Chapter 29 (2/2)

Jinwoo bent over with hands on his knees . .

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“Hah…”.

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He let out a sigh of relief . To think that he would face a monster that could use a skill . If it wasn’t for the trump card he had prepared, he would be the one on the ground right now . Thinking about this made Jinwoo shudder . .

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‘Ah… items…’.

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What kind of drops would he obtain after all this work?.

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Jinwoo sighed once more and stretched a hand out toward the corpse . .

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ring~!.

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You’ve found a “Gatekeeper’s Necklace”.

Would you like to acquire it?.

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You’ve found a “Castle Gate Key”.

Would you like to acquire it?.

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You’ve found a “Cerberus’ Molar” x3.

Would you like to acquire it?.

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‘Obtain all . ’.

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Gatekeeper’s Necklace.

Rarity: A-rank.

Type: Necklace.

Agility +20, Sense +20.

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Cerberus’ Molar.

Rarity: None.

Type: Junk.

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Castle Gate Key.

Rarity: A-rank.

Type: Key.

It is the key to the Demon Castle’s gates . .

Obtained after killing the Gatekeeper . .

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“Whoa . ”.

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Jinwoo was jubilant . .

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‘Increase agility and sense stats by twenty points?’.

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The necklace’s stats were amazing, fitting of an A-rank item . It was the highest-ranking equipment he had seen so far . .

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‘Makes sense after that fight…’.

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If anything, he would’ve been mad if the rarity on it was low . However, taking a closer look at the necklace, Jinwoo hesitated . A round gold band with soft tipped spikes jutting around it, it was clearly a dog collar . .

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“Hmm…”.

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Having contemplated putting it on with closed eyes, Jinwoo relented and moved it towards his neck . A message appeared in response . .

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ring~.

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Would you like to equip the “Gatekeeper’s Necklace”?.

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He hesitated again . .

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“…Sure . ”.

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Then the necklace slowly disappeared from his hands . .

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The “Gatekeeper’s Necklace” has been equipped . .

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“Huh?”.

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Jinwoo quickly opened his stat screen . .

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Stats.

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Strength: 60.

Constitution: 39.

Agility: 80.

Intelligence: 37.

Sense: 67.

(Available stat points: 0).

Physical Damage Reduction: 20%.

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“Oh, whoa!”.

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His agility and sense stats were raised by 20 points . The necklace’s stats had been applied to him . He felt around his neck, confirming that the necklace wasn’t there . It seemed that equipping items through the System did not necessarily put them on him physically . He was relieved that he would not have to walk around wearing a dog collar . .

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‘Next, the molars . ’.

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Jinwoo opened up the shop . Each of the molars were sold for 150 thousand gold . Having sold 3 molars, Jinwoo had collected 450 thousand pieces of gold . .

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Current Gold: 562,362.

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‘What kind of junk item is this expensive?’.

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His first fight had given him an idea of the difficulty of this Dungeon . The Demon Castle would not be a pushover . But this was not a bad news to Jinwoo . Just taking down one monster gave him four times the amount of gold he had earned in his first Instant Dungeon . At this rate, he would surely be able to afford some of the top tier items from the System’s shop . .

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‘As long as I can clear this place…’.

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Jinwoo looked up at the tower on fire . .

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flare!.

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The top of the tower was obscured by a strange fog . The only way to see what was on top would be to climb the tower from the inside . Jinwoo shook his head at the thought . .

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‘No . It’s too early for me . ’.

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After all, he had only barely managed to defeat the Gatekeeper, and that was with the title buff and the trick using the daily quest’s reward . There was no knowing what waited beyond the gates . For now, it was time to retreat . .

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Still, one thing was for sure . .

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The Demon Castle Key was indeed something that he wanted . The description of the Blessed Random Box was not wrong . Level-up, items and even gold, all that he wanted could be found in this place . Once he had the power, he would be able to obtain it all . .

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Just not today . .

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Regretfully, Jinwoo put away the key back into the inventory . .

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‘I’ll be back . ’.

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It was a promise that he would keep . .

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Jinwoo turned back with a smile on his face . .

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-3 . Coincidence-.

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The next few days went by without incidence . Yoo Jinho kept calling him on a daily basis to check with his status . .

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-“Hyungnim! It’s me, Yoo Jinho . ”.

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“Make it short . ”.

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-“Yes, hyungnim . ”.

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The young man told him that he was diligently working on getting together a team . The raiding party would be completed shortly, so he repeatedly asked Jinwoo to wait just a little longer . .

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‘He must be scared that I might back out . ’.

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But there was no way that Jinwoo would wait idly while Yoo Jinho completed his task . So today, like the past few days, Jinwoo went on the Hunter website . He had continuously checked the job boards, but as expected, there were no private Raids that were accepting an E-rank Hunter . His run in with Hwang Dongseok was luck . Even if the bastard had nefarious plans in mind, it still meant that Jinwoo was able to go on a private Raid . .

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‘Thankfully, I was able to earn some money, level-up and even get a new skill . ’.

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Wait, was he actually thanking Hwang Dongseok?.

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Jinwoo groaned . Still, even if it was with more lizards[1], he wanted to get back into a Dungeon . .

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Can’t get into a private Raid, no calls from the Association, and no keys from daily quests . .

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Jinwoo hated wasting time like this . .

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growl….

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‘Is it already time to eat?’.

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Jinwoo stepped away from browsing the job boards and went over to the kitchen . .

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The fridge was empty . .

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“…”.

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He had been distracted by so many things lately and had forgotten to go shopping . .

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‘Guess I’ll go do that today . ’.

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He closed the fridge with a yawn . .

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One of the few benefits of his worn-down apartment was that it was close to a large grocery store . Jinwoo changed into something comfortable and went outside . It took him 10 minutes of walking to reach the store . .

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The large interior of the store greeted him as he walked in . Since there was no sale going on, there were less people around than usual . Jinwoo grabbed a basket and started walking down the aisles . Having become the man of the house after his mother fell ill, going grocery shopping was a routine experience for Jinwoo . .

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‘Nothing’s really catching my eyes . ’.

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He stared at the ingredients while thinking about dinner . .

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“Young man, is your body feeling better?”.

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Jinwoo turned around towards the friendly voice . .

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‘Who?’.

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Due to his high sense stat, he knew that there was another Hunter nearby, but since the grocery store was a place where a lot of people, including Hunters, would be shopping at, he had not paid it much mind . He did not expect that Hunter to actually speak to him, but it was someone that he knew . .

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“Song-ssi ahjussi?”.

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Jinwoo greeted him with welcome . .

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Song-ssi ahjussi, aka Song Chiyeol, looked at Jinwoo with a mix of surprise and happiness . .

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“I had heard that you were alright, but looking at you now, I can’t believe it . ”.

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Song Chiyeol was awed by just how fast Jinwoo had recovered . Embarrassed at the man’s staring, Jinwoo scratched his temples . Song Chiyeol continued,.

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“I should’ve gone to see you myself, but those bastards at the Association, I don’t know what they were thinking, put a moratorium on the incident, and I had no way of reaching you . I believe Ms . Juhee was also dying to hear about you . ”.

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“Juhee-ssi?”.

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“Yep . She said she would retire, but still went to last week’s Raid to catch a glimpse of you . ”.

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“Last week…?”.

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Hearing Song-ssi ahjussi’s explanation, Jinwoo learned that the day he went on a Raid with Hwang Dongseok’s team was also the day an Association Raid had taken place . .

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‘No wonder the Association’s been quiet . ’.

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It wasn’t that they weren’t contacting him, but rather, he had missed them on that one day . A small mystery cleared up for Jinwoo . .

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Song Chiyeol continued to observe Jinwoo’s figure with an amazed look . .

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‘Was Sung-ssi always this big? His leg should be still…’.

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Song Chiyeol’s gaze fell to Jinwoo’s lower half . His eyes widened . .

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“Young man… is your leg…?”.

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Translator’s Notes:.

[1]: “Lizards”: Scumbag Hunters who would purposely recruit weak/inexperienced people to use as getaway sacrifices in Dungeons . .