Han Jaeheon sat beneath a twisted oak, the corpse of the demon beast cooling beside him. Its black blood seeped into the moss, releasing a stench that clung to his skin. His sword arm trembled, not from fear—he wouldn't allow that—but from the aftershock of exertion.
[System Notice: Lesser Demon Beast defeated.]
[Reward: 50 EXP.]
[Level Up Achieved.]
The glowing panel appeared, clean and precise, its pale-blue light cutting through the gloom.
---
[Status Screen]
Name: Han Jaeheon
Tier: F
Level: 2
Strength: 3 → 5
Agility: 4 → 5
Endurance: 2 → 3
Intelligence: 8
Charm: 1
Luck: 0
Unallocated Stat Points: 3
Skill Points: 1
---
Jaeheon exhaled slowly. So it really works. Kill, gain strength, move forward.
For a moment, the logic was intoxicating. No noble hierarchy, no inherited weakness—just action and reward. His lips curved into the faintest smirk.
"System," he murmured, "show me the skill list."
---
[Available Skills]
Steel Nerves (Passive): Increases resistance to fear and mental attacks.
Quickstep (Active): Short burst of speed, costs stamina.
Focused Strike (Passive): Increases damage on consecutive attacks to the same target.
---
Jaeheon weighed them carefully. In his old life, he'd played enough games to know the difference between flashy and practical. He didn't need theatrics. He needed survival.
"Steel Nerves," he decided. His voice was calm, steady.
The panel pulsed once, and a quiet weight settled in his chest—like a wall he hadn't known he lacked had just been built. His breathing slowed, his heartbeat steadied. The lingering dread from the fight dulled, replaced by clear focus.
Yes. This will keep me alive.
---
Footsteps crunched through the underbrush. Hunters emerged—bloodied, scowling, their eyes sweeping the scene.
At their head was Minjae, blond hair immaculate despite the fight, his armor polished to the point of vanity. His gaze locked onto Jaeheon, narrowing at the sight of the slain beast.
"You," Minjae hissed, pointing the tip of his sword at the corpse. "You killed this?"
Jaeheon rose, dusting off his coat. "Unless the beast dropped dead of embarrassment, yes."
A ripple of mutters swept through the hunters. Some sounded impressed, others doubtful. One muttered, "He was supposed to be useless…"
Minjae's lips curled. "Don't flatter yourself. A Lesser Demon Beast is nothing. Even children in training handle them."
Jaeheon's eyes flicked to the claw marks gouged across Minjae's gauntlets. He said nothing, only smirked faintly.
The silence stung worse than an insult.
---
The group pressed deeper into Graywood. Its canopy swallowed the sunlight, leaving only scattered shafts of gold through the leaves. Every breath carried dampness, rot, and something heavier—an undercurrent of hostility that prickled Jaeheon's skin.
Hunters joked to ease their nerves. Minjae barked orders, his arrogance filling the air like smoke. Jaeheon trailed at the rear, silent, absorbing every detail: the way shadows moved too quickly, the unnatural stillness between birdsong, the faint hum of mana in the soil.
The forest was wrong.
---
They found it at dusk.
The clearing should have held deer or boars, but instead, a hulking shape crouched over torn flesh. Its hide was mottled gray, its horns jagged like broken spears. Eyes burned red as embers when it turned toward them.
A Grayfang Ravager.
Hunters cursed under their breath.
"That's no beginner beast," one whispered.
Minjae scoffed, though his grip tightened on his blade. "Perfect. More glory for us."
The Ravager rose, muscles rippling, saliva steaming as it hit the ground. Its aura pressed down like a storm. Even the veterans shifted uneasily.
Jaeheon's new skill thrummed through him, muting the instinct to flee. His mind stayed sharp. He measured the beast's gait, the coiled tension in its limbs. A predator ready to spring.
And for the first time since arriving in this world, Han Jaeheon smiled.
---
The Ravager lunges. Hunters scatter. Minjae charges in first, roaring about nobility and bloodline power. His strike glances off, barely scratching hide. The beast pivots toward him with bone-crushing speed.
Jaeheon moves. Not recklessly—deliberately. His blade arcs low, aiming for tendons, not flesh. Precision. Calculation. A fight not of pride, but survival.
The forest erupts in chaos.
The Grayfang Ravager's roar ripped through the clearing, a sound that rattled bone and shook leaves loose from the canopy. Birds scattered in a frenzy; the ground itself seemed to recoil.
Then it moved.
Not a lumbering beast, but a streak of gray muscle and jagged horn. Hunters shouted and scattered, the air filling with the scrape of steel and panicked breathing.
Minjae, of course, was first to meet it head-on. His golden armor flashed as he raised his longsword overhead, voice thundering. "Behold the might of noble blood!"
The Ravager slammed into him mid-swing. Steel clanged against horn, sparks bursting in the twilight. Minjae staggered back, knees buckling as the beast's sheer weight forced him down. His blade skittered across the Ravager's hide, leaving little more than a shallow mark.
"Damn it—!"
The monster's claw swept in a brutal arc. Minjae barely rolled aside, dirt exploding where he'd stood. His polished pride cracked, panic flashing in his eyes.
Jaeheon moved. Not to save Minjae, not out of nobility—out of calculation. If the Ravager crushed Minjae now, the beast's bloodlust would turn on the weaker stragglers next.
He sprinted low, boots silent on moss. His sword rose, not in a wide arc, but a clean, efficient thrust toward the Ravager's rear leg.
Steel bit tendon.
The beast bellowed, stumbling as one leg gave way. Its head whipped around, eyes locking on Jaeheon.
Jaeheon didn't flinch. His new skill—Steel Nerves—held the tide of primal fear at bay. He saw only angles, distance, timing. His blade came free in a spray of dark ichor.
"Draw its focus!" one of the hunters shouted.
Another volleyed a spear, embedding it in the Ravager's shoulder. The monster barely noticed.
It lunged at Jaeheon.
His body screamed at him to dodge, to run, but he forced himself into motion with cold clarity. He sidestepped, rolling under its swipe, dirt caking his clothes. The claws whistled past his face, close enough that heat from their friction seared his cheek.
He came up in a crouch. His blade slashed again, striking along the exposed joint of the foreleg. Not deep enough. His strength wasn't there yet.
The Ravager swung its tail.
The impact caught him across the ribs, flinging him against a tree. Pain detonated through his chest. His breath came ragged, copper filling his mouth.
But he didn't fall unconscious. He forced himself upright, vision swimming.
Not here. Not yet.
---
Minjae reappeared, fury twisting his face. "Stay down, wretch! You'll only get in the way!"
He charged again, this time with a war-cry that cracked in desperation. His blade clanged uselessly against the Ravager's hide once more, deflecting off bone.
The beast reared, claws raised to shred him where he stood.
Jaeheon saw it. The stagger in Minjae's footing, the too-slow recovery of his sword. Nobility wasn't enough to save him. Pride wasn't armor.
Without thinking, Jaeheon lunged. His blade drove into the Ravager's side where his earlier strikes had weakened the flesh. The steel buried deeper this time, scraping along rib.
The monster shrieked, reeling sideways, its claws raking dirt instead of flesh.
Jaeheon's chest heaved. His lungs burned. Every muscle protested, but his grip tightened on the hilt.
Minjae stumbled back, eyes wide, face red with humiliation. "You—!"
But before the insult could leave his lips, the Ravager spun again. Its horn lowered.
It charged.
---
The world slowed.
Jaeheon's mind sharpened to a single point. He wasn't fast enough to dodge outright. Not strong enough to block. He had seconds.
His eyes locked on the spear embedded in the Ravager's shoulder.
He moved.
Boots dug into moss, driving him toward the beast instead of away. At the last instant, he vaulted, using its own momentum. His hand closed around the spear's shaft, wrenching it free as he was flung upward by the Ravager's surge.
The beast roared in pain, momentum broken.
Jaeheon landed hard, rolling across the ground, spear clutched in bleeding hands. He twisted, rising just as the Ravager skidded in the dirt, wounded shoulder pouring ichor.
For the first time, its movements slowed.
The hunters closed in now, emboldened by the sight. Blades and arrows struck, shallow cuts but enough to distract, enough to matter.
Jaeheon raised the stolen spear. His ribs screamed. His vision blurred. But his arm held steady.
He hurled it.
The spear spun, whistling through the air, and buried itself deep in the Ravager's throat.
The monster's roar cut short, gurgling into silence. It collapsed with a thunderous crash, earth trembling beneath its weight.
For a long moment, no one moved.
Only the sound of Jaeheon's ragged breathing filled the clearing.
---
[System Notice: Grayfang Ravager defeated.]
[Reward: 150 EXP.]
[Bonus: Title Acquired – "Beastpiercer"]
Jaeheon sank to his knees, sword slipping from his grasp. Sweat plastered his hair to his face, blood dripped from his lip.
But he was alive.
And stronger.
His eyes flicked to Minjae, who stood frozen, staring at the corpse with disbelief and rage burning in equal measure.
Jaeheon smirked faintly through the blood. "Noble blood, was it?"
Minjae's face twisted. He didn't answer.