Chapter 9
Leon stepped out of his house, but instead of heading toward the village chief’s mansion, he turned toward the nearest forest.
‘If I keep working as a cleaner in the chief’s mansion, I’ll be stuck living in that filthy shed forever. There’s no way I’m wasting my second life in that shithole.’
As he passed through the village gate, the two guards stationed there exchanged confused glances. It wasn’t common to see someone leaving the village so early.
“Where’s he going?”
“I have no idea.”
“Why is he heading toward the forest?”
They muttered to each other, but Leon ignored them and kept walking.
—
After walking for about a kilometer, Leon finally reached the place where he had woken up yesterday.
A massive tree stood alone in the clearing, its presence making the empty space around it seem even more eerie.
‘If I remember correctly, the old Leon used to come here to escape his responsibilities. That is… until the village chief’s son found him and beat him to death.’
Leon frowned. ‘I can’t remember why he did that… but I do remember something else.’
This area was off-limits to villagers because of the horned rabbits. While they were only F-rank monsters and rarely seen around here, they were still lethal to humans. Their horns contained a deadly toxin—one stab was all it took to kill a man.
‘Alive, they’re dangerous. But once they’re dead… they’re walking money. Their fur sells. Their horns sell. Their meat sells. Hell, even their teeth fetch a price.’
Leon considered his options.
‘I could head to the kingdom, buy a rusty sword with what little money I have left, then come back and risk my life hunting these things…’
‘Or…’
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a long knife—the one he had swiped from the kitchen before leaving.
‘To execute my plan, I need this.’
He gripped the blade tightly before glancing up at the tree. Without hesitation, he started climbing.
Once high enough, he snapped off several small but sturdy branches and stripped them of their leaves. Then, he began sharpening their tips into makeshift spears.
Cut. Cut. Cut.
Thirty minutes later…
Leon sat back, eyeing the eight sharpened branches lying before him.
“This should do the job,” he muttered, satisfied.
Then, he activated his skill.
[Please name the skill…]
“Trap.”
[Skill ‘Trap’ has been created.]
[Rank set to ‘F’ by default.]
[State the skill’s function.]
Leon exhaled and began,
“When activated, this skill should create a shallow, one-foot-deep pit in the ground, covering it with a thin layer of dust to make it invisible to the prey.
Additionally, it will emit a scent that lures nearby low-rank monsters—especially horned rabbits. The trap resets automatically after a kill and remains active unless deactivated manually.”
He paused, contemplating. ‘That should be a basic setup, but I’ve already said too much. If I try adding level-up mechanics or anything complex, the system might reject it. I’ll leave it as is for now.’
[Processing…]
[Description accepted.]
“Good, good,” Leon muttered, a smirk playing on his lips.
[Please select a chant for the skill {Trap}.]
“Trap,” he said plainly.
[Chant ‘Trap’ has been set.]
[Estimated mana cost: 10 per use.]
[Cooldown: 30 minutes.]
[Would you like to learn this skill or destroy it?]
Leon clicked his tongue. ‘I knew it. Because the trap resets automatically, the system gave it a long cooldown so I can’t spam it. Pretty smart… but this is still good.’
[Congratulations! You have learned the skill {Trap}.]
“Well then… let’s see if this works,” Leon murmured as he approached a nearby bush.
“This spot should do.”
He activated the skill.
“Trap.”
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
The ground beneath him trembled as the soil began to sink. Within moments, a one-foot-deep hole formed, but it didn’t stop there. Loose soil was pulled into the pit, creating an almost invisible layer over it.
“Whoa…” Leon crouched down and lightly tapped the surface. The thin layer of soil crumbled instantly.
[Skill {Trap} will reset.]
A transparent notification popped up before him. Since nothing had fallen in, the trap reactivated, covering itself once more.
“Perfect,” he muttered, picking up four of the sharpened branches and planting them inside the hole, their pointed ends facing upward.
As soon as he removed his hand—
[Skill {Trap} will reset.]
This time, an awful stench wafted from the pit.
Leon gagged. “What the fuck? I specifically told it to release a sweet, attractive scent! Why the hell does it smell like rotting garbage?”
He immediately backed away, pinching his nose.
‘Well… maybe monsters like this kind of smell. Now all I need to do is wait.’
Leon walked over to the massive tree, settling down behind it—far enough from the stench to breathe properly.
Yawn.
“I’m sleeping,” he muttered before closing his eyes.