James cut his way through monsters for hours.
Goblins. Mutated bats. Strange horned deer that charged anything that moved.
Ever since allocating his skill points, he felt unstoppable. His sword cut through enemies like paper, and his speed made it almost impossible for monsters to touch him. For the first time in his life, James Carter felt powerful. He opened his stat screen while walking through the tall grass, admiring the numbers.
"Two hundred strength…" he muttered with a grin. "Yeah, I could get used to this."
Then he heard it. A scream. Far away. Sharp. Desperate.
James' expression changed instantly. He closed the screen and started running. The sound echoed again. Someone was screaming for help.
James pushed his speed, cutting across the forest clearing in seconds. When he finally reached the source, he stopped dead in his tracks.
"…What the hell…"
The scene in front of him looked like a slaughterhouse. A man was leaning against a large rock, barely conscious. His abdomen had been torn open, his insides spilling out onto the grass.
Blood soaked the ground beneath him. Next to him, a girl screamed in agony. Her right hand was twisted at an unnatural angle.
Her leg— Her leg was gone. Cut cleanly off at the thigh.
Two people wearing healer robes were kneeling beside her, desperately trying to stop the bleeding. Their hands glowed faintly with magic, but the wounds were too severe.
"It's not working!" one of them shouted.
"We're losing her!"
James felt his stomach twist. He slowly turned his head. And then he saw it.
The monster. It stood nearly fifteen feet tall. Its skin was a sickly shade of green, stretched tightly over massive muscles. Long veins bulged across its arms and chest. Two enormous tusks protruded from its lower jaw. Its eyes glowed with cruel intelligence. In one hand it held a massive stone cleaver, stained dark with blood. Around its feet lay the bodies of several fallen Champions. Some of them were missing limbs.
Others had been crushed beyond recognition. The monster sniffed the air slowly. Then its glowing eyes locked onto James. A crooked smile spread across its monstrous face. The System appeared in front of him.
[Warning]
[Elite Monster Detected]
[Hobgoblin Executioner – Level 15]
James tightened his grip on his sword.
Behind him, the girl screamed again.
"Please… help…"
The monster took a slow step forward. The ground trembled under its weight.
James exhaled slowly.
"…Alright."
He raised his blade.
"Guess this is my first real fight."
...
The Hobgoblin Executioner stepped forward. Each step shook the ground slightly. Its cleaver dragged across the grass, leaving a long trail in the dirt. The blade alone was nearly as tall as James.
Behind him, the girl was still crying out in pain.
"P-please… help…"
James tightened his grip on his sword. Level 15. He glanced briefly at his stat window in his mind.
Strength: 211Speed: 106Defense: 56
"…Yeah," he muttered.
"I think I can handle this."
The hobgoblin roared. Then it charged. For something that massive, it moved terrifyingly fast. The monster raised its cleaver high above its head and brought it down with enough force to split a tree.
James vanished from where he stood. The cleaver slammed into the ground.
BOOM.
Dirt and grass exploded outward. James appeared to the creature's left side, already swinging. His sword slashed across the hobgoblin's ribs.
CLANG.
The blade bit into its thick skin but didn't cut deep. The monster roared and backhanded him. James jumped backward just in time. The giant arm passed inches from his face.
"Damn," he muttered.
"Tough skin."
The hobgoblin swung again. James ducked under the cleaver and dashed forward, slashing twice at its leg. This time the blade cut deeper. Dark blood sprayed onto the grass. The monster howled.
It kicked forward violently. James was forced to jump back again as the massive foot smashed into the ground where he had been standing.
The hobgoblin lifted its cleaver and swung in a wide arc. James leaned backward.
The blade barely missed his chest. Before the monster could recover, James lunged forward. He stepped inside its reach. His fist shot forward.
CRACK.
The punch landed directly into the monster's stomach. The Hobgoblin Executioner staggered backward. Its eyes widened in shock. James didn't give it time to recover. He dashed forward again, jumping up and driving his sword into the monster's shoulder. The blade sank deep this time. The hobgoblin screamed and grabbed him.
James twisted his body just before its grip closed, slipping free and landing behind it. The monster spun around wildly.
James took a deep breath.
"…Alright. Let's end this."
He rushed forward one last time. The hobgoblin swung its cleaver down with everything it had.
James accelerated. In a blur of speed, he stepped inside the attack and drove his sword upward. The blade pierced through the monster's throat. The hobgoblin froze. Its cleaver slipped from its hand.
For a moment, the giant stood there. Then its massive body collapsed to the ground with a thunderous crash.
The system appeared.
[You have slain Elite Monster: Hobgoblin Executioner]
[20 skill points awarded]
[Bonus reward granted]
A second window opened.
[Item acquired: Mask of the Unknown]
A faint flash of light appeared in the air beside him, and an object dropped into the grass. James bent down and picked it up.
It was a mask. Simple in shape, made of dark metal that felt strangely light in his hand. The surface was smooth except for thin silver lines running across it like veins.
The front had no expression. Just two narrow eye openings.
"…A mask?" James muttered.
Another small system message appeared.
[Item Enchantment: Unrecognizable]
[Description: The wearer cannot be identified through system inspection.]
James blinked.
"…Oh."
He slowly turned the mask in his hand.
"So nobody can recognize me huh?"
A grin slowly appeared on his face.
"Now that… is useful."
But then the familiar temptation returned.
James opened his stat screen again.
[Skill points: 20]
"…Right."
He looked at the number for a moment. Twenty points. Enough to improve his stats. Enough to get stronger.
Or…
He sighed.
"…Just one round."
"Activate The Gambler."
The card table appeared again.
[Skill points wagered: 20]
[Red] or [Black]
James rubbed the back of his neck.
"…Black."
The card slowly flipped.
9 of Hearts.
[You lose.]
The table vanished instantly.
[Skill points lost.]
James stared at the empty number.
"…Yep."
He nodded slowly.
"Sounds about right."
He slipped the mask into his inventory and exhaled. Behind him, the girl cried out in pain again.
"Ah—!"
James turned immediately. He had completely forgotten why he came here in the first place. He ran over to the group. The scene was worse up close.
A group of people were gathered near a large rock.
One man leaned against it, barely conscious, his abdomen torn open. Two healers were desperately trying to hold his wound closed while glowing magic flowed from their hands.
On the ground nearby, another injured Champion groaned weakly. Standing beside them was a woman in light healer robes. Unlike the others, she wasn't injured. She was directing the others calmly.
"Careful," she said. "Keep pressure there. Don't let the bleeding start again."
Only then did she notice James walking toward them. Her eyes moved past him to the enormous corpse of the Hobgoblin Executioner lying in the field.
She blinked.
"…Did you kill that?"
James shrugged slightly.
"Yeah."
The two injured Champions and the other healers all turned to look at the monster. One of them whispered, "That thing wiped out half our group…"
The woman studied James for a moment. Up close, he noticed she was pretty. Dark hair pulled back neatly, sharp eyes, and a calm expression even with everything happening around them.
"Well," she said, straightening up, "thanks for saving what's left of us."
"No problem," James replied. One of the healers finished stabilizing the injured man.
"We need to get them back to the exit," he said. The woman nodded, then looked back at James.
"You climbing alone?" she asked.
"Yeah."
"That's bold."
"Or stupid," James said.
She smiled slightly.
"Probably both."
The other healers began lifting the injured onto stretchers. Before leaving, the woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a small phone-like device.
"Hey," she said casually.
"Let me get your contact information."
James blinked.
"My contact information?"
"You just killed a Level 15 elite monster by yourself," she said. "That's useful to know."
James scratched the back of his head but recited the information anyway. She wrote it down quickly.
"Elena," she said, introducing herself.
"James."
"Well, James," Elena said, slipping the device back into her pocket, "if you get yourself nearly killed in here, call me. I'm a healer."
James smirked.
"I'll try not to need it."
She glanced once more at the massive corpse of the Executioner. "…Try not to kill too many monsters before I get a chance to see it," she added.
With that, she turned and helped carry the wounded Champions away toward the exit of the floor. James stood there for a moment, watching them leave.
Then he looked back at the field.
"…Alright," he muttered.
"Back to work."
.....
Several hours passed.
The peaceful fields of the first floor were no longer peaceful wherever James went.
At first, James fought cautiously. But the longer he fought, the more comfortable he became. His movements grew sharper. Faster. More efficient.
The Hunter's Steel Blade cut cleanly through weaker monsters now, and his overwhelming strength allowed him to overpower anything that got too close. Eventually, the system chimed.
[Level Up]
A warm surge of energy rushed through his body. His fatigue faded instantly. James stopped walking. He opened the system.
"Stat screen."
The familiar blue window appeared.
[Champion: James Carter][Occupation: None][Classification: SS-tier][Class: Gambler]
[Level: 2]
[Monsters Slain: 214]
[Exp: 230 / 300]
[Skill points: 162]
[Strength: 211][Agility: 1][Defense: 56][Mana: 10][Magic Affinity: 1][Speed: 106][Ego: Max]
[Abilities:][The Gambler][Luck thief][?][?][?][?][?][?][?][?]
James blinked.
"…Luck thief?"
He tapped the ability. The description opened.
[Ability: Luck thief]
[Luck Thief]
[Type: Passive Enchantment]
[Description: Luck is not fixed. It is taken.]
[When gambling, the system may siphon luck from nearby Champions.]
[Nearby players suffer reduced luck in drops and gambles• Your gambling success rate increases proportionally• Rare chance to completely absorb another player's fortune for a short duration]
[Range: 20 meters]
[This effect cannot be detected by other players.]
James stared at the screen.
"…That's evil."
He slowly looked around the field. There were other Champion groups hunting monsters not too far away.
Which meant— Every time he gambled… Someone else nearby might suddenly get unlucky. A goblin might drop nothing. A gamble might fail. A boss might miss an item. And James would benefit. A slow grin spread across his face.
"…Yeah."
"That's definitely an SS-tier skill."
He closed the screen and looked down at his current points.
[Skill points: 165]
The gambler inside him immediately woke up again.
"Well…" he muttered.
"If someone else is paying for it…"
He opened the system.
"Activate The Gambler."
Somewhere in the distance, another Champion suddenly sneezed for no reason.
And James smiled.