First Raid (3)

Value Proof.

The unique skill of the Soul of the Mountain, a mace forged by frost dwarves from the sole spirit ore called "soul essence," slumbering deep in the frigid peaks of the Great Mountain—the coldest hellscape in Afraksas. It could only be crafted by tempering mana with hammers in utter solitude before temperatures rivaling molten lava.

Paradoxically, it embodied the frost dwarves' belief that such ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠heat was akin to bone-chilling cold that flayed the flesh—a skill worthy of the weapon they revered.

As an awakener who received the revelation of Uldran, the dragon the dwarves served, it was a perfect fit for the steadfast, enduring Philip.

Philip had swung that mace thousands, tens of thousands of times without touching any other weapon.

From the moment he received Uldran's revelation—"Wield the mace"—he had swung nothing else for years.

When danger came, he simply smashed it. Philip never dodged or cheated, and this time was no different: a simple, brutally idiotic swing.

Crazy bastard.

Jeonghyeon muttered under his breath, faintly sensing through Attribute Domination the sheer effort Philip had poured in.

Compared to himself, who had thrown everything away to fight the Demon King, or Serin, who demanded life-or-death battles even from fellow awakeners in her quest to become the strongest hunter—Philip might just be the real madman.

Thud.

The mace hit the floor.

Blood streamed down over it. From the gaps in Philip's callused palms, so tough a knife couldn't draw a drop—now all burst open.

"Haa... Did... I do... good...?"

His body couldn't withstand the explosive power at that critical moment. Blood vessels ruptured across his frame, intraocular pressure spiked wildly, blinding him. Philip collapsed flat on the ground.

Then, like a man who'd finally finished a long-prepared task, he fell into a deep sleep.

"Believe us now?"

Jeonghyeon addressed Serin, who stared blankly ahead in Philip's stead.

"Yeah... I believe you. That you've climbed past the 20th floor of the Tower."

Before her, the stone floor—which Kingdom hunters couldn't even scratch despite giving their all—had caved in completely, forming a massive sheer cliff.

A bottomless pit, so deep it looked black below, as if descending would lead to the underworld. Serin was speechless at the sight.

After staring for a long while, she let out an incredulous laugh and turned to Jeonghyeon.

"And that you qualify as A-rank hunters."

***

"Urgh...!"

Waking from deep slumber, Philip groaned intensely atop a premium bed in Kingdom Guild's medical ward, writhing as he tried to sit up.

Every muscle fiber in his body screamed.

"Awake? Rest."

Jeonghyeon, who knew not when he'd arrived, sat indifferently with legs crossed and pushed Philip back down.

"Did... it go well?"

"Why else would we be chatting here?"

Philip brightened at Jeonghyeon's usual cynical tone, regaining his composure with a grin.

"Haha. Good to hear."

But his mouth soon twisted, like a grown man on the verge of tears.

"I've... never been the protagonist before."

A faint tremor leaked into his voice.

"Crying again? Doesn't suit your size, kid."

"Meeting you... was the first time I felt like the protagonist. Sniff. Thank you... sniff!"

Even as the burly giant approached warmly time and again, Jeonghyeon had always brushed him off coldly—but this time, he simply rested a hand on Philip's shoulder.

"You'll be the protagonist from here on too. I'm just your porter."

He meant it sincerely.

No words needed; the warmth conveyed Jeonghyeon's intent.

In idle RPGs derisively called clicker games, raw stats alone didn't make your deck stronger. True masters dynamically tuned their decks to match matchups and synergies.

In Jeonghyeon's eyes, Philip had become an all-purpose character who could shatter any matchup through sheer effort.

"Gonna step out for a bit. Rest up."

"Yessir... sniff."

As Jeonghyeon turned to leave Philip's bedside, he tossed out a casual remark.

"Oh, and you went blind."

"Yessir... Huh? What?!"

Not quite blind, but Philip pawed at his eyes upon seeing Jeonghyeon's clear figure before him. Jeonghyeon chuckled.

"Kingdom's healers all piled on and barely saved you. Overdid it, you idiot."

"But..."

"So learn to pace yourself next time. Can't keep grinding your body to dust forever."

"...Yessir! Thank you!"

Understanding Philip's mindset all too well, Jeonghyeon said no more and left the room.

"Now then..."

Moved as he was, rewards were rewards.

Stepping out, Jeonghyeon grinned and opened the quest window.

That massive text gleamed brilliantly.

He'd held back peeking before Philip woke, lest joy make him insensitive.

Philip had slept a full week before opening his eyes.

The moment to unwrap the long-awaited gift.

Jeonghyeon stretched toward the quest window, face like a goblin drooling over gold.

***

With Guild Master Serin of Kingdom's help, Philip skipped ranks to become B-rank, clearing the quest just in time.

A new prompt appeared. No reason not to. This was why he'd come this far.

Jeonghyeon hit [Yes] without hesitation.

"Oh...?"

The base rewards were generous. A new quest meant one step closer to the Demon King; emerging sub quests signaled diverse growth paths. Shop points piled up sweetly atop hunting gains.

Save 'em without spending, unlock the next shop level.

More crucially, the Demon King's Eye level-ups.

"Attribute Disruption hit max at 10?"

Low cap, surprisingly. Back when Solgaleh's awakener, base max was 50—huge win.

Though it screamed "human limit reached; grow as dominator now."

"Profit's profit anyway."

The new sub quest demanded dominating a "production-type" subordinate. One name flashed: Wakin.

Humanity's strongest blacksmith, producer of mana stone weapons.

Jeonghyeon grasped his path forward. Tough quest, perfect rewards—future direction crystallizing.

A faint smile crept across his stoic face.

He checked the bonus right away. The juiciest part.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"Wow."

Bonus rewards were insane too.

"Sub quests first..."

Dominated by Serin quests? Meant leveraging Kingdom's guild master—the awakener rivaling his past self.

As a fellow human, allying her would yield massive firepower. He planned ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it anyway—pure profit.

Plus, two new slots? One for Wakin, one for Serin. Obvious.

"All gains."

Clicker game my ass—this was generous AF. Jeonghyeon's smile widened to a full grin.

Philip's loyalty jumping four levels? He was now a perfect right-hand man.

Whew.

The crown jewels: dominator level-up and grade rise.

EXP Share: share hunting EXP. EXP Transfer: direct EXP dump. Mirror Learning: mimic his style for instant proficiency and combat sense.

Those three needed proximity to him. But the new pair worked remotely.

"Auto Hunt info."

Familiar from idle games: hit hunt, sleep, wake to piled resources. Click.

"Remote Status Check info."

Perfect for cases like Wakin—long absences. Check status, level skills, transfer EXP, done.

"Insane rewards."

Knew it was high-risk high-return, but not this high.

Can't kill Demon King? We're all dead anyway. Bring on the hard quests.

All that grind paying off fueled his drive.

That fire blazed in his eyes as grinning resolve.

"Next target set."

He left the hospital straight for the Black Market.

Next Attribute Domination prey: the ultimate blacksmiths, the Wakin sisters.