My Afterlife System!

The night was eerily quiet, the cold air pressing in around Jihwan as he walked through the empty streets. The weight of the Cursed Dagger in his grasp was heavy—not just physically, but in what it represented. A weapon tainted by death. A test given by the System.

A faint blue glow lingered in his vision.

[ New Quest Unlocked: Test the Blade ]

[ Objective: Strike a living creature with the Cursed Dagger to observe the effects of Death's Touch. ]

[ Reward: +5 DP, Slight Increase in Dark Energy ]

[ Penalty: Failure will lock the Afterlife Exchange for 48 hours. ]

Jihwan sighed, tucking his free hand into his pocket. He needed the reward. The DP would open up better options in the Afterlife Exchange, and understanding his skill was crucial.

But that didn't mean he could blindly stab someone just to complete a quest.

He needed a target. One that wouldn't make him a murderer.

That was when he heard it.

"Oi! Watch where you're going, punk!"

Jihwan stopped walking.

A man emerged from a dimly lit alley—a hunter, judging by the tattered guild badge barely clinging to his jacket. His unsteady stance, the stench of alcohol on his breath, and the wild look in his bloodshot eyes told Jihwan everything he needed to know.

Drunk. Unstable. Reckless.

Jihwan didn't reply. He simply shifted to the side, intending to move past him.

But the man wasn't interested in letting him go.

"What's with that look, huh?" The hunter sneered, cracking his knuckles. "You think you're better than me?"

Jihwan exhaled slowly. This is pointless.

"Move." His voice was devoid of emotion.

The hunter's face twisted with anger. His sluggish body swayed, but his fist still swung forward in a clumsy, uncoordinated strike.

Jihwan moved before he even thought about it.

His grip tightened around the Cursed Dagger—and in one swift motion, he slashed.

A sharp gash split across the hunter's forearm. The blade had tasted blood.

And the System reacted immediately.

[ Death's Touch Activated. ]

The effect took hold instantly.

The man staggered backward, his body convulsing as if something had just shattered inside him. His pupils shrank to pinpricks. Terror overtook his face, his breath coming in ragged, panicked gasps.

"No… no, no, NO!"

He collapsed onto the pavement, his hands clawing at his own head. His fingers dug into his scalp, nails scraping against skin as he shook violently.

Jihwan narrowed his eyes.

"What is he seeing?"

The System didn't tell him. But it didn't need to. The reaction said everything.

The hunter's entire body trembled, his gaze locked on something only he could see. His lips moved in frantic whispers, speaking to ghosts only he could hear.

Death's Touch… forces the enemy to relive their worst memory.

And judging by his reaction, this man's past was brutal.

Jihwan stood over him, watching in silence.

The dagger pulsed faintly in his grip, as if it was… satisfied.

He exhaled, sheathing the weapon.

The hunter didn't even notice. He was too lost in his own mind.

[ Quest Completed. ]

[ +5 DP Earned. ]

[ Dark Energy Slightly Increased. ]

Jihwan glanced at the notifications before dismissing them.

The hunter was still on the ground, his body trembling, his breath shallow. He wasn't dead, but something inside him had broken.

"You should be more careful," Jihwan murmured, not expecting an answer.

He walked away without looking back.

The hunter never moved.

He just sat there—breathing, trembling, drowning in a nightmare only he could see.

And Jihwan felt nothing.

Jihwan stood in the dimly lit alley, his fingers wrapped tightly around the Cursed Dagger. The cold metal pulsed with an eerie energy, as if responding to his thoughts. He could still hear the hunter's ragged breathing, the panicked muttering of a man lost in his own nightmares.

Death's Touch.

A single cut had reduced a grown hunter into a trembling wreck, his mind trapped in a personal hell.

Jihwan exhaled, a slow and steady breath. The night air carried the scent of alcohol, sweat, and something else—fear. The hunter had stumbled away moments ago, yet the presence of his terror still lingered. It clung to the alley like an invisible weight, pressing against Jihwan's senses.

He had done this. He had broken a man without even needing to kill him.

And the System had rewarded him for it.

[System Notification]

[You have defeated a weakened opponent.]

[You have gained +5 DP.]

[You have gained +90 XP.]

Jihwan let out a breathless laugh, the sound dry and bitter. "So this is how it works, huh?"

It wasn't just about killing. The System didn't care how he won a fight—only that he won. Death, surrender, madness—any form of defeat was enough to grant rewards. He hadn't taken a life, but in the System's eyes, he had ended the hunter as a threat.

He opened his status window, his sharp gaze scanning through the details.

[Status]

[Name]: Yoo Jihwan

[Rank]: E ~ ???

[Class]: Hunter ~ ???

[Level]: 3 (90/200 XP)

[Death Count]: 1

[Death Points]: 20

[Dark Energy]: Low

His experience bar was almost halfway to Level 4. It wasn't much, but it was progress. His Death Points had increased too—20 DP now. Enough to buy something useful if he spent it wisely.

But none of that erased the truth pressing against the edges of his mind.

He had changed.

Days ago, he was just another struggling hunter, someone barely scraping by. Someone who would have hesitated, who would have felt guilt over what he had done. But tonight, he had acted without a second thought.

No hesitation.

No regret.

The dagger felt like an extension of himself now—cold, sharp, and unforgiving.

He clenched his fist around the hilt, feeling the dark power thrumming beneath his skin. This was survival. It wasn't about being the strongest. It was about being ruthless enough to do what needed to be done.

Jihwan looked up. The alley stretched into the distance, swallowed by the shadows of the city. Beyond the towering buildings, the real monsters lurked. Dungeons. Other hunters. Beings that wouldn't hesitate to kill him.

This was only the beginning.

His thoughts drifted back to the trembling hunter. A man who had once walked these streets with confidence, only to fall apart in an instant. His mind was shattered, crushed under the weight of his own worst nightmares.

Jihwan didn't even know what those nightmares were.

And he didn't care.

He took a slow step forward, his mind already calculating his next move. He needed more power. More DP. More skills.

The System had demanded blood, and now it had given him a taste of what that meant.

His next target would come soon enough.

And this time, he wouldn't stop at just breaking them.