Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Level 2 Player

Blessing of Hwangsin and Hongsin (3)

‘Huh?’

Jin-su was flustered.

‘What?’

Monster hunting had ended a little while ago and he had also received the mission reward. After that, he neither obtained titles nor leveled up, but the blessings suddenly grew.

‘The reward is also different from before.’

The muscles of his entire body became tougher and stronger. The stamina that had dropped from hunting monsters without rest was also perfectly recovered.

‘It was clearly supposed to be Mana and Mental Power next.’

The change that appeared as the blessings grew twice consecutively was certain. Jin-su opened the status window and checked the information of the blessings.

[Blessing of Hwangsin]

-Strength stat is fixed at 122.

-Increases Strength stat by 12.2%.

-Increases Agility stat by 12.2%.

-Increases Mana stat by 12.2%.

[Blessing of Hongsin]

-Stamina stat is fixed at 122.

-Increases Stamina stat by 12.2%.

-Increases Durability stat by 12.2%.

-Increases Mental Power stat by 12.2%.

‘Strength and Stamina stats rose by 100 at once?’

Jin-su checked the stat information.

Stats: [Strength 122] [Agility 22] [Stamina 122] [Durability 22] [Mana 22] [Mental Power 22]

The other stats were all fixed at 22, but Strength and Stamina had changed to 122. In one go, the total stats increased by 200.

‘With this, have I broken even?’

Until now, the total sum of stats that should have increased for Jin-su from acquiring titles, level ups, and mission clears was roughly a little over 200. But Strength and Stamina stats each increased by 100, and the total stats increased by 200 in an instant.

‘There’s also the 12.2% increase buff on top of that.’

A 12.2% increase on a stat of 22 and a 12.2% increase on a stat of 122 had a difference as large as heaven and earth.

‘It’s a gain.’

Until now, the efficiency relative to the titles and level ups invested hadn’t come out. For the first time, he saw a gain.

‘Although Agility, Durability, Mana, and Mental Power stats didn’t rise.’

Looking at the pattern so far, if the blessings grow next time?

‘Probably the remaining stats will also rise to 122.’

The growth momentum wasn’t bad. The problem was that he didn’t know the reason why the blessings grew at all.

Also, the pattern of stats increasing was hard to grasp.

‘Why did it increase from 22 to 122?’

Jin-su recalled the system messages when he regressed and started the second life.

[Hwangsin and Hongsin feel a great sense of kinship with your life.]

[Hwangsin and Hongsin sincerely lament your death.]

[Receiving the blessings of Hwangsin and Hongsin, a second chance is given.]

[A second life begins.]

‘Kinship, lament, second chance, second life.’

They felt kinship and lamented the life of Jin-su which was deeply related to 2. They gave a second chance and a second life.

‘It’s certain that the blessings are related to 2. Could it be that the blessings grew because I put on the Level 22 pair of rings?’

Then the reason the blessings grew the first time even though he hadn’t hunted monsters was also understood. At that time, Jin-su had packed two longswords, two shortswords, and two food backpacks.

‘Crazy.’

It was absurd, but right now that was the only reason.

‘Does it grow when you equip something related to 2?’

Besides that, it also seemed to grow by receiving and eating titles, levels, and elixirs as offerings.

He still couldn’t grasp it exactly, but for now it seemed so.

Jin-su took off the pair of rings and tried equipping them again. But this time there was no change.

‘I need to confirm if my hypothesis is correct.’

He had to accurately find out the reason the blessings grew.

Only then would more efficient growth be possible. But Blessing of Hwangsin and Blessing of Hongsin are a kind of power Jin-su is encountering for the first time. Therefore, there was no information he knew at all.

‘Let’s be satisfied with having found the basis.’

The growth pattern was also questionable. When stats rose through acquiring titles or level ups, it restored them to 22 as if cutting with a knife, but why is 122 allowed?

‘It wasn’t that stats are unconditionally fixed to the number 2.’

Blessing of Hwangsin and Blessing of Hongsin.

Still, there were more things he didn’t know than things he knew.

‘I’ll come to know gradually.’

For now, what was important was that growth through the blessings was faster than the growth method Jin-su had planned after the regression.

After emptying the treasure pouch, Jin-su left the dungeon. And while moving to the location of the next hidden dungeon, he immersed himself in title acquisition and level ups.

[Title Skilled Goblin Slayer extinguishes.]

[Level has decreased.]

[Stats have decreased.]

[Blessing of Hwangsin has grown.]

[Blessing of Hongsin has grown.]

‘What?’

Jin-su’s expression was once again dyed with doubt. Not that much time had passed since the blessings grew.

‘Clearly the number of titles obtained was fewer and the level raised was lower too.’

Why on earth did the blessings grow even faster?

‘It’s a good thing though.’

When he checked the status window, as expected, Agility and Durability stats were fixed at 122.

‘I can’t know the reason.’

While Jin-su was pondering for a moment.

‘Could it be?’

He checked the number of titles acquired so far through the system messages.

‘Skilled Goblin Slayer was the 22nd title that disappeared.’

As expected, it was related to 2. Especially, the growth width was larger when there were two 2s than when there was one.

‘Is the level the same too?’

Then the titles and levels disappearing wasn’t meaningless. At first it’s a loss, but later when the number of disappeared titles and levels exceeds 22, it returns as a greater reward.

‘There will be the next too.’

Probably 22 won’t be the end. But titles are often rewards for first achievements. Simply put, it means it becomes harder and harder to accumulate them.

‘But that’s the circumstance of beginner players who know nothing.’

Lee Jin-su, who was dragged to the Tower at age 20 before the regression, reached Floor 2,222 as the second player, the second challenger, and the failure...

Regarding the Tower, he was rotten water that surpassed high-level water that anyone knew better than anyone. He had most of the information about titles and hidden dungeons obtainable only on each floor.

‘In the first place, the mechanism of obtaining titles itself is roughly similar.’

Every time you climb each floor, move faster than others and achieve the first achievements. There will be many achievements that are hard to obtain even if you know the information if you lack skill.

Jin-su lacked nothing in information, experience, or skill.

***

Jin-su also lightly cleared the second hidden dungeon. The reward was a Level 19 shortsword smeared with paralysis poison that increases Stamina stat and Durability stat.

‘It would have been good if the shortsword was a pair or the level was just 3 higher.’

Unfortunately, it was one rather than two, and the level was 19 rather than 22. The increased stats extinguished immediately, but he wasn’t particularly regretful. Because when he cleared the mission for the second time for hidden dungeon acquisition, the blessings grew.

‘All stats became 122.’

Adding the 12.2% increase buff here, Jin-su’s total stats were a whopping 821. He had achieved stats that could absolutely never come out no matter what you did at Floor 1 level.

‘Even if you sweep up titles and power level, the limit of total stats on Floor 1 is around 400.’

Thanks to the blessings, he was able to achieve stats more than twice as high as the target.

‘From now on, acquiring titles and clearing hidden dungeons will become even faster.’

The higher the stats, the easier it is to achieve achievements and the more convenient it is to clear missions.

‘I thought it would take about 3 days.’

It seemed that in two days he could sweep away all the titles and hidden dungeons on Floor 1 and then climb to Floor 2.

‘Let’s rest for now.’

If it was Jin-su’s body before the regression, he wouldn’t even feel mild fatigue with this much movement. However, Jin-su’s current body, even if the stats had risen a lot, was still only at the level of an extremely common low-level player.

‘I need to find a safe place to close my eyes for a while.’

Sleep was important. Especially now when Stamina stat and Mental Power stat are low, if he doesn’t get sufficient time of sleep, physical fatigue and mental fatigue accumulate at the same time.

‘I also need to replenish water.’

The backpack containing food also included a water bottle, but the size was too small.

‘Since the treasure pouch can also hold water.’

Food is sufficient, so as long as he finds water, it’s fine.

‘It would have been good if I had discovered water while hunting.’

He regretted not being able to. Jin-su closed both eyes, strengthened his hearing through mana, and concentrated his mind.

Trickle.

“Huu, let’s rest a bit.”

“That would be good.”

Then, along with the small sound of water, people’s voices entered his ears. Jin-su moved his footsteps in a state of killing his presence.

‘Did they gather into one?’

In front of a small stream, those who had been dragged to the Tower on the same day and same time as Jin-su were gathered.

‘The numbers decreased.’

The number of those dragged to the Tower together with Jin-su was a total of 100.

Since the big guy died and Jin-su left, it should be 98. However, the number of remaining people looked to be about 80 or so.

‘Did over 10 die?’

Or they might have formed separate groups and left. But the probability was too low. Unless they were fools, they wouldn’t not know that separating into a small group of about 10 in a place swarming with monsters they were seeing for the first time in their lives was suicidal behavior.

‘Quite a few survived.’

Probably the effect of the survivors gathering into one.

Before the regression, before they could even pack weapons and food, while the players were suspecting and being wary of each other, they were attacked by monsters. So a big confusion occurred, and as a result, the 100 players scattered in groups of about 10.

‘In the end, of the 100 players, the only ones who survived were me and those two people.’

Jin-su packing weapons and food and dealing with the big guy, and sweeping away the majority of the monsters located on Tower Floor 1 for title acquisition and level up, brought about this butterfly effect.

‘Originally, at first, surviving itself is the purpose.’

There are those who, from the lower floors of the Tower, skillfully hunt monsters to level up, achieve achievements to obtain titles, or clear dungeons and receive mission rewards.

‘Those from Earth have it hard.’

In the first place, when high-combat-power races, or those with special power flowing in their innate bloodline itself, or those from other dimensions who have much combat experience and know how to handle mana, are dragged to the Tower and become players, there were often cases of great activity from the lower floors of the Tower.

On the other hand, in the case of those from Earth, especially ordinary people born and raised in countries where there is no chance to experience life-or-death combat or murder in their entire lives and then dragged to the Tower, let alone great activity, even preserving their lives was not easy.

‘No need to encounter them deliberately.’

Jin-su moved upstream of the stream. And he wet his throat and put water into the treasure pouch.

‘Now let’s go.’

The moment Jin-su, who had completed his purpose, was about to move to find a place where he could rest safely.

“Kiruk!”

A large-scale goblin group that looked to be over 300 entered his eyes.

‘Why?’

This was the first time he saw this many goblins gathering in one place on Tower Floor 1.

‘It’s a hobgoblin.’

Jin-su discovered the hobgoblin at the head of the group.

‘Was there a hobgoblin on the field?’

He thought they only came out in dungeons, but it seemed that wasn’t the case. Before the regression, he had never even met a hobgoblin on Tower Floor 1.

‘Perhaps?’

Jin-su turned his gaze to the players gathered in one place.

‘If you include me, the situation is that all the survivors are gathered in one place, right?’

Along with that, due to Jin-su’s activities, the number of survivors had increased significantly compared to before the regression.

‘The Tower’s monsters have blind hostility toward players.’

Therefore, they try to find and kill them somehow.

‘If the players had been divided into several groups, the monsters would also have scattered.’

Since they were gathered into one, the monsters also gathered into one.

Well, even so, the appearance of the hobgoblin was unexpected.

‘Still, there’s nothing bad for me.’

Jin-su has already hunted 1 hobgoblin which is a boss monster. If he catches 1 more hobgoblin?

‘It’s hunting 2 boss monsters.’

An achievement would appear and he would acquire a title, and of course the probability of the blessings growing additionally was extremely high.

‘Better to clean up and then rest.’

Jin-su approached toward the goblin group led by the hobgoblin while hiding his body in the darkness.