As he descended the stairs, a feeling of unease tightened in his chest. It was as if his Perception stat itself was warning him to be careful.
When he reached the third platform, everything was silent.
Too silent.
He began exploring cautiously.
"The boss isn't in the central area… weird. Don't boss monsters usually occupy the most dominant position in the room?"
He frowned.
"I should avoid overly dark areas to prevent ambushes… but this monster is smart. It's hiding. Waiting. It feels more like a hunter than prey."
The moment he stepped past a dark alley—
It happened.
Even though he was on guard, it was too fast.
A blur.
A scythe-like limb sliced toward his neck.
He barely dodged, drawing his sword to counterattack—
But in less than a second, the monster swung its second scythe.
He abandoned the counter and raised his sword to deflect. He didn't have enough time for a full block, but even a slight deflection was crucial.
The strike shifted from his neck to his shoulder.
He reinforced his body with mana at the last second, but the blade still tore deep into his shoulder.
Before he could react, the creature vanished into the subway tunnel's darkness.
"…That was fast. Too fast."
He exhaled slowly.
"I'm confident against C-rank monsters… but I barely dodged that. If not for my Perception and Agility…"
He glanced at his shoulder.
The wound was deep — but not fatal. And it was already healing.
In that brief exchange, he had seen it clearly.
[RAIL REAPER MANTIS]
The red text meant it was stronger than him.
The creature was seven to eight feet tall, with a gray exoskeleton. Its forearms curved like massive scythes, razor sharp. Two long antennae vibrated constantly above glowing red eyes.
"It specializes in ambushes. I got hurt because of the surprise. Now I'm ready."
He analyzed calmly.
"It retreated because it can only unleash those rapid dual strikes in short bursts."
"And its abdomen… doesn't have an exoskeleton."
A faint smile formed.
"Glass cannon."
He narrowed his eyes toward the tunnel.
"The antennae were vibrating constantly. Echolocation."
He picked up a large rock and threw it onto the tracks.
A sharp whoosh.
The mantis shot out from the darkness and sliced the rock cleanly in half before retreating again.
"Good. So it reacts to sound."
He considered his options.
"I can defend against one strike. The second will land."
"If I defend both, I won't have time to counter."
He chuckled softly.
"Well… that's what an ordinary hunter would think."
He inhaled deeply.
"I can't lose to a mere C-rank monster. Not when I'll eventually have to face that entity."
With a steady breath, he jumped onto the tracks.
Before his feet even landed—
The mantis charged.
Its scythe descended.
He deflected the first strike.
The second scythe came from the opposite side.
And this time—
He didn't block.
He smiled.
The blade came crashing down, severing his arm at the shoulder.
The pain exploded through his nerves.
"It hurts… but now's the chance."
With his remaining arm reinforced with mana, he punched directly into the mantis's exposed abdomen.
The impact sent it flying through pillars and smashing through concrete walls.
"System. Use Complete Recovery."
He had intentionally saved that reward from the daily quest.
A green glow enveloped him.
His severed arm regenerated rapidly.
Before the mantis could recover, he was already upon it.
One clean slash.
Its head fell.
[LEVEL UP!!][LEVEL UP!!]
He exhaled slowly.
"It was risky. If it had aimed for my neck instead of my shoulder…"
He closed his eyes briefly.
"But growth requires risk. And I wanted to end it quickly."
The Complete Recovery effect faded. His body was unharmed.
The boss dropped several items.
[RAIL REAPER SCYTHERarity: B+40 Attack+18% chance to apply Bleed]
[MANTIS BOOTSRarity: C+25 AgilityIncreased Jump Height]
[MANTIS ANTENNA (Headwear)Rarity: BIncreased Hearing AbilityGrants Echolocation]
"These are good."
He examined them thoughtfully.
"The boots are useful. The scythe too, situationally."
"My main weapons should be daggers, though. I'll wait until I find proper ones."
He stared at the antenna headpiece.
"…But wearing mantis antennae? How am I supposed to aura farm looking like that?"
He sighed.
"I'll store it for now."
A notification appeared.
[CONGRATULATIONS. YOU HAVE SLAIN THE BOSS.][DUNGEON COMPLETE.][REWARD: TITLE – BEAST HUNTER][REWARD: TITLE – SWARM HUNTER]
"Oh? Titles too?"
He checked them.
[TITLE: BEAST HUNTEREffect: +40% to all stats while fighting beast-type monsters]
[TITLE: SWARM HUNTEREffect: +30% to all stats while fighting insect-type monsters]
"…Why is Beast Hunter stronger? Is the Architect racist against beasts?"
He shook his head.
"Whatever."
Since the dungeon was cleared, he exited.
As he walked home, his thoughts returned to the entity.
"I still need to prepare for whatever functions it added to the System… and the task it will assign."
"It said I would love it."
He narrowed his eyes.
"If it wasn't lying… we'll see."
Lost in thought, he reached his apartment.
The familiar sight made him smile faintly.
"I'm home."
Inside, he saw Jinah asleep on the couch, books still in her arms.
He checked the clock.
10 p.m.
"I spent too long in the dungeon…"
He carefully lifted her and carried her to her room, placing her gently on the bed and covering her with a blanket.
Entering the kitchen, his stomach growled.
"I'm starving… let's see if Jinah left me anything."
Inside the fridge, he found a plate of food.
A small note rested on top.
"For my dear stupid brother."
He smiled.
[STATUS
SUNG JIN WOO
LEVEL: 26
STRENGTH: 54
STAMINA:49
AGILITY:50
INTELLIGENCE:36
PERCEPTION:48
MANA:580
Ability points:0]
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[A/N: i kinda forgot jinwoo has skill's and title's so i added title's in the reward i will ad skill's tomorrow don't get too angry on me okie and i will also add the stat panel at the end of every chapter and not in the middle unless it's important]