TOP 85

Chapter 85 

Dragon Skin Gloves

Six hours?
Bullshit.

Not even close.

I rubbed my tired eyes and muttered under my breath.

“Damn it. I can’t believe this took a whole day.”

I’d spent an entire day—without sleep—working on it.
And even after all that time, I hadn’t really mastered anything.

Basics.
Pure basics.
That’s all I managed to learn.

Still—

“This is good enough.”

I gave a satisfied smile and called out:

“Status window!”

《 Do Yujin 》

• Overall Combat Level: 6.68

• Unique Trait: Mana Overload

• Body: 39,879

• Mana: 42,744 (Recovering; no limit)

• Skills: One Punch, Mana Loan, Dragon Body – Stage 3, Guardian Contract, Dragon’s Lair, Mujin Heart Technique (Basic)

• Current Status: Normal

Aside from one thing, not much had changed.
My physical stat had increased a little, and my combat level went up by about 0.1.

But that one new thing made me genuinely happy.

“I didn’t expect the Mujin Heart Technique to register as a skill.”

It was the basic Mujin Heart Technique I learned from Joo Eunseol—
and now it had appeared as an actual skill on my status screen.

“The Mujin Sword didn’t even show up as a skill before.”

The Mujin Sword technique I learned earlier hadn’t been registered.
Which meant that Mujin Heart Technique was on a higher tier—
even though I’d only learned the basic form.

Meaning—

“If I master this later… it’ll be insane.”

I couldn’t help but look forward to the time I’d officially learn the full version of Mujin Heart Technique from Master Joo Chang-ik at the martial tournament.

I used the Tenauzes System to check the details.

[Mujin Heart Technique (Basic) – Skill, Rare]

• Dance and advance; aids the flow of your movements.

• A heart technique created by Joo Chang-ik, founder of the Mujin Sword.

• With consistent practice, you can gain an Inner Power (Naegong) stat, but efficiency is low.

• Prerequisite for learning Mujin Heart Technique (Beginner).

Not exactly an amazing skill yet—
just rare grade, and I hadn’t even gained inner power from it.

Still—

“The ‘beginner’ tier comes next…”

It had room to grow, and that was enough for me.

“Well, whatever. That’s good for now.”

Status check complete.

Tomorrow, I’d be heading to the Fate Guild.
The day I’d finally face that traitor—Namgung Myung.

“I’ve done everything I can.”

I’d grown a lot.
Sure, there was still room for improvement, but I couldn’t just grind forever.

This much was enough to start my revenge.

“Now I just need to rest up and get into top shape—”

That’s when it happened.

Bzzzzt!

Someone was calling me.

“Hello?”
“Hu-hunter Kim Yujin!”

A familiar voice—Han Sugyul from the Blacksmith Guild.
A purple-grade craftsman who’d promised to make me custom gear.

“It’s been a while, Master Han.”

And then—

“It’s done! It’s finally done!”
“Seriously?”
“I-I actually… made a Legendary-grade item!”

Legendary?
No way…

“Wait, that legendary item—is it the one you made for me—”
“Y-Yes! Please come pick it up right away! It’s all thanks to you, Hunter Kim!”

I barely heard the rest.

Legendary?
My custom gear was Legendary?

“I’ll be right there.”

Talk about good timing.
Just before an important day, my exclusive gear was ready—
and it was Legendary-grade!

Without hesitation, I rushed to the Blacksmith Guild.

* * *

The Blacksmith Guild.

This time, no one stopped me at the entrance. I was guided straight to Han Sugyul’s workshop.

—Welcome back. It’s good to see you again.

It was his personal AI.

“July?”
—Correct. My master doesn’t get many visitors, so this is refreshing.
“Good to see you too.”

“H-Hunter!”

A short, muscular man—barely 160cm tall—ran toward me.
Purple-grade craftsman Han Sugyul himself.

“Master Han! Good to see you again.”
“I’ve been waiting! This way, please—!”

He led me directly to a corner of his workshop—
no wasted time, straight to business. I liked that.

And there—

I saw a pair of gloves covered in shimmering purple scales.

《 Dragon Skin Gloves – Gloves, Legendary 》

• Made from the processed corpse of a mutated Drake.

• Possesses immense strength and flexibility.

• A masterpiece forged by a highly skilled craftsman.

• Fist attacks: +200% Attack Power

• Fist attacks: –50% Mana Consumption

• Weapon attacks: +100% Attack Power

• Drake-type monsters’ hostility greatly increases. (Hidden)

• Dragon-type beings’ affection slightly increases. (Hidden)

“H-how do they look…?”

Despite his nervous tone, pride filled Han Sugyul’s face.

“…They’re perfect.”

And they were.

The options were simple but overwhelming.

+200% attack power for punches.
–50% mana use for punches.
+100% attack power for weapon attacks.

Simple, but—

These stats are ridiculous.

When I used “One Punch,” my damage would triple.
Since its skill multiplier had recently doubled, that meant six times more damage than before.

At this point, worrying about whether an enemy would die wasn’t the problem—
I had to worry about how much collateral damage I’d cause.

And the mana reduction—

‘Half the cost?’

Normally, One Punch consumed all of my mana.
But with these gloves, I’d have half my mana left after using it.

That meant no mana exhaustion—
and theoretically, I could spam the skill.

Even if each use weakened slightly, it was a massive improvement compared to passing out after one strike.

And then—

‘It doubles weapon attacks too.’

So it wasn’t just for One Punch—
even my Permafrost Sword would get a +100% attack bonus.

That’s the kind of option that earned its Legendary rank.

Plus, the drake/dragon interaction bonuses…
I wasn’t sure how those worked, but they might help when I met Meteus again.

I bowed deeply.

“Thank you. For making something this incredible…”

It was a Legendary item—
something that could skyrocket my combat power.

And he wasn’t even asking for extra payment.

Well, technically, it was the reward for a past escort request.

I remembered that trip from the countryside to Seoul—
when the villain group Mirinae attacked the train and I almost lost the mutated drake corpse.

I’d saved him back then, and he’d promised me a reward item worth about 30 million won.

At the time, I thought, What a great deal!

But now?

“Thirty million? This thing’s worth three billion—no, three hundred billion!”

It was a monster of an item.
Even I felt guilty taking it for free.

“Master Han.”
“Y-Yes?”
“I’ve got about ten billion won saved up right now.”
“…What?”
“Let me at least give you that much.”

I didn’t want to owe him.
If I paid ten billion, it would still be a bargain—but I’d feel better about it.

And hey, good PR never hurts.

Maybe if I stayed friendly, he’d make another one someday.

‘If Pril were here, she’d probably scold me for this…’

“Wow, Yujin, your morals are really something!”

I could almost hear her nagging.
But she was busy teaching Yoo Seolah at home.

Anyway, I offered the ten billion.

But—

“N-no, it’s fine!”

He refused.

“Why not?”
“B-because this was already promised, and… thanks to you, I got promoted to Black-grade!”

Ah.

“Congratulations.”

So successfully crafting a Legendary item had boosted his rank within the Guild.

“T-thank you!”

Still, that wasn’t really a reason to reject the money…

But he looked so genuinely grateful—

“Hunter, I really mean it. Thank you so much!”

—there was no point insisting.

‘Fine. I tried to pay him.’

It’s not my fault he refused.

Besides, technically, it was my skills that made the item possible.

Good enough. I just saved ten billion.

“H-Hunter, would you like to try them on?”
“Of course.”

I slipped the Dragon Skin Gloves over my hands.

Immediately, I felt power radiating through them.

Clench. Clench.

I flexed my fists.

“Feels great.”
“R-really?”
“Yes.”

I could feel it instinctively—
with these gloves, my next “One Punch” would be devastating.

Then—

Shiiing—

I drew my Permafrost Sword.

“Step back for a second.”
“Y-Yes, sir!”

Once I had some space, I swung the blade.

Swish—whoosh!

“…Whoa.”

The +100% attack boost was no joke.
The difference was obvious.

I nodded in satisfaction.

“Thank you, Master Han.”
“N-no, thank you! P-please, use it well and become a high-ranking hunter…!”

If I became one, the fame would extend to my gear too—
and that meant more fame for him.

“Count on it.”

I nodded again.

And that’s when—

—Alert: Intruder approaching.

July’s urgent voice echoed through the workshop.

“W-what!?”

Han Sugyul panicked.
I was confused, too.

‘An intruder? In the Blacksmith Guild?’

A massive corporation like this?
And all the way down to a Purple-grade craftsman’s private workshop?

Didn’t make sense.

But I focused on what mattered.

‘Whoever it is, they’re at least an 8-Star Hunter…’

If the Guild hadn’t stopped them, they had to be powerful.

“Evacuate! The intruder is right outside!”

“D-damn it!”

While we hesitated, the intruder closed in fast.

I pushed Han Sugyul behind me.

“Stay back. There’s nowhere to run anyway.”

I didn’t know who it was, but—

‘They won’t dare cause a full-scale scene here.’

If I could just stall, security would handle it.

BOOM!

—Warning: Outer door severely damaged!

Even without July’s alerts, I could feel the pressure.

BOOM!

—Warning: Door on the verge of collapse!

Just one thing mattered now:
protecting the defenseless craftsman behind me.

That was it—

Or so I thought.

CRAAAAASH!

—Door breached! Intruder sighted! Intruder sighted!

And then, with a thunderous crash—he appeared.

“You bastard Han Sugyul! You stole my armor materials, didn’t you, you little shit—!”

Thump.

My heart skipped.

The moment I saw that face—

“What the hell? Get out of my way!”

The intruder shouted at me, trying to reach Han Sugyul.

But I didn’t move.

‘I thought I’d see you tomorrow…’

My goal stood right before me.

Why?

Because that man was—

Namgung Myung.

The Guildmaster of the Fate Guild.
An 8-Star Hunter.
And the man who murdered my parents.

I clenched my fists—
and finally spoke the words I’d practiced a thousand times in my head.