha still couldn’t understand why Ji-hyung had chosen this area simply to compete with him and impress Seo Mina.
He had deliberately entered the worst possible matchup.
Juha glanced back at Seo Mina.
“Those are Desert Scorpions.”
“The strategy is simple.”
“Stay outside their attack range and kill them in one strike.”
Of course…
Actually doing that wasn’t simple at all.
“If you fail to kill one immediately, things become troublesome.”
Another scream came from Ji-hyung’s direction.
“When one is attacked, the others assume they’ve been discovered and begin hunting together.”
Juha calmly approached one of the sand mounds.
At roughly three meters away—
He threw his sword.
Boom!
Thud!
The blade shot through the air like a bullet and buried itself into something beneath the sand.
Then the system chimed.
A slight blessing from slumbering Heavenly Fortune has been granted.
Critical Hit!
Your weapon, Frost-Flame Sword, activates its freezing effect!
Ice spread outward from the embedded sword.
The Desert Scorpion, whose resistance to ice was pitifully low, froze solid before dying without resistance.
F-rank Lv.4 Monster – Desert Scorpion Defeated
Contribution: 100%
EXP +10
Reward: Purple Coin ×1
Warm energy flowed through Juha’s body.
LEVEL UP
Free Stat Point +1
But leveling wasn’t what interested him.
Now comes the important part.
You have defeated your first monster with a single strike.
Your foundation has advanced.
Something sleeping within your origin awakens.
The first time a Hunter reached Level 1, the System always awakened one stat.
In his previous life…
It had awakened Stamina.
Only after years of suffering had he managed to awaken Strength as well.
Will it even awaken anything now that I already possess Mugeuk?
The answer appeared immediately.
Your tireless effort awakens the stat: Stamina (Common).
Error!
A superior physical stat already exists.
Stamina has been absorbed into Mugeuk.
Mugeuk +1
Juha clicked his tongue.
Just as expected.
He had hoped for something different.
After all, a natural stat awakening was one of the three greatest milestones for any Hunter.
Then—
The impossible happened.
Slumbering Heavenly Fortune lazily opens its eyes in response to your intense desire and performs a miracle.
Overwhelming Heavenly Luck gathers around you.
An unknown miracle interferes.
The stat fusion is canceled.
The awakening changes.
“What?”
His Mugeuk stat dropped by one.
The word Stamina flickered violently before changing.
Despite endless misfortune, you never yielded.
Your origin responds.
Legendary Stat Awakened: Indomitable
The stat Indomitable resonates with the Unique Ability: Supreme Soul.
The Stamina stat disappeared entirely.
A brand-new legendary stat replaced it.
Juha immediately checked it.
Stat: Indomitable
Rank: Legendary
Grade: F- (1/99)
Description: An absolute will that refuses to bow before anything.
Effects
- Every time you overcome great misfortune, Indomitable grows and grants additional free stat points.
- Greatly increases resistance to all abnormal status effects.
- Stacks with Supreme Soul.
“Holy…”
Juha nearly jumped for joy.
If Seo Mina and Lee Ji-hyung weren’t nearby, he would have shouted in celebration.
Unfortunately…
The celebration lasted only a moment.
Heavenly Fortune has exhausted its strength and falls into a deep sleep.
It warns you to beware of danger.
Silent Misfortune has accumulated tremendous power as the price for overwhelming luck.
A great calamity approaches.
“Damn it.”
So that’s what Misfortune had been doing.
Instead of interfering with every little blessing…
It had been gathering strength.
The moment Heavenly Fortune spent all its power and went dormant—
Misfortune finally struck.
Juha checked his status.
Without investing a single point, Misfortune now stood exactly one point higher than Heavenly Fortune.
He closed the status window.
There’s nothing I can do.
Until he found a way to remove the cursed ability masquerading as a stat, this cycle would continue forever.
He would simply overcome it again.
If he succeeded…
Indomitable would only make him stronger.
Looking over, he saw Seo Mina vaporize another Desert Scorpion with a blast of electricity.
Juha resumed walking.
His first tutorial after returning to the past came to an end.
After the Tutorial
“All twenty-six participants have returned!”
“Good work.”
“You have all been recognized by the Abyss as qualified Hunters.”
“But countless hardships await you.”
“Be careful.”
“Dismissed.”
The examiner finished his routine speech and immediately returned to the Hunter Association.
The newly certified Hunters split into groups and headed off to celebrate.
Juha had no such intention.
“So…”
“It’s time to pay up.”
He walked directly toward Seo Mina.
She seemed to have expected it.
“Follow me.”
As for the fool Lee Ji-hyung…
He had been stung three separate times by Desert Scorpion venom and was rushed to the hospital by his guild.
Serves him right.
He had recklessly charged ahead trying to beat Juha.
The scorpions hidden beneath the sand ambushed him before he even knew what happened.
His fire magic proved almost useless.
For someone destined to become the future A-rank Demon of Flames, it was an embarrassingly pathetic performance.
He barely managed to kill one monster and survive.
Judging from his swollen legs, however…
He wasn’t in good shape.
“We’ve come to escort you, Miss.”
“Get in.”
Juha climbed into an obviously expensive luxury car.
The chauffeur handed Seo Mina a tablet.
“This is the prepared inventory.”
“Should we head to that place?”
“Yes.”
She turned the tablet toward Juha.
“Choose.”
“Only one.”
Juha smiled.
Let’s see…
The list contained countless treasures.
Some he recognized.
Others he had never even heard of.
As expected…
Even the granddaughter of one of Korea’s richest families couldn’t casually collect items above the Epic grade.
Still…
An Epic-grade artifact alone was worth billions of won.
Juha slowly scanned the list.
Then—
His eyes froze.
It’s here…
Among countless dazzling treasures lay one completely insignificant item.
《Wing That Has Lost Its Brilliance》
Grade: Common – F
An ordinary-looking wing.
Seo Mina had only collected it because she thought it looked beautiful.
Without a second’s hesitation…
Juha pointed directly at it.
“I’ll take that one.”
