Hearing the knocking, the two children who had been watching TV inside immediately turned it off. Afraid of being seen, they quickly hid beneath the window, hugging their knees tightly.
Outside, the people knocking began peering through the window to check if anyone was inside. The little boy and girl remained silent, hiding without making a sound.
The people who had come appeared to be bank employees. They pounded on the door and shouted.
"We know you're inside!"
"Pay your loan quickly!"
"Make this month's payment right now!"
Because the loan hadn't been paid for a month, they had come knocking.
The two children seemed used to this kind of situation. They stayed quiet as if nothing was happening.
The child sitting in the corner, hugging his knees, was of course Subedei.
When he was little, he had been chubby and cute, with big round eyes and long hair. The small girl sitting beside him in the same position was his older sister.
Subedei lifted his head and looked at her. She met his gaze and gave him a gentle smile. Slowly, she crawled closer beneath the window and wrapped him in a tight embrace without saying a word.
The scene quickly changed, revealing another memory deeply etched in the child's heart.
Watching other children with their fathers stirred nothing in Subedei. He didn't even understand the meaning of the word "father." All he knew was that his father had left them for another woman, abandoning his mother in overwhelming debt. Beyond that, he had no memory of the man.
At that time, the young child still didn't fully understand what had happened.
On a playground, Subedei watched a man playing happily with his child. As he looked at them, something settled deep in his heart.
Sitting on a bench, watching the child laugh with his father, he thought,
"If I ever have a child, I will never abandon my wife and child."
"Never…"
Unaware of how much his mother was suffering, he grew up arguing with her. As he matured, he gradually began to understand why she had become the way she was.
Where he once grew angry and fought with her whenever she drank, he now understood her deeply. A woman who had been left behind with crushing debt by her husband—once a cherished and gentle daughter—how could she not change?
As he grew, he endured and understood more and more.
Each year, someone he loved died.
First, his grandfather.
Grandfather…
In the real world, Subedei—lying unconscious on the ground—murmured a single word.
"Grandfather."
Suddenly, his eyes snapped open.
He whispered again, more clearly this time.
"Grandfather."
At that moment, the skeletal mage had already approached him.
Subedei gripped his spear tightly and swung in uncontrollable fury.
Startled by his sudden rise, the skeletal mage quickly retreated. Subedei's wild swings struck nothing. It seemed he was not fully awake.
He lashed out angrily in every direction, like someone moving inside a dream.
A notification appeared before him, faintly glowing—but Subedei ignored it and continued attacking.
His body became enveloped in a blue aura, and deep within his eyes, a faint golden light flickered.
His reckless attacks ceased.
He fixed his gaze on the skeletal mage like a predator locking onto its prey.
The skeletal mage trembled involuntarily. Even the hand holding its staff shook as it took a step back.
Dragging his spear along the ground, Subedei closed the distance and swung sideways with tremendous force.
The skeletal mage barely managed to dodge, but the edge of its cheek was struck, cracking apart.
Panicking, the mage tried to raise its staff—but Subedei gave it no chance.
He charged forward with incredible speed, without a single thought in his mind. The people watching from afar were too stunned to even follow his movement.
"I–Is he attacking right now?"
Suddenly, all the skeletons that had been attacking the others turned and rushed toward Subedei.
Meanwhile, the skeletal mage barely evaded his assault. Just as Subedei's spear was about to pierce straight through its skull—
It stopped.
The spear hovered a mere centimeter from the mage's head.
Subedei pulled it back and slowly turned around. Seeing the massive wave of skeletons rushing toward him, a smile spread across his face.
Without hesitation, he charged directly into the skeletal warriors.
As he closed in, he swung his spear wildly. Every skeleton he struck shattered and fell. Even when their skulls didn't break, the blue flames in their eyes extinguished.
He looked like a monster.
His smile, his frenzied attacks—anyone watching would feel fear.
Though skeletal warriors and archers managed to lightly wound him, he paid no attention. His assault continued relentlessly.
After some time, every skeleton in the area had been destroyed.
Standing amidst scattered white bones, smiling faintly, Subedei slowly turned to face the skeletal mage.
The mage trembled as if facing a true beast and attempted to flee.
Subedei gave it no opportunity.
Gripping his spear tightly, he stepped back once—and hurled it.
The spear whistled through the air and crushed the skeletal mage's skull with ease.
After that, Subedei immediately collapsed to the ground and fell silent.
For a moment, the entire battlefield was utterly still.
The few people who had been saved by him spoke among themselves from a distance.
The middle-aged man stared at Subedei cautiously, fear in his eyes.
"He's a complete monster. Even his aura is pressuring me from here."
The young woman beside him nodded.
"Yes. Especially that smile of his… just thinking about it makes my whole body tremble."
Out of everyone, only the two of them had survived. The others had died pitifully beside them.
Thanks to Subedei, they now had the chance to leave this floor alive. Though they could have exited immediately, they chose not to. Instead, they carefully approached him.
After confirming he was unconscious, they let out deep sighs of relief.
The young woman looked at his face in surprise.
"How can someone this handsome become such a monster…"
After some time, Subedei slowly opened his eyes.
He immediately grabbed his head and sat up.
"My head feels like it's splitting apart."
"What happened…"
"I remember fighting the skeletal mage."
He muttered to himself and slowly looked around. A familiar female voice spoke beside him.
"That's right."
"You killed the skeletal mage and then passed out."
Hearing a woman's voice, Subedei immediately searched for his spear, moving his hands around quickly.
It wasn't in his grasp.
Alarmed, he stood up and distanced himself from the voice.
Looking carefully, he saw it was the young woman who had earlier begged him to save them.
Noticing his caution, she quickly said,
"You saved me, so I stayed and watched over you while you were unconscious."
Subedei relaxed slightly but immediately asked,
"Where is my spear?"
She quickly pulled it from behind her and tossed it to him.
"Here."
Taking his spear, Subedei sat down without another word and began checking the notifications that had appeared.
[You have leveled up. Congratulations.]
[Strength +1, Speed +1, Spirit +1, Perception +1. You have gained 5 unassigned stat points.]
[You have learned a new skill: "Beast's Instinct." Congratulations.]
[Passive Skill: Beast's Instinct
Level: 1
All senses are enhanced like a beast's. When unconscious, you will fight using instinct.]
Seeing this, Subedei smiled broadly and allocated his five stat points.
He added 2 to Strength, 1 to Speed, 1 to Spirit, and 1 to Perception.