Ash fell to one knee, panting as the SMG slipped from his hand. His arm dangled uselessly — his bones crushed under the recoil. The SMG's barrel glowed red-hot.

He had underestimated the weapon's power. With proper stance and endurance, he might've handled it, but even then, the recoil was monstrous.

"I overdid it," Ash muttered. Using all 50 MP wasn't necessary. He had underestimated the gun's destructive capability. If his pistol had the attack power of a level 25 individual, this SMG easily surpassed level 30. Putting in 10 or 20 more MP would have been enough according to his calculations.

Jessie approached, shocked. She had no words to describe what had just happened — they had slain a C-rank beast with ease.

Ash gave a dry laugh. "No kidding. If that's a beast we need to face on the first day, I don't know what awaits us in the future."

Jessie looked at him — as if staring at a fallen deity. Her eyes drifted to the gun. What was this monstrous weapon? A single shot — it was like a one-shot kill, as if a human killing an ant with a slap.

And he had just been bitten by the ant.

"Heal," Ash said, seeing her distracted.

Jessie jolted out of her thoughts, casting the healing spell. His overall body felt energized, but his arm still ached like hell.

Jessie sat down, placing her hands on his arm and using targeted healing.

Both checked their screens for the rewards. The comparative level difference between them and the beast was too vast, which resulted in giving them a high amount of EXP.

[Field Dungeon has been cleared]

[EXP: +12,000 EXP]

[Coins: +25,000 Coins]

[Reputation: +1 Bronze Star]

[Scorpion Lord's Territory Token ×1]

[Conditions met. Exchange Scorpion Lord's beast core to Evolve a Class Trait]

Ash was surprised to see the System rewarding him with the items directly. He hadn't gotten anything till now, but the territory token seemed very useful — if it was what he was thinking.

He looked ahead, going through his level-up status.

[Level: 12]

[EXP: 18,360 / 40,000]

[AGILITY: 8 (+12) | ENDURANCE: 5 (+20) | STRENGTH: 4 (+14) | LUCK: 13 | WILLPOWER: 499]

Reputation: ★☆☆☆☆ (Silver)

★☆☆☆☆ (Bronze)

[MP: 100 / 100 (Recovery Rate: 1 per 270 seconds)]

[Stat Points: 10]

Rune Mastery: Bronze (Form, Flow)

[Level 12 Skill Choice Available]

Ash finally read all the notifications, sighing. His two extra stat points had been allotted to Agility.

"Totally worth it," Ash chuckled.

Jessie nodded. "This territory token could save us."

Ash stood up, feeling his arm burning hot — it was a sign that it was healing.

He picked the gun from the ground, putting it in the Armory store.

The coins he had spent on the gun had almost came back just from clearing the field dungeon.

"I'm taking the C-rank core," Ash said. According to him, the Class Trait evolve option was only for him — she didn't even know he got a reward like that.

They both got different rewards based on their contribution to the kill, but the territory token was a field dungeon reward, given to them as a team.

Jessie just made an annoyed face. She didn't mind giving it to Ash since he was the one who killed the beast. Without him, she would have fled the scene, never looking back.

And the C-rank core was of no use to her other than recovering her MP a few more times. But she didn't like the way he ordered her.

"Of course, it's all yours," she said, pointing towards the mangled corpse.

"A certified sly bitch," Ash bit his lip, grabbing the short sword in his non-dominant hand.

She was going to enjoy the show while he struggled to get the crystal out with his broken arm.

She sat down on the sand in front of the corpse, enjoying the scene as Ash flipped the body around, searching for the exact place.

But he wasn't sure of its anatomy and didn't know where the core could be. His best bet was the place where other scorpions had their cores.

He pushed the blade only for it to bounce off the tough hide.

His strength wasn't enough to make a cut on the fortified skin.

"Ask me if you need help," Jessie said, looking at him amusedly.

Ash took a deep breath. "Help me."

"Not like this — put a 'please' at the start and ask politely."

Ash grumbled. He already had a way to get around its defense, but he didn't want to be bothered. He was ready to pamper her just to be lazy.

"Please help me, Jessie," Ash said in his most polite tone.

"No," Jessie said, laughing.

"Fuck you," Ash blurted, annoyed.

His hands glowed as the venom condensed into green liquid that sizzled as it fell on its hide. Then he used his skill — Heartpiercer.

Its specialty was to ignore armor or any type of defense.

He pressed the blade to the tough skin, piercing it like butter. Then he retreated a faintly glowing purple crystal.

His sleeve. "Don't try hiding behind me next time we face something like that," he said, voice edged with mock irritation.

Jessie blinked, uncertain whether he was serious. His expression was unreadable — calm, but with that faint curve at the corner of his lips that made it impossible to tell if he was teasing or scolding.

"Wait, are you actually mad?" she asked, her tone half-apologetic, half-defensive.

Jessie hesitated, then sighed. "Fine. Sorry."

Ash arched a brow, pretending to be stunned. "Well, look at that — the sly fox does get scared."

His laughter came bright and unrestrained, echoing in the quiet air. Jessie's face went crimson. Realizing too late that he had baited her, she gritted her teeth.

"You tricked me!" she shouted, and before she could think twice, she lunged at him.

"I'll kill you, you smug—!"

Ash stumbled back, caught off guard by her sudden pounce. With one arm still weighed down by the crystal's glow, he couldn't fully brace himself. The two tumbled to the ground, sand scattering beneath them.

Ash quickly recovered, rolling and pinning her beneath him in one swift motion. He caught both her wrists easily in a single hand. His legs held her body down.

"You really think you can defeat me?" he said, looking down at her.

Jessie glared, her breathing uneven. A few strands of her hair had fallen across her face, streaked with sand and faint traces of ash. He could see the flicker of stubbornness in her eyes, still defiant even in defeat.

"Get up," she muttered, trying to twist her hands free.

Ash leaned closer, a teasing spark in his eyes. "Ask politely."

Jessie's lips pressed together."Fine… please, let me go, Ash."

He smiled — a real one this time, not the usual smug grin. "Hmm. Tempting."

"No" He laughed mocking her on the face, taking his revenge.

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