I Login Alone

Episode 169.

“Ahhhhhhhhh.”

It was terrible to experience the level-up alone, but Jung Si-woo was rotting inside and out due to the fierce battle with Hecto’s descendant. He couldn’t even scream properly and rolled the floor in agony. Adding to Hector’s last attack, his courage skill seemed to have risen as well.

[Courage has become Lv13. When suffering, the rate of increase in strength grows further.]

Come to think of it; there was such a thing. It may have been extortion that was able to destroy the Hecto so easily earlier, but the Courage of the Ignorant skill. Jung Si-woo, who thought so, felt the pain slowly subsiding. It was all thanks to a rise in the level of Courage of the Ignorant skill. He wasn’t at all surprised. He regained his sanity and stood up, taking care of Soo Ah-rin and Yong se-ha first.

“Whoo, whoo…are you all right?”

“Better than you, Oppa, though, I’m barely…whoo.”

“Ugh, my internal organs have been flipped over and over again…Hyung-nim. Thud.”

“Please bear with me until I get some rest. Please…”

After calming down the two supporters, he identified the changes made by Dungeon Clear. First of all, was his status.

[Jung Si-woo]

[Breaker]

[Lv 172]

[Muscular – 737 Agile – 715 Physical – 723 Mana – 513]

[Resistance – Poison Lv12, Flame Lv9, Curse Lv9, Cerebral Power Lv9, Ice Freeze Lv7, Wind Lv9, Earth Lv7, Erosion Lv7]

[Passive Skill – Dragon Sense Lv5, Dragon Dignity Lv11, Chaos Tail Lv4, Chaos Scale Lv4, Courage of the Ignorant Lv13, Soul Force Lv7, Heavy Weapon Battle Lv16, Hitting Battle Lv7]

[Active Skills – Power Lv9, Buoy Lv65, Hit Lv64, Battle Run Lv71, Critical Bullitt Lv22, Warcry Lv24, Cruel Charge Lv19, Emergency Escape Lv11, Hide Lv46, Boomerang Lv14, Mana Drain Lv5, Repeat Lv1]

[Unique Capacity – Extortion Lv2]

After reaching level 172, his skills had grown, and his dragon senses had added an unprecedented ability…well, it’s only natural to grow after all that hard work. However, he would have been happier if it were like usual.

But there was a more serious issue.

“I’m sure I caught the Hecto’s descendant!”

That was the additional compensation according to the Clear Rank. There was a problem with the fragment, which must have been obtained in the same way as hunting and rewarding as before.

“But why was Pruta given instead of Hecto? A fragment of an unheard god?”

[Guessing…]

Caina cautiously spoke up, staring at the translucent stone shining a light blue in Jung Si-woo’s palm.

[Maybe Hecto took the god Pruta in the past and carried it as a force but took it off and ran away because he didn’t want to give his strength.]

“Oh…”

Jung Si-woo recalled the moment when he scattered the body and energy of Hecto with his unique abilities. Yes, Hecto certainly could absorb all the power into his own, but that didn’t mean to erase all the traces of the past that power possessed. As a result of Jung Si-woo’s unique abilities, everything went back to its original form.

“I think Caina’s right.”

It occurred to him that the remaining fragments of Pruta, not the fragments of Hecto, may result from Jung Si-woo’s unique ability. Jung Si-woo decided not to continue because he became angrier the more he thought about it.

“Anyway, my natural abilities are similar to those of Hecto. Maybe it’s a good thing you got a fragment of another god.”

[But…I was expecting more. I wonder if the master, who absorbed God’s power, will be able to realize and activate his unique abilities more deeply.]

Of course, Jung Si-woo had such expectations. For him, who was exploring strength, mana, and his unique abilities, the fragment containing the power of Hecto would have been a perfect addition. But the result was like this, so what could he do?

“Oh, I don’t know, that’s enough. I’m sure the fragments of the Hecto are sour and tasteless.”

“Oppa began to treat the power of Hecto like a sour grape…”

That’s so cute, but if you say that now, Jung Si-woo would be upset. Soo Ah-rin barely tried to hold back her laughter, and Jung Si-woo fiddled with Pruta’s fragment with a sullen expression before soon putting it away.

“I don’t know what it is yet, so I’ll have to wait and see. Let’s just think about it later, whether it’s absorbed by a hammer, returned to my mana, or used for other artifacts.”

[isn’t there any other way? How to make a soul force with one specified skill.]

“…Yeah, I don’t know if that would be good either. What skills can you assimilate? And I’ll have to do some research.”

This battle was particularly close, as was always the case with the strong. A battle or situation that cannot be surpassed simply by force. Maybe this would happen again and again. There was abilities. Also, he may be able to bring all those forces together. He wasn’t sure, but while fighting Hecto, he vaguely felt that it was possible. That was the value realization of the meeting with Hecto. It was a fierce battle to that extent.

‘But this time, it was dangerous. If it weren’t for my ability, I’d be stuck…’

Jung Si-woo, who had been thinking about it so far, suddenly stopped. What came to his mind was the dizzying moment of the battle. The power of Hecto, who knew that Dungeon was a place that couldn’t be understood by common sense, and who was arrogant, and who hid properly…

He soon bit his lip and turned to his party.

“Let’s be safe for the time being.”

“You said that last time too, Oppa.”

“No, let’s go safely. At least… Yes, until Se-ha can half-kill me.”

“That’s a long way off, Hyeong-nim…”

But he didn’t say anything more. It was because he could realize that Jung Si-woo was quite shocked by the battle just by looking into his eyes.

So Yong se-ha only replied this way.

“Okay, I’ll keep trying.”

“Okay, let’s cheer up together…I’m sorry I dragged you too far in this dungeon.”

“No, it’s no problem, Hyeong-nim. That’s what I wanted.”

Jung Si-woo seemed guilty of what happened in this dungeon, but he thought it was absurd. Until Hecto revealed his power, Jung Si-woo didn’t lose against him at all, and he won with his power. There was no problem with his behavior.

‘But I’m sure you’re not convinced. At least on Earth, there’s no danger because you believed so strongly in yourself, and this happened. As powerful as you are, you’re too strict for yourself. Maybe he’s more concerned about us than the threat to his safety…’

When Jung Si-woo died, the next target would be his supporters and Caina. No, it wasn’t immediately clear what would happen to those living with him in the first place. Since it was Jung Si-woo who never thought about such danger, he might have felt more guilty.

Yong Se-ha thought Jung Si-woo was insensitive to such things, but he wasn’t. Jung Si-woo was just trusting himself too much. And because he had such a strong faith, he couldn’t figure out how to control it when he was shaken by such a crisis.

“It’s okay, Oppa.”

At that time, there was a voice that cut off Yong Se-ha and Jung Si-woo’s thoughts simultaneously. It was Soo ah-rin. She knew what they were worried about but seemed to think little of it. Did she know that her life was in danger in this battle? When Yong Se-ha tried to say something, Soo Ah-rin cut him off.

“From the moment Oppa saved me, my life was yours. Don’t worry about such small things now; just do whatever you want.”

“You…”

“Huh, you’ll end up doing whatever you want anyway, so I’m just trying to get points.”

“If you hadn’t said that yourself, it would have looked really pretty.”

Soo Ah-rin smiled and continued when Jung Si-woo seemed to be relaxed a little. It was the main point.

“Don’t mistake the important part, Oppa. The information available from this world and dungeon is just a reference, but it’s not absolute, is it? Just in this dungeon, as soon as the enemy’s identity was revealed, the difficulty of the dungeon soared.”

“…Ah.”

She was right. The moment the descendant revealed himself, the risk of dungeon soared from moderate to high. If you only believed in the message given by Dungeon, you would have seen a failure. At first glance, it seemed to follow the system of games that existed on Earth, but the Sky Castle and the Ant Cave were indomitable in crucial parts. Soo ah-rin was pinching that part right now.

“There’s no 100% safe dungeon expedition. No matter how thoroughly you prepare, you have to risk your life in the end. Yong Se-ha and, of course, Caina know that very well. I mean…just because something happened doesn’t mean you don’t have to be as discouraged as you are now.”

Soo Ah-rin flew over to him and settled back in his arms. The small warmth she conveyed mysteriously blew away the seduction and anxiety that had risen in Jung Si-woo’s mind.

“So do whatever you want. We’ll believe it and follow it. Even if we die, as a result, we never blame you. It’s not because he’s wrong; it’s just that dogs.”

“…Have you always been this cool?”

“Of course, I’m the first player, the world’s most renowned healer.”

Soon after, Soo Ah-rin confidently declared so, even though she knew she would tackle Jung Si-woo again and get annoyed with trivial matters. It was because she believed it would ease Jung Si-woo’s mind. Yong Se-ha and Caina fully understood her mind and nodded. Seeing it, Jung Si-woo scratched the back of his head with shame.

“…Yes, I can’t say no if you insist on a thorny path.”

“Is that what you’re talking about, Hyeong-nim?”

“Of course, you certainly nodded. I won’t let you go later.”

Yong Se-ha smiled, begging him to look at her. It was much better to see Jung Si-woo rushing recklessly than to see him depressed. Yeah, they were trustworthy enough to run alongside him.

“Then let’s get our reward and go explore the underwater dungeon.”

“That’s how it should be.”

[He’s a hard-headed drunkard.]

Realizing that she was also part of the group and lamenting joyfully, Caina followed the group from behind.

There was still the altar of reward before them.