Thud. Thud.
Muyoung kept striking the scarecrows located outside the Blue Temple.
Every day, monsters would try to raid the temple, but for the past three days, starting from the first day, he never forgot to strike the scarecrow.
"Doesn't that guy get tired…"
"There are all kinds of weirdos in the world."
All the people around him were amazed at how hard-working he was, but no one stepped out to train with him.
They were already exhausted after fighting off a monster raid every day.
No one was willing to overwork themselves with all that training.
To them, it seemed foolish for Muyoung to push himself so hard.
It was also incredible that he kept getting the best hunter title, but since he never mingled with anyone, there was no one to compliment him for it.
If anything, there were people who were revolted by the fact he wouldn't share his rations or water with anyone.
But Muyoung didn't care about that.
Before befriending others, to him, it was more important to prioritize getting stronger.
And in his own way, he felt confident in his decision.
'I can raise my strength and stamina up to a maximum of 20 using these scarecrows.'
Everyone knew about this in the Underworld, but it was impossible for these newly summoned people to know it.
Knowledge is power.
And at this moment, Muyoung had the most knowledge out of all the people here.
He never thought about sharing this knowledge.
For people who needed to be spoon-fed information, there was no way they would survive in the Underworld anyways.
To survive, one had to have quick wits, decisiveness and most importantly, have perseverance.
"Why the hell is he doing that?"
"Let him be, let him be. There's not much to eat anyways."
The people next to Muyoung copied his actions, but gave up quickly.
Thud! Thud!
He raised his attack speed.
They would have had to hit the scarecrow at least ten thousand times to see results.
It was a battle with himself, but to him, this was nothing.
For every 100 recruits, only one or two survived the Forest of Death's training and he survived.
'I need my strength and stamina to be at least 20 to attempt it.'
A secret class was obtained once you overcame the impossible.
Even in the past, there were no more than 100 people with a secret class.
But they all had logic-defying strength. Of course, there was an equivalent amount of risk involved, but it was definitely worth the risk.
And to achieve the secret class, 'Necromancer', it required you to first train your body to a certain level.
Muyoung looked over.
He saw the tall cliffs that surrounded the Blue Temple.
Up on those unending cliffs somewhere, there was a nest.
To become a necromancer, he would have to climb the cliffs, while fighting off hoards of monsters, and kill the five gatekeepers.
As of now, that goal was still far off.
Once one leaves the temple, fighting orcs and knolls were common, but if you were unlucky, you might meet the 'giant leo', a lion type predator.
So killing the five gatekeepers was too difficult for beginners.
'Besides Strength and Stamina, I also need to a weapon.'
After defeating the raid of monsters every day, they would receive rewards dependent on their performance.
The reward for killing the boss monster that comes every 10 days was enough to offset the previous days' rewards.
It meant that bosses were that much stronger, but he wanted to move out after he had at least killed the first boss.
"Excuse me."
Just then, two women approached Muyoung.
Although they looked a bit messy, they had a much better appearance than the rest.
They were two university students with heavy makeup on.
The one with long straight hair and who was adorably clenching her fist spoke.
He hit the scarecrow a bit more softly.
"Is there any meaning to hitting them?"
Thud! Thud!
But Muyoung only continued with his actions.
He hit concisely with no unnecessary movements.
The scarecrow shook dangerously.
"Aren't you going to answer me?"
The girl stepped right next to the scarecrow.
She lowered her gaze with a pitiful expression.
On top of that, her white blouse exposed her bare shoulders.
That scene would have enchanted most men.
She had that level of beauty and in reality, a few of the surrounding men gave Muyoung jealous stares.
"Fuck off."
But that wouldn't work on Muyoung.
To Muyoung, who passed the harsh training of the Forest of Death, that level of seduction was like a child acting cute.
That wasn't all…
One of the things people had to be most cautious of in the Underworld were beauties.
Listening to Muyoung's reply, the girl staggered as if her pride was hurt.
Then she lowered her head and knit her brows.
'Crazy bastard! Is he a eunuch or what?'
Kim Soyoung was not used to this sort of treatment as there weren't many men who would just abruptly tell her to fuck off.
She was one of the those commonly known 'idols' of her school.
Men would line up just to have a chance to hold her hand.
She knew she was pretty and because she thought she had such worth, she had extremely high standards for men.
She didn't even consider doctors, lawyers or attorneys as much.
If it wasn't for being summoned here, she would have been enjoying a drive in a sports car after an extravagant dinner.
He should be thanking her while shedding tears for talking to him, but he dares to tell her to fuck off?
'Just because you know how to fight a bit…'
The reason why she approached him was because he seemed like a lone wolf.
Although she said he could only 'fight a bit', she knew it was quite the opposite.
During the past three days, they were constantly subject to life-threatening situations.
They knew that there were more monsters waiting for them outside the temple.
To be physically strong was the biggest asset in this situation.
Even more so, the man in front of her resembled a wolf that would tear apart all the monsters he faced.
He didn't approach others and because of his special aura, no one could approach him.
She thought if it was this man, she would allow him to be with her for a while.
But from the start, her plan was trampled by him.
She refused to give up.
She lifted her head and straightened her clothes.
She revealed her enchanting smile and said, "Aren't your words a bit too harsh? Even I would be a bit hurt."
Muyoung stopped for a moment.
His expressionless gaze fell upon her. She took that as a 'signal' and told him, "I've seen your performance for the past few days. People talk about oppa[1], oh, I can call you oppa right? Anyways, people talk about oppa lot."
She stealthily came closer and slightly brushed her hand against his.
There was no man who could resist this kind of physical contact.
'When would you have ever held hands with someone as pretty as me?'
Muyoung's appearance was normal, a guy with very average looks.
If it was an ordinary day, she would never meet someone with his appearance no matter what other qualifications he had.
She believed that he only said those harsh words because he didn't know how to act in front of a beauty like her.
"'He's good at fighting and was originally living in the temple, but he is a bit greedy.' Ah, but don't worry about it oppa. They are all cowards who can't say it to your face. Also because you kill so many monsters, isn't it natural you receive the most rewards?"
Eye contact.
She tried to laugh as naturally as she could while gazing at his eyes.
It could be said that that was the finishing move, but as soon as she looked at Muyoung's eyes, she felt her body tremble slightly.
'For human eyes to be like that…'
There was not a hint of emotion in his eyes.
His eyes didn't waver like other men would when they looked at beautiful women.
His eyes were endlessly abyss.
It was hard to explain the terrifying sight.
Finally, Muyoung opened his mouth.
"Are you done talking?"
"Yes? Ah, y-yes, I am."
"Then fuck off."
"What… did you say?"
Punch!
Muyoung shattered the scarecrow's face.
Her intentions were obvious and he didn't have the time to listen to her.
There was less than a month left.
Once the month was up, the gate to the Underworld would open.
And then… big guilds like the Forest of Death and the Five Great Clans will be waiting for them.
If he doesn't want to be pushed around by them, he had to increase his strength even by a tiny bit.
"If you try this again, I'll make your face the same as the scarecrow," he quietly whispered into her ear.
He said he would become a soldier, but that didn't mean he would try to save everyone.
If anyone stands in his way, he won't hesitate to get rid of them.
'I am not a good man.'
Maybe an evil one.
Because he had gone too far down the road, he could never be a good man.
Not that he wanted to become one.
"Hiccup!"
Soyoung hiccupped.
That was right. He was like the embodiment of a wolf.
Rough and untameable.
"Hiccup! Hiccup!"
The strength in her legs slowly weakened.
Muyoung's stare was so terrifying she couldn't move.
"So-Soyoung, are you okay?"
Eventually, the girl who came with her dragged her away by her wrist.
He turned his head away after looking at Soyoung being dragged across the ground.
Thud! Thud!
He started to hit the scarecrow again.
'If I get a high ranking during the boss raid, I might get a pretty good reward.'
The bosses that come every 10 days were difficult.
No matter how well they fight, a few will inevitably die.
But if he was able to gain an overwhelming victory over the boss, he might receive a weapon of rank 'C' or higher.
'A 'C' rank is sufficient.'
To defeat the monsters while climbing the cliff, a rank 'C' weapon was more than enough.
As he had the experience to fill the gap of having a lesser weapon!
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
[1] Big brother (younger female to older male).