I Alone Level-Up

gulp

Even after all of his progress, Jinwoo could not help but be wary of what was to come. Still, his excitement in the antic.i.p.ation of growth eclipsed his fear.

A moment ago, while he was looking for a suitable spot to start the quest, Jinwoo had used his phone to look through various video game wikis on cla.s.ses.

[New skill.]

[Growth benefits.]

[Cla.s.s-specific weapons.]

[Cla.s.s-only quests]

[...Etc]

One thing was common across different video games: cla.s.s advancement had many great benefits and rewards.

"And it became possible for me at level forty."

Of course, not everything he found was positive. There were forum posts here and there complaining:

[I"m worried that I picked the wrong cla.s.s.]

[F***, if I knew, I would"ve picked a different cla.s.s.]

[I messed up on my build. I think I"m done with this game.]

[Do I have to delete my character?]

...Well, they were still talking about video games.

Jinwoo wasn"t that worried about what cla.s.s he would pick. He had solely used a dagger up until now, and even his skills were all related to an a.s.sa.s.sin cla.s.s.

"Dagger skills and something like "Stealth"."

On top of that, his attributes were largely focused on strength and agility. Because of this, Jinwoo couldn"t think of obtaining a cla.s.s other than a.s.sa.s.sin. Thinking about the idea, Jinwoo summoned Casaka"s Poisoned Fang from his inventory.

shooo-

The dagger"s grip felt perfect in his hand. He nodded to himself.

"Yep, this is what I"m used to."

With the dagger in hand, Jinwoo moved his gaze towards the quest screen.

"Well then…"

He began planning for as many possibilities as possible. After taking a moment to prepare his heart, Jinwoo replied to the message.

The Cla.s.s Advancement Quest has arrived.

Would you like to accept? (Y/N)

"Accept."

The moment he spoke the word in his mind, a messaged followed.

ring~

You"ve accept the Cla.s.s Advancement Quest.

A Dungeon will be created for the quest.

"A Dungeon… will be created?"

Before he could fully grasp the meaning of the message, a change occurred in the s.p.a.ce in front of him.

wooooong-

A tiny black hole appeared before his eyes, but that was just the start.

woo wooooong-

The hole that was as small as a bean grew to a size of a coin, then a volleyball, then finally became large enough for a man to enter.

"This is…?"

Jinwoo"s eyes were wide open. After accepting the quest, he had expected another information screen with the quest"s information would follow but not this…

A Gate had formed before his eyes.

"To think that it would even make a Gate…"

The phenomenon in front of him was exactly the same as the Gates that appeared in the world. Only difference was that it was a bit smaller than the one he had seen. The System"s message continued, beckoning him in.

Please enter the Dungeon through the Gate.

"Let"s be calm."

Jinwoo calmed his heart.

Yes.

If he thought about it, whether he entered using a key or through a Gate, a Dungeon would be waiting on the other side. He was just surprised at the creation of an artificial Gate in front of his eyes. While he had entered many Gates before, he had never seen one being created. When he reached that line of thought, an idea appeared in his head,

"Wait… Could other Hunters enter this Gate?"

Well, there was no time to experiment. There weren"t any other Hunters in the vicinity, nor did he know of any Hunters that would come running if.. he... called….

Jinwoo erased Yoo Jinho"s face from his mind and shook his head.

"What would I do if something went wrong."

The System"s message blinked as if reminding him,

ring~

Please enter the Dungeon through the Gate.

Jinwoo was snapped back to reality by the electronic tone. He slapped his cheeks to focus.

"Now"s not the time to get distracted."

Success here would mean obtaining a cla.s.s and other rewards. He dreaded what failure would entail. He had to be focused.

"Whew-"

After a deep breath, Jinwoo held Casaka"s Poisoned Fang in a reverse grip and entered the Gate.

-

You"ve entered the Dungeon.

"Huh?"

To be honest, he had entered the Gate with a great antic.i.p.ation. Contrary to his expectations, there was not much to be surprised at inside. It was just a simple cave Dungeon.

"It"s the same as always…?"

He had heard that high-level Dungeons would connect to different types of interiors and expected something similar but was disappointed. A special message did appear, however,

ring~

In this place, usage of potions and the shop is restricted, and leveling up will not restore your status.

Jinwoo put away the dagger after confirming that there were no magic beasts around.

"...Looks like this won"t be easy."

Since this was a special Dungeon for cla.s.s advancement, it seemed that there were a few conditions. The fact that he could not heal himself through potions or level-ups was particularly troubling.

"That means even small damage will acc.u.mulate over time."

An injury would spell the end here. Without means of recovery, he would have to be cautious of every move he made.

"I really, really have to be focused."

Jinwoo closed the message box. As he always did, he checked the exit of the Dungeon.

Until your cla.s.s advancement is complete, you cannot leave.

The moment he placed his hand on the Gate, that message appeared. He put his back into it, but the exit did not budge.

"..."

He retracted his hand.

"So the path to retreat is blocked."

He had yet to figure out the difficulty of the Dungeon. Additionally, he could not recover his health here. Finally, there was no leaving until he was finished.

The risk this time was very high. Even the bravest of Hunters would hesitate before entering with such conditions.

"But a high risk doesn"t necessary mean that it"s bad."

High risk equaled high rewards. He had learned as much from his experiences. If all these conditions made the quest harder, perhaps an equally great reward waited at the end.

Well, there was only one way to find out.

"Time to go."

Jinwoo began to walk deeper into the cave. He could not see the end of the tunnel and at the same time did not see or sense any magic beasts.

"Wait, since this is the System"s territory, should it be "monsters" and not "magic beasts"?"

Eh, in the end, they were both dangerous beings.

There was one difference in this place compared to the normal cave Dungeons. The cave"s walls were decorated with torches, placed evenly across the path.

"Torches instead of glowing rocks. Hmm..."

The torches were not an effective source of light. Even if there were many of them, it was not enough to completely illuminate the dark tunnel. As such, the flickering light produced many shadows here and there. The combination of the shadows and the silence produced a very dreary atmosphere compared to a normal Dungeon.

"Well, I don"t have any problems seeing."

What bothered him was the impact it had on his mood.

Jinwoo went over and removed the closest torch from the wall. The way forward became slightly brighter.

"This is better."

Jinwoo smiled in satisfaction. He took a brief look behind him, then started forward again, torch in hand.

-

How long did he walk in this straight path?

After some time, he finally came across a turn. Around the corner, he felt several presences.

"Finally."

He carefully dropped the torch on the ground.

shooo-

In the place of the torch, his right hand now held a dagger. He briefly considered using "Stealth" to gain a preemptive advantage but decided to conserve his mana; potions could not be used after all. If he carelessly spent his mana, he might not be able to use a skill in a pivotal moment.

"...They"re coming this way."

Jinwoo hugged the wall with his back, then waited for the enemies to come around the corner.

clang, clang

A metallic sound rang while they were walking towards him. The sound came closer and closer.

clang, clang

At the rambunctious sound, Jinwoo wondered,

"Are they holding some sort of a chain weapon?"

He was curious but did not worry. He would find out in a moment.

"5, 4, 3."

He held his dagger in a reverse grip and held his breath. He did not want the sound of his breathing to be heard.

"2, 1."

clang, clang.

Finally, their shadows appeared around the corner.

"...0."

As Jinwoo finished counting down, the thing showed itself. Jinwoo immediately went for its neck.

Clang!

The sound of metal striking metal rang loudly. His dagger did not pierce the target.

"Armor?"

Jinwoo was surprised. Confirming the ident.i.ty of his enemy, he quickly backed way.

"Human?"

It was a knight equipped with a full set of armor. Even its face was covered by a helmet. Just in case, Jinwoo called toward it,

"Oy!"

The knight reacted by charging toward Jinwoo.

clang, clang, clang!

The knight vigorously used his shoulders to try and tackle Jinwoo, but the Hunter easily twisted his body to dodge the attack. The knight could not stop its momentum and ran forward for a bit before stopping.

"Not human?"

After expanding his sense a bit more, Jinwoo was sure. The knight did not have a heartbeat. It was a magic beast, or rather, a monster that he had never seen before. To think that there"d be a monster covered from head to toe in armor.

"So…"

It was almost as if he was fighting another human.

s.h.i.+ng!

The knight turned around and unsheathed the sword at its side. As Jinwoo thought, it had no intention of letting him leave alive. Confirming each other"s hostility, Jinwoo"s eyes became a level sharper.

"Sprint!"

Your movement speed is increased by 40%.

The first to strike would be the victor!

Before the knight could reach him, Jinwoo entered its range first.

slas.h.!.+

The Hunter dodged its panicked swing and stabbed its armor here and there.

Clang! Clang!

But he could not do any damage.

"The armor"s too thick."

Not only that, it could almost be described as slippery. His dagger helplessly slid off and was deflected everytime he struck the armor. The knight swung its sword in a horizontal line.

slas.h.!.+

Jinwoo lowered his head to dodge. The blade of the sword pa.s.sed just inches above his head. As its attack was powerful, the opening created after missing was equally huge. Jinwoo did not miss the opportunity. Still in melee range, Jinwoo focused all of his power into his dagger.

"Vital Stab!"

Crack!

The dagger pierced through the armor.

"Did it work?"

However, as if it didn"t do any damage, the knight ignored the dagger sticking out of its side and brought down the sword in a vertical line.

Slas.h.!.+

Jinwoo threw his body backwards.

Clang!

Sparks flew from the ground the sword struck.

"..."

Jinwoo straightened himself after taking few steps back. Casaka"s Poisoned Fang was still stuck to the knight"s side.

Che.

Jinwoo clicked his tongue.

"He"s not exactly strong."

It was true. Because of its armor, the knight was slow. Not only that, its attack pattern was rather simple. The primary obstacle was its tough resistance to bladed weapons.

Jinwoo rolled up his sleeves.

"If it"s a tough armor a blade can"t get through, I"ve already got some experience."

His maintained his composure. He recalled the scales of a boss that effortlessly broke a magic power infused steel sword. He remembered how he took down that giant snake.

"Compared to Casaka, this b.a.s.t.a.r.d"s nothing…"

Thinking of the first boss he ever won against, Jinwoo smiled in nostalgia.

clang, clang, clang!

The knight, confident in its armor, charged at Jinwoo once more.

"As expected, it"s not that smart."

Jinwoo easily dodged the knight"s shoulder tackle and maneuvered behind its back and put it in a headlock.

craaack!

Of course, its neck was also armored; it probably would not be choked just by this.

craaaaaack!

Jinwoo"s arms flexed and showed their veins. He was not trying to choke the knight. He clenched his teeth, and his eyes flared open.

CRACK!

With a sickening sound, the helmet was removed. This was the power of the strength stat that had reached above 100. Having lost its head, the knight knelt to the ground.

Clang!

You"ve defeated the Knight.

The welcoming sight of a message signaled the end of the fight. While there was a light indicating a drop coming from the knight"s corpse, Jinwoo was focused on something else.

"What the, it"s empty?"

There was no head in the helmet he was holding. He also looked inside the kneeling armor but found it just as empty.

"Then was I fighting with a moving armor?"

As he reached that conclusion, two more knights appeared around the corner. It appeared that they had finally realized that there was a fight going on.

clang, clang.

Having discovered Jinwoo, the two knights took out their swords in unison.

s.h.i.+ng-

s.h.i.+ng-

Jinwoo threw aside the helmet and stretched his neck and shoulders. He knew the method of defeating them now.

"Shall we begin?"

clang, clang, clang, clang!

Jinwoo smiled at the approaching knights.

The quest was going smoothly so far.