Hiring
To purchase the [Absolute Perception Inhibition] skill, I still needed at least 20 more points. Gathering every other seemingly useful private skill would require far more.
In the end, it was the system’s blunt demand: collect those penalty skills.
If only I could rewind to the previous stage… I would instantly change my rank to “Experimental Marmot” or slash every unnecessary stat down to 1. But the system was merciless.
The only path left was to string those listed penalties together and forcibly squeeze out points.
I immediately began analyzing the screen.
Efficient penalty collection.
That was exactly what I had to do now.
First, I looked at the public penalty skills.
[Glass Body]. Defense drops 20% but hands over a whopping 30 points.
Once I bought [Absolute Perception Inhibition], monsters wouldn’t even see me as an intruder. I’d barely take damage anyway.
Considering the synergy with my cheat skill, the risk was low and the return high—more than acceptable.
So I already had 30 points locked in.
110 points remained. Even after buying [Absolute Perception Inhibition] (-100), I still had 10 left. But my gaze naturally drifted to the private-skill tab’s other tempting entries.
[Status Window -10pt], [4D Pocket -20pt], [Translation Cheat -30pt].
A translation cheat that let me speak with monsters, plus a dedicated inventory… there was nothing to throw away.
Greed stirred inside me.
Since I was carrying penalties anyway, pulling every cheat into the early setup would be the long-term win.
Finally, I reached for the hottest corner of the private-penalty tab.
[Summoner +20pt], [Frigidity Creator +30pt], [Premature Ejaculation +30pt], [Erectile Dysfunction +60pt].
A lineup that shattered a man’s pride in real time.
Especially [Erectile Dysfunction]—60 points for the gold. Losing manhood in an adult game was a fatal blow.
The tutorial had warned only special methods could remove it… but if that meant sex, my character would stay forever impotent.
Think.
[Erectile Dysfunction] was incompatible with [Premature Ejaculation] and [Summoner].
In other words, [Premature Ejaculation] and [Summoner] could be chosen together.
Yes, that route was still lethal… but the difference between zero function and working function was huge.
Selecting [Summoner (+20)] and [Premature Ejaculation (+30)] together gave +50 points.
Adding [Frigidity Creator (+30)], which meant I couldn’t please my partner, and I could withdraw a full 80 extra points as private penalties.
My pride would take a hit… but it was a game.
This was only a game character, not my real body.
I only cared about performance and efficiency.
I’d fix it later when I found a cure in a dungeon.
I convinced myself like a self-hypnosis.
My finger, now resolute, tapped the screen and finalized the calculation.
Remaining points: exactly 0.
The moment satisfaction and bitterness collided, a hidden special window flashed red beneath the final-confirm button.
[※ Special Difficulty Option: HELL MODE]
[If applied, player data and character will be permanently deleted upon death in the dungeon. Instant ‘Hell-tier Special Skill Selection Right’ is granted to mad challengers who defy the system.]
Permanent deletion upon death.
Normal users would never pick this insane option. But I already had [Absolute Perception Inhibition] blocking monster and trap detection.
Since I couldn’t be hit or killed anyway, “permanent deletion on death” was no risk—it was free bonus.
If I refused it, I wouldn’t have collected penalties in the first place…
I checked [HELL MODE] without hesitation.
The entire screen flooded red, revealing the three special skills reserved only for those who chose hell.
[Please select one of the Hell-tier special skills.]
[Special • Active] Spatial Slash
An absolute judgment attack that slices space itself apart with raw mana. Perfectly ignores the target’s defense and bisects every material in its path. (MP cost 50)
[Special • Passive] Omniscient Mapping
Upon dungeon entry, the system instantly and perfectly syncs the entire floor’s structure, hidden rooms, resource locations, and monster placements onto a mini-map.
[Special • Passive] Hell’s Causality
Whenever you clear “Hell Conditions” such as dungeon clear or specific objectives, you receive the reward item [Knot of Causality], letting you choose to remove a penalty, acquire a new skill, or upgrade an existing one.
My eyes locked on the final one. My heart hammered.
This was the only legal key that could perfectly erase the three horrific curses I had imposed on myself to steal points.
Shing.
My finger pressed [Hell’s Causality] without mercy.
Every advantage and flaw I possessed, plus the madness of staking my life, exchanged perfectly. The setting screen scrolled to fill.
[Final Skill Selection (HELL MODE)]
■ Public Skills
Passive: [Absolute Perception Inhibition] (-100pt)
Penalty: [Glass Body] (+30pt)
■ Private Skills
Active: [Status Window] (-10pt)
Active: [4D Pocket] (-20pt)
Passive: [Translation Cheat] (-30pt)
Penalty: [Summoner] (+20pt)
Penalty: [Premature Ejaculation] (+30pt)
Penalty: [Frigidity Creator] (+30pt)
■ HELL MODE Exclusive Special
Passive: [Hell’s Causality]
Special Difficulty Penalty: [HELL MODE] (permanent data deletion on death)
Final remaining points: 0pt
With a man’s fatal weakness and the ultimate risk of permanent character deletion, I had seized absolute powers that pierced every loophole in the system.
[HELL MODE setting complete. Confirm character creation?]
I stared at the glowing button in the center and took a deep breath.
Then I slammed it down without hesitation.
[Character creation complete. Analysis of stats and skill combination confirms player will join Artemis Group. Transferring player to Artemis Group now.]
My vision began to blur with intense light. Finally, the real dungeon company life had begun.
Ooh… what’s that smell?
The once-hazy vision slowly sharpened, as if noise had cleared.
The first thing that slammed into my brain at the same time was the artificial, high-end fragrance wafting from a premium diffuser.
That sharp scent digging into my nostrils was clearly far from an ordinary office.
‘Whee—.’
By the time smell and hearing synced, I realized where I was—an office room.
The air conditioner on the ceiling swallowed the room’s quiet, emitting regular mechanical noise.
Below it came the nervous rustle of paper being flipped and the sharp scrape of a pen on paper.
That was it.
This was the team-leader’s office, finished in refined gray tones.
Outside, through the high-floor building’s floor-to-ceiling windows, the Artemis Group headquarters stretched out in one glance.
A cold, reflected light from the glass slanted across my face.
And behind the desk, there was a huge pair of breasts.
“The new hire we just hired… Seo Jihoo, right?”
A sharp yet elegant voice.
The female NPC wearing a black H-line skirt and white blouse that perfectly displayed her body looked at me with a displeased expression.
Whoa… what the heck… it’s actually realistic…
The fine wrinkles between her brows and the icy glare were so vivid they were almost frightening.
While I marveled at how far human technology had come, my hand moved to check her status window.
No tutorial existed for skill activation, but universal systems worked the same way as pressing A, W, S, D when operating a character with a keyboard.
After several attempts, I succeeded in activating the [Status Window].
Whoa… what the heck…
I never imagined even a 10-point skill would create such a perfectly detailed status window.
Bust 95 cm.
Waist 60 cm.
Hips 90 cm.
I already knew her figure was stunning without the window, but peeking at these numbers without permission before her face had a completely different flavor.