Leveling
50
Ah-h
He remembered.
He did not perform any daily Quest today.
He purposely missed it to enter the Penalty Zone, to test his progress against
centipede and see if he can continue his Raid in the Demon Castle.
Thinking it would help him like this.
shaaaaaake
As in the hospital, the area began to tremble violently.
pshhhh
pshaaaah
One after another, even the Knights he fought turned into sand.
The world around him changed.
'Ha ha ha…'
He secretly laughed.
The System's words before the Quest began continued to appear in his head.
[Good luck]
Was it because of his difficult Quest?
Or does the System want him to be lucky to get more progress points?
Luck, incidentally, just mention it with what you want.
It was just an opportunity for him.
The important thing is how he will use this opportunity.
Shaaake!
The vibration becomes stronger.
Instead of struggling to keep his balance like in the past, Jin Woo gives up on
the earthquake and closed his eyes.
'Silent…'
And just like that, he calmed down, and all the sounds disappeared.
When he opened his eyes, it was in the middle of the familiar desert.
Jin Woo fell on the sand.
"gasp-gasp-pant-pant-"
He grabbed the sand with his hand and released a gasp of gasps.
His lungs were filled with refreshing fresh air, spreading that feeling to the
his whole.
Finally,
"I feel alive."
With a sense of security around his mind, Jin Woo remained lying on the ground.
He looked at the empty black sky.
The vision of an endless pitch black ceiling filled his gaze.
That's the Penalty Zone he remembers.
"Oh, wait, now is not the time to lie down."
Since he had just escaped from a very dangerous place, he had forgotten that this place
not a safe place.
Still, he didn't want to get up, so he looked at the status screen while lying down.
HP: 104/10270
MP: 202/850
Fatigue: 91
He wondered why he had been so hard to move before.
And now he knew why; it was because his Fatigue had risen by over 90.
"I think this is the first time this has happened."
He did not feel like moving a single finger at the moment.
His HP was indeed the same, but right now, it was extremely important to recover his stamina.
"Shop"
ring ~
The words "Buy" and "Sell" appeared in the air.
No matter how he looked at it, the System had clearly created the so-called
the store with minimal effort, but today, it is a very friendly sight.
Jin Woo bought the most expensive healing potion.
When he confirmed the transaction,
shooo
A glass bottle with red liquid appeared on his lying arm.
pops
In his circumstances, it took even effort to open the bottle cap.
He poured the potion into his mouth.
gulp gulp
Red liquid passed through his throat.
[Your stamina is recovering]
[Your stamina is recovering]
[Your stamina is recovering]
Since it was the highest level of healing potion, just one bottle was enough
to completely eliminate his fatigue.
Surprisingly, his HP did not recover.
HP: 106/10270
MP: 204/850
Fatigue: 0
Even when the bottle was emptied, the HP was still the same.
It was very different from Fatigue who had now gone to zero.
'Why?'
As the last drop of the potion fell into his mouth, he could tell the reason.
ring
[Your health is below 10%. You cannot restore health with herbs]
Simple reason.
That's because the points are too low.
"Now if I think about it ..."
Even healing magic has its limits.
This is not a foreign phenomenon.
Just as a healer cannot heal a person past a certain point depending
on their skills, it seemed that potions had the same limits.
"And you're telling me that the limit is 10% of the rest of health."
It's good to know.
Had he put his trust in the potion at the wrong time, he could have made
grave mistake.
This is why experience is important.
Is there no such saying?
"What doesn't kill you will make you strong"
It's all because of the power of experience.
Even now, he was grateful to have the experience of meeting the Penalty Zone.
'It's about time…'
And it is.
He felt a living creature emerge from under the sand.
Jin Woo lifted his foot off the ground.
His body feels as light as a feather.
Thanks to the potion, his strength had completely returned.
Jin Woo jumps up and lands and turns around.
shaaaaah
As expected, the place he was lying down was sinking to the ground.
"Heh, I remember if I'd almost fallen into it in the past"
Now, he could stare at that hole with a carefree attitude.
The bottom is churning like in the past, and-and
pshaaah!
A column of sand exploded from the ground, and revealed a giant centipede-shaped monster.
nippeeeeech!
It was all as he remembered.
"Geez, they looked a lot scarier back then ..."
Now, they seemed to be moving with slow movements in Jin Woo's eyes.
He raised his gaze and confirmed the red letters above the centipede's head.
‘Poison - fanged Giant Sand Centipede'
Red name.
Just like Cerberus from Demon Castle.
Quest message appears.
ring ~!
[Quest Penalty: Fetish]
[Destination: Survive until the specified time]
[Time required: 4 Hours]
[Time remaining: 4 Hours 0 Min 0 H]
After reading the message, Jinwoo clenched his hand.
"I can buy time with this."
Since he did not use the Instant Returner Stone of the Dungeon, he might still
have opportunity.
"I'll probably be moved back after the penalty Quest."
And if the 4 hours he spent here were added to the endurance timer?
The progress points he would get would be huge.
Well, he still doesn't know how that math works.
'But…'
When he thought about how the System worked until now, this might be
what an incredible windfall.
"Four goddamn hours!"
He could not last 10 minutes there and almost used the Instant Returner Stone.
Now, thanks to the Penalty Zone, he could add 4 hours to that timer.
There's one problem left.
He had to survive in this world with only 100 HP remaining.
Since he could not recover using the potion, he had to level up through the centipede without
receiving damage.
On the one hand, this was an additional condition of the penalty Quest.
'...Let's do it.' Let's do it.'
Jin Woo called Casaka's Poisoned Fang.
[Time remaining: 3 Hours 59 Min 59 Dtk]
As the penalty Quest began, Jin Woo started to move.
Because of his experience, he knew to quickly move before the centipede did.
He closed the distance in an instant and jumped.
the land!
He reached the midpoint on the insect's body then started working towards the head while
slashed his body.
stab! stab! stab! the slash!
Wherever the daggers attacked, the centipede exoskeleton cracked and expelled the liquid.
nippeeech!
Every time Jin Woo made a new wound on his body, the centipede thrashed in pain.
‘Sprint!’
Jin Woo's legs accelerated.
step,step,step,step!
He quickly reached the top of the monster's head and grabbed the dagger with both hands.
‘Vital Stab!’
He used the Sill and brought the dagger to the head of the centipede.
The dagger dug deep into the head.
['Vital Stab' has leveled up!]
'Yes!'
It's long!
Level-up skills seem to have better destructive abilities.
The centipede shook his head in pain.
screech,screece!
Jin Woo didn't stop there.
He moved from his head towards the back of the centipede.
The monster's back was completely open.
stab!
After stabbing a single point behind the head of the centipede, Jin Woo held the dagger in place
and jump down.
cra-cra-cra-cra-young!
Combined with a power above 120 and a jump from the height of a 5-story building,
the dagger slid completely behind the centipede's back, cutting it wide open.
cra-cra-crack!
land
Jin Woo landed safely.
screeech, screeeeee!
The centipede spewed fluid all over the place then finally fell off.
BOOM UP!
His body raised a cloud of sand.
ring ~
[You have defeated the Poison-fanged Giant Sand Centipede]
Jin Woo patted the sand from his body and checked the time.
[Time remaining: 3 Hours 59 Min 42 Ht]
"It took 17 seconds."
It took less than 20 seconds to drop the centipede.
It was completely different from the time he defeated Cerberus.
His strength had reached a different dimension.
‘Well, if I think of all the leveling I did and the items I obtained ..’
That makes sense.
At this rate, Jin Woo is confident he can continue hunting without losing his life.
'Now the problem is if there aren't enough monsters here to level up ...'
Only then did he have a chance to survive when he returned the Quest
class Progress.
If he returned without recuperating, he would definitely be crushed like an insect.
As he was very worried, several columns of sand appeared around him.
pshhhh
pshaaah
The centipede had arrived after kissing the blood of their comrade.
screeech
screeech
Jin Woo's face brightened.
"How many?"
Looking at the head of the centipede emerging from the ground, Jin Woo could not hide a smile
on his face.
________________________________________
[You level up!]
[You level up!]
[You level up!]
[You level up!]
After almost 4 hours, Jin Woo has leveled up 4 times after defeating a bad centipede
countless.
He had reached level 51.
The penalty quest is almost over.
[Quest Penalty: Survive]
[Destination: Survive for the necessary time]
[Time required: 4 Hours]
[Time remaining: 0 Hours 3 Min 19 Dtk]
It's time for him to come back.
Jin Woo looked around the corpses of centipedes scattered in the area.
Thanks to their sacrifice, he was able to recover.
"It's a pity they didn't drop the item or the gold ..."
Well, it doesn't make sense for a place of punishment to reward him that much.
Now, it's time to get ready for his return.
'Shop'
[Gold Current: 3.115.629]
On top of the various money bags from the humanoid monster, he had obtained 1,500,000 gold
after defeating Ygritte.
He has a lot of money now.
With that in mind, he was looking around for new weapons in the shop.
A suitable upgrade caught his attention:
[Knight Killing]
[Sumption: B]
[Type: Dagger]
[Attack Power +75]
['Knight Killing': + 25% damage to armor]
This was a sturdy and sharp dagger designed to cut through the armor of a Knight.
Due to the blade of the guerrilla, it will not easily slip on the armor.
It was a weapon meant to kill armor.
The cost is 2,800,000 gold.
He had to spend most of his gold, but this was not the time to be stingy.
"I can't even take my gold with me to the afterlife."
Without hesitation, Jin Woo bought the weapon.
He also bought some Wrappings.
[You've bought "Knight Killing"]
[You've bought "Wrappings"]
As explained by his description, it was a dagger that looked terrifying with
serrated blades.
He took the weapon with his right hand and used the wrapper to
tied it tightly in his hand.
the slash! slashh!
He swung the sword.
And it felt familiar in his hands, as if it was part of his body.
"At the very least, I wouldn't have dropped it like this."
He briefly considered wrapping Casaka's Poisoned Fang into his left hand but
decided not to do it.
It was too much trouble to lose both hands.
He will keep the use of his left hand just in case.
He placed the remaining wrap into the inventory then noticed the Runestone
he got it from Ygritte.
"Ah right, there's this."
[Runestone: Ruler's Hand]
[Destroy the Runestone to absorb the Skill]
He needs anything right now, want it to be an item or Sill.
Jin Woo destroys Runestone without regret.
[You've learned 'Ruler's Hand' (Lv. 1)]
[Ruler's Hand (Lv. 1)]
[Active Skill]
[Mana Cost: 0]
[You can move an object without physically touching it]
'A…'
Reading his explanation, he remembered a scene from before.
Just then Ygritte reached out to her sword and carried it into her hand from a distance.
"So he used this skill to do it"
Skill to move objects from a distance with just his mind!
Besides, no need for mana.
"If I can really move anything, it's an incredible Skill."
Jin Woo quickly tries it on the corpse of the centipede next to him.
[Your ability is not enough to move objects]
[Your ability is not enough to move objects]
It seems that moving something heavy requires more exercise.
"What about this one?"
Jin Woo drops Casaka's Poisoned Fang to the ground, then extends his hand towards him.
The dagger easily moved into his hand.
grabs!
‘Oh ~.’
Jin Woo looked at the dagger in astonishment.
"Alright, this is quite helpful."
And with that, he had completed all the preparations.
Jin Woo lifted his head and saw that his time was almost over.
[Time remaining: 0 Hours 0 Min 4 Ht]
When 4 seconds is reduced to 3, the System sends a message to him.
ring ~
[Quest Penalty is coming to an end]
And another one followed, and,
ring ~
[Because you've been hunted in the Penalty Zone]
[The next Penalty Quest difficulty will be adjusted]
Difficulty adjustment.
That will make it harder to hunt so the penalty will feel like a real penalty.
Well, will there be a next time?
Jin Woo swallowed.
‘Now,Quest Class progress will be continued.’
Hundreds of monsters might be waiting for him back in the boss room.
Maybe more.
Although he thought of it as "back", it was more like he was "throwed" there.
HP,mana, Fatigue, Equipment and Skill.
Moreover, even his mind had improved in the past 4 hours.
But still, he was still nervous.
ba dum ba dum ba dum
His heart rate was almost painful.
Jin Woo closed his eyes to calm himself down.
Then, the electronic tone rang.
Ring ~.
[Quest Penalty will end now]
"This is my last chance ..."
When Jin Woo opened his eyes, he saw many Knights starting to turn towards him.
They're not the target.
Jin Woo's eyes shifted from side to side, looking for his target.
"First, the Mage!"