My Personal Skillbook — Episode 001
A Skillbook Made to My Taste
Fictionist Modern Fantasy Novel
Episode 1
"Huff, huff, haaagh."
My chest hurts like it's tearing apart.
Even though I'm breathing like mad, my body screams for more air.
My throat is bone-dry and cracked, and the taste of bitter blood fills my mouth.
I don't even know how long I've been running. It's a wonder my legs are still moving.
I want to stop right now and collapse. But I can't stop.
If I stop now, it's 100 percent,
death.
[Kyaaaack!]
At the shriek coming from behind, my heart, which had been racing, feels like it's dropping with a thud.
I have to run to survive. If I stop, I die.
But I can't keep this up forever.
The end will definitely come. It will be the moment when either that thing or I runs out of stamina, and given my current physical condition, the odds were high that I'd be the one hitting the ground first.
"Damn it!"
Every moment was too precious to waste even opening my mouth to curse, but I couldn't endure it otherwise.
"Urk!"
The moment I turned the corner, my foot caught on a protruding floor tile and my body went airborne.
Finally, the strength left my legs, which had reached their limit, and I tumbled forward.
Thud!
"Urggh……"
My rolling body collided with something and stopped.
Suffering from pain in my elbows and head, I checked what I had slammed into.
'Dear God.'
What I had hit was a wall blocking my entire path.
[Kyaaack!]
The familiar shriek struck my ears.
When I turned around, the giant mantis that had been chasing me was glaring at me, raising its two sickle-like legs.
It's over.
There's nowhere to run.
'Then die well.'
'We'll take good care of your little sister.'
'Already throbbing down there; I can barely contain myself. Hehehe.'
The voices of the ones who left me here seemed to echo in my head.
***
Even this morning, it had been a day no different from usual.
"I'm off."
I greeted Jinhee, grabbed a club carved from monster bone, and headed for the front door.
"Brother."
Jinhee followed me out in her wheelchair, right up to the front door.
"What?"
"Do you have to go to the dungeon today?"
"Huh? Is something wrong?"
"No, just… I had a bad dream."
It was strange because Jinhee wasn't one to say such things.
But I soon gave a bitter smile. Because I was in no situation to afford any rest.
My parents had passed away, killed by them when monsters first appeared in the world.
And my one and only younger sister, Jinhee, had been injured by a monster and couldn't walk, having received no proper treatment.
"If I don't go out, what money are we going to buy tomorrow's food with? I'll be back."
"...Yeah. Be careful."
Jinhee's eyes, which were waving her hand while sitting in the wheelchair, shook with unusual anxiety.
Arriving at the dungeon, I handed my Hunter's license to the government administrator at the entrance.
"Ah, so… Mr. Lee Hwajin. Your Hunter rank is D."
It was an administrator with an unfamiliar face, as if the staff had changed.
He tapped on his keyboard, then began comparing my license and the monitor back and forth, one detail at a time.
"Your unique skill is… [Record]?"
I saw one of the administrator's eyebrows rise.
"Um, you're going in alone, correct?"
"Yes."
At that, the administrator said with a worried expression.
"If it's alright, would you mind waiting a moment? If other solo hunters arrive, we could match you into a party……"
"It's fine."
I handed over the entry fee.
The young administrator hesitated for a moment before returning my license to me.
[You have entered Seoul Dongdaemun Dungeon No. 4.]
[This dungeon is a 2-star dungeon.]
[Overflow: 230/1000]
[A monster has been generated.]
[Skreeee!]
Bursting blue bodily fluid clung heavily to the bone club.
"Hah, hah…... Whew."
When I flipped over the monster that looked like a giant cockroach, I could see its legs still twitching.
Squelch.
I thrust the dismantling knife into the gap between the monster's shells.
As I pried the split seam open with both hands, the monster's bodily fluids and entrails poured out.
'Ugh.'
It was a job I'd done to the point of being sick of it, but the foul stench and disgusting visuals never grew familiar.
'How nice it would be if these things, like monsters in higher-level dungeons, only left items behind.'
The moment I packed the separated monster exoskeleton into my bag and tried to stand up.
[Skreeeeek!]
A monster's shriek was heard from somewhere.
When I turned my head, a monster was desperately crawling toward me.
'Damn!'
Flustered, I quickly grabbed my club.
Boom!
Just then, the monster rushing at me exploded right in front of me.
Covered from head to toe in slimy bodily fluids, I looked ahead.
There was a party of four hunters.
"Oops! I'm sorry!"
The female hunter at the front quickly ran over, flustered at the sight of me.
"My skill cancel was delayed, so……"
The hunter handed me money, telling me to use it for laundry.
It was quite a large sum for laundry money.
I examined the hunters' equipment.
All party members were equipped with weapons and armor made from intermediate monster materials.
Every single one was something I couldn't even dream of affording.
On top of that, the skill that had just blown up the bug.
They were likely hunters between C-rank and B-rank, at the very least.
"I am truly sorry."
The hunter apologized once more before passing by me with her companions.
"This is what happens when you waste mana pointlessly on the first floor."
"But I can't stand bugs, what can I do?"
I watched the hunters head down to the second basement floor for a while, then approached the insect monster that had exploded just moments ago.
It was a monster I'd barely caught after running myself ragged.
But the hunter from just now had caught it effortlessly using a skill.
'With that skill, she could probably wipe out the monsters on the first floor in an instant, right?'
A bitter taste filled my mouth.
'Why did it have to turn out like this for me alone.'
I had started out the same as the other hunters.
One day, a status window suddenly appeared before my eyes, I became stronger than an ordinary person, and I became able to use mana.
But my skill was not the same as other hunters'.
My unique skill is [Record].
As long as it was a suitably hard surface, I could freely leave letters or drawings on it.
And that was it.
Unlike hunters' skills, which are classified into attack, defense, support, and so on, my skill's category was 'Unclassified'.
'Hoo, what's the point of thinking about what I can't change. I should get to the market soon.'
I shouldered my full bag and left the dungeon.
***
"Haa."
Back at the dungeon entrance, I sighed as I looked at my thin wallet.
The money I'd earned selling the monster materials filling my bag at the Hunter Market was a total of 530,000 won.
But since I had to pay an entry fee of 500,000 won every time I entered the dungeon, what remained was only 30,000 won.
To earn enough just for food, I had to go in and out of this dungeon several times.
That's when it happened.
"Hey."
I turned at the voice from behind to see three men standing there.
Judging by their faces, they seemed to be late twenties to early thirties.
"Looks like you're running the dungeon solo. Want to come with us? We need an extra hand."
The tallest among them spoke to me.
"Sorry, but I'm D-rank. I doubt I'd be of help."
"It's fine, it's fine. The three of us are B-rank. What we'd like to ask of you is a porter role."
He held out his Hunter ID card to me. Below the name 'Kim Haesu' was the letter B.
Porter.
So that was it.
Decently ranked hunters often hired C-rank or D-rank hunters as porters.
They weren't much help in combat, but their strength and stamina were above that of ordinary people.
"We couldn't find anyone today. It's bothersome to fight while carrying luggage."
"In exchange, we'll give you a tenth of what we earn today. If you want, we can even pay an advance."
The man with the long sideburns and the man with the long scar on his face also spoke, as if trying to reel me in.
It wasn't a bad offer.
With three B-rank hunters, they could easily clear a 2-star dungeon.
Besides, materials from lower floors fetched much higher prices than those from the first floor, so even a tenth of the returns would be quite substantial.
The reason I preferred running dungeons alone rather than working as a porter was because porters were treated very poorly.
Hunters who hired porters tended to treat lower-ranked hunters carelessly, and in severe cases, even used them as bait to lure monsters.
On top of that, the reward they gave wasn't a percentage split but a measly fixed amount.
"Very well. I'll take the advance and follow you as a porter."
Recalling Jinhee's skinny wrist that I'd seen before leaving the house, I accepted their offer.
I thought that if today's earnings were good, I should buy something tasty to bring home.
I received the advance and shouldered their bags.
The advance was an amount similar to what I could get from selling all the monster materials I'd obtained on the first floor just moments ago.
Considering I'd also received quite a bit of laundry money earlier, it seemed my financial luck was good today.
***
Their destination was the third basement floor.
It was a level I couldn't handle alone, a place I'd never been to before.
[Kueeeek!]
Among the monsters on the third floor, some appeared that easily surpassed human height.
But against their combined attacks, they were helpless.
Every time the tall man swung his greatsword made of monster materials, the monsters were split in two.
Boom!
Swish!
The mana bombs set up by the sideburned man and the knives thrown by the scarred man also felled the monsters one by one.
It was a sight that couldn't help but make me feel envious.
If I'd had a combat skill as well, my income, my lifestyle, the gazes of those around me—everything would have been different.
When the men's battle ended, I collected materials like teeth, shells, and bodily fluids from the monsters.
Whenever I had a moment, I did the work I usually did in dungeons or floors I visited for the first time.
"Record."
As I used the skill to leave marks on the wall, the hunters looked back at me.
"What are you doing?"
The man with sideburns asked me.
"It's in case we get lost. It's just a habit of mine, so please don't mind it."
"Do we need that? We're all together anyway."
"That's what I'm saying."
The sideburned man and the scarred man looked at each other and snickered.
I wondered what was so funny about that.
After going quite deep even on the third floor, I informed them that the bags were about 80 percent full.
Hearing that, the tall man stroked his chin and spoke.
"Then shall we catch just one more and head back?"
If it was just one more, there was enough space for materials. The other men also expressed their agreement.
But as I followed them, I couldn't help but hesitate.
"Wait. Are you perhaps thinking of going down to the fourth floor?"
"Yeah. We're going to catch this dungeon's boss."
Cold sweat ran down my back.
"What are you so scared of? There are three B-rank hunters in a simple dungeon like this. You just stay quietly in the back like you've been doing."
"The price of materials from a boss is incomparable to normal monsters. If you want to go back, put those bags down and go back alone."
The sideburned man and the scarred man spoke in turn.
'Damn it.'
They acted all polite when they first hired me, but in the end, they were doing whatever they wanted.
They, being B-rank, might have the strength or skills to escape when things got dangerous, but I was different.
But having come this far, going back to the dungeon entrance alone was suicide, and thinking of how everything in these bags was money, I couldn't give them up either.
"...Understood. I'll follow."
The scarred man smirked and muttered, "That's what I'm talking about."
As we descended the stairs leading to the fourth floor, the air changed slightly. It was a murky, musty smell of stagnant air.
I used my Record skill to leave marks on the walls as I followed behind the men.
Perhaps because it was the boss's floor. Unlike previous floors, the monsters did not show themselves.
I was extremely tense at that moment.
"Ah, I need to take care of something real quick."
"Ah, me too."
The sideburned man and the scarred man went to the back, turned a corner, and disappeared from my sight.
Business at a time like this? Were they nervous too?
I felt something was off when several minutes passed and they didn't return.
"Why are they taking so long?"
The tall man said in an annoyed voice.
"Wait a moment. I'll go check."
"I'll go with—"
"I'll bring them right back. Since it's the boss floor, there are no other monsters anyway, so don't worry. Just watch the luggage."
I tried to follow, but he said that and headed toward where his companions had disappeared.
Several more minutes passed.
A thumping sound was heard from afar, and the ground began to tremble slightly.
Unable to wait any longer due to my anxiety, I tried to go toward where the men had disappeared.
At that moment.
[Kyaaaack!]
"Huh, huugh!"
I couldn't breathe properly due to the instantaneous terror.
Around the corner, a giant mantis revealed itself, glaring at me.