Chapter 3
───
<Status>
Title: None
Name: Yoo Shinwoo
Guardian Spirit: Evil Dragon Azidahaka (Legendary)
HP: 33/33
Mana: 60/60
Strength: 14
Vitality: 11
Reflexes: 12
Focus: 11
Willpower: 10
───
The moment someone awakens, their stats are set differently depending on their physical condition.
In my case, every stat had been below 10.
The stats I have now are ones I’ve raised while living as an awakener.
That didn’t mean I was originally weak.
After all, a score of 10 in physical stats is already the level of a first-tier special forces soldier or a national athlete.
As an awakener, you need at least that much just to be useful at all.
Fortunately, stats can be raised by hunting monsters.
And through that, you can easily surpass limits that are impossible to reach through training alone.
That’s the overwhelming ability awakeners are gifted with.
It’s also why I now have a body far superior to any soldier.
“This much alone is already incredible…”
Then what about the top awakeners, whose stats number in the hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands?
They’re practically superheroes straight out of movies.
Actually, nowadays, they literally star in movies.
Documentary films that capture them fighting monsters and living their real lives, with no scripts at all, are topping the box office.
‘Blockbuster documentaries’ are the biggest trend in cinema right now.
And soon, I might appear in one of those films myself.
“Evil Dragon Magic Art, activate.”
As soon as I activated Azidahaka’s second ability, Evil Dragon Magic Art, a surge of power filled my body.
At the same time, the world looked completely different.
I could perceive the changes in my surroundings in real time.
Beyond the window, I saw the delicate wingbeats of a dragonfly resting on the balcony railing.
Overflowing strength and transcendent perception.
An overwhelming power coursed through me like never before.
I quickly opened my status to check my current stats.
───
HP: 180/180
Mana: 60/60
Strength: 60
Vitality: 60
Reflexes: 60
Focus: 60
Willpower: 60
───
My first trait, “Mighty Mana,” doubled my base mana from 30 to 60.
And my second trait, Evil Dragon Magic Art, set every stat equal to my mana, making them all 60.
In other words, I now had physical ability six times greater than that of a world-class athlete.
And not just physical ability—but magical ability as well.
Focus and Willpower are the stats that govern magic.
Most legendary guardian spirits specialize in either physical power or magic, but mine boosts both.
It’s outright broken.
With this, I could become a true all-rounder, mastering every skill and spell an awakener can use at the highest level.
“…I’ve never even heard a rumor of a guardian spirit like this.”
It almost felt like a bug in the system.
And yet, I alone possessed this incredible guardian spirit.
But there was one drawback.
{Mana: 58/60}
{Strength: 58}
Activating the ability constantly drains mana, and as mana decreases, so do my stats.
If I were to use skills or spells on top of that, the consumption would only increase.
“In the end, raising and maintaining my mana is the key.”
I had just found my next goal.
Among the five main stats, Willpower determines mana.
Each point of Willpower equals 3 mana.
With Mighty Mana doubling it, that becomes 6 mana per point.
The note in Trait 2 saying “No cyclic mana calculation” exists because of this.
If Willpower reached 60, mana would become 360, which would then increase Willpower to 360, which would raise mana again to 2,160, and so on.
That kind of infinite loop is prevented by design.
In any case, raising Willpower is the only way to increase mana.
The other stats are irrelevant, since they’re set equal to mana regardless of their base value.
So, are all the stats I’ve already raised meaningless?
Not at all.
{Spend Diamonds to redistribute stats.}
Because I had an endless supply of Diamonds, I could buy whatever I wanted.
“Stat redistribution… I never thought I’d actually use this.”
The price was 1,000 Diamonds.
That’s 50 million won per attempt.
{Which stat will you decrease?}
“Strength.”
{Which stat will you increase?}
“Willpower.”
{Strength decreased by 1, Willpower increased by 1.}
One point shifted like that.
Redistributing about 10 points would normally cost 500 million won.
For me, it was basically 5,000 won per point.
───
HP: 30/30
Mana: 108/108
Strength: 10
Vitality: 10
Reflexes: 10
Focus: 10
Willpower: 18
───
I reduced everything to the minimum of 10 and funneled the rest into Willpower.
I left at least 10 in each stat so I’d still have an average body when Evil Dragon Magic Art wasn’t active.
Now, all my stats were effectively multiplied by ten.
“All stats 108… I should test this power.”
I immediately searched online for available dungeons.
Dungeons aren’t just open spaces you can enter whenever you want.
They exist on real land, with real owners.
Five years ago, when dungeons first appeared, people treated them like blights.
But sharp-eyed investors realized they’d be money machines and bought up the land.
Now, dungeon land is more expensive than prime property in Gangnam.
Most are owned by conglomerates.
But some are government-run public dungeons.
That’s where I was headed.
Private dungeons require complicated procedures, so I went for an accessible public one first.
“Mr. Yoo Shinwoo?”
“Yes.”
“Sign here.”
A government official managing the dungeon handed me a waiver.
It basically said the state isn’t responsible if I die or get injured, crimes committed inside are punished under national law, and loot must be reported to the tax office.
I signed the familiar form.
“Looks like this is your first time at the Centipede Dungeon… are you sure you’ll be okay alone?”
“I’ll be fine.”
“…I doubt that.”
The official frowned as he looked me over.
Jeans, a hoodie, and a pair of cheap 1-million-won knuckles I had bought in a hurry.
With weak gear and no career record, I didn’t inspire much confidence.
“I’m serious, if it looks bad, get out immediately. Don’t end up as a corpse because of pride, okay?”
“Yes.”
“Phew. Then good luck.”
His eyes were filled with pity, as if he was already imagining my death.
I ignored it and stepped onto the portal.
A stone platform carved with a hexagram lit up beneath me.
Flash.
In the blink of an eye, I was inside a dark cavern.
“Let’s test this.”
The cave stretched out with multiple passageways.
Other hunters were already fighting centipede monsters nearby.
I moved to an empty area to avoid clashes.
Hiss. Hiss.
Two-meter-long centipedes with thick bodies crawled around.
Normally, the sight alone would paralyze me in fear.
But not anymore.
Screech!
One of the centipedes spotted me and rushed over, its countless legs wriggling at terrifying speed.
“Evil Dragon Magic Art.”
I immediately activated Azidahaka’s ability and clenched my fists inside the knuckles.
“I can see it. Every single leg movement.”
With the ability active, the world slowed down.
I could move freely in this slowed space.
Confidence swelled inside me.
Thump-thump-thump.
As the centipede charged straight at me, I raised my fist.
And threw a punch straight at its face.
Boom!
The monster froze in place, as if it had slammed into a wall, before its body shattered into pieces that scattered across the cave.
“…It worked.”
One hit.
A monster I couldn’t have dreamed of defeating before was destroyed with a single punch.
Not a drop of slime touched me—my strike had been perfectly precise.
It was possible thanks to my drastically boosted reflexes and focus.
“The more I use this, the more I like it.”
Normally, stats are best when evenly distributed, but people inevitably specialize in a main stat.
Azidahaka’s traits eliminated that dilemma completely.
If I could solve the mana drain, this guardian spirit might be among the strongest of all legends.
{You have learned Passive Skill <Basic Martial Arts>.}
{<Basic Martial Arts> proficiency increased. 1/100}
A system message popped up, informing me I’d learned a new skill.
Knowledge and instincts for martial arts I’d never studied before began imprinting themselves into my body.
“I was worried about switching from a spear to knuckles because of the reach… but this works well enough.”
From here, I planned to wipe out every centipede in this dungeon.
I’d use the fights to get used to knuckles, increase my skill proficiency, and raise my stats.
“Let’s go.”
I set my stance and charged at another centipede.
Just as I stepped in for a straighter punch with a sharper form than before—
“Help! Please, save me!”
A desperate cry came from behind me.
I froze mid-motion and looked back.
A young man, trembling in terror, his face pale.
He was wearing expensive-looking gear.
“Damn it. That guy’s tougher than he looks.”
A group of men chased him closely.
“Please help! They’re trying to kill me!”
A wealthy-looking target fleeing, pursued by men in suits.
I understood the situation instantly.
Dungeons are lawless zones among lawless zones.
No CCTV, no police patrols.
And if someone dies, it’s normal for the body to vanish, eaten by monsters.
So every crime here ends in murder.
It’s cleaner to kill the victim and toss the corpse to the monsters.
The man in front of me—
Weak, but flaunting expensive gear—was the perfect target for that kind of crime.
“Hey. If you’d just stayed still, you wouldn’t get hurt. Why make things harder for everyone?”
“Please… save me…”
The gang had already blocked the exit.
Among them, a thug with a hatchet strode forward.
He looked exactly like the kind of scum who extorted people on the streets.
“You, good citizen, can just leave. We’ll let you go.”
He gestured for me to walk away.
So I did.
“You’re staying with me, though.”
“No! Please!”
The man who had begged for my help screamed as the thug grabbed him.
As I walked past the thugs, leaving the soon-to-be victim behind, only one thought crossed my mind:
“They’ll never let a witness just walk away.”
And I wasn’t wrong.
