Capítulo 4: No Regret
Sitting on the patient's bed, Jinwoo's eyes were cast on the floor. Pondering at the event that unfolded 5 days ago.
His lower abdomen was still tingling after the incident. Recalling Soo Min's figure walking out the door, all Jinwoo could do was furrow his brows in irritation.
Before acquiring the system, Jinwoo was planning to give up on being a hunter. All his attempts to get stronger were futile because of his mana leakage. But out of nowhere, a miraculous turn, everything changed once he got his hands on the system. There were no holes for his mana to leak anymore. It was completely sealed. His damned illness was completely healed in a matter of luck.
Tightening his fists, Jinwoo tried to contain his joy. He felt an ounce of sadness afterward, which made his body slump with his back on the bed.
'Sorry, Soo Min.' Laid on his back, contemplating what he should do from now on.
It was his mistake for going all out on Soo Min. He wouldn't have gone that far if it wasn't to silence her. His power should be kept secret from anyone to know, even her. It was a precaution Jinwoo reminded himself continuously ever since the first day he interacted with the system.
Touching his nose, which was bleeding after the fight, now healed. He couldn't hold on to his anger back then. He made a big mistake. All that bullying when he was young, now affected his decision.
Now, with him slipping up, he had to face retribution for that. He was certain that his life would be more difficult and inconvenient going onward. His objective was to get stronger but he already encountered so many hurdles along the way. The majority of those were his relationship with his family.
He thought for a moment.
'Should I just live alone from now on?'
After 4 years, ever since he first awakened and took up being a hunter, Jinwoo had the thought of leaving his family behind to remove the only problem that restricted him from reaching his goal. They had been poking their noses toward his problem too much. Sooner than later, the world will know he had this amazing gift because of them. That will further endanger himself and the pursuit of his goal.
The reason why he didn't leave quickly was due to his regret of losing the comfort he had been long stuck with. He wanted to enjoy his companionship a little while longer. Her presence around made him feel less alone.
Jinwoo wasn't reckless enough to express his anger in that sort of way, especially towards the lover who cherished him the most. But at this time, after the discovery of the system, he had to put up his goal ahead of his normal life.
Why? Simply, power.
What's the end road to having ultimate power? He didn't know how it would feel but he sure wanted that sense of power. To topple the world. He firmly held on to the belief that being a normal 'mortal', for a better word, would have to live in an unending cycle of life. To escape from that cycle, he needed immense power.
Randomly, these gates appeared out of nowhere in his world. There were more sentient beings other than humans in the universe. The so-called 'gods', a term that his world had made up. Due to the existence of the gates and his encounter with that walking statue, Jinwoo firmly believed that these gods who possessed overwhelming power existed. They summoned the dungeons. They wanted us to get stronger. But why? What were their motives?
After an intense dive through the internet, and the forums, and finding out any mention of the sort of 'game system' on his phone, Jinwoo wasn't able to find out whether he was the only one who had the system or if there were any others. He had made monstrous progress over the last couple of days in the hospital. This feat wasn't possible for many people or none at all. Maybe he was the first one to acquire this sort of game system ability.
Jinwoo was exhausted. He placed his arm on top of his face to conceal his eyelids and fell asleep on the bed.
--- [4 years earlier]
"Jinwoo... you're going to follow in your father's footsteps?" spoke Park Kyung-Hye, Jinwoo's mother, she was currently in the developing stage of Eternal Slumber. Lying on the hospital bed with needles attached to her skin. She looked thinner, no longer as plump and smooth as she was young. There were dark circles under her eyes. She had been awake for days to not succumb to the coma.
"Are you crazy?" Jinah, next to Kyung-Hye, shouted at Jinwoo. "He's gone because of his job and now... you're going into that place and disappeared just like Dad?"
"There's no other way!" Jinwoo screamed back.
Soo Min stood in the corner and blankly stared at the intense altercation taking place.
"You and Soo Min are currently in school. I don't want you two to get stuck up and forget about your studies..." Jinwoo trailed off with his eyes suddenly directed toward the ground, in shame. "Just like I did."
Kyung-Hye was saddened at the sight of her children. Her boy was about to give away his life just to support his family. Matters had come to this point. What an unfortunate outcome. She turned to look at Soo Min, wondering what the girl was thinking while in that corner. She seemed to be deep in thought as she was staring into a blank space.
Kyung-Hye turned back to her son. "Jinwoo. You can still take care of both of them with your current job. No need to be a hunter to risk your life." She spoke in a manner that was calm and soothing.
"Mom... I have no choice. I don't want those two to work with me while they're in school. You know my part wouldn't even cover all of our expenses."
Jinwoo was right. Apart from anything, the mounting hospital bills had stacked a heavy boulder on his back.
Suddenly, something tugged him backward. Arms were stretched out from behind and enveloped Jinwoo in a tight hug. He didn't want to shake it off since it came from the person he cherished the most.
Sobbing from behind, Soo Min tightened her hold. "You *hic* won't leave *hic* me *hic* this early wouldn't you?" Her words broke up, all stuttering. Tears streamed down her eyelids, soaking his back.
All he could do was return the embrace while caressing her head.
"I don't know."
---
Dad knew his family would be devastated if something happened to him inside the dungeon, however, he still wanted to become stronger no matter what. He knew he can lift his family from their current financial struggles if he was to achieve at least a C-rank when re-examined. But in the end, he disappeared, leaving his family in worse circumstances than when he was alive.
That was back then. Now, at this point in Jinwoo's life, Soo Min took care of the entire family. He was thankful to her for helping him like this. However, he found his new aim in life. More important than his previous normal life.
Day by day, he came home late after the hunt. Soo Min always waited for him, even till midnight. She wavered a lot. Her complexion had gotten worse every day. She had been shouting and constantly begging him to stop his career as a hunter. She said she didn't want him to die.
However, Jinwoo didn't want those wandering thoughts to invade his mind. That would affect him mentally going onward toward his goal.
He never thought his first choice to be a hunter would be rewarding as of this moment. He summoned a key out of thin air. Staring at it for a moment, inspecting the key.
'Even if the end of my journey will be me, alone, in nothingness. This is worth it. I'm willing to risk this chance in my current lifetime.'
'With this, a new world is opened to me. A world that I may never cross again. Forever. In the cycle of life.' A smile crept across his face.
--------------------
[ITEM: DUNGEON KEY]
LEVEL OF DIFFICULTY: E
TYPE: KEY
THIS KEY ENABLES YOU TO ENTER AN INSTANT DUNGEON. IT CAN BE USED AT HAPJEONG STATION, EXIT 3.
--------------------
He was planning on using this key to an instant dungeon. What was he planning to do while he was there? The only way to know was to go there.
Putting away the key. Jinwoo walked out of his room and marched towards the girl working at the receptionist's desk. It was the girl that asked him for his phone number during his stay.
"Hi. I want to discharge right now," he requested her.
"Oh! Please wait a moment, I'll go get the paperwork." The girl ran off while her face reddened. A moment later, she came back with a stack of paper. Did he need to sign all of those? Whatever, after all of this is done, he would be free from all of this mess.
Taking hold of the ball pen on top of the nurse's desk, Jinwoo read through all of them and signed each document accordingly. However, when he took hold of the paper that stated, 'Release of Guarantee Agreement', Jinwoo immediately knew what was happening. Looking at Soo Min's signature, and then at the terms stated on the piece of paper. As stated, Soo Min wanted to withdraw her obligation to Jinwoo. She was always the person who paid his hospital bills whenever he was hospitalized. But now, she was telling him to pay everything by himself next time.
Annoyed by this, Jinwoo had no choice but to agree to this since Soo Min had already withdrawn her deposits and even provided a cover letter that warned Jinwoo to appear in court if he didn't sign the document in 48 hours.
'Tsk.' Jinwoo, felt something inside him that he never once felt before, 'Is this what it felt like to get dumped?'
He shook his head to forget the thought. Jinwoo will have to take care of himself from now on. He didn't have to rely solely on Soo Min anymore. He gained tremendous freedom after this. He could unravel the purpose of the system and find out why all of the dungeons appeared out of nowhere.
From this day on, Jinwoo was no longer obligated to serve his family and their needs. He was free.
'Sorry, for I had become like this. There's no turning back now.'
Signing the agreement, he looked at the second one, which is the document that will transfer most of the obligations to himself.
'Soo Min wasn't involved in this anymore.' He thought before signing the second one.
After he was done with everything, he waved the nurse his farewell and thanked her for looking after him.
Now, it was time for him to use the key. A smile dragged across his face, he could feel his blood pumping. He wanted to test out this new power he acquired.
Walking towards the station, Jinwoo wanted to prepare for the dungeon dive but he didn't have that much money on him at the moment. His money wasn't enough to even afford a simple military-styled knife.
However, he had a sword that come in handy. Opening his inventory screen, Jinwoo looked at the sword.
[--------------------]
[ITEM: KIM SANGSHIK'S STEEL SWORD]
TYPE: SWORD
ATTACK +10
[--------------------]
Then he glanced at his status screen.
[--------------------]
Name: SUNG JINWOO
LEVEL: 1
JOB: NONE
TITLE: NONE
FATIGUE: 0
--------------------
HP: 100
MP: 10
--------------------
STRENGTH: 22
AGILITY: 10
SENSE: 10
HEALTH: 10
INTELLIGENCE: 10
--------------------
AVAILABLE ABILITY POINTS: 0
[--------------------]
Everything was ready. Once he stood before the HAPJEONG STATION's entrance, he looked around at the passerby. They're not even paying attention. He pulled out the dungeon key immediately and tucked it inside his hoody, hoping for no one to see it.
A translucent barrier appeared before him as he was about to step into the downward staircase. A magnificent sight before him indeed. His curiosity suddenly spiked to a terrifying degree. How? This defied every single belief he held. The people walked out of the barrier like they didn't even notice it.
Going through the barrier, Jinwoo noticed bolts of electricity shined around his figure. It felt strange the moment he pushed himself through the barrier. He couldn't describe it but it was a feeling he wouldn't ignore.
Once Jinwoo was inside, he could see the atmosphere change. Inside, everything was gloomy with an eerie silence.
A notice popped up in front of his vision.
[YOU HAVE ENTERED AN INSTANCE DUNGEON.]
Jinwoo could feel and hear little sparks of lightning behind him. He turned and then widened his eyes. The entrance closed until there were little gaps of light passing through. Jinwoo raised his hand to touch the surface.
A notice suddenly popped up.
[YOU CANNOT LEAVE THIS DUNGEON UNLESS YOU DEFEAT THE BOSS OR USE A TELEPORTATION STONE.]
He didn't seem to be phasing through it anymore. Knocking onto it. It was rock solid from the looks of it.
A girl walked by Jinwoo, passing by him as if she didn't see what he was doing. Passing through the barrier like it's nothing. Her figure seemed like it submerged under water but this time, a verticle surface.
'This felt like a completely different dimension.'
He turned around and looked at the sight before him. Beyond him was an endless darkness, he couldn't see anything far ahead. There were gusts of wind that emerged from the ground and proceeded down the stairs.
Without further ado, Jinwoo proceeded down the staircase. Pulling out a sword from his inventory, Jinwoo stepped down to the end of the staircase.
In front of him, the world changed to a terrifying degree. The atmosphere seemed incredibly different from what he normally experienced. With the flickering lights and broken LED light sticks hanging from the ceiling, coupled with grass peeking out of the floor. It was an abandoned subway station.
Fog covered all corners, making him hard to see clearly.
Walking through the abandoned subway, Jinwoo looked around. All he could see were wrecked garage doors. Littered on the grounds were shattered light sticks, ceiling plates, or metal rods.
He picked up one of the metal rods on the floor. 'This will come in handy.'
With both hands equipped with weapons, Jinwoo was ready for any dangerous encounters.
After sensing a foul stench, Jinwoo stopped suddenly, there was a presence closening up on him. The noises had a rhythm that was coming closer and closer to him. A sound of growling could be heard from behind him.
Jinwoo turned around to notice the creature leaping with its fangs wide open. He quickly reacted and dodged the incoming attack of the wolf-like creature in front of him. Jinwoo slid several feet back to maintain his distance from the wolf.
Staring for a moment, on top of the creature's head, Jinwoo could see the floating words.
[STEEL-FANGED LYCAN]
Jinwoo lifted his right arm where he was holding his sword. He took a stance to prepare for the beast to launch at him. The moment it did, Jinwoo tossed the metal rod at the beast with pinpoint accuracy.
The metal rod crashed into the beast's face; it broke apart but the impact caused several fangs from the wolf to fall off onto the floor. The flying fragments penetrated the wolf's left eye, hindering its vision. The beast lost its balance and fell onto the ground, due to its initial speed, its body slid towards Jinwoo.
Before the beast could even gather its strength to stand, Jinwoo raised his sword and pierced the wolf's head. However, the thing was still alive after the stab. It didn't penetrate the brain. Its body was writhing. To completely kill it, Jinwoo held the hilt with both hands and used the tip of the sword as the fulcrum. He pulled down the sword in the clockwise direction and chopped the wolf's head in half. Blood spewed across the ground, signifying the gore.
Pulling the sword out from the corpse, Jinwoo stared in the front. There were two silhouettes of the same creature he had just killed. They both appeared before him, halting in their steps, as if cautiously observing him before daring to approach. Jinwoo prepared his sword in a practiced stance. One of the wolves lunged at him and tried to pounce on him. However, Jinwoo was quicker, he pinned his right foot tightly on the ground with both hands swinging his sword full force. He completely sliced the wolf in half while releasing a gust of wind in an arc shape that flew towards the second wolf, causing a tiny slice the size of a knife mark on the wolf at the end.
The wolf turned around but Jinwoo noticed it immediately. The thing was attempting to run away.
'You're not going anywhere.' Jinwoo thought with his bloodshot eyes concentrated on the pup he was about slaughter. Dashing towards the last wolf at full speed and grabbed its head; he bashed its head to the ground, pinning it from moving. Then he pointed the tip of his sword and penetrated the skull of the wolf, killing it instantly.
After the intense fight, Jinwoo wiped his face from the splattered blood. Now, the crimson liquid stained the floor and its walls, emitting a metallic smell. The subway looked more terrifying than the last with the arrival of Jinwoo.
Jinwoo cleaned his sword with the hide of one of the lycans. He smiled in delight at his newly founded power. He never thought he could destroy these monsters in a matter of seconds.
In the past, Jinwoo would have struggled a lot from fighting a single beast similar to these. Now, he could kill multiple of these lycans without breaking a sweat. Or so he hoped. He didn't know the limitation of his power but he was willing to push it till he reached the point where he can't anymore.
Looking far ahead toward the end of the hallway.
"This is the beginning of my journey." A revived determination, a step toward his goal. Jinwoo nonchalantly walked further inside the dungeon.
[--------------------]
Name: SUNG JINWOO
LEVEL: 2
JOB: NONE
TITLE: NONE
FATIGUE: 5
--------------------
HP: 205
MP: 22
--------------------
STRENGTH: 23
AGILITY: 11
SENSE: 11
HEALTH: 11
INTELLIGENCE: 11
--------------------
AVAILABLE ABILITY POINTS: 0
[--------------------]
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