Daeho and Kali darted through the forest, leaping over roots and ducking under low branches. The sounds of the enraged Guard Orcs thundered behind them—closer, closer—
Then, suddenly, Daeho felt the familiar burnout in his legs.
> [Skill Cooldown Activated – Super Speed: 5:00 Remaining]
"Shit, it's on cooldown!"
Kali slowed as well, breathing heavily. The orcs were still chasing, but their speed was no match for the ground already covered. Within moments, the enraged grunts began to fade in the distance.
Daeho finally stopped behind a large boulder covered in moss. "We're safe… for now."
He crouched down and pulled out a basic healing spray from his waist pouch. A thin cut on his forearm was bleeding lightly—likely from a tree branch he didn't even notice during the escape.
He sprayed the mist over the wound, and within seconds, it began to close. "Still works well," he muttered, exhaling.
Kali lay nearby, his chest rising and falling steadily. Daeho reached out and patted him. "Good job."
But the moment of rest didn't last.
Daeho's mind was already working.
"Those three… they won't be fooled again. They saw how one of theirs died in the forest. They'll stay alert, maybe even patrol in a group now."
He frowned.
Charging head-on won't work. I'll need a new strategy… maybe traps? Or terrain advantage?
With nothing else to do while waiting for cooldowns, Daeho decided to open his Awakener Panel—that eerie red-colored interface that no one else in the world seemed to have.
What he saw next nearly made his heart stop.
> [System Update Completed]
➤ New Functions Available
And below that, three new entries glowed softly in gold.
---
🔸 Skill Shop (NEW)
You can now purchase any skill of any rank using real currency.
🔹 First-time bonus: One C-rank skill available for free.
🔹 All other skills available at 50% market price.
🔸 EX-Rank Cooldown Modifier (NEW)
Use S-Rank monster cores to reduce cooldowns of EX-rank abilities.
🔹 1 Core = -1 day cooldown
🔹 Core must be bound upon use.
🔸 Skill Forge (NEW)
Combine two skills into a new hybrid skill.
🔹 Requirements: ₩1,000,000,000
🔹 First use: Free.
---
"…What the hell is this?"
Daeho stared at the glowing interface, heart pounding.
No hunter, no guild, no awakened he had ever heard of had a system like this.
Skill purchases? Cooldown modifiers? Skill fusion?
He tapped the "Skill Shop" tab, and instantly a new window opened. It was like a digital store, categorized by rank:
> • E-Rank Skills – 250,000 won
• D-Rank Skills – 1.5 million won
• C-Rank Skills – 8 million won
• B-Rank Skills – 40 million won
• A-Rank Skills – 200 million won
• S-Rank Skills – 800 million won
• SS-Rank Skills – 2 billion won
• SSS-Rank Skills – 5 billion won
• EX-Rank Skills – [Access Denied]
The EX-rank category was locked, but everything else was… freely browsable.
Daeho sat down on a log, stunned.
"In the market… even the lowest rank skills are auctioned for crazy prices. And only six skills per rank below A are publicly released every year."
He remembered watching a televised auction where a C-rank stealth skill sold for over 15 million won. Here, in this panel—it was eight.
And he could choose.
No bidding. No waiting.
He could pick any skill in the world—if he had the money.
He quickly scrolled through the C-rank list.
⚔️ Dash Step (Speed boost + evasive maneuver)
🧠 Combat Sense (Raises reflex during battle)
🔥 Fire Claw (Adds fire damage to slashes)
🌀 Wind Grip (Manipulate wind pressure to shift movement mid-air)
🗡️ Venom Fang (Add paralysis effect to melee attacks)
All incredibly useful. All just one click away.
And one was free.
"I'll think about it later…"
He closed the shop tab and opened the second new feature: the EX-Rank Cooldown Modifier.
> ➤ Reduce cooldown time of any EX-rank skill
⚠️ Requires S-rank monster cores
➤ Current inventory: 0 cores
Daeho's eyes narrowed.
"In the whole country… there's only one S-rank dungeon, and it opens once every six months."
That meant even if he somehow got to join the raid team—assuming a C-rank was even allowed—he'd only have two S-rank cores a year at best.
"So... one EX skill's cooldown can be reduced two days a year. If I had access. That's almost nothing."
Still, the function was there. If he could collect S-rank cores over time…
Then came the final tab: Skill Forge.
It had a single line:
> ➤ Combine any two skills to create a unique fused ability
➤ One-time free fusion available
➤ Market Price: ₩1,000,000,000
His eyes widened again.
"One billion won for fusion… that's ridiculous. But a free chance…?"
He thought of all the possibilities.
Super Speed + Combat Sense…
Clone + Dash Step…
Fire Control + Venom Fang…
Every possibility opened up a new kind of skill.
He swallowed hard.
"This panel… it's beyond broken."
Daeho finally sat back and let the reality settle in.
"I… I have something no one else in the world has."
Not just EX-rank abilities.
But a living, evolving system.
A cheat—in the form of a red interface.
And suddenly, the world of dungeons, hunters, guilds, and monsters looked different to him.
He wasn't just trying to survive anymore.
He was going to dominate.
---