Jin-Ho's eyes widened in understanding.
He would be able to show that an ordinary D-rank Hunter could lead 19 raids without any losses. It would be a testament to his abilities, paving the way for him to become the Guild Master. It would be the greatest achievement he could present to his father.
"I get it. Let's do it your way. I'll take care of everything."
***
On the same day when Jin-Woo was training with his sister, he noticed something interesting.
His counter requiring 10 kilometers and 100 other exercises didn't stop even after those goals were achieved.
The counter kept going even then.
- PUSH-UPS [200/100]
- SIT-UPS [200/100]
- SQUATS [200/100]
- RUN [20/10KM]
After doubling the requirements of the daily quest, it turned into a hidden quest. And although he expected to get something extra for it, he didn't expect an S-rank item right away.
He could only choose one box.
"Blessed Random Box" or "Cursed Random Box".
The Blessed Random Box – it provided what the "Player" wanted.
The cursed random box – it provided what the "Player" needed.
The explanations were simple, but paradoxically, this made the decision even more challenging. If it weren't for the descriptions of these items, he would have chosen the Blessed one without hesitation. But after reading the explanations, he felt that he would regret his decision regardless of which box he chose.
Something he wanted versus something he needed.
At first glance, both sounded good to him.
Something he "wanted" would be something he needed, but something he "needed" didn't necessarily have to be something he wanted.
Jin-Woo opted for a less risky option. Without knowing the outcome yet, it was best to minimize the amount of regret. Feeling like he couldn't be disappointed with something he wanted, Jin-Woo made a cold decision.
He chose the Blessed Random Box.
Additionally, he received +3 points for all stats.
Adding 3 points to each stat was the same as advancing three levels. In a way, it was even better. It was evident that he needed to accumulate more experience points for each level. Gaining all these points without raising his levels significantly eased the process of leveling up and meant that the level-up threshold hadn't increased even further.
Inside the box, he found a key. A key that opened another dungeon.
[ ITEM: KEY TO THE DEMON PALACE ]
[ DIFFICULTY LEVEL: S ]
[ TYPE: KEY ]
[ KEY TO ENTER THE DUNGEON: DEMONIC PALACE.CAN BE USED IN THE SONG PA GU TOWER. ]
Of course, there was no guarantee that the level of difficulty of the key indicated the difficulty of the dungeon, but it wouldn't be an unusual inference. After all, the dungeon he entered with an E-rank key was as simple as the E-rank dungeons he often encountered.
But what if the dungeon opened by this key had an S-rank category? Clearing it would be challenging even with a team consisting solely of S-rank Hunters. The likelihood of success would be only 50% in that case.
Above B-rank, the difficulty of Gates increased geometrically. In the past 10 years, since Gates started appearing, only a handful of S-rank Gates had been opened worldwide.
Jeju Island was one of those Gates.
After South Korean Hunters failed to clear the underground dungeon on the island, an S-rank Gate opened, rendering the entire island uninhabitable and abandoned by the country.
Is this what he truly wanted?
This key "Allowed You to Enter" and did not "Take You" into a dungeon, which might mean that in the case of this Gate, he could freely enter and exit. Even if the key disappeared after use, as it did the first time, he still had the Return Stone in his inventory.
Jin-Woo was currently standing in front of Song Pa Gu Tower. Standing exactly one hundred stories high, the building reached high into the sky. Even looking at him from below could make you feel dizzy.
It was nighttime at the moment and there was practically no one around. The absence of people created a dark, silent atmosphere.
Jin-Woo wanted to take as many precautions as possible for entering the system dungeon, something he hadn't done the first time.
He looked around and pulled his hood down. If someone saw a person disappearing without a visible Gate, it would surely cause a commotion. And in case he was caught on surveillance cameras here and there, a bit of facelessness would be helpful.
When he entered the gate, he turned around and checked if he was able to get out.
To his relief, his hand passed through the gate without any problems. This meant that the entrance was not closed.
Jin-Woo withdrew his hand with a sigh of relief.
Unlike the previous time, there was no invisible barrier blocking his exit. The key didn't disappear either but remained in his pocket.
With his escape route secured, he turned around, pulling his hood off cautiously. He wasn't sure if the rarity of the key corresponded to the Gate's category, so he had to be prepared.
As he looked ahead, he was greeted by a scene straight out of a horror movie, a disaster film, or hell.
Or a mixture of all three.
Could this place even be called a dungeon?
It was more like a new world than a proper dungeon.
A massive tower stood in place of a building.
The largest buildings in the world paled in comparison to the nightmarish colossus before his eyes.
The tower stretching toward the sky was surrounded by scarlet flames. However, it didn't look like the fire was consuming the tower. Instead, it seemed to be an integral part of it.
The Demon's Castle. A very fitting description for his taste.
Could he even get inside?
Even if he could, there was another problem. The last dungeon in the system used a subway station as its template for its levels. If this dungeon used the Song Pa Gu Tower as its template, Jin-Woo would have to clear a hundred different floors.
He couldn't imagine how long that would take.
He took two steps forward and in an instant he felt an overwhelming presence.
Even though he was absolutely certain it wasn't here a moment ago.
The power was emanating from the opposite side, near the door.
Upon closer inspection, he saw a black beast coiled on the ground, sleeping.
The beast was the size of the largest elephant species. And it seemed to be waking up, judging by its increased movements.
Jin-Woo summoned the Rasak Fang, the dagger was not strong, but it had very good effects that already helped him in the fight.
The monster finally started to rise, and its red eyes fixated on Jin-Woo.
The three massive heads on the beast turned to look at him, and it bared its teeth.
The monster resembled a very muscular dog with three heads and its name hovered above the middle one.
The tail of the beast momentarily captured Jin-Woo's attention. It was long, whip-like, with flames at the tip. The same flames adorned two out of its three heads. While the central head, had fire running only down its center, resembling a mohawk, the left head had flames that resembled a lush mane, growing only on the head and neck, not covering the throat.
The two heads with flames also had thick, wavy horns. The third head didn't have horns or fire but wore a pointed mask that appeared to be a permanent part of its face rather than an accessory.
The fangs were long enough to stick out up to the chin and each of the jaws was not covered by lips because the monster simply did not have them, which made its sharp teeth visible all the time.
[ HELL'S GUARDIAN CERBERUS ]
Its name was red, like those worms in the desert.
Except Jin-Woo was level 1 when he met them. Now he was at level 21, and it was possible that this beast was stronger than those sandworms.
The monster in front of him was certainly powerful but didn't give him the feeling of overwhelming pressure. That meant it wasn't in that dire of a situation.
Cerberus charged toward him, growling menacingly.
Jin-Woo quickly slipped beneath Cerberus's body, avoiding a bite, and simultaneously slashed his dagger across one of its front legs to test its defense.
Cerberus didn't seem to be impressed by Jin-Woo's actions. Instead, it attacked him. Jin-Woo quickly stepped back, trying to create some distance from Cerberus, and repeatedly blocked its bites with his dagger.
The sound of metal clashing against fangs filled the air. Although he wielded his dagger with incredible speed, Jin-Woo could only block Cerberus's attacks.
It would probably be easier for him if there weren't three heads.
Cerberus's agility exceeded Jin-Woo's expectations, and he attempted to turn the tide of battle using his skill.
[ NOTICE! ]
[ SKILL: "BLOODLUST" HAS BEEN CANCELLED. ]
[ NOTICE! ]
[ THE OPPONENT'S RESISTANCE IS TOO HIGH. EFFECT NOT APPLIED ]
It didn't work out, it's a pity.
He could have expected this from such a strong opponent.
As if reacting to his actions, Cerberus howled loudly, and Jin-Woo felt that the monster was strengthening its strength.
[ NOTICE! ]
[ HELL'S GUARDIAN CERBERUS HAS USED SKILL: RAGE ]
[ NOTICE! ]
[ RAGE LASTS FOR 3 MINUTES. ]
[ CERBERUS'S STATS WILL BE DOUBLED. ]
Doubled?!
Well, wonderful. As if it wasn't bad enough before.
Jin-Woo shouted in frustration.
Cerberus flicked his tail at him.
Jin-Woo instinctively lowered his head to dodge, but it stopped his legs for a moment. Cerberus didn't miss this opportunity, one of its heads bit into the hunter's left shoulder.
In response to this attack, Jin-Woo stabbed his forehead with all his strength, feeling his fangs dig into his muscles.
Cerberus stepped back, releasing him, fortunately before the other two heads could attack.
Jin-Woo's left shoulder was damaged. His left arm hung limp at his side, its joints shredded.
Unwilling to give up, Jin-Woo attacked again. Charging towards the Hunter, Cerberus caught him off guard with only one working arm.
All three heads sank their fangs into Jin-Woo's body.
Jin-Woo gritted his teeth in pain. The beast simultaneously clamped down on his neck, side, and thigh, then continued its momentum and slammed Jin-Woo into the castle gate.
[ HP: 1290/3602 ]
[ HP: 726/3602 ]
[ HP: 411/3602 ]
[ NOTICE! ]
[ SKILL: "TENACITY" HAS BEEN ACTIVATED BECAUSE YOUR HEALTH HAS FALLEN BELOW 30% ]
[ DAMAGE TAKEN WILL BE REDUCED BY 50% ]
Even now the system was trying to keep him alive.
It would be stupid to die now.
With great difficulty, Jin-Woo jumped away from the monster to the side, looking from the corner of his eye from time to time at the status window where the time until the end of Cerberus' skills was counted.
He pulled out his previously prepared ace up his sleeve.
Accept "Reward #1 Status Recovey."
Feeling his wounds heal, Jin-Woo breathed a sigh of relief.
... 178, 179, 180.
Three minutes passed and Cerberus' skill disappeared.
Great!
Now he had the opportunity.
He charged in, feeling all his life and stamina return.
At an arm's length, even Cerberus, with all its agility, couldn't avoid Jin-Woo's next move.
Skillfully maneuvering around the Cerberus's heads, he grabbed the beast's neck with his left hand.
With his right hand, Jin-Woo began stabbing mercilessly at the center of the beast's neck.
After his abilities were exhausted, Cerberus felt pain and lunged, trying to get Jin-Woo off of him.
As before, from the underground system, Jin-Woo held on to his opponent with all his might.
As Cerberus thrashed back and forth, he tightened his grip on Cerberus' neck and continued stabbing.
The beast continued to howl in pain and desperately tried to bite Jin-Woo, but at this point, the fight's outcome was clear at this point
The light of battle in Cerberus's eyes began to fade.
Eventually, the beasts' heads began to drop, and after a second, their entire bodies began to wobble.
Jin-Woo jumped to the side as the body fell to the ground with a thud and sand began to fly up around it.
[ NOTICE! ]
[ YOU DEFEATED THE GUARDIAN OF HELL CERBERUS ]