The cavern was littered with the corpses of the beasts, their black scales cracked and their blood seeping into the stone floor. The fight had left everyone sweating and breathing heavily, but alive.
As the last echoes of combat faded, a notification flickered in front of Jae-hyun's vision:
[You have gained EXP.][Level Up! Current Level: 3.][EXP: 16/40.]
Jae-hyun blinked, staring at the glowing panel. His heart skipped. "Wait… that's a level and a half?"
For a moment, his exhaustion felt lighter. He opened his stat panel eagerly:
Name: Jae-hyun
Level: 3
HP: 130 +20
Mana: 60 +5
Strength: 13 +1
Agility: 14 +1
Luck: 0.1
Skill: Minor Copy (F Rank)EXP: 16/40
He almost laughed. "So this is how it works. Fights… quests… even surviving counts. The system really does reward progress." His fingers twitched as he thought about it. "One level from a fight like that. Guess danger really does pay off."
"Jae-hyun." Aria's voice pulled him back. She lowered her staff, its glow softening. "Are you hurt?"
He shook his head quickly. "No. Just… catching my breath."
Kael retrieved his arrows from the corpses, wiping them down. "That wasn't a simple encounter. These beasts were stronger than they looked."
Renn was grinning ear to ear, wiping blood off his daggers. "Strong or not, we crushed them. That's what matters." He slapped Jae-hyun's back. "Even you stepped up. Didn't think you had it in you."
Jae-hyun gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah, well, I try to stay full of surprises." He didn't explain. Not yet. Minor Copy wasn't something he was ready to reveal. It was too strange, too fragile.
But inside, he could still feel the faint hum of the skill — the fragment he had taken during the fight.
[Skill Copied: Poison Fang (F Rank). Time remaining: 23 hours.]
The words burned faintly in his mind. He stared down at his palm, curling his fingers slowly. Venom… from a beast. He could feel it waiting there, like a knife in a sheath.
The group decided to pull back toward the mouth of the cave to rest. Renn built a fire with practiced ease, Kael sat in silence sharpening his arrows, and Aria opened a leather-bound journal, writing meticulous notes about the cave runes and the beasts they had fought.
Jae-hyun sat a little apart from them, staring into the flickering flames. His heart was still racing from the fight, but now it was for another reason.
Minor Copy.
Three times now, he had seen it work. The first time against the boar, he hadn't really understood it. The second time, he'd been panicked. But this time, he saw the rules more clearly.
One active skill at a time.Copied directly from the source.Fragments stored, but ticking down — twenty-four hours until gone.
And once the timer hit zero, he would lose it forever.
That thought unsettled him. This world didn't hand out power freely, and he couldn't afford to waste any of it.
Quietly, while the others were busy, Jae-hyun focused. He drew in a slow breath, feeling the flow of mana in his body. Then, he willed Poison Fang to activate.
A faint green glow shimmered around the edge of the borrowed sword he had taken from the party's loot. The venom clung like a film of liquid light, dripping slowly. When he pressed the blade against the stone floor, it hissed, leaving a small blackened mark.
His eyes widened. "It really works…"
The effect lasted only half a minute before fading, leaving the blade ordinary once more. Jae-hyun flexed his fingers, feeling the energy drain slightly. His mana pool had dipped. Not much, but enough to notice.
"So skills cost mana… and they're stronger depending on how you use them. But if I waste it, it's gone tomorrow." He bit his lip. "Which means I need to use every chance to practice, even if I can't keep it."
He tried again, slower this time. This time he noticed how the mana gathered in his core, split into threads, then moved along his arm toward the blade. The process was messy, uneven, but it worked.
Renn's voice suddenly cut in, startling him. "What are you doing over there? Talking to yourself?"
Jae-hyun nearly dropped the sword. "N-nothing. Just… practicing basic swings. Gotta keep up, right?"
Renn smirked. "Fair enough. Don't slack off."
Kael glanced up from his arrows, his expression calm but sharp. "If you can fight even half as well as you talk, you'll fit in."
Aria, still scribbling in her journal, added, "Discipline matters. Training now could save your life later." Her tone was matter-of-fact, but there was a hint of approval in her eyes.
Jae-hyun quickly looked away, pretending to busy himself with the fire.
As the fire crackled, the group began sharing stories to pass the time. Renn spoke about wanting to earn enough to live without worry, Kael admitted his goal was to test himself against stronger and stronger foes, while Aria spoke in quiet tones about her ambition to uncover ancient knowledge hidden across the continent.
When they turned to Jae-hyun, he froze. For a moment, he considered telling them the truth—that he was from another world, dropped here without warning or preparation. But the words caught in his throat.
Instead, he scratched the back of his head and forced a grin. "Me? Uh… I just want to see what I'm capable of. Never really got the chance before, you know?"
Renn laughed, raising his mug. "That's as good a reason as any."
Hours later, when they finally settled to rest, Jae-hyun lay awake, staring at the ceiling of the cave. The faint notification still pulsed at the edge of his vision:
[Poison Fang — 19 hours remaining.]
It was a countdown, always reminding him. A clock ticking against his will. He hated it. But he also couldn't deny the thrill it gave him.
Power, even temporary, was power he'd never had before. Back in his old life, he was just a loner kid who slipped through the cracks. Invisible. Forgettable.
But here, even if only for a day at a time… he wasn't weak anymore.
And that was enough to keep him awake, clutching the sword, until sleep finally pulled him under.