Chapter 222: First Time Here, But… (1)
[Main Quest]
[Sub Quest]
…A sub quest? What now? I opened the main quest first. Immediately, a list of quests appeared.
[Main Quest for Honey ˙?˙
To obtain dungeon strategy information, please install discs in each designated area!
Upon completing all quests, dungeon strategy information will be updated, and contact with assistant ‘Newbie’ will be established.
Disc 1
Disc 2 ← Closest!
Disc 3
Disc 4
Disc 5]
I tapped on Disc 2, which helpfully had a flashing arrow next to it.
[Disc 2
The installation site for Disc 2 is
‘Goldberg Park Fountain on Central Road No. 7 in Sorgone.’
※ Due to external interference upon installation, there is a high probability of monsters appearing! Please be careful!!]
By external interference, does it mean a dungeon error? So far, every time this happened, monsters of at least A-rank had appeared—except for that one time with Chirp.
It seemed best to install the disc after regrouping with at least one party member. I could risk my life to install it alone, but even if I died, the monster would probably move elsewhere after an hour.
‘But Goldberg Park, huh? Where even is that?’
I hadn’t played many games, but didn’t main quests like this usually come with a directional map? Was I supposed to just grab a passerby and ask, “Excuse me, how do I get to Goldberg Park?” Was I going to have to search for it through word of mouth? Maybe there was a subway. Judging by the monsters roaming around, there were probably no buses.
Before that, I didn’t even have money for transportation. I felt like a mid-level Newbie with good gear but nothing else. At least let me do a tutorial or something.
Hoping for some help, I opened the sub quest menu.
[Sub Quest
- First Quest Completion
- First Purchase at a Store
- Beginner’s Monster Hunt (Completed)
- There’s Someone Here]
This really felt like a game. The last time I played one… Oh right, I had helped my boss with an event and leveled a new character to 50. That was nearly ten years ago. If I count by my current age, about five years? The Hunter system was similar to a game, but this felt even more official.
I tapped on the completed Beginner’s Monster Hunt quest.
[Beginner’s Monster Hunt (Completed)
To the aspiring guard protecting the city, we wish you a safe first hunt!
Hunt one monster: 1/1
Reward: 500P, 500L
Would you like to receive your quest reward? YES/NO]
500P seemed like points, but what was L? I accepted the reward, and a card suddenly dropped from thin air. It looked similar to a credit card, with a chip embedded on one side and “Exment Bank” and “Cash Card” written on the other.
So 500L was the currency here? How much was that worth? Hopefully, it wasn’t just 500 won. If it was at least 5,000 won, I could take the subway—assuming there was one.
After receiving the monster hunt quest reward, the First Quest Completion quest was also marked as complete. This time, the reward was an ID card.
[Han Yujin
Affiliation: Medsang City – General Citizen
Citizen Number: 1559079-1130-02]
Along with a chip, the card also had my photo. “General Citizen,” huh? At least the photo turned out well. Did they touch up ID photos here too?
Once the two completed quests disappeared, a new quest appeared.
[First Steps as a Guard
Visit the nearest City Defense Agency to get certified as an awakened individual.
Reward: 1,000P, Dagger]
So “Guard” was this world’s equivalent of a Hunter. The sub quests were practically a tutorial. But I hesitated at the idea of getting certified as an awakened. If they could fully analyze my skills, it could become troublesome.
Oh, right. My skills might have changed. I quickly opened my status window. There wasn’t much difference, except for the new 500P displayed at the bottom. However—
[Perfect Nurturer (L) – Keyword application is not available for entities belonging to this world.]
So in this world, I couldn’t apply new keywords. It made sense since there were no real, living people here. As for the Promising Talent skill…
[Insightful Eye (S) – Enhances dynamic vision, allows identification of rank, health, and mana of opponents up to S-rank.
Always active.]
This actually seemed more useful right now. I could still check rank, but instead of optimization, I could see health and mana. Plus, my dynamic vision was improved.
Promising Talent only let me see optimization potential, meaning I couldn’t see all of an opponent’s skills, nor could I always guess their abilities just from the skill names. Since I didn’t even know the skills of this world, it was practically useless here. Finding talented non-awakened individuals wasn’t necessary either, so being able to assess an enemy’s state directly was much better. The only downside was that I could only check up to S-rank.
Also, the Terrifying Chick Class Teacher skill couldn’t be used on people from this world. And as for my Dragon Slayer title—
‘My rank dropped…’
It had gone from L-rank to SS-rank, dropping by two tiers. The skills tied to the title weren’t spared either.
[Poison Resistance (S)
Curse Resistance (S)
Fear Resistance (S)
Lautitars’ Natural Enemy (SS)]
Except for Lautitars’ Natural Enemy, everything else had been downgraded to S-rank. S-rank was still strong, but seeing my L-rank resistances fall all at once was frustrating. This was too much. Hopefully, they would return to normal once I left this world.
Mental Fortitude Up, Agility Up, Hidden Picture, and One More Bonus remained unchanged. The Veteran F-Rank and Miracle Newbie titles were also intact. Additionally, there was a new skill I hadn’t seen before, possibly an equipment option.
After closing my status window, I checked my weapon. It was a pristine white pistol with intricate engravings. The shape was somewhat similar to a Glock, simple and sturdy, but the slide wasn’t separated, making it look like a single smooth piece. It almost seemed like a decorative replica.
[White Wildcat’s Magic Bullet Pistol – S-Rank
A magic-powered gun that silently penetrates and destroys its target.
Mana cost per bullet: 50–500
※ Loaned to Han Yujin (Bound)]
There didn’t seem to be any special options… or so I thought. When I infused mana into it as a test, the minimum cost of 50 appeared to be the same power level as what I had used earlier. That meant the gun could unleash up to ten times that power. Not bad.
Considering that I had taken down a C-rank monster with a single shot at minimum power, this weapon likely wasn’t dependent on the user’s stats. That was great news for someone weak like me.
The issue, however, was mana consumption. The C-rank monster I fought earlier had 155 mana. My base mana was probably around the same, and even with my gear boosting my magic stat, I’d be lucky if I had about 500 total. That meant I could barely fire a single max-power shot. Even at the lowest setting, I could only manage around ten shots.
‘Fortunately, I have plenty of mana potions, but I should still use them sparingly just in case.’
There were no major changes to my inventory. Even the jar of dried fruit remained untouched. Lastly, I checked my jacket.
[Black Wildcat’s Jacket – S-Rank
A lightweight leather jacket imbued with the strength of an animal that moves swiftly and silently.
※ Loaned to Han Yujin (Bound)]
A wildcat-themed equipment set? Would I get a set bonus if I collected all the pieces? Despite being labeled as armor, its agility boost was the highest attribute. Well, dodging was also a form of defense. The new skill that appeared in my status window seemed to be an option granted by this jacket.
[Cat’s Footsteps (A) – Allows for quiet and swift movement, enhances stealth skills.
Always active.]
An A-rank support skill that seemed quite useful. More importantly, I already had an A-rank stealth skill. If this enhanced that, I might even be able to hide from S-rank opponents. With this, I could probably install the discs alone.
Of course, I could still get hit by a stray attack, so I needed to find my team first if possible. Just as I finished checking my items and was about to close the window—
Jjararang~!
[◐▼◐∥Welcome! Points Shop!∥◑△◑]
A sudden message popped up along with a jingle. Damn, that startled me. A points shop? So I could spend quest points here?
Entering the shop, I found various items categorized into weapons, armor, consumables, and further subcategories like bows, spears, and swords. It had practically everything imaginable.
‘Wow, there are even SS-rank weapons.’
Just as Newbie had confidently claimed, SS-rank gear was available. However, the required points were astronomical. There were also skills on display, though they maxed out at S-rank. Additionally, I noticed Gate Stones… and even Elixirs. No Wish Stones, though. With just 500 points, the only thing I could afford was a low-tier health potion. Expensive.
This was basically window shopping at its finest.
Still, if I saved up enough points, I could buy something useful in an emergency. Before leaving, I approached the monster’s corpse. A number floated above its lifeless body.
[750P]
Oh? Could it be? When I touched it, the number vanished. Checking my status window, I saw that my 500P had increased to 1,250P.
So I could earn points by hunting monsters. If I collected enough, I could choose my own items and skills. This was great.
And to think those damn brats ruined this golden opportunity. Newbie, can’t you create another dungeon like this? I’d never be able to grind for an S-rank item even if I farmed for years, but the kids would probably wipe out monsters like nothing. What a waste.
‘If there aren’t any issues, maybe I should tell them to farm points here.’
Of course, I had to find them first before I could suggest anything. Cautiously, I started moving forward. I exited the alley, scanning my surroundings carefully, and stepped onto a wide road. The asphalt pavement looked familiar. Streetlights stood sparsely along the empty roadside.
‘No signs of people.’
The tall buildings were all dark, their entrances and windows blocked by thick barriers. Every shop was closed. Aside from the flickering streetlights, everything was eerily silent.
‘I need people to ask for directions.’
Was there no police station? Should I just wait until morning?
—Kiiik!
A sharp screech came from above. A monster, moving swiftly along the streetlights like a long-armed monkey, lunged at me.
[E-Rank Mori Monkey]
Its health and mana were displayed as well. An E-rank monster? Well, this would be easy. I was a C-rank now. Instead of using my gun, I pulled out a military-style dagger. Well, it looked military-grade, but it was just another dungeon item.
—Kyack!
The monkey leaped at me. I sidestepped effortlessly and drove the dagger into the back of its neck. Instantly, it collapsed, lifeless. A notification popped up.
[+79P]
The gap between E-rank and C-rank was huge.
—Kyaak!
—Kik!
“Oh great, you’ve got friends.”
There were about a dozen or so of them. I pulled a hunter-grade wire rope from my inventory and wrapped one end around my hand. I had bought it after seeing Chief Song use it—it looked useful—but back then, my body couldn’t handle it, so it had just been sitting unused.
Now, I could swing it with ease. After testing its weight, I flung it toward the horde of monsters screeching and leaping from the streetlights. Thwack! The end of the wire pierced one of them and embedded itself into a building wall. The sudden obstruction disrupted the monkeys’ charge, and several of them tumbled down in a heap.
I quickly drew my gun and fired at the fallen monsters. Puff! With a soft sound, several creatures were obliterated at once. This thing was seriously convenient.
Without stopping, I sprinted forward, retracting the wire and throwing it again at the remaining monsters. I managed to skewer another one, but this time, none of them got tangled.
‘Man, I wish I had a long-range attack skill.’
I holstered the gun and pulled out a machete. Then, I swung at the streetlight the monkeys were clinging to.
Scrrrkk! A brief screech of metal, and the pole was half-severed. I followed up with a powerful kick, knocking it over so it leaned against a building. Boom! The monkeys scrambled to the top, trying to escape onto the rooftop.
I pushed off the ground and ran up the slanted pole. The surface was smooth, and the incline was steep—something I wouldn’t have dared attempt before. But with my boosted stats and skills, I raced up as if I were on flat ground.
“Stats really are the best, huh? Don’t you think so?”
—Kiiiik!
Before one of the monsters could cross over to the building, I smacked it with the machete. Wham! The monkey soared through the air, crashed to the ground, and rolled to a limp stop.
The others that had made it to the rooftop weren’t safe either. I caught up in an instant. The battle was so one-sided that it made me nostalgic.
Before my regression, even at my best, running into a pack of E-rank monsters alone would have been a life-threatening situation. Well, I could have handled a one-on-one fight easily enough. This was the result of a combination of level, experience, and good gear.
Tap.
I collected the points, ranging from 70 to 80 each, then jumped back down onto the road. It was fortunate that only mid-to-low-tier monsters had shown up so far, but a high-rank one could still appear at any time.
‘Should I just activate my stealth skill while moving around?’
It’d be a waste of mana, but this place probably sold mana potions. The points shop… was too expensive. 10,000 points for a low-grade mana potion? That was just robbery.
Vroooom!
As I walked down the street to explore further, a familiar engine sound reached my ears. If it wasn’t a mechanical monster, then it had to be people. Soon after, bright headlights cut through the dark, and five motorcycles roared toward me, kicking up dust and noise.
People. Finally, some luck.
“Hello!”
Feeling relieved, I called out first. Excuse me, but could you give me some directions? I’m new around here.
The man at the front of the group, a rough-looking guy, stared down at me from his bike.