[You have entered the laboratory of novice black magician Adele.]

“Hyung, where is this place?”

The interior of the instance dungeon was a narrow space just over 20 square meters. The space was cluttered with all types of books and experimental tools.

‘It is a laboratory.’

It looked like a magician’s laboratory in fantasy settings. At this moment, there was the sound of something thumping from one side of the room. Hyeonu moved toward the source of the sound.

“What is this?”

A giant bear was visible in front of Hyeonu. A white skeletal armor covered a body that was three meters high and made the giant bear look even more dangerous.

‘There is no doubt that it is an owlbear. What is with the armor?’

“Hyung! Isn’t that bone armor?”

“Bone armor... A necromancer?”

Then Hyeonu heard someone yelling from the back of the room, “You guys! How did you get in here?!!!”

It was the appearance of the novice black magician Adele. Yeongjun and Yuri quickly got into a formation. They hid behind Hyeonu.

“Did you make the undead wandering around here?” Hyeonu tried to extract information from Adele to advance the quest.

However, the black magician dismissed Hyeonu’s question. “Why should I answer that? Pepe, kill them all.”

The moment Adele finished speaking, the giant bear moved. Every time the bear took a step, the space shook.

“You dare think you can win against Adele’s masterpiece, the bone bear?!”

Haha! Adele laughed in a confident manner.

Bah. Hyeonu snorted. He would lose to a bear...?

“That is outrageous. Outrageous,” Hyeonu said. Then he directed Yuri, “Yuri, use your buffs while Yeongjun will keep the magician in check. I’ll catch the bear.”

He would catch the bear, so Yuri and Yeongjun just had to tie up the black magician.

“I understand. Oppa. I’ll buff you first.”

[You have received divine energy.]

[Your weapon is filled with a high divine power.]

[Attack power has increased.]

[You have received the goddess’ blessing.]

[All stats will increase.]

[Movement speed has increased.]

Hyeonu’s lips moved, and a magic circle appeared in front of him. It was a magic circle to summon Tang-E.

“Master dude! It’s been a while.”

“I’m in a hurry right now. Let’s talk later. Tang-E, I’m asking you. Do you know what to do?”

Tang-E jumped happily the moment he saw Hyeonu. However, Hyeonu had to deal with the giant bone bear, so he carefully put Tang-E behind him.

“I understand, Master dude. Then you have to let me ride you.”

[You have received Bear’s Momentum.]

[Physique has increased.]

[Strength has increased.]

[You have received the Forest’s Blessing.]

[Defense has increased.]

[Health will continue to recover.]

Tang-E cheered with both fists. “You shouldn’t lose to such a low-grade bear, Master dude.”

It didn’t make sense for his master to lose to such a disgusting bear. In particular, Tang-E didn’t like the white bone armor.

Hyeonu received all the buffs and was overcome by the power filling up his body. With this power, it felt like he could do anything. It seemed that catching the giant bear and getting revenge would be possible.

‘Jung Hanbaek...’

Hyeonu rushed toward the bear while thinking of this name.

***

The fight between a 180-centimeter man and a bear over three meters tall was more impressive than people might’ve thought. For a moment, the battle between Yeongjun and Adele stopped. The bone bear let out an ugly cry. He followed his master’s orders and moved to tear apart his opponent.

Had he ever seen a bear jump? The bone bear was more agile than expected. He quickly reached Hyeonu’s vicinity and wielded enormous paws with sharp claws toward Hyeonu. Hyeonu easily prevented the bear’s attacks due to his various buffs and the Giant’s Power. The bear paused, seemingly unaware that his attack would bounce off. However, he soon rushed back to Hyeonu and launched a one-sided offensive.

‘The power and speed are great. But...’

That was it.

Then Hyeonu’s counterattack began. Hyeonu decided to deal with the front paws that stretched toward him. At this moment, something strange happened. It was so strange that the viewers rubbed their eyes doubtfully. The bone bear clearly swung his paws toward Hyeonu, who in turn stabbed his single-edged sword toward the bear.

His arc started from the tip of the bone bear’s paw to the middle joint area. Hyeonu’s single-edged sword moved over the bear, and the bear let out a terrible cry of pain. It wasn’t the voice of a predator. These were the cries of a beast struggling in pain. Then the bear once again stepped up like he was showing off his robustness. Nevertheless, he didn’t push Hyeonu back at all. There were two minutes left until Giant’s Power finished.

‘It is more than enough. I’ll finish it.’

It was Hyeonu, not the bone bear, who ran this time.

Hyeonu rushed toward the bear, and a white light struck the bear’s claws. After that, the bone bear’s paws started to leak blood. The bone bear was furious when he saw the red blood that came from his body. He opened his mouth to vent his fury.

[You have heard the Fear of the Giant Bone Bear.]

Fear...

The bear used Fear, which was the exclusive CC (crowd control) of boss monsters over a certain level. The most common way for players to die when raiding boss monsters was to be affected by Fear. It was a very scary technique since Fear caused various abnormal conditions such as paralysis and bleeding.

[The influence of fighting energy allows you to ignore the Fear effect.]

However, Hyeonu was a different story. He swung the single-edged sword again without a single flicker of fear. Both the bear and Adele were baffled. Perhaps it was the first time they saw an opponent that Fear didn’t work on. There was instant silence. Then there was a sound that broke the silence. It was Yeongjun’s arrow piercing Adele’s chest. The divine arrow, which was buffed by Yuri, fatally wounded Adele.

“Kuoh... Pepe,” Adele called out the name of the bear while falling. Adele had met a vain end.

[Novice Black Magician Adele has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

‘Okay, the black magician is gone.’

Hyeonu pushed the bone bear even further. Now there was no need to be nervous. He just had to do his best against this bear. The bone bear didn’t know about his master’s death and steadily fulfilled his master’s orders.

“Hyung!” Yeongjun’s arrow flew with great timing just as the bear was about to hit Hyeonu. The bear stopped as the arrow pierced the middle of his abdomen. Simultaneously, Hyeonu moved. He realized that this was an opportunity. Giant’s Power was over, but the other buffs were still maintained.

[The bone bear has received the abnormal condition ‘bleeding’.]

Meanwhile, the bone bear was already injured all over his body. Even if he moved, his move wouldn’t be first. His movements were already slower by half in comparison to the beginning.

Hyeonu’s sword stopped. He prepared Heavy Blow.

‘This is the last one.’

Hyeonu’s stopped sword moved while the bear also moved. Hyeonu escaped the bone bear’s slow attack with minimal movement. Then he stretched out his single-edged sword with full strength. This time, it pierced the bear’s heart, not his feet. It was a finishing blow.

The bone bear felt his body lose power, and he turned his head toward his master’s location. It was Adele’s cold body on the floor that caught the bone bear’s eye. The bone bear identified his master’s dead body and collapsed in an instant.

[Giant Bone Bear has been killed.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[You have leveled up.]

[All health and magic power have been restored.]

[-Black magicians killed 2/2]

[-Adele’s Research Journal has been acquired.]

[Your fighting energy stat has increased by 2.]

Hyeonu smiled at the message that showed he met the condition to clear the quest. Tang-E saw Hyeonu’s smile and rushed toward him.

“Master dude, good work. Quickly, become my horse, horse.”

“I understand, Tang-E. You did a great job giving me the buffs.”

Hyeonu lifted Tang-E up while Yuri and Yeongjun approached Hyeonu after picking up all the fallen items.

“Hyung! You fought really well. The best!”

“By the way, what is this teddy bear? Oppa’s pet?”

Yeongjun gave a thumbs up while Yuri reached out toward Tang-E.

“Tang-E is my pet. A trusty pet.”

“He’s so cute. Can I touch him once?” Yuri asked with a smile that said she would die if she couldn’t touch Tang-E.

Hyeonu nodded. Simultaneously, he held out Tang-E toward Yuri.

‘I’m sorry, Tang-E. You can be responsible for Yuri instead of me.’

“How cute are you? What is your name?”

“Master dude. You abandoned me. How can Master dude...”

Hyeonu passed Tang-E to Yuri and looked at the items Yeongjun was holding.

“What dropped that you are holding so carefully?”

“A black magician’s staff and a magic skill book. The bear also dropped a strange bead. The details aren’t clear. I think you need to appraise them.”

At Yeongjun’s words, Hyeonu received the items and checked the information. Hyeonu finished checking the item information and returned the staff and skill book to Yeongjun.

“The two of you can take this. The bead is enough for me.”

Then Yuri, who was holding Tang-E, joined the conversation, “Oppa! Oppa caught the boss. Why are you giving this to us?”

“The black magician was caught by Yeongjun. I caught the bear, so I should only receive the bead,” Hyeonu said while ruffling Yeongjun’s hair.

The more he saw of them, the cuter he thought they were. For Hyeonu who had no immediate siblings, they felt like his siblings.

“Just think of it as pocket money. I haven’t seen you for a long time, so shouldn’t I give you some pocket money?”

“Oppa.”

“Hyung.”

“Thank you. I’ll use it well.”

The two people expressed their gratitude to Hyeonu. Hyeonu swallowed down a thought, ‘In any case, this bead is more valuable than those two items.’

***

Hyeonu separated from the two people and returned to Yusma. It was to clear the quest.

“What will I get this time?”

Hyeonu arrived in front of Lebron’s mansion with a heart swollen from expectations. Unlike before, the guards didn’t stop Hyeonu. They just bowed their heads in greeting. Hyeonu asked a guard, “Where is Lebron?”

“He is in the same place as usual.”

“I see, thank you.”

Hyeonu learned Lebron’s location and crossed the mansion. Lebron was sitting in the training hall in a polite manner.

“You’re already here? You came back really quickly,” Lebron said as he looked at Hyeonu. Then he asked, “Did you do a thorough investigation?”

Hyeonu handed Lebron a book. It was Adele's journal.

“This is a black magician’s research journal. Is it enough?”

Lebron nodded as he examined the research journal. “His Majesty will be satisfied with this.”

[You have cleared The Brig’s Investigation.]

[Experience has been acquired.]

[200 imperial contribution points have been acquired.]

[1,000 gold has been acquired as an additional reward.]

Lebron got up with a loud thump and said to Hyeonu, “Then be prepared.”

“What do you mean?” Hyeonu asked in a confused manner.

“You have to go and see His Majesty. Who will report it if the person who did the investigation doesn’t go?”

“!!! I understand.”

Hyeonu covered his mouth with his hands. If he didn’t cover it, he would burst out laughing.

‘The emperor. Kukukuk. The emperor!!!’