Inside the inventory I gave Persila were a pile of rare items I had crafted.

First, seventy-one weapons ranging from Level 1 to Level 30—prepared specifically for a weapon fanatic like Persila.

They were meant to excite her, to drive her into her habitual self-harming frenzy.

It was like taking someone with an insatiable appetite to an extravagant buffet, handing them a plate and tongs, and watching what happened next.

Just as I had planned, Persila examined the weapons until she could no longer resist. She tore off the bandages on her arm.

But the trap I had laid did not end there.

The dagger Persila used to stab her arm had no poison on it.

None of the other weapons had poison either.

Even if I had coated them with the lethal venom I once used to threaten Bao, Persila—being over Level 80—would have resisted it easily.

The real key item was inside the inventory Persila had stuffed into her own pocket.

A crisis-escape item I had used once before.

The Substitute Doll.

I had originally crafted it using rare materials found in Eleanor’s workshop.

Since then, I hadn’t been able to gather the same materials again—until just yesterday, when I finally obtained them through a hunter specializing in rare supplies.

At first glance, the Substitute Doll raises a question.

It only activates when the user suffers a fatal attack—so why had Persila collapsed just from stabbing her arm?

The answer lies in the doll’s hidden effect.

The Substitute Doll sacrifices itself in place of the user’s life.

However, if the user self-harms, even if HP drops by only 1 point, the doll still activates.

This is not its normal effect, but a “curse.”

Known as the Curse of the Substitute Doll, this effect reduces the user’s HP to 1 and inflicts a vile debuff: no recovery for 3 minutes, and -50% to all attributes.

I had discovered this Easter egg back when I played a bomber character. One of my own bombs accidentally caught me while I had a doll on me.

(For the record, that bomber run ended in failure. I learned then that bomb items became useless by mid-game.)

Now, Persila, sprawled on the ground, suddenly lifted her head and let out a monstrous scream.

“████―!!!!”

It was a howl so massive and grotesque it was hard to believe it came from a human throat.

“Ugh!”

“...!!”

Meiling and Seo Yui grimaced, both covering their ears.

I stared at Persila as her eyes turned blood-red, veins bulging across her face.

She had activated her ability.

The ability: Song of Madness.

For seven seconds, the user becomes utterly undying—their HP locked at 1—and gains +15% to all stats.

When it ends, they suffer a fourteen-second debuff of -30% to all stats.

But Persila wasn’t worried. Seven seconds was more than enough to kill us all.

And yes, she did have the power to make it happen—

—if we did nothing.

This was where the real battle began.

“Lumina!”

At my call, Lumina appeared behind Persila, emerging from her stealth that she’d been maintaining since before we got in the taxi.

Persila’s eyes widened.

‘Just one… just one status effect, please!’

Damage didn’t matter—Persila’s undying state made her immune to it.

But under the curse of the Substitute Doll, her resistance to debuffs would be greatly weakened.

Lumina’s twin daggers pierced Persila’s back, a blue flash sparking on impact.

“Got her!”

That flash meant Persila had been inflicted with Freeze.

Her movement speed plummeted.

If Bleed had also applied, it would’ve been perfect, but expecting too much against a Level 84 with sky-high resistances was unrealistic.

Lumina followed the plan, using Burst Dash to retreat back to us.

Persila’s red eyes locked onto me.

By then, we had already equipped our weapons and slotted our skills.

“Run!”

At my signal, we all used the same skill.

Phantom Form.

A three-second invincibility dash. Perfect for dodging and buying time.

We all turned half-transparent as we sprinted in unison.

But just as the skill was ending, the world dimmed.

Glancing up, I saw Persila soaring above me, sickle-blade raised.

‘Shit.’

A chill ran through my entire body.

She was cursed with -50% to all stats, slowed by Freeze—yet she still caught up to us in Phantom Form.

That was the gulf in raw ability.

Crash!

Persila hit the ground.

Seo Yui, masked in blue, had rammed into her with shield in hand.

It was a Shield Rush, a staggering skill.

I reached into my pouch, summoning a hammer from the icons inside.

We couldn’t hope for a long stagger.

Higher-level opponents had resistance that shortened crowd-control durations.

So where lesser monsters might be stunned for two seconds, Persila would only flinch for half a second.

I had already explained this to Seo Yui.

“Haaah!”

Seo Yui stomped the ground.

Another staggering skill—Ground Slam.

Chaining two different staggers together bought us a full second.

Then Seo Yui used Burst Dash to retreat.

Persila’s shoulders trembled.

“Don’t move!”

Meiling shouted, swinging her staff.

Black thorns erupted from the ground, coiling around Persila’s legs.

It was the binding spell Thorns of the Mire, a newly bought Hunter Market skill.

‘Another second bought!’

Persila had two seconds left on Song of Madness.

I shoved the hammer back into an icon slot and grabbed my sling, already loaded with an electric grenade.

“Fall back!”

At my order, Lumina and Meiling used Burst Dash to retreat behind me.

“Khhhaaagh!!”

Persila ripped through the thorns and lunged at me.

I hurled the grenade.

But sparks didn’t burst.

The Shock effect had been resisted.

I tried to Burst Dash—but Persila’s strike was faster than my reflexes.

A blur in my vision—then the sound of something slicing.

Her blade had severed my neck.

Or so it seemed.

In truth, it was the doll’s neck.

“!!!”

Persila’s eyes went wide as fists.

I sat a short distance away, watching her, while the Substitute Doll in my pouch vanished.

‘As if I’d only make one after finally getting the materials.’

The description said only one could be carried at a time.

But materials could be stockpiled.

After slipping her the inventory containing the first doll, I had crafted another.

And I had given one each to Lumina, Meiling, and Seo Yui before we ever reached Bucheon Station.

“Ugh.”

My vision swayed violently.

With HP reduced to 1, my body was drained of all strength.

“Kaaargh…”

Persila turned her bloodshot eyes on me.

That was when it happened.

The world shifted to monochrome.

Meiling’s Dark Domain.

She had activated it just as planned, using me as bait.

The radius wasn’t a full seven meters, but it was enough to envelop Persila.

‘That’s seven seconds. And all of us have landed at least one strike.’

I looked down at Persila, collapsed on the ground.

The Dark Domain dealt curse-type ticking damage.

With no proper gear and only physical-defense weapons, she couldn’t resist it.

“Kh….”

A choking groan.

“My… weapons… mine….”

Those were Persila’s final words.

Eyes still open, she fell face-first and lay motionless.

At the same time, power surged through me, filling every part of my body.

A level-up.

Rookies who hadn’t even finished a single semester of the academy, had just brought down a Level 84 hunter.

The experience gained was enormous.

I checked my status and couldn’t help but smile inwardly.

My level had jumped from 31 to 39.

“Did… we win?”

I turned my head. Meiling was staring down at Persila’s corpse.

“Yes. It’s our victory. Persila is dead.”

“……”

But Meiling’s face wasn’t bright at all.

Lumina too, standing a little apart, looked pale and shaken.

It had been self-defense, but the truth remained—we had killed someone.

During the battle, adrenaline and fear had drowned out the awareness. Now that it was over, the weight pressed down on them.

“Both of you, get a grip.”

A firm voice rang out, drawing both their gazes.

Seo Yui had dropped her ability and revealed her unmasked face. She was staring at them.

“When we decided to help Yein, we should have been ready for this. Saying you didn’t expect it won’t cut it. Sometimes, to protect your own life, you have to take another’s. Especially when the enemy can’t be reasoned with—then there really is no other choice.”

“I know that already!” Meiling shouted, “It’s just…! I just don’t feel good about it, that’s all.”

She turned away from Persila.

I shifted my gaze to Lumina.

She was still staring at the body.

I walked up to her.

“Lumina.”

Her green eyes turned to me.

“Yein…”

Her trembling hand clutched my sleeve.

“Did I… really help you?”

I nodded.

“If even one of us hadn’t been here, I’d either be missing an arm or dead right now. Thank you for coming with me, Lumina.”

At that, Lumina nodded and tightened her grip on my sleeve.

“Hey, Nam Yein!”

Meiling’s voice rang out again, louder than before, as if she were forcing herself to sound normal.

“So, what are we going to do with the body?”

“After I retrieve the inventories, we’ll burn it. I’ll handle it. You should rest.”

“Unlike you, I’m not exhausted. And if we’re going to burn it, my magic is more convenient anyway.”

Her voice shook slightly, but she was insisting.

“…If that’s what you want.”

I didn’t reject her offer.

I stepped up to Persila’s corpse, retrieving my own inventory, Persila’s, and her hooked blade.

“All done.”

“Got it.”

Meiling bit her lip, then raised her staff.

With the Flame Cluster skill, she set the body ablaze.

It burned swiftly, filling the air with the stench of seared flesh.

When only bones remained, Seo Yui gathered them up.

“I’ll dump these in a dungeon. Let’s head back.”

We hailed a taxi far from the plaza and returned to Gwangcheon.

The ride back was silent.

That evening, I contacted Eleanor.

[You really defeated the Arms Collector on your own?]

Her voice was full of surprise.

“Yeah. You don’t have to worry about the store anymore.”

[And no one was hurt?]

“No. Everyone’s fine. Physically.”

There was a pause.

[Good… but what about the aftermath?]

“It’ll be fine. It happened in the ruined outskirts—no witnesses. Persila was already wanted, probably not even registered, so nothing to worry about. Worst case, it’s clear we were acting in self-defense.”

[All right.]

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

[With what?]

“Having a killer as your business partner.”

[That thing wasn’t human.]

Eleanor’s tone was sharp, decisive.

[I don’t consider anyone who hurts and kills for their own pleasure and desire to be human.]

“Yeah.”

I agreed completely.

“Oh, right. I crafted seventy-one weapons, from Level 1 to 30, just as bait for Persila. Think you can keep them at Platinum Wing?”

[What? Seventy-one? Ahh, don’t worry.]

She chuckled.

[We’ll just run a discount event on low-level rare weapons. Perfect timing, actually—we needed some publicity.]

Her voice still carried amusement, as though she were making a joke.

“All right, I’ll leave it to you.”

If she said she’d handle it, then I wouldn’t question it.

After the call, I pulled out Persila’s original inventory.

“…Impressive.”

The words slipped out of me.

It was packed with high-level rare weapons.

On top of that, countless rare materials and demonic relics.

Easily worth hundreds of billions—maybe even trillions.

‘Of course, the weapons can’t be sold.’

Those were things Persila had stolen through coercion or murder.

If they hit the market, the trail would lead back.

‘Still, thanks to Persila’s sudden appearance, I’ve almost hit Level 40. I can relax for a while.’

Level 40 was, by Ratesai standards, the level of a graduate.

‘But why did Persila show up at this time?’

In the original game, she only appeared much later, mid-to-late story.

Never would I have imagined facing her as a freshman—before even taking first semester finals.

‘Because I possessed Nam Yein instead of the protagonist? Or because I got involved with Platinum Wing? Or maybe…’

A chill ran down my spine.

Jin Cheongwang, who had tried to recruit Lumina.

The cultists of the Demon God who stared at us on the street.

Ju Yeongsong, the Seoul branch director, watching us intently.

And Persila, showing up at Platinum Wing.

None of these were triggers I had pulled. They had all come to me first.

Chen Kai and Vallhal didn’t count—I’d gone after them.

But these were different.

‘Forced events, independent of triggers. For some reason, more of these could happen going forward.’

Once, twice, even three times could be coincidence.

But if it kept happening—then it was no accident.

‘Which means… now isn’t the time to relax.’

I needed to prepare.

If tonight hadn’t been a coincidence, then the next event waiting for me would almost certainly be tied to the Demon God Cult.

(End of Chapter)

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