Henry turned away without a word.
At the same time, Henry casually scooped up the scattered beast crystals from the fallen hunters like a kid collecting Halloween candy.
Oh?
A ranking card left behind?
Don't mind if I do.
Finders keepers.
The dungeon chamber trembled slightly.
Then, suddenly a portal began to form.
A swirling vortex of blue energy surged to life at the center of the room, its edges pulsing like a heartbeat.
The dungeon was collapsing.
The system had acknowledged the boss's defeat.
The job was done.
Henry glanced at the remaining hunters—the same ones who had mocked him before the fight—and saw nothing but shattered confidence and broken spirits.
They looked like they had aged ten years in the last ten minutes.
Pathetic.
Henry slung the bag of crystals over his shoulder. "Looks like your way out just opened."
He didn't wait for a response.
Without another glance, he stepped through the portal.
The transition was instant.
One second, Henry was stepping through the swirling abyss of the portal.
Meanwhile, outside, the air outside the dungeon was filled voices.
The hum of activity.
The area outside the dungeon was alive with movement—hunters, merchants, and officials mingled, exchanged information, bartered, and watched the portal like vultures waiting for scraps.
Vendors shouted about potions that could "heal anything" they couldn't, weapons that were "guaranteed to be dungeon-grade" they weren't, and one guy selling mystic energy-infused beef skewers those were actually legit.
A group of onlookers had gathered near a makeshift betting station, their eyes locked on the dungeon portal, waiting.
Some were excited.
Some were tense.
Others?
They were counting money with smug grins.
"Looks like the dungeon's about to close," someone murmured.
"Yeah, but no one's come out yet."
"That group went in deep. Maybe they're still fighting the boss."
"Or maybe they're dead."
A few people chuckled at that.
Then, the portal shimmered.
A figure stepped out.
The crowd turned.
Then froze.
Henry emerged.
His clothes were torn and bloodied, his body covered in bruises and scratches.
But he wasn't limping.
He wasn't struggling.
He simply walked out, carrying a bag of beast crystals over his shoulder like he had just finished grocery shopping.
Whispers exploded instantly.
"Wait… is that—"
"No way. That kid?!"
"Hold on… wasn't he the one who went in alone?"
Someone scoffed. "Tch, there's no way he got all those crystals by himself."
"Yeah, he must've been with the others."
"But… where are they?"
Henry heard every word—his enhanced perception made sure of that.
But did he care?
Not even a little.
Let them talk.
Let them wonder.
He had places to be.
Without a word, he stepped past the crowd, casually hailing a nearby taxi.
The driver raised an eyebrow at Henry's battle-worn state.
But years of dealing with hunters had made him immune to weird customers.
"Rough day?" the driver asked.
Henry exhaled, leaning back. "You have no idea."
The car pulled away.
The crowd was still whispering.
Then,
Minutes later—
The portal flickered again.
A group of figures stumbled out.
Boros and his hunters.
Bruised.
Beaten.
Defeated.
The crowd erupted.
The reaction was immediate.
"Holy shit! It was him! He really did it alone!"
"No way—he must've fought them, too!"
"Boros looks like he got thrown off a cliff."
A reporter, sensing the story of a lifetime, immediately grabbed his mic.
"Sir! Sir! What happened inside?" He rushed toward Boros, shoving a camera in his face.
Boros, still dazed, barely mustered words.
One of his hunters, limping and humiliated, growled, "Shut that damn camera off."
The reporter did not shut that damn camera off.
"Was it Henry?" The reporter pressed. "Did he do this to you?"
Boros gritted his teeth,
Then,
Laughter.
It started as a chuckle.
Then it spread.
Soon, the whole crowd was howling.
One guy wiped tears from his eyes.
"Oh man—I had money on Henry dying in there!"
"Well, buddy, looks like you just got scammed."
Boros' eye twitched violently.
He couldn't do a damn thing about it.
His pride? Shattered.
His reputation? Gone.
The once-feared hunter had been wrecked by a rookie.
Meanwhile, The hum of the taxi engine filled the quiet night, the city lights flashing past in a rhythmic blur. Henry exhaled, leaning his head back against the seat. His body still thrummed with energy, the aftershocks of battle refusing to settle.
His muscles burned with the effort of the fight, yet there was an undeniable rush—a feeling of power. He felt as though he could conquer anything. And maybe he could.
His thoughts flickered back to the dungeon—those hunters, Boros, the battle.
They'd all underestimated him. They'd thought he was some low-tier, rookie hunter. But now? Now he had obliterated them, completely wrecked their expectations. The tension in his shoulders loosened as he remembered the looks on their faces—the disbelief, the pain, the humiliation.
He flexed his fingers, testing the strength that still hummed beneath his skin. It wasn't just about numbers anymore. Sure, the stats were nice—no, they were incredible—but it was the raw, untapped potential that made him feel unstoppable. Every inch of his body had been remade by his system, forged into something far more powerful than it had ever been before.
He caught a slight glimmer of light in the corner of his eye, his system flickering to life in his mind.
A ping in his system caught his attention.
Title Earned: The One-Man Army.
Reputation Increased: +500.
Status Update Detected. Do you wish to view your updated stats?
Henry smirked, not even needing to think about it. "Hell yeah, show me."
The familiar window unfolded in his mind, its cool digital clarity a stark contrast to the burning sensation of victory pulsing through his veins.
Name: Henry,
Title: The One-Man Army New!
Rank: F,
Level:9,
Experience: 11,300 / 15,000
Attributes.
Strength: 3,500,
Agility: 3,100,
Endurance: 2,800,
Vitality: 2,600,
Perception: 2,200,
Mana:1,500,
+100 stat bonus from Title: The One-Man Army!
New Skills Acquired,
Domain of the Stonebreaker F-rank Unique Skill, level: 1.
Unlocks a small domain around the user. Inside this domain, Henry's attacks deal double damage, and his defensive abilities increase by 50%.
Activating the domain costs 200 mana per minute.
Dash:F-rank Movement Skill level:1,
Boosts Henry's speed by 500% for 5 seconds.
Cooldown : 10 seconds.
Titan's Grip, Passive Ability.
Allows Henry to wield heavy weapons with ease and crush objects with bare hands.
Relentless:Passive Ability.
Henry's stamina and consumption is halved.