Two days passed beneath unending snow. The blizzard had eased, leaving only a constant gray curtain that buried Seoul inch by inch, forcing the news to abandon talk of "gas leaks" and replace it with "record-breaking cold fronts."

  Inside the Shin-Hwa mansion, silence settled like weight.

  Kang Tae-Soo kept his distance. Whenever their paths crossed in the hallway, arrogance gave way to unease, his gaze dropping instinctively as the memory of that driveway pressure still clung to him.

  Do-Hyun remained in his room, though sleep came rarely. Most hours were spent with the Executed's Shiv cutting through empty air, the blade moving again and again through familiar patterns.

  Slash. Stab. Reverse grip.

  The motions were etched into him from another life, but this body lagged behind, muscles dragging like a race car trapped with the engine of a lawnmower.

  [Vitality: 13.1%]

  [System Note: Your form is perfect. Your stamina is pathetic. You're sweating after ten swings. Embarrassing.]

  "Shut up," Do-Hyun breathed, wiping sweat from his forehead.

  The clock read 11:45 PM. Thursday. Midnight was coming fast. The dungeon would vanish as soon as the hour turned.

  Black clothes went on quickly—a thick hoodie, cargo pants, heavy boots ordered online. A scarf covered the lower half of his face, sealing away breath and identity alike.

  The dagger slid into his belt. Still ugly, still coated in stubborn black rust, yet the edge glinted with something hungry.

  He opened his window.

  A week ago, stepping from this ledge meant death. Now… the wind didn't hesitate.

  Do-Hyun stepped onto the ledge. Shadows from the garden below stretched upward, almost welcoming.

  Shadow Step.

  Darkness swallowed him.

  Snow gave beneath his boots with a muffled crunch. His knees bent as shadows softened the fall, catching him like unseen hands.

  Stolen story; please report.

  Straightening, he exhaled once.

  "Let's go."

  Insadong Alley — 11:58 PM.

  The space behind the Golden Heron antique shop lay deserted. Overflowing trash cans lined the walls. Streetlights flickered overhead, buzzing like dying insects. Yet the air here felt wrong—sharp with metal and ozone.

  Do-Hyun moved toward the dumpster where he had sensed the rift two days ago.

  It was still there. A crack in the air, as if reality itself had shattered like glass. Blue light seeped from jagged edges, pulsing slow and steady, like a heartbeat.

  [Dungeon: 'The Rat's Nest'.]

  [Type: Instant Dungeon (Isolated Space).]

  [Time until Break: 00:01:30.]

  [Status: If you don't enter now, the monsters will spill out into the city. Do you want to be a hero, or do you just want the XP?]

  "XP," Do-Hyun said.

  Stepping into the blue light, the world twisted instantly. The sensation struck like being dragged through a straw, his stomach lurching as the cold wind vanished, replaced by damp rot and decay.

  When his vision cleared, the alley still surrounded him, yet everything felt different. Concrete walls lay smothered in thick green moss. Above, the sky churned bruised purple, unnatural enough to make his skin prickle. Bones littered the ground—small ones, like cats and dogs.

  Skitter. Skitter.

  The sound came from everywhere, claws scraping along concrete, scratching against metal.

  The dagger slid into his grip.

  "Come out," Do-Hyun said quietly.

  From the darkness beneath the dumpster, eyes appeared first—red, glowing. Then the creature followed.

  A rat the size of a golden retriever crawled forward, fur patchy and slick with slime, yellow teeth jutting like daggers as saliva dripped onto the bone-strewn ground.

  [Monster: Sewer Rat (Mutated).]

  [Rank: E.]

  [Note: It has rabies. And bad breath. Don't let it bite you.]

  The rat hissed and lunged, moving with a speed no normal animal should possess. Do-Hyun stepped in instead of away, instinct guiding him as he slipped beneath its snapping jaws. The bite cut through the air above his head, close enough to stir his hair. In the same breath, he drove the rusty dagger upward.

  Schlick.

  The blade sank into the rat's throat with a sickening, gritty resistance, reminiscent of a dull knife shearing through wet sand. A piercing shriek tore from the creature as it began to thrash with a frantic, desperate violence. Without hesitation, Do-Hyun twisted the steel deep into the wound and ripped it free in one fluid motion, catching a spray of bitter, black blood across his features.

  The creature collapsed instantly, its limbs giving one final, rhythmic twitch before the carcass dissolved into a cloud of drifting gray smoke.

  [Enemy Defeated.][XP Gained.][Weapon Effect Triggered: Bloodthirst.]

  Do-Hyun lowered his gaze to the knife. Where the black blood had touched the blade, rust hissed and flaked away in curling fragments. Beneath it, dark steel gleamed, clean, razor-sharp, alive with a quiet hunger.

  [System: 1/100 Kills to next evolution.]

  He wiped the blood from his cheek and scanned the alley. Dozens of red eyes glinted from the shadows, igniting like embers.

  A grin spread across his face—sharp, terrifying in the dim purple light. He spun the dagger, the steel whispering with each turn.

  "I was worried I'd go hungry," he murmured.

  Shadows swallowed him as he surged forward.