Feeling like I had managed to escape far enough, I stopped briefly to catch my breath.

“Hoo… hoo…”

Now that I had a moment to breathe, I started worrying about the others.

‘Cho Chan-ho… I hope that bastard is dead, but he’s probably fine. I can’t imagine him dying just because he couldn’t handle a few monsters.’

The problem was everyone else. Kim So-young, who had been attacked first, had no chance of survival.

She was likely already a meal for the monsters.

“Hyung, your arm…”

“...It’s fine. It’s not torn off, just a little scratched. Let’s slowly move somewhere else for now.”

As I tried to focus, I suddenly remembered the notification from earlier—when I killed the monster, it said I had gained a profession. I opened my status window.

It seemed professions weren’t automatically assigned but offered as choices. The issue? None of these options felt suitable for me.

First, I ruled out Swordsman and Shield Bearer. Even though my stats had slightly increased—likely from moving around and fighting earlier—I was too physically weak to wield a sword or shield.

As for Alchemist… maybe later, after the tutorial. For now, I needed something more combat-oriented. Survival was my priority.

‘That leaves Archer or Dark Mage…?’

But both had issues. I didn’t have a bow or arrows, nor any experience using them. Even if Archer was safer than Swordsman or Shield Bearer, it wasn’t a practical choice. I’d never even visited an archery range back on Earth.

‘Dark Mage… It might actually be the better choice. The fact it’s “Dark” Mage instead of just Mage bugs me, but so far, the only person I’ve seen with Magic stats is Yoo Hyun.’

Yoo Hyun’s abilities seemed unique, but I doubted having zero Magic stat meant I couldn’t learn magic at all. Choosing Dark Mage would also increase my Magic stat.

“Oppa… are you okay?” Yu-lim asked.

“I’m fine… I’m just thinking about the profession I got. I have to choose one—it’s not automatically assigned.”

Yu-lim and Yoo Hyun looked surprised. Since they hadn’t received a profession yet, they probably didn’t know how it worked. Neither did I until I opened my status window after the notification. Most likely, because I had delivered the killing blow to the monster, I had gained the profession.

“It seems like killing monsters gives you a profession. Right after I killed it, I got the notification.”

“Then does that mean Hyun and I can get one too?” Yu-lim asked.

“Yeah… after I choose my profession, we’ll try taking down a monster together. You two can finish it off one by one.”

The plan was to incapacitate a monster together, then have Yu-lim and Yoo Hyun each land a killing blow. But before that, I needed to decide on my profession.

‘Damn it… I really don’t know what to pick. Couldn’t they give me more hints?’

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t shake my aversion to Swordsman, Shield Bearer, or Archer. The starting point was just too different for me compared to others.

Choosing Dark Mage seemed like the only option that aligned with my current abilities. The real issue was the “Dark” part—why did it only offer Dark Mage and not just Mage?

‘No point in overthinking this.’

After much deliberation, I finally chose Dark Mage.

“Ugh…!”

Suddenly, a faint headache hit as information about Dark Magic poured into my mind.

‘Hah… so this is how I learn to use Dark Magic?’

It felt as though I were studying back on Earth, but instead of learning from a textbook, the knowledge was forcibly shoved into my brain. The mild headache and dizziness I felt started to subside gradually.

‘Flame.’

As I visualized using magic in my mind, a black flame ignited in my hand. Its dark color was probably due to my being a Dark Mage.

“Wow…!”

Yoo Hyun exclaimed in awe as he stared at the flame, and beside him, Yu-lim widened her eyes in surprise.

“Oppa… are you a mage now?”

“Yeah… technically, I’m a Dark Mage. But I don’t think I can use this power much. Just maintaining this flame gives me a pretty bad headache.”

It was clear I wouldn’t be able to use magic repeatedly right now. The pain in my head was significant, but I believed it would improve with practice.

Bang!

I pushed away the charging monster with my shield.

“Yu-lim!”

Shlck—

“Kiieeeek… Keeek!”

The monster shrieked in pain as Yu-lim’s dagger pierced its side.

Crack!

I swung my blunt weapon to shatter its leg, rendering it immobile, and pinned it down.

“Hoo… well done. When I block, you attack like that. Let’s keep it up.”

It was nerve-wracking at first, not because we were under attack, but because this was our first attempt at hunting. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as hard as I thought.

“Yu-lim, now you need to finish it. Can you do that?”

“Yes… y-yes…”

Her hands trembled violently—likely because it was her first time killing a living being. At just 19, it wouldn’t be easy for her.

“Think about your brother. You need to stay strong so he can follow your lead. It’s not that hard. Remember when you killed ants or bugs as a kid? Just think of it like squashing a bug.”

“…Okay.”

Clenching her eyes shut, Yu-lim drove her dagger into the monster’s neck.

“...Hup.”

“Gyaaahhkkk!”

The monster flailed and screamed in agony as the blade pierced its body. After a moment of struggle, it stopped moving, lifeless.

“…It really does let you advance,” Yu-lim said in a shaky voice.

“What professions are on your list?” I asked.

“...One moment. Uh… Archer, Rogue, Spearman.”

“Hey, noona. Rogue might suit you best since you’re already using a dagger,” Yoo Hyun suggested.

I agreed. While I didn’t know if she’d ever used a bow, her low Strength made using a spear impractical. Her high Agility seemed to fit Rogue perfectly. Plus, she didn’t seem entirely talentless with a dagger.

‘With Quick Reflexes as her unique trait, she’s definitely suited for Archer or Rogue.’

“I think Rogue is a good choice, too. But it’s your decision,” I said gently.

“…I think Rogue is better as well. Just a moment…” Yu-lim clutched her head as if she was experiencing the same headache I had when advancing.

“...So this is how it feels.”

‘Her Agility and Luck increased.’

The Agility boost was expected for a Rogue, but the increase in Luck puzzled me. Among the stats, Luck was the hardest to understand. Resistance seemed equivalent to a defense stat in games, which made sense since my own Resistance increased after the monster grabbed my arm.

“Alright, Yu-lim has advanced safely. Now it’s Yoo Hyun’s turn. Don’t worry too much, Hyun. Just do what Yu-lim did, okay?”

“Yes, hyung.”

“Good. Let’s keep moving and find another one. Stay behind me.”

I raised my shield, moving cautiously in case a monster attacked us unexpectedly. About 30 minutes into our search, something shot toward my arm.

Swish—Thunk!

“Damn it, what the hell!”

I instinctively blocked it with my shield. If I hadn’t, the arrow would’ve pierced my arm. My heart raced at the thought.

“Ah, come on, how did you miss that?”

“Ugh, I didn’t expect him to block it.”

Four men emerged from the bushes. Among them, I spotted the one who had fired the arrow.

‘Damn it… they outnumber us.’

“…What do you want?” I asked cautiously.

“You’ve got food, right? Leave it and scram.”

‘Of course, it’s the food.’

Fighting wasn’t an option. We were three—two of us were students—while they were four, all burly men. Judging by their tattoos and rough appearances, they didn’t seem like good people even back on Earth.

“Oppa… what should we do?” Yu-lim whispered anxiously.

“Hyung…” Yoo Hyun added, his voice trembling.

I checked their status windows. None stood out too much—one had advanced, while the rest hadn’t but still had decent stats.

“...We’ll give you half of our food. Just let us go, and we won’t resist.”

“No. Leave all of it, and get lost. Consider yourself lucky we’re letting you live. We don’t want to fight either,” their leader sneered.

‘Damn it… if we give them everything, what then?’

If we handed over all our food, we’d eventually have to steal from others. But fighting them now would almost certainly end in our defeat.

“Boss, wait a sec.”

One of them whispered into their leader’s ear. The leader’s smirk widened as he turned back to me.

“Alright, here’s the deal. Leave all your food and the girls. Then you and the kid can go free.”