After parting ways with the party and returning home, Ju-min quietly opened his Inventory Window.
Inside was an old leather-bound booklet emitting a faint glow.
Ju-min carefully took out the book. The texture of the leather beneath his fingers felt unusually heavy.
'Perfect Breathing.'
An A-grade Passive Skill.
Ju-min slowly opened the Skill Book’s cover.
At that moment, the incomprehensible ancient characters densely covering the page transformed into particles of light and scattered into the air.
The golden particles reflected in Ju-min’s eyes. They then poured down like a waterfall and instantly seeped into his body.
“Haa.”
A warm breath escaped his lips involuntarily.
It was a strange sensation that felt neither hot nor cold. It simply felt as though exceptionally clear and dense air had filled the deepest reaches of his lungs.
Ju-min remained standing as he slowly breathed in and out.
His breathing cycle was not significantly different from usual. However, the circulation of mana within his body had completely changed.
In the brief interval between inhalation and exhalation, the minute mana leakage that had unconsciously escaped his body came to a complete halt.
His heartbeat settled into an endlessly calm rhythm, while the aching fatigue accumulated between his muscles from raiding dungeons gradually dispersed like lifting fog.
It was not an ultimate Skill capable of unleashing dazzling sword aura or explosive destructive power.
It was a quiet Skill without any visible form.
However, Ju-min understood its true value after taking only a single breath.
It eliminated wasted movement.
No matter how violently he moved, it would suppress his stamina and mana consumption to the absolute minimum.
Ju-min possessed no exceptional talent for combat. He had simply and stubbornly trained his fundamentals.
Now, he had obtained the finest possible foundation for raising the efficiency of the crude combat techniques he had developed through sheer physical effort by several levels at once.
***
The following morning, Ju-min visited a public training facility operated by the Hunter Association.
It was still early, so there were not many people in the general training area. Lower-ranked Hunters occupied scattered spots throughout the facility, sweating as they focused on their individual training.
THUD! THUD! THUD!
Standing before a punching bag, Ju-min unleashed a barrage of heavy barehanded strikes.
Rotational force began at the tips of his feet, traveled through his waist, and extended precisely through the end of his fist.
The movements were crude but contained no waste.
Normally, twenty consecutive strikes at this speed would have left him gasping for breath.
Now, however, things were different.
Despite throwing punch after punch, Ju-min’s breathing did not falter in the slightest.
“Phew.”
Each time he exhaled briefly, the heat accumulated within his lungs smoothly cooled.
Beads of sweat formed across his forehead, but the muscles in his arms and legs did not scream in pain.
He showed no signs of exhaustion.
Instead, the more he moved, the more it felt as though the mana within his body found its proper path and circulated like lubricating oil.
After steadying his breathing, Ju-min opened his bag and removed the dark-steel gauntlets.
The B-grade equipment, Giant’s Mining Hands.
He equipped the gauntlets on both hands and clenched his fists.
Heavy, coarse mana gathered within his grip and pulled every muscle in his arms taut.
Ju-min fixed his gaze on the exact center of the punching bag.
The moment he pushed against the ground, his weight-driven right fist tore through the air.
BOOOOM!
A deafening impact, like the explosion of a cannonball, struck the corner of the training facility.
The punching bag wrapped in thick leather bent violently upward, nearly reaching the ceiling. The thick chain connecting it to the steel frame shrieked—KREEEAK—as it thrashed about on the verge of snapping.
Several Hunters who had been lifting equipment or running nearby stopped simultaneously.
“What was that sound?”
“Did that punching bag just burst? Why did it sound like that?”
“Who is that guy? How is he so ridiculously strong?”
Open stares flew toward Ju-min amid the surrounding murmurs, but he did not even turn his head.
He calmly watched the punching bag swing back toward its original position and looked down at his palm.
The gauntlets provided overwhelming physical strength, while the Skill granted him tenacious stamina-management capabilities.
Ju-min thoroughly calculated the synergy between the two separately.
The gauntlets’ power was sufficient to break the bones of heavily armored monsters, while Impact Absorption reduced the recoil of every strike.
Meanwhile, the A-grade Passive Skill suppressed wasted stamina and mana as he repeatedly used that power.
'I’ve passed the point where I should be running lower-ranked dungeons for pocket change.'
That was the result of his cold numerical assessment.
However, he had no intention of becoming drunk on his newfound strength and recklessly charging into a B-rank dungeon.
Increased strength and stamina did not allow him to control every variable in battle.
He needed more real-combat experience and still severely lacked defensive measures and utility skills for handling unexpected situations.
Ju-min had witnessed countless Hunters lose their lives after recklessly challenging places beyond their abilities.
The moment someone overestimated their strength, the dungeon mercilessly tore out their throat.
That was the most reliable rule Ju-min had learned in this line of work.
***
After washing in the training facility’s shower room, Ju-min bought a sports drink from a vending machine and sat on a bench in the lobby.
He opened the can with one hand while removing his smartphone from his pocket with the other.
With practiced movements, he opened his banking app.
The account clearly displayed the proceeds from the mana stones he had sold in separate batches over several days, along with his share of the loot settlement from the latest raid.
Without hesitation, he selected an account saved among his favorites and entered the amount to transfer.
This money was separate from the living expenses he had already sent. He had made the amount large enough to comfortably cover the medical examination his father had been postponing.
[Transfer complete.]
Just as he confirmed the notification and took a sip of his drink, his smartphone began vibrating noisily in his hand.
BZZZT. BZZZT.
The caller displayed on the screen was “Mom.”
Ju-min smiled faintly and answered the call.
“Hey, Mom. Did you see the money come in?”
- Son, you already sent us plenty not long ago. Why would you send so much again?
Her voice was filled with surprise and concern.
- You didn’t enter another dangerous place and overwork yourself just because it paid more, did you?
“No. The party I joined this time got lucky. I received a generous bonus.”
- Even so, there must be all sorts of things you need to buy for your Hunter work. You can’t keep sending us such large amounts. This won’t do. I’ll send half of it back, so use it for your living expenses.
Ju-min lightly cleared his throat at his mother’s firm tone.
“I’m telling you, I’m fine. I’ve also bought myself sturdy equipment. I sent this money separately for Dad’s medical examination we discussed before. I’ve paid off part of the loan too, so don’t postpone the examination anymore. Buy yourselves some meat as well.”
- Goodness. I keep telling you that your father is healthy.
“That’s why he should take care of himself while he’s still healthy. Anyway, don’t worry about me.”
- All right. Don’t skip meals, and don’t get hurt. Understood?
“Yeah. I’ll call again.”
After ending the call, Ju-min quietly stared at the black screen of his smartphone.
A reassuring warmth filled one corner of his chest.
Protecting this ordinary, modest life was the sole reason he threw himself into the deadly dangers of dungeons.
This miraculous power that had fallen into his hands—
If anyone discovered the System ability known as 100× Rewards, his peaceful life would undoubtedly be shattered.
Famous guilds and those in power would not leave him alone, and he would inevitably become entangled in conflicts he did not want.
'Don’t attract attention. Quietly take only my share. If I don’t want this opportunity stolen from me, I have to keep my mouth shut.'
He lightly tossed the empty can into a trash bin and pressed his lips together once again.
From now on, he needed to act with even greater precision and caution.
***
Ju-min sat in a corner of a nearby internet café.
He stared intently at the Hunter Association Network displayed on the monitor. There was no hesitation in the hands moving across the keyboard and mouse.
It was time to search for his next serious target.
'Skip the popular dungeons that attract people like swarms of bees.'
Ju-min unselected the high-profit and popular-area options from the search filters without hesitation.
Dungeons with large monster populations and lucrative base loot were always occupied by teams affiliated with major guilds or highly experienced veteran parties.
Joining them merely to pick up crumbs would do little to help Ju-min grow. His 100× Rewards ability did not activate for ordinary loot.
What Ju-min needed were special rewards officially recognized by the System.
That left only one answer.
Places that others avoided because they were troublesome.
Places that were ignored because their monster-hunting efficiency was poor.
Shunned or uncleared dungeons like those were the most likely places for hidden rules and Hidden Quests to lie dormant.
Ju-min adjusted the filters again.
Low profitability.
High raid-failure rate.
Special conditions included.
The page refreshed, and dozens of dungeon notices appeared one after another.
Ju-min rolled the mouse wheel and carefully examined each notice.
'People avoid this one because the swamp terrain makes movement difficult. This one only contains Slimes with high mana resistance, so the returns aren’t worth the effort.'
The reasons most of the dungeons were being avoided were obvious.
After scrolling for some time, Ju-min’s gaze suddenly stopped on a particular notice.
[Recruiting Party Members for a Special D-rank Dungeon]
- Raid failed due to time-out for four consecutive days.
- Survival rate: 100%. However, no party has even entered the Boss Area.
- Preference given to those with a good eye for navigation. Daily payment guaranteed.
A Special D-rank Dungeon.
Unlike ordinary dungeons that could be cleared simply by slaughtering the monsters inside, this type of dungeon required specific conditions or mechanics to be fulfilled before it could be cleared.
Ju-min rested his chin on one hand and leaned closer to the monitor.
'No one has died, but they keep timing out?'
The absence of fatalities meant that either very few monsters appeared inside or their danger level was extremely low.
Yet the fact that the raid had failed for several consecutive days meant that brute force alone would not be enough.
Ju-min’s eyes flashed sharply at the line stating that no one had even entered the Boss Area.
There was a high probability that the dungeon possessed a complicated structure in which the next area would open only after someone discovered a hidden path or solved a puzzle-like mechanic.
The more troublesome the dungeon, the greater the chance that undiscovered Hidden Rewards remained inside, still gathering dust.
“This one smells promising.”
An intrigued smile spread across Ju-min’s lips as he stared at the monitor.
To take the first step along the shortcut he had devised toward greater strength, Ju-min lightly clicked the left mouse button.