Chapter 12
Chapter 12
"There's no way that bastard is D-rank or below."
On the rooftop of a building, Kim Han-yul watched the scene below with trembling eyes, an involuntary curse slipping past her lips.
"That's either some hidden piece or outright cheating. Otherwise, how does this make any sense?"
An undead.
An unkillable monster.
The endlessly regenerating Corpse Giant had been obliterated in a single strike.
That same monster that hadn't even flinched against fire magic—the natural weakness of undead—had been reduced to pulp by a single hammer blow.
Sure, the hammer was massive.
And it had fallen at tremendous speed.
But let me repeat—this was an undead.
A monster that shouldn't die when struck.
By all rights, it should have regenerated from the zombies swarming nearby, yet it remained motionless as pulverized flesh.
You might argue it could rise again miraculously?
Because it's undead?
Not a chance.
The system messages flooding her already chaotic mind confirmed it:
『User Kim Han-yul. You have demonstrated exceptional play in the Zombie Burst dungeon.』
『Boss monster, Corpse Giant hunt successful.』
『Contribution measured at 8%.』
『Additional magic stones awarded as clear reward.』
.......
.......
The Corpse Giant was dead.
Though her contribution only amounted to 8%, this was still recognized as extraordinary play—because until now, not a single hunter had ever killed the Corpse Giant.
Given that, what reason remained to doubt its pulverized demise?
And precisely because of this, Han-yul couldn't help but question Joo Do-gyeom's actual ability rank.
'If that's truly the power of a D-rank or below hunter, then he's a monster.'
An impossibility of a monster.
The kind that could flip the entire global hunter ranking system upside down within years without anyone batting an eye.
As Han-yul stood there with trembling pupils and quivering lips, Do-gyeom kept moving.
Still swinging his massive hammer, he cleared out the remaining zombie mobs before charging toward the building.
Han-yul desperately wanted to ask:
'Why?'
He could just return now.
What possible reason drove this terrifying man to keep moving without pause?
By now, her legs had gone weak just from watching. Without realizing it, she collapsed onto the rooftop.
Just as Do-gyeom passed the building where she sat slumped—
Their eyes met.
Do-gyeom's lips moved slightly.
-I'll contact you.
Then, as if carried through the air itself, his voice reached her.
Han-yul jolted in shock.
'What the—? Message magic? No... he seems warrior-class... Projected voice? Is that projected voice?'
Her legs trembled uncontrollably where she sat.
Groooaaan—!
Grrraaawwl—!
From the building's crevices she'd climbed, new waves of zombies began emerging.
At this point, Han-yul was sick to death of zombies—no, corpses in general.
'I need rest.'
So she immediately requested return to Earth.
Moments later—
Kim Han-yul's figure vanished instantly from the Zombie Burst dungeon.
After felling the Corpse Giant, Do-gyeom pressed forward.
The bodily agony from activating Divine Beast Potential Art meant he had to finish everything before the pain reached consciousness-obliterating levels.
System messages flooded his mind:
『User Joo Do-gyeom. You have demonstrated exceptional play in the Zombie Burst dungeon.』
『Boss monster, Corpse Giant hunt successful.』
『Contribution measured at 92%.』
『Overwhelming dominance confirmed.』
『Significant additional magic stones awarded as clear reward.』
『Three random currently held stats will receive massive boosts.』
『Stamina rank increased E+ => D-』
『Stamina rank increased D- => D』
『Agility rank increased E => E+』
『One mastered skill will receive bonus promotion through system adjustment.』
『Skill: Earth-Binding Qi Art (4 Stars) promoted.』
『Special skill "Fear" acquired.』
『Fingerprint item: Inventory Mega Expansion awarded.』
『Current system inventory capacity tripled.』
Despite the pain, a faint smile touched his lips.
The inventory expansion he'd wanted had arrived—not just doubled, but tripled in capacity.
Moreover—
'Earth-Binding Qi Art got promoted through system reward.'
This was incredibly valuable.
Skills or martial arts rarely leveled up through the system without physical mastery. Frankly, even pulling off ten extraordinary plays might not guarantee such a reward once.
Yet he'd obtained it in just his second dungeon.
He couldn't help feeling luck was on his side.
But that wasn't all.
A new skill—a special skill.
Also called an unranked skill.
As the system message showed, its defining trait was having no rank.
Did that mean fixed power? Not quite.
While items called "unranked" had minimum ranks, skills differed.
Most special skills scaled with the user's stats.
In Do-gyeom's case with Fear:
'Strength and magic power.'
Currently, his strength stat far surpassed the dungeon's limits thanks to Divine Beast Potential Art, and his magic power wasn't insignificant either.
So what effect would Fear have in this state?
To test it, he unleashed Fear upon zombies crawling from the mountain of corpses.
Then—
Groooaaan—!
Gyaaaaah—!
Even mindless zombies shrieked in terror, scattering in all directions.
Even evolved variant zombies reacted no differently.
Like soldiers who'd completely lost the will to fight, they desperately fled from Do-gyeom's vicinity.
His original goal had been to carve through the corpse mountain to obtain Death's Reprieve, but now—as if the Red Sea had parted—a path opened automatically.
Honestly—
'It's far more effective than I imagined.'
Combined with his Weakling Despiser trait, any enemies weaker than Do-gyeom himself would become irrelevant regardless of numbers.
Just as a smile spread across his face—
Through a cleared gap in the corpse mountain, a purple-spiked abomination appeared, covered in spines like sea urchin roe.
Do-gyeom's eyes gleamed.
'Found it. The hidden piece—Omen of Misfortune.'
The massive hammer swung down once more.
With no protective corpses remaining around it—
The Omen of Misfortune took the hammer's blow head-on.
Craaack—!
Like glass shattering.
Instantly, the Omen crumbled into sand-like particles and vanished.
Simultaneously, sunlight poured over the Zombie Burst dungeon's previously darkened downtown as the corpse mountain began melting away like snow.
A temporary purification phenomenon.
Rare in dungeons, but time would eventually restore everything—just as the Cannibal and Corpse Giant would respawn.
Such was the nature of dungeons.
Ultimately, what mattered to Do-gyeom now was:
『Omen of Misfortune destroyed.』
『Hidden piece activated.』
『Unique skill "Death's Reprieve (Lv. MAX)" acquired.』
He'd obtained exactly what he wanted.
After confirming everything, Do-gyeom spoke:
"Return to Earth."
『Confirmed.』
『User Joo Do-gyeom, returning to Earth.』
The Zombie Burst dungeon—
The end of a journey that hadn't been short.
Upon returning to Earth, Do-gyeom lost consciousness again.
Like after the Mansion of the Cannibal, this was the backlash from activation arts.
However, having stopped at the third activation this time, he clearly noted the date before blacking out.
When he awoke and checked:
'One day.'
Likely far shorter than after the Mansion, thanks to improved Earth-Binding Qi Art and less bodily strain.
His internal injuries weren't severe either—full recovery within days at most.
No complaints.
For just one day's risk, he'd hunted the Corpse Giant and obtained Death's Reprieve.
This was the definition of a profitable deal.
Of course, all this was only possible because he possessed Earth-Binding Qi Art.
Let me reiterate—
For recovery and durability, Earth-Binding Qi Art was an unparalleled internal technique.
The superior Heaven and Earth Boundless Divine Art?
'Mastering that might have left no aftereffects from this level of activation.'
Truthfully, Divine Beast Potential Art and Soaring Roc Wing Art were relatively mild among activation arts—each enhancing just one type of ability (strength and agility respectively).
Regardless—
Satisfied with the results, Do-gyeom first checked his banking app.
During his dungeon stay, the date had advanced past March 21st.
His preset stock sales had executed.
Leaving his account balance at—
'1.2 billion won.'
A substantial yet modest sum.
Much like the martial foundation he'd built in his body.
'Now I have proper seed money.'
He reinvested 80% into Jindo Coin, one of many cryptocurrencies.
Cryptos shared the same key trait—limitless potential in both directions.
With April approaching—
After prolonged stagnation, Jindo Coin showed signs of rebounding.
Truthfully, it wasn't a highly credible cryptocurrency.
While it had skyrocketed before, the subsequent crash left it never recovering since.
But this time, it would rise—significantly.
'News of the U.S. government secretly buying Jindo Coin will fuel the rally.'
With clear memories of the future, he had no fears.
After finalizing investments, he checked his remaining funds.
'240 million won.'
But that wasn't all.
His inventory now held massive magic stone rewards from clearing Zombie Burst.
Opening it revealed—
The expanded 60-slot system inventory nearly full.
Excluding equipment like his massive hammer and purification canteen, about 50 magic stones had appeared—mixed lowest and low grades.
He could sell all lowest grades—they no longer benefited his Magic Stone Braising.
But the low grades?
'I'll use them now.'
As said, nothing on Earth could boost magic power this quickly.
Finally, one stone stood out—glowing faint violet.
『Corpse Giant's Magic Stone (Special)』
Looking at it—
'Looks delicious.'
Do-gyeom unconsciously swallowed saliva.
Apparently, unlike before regression, he'd become quite the gourmet.
Two days later, at a large café near Yongsan Dungeon Market in the Blue Zone.
A woman entered wearing skinny jeans, white tee, and a thin beige leather jacket.
Several idle patrons glanced her way, then did double-takes.
First, her striking beauty.
Second, her status as the rookie hunter currently trending in communities.
"Isn't that Kim Han-yul?"
"Only heard rumors, but she's really pretty."
"Heard her team got wiped trying to kill the Corpse Giant. Wonder what she'll do now?"
"Probably join a clan. More stable for growth."
When had she become this famous?
Flustered by this unfamiliar attention—unlike just months ago—Han-yul awkwardly reached into her bag for the sunglasses she'd brought just in case.
Then someone lightly tapped her shoulder.
Startled, Han-yul jumped and spun around.
Right behind her—
Joo Do-gyeom looked at her incredulously.
"Interesting reflex. I tapped because you didn't respond to calling—don't misunderstand."
Face burning red, Han-yul averted her gaze slightly and nodded.