The Hidden Piece Awakens
A grotesque fist the size of a meteor plunged through the air, screaming with otherworldly malice.
Kang Seojun’s counter-punch was embarrassingly small and weak, like a single pigeon darting across the path of an oncoming dump truck.
Seo Eunha instinctively shut her eyes, knowing nothing she could do would matter.
But the Demon Buddha’s fist vanished before it could touch anything at all.
[CRITICAL HIT! A LUCKY STRIKE HITS THE VITAL POINT!]
—FWOOSH!
The sound of something being violently torn apart shook the vast chamber like a cracking bone.
“Ugh…”
“Ah…!”
“Kyaa?!”
—WHOOSH!
A fierce gale followed instantly, whipping the air and scattering dust.
When Seo Eunha dared to open her eyes again—
“……!!”
The Demon Buddha’s arms, torso, and head had been completely ripped away.
“W-what…!?”
“Th-that’s… impossible…!”
Even the security guards watching from afar stood frozen, mouths agape at the impossible scene.
It was as if a bowl of cold noodle soup had exploded.
The Demon Buddha detonated like a firework the instant Kang Seojun’s fist connected.
“B-b-but… what… just now…?”
“W-when… how…?”
“An S-class monster… destroyed in one hit…!?”
Normally, taking down even one S-class boss required at least ten A-rank hunters. Yet this man had reduced the entire thing to ash with a single bare-handed strike.
And the technique that had flashed between him and the monster—blink.
It was an absurdly difficult skill that only the most prodigious mages who had reached the pinnacle of mana manipulation or those who had mastered light-attribute affinities could ever hope to wield.
What kind of power, what kind of technique, what kind of innate attribute was this…?
Who exactly was this man…?
One guard muttered in a daze.
“At least S-class… no, maybe higher…!”
—GROOOAK…
The monstrous body that had been twitching like a dying worm on the floor soon lost its power, turning pale gray as movement ceased.
—Uwoong.
—Slither-slither.
Red light flickered across the ground where the Demon Buddha had fallen, and pitch-black hands burst forth from the shadows, dragging the corpse straight into the earth.
The Demon Buddha sank slowly, as if being swallowed by a swamp—taken back to the underworld by the guardians of hell.
Kang Seojun exhaled, rolling his stiff neck.
“It’s over…”
[Quest ‘Shrine Where the Demon Buddha Is Sealed’ Completed!]
[Quest Success Reward! Sense Ability stat +1]
[Constellations admire your performance.]
[Constellations expect you to grow stronger.]
[Some constellations praise your splendid adventure.]
[Some constellations applaud your righteous judgment.]
[Constellation ‘The Guardian Holding Scales’ has sponsored +1 Strength for you.]
[Constellation ‘The Tree That Tends the Flower World’ has sponsored +1 Agility for you.]
[Constellation ‘The Brightly Shining One’ has sponsored Dimensional Currency for you.]
…
System messages cascaded into Kang Seojun’s vision in a frantic blur.
He skimmed them quickly, then let out a relieved sigh.
‘If the fall in the second phase was actually a benefit…’
Kang Seojun had been swept away by a torrent of mud in the ant-hill pattern of the second phase, plummeting into the depths.
If his Willpower had been even a little weaker, he might have given up right there.
But his transcendent Willpower forced him to think of a solution anyway.
The conclusion he reached was simple: Blink Scroll.
A single-use teleportation scroll from the Dimensional Shop was the only thing that could save him.
At the time he had winced at the wasted purchase, thinking, ‘I didn’t need to buy it if I hadn’t fallen!’
[Some constellations nod in approval of your appropriate judgment.]
[Constellation ‘The Wise Old Snake’ has sponsored +1 Intelligence for you.]
[Constellation ‘The Sage of the Distant Mountain Ridge’ has sponsored Dimensional Currency for you.]
Thanks to the constellations’ praise for his dramatic survival, the mistake was turned into a profit.
‘Yeah, of course it was stupid—trying to clear the ant-hill section of phase two with this build.’
Life wasn’t only about willpower and luck.
‘Punching and struggling like this won’t last forever. I need to grow my core stats—strength, agility, intelligence—whether through stamina or mana first.’
As these thoughts swirled, a dazed voice drifted from behind.
“U, uh…? Ah…?”
Kang Seojun turned.
Seo Eunha stood there with a completely blank expression, staring up at him.
“…Are you all right?”
Kang Seojun reached out a hand.
“Eh? Ah…?”
Seo Eunha didn’t take it. She simply repeated the same dazed sounds.
She clearly needed a moment to snap out of it.
“Team Leader!”
“Unnie!”
They spotted the security team and Jin Serin running toward them from a distance.
Kang Seojun withdrew his hand and stepped back a few paces.
Jin Serin reached them first and checked on Seo Eunha.
“Unnie! Are… are you okay?”
Seo Eunha turned her head toward her, but pain exploded in her neck and she let out a sharp cry.
“Ow, ouch!”
Jin Serin’s face turned deathly white.
“Lie down first!”
The security guards hurried over with herbs and potions.
Seo Eunha now had her team to rely on.
Kang Seojun needed to collect the dungeon’s rewards.
“Deputy Go. Can you give me a hand for a second?”
He needed someone else’s grip to haul the loot.
“Eh? What?”
Kang Seojun waved for her to follow instead of answering, and headed toward the abyss.
Deputy Go handed her bandages to a nearby colleague and trailed after him.
“W-where are we going?”
“We need to pick up the loot.”
The first thing to claim was the Hidden Piece for Jin Serin.
Kang Seojun walked to the edge of the abyss and shone a flashlight downward.
The bottom was so deep that even starlight couldn’t reach it.
Deputy Go asked with a troubled expression.
“Th-think you have to go down…?”
Kang Seojun shook his head.
“No. Just wait.”
—Sparkle!
Something glinted deep below and began rising slowly from the abyss’s heart.
It climbed upward until it hovered at the perfect height for them.
The form was clear now.
It was a crystal shaped like a teardrop.
Kang Seojun looked at Deputy Go.
“Can you pull this up?”
The crystal floated in the middle of the abyss. Too far for him to reach alone.
“Ah. Yes. Just a moment.”
Deputy Go stretched her arms and reached out.
The crystal moved slowly toward her open palms.
It was a mana-manipulation technique that created magnetic fields.
While freely moving objects with telekinesis was hard, drawing in a mana-rich item this cleanly wasn’t difficult at all.
The crystal soon settled into Deputy Go’s hands.
“Um… what is this?”
“It’s the item that will grow Jin Serin’s abilities. This is the objective of the raid.”
“Th-this…?”
Not a potion, not a scroll, not even a recognizable spell. Just a lump of mana.
Deputy Go had never heard of any relic that could raise stats simply by holding it.
───────《ITEM》───────
▶Purified Soul Fragment
◆Grade
[Rare]
◆Description
-A fragment of a soul once filled with evil, now purified. A trophy obtained by defeating malevolent spirits. Offering it to constellations that value justice increases favorability.
-It can be sold in the Dimensional Shop.
───────────────────
Of course, the reward from the hidden dungeon was still called a Hidden Piece, but in truth it was also sold in the Dimensional Shop.
Kang Seojun took the Purified Soul Fragment from Deputy Go and returned to the group.
Jin Serin was gently massaging Seo Eunha’s hand, her face full of worry.
“Unnie… I’m sorry… I never thought it would come to this… because of me…”
Now that her mental state had recovered, Seo Eunha answered with a slightly embarrassed smile.
“No. It’s mostly my fault. But in the end… it worked out nicely…”
The security team worked quickly to treat Seo Eunha’s wounds.
“Joints, muscles—everything twisted. How long will this take to heal?”
“Oh. So no training for Team Leader until you’re better.”
“Uho~”
“We’ll see you all healed up.”
“Eek…”
The tension finally broke. Light, pleasant conversation flowed between them.
During the lull, Kang Seojun suddenly offered Jin Serin the Purified Soul Fragment.
“Take this. It’s why we came to this dungeon.”
“Eh? Ah! Yes.”
Jin Serin gently released Seo Eunha’s hand and accepted the crystal.
“…What is this?”
“As you can see, it’s a crystal. Hold it in your hand tonight and sleep. Tomorrow, when you measure your stats, you’ll see results.”
The only way for someone with the Chosen One trait to grow stats without accepting their constellation’s destiny was to offer tribute to that constellation.
The Brightly Shining One favored dispelling darkness above all else.
A Purified Soul Fragment was exactly the kind of trophy it would love.
But none of that was something Jin Serin could guess right now.
Jin Serin tilted her head with a puzzled expression.
“Holding it in your hand makes the stats grow…?”
She still sounded doubtful.
“Yes. Just hold it comfortably and sleep.”
“Hmm…”
Jin Serin turned the crystal over in her hands, confused.
At that moment, Seo Eunha pushed the security guards away from her wounds and forced herself upright.
“Ugh…”
She tried again, gritting her teeth and rising despite the pain.
Her face showed how deep the injury really was.
“Te-team Leader, what… what are you doing?”
“Unnie!”
“Just a moment…”
Seo Eunha hobbled over to Kang Seojun on wobbly legs and bowed deeply.
“Thank you. Thanks to you, I’m alive.”
Kang Seojun waved it off casually.
“No need. Focus on recovering. The raid is over, so rest easy.”
Seo Eunha opened her mouth as if to say something more, but Kang Seojun simply left.
The raid was finished, but there was still work left for him.
“Then I’ll be back in a moment.”
“Yes. Take your time.”
“Don’t go too far.”
Kang Seojun spoke as if he was just going to the bathroom, then walked toward the Demon Buddha’s location.
—Squeak-squeak.
The moment he and his group were a safe distance away, a low voice came from behind.
“Team Leader. Who exactly is that person…?”
“The academy junior you mentioned…?”
The Eye of Providence output the conversation like a live chat.
It itched a little, but Kang Seojun ignored it.
His only concern right now was the true purpose of this dungeon.
“Should I… help him?”
Deputy Go caught up in a jog.
“Going to the bathroom.”
“……Ah!”
She smiled awkwardly and lingered a few steps behind.
Kang Seojun had a pretty good idea why.
After the chaos earlier, she was probably trying not to let the team or Kang Seojun drift apart this time.
“There are no more dangerous things left in the dungeon. You can rest easy.”
“Ah. Yes.”
Once she was satisfied, Deputy Go turned back toward the group.
Kang Seojun waited until she was far enough away, then pulled a pair of tongs and a glass bottle filled with green liquid from his pocket.
These were the true rewards he had come for.
‘A Hidden Piece that creates massive synergy the earlier you get it. Just holding it makes you stronger. I got this so early… I really am lucky.’
It was time to claim the real loot of this dungeon.