Jeong-min's daily routine was the same every day.
He would wake up early, go outside the inventory, and practice swordsmanship.
After repeating every movement a thousand times, it was almost lunchtime.
He would go into the inventory for a simple meal, and after eating, he would spend his time freely until he went to see Leia.
When the appointed time came, he would go to Leia's world to train, chat, and then return to sleep, repeating the same routine every day.
Five days passed like that.
After finishing his training, Jeong-min sat facing Leia with a bonfire between them.
Leia looked at Jeong-min and said,
"You've worked hard. Now you should be able to destroy a D-rank gate on your own."
Jeong-min nodded and looked at the status window floating in front of him.
[Choi Jeong-min
Strength: 65
Stamina: 68
Agility: 60
Intelligence: 42(+10) [MP:2/76]
Gold Held: 560 Gold
Skills Held: Gate(Lv.2), Spatial Movement(Lv.4), Clairvoyance(Lv.2), Eye of Appraisal(Lv.2), Mana Recovery(Passive)(Lv.2), Detection(Passive) (Lv.1)]
Jeong-min looked at his status window and felt very proud.
Thanks to consistently training his mental stats, his mana capacity and skill levels had also increased quite a bit.
Leia said to Jeong-min, who was looking at the status window with a satisfied expression,
"Skill levels won't change much until they reach level 5, except for reducing mana consumption. But when they reach level 5, there will be additional effects or increased power, so please focus on leveling them up."
Jeong-min nodded and closed the status window.
"Everything else is still insignificant, but the Spatial Movement skill is level 4. I'm looking forward to seeing how the skill will be enhanced when it reaches level 5."
Leia nodded and opened her inventory, taking out a small plastic bottle.
It was a 500ml bottle of water that Jeong-min had put in Leia's inventory.
Jeong-min looked at Leia drinking the water and said sadly,
"...I'm thinking of trading with the shelter tomorrow. If I can get cola, I'll definitely bring it back. Please bear with it until then."
Leia coughed briefly while drinking the water and said to Jeong-min,
"Ahem... water is enough for me, so don't worry too much. Of course... I won't refuse if you give it to me..." Jeong-min smiled at Leia's words.
Leia, after drinking the water, said to Jeong-min,
"The place where the person who was tailing you is, that's the shelter, right? Well... with Jeong-min's current strength, there won't be any problems. But... remember what I told you?"
Jeong-min nodded.
"If they are judged to be enemies, punish them harshly and thoroughly, right? I remember it well. Don't worry."
"I believe you."
Jeong-min took out a snack from his bag.
It was one of the few snacks left in his inventory.
"I'm going to organize the inside of the inventory when I trade."
Leia said to Jeong-min while munching on the snack.
"Hmm... you're right, you'll need to organize it to live comfortably. It must be piled up with all sorts of things."
"Yes, I'm going to set aside a day to organize it. Once the inventory is organized, I'm going to start exploring other inventories again. If I find the inventory of a deceased person, I'll take the items."
"You've thought it through well. After all, the items in the inventory of the deceased are things that no one but Jeong-min can use. Don't worry about it and take everything. If you find anything interesting, please introduce it to me."
"Of course."
Jeong-min answered with a smile.
"Ah... come to think of it, there was alcohol among the items I brought back before... Leia, do you... drink?"
"Alcohol?"
A spark flashed in Leia's eyes.
"Yes, it's alcohol from another world... it's said to be made by a skill. You can also get a buff that increases your stamina stat if you drink it... and it smells quite good, so I was thinking of trying it sometime."
"Well, I don't drink much, but I used to drink with my master and colleagues when they were alive... Ah, I miss them..."
Jeong-min said to Leia, who was gazing wistfully into the air and reminiscing about the past,
"Then... when I get supplies from the shelter, would you like to have a drink with me? With some delicious snacks..."
"That's a really good idea! I can buy it from the Store, but... I haven't had a drink since I was alone."
"Yes, then please look forward to tomorrow. I'll trade well and come back."
"Yes, I'll look forward to it and wait."
Jeong-min smiled contentedly at Leia's lively appearance.
'I hope the trade with Daesung goes well tomorrow.'
Jeong-min and Leia talked late into the night.
It was dawn when Jeong-min returned to the inventory, lay down on the hard floor, and soon fell into a deep sleep.
The next day.
As usual, Jeong-min woke up early and went outside to do his morning swordsmanship training.
As his stats increased, he increased the weight of the Shackles and Cuffs of Growth on his wrists and ankles, so now Jeong-min was doing swordsmanship training with 40kg on each.
'Is it because my stamina stat has increased? I'm not that tired even if I don't sleep much.'
Jeong-min was very satisfied with his improved physical condition as he did his swordsmanship training.
By the time the training was over, it was almost lunchtime.
Jeong-min ate a quick meal and prepared to go to the Daesung Shelter.
After putting the sword Jun-ki had given him for training into his inventory, Jeong-min took out [Ruunan's Sword] and slowly walked towards the Daesung Shelter.
The Daesung Shelter was right outside the alley, so Jeong-min was soon able to stand in front of the shelter's main gate.
A man and a woman he had never seen before were guarding the main gate.
The man who was guarding said to Jeong-min,
"Stop. If you come any closer, we will consider you an enemy and attack. What is your business here?"
"Ah... well, a friend of mine is in this shelter, so I wanted to check on him... and if possible, I would like to propose a trade to the Daesung Shelter."
The man who heard Jeong-min's words said,
"A friend? A trade proposal? What kind of trade are you proposing?"
"That is..."
The man waved his hand and said,
"That's enough. This isn't a place where just anyone can enter. Don't bother-"
"What's your name?"
The woman behind the man asked Jeong-min.
Jeong-min looked at the woman and said,
"Ah... you mean my name? My name is Choi Jeong-min."
"Hmm... then what's the name of the friend you want to check on?"
"Park Jun-ki. I know he's the 6th Team Leader of the combat unit at this shelter."
The man, who had been pushed aside by the woman, interjected,
"Huh? You're 6th Team Leader's friend-"
"That's enough. Open the gate."
The woman cut off the man's words, and the man shouted in anger.
"Hey! Why are you opening the gate? We need to properly identify him!"
"Hey, you idiot. Didn't you read the official notice that came down?"
"Official notice? What official notice?"
The woman, who had been bickering with the man, sighed deeply and said,
"Haa... that's enough... just open it without nagging. It's a matter that came down as an official notice."
The man grumbled and opened the main gate of the Daesung Shelter.
"I think there was an official notice that came down... but did I not read it?
Hmm, I don't remember..."
While the woman was looking at the man with a pathetic look, the main gate of Daesung opened wide.
"Go in. If you give your name at the inner gate, it will open right away. Welcome to the shelter [Daesung]."
"Yes... so there must be an official notice about me?"
The woman shrugged and said nothing more.
Jeong-min greeted the woman briefly and entered the shelter.
Jeong-min was able to pass through the inner gate immediately as well.
'Did Gwak Jo-won order it?... Well, it was easy to get in.' Jeong-min, who had entered the shelter, looked around.
Various people were walking around inside the shelter.
Jeong-min grabbed a random person passing by and asked,
"Excuse me. Is it possible to find someone? He's said to be the 6th Team Leader of the combat unit here..."
"Well, if it's the combat unit, aren't they training right now? They're training hard because they're going to attack the gate tomorrow... Ah, it's lunchtime, so they might be in the cafeteria. Do you see that line drawn on the wall? It guides you to each place by color, so follow it."
"Ah, I see. Thank you."
Jeong-min bowed and started walking again.
He followed the line drawn on the wall and walked towards the training ground.
'...They're going to attack the gate tomorrow... I hope they'll be okay?' "Hey!"
Jeong-min turned around at the voice that broke his train of thought and saw a large middle-aged man.
It was 1st Team Leader Nam Seong-dong, who had guided him at Daesung before.
Seong-dong led a group of men of similar size and walked towards Jeongmin.
Jeong-min greeted Seong-dong.
"Hello. 1st Team Leader... right? How have you been?"
Seong-dong received Jeong-min's greeting and said with a cheerful laugh,
"I'm doing well, the same as always. What brings you here today, are you here to see 6th Team Leader?"
"Yes, I haven't been able to see him since then... and I have something to trade with Daesung."
"Trade?"
Seong-dong gestured to the large men behind him to go ahead and then said to Jeong-min,
"What kind of trade are you talking about? Are you here to sell the potion you used before?"
Rumors had already spread in the shelter that 6th Team Leader had been revived thanks to an amazing potion, so Seong-dong thought that Jeong-min had come to sell potions.
Jeong-min shook his head and said,
"No, I'm not here to sell potions today... I'm just trying to sell some highperformance items."
Seong-dong crossed his arms and muttered,
"Hmm... if you want to trade with this place, you'll have to talk to Gwak Jowon... are you sure you're okay with that? He had his eye on you before. Has he been bothering you since then?"
"Well, the place where I am is a bit safe... I think he did try to tail me."
"Ugh, that unlucky bastard... well, trading is good, but I don't really want you to deal with him. You might just end up getting cleaned out."
Jeong-min smiled and said to Seong-dong,
"Don't worry. I'm capable enough to protect myself."
"It's not a matter of whether you're capable of protecting yourself or not... that guy's heart is just too dark... Eii... or at least bring 6th Team Leader with you when you trade with him. You never know what tricks he might pull."
"Choi Jeong-min!!!"
Jeong-min turned around at the sound of someone calling him loudly and saw Jun-ki standing there.
Jun-ki ran up to Jeong-min like a madman and grabbed him by the collar, shaking him.
"You, you, you, what happened to you? I heard you came and healed me? And then where did you go again and now you're coming back again!?"
Seong-dong looked at Jun-ki, who was speaking excitedly, and said with a laugh,
"The cold man of the shelter, 6th Team Leader, is showing such excitement. It's a strange sight to see. I'm going to go eat now. Remember what I said."
Seong-dong waved his hand and walked towards the cafeteria.
Jeong-min waved back and said to Jun-ki,
"Hey, hey, calm down a bit. Everyone's staring."
Sure enough, young men and women who had been following Jun-ki rushed over and surrounded the two of them.
Soon, the people who recognized Jeong-min's face began to greet him.
"Ah... you've come back! I didn't get a chance to thank you properly then. Thank you so much for saving our Team Leader!"
"Is this the person? The one with the potion?"
"Thank you so much! Our Team Leader would have died if it weren't for you. Thank you so much!"
Jeong-min was in a daze from Jun-ki grabbing him by the collar and shaking him in front of him and the words of gratitude pouring in from all directions.
Jeong-min reached out and released Jun-ki's collar and accepted the greetings from the people around him.
After a brief commotion, Jun-ki, who had calmed down to some extent, ordered the members of his team to go to the cafeteria first.
After the 6th Team members greeted him one by one and left, leaving only Jeong-min and Jun-ki, Jun-ki asked,
"Hoo... I was so surprised that I got excited. Okay, let's hear the story. What happened? Do you know that I don't remember seeing you after [Trial of God]?"
"Ah... is that so? Ah, that's right. You were in a coma when I came before."
"The hell with 'is that so'. You crazy bastard. If you came and went like that, you should have left a message or something. Or contacted me separately. Why didn't I hear anything from you? I thought you were dead."
"I was going to contact you. But my phone battery ran out. There was no way to charge it.""With the communication lines down, and no internet or anything, why are you talking about phone batteries? You should have just come back to the shelter to give us the news. Or at least left a note about where you were."
"Communication lines are down? We can't use phones or the internet anymore?"
"Yeah, they said the base stations or something were all destroyed. We can only use satellite communication or something like that."
"Wow... Charging the battery won't be of much use then. I had some circumstances that prevented me from coming."
"What circumstances? I heard from 1st Team Leader that you even refused to move into the shelter. Did you join another group? Is it a safe place?"
Jeong-min looked around and said,
"Um... It's a bit difficult to talk about here. I'll tell you later."
"Later when?"
"Um... I'll have to think about that. Anyway, I'm doing well, so don't worry. I'm doing well, using a safe place that neither monsters nor people can enter as my base."
"...There's a place like that?"
"I'll tell you everything later, so just know that for now. By the way, you're going to attack the gate tomorrow, right?"
Jun-ki looked at Jeong-min for a moment and then nodded.
"Yeah, we're going to destroy the gate right in front of us. It's our first time attacking after only defending all this time, so I'm a bit nervous, but... well, considering our forces, I think it's definitely possible."
"Are you well prepared for the gatekeeper?"
"Gatekeeper? What's that?"
Jeong-min sighed softly and then explained about the gatekeeper.
"I didn't know that... A goblin lord... I have to report this to the Commander."
"Has no shelter destroyed a gate yet...? If they had, we would have known... Ah, maybe they deliberately didn't share the information. Anyway, be wary of the appearance of that gatekeeper. It's a D-rank gate, so it won't be that strong, but if you know about it in advance, you can reduce the damage. And when that thing dies, make sure you're the one to destroy the gate. That way, you can get the most experience."
Jun-ki's head was spinning with the information he was hearing for the first time.
"D-rank gate? So there are gates of higher classes than that? How did you find out about this information?"
"I told you I'd tell you later. I'll tell you everything when we have a chance to talk quietly later."
Jun-ki looked frustrated but nodded.
"...You have to tell me everything. Don't leave anything out."
"I know. Stop it, you obsessive man."
Ignoring Jun-ki's scowling face, Jeong-min took out a sword and two highgrade potions from his inventory and handed them to Jun-ki.
Jun-ki, who received the items Jeong-min handed him, asked Jeong-min in a dazed voice.
"What... is this?"
"That sword is an item. It will increase your strength stat by 10 and your agility stat by 5. Use it.
And that potion is the one that saved you the other day. As long as you don't die, it will heal most wounds. Drink it directly if your internal organs are damaged. Think of it as a spare life and keep it safe. And don't go around helping others and getting hurt again like before."
Jun-ki's mouth dropped open when he heard the explanation of the items.
"How did you get such amazing items..."
"I told you I'd tell you later. I know you're curious, but try to be patient for now."
Jun-ki put the items he received from Jeong-min into his inventory and said,
"Well, I'll use what I received well for now. You really have to tell me everything later, okay?"
"Ah, come on!"
Jun-ki's face broke into a smile when Jeong-min got annoyed.
"Go now. Isn't it time for you to eat with your team members?"
"That's right. Eating and then training again. I won't even have enough time to eat. Have you eaten? Why don't you come and eat with us?"
"Well... that would be nice, but... I have someone waiting for me."
"Someone waiting?"
Jeong-min nodded and pointed in one direction, and Jun-ki found a man watching them from one side of the hallway.
Jun-ki looked at the man and said,
"Who is it...? I don't think I've seen him before..."
"Gwak Jo-won's subordinate."
Jun-ki's eyes widened.
"Gwak Jo-won? The HR manager? Why is his subordinate here...? Ah, right, you'll tell me later, right? Then I'll go."
"Okay, I'll come back soon. Be careful tomorrow."
"You be careful. I'm still the ace of this shelter's combat unit."
"Yeah, yeah, don't get hurt and say things like that."
Jun-ki gave Jeong-min a fist bump and then ran towards the cafeteria.
As Jun-ki left, the man who had been watching them from one side of the hallway approached Jeong-min.
The man said to Jeong-min,
"Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Park Yoon-gu, and I serve as Manager Gwak Jo-won's assistant."
Jeong-min smiled and accepted the greeting.
"Yes, nice to meet you. I'm Choi Jeong-min."
The two men, who were familiar with each other but pretended to be meeting for the first time, smiled and exchanged greetings, each with different thoughts in mind.