Everyone has probably heard this at least once.
The story of how, in a moment of crisis, a sudden burst of superhuman strength allowed someone to survive.
Or at the very least, you’ve had the experience of focusing your willpower and drawing out abilities or skills beyond your usual limits.
People call this the “strength that comes out in extreme situations.”
And right now, Albino was in exactly that state.
Kiyaaaak!
He was letting out a monstrous scream as he slaughtered the Ghouls, but this was merely the result of pouring out every last bit of his remaining energy.
“But that doesn’t mean I can let my guard down.”
From his days as a professional boxer, he knew all too well that the moment you give it your all is actually the most dangerous.
‘If I let my guard down for even a second, I could get caught up in the bastard’s final outburst.’
So if possible, he wanted to finish off Albino from a safe distance, but unfortunately, that wasn’t possible.
The destructive power of his arrows naturally weakened as the distance increased, and Albino, who was currently drawing out twice his usual physical ability, was transitioning between offense and defense with incredible smoothness.
In the end, that meant he had no choice but to close the distance if he wanted to land an effective hit.
The danger was beyond words, but this was the best he could do.
At the same time, it was also his last chance.
“If I wait any longer, I might not even get a chance.”
If things dragged out any further, the guard line the Ghouls had set up would collapse, and the result would be the same as before.
He might be able to make a shameful escape, but his opponent wasn’t so easy as to allow such luck twice.
Of course, he might get lucky and pull it off a second time, but rather than relying on luck—
‘I need to throw the winning move I’ve prepared.’
He lowered his bowstring for a moment and joined the melee front where the Ghouls were.
Kiyaaaak!
Red eyes and a dark crimson aura wrapped around his entire body.
Up close, the berserk Albino looked just like a demon, and Dahav unconsciously tensed up.
‘Don’t get scared. Stay calm, keep your vision wide.’
If you didn’t look carefully, you’d miss it under the bloodlust pouring out, but his body was covered in countless wounds, big and small.
Those wounds were clear proof that Albino was exhausted and making his final desperate stand.
Feeling confident that he could win, a sly grin spread across his face.
“Haa…”
With a breath that seemed to come from deep in his lungs, he pushed out his tension and gripped the item he had prepared.
In that time, Albino, who had just finished a round of slaughtering Ghouls, charged straight at him.
That was exactly what he wanted, and he was ready, so there was nothing to be flustered about.
In his head, he kept recalling the previous moments of crisis, drawing a clearer, more detailed blueprint of how to defeat Albino.
He had no intention of making the same mistake as before.
‘I need to move one beat faster than I planned—no, since he’s in a berserk state, two beats faster.’
Just then, Albino’s shoulder started to swing back.
Predicting his movement, Dahav quickly threw the dagger he was holding in his left hand.
Kiyaaaak!
It wasn’t a dagger with high stats or thrown with a skill, just a plain, unremarkable dagger.
If it were the berserk Albino, he could probably ignore it easily.
‘But this time, he won’t be able to.’
What was smeared on the tip of the dagger was Dwarven Extract, something that Goblins detested and feared.
Kiyaaaak!
As expected, Albino instinctively swung his outstretched hand forward to swat away the flying dagger.
And at that moment, Dahav sprang off the ground.
His feet, now airborne, used Albino’s outstretched arm as a stepping stone, preparing for a second leap.
Of course, Albino wasn’t about to let him get away with that.
Kiyak!
Albino tried to shake him off and at the same time swung his left hand violently, aiming to tear Dahav apart.
But Albino’s body didn’t seem to be moving as he wanted.
He instinctively turned his head toward whatever was holding his arm—and saw the Ghouls, now turned into corpses, clinging to him.
In that instant, Dahav used Albino’s arm as a springboard for a second jump, landing right on top of Albino’s head.
As soon as Dahav’s shoulder passed by, he released his bowstring, declaring the finale of the battle.
“Checkmate.”
Pissssht—!
The arrow sliced through the air, plunging straight toward Albino’s crown.
A moment later, the arrow lodged itself in Albino’s head with a satisfying thud, and a Message Window popped up.
[Critical hit to a vital spot!]
[Due to a critical hit, damage dealt is increased by 300%.]
[You have slain Albino, the ruler of East Eren port!]
[You have gained 11,000 Experience Points.]
[Congratulations! Your Level has increased to 1.]
[You have acquired 1 EA of the quest item ‘Head of Albino’!]
Sweet lines of reward filled the Message Window, but Dahav didn’t even look—he just shouted in joy.
“I did it! I really did it!”
Caught up in the thrill of his first real achievement in his life, he wanted nothing more than to ignore everything else.
[You have achieved ‘Achievement: Slayer of Albino Alone’.]
[You have achieved ‘Achievement: Sharpshooter’.]
[You have acquired 16 of the equipment item ‘Ring of the Frozen Earth Tyrant’!]
But the notifications wouldn’t stop, no matter how much he tried to ignore them.
In the end, he couldn’t help but grin and shout out loud.
“Jackpot!”
***
Anyone who’s played games knows that hunting a Boss Monster is much harder than a regular monster.
With high attack power and incomparable health, the drawn-out playtime and the Boss’s unpredictable patterns could break your formation, suddenly spiking the difficulty.
On top of that, these patterns would constantly change with each Phase, so you had to stay tense at all times, making the challenge even greater.
Even just these factors made hunting Boss Monsters a huge headache, but in ASA, there was one more thing to worry about.
Just like Ollie now, you also had to deal with hyenas who would rush in, aiming for the Boss Monster’s loot.
‘I’m sure… it was the Ring of the Frozen Earth Tyrant.’
That distinctive look, studded with Red Jade, was unmistakably the Ring of the Frozen Earth Tyrant.
The Ring of the Frozen Earth Tyrant.
It was an ultra-rare item with a low drop rate, boasting high set options and a unique special effect useful for summoner classes, making it worth over 3 million won in real money.
‘If this goes well, we might not just have a pork belly party, but a Korean beef party.’
If he hadn’t seen it, maybe he’d let it go, but after seeing it, he was too greedy to just walk away.
‘Should I PK? I have to, right?’
In ASA, PK wasn’t just another content—it had special meaning.
Just like when hunting monsters, you could loot items.
A Player who lost in PK would drop their ‘pocket,’ and from that, you could randomly obtain one item the defeated Player had carried.
Since this rule applied to both sides, you had to take the risk; it wasn’t always advantageous to be the one to start it. But this time, things were different.
‘There’s no way I’d lose to a Level 10 newbie.’
That unknown Player might be skilled, but in terms of Level and numbers, they had the upper hand in every way.
If they started a PK, it would obviously be an easy win.
Of course, there was the Penalty from Chaos point, which was introduced to prevent indiscriminate PK against newbies, so they couldn’t just attack anyone recklessly.
He quickly opened his status window to check his Chaos point.
He tried to keep his expression neutral, but the corners of his mouth kept twitching upward.
‘If it’s under 10…’
The Chaos point ranged from 0 to 100, and the higher it was, the harsher the Penalty.
But up to 10, there was basically no Penalty.
At most, you’d be barred from entering Town for a day or two.
‘I’ll have to put my current Quest on hold for a bit, but…’
The items that unknown Player just got—like the Ring of the Frozen Earth Tyrant and the gear he was wearing—were more than worth the trouble.
Since he was a low Level, he probably didn’t have many items, so the chances of getting a junk item were slim.
‘Even if I don’t get the Ring of the Frozen Earth Tyrant, the gear he’s wearing is at least Rare Item tier, so I could still net several hundred thousand won.’
After finishing his calculations, a sly grin appeared on his lips.
“Hey, let’s PK that Player. What do you think? Sounds like a good idea, right?”
At the sudden suggestion, his party members stared wide-eyed at Ollie.
“Why not? That Player’s a newbie, so he probably doesn’t have much in his Inventory. The Rare gear is basically guaranteed, and if we’re lucky, we could get the Ring of the Frozen Earth Tyrant. That’s basically a walking goldmine.”
Unable to contain his excitement, Ollie’s voice rose, echoing through the forest and inevitably reaching Dahav’s ears.
Naturally, Dahav’s eyes began to waver.
“I got too complacent just because there was no one in Erenfort.”
He already knew that Boss Monster rewards with high value—sometimes traded for real money—attracted so-called hyenas, the infamous PK criminals.
To avoid such hyenas, most people would lure Boss Monsters to secluded places, use their connections to get lookouts, or hire Helpers for protection.
But since he’d just started the game, he didn’t know anyone, so using connections was impossible.
Hiring a Helper wasn’t efficient while hunting Albino.
‘Still, I should’ve at least gone somewhere secluded…’
Regret washed over him, but regret alone wouldn’t change anything.
He quickly began running calculations in his head.
‘First, I need to check the size and condition of the hyenas group.’
Just as the saying goes, “know yourself and know your enemy, and you’ll win every battle,” he needed to analyze not just his own state, but his enemies’ as well.
He quietly rolled his eyes in the direction the voices were coming from.
A cold sweat ran down his back.
“Even at a glance, it’s a five-person party, all around Level 30.”
Even at his best, he’d have no chance, and right now, he’d already spent much of his stamina fighting Albino.
It was truly the worst situation, but he had no intention of giving up his hard-earned items so easily.
“It’s too early to give up. I just need to make it to Town.”
If they were all around Level 30, they couldn’t just ignore the Town guards and force their way in, so as long as he could get into Eren port, he’d be safe.
He quietly and carefully began searching for the best escape route.
But then, out of nowhere, a bolt from the blue struck.
“You guys are going to PK too, right?”
He glanced over toward the voices again, now resting his hand on the hilt at his waist, ready to bolt at any moment.
The odds of making it to Town had just dropped to almost zero, but that didn’t mean he could just stand there and take it.
He swallowed dryly, keeping a close eye on the PK criminals, waiting for the right timing.
‘3, 2…’
He finished his silent countdown and was about to spring into action—but there was no need.
A split had formed within the party.
Charlie, one of Ollie’s own party members, was blocking Ollie’s path.
“No. I get that you’re blinded by the Ring of the Frozen Earth Tyrant, but that’s just plain suicide. Don’t do it.”
“What? Suicide?”
It was a blow to his pride.
Normally, he would’ve avoided unnecessary conflict, but this was ASA—a game.
For a man, pride was something you could never back down from.
He felt a burning sensation rising from deep inside, and his tone grew harsher.
“Haa… this lunatic, have you completely lost it?”
“What did you just say?”
But Charlie seemed to care less about pride and more about something else, responding calmly rather than arguing.
“I’m not trying to fight you. Just calm down and think about that article I posted in the chat yesterday.”
Since it wasn’t that long ago, the moment he heard it, a certain article flashed through Ollie’s mind.
“No way… you’re saying that bastard is the Super Rookie being raised by Heaven Guild?”
Charlie nodded and continued.
“There’s no hard evidence in the article, but isn’t it obvious at this point? The way he judges, his physical skills, his sense—everything points to that person being the Super Rookie.”
Seeing Ollie hesitate, Charlie pressed on.
“To be honest, he’s more impressive than Rabo. Rabo just relied on skills. This guy? Skills are just a bonus—he’s crushing everyone with pure physical ability.”
Ollie couldn’t say anything back.
Normally, he’d have scoffed at the idea of a rookie, but the scenes from the recent battle kept replaying in his mind, and he couldn’t help but agree.
It wasn’t just Ollie and Charlie; the other party members seemed to be thinking the same thing, nodding in agreement.
“Anyone can go berserk, sure, even other rookies. But this guy’s different—his movements, his sense. You saw it too, right? He used Albino’s arm as a springboard and launched an attack mid-air! Unless he’s the Heaven Guild’s rookie, who else could pull off that kind of physical feat?”
“Agreed. Even when he let the last arrow fly, I got chills.”
He couldn’t be stubborn anymore.
If he realized the truth—that this was the rookie being raised by Heaven Guild—he wouldn’t have needed Charlie to convince him; he wouldn’t have insisted in the first place.
The Guilds in the top ten didn’t rise to the Ten Great Guilds by luck; they crushed all challengers, built their own territory, and established their dominance.
Simply put, the seat held by the Ten Great Guilds was a throne built on blood.
Messing with a Super Rookie from one of those guilds was the same as quitting ASA.
“…Let’s back off. Greed leads to ruin.”
“A wise choice.”
Ollie’s party turned their backs and left the area.
Once Dahav confirmed from beyond the bushes that they were completely gone, he let out a sigh of relief.
“Whew… That was lucky.”
If Charlie hadn’t stepped in and the party hadn’t realized who he was, he’d have been done for.
“Just thinking about it gives me chills.”
As Ollie said, in the worst-case scenario, he could’ve lost the Ring of the Frozen Earth Tyrant, or, if lucky, just a Rare Item worth a few hundred thousand won.
Honestly, he could always buy another item, but the biggest problem was—
‘I almost got hit with a 48-hour login Penalty.’
Now that ASA had become the joy of his life, being unable to log in for 48 hours would’ve been a huge Penalty for Dahav.
“To really enjoy the game, I’ll need a certain Level and gear.”
He had no intention of watching his hard-won items get stolen and his rights stripped away.
‘To enjoy ASA safely and to the fullest…’
He’d have to accelerate his growth so that hyenas and other PK criminals wouldn’t dare to mess with him.
For an average Player, it would be impossible to keep up with the frontrunners’ growth rate.
‘But in my head, I have information that can turn the impossible into possible.’
With a meaningful smile, Dahav started moving forward.