Chapter 1

[Introduction]

Park Saenal's Fantasy Novel "Item Power" - The unfortunate life of Shin Young-woo, who carries bricks and shovels at a construction site. And now, even doing manual labor in a game. But is luck finally coming his way? Grid, heading to the northernmost cave to complete a quest, discovers the Book of Pagma and is able to change his class to a Legendary profession...

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Item Power Volume 1

-Prologue-

"5 minutes left!"

On the 4th floor of the Cocro Island dungeon.

Eight top-ranking players, led by the 16th-ranked Extreme Sword, gathered in one place. Behind them stood 200 elite members of the Silver Knights Guild.

The gathered force was so powerful that they could have captured a small fortress, truly a magnificent sight.

However, their faces were filled with tension and anxiety, as if they still felt inadequate.

"4 minutes left!"

As time approached, the guild members' anxiety reached its peak. Some were fidgeting, shaking their legs, or biting their nails.

Extreme Sword, looking around at them, lowered his gaze in silence. His hands, gripping his sword, were drenched in cold sweat.

'I can't calm down at all.'

The Cocro Island dungeon was under the complete control of the Silver Knights Guild, to monopolize the boss monster, Hellgao, who appeared only once every two weeks on the 4th floor.

However, due to Hellgao's unexpected strength and diverse patterns, they had failed to defeat him in all five previous expeditions.

With the determination to succeed this time, Extreme Sword and the Silver Knights' elites had spent the past month enhancing their items with cash and squeezing out time to level up.

Despite their significantly strengthened forces, they could not afford to be overly confident, knowing all too well the might of Hellgao.

"3 minutes left!"

In three minutes, Hellgao would appear, turning the area into a sea of fire. Some would not even be able to withstand the flames and would die.

"2 minutes left!"

The intense heat began to rise and dominate the space.

'Damn it.'

Extreme Sword, who should have been the one to boost everyone's courage, was instead overwhelmed by fear.

The image of Hellgao, surrounded by dark flames and wielding a staff that created a heat wave, was vividly etched in his mind.

'Is our strength still not enough to defeat him?'

Perhaps if a top-tier player in the top 10 joined them, but he couldn't shake the thought that this expedition would fail again with their current strength.

However, as the highest-ranked player in the guild, he couldn't show weakness, so Extreme Sword gritted his teeth and endured the fear.

'We can do it. We can do it. We are strong!'

As Extreme Sword began to take various buff potions, the others followed suit.

Right then,

"1 minute left... Wait? Intruder! There's an intruder!!"

"What?"

All the guild members turned their gaze to the entrance.

A young man had entered alone.

He was not armed with any weapons or armor, only a cloak, which made him stand out.

'Could he have broken through the defensive forces on the lower floors with just that appearance?'

Is he a highly trained assassin?

No, an assassin wouldn't reveal himself like that.

Extreme Sword repeatedly read the name floating above the young man's head, but no matter how hard he searched his memory, it was unfamiliar.

'He's not even a top-ranked player?'

Extreme Sword signaled to his fellow players to see if they recognized him, but they all shook their heads.

'To let such an insignificant person in here, the guards must have been slacking off. How disappointing.'

Reaching this conclusion, Extreme Sword frowned and warned the young man.

"This area is under the control of our Silver Knights Guild. I don't know how you managed to get this far, but if you don't want to die, get out now."

"The stealth must have been detected by Hellgao."

Ignoring Extreme Sword's warning, the young man muttered to himself and threw off his cloak.

"Oh!"

Exclamations of amazement erupted from all around.

The armor that quickly equipped the young man's body was quite impressive.

Despite being made of metal, it fit the wearer like a tailored suit, and its smooth surface was so shiny it could be used as a mirror.

The red, black, and gold colors harmonized elegantly, exuding a sense of class.

The most distinctive feature was the 1-meter-long tail extending from the coccyx. The sharp, blade-like tail was moving on its own.

"What, what is that armor?"

"Wow, it's so cool... Is it unique?"

Guild members, seeing the armor of a form they had never seen before, could not contain their excitement and began to murmur.

Annoyed, Extreme Sword raised his voice.

"Is that important now! Why aren't you getting rid of him right away!"

Hellgao would appear soon, and they would be unable to escape the dungeon. They had to deal with the intruder before that.

Just as the guild members, putting aside their interest in the armor, were about to follow Extreme Sword's orders,

Kwoooooo!!!

[The master of hellfire, Hellgao, has appeared.]

[The effects of fear, confusion, and weakness are applied due to Hellgao's roar.]

[Fire resistance is reduced by 50% due to Hellgao's heat.]

[A rising pillar of fire engulfs you.]

"Ah!!"

"Ah!"

As a monstrous creature, enveloped in dark flames, appeared, half of the guild members fell into a near-death state or burned to death.

Among the remaining half, few were unscathed.

Extreme Sword was shocked by the notification window that appeared.

'Even with 86% fire resistance, this much damage...!'

This attempt would fail as well.

As Extreme Sword despaired, he suddenly doubted his own eyes.

The unknown young man.

While everyone else was engulfed in flames and struggling, he was calmly moving forward. His steps were so relaxed that he seemed completely at ease.

"How... how...?"

The scene that followed left Extreme Sword speechless.

While Hellgao was rampaging and mercilessly slaughtering the others, the young man picked up a pickaxe and started mining a wall.

Clang! Clang!

The young man, who was mining with great skill, wiped the sweat that trickled down his jawline and grumbled.

"Phew, it's hot! Damn, manual labor is getting tougher. How can minerals only appear when the boss spawns? At this rate, I'll have to go to a dragon's lair with a pickaxe one day!"

Just then, a heat wave from Hellgao's staff swept over the young man.

Extreme Sword was sure that the young man, with his back completely exposed, would suffer a major blow and fall.

But incredibly, the young man only sustained a minor injury.

"Hey, mister."

The young man, stopping his mining, turned to Extreme Sword for the first time. With an annoyed expression, he said,

"Can you do something about that guy soon? It's already hot enough, and it's getting even hotter."

Am I seeing things?

Extreme Sword, who had been stunned, finally regained his composure and asked,

"How are you still fine?"

The young man replied nonchalantly, as if it were the most obvious thing.

"Item Power."

Clang! Clang!

The tail attached to the young man's armor was moving on its own, fighting against Hellgao's staff.

Extreme Sword could not close his gaping mouth at the sight.