The Power of Gold and First Blood
There was no need to switch to weapons under 80 gold.
At least 130 gold or more...
Anything less than that wouldn't make a noticeable difference.
Checking his inventory, the materials for Slow Poison and Hallucination Poison had sold, leaving a hefty pile of gold.
Money wasn't an issue.
Yeah, time to invest.
He decided to bump up his price range a bit.
Only then did some satisfying weapons catch his eye.
Oh, this one's good.
◈ Use Restriction: Stamina 20
◈ Instant Sale Price: 145 gold
A stamina requirement, but it came with a +2 strength option, and the damage was a whopping 47.
Far better than the Twilight Longsword currently wielded by Bone Sword 1.
Mu-hyuk eyed the price for a moment before sighing and hitting purchase.
Would you like to purchase?
[Yes / No]
A double confirmation popped up.
He clicked yes, gold drained away, and Alex's Longsword landed in his inventory.
He browsed for more swords.
Needed five in total...
About two hours later, he'd snagged five more.
1,000 gold spent.
Ten million won gone in a day—no, two hours...
Mu-hyuk marveled anew.
Still, it proved how far he'd come. Not a bad thing.
Of course, he had no intention of losing money.
He'd squeeze every bit of value from these new weapons.
"Skeleton Summon."
He called his summons and handed out the new gear.
Old ones recovered and listed on the auction house.
Decent weapons—they'd fetch over 200 gold total.
With cleanup done, he stood.
Alright, back to the fight.
He fired a bone arrow at a lounging ogre to lure it.
Kroooaaar!
Same method: target the beast. Its movements slowed, damage piled up.
Definitely different.
A relaxed smile tugged at Mu-hyuk's lips.
Just swapping weapons made a world of difference. Far smoother now.
And the results were night and day.
All Bone Archers survived, and one Bone Sword remained standing as they felled the ogre.
Nice!
Money's power was truly great.
"Corpse Dissection."
This time, one ogre bone dropped.
"Bone Assembly."
Problem: assembly failed, stats dropped.
He frowned, hunted another ogre—same result: one bone, failed assembly.
Damn. MP's bottomed out.
No choice but to rest in a spot where ogres wouldn't respawn. He didn't just sit idle, though.
Time to recoup!
He pulled a one-use crafting tool from inventory and started forging a sword.
Clang, clang!
Users glanced over, but he ignored them.
The sword is complete.
Average quality sword.
Tch, maybe 5 gold.
Considering the one-use tool cost, barely any profit.
Still, better sold than hoarded.
Listed it, then stood.
MP full again.
Back to hunting.
*
Guardian Guild member Arklan.
Leading the rest through a level 30 dungeon as its overseer.
Reaching the maze dungeon's end, his face already beamed like a victorious champion raising a toast.
"Everyone, good work."
They'd brought 150 promising level 30s, selected carefully.
Talented beyond their levels—their growth meant the guild's.
"Work? Nah."
"You did the heavy lifting."
Laughter and praise flowed.
In the cheerful mood, Arklan stepped forward.
"Alright, time to finish it for real."
"Let's do it."
The dungeon exit loomed ahead.
Distance closing.
At some point...
Light burst from the exit, enveloping them all.
You have cleared the dungeon.
Rewards will be distributed.
Orbs dropped before each player.
"Ooh..."
"These the rewards?"
But puzzled voices rose here and there.
"Mine's gone?"
"Me too."
"What the hell?"
Arklan turned, white orb in hand.
"What's going—"
Reward slots exceeded.
Contributions calculated.
Rewards granted to top 99 contributors only.
The dungeon vanishes.
Eyes opened to the plaza outside.
"Guild master?"
Seeing the guild master waiting outside, Arklan looked dazed.
"What happened?"
"W-Well..."
As Arklan explained, Kim Bada's face hardened fast.
He hurriedly sent one level 30 guildie into the dungeon.
"No dungeon..."
"That fucking...!"
Where to vent this rage?
At the first user who'd used it?
Or the dungeon itself?
Neither.
He raged at himself—for not knowing the 100-player limit, not even suspecting.
But he couldn't stew. He forced calm, swallowing the heat.
"Hoo..."
Eyes closed, then opened—cold and sunken.
"Dungeon scouting status?"
"Found one more today."
Small mercy.
"Keep everyone out. Even our guildies."
"Got it."
"Double down on scouting manpower."
"How much?"
"Five times current."
Knowing dungeons vanished made management pointless.
Finding them was key now.
"One more thing."
"Yes, guild master."
"Map out dungeons other guilds control."
"Ah, understood."
Easier than finding new ones.
Stealing others'.
*
Hunting ogres, resting, checking messages now and then.
All Slow Poison and Hallucination Poison materials sold.
2,200 gold.
Even after 1,000 on swords, he'd racked that up already.
Buy Illusion stock?
Currently around 2.6 million won per share. But Mu-hyuk remembered the future: over 10 million.
Buy and hold, and it'd quadruple at least.
Yeah, when I cash out later, use leftovers after six months' living expenses.
That plan made him wonder about paid info revenue.
Settled monthly.
Still plenty of time left.
Time flies when focused.
Grinning, he stood.
Ogre hunting time again.
Crunch.
Approaching a distant lounger.
But a party-looking group was closing in late on Mu-hyuk's target ogre.
Awkward spot—they'd spotted each other. Mu-hyuk paused.
Find another?
He'd started first, but considered yielding.
No point in hassle.
But they kept advancing casually after spotting him.
His brow furrowed.
Didn't even care?
Mu-hyuk smirked.
Smile fading, he resumed walking.
As distance shrank.
"That guy's hunting it?"
"What? We spotted it first."
"Nah, he started first..."
"Hey, we were watching first."
"Yeah."
"Sit comfy. Right?"
"Sigh, do what you want."
Five in their party: two women, three men.
Two melee men, one archer.
One woman mage, the other priestess.
Party comp grasped instantly.
"Hey, you after that ogre?"
The presumed melee guy asked Mu-hyuk.
"Yes."
"Haha, think we saw it first."
"I started first. Arriving first too."
"Whoa, so pushy. We clearly saw it first, and when we started, you weren't even there."
"I definitely..."
"No, we saw it first."
"..."
"What? Problem?"
The man's lip curled mockingly, like he'd found an irresistible toy.
Mu-hyuk's gut twisted.
Why?
Old him would've laughed it off.
Nodded, called it gross, walked away.
Not now.
Changed?
From seven years paralyzed?
New life?
Or just a game?
Didn't matter.
Couldn't tolerate it.
So he spat it out.
"Fuck off, asshole."
The raw words inside.
First time like this. But saying it felt so refreshing.
The clueless foes froze seconds, then bellowed.
"You crazy fuck!"
Drew sword, charged kicking off ground.
Movement precarious but readable. Mu-hyuk didn't dodge.
Just raised Skull Staff to block.
Attack defended.
You are now hostile with the 'Assa' Party.
Justified defense applies only against 'Assa' Party.
Messages appeared.
Now...
Mu-hyuk's attacks counted as justified defense.
He swung the Skull Staff hard into the man's side.
The guy rolled on ground, checked lost HP, scowled.
"This bastard..."
"Yo, you good?"
"Fine. Damage is solid. Battle ready."
"Got it."
Meanwhile, Mu-hyuk had already summoned skeletons.
"Skeletons?"
"Pfft, what can those weak shits do?"
Ignored Assa party's chatter.
Shing, shing.
Coated Bone Swords and Bone Archers with Slow Poison, Hallucination Poison, Weakness Paralysis, and Bleeding Tears.
Assa party watched, dumbfounded.
"What the hell's he doing?"
"Just shoot him."
"On it."
Their archer loosed an arrow.
Mu-hyuk, prepared, sent Bone Sword 1 to block with shield.
Bone Archer 1, rear fire.
Bone arrows flew at priestess and mage.
"Shield."
Mage's barrier went up.
Too narrow—even protecting herself strained it.
Priestess took a shoulder hit undefended.
Her casual expression froze.
-62 HP
HP continuously decreases.
-12 HP
-13 HP
-11 HP
She hastily cast healing.
-12 HP
-11 HP
Bleeding persisted.
"W-What is this?!"
"What's wrong?"
Another arrow incoming.
Priestess rolled desperately, but sequential shots hit again.
Continuous damage applied to user.
(Hallucinations do not affect users)
Poison and bleeding drained HP steadily.
Over 20% gone in seconds.
"H-Heal!"
Now self-healing nonstop.
MP would run dry. Couldn't heal frontline allies.
Priestess yelled desperately.
"Arrows are poisoned!"
"Shit, I'll tank. You three finish him."
"Got it."
Shield guy rushed to priestess.
Blocked incoming bone arrows.
Target switch.
Mu-hyuk shifted to the melee guy facing Bone Swords head-on.
Transformation.
Mu-hyuk morphed staff to bow.
Nocked arrow, drew string.