I Alone Level-Up

Kooong-!

The doors of the boss room opened. Inside of the room was dark. Even with his raised sense stat, it was hard for Jinwoo to see inside. All that he could see was the front of his feet. The floor was neatly lined with stone slabs. The grey stones gave off a cold feeling compared to the heat of his body.

The moment he took a step onto those slabs,

flaaare-!

The numerous torches that lined the interior of the room all lit up, illuminating the area.

"As I thought… it"s the same as the underground temple."

Jinwoo could not lower his guard. He cautiously walked while observing his surroundings. The sides of the room contained giant pillars, and at the deep end of the room was a large throne.

"This reminds me of…"

It was reminiscent of a king"s throne room that he saw in a movie. Well, the scale was quite different.

After he had taken few steps into the room, the door behind him closed with a loud sound.

Slam!

He took a glance back but did not panic. He had already predicted as much. He continued forward.

"...I sense a strong presence."

He felt that to finish the cla.s.s advancement quest, he would have to reach the throne ahead. That kind of thinking had mostly worked out so far, but he was wrong this time.

As he neared the throne, an armored form hidden behind a pillar revealed itself and slowly walked in front of him, blocking his path.

step step

stop.

The thing stopped and turned to face Jinwoo.

gulp

He knew this was the boss. Its name in red letters, floating above its head, told him as much.

"Knight Captain, Blood-red Ygritte" [1]

It was a knight wearing a red armor. The armor part was same as the knights he had faced before, but compared to those lumbering enemies, this one looked a lot more agile. What stood out to Jinwoo was its helmet. The top of the helmet was adorned with a plumage. It was a streak of red hair that started from the top of the helmet and fell backwards, looking like a horse"s tail. While looking over the helmet, Jinwoo noticed something else,

"He… he has eyes?"

Or rather, in the spot where a person"s eyes should be, the opening of the helmet glowed with two silver lights. Its "eyes" were reminiscent of light coming from a machine and gave off a sense of coldness. Those eyes were looking at Jinwoo. It raised the hair on the back of his neck.

"So this was the owner of the powerful presence…"

Perhaps defeating it was the goal of the cla.s.s advancement quest. If that was the case, Jinwoo had to be careful. He kept an eye on Ygritte"s movements and raised his fists.

"Dagger won"t work anyways."

What was needed to defeat a knight was destructive power. He would need his strength.

"..."

Ygritte was watching Jinwoo, then suddenly removed its red cape.

thud

The cape fell onto the ground.

"Hmm?"

Its strange behavior did not stop there.

The knight took out the longsword and the two daggers at its sides and threw them on to the floor, one at a time. It was a slow, deliberate act, sending a message to Jinwoo.

clang.

clang. clang.

The silence of the boss room was broken by the loud sounds of the metal falling onto the stone slabs. Having discarded his weapons, Ygritte raised his fists and took a fighting stance, imitating the Hunter.

Jinwoo"s eyes widened.

"Is this b.a.s.t.a.r.d…"

Was he going to fight him in a hand-to-hand combat because Jinwoo did not take out a weapon? The Hunter bit his lips.

"...Looking down on me?"

The monster had succeeded in taunting Jinwoo without using a skill. However, Jinwoo maintained his focus. The angrier he got, the more he cooled himself. Compared to the increasing speed of his heartbeat, Jinwoo"s eyes shone with sharpness.

"Come."

As if reading his mind, Ygritte charged at him in a straight line.

step, step, step, step!

It was an unthinkable speed for an armored being.

"My armor said strength below eighty resulted in a movement penalty."

That meant the opponent"s strength was at least 80! On top of that, the knight"s movements revealed that his agility was not at all below a high-ranking Hunter.

Ygritte came before Jinwoo and leaped.

Step!

The knight aimed a knee at Jinwoo.

"He"s fast!"

But Jinwoo was not about to lose in speed. He bent his body backwards in a near 90-degree angle and dodged Ygritte"s attack. He quickly raised his body and turned to face the boss. Unlike the knights that lost to their momentum and continued after missing their charge, Ygritte immediately turned around after landing.

Koong!

There was no time to be impressed by his clean movements. Jinwoo quickly ran to Ygritte before he fully turned around and aimed a kick at his face. However, even while turning around, the knight accurately moved his arm.

Bang!

Jinwoo"s right leg was easily stopped by Ygritte"s left hand.

"Impossible!"

Jinwoo was surprised. While Jinwoo"s leg was still off the ground, Ygritte"s fist flew straight toward him.

woosh-!

The Hunter reflexively put up both arms to guard but could not completely block the impact.

Bang!

The punch broke through his guard, and Jinwoo felt his body tossed into the air.

"What?"

Jinwoo exclaimed in shock but the sound from his mouth quickly turned to a groan.

"...?"

Ygritte was already right before his eyes. Before he could react, Jinwoo"s face was greeted by the knight"s left fist.

Smas.h.!.+

The Hunter bounced on the ground and rolled across the room.

tiiiiiiing-

When he finally stopped and got up, Jinwoo"s ears were ringing. He shook his head few times and the ringing eased up a bit. However, there was a bigger problem approaching. Through his blurred vision, Jinwoo saw Ygritte walking towards him.

step step

Jinwoo opened his eyes wide and focused strength into his legs. Ygritte stopped at an arm"s reach before him.

A slugfest began between the pair.

Ygritte did not make any attempts to dodge Jinwoo"s attacks. He took the man"s fist and counterattacked with his own.

Bam!

The knight"s head turned slightly. Even before Jinwoo"s hand retracted after punching, the knight struck with a blinding speed.

Pow!

Jinwoo"s body swayed.

Smas.h.!.+

This time, Ygritte took a step backwards.

Bas.h.!.+

The knight"s fists struck Jinwoo"s stomach, and the Hunter bent over.

"cough!"

Blood came out of the man"s mouth.

"So much for physical damage reduction…"

Jinwoo"s physical damage reduction was at a whopping 30% with his equipment. But each of Ygritte"s punches hurt like a hammer slamming into him. On the other hand, his own attacks did not seem to do much damage to the knight. The pair"s exchange did not last long.

Smas.h.!.+

Shaking, Jinwoo finally took a knee.

thud.

He tried to rise again but could not find the strength.

thud.

"Grrl…"

Ygritte stood before Jinwoo and stopped his attacks. The knight stared down at the man.

"...?"

The crimson figure ignored the eyes looking at him with confusion and stretched a hand towards the sword in the distance. The knight"s sword flew across the air into his hand. Jinwoo realized what Ygritte was going to do.

"You want to execute me, is that it?"

It truly deserved its t.i.tle of "Knight Captain". When Jinwoo did not particularly make any movements to resist, Ygritte raised his sword to behead the Hunter. The sword fell in a straight line towards the man"s neck.

However, Jinwoo had no intention of going that easily.

slash-

Jinwoo"s left hand shot up and blocked the falling blade.

Clang!

It made an unexpected sound of metal striking metal! The gauntlet that he had earned before coming here had protected his hand.

!

He felt Ygritte"s shock. Not missing the opportunity, Jinwoo"s threw his right fist at the knight. As expected, Ygritte did not show any indication that he would dodge.

"You"re just going to counterattack again, right?"

The monster"s calculation was to exchange blow for blow. However, there was something that was not included in his calculation.

"Casaka"s Poisoned Fang!"

shooo-

In an infinitesimal moment, the fist that was flying towards Ygritte"s face was holding the summoned dagger. Jinwoo dug his dagger into the knight"s eyes.

Stab!

Kuwaaaaaah!

An inhuman scream spilled forth from the helmet. At the same time, the eyes struck by Jinwoo"s dagger shone with a powerful light. Jinwoo stood up.

"Now what?"

The battle was not over just because he took one eye. He needed something more powerful. A memory flashed across Jinwoo"s mind. That attack that nearly killed him in the past! Let"s use that against Ygritte. His body moved before his mind could give the order. Jinwoo lowered his body and hugged Ygritte"s waist. He started running.

Kuwaaaaak!

While thras.h.i.+ng about in pain, Ygritte repeatedly struck Jinwoo"s back. The man clenched his teeth and did not let go of the knight. Instead, he raised his speed.

"Sprint!"

Your movement speed is increased by 40%.

The Hunter"s legs moved faster. He reached a speed where his entire body was shaking.

"Yes, like this."

He would slam him into the wall with this speed!

Jinwoo did not ease up on the strength that was holding the knight"s waist and ran with all of his might towards the wall. Of course, he knew that the damage to his own body would not be minimal at this speed, but Jinwoo had a pa.s.sive skill as a trump card.

He was almost there! The wall was just ahead.

Kuang-!

SLAM!

With a scream, Ygritte was slammed into the wall. At the same time, a System message appeared.

ring~!

Your health has fallen below 30%. "Unyielding Spirit" has been activated.

All damage received is reduced by 50%.

The shock of the attack was powerful enough to shake the entire room.

"Kuuk."

Jinwoo took a step back. Even stuck to the wall, Ygritte was still alive. Jinwoo felt the blazing lifeforce emanating from the knight.

"...I have to end it."

He removed Casaka"s Poisoned Fang from where it was stuck. Ygritte"s body flinched as he took the dagger. Jinwoo grabbed the dagger like an ice pick and brought it down at the knight"s neck.

"Vital Stab!"

Clang!

The attack did not pierce.

One more time.

"Vital Stab!"

Clang!

Sparks flew from the dagger"s tip. A small scratch appeared in the armor.

Again.

"Vital Stab!"

Clang!

Again.

Clang!

Again.

Clang!

And finally.

"Vital Stab!"

Crack!

Casaka"s Poisoned Fang dug itself deep into the knight"s neck.

You"ve defeated the Knight Captain, Blood-red Ygritte.

You"ve leveled up!

You"ve leveled up!

Jinwoo raised his arms high into the air. While walking backwards, he lost the strength in his legs and fell to the ground.

"pant, pant."

He panted like he was about to throw up. This was a barely obtained victory. It was an incredibly close fight.

"So… is that it? Am I done with the quest?"

After trying to collect his breath for some time, Jinwoo finally got up with difficulty. He had expected the cla.s.s advancement quest to finish after defeating Ygritte, but no messages appeared. Looking around, nothing had really changed. Well, there was one thing. There were several streaks of light coming from Ygritte"s body. It was the calling card of items.

"Let"s grab those first."

He wasn"t sure what was about to happen next. He judged that he should grab what he could for now. Jinwoo stretched a hand towards the light.

You"ve found the "Red Knight"s Helmet"

Would you like to acquire it?

You"ve found a "Runestone: Ruler"s Hands"[2]

Would you like to acquire it?

You"ve found a "Leather Pouch"

Would you like to acquire it?

You"ve found an "Instant Return Stone"

Would you like to acquire it?

Why were there so many? Jinwoo was suspicious but could not hide his happiness.

"Acquire all."

The leather pouch was the first to be obtained.

You"ve opened the leather pouch.

There was 1,500,000 gold inside.

You"ve acquired 1,500,000 gold.

Jinwoo was taken back.

"The reward is in a different cla.s.s."

As expected, the difficulty in taking down the boss resulted in a great reward. Even the leather pouch, which he did not have much expectations on, gave him an insane amount of gold. This would be quite useful for the shop. However, Jinwoo was more interested in the other items. If just the leather pouch gave him this much, just what about the helmet and the Runestone? He opened the information screen on the helmet with an excited heart.

ring~

Red Knight"s Helmet

Rarity: S

Type: Armor

Physical Damage Reduction +15%

Strength +20, Const.i.tution +20

"S-rank!"

Jinwoo let out a scream of joy.

Translator"s Notes:

[1]: "Knight Captain, Blood-red Ygritte" (기사단장 핏빛의 이그리트): "knights/knightcorp leader/captain" 기사단장 + "color of blood" 핏빛의 + proper name. This might be weird, but the korean spelling of its name is exactly the same as Ygritte from Game of Thrones, "Yi" 이 + "Geu" 그 + "Ri" 리 + "Teu" 트. Not sure if it"s an homage. The knight is male, however.

[2]: "Ruler"s Hands" (지배자의 손길): "ruler" 지배자 + "touch/hands" 손길