Level Up - Chapter 22

Kwa-duk!

Hyun Seok put his sword in the neck joint of the Queen Ant.

Kie eh eh!

The Queen Ant screamed at him and started writhing. Hyun Seok shook in the air, holding his sword tightly.

In the meantime, his expression did not change, and magic was poured into his sword.

It was no exaggeration to say that catching the Queen Ant was a tug-of-war.

The first was how quickly and accurately he poured his magical power into the inside through the sword, and the second was how to control the flow of that magical power to break the core in her head.

Of course, both were not difficult for Hyun Seok.

Hyun Seok dared to lure the Crimson Poison Guild to the dungeon because clearing the dungeon itself was the simplest place.

Puck!

The sound of the core breaking was heard. The real sound was not actually heard, but the vibration was felt.

The Queen Ant sat down on the floor as it was.

Hyun Seok drew his sword only then. The Queen Ant died instantly in that one room.

If you know how to hunt, it’s very simple, but if you don’t know, it’s the iron ants that are really tricky to deal with, and the Queen Ants are even worse.

“Now only the real finish remains.”

It was very simple to bring in the three guild members waiting outside the dungeon.

And dealing with them wasn’t too difficult.

Those who were waiting outside had a level of over 40. On the other hand, Hyun Seok was only at level 32.

It was not easy to take a power-up kit and fight against three at the same time.

But the fight didn’t have to be face to face.

In advance, he pulled in a bunch of iron ants near the entrance, then he went out of the dungeon and pushed the three guild members inside.

The job itself was very simple. They even took the power-up kit, so they were struck by an injustice.

Once it was brought into the dungeon, it was simpler. The iron ants removed it neatly.

The only thing left was to clear the dungeon.

In the past, Hyun Seok had many experiences of closing iron ant dens. Iron ants had so many weaknesses that they were really easy to deal with.

Of course, it required expert mana control, but Hyun Seok’s ability was enough to overflow.

Hyun Seok pulled out a spirit stone from the Queen Ant. The Queen Ant’s spirit stone was in her heart, but if you don’t kill it exactly as it is now, there was a high probability that the spirit stone would also be destroyed.

Of course, when the Spirit Stone is destroyed, the magical wave becomes stronger, which will help you level up, but then the meaning of hunting disappears.

If the iron ants were collected well, then they could be used as materials, but now I can’t afford to take them, so I decided to throw them away.

“They couldn’t have imagined that iron ants would emerge from a Bronze level dungeon.”

It was a time when there was little information about these individual dungeons. The Crimson Poison Guild must have been off guard because the occasional individual dungeons found have never been so out of line as like now.

Perhaps if they had knowledge and information similar to that of Hyun Seok for individual dungeons, they would never have followed him recklessly as they did now.

Even if they came in, they wouldn’t have been running around like that.

Maybe sooner or later, a lot of information about such dungeons will be released. There are people who monopolize information right now, but soon enough individual dungeons will be discovered that they cannot handle it.

Anyway, Hyun Seok took a step toward the dungeon core that appeared while hunting the Queen Ant.

The dungeon core appeared in the center of the dungeon. No, I’ve already confirmed the location. The core won’t show up unless you kill the boss, because it’s there from the beginning.

“I hope there is one appropriately usable artifact.”

If so, it will be of great help to my next plan.

Hyun Seok had a foreboding that some pretty good artifacts would come out.

The iron ant cave here is actually rated Bronze 2 on the outside, but in reality it was about Gold 2 difficulty.

And artifacts are provided according to the difficulty level.

‘Like… … Like a reward for a test.’

Hyun Seok has been thinking that the dungeon system is exactly that way.

Not only Hyun Seok, but also many players have naturally changed their perceptions after hunting in dungeons for a long time.

Of course it was only in black holes, so black dungeons.

The white hole and the white dungeon were a little different from the black dungeon.

Probably now, few players or guilds want to clear the white dungeon.

For the purpose of research do they sometimes enter? No, they won’t be interested in the white dungeon yet.

The white dungeon was completely different from the black dungeon. There was only danger and there was not much to be gained.

In other words, the cost-performance ratio was too low to enter. Besides, clearing itself was impossible.

So it was almost neglected even now.

But in the future, the story will be different. In the future, research on the possibilities of a white dungeon was in progress.

Of course, Hyun Seok died without seeing the end of the study and returned to the past.

However, in this life, I had a glimpse of a premonition that I would probably go there earlier.

When Hyun Seok arrived at the core, he put his hand on it.

In the future, a great deal of research has also been done on how to break the core.

I’ve even been told that some players have succeeded in pulling the spirit stone from the core.

However, what Hyun Seok can do now is to increase the probability of artifacts a little more.

And there was a much higher probability of artifacts appearing in these individual dungeons than dungeons in the dungeon creation area.

“Artifacts will come out of course… … .”

The probability is not 100%. But, unless you’re out of luck, artifacts will come out.

It’s a separate dungeon, and we’ll have a magical control that increases the probability of artifacts appearing when breaking the core.

I don’t know anything else, but I was confident that my mana control in this field was better than anyone else.

Even before Hyun Seok died, his core crushing control was so excellent that he was counted among the best in the world.

In the meantime, while clearing the nest of the variant thunder dragonfly, I spent quite a bit of effort to prevent artifacts from appearing on purpose.

Except for the first time. The second artifact that came out was literally just luck.

Anyway, I don’t have to do that this time. I should expect good artifacts to come out.

The artifacts that appeared upon clearing were truly typical bokbulbok. (tln: bokbulbok means a game where you play to decide the winner and the winner gets something for winning)

There could even have been some really rare and great artifacts in Bronze 5 dungeons.

Of course, the higher the rating, the higher the probability of getting better artifacts. However, a low grade did not necessarily result in low quality artifacts.

Conversely, a high rating does not necessarily mean good artifacts.

“Well… … Anyway, I will only use it for a while.”

Anyway, even though good artifacts came out, I didn’t intend to use them for a long time. I will use it for a while and then sell it.

Even if others don’t know, Hyun Seok knew very well that the artifacts of a black hole did not mean much.

In order to get the real good artifacts, you have to rob a different dungeon.

Anyway, at this moment, good artifacts are needed, so Hyun Seok prayed and poured mana into the core.

Shhh!

As the core was broken, a storm of harsh mana entered Hyun Seok’s body. Hyun Seok could intuitively feel that his level had risen.

The landscape then changed. Back to the mountain where the dungeon entrance was.

And artifacts appeared in the place where the entrance was. Floating in the air.

Hyun Seok’s eyes brightened. That is because a fairly rare artifact appeared.

“The bracelet shape didn’t come out well, but it is still good.”

Floating in the air was a simple bronze bracelet. When Hyun Seok picked it up, a magical wave spread out in all directions.

Shhh!

Hyun Seok comfortably received the magic and checked his bracelet.

[Earth Bracelet]

[A bracelet that increases the wearer’s strength. Strength+10]

“That’s great.”

It was a bracelet that raised strength by 10. When strength increases, it can increase the destructive power when attacking. It was different from simply being strong.

You must level up at least five times to increase your strength by 10. Each time you raise a level, one or two of the numbers are randomly increased by 1 to 2.

If you weren’t lucky, the number itself might not go up. Of course, it was the information I got while leveling up in this life.

In fact, in the past, I only knew that when the level was raised, the mana increased and the body itself became stronger little by little.

That was a state in which even those who studied the players closely could not come up with a proper theory.

Of course, it may not have been known simply because it was a secret, but it was not well-known knowledge or information anyway.

This time, Hyun Seok learned about the increase in that number through a skill called Mind Eye.

So, how great would it be to increase the strength by 10?

Hyun Seok immediately put on a bracelet. His whole body felt that his strength had increased at once.

Hyun Seok smiled when he clenched his fist. It was a very satisfying hunt.

“Would you need a month or so to do it again?”

The difference between individual dungeons and dungeons in the spawning area is that the same dungeon will be created in its place again over time.

It was a long period.

In this part, the actual grade was more important than the apparent grade for individual dungeons.

Probably now, this iron ant cave will reappear every month to a month and a half.

‘Because it wasn’t originally owned by our guild, I don’t know exactly, but it will be that way.’

Hyun Seok felt the need to record information about famous individual dungeons separately.

Before the memories fade away.

‘Where was the dungeon that was easy to own… … .’

For now, it is enough to just record it and process it later. I still have enough time.

There was something more urgent to do right now.

“Now, then… … Shall we go to match the equipment?”

Hyun Seok took a step forward vigorously. He felt better as things seemed to be working out.

* * *

Hyun Seok drove his car and moved down the highway. The car was arranged by the Crimson Poison Guild to chase Hyun Seok’s taxi.

His destination was Seoul again.

Hyun Seok, who entered Seoul, left the car in a suitable place. Then he traveled by public transport and on foot.

The real destination was Gangnam, so it took quite a while.

When Hyun Seok arrived in Gangnam, he looked around the buildings lined up all over him.

In fact, it didn’t make sense to look with your eyes and find your way. This is because it was discovered when I couldn’t see with my eyes anyway. But I know where it is. Hyun Seok first moved near his destination.

A faint flow of magic was felt.

‘Found it!’

He had something he wanted in the middle of the narrow alley between the buildings.

Hyun Seok went into the alley. And he stood halfway and looked up.

He didn’t see anything. However, a certain flow of magic was felt. It was a dungeon.

There are two types of dungeons known to the world. Black vortex and white vortex.

But Hyun Seok knew that there was one more dungeon besides that.

It was an invisible dungeon right here.

Hyun Seok’s eyes, looking up at the transparent dungeon floating in the air, shone calmly with various emotions.