After the negative emotions awakened within him, he became a cold-hearted monster, slaughtering beasts mercilessly. His gaze and movements sent chills down the spine; even his sighs and slow breathing painted a terrifying scene.
The King of Rafka Beasts was terrified. He couldn't move a single step; the tables had turned. From predator to prey.
He muttered angrily to himself:
"What is this? That lowly human… how did he become like this? Where did he get such a bloodthirsty instinct? He's a monster, not a human… Damn it! I must use all my strength to destroy him."
Zokaro's suffering had piled up within him — his father's family abandoning him and throwing him into an orphanage, his shock as a child, drowning in ambition and hope, the crying and screaming, the progress and the failure, the submission and defeat before others. Then his arrival in another world; there he found a family, yet he changed. In this world, money, authority, and power ruled over everything.
That's what burned inside Zokaro — a flame like a volcano, hiding everything within it. As darkness rose, everything changed. His eyes began glowing with a bluish-white light, his face shadowed in darkness; no emotion, nothing but the law of the jungle — "Survival of the fittest." That was what his feelings had become.
His appearance grew more feral; a foggy aura surrounded him, covering his features until his face seemed blackened, and his eyes blazed with blue sparks.
He advanced, gripping his dagger tightly, astonishing everyone.
The King of Rafka Beasts sensed danger and shouted:
"Attack him quickly! My second guard, don't hold back!"
The tall Rafka beast charged at Zokaro with full force, unleashing swift and direct attacks. Yet Zokaro didn't flinch an inch. He merely flipped the demonic dagger from his right hand to his left, and in a sudden strike, he severed the tall Rafka beast's left arm.
Sweat trickled down the beast king's forehead; his eyes widened, his face turned pale — yet the long Rafka beast didn't give up. He lunged again, roaring:
"You damn human!"
He leapt into the air, swinging his right arm like a sword straight toward Zokaro. But with lightning reflexes, Zokaro dodged by a swift sidestep. The beast turned around to find him, but Zokaro had already pierced his back with a rapid thrust.
The monster refused to accept defeat. With a desperate spin, he aimed to decapitate Zokaro, but Zokaro ducked low, slashing his dagger upward — slicing the beast's right arm into scattered pieces.
The dismembered hand fell to the ground as the creature screamed:
"Aaaaaaahhh! Damn you! Are you toying with me?! Trying to torture me every moment?! None of my attacks hit you… so you're on a higher level?! Are you hiding your aura, you bastard?!"
In a cold, ghostly voice, Zokaro said:
"Didn't you beasts say you devour lowly humans? That's why I'm here — to torture filthy monsters like you."
Díaz was shocked at what he was witnessing. This was no longer the Zokaro he knew. Everything about him had changed — his movements, his speed, his expression, even the mist surrounding him.
He whispered to himself:
"I can't believe it… Is this really Zokaro? That feeling of safety around him is gone. Now… even I'm afraid I might be his next target."
The Rafka beast, furious, charged again toward Zokaro. But in the blink of an eye, a blinding flash tore the beast into shreds. Zokaro walked forward slowly, muttering to himself:
"Damn it… I'm tired of this place. If I stay here any longer, I might become the dungeon's next core monster… I'll kill that bastard."
The King of Rafka Beasts froze in fear, mumbling:
"That bastard shows no mercy… He split one of my followers in an instant. But I must not tremble — his weapon can't kill me."
His muscles bulged, and a violet aura surrounded him. With arrogance, he roared:
"I didn't expect one human to defeat my entire pack. I'll show you that you can't defeat me! Your weapon can't even harm me! You're far too weak compared to me!"
He dashed toward Zokaro with immense speed, shouting:
"Show me what you've got! No matter how strong you are, I'm the King of Rafka Beasts! Your dagger can't pierce me! You humans rely on hiding behind mist — such tricks won't work on me. No matter how fast your strikes are, that weapon is useless… But why am I repeating myself? Am I… afraid?"
With every step, his speed slowed down. Zokaro noticed and smiled faintly:
"I think… you're scared."
He lifted his left foot slightly off the ground, leaving a faint dust trail behind.
Before the beast king even realized it, Zokaro was already in front of him, gripping his fist tightly.
Coldly, Zokaro said:
"You're just an animal… you understand nothing."
With an overwhelming grip, Zokaro crushed down with full force, slamming the beast king into the ground so hard the floor quaked beneath them.
Zokaro muttered:
"No matter how high your level is… you'll never defeat me."
The beast king's mind was in chaos:
"What happened just now? I thought his power came from that weapon… but his grip alone brought me down so easily. I was ordered to kill humans… but these ones — these are not weaklings. Facing them means death for us."
Zokaro grasped the beast's fists tightly with both hands and launched a flurry of consecutive attacks.
"Final Explosion Strike!"
Gathering all his strength into one final blow — a series of rapid hits — until the beast king's head vanished before his eyes.
Zokaro stood on both feet, glancing at his dirt-stained clothes.
"Damn it… if my mother saw me like this, she'd definitely suspect something. Once I'm out of here, I need to change."
He turned toward Díaz, who stood frozen in shock, unable to speak or move.
Zokaro said:
"What are you waiting for? Extract the Core Heart Stone. And did you see any 'Boo Stone' around here?"
Díaz, startled and rigid like a soldier, replied:
"No, sir… I haven't seen it here. I'll extract the monsters' Core Heart Stones right away."
A system screen appeared before Zokaro, displaying his statistics and collected points.
RATIO SYSTEM
Daily Mission Reward
You have successfully completed your first Dome Dungeon.
Congratulations on your progress.
To receive your reward, please select: Claim Reward
Zokaro looked at the screen in confusion. After all this time, the system controlled every condition for leveling up.
He tapped to claim his reward.
---
RATIO SYSTEM
You have received 41,600 points as the total mission reward.
Your strength level has increased by 68.
Return to the main page.
---
Zokaro stared intently at the screen, pondering the amount of points he had gained from this dungeon.
---
RATIO SYSTEM
Warrior Name: Zokaro
Power Level: 1238
Available Upgrades:
Speed Upgrade: Lv2
Strength Upgrade: Lv2
Attack Upgrade: Lv2
Body Upgrade: Lv2
Special Skills: None. You must raise your level higher to unlock them.
---
Zokaro began to wonder what level of strength he needed to reach in order to unlock special skills.
After that, he decided to move to the next enhancement page.
---
RATIO SYSTEM
Points Earned: 45,000
Rewards:
Heart Pulse Upgrade: Lv100
Absolute Healing Upgrade: Lv100
Instant Energy Boost Upgrade: Lv100
Energy Detection Vision Upgrade: Lv4
Next Level: Warrior Army Upgrade
To enhance General's Strength: 800 points
General Haidar's Level: Lv1
His Strength: 500
To enhance 100 Soldiers: 1,500 points
100 Soldiers' Level: Lv1
Each Soldier's Strength: 10
---
Zokaro looked closely at the screen and the points he had earned.
> "Hmm… I should improve my Detection Vision first, then finish upgrading the army. It looks like I'll need them for my journey."
---
RATIO SYSTEM
Points Earned: 0
All Rewards Completed Successfully.
Life Force: 100%
Next Level: Warrior Army Upgrade
Enhance General's Power: 800 points
General Haidar's Level: Lv17
His Strength: 8,500
100 Soldiers' Level: Lv15
Each Soldier's Strength: 150
---
Zokaro was shocked.
> "What? The army's stronger than me now just from upgrading them with points? With this power, I could crush anything in my path... That's amazing! But I need to raise my own level too—to become stronger, much stronger."
---
After Diaz finished extracting the Heart Core, he placed them into a bag.
> "Brother Zokaro, let's leave before the Dome Dungeon disappears… or before we vanish with it."
Zokaro turned to him.
> "Alright, let's go back."
---
Outside, the clients had been waiting for a long time. One of them said:
> "You lost, Fat Client… Let's leave before the monsters come out."
The fat client cursed:
> "Damn it! We paid money for this Dome Dungeon, and now no one's coming out!"
Then one of them pointed ahead.
> "Look! The Dome Dungeon is fading… and two people are coming out!"
---
Everyone was stunned. Only two people were leaving the Dome Dungeon—
and they had defeated all the monsters inside.
Diaz ran toward the clients, holding the bag.
> "Hey! Here are the Heart Stones—can you pay us now?"
The fat client stared at Zokaro. From his torn clothes, he could tell Zokaro was the one who had slain the monsters alone.
> "Give me the energy detection device," he ordered.
They were shocked by his demand, but handed it over anyway.
He approached Zokaro and scanned him. The reading showed Level 30.
The fat client frowned in disbelief.
> "You're hiding your true power… but how? Are you a mage?"
Zokaro's sharp gaze turned toward him.
> "Hand over the money and be quiet. I'm in a bad mood today."
The fat client trembled in fear and quickly moved forward, distributing everyone's share according to the Heart Stones they provided.
Each person received about 2,000 Aluros.
Zokaro knew it was too little, but since the job was unofficial, he took it in silence.
---
He and Diaz walked along the same road, but the fat client kept watching him.
> "Level 30? That's impossible. I'm sure his level's way higher. Only two of them came out alive!"
Another client spoke up:
> "We forgot something important… we didn't ask what happened to the others."
Nero replied with a frown:
> "Idiot. They're obviously dead."
The fat client glared at them.
> "Did you forget something else? Dinner's on all of you tonight."
---
As Zokaro and Diaz continued walking, Zokaro glanced around, looking for a cheap clothing store.
Diaz asked:
> "What's wrong, Mr. Zokaro?"
Zokaro replied coolly:
> "Don't call me 'Mr.' Just Zokaro. And I'm looking for a cheap store—my clothes are filthy."
Diaz nodded.
> "Follow me, there's one up ahead."
---
They went to the shop, where Zokaro bought new clothes and threw away his dirty ones.
> "Give me your phone number," Zokaro said.
"I'll call you when we start exploring the Dome Dungeons again—to search for the Boo Stone."
Diaz handed him his number, and they parted ways.
---
Zokaro walked alone down the road until he passed by a Cavern Dungeon. Its color was violet.
He approached, but the area was crowded with people, with police blocking them from getting closer.
Zokaro asked someone nearby:
> "What's going on here?"
The man scoffed.
> "Idiot! Don't you know? It's an A-rank gate. The Dawn Guild is on a mission—with the most beautiful elite hunter, Lira!"
---
Moments later, a man emerged wearing clothes symbolizing power and authority, with a flowing cloak, crimson eyes, and blue hair. His features were sharp and noble, radiating arrogance and pride.
It was Rovan Korr, the leader of the Dawn Guild, ranked among the top elite.
Behind him walked a beautiful huntress with brown hair, blue eyes, and two swords hanging at her waist—Lira, ranked as an elite. Several other hunters followed them, including Dalyana, Zokaro's mother.
---
Dalyana turned toward the crowd, her eyes widening when she spotted her son. She stepped forward.
> "Zokaro! What are you doing here?"
Zokaro froze. He hadn't realized his mother was there.
He waved awkwardly, then leaped high over the crowd and the barricade, landing beside her.
A nearby officer shouted:
> "Hey! How did you get over there?"
Dalyana smiled gently.
> "It's fine, he's my son."
The officer backed off.
---
She looked at him, confused.
> "Zokaro, you were over there a moment ago—how did you get here so fast?"
Zokaro scratched the back of his head, embarrassed.
> "Honestly, I wasn't that far… just a little flip."
---
But Lira had noticed him.
She turned to one of the guild members and asked:
> "Do you know who that boy next to Miss Dalyana is?"
A man replied:
> "That's her son… he's weak, no level at all."
Lira's eyes widened.
> "No level? Impossible, after what he just did... But his aura—it's faint, covered in thick white mist. Just who is that person?"