The Handsomer You Are, the Stronger You Become

Kang Hyunsoo had darted far ahead in the blink of an eye.

"Wait! Mister, hold on a second...!"

Yoo Hana called out in a panic, but Hyunsoo was already sprinting alone through the foggy path, far out of sight.

It was a bewildering solo charge.

She had somewhat expected this after what he'd said before the raid.

Before entering the dungeon:

"So, how do you plan to approach the raid, Mister?"

"Hana, do you happen to know the layout of the Rocky Mountain Dungeon?"

"Yes! I’ve seen the tournament videos often enough to know the general layout!"

"Good. Then just follow me."

At the time, Hana hadn’t fully understood what he meant.

How could she just follow along in a monster-infested dungeon?

When she asked again, hoping for clarification, Hyunsoo had simply said:

"All you’ll need to do is give me buffs when we reach the boss monster."

It was an incomprehensible strategy.

Still, she had assumed that once the raid began, she'd inevitably end up fighting monsters too.

But his words were literal.

As soon as the raid began, Hyunsoo shot ahead, exactly as he'd said.

He disappeared into the fog in an instant.

"Wait for me, Mister!"

Hana frantically chased after him, knowing that the Rocky Mountain Dungeon’s first area was filled with over ten monsters—a daunting number for anyone to handle alone.

Considering Hyunsoo’s stats, she was worried his life might be in danger without her assistance.

But her concerns were unfounded.

Clang! Slash! Boom!

Following the sound of battle, Hana dashed through the fog to catch up, only to find—

"…!"

More than ten monsters lay defeated on the ground, their lifeless bodies strewn across the path.

"How...?"

Even seeing it with her own eyes, she couldn’t believe it.

The scene defied logic.

And that wasn’t all.

From atop the shattered remains of the stone monsters, Hyunsoo emerged through the mist.

"Follow the right path. I’ve already scouted ahead."

"You’ve already scouted the split paths!?"

Hana’s eyes widened in disbelief.

At the start of the Rocky Mountain Dungeon, there were always branching paths. The correct route changed each time, and a wrong turn often led to a dead end at a sheer cliff, costing valuable time.

Yet, Hyunsoo had solved it all in under five minutes.

For a moment, she thought he might be joking. But the notifications above confirmed otherwise:

[Lv 108. Cursed Rocky Gatekeeper defeated.]
[Lv 108. Cursed Rocky Gatekeeper defeated.]
[Lv 110. Cursed Rocky Yeti defeated.]
[...]
[Lv 110. Cursed Rocky Yeti defeated.]

The golems and the Yeti guarding the split paths had all been eliminated.

She had watched plenty of tournament videos, but this speed was unprecedented.

Though questions filled her mind, there wasn’t time to ask them.

"No time for explanations. If you fall behind, I’ll have no choice but to leave you behind."

Whoosh!

With a brief statement, Hyunsoo turned and bolted down the right-hand path.

"Yes, Mister!"

Instead of dwelling on it, Hana chased after him through the mist.

This was, after all, a tournament, and whatever he was doing could be figured out later.

But there was one thing she couldn’t overlook.

Whoosh!

"How is he so fast? I can’t keep up no matter how hard I try!"

Despite gripping her staff tightly and running with all her might, Hyunsoo's figure grew smaller and smaller, eventually vanishing entirely into the mist.

Boom! Crash! Slash!

Explosions and the sound of battle echoed from the distance.

"I’m here to help! Ah—!"

Hana arrived at the site of yet another battle, only to be stunned once more.

[Lv 112. Cursed Rocky Yeti defeated.]
[...]
[Lv 112. Cursed Rocky Yeti defeated.]

As before, the monsters lay defeated, littering the ground.

And Hyunsoo?

Boom! Crackle! Slash!

Flashes of fire and the clash of metal rang out further ahead in the mist. He was still fighting, moving ever forward without pause.

Though she couldn’t see him clearly, Hana realized something profound.

"He’s... strong. Incredibly strong."

Hyunsoo’s strength was far beyond what she had imagined.

His hunter license classified him as a low-rank hunter, but based on his performance, his level clearly exceeded 100.

No, it felt more like he was closer to, or even above, the 200-level cap for participants.

"If he keeps this pace… he might actually win!"

With newfound determination, Hana sprinted through the fog, dodging the remnants of destroyed monsters.

Her doubts about Hyunsoo’s earlier claims of winning the tournament melted away. His words no longer felt like empty boasts.

Instead, the way he blitzed through monsters and blazed through the dungeon made his victory seem inevitable.

She marveled at the sight, her doubts replaced by awe.

But then, Hyunsoo’s relentless advance finally came to a halt.

Emerging from the mist, she saw him standing at the edge of a cliff, facing down a massive beast.

[Lv 115. Rampaging Giant Yeti]

"ROOOOAAAARRR!"

The enormous Yeti let out a deafening roar as Hyunsoo confronted it.

This was the mid-boss of the dungeon. Unlike the earlier fodder, this monster’s health and strength were leagues above.

Even for Hyunsoo, facing it alone seemed a daunting task.

"I’ll help, Mister!"

Hana readied her staff, prepared to assist.

But Hyunsoo raised a hand, stopping her.

"No need. I’ll handle this one. See that split boulder over there? Hide inside it and don’t come out, no matter what happens."

"What? Hide in the boulder…?"

"No time to explain. Go, now!"

"Y-yes!"

BOOM!

Before she could ask further, the Yeti slammed its massive fist into the ground, forcing Hyunsoo to dodge to the side.

Hana quickly obeyed, slipping into the crevice of a split boulder near the cliff’s edge.

From her hiding spot, she could no longer see the battle unfolding, the jagged stone blocking her view.

"Why did he tell me to hide…?"

Confused, Hana crouched in the boulder’s shelter, her mind racing.

It was a bizarre strategy. In all her years of watching tournament footage, she had never seen anyone fight a mid-boss like this.

Curious, she leaned forward to peek out.

But what she saw defied all logic.

Whoosh!

Hyunsoo vanished from her view entirely.

"What…? Mister?"

Kang Hyunsoo ducked into the boulder alongside Yoo Hana, startling her.

What about the giant Yeti? How did he manage to leave it behind and come here?@@novelbin@@

Yoo Hana stared wide-eyed at Hyunsoo, overwhelmed with confusion.

At that moment:

"Hold tight. We're about to fly."

Hyunsoo suddenly grabbed her wrist and pulled her deeper into the boulder’s crevice.

There was no time to ask what he was doing.

As soon as both of them were fully concealed inside the boulder:

"ROOOOAAARRR!"

Boom! Boom! CRASSSH!!

The massive Yeti charged toward them, slamming its enormous fist into the boulder, sending it soaring through the air.

Their vision blurred as the ground fell away.

"Ahhh! AHHHHHH!"

Hana screamed, clutching her staff in one hand and Hyunsoo’s arm in the other.

It was an entirely unexpected situation, and the sheer height of the cliff below made her stomach churn.

If they fell, there wouldn’t even be remains to recover.

Thankfully, that worst-case scenario didn’t happen.

After what felt like an eternity of falling, the boulder skidded and ground to a halt against the cliff on the opposite side of the canyon.

RUMBLE!

"Ugh... What just…?"

Still trembling, her body shaky and her head spinning, Hana muttered in a daze as she looked around.

Then she saw Hyunsoo.

He calmly stepped out of the boulder, brushing himself off as he explained:

"It's a shortcut. I used the Yeti’s strength to skip straight to the boss room."

"The boss room…?"

She blinked and surveyed her surroundings.

Sure enough, the withered trees and the distant altar matched the setting of the boss room she'd seen in tournament footage.

Hana’s eyes widened further as she turned to Hyunsoo.

"Wait… Is this allowed? Skipping the middle section like this?"

"The tournament’s objective is to clear the dungeon, and clearing the dungeon only requires defeating the boss. There’s no rule saying you can’t skip the intermediate sections."

"That’s true, but… I’ve never seen anyone use this kind of strategy before. And we didn’t even defeat the mid-boss monster. Is that okay?"

"I left it with a continuous damage effect. It’ll die on its own shortly."

"A continuous damage effect…?"

How many times had she asked the same question today?

Hana could barely keep up with Hyunsoo’s words. Yet, his confidence was proven true moments later.

[Lv 115. Rampaging Giant Yeti has been defeated.]

The notification popped up, confirming the death of the mid-boss monster.

"How… How is this possible?"

"Questions later. Let’s keep moving; we’re almost done."

Though her mind reeled from the absurdity of it all, Hana swallowed her shock and followed Hyunsoo, who had already taken off toward the withered tree-lined path.

Before long, they reached the edge of a high cliff. Below them, in a large clearing, stood the dungeon's final boss.

[Lv 125. Cursed Rocky Mountain Chief Yeti]

"ROOOOAAARRR!"

The Chief Yeti was even larger than the previous giant Yeti, wielding a massive stone club as it stood watch over the cliff’s base.

Hana, catching up to Hyunsoo, stopped and marveled.

"Wow… It’s even bigger in person. What should I do, Mister?"

"Just cast attack buffs on me."

"Not defense buffs?"

"Just attack buffs. Low-level defense buffs would only slow me down and hinder my movements."

"Uh… Okay! I’ll cast them now!"

Though fighting such a massive monster without any defensive support seemed reckless, Hyunsoo didn’t appear to be bluffing.

Trusting his judgment, Hana gripped her staff and focused her mana.

Flash!

Bright light radiated from the gem atop her staff as she cast her spells.

【Activated】
[Blessing of Agility (B)]
Increases attack and movement speed by 20% for 3 minutes.

【Activated】
[Mark of Striking (C)]
Increases attack power by 10% for 1 minute.

The shimmering energy surrounded Hyunsoo, enhancing his movements and strikes.

"Thank you. This won’t take long. Please wait here."

With a confident smile, Hyunsoo raised his twin swords to his chest and dashed toward the Chief Yeti.

His entire demeanor radiated assurance.

However, Hana couldn’t shake her unease.

"If it looks dangerous, I’ll have to help."

She tightened her grip on her staff, watching intently.

The Chief Yeti might have simple attack patterns, but it was incredibly sturdy, agile, and unforgiving—an opponent where no shortcuts would work.

She didn’t know what Hyunsoo was planning, but avoiding even a single blow from this monster seemed impossible.

Then, something unbelievable happened.

"Hah!"

"ROOOOAAARRR!"

The moment Hyunsoo clashed with the monster, his body began to glow.

【Activated】
[Full Bloom (S)]

A brilliant flash of light burst forth, and the figure standing where Hyunsoo had been transformed into an impossibly handsome man.

"…?!"

Hana’s thoughts froze. She couldn’t process what she was seeing.

The transformation was startling enough, but what followed was even more astonishing.

The dazzlingly handsome man danced around the Chief Yeti’s attacks, nimbly evading its blows and darting behind it in a flash.

【Activated】
[Black Spot Explosion (Unfinished)]

BOOOOM!!

With a single strike of his twin swords, Hyunsoo obliterated the Chief Yeti in one devastating attack.

[Lv 125. Cursed Rocky Mountain Chief Yeti has been defeated.]

Hana stared, slack-jawed, at the scene.

This was no longer just incredible—it was downright unreal.

And yet, as she pieced together everything that had happened since the waiting room, a realization dawned on her.

Everything Hyunsoo had said would happen—every outrageous claim—had come true.

At the time, his words had seemed absurd, but in retrospect, he had turned them all into reality.

It was as if he wasn’t merely speaking; he was making promises he knew he could keep.

In that moment of epiphany, Hana felt a rush of emotions.

"Wow… You’re so…."

She stared at him in awe, her voice trembling.

"You’re so cool, Oppa!!!"

She shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice brimming with admiration, as though she were meeting her ultimate idol.