I Alone Level-Up

Panicking, Jinwoo tried to get a grasp of the situation; suddenly, he heard the sound of sand s.h.i.+fting.

ssssssss

The sand on the ground next to him was sinking into the ground.

"Uh, uh oh!"

Using all his strength, Jinwoo struggled to not be sucked into the whirlpool. As the sunken area became wider, Jinwoo barely escaped the sinkhole using his two hands.

"Pant, pant, pant"

As he sat panting, he looked down into the newly created depression on the ground. The sand at the lowest point of the hole was boiling strangely. Jinwoo shuddered as he realized a single misstep would"ve resulted in him falling down into that hole.

"Wait…"

His eyes narrowed.

"It"s not boiling."

Taking a closer look, he realized something big was wriggling beneath the sand at the bottom of the depression. Jinwoo stood up instinctively. Something did not feel right.

Confirming his suspicions, a pillar of sand shot up from the hole as he was walking backwards.

Shaaaah!

Sounding like a waterfall, the sand fell all around him, revealing what had appeared from the hole. Jinwoo"s eyes widened.

"a bug?"

A giant centipede had risen out of the sand.

Screeeech!

The fully revealed form of the monster stood taller than a 5-story building.

Jinwoo gulped.

"This is impossible…"

And like so, it was an impossibly large existence. He had never heard of a centipede of this size before. But it wasn"t just the size of the centipede that shocked Jinwoo.

"Why… why is there a name floating above that thing"s head?"

Was he dreaming?

He closed his eyes and opened them again. Nothing had changed. The centipede"s name floated above its head in red letters. Like a video game monster.

"Poison-fanged Giant Sand Centipede[1]"

Alongside its uncanny and dangerous looking figure, it had a name that screamed at him to run. Especially the "poison-fanged" part. Two fangs the size of a child caught Jinwoo"s eye. It was very clear from its name what would happen if he was pierced by them.

Jinwoo saw the centipede"s mouth open and close repeatedly without rest.

"Looks like it"s hungry."

At that time, a sound rang through his head.

ring~

Penalty Quest: Survive

Goal: Survive for the required time.

Required time: 4 Hours

Remaining time: 4 Hours 0 Min 0 Sec

"You"re kidding, right…?"

But the second the remaining time decreased to 3 Hours 59 Min 59 Sec, the centipede started moving across the sand as if it was waiting.

sliiiiiide

"Wait, what?!"

Jinwoo quickly turned and started running.

Tripping, he fell and rolled on the ground and quickly shook the sand off his head. His eyes widened looking at the sight before him. There were more pillars of sand appearing in front of him.

shaaaah

shaaaaaaah

Before he realized it, seven centipede heads had risen from the ground and were staring down at him.

Screech!

Screeeeech!

Jinwoo"s face paled as he heard their terrifying shrieks.

"s.h.i.+t…"

-

Exactly 4 hours later, he reappeared in the hospital room.

collapse-

Lying on the floor of his room, he coughed in agony.

*cough* *cough* *spit* *spit*

The inside of his mouth was dry. His eyes stung from the sand. Jinwoo sprawled out on the ground, moaning. He did not have the strength to even move a finger.

"Hah… hah… what… was… that…?"

A new message appeared before the panting Jinwoo.

ring~

You"ve completed the "Penalty Quest".

His brows furrowed.

Penalty Quest?

Did he do something to deserve punishment?

Searching his memories, he remembered the [Daily Quest] that he half-heartedly gave up on.

"It can"t be…"

He recalled the part of the quest that talked about receiving a penalty if he did not complete it.

"Hah… hah… you mean… that wasn"t... a hallucination...?"

Indeed.

It was not a hallucination.

Nor a dream.

There was no need to check by pinching his cheeks. The pain of running until his breath ran out; the pain of being scratched by the centipede"s legs; he felt them all even right now.

It was all real. He had almost met his death back there.

"This… is… too… much… hah… hah…"

To think that something like a penalty would throw him into the jaws of death. At the same time, a foreboding dread washed over him. If what just happened now was due to the daily quest, it meant that all of this was not over yet.

As if on cue, the electronic sound rang.

ring~

Startled at first, he relaxed as he realized it was not another quest.

The reward for completing the Penalty Quest has arrived.

Would you like to verify? (Y/N)

"Reward…?"

The word "reward" briefly caught his attention. Unfortunately, Jinwoo lacked the strength to care about anything at the moment. It was a testament to how tough the Penalty Quest had been.

"Reward or whatever… I just want to rest for now…"

And with that, he fell into a deep slumber.

-

"Oh no! Why is he on the ground?!"

Next morning, his a.s.signed nurse was greeted with a shocking scene when she entered the room. The patient was lying on the floor, and there was sand scattered about the ground. Even the patient"s clothes were filled with sand. The nurse threw the treatment chart onto the bed and pressed the call b.u.t.ton.

"Someone come help!"

Soon, Dr. Joo Chiui arrived.

"What"s the m why is Mr. Sung on the ground?!"

"I"m not sure! He was fine until last night! I found him like this just now..."

"Let"s first get him on to the bed. One. Two!"

The two put Jinwoo onto the bed. In the rough movement, the medical chart that was thrown on the bed made a small papercut on the back of Jinwoo"s hand, but no one noticed.

"Now, let"s check him."

Joo Chiui went over Jinwoo"s condition, but found no abnormalities.

"What"s this? He"s just sleeping."

He sighed in relief. The Hunter a.s.sociation had requested special care for this patient. He had been nervous in fear that something had happened to him.

"Let"s just let him rest. He seems to be in deep sleep."

After he spoke, Joo Chiui began to leave when he noticed the sand in the room.

"Er… Looks like we should clean-up this room a little. Ms. Yura, I"ll leave it to you."

"Understood, doctor."

As the doctor left the room, nurse Choi Yura also relaxed in relief. It was a good thing nothing bad had happened. After all, there were no doctors or nurses who wished ill upon their patients. The hospital she worked at was specially dedicated to the treatment of Hunters. Having seen the unfortunate end of many Hunters before, she did not want to see yet another Hunter be hurt under her care.

"Phew-"

Calmed down, she began to figure out how to clean the room when she noticed something on the ground. It was a drop of blood.

"Oh my."

The drop of blood had fallen from the patient"s hand that stretched out from the bed over the ground. Surprised, she looked for a wound on Jinwoo"s hand and held it in inspection. Turning over to the back of his hand,

"...This is…?"

She saw traces of fresh blood, but no scar. Wiping away the blood, the hand was completely clean.

"Did… did his cut heal in an instant?"

With concern, Yura looked over to Jinwoo"s face.

He appeared to be sleeping without a care in the world.

-7. Daily Quest-

ring~

[The Daily Quest has arrived.]

Jinwoo"s eyes shot open. Sitting straight up from the bed, the first thing Jinwoo did was to check the time; it was a little past 4:30 in the afternoon. There was roughly 7 hours and 30 minutes of breathing room until midnight.

"Good."

He opened the message box.

ring~

Daily Quest: The Preparation To Become Powerful

Do 100 Push-ups:

(Incomplete) (0/100)

Do 100 Sit-ups:

(Incomplete) (0/100)

Do 100 Squats:

(Incomplete) (0/100)

Run 10 kilometers:

(Incomplete) (0/10)

*Warning: Failing to complete the Daily Quest will result in a Penalty Quest.

"Same thing?" He uttered reflexively. No, perhaps this was a good thing. Compared to a possibly difficult quest, this was much better. Even if it strained his body, it was at least something that could be completed with time.

He went on the floor and began the push-ups.

"One."

He couldn"t afford to be dragged to some strange place and be forced to run from death again.

"Two."

He got lucky last night. He didn"t feel like he would get lucky again.

"Three."

He paused to look up at the quest creen; the numbers were rising accordingly with each push-up.

ring~

You"ve succeeded in doing 1 push-up.

Do 100 Push-ups:

(Incomplete) (7/100)

ring~

You"ve succeeded in doing 1 push-up.

Do 100 Push-ups:

(Incomplete) (8/100)

As if testing the System, he performed a half-hearted push-up, going only part way down, but it did not register on the screen. He understood why his weak attempts last night did nothing.

"Sigh… really?"

Although exasperated, he did not let-up the strength in his arms. 50 push-ups remaining. After that would be sit-ups.

Then squats...

Then running…...

-

3 hours later.

Do 100 Push-ups:

(Complete) (100/100)

Do 100 Sit-ups:

(Complete) (100/100)

Do 100 Squats:

(Complete) (100/100)

Run 10 kilometers:

(Incomplete) (9/10)

"Pant, pant, pant, pant,"

Having run a lap around the area outside, Jinwoo bowed over huffing. His heart felt like it was about to explode, but he knew he could not stop here.

"If I think about the effort up until now…"

He entered the hospital gates and completed the last stretch of his run.

ring~

Distance ran: 10km.

You"ve succeeded in running 10km.

It was finally over.

"Pant… pant…"

He fell to his knees. His lungs were on fire. His forehead and back were soaked.

"Pant… pant…"

Sweating profusely, he attempted to control his breathing when a familiar message arrived.

ring~

You"ve completed the "Daily Quest: The Preparation To Become Powerful"

The reward for completing the quest has arrived.

Would you like to verify? (Y/N)

He almost wanted to forget about it like yesterday but changed his mind. He wanted to confirm just what this d.a.m.n reward was.

"Yes."

ring~

You"ve received the below rewards.

Reward 1. Status Recovery

Reward 2. Stat points +3

Reward 3. Random Box x 1

Accept all?

"Why is there so many?"

Was his first thought after looking at the reward screen. But after thinking about it, he noticed some useful rewards and rewards he was curious about.

Feeling like he was about to pa.s.s out any moment from now, the first reward caught his eyes. Having experienced the penalty involved in failure, he knew there was a good chance that its rewards were just as real.

"It couldn"t hurt. Probably won"t throw me in the Penalty Zone after offering me a reward."

"Accept."

Translator"s Notes:

[1]: "Poison-fanged Giant Sand Centipede": The name translation is almost word for word literal.