Chapter 1

Chapter 1

[Episode 01] Solo Infinite Tutorial (1)

[You have cleared the Normal Dungeon (1st Floor).]

[Level has increased.]

[Salvation Points are being settled.]

‘I did it.’

With this, I too had become a proper Dungeon Explorer.

Normal Dungeon, 1st Floor.

The place commonly called the ‘Tutorial’.

It was the easiest difficulty dungeon, where all you had to do was take down a single goblin, yet the death rate was surprisingly high.

A living being filled with killing intent charging straight at you to kill you.

Unless you experienced it yourself, you would never understand.

‘Status Window.’

Ding!

[Name]: Kim Jaehyun

[Affiliation]: Korea

[Class]: Mage (Normal)

[Level]: 2

[Strength]: 4 (+)

[Agility]: 9 (+)

[Stamina]: 3 (+)

[Mana]: 19 (+)

[Mana Sensitivity]: 15 (+)

{Bonus Stat Points}: 5

[Class Skill]: Energy Bolt (Lv. 1)

{Skill Points}: 0

[Salvation Points]: 1

Utterly shattered Strength, Agility, and Stamina.

In the case of Strength, Agility, and Stamina, real-world physical abilities were reflected, and considering that the average stat for an adult male was 10, it could be called a miserable level.

‘Because my physical abilities are really weak.’

Atrial Septal Defect (ASD).

A congenital heart malformation, meaning there was a hole in the heart.

Among those cases, mine was one where the hole was too large, and unlike the usual cases, it could not be treated even with surgery.

A transplant was the only solution, but finding a donor was not easy either.

Because I was not an emergency patient.

Under normal circumstances, the symptoms were simply weaker stamina than others and lowered immunity.

The point when it became serious was from my mid-to-late thirties.

The timing when accumulated damage caused the heart’s function to drop sharply.

Arrhythmia and heart failure.

From then on, it would be a matter of today or tomorrow, and only then would I become an emergency patient and finally become eligible for a heart transplant.

‘If there’s no donor at that timing, I die.’

Probably around age 40.

Receiving heart and lung transplants and living another 20 years or so, or failing to receive them and dying early.

That was my future.

The disease had progressed diligently; the right ventricle had swollen to three times that of a normal person, and several times a day the sound of the heart pounding could be heard.

By now, it had reached a serious level where simply walking for a long time or climbing stairs made the heart thump and pound.

There was not much lifespan left.

‘But thanks to that, I survived.’

Fortunately for me, a Level 1 Explorer’s total stats were fixed at 50.

In other words, if Strength, Agility, and Stamina were low, Mana and Mana Sensitivity were high.

And if Mana was high,

‘They said the Tutorial could be cleared without much difficulty, and it really was true.’

In a Normal-grade Tutorial, three choices were given.

Sword and shield.

Bow and arrows.

And a wooden stick.

For a typical adult male, the most recommended was the sword and shield, but my case was different.

Unconditionally the wooden stick.

Because after changing class to Mage and using only Energy Bolt, a single goblin could be easily dealt with.

‘To think I’d end up being grateful to the government.’

Elementary, middle, and high school.

During a full 12 years of the education curriculum, group education was implemented at least once a month.

Public service broadcasts about the Tutorial that came on at every opportunity.

Thanks to those, I was able to make the correct choice.

“Huuu.”

Anyway, I survived.

As the tension released, I collapsed onto the living room floor as I was.

Picking up the smartphone lying on the floor, I checked the time.

‘12:04.’

4 minutes.

Without a doubt, the most intense moment of my life.

Even though I had often thought about death since childhood, this was the first time death had come right before my eyes like this.

“Ha. First, I should go to the Explorer Management Center.”

***

January 1, 2013.

The day countless people went missing, and at the same time the day the concept of ‘Dungeon’ was born in the world.

Now, 13 years later, dungeons had become deeply integrated into modern society.

It was inevitable that it would be so.

Because.

[From this moment, a 3-year beginner protection period will be applied.]

[3 years later, every January 1st. ‘Salvation Points’ equal to the ‘population’ of the corresponding country will be collected.]

[Insufficient points will be covered with the souls of that country’s citizens.]

The system messages that appeared before the eyes of the first Explorers.

At that time, the world did not believe it.

The internet or SNS.

Countless Explorers raised the same voices and warned the world, but it was often dismissed as a mere conspiracy theory.

Those chosen as Explorers were a minority, and ‘Dungeon’ was that hard a phenomenon to believe.

The world took the Explorers’ warnings seriously 3 years later.

After the incident had occurred.

January 1, 2016.

Chaos broke out.

Because ‘monsters’ appeared all over the world.

Countless people went missing, and an enormous number of casualties occurred.

Governments of each country stepped forward to investigate the truth, and the identity of the ‘monsters’ was quickly revealed.

[They had been warning since 3 years ago.]

[The Explorers’ warnings that became reality.]

[What is the identity of the monsters that suddenly appeared?]

The identity of the ‘monsters’ was ‘people’ whose souls had been stolen.

Only then did the governments of each country hastily set up response headquarters and hastily establish support policies for the ‘Explorers’.

They created group education in the public education curriculum, made public service ads and dramas to inject basic information about dungeons, and began full-scale cultivation of Explorers.

The result was successful.

The number of missing persons greatly decreased, and in Korea, no more people had their souls stolen.

And from then on, it was the opening of the Great Explorer Era.

***

[Customer number 44, please come to window number 3.]

It was my turn.

“What can I help you with?”

“I’m here to register as a new Explorer...”

“Could you share your Status Window?”

“Here?”

“Yes, just show it to me.”

Status Windows were broadly divided into two types.

The Status Window I see.

The Status Window shown to others.

“Status Window open.”

Showing the latter was one of the easiest ways to prove that one had become an Explorer.

Ding!

[Name]: Kim Jaehyun

[Affiliation]: Korea

[Salvation Points]: 1

A simplified Status Window with all personal information excluded appeared before my eyes.

The window employee who confirmed it smiled and said.

“Congratulations on your Awakening, Explorer Kim Jaehyun.”

After that, rapid processing continued.

An Explorer-exclusive account was opened, and the settlement for the Salvation Points I possessed.

It happened in an instant.

‘100,000 won, is it.’

100,000 won per point.

It wasn’t a lot, but with just this it was enough to make a living.

It meant that if I steadily repeated clearing the 1st Floor once a day, I could earn 3 million won a month.

Above all, this money was tax-exempt.

However.

『Article 6 (Prohibition of Private Use of Salvation Points)

① “Party B” shall not use the Salvation Points granted under this contract for personal purposes.

② If it is confirmed that “Party B” has violated Paragraph 1 and used Salvation Points privately, “Party A” may take the following measures.

1. Suspension of “Party B’s” license (qualification)

2. Recovery of all previously granted benefits

3. Corresponding punishment or sanctions according to relevant laws and this contract』

It was the content written in the contract I had just signed.

Because Salvation Points were a matter directly connected to the lives of the people, they had no choice but to be managed this thoroughly.

‘It is pretty harsh.’

After that as well, I received basic supplies needed for dungeon clearing, downloaded the Explorer-exclusive app, and completed national certification.

“Thank you for your noble dedication for the nation, and above all, we will do our utmost to support you so that you can safely carry out your duties.”

After safely completing Explorer registration, I took a taxi and headed home.

As usual, I fiddled with my phone and entered the Explorer-exclusive app.

My information floating on the main screen.

【Explorer Kim Jaehyun】

[Grade]: F

[Accumulated Salvation Points]: 1

And the number written below it.

[100,000 won]

The money deposited into the Explorer-exclusive account.

I couldn’t take my eyes off that number that was nothing special.

‘Money I earned.’

From childhood, I had been a burden.

Just the money spent going in and out of hospitals frequently was at least tens of millions of won.

Even after becoming an adult, because of my weak stamina I had never properly worked even once.

I had been a drain on my parents’ backs just by existing.

For the first time, money earned entirely by myself.

To me, that meaning was special.

‘It was more doable than I thought.’

Shoot Energy Bolt at the charging goblin and hit it, and that was the end.

Above all, the labor time was less than 5 minutes.

‘I can do it too.’

Work that could be sufficiently done even with this damn stamina.

It was sufficiently sustainable going forward as well.

‘My first job...’

I had always envied it.

Working ordinarily, earning money with one’s own strength, eating delicious things, going on trips...

‘Maybe I too...’

Might be able to.

A normal life.

***

Currently, I was immersed in the greatest dilemma of my life.

“...Ugh.”

It was precisely—

‘Raising Mana is the correct choice, right?’

Where to invest the Bonus Stat Points.

A worry that had continued from when I returned home yesterday until now after waking up.

If going by the standard method, investing all 5 points into Mana was the answer.

Because that way the power and number of uses of the Energy Bolt skill would increase.

But.

‘What if I raise Stamina?’

I couldn’t discard the lingering attachment no matter what.

This damn body that found it hard to even climb to the 3rd floor by stairs.

That value was currently 3.

I heard that if you raised stats, they would be reflected directly onto the body.

Raising Strength created muscle, and raising Stamina improved endurance, in other words.

Then, if I added the 5 Bonus Points to the current Stamina of 3 to make it 8, what would happen?

‘...Wouldn’t it become a little more comfortable?’

If it was 8, it would reach the level of an ordinary woman.

Then at least the shortness of breath or the pounding would disappear.

The possibility was low, but if by any chance the hole in the heart even filled up, it would be a jackpot.

‘It’s almost 12.’

12 o’clock in the daytime.

When it became noon, unlike the Tutorial where one was forcibly dragged in, one could enter the dungeon once a day at one’s own will.

One could either repeat the already cleared 1st Floor or challenge the 2nd Floor.

And I was thinking of challenging the 2nd Floor.

‘Before that, I have to raise the stats.’

Mana or Stamina.

Looking at the phone, it was 11:58.

Since I was thinking of challenging the 2nd Floor as soon as it became 12, it was now time to slowly make a decision.

The decision made after worrying.

‘...Let’s go with Stamina.’

I had already familiarized myself with the 2nd Floor strategy.

Mana was already sufficient.

So I chose Stamina.

[Stamina value has become 8.]

At that moment.

“Eh?”

Even though I hadn’t put points into Strength, I felt an illusion as if strength was overflowing throughout my whole body.

A feeling of energy overflowing.

At the same time, it felt as if my head was clearing.

‘This is...?’

Belatedly, I realized that my body’s condition right before investing the stats had been an extremely tired state.

‘...Because it was always like that, I didn’t even know I was tired.’

A refreshing feeling I had never felt in my life.

It was then.

[You have received an invitation from the Dungeon.]

[Tutorial is starting.]

“Huh?”

A notification I had seen once yesterday as well.

But it was a kind of notification that should not be floating before my eyes right now.

Because I was already someone who had finished the Tutorial.

“What is this—!”

Before my words could even finish.

Whoosh—

A pure white light wrapped around my body.

© Araman#1683j