The dungeon swallowed them whole the moment they crossed the gate.
Cold stone walls closed in from every side, damp air pressing against Jinwoo's skin. The faint glow of mana crystals embedded in the walls cast warped shadows across the narrow corridor.
"Alright, listen up!" Hwang Dongsuk's loud voice echoed through the passage. His massive frame blocked half the corridor as he turned around, grin wide and crude. "Standard formation. Frontliners up front. Porter—stay in the middle and don't touch anything you shouldn't."
His eyes flicked briefly to Jinwoo.
Jinwoo lowered his gaze obediently.
"Yes," he replied quietly.
Yoo Jinho glanced at him, . Something about this situation felt … wrong.
The first hour passed smoothly.
Low-grade dungeon beasts fell easily. Jinwoo moved when told, carried when ordered
He made himself invisible.
Then came the dead end.
A wide stone chamber opened before them—too open, too quiet.
Jinwoo stopped walking.
This is it.
Hwang Dongsuk raised a fist.
"Break time," he announced casually. "Let's catch our breath."
The other hunters relaxed instantly.
Jinwoo's Sense screamed.
Behind him.
Steel whispered through the air.
Jinwoo tilted his head a fraction.
The blade meant for his neck sliced through nothing.
He stepped forward instead.
The attacker stumbled.
"What—?!"
Jinwoo turned.
Cold eyes met panic-stricken ones.
Hwang Dongsuk chuckled darkly. "Damn, you noticed?"
The group spread out, weapons raised
At Jinwoo.
Yoo Jinho's face went pale. "H-Hyung…? What's going on?"
Dongsuk cracked his neck. "Business. This porter's has to die for us to earn more.
He grinned. "Kill him."
Then—
Jinwoo smiled.
A slow, terrifying smile.
"So you chose the same path."
"What?" Dongsuk frowned.
Jinwoo lifted his head.
The pressure changed.
The air grew heavy—crushing. The hunters staggered as if gravity itself had turned against them.
Jinho gasped, knees buckling. "W-What is this…?"
Jinwoo stepped forward.
One step.
The ground cracked beneath his foot.
"Wrong target," he said calmly.
The nearest hunter lunged.
He never finished the motion.
Jinwoo vanished.
Steel-Fang flashed.
Blood sprayed across the wall.
The body collapsed in two pieces.
Before anyone could scream, Jinwoo was already moving again.
Slash.
Stab.
Crack.
Each movement was precise. Efficient. Merciless.
A blade pierced his shoulder—
Jinwoo didn't even flinch.
He grabbed the attacker's wrist and crushed it.
Bones shattered like glass.
The man screamed—then went silent as Jinwoo drove his dagger into his throat.
One by one, they fell.
No struggle.
No chance.
Hwang Dongsuk staggered backward, eyes wide, sweat pouring down his face.
"T-This isn't possible… You're just a E Rank !"
Jinwoo turned to him.
Blood dripped from his blade.
"You choose the wrong target," Jinwoo said.
Dongsuk roared and charged, swinging his axe with full force.
Jinwoo stepped inside the arc.
He punched.
The impact caved in Dongsuk's chest armor and sent him crashing into the wall.
Cracks spiderwebbed outward.
Dongsuk slid down, coughing blood.
Jinwoo crouched before him.
"Do you know why you lost?"
Dongsuk tried to speak. Failed.
"Because you were hunting the wrong person," Jinwoo continued softly.
"And I became the hunter and became prey ."
Steel-Fang pierced his heart.
Hwang Dongsuk's body killing him completely.
Silence returned.
Yoo Jinho stood frozen, shaking violently.
Jinwoo turned to him.
Seeing that Yoo Jinho couldn't move.
His legs refused to obey him.
The man standing before him—calm, blood-stained, utterly composed—was not a weak hunter.
He was a monster.
Jinho's breath came in shallow gasps as he stared at the spot where Hwang Dongsuk body was present .
One moment alive. The next—gone.
Jinwoo wiped his dagger clean against a fallen cloak and turned.
Their eyes met.
Jinho flinched violently and dropped to his knees.
"I—I won't tell anyone!" he blurted out, voice cracking. "I swear! Please—please don't kill me!"
His forehead hit the cold stone floor.
Again.
And again.
Jinwoo watched silently.
Fear poured off the young man in waves—raw, honest, complete. Not the fear of betrayal, but the fear of understanding just how fragile his life truly was.
Finally, Jinwoo spoke.
"Get up."
Jinho froze.
"I said," Jinwoo repeated, voice calm but absolute, "get up."
Jinho obeyed instantly, scrambling to his feet like a frightened child.
Jinwoo stepped closer.
Jinho shrank back, heart hammering.
"You weren't part of it," Jinwoo said. "You didn't raise your weapon."
Jinho nodded frantically. "N-Never! I swear!"
Jinwoo studied him for a long moment.
Then—
"If you stay with me," Jinwoo said, "you live."
Jinho swallowed.
"If you betray me—"
Jinwoo's gaze sharpened.
"You won't even feel it."
Jinho dropped his head deeply.
"I'll follow you," he said hoarsely. "Anywhere. I won't question anything. I won't disobey. Please… let me stay."
Something settled in Jinwoo's chest.
Fear like this didn't break loyalty.
It forged it.
"Stay behind me," Jinwoo said again, turning away. "Don't fall."
Jinho nodded.
He didn't dare blink.
Deeper into the dungeon, the air grew thicker with mana.
The monsters felt it too.
They came in waves.
Beasts crawled from cracks in the walls—fangs bared, claws scraping stone. Humanoid creatures wielding crude weapons roared as they charged.
Jinwoo moved.
Fast.
He didn't wait for them to surround him.
He entered their ranks.
Steel-Fang danced like a silver shadow. Each strike found a vital point—throat, spine, heart. Jinwoo flowed from kill to kill, his movements seamless, brutal, beautiful.
Jinho watched in stunned horror.
This wasn't combat.
This was execution.
A monster lunged toward Jinho—
Before Jinho could scream, Jinwoo appeared between them.
The beast's head fell.
Blood splattered the floor.
"Don't move," Jinwoo said without looking back.
Jinho nodded, hands trembling.
Minutes turned into an hour.
Bodies dissolved into mist faster than Jinho could count. Jinwoo never slowed. When monsters grew stronger, he grew sharper. When wounds appeared, potions erased them instantly.
At the dungeon's heart, a massive gate loomed.
The boss chamber.
The ground shook as something enormous stirred within.
A towering creature emerged—thick hide, glowing eyes, mana surging violently around its form.
The dungeon boss.
Jinho collapsed against the wall, shaking.
"T-That thing is C-Rank… right?"
Jinwoo stepped forward.
"Yes."
The monster roared, shaking the chamber.
Jinwoo activated Sense Enhancement.
The world slowed.
He saw everything—the tightening muscles, the flow of mana, the moment before impact.
He vanished.
The boss's fist slammed down, missing by inches.
Jinwoo ran up its arm, leapt, and drove his dagger into its eye.
The monster screamed.
Jinwoo twisted, landed, and attacked again—relentless. Unforgiving.
When the creature finally collapsed, Jinwoo stood atop its dissolving corpse, chest rising steadily.
Silence returned.
Then—
A chime.
[LEVEL UP]
[LEVEL UP]
Jinho stared at Jinwoo as if looking at a god.
"You… you cleared it easil," he whispered.
Jinwoo turned.
"You're alive," he said. "That's enough."
Jinho straightened suddenly and bowed deeply—lower than before.
he said firmly. "thank you for saving me"
Jinwoo paused.
Then nodded once.
"…0k."
Jinho exhaled shakily.
In that moment, Yoo Jinho made a decision.
No matter how terrifying Sung Jinwoo became—
He would follow him.