The smell of rust and stale sweat was everywhere. Kang-woo squeezed the hilt of his chipped iron sword. His knuckles were white. Ahead, the Rank-E Twin-Head Ogre roared, its dual throats producing a sound that vibrated through the stone floor of the dungeon.
"Run, you idiot!" a voice screamed.
It was Park, the party leader. He was already halfway down the corridor, leaving Kang-woo behind to face the monster alone. The other three members had vanished into the shadows of the cave.
They had used him. A Rank-G 'Carrier' was nothing more than live bait.
The Ogre swung a massive wooden club. Kang-woo threw himself to the side. The impact shattered the stone where he had stood a breath ago. Shards of rock sliced his cheek.
I can't win.
He knew the reality. He had no skills. His mana circuit was a clogged pipe. For three years, he had been the trash of the Hunter world, carrying bags for people who didn't even remember his name.
The Ogre turned, its four yellow eyes locking onto him. It raised the club again.
"Is this it?" Kang-woo hissed, his voice trembling. "After everything?"
His hand hit a sharp object on the floor. It wasn't stone. It was a jagged, black shard of bone, humming with a rhythmic, dark pulse. As his skin touched the surface, a screen flared into existence, blood-red and jagged.
[Hidden Trigger Condition Met.][The 'Nameless Grave' seeks a master.][Would you like to sign the Contract of the Butcher?]
The Ogre lunged. The club descended like a falling mountain.
"Yes!" Kang-woo screamed. "Sign it!"
[Contract Established.][Warning: Your soul is now collateral.][Class: Necrotic Butcher unlocked.]
A sudden, freezing cold erupted from his chest. It wasn't mana. It was the chill of the void. Kang-woo's heart skipped a beat, then slammed against his ribs with unnatural force.
[Skill: 'Harvest' (Rank F) activated.][Cost: 20% of current Health.]
Kang-woo coughed up a spray of dark blood. But as the blood hit the floor, it didn't pool. It rose. The crimson liquid turned into black, misty tendrils that raced toward the Ogre.
The monster swung. The club hit an invisible wall of shadow inches from Kang-woo's face. The wood groaned and began to rot instantly.
"My turn," Kang-woo said.
He didn't feel fear anymore. He felt a predatory hunger. He stepped forward and grabbed the Ogre's thick ankle.
[Initiating Harvest.]
The Ogre screamed. Its massive muscles began to wither. The skin turned grey and sagged as if the years were being sucked out of it in seconds. The energy flowed through Kang-woo's arm and into his body.
It felt like drinking liquid fire.
[Strength increased by 1.][Agility increased by 1.][Stamina recovered.]
The Ogre collapsed, its two heads lolling in shock. It was no longer a mountain of muscle; it was a bag of bones. Kang-woo stood over it, his shadow stretching across the cavern walls, growing longer and darker than it should be.
He raised his chipped sword. With a single, fluid motion, he drove the blade through the Ogre's neck.
[Level Up.][You have gained the 'First Kill' bonus.][Reward: Summon 'Broken Soldier'.]
The shadow beneath the dead Ogre rippled. A hand made of black smoke and white bone reached out from the floor, gripping the edge of the world.
But something was wrong.
The ground didn't stop shaking. The 'Broken Soldier' that emerged wasn't a man. It was a distorted, four-armed skeleton wearing the shredded remains of a Royal Guard's armor. It stood seven feet tall, and the aura it radiated was far beyond Rank-E.
[Warning: Summoning error.][The 'Broken Soldier' is unstable due to your low level.][The Summon has identified you as 'Weak'.]
The skeleton turned its head, the blue flames in its eye sockets flickering with contempt. It didn't look at the dead Ogre. It looked at Kang-woo.
It raised its rusted greatsword and pointed it at Kang-woo's throat.
[Emergency Quest: Prove Your Worth.][Objective: Defeat your own Summon or be consumed.]
Kang-woo gripped his sword, his blood turning to ice. The skeleton moved—faster than the Ogre, faster than anything he had ever seen.