Episode 16. The Proposal
Thirty minutes of being tormented by the young geezer Byeon Beom-su.
The people passing by frowned at Byeon Beom-su acting condescending toward Shin Dae, but that was only for a moment.
To Shin Dae, it seemed he was rather enjoying those gazes.
‘He was like this before joining the army and still like this after coming back...’
Only pathetic thoughts came to mind, and Shin Dae rather felt pity for him.
A single word burst from Byeon Beom-su's mouth, breaking Shin Dae's idle reverie as he mindlessly pondered what leather to swap in for Kkokko.
“Come to think of it, you're an Awakened too, huh?”
Byeon Beom-su's words saying that he too was an Awakened.
Shin Dae's eyes widened slightly at the fact that he was an Awakened.
‘Huh... If so, why didn't I see him during my military service?’
Before Shin Dae could hold his puzzlement for long, Byeon Beom-su smirked at his expression and opened his mouth.
“I'm C-grade, what's your Awakening grade?”
“F-grade.”
Since he hadn't been officially promoted to D-grade yet, Shin Dae simply shrugged his shoulders and answered.
“Puhahaha, F-grade. It suits you well.”
Shin Dae simply let Byeon Beom-su's mocking words roll off him.
Soon after, when he left saying he was going to smoke a cigarette, Shin Dae merely let out a sigh.
“Good grief... There really are guys who never change.”
***
Returning to his studio apartment and looking for edible meat on the Hunter Market, Shin Dae couldn't help but sigh.
‘Sigh... This is a bit of a problem...’
Meat that wasn't listed on the market at all.
He was only compensating for his disappointment by obtaining monster leather to use for Kkokko.
“Should I start planning a dungeon run about now...”
Shin Dae was browsing the dungeon list, wondering if he should do a party hunt.
Then, seeing a familiar party recruitment ad, a snicker escaped him.
[Beginners, please give it a shot.... I don't want to pay the penalty fee, so please....]
‘Looks like Mr. Do-hun had party members run away on him again this time.’
A post put up by Lee Do-hun, whom he had met at the Blue Slime Dungeon last time.
While Shin Dae was contemplating whether to join Lee Do-hun's party again this time, an unfamiliar message was sent to him.
[Want to enter a 3-star dungeon?]
‘What's this?’
Shin Dae opened his eyes wide in surprise at the message that seemed to have read his mind.
When he checked the message, a map with the dungeon's location and detailed explanations of what monsters appeared were displayed.
“Wait, this number, don't tell me...”
Shin Dae took out the business card of Yu Jae-hyeon that he had received last time.
Seeing that the number on the business card matched the sender's number, he couldn't help but open his eyes wide.
“The Association President... why is she sending me something like this?”
Shin Dae was puzzled as to what intention she had in sending him such a message.
He stroked his chin and pondered, but couldn't find a suitable reason.
‘There's no such thing as favor without reason...’
Shin Dae continued to worry.
As if reading his thoughts again this time, a new message arrived from the Association President.
[Think of it as a survival reward.]
The Association President told him to think of it as a survival reward.
And at the dungeon list that came with it, Shin Dae couldn't help but open his eyes wide.
‘Good lord... Three 3-star dungeons and one 4-star dungeon?’
A map listing three 3-star dungeons and one 4-star dungeon.
Even a postscript stated that the dungeons would be controlled for Shin Dae's use only for one week.
“There really is something going on here...”
She said it was a survival reward, but it wasn't from the Osiris Guild; it was something the Association President herself was providing.
Moreover, no matter how low-ranking the dungeons were, concentrating three 3-star and one 4-star dungeon on a single person was excessive.
‘Still...’
It was a situation where the benefits of accepting were great even if it was a favor without reason.
Shin Dae eventually sighed and sent a message to the Association President saying he would go.
“I don't know what her intentions are, but I should go for now.”
Since it seemed he would be away from home for a while, Shin Dae covered Kkokko with all the leather he had.
***
“You may enter.”
The association employee wearing sunglasses looked at the hunter certification Shin Dae handed over and let out a sigh internally.
‘Why is the association doing this.....’
He had just received orders to control several dungeons.
The employee found it absurd that dungeons were being controlled for someone with an F-grade Awakening like Shin Dae.
‘And it's not just here either....’
According to his teammates, the order had come down to control eleven dungeons including this one.
All of them were dungeons opened for just one man like the one before his eyes.
‘Just like they do for S-grades...’
For a moment, instances of the government controlling dungeons to quickly raise S-grade Awakened flashed through the employee's mind, but he shook his head fiercely.
He even felt pathetic for a moment that he had compared the Shin Dae before his eyes to an S-grade.
“If anything happens, just fire the fear bomb immediately.”
The employee handed Shin Dae a fear bomb that could be heard even outside the dungeon.
Shin Dae nodded and entered the dungeon, and the first thing that caught his eye was the brown sky.
[Pumpkin Vine Dungeon]
According to the information Yu Jae-hyeon sent, it was a dungeon where countless scarecrows with pumpkin heads appeared.
Shin Dae, who had been thinking about the monsters, spotted scarecrows scurrying toward him.
“It's my first time seeing scarecrows...”
Shin Dae furrowed his brows at the monsters in a different form from those he had hunted so far, drawing his long sword.
Then, the sight of a scarecrow swinging a huge sickle caught his eye.
‘Good lord, I can see it!’
Until now, Shin Dae had dodged or caught 3-star monster attacks instinctively.
But having leisurely dodged the scarecrow's clearly visible attack, a broad grin formed on Shin Dae's face.
“Is it because my Agility is over 200?”
It was a situation where he couldn't help but think it was because his Agility exceeded 200.
Shin Dae grinned and swung his long sword at the incoming scarecrow's sickle, and he saw the scarecrow stagger.
‘To think I can hunt 3-star monsters so easily...’
Shin Dae was moved to see himself hunting easily without consuming Blue Slime meat or the Burning Sapling.
He soon grinned and looked at the scarecrow.
“What stat will you raise for me?”
***
“Sigh... I'll be pulling an all-nighter here for the time being...”
The employee who had to guard the front of the dungeon until Shin Dae came out sighed, but only for a moment.
Seeing Shin Dae emerge from the dungeon after just 5 hours, his face brightened.
‘Of course, what F-grade handles a 3-star dungeon.’
The employee thought that lasting 5 hours was impressive, but clicked his tongue internally, calling it a waste of manpower.
“Are you finished with your business in the dungeon?”
“Yes. Can I process this here?”
The employee looked at the bag being handed to him quizzically.
Soon, seeing the magic stones and items inside, his eyes widened greatly.
“W-wait a moment...”
‘Wh-what, did this guy hunt all the monsters inside the dungeon right now?’
Forty 3-star magic stones and even a massive magic stone that appeared to be from the boss mob.
On top of that, alchemy items and three huge sickles.
The employee quickly calculated the items in the bag and came up with a figure of at least 10 million won.
‘Good lord... An F-grade earning 10 million won in just 5 hours...’
The employee looked at Shin Dae in astonishment for having accomplished what even a C-grade Awakened couldn't.
Shin Dae wrote his account number on the document handed to him and then moved his feet toward the next dungeon.
“Not bad, Agility 3 and Mana 13.”
It seemed he had roasted and eaten pumpkins inside the dungeon, as a sweet smell slightly wafted from Shin Dae's mouth.
***
“A 4-star dungeon...”
From 5-star dungeons onward was the domain of Rankers.
Clearing a 4-star dungeon alone meant being right below Ranker level.
‘Can I do it?’
Shin Dae had easily cleared the three 3-star dungeons the Association President had sent so far.
It would have been impossible if not for his stats exceeding 200.
‘Still, 4-star is a bit different...’
Just as there was a clear difference in difficulty between 2-star and 3-star, there would certainly be a high difference between 3-star and 4-star.
Still, Shin Dae snickered and moved his feet toward the dungeon.
An action born of greed to test his current state.
“If all stats are 200, that's still specs corresponding to level 72...”
Stat-spec-wise, it was level 72.
However, it was a spec that only reached half the level of peers at level 72 who invested in two focused stats.
“Compared to mages who invest heavily in Mana, I'm just a hodgepodge...”
It was said that one Ranker mage Awakened had invested all stats into Mana until reaching level 80.
Therefore, his estimated mana stat was over 880.
Thinking this, Shin Dae let out a snicker.
“I'm getting stronger in an interesting way...”
Shin Dae was growing evenly in all stats, not rapidly growing stronger by only raising his level like others.
It was clear he would lose if he fought Rankers now, but time was on Shin Dae's side.
‘Though there are variables like skill usage, later on I won't have any reason to lose in stats.’
The dungeon he entered this time was [Den of Agatha's Wolves].
Discovering a pack of wolves with massive jewels attached to their heads, Shin Dae grinned.
“Wolf-like creatures are easy to hunt!”
Having slaughtered countless times before, he was well aware of what organs were where and where the vitals were.
In fact, Shin Dae saw faint white lines flowing across their bodies.
“Puhaha, here's the gizzard, here's the foreleg!”
Shin Dae swung his sword at the charging Agatha's wolves.
Each time he swung his sword, the wolves' gizzards and forelegs were cut off with surprising ease.
“You guys are so great.”
Though they were 4-star monsters, once you had butchered them, you could know their weak points.
Shin Dae grinned and looked at the hesitating Agatha's wolves.
“I like you guys so much!”
The wolves' screams began to echo throughout the 4-star dungeon of Agatha's wolves.
***
“So that's what happened?”
Yu Jae-hyeon formed a broad grin as she looked at the documents the employee handed over.
She let out a laugh at the report that Shin Dae had cleared all the dungeons she sent in just three days.
“Association President, who exactly is that Awakened?”
The employee swallowed the unspoken words ‘How can an F-grade...’. Looking at him, Yu Jae-hyeon merely smiled.
“Just an interesting Awakened?”
“Yes?”
“Anyway, good work. Oh, and please promote Hunter Park Shin-dae's grade to D-grade as well.”
The employee's eyes widened at the Association President's words.
Because he knew well what it meant for an Awakening grade to be promoted.
‘An... an Irregular has appeared....’
Watching the employee hurriedly leave the president's office, Yu Jae-hyeon let out a snicker.
“Please get stronger quickly, Mr. Shin Dae. Only then can I confirm whether you are ‘that person’ or not.”