A Misfortune Worth Exploiting
The chances of that were slim. A sudden chill ran down Tae-hyun’s spine. No way...
"Do you mind if I ask what quest you cleared before coming here?"
Tae-hyun knew she might refuse to answer. Information like that wasn't meant to be shared freely. What quests someone was working on, what class they held—these were all closely guarded secrets.
But Tae-hyun was overlooking one crucial detail: Evangeline hadn't spoken to another player in ages! Because she rarely met anyone who could stand to be near her, she naturally became quite talkative in his presence.
"Well, first I cleared a few quests at some ruins where ancient vampires used to live. An elder vampire there told me about a corrupted vampire. Apparently, a corrupted vampire has resided in Marden Castle since ancient times..."
Evangeline went into extensive detail. But the more Tae-hyun listened, the more his face fell. Her quest line sounded incredibly credible! In contrast, Tae-hyun only had a rumor brought to him by Ed-an, a highly untrustworthy, self-proclaimed "Great Thief." If their objectives overlapped, Tae-hyun was the one most likely to be in the wrong!
Damn it.
But having come this far, he couldn't back down. Even if he couldn't complete his class quest for the Avatar of Archisus, he still had to clear the dungeon and claim the rewards.
"...So that's how I ended up here. What about you?"
"I came to clear the dungeon and get a reward from the Count."
"Ah, I see. I've spotted a few other parties around here too." Evangeline nodded, then suddenly paused. "Wait. Why are you completely fine, anyway?"
"Maybe it's because I live a virtuous life? If you're always a good person, bad things won't happen to you, no matter how unlucky you are."
"Ah, right... Wait, does that even make sense?!"
"What can I say? It's the truth."
"Seriously, no system alerts popped up? Nothing about being caught in a wave of misfortune...?"
Tae-hyun knew exactly why. His overwhelming Luck stat had completely overpowered Evangeline's misfortune! Still baffled by this impossible phenomenon, Evangeline kept hovering near him, talking non-stop. Normally, anyone near her would suffer a cascade of bad luck—skills failing, items breaking, and worse. Yet Tae-hyun seemed utterly unfazed.
Just what is he?
She couldn't help but be curious. As Tae-hyun started walking forward, Evangeline trailed right behind him, continuing her barrage of questions. Meanwhile, Jeong Su-hyeok, Rufo, and Yong-yong made sure to keep a very wide distance.
-I sense an extremely ominous aura from that vampire. It is best not to approach her!
Yong-yong shuddered as he spoke. Since the dragon's appearance was so mystical and imposing, Rufo readily followed his advice.
"Hey, is it your gear? A skill? Or maybe your class?"
The real answer was that he was simply tanking it with raw stats!
"That's not fair! I told you my secrets!"
"I never promised to tell you mine."
"W-well, that's true, but still! Tell me! I'm dying of curiosity! In return, I'll... um... help you with your quest. I am a Ranker, you know."
"Your class is strong, and if you can solo this place, you're definitely a Ranker."
"I have nothing to do with Count Anong. That means I'm not competing to clear this place first. So if you tell me, I'll help you clear this dungeon!"
"Hmm, but here's the thing. There's one thing you don't know: even without your help, I'm fully confident I'll be the first to clear this place."
"..."
His confidence practically overflowed without him even trying. Evangeline was slightly dumbfounded, but she quickly pressed on.
"Are you sure about that? You don't know anything about this castle!"
Unlike her, who had cleared multiple prerequisite quests and knew the history of this ancient castle, Tae-hyun and the other parties were just players who had swarmed here on Count Anong's orders. Naturally, they knew nothing. It was a massive disadvantage.
Tae-hyun stopped in his tracks. He turned his gaze toward Evangeline.
"Let me think for a second. Hmm..."
Five seconds passed.
"Ah. Did Marquis Marden turn into a vampire and is still alive?"
"!?!?!?!?"
Though her face was hidden behind her helmet, Tae-hyun could tell from her reaction that his guess was spot on.
"How did you know?!"
"It's obvious."
Just as someone who had watched hundreds of movies could easily predict the ending of a new film, Tae-hyun was highly experienced with these types of quests. Marquis Marden had thrown a massive fit to avoid death, and Evangeline had come here looking for a corrupted vampire... It was as clear as day.
But to Evangeline, it felt like she was dealing with a mind reader.
"But how?!"
"How doesn't matter... Ah, monsters."
Just then, Marden undead soldiers emerged. The deeper they went, the stronger the monsters became. But to Tae-hyun, level didn't matter. To defeat him, a monster needed the right elemental matchup, not just a high level.
-Kahladan's Lightning!
"Hey! If you cast magic right now—!"
Hearing the sound effect of a spell being cast from behind, Evangeline shrieked in alarm.
*Crack-crackle-boom!* A bolt of lightning struck directly on top of Evangeline!
You have successfully resisted the attack using the power of the Vampire.
She took no damage, but it felt awful. Jeong Su-hyeok was at a complete loss.
"I-I'm so sorry..."
"Why are you apologizing? It's not your fault."
"..."
He showed absolutely no sympathy! Evangeline gnashed her teeth at Tae-hyun's coldness. Sure, her bad luck had caused the magic to go haywire, but did he really have to put it so bluntly?!
"Hey! There's a nice way to say things, you know! Do you have to be so harsh?!"
"If you don't like it, feel free to walk on ahead. Come to think of it, why am I even traveling with someone who brings nothing but misfortune? Just keep moving."
"You said you aren't affected by it!"
"I'm not, but the three behind me certainly are."
Yong-yong nodded, flapping his wings.
-I hate vampires! I hate vampires!
"..."
Being treated like a plague by a pet that looked suspiciously like a dragon made her blood boil.
"If you don't tell me why, I'm going to follow you forever! I told you everything, so you owe me an explanation!"
Jeong Su-hyeok whispered in a small voice from the side.
"Senior, wouldn't it be better to just tell her? She did share everything from her class to her quest..."
Even Jeong Su-hyeok thought Tae-hyun was being too cold! But Tae-hyun didn't even blink.
"That's just how people grow. She learned a valuable lesson today: never trust a stranger."
"..."
Meanwhile, a Marden undead spearman drew close.
-Do not ignore me!
*Thrust!* The spear struck Tae-hyun squarely in the chest. Tae-hyun sighed. He wasn't going to take any damage anyway...
You have been afflicted with the poison of the Marden Undead.
You have entered a bleeding state.
"?!"
A damage indicator! It had been ages since he last saw one. Tae-hyun was genuinely startled. Of course, the current Tae-hyun was not the Tae-hyun of the past. His passive skills had forced rapid, balanced stat growth. Taking a single hit like this wasn't going to put him in any real danger.
"What the..."
Before he could even think, his body reacted. Swinging his hammer, Tae-hyun sent the Marden undead spearman flying... straight toward Evangeline.
*Crash!*
"Hey!!"
Colliding with the spearman, Evangeline tumbled backward. Knocking a monster into another player didn't count as PK. Knowing this, Tae-hyun had sent the undead flying toward her with absolute confidence.
As Evangeline rolled far away, his luck-based abilities instantly returned!
Yes. This is how it should be.
He had actually felt a bit empty when his usual system notifications weren't popping up! Tae-hyun ruthlessly swept through the remaining monsters.
Meanwhile, Evangeline crushed the monster that had landed on her and stood up.
*Crunch!*
She flipped open the visor of her helmet and boldly bit down on the monster's shoulder. It was Vampiric Drain, a class and racial skill of the Vampire. It was a powerful ability that paralyzed the target while absorbing their stats!
Evangeline easily finished off the monster and stood up, huffing. However, the looks she received from the others were bizarre.
"Whoa... using Vampiric Drain on an undead..."
-Master, vampires are a filthy race with absolutely no stomach! It is best not to associate with them!
"Yeah. I was just thinking the exact same thing."
Even if it was just a game, actually biting those rotting undead was something else! Tae-hyun felt a strange sense of respect for her.
Only then did Evangeline realize what their stares meant, and she frantically shouted.
"Hey! No! Once you change classes to a Vampire, the taste of blood changes! Even undead blood tastes sweet!"
"Doesn't that make it even creepier?"
-Indeed, Master. Vampires are truly unpleasant. We must banish her.
"You stubby little lizard! Get over here! Stop hiding back there!"
Furious at Yong-yong's constant muttering from behind Tae-hyun, Evangeline pointed a finger at him. Yong-yong simply turned his head away and flapped his wings as if he couldn't hear a thing.
To be mocked even by a pet! Evangeline's shoulders slumped in defeat.
Is there really no hope?
It was clear that no matter what she said, this group wouldn't tell her their secret. But Evangeline wasn't malicious or desperate enough to threaten them with PK. As Tae-hyun had said, her mistake was trusting a stranger and spilling everything.
"Fine! I'll leave."
Evangeline grumbled, resting her sword on her shoulder as she prepared to depart.
*Tap.*
But Tae-hyun placed a hand on her shoulder. He spoke in a remarkably benevolent voice.
"...!"
"Actually, if you want, you're welcome to stay with us."
"...!"
It was the first warm, welcoming thing she had heard. Evangeline almost teared up. Thank goodness she was wearing a helmet!
But if Cain had been here, he would have screamed:
-That bastard is at his most dangerous when he speaks kindly!
"Hmph. You said you didn't want me around. Why the sudden change of heart?"
"I just had a brilliant idea."
"...?"
You have suffered a critical wound!
You have successfully continued fighting despite suffering a critical wound.
Constitution has increased by 1.
"..."
"This is it! Perfect. Just keep standing right there."
Evangeline stared at Tae-hyun with a completely hollow expression. What on earth was he doing?
Tae-hyun had pulled Evangeline right next to him, deliberately walking up to the undead and letting them hit him several times. He was letting his HP drop to dangerously low levels!
Tae-hyun understood his class perfectly. It was a class designed to compensate for slow leveling speed with rapid stat growth. His various passive skills clearly pointed to this.
The issue was that stats like Constitution, Stamina, and Defense only increased quickly when he fought while taking hits in critical, near-death states.
But for Tae-hyun, doing that was practically impossible. To pull it off, he needed to be hit by unavoidable skills or curses, which weren't exactly easy to come by.
He had managed to do some of this training with the Sadiq Church, but they had completely collapsed and vanished to who-knows-where! Besides, even if he encountered them again, he certainly wouldn't have the luxury of leisurely grinding stats.
Having lost not only their entire valley but also their sacred relics, the Sadiq Church was absolutely gnashing their teeth. They were even sending assassins to ambush him...
Thus, this was the perfect environment for stat grinding. It was dangerous, but not overwhelmingly so, allowing him to maintain control of the situation at all times.
And now, he had found the final piece of the puzzle: someone who could forcibly lower his Luck stat so he could actually get hit! That person was none other than Evangeline.
"..."
Evangeline watched Tae-hyun deliberately run into the undead spearman's thrusts and thought:
Should I just run away?