The doctors arrived at noon.

  Three of them, white coats crisp and smelling sharply of antiseptic, moved around Do-Hyun with mechanical precision. They poked, prodded, and drew blood from his arm, careful but impersonal.

  Do-Hyun sat on the edge of his bed, shirtless, letting them work. His gaze was fixed on the wall, indifferent.

  "Heart rate is irregular," one said, tapping at a tablet.

  "Nutritional deficiency," another added. "Stress. Weak constitution. It's surprising he didn't collapse during yesterday's… incident."

  They treated him like he wasn't there—a cataloged object, a defective Shin-Hwa product to be monitored, not a person to be respected.

  Do-Hyun's father stood at the doorway, arms crossed, silent. He asked only the question that mattered.

  "Is he crazy?"

  The lead doctor adjusted his glasses. "Neurologically? No. Trauma may have caused temporary dissociation. He appears emotionally blunted—but he is not insane, Chairman."

  Kang Dae-Ho nodded, satisfied. "Put him on supplements. And don't let him leave this house."

  The door clicked shut behind them, and silence settled back into the room.

  Do-Hyun glanced at the cotton ball taped to his arm. A small spot of blood darkened the center, perfectly ordinary.

  [System Notification: Acting Skill: S-Rank. You play the 'pathetic ' so well, Host. I almost shed a tear.]

  Do-Hyun peeled the tape off slowly.

  "It's not an act," he murmured, flexing his arm. "This body is a cage."

  [Vitality: 9.1%]

  [Time until next Event: 20 Days.]

  [Suggestion: The sun is setting. The shadows are getting long. Are you going to nap, or are you going to feed?]

  Do-Hyun got up and went to the window.

  The Shin-Hwa estate below was dimming into evening. Yesterday's snow had melted into dirty slush, but the cold still hadn't left the air. Something was wrong—it didn't look normal at all.

  It felt… alive.

  Dark threads of mana clung to the glass, curling around it like something waiting to crawl inside.

  [Quest Triggered: 'Pest Control'.]

  [Objective: Clear the infestation in the West Greenhouse.]

  [Target: Mana Parasites (Rank F-).]

  [Reward: +0.5% Vitality per kill. Don't get excited, they're basically spicy cockroaches.]

  Do-Hyun smiled, the expression cold and sharp, never quite reaching his eyes.

  "Finally," he murmured, voice barely louder than the darkness around him. "Something useful."

  By 2:00 AM, the mansion had fallen completely silent, the kind of silence that felt heavy rather than peaceful. Do-Hyun moved through the hallways without a sound, dressed in dark joggers and a black hoodie, blending into the shadows as if he belonged there more than the house itself.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  In his pocket rested a silver letter opener he'd taken from his father's study earlier. It wasn't meant to be a weapon, but in the hands of something that wasn't human anymore, anything with an edge could serve.

  He slipped out through the side door, and the cold night air immediately sank into his exposed skin, biting hard enough to make the world feel sharper. The garden stretched ahead, wet grass glistening faintly under the dim estate lights, and at the far end of it stood the greenhouse—glass panes fogged from the warmth trapped inside.

  When he reached it, he tested the handle.

  Locked.

  Do-Hyun placed his palm over the mechanism, and a thin thread of darkness seeped from his fingers into the keyhole like living smoke.

  Shadow Pick.

  A soft click followed, almost polite, and the lock gave way.

  He stepped inside—

  And the smell struck him instantly.

  It should have been damp earth and flowers, the rich scent of orchids and roses.

  Instead, it was copper… and something sweet that had gone rotten.

  The air was thick with humidity, clinging uncomfortably to his skin, while the plants themselves seemed wrong—overgrown, glossy, their leaves coated in an oily sheen that reflected the dim light like something breathing beneath the surface.

  Do-Hyun moved down the central aisle without looking left or right, his gaze lowering as his senses sharpened.

  Then—

  Scritch. Scritch.

  The sound came from the hydrangeas.

  He stopped, voice quiet but absolute.

  "Come out."

  For a heartbeat, nothing happened.

  Then something exploded from the shadows.

  It was the size of a cat, but twisted into something unnatural, its body stretched long with far too many legs, joints bending in ways they shouldn't. Black slime clung to it like skin, and its mouth was nothing but teeth.

  A Mana Leech.

  It shrieked—high and wet, like paper tearing apart—and launched itself straight toward his face.

  Do-Hyun stayed calm, eyes steady, as though panic was something his body no longer understood. He shifted aside, barely moving. The Mana Leech shot past him, and before it could recover, his hand came down.

  The silver letter opener struck with a dull, solid sound, pinning the creature mid-air against the wooden potting bench. Black blood hissed against the metal, sizzling in the cold greenhouse.

  [Critical Hit.]

  He studied it, unflinching. No disgust. No fear. Only hunger—not for flesh, but for the energy it carried.

  He pressed his palm over the writhing body.

  "Messy," he murmured. "But I'll take what I can get."

  Shadows poured from his hand, swallowing the Leech. In seconds, it shriveled into ash, leaving a faint scent of burnt earth.

  A warm surge coursed through his chest, sharp and intoxicating, a reminder of power reclaimed.

  [Target Eliminated.][Absorbing Essence… Vitality +0.5%.][Current Vitality: 9.6%.]

  Do-Hyun exhaled, eyes scanning the foliage. Dozens of tiny red lights blinked open among the roses and orchids. The infestation was larger than he'd imagined, waiting hungrily for mana.

  The System's voice echoed softly in his mind.

  [Oh. It's a buffet. Enjoy yourself, Host.]

  He tightened his grip on the letter opener and moved through the greenhouse with lethal efficiency. Each strike precise. Each kill feeding the warmth in his chest, building strength in his exhausted body.

  The shrieks, the wet splashes, the hiss of dissolving bodies—he noticed none of it. There was only the rhythm of attack, absorb, move, repeat. By the time the clock struck three, the last Leech was ash.

  Do-Hyun stood in the center aisle, chest heaving, sweat soaking his shirt. The ache in his bones had dulled. He felt steadier. Stronger.

  [Quest Complete: 'Pest Control'.][Total Kills: 24.][Vitality: 12.8%.][System Note: You've upgraded from 'fragile' to 'slightly less fragile.']

  Do-Hyun wiped the black sludge from the letter opener onto a leaf and turned toward the door.

  A movement outside caught his eye—not a shadow, not a monster. A small figure stood beneath the oak tree: his sister, Kang Seo-Rin.

  Barefoot in the cold mud, wearing silk pajamas, she stood perfectly still. Her icy blue eyes were fixed on the greenhouse, absorbing the residual energy that lingered in the air.

  Do-Hyun stayed perfectly still, blending into the shadows of the ferns. He could feel her sensing him, even though the condensation on the glass hid the details of his work. She hadn't seen him kill the creatures—but she understood.

  For a long moment, they simply stared at each other. Then, without a word, Seo-Rin turned and walked back toward the house, leaving frost in her wake with every step of her bare feet.

  Do-Hyun exhaled softly. "So it begins," he whispered.

  The family was changing. Something dark was stirring within the house. And he was still the Trash Prince—alone, armed with nothing more than a letter opener.

  He pushed the door open and stepped back into the night, the cold biting his face. His Vitality read 12.8%—far from enough.

  He needed a Dungeon.