Steel Fangs and Shattered Bones

Ha Jinhyuk groaned as he sat up in bed, stretching his arms high above his head with a loud yawn. His body was still sore from the previous dungeon run.

He glanced at the wall clock.

11:00 PM.

"I didn't mean to sleep for that long," he muttered, rubbing his eyes. "Shit. My sleep schedule's completely wrecked."

Still groggy, he shuffled into the bathroom, turned on the light, and began brushing his teeth. The electric hum of the toothbrush buzzed in sync with his thoughts.

He stared at his reflection for a moment — the new body, the stronger body — and spat.After rinsing, he changed his pants from black sweatpants to dark jeans. They hugged his legs more snugly, perfect for quick movement and combat.

"System," he said aloud, pulling on a clean shirt. "Open the gate. I'm going hunting again."

[Understood. Opening personalized dungeon...]

A swirling portal opened in the center of his room, flickering with pale blue light.

"Oh, and one more thing," he added, pausing. "Why didn't the monsters I killed last time drop any Rune Stones or equipment?"

[The monsters in this personalized dungeon do not drop Rune Stones. The value of those items has been automatically converted into coins for the Host. As for equipment drops... the Host was simply unlucky.]

Jinhyuk sighed. "Of course. Unlucky. Why am I not surprised?"

He stepped through the gate.

The familiar, moonlit forest greeted him — but it was no longer pristine.

The rotting corpse of the abnormal wolf from before lay slumped in the underbrush. Its pure white fur was now stained black with rot and buzzing with flies that feasted greedily on its flesh. The stench hit Jinhyuk like a slap.

He gagged and covered his nose. "Ugh… That's nasty."

He moved deeper into the trees, spear in hand, keeping low and quiet. The woods around him were alive with strange noises — rustling, growling, the distant flap of wings overhead.

Eventually, he spotted a clearing, glowing faintly under the red moonlight.

Inside it were seven beasts — Steel-Fanged Lycans. Hulking red wolves, larger than any normal creature, each with jagged metal lower jaws, sharp and unnatural. The jaws gleamed in the moonlight, mechanical grafts fused to feral muscle.

Jinhyuk narrowed his eyes.

'Seven of them. That's a lot… but I want to see how strong this spear really is. Let's test my skill.'

He stepped forward deliberately. The Lycans noticed instantly.

All seven heads turned. Their growls echoed across the forest.

One charged.

Its jaws opened unnaturally wide, revealing rows of serrated metal teeth — enough to tear through armor.

Jinhyuk spun his spear with both hands and stepped forward calmly.

WHUMP!

He rammed the spear straight down the beast's throat, the point bursting through the back of its skull. The Lycan collapsed mid-lunge, twitching.

[Host has killed Level 15 Steel-Fanged Lycan. +250 EXP]

[First Steel-Fanged Lycan Kill Bonus: +2.5x EXP]

Jinhyuk blinked in surprise.

'That was… easier than I expected. Is it the spear's abilities? Or the Underdog title boost? Either way… this thing hits like a truck.'

The other Lycans howled and scattered. Two charged. One leapt.

He jumped into the air and thrust down, impaling the second Lycan cleanly through the spine. Its legs folded as it hit the dirt.

The third came from his right.

He twisted just in time, ducking under its swipe, and stabbed the spear straight into its gut. It squealed and rolled to the side, body convulsing from poison and paralysis.

"Three down, four to go," he muttered.

The remaining Lycans didn't hesitate. All four rushed in together.

Jinhyuk ducked beneath the first, threw his spear with perfect timing — and it whistled through the air before embedding into the eye socket of another charging wolf.

THWACK.

It hit the ground without a sound.

Jinhyuk sprinted forward, grabbed the spear from the corpse, spun, and slashed sideways — decapitating the next Lycan in a single clean strike.

The last two closed in.

He ran through them — jabbing the spear through one, not even stopping, and then shoved it deeper, piercing the final wolf as well.

Shish kebab.

Their twitching corpses flew backward as he twisted and yanked the spear free. The system chimed:

[Host has killed (7) Level 15 Steel-Fanged Lycans. +10,500 Coins Earned]

[Host has leveled up x2]

He exhaled slowly, eyes glowing with excitement.

"This spear is amazing. I can feel it getting stronger with every kill."

He glanced at his hand. It tingled with energy.

"If only I had telekinesis… I could throw this thing and call it back like some fantasy god."

He pulled up his stats.

Name: Ha Jinhyuk

Level: 14

Points: 6

"System, how many coins did I get total?"

[Each Lycan granted 1500 coins. Total: 10,500 coins.]

He nodded, impressed. "Is that enough for a telekinesis skill?"

[The weakest Telekinesis skill that can lift your spear costs 25,000 coins.]

He sighed. "Of course. Well, not too far off. I can grind."

But before he could move—

BOOM.

A massive shadow exploded from the tree line.

THWACK!

A tree-trunk-sized club slammed into his side. He went flying.

CRACK.

He slammed into a rock wall. Pain shot through his ribs.

[HP: 125/250]

He looked up, vision blurry — and saw it.

An Orc.

Eight feet tall, covered in thick gray-green skin, with tusks the size of butcher knives and a massive iron-studded club.

'Where the hell did that come from?! One hit — half my health gone…'

He staggered to his feet, pulling a health potion from his inventory.

Glug.

[HP: 175/250]

The orc roared and charged. Jinhyuk dodged to the side, slid between its legs, and stabbed at the back of its knee.

The spear pierced — barely.

But it was enough.

The orc froze mid-step. Its body convulsed as poison and bleeding set in.

"Yes!"

Jinhyuk lunged upward, thrusting toward the orc's head — but the beast turned and backhanded him mid-air.

CRACK!

Jinhyuk hit a tree. Hard.

[HP: 50/250]

His ribs screamed. He spat blood.

'Damn it… The paralysis didn't take...'

He used the last two health potions.

[HP: 150/250]

The orc snarled and charged again, lifting its club like a hammer.

Jinhyuk lowered his stance, his spear out to the side.

They clashed.

BOOM.

The club came down — he dodged to the left, stabbed the spear deep into its gut.

The orc shrieked. Swung again.

He ducked, then parried — barely.

His arms ached. The weight of the strike rattled his bones. He spun his spear and stabbed again — but the orc retaliated with a brutal sideways strike.

CRACK!

Ribs shattered. He coughed blood.

[HP: 25/250]

'Don't fall… not yet.'

He planted his foot. Gritted his teeth.

Veins bulged across his arm.With a scream, he shoved the spear straight through the orc's torso — so hard it blew a hole clean through its side.

The orc stumbled. Looked down. Then collapsed, its club falling with a metallic thud.

[Host has killed Level 25 Orc. +5000 EXP]

[First Orc Kill Bonus: +3x EXP]

[Host has leveled up x6]

"System…" Jinhyuk coughed, "...take me back."

Return to Base

A gate appeared. He stumbled through and collapsed onto his bed.

"Status…"

Name: Ha Jinhyuk

Job: None

Title: Underdog

Level: 20

HP: 250/250

MP: 125

Strength: 46 (+30)

Agility: 29 (+20)

Sense: 23 (+5)

Vitality: 26

Intelligence: 23

Points: 24

"Put 9 into Strength, 1 into Agility, 5 into Sense, 4 into Vitality, 5 into Intelligence."

Updated Status:

HP: 350/350

MP: 250

Strength: 55 (+30)

Agility: 30 (+20)

Sense: 28 (+5)

Vitality: 30

Intelligence: 28

Points: 0

"My clothes are always getting ruined…"

He glanced down at his bloodstained shirt.

"System, how many coins did I get from that orc?"

[35,000. Current total: 45,500 coins.]

"Perfect. Buy the Telekinesis skill — and see if there's any armor I can afford with the leftover 20,500."

[Telekinesis acquired.]

['Voidsteel Reinforcement Set' acquired.]

He opened his inventory.

The armor was dark silver, lined with crimson runes. Its stats were insane:

+150 Vitality

+100 Intelligence

Reduces damage taken by 30%

Jinhyuk did the mental math.

'That brings my HP to 4100 and MP to 2750... Holy hell.'

He let out a laugh and stumbled to the bathroom. One hot shower later, he changed into clean clothes and stood before the mirror, fresh and dressed.

"We're getting stronger," he whispered to his reflection, "slowly, but surely."

He smiled.

"Soon… I'll go take the rank evaluation test."

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