The moment he spoke the words to accept the reward, a subtle blue glow covered his body .
‘Oh… this feeling is?’
Juhee’s face immediately appeared in his mind . It was a similar sensation he felt when he received healing magic; the feeling was comparable to breathing in crisp, fresh air after being stuck in a muggy, stuffy room .
shooooo-
He felt the glow subside but had hoped it would last a little longer .
Standing up from his spot, Jinwoo stretched and moved his body around .
“Whoa!”
The heart that felt like it was about to explode had calmed down, and the shortness of his breath had also disappeared . There was not a trace of exhaustion remaining . His body that was on the brink of collapse now felt like it had woken up from a good rest . The effects were unbelievable .
‘This is amazing . ’
His eyes were open wide in wonder . He wasn’t sure if it was magic or something else, but the powerful effect it had left a great impression on Jinwoo .
‘Then the “stat points” must be…’
Turning his head toward his bed, he saw a small box and a status screen before his eyes .
‘That must be the random box it was talking about, and…’
His attention was focused on the status screen . The information box that hung in the air contained various data regarding his status .
Name: Sung Jinwoo
Level: 1
Class: None
Title: None
HP: 100
MP: 10
Fatigue: 0
Stats
Strength: 10
Constitution: 10
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 10
Sense: 10
(Available stat points: 3)
Skills
Passive Skills
-(Unknown) (Lv . Max)
-Unyielding Spirit[1] (Lv . 1)
Active Skills
-Sprint[2] (Lv . 1)
He recalled the online RPGs he had played in the past; his stats were reminiscent of a freshly created character .
‘So these are my stats?’
Current level 1 . All stats at a basic level .
Faced again with the reality of being the weakest E-rank Hunter, his stat numbers did not surprise him . Rather, his eyes were focused on his skills . The passive skills ‘Unyielding Spirit’ and active skill ‘Sprint’ . They were strangely familiar to him .
‘Now that I think about it… Yesterday…’
Yesterday . More accurately, the dawn of today . He recalled the messages he received while being chased around by the centipedes in the Penalty Zone . It was around the 3rd hour of running from the clutches of death .
You’ve learned “Sprint” (Lv . 1)
You’ve learned “Unyielding Spirit” (Lv . 1)
He did not pay attention at the time, his entire mind focused on running, but now he was able to take a closer look .
Sprint (Lv . 1)
Active Skill
Mana Cost: 5 (+1/Minute)
Activate to increase your movement speed by 30% .
Costs 1 mana per minute to maintain .
“Your running has strengthened your legs . ”
Unyielding Spirit (Lv . 1)
Passive Skill
Mana Cost: 0
When below 30% HP, all damage received is reduced by 50% .
“You have an unyielding spirit . ”
‘So because I ran like a dog, I learned these two skills?’
The logic was sound . This meant that repetitive actions that met certain criteria unlocked skills .
“Amazing!”
The merits of this were incalculable . Normally, the repertoire of skills that Hunters used were received and fixed at the moment of their Awakening . Only the rare Runestones[3] that sometimes dropped from A-rank or higher magic beasts could be used by a Hunter to learn a new skill . This is why the price of Runestones ranged from hundreds of million to tens of billion won . He recalled a recent event of a Runestone being sold at an auction for the price of 70 billion won . It was a Runestone that taught a powerful healing magic that could completely restore an injured person, purchased by an anonymous foreign S-rank Healer-class Hunter who emptied his wallet for it .
Jinwoo’s heartbeat sped up .
A skill to increase his movement speed and a skill to reduce damage taken .
Not quite skills that would cost tens of billions of won, but they were still useful skills . And he had earned such skills for free . Although it probably was difficult to make full use of “Sprint” with his low magic power, the fact that he had these skills now was amazing .
‘And the “Unyielding Spirit” doesn’t even take any mana…’
It seemed like “mana” was referring to “magic power” . This meant that even his body that lacked magic power could take advantage of the “Unyielding Spirit” . This alone was a great boon to Jinwoo .
‘However… What is this skill…’
(Unknown) (Lv . Max)
Passive Skill
“Unknown” that took up a line under his passive skills . As a passive skill, it should be something that activated automatically, but its information screen did not reveal any details .
‘I have no clue what this is . ’
There was nothing he could find or figure out about this unknown skill . Realizing his worries would get him nowhere, Jinwoo turned his attention to the other section of his status screen .
‘Stat points…’
The stat points he received as the reward for the Daily Quest remained undistributed .
Stats
Strength: 10
Constitution: 10
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 10
Sense: 10
(Available stat points: 3)
‘So I can raise 3 points worth of stats?’
Five different attributes were under the stats section . Being level 1, his points across the board were rather low . But remembering all that he had experienced up until now, he could not carelessly distribute his points . If the assignment of points truly enhanced his abilities, how could he make the decision lightly?
His expression hardened .
‘The meaning behind “Strength” is pretty clear…’
Strength, constitution, agility . He grasped the meaning behind these attributes quite easily . After all, they were some of the more straightforward ‘stats’ in video games . The problems were the “Intelligence” and “Sense” stats . The curt and distant System revealed no additional details to Jinwoo .
Would he become smarter if he increased “Intelligence”?
Or more keen and sharper if he increased “Sense”?
Regardless, those two attributes did not seem particularly useful to him . He was a Fighter-class Hunter . What he needed the most was strength, mobility and durability .
‘If I had to choose one, it’d be strength . ’
Increased strength would rather make a lot of things easier . He was curious on what kind of change his body would undergo when he increased his stats . As such, he selected the stat that would probably result in the most physical change in his body .
“3 points into strength . ”
ring~
Stats
Strength: 13
Constitution: 10
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 10
Sense: 10
(Available stat points: 0)
‘Is… is that it?’
That was it .
All that changed was the number in front of “Strength” going from 10 to 13 .
In his mind, he had expected the recreation of the scene in movies or cartoons where the hero pulled forth an unknown power from within .
“Well, did anything change?”
Jinwoo decided to test out his strength . He stood next to his bed and lifted it . He felt a slight resistance from the bed’s weight but was able to easily lift it off the ground . Still, he was unable to tell whether this was due to the lightness of the bed or his increased strength .
‘Should’ve made a comparison before and after I used up the points . ’
As his points were already distributed, it was hard for him to distinguish the before and after of his changes .
‘If I just had few more points…’
Rolling his tongue in his mouth, Jinwoo suddenly remembered something:
“The reward from the Penalty Quest!”
He had remembered that it wasn’t just the Daily Quest he completed today . Although he had almost died from it, he did complete the Penalty Quest and even remembered the reward message from it as well . He quickly opened his message box .
The reward for completing the Penalty Quest has arrived .
Would you like to verify? (Y/N)
“It’s there!”
He clenched his fists .
Of course, the answer is “Yes!”
You’ve received the below rewards:
Reward 1 . Stat points +3
Reward 2 . Random Box x 1
Accept all?
Compared to the Daily Quest, there was no reward of status recovery, but what he needed now the most were stat points . Initially worried that a Penalty Quest might give reduced rewards, Jinwoo was relieved to see that it still gave him 3 stat points .
He distributed the points in delight,
“Add 3 more points into strength!”
ring~
Stats
Strength: 16
Constitution: 10
Agility: 10
Intelligence: 10
Sense: 10
(Available stat points: 0)
His strength had increased from 13 to 16 . He went before his bed once more and used his arms . Compared to before, the bed felt much lighter in his hands . He was able to fully comprehend the difference this time .
“It’s true…!”
He really had become stronger . By simple math, going from 10 to 16 points meant that his strength had increased by 60% . The result was blatantly clear to him now . Unable to control his excitement, Jinwoo loudly went from corner to corner of his room, lifting every furniture that he could get his hands on . He had to stop when a passing nurse peeked in and glared at him .
“…Sorry . ”
After she left, he sighed a breath of relief .
“Phew-“
But his excitement could not be abated . His heart was beating vigorously .
ba dum ba dum
A Daily Quest and stat point rewards!
As long as this strange occurrence continued, his life would turn around completely going forward . It was an incredible opportunity for him . On top of that, the “level” he saw under his status screen,
‘It should be possible for me to raise my level as well, right?’
He tilted his head .
‘Eh… probably not . ’
It was but a dream; he did not expect himself to go that far . Just the daily rewards were good enough .
Using stat points to increase his attributes .
Yesterday then today, today then tomorrow, he would become stronger every day .
‘To think that I, an E-rank Hunter, the “Weakest Soldier”, could become strong?’
Forget the A-rankers and S-rankers, even his C-ranked and D-ranked comrades would laugh at him .
Sung Jinwoo becoming strong?
That weakling Sung Jinwoo?
But he did not care that he would be laughed at . No, he was already used to it after all . He was just happy that this opportunity had arrived in his hands .
Then a question appeared in his mind,
‘Perhaps this is the process of a Second Awakening?’
It was a rare event, but there were cases where a Hunter at the bottom of the barrel shot up to first class through Reawakening . Maybe all those Reawakened Hunters had gone through the same phenomenon that he was experiencing right now?
‘Let’s find out . ’
The now curious Jinwoo sat in front of a computer in the corner of his room . As he was designated a special patient by the Association, the VIP room that he was placed in even had such luxuries for his use .
clack clack clack clack
His fingers moved quickly across the keyboard .
Search after search after search .
He went through dozens of websites, including sites only accessible by those with Hunter licenses . Going as far as purchasing paid information, he gathered and went through as many documents he could find on Reawakening .
But nothing he found matched what he was experiencing now .
‘It’s different…’
His newfound powers were completely different from a Reawakening .
The Hunters that went through Reawakening underwent the same process as their first Awakening[4] . No one mentioned hearing any voices on the verge of death or a video game like System that gave them stat points that increased their abilities .
Translator’s Notes:
[1]: “Unyielding Spirit” (??; geun-sung): The word on its own just means someone’s disposition or natural spirit . Contextual clues imply the “spirit” in this situation is one that would not give up even at 30% HP, so I chose to add the “unyielding” in front of it . The skill description also goes as far as to say “You have an unyielding/untiring spirit . ”
[2]: “Sprint” (??; jil-joo): Lit . “speeding” or “sprinting” . Shortened to just “sprint” based on contextual clues .
[3]: “Runestones” (??; rune-suk): “Rune” in english + “stone” suk . Pretty straightforward .
[4]: I just want to clarify this with information gathered from context throughout the story (not a spoiler) . All Hunters go through their first Awakening, receiving some form of power . This power includes a combination of increases in physical ability, magic power and a list of skills . What they get at their first Awakening does not change (except for new skills learned through Runestones) . A second Awakening (Reawakening) is exactly the same: An Awakened Being would receive power again which includes a combination of increased physical ability, magic power and new skills . After Reawakening, same as before, a Hunter’s power does not change .
Sponsored Content
I Alone Level-up: Chapter 11.
.
The moment he spoke the words to accept the reward, a subtle blue glow covered his body . .
.
‘Oh… this feeling is?’.
.
Juhee’s face immediately appeared in his mind . It was a similar sensation he felt when he received healing magic; the feeling was comparable to breathing in crisp, fresh air after being stuck in a muggy, stuffy room . .
.
shooooo-.
.
He felt the glow subside but had hoped it would last a little longer . .
.
Standing up from his spot, Jinwoo stretched and moved his body around . .
.
“Whoa!”.
.
The heart that felt like it was about to explode had calmed down, and the shortness of his breath had also disappeared . There was not a trace of exhaustion remaining . His body that was on the brink of collapse now felt like it had woken up from a good rest . The effects were unbelievable . .
.
‘This is amazing . ’.
.
His eyes were open wide in wonder . He wasn’t sure if it was magic or something else, but the powerful effect it had left a great impression on Jinwoo . .
.
‘Then the “stat points” must be…’.
.
Turning his head toward his bed, he saw a small box and a status screen before his eyes . .
.
‘That must be the random box it was talking about, and…’.
.
His attention was focused on the status screen . The information box that hung in the air contained various data regarding his status . .
.
.
.
Name: Sung Jinwoo.
Level: 1.
Class: None.
Title: None.
HP: 100.
MP: 10.
Fatigue: 0.
Stats.
.
Strength: 10.
Constitution: 10.
Agility: 10.
Intelligence: 10.
Sense: 10.
(Available stat points: 3).
Skills.
.
Passive Skills.
-(Unknown) (Lv . Max).
-Unyielding Spirit[1] (Lv . 1).
.
Active Skills.
-Sprint[2] (Lv . 1).
.
He recalled the online RPGs he had played in the past; his stats were reminiscent of a freshly created character . .
.
‘So these are my stats?’.
.
Current level 1 . All stats at a basic level . .
.
Faced again with the reality of being the weakest E-rank Hunter, his stat numbers did not surprise him . Rather, his eyes were focused on his skills . The passive skills ‘Unyielding Spirit’ and active skill ‘Sprint’ . They were strangely familiar to him . .
.
‘Now that I think about it… Yesterday…’.
.
Yesterday . More accurately, the dawn of today . He recalled the messages he received while being chased around by the centipedes in the Penalty Zone . It was around the 3rd hour of running from the clutches of death . .
.
You’ve learned “Sprint” (Lv . 1).
.
You’ve learned “Unyielding Spirit” (Lv . 1).
.
He did not pay attention at the time, his entire mind focused on running, but now he was able to take a closer look . .
.
Sprint (Lv . 1).
Active Skill.
.
Mana Cost: 5 (+1/Minute).
.
Activate to increase your movement speed by 30% . .
Costs 1 mana per minute to maintain . .
.
“Your running has strengthened your legs . ”.
.
Unyielding Spirit (Lv . 1).
Passive Skill.
.
Mana Cost: 0.
.
When below 30% HP, all damage received is reduced by 50% . .
.
“You have an unyielding spirit . ”.
.
‘So because I ran like a dog, I learned these two skills?’.
.
The logic was sound . This meant that repetitive actions that met certain criteria unlocked skills . .
.
“Amazing!”.
.
The merits of this were incalculable . Normally, the repertoire of skills that Hunters used were received and fixed at the moment of their Awakening . Only the rare Runestones[3] that sometimes dropped from A-rank or higher magic beasts could be used by a Hunter to learn a new skill . This is why the price of Runestones ranged from hundreds of million to tens of billion won . He recalled a recent event of a Runestone being sold at an auction for the price of 70 billion won . It was a Runestone that taught a powerful healing magic that could completely restore an injured person, purchased by an anonymous foreign S-rank Healer-class Hunter who emptied his wallet for it . .
.
Jinwoo’s heartbeat sped up . .
.
A skill to increase his movement speed and a skill to reduce damage taken . .
.
Not quite skills that would cost tens of billions of won, but they were still useful skills . And he had earned such skills for free . Although it probably was difficult to make full use of “Sprint” with his low magic power, the fact that he had these skills now was amazing . .
.
‘And the “Unyielding Spirit” doesn’t even take any mana…’.
.
It seemed like “mana” was referring to “magic power” . This meant that even his body that lacked magic power could take advantage of the “Unyielding Spirit” . This alone was a great boon to Jinwoo . .
.
‘However… What is this skill…’.
.
(Unknown) (Lv . Max).
Passive Skill.
.
.
“Unknown” that took up a line under his passive skills . As a passive skill, it should be something that activated automatically, but its information screen did not reveal any details . .
.
‘I have no clue what this is . ’.
.
There was nothing he could find or figure out about this unknown skill . Realizing his worries would get him nowhere, Jinwoo turned his attention to the other section of his status screen . .
.
‘Stat points…’.
.
The stat points he received as the reward for the Daily Quest remained undistributed . .
.
Stats.
.
Strength: 10.
Constitution: 10.
Agility: 10.
Intelligence: 10.
Sense: 10.
(Available stat points: 3).
.
‘So I can raise 3 points worth of stats?’.
.
Five different attributes were under the stats section . Being level 1, his points across the board were rather low . But remembering all that he had experienced up until now, he could not carelessly distribute his points . If the assignment of points truly enhanced his abilities, how could he make the decision lightly?.
.
His expression hardened . .
.
‘The meaning behind “Strength” is pretty clear…’.
.
Strength, constitution, agility . He grasped the meaning behind these attributes quite easily . After all, they were some of the more straightforward ‘stats’ in video games . The problems were the “Intelligence” and “Sense” stats . The curt and distant System revealed no additional details to Jinwoo . .
.
Would he become smarter if he increased “Intelligence”?.
.
Or more keen and sharper if he increased “Sense”?.
.
Regardless, those two attributes did not seem particularly useful to him . He was a Fighter-class Hunter . What he needed the most was strength, mobility and durability . .
.
‘If I had to choose one, it’d be strength . ’.
.
Increased strength would rather make a lot of things easier . He was curious on what kind of change his body would undergo when he increased his stats . As such, he selected the stat that would probably result in the most physical change in his body . .
.
“3 points into strength . ”.
.
ring~.
.
Stats.
.
Strength: 13.
Constitution: 10.
Agility: 10.
Intelligence: 10.
Sense: 10.
(Available stat points: 0).
.
‘Is… is that it?’.
.
That was it . .
.
All that changed was the number in front of “Strength” going from 10 to 13 . .
.
In his mind, he had expected the recreation of the scene in movies or cartoons where the hero pulled forth an unknown power from within . .
.
“Well, did anything change?”.
.
Jinwoo decided to test out his strength . He stood next to his bed and lifted it . He felt a slight resistance from the bed’s weight but was able to easily lift it off the ground . Still, he was unable to tell whether this was due to the lightness of the bed or his increased strength . .
.
‘Should’ve made a comparison before and after I used up the points . ’.
.
As his points were already distributed, it was hard for him to distinguish the before and after of his changes . .
.
‘If I just had few more points…’.
.
Rolling his tongue in his mouth, Jinwoo suddenly remembered something:.
.
“The reward from the Penalty Quest!”.
.
He had remembered that it wasn’t just the Daily Quest he completed today . Although he had almost died from it, he did complete the Penalty Quest and even remembered the reward message from it as well . He quickly opened his message box . .
.
The reward for completing the Penalty Quest has arrived . .
Would you like to verify? (Y/N).
.
“It’s there!”.
.
He clenched his fists . .
.
Of course, the answer is “Yes!”.
.
You’ve received the below rewards:.
Reward 1 . Stat points +3.
Reward 2 . Random Box x 1.
Accept all?.
.
Compared to the Daily Quest, there was no reward of status recovery, but what he needed now the most were stat points . Initially worried that a Penalty Quest might give reduced rewards, Jinwoo was relieved to see that it still gave him 3 stat points . .
.
He distributed the points in delight,.
.
“Add 3 more points into strength!”.
.
ring~.
.
Stats.
.
Strength: 16.
Constitution: 10.
Agility: 10.
Intelligence: 10.
Sense: 10.
(Available stat points: 0).
.
His strength had increased from 13 to 16 . He went before his bed once more and used his arms . Compared to before, the bed felt much lighter in his hands . He was able to fully comprehend the difference this time . .
.
“It’s true…!”.
.
He really had become stronger . By simple math, going from 10 to 16 points meant that his strength had increased by 60% . The result was blatantly clear to him now . Unable to control his excitement, Jinwoo loudly went from corner to corner of his room, lifting every furniture that he could get his hands on . He had to stop when a passing nurse peeked in and glared at him . .
.
“…Sorry . ”.
.
After she left, he sighed a breath of relief . .
.
“Phew-“.
.
But his excitement could not be abated . His heart was beating vigorously . .
.
ba dum ba dum.
.
A Daily Quest and stat point rewards!.
.
As long as this strange occurrence continued, his life would turn around completely going forward . It was an incredible opportunity for him . On top of that, the “level” he saw under his status screen,.
.
‘It should be possible for me to raise my level as well, right?’.
.
He tilted his head . .
.
‘Eh… probably not . ’.
.
It was but a dream; he did not expect himself to go that far . Just the daily rewards were good enough . .
.
Using stat points to increase his attributes . .
.
Yesterday then today, today then tomorrow, he would become stronger every day . .
.
‘To think that I, an E-rank Hunter, the “Weakest Soldier”, could become strong?’.
.
Forget the A-rankers and S-rankers, even his C-ranked and D-ranked comrades would laugh at him . .
.
Sung Jinwoo becoming strong?.
.
That weakling Sung Jinwoo?.
.
But he did not care that he would be laughed at . No, he was already used to it after all . He was just happy that this opportunity had arrived in his hands . .
.
Then a question appeared in his mind,.
.
‘Perhaps this is the process of a Second Awakening?’.
.
It was a rare event, but there were cases where a Hunter at the bottom of the barrel shot up to first class through Reawakening . Maybe all those Reawakened Hunters had gone through the same phenomenon that he was experiencing right now?.
.
‘Let’s find out . ’.
.
The now curious Jinwoo sat in front of a computer in the corner of his room . As he was designated a special patient by the Association, the VIP room that he was placed in even had such luxuries for his use . .
.
clack clack clack clack.
.
His fingers moved quickly across the keyboard . .
.
Search after search after search . .
.
He went through dozens of websites, including sites only accessible by those with Hunter licenses . Going as far as purchasing paid information, he gathered and went through as many documents he could find on Reawakening . .
.
But nothing he found matched what he was experiencing now . .
.
‘It’s different…’.
.
His newfound powers were completely different from a Reawakening . .
.
The Hunters that went through Reawakening underwent the same process as their first Awakening[4] . No one mentioned hearing any voices on the verge of death or a video game like System that gave them stat points that increased their abilities . .
.
.
. .
Translator’s Notes:.
[1]: “Unyielding Spirit” (??; geun-sung): The word on its own just means someone’s disposition or natural spirit . Contextual clues imply the “spirit” in this situation is one that would not give up even at 30% HP, so I chose to add the “unyielding” in front of it . The skill description also goes as far as to say “You have an unyielding/untiring spirit . ”.
[2]: “Sprint” (??; jil-joo): Lit . “speeding” or “sprinting” . Shortened to just “sprint” based on contextual clues . .
[3]: “Runestones” (??; rune-suk): “Rune” in english + “stone” suk . Pretty straightforward . .
[4]: I just want to clarify this with information gathered from context throughout the story (not a spoiler) . All Hunters go through their first Awakening, receiving some form of power . This power includes a combination of increases in physical ability, magic power and a list of skills . What they get at their first Awakening does not change (except for new skills learned through Runestones) . A second Awakening (Reawakening) is exactly the same: An Awakened Being would receive power again which includes a combination of increased physical ability, magic power and new skills . After Reawakening, same as before, a Hunter’s power does not change . .