A Surprise Attack

"Why did the boats disappear? Specialists told us an invisible field surrounded a certain area in the vast ocean. Because something was obscuring their abilities, multiple E-rank hunters could not determine what was inside."

Lu Jae-sung lay in bed, watching the television he had bought with his stepfather's unmarked bank card.

The rooms were filled with simple decoration: a wardrobe, nightstand, TV stand, and other furniture filled the bedroom, and simple drawers and cutlery were added to the kitchen. It finally wasn't so empty and looked interesting.

"I hope this doesn't become a bigger issue than it seems to be." He thought, looking at the screen, worry dwelling inside him.

Although he was interested in the news, what lay ahead of him was a lot more concerning than the news.

↓ Common:

- Cognitive Resilience Lv 4 (12/40 XP)

- Drowsiness Defiance Lv 1 (9/10 XP)

- Pain Tolerance Lv 3 (21/30 XP)

↓ Uncommon:

- Fist Fighting Mastery Lv 1 (1/100 XP)

- Lie Detection Lv1 (1/100 XP) (NEW!)

He stared at the new skill that popped up in the middle of his training session. When he had seen a new skill was unlocked, he ignored it until he was finished. However, when he finally got to it, he couldn't believe what he saw in front of him.

"Why did it appear a while ago, when I didn't have any interaction with others?" He thought.

While concerned about the skill's capabilities, a descriptive prompt showed before his eyes.

"Description: Automatically detects lie upon detection. Further inspection drains 1 mana per minute. If the opposing party has +10 more intelligence than the user, the skill fails."

Although this was a useful skill, which activated just by thinking about it, intelligence still worked as a defensive feature for mage-type hunters. Multiple dazing and manipulating skills relied on differing intelligence points, leading to fights of uncertainty.

"Am I being lied to? But the only one I talk to is Baram Soo-kyung. I don't even speak with my parents. Is she the reason for the skill's appearance?" He still looked confused, staring at the interface for another five minutes.

"I hope it's just a poor joke."

*sigh*

He looked at his stats and upgraded his mana by two for the future. The stats looked like this.

- 100/100 HP

- 1/1 MP

- 78/100 Exhaustion

- Level: 0 (0/100 XP)

- Strength: 15

- Endurance: 17

- Intelligence: 12

- Mana: 3

- Dexterity: 12

- Agility: 14

- Stat Points: 10

As midnight approached, Lu Jae-sung made dinner for himself and prepared for the upcoming Friday.

-----------------------------------------

"Boss, I could have gotten rid of him the moment I met him. After all, he's just a nobody. It's not like anyone would notice a thing." Baram Soo-kyung said as she bowed by the damaged double doors leading to a singular antique desk.

The room was small, with an old, wide, and dusty bookshelf on each side. Behind the desk, a shady muscular figure hid in a shadow. He wore a black-and-white suit and white gloves, giving off a mysterious vibe.

No one knew The Boss, yet everyone obeyed him like a god for his pure strength.

"Do you know his specialization? We couldn't afford to be discovered by some random peasant. If he is weak, he might just die in the process of our plan." When he spoke, confidence radiated from him, fingers lacing on the table.

He fixed his gaze on her, fists clenched, anger dwelled from his facade. He broke the silence with a deep voice.

"Why are you informing me about a weakling that knows nothing?! Just play with him, as you have done with everyone else until now!"

When The Bosse's emotion shifted, her spine shivered, fear written all over her face. She couldn't move for a while, and when the atmosphere calmed down, she turned and headed off through the long hallway, filled with armor statues beside an old, cactus green carpet.

"I should have never accepted those two as my pleasure toys to make extra cash. Just wait, I will use my reserve for you, Jae-sung!"

Her high heels made soft sounds on the carpet as she was leaving the decaying building.

-----------------------------------------

"As I had thought. I can't put the backpack inside the inventory." Lu Jae-sung looked disappointed.

*sigh*

He took the backpack and went to school. However, something unforeseen disrupted his travels.

Multiple dead bodies lay in a pile, high-pitched screams resonated around the corner. A monster appeared in a side street within the border of downtown Gongchun, somewhere in Lu Jae-sung's path.

Suddenly, when he passed by, not knowing what had happened right next to him, an enormous claw tried to grasp him from the shadows.

He barely dashed past it, his bag was torn off of his shoulders with no effort.

On high alert, Lu Jae-sung bent his knees and took a fighting stance, showing his immense focus on the dark alley.

While scanning for another attack, he yelled in his chaotic thoughts. "What the fuck was that?! A huge claw? It happened so fast I almost passed away just like that!"

Watching for threats, his eyes were fixed on the alley, covered in dark shadows from the small, poor-looking apartment blocks.

*Beep* *Beep*

Although he couldn't see anything in the dark alley at first, his vision improved ever so slightly, at least revealing the monster's traits.

It resembled a scaled lizard and alligator at the same time. Its limbs were long and bent to a certain level, most likely for creeping and mid-range attack purposes. A hawk-like claw ensured sharp life-threatening attacks, being able to retract them for improved mobility. The head was short, but as wide as its body, fitting tightly in the alley.

Later on, the monster realized it was being stared at by this human, enraged; it roared and ran out, chomping the air to intimidate its opponent.

Before that, Lu Jae-sung had upgraded his agility and strength with his reserve stat points.

- Strength: 19

- Agility: 20

- Stat Points: 0

He had waited for the monster to enclose the distance before he disappeared from the monster's field of view, punching its scaled side. But only cracks manifested, wine-red blood gushing out through the small opening.

*Beep* *Beep*

"Defeat the enemy within five minutes. (Reward: 5+ strength, 5+ stat points)"

The lizard roared in agony, entering a berserk state. The speed and intimidation rose to an even higher level.

Cold sweat condensed on his back, drenching his clothes from the sheer stress that could be seen in his eyes.

His hand was slightly damaged by the impact of his fist and the lizard's tough scales.

Before he could think straight, the creature struck its claws to the ground, creating fissures, preparing to jump at him again. He rolled back, as he was struck by a claw during its jump.

"Fuck!" He screamed.

A claw mark appeared on his arm, covering half of it with blood. The wound wasn't dangerously deep, but if he was just a few milliseconds late, his arm would be missing. Because of his 'Pain Tolerance' skill, he didn't feel that much pain, leaving his full focus unscathed.

- 58/100 HP

- 62/100 Exhaustion

His status looked horrifying, getting tired with each dodge. The chance to defeat this abomination seemed slimmer. However, he slowly got used to the enemy's pattern. After a few claw attacks, the lizard would rush out, trying to chomp his head off. When that didn't work out, it would turn around in an instant, swiping its tail above the ground.

These techniques were straightforward to understand. Even though his exhaustion rose to a critical level, the lizard jumped on him for the second time, leaving an opening below its belly.

Without hesitation, he performed a slide under the wide head, stopping under him and kicking up with all his effort. The monster had flown a whole meter high from the immense impact, falling after a moment. Then Lu Jae-sung prepared himself under the head. Crouched, he punched the sharp jaw at the tip, discombobulating its head from the spine, and stretching the neck by a few centimeters.

Main:

- Defeat the enemy within five minutes. (1/1 Defeated) (Reward: +5 strength, +5 stat points.)

"First Common beast defeated - Gatorhawk (Common/Adept)"

- First Gatorhawk kill. (Reward: 2000 XP)

- First Common/Adept beast kill. (Reward: 15000 XP)

- Common/Adept kill. (Reward: 1000 XP)

*Pant* *Pant*

His knees bent, his right hand covered in his own blood, he gulped for air out of fatigue. This intense fight showed how much stronger he was, even as a level zero adventurer, ranked F. This accomplishment took a tremendous effort and focus. He was glad he had spare points to raise his stats. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to fight the Gatorhawk and would have to make a run for it.

After his heart rate slowed down, he looked at all the notifications his system made.

"Holy—shit!" His mind was full of excitement, and his jaw remained open for a while.

Left frozen in the spot, looking at his stats, he was left speechless beside the corpse as he examined his stats.

- 39/100 HP

- 1/1 MP

- 90/100 Exhaustion

- Level: 18 (1000/1900 XP)

- Strength: 24

- Stat Points: 23

At each level, he gained one stat point and XP needed, rising by 100 every level up. However, it would make sense that at some point, the requirements would change exponentially. Skipping so many levels was just unreal. But he had little time, as his exhaustion was close to passing out.

Lu Jae-sung pulled out his phone to call the authorities while going through the alley the monster had come from. He immediately vomited beside himself, clutching his stomach and turning from the deeper part of the alley. The dead bodies gave off a strange scent, a group of flies was flying around the pile. They were torn to pieces, limbs lying all around. A bloody pool filled the entire sector.

"Why the fuck are there so many?!"

His stomach finally calmed down, with fear dwelling in his mind. He left the scene as soon as he could because the stench and sight were unbearable.

The phone was still ringing. Not a single dispatcher picked it up.

*Nee-Naw* *Nee-Naw*

Suddenly, a piercing alert echoed throughout the southern part of Gongchun, a signal that an enormous amount of beasts invaded the city.