《Age of the Dungeon Hunters》 Chapter 1 - The Beginning Chapter 1 ¡®Looking back, it¡¯s kind of hard to believe really. I mean it happened but¡­ Arg, why do I always get a headache when I think about it? I¡¯m pretty sure if I didn¡¯t get hurt so much I¡¯d still assume it was all a dream. Hmm, maybe a coma would explain it? Well just maybe...¡¯ These were just a fraction of the thoughts that usually went through Yu Jin¡¯s head every time he had to venture into a dungeon. Life in Korea had changed these past few years, well to be exact life on earth had changed. It was roughly 7 years ago when dungeons suddenly appeared. Every being on earth was in frenzy. Presidents made speechs reassuring their people but everyone knew that nothing in the world could make sense of what had occurred. Not the scientists who at first claimed it was due to a sudden increase in the movement of tectonic plates that caused the cave like structures to easily rise up. Some were convinced by the preachers who bellowed on and on about the end of times. The only thing people could reach a consensus on was that things would never be the same. The caves that appeared weren¡¯treally oddexcept for the fact that they appeared randomly in very country at the exact same time. They were roughly 500 metres long with entrances that differed depending on the terrain and were located at the outskirts of cities which led to no damage to property but that just made them even more suspicious. In Seoul they were immediately cordoned off and a research team was formed in order to investigate the origin of the caves. Military personnel were provided and they ventured inside. Surprisingly enough electronics didn¡¯t work inside the cave yet the team still ventured on since they deemed the exploration wouldn¡¯t take too long. The exploration was meant to be televised yet with the failure of electronics within there was a cameraman taking a video outside in-order to ensure the viewers would be able to see whatwas brought out of the cave. The atmosphere was somewhat tense but the ruling emotion was curiosity as nothing dangerous had occurred since the caves appeared. After the first hour passed people started wondering why the research team was taking so long. After the second hour the viewers as well as the soldiers stationed outside started becoming restless. A platoon of soldiers was sent in to follow the research team inside to check on their status which might have seemed excessive but when dealing with the unknown you could never be too careful. Yu Jin was in the second grade of middle school when all this was happening. Not overly concerned with anything other than finding a way to talk to his crush yet that very day he was glued to the TV with his parent¡¯s waiting to see what happened. By the time the soldiers entered he had already started losing interest and was on sns with his friends. 30 minutes had passed when suddenly gunfire rang out from the TV. When Yu Jin looked up he saw four soldiers running from the cave randomly shooting back from where they came. That¡¯s when the world caught their first glimpse. That was when the first monsters set foot on earth. There were four of them and to a high school student with a passion for manhwa, he was sure what they were but just couldn¡¯t believe it. ¡°Goblin¡­¡± The word came out of his mouth by itself and he didn¡¯t even notice. From the big ears, short stature and the green skin he couldn¡¯t think of anything else. He was pulled from his daze by the sound of his mother¡¯s scream. By the cave¡¯s entrance one of the soldier¡¯s was caught by a goblin and they all jumped on him and the nation watched a human being have their limps torn off and eaten on live television. For a while the soldiers just standing there froze and in the next moment some simply dropped their weapons and ran. Yu Jin saw a soldier throw some sort of balls at the feasting goblins and the next moment there were explosions. Not much could be seen on the screen due to the dust in the air and the feed was cut by the network. In the house no one could speak and they stared at each other as if asking whether the others had seen the same thing.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. At the scene there was blood splattered all over the place and body parts here and there. Fortunately it seemed that all the goblins had died. Ding At that moment a screen suddenly appeared in front of every person earth. [First kill confirmed] [Planet 1558220 [Earth] Undergoes Status Update] [Formation Stage > Fully Active] Ding [Stage One] [Status - Active] [Level System ¨C Active] [Dungeon System ¨C Active] Yu Jin couldn¡¯t believe his eyes, Absurd things just kept happening one after the other. A day after the caves appeared, he saw monsters for the first time and now this. The green text was just starting to fade and yet the words were just as confusing as when they first showed up in front of him. He couldn¡¯t make sense of any of it. As he started repeating the words he had just seen trying to understand them as soon as he reached the word status more text showed up. Ding STATUS SCREEN Name [Yu Jin] Race [Human] Level [1] Job [Jobless] Title [N/A] Stats [Strength ¨C 7 Agility ¨C 5 Magic ¨C 10Health ¨C 50] Active Skills [N/A] Passive Skills [N/A] Yu Jin could not understand what he was looking at. After somewhat settling down, he had a rough idea of what happened. Well considering the fact that his idea was based on a manhwa, he was reluctant to say it out loud but since he was with his parents he decided to do it anyway. ¡°Mom¡­ Dad¡­ I think I know what happened¡± He could see that his parents were still in a daze as they turned to look at him. His father tried regaining some of his composure ¡°Yes... son?¡± ¡°I, I think¡­ I think reality turned into something like a game¡­.¡± The expression on his father¡¯s face didn¡¯t change and he didn¡¯t register any surprise. Father and son just gazed at each other, while a million thoughts kept going through their heads. That day there was no communication from the government but as the days passed it became known that some similar incidents had happened in other countries such as the U.S and Germany. On the third day people were finally informed on what the governments had discovered and shared with each other. It seemed the dungeons were not what they appeared and though their lengths seemed to not exceed 500 metres inside , they were vastly larger and no one had been able to confirm the true size. Inside the dungeons they had seen goblins and skeletons and the monsters differed depending on the dungeon. It seemed the monsters could not come out by themselves but could follow a person out if they followed right behind the individual. Guns also did not work and only heavy artillery showed an effect or explosives. Metals had been discovered in the early parts of the dungeon which were superior to the metals on earth. The discovery of the status showed that like everyone had assumed, it displayed an individual¡¯s information and could not be viewed by others. The stats in the status seemed to vary depending on a person¡¯s ability and could rise and fall accordingly. Countries decided to close off the dungeons to the public but after some months of inactivity and the fact that monsters couldn¡¯t come out by themselves these restrictions were lifted and anyone could access a dungeon after gaining permission from the government and this was done as a growing amount of corporations had interest in the materials found inside the dungeons. This led to people entering and retrieving valuable materials and metalsin order to sell to corporations some of which used these material to create superior weapons which made exploring the dungeons easier which in-turn created more would be adventurers. Though it was risky people saw this as a way to come up in life and those who didn¡¯t have much to their names were the first to jump in chasing wealth. This was the start of the age of the dungeon hunters. Chapter 2 - What Happens in a Dungeon... Chapter 2 In Seoul around 7 in the morning, Yu Jin was on a bus. One might have thought that a young man his age would be headed to university or work at such a time. Well they might have thought that if not for the leather armour he was wearing and the fact that he was gazing absentmindedly at the sword in his hands. ¡°Oi, how long are you going to keep perving on your sword. We need to go over how we are going to handle today¡¯s hunt.¡± Yu Jin was woken from his daze by the voice coming from next to him. He laughed as he turned around to his friend Kim Min-Jun. ¡°I¡¯m just checking it for marks, You know I just got It recently.¡± ¡°Arg, you¡¯re such idiot of course it¡¯s going to have marks it¡¯s a sword for crying out loud. Come on this is serious.¡± The two joking friends were on their way to enter the Seoul dungeon for just the 3rd time. Looking at their carefree attitude one might wonder why they were so calm considering the fact that dungeons were dangerous. As a matter of fact, dungeons were different and not all of them had the same level of danger. The dungeon Yu Jin and Kim Min-Jun were headed for was a beginner dungeon. Beginner dungeons had 25 levels and the duo was still on the first floor. They had only started entering the dungeon the week before and after the first two times their nerves had already started to settle. Dungeons were split into 4 levels, from easiest to most difficult they were beginner, intermediate, advanced and S ranked dungeons. All the dungeons except for the beginner dungeons had minimum level requirements. The most active were the beginner and intermediate dungeons whilst very few people ever managed to enter the advanced dungeons. Yu Jin had decided to not go to university even though he had the grades in order to focus on hunting which was the only thing he had a passion for. Soon after people started entering the dungeons he had secretly started taking kumdo lessons and now 6 years later he here was, a fully fledged dungeon hunter. He had registered to hunt with this friend Kim Min-Jun as they both shared the same passion since the time they were in school avoiding class so they could daydream about slaying monsters and become rich off it. *** They duo had planned on venturing up to the second floor today but didn¡¯t have enough people with them. Kim Min-Jun tried to get Yu Jin focused on the hunt again. ¡°So who are we going to get? We need either a healer or a mage.¡± Yu Jin thought it was so weird how Kim Min-Jun changed so much from his usually joking self and became ¡®Mr Responsible¡¯ before a hunt. ¡°hmmm, I think a mage would be better because it¡¯s still lower down we don¡¯t have to worry too much about heavy injuries. We can always take a break and wait for our health to recover.¡± ¡°Okay fine, how about the split?¡± ¡°How about 70:30 in our favour?¡± ¡°You sure we can¡¯t do 75:25?¡± ¡®Haha, as usual Kim Min-Jun is already thinking about the money. Even being in a dungeon won¡¯t change his thrifty nature.¡¯This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Come on¡­ If you keep being stingy like this we¡¯re not going to get anyone to come with us¡±. As Yu Jin said that the bus had arrived at their stop. They were now at the dungeon¡¯s stop. The proximity around the dungeon was bustling with people as shops had been built a few hundred meters away from it which did everything from selling weapons to providing food and accommodation. As they got off the bus Kim Min-Jun finally consented and they went towards the dungeon¡¯s entrance. The area around the entrance was filled with hunters who were either preparing to enter the dungeon or were looking for people to group up with. In most countries guilds had started up and these were organizations that hunters joined and worked for. The top guilds possessed massive wealth due to the strong members they had who always made it out of the dungeons with the best mana stones and materials. The guilds who form teams of high level hunters who would attack the higher level floors of the more difficult dungeons. The big guilds usually focused on the intermediate dungeons and rarely entered the advanced dungeons as not that many would people were able to reach the higher levels of the 50 floor dungeon. Currently the most successful expedition had managed to climb 32 floors with just a few casualties so expectations were high that they would make it further up. Mana stone has become a very important commodity and could be obtained from monsters within the dungeon and were used to create power sources and weapons among other things. The highest quality ones always fetched high prices and led to the top hunters wanting for nothing. Guilds and hunters were ranked in order of weakest to strongest into these categories F,E,D,C,B,A. There were only 3 A rank guilds in Korea and those would never be caught at a beginner dungeon. The top guilds in Korea were Heavenly Light, The Arathian Knights and Subversive Alliance. *** Yu Jin and Kim Min-Jun just stood around by the entrance. Seeing the pair a few people walked up to them asking to join their party but seeing that most of them were close range fighters their offers were refused. After about half an hour a girl who looked about 18-19 walked up to them. ¡°Hey, do you guys have space in your team?¡± Yu Jin was surprised to see such a beautiful girl here alone. She had long elegant black hair that was in contrast with her pale white skin and peach red lips. She was average height and slender with a short red mage¡¯s robe on which made him want to protect her. While Yu Jin was still dazed Kim Min-Jun stepped forward. ¡°Yes, you¡¯re a mage right?¡± ¡°Yeah, why else would I be wearing these clothes?¡± The girl answered irritably . Yu Jin feeling left out also felt he should ask something. ¡°What level are you?¡± The girl looked at Yu Jin as if sizing him up with a curious gaze. ¡°3.¡± As soon as she muttered that she looked right back at Kim Min-Jun. ¡®Arg¡­ not again¡¯ Yu Jin wasn¡¯t even surprised, this always happened when he was with Kim Min-Jun. Girls always ignored him and the worst part that it wasn¡¯t as if he was ugly or anything. Yu Jin¡¯s height was 5¡¯8 and he wasn¡¯t fat he was about 80kg with short wavy black as well as black eyes. He really was average looking, It¡¯s just that Kim Min-Jun was simply that much more attractive than him. Kim Min-Jun was 6¡¯2 with broad shoulders and short brown wavy hair that always looked perfect even though he never took care of it. He was in good shape and seemed like one of those people you¡¯d see in a magazine. ¡®Why is he always there when I meet good looking girls?¡¯ For as long as they had known each other Kim Min-Jun had always made getting or keeping a girlfriend difficult for him. If it was someone else Yu Jin might have already ended the friendship but Kim Min-Jun had always looked after him throughout high school when he was almost bullied and when his parents kicked him out for refusing to go to university it was always Kim Min-Jun who helped. So Yu Jin had already come to terms with the fact that he would have to try many times harder to get a girlfriend. At this point Kim Min-Jun was satisfied with the girl mage. ¡°Okay great, I¡¯m Kim Min-Jun and this is Yu Jin. We are both level 2, I am a tanker and he is a swordsman. We will be splitting whatever we find 70:30 okay?¡° ¡°That¡¯s fine, nice to meet you Kim Min-Jun. My name is Ji Seo-Yun, shall we go?¡± ¡®Might as well not even be here¡¯ Yu Jin was already starting to feel like going back home. He grudgingly followed the pair to the checkpoint. This was the point where the hunter association official checked their id¡¯s to ensure they had permission to enter. The hunter association was an organization that was part of the government and was established in most major countries as a way to control and censure hunters. They were put in charge of controlling the access to dungeons and were also the main sellers of the weapons used by hunters as well as the purchasers of dungeon materials. They also had the job of measuring the hunters abilities and ranking them. After the trio were handed back their F-rank id¡¯s they did a final check on their equipment and then stepped into the waiting dungeon. Chapter 3 - What Happens in a Dungeon...2 They walked into the cave at ease due to the lights installed on the walls. The air inside was stale, humid and you could make out some moss on the walls. The party went through some twists and turns and after the trio had gone about 100 metres they suddenly felt a breeze blow past them. That was the sign that they had gone through the boundary separating the cave and the dungeon. The man-made lights were gone but they were replaced with green rocks stuck on the walls which provided light for the hunters. The space had gone from being a simple passage to a much wider space which was essentially a large cavern with openings showing leading to other parts of the dungeon. There were puddles here and there and the dungeon had this mystical feeling to it. Instead of taking in their surroundings the trio was very attentive. They were moving slowly and on the lookout for any monsters. Kim Min-Jun had a large shield in front of him and a sword in his other hand. Ji Seo-Yun had her hands on her staff while Yu Jin had a two handed grasp on his sword. A shadow suddenly rushed out from one of the openings coming from the right of the party followed by three more right behind it. They weren¡¯t at all fazed or surprised as this was the traditional welcome in the Seoul Dungeon. In the open space the figures of goblins holding clubs could be seen. Kim Min-Jun immediately shouted out to the rest of the party. ¡°Everyone get in formation and be careful!¡± Kim Min-Jun rushed to the front with his shield out ready to attract the aggro from the goblins. Ji Seo-Yun stayed in the rear as the support. Kim Min-Jun yelled out and this caused the goblins to focus on him, at which point they started rushing towards him. As the goblins rushed in frenzy Ji Seo-Yun raised her staff and aimed at the goblin at the rear and shouted out. ¡°Light Stun!¡± [Target has been stunned for 2 seconds] ¡°Go!¡± She shouted to Yu Jin who had already started running. The unfortunate goblin was left alone at the rear in a stunned state as the other 3 were running towards Kim Min-Jun. At the same moment Yu Jin heard the sound of something bashing Kim Min-Jun¡¯s shield he had arrived in front of the lone goblin and slashed diagonally at the goblin. Blood came out of the gash which he had just made. The stun effect had ended as the goblin fell back from the pain and Yu Jin did not waste that opportunity. He pressed the goblin without giving it a chance to regain its composure. It desperately lashed out with its club but only struck air. While this was happening Kim Min-Jun was barely holding back the goblins using both his shield and sword to block.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Fire Ball!¡± Ji Seo-Yun sent a small ball of fire headed towards one of the goblins. The goblin was struck right in the face. The goblin roared out and its face was left charred. The goblin turned towards Ji Seo-Yun but before it could run towards her it felt something strange from its body. As it turned its gaze towards its chest it saw a sword sticking out of it. Confused the goblin turned its head to see Yu Jin who quickly pulled out the sword and slashed twice at the dumbstruck goblin¡¯s neck. The goblin fell down and Yu Jin immediately moved towards the two remaining goblins with nimble footwork. The goblins who noticed their kin die right in front of them screeched and one turned to face Yu Jin whilst the other kept assaulting Kim Min-Jun. By this stage the balance had already been broken and the party didn¡¯t take long to dispatch the remaining goblins. ¡°Hmmm, not bad, seems you guys can take care of yourselves.¡± Ji Seo-Yun seemed satisfied with their ability as she walked up to them. ¡°You weren¡¯t too bad yourself.¡± She started chatting with Kim Min-Jun as Yu Jin started to take out the mana stones from the chests of the dead goblins. All monsters had mana stones but the ones from weak monsters did not sell for much. As soon as Yu Jin was done he called out to the others. ¡°I¡¯m finished, we should start moving if we want to find the portal soon.¡± All dungeons had portals connecting the floors and hunters were not able to continue to the next floor without finding the portal. The location of the portals was not set and would randomly change so parties would normally spend a lot of time wandering around looking for the portal. The party continued on repeating the same way of hunting. Kim Min-Jun in the lead attracting aggro, Ji Seo-Yun at the back providing support and Yu Jin taking the goblins on 1v1. About 20 goblins and 2 hours later the group stopped to take a break. While they were sitting down on some boulders a lone goblins walked out of the bushes to their right and froze upon seeing them. It looked conflicted not knowing whether to run away or attack them. As most monsters did it threw caution to the wind and rushed towards them screaming at which point Ji Seo-Yun hit it with a fire ball and Yu Jin stabbed it with his sword. As the goblin¡¯s lifeless corpse fell to the ground a sound rang out in Yu Jin and Kim min-Jun¡¯s ears. Ding [You have become level 3. 2 Strength, 2 Agility, 2 Magic, 25 Health increases.] In a party experience was shared among the members. The experience is usually shared equally unless there is a level difference between the members at which point it is adjusted according to the levels and the higher levelled members take most of the experience. ¡°Yes, we finally levelled again!¡± Yu Jin was ecstatic ¡°Yeah, hopefully we can make it to level 5 before the end of the day.¡± Kim Min-Jun had a slight smile on his face as he looked at the excited Yu Jin. Along with their level up their health and stamina was filled which was a bonus from the level up. Ji Seo-Yun stayed quiet as she followed after the two. After about an hour the trio wandered upon a strange circle with weird symbols and writing which shone green on the ground. They immediately realized that it matched the description they had been given of the transfer portal. The members of the party jumped on and the next moment they were on the second floor of the dungeon. Chapter 4 - What Happens in a Dungeon...3 Chapter 4 Their vision blacked out for a second then the next moment they were in a similar looking area as the first floor but it was clearly different. The first thing they noticed was the dome covering the area they were in. It was a green dome which you could easily see through. It wasn''t a physical dome and it seemed more like mistwhich gave off alight. This didn''t surprise them as they already expected it. This was the safety area for the second floor. These areas were foundin all dungeon floors except for the first floor. The next thing that separated the first floor and second floors were the hunters waiting throughoutthe area. Yu Jin looked around and he could see hunters waiting for their health to recover while others were even eating lunch. The atmosphere was very relaxed and would normally not be found in a dungeon but that was the benefit of these safety areas. Monsters could not enter them no matter what and avoided coming near them for some reason. Kim Min-Jun was starting to feel worn out from the continuous battles on the first floor. ¡°Yu Jin, why don''t we take a break? There''s no need to rush since we''ve already made it this far.¡± ¡°Come on, Aren''t you curious about this floor? Let''s just have a quick look then we can have a proper rest. You agree right Ji Seo-Yun?¡± As usual Yu Jin was impatient to keep moving he didn''t want to stay low level for long and wanted to use all the time he had available towards leveling up. ¡°It''s up to you guys really, you know I don''t move around as much as the two of you. I guess it''s fine since you leveled up just now.¡± Seeing the eager look of Yu Jin and considering the fact that Ji Seo-Yun didn''t seem to mind Kim Min-Jun couldn''t really refuse. ¡°Okay fine, but we really can''t stay on the floor for too long. It''s not like we can make it up to the third floortoday.¡± After checking their equipment the party set of yet again. Kim Min-Jun taking the front while Yu Jin tried starting a conversation with Ji Seo-Yun at the rear. ¡°Hey, so uh¡­ how come you were all alone before? I''m sure you didn''t make it all this time by yourself.¡± ¡°Is this really the time to be talking?¡± ¡°I''m just curious, it''s important for companions to know each otherright?¡± ¡°First of all, we aren''t companions and if you really must know I go with a different team each time.¡± ¡°Guys concentrate, this isn''t the time.¡± Kim Min-Jun got irritated by the two''s chatting as they went on. Even as they walked on Yu Jin was distracted and kept taking glances at Ji Seo-Yun trying to decide how to get on her good side. He wasn''t usually like this but she was just that beautiful and to top it off there was something familiar about her but Yu Jin just couldn''t place his finger on it. While his mind was wandering like that something flew past right in front of his head. He was stunned for a moment but regained his senses as soon as he head Kim Min-Jun¡¯s voice. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Archers, Get behind me now!¡± Kim Min-Jun ran to the front of the them to block the arrows whilst Yu Jin and Ji Seo-Yun exchanged places with him. In front of them were 2 goblin archers and 3 normal goblins with clubs. The higherhunterswent in the dungeon the more difficult the monsters would be. There wasn''t much for Yu Jin to do with the archers taking turns shooting their arrows one at a time reducing the gaps for him to advance. Kim Min-Jun started rushing towards the goblins with his shield out but they kept changing positions and shooting. This was the main reason they couldn''t advance to the 2nd floor by themselves and needed Ji Seo-Yun. ¡°Fireball! ¡° Ji Seo-Yun assertive voice rang out and it was followed by a ball of fire flying towards the archers. At that moment the archers starting taking cover behindthe normal goblins at which point Yu Jin rushed out to meet them head on followed by Kim Min-Jun. The archers escaped the fireball by using the other goblins as a shield. The goblin that was struck by the fireball was met by Yu Jin¡¯s sword and before its brain could even processwhat had happened it was struck by Kim Min-Jun''s shield. The two remaining goblins swung their clubs at Yu Jin at which point Kim Min-Jun tried to intercept the clubs with his shield but he was only able to block one and Yu Jin was struck on the shoulder. Seeing this the archers moved to get out of range but more magic was already flying towards them. ¡°Stun!¡± Ji Seo-Yun had been waiting for a clear shot and she got it. She hit one of the archer goblins at which point Yu Jin brushed aside the pain he felt and lunged towards the stunned goblin. The archer goblin didn''t last more than two strikes from his sword and collapsed. Everyone was distracted as a blue light shine from the rear. Yu Jin quickly took a glanceat the rear and saw that the light was coming from Ji Seo-Yun. Ding [You have become level 4. 2 Strength, 2 Agility, 2 Magic, 25 Health increases.] As soon as she leveled up she sent another fireball towards the group of goblins. ¡°Fireball!¡± This time the fireball did more damage and floored the last remaining goblin archer. As usual Yu Jin slayed the grounded goblin and turned to face the two remaining goblins which were sandwiched between the two men and a wall. Yu Jin and Kim Min-Jun easily went in and killed the remaining goblins and stripped them of their mana stones.¡± Kim Min-Jun turned to the others ¡°Congrats on the level up, are you two ready to take a break yet?¡± Kim Min-Jun was worried about continuously fighting new enemies before coming up with a strategy or having a moment to rest. ¡°We''re almost there though, let''s level up too. I''m sure it''s gonna be easy. We are already so close and it will be easier with Ji Seo-Yun.¡± ¡°We won''t stop if we keep going and we are liable to make a mistake sooner or later¡± ¡°You worry too much, they are just goblins. The worst that could happen is just getting a cut.¡± Both men turned to look at Ji Seo-Yun as she was the only one who hadn''t cast her vote. She looked annoyed by the bickering and shrugged. ¡°I just leveled so I don''t need a break let''s just go.¡± ¡°Arg¡­¡± With a displeased look on his face Kim Min-Jun didn''t say anything and just started walking on. The party kept on meeting the occasional groups made of normal goblins and goblin archers but took care of them with just the occasional light bruises which healed as their hp recovered. Eventually Yu Jin and Kim Min-Jun reached level 4 a lot sooner than they expected. It was mainly due to the fact that were lower leveled than the usual for the second floor and with the help of Ji Seo-Yun they were able to hunt quicker as the larger number of goblins wasn''t really much of a threat. ¡°Great, let''s head ba¡­.¡± Kim Min-Jun could not even finish his sentence. He had just noticed how far they had gone from the safety zone. In order to find the way back to a safety zone they used tracking stones. These were found in the safety zones and were called as such because when one headed in the direction of a safety zone they pulsed and the closer they got the more intense the light became. The problem they had now was that the stone was really dim. ¡°How long have we been walking for?¡± ¡°....¡± ¡°Damnit Yu Jin, this is exactly why we shouldn''t have rushed in.¡± ¡°I''m sure it''s fine, since both of you have just leveled up we can make it back soon as long as we avoid the monsters as much as possible.¡± Noticing the tension between the two Ji Seo-Yun tried calming down Kim Min-Jun. Yu Jin regretted how rash he was and he knew how much more difficult it would be to return to the safety zone because even though their stamina was filled up mentally they still needed a break. The party couldn''t be sure but they had already spent the whole day in the dungeon. Outside it was already in the evening but that fact wouldn''t be known to those inside the dungeon. The group set off again towards the safety zone. The air was a lot tenser than before and everyone seemed irritable, Well except for one person. ¡®I can''t believe how I different I already feel from from just going up 2 levels¡¯ Yu Jin was flexing his muscles and getting used to how different his body felt. He thought up the word status and a green screen appeared in front of him. Ding STATUS SCREEN Name [Yu Jin] Race [Human] Level [4] Job [Jobless] Title [N/A] Stats [Strength - 13 Agility - 11 Magic - 16 Health - 125] Active Skills [N/A] Passive Skills [N/A] ¡®With this much, nothing on this floor can touch us¡¯ Chapter 5 - What Happens in a Dungeon...4 They kept on moving but contrary to their hopes they kept running into goblins. Just like the previous times it was a mixture of normal goblins with clubs and goblins achers. With everyone having reached level 4 however it wasn¡¯t much of a struggle as they had been able to defeat the goblins while they were still level 3. After a few hours of wandering Ji Seo-Yun even managed to level. ¡°Hey, how come you¡¯re levelling up already?¡± Yu Jin was filled with envy as this was every aspiring hunter¡¯s dream. Reaching level 5 meant a hunter could finally choose a job. Having a job provided a big jump in power for hunter¡¯s and their stats would now be more focused on their main job. ¡°Haven¡¯t you noticed how many goblins we¡¯ve taken care of already. It would be weird if I hadn¡¯t DING [You have reached your experience cap and are able to choose a class] [You cannot level up further without a class] [Possible classes will be generated from your records¡­ Choose from one of the classes below] [1. Mage - Fire] [2. Alchemist] [3. Summoner] [4. Mage - Earth] ¡­.. [9. Healer] She didn¡¯t even waste time going through the options. As expected there were no combat classes and she immediately chose mage. [Ding] [A class has been chosen, You are now a mage. Class bonus will be applied] [You have become level 5. 1 Strength, 1 Agility, 10 Magic, 50 Health increases, 2 stat points available] Looking at the screen in front of her a faint smile crept on her face. From now on since she had chosen the mage class she would gain less physical stats than other classes but her magic stat would rise quicker and just from the level up her power had already gone up a lot. She quickly turned to Kim Min-Jun and Yu Jin who had been staring at her all this time.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°I need to check something, can we hunt a few more goblins on the way back?¡± ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s do it¡± Yu Jin immediately jumped at the chance while Kim Min-Jun just shrugged. They set off and this time their hunting pace had increased by a lot. This was all because of Ji Seo-Yun. With the huge increase to her magic she could take out 2 goblins from just one fireball. Even with everyone having gone up a level they were exhausted but couldn¡¯t risk taking a break to rest as they could fall to an ambush. The party had almost gotten to the safety area when they reached a precipice and there was huge drop which spanned at least 50 metres across that stopped them fromcrossing to the other side. The party set off to find a crossing. Not soon after they reached a bridge but right in front of them was a group of 7 goblins. As they had gotten used to such numbers the party immediately rushed to the goblins and attacked before the 3 archers could even notice them. Everything was going as expected 2 goblins died from Ji Seo-Yun¡¯s magic when they had a sound from behind them. Yu Jin turned to see Ji Seo-Yun face filled with anguish, looking closer he saw an arrow sticking into her thigh. Only then did he notice that there was another group of 6 goblins behind her. Yu Jin rushed to her and held off the goblins trying to attack her. ¡°Can you walk? I can¡¯t carry you and hold off the goblins by myself.¡± ¡°Just put me by the side. I¡¯ll take care of the archers, just make sure you finish them quickly.¡± Yu Jin placed her down and Ji Seo-Yun sent two fireballs in quick succession aimed at the goblin archers that had just appeared. Yu Jin followed right after them and immediately slayed two more goblins. The 2 remaining ones noticing the situation turned to run and considering the situation they were in Yu Jin didn¡¯t give chase. He calmed down somewhat and looked back. His eyes landed on Ji Seo-Yun who was starting to calm down when he heard the sound of metal striking something and immediately remembered Kim Min-Jun was fighting. He started running towards him when Kim Min-Jun yelled. ¡°Hurry and cross with Ji Seo-Yun, i think those others will come with reinforcements. I¡¯ll hold them off till you get a bit further off!¡± Yu Jin immediately lifted up the light Ji Seo-Yun in a princess carry and darted towards the bridge. As he was passing Kim Min-Jun he saw his friends armor was tattered and he was bleeding. He stopped and hesitated. ¡°Just go, I¡¯m fine!¡± Glancing back just one more time Yu Jin ran as fast as he could and dropped Ji Seo-Yun on the other side of the bridge. As soon as he did so he turned back to go help help Kim Min-Jun. As he got halfway across the bridge Kim Min-Jun must have sensed him get closer and the next moment he saw the bloodied and exhausted Kim Min-Jun get struck in the head with a club and an arrow was sucked into his gut. Yu Jin unconsciously shouted out his name, he didn¡¯t even hear it in fact he couldn¡¯t hear anything. All his focus was on his childhood friend whose body had started to fall back into the pitch black nothingness beneath the bridge. He fell¡­ The whole scene seemed to happen in slow motion. Yu Jin stopped and followed Kim Min-Jun with his eyes. Countless emotions went through his head at first horror then shock then rage took control of him. As Kim Min-Jun vanished his rage filled eyes slowly turned to the goblins which were trying to creep up on him. He grabbed his sword with a trembling hand and rushed towards the goblins without any regard to defense or his own safety. He cut down the club wielding goblins with a ferocity no one would expect to see from him. The number of goblins quickly fell but his wounds had also increased. Ding [Health is critical] The warning flashed in front of him but it didn¡¯t even register. How could he notice it with the blood splashing all over the place and the screams which no one could tell whether they were from him or the goblins. As he stabbed the final goblin, all power left him. He fell to the ground and instinctively knew he was going to die. There were a few arrows sticking into him and not to mention the damage he sustained from the clubs. As he closed his eyes to finally rest he heard a familiar sound. Ding [You have reached your experience cap and are able to choose a class] [You cannot level up further without a class] [Possible classes will be generated from your records¡­ Choose from one of the classes below] [Hidden Conditions have been met] [Reach level 5 with less than 2% health remaining] [Undying Swordsman is available] [1.Undying Swordsman] [A class has been chosen for you, You are now an undying swordsman. Class bonus will be applied] [You have become level 5. 5 Strength, 5 Agility, 4 Magic, 100 Health increases,4 stat points available] ¡­ None of this even registered with Yu Jin. He had already passed out¡­. Chapter 6 - New Beginnings Chapter 6 Suddenly there was white everywhere. It didn''t make sense, Yu Jin could not make out where it ended. There were no walls, no ceiling just endless white. Yu Jin couldn''t remember when or how he even got there. He tried getting up but he didn''t have the energy. His mind was clouded and there was this haziness whenever he tried to think. ¡°.....¡± Suddenly he felt something from behind him. He started panicking he couldn''t move yet whatever the presence was it kept coming closer and closer until it was right in front of him. He couldn''t see properly, there was this bright light coming from the figure in front of him he couldn''t really make out what it was. Through his squinting eyes he could just make out long flowing blonde that had such luster he was sure whatever was in front of him couldn''t be human. He tried concentrating more on the face but all he could make out was a gentle smile. The rose pink lips opened to say something but then drowsiness hit him and he fell unconscious yet again. *** Yu Jin felt himself start to awaken, his body felt weird as if it was floating and there was a tingly feeling all over his skin. As his eyes opened the first thing he saw was Ji Seo-Yun. ¡°....¡± She was fast asleep. ¡®Wait, wait, wait¡­ what''s with this position?¡¯ Yu Jin had just noticed that his head was resting on her thighs and her hands were on his chest. ¡®What do I do? What if she wakes up when I try to get off? Wait, why would I even get off¡¯ A curvy smile started blooming on his lips till something wet fell on his face. Confused, Yu Jin touched it and it was a clear liquid. He looked up at Ji Seo-Yun and saw that it had come from her. After looking closer at her face it looked like she had been crying. Her eyes were puffy and her pale white face had a red tint to it. ¡®Why would she be cr¡­.¡¯ Then it hit him¡­. Everything that had happened before he passed out. It all came rushing back to him. The scene of Kim Min-Jun falling from the bridge into that pit. The fact that he couldn''t make it in time. ¡®I couldn''t save him¡­. It was all my fault¡­ I killed him.¡¯This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Yu Jin was racked with self loathing. He knew what happened was his fault. He was the one who kept making the party go further and further even when they should have gone back to rest. He wasn''t strong enough to save his best friend. His only friend¡­ He didn''t even notice that he had started crying as well. He felt a pain in his heart that he''d never felt before. It was an emptiness, it was pain, it was something gnawing at his very soul. He felt so much guilt and that guilt gradually turned to anger. Anger to the fact that he had lived and his friend had dead. Anger that he was weak. Anger that he treated all of this as a game,never stopping to consider that death was always around the corner. The whirlwind of emotions just ended with a sigh. He was just tired, tired of everything, tired of breathing, of feeling and simply tired of thinking. He wanted to die. When the thought entered his mind the picture of Kim Min-Jun flashed before him. He didn''t know what to do next. Something within him had changed. How could he run around playing dungeon explorer like before after this. How could he go on without a care in the world. He sat up and immediately Ji Seo-Yun eyes flashed open. ¡°.... Oh, you''re awake?¡± ¡°... Yeah¡± For a while there was an awkward silence in the air. ¡°... I''m sorry¡± The usually distant Ji Seo-Yun who gave off an air of confidence with each word was gone. For the first time since they had met she seemed her age. She seemed to not know what to say and couldn''t even look him in the eye. She kept on speaking ¡°it was my fault, if I didn''t get careless and avoided that injury he¡­¡± She closed her eyes as if searching for strength to go on. Wiping the tears clouding her vision she pushed on. ¡°Please forgive me, I don''t know what else to say or do¡­¡± After this she stayed quiet, she just grasped her hands together and waited. Waiting for Yu Jin to chastise her, his next words surprised her. ¡°How did we get back here?¡± ¡°... I waited for my hp to go back up then carried you back here.¡± ¡°Thanks¡± With just that, Yu Jin got up and started walking away. Unbeknownst to the two at first, there were a lot of people in the safe zone most of whom were listening in to their short conversation. Yu Jin however didn''t care he just walked past the eavesdroppers and headed to leave the dungeon. Ji Seo-Yun was surprised by his reaction but didn''t say anything. She just knelt there and watched him leave. Yu Jin took the portal back to the entrance and didn¡¯t even spare a look behind him. He passed the checkpoint and got on the bus to go home. All the while the feeling of emptiness remained. For the first time in his life he felt lost , truly lost not knowing what to do. He couldn¡¯t just run around like he did before just for the sake of adventure. He couldn¡¯t just have fun when Kim Min-Jun had given his life for him. He kept feeling the seat next to him, the seat Kim Min-Jun would usually be. He kept looking back at all their silly fights and arguments. All the plans they had made the future. Yet here he was, alone. After catching a train he got off in Sillim. It wasn¡¯t the best place to stay it was a little rough but it was home. It was already dark but he didn¡¯t mind he actually preferred it like this compared to the hustle and bustle during the day. He walked into the tiny two bed apartment they shared and just slumped on the bed and slept. He didn¡¯t have the energy to think anymore. He just wanted to escape to his dreams and forget about what happened even if it was just for a moment. *** The next morning Yu Jin didn¡¯t feel like getting out of bed and just lazed in bed only getting up to use the toilet and eat. This went on for about two weeks till one day when he was peeing he looked up and saw himself in the mirror. He just looked at himself for a while. He couldn¡¯t recognize himself, it was just two weeks yet his he looked homeless, The look on his face was that of someone who didn¡¯t have anything to live for someone who was just waiting for the release. The worst part was his eyes, that¡¯s what truly shook him. His black eyes looked completely soulless and without drive. ¡®Is this how I am going to live the rest of my life? This life that Kim Min-Jun died to protect. Will I just waste it.¡¯ He began to realize that he was letting Kim Min-Jun down. Wherever he was he couldn¡¯t repay what he did with this ingratitude. He felt something again within his heart, Something different from the throbbing pain and the constant emptiness. As the look on his face started to change he could see it in the mirror. He was filled with resolve, resolve to continue what Kim Min-Jun and him had started. To continue to climb the dungeons and find what waited at the end. He would make sure he wouldn¡¯t make the same mistakes as the past. He would see it through no matter what struggles he faced. No matter what, nothing would stop. For the first time in a long time he muttered ¡°Status¡±