Chapter 06

Sung Suho, 1 year old.

On the day that cute baby finally took his first steps, his house was in chaos, as is the case with all parents. But for a slightly different reason.

– D-darling! Suho! Our Suho! – Suho's mother, Cha Hae-in, shouted in disbelief

– What about Suho?.

– He's flying!

– …What?

– I'm telling you, Suho is flying around the house!

Suho took his first steps not on the ground, but in the air. It was thanks to the 'Ruler's Authority', one of the special powers he inherited from his father, Sung Jinwoo.

[…Sob. I miss those days.]

The one-year-old Suho, who learned to fly before he could even walk. Beru wiped his nose, thinking that it was like a mythical hero's extraordinary birth story. But Earth at that time was a very peaceful world. And the power he inherited was created to destroy everything, so it was completely useless on this conflict free earth. No… It was worse than useless, it could make it impossible for him to live a normal life. So Sung Jinwoo decided to seal that power until Suho could control it.

[Now that the apostles of the outer gods are invading Earth! It is time to unleash the sealed power of our Young Master!]

[Skill: Ruler's Authority Lv.1] 

[Active skill.]

[No mana required.] 

[Allows you to physically influence objects without direct contact.]

Ignoring Beru's fuss, Suho launched the arrow he was holding with the invisible hand in the opposite direction.

"I'll return this."

Whoosh— Thud—!

[Keureuk!]

[Goblin Archer has been defeated.]

The Goblin Archer collapsed with his own arrow stuck in its neck. And then another goblin behind it was startled and turned to run away.

Dash—!

[Keruk!]

'You think I'll let you escape?!'

Suho kicked off the ground and immediately chased after it.

Flash—!

"Huh?"

[Keruk?!]

With a single leap, he instantly overtook the fleeing goblin, their eyes meeting in a shared moment of bewilderment mid-air.

[Kihehe! Of course your jumping ability is enhanced as your Strength stat increases! You'll get used to it soon!] Why was the voice of Beru, explaining from above, so annoying?

Suho immediately slammed the axe down on the goblin's head.

Thud—!

[Kkik!]

[Goblin Scout has been defeated.]

After instantly hunting two goblins, Suho calmly wiped the splattered blood from his face with the back of his hand, his gaze sweeping the surroundings. The sudden battle had prevented him from fully taking in his environment, but he now realized that the black-and-white world was hostile. Malicious gazes emanated from all over the ruined city, their palpable killing intent stimulated his Sense stat.

"There are many."

[There are. Very many. This is the land of death. A world that has been abandoned without a master for a long time. Wild magical beasts have made their nests in this land.] Beru's explanation was accompanied by a truly wicked smile, if not for his cute appearance and minuscule size, he could have easily been mistaken as the true master of this place.

[But now!]

Whoosh—!

Beru spread his short arms and declared in a majestic tone,

[The true master of this land has finally returned! So please reclaim it! Reclaim this land that was taken by those foolish invaders with your own power!]

Ding!

A new quest window appeared before Suho.

[Quest: Survival] 

[The inhabitants of the Shadow Dungeon will never acknowledge someone weak.] 

[As the master of this land. Survive for the required time and prove your worth.]

[Required time: 4 hours]

[Time remaining: 4 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds]

'Survival?' Suho's eyebrows twitched as he read the quest. It was then…

Boohoo! Booooo—!

[Goblin Centurion uses Item: 'Horn' to summon his subordinates.]

[Goblin Captain uses Item: 'Horn' to summon his subordinates.]

Kihihi! 

Keruk Keruk!

Suho had a dumbfounded expression. Along with boisterous shouts, goblins began to appear from all corners of the city. And there were so many of them…

"Are you kidding me? You expect me to survive like this for 4 hours?!"

[Of course, there's no need to kill them all. You're only level 3 now, Young Master. Just try to survive somehow. You'll naturally level up and become stronger as you struggle.] Beru winked and gave him a thumbs up. His face was filled with a fatherly smile, looking at his grown-up son with pride.

'…why is he so annoying?' But now wasn't the time to think about that.

Keruk Keruk!

They were closing in.

Grab—!

Suho quickly snatched up a second axe from the goblin he had just killed.

[Item: Goblin's Stone Axe]

[Acquisition Difficulty: E]

[Type: Axe]

[Attack Power: +5]

[A hand axe used by goblins.]

Item information appeared above the axe.

'One in each hand from now on.' Suho's eyes gleamed like a demon's as he held a stone axe in each hand. But even this wasn't reassuring. The same weapons were in the hands of the swarming goblins. Suho quickly opened the status window and invested all 5 remaining stat points in Strength.

[Strength: 15 → 20]

Whoosh—

Suho felt an intense surge of power in his hands. The Strength stat increased both physical strength and speed. Considering that its value at level 1 was 10, his strength had doubled.

'With this power…' He could run even faster!

Swish—!

Using his newfound strength, Suho immediately turned and started running… To find terrain advantageous for fighting a large number of enemies.

[Kihehe! Wonderful! As expected, the weak have their own way of fighting!]

"…"

[It's like watching an ant larva taking its first step!]

'Wow, he is annoying.' As Suho ran, the nostalgic feelings he had for Beru, who he hadn't seen in a long time, disappeared. Even his past as a devoted ant enthusiast faded away.

'I'll burn all my ant drawings when I go back.' Suho firmly resolved to draw anteaters from now on. Still, he truly felt the effect of the Strength stat. Wielding two axes, he was literally rampaging.

Whoosh— Thud—!

He deflected a goblin's attack with his right axe.

Crack—!

And he struck its neck with his left axe.

Whoosh— Thud—!

He turned and struck the ankle of a goblin attacking from behind.

Crack—!

And cut its neck.

[Goblin Soldier has been defeated.]

[Goblin Spearman has been defeated.]

"Kiiii!"

While he killed two goblins instantly, the price was heavy, as axes and spears flew at Suho from all directions. He managed to dodge half of the incoming projectiles, but the remaining half found their mark.

Thud—! Thud Thud—!

"Keuk!"

[HP: 160/190]

It hurt. His injuries accumulated as his HP decreased. But Suho gritted his teeth and charged at them again.

Whoosh— Crack—! Bang—!

This time, he cut down three.

[HP: 118/190]

And in the meantime, he was hit four more times.

Swish—!

He cut down another one.

[HP: 84/190]

After being struck three more times, Suho's HP was now halved, and his body was covered in blood. But then, something happened…

Ding!

[Learned Skill: 'Tenacity' Lv.1.]

'A skill?!' Suho's eyes widened. Hunters usually lived their entire lives with only the skills they were given upon awakening. To acquire a new skill, one needed a 'rune stone', which was found very rarely and thus was very expensive. To think he would get something that precious for free during battle!?

[Skill: Tenacity Lv.1]

[Passive skill.]

[No mana required.]

[You possess unwavering perseverance.]

[Physical defense increases by 20%.]

He could feel the effect before even checking the skill description. The pain from his wounds subsided.

[Kihiek!]

Realizing Suho was a formidable opponent, the goblins scattered in all directions, screaming. As the sound of horns summoning reinforcements echoed from all around, he seized the opportunity to take cover behind a pillar and catch his breath.

"Wow. That hurts." Beru flew over and fluttered his feet at those words. 

[Kieeeeek! Are you hurt, Young Master? But pain is good. You become stronger as you're hurt. It's admirable that you diligently endured the attacks and learned the Tenacity skill!]

"…"

Suho, pressing down on the wound with his hand to stop the bleeding, stared at Beru.

[Kieeek?]

At the end of his gaze a fist-sized ant floated, smiling brightly without a clue.

"Why don't you help instead of just watching?"

Beru, once a powerful being who had easily torn apart a giant wolf, seemed incredibly reliable not that long ago. However, after shrinking, he seemed completely unwilling to help, though Beru had his own reasons for this reluctance.

[Of course, I would love to. But I need to conserve my strength to return to outer space where the Master is waiting.] Beru was recovering his depleted strength on his own to prepare for his return. It was because Sung Jinwoo, who could recharge his magic power, was too far away.

[Besides, if I participate in the battle, the experience points that should go to you, Young Master, will decrease significantly. Wouldn't it be better to kill as many as possible and aim for a level-up this time?]

Beru's words were not inherently wrong, but his constant, infuriating chattering from above was the problem. It wasn't that he seemed intentionally provocative; rather, he simply lacked humanity, a likely consequence of not being human in the first place.

[Kieeeeek! Young Master! They're coming again! Get up and fight! You're almost at the next level!]

'Ruler's Authority.' Suho gritted his teeth and reached out his arm.

An invisible hand flew forward and lifted a stone axe from one of the goblin corpses. He realized something during the battle, it seemed like the weight limit for the Ruler's Authority was about 10kg. It was enough to easily lift a toddler. So of course, it could also lift a stone axe. Perhaps he used this ability to fly around when he was young. Suho made the stone axe he lifted float and rotate around his body. This would at least provide a basic defense. Beru's eyes sparkled at the sight.

[Kiiiiiii! To think you would use the Ruler's Authority like this? As expected, necessity is the mother of invention!]

…That ant was definitely a demon.

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

Time passed slowly. But after a long struggle, covered in blood, his level gradually increased. And whenever he leveled up, the wounds from the goblins' axes, which were bleeding profusely, healed completely. His stamina, which felt like it was about to give out, was also instantly restored. And most importantly, Suho was getting stronger as his level increased. And finally…

[Time remaining: 0 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds]

[Quest complete.]

[Level Up!]

[Level: 7]

Dash—!

"Keruruk!"

"Kerururuuk!"

As the timer ended, the goblins that had been tenaciously chasing Suho scattered and disappeared into the darkness.

"…Is it over?"

Suho looked around, not letting his guard down. Goblin corpses were scattered around him. A heavy silence, like when he first came here, fell.

[Kraa! You've worked hard! You're truly amazing!]

Clap Clap Clap

Beru broke the silence with enthusiastic applause.

[Those cunning bastards finally acknowledged you, Young Master! They must have realized that you're not as easy an opponent as they thought!]

'Not as easy as they thought?'

"How do I look?"

[Well, you still look like an ant larva that would die if I flicked you! After all, you're only level 7 now!]

"A damn larva…"

'Still with that?' He shouldn't have asked.

It was then.

Ding!

[Quest completion reward has arrived.]

[Would you like to check the reward?] 

(Y/N)

"…Check."

As soon as Suho answered, a message appeared.

[The following reward has been prepared.] 

[Reward:]

[Rune Stone: 'Shadow Extraction']