Solo Max-Level Newbie - Chapter 87

As Jin-hyuk said those refreshing words.

[‘Corrupting Heart’ is furious!]

[You have received the ‘Curse of Demon King’!]

[The curse lasts until death!]

Kukukung!

His body felt like it had been hit by something

‘Shit! It hurts.’

Jin-hyuk had to gulp back a scream. Naturally, there was no such thing as getting used to the process of having a curse engraved on one’s body.

This meant that each time would be a fresh new sensation.

Some perverts might enjoy the pain, but that is a story for those who have betrayed their dignity as humans.

Wasn’t it human nature to want to avoid any form of physical pain?

But he couldn’t help it this time since receiving the curse was part of the process of clearing this floor.

[All stats drop by 90% for 3 minutes.]

[If you try to fight it, you will be exhausted, and in the worst case, you might die.]

[Time Left: 0h:2m:59s]

[Due to the strong intervention of a higher deity, a hidden quest has occurred.]

[Hidden Quest

Difficulty: A

Description: Corrupted fanatics who take the lives of others are ‘wicked beings’. Each time you kill 1 of them, your adaptive stat is increased by +0.1. However, if you kill the leader, the stat will go up by +30.]

Right, this was the one.

An error of probability that was caused by the active intervention of God.

Naturally, to resolve some contradiction, the system was supposed to reward a cursed player.

And this was what he expected.

Everything was going how he wanted.

But just one thing.

The stats given as rewards were different from before.

‘I had hoped that I could get the adaptive stat.’

Jin-hyuk’s eyes shook in surprise.

The quest had given additional bonus stats in the past, but now the reward had changed to the adaptive stat.

A stat that could not be obtained through standard methods and was given to those who saw the Tower’s top floor.

Jin-hyuk’s heart began to beat uncontrollably at the fact that he could build up this new stat over and over.

Ba-dump!

‘No matter what happens, I need to get my hands on it.’

Among the rewards, the most delicious one appeared so he could not fail.

He had to make sure that this was a success.

Jin-hyuk was burning up with passion. At that moment.

Throb!

He felt excruciating pain.

‘This is the effect of a curse.’

He felt like he was about to lose consciousness from the pain he felt in the left side of his chest.

He had to get out of here since he was in a position where he wouldn’t be able to fight properly for three minutes. The skill he received before coming could not be used here.

“I am sorry. Can we end this at a draw?”

Jin-hyuk took a deep breath as he smiled.

“Gooo!”

Thud! Thud!

Breaker came running for him with the hammer. As expected, he wasn’t cute at all.

It couldn’t be helped.

Jin-hyuk quickly turned around and began to run.

It was dark and a maze, and it wouldn’t be strange for a dead end to suddenly pop up, but Jin-hyuk didn’t stop.

‘Left from here.’

‘And then right.’

He knew the place like the back of his hand.

He had memorized it to the point of knowing where every wall was located. Through the narrow and round passages, the place that he arrived too was where all the drugs were stored.

‘He cannot be very far.’

There were just a few seconds left before the Breaker got here.

Jin-hyuk quickly entered the warehouse and moved to the innermost cabinet.

Clack!

He put his body in a gap between cabinets where he could fit

[You have entered the special field ‘Cabinet’!]

[Stealth effect is activated.]

In the psychiatric ward, there were places where one could hide from the hunters. And this was one of them.

He cannot hide completely, but with a bit of luck, he can escape from their gaze.

“Um.”

Jin-hyuk, who was hiding, stopped breathing.

… one with the cabinet.

One with the cabinet!

‘I am the cabinet, and the cabinet is me!’

He was brainwashing himself and blended into the background perfectly. Even if ghosts came looking, they would not find him.

And at that moment.

Thud! Thud!

The Breaker walked in front of the cabinet and looked for Jin-hyuk.

‘I am the cabinet, so do not worry.’

No reason to be scared. There was no reason to get caught.

But…

“…”

He could see Breaker’s red eyes through the crack in the cabinet.

As their eyes met, Jin-hyuk tried to avoid the gaze.

‘… I must be imagining it.’

He must be seeing something else.

“…”

The red eyes kept getting closer, and now he could even smell a rotten scent from the gap.

‘Shit. It isn’t working.’

His face heated up in embarrassment in this gloomy situation.

Woong!

Breaker was about to swing the hammer.

At that moment.

Jin-hyuk opened the cabinet door and went out.

And Breaker stopped.

This was a delay of fewer than 0.2 seconds that stopped the hunter when a player entered or left a cabinet.

Using that gap, Jin-hyuk opened the door to enter and exit. He would have been shattered down to his core if he didn’t get the timing right.

For Jin-hyuk, who had been through harder shit, this was easier than breathing.

“Kwaak!”

The angry Breaker screamed in a fury.

[Breaker activates Lv11′ Breakthrough’!]

Kwakwakwang!

This time, the hammer smashed the entire cabinet.

However, Jin-hyuk’s movements were faster. By the time the hammer completely crushed the cabinet, Jin-hyuk had already opened the door and ran out.

Throb! Throb!

The more he moved, the more his heart ached.

He had deliberately chosen this warehouse with many things in it to avoid the attacks from reaching him.

If there was a riot situation like this, it meant he had to move fast.

Just a little bit quicker.

Or he would die.

Jin-hyuk grunted as he widened the distance. At that moment.

Sshh.

Like a lie, Breaker stopped moving.

He was kneeling with both hands holding the hammer in worship.

At the same time, a cold chill struck Jin-hyuk, making goosebumps rise on his skin.

‘Is it finally time?’

He thought he was going to die.

Jin-hyuk looked back.

Right.

“Indeed, you are a human being who is good to sacrifice.”

He could see the leader who led hundreds of fanatics.

Being a prisoner wasn’t a pleasant experience. Especially if they were going to be sacrificed.

“Ah, we are all going to die.”

“We shouldn’t have come to this damn place. I shouldn’t have come here!”

“Because I was blinded by rewards… I, I don’t want to die. I didn’t think I would die like this.”

The players who had been taken prisoner were mumbling curses or had escaped to rosy dreams.

With their abilities and skills sealed, they could not even fathom a way to escape, but…

‘Um. It has so much fungus around. But it isn’t such a bad place to stay. It would be perfect if I could get some ramen through here.’

Jin-hyuk laid down. Thanks to being taken in as a prisoner, all of his stamina and magic weakened due to the curse were being restored.

It felt like his condition had completely recovered. Moreover, thanks to the people who dragged him in here, he didn’t have to break through any of the gates and traps.

The quest to eliminate the wicked people to obtain additional adaptive stat points was made easier.

Why bother searching for the enemies?

When all of them would be here?

Just add some seasoning and prepare for the main course, the leader of the heretics.

‘It’s one of the most exciting things to break the back of those who are proud of themselves.’

With those thoughts, he found even this narrow and smelly prison to be lovely.

At that moment.

“Shut it! If you make noise, you will be tied down immediately, killed, and then thrown to the monsters for food!”

The guard threatened them by hitting the cage.

He was also wielding a bloody-looking torture device as a bonus. In an instant, the surroundings became as quiet as a dead mouse.

It was natural.

Because no one wanted to spend what little time they had left being tortured.

“Keep quiet and speak slowly.”

The guard bowed his head as the chaotic air subsided. Two people approached Jin-hyuk’s prison cell.

One was the cold-faced leader, while the other was a person in a black hood.

“This is our first time meeting in person, right, Kang Jin-hyuk?”

Who was this mana?

Jin-hyuk frowned.

It was the first time he had met someone with this kind of unique magic power. He could guess where the man was from.

‘I thought things were quiet these days, but he is from the Demonic Human Association.’

Come to think of it, Melena, whom he had met on the 3rd floor, said their organization’s purpose was to gather relics and resurrect the Demon King.

On the 5th floor, the Demonic Association joined hands with the leader.

They were bound to team up if they shared the same goal of resurrecting the Demon King.

‘If you come into contact with the Tower’s boss, it means that he is fairly in a high position within the association…’

Jin-hyuk stared at the man.

A while male with a sharp impression. He had a black beard and blue eyes.

‘I wonder if he has skills as good as his looks.’

The Eye of Gluttony pierced the target’s status window.

But…

Tring!

[Failed to read status window]

[Lv14′ Mental Barrier’ is activated on the target.]

A barrier that could block not only his vision but even observation using an Eye.

‘That is why he showed his face.’

He was confident that nothing could happen. He was so confident because he had come prepared.

However, it didn’t matter.

Jin-hyuk grabbed the ‘white medicine’ he had kept in his pocket.

As he applied force, it crumbled in his hand.

[White medicine is used.]

[Due to the potion’s effect, one of the stats can now be doubled.]

[Duration is 10 minutes.]

Of course, the stat to raise will be adaptive.

He had originally prepared the white medicine as a tool to fight against the leader. As long as he got additional hidden quests, it was more efficient to just use them.

The opportunity to meet directly with the high-ranking official of the Demonic Human Association didn’t come often.

[Adaptive stat has been increased from 10 to 20.]

[Lv4′ Eye of Gluttony’ sees through the target]

And…

Jin-hyuk’s lips curled up.

He didn’t know if it was due to Elise or Pendariel’s significant level difference.

No player could stop him now.

—

Name: Hosenveld

Gender: Male

Age: 41

Level: 38

Strength 19 Agility 25 Stamina 18 Magic 29 Embrace Thoughts 80

Stat Points: 0

Coins: 30,855

Occupation: Knight of Round Table

Unique Ability: Guardian’s Realm

Skills: Lv14 ‘Mental Barrier’, Lv10 ‘Sword of Condemnation’, Lv10 ‘Britain’s Protection’, Lv9 ‘Oath of Knight’

—

The status window appeared.

Jin-hyuk gulped.

‘Ah.’

This… was more of a mess than he expected.

Because the job of being a knight of Round Table could only be held by the top executives of the Demonic Human Association.

In other words.

The guy in front of him right now had the title of a Knight.