I Alone Level-Up

If it was just the boss, Jinwoo had already shown that he could solo the spider. But thinking about holding back the horde of insects at the entrance with just the two of them made Yoo Jinho"s breath stop.

"..."

Watching Yoo Jinho at a loss for words, Jinwoo nodded understandingly.

"Still, this is the best method."

To kill two birds with one stone.

It was very difficult for an E-ranker like him to get into a private raiding party. He had realized this after trying to earn money for the month. He could not reserve a Dungeon with his own credentials, and it was impossible for him to form his own raiding party. But now Yoo Jinho was offering to create the party for him.

This was the perfect opportunity.

"B-but hyungnim! To enter a C-rank Gate, you"d need a minimum party of ten people!"

"If we told them we just needed to fill the headcount and offered them money, people would be lining up."

It was the method he had learned from Hw.a.n.g Dongseok. The Hunters who did not want to risk their lives but needed money would jump at the opportunity with a hunger in their eyes.

Yoo Jinho made an expression of defeat,

"You"re… you"re saying we"ll be taking down all the monsters of the Dungeon on our own?"

Well, it would be just Jinwoo.

"Yep."

With that method, he would be able to h.o.a.rd all the experience points to himself. Additionally, with just Yoo Jinho at his side, he didn"t need to hold back or worry about revealing his true powers.

"I"ll be able to powerlevel with that."

On top of that, after the Raids were complete, he would obtain that valuable building. Once again, "killing two birds with one stone".

All that was left to do is convince Yoo Jinho. As expected, the young man was terrified.

"S-still… wouldn"t it be too dangerous, hyungnim?"

"Tsk, tsk. You understand one thing but not the other."

"Huh?"

Jinwoo gestured for Yoo Jinho to come closer, and the young man leaned in.

"If you looked at just the two of us going into the Dungeon from another angle, it means that no one else has to get hurt, right?"

"R-right."

"Let"s put aside your first Raid, which you had to join as a tagalong. Imagine how your father will feel if the raid team that you put together goes through nineteen Raids with no one getting hurt."

Yoo Jinho"s eyes shot open in understanding.

If… If they were able to pull that off, convincing his father would become that much easier!

He would be able to show that a mere D-ranker is able to lead a raiding party through 19 Raids without any casualties. It would be a testament to his ability to become the Guildmaster. This would be the greatest feat that he could bring before his father.

Jinwoo read Yoo Jinho"s expressions and became satisfied.

"Got him."

The one holding all the cards right now was Jinwoo. Even if Yoo Jinho could not be convinced, he could always ensure his growth through the a.s.sociation"s Raids or Instant Dungeons; it would just be a matter of time.

In the meantime, Yoo Jinho was deep in thought. Even if it was a little scary, if everything went according to Jinwoo"s words, the benefit to him would be great. Thinking back on the unstoppable power that Jinwoo displayed in the last Raid, he felt that it would just be possible.

Yoo Jinho made his decision.

"Okay, I"ll agree to those conditions, hyungnim. I"ll gather the team members."

"Good."

Jinwoo nodded. The two men were in agreement. Yoo Jinho finally was able to sit-up straight and put on a bright smile.

"I was able to get hyungnim"s help."

The remaining Raids no longer worried him. He had gained a reliable ally in Jinwoo, and per his condition, gathering the remaining members suddenly became a lot easier. He no longer needed other capable, low ranking Hunters. Instead, anyone who answered the job boards would do.

"With this, I"ve taken a step towards becoming a Guildmaster."

Jinwoo was also smiling.

"I"ll solo all the C-rank Dungeons and quickly raise my levels."

The two men left the cafe with satisfied faces.

-

After bidding farewell to Yoo Jinho, Jinwoo quickly ran home. He didn"t know when the a.s.sociation would come calling. It had been 10 days since he was discharged from hospital; it would not be strange for a Gate to appear in their vicinity soon. On average, the a.s.sociation had gathered its Hunters two or three times throughout the month for a Raid. The reason he had initially allotted 1 hour to Yoo Jinho was because Jinwoo wanted to be back home as fast as possible.

"Right now, even missing just one E-rank Dungeon would be regrettable."

He wanted to quickly raise his levels through magic beasts. To think that not having a phone would be this inconvenient... Thankfully, his new phone would be arriving in few days.

Jinwoo opened the door and headed inside.

"..."

The house was quiet. Since it was a weekday, his little sister was in school. Confirming that no one else was in the house, Jinwoo opened his daily quest window.

"Time to grab today"s reward."

Jinwoo had already finished the daily quest before meeting with Yoo Jinho but did not receive the rewards yet. He wasn"t about to show off the light of status recovery or the appearance of a gift box out of nowhere in the middle of the street.

ring~

Do 100 Push-ups:

(Complete) (100/100)

Do 100 Sit-ups:

(Complete) (100/100)

Do 100 Squats:

(Complete) (100/100)

Run 10 kilometers:

(Complete) (11/10)

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)

"Ye----no. No."

He was about to verify the rewards out of habit but quickly stopped himself after noticing something. His eyes focused on the running part of the quest.

Run 10 kilometers:

(Complete) (11/10)

Going over the 10 km requirement by 1 didn"t phase him much at first. But more he thought about it, it was strange.

"Why would it keep recording after meeting the goal?"

His eyes narrowed. Was this a coincidence?

He got down on the ground and started performing push-ups in rapid succession, his gaze fixed on the quest screen.

ring~!

You"ve succeeded in doing 1 push-up.

Do 100 Push-ups:

(Complete) (111/100)

ring~!

You"ve succeeded in doing 1 push-up.

Do 100 Push-ups:

(Complete) (112/100)

"As I thought…"

Running wasn"t the only category that was recording beyond the goal. The push-ups were also going above their required amount.

Jinwoo became curious just how high the numbers would go. His arms flexed, showing their veins. Thanks to his raised attributes, he could barely feel the weight of his body. It felt as light as feathers. The numbers quickly reached 200.

ring~!

You"ve succeeded in doing 1 push-up.

Do 100 Push-ups:

(Complete) (200/100)

ring~!

You"ve succeeded in doing 1 push-up.

Do 100 Push-ups:

(Complete) (200/100)

The numbers stopped exactly at 200. He tried few more times, but they did not go up. Soon, he had completed the sit-ups and squats to 200 as well.

Do 100 Push-ups:

(Complete) (200/100)

Do 100 Sit-ups:

(Complete) (200/100)

Do 100 Squats:

(Complete) (200/100)

Run 10 kilometers:

(Complete) (11/10)

Exactly 200. The tracker was not going up infinitely, nor was it stopping at 100. There was something to this. What would be waiting for him when all of the overcaps were met?

"Time to find out."

Jinwoo left the house faster than ever. The 9 km of running was completed in a blink of an eye. As he finished the run in front of his house, a message arrived.

ring~

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

The reward for completing the quest has arrived.

Would you like to verify? (Y/N)

The name of the quest did not change, but the quest type had turned to "hidden". His intuitions were correct. Jinwoo gulped.

"...Verify."

ring~

You"ve received the below rewards.

Reward 1. Status Recovery

Reward 2. All stats +3

Reward 3. Select one:

1. Blessed Random Box (Select)

2. Cursed Random Box (Select)

Accept all?

"Three points to every attribute!"

His eyes were wide open. As expected of a hidden quest, the rewards were amazing. Adding 3 points to every stat was the same thing as leveling up 3 times. No, in a way, it was even better. Gaining all these points without raising his levels would make leveling that much easier.

At the same time, he felt a twinge of sadness. Somewhere deep in him, there was hope that every daily quest going forward could be completed this way, but Jinwoo knew that this was probably a one time deal.

And if it was a one time deal, he would have to take great care with Reward 3.

Reward 3. Select one:

1. Blessed Random Box (Select)

2. Cursed Random Box (Select)

This was the first time he had to choose between different rewards. Selecting one would lose the other.

"So I probably will never be able to see the other."

Just going by their names, it was clear which one he had to pick. But even that could be a trap.

"Accept Reward 3"

ring~

You must choose between the two Random Boxes.

Blessed Random Box

Cursed Random Box

Will provide what the "Player" wants.

Will provide what the "Player" needs.

Which one will you choose?

The explanations were simple. That made the decision even harder. If there was no explanation, he would"ve chose the blessed one without a thought. But after reading the explanation, it felt that he would regret the decision no matter which one he picked.

"Something that I want vs. something that I need…"

At first glance, both sounded good to him.

"But there is a trap here."

Something that he "wanted" would be because it was needed. But something that he "needed" might not necessarily be something that he wanted. For example, if he was in a situation where he needed a powerful weapon, a powerful bomb that could blow away everything including him might appear.

"That seems fitting of something cursed."

Jinwoo decided to go with the less risky option. Not knowing the result yet, it was best to minimize the amount of regret involved. Feeling like he couldn"t be disappointed in something that he wanted, Jinwoo made a cold decision.

"Blessed Random Box."

A small box appeared at his feet.

Jinwoo picked it up.

"Could it be…?"