Chapter 6

Sung Suho, age one.

The day that adorable baby finally took his first steps, his entire household went wild, as any family would.

Though for a slightly different reason.

["H-honey! Suho! Our Suho!"]

["What's wrong with Suho?"]

Suho's mother, Cha Haein, cried out in disbelief.

["He's flying!"]

["... What?"]

["Suho is flying around the house!"]

Suho had taken his first steps not on the floor, but in midair.

In truth, this was Ruler's Authority, one of the special powers he had inherited from his father, Sung Jinwoo.

"... Sniff. I miss those days."

At one year old, Suho had learned to fly before he could walk. Beru wiped his nose, saying the sight had been like the extraordinary birth legend of a mythical hero.

But Earth had been an utterly peaceful world back then.

The power Suho had inherited had been created to destroy everything, making it completely useless in a peaceful world. No, worse than useless—it might actually make living a normal life impossible.

So Sung Jinwoo had decided to seal that power until Suho could control it.

"Now that the apostles of the Outer Gods are invading Earth, the time has come! You must draw upon your sealed power, Young Monarch!"

[Skill: Ruler's Authority Lv.1]

Active skill.

No mana required.

You can exert physical influence on objects without touching them directly.

Tuning out Beru's fussing, Suho sent the arrow caught in his invisible hand flying back the way it had come.

"You can have this back."

WHOOSH! THUNK!

"Gurk!"

[You have defeated a Goblin Archer.]

The Goblin Archer toppled over with its own arrow lodged in its throat.

Startled, another goblin behind it spun around and scurried away.

"Krrk!"

'You think I'll let you get away?'

Suho immediately kicked off the ground in pursuit. But in a flash—

"Huh?"

"Krrk?!"

In a single leap, Suho had overtaken the fleeing goblin. Passed in an instant, the goblin looked up, and their equally bewildered gazes met in midair.

"Kihehe! Naturally, your jumping ability has improved along with your Strength stat! You'll get used to it soon enough!"

Why did Beru's cackling explanation from overhead sound so irritating?

Suho promptly brought his axe down on the goblin's crown.

THWACK!

"Kik!"

[You have defeated a Goblin Scout.]

Having slain two goblins in the blink of an eye, Suho wiped the blood spattered across his face with the back of his hand and surveyed his surroundings with a defiant gaze.

Thrown straight into combat, he hadn't had a moment to take stock. Only now did he realize that this monochrome world was anything but welcoming.

He could feel gazes brimming with malice throughout the ruined city. Their murderous intent was triggering his Perception stat.

"There are a lot of them."

"Indeed. A great many. This is a land of death, a world left abandoned without a master for ages. In that time, wild magic beasts have nested here."

Beru's grin as he explained was positively wicked. Were it not for his cute miniature size, Suho could have believed Beru was this place's true master.

"But now!"

Beru flung his short arms wide and proclaimed in a majestic voice,

"At long last, this land's true master has returned! I beseech you—claim it! Reclaim the land those foolish intruders have stolen, through your own strength!"

DING!

At that moment, a new quest window opened before Suho.

[Quest: Survival]

The inhabitants of the Shadow Dungeon will never acknowledge someone as weak as you as this land's master.

Survive for the required duration and prove your worth.

Required duration: 4 hours

Time remaining: 4 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds

'Survival?'

Suho's eyebrow twitched as he read the quest.

Just then—

BWOOOO!

BWOOOOOO!

[A Goblin Decurion is using Item: Horn to summon its subordinates.]

[A Goblin Centurion is using Item: Horn to summon its subordinates.]

KIHIHI!

KRRK! KRRK!

Amid a clamor of monstrous cries, goblins began emerging one after another from hiding places throughout the city, swarming out in droves.

But there were far, far too many of them.

Suho looked appalled.

"You're kidding, right? I'm supposed to last four hours like this?"

"Of course, you needn't kill them all. You are only level 3, Young Monarch. For now, simply do whatever it takes to survive. Struggle hard enough, and you will naturally level up and grow stronger."

Beru winked and gave him an emphatic thumbs-up, his face filled with the proud smile of a father looking at his grown son.

'... Then why is he so damn irritating?'

But this was no time to think about anything else.

KRRK! KRRK!

They were closing in.

Suho hurriedly snatched a second axe from the hand of the goblin he had just killed.

[Item: Goblin's Stone Axe]

Acquisition difficulty: E

Type: Axe

Attack +5

A hand axe used by a goblin.

The item information appeared above the axe.

'One in each hand from now on.'

With a stone axe in either hand, Suho's eyes flashed like a demon's.

But this alone didn't put him at ease. The teeming horde of goblins rushing toward him held the very same weapons.

Suho quickly opened his status window and invested all five remaining stat points in Strength.

[Strength: 15 → 20]

Power surged into his hands as they gripped the axes.

The Strength stat increased both strength and speed. Considering his Strength had been 10 at level 1, he was now a full twice as strong.

'With this much power...'

He could run away even faster!

Suho whipped around and used that newfound power to take off running, searching for terrain better suited to fighting a crowd.

"Kihehe! Excellent! The weak have their own way of fighting, after all!"

"..."

"It's like watching an ant larva manage its very first wriggle!"

Wow. How infuriating.

As he ran, Suho erased every last trace of the joy he'd felt at finally remembering Beru. He also renounced his long history as an ant enthusiast.

'When I get back, I'm burning every last ant painting.'

From now on, he would paint anteaters. Suho swore it to himself.

* * *

He could feel the effects of his Strength stat all too clearly.

Wielding twin axes, Suho rampaged in every direction.

WHOOSH! THWACK!

He knocked aside a goblin's axe with his right axe.

CRUNCH!

Then struck its neck with his left.

SWISH! THUNK!

He spun around and buried an axe in the ankle of a goblin attacking from behind.

CRUNCH!

Then cut its throat.

[You have defeated a Goblin Assault Trooper.]

[You have defeated a Goblin Spearman.]

"Kieek!"

He had killed two in an instant, but the price was brutal. Axes and spears flew at him from every direction. He dodged half, but couldn't avoid the rest.

THUNK! THUNK! THUNK!

"Urgh!"

[HP: 160/190]

It hurt.

As his HP dropped, the wounds on his body multiplied. But Suho gritted his teeth and charged at them again.

WHOOSH! CRUNCH!

BAM!

This time, he cut down three. In the process, he took four more hits.

[HP: 118/190]

SLASH!

He cut another one's throat. This time, he took three hits.

[HP: 84/190]

His HP had already fallen below half, and his body was becoming drenched in blood to match.

Then it happened.

DING!

[You have learned Skill: Toughness Lv.1.]

'I got a skill?!'

Suho's eyes widened.

Hunters ordinarily spent their whole lives with only the skills granted to them upon awakening. To gain a new one, they needed an expensive rune stone, which was said to be an exceedingly rare find.

And he had just gained one of those precious skills in combat, for free!

[Skill: Toughness Lv.1]

Passive skill.

No mana required.

You possess indomitable toughness.

Physical defense increases by 20%.

He felt the effects before he could even check the skill description. The pain from his wounds had lessened.

"Kiheeek!"

Just then, realizing Suho was no easy prey, the goblins shrieked and scattered in all directions. At the same time, horns sounded all around, calling for more of their comrades.

Suho took the opportunity to hide behind a pillar and catch his breath.

"Wow. That hurts."

At that, Beru fluttered over and anxiously stamped his feet.

"Kieeek! Are you in great pain, Young Monarch? But pain is part of youth! You have grown stronger for all your suffering. To think you earned the Toughness skill by taking so many hits! I am so proud of you!"

"..."

Pressing his hand firmly over a gushing wound to stop the bleeding, Suho stared daggers at Beru.

"Keheh?"

There hovered a fist-sized ant bastard, smiling brightly without a clue how he felt.

"How about helping instead of just watching?"

Beru was powerful enough to tear that enormous wolf apart with brute strength. Suho couldn't describe how reassuring he'd been then.

But ever since shrinking, he hadn't seemed to have the slightest intention of helping.

Still, Beru had his reasons.

"Of course, I would dearly love to. But I must conserve as much power as possible to return to the outer universe, where my liege awaits."

Beru was replenishing his depleted power on his own in preparation for his return. Sung Jinwoo, who could recharge his mana, was simply too far away.

"Besides, if I joined the battle, the experience you receive would be greatly reduced, Young Monarch. Rather than spending time on this, why not kill even one more enemy and aim to level up?"

Not a word of what Beru said was wrong.

The problem was how irritating he was. He'd been hovering overhead, doing nothing but running his mouth, and it was driving Suho up the wall.

And yet he didn't seem to be deliberately trying to provoke him.

How to put it? He was simply pure evil, devoid of humanity.

Maybe that was because he wasn't human to begin with.

"Kieeek! Young Monarch! Here they come again! Hurry, get up and fight! You are nearly ready to level up!"

Suho gritted his teeth and stretched out his hand.

'Ruler's Authority.'

An invisible hand shot forward, lifting a stone axe from among the goblin corpses.

From what he'd learned during the fighting, Ruler's Authority seemed capable of lifting roughly ten kilograms. It was enough to easily lift a baby who had just begun to walk. Naturally, a stone axe was well within its capacity.

Perhaps he really had flown around with this ability as a child.

Suho sent the floating stone axe orbiting around his body. This should provide at least a basic defense.

Beru's eyes sparkled at the sight.

"Kiyoot! To think you would apply Ruler's Authority like this! Necessity truly does find a way!"

... That ant bastard was definitely a devil.

* * *

[You have leveled up!]

Time was passing so damn slowly.

Still, after struggling on for ages, drenched in blood, his level was creeping upward. And whenever he leveled up, the wounds the goblins' axes had left gushing blood healed without a trace. His stamina, which had been so depleted he thought he might faint, recovered in an instant.

Above all, Suho grew stronger with each level.

And finally...

[Time remaining: 0 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds]

[You have completed the quest.]

[You have leveled up!]

[Level: 7]

"Krrrk!"

"Krrrrk!"

The moment the timer ran out, the goblins that had pursued Suho so relentlessly scurried off in every direction, vanishing into the darkness.

"... Is it over?"

Suho surveyed his surroundings without letting down his guard. Goblin corpses now lay all around him. A heavy silence settled over them, just as when he had first arrived.

"Ahh! Well done! I am truly proud of you!"

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

Beru shattered the silence, clapping excitedly like a seal.

"At last, those wicked creatures have acknowledged you, Young Monarch! Now they must know in their very bones that you are not quite the pushover you appear to be!"

Appear to be?

"And what do I appear to be?"

"Why, you are still on the level of an ant larva that looks ready to die from a light tap! You are only level 7, after all!"

"That damn larva thing..."

Still? Really?

He shouldn't have asked.

Just then—

DING!

[Your quest completion reward has arrived.]

[Would you like to check your reward?] (Y/N)

"... Confirm."

The message unfolded the instant Suho finished answering.