The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 7

Lee Shin tilted his head at the appearance of the unexpected system message.

"Akashic Record?"

Slowing his walking pace slightly, Lee Shin sequentially brought up his status, inventory, and skill windows.

"The inventory hasn't changed at all from before I entered the dungeon... but the status and skills have changed a bit."

Name: Lee Shin

Level: 1

Path: Madness

Strength I: 2

Agility I: 2

Sense I: 9

Intelligence I: 8

Internal Energy: 1

Lee Shin briefly examined his status.

The numerical values of his stats hadn't changed, but a few things were definitely different from before.

The change in level and the unlocking of internal energy.

'Well, I don't need to worry about this part, so I'll just move on.'

Lee Shin looked at the new Roman numerals that had appeared after his stats.

This was a system that had also existed in the game.

A mark indicating that the quality of the stats had improved as his level went up.

In fact, Lee Shin could feel that his body, though minutely, had become better than it was just a moment ago.

There was more strength in the hand gripping the sword, and his steps had become a little lighter.

After lightly adapting to his changed body, Lee Shin examined the part of his status written as 'Path'.

"What's this now? It feels something like a class."

Lee Shin knew nothing about this.

It was a system that hadn't existed in the game, and he hadn't heard anything about it from the system either.

"It's no use worrying about it now."

He wouldn't be the only one baffled and growing curious about these changes, so he decided to investigate it separately later.

Having reached that tentative conclusion, Lee Shin moved his eyes to the skill window next to it.

The skill window, which had been completely empty, now housed two new skills.

[Flame Lightning Tree God Art]

-Rare

-A cultivation method created by imagining a single tree with a trunk made of lightning and leaves made of flames. It follows a different track from existing martial arts.

Lee Shin briefly looked over the skill's description and nodded.

[Madness]

-Unique

-An unstoppable will, a madness that transcends obsession. If you desire it, your body will move beyond its limits, even if it has reached them.

However, the moment you take even one step beyond your limits, your body will begin to break down at a rapid pace.

The next thing that caught Lee Shin's eye was this skill.

It was natural to obtain the cultivation method, but he couldn't shake the feeling that this skill had appeared out of nowhere.

'Well, just thinking about it, it seems to be connected to the Akashic Record and the new system called Path.'

Lee Shin racked his brain, but in the end, he let out a sigh and gave up thinking.

"Sigh, I don't know. I'll probably find out as time goes on. From what I can tell, it doesn't seem bad."

After clearing these thoughts from his head, Lee Shin smiled broadly and stepped further into the dungeon.

Not much time had passed since he entered the dungeon, yet such an unexpected event had already occurred.

That was what made it fun.

'I haven't even seen the shadow of a monster, but I've already gained so much... I'm looking forward to this in many ways. I wonder when the monsters will show up.'

As Lee Shin walked deeper and deeper, hoping for a monster to appear soon.

Kyureuk-

As if in answer to his monologue, a sound came from beyond the cave.

It was an alien sound that a human could not make.

Kyurururuk-

It was the cry of a monster.

Swoosh-

Hearing the monster's cry, Lee Shin took out the secret weapon he had prepared for today from his pocket.

A pair of cut-resistant gloves to protect his hands from the blade.

After putting them on, Lee Shin once again gripped the sword.

Squeeze-

The material's texture made the friction too strong, making it feel a bit cumbersome, but for now, this was just right.

"Alright, preparations complete."

With a satisfied face, Lee Shin clenched and unclenched his hands a few times and walked toward the source of the sound, neither too fast nor too slow.

If he had his way, he would have wanted to run to the source of the sound and swing his sword immediately, but unlike his heart, his body was not overflowing with energy.

Therefore, in order to enjoy the fight to the fullest as he wished, he needed to conserve his stamina.

Lee Shin forced a mask of leisure over his body and controlled his mind.

Funnily enough, Lee Shin had to exert superhuman patience to stop his body from dashing out at once.

He forced his quickening steps to slow, controlled his entire body that wanted to move on its own at any moment, and took one step at a time.

Thud-

Kyururururuk--

The moment he reached the source of the sound, Lee Shin stopped his steps and smiled faintly with an expression mixed with the joy and tension one feels when about to eat the strawberry on a cake.

"It looks much more to my liking than I thought."

If someone had heard Lee Shin's words right now, they would have doubted his eyesight and recommended he wear glasses.

But Lee Shin genuinely thought so.

He already knew from the system that the monsters appearing in the real-world dungeons would be stronger than the ones he had seen in the game.

So he had been looking forward to what they would look like, and for now, their appearance seemed to pass the test.

Its basic form resembled a Horned Rabbit, but it was twice as large as the ones he had seen in the game.

Furthermore, its entire body was ruggedly muscular, and its horn, which had been slightly shorter than a dagger, was now much longer, looking almost like a sword.

Shing-

"I'm glad I came slowly. If I had wasted my energy, I wouldn't have been able to play properly."

Seeing its appearance, which was like a baby Maltese turning into a full-grown bulldog compared to the game, Lee Shin praised his own choice and slowly drew his sword.

Grin-

"Now, I see you've gotten bigger, but I wonder how you fight."

The moment Lee Shin muttered in a voice tinged with laughter and raised his sword.

Paang-!!!

The Horned Rabbit, which had been wary of Lee Shin, saw an opening and, with a sudden change in its eyes, leaped toward him.

***

Click-! Clack-! Click-!

"Hmm? What's that? Is something going on over there?"

"Who knows? Maybe a top star is drunk and throwing a tantrum?"

"That sounds absurd, but seeing that crowd and all those cameras, it seems possible."

The two young men looked at the overflowing crowd for a moment, then, as if possessed, approached it.

In fact, this phenomenon of people gathering in a specific area and taking pictures was not a rare occurrence.

There were certainly people who felt anxious as dungeons appeared, but there were also people who approached them out of curiosity about their mysterious appearance.

However...

"Hmm, a bigger crowd has gathered than I thought."

"Well, let's think positively. They did tell us to show as much as possible."

The only difference was that what was currently receiving everyone's attention was not a dungeon, but people.

Screeeech-!!!

At that moment, various types of vehicles came to a rough stop, and people carrying cameras and other broadcasting equipment poured out.

Reporters who had caught the scent of a scoop had flocked to the scene.

"Excuse me! Please move aside a little!"

"Coming through! Everyone!"

The reporters shouted loudly, but the people ignored them and didn't budge.

As the reporters were just stomping their feet in frustration, the crowd of photographers parted in two, and five people walked out from within.

"They came faster than I thought."

"The reporters are more diligent than we thought, huh?"

"Or maybe the boss arranged it."

"That's a possibility."

"Shh, the cameras are on, so watch your mouths now."

The largest man among them said to his companions, then took a step forward toward the cameras.

At that, the cameraman, though surprised by the man's size, naturally pointed his camera at the man who had stepped forward.

Satisfied, the man looked directly into the camera's lens and opened his mouth.

"First, let me introduce ourselves. My name is Choi Seok-ho. In Pantheon, I was a ranker who went by the name Steel, and my friends behind me were rankers of a similar level."

At Choi Seok-ho's words, a small stir went through the crowd of photographers.

"Isn't Steel a Thousand-ranker?"

"That's right. I didn't know because he doesn't broadcast separately and always wears full-body armor, but that's what he looks like."

"He's huge. He must be well over 190cm."

At the surrounding reactions, the reporters felt the scent of a scoop growing stronger and focused, determined not to miss this moment.

Choi Seok-ho confirmed that the atmosphere he wanted had been created and opened his mouth.

"I was waiting here because there is something I absolutely must tell you all."

"Wh-what is that?"

At the reporter's question, Choi Seok-ho swept his gaze over the crowd with a serious look, then finally looked at the camera and spoke.

"That you must not enter the dungeons recklessly. And that I wanted to tell you this is not a game."

At Choi Seok-ho's words, the people around him were now focused, looking at him.

"We challenged the dungeon after thorough preparation. At the beginning, we weren't too worried. We were all rankers, and this was a dungeon where only LV.1 monsters appeared."

Haa......

A low sigh spread through the crowd.

"We foolishly judged based only on our game experience."

At Choi Seok-ho's words, the people listening couldn't say anything and just stared at his face.

"But everyone, this place we are in now is not a game. And the difference between 'like reality' and 'reality' is greater than you might vaguely imagine."

At Choi Seok-ho's words, the five of them took something out of their inventories and held it up high for everyone to see.

"Hiiieek!!!"

"Wh-what is that!!!"

Seeing what was held up high, people recoiled in horror.

What rose high into the sky were the carcasses of five giant rabbits, torn to rags.

"This is what the Horned Rabbits you knew look like."

At that, the people were horrified.

In their memories, the Horned Rabbit was literally a cute rabbit with a horn.

Choi Seok-ho looked at the crowd once more and said.

"I will not tell you not to enter the dungeons. However, I hope that you will enter with a sense of caution and after thorough preparation."

With those words, Choi Seok-ho got into a black vehicle that had arrived at some point and disappeared somewhere.

It was a short but shocking event.

The incident spread quickly among people via the internet.

It was the first appearance of a monster in Korea, albeit a carcass, and the survivor's testimony was also shocking.

On top of that, after a little time passed, other news began to spread.

The news that the Samcheon Group had purchased the Horned Rabbits they had dealt with for one million won each.

(End of Chapter)