For the first time, an S-rank difficulty item had appeared. A 15 percent damage reduction alone would've been more than enough, but this one also came with the incredible bonus of +20 to both Vitality and Strength stats. Just seeing those options was enough to make his heart race.
'Not even close to those A-rank items I've gotten so far.'
He'd obtained two A-rank items up to this point. The first was the 'Venom Gland of Kasaka,' dropped after killing Kasaka, and the second was the 'Necklace of the Watchman,' which came from Cerberus. Both of those items had been plenty good. The Venom Gland did come with the penalty of lowering Strength, but it had the effect of reducing physical damage by a whopping 20 percent. And the Necklace of the Watchman? It raised Agility and Perception by 20 each—stats that only grew more valuable as time went on—making it a top-tier item. But this 'Red Knight's Helmet' had options roughly equivalent to both of those items combined. And it came with no penalties whatsoever.
'It's clearly the best.'
Even knowing he was standing in the middle of a boss room, a smile kept creeping onto his face. And if he had one more thing to add to that, the design was perfect, too.
'Wouldn't want to hide this one away.'
The blood-red helmet and the long mane connected to it carried the elegance of a work of art. Though only for a brief moment, he even felt the impulse to suit up in a full set of matching armor if one existed. However.
'Unfortunately...'
The rest of Igrit's armor didn't shine like items did. The helmet was the only piece of equipment he'd been granted. Setting aside a trace of disappointment, Jin-Woo carefully put on the helmet. Shlk. Just as it always had, the helmet vanished in an instant. He couldn't show off its appearance, but thanks to the helmet, his stats skyrocketed.
[Stats] Strength: 128 (+20) Vitality: 87 (+20) Agility: 107 Intelligence: 66 Perception: 89 Physical Damage Reduction: 46% (+15%)
The numbers in parentheses represented the stat increases from the helmet. Strength, Vitality, and even the hard-to-raise Physical Damage Reduction stat had all surged dramatically. Absolute satisfaction. Seeing the effects with his own eyes, his heart pounded furiously.
'No.'
Jin-Woo shook his head.
'Let's not get too excited. The quest isn't over yet.'
There were still more items to inspect. Still riding the lingering wave of excitement, Jin-Woo shifted his gaze to the other items.
[Rune Stone: Touch of the Ruler] [Item: Instant Return Stone]
Two stones. Of the two stones—each slightly larger than a walnut—what caught Jin-Woo's eye first was the 'Instant Return Stone.'
'I already know all about rune stones...'
But what was an Instant Return Stone? His curiosity was answered quickly. The info for the Instant Return Stone appeared right away. Ding.
[Item: Instant Return Stone] Grade: ?? Classification: Consumable This is an exclusive item for the Job Change Quest. If you shatter the Return Stone, you can instantly teleport outside the Dungeon. However, it will be automatically destroyed once the Job Change Quest ends. It cannot be stored in the Vault.
The way to use it was similar to a rune stone. But the effect upon use was a Dungeon escape instead of skill acquisition.
'Wait, hasn't the Job Change Quest not ended yet?'
If that were the case, then according to the description, this item should have already disappeared. The fact that it still remained meant... A chill suddenly ran down his spine for reasons he couldn't quite place. It was strange. He'd obtained the ultimate item for escaping a Dungeon instantly—so why did it give him such an ominous feeling? If this weren't a System-generated Dungeon but a 'real Dungeon,' anyone would pay good money for something like this. This single stone was worth its weight in lives—who would skimp on that kind of money? He wouldn't either. With this, the burden of the Job Change Quest had been significantly reduced.
'If I just put my mind to it...'
He could escape anytime he wanted. Yet the unease that had taken root in the back of his mind refused to fade. Sure enough! As if it had been waiting, the System's warning chime rang out. Ding.
['Player' has obtained the Instant Return Stone.] [The Job Change Quest now begins.]
Damn it! So this was the item that triggered the quest! A wave of dizziness hit him. It felt like he'd only just realized there was something beneath his feet that he should never have stepped on.
'If I'd known this would happen, I should've rested at least a little.'
But there was no use in regret. No matter how much he tried to predict based on experience and knowledge, the future remained unknowable. Beads of cold sweat formed on Jin-Woo's forehead. A glance. Summoning his 'Status Window' internally, Jin-Woo checked his remaining HP and fatigue.
[HP: 4161 / 10270] [MP: 390 / 850] [Fatigue: 61]
'Fatigue is a bit high, but I can still manage.'
Thanks to the helmet's Vitality bonus, his total HP pool had grown considerably, which meant his remaining HP had increased along with it. That was a small mercy at least. Jin-Woo encouraged himself, clenching his fists repeatedly.
'I can do this. For now, at least.'
His life itself probably wasn't in immediate danger. He had the Instant Return Stone in hand, after all. But the more he thought about it, the more this Instant Return Stone felt like an item symbolizing 'give up on the quest.' Otherwise, there was no way the System would have made it the starting item.
'If I abandon the quest...'
It would be the same as losing his chance at a job change. The cold sweat on his forehead traced past his temples and dripped to his chin. Gulping, his Adam's apple bobbing, Jin-Woo saw the System's next message appear. Ding.
[10 seconds until Dimensional Gates are generated at random.]
'Dimensional Gates?'
His confusion was left entirely unresolved as large numbers materialized in the air above.
[00:00:10]
That part was easy to understand. It was probably a countdown. The messages continued.
['Player' has a choice.] [Use the 'Instant Return Stone' to escape the Dungeon.]
...8, 7, 6. Even in that moment, time continued to tick down.
[Or hold out for as long as possible to earn Promotion Points needed for a higher-class job change.]
"Hold out? Hold out for what?" he burst out, frustration boiling over. But already in his hand was 'Fang of Kasaka,' summoned from his Vault. He'd stored the rune stone in the Vault and shoved the Instant Return Stone—which couldn't be stored there—into his back pocket. Even as his heart hammered as though it might burst, he'd already finished preparing for battle. That was Sung Jin-Woo.
[The Job Change Quest will begin shortly.]
...4, 3, 2.
Eyes locked on the dwindling timer, Jin-Woo began scanning his surroundings. His head and gaze darted around rapidly. Something was starting. The space around him began to warp and twist.
[00:00:01] [Good luck.]
What? For the first time, the System had expressed an emotion. But there was no time to be surprised. The moment the timer hit zero, Gates began appearing everywhere. Whoom. Whoom. It wasn't just one or two. There were at least six visible nearby. And that number was climbing steeply. At the same time, the timer started counting up.
[00:00:02]
The countdown had restarted. Time was becoming Promotion Points. He couldn't understand everything, but he could make sense of what the System was saying to a degree.
'The longer I hold out, the stronger I'll become.'
No—to be precise, he could earn a stronger job. He couldn't let this opportunity slip away for nothing. His HP and MP both still had room to work with.
'Let's hold out as long as I can.'
[00:00:03]
Exactly three seconds later, knights poured out of the nearby Gates in droves, weapons in hand. Boom-boom-boom-boom. Armored in iron plate, the knights formed a silver wave that shook the ground. It was a situation that should've been overwhelming, but a smile spread across Jin-Woo's face.
'These guys? I can handle them just fine like this!'
In a way, they were welcome opponents. If something as vicious as Igrit had come out, lasting even seconds would've been difficult.
'Stealth!'
Jin-Woo used his spare mana to activate Stealth. His current mana was 390. Activating Stealth cost 200. That left 190 mana.
'Mana consumed while Stealth is active: 1 per second.'
In other words, moving around in Stealth would buy him roughly three minutes for free. Shlk. Jin-Woo's form began to blur. As expected, the knights charging toward him froze in their tracks. But then—
[A Mage uses 'Skill: Gaze of Detection'.]
A ding! warning chime. Jin-Woo's head turned toward the source of the sound.
'What?'
A mage that had burst out of a Gate was muttering a spell. Jin-Woo spotted the eye-shaped mark hovering above the mage's head. The instant that eye flashed! In a blink, Jin-Woo's Stealth was dispelled.
'Damn it!'
His calculations had been off from the start. Whoosh. Whoosh. The knights standing still like telephone poles all turned their heads toward Jin-Woo in unison. It was like a scene from a horror movie. Moments later, the silver wave crashed down on him. Jin-Woo's eyes went wide, teeth clenched tight. BAM! A single punch sent a charging knight's head flying. The knight fell dead on the spot.
[You have defeated a knight.]
A fierce gleam blazed in Jin-Woo's eyes.
'Intimidate!'
[Skill: 'Intimidate' activated.] [Effect: 'Fear' triggers.] [All stats of targets are reduced by 50% for 1 minute.]
Many of the monsters slowed from the Fear effect, but that single use had drained 90% of his mana. The mana cost of Intimidate was 100. He couldn't use it a second time.
'But I bought myself one minute.'
For that one minute while the monsters' stats were reduced, Jin-Woo began smashing every knight he could lay a hand on. BAM! CRACK! BAM! CRASH! He tore through the knights with ferocious momentum. BAM! BAM! CRACK! But the rate at which knights fell was slower than the rate at which new ones poured from the Gates. Boom-boom-boom-boom. Even in the heat of battle, Jin-Woo checked the time.
[00:03:19]
3 minutes and 19 seconds. How many points would that convert to? Was it time to leave now? But there was no leisure to deliberate. Even at this very moment, knights were streaming in like an endless tide. He'd felled countless knights, but there was simply no way to keep up with the numbers.
"Aargh—!"
In the end, Jin-Woo was buried beneath the knights.
[Endurance passive activates.] [Endurance passive activates.]
His HP, which had been falling vertically, finally began to bottom out.
[HP: 1036 / 10270]
'Time...?'
[00:05:08]
5 minutes and 8 seconds. That was long enough. He'd held out as much as he could.
'...Time to get out.'
Trapped among the knights, Jin-Woo fumbled for his back pocket inside the suffocating prison of silver armor. But then. Tsk. The Instant Return Stone slipped from his fingertips. The round stone bounced off a knight's heel and rolled away.
"No!"
Jin-Woo lunged for it, but the knights blocked him. Moments later, more knights descended from above. His breath was being crushed out of him. He could barely breathe.
[Endurance passive activates.] [Endurance passive activates.]
His consciousness grew hazier by the second. Thud! Thud! Banged around between the knights, his mind spiraling into a fog, he heard a snickering, mocking voice from somewhere.
-This is all your own doing, you know. '...' -Why take the risk when there was a safe path? Isn't being an E-rank Hunter who made it to B-rank or C-rank already incredible luck? '...' -You were never more than that, in the end. '...Shut up.' -The one who got you killed was you.
Shut up! BAM! The knights that had surrounded Jin-Woo without a single gap were all sent flying at once. Though he'd nearly died, the light in Jin-Woo's eyes was still alive. Poisonous resolve overflowed from both of them.
'I'm not ending it like this.'
After everything it took to get this chance. Absolutely not. Because he'd been at the very bottom, he craved the very top. He knew the bitterness of weakness better than anyone. To survive, he'd screamed and clawed his way forward every time, and even when he did survive, he was met with pointing fingers.
-What good is an E-rank? -The Hunter's Association is the same. They should send someone useful. That guy, though... Ugh. -That guy just hides behind his teammates to stay alive, doesn't he?
He'd finally gotten his hands on a ladder that could take him to the place he'd only ever been allowed to watch from afar, and they wanted him to just stand there and look at it? Not a chance.
'...I remember now.'
Those voices that had rung inside his head. They were theirs. The ones who were always chattering behind his back. Yeah—mock all you want. I'll fight until the bitter end. If he had 10 HP left. No—even 1 was fine. He'd claw and scratch with everything he had until the very last moment. He'd fight until he couldn't move anymore.
"Aaaaargh—!"
Jin-Woo launched himself forward. CRACK! A thrown punch caved in a knight's breastplate and sent it flying backward. Other knights it collided with toppled over as well. The knights began charging again. Jin-Woo's movements grew even more violent. BAM! BAM! BAM! Fist, elbow, knee, or foot—any knight that touched Jin-Woo's body was shattered like a paper doll without exception.
[Fatigue has exceeded 70.] [Movement is restricted.]
As the warning suggested, his movements began to slow. But the venomous fire in Jin-Woo's eyes didn't dim one bit. One by one, knights that hadn't fallen in a single blow crashed into him. Jin-Woo struck three, four more times if he had to, smashing them to pieces regardless. CRACK!
[...8, 7, 6, 5]
Some kind of countdown had been progressing in the background. He hadn't even noticed until it dropped to a single digit, so consumed was he by the fight.
'What? Is the quest ending?'
A flicker of hope, but it was a vain dream.
[00:06:27]
The timer was climbing normally. Separately from the timer, some other count was dropping by one each second.
[4, 3, 2]
'Are you telling me when I'm going to die?'
Well, the System had said so from the very beginning. If he didn't agree to become the Player, he would die in 0.02 seconds. Fine. Jin-Woo glared.
'I'll use every last second without holding back.'
BAM! CRASH! Two more knights were obliterated. But despite Jin-Woo's fierce will, his body was already in ruins. The force behind his shoulders weakened. His slowing fists were no longer enough to stop the oncoming charges. One from the front, one from behind. THUD! Colliding with knights lunging from both directions, Jin-Woo let out a low groan from the terrible impact.
"Gah!"
The knights seized the opportunity and swarmed him from every direction once more. Jin-Woo was wrapped layer upon layer in knights, unable to move a single finger. Boom-boom-boom-boom. Even then, the number of knights piling on top of him only kept growing. The silver tide had long since become a silver mountain. Jin-Woo gasped for air.
"Hah, hah...!"
He felt as though he was about to suffocate. His hand, barely reaching out from between the knights, rose weakly toward the sky.
HP: 93 / 10270
The situation was utterly desperate. And yet Jin-Woo refused to give up.
'Not yet, just a little more...'
When his outstretched hand finally managed to clench into a fist aimed at the sky, the ongoing mystery countdown finally signaled its end.
[...1, 0] [You failed to complete the Daily Quest.] [Transporting to the Penalty Zone.]