Wriggling in agony was easy, but the opportunities you let slip in the process don't come back. Once you lost consciousness, it was over.
'...178, 179, 180!'
Jin-Woo, who had been waiting for the full three minutes from the very start, finally pulled out the trump card he had been holding in reserve.
'Accept Reward 1!'
He accepted Daily Quest Reward 1—the one he had deliberately left unclaimed until now.
[Reward 1. Status recovery is applied.]
Shoosh! A blue light coursed over his entire body, and his health was restored in an instant.
[Health: 3,602/3,602]
His injured arm returned to normal.
'Now's my chance!'
Jin-Woo's eyes sharpened. At this kind of range, no matter how agile the creature was, it wouldn't be able to dodge. He quickly wrapped his left arm around Cerberus's neck and drove Kasaka's Venom Fang into the center of it. Thud! Thud! Thud! Cerberus's Fury state must have worn off—it began thrashing, trying to break free from Jin-Woo's grip.
"Grrrgh! Grgh! Rgh! Rgh!"
But Jin-Woo held on with all his strength. The more Cerberus struggled, the tighter he squeezed its neck. All the while, the dagger plunged in and out of Cerberus's throat over and over. Thud, thud, thud!
"Graagh, rgh! Kieeeng! Kieeiieeng!"
Cerberus made one last desperate attempt and bit down on Jin-Woo, but the tide had already turned. Thud! Thud!
"Grrgh! Rgh!"
Kasaka's Venom Fang pierced through Cerberus's neck and sank all the way into its chest. Thud! Thud! Thud! Cerberus's resistance visibly began to weaken.
"Kiee…"
In the end, Cerberus's head lolled to the side. Ding!
[Gatekeeper of Hell, Cerberus has been slain.] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Level Up!]
In the blink of an eye, he had leveled up four times. That was how tough the fight had been. Jin-Woo released Cerberus's neck only after confirming with his own eyes that the creature's limbs had gone limp. Cerberus's body collapsed lifelessly to the floor. Thud. Jin-Woo braced both knees on the ground.
"Hah."
He finally let out a sigh of relief. A monster that could use skills—if he hadn't prepared that trump card, he would have been done for without a chance to fight back. Even now, the thought sent a chill down his spine.
'Now… the loot.'
Would the rewards match the struggle? Jin-Woo, having caught his breath, reached out toward Cerberus. Ding!
[Item: Watchman's Necklace] has been discovered. Would you like to acquire it? [Item: Key of the Castle Gate] has been discovered. Would you like to acquire it? [Item: Cerberus's Molar] has been discovered. Would you like to acquire it?
'Acquire all.'
On the ground appeared a steel collar that had been fastened around Cerberus's neck, an ashen key, and three beastly molars.
[Item: Watchman's Necklace] Acquisition Difficulty: A Type: Necklace Agility +20, Perception +20
[Item: Key of the Castle Gate] Acquisition Difficulty: A Type: Key A key that opens the gate of the Demonic Castle. Can only be obtained by killing the Gatekeeper.
[Item: Cerberus's Molar] Acquisition Difficulty: None Type: Junk
"Whoa."
Jin-Woo's eyes went wide.
'+20 Agility and +20 Perception from a single necklace?'
The options on it were absurdly good. The acquisition difficulty was A-rank too—the highest of any item he had seen so far.
'Well, he was tough enough to warrant that…'
How could the acquisition difficulty be low after what he went through? But when he actually went to put it on, he hesitated. The circular metal band studded with sparse spikes looked, from any angle, exactly like a dog collar.
"Hmm…"
Jin-Woo shut his eyes in deliberation, then decided he might as well try it on and held the necklace up to his neck. A message appeared. Ding!
['Item: Watchman's Necklace' — Would you like to equip it?]
After a moment more of hesitation, Jin-Woo reluctantly answered.
"…Fine."
The necklace vanished without a trace.
['Item: Watchman's Necklace' has been equipped.]
"Huh?"
Jin-Woo quickly pulled up his stat window.
[Stats] Strength: 60 Vitality: 39 Agility: 80 Intelligence: 37 Perception: 67 (Available stat points: 0) Physical Damage Reduction: 20%
"You've got to be kidding me!"
Agility and Perception had each gone up by exactly 20. The options applied just as described. Apparently, he didn't have to visibly show off equipped items. He felt relieved that he wouldn't have to walk around wearing a dog collar.
'Next, the molars.'
Jin-Woo opened the shop. He sold the junk items—Cerberus's Molars—and got 150,000 gold apiece. He had three of them. That came to a total of 450,000 gold.
[Gold on hand: 562,362 gold]
'What kind of junk item costs this much?'
It was a good gauge of the Dungeon's difficulty. It meant the Demonic Castle was that much harder. But it wasn't bad news. He had killed a single monster and earned more than four times the money he had ground all day in the E-rank instance dungeon at Hapjeong Station. At this rate, buying the billion-plus gold items sold in the shop wasn't some far-off dream.
'If I could clear this place…'
Jin-Woo gazed up at the tower wreathed in flames. WHOOSH! The upper levels were completely shrouded in a thick, fog-like haze. He would have to go inside to find out what lay within. Jin-Woo shook his head.
'Not yet.'
He had used every trick in the book—title buffs, quest rewards—and still barely managed to take down a single guard posted at the entrance. He had no way of predicting what dangers lay beyond those doors. Now was the time to retreat. But one thing was certain: the description had been right—the 'Key of the Demonic Castle' was exactly what he wanted. The Blessed Box hadn't led him astray. Levels, items, and gold—this place had it all. When the time was right, he could come back and claim everything. It just wasn't today. Reluctantly, he stored the ashen key in his inventory.
'I'll be back.'
Soon. He definitely would. Jin-Woo smiled and turned away.
3. Coincidence
A few days passed quietly. Yoo Jin-Ho called once a day to report on progress. Since the day they had last met, exactly three calls had come in.
-It's me, Hyung-nim! Yoo Jin-Ho. "Make it quick." -Yes, Hyung-nim.
It sounded like people were being assembled smoothly. He kept repeating that the team would be complete soon and asked Jin-Woo to wait just a little longer.
'He's really scared of me dropping out, huh.'
But he couldn't just sit idle until every last member was gathered. So Jin-Woo logged into the Hunter website again today. He had been looking into solo raids the whole time, but sure enough, no team was accepting an E-rank Hunter. His first day had just been good luck. Even though Hwang Dong-Suk had had his own agenda, at least he had gotten to join a solo raid.
'Got money, leveled up, and picked up a new skill thanks to that.'
Should he actually be grateful to Hwang Dong-Suk? Jin-Woo let out a wry laugh. In all seriousness, right about now he wouldn't mind running into even those lizard-like scumbag Hunters again. Solo raids were a dead end, the Hunter's Association hadn't sent any requests, and instance dungeon keys weren't dropping either. He was spending his days in total boredom. Grrumble.
'Already lunchtime?'
Jin-Woo, who had been bouncing around the job board, felt his hunger and headed to the kitchen. Creak. He opened the refrigerator door and found it completely bare.
'…'
With everything going on lately, he had been putting off grocery shopping for days, and it had finally caught up with him. Should he go shopping today? Jin-Woo yawned and closed the fridge.
One of the few perks of the apartment he was living in was that the large supermarket wasn't far away. He headed out in comfortable clothes. A ten-minute walk. He arrived quickly. Stepping inside, the wide interior spread out before him. It wasn't a sale period, so the store was quieter than he expected. He grabbed a basket and strolled along at a leisurely pace. Ever since his mother was hospitalized, Jin-Woo had been playing the role of the family's main provider, so he was relatively used to household chores like grocery shopping.
'Nothing really catches my eye today.'
He was staring at the shelves in deep thought about what to make for dinner when—
"Young man, how's the body holding up?"
A friendly voice. Jin-Woo turned around.
'Who is it?'
Thanks to his high Perception stat, he had noticed a Hunter nearby long ago. But this was a place with plenty of foot traffic, and Hunters did their own grocery shopping, so he hadn't paid it any mind. What he hadn't expected was that the Hunter would speak to him—least of all that it was someone he knew.
"Mr. Song?"
Jin-Woo's face lit up. Mr. Song—Song Chi-Yeol—stared at him with a look that mixed surprise and delight.
"I heard a rumor that you were safe, but seeing it with my own eyes… I still can't quite believe it."
Song Chi-Yeol's expression was deeply moved. Jin-Woo scratched at his temple with his index finger, a little embarrassed by the older man's intense gaze. Song Chi-Yeol went on.
"I should have gone to see you sooner, but those people at the Association shut their mouths tight—I couldn't get a single word about what happened to you. And Ju-Hee's been waiting anxiously for news too, you know."
"Miss Ju-Hee?"
"Mm-hm. She said she was quitting the Hunter life, but last week she showed up at the raid site looking for you."
"Last week…?"
Listening to Mr. Song's account, it turned out that, by a strange coincidence, the Association had held a raid on the exact same day Jin-Woo had joined Hwang Dong-Suk's team.
'So that's why the Association's been quiet the past few days.'
It wasn't that they hadn't tried to reach him—he had simply been unavailable when they called. A small mystery, solved. Song Chi-Yeol was still eyeing Jin-Woo with an amazed look, studying him up and down.
'Wait… was Seong this tall before? His leg should still be injured…'
Song Chi-Yeol's gaze drifted downward. His eyes suddenly went wide.
"You… your leg?"