Drawing too much attention is never good. Not only is the attention itself a burden, but this particular phenomenon wasn't something he wanted others to know about. What was it they said about scratching an itch until it bled? He wanted to quietly raise his stats without anyone finding out.
'There's really no reason to stay in the hospital, anyway.'
Fortunately, all of his test results had come back normal. He was free to be discharged at any time. In fact, the Association and the hospital both seemed to be subtly hoping he would leave. Treating an E-rank Hunter wasn't cheap, and they probably resented the cost. S-rank Hunters, on the other hand, received special treatment where the state covered all medical expenses — a story from an entirely different world that had nothing to do with Jin-Woo. So leaving the hospital at this point wasn't a bad choice, he figured. Besides, there was something he wanted to check on.
"Where did I put it...?"
As Jin-Woo rummaged through his pockets, something came out along with his hand. It was a key that gleamed with a golden light. Its simple design made it look like an accessory at first glance. Jin-Woo stared at the key for a long while before putting it back into his pocket.
***
As he was going through the discharge process, a young nurse came running over in a hurry.
"Hah... hah! Sung Jin-Woo, are you being discharged now?" "Huh? Ah, yes."
It was Choi Yura, the nurse in charge of his ward. At the word "discharge," her expression fell with disappointment. Jin-Woo had no idea what was going on and looked bewildered. He wondered if he had done something wrong, but he couldn't think of anything. Yura hesitated, then pulled out a small memo pad.
"Could you write down your phone number for me?" "My phone number?" "Yes... if you don't mind."
Was there going to be some test result she needed to send later? Without thinking much of it, Jin-Woo took the memo pad. But all she handed him was the pad itself. When Jin-Woo just stared at her blankly, Yura's cheeks flushed red.
"Wh-what is it?" "Um... I don't have a pen." "Oh, oh, one second."
She had apparently been in such a rush that she hadn't thought of that. Yura turned around in a flurry.
'Oh, wait? A pen, you say...'
No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than a ballpoint pen appeared in his hand. He had stored it in his Inventory, and recalling it had been enough to make it materialize. Once an item had been put into the Inventory, he could retrieve or store it at will just by thinking about it. It was one of the Inventory's convenient features. Checking his palm, Jin-Woo called out to Yura, who had been about to leave.
"I found a pen." "Oh, really? Phew, what a relief."
Yura placed a hand on her chest and let out a sigh of relief. Jin-Woo smiled as he wrote down his number. It was always like this with the items from Random Boxes — eventually, one of them always came in handy. When he had gotten a raincoat, it rained the next day. The day before his paper cups for the water dispenser ran out, he had received a glass. Sometimes something completely useless like a bandage would appear, but most of the time, the items turned out to be useful.
"Here."
Yura accepted the memo pad from Jin-Woo with a bright smile. Then she gave him a small bow.
"Take care of me." "Ah, yes. You too."
Yura spun around and hurried off somewhere, disappearing quickly. Jin-Woo tilted his head, watching her go.
'Wait... take care of me? What does that even mean?'
What a cheerful little nurse. With that thought, Jin-Woo left the hospital feeling lighthearted.
***
His first stop was the Hunter's Association building in Guro District, Seoul. Hunters' phones required special devices, so he had to apply in person. An Association employee glanced at a monitor and spoke.
"Your phone will be ready in about two weeks." "What? That long?"
Jin-Woo's eyes went wide. His old phone had been smashed to pieces while he was being chased by the statues in the underground temple. Two whole weeks until a new one arrived...
"If you need a phone urgently, we can lend you a temporary one. The fee is around 50,000 won."
50,000 won... just to rent, not buy. That was a steep price given his current financial situation.
'Not like anyone's going to be calling me, anyway.'
The Association would contact him by mail if the phone didn't work out, so there was no reason to spend money on a temporary phone. Jin-Woo shook his head.
"I'll just wait." "Understood. We'll send the new device to your home as soon as it arrives." "Thank you."
Jin-Woo stood up from his seat. That took care of his business for the day. He had already finished today's Daily Quest as usual, and the process of requesting a new phone from the Association was over quickly. As he stepped out of the Association building, he pulled out the golden key again.
'Time to figure out what this thing is about.'
The key's information appeared in green text.
[Item: Dungeon Key] Acquisition Difficulty: E-rank Type: Key A key that allows travel to an Instant Dungeon. Can be used at Hapjeong Station, Exit 3.
It had been inside a Random Box — a reward from the Daily Quest. At first, he had wondered what kind of key it was, but the moment he saw the acquisition difficulty, he had sensed it was no ordinary item. That, more than anything, was the reason he had left the hospital.
'An entry key to an Instant Dungeon...'
Instant or not, a dungeon was still a dungeon. Dungeons brought back plenty of bad memories. He had once been seriously injured during an E-rank raid and spent a whole week in the hospital. Back then, at least he had his teammates to keep him alive. But if this key took him into a dungeon, he would be on his own — no way around it. After deliberating, he made his decision.
'If I just pop in and out, it should be fine.'
He could always run if things went south. After all, he had been running 10 kilometers every day without fail lately, so fleeing was one thing he was confident about.
***
He couldn't have been more wrong. Thud! Thud!
"Did a wall... appear?"
He pounded on the invisible wall and shouted toward the outside, but there was no response. People hurried along their own paths, going about their business. Occasionally, someone would walk toward Hapjeong Station's interior, only to vanish the moment they crossed the invisible boundary. It seemed like the two spaces were entirely separate. When Jin-Woo tried to force his way out, another message appeared. Ding.
[You cannot leave the Dungeon. Defeat the boss or bring a Return Stone.]
It had been saying the same thing since the beginning. The Dungeon Key had disappeared the moment he stepped inside Exit 3, and by the time he realized what had happened and tried to turn back, the way out was already sealed shut. He had assumed there would be some kind of gate or secret door leading to the dungeon near Exit 3, but that wasn't the case. On top of that, unlike a regular dungeon, movement wasn't free.
"So it's different from a normal dungeon..."
With a sigh, Jin-Woo turned around. What came into view was the subway station, now transformed into something resembling a jungle. Vines hung from the walls in tangles, and the putrid stench of rotting flesh hung heavy in the air. Faint sounds of beasts crying could be heard from somewhere in the distance.
"..."
There was no hidden entrance near Hapjeong Station. The entire station itself had become the dungeon. Jin-Woo drew a steel sword from his Inventory. Ding.
[Item: Kim Sang-Sik's Steel Sword] Attack Power +10.
With the way out blocked and no means of contacting anyone, there was only one option: push forward. Jin-Woo swallowed hard, then slowly descended the stairs. He held his breath and scanned his surroundings, but there was nothing. Still, he couldn't let his guard down. Among magical beasts, many species — even those without high rankings — could conceal their presence. In fact, it might be precisely because of their lower rank that they hid and relied on ambushes. Passing through the restrooms, he entered the underground shopping arcade. The shops were old and broken, giving the place the look of ruins. The dim fluorescent lights flickering over the deserted corridors filled him with an eerie feeling. Tsk... tsk... a few lights had reached the end of their lifespan and blinked erratically. Stepping over the weeds that had grown thick between the broken tiles, Jin-Woo felt an uneasy energy and looked around.
"..."
Everything was silent, yet he could feel eyes on him. And there was that smell. The stench of dead animals attracting swarms of flies — a putrid odor that was all too familiar to someone who had entered dungeons as often as he had.
'That smell... it's a beast-type magical beast.'
But he couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. It was as if it was hiding, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
'You want to lie in ambush, do you?'
In that case, he would play along. Jin-Woo deliberately turned around, showing his back. Then he started walking slowly back the way he had come. Beasts couldn't resist attacking from behind when their prey showed them their back. Beast-type magical beasts were no different. He had taken about three steps when — Crash! The display window of a clothing store behind him shattered, and something burst out. It landed on the ground, steadied itself, and immediately lunged for the back of Jin-Woo's neck.
"Grrruh!"
Already prepared for the attack, Jin-Woo swung the sword in a wide arc behind him the instant he heard the sound. An instinctive movement. Shhk! The sharp blade sliced through the beast's jaw as it pounced. The creature fell away from Jin-Woo, howling, and rolled across the floor.
"Keeyeeee, keeey!"
It was a massive wolf covered in crimson fur. With its snout severed, the wolf writhed in agony, thrashing from side to side. Looking closely, Jin-Woo noticed a name hovering above its head, just like the centipedes in the Penalty Zone. Steel Fang Lycan. But unlike before, the name was displayed not in red but in white.
'No time to waste!'
This was his chance, while the creature was wounded and unable to fight back. Jin-Woo launched himself forward. He sprinted and brought the sword down hard, cleaving the wolf's head clean off.
"Grrkaaah!"
The Lycan let out a final, guttural scream and drew its last breath.
[You have defeated a Steel Fang Lycan.]
"Nice!"
But his moment of triumph was short-lived. Two more Lycans — ones that had been lurking in the darkness beyond the shattered display window — leaped out. So there were more of them? Jin-Woo's eyes went wide.
"Grrrahhh!"
Baring their fearsome fangs, they closed the distance in an instant. Jin-Woo's brow furrowed. He had swung too hard in his excitement, and the blade was now buried deep in the floor, refusing to come loose.
'It's stuck.'
At that moment, one of the Lycans leaped straight for Jin-Woo's face.
"Damn!"
Jin-Woo jerked his head back. The Lycan sailed over him, unable to control its momentum, and smashed its face into the ground. Crack! With its fangs embedded in the stone floor, cracks spread in every direction.
'No wonder they call it Steel Fang.'
But there was no time to marvel. The other Lycan was already charging head-on, and the sword showed no signs of budging.
"Damn it!"
With no other choice, Jin-Woo abandoned the sword and threw a punch with every ounce of strength at the incoming Lycan. Whoosh! The fist cut through the air with a sickening whistle. Splat! A single blow shattered the Lycan's skull. The headless body hit the ceiling, then crashed back down to the floor at an angle. Bang!
"...?"
Jin-Woo stared wide-eyed at his own fist. That kind of strength was beyond anything he had expected.