The Wyvern Goblin’s razor-sharp fangs.
Acidic fluid clung to their tips, hissing into vapor as its jaws swallowed Siul whole.
CHOMP CHOMP― GULP―.
The Wyvern Goblin smiled contentedly as it finished its delicious mouthful.
Jang Jin-young’s face went deathly pale at the sight.
Even if the two of them had just been picking a fight with each other, watching someone die right in front of him was horrifying.
But a moment later, something strange happened.
The Wyvern Goblin’s expression twisted.
Its face gradually turned purple, as though something had lodged in its throat.
And then, at last.
“BLARGH!!”
With a scream, it vomited.
“What?!”
Jang Jin-young’s eyes widened in shock.
Because amid the vomit, he could see Siul completely unharmed.
‘That guy… didn’t die?’
It was only natural that he was stunned.
The Wyvern Goblin had clearly chewed Siul before swallowing him.
It would have been a miracle if his limbs were still attached, yet there was not even a scratch on Siul’s body.
‘How is that possible?’
In truth, Siul himself was wondering the exact same thing.
* * *
【Trait ‘Cannot Die Until Death’ has activated.】
【You absolutely cannot die until the date specified in your death notice.】
The holographic message had appeared without warning.
It was a square information window labeled as a Trait Window.
‘What is this….’
As Siul stared at it in confusion—
CRUNCH!!
The Wyvern Goblin stuffed him into its mouth and began chewing violently.
Siul’s body was torn apart so brutally that it was impossible to tell how many pieces he had been ripped into.
It all happened so quickly that Siul did not even have time to realize he was dying.
But…….
“It doesn’t hurt.”
Siul’s eyes snapped open.
‘Why… doesn’t it hurt?’
His body was being severed by the Wyvern Goblin’s teeth.
He could clearly feel his neck breaking and his ribs shattering.
He could even see blood pouring from all over his body.
Yet strangely enough, he felt no pain whatsoever.
‘Huh?’
And that was not all.
‘My arms… my legs…!’
They were regenerating.
Like a slime with infinite regeneration, Siul’s body continuously returned to its original state no matter how many times it was torn apart or broken.
‘What the hell is happening to my body…!’
What he was witnessing was so unrealistic that he could not even process it properly.
He could not tell whether everything before his eyes was actually happening or whether his mind was creating some kind of hallucination.
SLURP―.
The Wyvern Goblin pushed Siul from its tongue down into its throat.
It mistakenly believed that it had chewed him thoroughly enough.
Around that time, another holographic screen appeared before Siul.
【Quest System activated.】
【Continuous Quest generated!】
【Eliminate the Threat to Your Life】
Personally eliminate the obstacle threatening your life.
Obstacle Danger Level: 30
Success Reward: 10 Level-Up Points
“What is this now…….”
Siul stared bewilderedly between the holographic screens flooding his vision.
There was the explanation of the bizarre ability labeled as a trait, along with a quest notification that looked as though it had come straight out of a game.
Everything was confusing.
Siul shifted his attention toward the Trait Window.
If he wanted to understand the regeneration he had just experienced, he needed to examine the trait first.
‘I had a trait?’
Some Awakened possessed traits such as alchemy, elemental magic, or summoning.
But Siul had never received any trait at all.
The only thing he had received was the curse bestowed upon him by the Judgment Dragon…….
“Ah!”
【You absolutely cannot die until the date specified in your death notice.】
The explanation written in the Trait Window.
Siul read the sentence again.
A hollow laugh escaped him at the sheer absurdity of it.
‘So basically….’
Until the date determined by the Judgment Dragon arrived, it would not allow him to die for any reason whatsoever.
“You crazy bastard. You gave me immortality just because of your pride?”
It called itself a curse, but this was closer to obsession.
Die only on the day I chose, in the manner I chose.
That was the true curse the Judgment Dragon had imposed upon him.
‘Then that means this quest is another one of the dragon’s sick games.’
Now that he thought about it, the mission labeled as a quest also seemed designed to prevent Siul from dying before the date stated in his death notice.
[Personally eliminate the obstacle threatening your life.]
‘This bastard really is insane…. You’re planning to toy with me until I die?’
People said SSS-rank beings, the highest-ranked creatures on Earth, existed beyond human imagination.
Siul belatedly realized that apparently included their mental state as well.
“Get these screens out of my face! They’re pissing me off!”
When Siul shouted, the screens shrank to the size of beans.
‘…They can shrink too?’
At least they listened well.
‘Whatever! I don’t care anymore. First, I need to get out of here.’
Siul looked around.
Thick, sticky mucus covered the dark space in every direction.
Every breath filled his lungs with a rotten, fishy stench.
‘I’m inside its esophagus.’
Siul immediately realized where he was.
Pressure periodically squeezed down from above, while a swallowing force tugged him downward from below.
‘If I keep going down, I’ll end up in its stomach. Then I’m really screwed.’
He could endure being chewed.
Even if he melted or was cut apart, he felt no pain, and his body regenerated almost immediately.
But what if he kept getting swallowed?
He might end up trapped inside this thing forever.
‘I seriously hate that idea.’
SQUELCH―!
Right on cue, the esophagus contracted once more.
Siul’s body was forced farther downward.
“Hey, hold on!”
As the esophagus narrowed around him, he heard what sounded like his bones breaking.
There was still no pain.
‘I’m practically immortal now!’
Clenching his teeth, Siul quickly summoned his inventory.
A translucent window appeared in front of him.
The weapon list.
One item among them immediately caught Siul’s attention.
『 C-Rank Longsword 』
It was the weapon he had splurged on for his first raid.
He had spent a staggering seven million won on it, making it the most expensive piece of equipment he owned.
‘It might break, right?’
No.
It would definitely break.
He was inside the body of an A-rank monster, after all.
He would be lucky if a C-rank weapon could even leave a small wound.
‘If I don’t use it, I’ll just get dragged farther down.’
He had no choice.
Siul squeezed his eyes shut and pulled out the C-rank longsword.
SHING―.
The reassuring weight in his hand felt surprisingly good.
It was an ordinary sword, but at that moment, it was his only lifeline.
‘Please….’
Siul twisted his entire body and aimed the sword at the wall of the esophagus.
STAB!!
He drove the sword forward with all his strength.
SQUELCH―!
The sensation of tearing flesh traveled up through the blade.
The Wyvern Goblin’s scream echoed from outside.
Its esophagus convulsed violently.
Siul was terrified, but he refused to let go of the sword.
Instead, desperate to survive, he drove it even deeper.
RIIIP!
He felt the wall of the esophagus tear apart.
The Wyvern Goblin could no longer endure it.
“BLARGH!!”
Vomit, mucus, and unidentified chunks of matter erupted from its mouth.
Siul was expelled along with them.
THUD!
After rolling across the asphalt several times, he lifted his head.
“Cough! Cough!”
Siul lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath.
The C-rank longsword was still in his hand.
The blade had been severely corroded, and its tip was grotesquely bent.
“Fuck, my seven million won…!!”
Siul wailed as he wiped tears from his eyes.
In front of him, the Wyvern Goblin clutched its throat and dry-heaved like mad.
Meanwhile, Jang Jin-young stared at the scene in absolute disbelief.
“Gasp.”
How could he not be shocked?
How could a person be chewed up and swallowed, only to come back out without so much as a scratch?
‘Did he dodge every single tooth inside its mouth? How does that even make sense?’
It was a scene beyond even Jang Jin-young’s imagination.
“There it is!”
“We found the monster!”
Multiple voices rang out in the distance.
Hunters affiliated with the Hunter Association were rushing toward the scene to subdue the Wyvern Goblin.
Only then did Jang Jin-young snap back to his senses.
‘This isn’t the time to stand around watching.’
An A-rank monster had broken through a gate and was rampaging through the middle of the city.
As someone who wore the red badge on his chest, it was his duty to eliminate it as quickly as possible.
BOOM!
The ground caved beneath Jang Jin-young’s feet as his body shot into the air.
“Hold still, birdbrain.”
Jang Jin-young pulled an A+-rank massive metal hammer from his inventory and swung it with all his strength.
BANG!!!
The hammer struck the Wyvern Goblin squarely in the head.
Its neck snapped, and its enormous body lost all control as it flew backward.
It was a perfect strike.
The Wyvern Goblin would undoubtedly be dead by the time its trajectory ended.
The problem was that…… Siul was standing directly at the end of that trajectory.
“Huh? Hey! Move!”
Jang Jin-young shouted urgently, but it was already too late.
The Wyvern Goblin had been launched like a cannonball and was already right in front of Siul.
Hearing Jang Jin-young’s shout, Siul looked up.
And found himself staring straight into the enormous eyeball of the Wyvern Goblin filling his entire field of vision.
“Huh?”
SPLAT―!!
It was too gruesome a sight to watch.
The Association personnel all turned their heads away at once.
‘He’s dead, right?’
‘He has to be.’
‘Did his head explode?’
‘Aaaagh! I don’t want to clean up a corpse!’
Those were the thoughts running through everyone’s minds.
“You scared the hell out of me!!”
“…?”
“…?”
“…?”
“…?”
The Association personnel flinched at Siul’s voice and looked forward again.
The Wyvern Goblin lay dead with one of its eyes burst apart, while Siul stood perfectly fine in front of it.
“He’s alive?”
“Did he dodge?”
“But then why is the monster’s eye destroyed?”
Everyone merely exchanged bewildered murmurs with stupid expressions on their faces.
Siul, meanwhile, brushed the dust from his body while unleashing a torrent of curses.
“It might not hurt, but having my whole body explode and regenerate still feels disgusting.”
When Siul collided with the Wyvern Goblin, he had burst one of its eyes.
In exchange, his entire body had exploded as well.
Although it had regenerated in less than ten seconds.
【Quest Success!】
【You have successfully eliminated an enemy threatening your life by attacking its weak point (eye).】
【You have received 10 Level-Up Points as a reward.】
‘Level-Up Points?’
Siul frowned as he stared at the screen.
This was not a game.
What the hell was he supposed to do with Level-Up Points?
【Accumulating Level-Up Points allows you to increase your Awakening Rank.】
“……?”
Siul’s expression twisted.
An Awakening Rank did not change.
It was determined by innate talent.
Every hunter knew that as common knowledge.
There were rare exceptions known as reawakening, but even those were merely cases where someone’s latent potential manifested later.
‘But I can raise my rank?’
It made no sense.
At that exact moment, the screen reacted once more.
【You have accumulated 10 Level-Up Points. Your Awakening Rank will now increase.】
Siul’s heart began pounding violently.
At the same time, something erupted inside his body as though an explosion had gone off.
“Urgh!”
Mana.
And at a density unlike anything he had ever experienced before.
Mana surged through his blood vessels and shook his entire body.
His heart raced, and heat spread through him.
Siul understood instinctively.
He was reawakening.
【Rank Increase Complete: D-Rank → C-Rank】
The words floating before his eyes were unnaturally vivid.
‘…It really changed.’
Before he could even begin organizing the chaos in his mind, the Quest Window displayed several more lines.
【Every time you accumulate 10 Level-Up Points, your Awakening Rank will increase by one level.】
【Current Accumulated Points: 0】
He could no longer deny the dreamlike claim that he could increase his Awakening Rank.
His rank had actually risen, and Siul himself could feel the difference through the mana flowing inside him.
‘What the hell is this quest…….’
He had assumed it was nothing more than another cruel game devised by the Judgment Dragon.
But this was far too elaborate for that.
Why give someone who would die in six months the opportunity to reawaken?
Moreover, if this was a Continuous Quest, did that not mean it intended to keep giving him more opportunities?
‘Why are you giving me this kind of power…!’
Siul could not understand the Judgment Dragon.
Then, in that instant, an icy sensation suddenly pierced through his mind.
It felt as though his consciousness had connected with someone else’s.
And then, that being’s voice truly echoed inside Siul’s head.
— Do not die until it is time for you to die.
— Fight with that monstrous body of yours.
— You can become stronger.
— Keep growing stronger…….
Siul’s lips trembled.
— And come kill me.