The conversation was enough.

The decision was theirs to make, but Suho had no doubt about Goo Yeon-hwa’s judgment.

*‘Now, all that’s left is to wait, taking my time.’*

It was likely that they would be pretty startled.

After all, these people had never exposed themselves to anyone before. They were a secret organization, almost like "ghosts."

That’s why Suho had to pass the grade-5 exam.

Even Goo Yeon-hwa, no matter how cautious she was, would see that if Suho actually passed, it would provide them with a much more reliable means of revenge.

With his first encounter with the Banshees completed, Suho immediately called a taxi and began heading to his next destination.

With the Banshees taken care of, his next goal was to reach level 50.

Why aim for level 50?

The reason was simple.

When a player hits level 50, they unlock their first *Trait*.

*‘My first Trait was the Path of the Sword.’*

Traits were a crucial growth system that elevated a player to a whole new level.

Unlike skills or items, Traits could be activated continuously and used without significant mana consumption.

In that sense, the *Path of the Sword*, while common, was an essential Trait for anyone aspiring to be a swordsman. 

When unlocked, *Path of the Sword* increased the experience gain of all swordsmanship-related skills by 50%, and boosted all related stat effects by 20%.

*‘But this time, I’m going for a different Trait.’*

Suho had already decided which Trait he wanted this time.

Currently, most people believed Traits were granted randomly, but in the future, a formula for obtaining specific Traits would be discovered.

*‘That’s when research into formulas for Trait acquisition started.’*

Suho already knew most of those formulas.

Even the ones he had only glanced at, he had fully reconstructed using his *Memory Library*.

So, he could choose it now.

There were many who had risen to the rank of monster due to a single Trait, and Suho knew all the ones that could be considered game-breaking.

The taxi Suho was in smoothly sped toward his destination.

---

Suho arrived at the Seoul Central Blood Bank.

The once-located Central Blood Bank in Gangseo had moved to Jongno after suffering several Gate-related damages. Now, it was one of the famous Safe Zones.

Upon arriving, Suho looked around the neatly built entrance to the Blood Bank and then swiftly scaled the wall beside the tightly closed door.

Surveillance cameras?

He wasn’t worried about them.

Though there were certainly many cameras around the Blood Bank, thanks to his *Colorless Solitude*, anyone watching those cameras would be unable to recognize Suho.

Having successfully scaled the wall, Suho activated his *Mana Detection* skill and began scanning the area around the building.

He spotted something shining in the corner of the building, previously hidden in darkness.

*‘There it is.’*

Though it was too dark to see with the naked eye, Suho’s *Mana Detection* clearly revealed the faint mana leakage coming from a specific area.

It appeared to be a hidden part of a Gate that was leaking mana.

Suho took out a dagger from his inventory and made a small cut on his palm.

Then, he squeezed the blood from his hand onto the sparkling section of the Gate’s leak.

Drip, drop—

The blood fell.

And then...

*Whummm!*

As Suho’s blood dripped, the dark stain on the Gate glowed briefly and started emitting a faint light.

[ *Hidden Point* discovered. ]  
[ Conditions met. ]  
[ *Hidden Gate* discovered. ]  
[ Congratulations! You have completed an extraordinary achievement and the system gifts you 5 bonus stats. ]  
[ Would you like to enter the Hidden Gate? ]

System notifications appeared before him.

At the same time, a portal to the Gate was formed.

Seeing this, Suho grinned.

It was proof that he had come to the right place.

However, there was a bit of regret.

*‘If only I had arrived a bit earlier, I would have been the first to discover the Hidden Gate and achieved a *Great* accomplishment instead of just an *Extraordinary* one, earning an additional 5 bonus stats.’*

Still, Suho felt that this was sufficient and nodded to the system’s question.

[ Entering the Gate. ]  
[ Fetching Gate information. ]  
[ *Blood Leak* ]  
- Entry Requirements: Unknown.  
- Max Entry Count: Unknown.

The Gate’s information was frustratingly vague.

Like the *Green Red* Gate he had previously soloed, this Hidden Gate shared similarities with an *Unforecasted Gate*, which had its own unique properties.

But Suho had no hesitation as he stepped into the portal.

He already knew all the important details about this place.

---

As soon as Suho stepped into the portal, the surrounding scenery changed in an instant, like a flash of light.

There was no exit.

As soon as he entered, his body was scattered somewhere in the Gate.

It didn’t matter.

No matter where this place was, the end was already determined.

Suho, looking around at the pitch-black surroundings, took out a small pouch from his inventory.

He untied the pouch and scattered the contents into the air.

[ *Glowing Powder* activated. ]

*Glowing Powder*.

Among items that illuminated the surroundings, it was a higher-tier item.

Once used, it illuminated the surroundings as brightly as a fluorescent light.

It lasted for an hour.

It was highly efficient and versatile, but the downside was its high price.

But Suho had bought it without hesitation.

He wasn’t going to risk his life in a Gate just to save a few coins.

As the surroundings brightened, the true nature of the Hidden Gate revealed itself.

It was a massive cave.

*Tap—*

Then, a drop of water fell from the stalactites above, and Suho looked up at the ceiling.

There, he could see many bats hanging, wings folded between the stalactites.

Suho squinted and examined the bats.

- *Vampire Bat* Lv. 62  
- *Vampire Bat* Lv. 65  
- *Vampire Bat* Lv. 61  
- …  

There were many.

Their levels were in the 60s.

With about a 20-level difference, he could still manage them with his stats.

But when the numbers were in the dozens or hundreds, the situation changed.

*‘They say there's no match for a mob.’*

But Suho was confident.

He had made all the necessary preparations.

Suho reached out, and from his shadow, *Guiyoung Spear* materialized.

He grabbed it, took a throwing stance, and without hesitation, threw it toward the bats nestled in the stalactites.

[ *Spear Throw* activated. ]

*Thud!*

The *Guiyoung Spear*, with the effect of *Spear Throw*, pierced one of the sleeping bats and embedded itself in the stalactite it was hanging from.

It didn’t scream or make a sound as it died.

That was fine.

The spear caused a great vibration and noise, waking up all the sleeping bats.

“*Kiiiing!*”

*Flap, flap, flap!*

At the cry of one bat, all the others hanging from the ceiling unfurled their wings and began fluttering noisily.

The sound was so deafening that it felt as though their ears were going to hurt.

The bats flapped around for a while and then began diving toward Suho.

With their sharp fangs and claws, unlike ordinary bats.

But Suho didn’t move an inch.

Instead, he activated a skill.

[ *Intimidation* activated. ]

*Hiiing!*

*Intimidation*.

Similar to the fear used by monsters, it presses down on the opponent's mind, causing them to fall into a state of fear and paralysis.

However, these creatures were 20 levels higher than Suho, and anyone with common sense would consider his actions reckless.

But Suho’s *Intimidation* was no ordinary one.

The *A-grade* intimidation he previously had was upgraded to *S-grade* due to the added effects of his *Dragon's Blood*.

And *S-grade* Intimidation had enough power to cover a 30-level difference with ease.

As proof of this,

[ *Vampire Bat* falls into a state of fear due to Intimidation. ]  
[ *Vampire Bat* falls into a state of paralysis due to Intimidation. ]  
[ *Vampire Bat* falls into a state of fear due to Intimidation. ]  
[ *Vampire Bat* falls into a state of paralysis due to Intimidation. ]  
[ *Vampire Bat* falls into a state of fear due to Intimidation. ]  
[ *Vampire Bat* falls into a state of paralysis due to Intimidation. ]  
...

Suho could see the *Vampire Bats* falling helplessly, one after another, while the system notifications kept pouring in.

“*Kiiiing…*”

The bats, writhing on the ground, were the result of *Intimidation*.

*‘I’m glad I got this early.’*

Of course, *Intimidation* wouldn’t work on all monsters.

It didn’t affect boss monsters, named monsters, or special monsters from places like the Tower of Trials.

But despite the exclusions, *Intimidation* was still a highly versatile skill, which was why Suho made sure to acquire it early.

*‘You can’t get it from monsters unless they’re at a high enough level, and monsters are designed not

 to lose their will easily as their levels rise.’*

Suho retrieved his *Guiyoung Spear* and began finishing off the struggling bats one by one.

[ *Vampire Bat* defeated. ]  
[ *Vampire Bat* defeated. ]  
[ *Vampire Bat* defeated. ]  
...

Was there a more relaxing way to hunt?

Thanks to this, Suho quickly leveled up, and when he finished off all the *Vampire Bats* in the cave, he had raised his level by three.

“Let’s check the status.”

[ *Ahn Suho* ]  
- Level: 43  
- Class: Healer  
- Strength (R): 5  
- Health (R): 5  
- Mana (R): 5  
- Sensitivity: 55  
- Bonus Stats: 8  

Even though his stats were in the red color now, the rule of increasing one point for each stat when the level went up remained unchanged.

Suho invested all of his bonus stats into Sensitivity.

Logically, Mana or Health would have been the better choices, but when all stats became the same color, a *set effect* was triggered.

Of course, only those who were *rich* in bonus stats could enjoy such an effect.

*‘Most people focus on raising just two main stats.’*

But Suho, as one of the world’s top players in his past life, managed not two, but three stats.

*‘But this time, I can manage all my stats.’*

It wasn’t an unrealistic ambition.

It was the result of careful calculation.

After distributing the stats, Suho stored the defeated *Vampire Bats* in his *Spatial House* and moved on to his next destination.