The Weight of a Single Life
The low, resonant hum of a massive hammer cut through the air.
A three-meter-tall monster swung its heavy warhammer with terrifying ease.
In contrast, Kang Yoonsoo simply took a light step.
His movement wasn’t particularly fast.
Yet the hammer couldn’t even graze the hem of his clothes.
Crunch—!
The warhammer slammed into the bare ground.
Kang Yoonsoo turned his back and broke into a run.
The minotaur let out a monstrous roar and gave chase.
Thud. Thud.
Every time the minotaur took a step, the earth trembled faintly.
Kang Yoonsoo circled halfway around the forge and headed toward the workshop area.
In that short time, the difference in their strides had closed the distance between them considerably.
Only a few seconds remained before it would catch him.
It was exactly when the minotaur took its final stride toward Kang Yoonsoo.
Kwa-jijijik—!
The ground around them caved in deeply.
Below the fairly deep pit trap lay a bed of old, razor-sharp iron shards.
The minotaur that fell into the trap tumbled forward in an undignified heap.
“Karka—! Konol—!”
It didn’t stop at simply falling.
As it pitched forward, the minotaur smashed through part of the forge.
When its solid body demolished the old wooden wall, a glowing red furnace was revealed.
The bull’s head slammed straight into the top of it.
Chijijik—!
“Kruooooooaaar—!”
The sickening sound of searing flesh echoed outward.
The minotaur frantically lifted its head, but the furnace’s heat was far too intense.
It suffered devastating damage—deep enough to carve out a chunk of its skull.
At that moment, Kang Yoonsoo leaped high and landed on the back of the minotaur’s neck.
The weight of his body kept the creature from raising its head.
Kang Yoonsoo swung both sword and spear at once, slicing into the back of its skull.
The minotaur’s bones and hide were thick and tough.
Even with a blade and spear tip, dealing significant damage was difficult.
But Kang Yoonsoo skillfully targeted the gaps between its densely packed muscles.
He handled dual weapons—something even veteran mercenaries found difficult—with effortless precision.
“Kimalc—! Marugot—!”
Every time the minotaur tried to lift its head, Kang Yoonsoo delivered a fatal blow.
Each time it touched the furnace, its head sizzled amid waves of scorching steam.
Its hide burned away, revealing the white bone beneath.
The minotaur thrashed, its veins bulging as it fought back.
But trapped in the pit, it couldn’t even swing its heavy hammer properly.
Even in the face of such a gruesome sight, Kang Yoonsoo’s eyes remained indifferent.
He drove the spear deep into the half-burned minotaur’s skull.
Thwack—!
The cranium shattered. Blood sprayed in every direction.
Soon after, the minotaur’s resistance faded completely.
You have killed the Brutal Minotaur (Level 47).
Additional experience has been granted for defeating a powerful monster alone.
If you visit the lord who issued the Minotaur Extermination Order, you may receive a special reward.
Your level has increased by 8.
Once again, Kang Yoonsoo raised his strength. The weight of his sword and spear felt slightly lighter.
Normally, one would harvest the minotaur’s hide and meat or melt down its warhammer for quality steel. But Kang Yoonsoo did none of that.
There was simply no reason or value in gathering those resources.
He walked over to the corpses the minotaur had turned into pulp.
From one of the bodies’ pockets, he stole a handkerchief and wiped the blood from himself.
His entire body reeked of iron, yet he felt no disgust whatsoever.
Kang Yoonsoo sheathed his longsword at his waist, slung the spear across his back, and began walking.
He didn’t even glance at the map displayed on his Terminal.
Behind him, blood and moonlight flowed together.
People from reality had suddenly been transported to an unfamiliar world.
The official name of this place was the Silfia Continent, but it was usually just called the Continent.
In terms of landmass alone, the Silfia Continent was larger than Asia back on Earth.
However, navigation technology wasn’t very advanced, so people couldn’t venture beyond the local gulfs.
Just like in reality, the Silfia Continent had people who had lived here since the beginning of time.
They called themselves Continentals, and referred to people like Kang Yoonsoo who came from reality as Travelers.
The clearest distinction between Continentals and Travelers was the presence of a Terminal on the left wrist.
Unlike Continentals, who could grow their abilities naturally, Travelers required the Terminal they had been wearing at the moment of summoning in order to grow.
This world operated under unique laws.
Anyone could raise their level and grow, eventually changing class to whatever they desired.
It was easiest to understand if one thought of it as a world where reality and games had merged.
But there were clear differences from games as well.
Leveling up wasn’t limited to humans.
Most monsters couldn’t level up, but named monsters with proper titles could level as much as they wanted.
The biggest difference from games was that death was permanent. There was no respawning.
Even the greatest archmage couldn’t perfectly resurrect a corpse.
Even the last necromancer, Nakron, could only turn the dead into undead at best.
There were occasional puppeteers who turned corpses into dolls, but that was strictly taboo.
That was why life was more precious than anything else.
Whether in reality or here.
“Do you understand? When you die, that’s it. We warned you.”
Choi Changseok spoke carefully to the man.
Whether he understood or not, Kang Yoonsoo didn’t even respond.
Choi Changseok and the rest of the party looked at him with displeased expressions.
“Kyarak! Kyaruruk!”
The cries of goblins echoed from beyond the rocks.
The shallow cave was a goblin nesting ground.
They had come here to hunt goblins.
The time of transportation from reality differed for each person.
Sometimes people were transported in groups, other times individuals were sent to bizarre locations alone.
In fact, one high school student had been sent straight into a dragon’s nest and obtained powerful skills right from the start.
Choi Changseok had been transported to the Silfia Continent two months ago.
He and his university classmates had landed on the outskirts of a village.
Compared to those who fell into the middle of a wasteland or a sealed ruin, they were quite lucky.
Moreover, they were all physical education majors, so they were used to physical activity.
Choi Changseok’s class was Mercenary.
Mercenaries could handle most weapons with enough time and practice, and it was easy to take on combat requests.
With enough experience and funds, one could even establish their own mercenary company.
Unbeknownst to him, it was also one of the safest classes to advance into a second job.
Choi Changseok, who had been the representative of his department back in reality, had been taking on requests as the leader of the group.
The request was titled Goblin Extermination Order.
The main objective was to kill one hundred goblins of any kind.
The number of goblins killed was automatically recorded on the Terminal, and turning it in to the client would grant a reward.
Similar to most games, goblins were the lowest-tier monsters.
Individual levels were at most around 20, and their intelligence was low.
Occasionally there were individuals that grew rapidly, but they were extremely rare.
However, the lethality of their poison-coated daggers and arrows made complacency dangerous.
Quite a few people had died after underestimating a goblin pack.
“As we discussed beforehand, Kang Yoonsoo will go in first.”
Kang Yoonsoo had joined the party relatively late.
To be precise, they had only met when Choi Changseok’s group arrived near the goblin habitat.
There were four people in Choi Changseok’s party, and none of their levels were particularly low, so there had been no real need to add another member.
But goblins loved traps and tricks.
Even with high levels, spike traps and snake venom were still serious threats.
Kang Yoonsoo was the scout who would go ahead of the group to check for traps.
Of course, Choi Changseok’s party would follow a short distance behind.
Kang Yoonsoo entered the goblin habitat alone, while the rest of the party hid behind the rocks and watched his back.
Soon, Kang Yoonsoo’s figure disappeared into the shadows.
It was the moment when Lee Yuri, a first-year junior and Hunter-class member, was about to follow him.
Choi Changseok grabbed her hand.
“Yuri, wait a second.”
“What is it, oppa?”
“Let’s just leave that guy be.”
Lee Yuri looked puzzled. Choi Changseok shrugged.
The other two seniors wore similar expressions.
Lee Yuri tilted her head, then seemed to understand. She sat back down immediately.
Kang Yoonsoo had suddenly joined their party.
To put it bluntly, he was a complete stranger with no connection to them.
There was no need to share the rewards with him.
Besides, Kang Yoonsoo was equipped with both a sword and a spear at the same time.
Unless he was some peerless master, it was impossible to wield two completely different weapons simultaneously.
His equipment alone proved he was a novice.
Bringing a beginner along would only burden the party.
That was why they had sent him into the cave first and left him to die alone to the goblins.
Even if it resembled a game, this was still reality.
There was no reason to drag an unstable element into battle.
The swordsman-class Lee Minsoo offered his opinion.
“Hey, that knife the bastard was carrying earlier didn’t look half bad. If he dies, can I take it?”
“Sure. I’ll take the spear then.”
When Choi Changseok spoke, Hong Garam—who shared the Mercenary class—frowned.
“What? I’ve had my eye on that since earlier.”
“You already have a decent iron axe, don’t you? My sword’s edge is completely worn out. I need to start a mercenary company later. How am I supposed to look cool with a weapon like this?”
They were chatting like that when Lee Yuri tilted her head again.
“Isn’t it too quiet?”
She was right.
It had already been twenty minutes since Kang Yoonsoo went inside.
Hong Garam, who wore the most armor, stood up.
“I’ll go take a quick look inside.”
He strode into the cave. Soon, his startled voice rang out.
“Hey! Hey! Guys, come here quick!”
Choi Changseok’s party entered the goblin habitat with puzzled expressions.
Spike traps sunken into the floor and crude snares dangling from the ceiling suggested that something had triggered them and escaped.
Dozens of goblin corpses lay mangled across the cave floor, surrounded by torches and embers.
Strangely, unlike normal goblins, their bodies were a reddish color.
Beyond the pile of corpses, Kang Yoonsoo sat leaning against the wall, holding a bloodstained sword and spear.
Not a single wound could be seen on him.
Choi Changseok stammered.
“Y-you… you really killed all of them by yourself in just twenty minutes…?”
Kang Yoonsoo slowly nodded.