Chapter 52

___STATUS WINDOW___

Name: Sung Jin-Woo

Level: 97

Job: Monarch of Shadows

Title: The One Who Overcame Adversity

—

HP: 1,290 / 40,290

MP: 6,980 / 7,700

Fatigue: 30

—

Strength: 219

Vitality: 200

Agility: 230

Intelligence: 250

Perception: 200

Available Points: 0

—

Physical Damage Resistance: 46%

---

Sung Jin-Woo gritted his teeth as pain exploded in his chest. He could feel warm blood seeping through the gaps in his clenched jaw, each breath shallow and sharp.

His mind kicked into high gear. 'Status Reco...'

He never finished the thought.

A second claw arced toward his head like a guillotine. But just before it struck, shadows erupted beneath him.

Igris.

The knight bloomed from the darkness, intercepting the blow and yanking Jin-Woo out of danger in a single fluid motion. In the next heartbeat, he hurled his master away, sending him sailing across the sky toward the nearest solid surface.

It was the only platform left floating in the middle of the ocean.

Kaede's platform.

Jin-Woo’s vision swam. Darkness licked at the edges of his mind. He barely registered the wind roaring in his ears as he flew.

---

[Passive Skill: Tenacity] has activated.

If the player's health drops below 30% during battle, any further damage is reduced by 50% to keep the player alive.

46% + 50% = 96% PHYSICAL DAMAGE RESISTANCE

---

THUD!

Jin-Woo snapped awake just in time to feel himself crash into someone... soft, but sturdy.

Kanae caught him in her arms, bracing against his weight. He blinked up at her, dazed, blood still dripping from his lips.

‘Dammit... Sta... tus... Status Recovery…’

A faint green light wrapped around his body, washing away the pain like a tide. The rush of relief hit so hard it made him dizzy, euphoria clouding his senses. He could barely register the girl speaking to him over the humming in his ears.

Then...

Thud!

She dropped him.

Unceremoniously.

Jin-Woo groaned as he hit the platform, reality crashing back in full force.

When Sung Jin-Woo opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the shorter girl standing over him, her curious gaze locked onto his own.

And in her arms… was chibi Kaisel.

“Kaisel,” he muttered.

The wyvern jolted as if struck by lightning, immediately abandoning her embrace and diving into his shadow in a blur of dark mist.

Jin-Woo blinked in confusion.

Then slowly turned his head to the girl, who now looked surprisingly sheepish, like a child caught sneaking cookies before dinner.

“Uhm… Here,” she said, holding her empty hands up in surrender. “Here’s your dragon. I think it’s cool.”

Jin-Woo narrowed his eyes, speaking internally. ‘Kaisel… what happened?’

The answer he received in the corner of his mind was… bizarre.

He slowly turned back to her, his voice dry. “Cool?” he repeated.

The girl rubbed the back of her head with an awkward laugh. “I mean… I have one too. It’s just that mine can’t fly, so… y’know, I thought it’d be fun. Sorry for the inconvenience.”

Jin-Woo felt a vein twitch in his temple. “Inconvenience…” he echoed flatly.

“Before you two start fighting,” Kanae interjected from nearby, one hand shielding her eyes as she peered skyward, “Tyrant is escaping! Kaede, stop messing around and fix this!”

Kaede turned toward the sky, her expression shifting instantly from playful to serious.

“Right.” She raised a hand, red energy flaring around her.

“[Provocation]!”

The aura exploded outward in concentric pulses, like a sonic wave rippling through the sky. Invisible pressure spread in all directions, targeting the one she sought.

Sung Jin-Woo’s brow rose. ‘Provocation? That’s a tank-class skill… So she’s a tank? That means her defense is probably monstrous, but she’s likely slower than I am.’

Suddenly, the air split with an inhuman shriek.

SKREEEEEEEEEEE!

Tyrant crashed back into view, red wings slicing through the atmosphere as he closed the distance in a blur of motion. Rage boiled off of him in waves.

Jin-Woo summoned his daggers in a flash of darkness.

‘Tyrant is faster than me. Which means he’s definitely faster than these girls too. But if she’s a tank… that means she can endure his hits.’

A strategy began to crystallize in his mind.

‘If she can defend me, and Kanae keeps him off-balance with illusions… and I use [Camouflage] to strike when he’s distracted… we can take him down easily.’

He glanced at the two girls.

‘I think this is the first time I’m fighting alongside anyone. And it took me literally dying for it to happen…’

He opened his mouth to relay the plan, just as Tyrant reached them.

But before he could speak...

“[Zone Freeze],” Kaede said calmly.

The moment hung in stillness.

Tyrant halted mid-lunge, as if reality itself glitched. He froze in the air, red aura crackling around his body but unmoving, eyes wide with primal fury locked in a static frame.

Jin-Woo blinked.

“…What?” he muttered.

The girl exhaled slowly and walked forward, her boots echoing against the hardened water platform.

Sung Jin Woo's high perception registered as the aura around her shifted subtly, no longer just red. Beneath the surface of her mana, something colder pulsed, like a thread of void stitched into heat.

Kaede stepped forward, her expression unreadable as she approached the frozen form of Tyrant. The mutated ant twitched slightly, still bound in the aftereffects of her [Zone Freeze], though cracks of energy were beginning to show.

She tilted her head at him, as if examining a particularly curious insect.

“Let’s see…” she mused aloud, voice light but laced with something far older. “I’m pretty sure you were born not too long ago. A few days, maybe?”

She stopped directly in front of him, raised her hand and spoke.

But this time, it wasn’t just her voice.

It was the world’s.

A chorus, layered and immense, echoed through existence.

“““““[Authority of Reduction]”””””

The moment the words rang out, Tyrant’s body twitched, violently, uncontrollably.

Then came the convulsions.

His limbs jerked and contorted, mandibles flailing as if rejecting reality itself. His entire form twisted inwards, folding in on itself like a puppet being crushed into its own shell. Bones popped. Chitin cracked. Wings curled.

A milky aura enveloped him, thick, swirling like mist, and grew denser, clinging to his spasming form. It cocooned him completely in an expanding sphere of pale light, until the once-terrifying ant was completely consumed.

Then, slowly… the mist hardened.

It turned to fluid.

Then that fluid crystallized into a solid.

And with a low, heavy thud, a massive egg, four meters tall, glossy and unnaturally smooth, landed on the platform with a faint tremor.

Silence.

Jin-Woo stared at the egg, unblinking.

He didn’t say a word. Just stood there, brows furrowed slightly, eyes narrow with absolute disbelief.

Kanae stood beside him, equally stunned. Her lips parted slightly, a quiet “what the hell” hanging unsaid in the air.

Behind them, Iron’s great shield slipped from his fingers and slammed onto the platform.

The massive shadow didn’t notice.

His jaw was wide open.

None of them moved.

Even the shadows were silent.

Kaede turned around slowly, brushing imaginary dust off her gloves. “There. That’s better.”

Jin-Woo didn’t even look at her. He was still staring at the egg.

“…What,” he said at last, “did you just do?”

Kaede blinked. “Oh. I reduced his age to... almost zero.”

“Reduced,” Kanae repeated flatly. “He's an egg.”

Kaede nodded proudly. “Pretty cool, right?”

Jin-Woo slowly dragged a hand down his face. “You had that move… the whole time?”

Kaede shrugged. “You were so confident. I thought you had it. Besides, this is the first time I'm using this skill.”

Sung Jin-Woo didn’t respond. ‘If that’s a skill she can cast casually… is it cooldown-based? Mana-intensive? Bound to an artifact? What is her class?’

Sung Jin-Woo stared at the egg a moment longer before finally letting out a slow breath.

He stepped forward.

The platform beneath him barely rippled.

He stopped two paces away from the giant egg and narrowed his eyes.

“...Still has mana,” he muttered.

Kaede perked up. “Yup. He’s alive in there.”

Kanae squinted. “Isn’t that… a problem?”

“Nope.” Kaede grinned, cracking her knuckles. “He’s harmless. Basically a newborn.”

Sung Jin-Woo turned toward her slowly.

She just smiled innocently.

He didn't know why, but his instincts didn't trust that smile.

Before he could say anything, Iron finally blinked and stomped forward, placing himself between Jin-Woo and the egg, shield back in hand.

He glared at it, then back at Kaede, then back at the egg again.

“…Is it going to be a problem?” he asked, slowly.

Kaede tilted her head. “Dunno. Maybe? But babies are easier to raise, right?”

Sung Jin-Woo turned back to the egg.

“...It’s four meters tall.”

“Big baby.”

“...Right.”

A breeze passed through, chilling despite the fire that had bathed the ocean minutes ago. The sky was still cloudy, but the pressure had lifted.

All that was left was a strange awkwardness between the three hunters.

Jin-Woo glanced up. The shadows still lingered in the air, floating just above, silently awaiting orders. Hundreds of them.

With a thought, they vanished.

And yet, even as silence settled, he couldn’t ignore the growing sensation in the back of his skull. It wasn't pain, it was curiosity, needling at him.

He turned to Kaede again.

“You said… ‘first time using that skill’?”

Kaede nodded.

“What class are you?”

She blinked at him.

Then she smiled, wide and too honest.

"I'm a Great Shielder," the girl said cheerfully, patting the egg with surprising tenderness. "Although my Job Class still says 'empty' for some reason."

Jin-Woo blinked. "Are you..?"

Before he could question it, something flickered in his peripheral vision. A faint chime echoed in his ear, and a blue translucent panel unfolded before him, unprompted.

---

You are in the presence of another Player.

Exercise caution.

Name: Maple. Level: 73

---

Jin-Woo's eyes narrowed.

"A Player…?" he muttered.

His gaze flicked back to the girl, Maple, who was now crouched beside the massive egg, stroking it like a curious pet. She looked distracted, but her eyes shifted to him briefly, and he had the distinct impression she was seeing her own system as well.

‘A Player. Just like me.’

But then his eyes widened.

Her name tag, was bright red.

‘That color... that only shows up when someone’s dangerous. Stronger than you.'

He studied her more closely, trying to reconcile what he saw with what he felt.

The casual smile. The cheerful tone. The goofy, almost absentminded way she patted the egg like it was a plush toy.

And yet...

‘She’s stronger than me?’

His brow furrowed, his instincts whispering warnings he didn’t quite understand.

Behind the girl, Kanae exhaled like she’d been holding it in since the battle started. “Well. That happened.”

A pause. The awkward silence stretching.

“...So, uh. What do we do with the egg?”

The egg shimmered faintly, then vanished beneath Kaede’s palm with a soft pulse of light.

“We’ll take it back with us,” she said casually, dusting her hands off. “We still have that contract with Mandala Genetics, after all.”

Kanae’s head snapped toward her sister. “Wait, Maple Tree got a sponsor? Since when?”

Kaede only shrugged, offering her hand. “I’ll tell you everything. A lot happened in the past two days. We should grab the others too while we’re at it.”

“Right.” Kanae gave a nod, reaching out and clasping her sister’s hand firmly. Then, almost as an afterthought, she glanced toward Sung Jin-Woo.

She and Sung Jin Woo locked eyes for a moment, before she and Kaede vanished.

Sung Jin Woo was left standing in the middle of the now collapsible platform, as it was no longer solidified.

Sung Jin Woo didn't fall, Instead his feet landed on the back of Kaisel who hovered in place.

He looked in the direction of Jeju Island, where he sensed the girl's aura appear, then disappear a few moments later.

"Another player." He whispered. "I wonder... Just how many players are there. And what exactly is the end goal of all of this?"