The Plundering Hand
Mu-hyuk reached level 127 that day.
A message came in from the mercenary.
"He's on the move."
"Thanks."
Moving meant Mist had logged into Illusion. Still buzzing from the thrill of his level-up, Mu-hyuk headed straight to the prison.
"Back again?"
"Yeah."
"How long are you gonna keep killing me?"
"Until you drop the Red Dagger."
"......"
Mu-hyuk swung his sword with a grin.
To Mist, he looked like the devil himself.
"You evil bastard."
"Hm?"
Mu-hyuk tilted his head.
What the hell?
He shook it off and swung again.
You killed user 'Mist'.
The guy toppled over.
Thud.
An item caught Mu-hyuk's eye as it dropped.
"Huh?"
Mu-hyuk's eyes widened slightly.
Then came the smile.
"There it is."
Mist had finally dropped the Red Dagger. Mu-hyuk bent down, gripped the glowing red dagger, and stood up to check its options right away.
◈ Physical Attack Power (155)
◈ Reaction Speed +2%
◈ All Stats +5
◈ Special: Plundering Hand
◈ Durability 330/330
◈ Requirements: Strength 65, Agility 70
The options were decent enough.
The real prize was the skill.
He checked Plundering Hand.
Plundering Hand (Passive)
Steals a random stat from the target on the killing blow (does not apply to monsters).
Mu-hyuk's lips twitched.
Jackpot.
Over the long haul, it was a ridiculously overpowered skill.
He could kinda see why Mist was so obsessed with PK. Which made it all the more regrettable—this wasn't something he could use right now.
He couldn't PK, after all.
Mu-hyuk's eyes flashed coldly.
"Mist."
Wasn't the guy still locked up here?
PK criminal anyway.
No need for guilt.
Perfect.
He decided to use the Red Dagger on him for a good long while.
*
Mist logged in feeling strangely relieved.
"Hah, fuck it."
He'd finally dropped the Red Dagger.
No more visits now, right?
He still had plenty of good gear left. That should be enough to make a comeback. With that settled, he spent his first peaceful time in ages.
Wonder when they'll let me out.
Footsteps approached.
He opened his eyes and checked.
"......!"
Mist's face twisted.
"Y-you!"
"What."
"Why the hell are you back?!"
Facing him, a twinge of pity hit Mu-hyuk.
Nah, pity my ass.
He shook his head, opened the door, and stepped in.
"What do you want!"
"Just die."
"Why! You already took the Red Dagger!"
"Oh, this?"
Mu-hyuk pulled out the Red Dagger.
"Yeah, that!"
"Great special option."
"So?"
"No good use for it yet."
"N-no way......"
"Yeah, that 'no way' is exactly it."
"F-fuuuuck!"
Mu-hyuk slashed wildly with the Red Dagger. Mist thrashed in vain—paralyzed as he was. A few strikes later, he was dead.
Malice accumulated in the Red Dagger transfers to your character.
Strength +0.1
Agility +0.1
Mist's stats had dropped by that amount, no doubt.
"Ho."
Strength and Agility boosts.
At this rate......
Two months of steady grinding could net him +1 in each.
Six in a year.
And that was just from one guy.
Full-on PK against users? Thirty-plus in a year. Maybe more.
Summons inherited 30% of his stats as a Gangster Necromancer.
Great item for anyone—but god-tier for him.
Insanely broken.
The temptation was real.
Still, no PK.
That'd kill his future.
Lots of uses otherwise, though.
Mercenary gigs in guild wars or big battles. Or on scum like this.
Slow and steady.
He calmed down and stowed the Red Dagger.
*
Every time he wrapped a commission and returned to the Hemil Empire, Mu-hyuk visited Mist. Sometimes he wasn't there; other times, he was logged in. If he was, Mu-hyuk killed him and stole stats.
"Today?"
"He was."
"Damn, that guy's pathetic."
Mu-hyuk shrugged and took the top-tier commission.
"Let's go."
"Okay."
They moved to the hunting ground and farmed monsters.
Breaks in between.
During rests, Mu-hyuk crafted swords; when hungry, he cooked.
Sung Min-woo crafted too, but mostly browsed the auction house.
"Why so often?"
"Items feel kinda shit lately."
"Upgrading?"
"Yeah."
Sung Min-woo refocused.
"Hm?"
Mischief lit his face.
"Found a gem."
"Gem?"
"Yeah. For you."
Mu-hyuk turned.
"Me?"
"Want it?"
"What is it?"
Sung Min-woo reached into his inventory.
Pulled out a round object.
"Ta-da!"
A skull.
Mu-hyuk's face lit up at the long-lost sight.
"Whoa, what?"
"Refreshed the auction house—top of the list."
"Jackpot."
Sung Min-woo handed it over.
"Thanks."
"Heh, no biggie."
Mu-hyuk yanked the head off Bone Sword 1 and slotted in the new skull. It transformed into an Armor Knight.
"Armor Knight 26."
The 26th, excluding Burtan and Hydra.
"Damn, cool."
Sung Min-woo admired it; Mu-hyuk nodded.
Cool as hell.
Gonna get cooler.
"Back to hunting?"
"Okay."
They rose and hustled to clear the commission. Tons of monsters— one day wasn't enough.
Hunting from morning dragged to 11:30 PM. Exhausted, they called it for tomorrow.
"See ya."
"Yeah."
After Sung Min-woo logged out, Mu-hyuk sent his summons to the Demon Realm.
Your summons have moved to Demon Realm F11.
Only then did he log out.
Meanwhile.
You have moved to the Demon Realm.
A portion of your lost reason returns.
Among the summons in the Demon Realm, one brimmed with extra energy.
-Finally, I evolved too.
-Congrats.
It was Armor Knight 26.
-Freed from sentry, guard, and scouting duty.
-Good for you.
-Jealous.
-I wanna focus on fighting too.
Basic Bone Swords and Cavalry lacked combat power, useless in fights. So the skeletons with more reason had formed their own order.
Bone Swords and Cavalry handled sentry, guard, scouting. Armor Knight 26 was thrilled to escape that drudgery.
-Great, great.
The skeletons celebrated him—until a wind blew in.
Whoooosh.
This was the Demon Realm.
Even a breeze made them tense.
Fun's over. Time for routine scouting.
Burtan scanned the group. Strongest Armor Knight, loved stepping up—natural leader.
-Scout first...
-Hold up.
A former Bone Sword 2—now Bone Sword 1—spoke.
-Scouting team's short-handed.
-Is it?
-Yes.
-Pair with the new Bone Sword 14.
-Got it.
-Start scouting.
-Will do.
A few Bone Swords scattered.
They returned soon.
-Nothing where I went.
-Same.
-Giant bug where I headed.
-That one again?
-Yeah.
Burtan clacked his jaw.
-Let's kill it.
Battle lust drove them.
*
Mu-hyuk logged in that morning and checked summon exp first.
Current summon exp acquired: 3,700
Convert to stats? [Yes/No]
He chose Yes.
Please select a summon.
Armor Knight 12's turn.
Selection complete.
Please select desired stat.
He picked Stamina.
Using 3,000 exp.
Armor Knight 12's Stamina +0.3
700 exp left.
Reverse summons from Demon Realm needed 24 hours cooldown, so he checked details for recall times.
1:21 AM.
Later than expected.
Next Demon Realm trip: tomorrow morning.
But this punk.
Still not online.
They'd even texted before logout. Mu-hyuk sat, pulled crafting tools, and started on a sword.
One done.
"Finally here?"
"Ah, sorry. Got a call."
"Call?"
"Big one."
"Ugh."
"Why ask?"
They bickered while prepping.
"Hardcore today."
"Gotta grind like maniacs to 150."
They resumed yesterday's commission.
Days later.
A third joined their party.
"Hi!"
"Oh, hi."
"Oppa, we're partying up now."
"Yeah, great."
It was Ye-rin.
She'd cleared that brutal hidden quest and joined them.
Mu-hyuk had pushed for it—girlfriend or not, growing together was best.
Plus, her new job was killer; it'd boost their firepower plenty.
"Enhanced Tamer, right?"
"Yep!"
"Show us?"
"Sure."
Procedure for Sung Min-woo.
"Ta-da!"
Ten massive beasts appeared.
"Whoa!"
"Huge."
"Yeah, tigers. I enhance 'em myself. Higher enhancements risk failure and need mats, so 2+ for now. But way stronger than expected—love it."
Mu-hyuk, who'd heard it before, stayed chill. Sung Min-woo gawked.
"E-enhanced?"
"Yes!"
Shocked.
"Whoa, insane."
"Hehe, thanks."
Too early to stop marveling.
Mu-hyuk eyed Ye-rin.
"Magic attacks too?"
"Yep! Tamer-exclusive spells. Damage is surprisingly high."
"How high?"
"I was a mage before."
"Yeah."
"Bit weaker than those spells?"
Prime job, per her explanation.
"Taming, enhancing, and DPS?"
"Exactly."
"Welcome aboard, Ye-rin!"
Sung Min-woo cheered.
Expected, but nice. Mu-hyuk wouldn't fully enjoy if his buddy disliked her.
Looked fine.
"Oh, not capped at ten?"
"Nope—weaker monsters mean more. Skill level limits to ten White Tigers now."
Mu-hyuk pondered.
Enhance = stronger.
Weaker = more numbers.
"Stats?"
"30% of mine added."
High inheritance.
"Knowledge-focused?"
"No."
"Then?"
"Knowledge and Stamina mainly."
Whew.
Better than all-in Knowledge.
"Why not tame weaker ones? More of 'em?"
"More?"
"Yeah. Foxes, dogs. Or squirrels."
"Eek! Squirrels!"
"Like 'em?"
"Love 'em!"
"You got magic anyway. Max numbers with squirrels."
"Better?"
"Yeah."
"Okay—if Oppa says so."
Decide, act.
"Be right back."
"Cool. I'll hunt."
"Got it."
Sung Min-woo was lower level anyway.
To hit 150 together, Mu-hyuk needed to slack a bit.
Ye-rin outleveled him by 1 too—room to breathe.
"Let's go."
"Okay!"
They headed to beginner grounds. Sung Min-woo watched them go, then summoned spirits.
"It's just you guys for me!"
Bitter L.
"Argh!"
He vented on monsters.