39th Death - Legendary Skills

[Come on, Boyo. Didn't you promise not to give up your seat anymore? Take what you can get...?]

The message flickered above Jiho as he lay in bed, eyes unfocused.

[Check your legendary skills already. Who knows what you've got?]

"…Yeah. Good point." He exhaled, dragging the status window up with a lazy flick.

[That was fast. You really did turn a new leaf, huh?]

"There's no choice." He muttered, eyes dull; looking over his status window, mindlessly scrolling back and forth without aim with his index finger. "Forget not wanting to get fucked over by the people closest to me—…"He stopped himself.

[…Okay?]

Jiho let out a breath and buried his face in his palms, the status window closing itself.

"I think there's more to it, you know? What I told Eunhee about lying and all…"

[Why's that? I think you were pretty on point. If you became the greatest liar in the world, everyone'd love you. Like that... what's-his-name—Daniel?]

"Uh… don't get me wrong, I accept that. But…" He scratched his head, frowning. "Daniel lied to her… but I hate him. I don't love him."

[Well, he ain't a good liar, then. If he'd kept it going—if you never found out—you wouldn't hate him now. Truth stinks.]

"Good point. But more than that…" Jiho sighed. "There's my mom. She never lied. I put her above everyone."

[Maybe she's just a better liar than you think.]

"Could be…" He looked up at the ceiling. "I don't doubt she must've thought something bad about me when I… did something terrible when I was five; but kept saying she loved me."

"She probably did lie to herself, at least at the start… But… I don't know. There's something more to it." His voice dropped lower. "Even Eunhee pretty much apologized for falling for Daniel."

His gaze narrowed.

"Huh." He muttered. "I just realized—it went smoother than usual."

"…She's usually way more argumentative. Tries to act like a guide or something... I'm usually the one that needs to be talked to. She's always been the steering force in our talks. But this time… she was really quiet."

"She must've thought about it. Which means…"

"She figured it out, huh? What Daniel did… right before we talked." His eyes dropped.

"But the truth is simple. She still returned to Daniel…"

'Because I escorted her there,' he thought bitterly, a knot twisting deep in his stomach.

Another thought followed. Uninvited.

'Would she have… accepted if I asked her to come here instead? If I was… confident?'

His gaze shifted to the empty space beside him.For a brief moment, he imagined Eunhee lying there—peacefully asleep, her breaths soft against his skin.

'She felt guilty. Wanted to console me... Couldn't I have used that to… finally get some? Maybe even pull her to my side…'His eye twitched.

'But I just escorted her to his home… like some FUCKING IDIOT. Led her right to that bastard's doorstep… instead of just using—using—'

A more unbothered version of himself lay beside her, one arm lazily draped around her neck, pulling her in. Calm. Confident. In control.

'…her.'

He shook his head.

'No. Stop. Stop feeding yourself bullshit. I have Amelie now.' His fist clenched tight, brows knitting with force. 'I hate Daniel…'

His mind snapped back—to the moment she stepped into Daniel's house. The way her hand left his, her body moved forward, and he just watched.

His fist clenched again. Harder.

'And I hate her too, after all.'

'…Lying is the way of the world. I accepted that.'

'I hate that they lied to me.'

'I should lie to everyone.'

The thought contradicted itself—twisting like barbed wire in his chest, refusing to unravel.

How could he despise Daniel for lying to get what he wanted…when Jiho had just decided to do the same?

"F… FUCK!" he hissed, the word forced through clenched teeth, sharp and bitter.

"Skills. Skills now."

[Finally.]

The status window opened before his eyes.

[Status Window]

Name: Jiho An

Class: Assassin

Level: 50

Stat Points Available: 400

[Strength]: 40

[Agility]: 40

[Vitality]: 100

[Perception]: 100

[Intelligence]: 25

[MULTIPLE ACHIEVEMENTS UNLOCKED!] (Read more to see rewards)

[MULTIPLE TITLES UNLOCKED!] (Read more to see rewards)

[LEGENDARY SKILLS UNLOCKED!] (Read more to see rewards)

'Legendary skills... But before that, I need to check my normal skills.'

He scrolled down and tapped the [Skills] button.

"…Just two?" Jiho muttered as he eyed the list of skills that was unlocked for him.

[What did you expect? You can't start with everything, Boyo.]

'Okay…' He focused on the first two.

1. [Shadow Step – LV.1]

EXP: 0%

Instantly blink a short distance in any direction. (Range: 1m)

HP Cost: 100

Cooldown: 10s

Note: Shadow cannot pass through solid obstacles.

"Good for flanking… or running away." He blinked. "But… this is basically teleportation. That's insane."His gaze narrowed at the fine print. "Wait—100 HP? Isn't that… Health Points?"

[Yeah. Almost every attack and skill works like that, Boyo. You're a sentient zombie now. Of course you use your health. Zombies can't use magic.]

"…You're the most magical thing I've ever seen, though," he muttered, deadpan.

[Wooing me won't get you a better deal.]

"Wasn't trying to." Jiho sighed. "Anyway… why does it say LV.1? I'm level 50."

[You really didn't play a lot of games, huh? Skills have their own levels—separate from yours. The more you use them, the more they grow.]

"That sounds nice. But what do I get from it?"

[Tell me this, Boyo—if you shovel shit every day, what happens?]

"…O...kay...?"

[You get better at it.]

"So if I level this up… I get better at shoveling shit?" Jiho replied, deadpan.

[...]

[...I'm done explaining. Figure it out yourself.]

"Okay, okay, that was a joke—I am actually interested," Jiho said quickly, holding up a hand.

[...Fine.]

'Does it have a soft spot or something?' he wondered, raising an eyebrow.

[Skill level-ups increase effectiveness—Shadow Step, for example, will cover more distance, cost less HP, and have shorter cooldowns. Plus, the higher your Intelligence stat, the faster your skills level up and the better they scale.]

"Alright… Thanks." Jiho felt the words slip out before he could stop them.

[…Just keep reading.]

2. [Martial Arts – LV.1] (PASSIVE)

EXP: 0%

As an Assassin, you possess natural talent in close combat—far beyond that of an average human. Fighting instincts come easier, and real experience is absorbed more efficiently by your body and mind.

"That's… that's it?" he muttered, frowning. "That's the skill? Where's the HP cost and cooldown?"

[Can't you see the word PASSIVE next to it?]

"Passive…?" Jiho echoed, studying the screen.

[Means it's always active. In this case, it just makes you a better brawler than most.]

'Huh…' Jiho examined it for a moment longer, then asked,"Wouldn't my Perception stat complement this?"

[...]

[...Interesting thought, Boyo.]

'That means… leveling up Perception while also training Martial Arts… Wouldn't that make me brokenly strong?'His eyes widened.

His pulse began to thump in his ears with growing excitement.

Then his gaze drifted down—past the two unlocked skills.

3. [LOCKED] [REQ. COLLECTIVE SKILL LEVEL 5]

4. [LOCKED] [REQ. COLLECTIVE SKILL LEVEL 10]

---- GET MORE SKILLS BY CHOOSING A SUBCLASS! ----

"…'Collective skill level'? That mean the total of all my skill levels added together?"

A small smirk tugged at the edge of Jiho's lips.

'I… I wanna go outside again.'

His eyes drifted toward the window, heart thudding in his chest.

'I wanna test all these out.'

[There's still the legendary skills, Boyo. Don't forget about those.]

"…You're right…!" His eyes widened as he clicked the next message:

[CLICK TO VIEW MORE]

[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU'VE UNLOCKED SECRET SUBCLASS YOU CAN CHOOSE FROM DUE TO YOUR LATEST ACHIEVEMENTS!]

'Hm… I guess the Legendary skills are tied to the subclass…?' he thought, scrolling down.

[Something like that. When you reach a certain level, your class evolves through a subclass.]

'I see... There's a lot of cool ones…' he muttered, eyes scanning the standard list.

🔻 Subclass: Blood Channeler

[Key Trait: You're a bruiser with lifesteal and high sustain.]

Every hit restores HP. You get harder to kill the longer a fight drags on… but your damage stays low.

"Sounds useful…"

He clenched his fists.

[But you wanna hurt, Boyo. When it matters, anyway. This one won't give you that.]

"...Yeah."

🔻 Subclass: Shadow Zomboy

[Key Trait: You're a long-range assassin with stealth and burst.]

You poke from afar, vanish, then finish fast. Fragile, but deadly if you get the jump.

[A sniper'd love that one, lemme tell ya.]

"I can imagine."

🔻 Subclass: Toxic Edge

[Key Trait: You're a DOT-focused fighter with weakening effects.]

Your cuts don't hurt much at first, but enemies keep bleeding. They get slower. Softer. Easier to kill.

"DOT?" Jiho asked.

[Damage over time. You don't hit hard up front, but—]

Jiho's brow furrowed. He already got it.

"The damage—"

[—accumulates.]

"Accumulates. Got it."

They said it at the same time.Jiho smirked, then turned his eyes back to the subclasses list.

[...]

🔻 Subclass: Pulse Reaper

[Key Trait: You're an AOE melee fighter who spends HP.]

Burn health to deal big splash damage. More enemies = more value. But you'll need to manage your life bar carefully.

"AOE…?" Jiho glanced up.

[Area of Effect. Basically, big radius attacks around you.]

"Got it… Now then…" Jiho muttered, eyes narrowing as the final standard subclass loaded.

🔻 Subclass: Blade Zombo

[Key Trait: You're a melee DPS focused on speed and critical hits.]

Light on defense, heavy on dodging. You move fast, hit fast, and rely on crits to deal real damage. Miss those crits, though, and your hits won't mean much.

Jiho sighed.

[…Damage Per Second.]

The system added it quietly, like it already knew he was tired of all these terms one after another.

[Basically, you deal steady damage—if you land your crits.]

"Yeah…" Jiho murmured.

He recalled stabbing zombies with those makeshift knives.

"I… would've picked that one. If it weren't for the secret subclass…"

A pause.

"Still might."

The next section loaded with a flicker.

[DUE TO YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS, YOU ARE ELIGIBLE FOR A SECRET SUBCLASS.]

'Alright… Now for the secret class…!'

Jiho's eyes lit up with curiosity.

...And then they didn't.

His expression dulled.

'What the…?'

🔻 Subclass: The Untriggered

Core Identity:

You don't inspire mercy. You disarm wrath.

You stare a killer in the eye, and by the time they blink, they're doubting themselves.

You don't stop blades—you stop intent.

Subclass Mechanics:

🧠 Active Skill – Everyone's Got a Choice

"You decide. But you only get one chance."

COST: None

DURATION: 30 seconds

COOLDOWN: 3 hours

Upon use, time is briefly suspended before a hostile encounter. You are presented with two paths:

▸ [FIGHT] – LV.1

Locks you into a lethal path. Grants a temporary stat boost that scales with skill level.

Failure to kill the target within the encounter results in instant death.Success rewards EXP + unique subclass bonus.

▸ [DISARM] – LV.1

Attempt to talk the enemy down.

Failure to persuade results in a severe penalty.

If you resort to violence after choosing [DISARM], the penalty is doubled.

Success rewards EXP + unique subclass bonus.

🎭 LV.1 Insight:

Gain a brief glimpse into the enemy's current emotional state. Accuracy depends on your familiarity with the target.

🔓 LV.2+ Insight Unlocks: Difficulty ratings for BOTH options, emotional triggers or weaknesses, and triggering phrases.

[MORE SUBCLASS SKILLS WILL BE UNLOCKED UPON ADVANCING IN THIS CLASS.]

Jiho blinked.

'The… fuck?'