Chapter 05 - Solo Awakening as an Ex-Rank-Munchkin
To Na Dan-sik’s eyes, the Goblin King swinging its greatsword seemed to move in slow motion.
The skill Basic Senses has been activated.
After dodging the greatsword, Na Dan-sik thrust his own sword into the Goblin King’s abdomen.
THWACK!
Even with the sword embedded in its thick hide, the Goblin King swung its greatsword again.
It was an agile movement that belied its massive body.
SWOOOOSH-
The enormous greatsword cut through the air.
Ducking low, Na Dan-sik retrieved his sword and retreated.
THUD!
The greatsword slammed into the floor, creating a large crater. The Goblin King was quite strong, likely because this was a hidden stage.
“This is fun.”
It was definitely fun.
His grip on the longsword tightened.
Even though it was his first time holding a longsword, it felt familiar.
Raising its massive greatsword, the Goblin King charged toward Na Dan-sik.
The skill Charge was activated as Na Dan-sik swung his longsword.
SWOOOOSH-
Sword aura imbued the blade as it sliced through the air.
The aura cut straight through the Goblin King’s waist.
SPURT!
The Goblin King, sliced in half at the waist, collapsed, spewing blood.
Na Dan-sik looked down at the fallen creature.
“Easy.”
It wasn’t as difficult as he’d thought.
A message appeared.
[You have defeated the Goblin King.]
[Congratulations, you have cleared the hidden stage.]
[As a reward for clearing the hidden stage, you have received the Goblin King's Greatsword and 2 Intermediate Magic Stones.]
[You have succeeded in clearing the stage in the fastest time.]
[An additional reward will be given.]
[You have received 2 Intermediate Magic Stones as an additional reward.]
[You have received the Goblin King's Horn as an additional reward.]
[You have mastered Beginner Longsword Arts.]
He collected all the rewards.
When the return gate appeared, Na Dan-sik stepped out of the Gate.
The administrator’s eyes widened upon seeing him.
“Did you clear the boss room?”
“Yes, it seems I did.”
“This quickly?”
“Was it fast?”
“Your clear time is 1 hour and 10 minutes, Mr. Na Dan-sik. A time like this is nearly impossible for solo play, and to think you even defeated the boss alone······.”
The conversation ended there.
A new message had appeared.
[Power Inflation has been applied.]
[The Grade 1 Gate will be upgraded to a Grade 2 Gate.]
Just as he expected.
As the Gate’s mana levels rose, the administrator panicked.
Na Dan-sik put down the watch and quickly left the area.
***
Korean Awakened Association.
Another report of a Gate upgrade had come in.
“The Gate in Suwon was upgraded to Grade 2?”
“Yes.”
“And this man was the last one to clear it?”
“That is correct.”
“Wasn’t he the last one to clear the previous one as well?”
“Yes, he was.”
The Association President checked Na Dan-sik’s registered records.
[Basic Information]
Name: Na Dan-sik
Race: Human
Class: Munchkin
“For now, let’s just keep an eye on him. By the way, what happened with the Grade 2 Gate that Hyun-a went to clear?”
“It was cleared safely, but it took a considerable amount of time.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. Here are the reports from the Hunters who went with her.”
Kang Cheol-man reviewed the reports.
“Hmm······.”
The reports stated that enhanced slimes had appeared, and the boss was a Corrupted Slime King.
The rewards were mediocre.
Just about 15 low-grade magic stones in total.
“Have the Suwon Gate investigated as well.”
“Yes, Association President.”
A Grade 1 Gate upgrading to Grade 2 was an unprecedented event.
Gates were supposed to be generated at a fixed grade.
***
Na Dan-sik stopped by a magic stone exchange to sell his stones.
He sold 153 low-grade magic stones and 2 Intermediate Magic Stones.
17,300,000 won was deposited into his account.
It was several times more than what he had earned from the slime Gate.
His bank balance was now 27,300,000 won.
Just looking at the balance made him feel full.
Returning home, Na Dan-sik checked his items.
Bloody Goblin Lord's Cloak
Grade: A
Trait: Magic Resistance +3%, Critical Hit Rate +3%
It was a good item with two options.
Next, he checked the Goblin King’s Greatsword.
Goblin King's Greatsword
Grade: A
Trait: Physical Attack Power +10%, Critical Hit Rate +5%.
A very good item.
Especially for a novice Hunter, it was perfect.
“I should try using this one.”
The Munchkin Class could learn a variety of skills.
No matter what they were.
“What an overpowered class.”
Normally, one couldn’t acquire skills inside a Gate like this.
That was because skills were given to match one’s class upon Awakening.
In the case of S-rank Hunter Choi Kang-in, his class was Sword Saint.
And the skills he possessed were all sword-related.
His sword strikes, pouring down like countless stars, were truly fantastic. There were videos of it on Neotube.
“But I’m different.”
He had acquired Dagger Arts, Hand-to-Hand Combat, and Longsword Arts.
On top of that, he had also learned basic skills like Evasion, Charge, and Aerial Leap.
“In other words, it means I can acquire skills every time I clear a Gate.”
He could learn anything.
Whatever it was, all of it.
His heart pounded with excitement.
Next, he checked the Goblin King's Horn.
Goblin King's Horn.
Grade: A
Trait: Weapon crafting material. When used in crafting: Physical Attack Power +5%, Critical Hit Rate +5%, Stamina Recovery +30%.
For melee-type classes, stamina was a crucial factor. The higher the stamina, the higher the stats they could exert.
That was why Hunters wore items that could increase their stamina or help with stamina recovery.
“Crafting, huh······.”
This would probably cost a lot to craft as well.
He decided to store it for now.
“I’m hungry.”
It was already dinnertime.
He took out his phone and ordered jokbal.
With a healthy bank balance, he could eat whatever he wanted. Before, even jokbal was too expensive for him.
He felt a sense of satisfaction.
While the jokbal was being delivered, Na Dan-sik tidied up his house.
He did the piled-up dishes and ran the washing machine.
He vacuumed and mopped the floor.
After sorting the recycling, the house was clean.
Then, he called Il-sik.
“You done with work?”
- Yeah, I’m done.
“Come over to my place. Let’s have some jokbal.”
- Jokbal? What’s the occasion?
“I sold some magic stones and made some money.”
- How much could you have made from that?
“I got a pretty good price. Are you coming or not?”
- Alright, alright. I’m on my way.
Yu Il-sik lived in the same neighborhood as Na Dan-sik.
He was a good friend who had even moved to Yongin, saying he was worried about him.
Since Yu Il-sik worked as a freelance porter, it didn’t matter where he lived.
Besides, Yu Il-sik also had a car.
A compact one, but still.
A short while later, the jokbal arrived.
And ten minutes after that, Yu Il-sik arrived too.
He set up the table and laid out the jokbal.
Il-sik had bought beer.
“Must have been a pretty good price, for you to be ordering jokbal.”
“Yeah, I earned a bit.”
“You little punk.”
“How’s the guild work?”
“It’s bearable, except for the condescending Hunters.”
It was common for Hunters to look down on porters.
They had to protect people who could only carry luggage, and they found that annoying.
“Hurry up and get strong so you can hire your big bro here.”
“You’d quit the guild?”
“If you hire me, of course I’d quit.”
“You just started. Work hard.”
At those words, Yu Il-sik just chuckled.
***
The next day, Na Dan-sik stopped by an item exchange and sold the cloak. It sold for one million won.
On his way home, he stopped at a convenience store to buy a drink and a sandwich. As he headed to the counter, he saw a group of punks in school uniforms threatening the part-time worker.
“Hey, miss. I’m a Hunter. I even have my license right here, and you’re still saying you can’t sell me cigarettes?”
“I’m sorry, but it’s illegal to sell to minors.”
“This girl just doesn’t get it. Hey, miss, if I cause a scene here, who do you think is going to lose out?”
“That’s······.”
“I’m a Hunter, so I’ll get a slap on the wrist, but you’ll have to pay for everything I break and you’ll get fired from your job.”
The part-timer looked like she was about to cry.
“Still, I can’t······ I’ll get fired immediately.”
“Damn it, this girl really isn’t listening!”
Na Dan-sik’s patience was reaching its limit.
Before his Awakening, he would have just watched from the sidelines.
He knew all too well how scary kids these days were, especially young Hunters.
Incidents involving underage Hunters were a staple on the news.
Because they were minors, and because they were Hunters, their legal punishments were light.
And if it was a first offense, they were let off with a warning.
That’s why these young punks were running wild like this.
Looking at the part-timer, it seemed she was about to burst into tears at any moment. She was a female employee, not a male one; how scared must she be?
“Hey.”
The group of punks turned to look at Na Dan-sik.
“She said she doesn’t sell cigarettes to minors. I need to pay, so get lost.”
“Mister, is something wrong with you? I told you I’m a Hunter. Wouldn’t it be super embarrassing to get beaten up by a minor?”
The group of punks taunted him cockily.
“Hunter? More like a fledgling.”
“This old man is asking for it.”
The punks glanced at the part-timer, and as if thinking this was a good opportunity, one of them threw a punch.
Even as a minor, his body was enhanced from his Awakening as a Hunter, so his strength was no joke.
Lightly dodging the punch, Na Dan-sik placed his drink and sandwich on the floor and slammed his fist into the punk’s stomach.
“Ugh!”
With a single blow, the punk clutched his stomach and rolled on the floor.
Then, his two companions rushed at him simultaneously.
Extending both hands, Na Dan-sik grabbed each of them by the scruff of the neck, kicked open the door, and threw them onto the ground outside.
Just then, the punk who had been cowering behind him pulled a dagger from his pocket and charged at Na Dan-sik.
Sidestepping, Na Dan-sik kicked the off-balance punk square in the butt.
Na Dan-sik watched the punks as they staggered to their feet.
“Hey, you little punks, want to keep this up?”
He taunted them with a beckoning finger, and the punks erupted.
“Mister, are you a Hunter? Is it okay for a Hunter to just beat up on minors?”
“You guys are Hunters too. Don’t you know that other Hunters are allowed to give you a proper lesson, even if you’re minors?”
There was something called the Hunter Immunity Privilege.
It was a law the damn government had created for the sake of Hunters.
The bill granted them immunity for damaging property or even causing bloodshed during training.
Vicious Hunters would exploit this, getting away with assaulting civilians by claiming it was an accident caused by a mana surge during training.
It was a truly damnable law.
Because of it, the reality was that ordinary people had to constantly watch their backs and tread carefully around Hunters.
Minor Hunters were no exception.
Therefore, the only ones who could discipline them were other Hunters. An ordinary person stood no chance.
“So, what’ll it be? Should we continue this proper lesson?”
Stung by his words, the punks glanced nervously at Na Dan-sik, then bolted.
Having dealt with the punks, Na Dan-sik went back into the convenience store and placed a drink and a sandwich on the counter.
“Thank you so much, sir.”
“I’d like to pay for these.”
“Please, let me get this for you. I’m just so grateful.”
“But still······.”
“I was really scared. If you hadn’t been here, they would have definitely hit me.”
It felt awkward to refuse when she was being so thankful, so he accepted.
On his way home, Na Dan-sik thought about the punks. There were many cases of Hunters causing trouble simply because they had powers.
Na Dan-sik had been on the receiving end of it himself.
Since the company he worked for was a subcontractor for a manufacturer of Hunter-exclusive equipment, he often ran into Hunters whenever he visited the Head Office.
Since Hunters were the company’s main clients, he always had to bow and scrape to stay on their good side.
On top of that, many Hunters regarded ordinary people as insignificant. Of course, not all Hunters were like that, but plenty of them were.
With society being the way it was, ordinary people and porters were the weak ones in the face of Hunters.
It had gotten to the point where even the government was reduced to walking on eggshells around them.
If the Hunters were to rise up and storm the National Assembly, they too would have a hard time staying alive.
That was why the existence of the Association was so crucial.
The government threw its weight behind the Association for that very reason. Because only other Hunters could control Hunters.
End
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