Chapter 23: Who Are You? (1)

Suho’s fingers moved busily across the phone screen.

Soon, the phrase was complete.

[Hero Grade Item]

‘Search’

The search results filled the entire screen.

[Do Hero Grade Items even exist?]

[A new hammer by Chris Hammerwood, the ranked Hunter from the Liberty Guild—is that a Hero Grade?]

[There’s no such thing as Hero Grade!]

[I’d pay anything for one! A Middle East Tycoon offers a blank check for Hero Grade Items!]

….

Various articles and rumors flashed through his mind.

Suho randomly clicked on comments to read the replies.

Countless opinions were exchanged.

“It seems like they do exist…”

The consensus was that they do exist, but ranked Hunters keep them meticulously hidden.

“Must be incredibly rare. There’s no concrete info, though.”

Because of this, no matter how much Suho searched, he couldn’t find any details on the options for Hero Grade equipment.

But that rare item…

Suho put his phone down on the desk and turned his head.

On the bed lay a set of gray leather armor.

“There it is. Heh heh.”

[Red Gray Guardian]

• A leather armor crafted through the combined efforts of two exceptional masters. It perfectly protects not only the upper body but also the head. Filled with the masters’ utmost sincerity, it is truly a masterpiece. The only flaw is that the materials couldn’t quite match the craftsmanship.
• Item Grade: Hero
• Physical Defense: 790
• Magic Defense: 450
• [Advanced Shock Absorption] [Lesser Attribute Enhancement] [Strength Explosion]
• Strength +30, Agility +15, Stamina +15, Magic Power +15
• Durability: 1200

After a long debate, Tarunga and Dalkong had decided on a joint effort.

Dalkong made the leather armor.

Tarunga crafted the helmet connected to the armor.

The combination was what became the [Red Gray Guardian].

“This is incredible, seriously.”

The Hero Grade icon shone clearly on the item description.

Suho felt his heart pounding.

Almost twice the physical defense of Pot lid.

And on top of that, it had magic defense—a feature neither the Aluminum Pot nor Pot Lid had.

Naturally, the high additional stats and durability followed.

“It’s amazing in every way, but especially…”

Suho skimmed through the skills embedded in the armor.

[Advanced Shock Absorption] was expected, since even the Aluminum Pot had it, so it didn’t excite him much.

But the other two were different.

[Lesser Attribute Enhancement]

• Increases all types of attribute attack and defense by 10%. Always active.

[Strength Explosion]

• Increases strength by 100% for 10 seconds. Cooldown: 60 minutes.

“This skill is absolutely insane.”

A smile wouldn’t leave his lips.

Ji-ing —

The vibration of his phone snapped Suho out of his daze.

-Jung Hyunsu: Today’s dungeon day, so just reminding you ahead of time. Remember to be there by 2 PM, alright? I’ll meet you in front of the dungeon then.

But before he replied, Suho stood up.

“It’s about time to get ready.”

By chance, he’d also gotten new equipment today.

Let’s go raid the dungeon enthusiastically today.

And then…

Suddenly remembering something to do, Suho glanced sideways.

Balryong was lying on the bed, belly up, sound asleep.

“Balryong.”

At Suho’s call, Balryong groggily lifted his body.

“Why are you calling me, human?”

“Can you change that way of addressing me? Anyway, it’s dungeon day today, so get up.”

Balryong flapped his wings and jumped up.

“Oh—finally, the day when the seal on my immense power will be lifted has come!”

After saying that, he got ready to leave.

Suho began putting on his armor, leaving Balryong fluttering around the room.

The armor fit snugly, almost like it was sucking him in, providing a comfortable feeling.

“This is really comfortable. Well, it’s got a grade, after all.”

Suho looked at the mirror with a proud expression.

The dark gray armor covered his upper body.

“Was I supposed to wear it like this around the back of the neck?”

Recalling the explanation Tarunga had given him, Suho brought his hand to the collar around his neck.

When he touched it and gently pulled upward—

Cha-rururururur—

A blood-red steel plate rose like heavenly armor, sliding over Suho’s head.

The steel plate stopped only after covering the back of his head, the crown, and his face.

In the mirror, only his two eyes stared back at him from between the helmet.

“That’s cool. Krr.”

Suho smiled without realizing it.

Seeing this, Balryong clicked his tongue.

“Don’t expect to become like me just because you mimic my smile.”

What?

Hearing that from Balryong…

A rush of embarrassment shook Suho, and he quickly left the room.

***

Outskirts of Gyeonggi Province, in front of the dungeon owned by Sangwangryeon.

The chicken-shaped van stopped, and Suho got out.

“Hyung! Hello.”

“You been well?”

“I’ve been fine, thanks to you.”

“Good. What about the other guy?”

This dungeon was a special situation where one more person would be joining.

“He’s over there. I’ll introduce you.”

Suho followed Jung Hyunsu toward the Dungeon Gate.

There stood a man in his mid-thirties.

“This is Hunter Chae Seongil, from Sangwangryeon Hunting Team 7.”

Jung Hyunsu introduced the man.

Suho greeted him.

“I’m Won Suho. Nice to meet you.”

The man looked Suho up and down.

“Hmm, I’m Chae Seongil. That armor looks good. What’s it?”

Suho didn’t answer.

He couldn’t reveal it was Hero Grade, and even if it was a lower grade, he didn’t want to entertain such questions.

“Man, you’re really proud of your gear. Talking about it won’t hurt anyone.”

Chae Seongil grumbled with a sour expression.

Jung Hyunsu intervened.

“Hunter Chae Seongil, mind your manners. Suho-hyung is a very important guest to Sangwangryeon.”

“Yeah, yeah, got it.”

Chae Seongil replied dismissively, then turned away.

“What kind of guy is he?”

Originally, this dungeon was scheduled for Chae Seongil’s party.

When their party had issues, Suho and Jung Hyunsu had joined.

“Is he just taking out his frustration over his party problems on me?”

Suho wasn’t sure if he had to put up with it…

Should he fight back?

After a moment of thought, Suho shook it off.

“Whatever. It’s not a dungeon we have to clear together. As long as the headcount is enough, that’s fine.”

Consider yourself lucky.

While Suho organized his thoughts, Jung Hyunsu spoke.

“I’ve already given you the related materials, but I’ll give a quick briefing at the end.”

“Okay.”

“This dungeon has three branching paths. Upon entry, we’ll split up. Each person has to clear all the monsters on their path to proceed to the next stage.”

Suho listened silently to Jung Hyunsu’s explanation.

Chae Seongil’s gaze kept flickering toward the armor.

“So we need at least three people. If we repeat the process twice, the dungeon is finished. There’s no boss. Clearing the three paths is the core of the dungeon strategy.”

Jung Hyunsu finished his explanation.

“Then, shall we go? Anyone with objections?”

“No, let’s hurry up.”

Following Jung Hyunsu and Chae Seongil, Suho stepped through the Dungeon Gate.

***

Upon entering, a long corridor stretched out before him.

“Just like I heard, they split off from here.”

From here on, it was solo play.

He just had to defeat all the monsters and reach the end of the hallway.

“Well then, let’s get started.”

As Suho steeled himself, Balryong appeared, becoming visible again.

“Finally, we’ve arrived. Hurry and slay the monsters, human. Let’s see if the seal on my power loosens.”

“Alright, let’s give it a try.”

When they’d defeated the boss monster in the Youngil Guild dungeon, Balryong’s magic had increased.

That was beneficial to Suho as well.

“We need to confirm once more that defeating monsters makes Balryong grow.”

That was why Suho had brought Balryong into the dungeon.

“Oh—there’s a Muscle Knight ahead. Go! Go kill it!”

Suho took a step forward.

Just as Balryong said, a massive figure clad in full plate mail appeared in the distance.

Muscle Knight.

Instead of facial features where the face should be, bulging muscles were revealed.

Kong kong kong—

The Muscle Knight charged.

Suho calmly walked forward.

“Kuwaaa—!”

The Muscle Knight roared, swinging a mace in his hand.

‘Let’s see how strong this armor really is.’

Not just Balryong, but the performance of the [Red Gray Guardian] was also under test.

Since the Muscle Knight was top tier among First-Rank Dungeons, it was a good candidate for an experiment.

Suho raised the pot lid.

Kwaaang—!

The mace struck the pot lid.

“Pretty durable.”

Pot lid didn’t budge an inch.

No burden on his arm.

The moment he truly felt the power of Hero Grade equipment.

‘No need to drag this out.’

This was more than enough for a performance test.

In fact, the Muscle Knight was an impossible opponent for a real test.

Soon the Muscle Knight struck again.

Suho swung Solttu’s lid to block.

Kwaaang—!

The mace bounced off weakly.

The Muscle Knight staggered backward.

His chest was exposed.

‘Slash!’

Suho swung down with the Fire Cannon Sword.

Zwaaak—

The full plate mail was sliced like paper.

Gorearrr

A strange sound echoed as the Muscle Knight was split in half and collapsed.

[Muscle Knight Defeated.]

[Experience Gained.]

Easy.

Too easy.

There was no need to dodge or hesitate.

Just slash.

‘I need to graduate to Level 11 soon.’

As Suho resolved this, a voice came from beside him.

“Oh oh—my magic is swelling!”

Suho gave Balryong a blank look.

“Is your magic really increasing?”

“That’s right. Finally, the seal on my immense power is about to be broken.”

“…That’s great to hear.”

At that moment, a new Muscle Knight charged from afar.

“Go, human! No time to play around. Go kill the lowly monsters and let me break free from my seal!”

Balryong’s words sparked a cold gleam in Suho’s eyes.

“Alright, still have some testing left.”

Duk.

“Th-This is madness!”

“Try catching it yourself. Let’s see if your magic actually rises.”

Suho threw Balryong toward the Muscle Knight.

***

Purrak—

A spear was drawn.

The Muscle Knight, with a hole where its face should be, fell.

Blood pooled heavily on the floor.

“Such pathetic bodies, you better switch out soon.”

Chae Seongil, an 18-level Hunter from Sangwangryeon.

No, more accurately, Hong Sucheol, the Murderer of the Armored Doppelganger class, spoke.

His opponent’s appearance and stats.

Even their items were copied by his unique skill, [Heavenly Face Copy].

Hong Sucheol had transformed into countless people before.

Each time, he killed his target and exploited their identity.

“I don’t know what kind of bastard you are, but—”

Despite that, Hong Sucheol had been feeling immense pressure lately.

Because, through some unknown route, his information had been leaked.

Name, true face, class, skills.

Even habits, usual behaviors, and all the bodies he’d possessed so far.

Thanks to this, the Hunter Association had put a massive bounty on Hong Sucheol.

“I’ll find whoever leaked this info and kill them. Damn it.”

A figure extended a hand to the pressured Hong Sucheol.

The leader of the Murderer group.

He had recently visited and requested one thing.

To take over Jung Hyunsu’s body, the son of Sangwangryeon’s head.

To join forces and swallow Sangwangryeon whole.

“If only the son of Sangwangryeon’s head works with us, we’ll have an easy path.”

Hong Sucheol accepted the request.

Feeling the pressure growing by the day, it was an unavoidable choice.

“Living as the son of Sangwangryeon’s head isn’t so bad, is it?”

Hong Sucheol let out a bitter laugh and swung his spear.

Purrak—

The running Muscle Knight’s face was pierced by the spear.

“Damn, my joints ache after killing a few of these worthless bodies. Pfft—”

Hong Sucheol spat in irritation.

Even his unique skill, [Heavenly Face Copy], had its drawbacks.

“If I copy a low level, I can only use low level’s power.”

Also, he was limited to copying only the grades he had ever worn before.

But Hong Sucheol didn’t care.

“I’ve only worn up to Rare grade anyway, so item copying is no big deal.”

He had never even seen a Hero Grade Item, let alone worn one.

“They won’t have Hero Grade items. Haha.”

Though the dark gray armor caught his eye, Hong Sucheol thought realistically.

Since the existence of Hero Grade items was uncertain, there was no way that guy had one.

“Let’s finish quickly and wait outside.”

Wait for the useless guy to die, copy Jung Hyunsu, and then move on to Sangwangryeon’s head.

Hong Sucheol imagined the pleasant scenario as he faced the Muscle Knight.

Purrak—

Though lowly at level 18, Hong Sucheol’s momentum made his attacks more effective.

One strike.

A spear thrust pierced the Muscle Knight’s face, and it collapsed.

A few more minutes passed.

Hong Sucheol reached the end of the hallway.

“Shall I head out now?”

Since all monsters were defeated, the lock on the hallway’s end door had been released.

Hong Sucheol pushed the door open and stepped outside.

“Who will come out first? Could that useless guy be physically better than that Chae Seongil?”

Maybe I should switch bodies for a moment before copying Jung Hyunsu?

Spreading his wings of imagination, Hong Sucheol entered the next floor.

He flinched.

He stopped, frozen.

Someone was there where no one should be.

“…You, how are you already out here?”

Hong Sucheol asked in shock.

A cold reply returned.

“I killed the monsters. Of course I did. That’s a dumb question. But I’m curious about one thing…”

Hong Sucheol was too stunned to reply, desperately rolling his eyes to figure out the opponent.

Suho asked him.

“Who are you?”