Mark of Death
Jihwan's breath was steady, but his mind was anything but.
The Bloodmist Dungeon was still the same. The suffocating red mist, the eerie silence, the stench of blood hanging in the air—nothing had changed.
No, one thing had changed.
Him.
He had died once. He had felt it—the overwhelming agony, the terrifying emptiness, and the chilling system message that had followed.
But now, he was alive again.
Jihwan's fingers twitched as he clenched them into fists. His back was pressed against a cold dungeon wall, hidden within the shadows. The party that had abandoned him—Lee Hyunwoo, Kim Jisoo, and the others—were still moving ahead, completely unaware that something was different.
Jihwan's vision sharpened.
Their betrayal had been planned.
It wasn't an accident. They had left him behind knowing full well what would happen.
They were going to die.
He exhaled slowly, his pulse steady despite the raging thoughts in his mind. He could feel the weight of something new pressing into his existence.
Then, the system notification appeared.
---
[ You are bearing the Mark of Death. ]
[ For 30 minutes, dungeon creatures will not perceive you as living. ]
---
Jihwan's eyes narrowed.
The Mark of Death?
He glanced toward the monsters lurking within the mist. The Bloodmist Wraiths, twisted and ghostly creatures, floated just meters away. Their hollow eyes scanned the dungeon for prey.
Yet, they didn't react to him.
Jihwan remained still, waiting—watching.
A single wraith drifted closer, its jagged, half-formed claws brushing against his shoulder. A normal hunter would be dead within seconds. But instead…
It passed through him.
Jihwan's lips parted slightly.
They think I'm already dead.
It wasn't just that they were ignoring him. To them, he simply didn't exist.
His heartbeat, his warmth, his presence—it had all been erased in their perception.
This… was an advantage.
Jihwan exhaled, the gears in his mind turning rapidly. If he could move undetected, he could learn. Observe. Prepare.
He shifted his gaze back toward the hunters who had left him for dead.
Their arrogance would be their downfall.
He wouldn't lift a finger to stop it.
Because this time—it was their turn to die.
---
End of Chapter