[ STATUS ]
[ NAME: SUNG JIN-WOO ]
[ JOB: NONE ]
[ TITLE: NONE ]
[ LEVEL: 2 ]
[ FATIGUE: 0 ]
[ HP: 205 ]
[ MP: 22 ]
[ STRENGTH: 20 ]
[ DEXTERITY: 11 ]
[ SENSES: 11 ]
[ VITALITY: 11 ]
[ INTELLIGENCE: 11 ]
[ AVAILABLE STAT POINTS: 0 ]
[ PASSIVE SKILLS ]
- (UNKNOWN) (LV. MAX.)
- MUSCLE STRENGTH (LV. 1)
[ ACTIVE SKILLS ]
- SPEED (LV. 1)
Yes! He really leveled up.
This increased all of his stats by 1 point.
Now he had confirmation that the daily quest was not the only way to increase stats.
As one of the rewards for a daily task, he received 3 points to distribute as he saw fit. For leveling up, he got one point for each stat, resulting in a total of 5 points.
In the video game, low-level characters were able to level up quickly.
It was only later on that problems would begin. As he got stronger, he would need stronger opponents and more time to level up.
But he will leave these worries for later.
He wondered what effect raising his stats by one point had on his body.
After a moment of reflection, he decided that such an influence probably depended on the number of points he already had in a given attribute.
When he increased his strength by 1 for the first time, he was already 1/10 stronger than before. It was the same with other stats now. When he raised strength by 5, it increased by half.
This meant quite a significant impact. But having one additional point when he already had, for example, a hundred in strength would have a much smaller effect.
At least, that's what he deduced with common sense.
If he wanted to become as strong as he possibly could, he had to get it together. Leveling up would likely bring very nice effects, but he needed more than one or two levels.
To level up, he apparently had to kill monsters.
So...
Where did that tough bastard go?
He wasn't naive enough to think that the damn monster would just let it slide.
It was very possible that it would return with its buddies.
And one level up did not make him the master of the world.
These wolves were still almost as dangerous as they had been during his first encounter here.
He had to be careful.
Where did that tough guy go?
He wasn't naive enough to think that the damn monster would just let it slide.
It was very possible that it would return with its buddies.
And going up one level didn't make him the master of the world just yet.
Those wolves were still almost as dangerous as they were during his first encounter here.
He had to be cautious.
Closing the status window, Jin-Woo approached one of the two dead wolves. He crouched over it, and that's when he realized that these creatures were not like the ones in normal dungeons.
As far as dungeon places could be called "normal."
These creatures didn't have magical cores.
Until now, he had believed that every monster had a core.
If a monster was very powerful, its core was equally potent. It also happened that such monsters had more than one core.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the main goal of most Hunters during raids was to obtain magical cores.
Jin-Woo is a Hunter. Leaving a hunt empty-handed left him feeling disappointed. Just to be sure, he cut open the belly of one of the wolves, but found nothing.
So he probably wouldn't make any money here. And he needed money.
These dungeons were created by the whole pseudo-game system. So the monsters were its creation too.
When Jin-Woo had finished cleaning his hands and was ready to move on, he noticed something glimmering in the creature's mouth.
Jin-Woo opened the dead opponent's jaws.
One of Raikan's teeth glowed with an unnatural light. When he reached for it, a message appeared.
[ ITEM: RAIKAN'S FANG ]
[ DIFFICULTY LEVEL: NONE ]
[ TYPE: MISCELLANEOUS ]
[ A LARGE AND SHARP RAIKAN'S FANG. YOU CAN STORE IT IN YOUR INVENTORY OR SELL IT AT THE STORE. ]
Store?
That was something new.
The system was... convoluted, to put it mildly.
Usually, in games, there was a tutorial at the very beginning explaining everything the player needed to know.
But this system didn't explain much.
On the other hand, it did allow for something impossible – increasing one's own strength.
It was quite a gift, so Jin-Woo could more easily tolerate all the vague information.
Just as he expected.
When he summoned the store, another window appeared before his eyes.
[ STORE ]
[ BUY ] [ SELL ]
Curious to see what the store had to offer, Jin-Woo selected "BUY."
[ NOTICE! ]
[ YOUR LEVEL IS TOO LOW TO MAKE PURCHASES IN THE STORE. ]
The system was obviously not very kind.
Used to rejection, Jin-Woo shrugged and looked at the other function.
[ DO YOU WANT TO SELL [ITEM: RAIKAN'S FANG]? ]
[ SELL ] [ CANCEL ]
With the sound of falling coins, his inventory opened. At the bottom of the inventory screen, the section labeled "Gold" now displayed 20 instead of 0, as it had a moment ago.
So, he had gained this gold. But he had no idea whether it was a lot or a little. He didn't know the conversion rate of this gold to won or the prices in the stores.
Mainly because the system was stubborn and didn't want to show him the store's offers.
But honestly, he doubted that a fang from just any monster in an E-rank dungeon of the "junk" rank was worth much.
He had to move on. He had to defeat the boss to get out of here.
Unless, of course, he could find the return stone before that. He had no food or water supplies, so he couldn't linger and stay here for long.
But even if it was a low-level dungeon, he won't be able to deal with the boss on his own.
At least not yet. If only he could gain a few more levels.
Then his chances would definitely increase, even if only slightly.
As he stretched to relax his muscles, he heard a familiar growling sound behind him.
Hastily turning around, he saw a group of wolves.
It seemed the monster that had fled had brought some friends to help, just as Jin-Woo had suspected.
The group consisted of about twenty individuals. Give or take two for accuracy.
The group was large.
With their numbers, they could easily overwhelm and tear him apart.
On the other hand, he looked at his experience points.
When the whole pack lunged in his direction, Jin-Woo tightened his grip on the handle.
And then he struck.
To the left, then to the right. He dodged the snapping jaws.
He thrust at the approaching Raikan, who managed to evade.
Red bodies cut and smeared with blood fell one by one at his feet. But still, Jin-Woo didn't slow down.
One, two, three kills. It wasn't enough. Each of these wolves was dangerous, and any of them could kill him if he made even one mistake.
If he died, he wouldn't be able to protect those he cared about.
He would lose everything.
He had had enough of constant losses.
[ NOTICE! ]
[ YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! ]
He couldn't walk with his head down for the rest of his life, pretending it was raining when someone spat in his direction.
If it would make him stronger, he was willing to follow all those rules.
Endure all those vague statements.
Since the system was giving him opportunities, he wasn't going to give up on them.
[ NOTICE! ]
[ YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! ]
As this group fell, he continued to search for more of those wolves.
Now he didn't feel like he usually did during raids.
He didn't feel like a victim.
Finally, he felt like a hunter.
[ NOTICE! ]
[ YOU HAVE LEVELED UP! ]
As expected, his level quickly increased. After clearing the entire first floor of Raikans, Jin-Woo had already reached the seventh level.
As expected, its level rose quickly. After clearing the entire first floor of Raikans, Jin-Woo's level increased to seven.
Quite a big jump, up to five levels.
[ NOTICE! ]
[ YOU'VE ACQUIRED [TITLE: WOLF SLAYER] ]
Title?
He remembered that in his statistics he had a section describing "title". However, it was empty.
At least until now.
Sitting down against the least dirty wall, Jin-Woo opened his status window and checked this whole title.
[ TITLE: WOLF SLAYER ]
[ A TITLE GIVEN TO A HUNTER EXPERT IN FIGHTING WOLVES. YOU RECEIVE 40% MORE EXPERIENCE FOR DEFEATING BEAST-LIKE MONSTERS. ]
40% wasn't low at all, and although the title was only useful when fighting beasts, Jin-Woo honestly didn't think he would encounter anything other than beasts in this particular dungeon.
This 40% bonus would make leveling up much easier, at least in this dungeon. It might even allow him to gain one or two more levels than he would without the title.
Unfortunately, however, the rest of the loot was rather disappointing.
34 fangs. Two small daggers, a traveling cloak.
Oh.
And a return stone.
Okay. Maybe not as disappointing as he initially thought.
The daggers could come in handy if the sword were to completely break.
Jin-Woo looked at the bloodied, cracked blade of the sword.
Every weapon had a certain durability, so the quick damage to this weak sword didn't surprise him at all.
Even high-level weapons wore out eventually, but with proper care, they could last for several years. This sword, however, looked bad halfway through its first raid.
He remembered once buying a dagger for over fifty thousand won (50,000 WON = ~37 USD). After buying the weapon, he performed much better against monsters. But it broke easily when fighting a boss.
On that day, he gained three Class E stones. The weapon didn't even pay for itself, and he never bought one again.
He decided that his own body would serve as his weapon.
However, it wasn't easy.
So, if the sword were to break now, Jin-Woo could use the acquired daggers. But... since he now had the return stone, should he go on at all?
He was torn.
He knew that even now, he probably didn't stand a chance against the boss. On the other hand, he didn't know what would happen to the dungeon after using the stone.
If it disappeared, which was very likely, as this place was created by the system for a specific purpose, Jin-Woo would lose the ability to increase his strength.
At least in a somewhat controlled manner.
Who could know if he would be able to find another E-Rank dungeon like this one? After all, he ended up here only because of a key obtained from a random box.
He had no certainty whether regular dungeons and regular monsters would grant him points and raise his level. He didn't know how this system worked.
To be honest, he didn't want to turn back.
If this was his old self, he would have run away without a second thought. After all, it was the only way he survived many raids with his zero skills. Others called it a miracle, but he knew it was due to his clever moves.
He sighed deeply while putting the return stone back into his inventory.
It's time for him to face the danger. He put the turning stone back in his pocket.
His steps on the stairs were light and springy.
***
[ NOTICE! ]
[ YOU'VE LEVELED UP! ]