[Hunter Association]
The chairman of the Korean Hunters Association, Go Gun-Hee, looked at Woo Jin-Chul and asked calmly,
"So, what progress have you made in the Double Dungeon case?"
Jin-Chul straightened instinctively, though a hint of nervousness crept into his voice.
"I'm afraid… none, sir. At first, we suspected that Mr. Jinwoo either knew something or had undergone a powerful reawakening. However, it was neither. We couldn't find any trace of what happened. The statues simply… disappeared."
Gun-Hee's eyes narrowed slightly before he leaned back in his chair.
"Put that case on hold for now. The representatives from Japan will be arriving soon. We'll be discussing Jeju Island. Focus on that."
Jin-Chul hesitated, then asked lightly, "Sir… are we finally going to—"
"Yes," Gun-Hee replied before he could finish. "Japan and Korea will conduct a joint raid. However, negotiations will take time. A few months at the very least."
Jin-Chul nodded, his tone turning firm. "Understood, Chairman. I will prioritize the preparations."
As he turned to leave, Gun-Hee's voice stopped him.
"Jin-Chul. Were you looking through Miss Cha's file the other day?"
Jin-Chul stiffened.
"Yes, sir. I was… curious about what was happening between her and Jinwoo. It turns out they attended the same dojo a few years ago."
Gun-Hee's gaze sharpened.
"This is your first time, so I'll let it slide. Don't repeat it. We must not interfere in hunters' private lives. If they find out, we risk making them uncomfortable… and we cannot afford another situation like Dongsoo's."
At the mention of the Dongsoo incident—a stain on the Korean department—Jin-Chul lowered his head.
"Yes, sir. My apologies."
[Hospital Room]
As Cha Hae-In was about to leave, her expression suddenly changed. She stepped closer to Jin-Woo.
"You smell… different," she murmured softly. "The usual hunter scent is gone. You smell… nice."
She leaned in slightly, unconsciously inhaling.
At that exact moment, the door opened.
"Ah—! Sorry! You two continue!" Sung Jin-Ah yelped, immediately covering her eyes before spinning around and rushing out.
Cha froze.
Realizing how close she was—and how it must have looked—her face flushed a deep red. She muttered something incoherent and hurried out of the room, completely ignoring Jin-Ah standing outside.
Meanwhile, Jinwoo blinked.
Damn… her sense of smell really is something else. So my own scent changed after receiving the System?
A few moments later, Jin-Ah walked back in with a mischievous grin.
"I didn't know my brother had such talent. I always suspected it, but now it's confirmed. You two are dating, right?"
She smirked.
"Though I'm mad you hid it from me."
Jinwoo sighed and flicked her forehead.
"We're not dating. Not now. Maybe in the future."
She clutched her forehead dramatically.
"Stupid brother! If you confess, you definitely have a chance! And if you don't, you'll lose a great girl like her. First, she's an S-rank hunter. Second, she's kind. Third, I personally saw how worried she was when you were unconsious!"
Jinwoo scoffed.
"Tch. Such shallow thinking, Jin-Ah. Do you take your brother for a fool? The one who confesses first loses the war."
"War? Brother, it's not that deep," she replied dryly.
"Just go home and study," Jinwoo said, slightly irritated. "I'll be discharged tomorrow."
After she left, his gaze shifted to the glowing panel floating before him.
Finally… I can check the panel.
[You Have Three Unread Messages]
"Open message box."
Congratulations on becoming a [PLAYER] (Unread)
[DAILY QUEST: THE PATH TO BECOME STRONG] is now available
[GIFT OF THE SHADOW MONARCH] (Forcefully Accepted)
Jinwoo frowned.
"I remember the first two from the original timeline… but what's the third?"
He opened it.
[GIFT OF THE SHADOW MONARCH]
PSUEDO BLACK HEART
Description:Shadow energy bestowed by the Shadow Monarch himself has settled within your heart, transforming it
Effects:
Greatly increased recovery speed
Passive mana absorption from the surrounding environment
Permanent increase in total mana
Mana increase scales exponentially with current mana
Increased mana recovery speed
Jinwoo's eyes widened.
"A Pseudo Black Heart? Didn't the original Jinwoo obtain the complete Black Heart much later… the one that increased his mana by over 100,000?"
He clenched his fist.
"And I got this at the beginning? No wonder my mana jumped from 10 to 40 in just two days. It increases exponentially… not linearly."
A slow grin formed on his face.
"This is broken. Completely broken."
He exhaled softly.
"Ashborn… thank you."
[Status Window]
"Status Window."
[STATUS] Name: Sung Jin-Woo
Level: 1 Strength: 28 Stamina: 23 Agility: 18 Intelligence: 10 Perception: 16 Mana: 40 Ability Points: 0
"Still level 1?"
The original Jinwoo had all stats at 10 at level 1.
"My stats are far beyond that… yet I'm still level 1. Maybe all System users start at level 1 regardless of base stats."
He frowned slightly.
"And I have no skills. So only skills gained after acquiring the System count."
He selected the daily quest.
[Daily Quest: Path to Become Stronger]
Push-ups: 100 (0/100)
Sit-ups: 100 (0/100)
Squats: 100 (0/100)
Running: 10 km (0/10)
※ Warning: Failure to complete the daily quest will result in appropriate punishment.
"Let's begin."
The exercises felt effortless. Compared to his current physical condition, they were no more taxing than breathing.
Within an hour, he finished.
[Daily Quest Completed]
Rewards Acquired:
Complete Recovery
+3 Ability Points
Random Cursed Loot Box
Jinwoo leaned back on a park bench.
"Wait… if I remember correctly, doing double the exercise grants a hidden reward."
He stood up again.
An hour later—
[Doubled Daily Quest Hidden Reward Acquired]
Random Blessed Loot Box
[Random Blessed Loot Box Opened]
+3 Ability Points
"Just ability points? The original received a key to the Demon Castle…"
He paused.
"Maybe the System doesn't think I'm ready yet. I am still level 1."
A grin spread across his face.
"Six ability points per day. This is going to be fun."
He opened the cursed loot box.
[Random Cursed Loot Box Opened]
Instance Dungeon Key Acquired
Difficulty: D-Rank
"A D-rank dungeon?"
The original Jinwoo had received an E-rank key.
He exhaled slowly.
"Stop comparing. I started at a higher point. The original took days to obtain a key. I got mine on the first day."
He looked at the key in his hand.
"Tomorrow… I begin the grind."
With that, he lay down on the hosiptal mattress
but jinwoo could never prepare himself for what was to come
[A/N: i am gonna do something big really big in the next chapter it will decide whether this fanfic becomes good or horendous]