By the time Sung Daeho reached home, the sun had already begun to dip below the Seoul skyline. Golden-orange hues spilled through the windows, casting long shadows across the floor as he stepped inside, his boots light against the polished wood. It was exactly 6:04 PM.
From the kitchen, the aroma of garlic and sesame oil wafted through the air, prompting a nostalgic smile to rise on his face. He peeked toward the kitchen and saw his stepmother, Sung Eunji, humming softly as she prepared dinner—her favorite pork bulgogi and kimchi stew. Despite working all day at a small restaurant, she still came home and cooked for her children.
In the hallway, muffled music played faintly behind a closed door—his stepsister Sung Eunhee was studying for her upcoming 11th-grade midterms, likely revising math or science with her earbuds in. Daeho could picture her, sitting at her desk, messy ponytail, highlighters everywhere.
He softly called out, "I'm home."
Eunji glanced up from the stove. "Welcome back, Daeho. You're just in time. Dinner's almost ready."
"I'll take a quick shower," he replied, already climbing the stairs. "It's been a long day."
---
In his room, Daeho peeled off his hunting gear and stepped into the bathroom attached to his room. As warm water cascaded over his body, he leaned against the tiled wall, letting the heat relax his sore muscles. So much had happened in the last 48 hours—his first real dungeon clear, his new EX-ranked panel powers, the awakening of Shadow Step, and his rising financial independence.
It was all… surreal.
After twenty minutes, he emerged in soft cotton joggers and a loose hoodie. He flopped onto his bed for a few seconds before pulling up the glowing red interface in his vision.
> [PANEL - SKILL SHOP]
Your current balance: $ 1,844,000
➤ Skill Purchase Price: 50% of Market Value
➤ One-time discount already used.
He scrolled through the list of C-rank skills, thoughtfully reading each description. Eventually, after much consideration, he selected four foundational abilities.
> [Skill Purchased – Enhanced Healing (C-Rank)]
Accelerates natural recovery by 400%. Minor cuts close in seconds, serious wounds heal in hours.
> [Skill Purchased – Enhanced Perception (C-Rank)]
Boosts all five senses. Enhanced vision, sound tracking, motion prediction. Effective against hidden enemies.
> [Skill Purchased – Fatigue Resistance (C-Rank)]
Reduces stamina depletion and muscle fatigue by 60%. Allows prolonged high-performance exertion.
> [Skill Purchased – Fire Resistance (C-Rank)]
Grants 70% resistance to fire-based magic, heat, and burns.
The total cost came to just under $ 1.2 million, which would've been impossible for almost any regular E-rank hunter in Korea. But for Daeho and his mysterious red panel?
A worthy investment.
He let out a low whistle. "It's like buying four rare relics for the price of one."
He then navigated to the familiar Copy/Paste tab in his interface, selecting each new ability one by one and transferring them into Kali.
The Dire Wolf sat by his bed, his eyes glowing faintly blue as each skill transferred into his system.
> [Skill Transfer Complete: Kali]
Active Skills:
• Super Speed (Copied)
• Shadow Step (Copied)
• Enhanced Healing (Copied)
• Enhanced Perception (Copied)
• Fatigue Resistance (Copied)
• Fire Resistance (Copied)
Daeho chuckled. "You're becoming more broken than me, buddy."
Kali barked softly, his tail thumping once.
---
Still basking in satisfaction, Daeho opened his panel one last time for the night, focusing now on his EX-ranked ability: Corpse Copy.
> [Corpse Copy (EX)]
Cooldown: 30 days
Next Use: 22 days remaining
But then he remembered something.
He reached into his inventory ring and pulled out a shining, iridescent item.
> [Cooldown Remover – EX Skill]
One-time use. Removes cooldown from any selected skill instantly.
He took a deep breath, selected Corpse Copy, and activated the item.
A shimmer passed through the panel.
> [Cooldown removed successfully.]
He now had full access to Corpse Copy again.
Perfect. I'll save this for the next strong monster or rare awakener corpse I find.
Still processing all he had accomplished today, Daeho needed to relax. He glanced at the time—7:12 PM.
"Time for a little stress relief," he said to himself, flopping onto the couch and turning on the TV.
He opened a streaming app and selected a South Indian movie dubbed in Hindi, something he had grown to love over the years.
It was one of those over-the-top action thrillers, filled with flying punches, dramatic slow-motion walks, and music that somehow stirred your soul. He didn't need logic right now. He needed escape.
"Main yeh ladayi akela ladunga!"
("I'll fight this battle alone!")
Daeho grinned. He understood Hindi well, a gift from his best friend Madhav, who had taught him the language slowly, starting with curse words, then movie dialogues, then entire conversations. These movies reminded him of Madhav, of those nights they'd stay up reenacting fight scenes.
Even now, Hindi movies had become his go-to for comfort.
---
After watching for about 40 minutes, the sound of a familiar voice called out from downstairs.
"Daeho, dinner is ready!"
He yawned, turned off the TV, and made his way to the dining table where Sung Eunji had laid out the food: steaming rice, spicy kimchi stew, seasoned vegetables, and pork belly.
His stepsister Eunhee was already seated, dressed in a hoodie, her textbooks stacked beside her plate.
"Oppa, you smell like soap," she teased as he sat down.
"That's because I'm cleaner than you," he shot back with a grin.
Their mom served them each a bowl of stew before sitting down herself. For a few minutes, they simply ate—savoring the food, the warmth of home, the shared silence of peace.
Midway through dinner, Daeho finally spoke.
"By the way, I made about $ 600 k today."
Eunhee nearly choked on her rice. "You what?! From a D-rank dungeon?!"
Even Eunji's chopsticks paused.
"Six hundred thousand?" she asked carefully.
Daeho nodded and smiled. "Well, the dungeon turned out to be harder than expected. There were C-rank orcs, so the Association compensated me. I also sold some of the monster cores I collected."
Eunji looked like she wanted to ask more questions—perhaps about how many cores exactly, or how he managed it alone—but she stopped herself. She stared at her stepson, noticing something she hadn't allowed herself to see before:
He wasn't a boy anymore.
His posture was confident, his eyes no longer filled with quiet frustration or powerlessness. He was growing into someone strong.
She looked down at her bowl.
After a moment, Daeho continued. "Mom… I've been thinking."
She looked up.
"You don't have to keep working anymore."
The table went silent.
He leaned forward. "I mean it. I'm going to keep getting stronger, and I'm already making way more than we need. You've worked hard for too long. Let me take care of things now."
Eunji blinked a few times, eyes slightly wet. "Daeho… I…"
She covered her mouth for a moment, overwhelmed.
It had been years since she'd received support from anyone. Since her husband died in a car accident when Daeho was only 12, she had raised two children with her bare hands, working minimum-wage jobs, skipping meals, enduring Seoul's crushing rent.
And through it all, Daeho had never once complained.
Even as a teenager, he had taken on odd jobs, carried bags for hunters as a porter, and given his earnings straight to her.
Now this same boy was offering her freedom.
"Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you so much."
Eunhee looked at her brother, grinning from ear to ear. "I always knew you'd be cool someday."
He rolled his eyes. "Someday? I was always cool."
---
Later that night, back in his room, Daeho stared out the window at the moonlight blanketing the street.
His fingers traced the edge of his inventory ring. His thoughts wandered—from the new skills, to Kali, to the Rift Surge, to the Corpse Copy he would likely need to use again soon.
The world was changing.
He had more power than he had ever dreamed of.
But he also had more responsibility now—not just for himself, but for his family.
Still, for tonight…
He let his thoughts drift toward quiet peace.
---
I promise the next chapter will be worth it. 😉
Don't forget to like, comment, and share your theories—I read them all, and some of you are scarily accurate 👀