Chapter 6
Sung Suho. Age one.
The day the adorable little baby finally took his first steps…
just like every other family, the Sung household erupted into chaos.
Though…
for a rather different reason.
“H-Honey! Suho! Our Suho!”
“What happened to Suho?”
His mother, Cha Hae-In, shouted in disbelief.
“He’s flying!”
“…What?”
“Suho is flying around the house!”
Suho’s very first steps…
had not been taken on the floor—
but through the air.
The truth was…
it had been one of the extraordinary abilities Suho inherited from his father, Sung Jinwoo.
Ruler’s Authority.
“…Sniff. Those were wonderful days.”
Beru wiped away a tear.
One-year-old Suho had learned how to fly before he even learned how to walk.
To Beru…
it had looked like the legendary birth of a hero from myth.
However…
Earth had been completely peaceful back then.
The power Suho inherited had been created to destroy overwhelming enemies.
In a peaceful world…
it served no purpose.
In fact…
it might have made it impossible for him to live a normal life.
Because of that…
Sung Jinwoo decided to seal Suho’s power until the boy could control it himself.
“But now!”
“The apostles of the Outer Gods have begun invading Earth!”
“Now is finally the time for Your Young Majesty to reclaim the power that was sealed away!”
[Skill: Ruler’s Authority Lv.1]
Active Skill
Mana Cost: None
Allows you to exert physical force upon objects without making direct contact.
Ignoring Beru’s excited rambling…
Suho directed the invisible hand gripping the arrow.
Then he sent it flying back.
“I’ll return this to you.”
Whoosh!
Thud!
“Gurk!”
[Goblin Archer defeated.]
The goblin archer collapsed…
its own arrow lodged through its throat.
Seeing that…
another goblin standing behind it froze in shock before immediately turning to flee.
Patter!
“Kehruk!”
You think I’ll let you escape?
Suho kicked off the ground after it.
Then—
Flash!
“Huh?”
“Kehruh?!”
With a single leap…
Suho soared over the fleeing goblin…
landing directly in front of it.
For a brief moment…
both of them stared at each other in equal surprise.
Above them…
Beru laughed cheerfully.
“Kihehe! Naturally!”
“As your Strength stat has increased, so has your jumping ability!”
“You’ll get used to it soon enough!”
Why did that cheerful explanation sound so irritating?
Without another word…
Suho slammed his stone axe straight down onto the goblin’s head.
Smash!
“Kik!”
[Goblin Scout defeated.]
Two goblins…
eliminated almost instantly.
Suho wiped the goblin blood from his face with the back of his hand…
then slowly surveyed his surroundings.
The battle had begun so abruptly that he hadn’t had time to notice.
Only now…
did he realize that this monochrome world was anything but welcoming.
Malicious eyes watched him from every corner of the ruined city.
The killing intent radiating from countless monsters constantly stimulated his Perception stat.
“There are a lot of them.”
“Indeed.”
“Far too many.”
“This is the Land of Death…”
“A world abandoned without its master for countless years.”
“Wild magical beasts have made this place their home.”
Beru grinned wickedly as he explained.
If not for his tiny, adorable appearance…
anyone would have believed Beru was the true ruler of this place.
Then he dramatically spread both tiny arms.
“But today!”
“The rightful master has finally returned!”
“Claim what belongs to you!”
“Take back this land that those foolish invaders stole…”
“With your own strength!”
Ding.
A new quest window appeared before Suho.
[Quest: Survival]
The inhabitants of the Shadow Dungeon will never acknowledge someone as weak as you as their master.
Survive for the required amount of time…
and prove yourself worthy.
Required Survival Time: 4 hours
Time Remaining: 4:00:00
Survival…?
Suho frowned.
Then—
BWOOOOOO!
BWOOOOOO!
[Goblin Squad Leader has used the item “Horn Whistle” to summon reinforcements.]
[Goblin Company Commander has used the item “Horn Whistle” to summon reinforcements.]
“Kihihit!”
“Kehruk! Kehruk!”
All around the ruined city…
goblins emerged one after another from their hiding places.
The noisy monsters flooded the streets.
There were…
far too many of them.
Suho stared in disbelief.
“You’re joking.”
“You expect me to survive this for four hours?”
“You don’t have to kill them all.”
“You’re only Level 3.”
“Simply survive somehow.”
“Fight desperately…”
“Level up…”
“And naturally you’ll become stronger.”
Beru winked…
giving him a confident thumbs-up.
The smile on his face looked exactly like that of a proud father watching his son grow up.
…Why is he so unbelievably irritating?
Unfortunately…
there was no time to dwell on it.
“Kehruk!”
“Kehruk!”
The goblins charged.
Suho immediately grabbed the second stone axe from the goblin he had just killed.
[Item: Goblin’s Stone Axe]
Acquisition Difficulty: E
Type: Axe
Attack +5
A hand axe commonly used by goblins.
The item’s information floated above it.
One axe in each hand from now on.
Holding a stone axe in each hand…
Suho’s eyes gleamed like a demon’s.
Still…
it wasn’t enough.
Every goblin rushing toward him carried the exact same weapon.
Without hesitation…
Suho opened his Status Window.
He invested all five remaining stat points into Strength.
[Strength: 15 → 20]
Whoosh!
Power surged through both of Suho’s arms.
Strength increased both physical power…
and speed.
His Strength had originally been 10 at Level 1.
Now…
it had doubled.
With this much strength…
…I’ll be able to run away much faster.
Whoosh!
Without the slightest hesitation…
Suho turned around and sprinted away.
He needed terrain that favored fighting against large numbers.
Above him…
Beru laughed with delight.
“Kihehe!”
“Excellent!”
“Even the weak have their own way of fighting!”
“…”
“It’s like watching an ant larva wriggle for the very first time!”
…He’s unbelievable.
As Suho ran…
every trace of the joy he’d felt from meeting Beru again vanished.
His years of being an ant enthusiast…
were officially over.
When I get home…
I’m burning every ant painting I’ve ever made.
From now on…
I’ll paint anteaters instead.
He made the solemn vow.
* * *
The effects of his increased Strength were undeniable.
Dual-wielding stone axes…
Suho rampaged through the battlefield.
Whoosh!
Bam!
He deflected one goblin’s axe with the weapon in his right hand.
Crunch!
Then severed its neck with the axe in his left.
Swing!
Smash!
Spinning around…
he chopped through another goblin’s ankle.
Slash!
Then cut off its head.
[Goblin Assault Soldier defeated.]
[Goblin Spearman defeated.]
“Kiiit!”
He killed two monsters in an instant.
But the price was brutal.
Axes and spears flew toward him from every direction.
He dodged half of them.
The other half…
struck home.
Stab!
Stab! Stab!
“Ghk!”
[HP: 160 / 190]
It hurt.
As his HP decreased…
the wounds covering his body multiplied.
Even so…
Suho gritted his teeth and charged again.
Whoosh!
Slash!
Crash!
This time…
he killed three goblins.
In return…
he suffered four more hits.
[HP: 118 / 190]
Slash!
Another goblin fell.
He was hit three more times.
[HP: 84 / 190]
His HP had already dropped by more than half.
His body became soaked in blood.
Then—
Ding.
[You have learned the skill: Toughness Lv.1.]
A new skill?!
Suho’s eyes widened.
Normally…
Hunters lived their entire lives using only the skills granted at Awakening.
To obtain new skills…
they needed the incredibly rare and expensive Rune Stones.
Yet…
he had just learned one…
for free…
during combat.
[Skill: Toughness Lv.1]
Passive Skill
Mana Cost: None
You possess exceptional durability.
Physical Defense +20%
Before Suho even finished reading the description…
he felt its effect.
The pain from his injuries noticeably lessened.
“Kihiek!”
The goblins finally realized…
their opponent wasn’t as easy to kill as expected.
They scattered…
while horn whistles echoed throughout the ruins.
Even more reinforcements were being summoned.
Using that brief opportunity…
Suho hid behind a crumbling pillar to catch his breath.
“That…”
“Really hurts.”
Beru immediately flew over…
stomping his tiny feet in panic.
“Kkiek!”
“Is Our Young Monarch badly hurt?!”
“But pain is proof of youth!”
“The more it hurts…”
“The stronger you become!”
“To think you obtained the Toughness skill simply by getting beaten so much…”
“I’m so proud!”
“…”
While pressing a hand over one of his bleeding wounds…
Suho slowly glared at Beru.
“Kehet?”
The fist-sized ant simply smiled innocently…
completely oblivious.
“Instead of just watching…”
“Why don’t you help?”
After all…
Beru had effortlessly ripped apart that giant wolf.
Back then…
he had felt incredibly dependable.
Now that he had become tiny…
he didn’t seem interested in helping at all.
Still…
Beru had his reasons.
“Believe me…”
“I desperately want to help.”
“But I must conserve every bit of strength I have in order to return to the Outer Universe where my liege awaits.”
Beru was slowly recovering the power he had exhausted.
Without Sung Jinwoo nearby…
his mana replenished painfully slowly.
“Besides…”
“If I participate in battle…”
“Most of the experience will no longer go to Your Young Majesty.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to kill one more goblin and level up instead?”
Everything Beru said…
was perfectly logical.
The problem…
was how annoyingly cheerful he sounded while saying it.
He had been chattering nonstop above Suho’s head this entire time.
Still…
it didn’t seem like he was deliberately trying to provoke him.
Rather…
he simply lacked the concept of human empathy.
Well…
he wasn’t human in the first place.
“Kkiek!”
“Young Monarch!”
“More of them are coming!”
“You’re almost ready to level up!”
Suho clenched his teeth.
Ruler’s Authority.
He stretched out his hand.
An invisible force lifted another stone axe from a goblin corpse.
During battle…
he had already figured out the rough limits of his skill.
At Level 1…
Ruler’s Authority could manipulate approximately ten kilograms.
About enough strength to effortlessly lift a toddler.
A stone axe was well within that limit.
Maybe…
This was how I used to fly as a child.
Suho rotated the floating axe around himself in a circular orbit.
At the very least…
it would serve as a defensive barrier.
Beru’s eyes sparkled.
“Kkyot!”
“To think you’d use Ruler’s Authority like this!”
“As expected…”
“Necessity truly is the mother of invention!”
…No.
That ant was definitely a demon.
* * *
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
Time crawled by.
Still…
after fighting desperately while covered in blood…
Suho’s level steadily rose.
Each time he leveled up…
the wounds carved into his body by goblin weapons healed completely.
His exhausted body instantly recovered.
Most importantly…
he became stronger every single time.
Then finally—
[Time Remaining: 0:00:00]
[Quest Complete.]
[Level Up!]
[Level: 7]
Patter!
“Kerruk!”
“Kerrruk!”
The instant the timer reached zero…
the goblins that had relentlessly pursued Suho scattered in every direction…
disappearing back into the darkness.
“…Is it over?”
Remaining alert…
Suho carefully looked around.
Goblin corpses surrounded him.
The same oppressive silence from when he had first entered the dungeon returned.
“Kuuu!”
“Magnificent work!”
“I am truly proud of you!”
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Beru enthusiastically applauded…
shattering the silence.
“Those wicked creatures have finally acknowledged Your Young Majesty!”
“They now understand…”
“That you are far more dangerous than you appear!”
“Than I appear?”
“How do I appear?”
“Like an ant larva that could still die from a gentle poke.”
“After all…”
“You’re only Level 7.”
“…Enough with the ant larva already.”
He shouldn’t have asked.
Then—
Ding.
[Quest Completion Rewards have arrived.]
[Would you like to view them?] (Y/N)
“…Yes.”
The message appeared immediately.
[The following reward has been prepared.]
Reward: Rune Stone — Shadow Extraction
