My body feels so light!
Just when I thought I had survived!
How long am I going to let myself be intimidated?!
I'm not dying!
Did increasing my strength ability make that much of a difference?
But this thing's still stronger than me.
No! My attacks aren't working!
What am I supposed to do?
I can't do this on my own.
With no party, no healer...
My bag's only got water and food in it.
At this rate...
If only I had a weapon with magic power!
A weapon?
Inventory!
I don't know how this got in there.
I think Kim said he paid three million for it?
The kind of item I could never afford.
Well, this is an emergency. I'll put it to good use.
Huh? The pain's fading.
Now that I have a weapon...
I'm not afraid!
Huh? It's stuck!
Come on! Get out of there!
They don't call them steel-fanged for nothing, huh?
I just got this sword!
Chew on something else!
I've gotta admit...
Compared to what I ran into before,
these guys aren't so bad.
Huh? I'm level 2 now?
That never changed during my daily quests.
Oh, I know. It's because this is real combat.
And my injuries healing from before...
I guess all my stats go up by one when I level up.
That's five points in total.
Daily quests only net me three points, so fighting seems more efficient.
I wonder how much a difference of one point makes?
There are values for intelligence, perception, and such, too...
But strength is the obvious one.
I'm only at 32 there, but my body already feels a lot lighter.
I'm speculating here, but I think that the higher my base abilities grow,
the more points I'll gain.
I really can get stronger.
Maybe I'm overreacting, considering that it was just five small beasts...
I wonder if they have any essence stones.
I get items instead?
These weird things happening to me...
If they follow the same kind of logic that a game does,
then this dungeon and the magic beasts in it
are different from what's inside the gates.
There's a store?
Buy.
I guess beginners get locked out?
Sell.
Twenty gold?
I wonder how much money that's worth.
Then again, this seems like an E-Rank dungeon,
so twenty gold can't be worth that much.
Okay, so what do I do now?
I can't leave until I beat the boss.
A teleportation stone will let me get out, but I don't know where to find those.
If I stay too long, I'll run out of food.
E-Rank or not, I don't think I can beat a boss on my own.
Wait... Maybe if I level up enough first?
Granted, I might die before I manage that.
I shouldn't be afraid. I already know what dying is like!
I'm not gonna go down easy. And I don't expect you guys to, either.
I'd feel guilty if I killed you too fast!
You qualify to become a hunter.
Now I can afford Mom's treatment!
If I had one more chance...
Let's fight... Let's make it intense!
For as long as we're alive... As hard as we can!
If I can get stronger...
I'll gladly follow these ridiculous rules!
That can't be good, right?
I wish the Association would do something already.
Sword's not gonna last much longer.
At the end of the day, weapons are disposable, I guess.
Even the expensive ones still end up like this after a few dungeon runs.
Still...
This might be a good stopping point.
I got 34 wolf fangs,
two worn daggers, a traveler's cloak...
and, surprisingly, a teleportation stone.
Maybe I should leave?
But I might never get the chance to get stronger this easily ever again.
I don't know what'll happen to this dungeon when I use the teleportation stone.
Will it vanish?
Maybe it'll disappear without a trace, like a limited-time event in a game.
Whatever happens, I seem to be wrapped up in something I don't understand.
It's like I'm dancing atop the Buddha's palm.
Do I move forward, or head back?
Hello, this is Lee Joohee...
From the Hunter's Association? I apologize about the other day.
There was a dungeon break at the gate?!
That's nearby.
If I hadn't turned down that offer...
We've been assembling free hunters to deal with it, but...
there's such a shortage of healers...
I understand.
The higher my level rose,
the easier it became to defeat the magic beasts.
The color of the text describing them has changed.
I think white means they're relatively weak.
Orange means they're on equal footing with me.
And red means they're strong.
The Lycans that were red at first are white now.
I guess I've become that much stronger.
But even at my current level, l don't feel like I can take the one that's down here.
Maybe it's thanks to my perception ability being that much higher,
but I can feel it.
There's a monster down there... and it gives me goosebumps.
I don't think I can gain any more levels around here.
And if I fight needlessly, the sword won't last.
Was the stairway in this station always this long?
It doesn't look anything like the station I know.
So fast!
The sword...
Even after all that leveling up, its name is still...
orange?!
You must be the boss around here.
There's no way this sword could penetrate those armored scales.
And fighting empty-handed is out of the question.
Between this speed and the way it throws its weight into each attack...
I'll have to find a way around its defense!
But what do I do against armor as thick as this?
If it lands a clean hit on me, I'm dead.
I thought I'd gotten a bit stronger...
Is it still not enough?
How much stronger do I need to get...
before it makes up for a life spent being a laughing stock?!
"The Weakest Hunter of All Mankind"?
I hear that's what they've been calling you.
Yeah...
It's unbelievable how childish some people can be.
Work hard to prove them wrong.
Right. I understand.
I got called that because I'm weak.
I get mocked because I'm weak!
I'm ashamed of myself, okay?
If you're strong—
If you have overwhelming strength, you go into every situation with an advantage.
When you're powerless, there's nothing you can do around the strong...
besides quiver in fear and stand around helplessly.
You get looked down on when you're weak.
You can be knowledgeable, you can be creative, you can be considerate,
but when faced with the strong,
none of it will save you!
Kindness won't save me! So I'll become stronger!
That's why I came this far!
I've...
gotta get stronger!
Not yet!
Compared to that thing... Compared to the terror I felt back then...
This will be easy!
I focused specifically on increasing my strength!
I should be able to...
I know that, here and now,
I can kill you!
Die!
I guess I really have gotten a bit stronger.
Got something nice out of it, too.
This dagger's made from its fangs, not its bones?
That's double the attack power of Kim's sword,
and it has paralysis and drain effects, too.
This thing, on the other hand, is way too scary to use.
Better to hold on to it.
I guess I beat the dungeon?
No one's around. I wonder what time it is.
Excuse me! You can't go in there.
Didn't you hear the broadcast?
What broadcast?
Come on, don't play around...
Wait, are you a hunter?
Yes, I am.
My apologies, then! Let me show you to the battle.
This way, please.
Oh, okay.
Did something else happen?
A dungeon break... I guess a magic beast made it out from a gate.
It's mostly taken care of, but there's one big one left.
Maybe it's my improved perception ability...
but I can sense it. The boss is over there.
No pictures, please! This is very dangerous!
How much longer?!
What if things get even worse?!
Healers, make sure to focus on keeping the tank healthy!
You don't have to tell us!
What are our damage dealers doing?!
This thing doesn't look like it's going down!
Its defense is too strong!
And we're short on hunters who can use magic!
Excuse me! Coming through!
A hastily assembled team... It's no wonder they don't work together well.
Low ranks, too.
I see eight E-Ranks and two D-Ranks.
One of the D-Ranks is a tank, which is why they haven't been able to finish this,
and the battle's running long.
The healers... Two D-Ranks and a B-Rank.
Lady, come on!
You need to help someone! Aren't you a B-Rank healer?!
Don't just stand there!
R-Right!
Seriously, stay focused!
One week later, she's still shaken up.
Not that I can blame her. I'm the same.
No.
This is a D-Rank boss.
Weaker than the one I just fought!
We're gonna be wiped out at this rate!
We can't do this without a higher-ranked hunter!
If they can get through his defenses,
they can win!
An attack forceful enough to pierce stone...
Take this!
Good! Its defenses are down!
We can beat it!
We did it... We actually did it!
None of our attacks were working. What suddenly shattered its defense?
It wasn't us. We weren't doing any damage at all.
What was that thing that came flying?
A boss-level golem that over ten people couldn't scratch
got taken down by that?!
Excuse me.
Yes?
Who threw that broken sword?
Oh, it was the hunter who...
Huh? He was just...
What incredible power.
Was it some high-ranked hunter?
I didn't think a single attack would do it in.
That golem must have been seriously weakened already.
Jinwoo...?