Not Leveling Alone Chapter 2 (Patreon)

ENJOY FRIENDS AND FANS!!! This new story was chosen for a Tier Reward already!THAT MEANS CHAPTER 1 IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR SUPPORT OFFICERS AND SUPPORT SOLDIERS!!!

Hey friends and fans! Kairomaru is bringing you a new chapter! Now that Jinwoo has the System, it’s time to follow its training…or risk being sent back to the Penalty Zone! However, during the time that Jinwoo isn’t training, there’s no reason not to try and explore the System and test out all of its functions. Trying to test out all the functions of this mysterious System may just lead to new discoveries of what it can do and what it can provide. Both for Jinwoo as the Player, but also for those around him and beyond.

Just remember it’s all fiction, in a fantasy world that isn’t real, and none of these fictional people need you to defend them…because they don’t exist.

So, without further delay, please enjoy.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Chapter 2 – Training and Testing

The nurses and orderlies of the hospital often had things to gossip about given the nature of their jobs. Patients came in with all manner of injuries, some minor and others severe, and more than a few that got people talking. The Hunters that had to come in for treatment were always a source of fresh gossip, given their profession and the severe, and sometimes bizarre, injuries they could sustain. But what had most of them whispering amongst themselves these last few days had been Hunter Sung Jinwoo and his seeming obsession with working out.

“You know that patient, Sung Jinwoo?” One nurse asked another while they took a break and sipped coffee together. “I heard he’s a Hunter.”

“Yeah, that’s right. It hasn’t been that long since he regained consciousness, but he’s been running around every single day since then.” The other nurse said with a small shrug. It wasn’t the first time she’d seen a Hunter patient up and about far faster than any regular patient.

The first nurse glanced out the window into the large open outdoor space of the hospital campus that was used to let patients enjoy fresh air and sunlight. “Look over there, he’s running right now.” The topic of their discussion was running by as he continued to do laps around the grounds. “What did the doctor say about this?”

The second nurse glanced at Jinwoo before he ran out of their sight. “That Hunters are different from the average person, so he’ll recover in no time. They also said that some light exercise wouldn’t do any harm, but…”

“Light exercise…” The first nurse knew just how much Jinwoo had been working out over the last few days. “How long has he been running? Are you sure he’s going to be okay?”

Outside, Jinwoo continued to run while breathing heavily and sweating. He knew he was almost done with the ten kilometer run after having done it multiple times now. ‘It’s been four days since I regained consciousness. Thanks to examining the System screens, there’s a few things I’ve become aware of…’

[! Notice]

[Run 10KM: Completed (10/10KM)]

Jinwoo slowed to a stop and hunched over, placing his hands on his knees as he tried to get his breath back. ‘The first thing is: only I can see the System’s screens.’

[Quest Info]

[Strength Training]

[Goals]

[Push-Ups (100/100)]

[Situ-Ups (100/100)]

[Squats (100/100)]

[Run (10/10KM)]

“Hah…hah… It’s getting a little easier.” Jinwoo said between heavy breaths.

[Quest Reward]

[Select Your Reward]

[1. Status Recovery]

[2. Ability Points +3]

[3. Random Loot Box +1]

The ‘Accept’ and ‘Decline’ buttons were at the bottom of the screen with the Status Recovery highlighted at the top of the list.

“Accept Status Recovery.” Jinwoo chose and his body was enveloped in a soft green magical light. ‘Status Recovery relieves all the fatigue from exercising. The exhaustion weighing my body down is gone in an instant.’ The fact that his stamina was still increasing day by day also meant that Status Recovery wasn’t reverting him to before he’d been injured, but was healing him from the fatigue and damage he’d taken from his exercise. ‘Instant recovery like this is practically a cheat for building muscle and stamina.’ As he sat down on the nearby bench, he glanced up at the sky thoughtfully. “I wonder if I could save it and use it later? It would be amazing if I could use it in a bad situation.” Deciding to test that out later, he looked at his second reward on the screen. “Accept Ability Points.”

His status screen popped up and the [Available Ability Points] at the bottom of the screen went from ‘0’ to ‘3’.

‘I can add these points to any of the five stats and get stronger. Though I don’t know how it compares to leveling up yet.’ Jinwoo thought as he looked at his Level on the status page.

[Stats]

Name: Sung Jinwoo

Level: 1

Job: None

Fatigue: 0

Title: None

HP: 100

MP: 10

Strength: 16

Vitality: 10

Agility: 10

Intellect: 10

Perception: 10

Available Ability Points: 3

[Stats]

“Let’s put them into Strength again.” Jinwoo chose to dump all his points into Strength, having experienced for years what a lack of strength had gotten him during raids.

[Stats]

Name: Sung Jinwoo

Level: 1

Job: None

Fatigue: 0

Title: None

HP: 100

MP: 10

Strength: 19

Vitality: 10

Agility: 10

Intellect: 10

Perception: 10

Available Ability Points: 0

[Stats]

With a nod at his increased numbers, Jinwoo glanced at the last reward. “Accept Random Loot Box.” He held out his hand and a small box that was wrapped like a present appeared for just a moment before vanishing into motes of light, leaving behind… “An umbrella?” He blinked at the small umbrella, neatly bound and ready to be stuffed in a backpack or purse on a day when rain was expected. “I really don’t understand why the ‘loot’ is always mundane things.” He’d gotten bandages on the first day, and a pen on the second day, so it seemed like it truly was random. “Whatever, it saves me from buying an umbrella, I guess.” Flicking through the screens mentally he came to his Inventory and placed the umbrella inside, seeing an icon appear in one of the many spaces available. “At least the inventory feature is super useful for carrying stuff.”

A nice breeze blew through the area and Jinwoo sighed as he looked at the various screens in front of him with an almost bemused smile.

“Stats, inventory, skills, items… It’s all like a computer game.” Jinwoo mused as he enjoyed the breeze. “Some strange phenomenon has come into my life…and I have no clue how it happened.” He glanced at one screen and tried to access it again, even though he was sure of its response.

[! Notice]

[You cannot make purchases at your current Level.]

“Yeah… I know.” Jinwoo nearly grumbled out. Not like he had a lot of money anyway. “And I doubt that the System accepts Korean Won.” He looked at the bottom of the Shop screen and saw a coin icon with a ‘G’ on it and the number ‘0’ next to it. “Still, my Inventory is divided into Equipment, Consumables, Materials, and Quest…so what qualifies as a material or consumable?” The umbrella icon in his Inventory only showed up when he set it to show ‘All’ items he had. “I can’t even sell the items from the Random Loot Boxes to the shop either.” He’d tried with both the bandages and the pen, only for nothing to happen. “If I have materials, then that means I can do something with them, right? Like crafting or alchemy from games?” But without any materials available to him, Jinwoo had no way to test that idea.

His eyes drifted to the only item that had been in his Inventory when he’d first opened it. It was shown as a simple sword icon in the very first space of both the ‘All’ and ‘Equipment’ tabs of the screen.

[Item: Kim Sangshik’s Steel Sword]

[Type: Sword]

[Attack +10]

‘I’m not sure why this is in here either. Maybe because I was holding it before I became a Player?’ Jinwoo could only guess, but it was a little reassuring to have a weapon. ‘Mr. Kim said he bought this sword for three million won. I can’t afford anything close to that right now…so I’ll keep it.’ A part of him also felt like it was the least that he deserved after Mr. Kim and Mr. Park had abandoned them all in the Cartenon Temple.

“Let me just check one thing.” Jinwoo looked around and made sure no one was looking in his direction. He pulled Kim Sangshik’s sword out of his Inventory to equip it, and then looked at his Status screen again.

[Stats]

Name: Sung Jinwoo

Level: 1

Job: None

Fatigue: 0

Title: None

HP: 100

MP: 10

Strength: 19 (+10)

Vitality: 10

Agility: 10

Intellect: 10

Perception: 10

Available Ability Points: 0

[Stats]

“So a boost from a weapon or any gear will show up while it’s equipped, it seems.” Jinwoo quickly put the sword back into his Inventory, not wanting to alarm anyone that he had a weapon on him. Glancing at his Status Screen again, he saw exactly what he expected as the (+10) had vanished from the screen.

There were still a couple of days before he would be released from the hospital after the incident, so Jinwoo would do what he’d been doing since waking up: making calls to confirm all the bills were paid, sending a few texts to check on Jinah, mostly to make sure she wasn’t just stuffing herself with junk food, and browsing the internet for various game information to try and see just how similar the System was to the systems of games that existed. It was one of the reasons that he’d considered what having multiple tabs in his Inventory meant in terms of the items he could collect and what he might be able to do with them, whenever he finally GOT some materials to test with, of course.

“I have a feeling that I’m going to need to leave the hospital to find anything like that though.” Jinwoo said to himself as he made the screens disappear with a thought and stood up from the bench to head back inside.

-Next Day-

Jinwoo sat down on the same bench as the previous days after finishing his run. Only a second later, the reward screen appeared before him with his three options.

[Quest Reward]

[Select Your Reward]

[1. Status Recovery]

[2. Ability Points +3]

[3. Random Loot Box +1]

Instead of immediately going for the Status Recovery like he’d done since starting these Daily Quests, Jinwoo wanted to test a few things today. “Accept Ability Points.”

[Stats]

Name: Sung Jinwoo

Level: 1

Job: None

Fatigue: 39

Title: None

HP: 100

MP: 10

Strength: 19

Vitality: 10

Agility: 10

Intellect: 10

Perception: 10

Available Ability Points: 3

[Stats]

“Let’s try something different today.” Jinwoo distributed his points into stats other than Strength for the first time and saw the ‘3’ turn into ‘0’ as his chosen stats changed. He was classified as a Fighter Type Hunter, so it made sense to him to boost his strength as much as possible, of course. And while he wasn’t one-hundred percent sure what the other stats did, his browsing of various games online over the last couple of days gave him a few ideas. “A Fighter needs to have good damage, some durability, and speed is important too.” Or that was what most of the various online RPGs he’d looked into agreed upon.

[Stats]

Name: Sung Jinwoo

Level: 1

Job: None

Fatigue: 49

Title: None

HP: 350

MP: 10

Strength: 19

Vitality: 12

Agility: 11

Intellect: 10

Perception: 10

Available Ability Points: 0

[Stats]

Jinwoo’s eyes widened in shock as he saw the change to his HP amount. “That’s insane!” He nearly squawked, only to shut his mouth swiftly and look around, hoping none of the other hospital residents outside had heard him. Thankfully, it appeared that no one had been close enough to hear his outburst. “It went from 100 to 350! That means each point of Vitality increases my HP by 125 points!” That did confirm his Vitality stat was similar to some of the RPGs that he’d seen online, at least. After taking a long moment to process the result of his little test, Jinwoo moved on to claim his next reward. “Accept Random Loot Box.”

The little present appeared in his hand for only a second before vanishing into motes of light, leaving behind something new and definitely NOT mundane.

“A key?” Jinwoo blinked at the large key in his hand, made of some kind of green metal that he couldn’t identify. The ‘teeth’ of the key were strange too, little bars jutted out from the body of the key, and then rectangular protrusions went either forward or backward off of them. Even the bow of the key was a bit odd, one side had two small holes in it while the other side had a single larger hole through it.

[Item: Dungeon Key]

[Level of Difficulty: E]

[Type: Key]

[This key enables you to enter an Instance Dungeon. It can be used at Hapjeong Station, Exit 3.]

Jinwoo looked the strange green key over a bit after reading its information. “What’s an Instance Dungeon? Does this thing somehow spawn a Dungeon when used?” That was almost unsettling to think about. Dungeons were localized disasters to any area when they broke and the monsters inside came swarming out. If this almost innocuous key could spawn one…the idea of how an item like this could be misused was terrifying. “But it doesn’t say Dungeon…it says ‘Instance’ Dungeon. So, there’s got to be some kind of difference, right?” He hummed thoughtfully, looked at his Status page again after adding today’s points, and then looked at the key in his hand again. “I should at least try and figure this out. But first…” He put the key into his Inventory and then stood up. “Let’s test out this ‘Longevity’ that’s part of Kandiaru’s Blessing.”

It said that his recovery increased exponentially while he slept, so that should mean his Fatigue would reduce significantly after a nap…or Jinwoo hoped that was the case. As he headed back towards his room, he made sure to set an alarm on his phone to wake him up at the correct time.

-One Hour Later ~ Hospital Reception-

[Stats]

Name: Sung Jinwoo

Level: 1

Job: None

Fatigue: 0

Title: None

HP: 350

MP: 10

Strength: 19

Vitality: 12

Agility: 11

Intellect: 10

Perception: 10

Available Ability Points: 0

[Stats]

‘Longevity does help eliminate Fatigue quickly.’ Jinwoo confirmed as he reached the front desk of the hospital. He was dressed in a simple black and grey hoodie and black pants, with matching black and white shoes on his feet, all of which Jinah had brought him from home. “Is it okay if I go out for a bit today?”

The nurse behind the counter looked at Jinwoo and nodded once. “Sure, but where do you plan on going?” They needed to keep track of their patients, and there was also a curfew for patients that left while still undergoing observation.

“There’s something I need to take care of.” Jinwoo said, as if he was merely going out to handle a few boring errands.

It didn’t take long for the nurse to approve of him leaving for a while. All he had to do was sign a form and agree to be back in time for the curfew. He was out the front doors only a few minutes after requesting to leave.

“Hapjeong Station is which direction from here?” Jinwoo looked up the directions on his phone and started walking once he knew which way to go.

-Hapjeong Station, Exit 3-

It hadn’t taken all that long to reach his destination, and now Jinwoo stood in front of the subway entrance watching people walk up and down the stairs, going about their perfectly normal day. The Dungeon Key appeared in his hand from his Inventory and he glanced at it once more. ‘It’s time to figure out what this is. If I’m right, I should be able to handle this Instance Dungeon thing! The Random Loot Box wouldn’t give me something that I couldn’t handle…right?’ Jinwoo thought to himself while looking at the green metal key. ‘I’m still not sure exactly what this System is or what it wants… But I’m great at running away; so, if things get dangerous, I’ll just make a run for it.’

Waiting for a lull in the foot traffic into and out of the station exit, Jinwoo raised the Dungeon Key and pushed it forward. Mana crackled in the air, almost like electricity, and a blue Gate swirled into existence right in the doorway of the Hapjeong Station exit. The green key vanished from his hand, seemingly dispersing into mana as well, once the Gate was fully formed. Jinwoo looked around, but didn’t see anyone reacting to the sudden appearance of the Gate.

“Am I the only one that can see it?” Jinwoo muttered under his breath as no one on the street even looked in the direction of the newly spawned Gate. With a steadying breath, he stepped forward and walked into the Gate just like he’d done for years now.

[! Notice]

[You have entered an Instance Dungeon.]

Crackle

The mana sparked behind Jinwoo and his eyes widened as the Gate sealed up into a dark blue wall that let only a few traces of daylight in through small cracks.

“No way! The entrance closed up?!” Jinwoo put his hand against the solid wall, his eyes wide in shock…until a woman on her smartphone walked right past him up the stairs and straight through the wall. “Wait…am I in another dimension?” The woman had passed through part of his arm, now that he thought about it. He pressed his hands against the solid wall that had been the entrance. “This isn’t a regular Dungeon. Is it similar to a Red Gate? Not that I’ve ever seen one before.”

A Red Gate was a rare phenomenon that happened only to B-Rank and higher Gates. Once enough people passed through it, the swirling blue mana would turn red and seal itself from the outside world. Those trapped within couldn’t get out until the Boss had been slain or the Dungeon broke. The biggest difference between regular Gates and Red Gates, aside from being trapped, was the strange time dilation that occurred: a single hour on Earth was equal to a full day within the Red Gate.

“What should I do?! I was planning to run away if things didn’t go as planned…” Jinwoo ran his hands through his black hair, feeling his heart beating faster and harder in his chest. “But my only escape route has been cut off!”

[! Notice]

[You cannot leave the Instance Dungeon unless you defeat the Boss or use a Teleportation Stone.]

Jinwoo blinked at the notice screen. “I have to clear this Dungeon in order to get out…” His breathing quickened and sweat began to form on his brow. “Not too long ago, I was struggling to fight E-Rank monsters, and now you’re telling me to clear this Dungeon by myself?!” He clenched his fists tightly, his body shaking. “Damn it… This doesn’t make any sense…”

Woosh

The air noticeably shifted from within the Dungeon down the stairs, making Jinwoo look down into the darkness warily.

“Seriously, I have to do this all alone…” Jinwoo felt sweat roll down his cheek. “…without a Party?!” Not getting any new screens, he realized that everything the System had to tell him was finished. With an audible gulp, Jinwoo started to descend the stairs, cautiously, slowly, one step at a time…until he finally reached the subway station proper.

The entire station was in disrepair, as if it had been abandoned many years ago. Small spots of weeds poked through cracks in the concrete and the ceiling panels had completely collapsed in some places. Most of the lights were broken and dark, while a few barely functional lights flickered in and out from above. All of the shops had their doors closed and the metal security gates pulled down and locked. To Jinwoo it seemed like people had simply closed up one day, and then never returned to open the station again. The shadows from the lights that still worked made deep areas of darkness across the station from how few still remained, making the broken down station seem even creepier and more dangerous than it already was.

Jinwoo pulled Kim Sangshik’s Steel Sword from his Inventory, holding the weapon with both hands as he started walking forward, trying to see into the inky shadows for hidden dangers. “What should I do… I don’t think I can do this…” He said to himself as he walked between a few of the closed shops. A smell hit his nose and made him tighten his grip on the sword. “There’s a foul stench…is this the smell of a Beast Type Monster?”

The sound of claws on stone was the only warning that Jinwoo got as a massive red-furred wolf leapt out of the shadows between two closed up shops.

“Roooaaarrr!!!” The wolf monster roared out, its jaws wide as it tried to bite Jinwoo with its large fangs.

Jinwoo flinched backwards and leapt away as the monster came at him. The loud snapping sound as the monster’s jaws closed was almost like the sound of metal on metal. As Jinwoo stared the red wolf monster down, he noticed that it’s entire bottom jaw was reinforced with metal plating and a few of its fangs were made of the same metal.

[Steel-Fanged Lycan]

The orange color of the name made Jinwoo immediately compare it to the centipedes from the Penalty Zone. ‘Orange means it’s less dangerous than those things…right?’ He grit his teeth as the Lycan took a step forward, its body shaking just slightly as it prepared to pounce again. ‘I can barely take on a couple of Goblins. Can I win this fight…’

The Steel-Fanged Lycan leapt straight at Jinwoo again and he pivoted to the side, only for his eyes to widen as he moved farther than he wanted to and ended up a few meters to the right of where he’d just been. The Lycan landed where Jinwoo had been and turned to lock its red eyes on him again with a loud growl.

“Huh?” Jinwoo was probably more surprised than the Lycan at his escape. ‘My body…’ He lightly bounced on his toes to test himself. ‘My body feels light!’ He couldn’t help but feel the difference now that he was actually putting himself to the test.

“Roooaaarrr!” The Steel-Fanged Lycan barked out as it charged forward, looking to snap its powerful jaws on Jinwoo.

With just a kick off the ground, Jinwoo easily evaded the charge, the Lycan crashing through the security shutter of the shop behind him. Jinwoo’s eyes followed the monster, not wanting to lose sight of it, even for a moment. The wolf monster walked back out of the damaged shop while chewing on the metal it had torn off the shutters. It dropped the mangled mess of metal onto the stone floor before charging at Jinwoo again.

“I was given a second chance at life!” Jinwoo readied the sword in his hands. ‘I can’t give into fear!’ He thought as the Steel-Fanged Lycan closed in on him. “I refuse to die so easily!” He swung the sword and the blade caught the leaping monster at the base of the neck…and passed though its flesh and bones with less drag than Jinwoo expected.

The Steel-Fanged Lycan’s head hit the floor, blood splattering beneath it. Its body collapsed with a heavy thump not too far away, more red blood pouring from the severed neck and painting the floor crimson.

“What’s this?” Jinwoo couldn’t believe how…easy…that had been. ‘Is this happening because I raised my Strength stat?’ He looked down at the slain monster that he’d just decapitated. ‘This thing was stronger than me…’ That was obvious by how easily it tore through steel, and simply walked out of the shop it had crashed through without a scratch.

[! Notice]

[You have defeated the Steel-Fanged Lycan.]

[! Notice]

[Level Up]

Before he could check anything, the tapping of claws on concrete drew Jinwoo’s eyes to the darkness again. The glowing red eyes of two more Steel-Fanged Lycans shone from within the deep shadows before the wolf monsters stepped into the dim light. For just a second, Jinwoo noticed that each of these Lycans had metal on different parts of their jaws compared to the first one, and even each other. But the metal fangs and reinforced jaws were the same orange-colored threat as the first one.

“As long as I have a weapon…I’m not scared.” Jinwoo readied the steel sword again as he faced down the two monsters.

“Roooaarrr!” The Steel-Fanged Lycan on the right lunged forward…only to meet Jinwoo’s blade and be split open from shoulder to hip, the sword splitting open its side and spilling blood and guts all over the floor behind him.

Clank

“Huh?!” Jinwoo’s eyes widened as the second Lycan had caught the blade in its mouth.

“Grrrr!” The Steel-Fanged Lycan growled as it tried to bite through the magical weapon.

“You really do have steel fangs!” Jinwoo bit out as he felt the strength of the wolf monster’s bite through the sword. “I earned this sword!” He jerked the Lycan’s head upward with the blade it refused to let go of, and drove his knee into its throat with as much strength as he could. “I’m not gonna let you break it!”

The Steel-Fanged Lycan hacked out a painful breath, its jaws releasing the sword. A half-second later and the blade passed through its neck, hitting the concrete floor and cracking it. The head hit the ground, followed by the body, blood spreading out in all directions across the floor from the decapitated monster.

Jinwoo looked over at a third Steel-Fanged Lycan that had been watching from the edge of the shadows. “Now I see that…compared to those stone statues…you guys are totally weak.” His gaze sharpened as he glared at the wolf monster.

The red wolf monster’s ears lowered and it backed up slowly, slinking back into the darkness before it turned and fled, the clicks of its claws on the stone floor fading away.

“I don’t have much experience with swords.” Jinwoo said as he pulled the sword up and inspected the tip that had cracked the floor. His ‘experience’ with swords amounted to just watching how other Hunters used them. “It doesn’t look damaged… I guess that’s what three million Won gets you.” With a thought, he brought up his Status screen.

[Stats]

Name: Sung Jinwoo

Level: 2

Job: None

Fatigue: 2

Title: None

HP: 575

MP: 40

Strength: 20 (+10)

Vitality: 13

Agility: 12

Intellect: 11

Perception: 11

Available Ability Points: 0

[Stats]

“My HP went up a lot again… If 125 points came from getting one stat point, then the other 100 must come from the Level Up itself…I guess?” Jinwoo wasn’t exactly sure since this was his first Level Up. “My MP quadrupled?” He wasn’t sure if that was because of the single point in Intellect (which according to the games online usually affected things related to magic), or if it was a combination of the single point and the Level Up. “It looks like all of my stats go up by one point when I Level Up, for a total of five. I get three points for completing the Daily Quest, but I don’t Level Up from it.”

It was clear that while he could get stronger just from doing the Daily Quests, he would have to hunt monsters to grow and Level Up. The five point improvement alone made it more efficient than just getting three points a day. Jinwoo let out a long exhale and looked at the three Steel-Fanged Lycans that he’d killed.

“I actually have a chance at becoming stronger.” Jinwoo said to himself, only believing it because he’d already demonstrated his improvement. ‘Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. I only defeated a couple of monsters.’ He’d seen Hunters on raids that killed groups of monsters far easier than he’d done it. Looking at the Lycan he’d split down the side, Jinwoo quickly noticed the lack of an Essence Stone within the slain monster. “Do I not get Essence Stones from these guys?”

That flew in the face of everything that was known about Gates and the Monsters within. Every single monster had an Essence Stone within it after it was slain. The mana within a monster rapidly gathered to one point near the core of its body upon its death. That rapid compression is what formed the Essence Stone, according to the research that had been done on captured monsters that had escaped during Dungeon Breaks. The Essence Stones varied in energy, color, shape, and size depending on the strength of the monster it came from. Some were brighter, and others a bit darker, but the fact remained that EVERY monster had one.

‘Is this place a category of its own?’ Jinwoo had to wonder, given this wasn’t a normal Dungeon. ‘A strange phenomenon is happening to me. It’s highly possible that the System either designed this Instance Dungeon and the Monsters within, or it pulled a section of another world here suddenly, bringing the monsters here, but not their habitat…just warping Hapjeong Station into this derelict form in the process?’ He was no expert on Gates, only knowing the same information that all Hunters were required to learn, and whatever he’d picked up beyond that in his years as a Hunter. Not wanting to potentially miss an Essence Stone, if there was one, Jinwoo touched the dead Lycan, about to reach inside to see if the Essence Stone was simply buried even deeper within the corpse, but a screen popped up before his eyes.

[Item: Lycan’s Fang]

[Level of Difficulty: None]

[Type: Miscellaneous]

[A large and sharp Lycan fang. You can store this item in your Inventory or sell it at the shop.]

Jinwoo looked at the fang that was now in his free hand. “So instead of Essence Stones, I get items?” He brought up his Inventory first as a thought came to him. “It says ‘miscellaneous’, but what is it sorted as?” He put the Lycan Fang into the Inventory and saw the icon appear. “Everything is shown on the ‘All’ tab, so…” He mentally flicked over to the Equipment tab, but it was empty. “There you are.” Jinwoo grinned a little as he found the Lycan Fang icon sitting in the first spot of the Materials tab once he brought it up. “So, it IS a material. But if the level of difficulty is ‘None’…does that mean it’s common loot?” He did need to try and figure out how the Shop worked, so he pulled the Lycan Fang from his Inventory and switched to the Shop.

[Item: Lycan’s Fang]

[Would you like to sell this item?]

A ‘Sell’ button and a ‘Cancel’ button were at the bottom of the screen.

“Yes.” Jinwoo answered the screen and the Lycan Fang he was holding vanished. A second later and ‘0’ next to the coin icon with a ‘G’ on it changed to ‘20’. “Hmm, twenty…gold, I guess? I’m not sure how much that really is…since you won’t even let me see the shop.” He vented at the System a little. “Well, this Dungeon is probably around E-Rank or so…maybe low D-Rank? I’m sure it’s common and not worth much.” Jinwoo stood up and moved over to the next dead Lycan, touching its red fur.

[Item: Lycan’s Fang]

[Level of Difficulty: None]

[Type: Miscellaneous]

[A large and sharp Lycan fang. You can store this item in your Inventory or sell it at the shop.]

Jinwoo almost rolled his eyes at being proven right. “Into the Inventory.” The fang vanished from his hand instantly. “What about you?” He asked the third dead Lycan as he placed his hand on it.

[Item: Lycan’s Pelt]

[Level of Difficulty: None]

[Type: Miscellaneous]

[The pelt of a Steel-Fanged Lycan. You can store this item in your Inventory or sell it at the shop.]

“The hell?!” Jinwoo pulled his hand away from the corpse quickly as the fur and skin vanished from it and appeared in his hand as a processed pelt. The sudden loss of skin left the red muscles exposed, and blood poured off the skinned body. After a second to calm down, Jinwoo looked over his new item. “A pelt, huh? Is this also a material?” He opened his Inventory this time and placed the pelt in directly, seeing an icon appear for it under the Materials tab a second later. “Guess so.”

Having harvested the items from each Lycan now, Jinwoo stood up again and looked at the broken down station. There was no indication of what direction he should go in at all. A fact became abundantly clear just from the lack of response from the System: he was on his own.

With nothing to go on, and not hearing the sounds of approaching monsters, Jinwoo took a moment to think and consider his options. “What should I do next? I can’t leave this Dungeon until I’ve defeated the boss. I could also use a Teleportation Stone to get out of here, but I don’t know when I might get one of those. A lack of food and water is going to be my real problem the longer I’m stuck in here.” He looked at his sword for a moment. “Even though this Dungeon is probably E-Rank, defeating the boss by myself is more than I can handle.” Jinwoo considered his growing strength just from a single Level Up. “Wait, no… Maybe if I level up enough, it’ll be possible.” His hands shook slightly on the handle of the sword. “Though I could die before making it that far.”

Clack

The sound of claws on stone alerted Jinwoo to the return of the Steel-Fanged Lycan that had run away earlier. Glancing down the short ‘alley’ between the shops, he saw the Lycan…and the dozens of pairs of glowing red eyes in the darkness behind it.

“Grrrr!” Now that the Lycans had a full pack, they were being even more aggressive than before.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of.” Jinwoo shook himself once and readied his sword. His eyes narrowed as he focused on the large number of wolf monsters. “I’ve already died once.”

“ROOOAAARRR!!!” The multiple roars from the Steel-Fanged Lycans reverberated throughout the station as they charged towards Jinwoo.

Jinwoo met their charge with his own and swung his sword as soon as he was in range. The Lycans scattered and tried to surround Jinwoo, utilizing pack tactics to try and kill their prey. But one wolf monster stayed a bit too close, and a single swing of Jinwoo’s sword cut off its head and one of its front paws. A sharp tug on the hood of his hoodie nearly jerked Jinwoo backwards. He launched his elbow backwards and hit the Lycan in the neck, forcing it to let go as it hacked for air. With a spin, the blade cut through the neck of the reeling Lycan…but only the front part, spilling a small waterfall of blood onto the concrete as the wolf monster collapsed and died.

“It’s gonna take more than that to kill me!” Jinwoo shouted at the snarling Lycans. “So put up a better fight. Otherwise I’ll feel bad…” His eyes shone with determination, an inner light that was almost as threatening as the glowing red eyes of the Steel-Fanged Lycans. ‘Give it your all.’ He thought as he cut another Lycan in half. ‘Let’s fight at full force.’ Jinwoo ducked under a leaping lunge and stabbed upwards, impaling the Lycan on his sword before throwing it aside into two more to stop their charge. Before they could get up again, Jinwoo cut both of them down. ‘As long as I’m alive, I’m gonna fight with everything I’ve got!’ Another Lycan was bifurcated, blood and guts splattering all over the floor.

[! Notice]

[Level Up]

‘I’ve come to a realization.’ Jinwoo ignored the announcement as he pivoted out of reach of the snapping jaws of a Lycan and punched it as hard as he could, sending the monster rolling across the floor. He cut down the next Lycan that lunged at him, then stabbed another through the jaws from below and forced it to the ground, the blade piercing through its skull. The fight was becoming a blur as he yanked the sword out of the dead Lycan and sliced through the one he’d punched as soon as it stood back up.

[! Notice]

[Level Up]

‘If I give up here, I’ll die in vain.’ Jinwoo was moving faster than he ever had before as blood splattered on his face from the gaping wound he’d just cut into another Lycan. Two more fell as Jinwoo swung swiftly, getting both through the neck in a single swing before they could react. He didn’t even hesitate when a Lycan’s fangs grazed his leg, only driving his sword down through its head.

[! Notice]

[Level Up]

‘I won’t be able to protect my loved ones!’ Jinwoo thought of Jinah, and of his mother in the hospital. The number of wolf monsters was thinning now as Jinwoo continued to fight. A swing of the sword decapitated another Lycan, he slammed a backfist into the steel jaws of a different Lycan, sending it to the floor. A swift stab through the head finished it off and he was on top of the next red wolf monster in a blur, the flash of his blade cleaving it in half. ‘I’ll end up losing everything.’

“Grrrr!” The remaining Steel-Fanged Lycans were all growling threateningly as they rushed at Jinwoo.

‘I can’t keep hiding in the shadows like a weakling.’ Jinwoo thought as he gripped his sword with both hands and charged forward. ‘If it means I can become stronger…’ He brought the sword back as far as his arms would allow for a wide swing. ‘…I’ll gladly master this System!!!’ he roared in his mind as the first Lycan’s head was split in two, horizontally, by his swing. “AAAAHHHH!!!” His internal roar became a physical one as he brought the sword upwards and caught another Lycan in the throat, slashing deeply into it.

The fight was more of a brawl as Jinwoo got more and more small injuries while killing one Lycan after another. He ignored the pain of the injuries, didn’t even flinch when his fist slammed into the steel jaws of any Lycan that got too close. There was no counting how many he killed, only taking out the next threat, fighting as hard as he could so that he could grow stronger and make it back to Jinah and his mother.

[! Notice]

[Level Up]

Quite a while later…Jinwoo was left standing amongst a pile of Lycan corpses. Blood painted the floor and walls everywhere close to the fight. Sweat ran down his face and he was breathing heavily. There was blood on his torn up hoodie and pants, and his once black and white shoes now looked black and red from being stained in blood. Not seeing or hearing anything else approaching, Jinwoo looked over his kills for a moment.

[! Notice]

[You have gained the Title: Beast Slayer]

“Hah…hah…” Jinwoo tried to steady his breathing, his heart hammering in his chest from the long and fierce battle. “What…is that?” He asked the screen curiously.

[Title: Beast Slayer]

[This Title is given to Hunters that excel at hunting beasts. All of your abilities will increase by 40% when fighting Beast Type Monsters.]

Jinwoo nodded at the screen, making it disappear. “That’s…useful here.” He said between heavy breaths. He slowly crouched down and touched the closest Lycan corpse to himself.

[Item: Lycan’s Fang]

[Level of Difficulty: None]

[Type: Miscellaneous]

[A large and sharp Lycan fang. You can store this item in your Inventory or sell it at the shop.]

Believing that collecting the loot was about the closest that he’d likely get to any kind of rest, Jinwoo touched the next Lycan.

[Item: Lycan’s Fang]

[Level of Difficulty: None]

[Type: Miscellaneous]

[A large and sharp Lycan fang. You can store this item in your Inventory or sell it at the shop.]

“This is gonna take a while…” Jinwoo said as he looked at the strewn out bodies all over this section of the subway station. With any luck, he should be able to catch his breath at least. While reaching for the next Lycan corpse, he brought up his Status window.

[Stats]

Name: Sung Jinwoo

Level: 10

Job: None

Fatigue: 51

Title: None

HP: 2,375

MP: 280

Strength: 28 (+10)

Vitality: 21

Agility: 20

Intellect: 19

Perception: 19

Available Ability Points: 0

[Stats]

Jinwoo wasn’t surprised by his Fatigue at all. He certainly felt every bit of it in his body right now. But he was a bit surprised by his current Level and how much his HP and MP had grown. “How long was I fighting these things?” He asked no one, placing his hand on the next dead Lycan, barely blinking when its fur and skin vanished and the processed pelt appeared in his free hand.

[Item: Lycan’s Pelt]

[Level of Difficulty: None]

[Type: Miscellaneous]

[The pelt of a Steel-Fanged Lycan. You can store this item in your Inventory or sell it at the shop.]

He still had many, many…MANY more dead Lycans to collect the loot from. With any luck, his minimal movement would help his Fatigue go down a bit before he moved on.

-Later-

Jinwoo was breathing slightly easier now as he walked through the subway station. He was still fatigued, he felt it deep in his muscles, but he carried his sword lightly resting on his shoulder, ready to wield it at a moment’s notice.

Clack

Clack

Clack

The familiar sound of claws on concrete made Jinwoo look to his left, his eyes tired as he saw another massive pack of Steel-Fanged Lycans slinking out of the darkness and through the ticket machines, shoving open the small plastic and glass doors easily with their size and strength.

‘Their names have changed from orange to white.’ Jinwoo noticed as the large pack of red wolves stalked closer towards him. ‘Does that mean I’m stronger than them now?’ He decided that he could figure that out by fighting as he readied his sword. “Guess I’ll get to try out this new Title too.” He charged at the Steel-Fanged Lycans before they could charge him. In a flash of steel, three of the monsters died, their heads split in two from the horizontal slash. “Whoa…” Jinwoo could definitely feel the difference that a 40% boost gave him as he pivoted out of the way of a lunge and stabbed straight through the next Lycan in the large pack.

-Later-

“The edge of the blade has been damaged.” Jinwoo looked at the battered and worn sword in his hand. Small cracks and chips littered both sides from all of the Lycans he’d cut through. It was also absolutely covered in blood, which Jinwoo was trying to wipe off on a dead Lycan’s fur. “I guess it’s only a matter of time before any weapon gets worn out…” He stood up and looked out over the area of the abandoned subway station, seeing wolf corpses strewn everywhere. “Even if you buy an expensive item, without proper maintenance, it’ll get destroyed after using it in a few Dungeons.” He still recalled the last time he’d splurged on a 500,000 Won dagger. It had certainly made hunting easier…but it had shattered against the boss. ‘I only earned three E-Rank Essence Stones that day…the income didn’t even cover the cost of the dagger. It’s why I stopped buying weapons and spent that money on our bills and groceries instead.’

Holding the sword horizontally in front of him, Jinwoo smiled at the weapon. “Thanks. Because of you…it looks like I was able to pull through.” He brought up his Inventory and looked at what he’d collected, so far. “I have sixty-eight Lycan Fangs, twenty-three Lycan Pelts, two worn daggers, a traveler’s cloak, and one Teleportation Stone.” The stone was easier to find than he’d thought, having been sitting on the counter of one of the abandoned shops in the wide open area that he’d just cleared of Steel-Fanged Lycans. The two worn daggers and the traveler’s cloak had been just lying around near one of the tracks. But they weren’t anything special beyond the daggers having mana in their metal.

Looking over the Teleportation Stone, it was just a simple oval-shaped stone with a strange, swirly blue glyph on it that faintly glowed with a blue light. It reminded him of pictures that he’d seen of Rune Stones before. Though this one wasn’t something that would give him a Skill if he broke it. Teleportation would be an incredibly useful Skill, but Jinwoo wouldn’t hope for something ELSE he’d never heard of to fall into his hands at this point.

“Should I go back?” Jinwoo asked himself, looking at the stone in his hand. After a moment of consideration, he clenched the stone lightly in his hand. “No. I don’t know if I’ll ever get the chance to boost my powers like this again. And what will happen to this Dungeon if I leave? Will it disappear? Will it break?” That was something he didn’t want to risk. “Even if it’s timed, like the Daily Quest, there’s no telling if there will be consequences for not killing the boss.” He still wasn’t sure what the System was, or if he could trust it to have his best interests in mind. ‘I might just be a pawn for the System. But I have to go forward. It would be my fault if anything happened with this Dungeon if I ran away.’ Jinwoo almost thought it was a bit ironic that running away had been his first plan if things went wrong. But now he was staying BECAUSE he didn’t want anything to go wrong and potentially harm others due to his cowardice.

Jinwoo headed deeper into the abandoned subway station, sword at his side to fight anything else that came at him as he changed locations.

His precaution proved correct as a small noise from the ceiling above got his attention. With a crash, a few of the ceiling tiles fell inward, and a large monkey with dark green fur and long claws on each finger came at him with a screech. A simple thrust upwards impaled the new monster like a spear. With a swing, Jinwoo tossed the corpse aside.

[! Notice]

[You have defeated a Razor-Claw Briga.]

“ROOOAAARRR!!!” A massive black cat, resembling a jaguar…but bigger, lunged towards Jinwoo from the shadows to his left.

“ROOOAAARRR!!!” A second black cat monster came at Jinwoo from the right direction in a pincer maneuver.

Jinwoo didn’t hesitate as he swung at the first black cat, decapitating it. He spun into his next strike, beheading the second black cat monster before it could sink it’s fangs and claws into him.

[! Notice]

[You have defeated a Black-Shadow Razan.]

The dead monsters painted the concrete floor with their blood while Jinwoo knelt down to touch each of them.

[Item: Black-Shadow Razan’s Fang]

[Level of Difficulty: None]

[Type: Miscellaneous]

[A sharp fang from a Razan. You can store this item in your Inventory or sell it at the shop.]

Touching the second one yielded the same results.

[Item: Black-Shadow Razan’s Fang]

[Level of Difficulty: None]

[Type: Miscellaneous]

[A sharp fang from a Razan. You can store this item in your Inventory or sell it at the shop.]

“What about the monkey?” Jinwoo reached over to touch the dead creature.

[Item: Razor-Claw Briga’s Claw]

[Level of Difficulty: None]

[Type: Miscellaneous]

[A long and sharp claw from a Briga. You can store this item in your Inventory or sell it at the shop.]

Jinwoo stood back up and continued on his way, making sure to keep his ears and eyes sharp for any traces of nearby monsters.

-Later-

[You have defeated a Steel-Fanged Lycan.]

[You have defeated a Black-Shadow Razan.]

[You have defeated a Razor-Claw Briga.]

[You have defeated a Black-Shadow Razan.]

[! Notice]

[Level Up]

‘I can definitely feel myself getting stronger.’ Jinwoo thought to himself as he looked at the monsters he’d slain easily. Unseen by him, wispy mana flowed off his body, like blue and black smoke, before fading away. “I’m sure of it now. This place is different that a regular Dungeon with a finite number of monsters. All of these monsters are either respawning, or being brought in continuously from whatever realm they’re from.” He looked around as he walked a bit further into the station to test his theory.

Crash

‘The monkey attacks from above.’ Jinwoo swung his sword above him and cut the Briga in half.

“ROOOAAARRR!!!” A Black-Shadow Razan attacked from the left.

“ROOOAAARRR!!!” A second Black-Shadow Razan came at him from his right a second later.

‘Then the cats attack from the left and right, one after another, in a pincer maneuver.’ Jinwoo cut both down before they could even pounce at him. “It’s exactly like a game where the enemies attack in a set pattern.”

There was the chance that the monster used these tactics naturally to hunt, back where they came from. But it seemed almost too predictable to be natural.

“Grrroooaaarrr!” A Steel-Fanged Lycan leapt at him from the side.

Jinwoo sliced it in half, vertically, and let both halves hit the floor with a wet splat. “And occasionally a Lycan leaps out after both cats are killed.” He rattled off the only variation in the pattern that he’d noticed. The fact that all of the names of the monsters had turned white also proved another thing that Jinwoo had suspected. “The colors do indicate danger. White means they’re relatively weak. Orange means they’re about the same strength as you or a bit higher. So, red must mean that the monster significantly stronger than you.”

After collecting the loot from the newly slain monsters, Jinwoo’s eyes were drawn to the stairs heading down to another rail line.

“I must be a lot stronger than when I started out.” Jinwoo looked down the staircase warily. “Still, at my current Level…I might not be able to beat the beast down there.” He felt the hairs on his body stand upright. “I’m getting goosebumps.” That seemed like a bad sign, for sure. “My Perception stat has increased…which is why I know, for sure, that lurking down there is a Monster.” But he was at the end of the station now…there was only this place left to go. “I can feel how strong it is…” Jinwoo brought up his Status screen.

[Stats]

Name: Sung Jinwoo

Level: 15

Job: None

Fatigue: 54

Title: Beast Slayer

HP: 3,500

MP: 430

Strength: 33 (+10)

Vitality: 26

Agility: 25

Intellect: 24

Perception: 24

Available Ability Points: 0

[Stats]

“I don’t think I’m gaining any more Levels fighting the monsters up here.” Jinwoo had only gotten his last Level Up after circling the area twice, which was also how he’d noticed the pattern of the monsters’ attacks. “And my sword won’t hold up if I fight more unnecessary battles.” The blade was cracked and chipped even worse than before after the number of monsters it had cut through in the Instance Dungeon.

With a steadying breath, Jinwoo began to descend the stairs towards the strong presence he felt. While walking down the staircase, Jinwoo’s noticed more moss and weeds growing on the stairs…but also that the staircase was much longer than it should be.

“Is it just me, or are these stairs way longer than normal?” Jinwoo glanced back over his shoulder, as if to check how many steps he’d descended, before looking ahead again. Only a few moments later, however, and he did reach the bottom of the stairs…only to find another surprise. “This can’t be Hapjeong Station…” The entire train line down here was submerged in water and covered in what looked like years of moss and water plant growth.

The water moved a distance away and Jinwoo’s eyes snapped towards it, his Perception stat high enough to pick up on the tiniest ripples caused by something moving below the surface. The water kicked up in large waves as something massive swam through it at high speed.

‘So fast!’ Jinwoo’s eyes widened as he was only able to bring his sword between him and whatever was lunging towards him from the water.

Clang

Bam

Jinwoo hacked out a breath, the wind almost knocked out of him from the hit and then crashing into the wall and cracking the concrete. He tasted blood in his mouth and spit it out while trying to take in enough air to fix his breathing. His eyes widened as he saw his sword…or what was left of it. ‘My sword!’ The already worn blade had snapped entirely, leaving only enough of it to count as a dagger. Not wanting to stay in a vulnerable position, Jinwoo stood up, his eyes locked onto the newly revealed monster. “I thought I’d leveled up quite a bit…”

The monster was a large, menacing snake-like creature with distinct blue scales with small red scales along its sides. It looked like a titanic cobra and when curled up like it was, was easily the size of an average house, with glowing amber eyes, and a long black forked tongue.

[King of the Swamp, Blue Venom-Fanged Kasaka]

“I can’t believe its still orange…” Jinwoo said with a grunt of pain.

“HISSSS!!!” The Kasaka opened its mouth wide as it hissed, revealing its two huge fangs, each as long as a shortsword and looking just as sharp.

Jinwoo wiped the blood from the side of his mouth as he stared down the boss monster. “Are you the one in charge here?” Just a cursory glance over the snake monster made one thing clear to Jinwoo. ‘Blade attacks aren’t going to do much against those scales. Punching him won’t do much good either.’

Kasaka lunged forward in a blur, mouth open wide and fangs extended to pierce into Jinwoo and deliver it’s toxic venom. With a pivot to the side, Jinwoo brought his broken sword against the rapidly moving body, trying to slash through the blue scales.

‘It’s using its speed and body weight to attack!’ Jinwoo realized as sparks flew through the air from the metal of his broken blade striking the fast-moving blue scales. ‘I have to break through its defenses while it’s attacking me!’ The Kasaka reared up and exposed its huge fangs again. ‘But how am I supposed to cut through those thick scales?!’

“HISSSSSS!!!” The Kasaka hissed loudly before blurring forward in a lunge. When Jinwoo managed to dodge its strike, the titanic serpent ungulated its body and struck every wall and pillar within a dozen meters of itself, trying to crush its prey. It’s rapidly moving body came at Jinwoo, forcing him to raised his broken sword to block again. Sparks flew through the air and Jinwoo’s feet skidded across the wet concrete floor.

“Ugh! I’ll die if I take a direct hit!” Jinwoo grunted out, only for the tip of the tail to knock his arms high as it sped past him. The instant that Jinwoo was off-balance, the Kasaka surrounded him on all sides with its long body, moving swiftly while closing its coils. “Shit!” Jinwoo cursed as there was no way out of the encirclement. “Guh!” He staggered as one coil struck him from the left, and that opened him up to being hit from behind with another thick coil. “Agh!” He stumbled and hit his knees, barely avoiding a third coil that would’ve struck him head-on. Jinwoo spat out more blood, but he could feel it running down his face as well from another injury. “I thought I’d gotten a little stronger, but was that not enough…?!” He picked up his broken sword as his senses screamed at him about the approaching danger. Forcing himself to his feet, he managed to clash against the Kasaka’s enormous fangs before they could pierce him. How much stronger do I have to get…” He deflected the head of the monster snake, even as he felt like his bones were rattling. “…in order to overcome my past?!”

Memories flooded his mind, shortly after he’d become a Hunter, when Mr. Chiyul had told him of the nickname that the other Hunters had given him: ‘The Weakest Hunter of all Mankind’. The kindly older man had told him to work hard and prove the others wrong, and Jinwoo had been prepared to do just that. But no matter how hard he tried, he barely ever improved, constrained as he was to his E-Rank, and the sheer pittance of strength his Awakening had granted him.

“Haa…hah…” Jinwoo forced himself to stay standing as the Kasaka turned to look at him again, its long black tongue flicking out again. “I’m weak. That’s why I got that nickname…” He dashed forward just as the Kasaka lunged at him for another attempt to bite. Then Jinwoo blurred and the Kasaka struck empty air while sparks danced along the length of its body for a dozen meters.

[Skill: Sprint activated]

[Your speed has increased by 30%]

[1 mana will be consumed every minute while the effect is in use]

“HISSSS!!!” The Kasaka hissed in aggravation, twisting and thrashing its body around to try and crush Jinwoo.

“Even I think I’m pathetic!” Jiwoo roared out as he left dozens of tiny scratches along the monster snake’s scales, while using his buffed speed to avoid its thrashing. “I’m ashamed to be such a weak Hunter!” He leapt over a coil that scraped the floor into gravel as it moved. “I CAN’T PROTECT ANYONE!!!”

He thought of the giant statues in Cartenon Temple. Their overwhelming power made everyone kneel and bow, regardless of any strengths or strategies. Fake hypocrisy wouldn’t protect him or anyone else. In the face of the terror that was overwhelming power, even those who tried to stand against the fear would quickly be brought to their knees again.

‘And in the face of such power…even if people praise your knowledge, or your wisdom…they’ll do whatever’s necessary to survive.’ Jinwoo thought as the memory of the other Hunters abandoning them to escape flashed through his mind. ‘All of them looked down on me because I was weak. I MUST GET STRONGER!!!’ He matched the speed of Kasaka’s rapidly slithering body and slashed at the scales with his broken sword, only managing to leave some scratches on them again. ‘I came all this way to get stronger!’

The tail of the Kasaka whipped through the air from behind Jinwoo and sent him flying into the nearest wall with a loud crash, shattering more of the concrete. The colossal serpent slithered towards the small dust cloud and reared upwards, ready to strike again.

“I must…” Jinwoo shakily got back to his feet. “I must become stronger…” He said with a nearly threatening resolve as the wispy blue and black mana wafted off his body for just a fleeting moment.

“HISSSSS!!!” Kasaka hissed louder than ever and bared its fangs, venom dripping from them, in a threat display, its hood raised to make it look even bigger than it already was. It was little more than a flash of blue as it lunged at Jinwoo this time.

Jinwoo parried the titanic snake, grunting in pain as his entire body shook from the blow. ‘Not yet.’ He blurred as he sprinted after the head of the snake, rapidly slashing at the moving body while doing sound, sending sparks into the air as water splashed around him with every step he took. The coil he was attacking shot towards him and forced Jinwoo backwards as he his sword broke a bit more, the sparks from the metal flying in every direction. ‘Not yet!’

The Kasaka turned and lunged towards Jinwoo, and he sprinted straight at it head-on.

“Compared to the statue of God…” Jinwoo roared out as he and Kasaka rapidly approached one another. “…compared to the fear I felt that day…” He brought his ruined sword forward, targeting one specific area. “…YOU DON’T SCARE ME ONE BIT!!!”

Squish

The worn and shattered blade found one of the few soft spots on the Kasaka’s body…its eye.

“SSSSHHHHAAAAA!!!” The Kasaka’s pained hissed reverberated throughout the train line that its swamp habitat had overtaken. Blood flew through air as Jinwoo passed the serpent in a full sprint, but he didn’t account for one thing…the Blue Venom-Fanged Kasaka was a viper. It’s eyes only made up roughly one quarter of its sensory abilities. What made up the other seventy-five percent were its long forked tongue…and it’s pit organs that sensed heat. The Kasaka instantly turned its head and snapped at Jinwoo’s back, managing to graze him and introduce its combination Hemotoxic and Neurotoxic venom into his body.

Jinwoo’s veins began to visibly distend and his body locked up as the paralysis took effect.

[! Notice]

[A harmful substance has been detected in your body.]

[Buff: Detoxification has been activated.]

[You are being healed.]

[3, 2, 1… You have been successfully detoxified.]

Jinwoo spun and grabbed onto Kasaka’s neck s the snake’s head sped past him.

[Fatigue: 88]

The small screen popped up like a warning.

“I poured so much into my Strength stat!” Jinwoo roared out as his fingers crushed some of the scales and his arms tightened around the titanic serpent’s neck. “I should have enough strength to…”

He was cut off as Kasaka reared up until its head and neck slammed into the ceiling, cracking the concrete and sending rubble raining down to splash into the water below.

Jinwoo tasted blood again, and smelled it too, feeling it pour from his nostrils. “Accept Status Recovery!” He spat out through the blood in his mouth. The familiar soft green light enveloped Jinwoo and restored his HP, while eliminating his Fatigue. “Die!” He bellowed out as he squeezed the Kasaka’s neck even tighter, cracking more of its scales as the snake thrashed and dragged him against the walls, shattering more and more of the concrete. “DIE!” Jinwoo felt his arms creak and pop as he squeezed tighter around the serpent’s neck. The Kasaka dove down and slammed Jinwoo into the floor with all its might and body weight, the concrete floor shattering into gravel. “DIE!!!” Jinwoo felt something give under his strength, like a ‘pop’ within the colossal snake. Blood erupted from the Kasaka’s mouth and it slumped to the ground, its long body thrashing a few more times before going still.

-Hospital-

The doctor in-charge of the wing were Jinwoo was staying for observation stopped by the reception desk and spoke politely to the nurse on duty. “Is Mr. Sung Jinwoo not back yet?”

“No.” The nurse shook her head once. “He left this morning.”

“The sun set a while ago. He’s cutting it close with the curfew.” The doctor mentioned as he looked at his watch. It wouldn’t be the first time a Hunter had simply left after feeling better. All they could really do as a hospital was inform the Hunter Association that a Hunter had left before they’d been cleared to leave though.

The nurse looked at Sung Jinwoo’s chart on her computer screen for a second. “Well, he’s doing much better and will be discharged soon anyway.”

The doctor sighed lightly. “It’s hard to tell with Hunters. You never know what might happen. He should be in his room recovering.” He shook his head, having dealt with more than a few Hunters while working here. “They say high-ranking Hunters are millionaires, but low-ranking Hunters don’t make that much more than regular people, and are constantly in danger…I don’t’ get why they do it.” He shuddered slightly as some bad memories played in his mind. “You should see some of the Hunters that’ve come into the intensive care unit before…it’s horrifying.”

“How’s so?” The nurse asked, having not seen a Hunter come into the ICU herself.

“I have no idea what goes on in those Dungeons, but the injuries they sustain are severe. They come in here drenched in blood…sometimes poisoned with toxins we’ve never seen before, or we have to peel them out of what remains of their armor.” The doctor recalled the injuries he’d seen over his last few years of work. “They’re totally different than the patients we normally get. I’m amazed that they’re able to survive under those circumstances.”

The nurse agreed after hearing just some of what the doctor had seen in the ICU. “It’s a miracle that they’re even able to make it out of those Dungeons alive if they’re sustaining those kinds of injuries.”

The doctor shrugged once. “That’s the thing…it’s different with Hunters. A weak Hunter is still much stronger than the average person. They may look normal, but they’re monsters inside.”

-Instance Dungeon-

[! Notice]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

[Level Up]

“Ha…ha…hahaha…” Jinwoo managed to laugh at the screen in front of him. “I guess…this means I’ve…become a little bit stronger, right? He said between ragged breaths, having pulled himself out from beneath the dead Kasaka. Now sitting on the floor and leaning against the immense, dead snake.

[! Notice]

[You have defeated the King of the Swamp, Blue Venom-Fanged Kasaka]

The System then granted Jinwoo the rewards for slaying the boss monster.

[Item: Kasaka’s Venom Gland]

[Level of Difficulty: A]

[Type: Poison]

[A pouch containing the refined venom of a Kasaka. Upon defeating a Kasaka, you have a small chance of obtaining this item. Drinking the venom will make your skin tough, but your muscles will be permanently damaged from the poison.]

[Effect – Kasaka’s Ironclad Scales: 20% Physical Damage Reduction]

[Side Effect – Muscle Damage: -35 Strength]

Another screen popped up right after.

[Item: Kasaka’s Venom Fang]

[Level of Difficulty: C]

[Type: Short Sword]

[Attack +25]

[A short sword made from a Kaska’s venomous fang. The Kasaka’s venom still remains within it, causing paralysis and bleeding when used on an opponent. You may store this item in your Inventory or sell it at the Shop.]

[Effect – Paralyze: The opponent will be paralyzed depending on resistance.]

[Effect – Bleed: The opponent will lose 1% health every second.]

Jinwoo was already impressed by his rewards, but before he could do anything, a new screen popped up.

[! Notice]

[You defeated The King of the Swamp, Blue Venom-Fanged Kasaka, with more than 50% of your HP remaining.]

[Bonus Drops have been awarded.]

“Huh?” Jinwoo blinked as two more screen appeared.

[Item: Kasaka’s Venom Fang]

[Level of Difficulty: C]

[Type: Short Sword]

[Attack +25]

[A short sword made from a Kaska’s venomous fang. The Kasaka’s venom still remains within it, causing paralysis and bleeding when used on an opponent. You may store this item in your Inventory or sell it at the Shop.]

[Effect – Paralyze: The opponent will be paralyzed depending on resistance.]

[Effect – Bleed: The opponent will lose 1% health every second.]

Jinwoo looked between the two screens and saw they were identical. “A second short sword?”

[Item: Kasaka’s Iron Scales]

[Level of Difficulty: C]

[Type: Armor]

[Armor made from the tough scales of a Kasaka; providing great protection from physicals blows and harmful magic. You may store this item in your Inventory or sell it at the Shop.]

[Effect – Physical Damage reduced by 20%.]

[Effect – Magic Damage reduced by 15%.]

“Whew…” Jinwoo whistled at his double reward. “I didn’t think testing out whether or not I could save the daily Status Recovery would lead to this.” He looked himself over, seeing his hoodie wars torn and his pants were ripped all over the legs. “My clothes are trashed…and my sword is scrap now.” He looked at the broken blade stabbed into the dead Kasaka’s eye. “My body is a bit sore too.” Jinwoo stood up with a grunt and pulled his two new short swords out of his Inventory. “But I got two new weapons that’re even stronger than Mr. Kim’s sword and some good armor too.” He let the new armor equip from his Inventory and felt a light weight settle on his torso. Looking down, his new armor looked like blue scale mail, as was somewhat expected, if Jinwoo was being honest. “Not too bad, even if it’s not a full set of armor yet.” He opened his Status screen to check out his new strength and the buffs from his weapons and armor.

[Stats]

Name: Sung Jinwoo

Level: 18

Job: None

Fatigue: 10

Title: Beast Slayer

HP: 4,175

MP: 520

Strength: 36 (+50)

Vitality: 29

Agility: 28

Intellect: 27

Perception: 27

Physical Damage Reduction: 20%

Magic Damage Reduction: 15%

Available Ability Points: 0

[Stats]

“A total of eighty-six points in Strength when I have both short swords equipped is nothing to scoff at.” Sure, he’d figured out that it only applied to his actual attacks and not, say, his ability to lift something; but more than doubling his attack power was nearly irreplaceable to Jinwoo as a Hunter. “Still, the weapons and armor are easy to use.” He said aloud while putting he two short swords back into his Inventory. “But this one…seems a bit trickier.” He looked at the description of Kasaka’s Venom Gland, more specifically at the side effect of ‘Muscle Damage’ and the permanent debuff it caused.

It only took him a few seconds before the proverbial lightbulb went off.

“Wait…if I’m immune to all poisons…” He pulled the little bag filled with the refined venom from his Inventory and untied it. With one quick inhale to steady himself, he poured the venom into his mouth and swallowed if quickly to try and avoid tasting it.

[! Notice]

[A harmful substance has been detected in your body.]

[Buff: Detoxification has been activated.]

[You are being healed.]

[3, 2, 1… You have been successfully detoxified.]

Jinwoo looked at his Status screen quickly, hoping his thoughts were correct.

[Stats]

Name: Sung Jinwoo

Level: 18

Job: None

Fatigue: 10

Title: Beast Slayer

HP: 4,175

MP: 520

Strength: 36

Vitality: 29

Agility: 28

Intellect: 27

Perception: 27

Physical Damage Reduction: 40%

Magic Damage Reduction: 15%

Available Ability Points: 0

[Stats]

“Yes!” Jinwoo actually cheered at doubling his Physical Damage Reduction. While he only had a permanent twenty percent reduction from the venom, as long as he wore his armor, then he’d be taking forty percent less damage from all physical strikes in the Dungeons! ‘Maybe I won’t get hurt so badly anymore.’ He could almost picture Joohee’s expression if he told her that he wasn’t hobbling out of every Dungeon he went into any more. Jinwoo was sure the Healer would be absolutely thrilled by that.

[! Notice]

[You have defeated the boss. The Dungeon will now be restored to its original state.]

Jinwoo watched as Kasaka vanished into motes of light and then the entire Dungeon did the same until only Hapjeong Station, as Jinwoo knew it, remained. The subway station once more looked perfect and clean, as it always did. Spotting the broken sword that had helped him get through the Dungeon now lying on the floor, Jinwoo picked it up and carried it with him. “Time to go. I wonder how long I was in here?” He’d lost track after fighting the first large pack of Steel-Fanged Lycans.

When Jinwoo walked back up the stairs of Exit 3, he blinked as night had fallen…but he quickly noticed that there were no people around on the streets. ‘There’s nobody around? What time is it?’

“What are you doing? Why did you step out of there?” A soldier inf full combat fatigues, and holding an automatic rifle, questioned Jinwoo suddenly. “Didn’t you hear the announcement?”

‘A soldier?’ Jinwoo wondered why a soldier was out on the streets with full combat gear. “What happened?”

The soldier looked at Jinwoo oddly for a second. “Wait, are you being serious right now?” It was then he noticed the scale mail-like armor Jinwoo was wearing and the broken sword in his hand. “Are you a Hunter?”

Jinwoo almost flinched. “Yes, I am, but…” The familiar excuse/apology of being ‘The World’s Weakest Hunter’ nearly spilled from his lips automatically, if he hadn’t been cut off by the soldier.

“Ah! I apologize!” The soldier gave him a salute of respect. “Let me escort you. Right this way.” He motioned down the street and started walking.

“Uh…right.” Jinwoo agreed and followed after the man. As soon as they rounded the corner of the street, a few smashed cars and the corpses of multiple monsters littered the street. ‘Looks like a Gate opened up nearby.’ He turned to look at the soldier. “Did the monsters get through the Gate?”

The soldier nodded once. “The ones in this area have all been taken care of. There’s just one large beast left.” He noticeably sped up his walking speed and Jinwoo increased his own to keep up.

‘Maybe it’s because of my Perception stat, but I can feel it.’ Jinwoo’s eyes almost seemed to glow faintly, and in his vision, waves of mana, almost like lightning in the air, were visible. ‘It’s a boss.’

A couple of streets over the road was smashed in by the gigantic stone fist of a golem monster. The creature was mostly deeply blue and grey stone, but its face and joints were all shining with a powerful blue light of mana from within.

“ROOOAAAHHH!!!” The golem bellowed out loudly. The weapons of multiple Hunters hit its body, but it didn’t get so much as a scratch.

Behind a line of caution tape on the sidewalk, a large crowd of people were watching the fights, many of them recording it on their smartphones.

“Please don’t take photos!” One soldier instructed the crowd.

“Please, evacuate the area quickly!” Another soldier tried to get the people to leave the danger zone. Unfortunately, none of them listened at all.

Instead, all that came from the crowd were complaints.

“What are those Hunters doing?”

“How long are they gonna fight?”

“I wish they’d hurry up and get rid of it.”

“This is a complete mess.”

“They’re causing so much damage. What if the property values go down?”

The soldier tried again to make the people retreat to safety. “Please, evacuate the area!

In the middle of the battle, one of the Fighters called out to the two Healers. “Hey, Healers! Focus your heals on the Tank!”

“We’re doing the best we can!” One of the two Healers shouted back, pouring more mana into the healing spell they were casting on the Tank, the only D-Rank Hunter among the group, aside from the Healers themselves. “Damage dealers! What’re you all doing?! The boss doesn’t look like it’s taking any damage!”

“It’s defenses are too strong!” An Archer Type Hunter called back while sending another arrow into the ‘eye’ of the golem to no effect. “We don’t have any Mage Type Hunters to counter it!”

The soldier escorting Jinwoo tried to push his way through the gathered ground and make a path for Jinwoo to join the battle. “Excuse me! Please let me through!”

Jinwoo watched the battle from behind the crowd that were far too foolish to realize their lives were in danger if the boss monster shifted its focus onto them. ‘Is it because they were called here at the last minute? Their attacks aren’t coordinated.’ Looking at the Hunters fighting directly, Jinwoo felt certain they were all low-ranked. “I think eight of them are E-Rank and one of them is D-Rank. But the D-Rank can’t land any fatal blows because he’s a Tank and too busy holding the boss monster at bay.” His eyes looked towards the back line and the Healers. “Two D-rank Healers…that’s not enough in this situation.” If the group had a B-Rank Healer like Miss Joohee, they might stand a chance with her buffs, but as it was, the group had no way to overcome this golem monster. ‘But Miss Joohee is still recovering from her trauma. And she was already going to retire and join the hospital. There’s no way they could deploy her here right now. I’m still the same…’ He cut that thought off instantly.

“No. I must overcome this.” Jinwoo raised his right arm, which was clutching he broken sword, and pulled his ragged sleeve down until it rested around his elbow securely. His right leg stretched back behind him as he cocked back his arm. ‘The boss is around D-Rank. It’s a step down from the Kasaka I killed. So, I should be able to breakdown its defenses and give the Hunters a chance!’ His arms muscles bulged noticeably as he tensed his arms to prepare for the hardest throw he could muster. ‘I need to land a single, heavy blow to smash through those hunks of stone!’ He threw the broken sword like a spear or javelin, and with all his might. ‘GO!’

The ragged weapon blurred through the air, unnoticed by all on its course towards the boss monster.

“At this rate, we’re all gonna die!” The male Healer yelled out as he tried to keep the Tank buffed with defense spells to help mitigate the damage the man was taking from the golem monster…to little avail.

“If the high-ranking Hunters don’t show up soon…” The female Healer worried as she poured more of her dwindling mana into her healing spell to try and keep the Tank alive. “…the Tank is going to be killed if he keeps going like this!”

The Tank took another blow from the boss monster with his shield, blood pouring from the corners of his mouth as he ground his teeth against the agony throughout his body. “N-No…not yet…” He bit out as he felt his legs about to buckle beneath him. “H-Huh?” The man blinked as he saw a blur strike the golem’s face…and then shatter it into fragments, leaving barely any of the head intact.

“We did it!” One of the Hunters yelled out.

“Our attacks are getting through! It’s collapsing!” The Archer Hunter called out to the hastily formed Party.

The morale rose exponentially as the Hunters rallied and attacked with all the strength and ferocity they had left, all of them unaware that the boss was already dying. With a flurry of attacks and a shield bash from the Tank to knock the collapsing monster onto its back; a thunderous boom of stones slamming into the street heralded the end of the battle.

“We did it!”

“We defeated it!”

The celebration was instant from the E-Ranks and D-Ranks.

But the Tank walked closer to the rubble, his face covered with confusion. ‘None of our attacks were working at all. Up until that blur destroyed the head, nothing we did had any impact.’ He looked around the rubble of what used to be the golem monster and spotted an unfamiliar weapon. ‘That boss monster didn’t flinch even when an entire Party of Hunters attacked it. How could this dagger…no, sword, how could this broken thing have made its head explode?’ He picked up the nearly falling apart weapon and brought it over to the closest soldier. “Sir, did you see who threw this?”

The soldier, that happened to have been Jinwoo’s escort, looked at the broken blade. “Oh, yes! It belongs to that Hunter over there…” He trailed off when he didn’t see Jinwoo anywhere. “That’s strange, where’d he go?”

“A Hunter with enough destructive power to take out a D-Rank boss monster in one hit…?” The Tank’s eyes widened as the only logical answer was obvious. “A high-rank Hunter?”

On the next street over, Jinwoo was thinking back on the fight. ‘I didn’t think a single blow would kill it. Maybe the others had worn it down more than I thought?’ He felt rain begin to fall and looked up at the sky, only now noticing the thick clouds above the city. “Huh, I guess I did need this.” He pulled the small umbrella from his Inventory and opened it to keep the rain off of him as he walked back towards the hospital. With any luck, he’d make it back right before the curfew time.

-End Chapter-

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Well now, some things have definitely changed, huh?

While Jinwoo still gets the key to the Instance Dungeon, his ‘research’ into RPGs online has led to him figuring out a little bit of the System early! He’s pretty sure the System might have a crafting function, and he’s understanding the stats and what they do better earlier on. Not to mention he tested out both saving a Status Recovery for when he really needs it, and his Sprint Skill in battle!

Using his Status Recovery at the right time even allowed him to get Bonus Drops from slaying Kasaka and having more than half his HP left! Now he has TWO shortswords and their buffs and special effects, as well as new armor!

He also wasn’t a slow boy with the Kasaka Refined Venom and realized (something like a week or two early) from experiencing Kasaka’s venom in the fight, that he’s immune to all poisons, so he can get the permanent buff, without the permanent debuff!

If your curious about the numbers and why they don’t match Canon…it’s because the numbers in Canon are just whatever the author wanted when they wrote each individual Status screen. My buddies: Primordial Vortex and Tog, as well as myself, racked our brains for WEEKS if not MONTHS, trying to make sense of it, only to find out that it followed no linear progression or kept any consistency. So, we figured out our own growth rates that make the end of series numbers make some sense and decided to use that instead.

Hopefully, all the hard work will be appreciated by the readers!

So, our boy Jinwoo not only is getting a better handle on the System, but he’s doing it much earlier. He’s getting stronger, getting more loot and drops, and instead of daggers, he’s gained a pair of short swords…what could that lead to, I wonder?

How much more will Jinwoo’s path change from canon, and how will that change (along with the various lore changes I’ve made but won’t explain in-story for a while) effect all those around him?

Keep reading to find out!

Until I get your reviews, later!