After parting ways, Ajin ran home.
After all, he didn't know when the Association would call him. It's been more than three days since he participated in his last dungeon and fought against members of Scorpion, the most mysterious thing is that about Allen some of them know of his existence , especially for this guy called "The Emperor". Ajin was worried he didn't come when they come to try to kill him yet. If so, he needs to get strong and fast, remembering the difficulties they had in killing Allen, they're sure to send some more powerful guys. He must participate in dungeons as quickly as possible.
The Association normally summoned Hunters two, three times a month to clear the dungeons spawning in this area.
One of the main reasons he only gave Takuya one hour was that the Association call could come at any time.
"Right now, I can't afford to miss even an F-rank dungeon..."
He wanted to kill a lot of monsters and increase his levels quickly.
How embarrassing not having your smartphone around. What a relief that the new should arrive in a few days….
Ajin pushed open the front door and entered.
‘…….’
The apartment was quiet.
He missed his mother and his father too. And Ajin had lost both to the Scorpions. Why?
Ajin could not answer this question.
Ajin opened the window displaying the Daily Quest.
“I should get today's rewards. »
Before going out to meet Takuya, he had already completed the daily quest for the day. But there were too many eyes watching him, so he had no choice but to delay receiving his rewards.
Well, he couldn't quite show the sight of blue light wrapping around his body and a box suddenly appearing out of nowhere in the middle of the street, could he?
Ti-ring!
[Daily Quest: Preparations to Become Strong]
Press-up, 100 times: complete (100/100)
Sit-up, 100 times: complete (100/100)
Squat, 100 times: complete (100/100)
Running, 10 km: complete (16/10)
[You have completed "Daily Quest: Preparations to Become Strong".]
[The completion rewards have arrived.]
[Do you want to confirm?] (Y/N)
"Yeah…. Oh wait. Wait."
As usual, Ajin was about to receive his rewards, only to spot something strange and hurriedly stopped. His gaze stopped short and remained fixed on the "Running" column.
Running, 10 km: complete (11/10)
At first he thought he had run a mile longer than necessary. However, the more he thought about it, the weirder it seemed to him.
"I've filled my quota, so why did he keep logging the extra distance?" »
Ajin's gaze sharpened.
Was it really nothing more than a coincidence?
Ajin got down on the ground and leaned his weight on his arms. And then, his body rose and fell continuously.
However, his sight was fixed on the seemingly empty air in front of him.
Ti-ring!
[You have completed a press.]
[Press-up 100 times: done (111/100)]
Ti-ring!
[You have completed a press.]
[Press-up 100 times: done (112/100)]
'As I thought….'
“Running” wasn't the only category that reflected the extra number of exercises performed. The number of press-ups also continued to increase.
Suddenly, he became rather curious as to how much higher the numbers would be.
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Swollen veins on Ajin's arms.
Thanks to its improved stats. He didn't feel his weight. In fact, his body was as light as fluffy hair.
Soon after, the number hovering near one hundred rose to 200.
Ti-ring!
[You have completed a press.]
[Press-up 100 times: done (200/100)]
Ti-ring!
[You have completed a press.]
[Press-up 100 times: done (200/100)]
The count stopped for sure at the 200 mark. He did a few more push-ups just in case, but he didn't want to go any higher.
The sit-up and squat also stopped counting at the 200 mark.
Press-up, 100 times: complete (200/100)
Sit-up, 100 times: complete (200/100)
Squat, 100 times: complete (200/100)
Running, 10 km: complete (11/10)
200, no more no less.
It wasn't just endless climbing, and no, it wasn't like the 100 mark was the end. There was definitely something here. His instinct said so.
What if there was another outcome waiting for him once he finished all the "excessive counts"?
‘Let’s make sure.’
With much faster steps than usual, Ajin exited the apartment.
The next 9 kilometers for the “Running” column were filled very quickly. When Ajin once again arrived in front of his house, a new message appeared in his view.
Ti-ring!
[You have completed "Hidden Quest: Preparations to Become Strong".]
[The completion rewards have arrived.]
[Do you want to confirm?] (Y/N)
The quest title had not changed, but the quest type was now "Hidden Quest".
His suspicions turned out to be true.
Ajin swallowed his saliva.
'……To confirm.'
Ti-ring!
[The following rewards are available.]
Reward 1. Full recovery of current physical condition
Reward 2. All stats +3
Reward 3.
1) Blessed Random Box
Or
2) Cursed Random Box
[Do you want to collect them all?]
“All stats increased by 3!! »
His eyes opened wide.
The hidden quest rewards turned out to be truly exceptional.
With all stats getting a three point boost, it was the same as his level boosting by three.
No, wait - his stats may have increased, but since his level stayed the same, he gained even more. Because with higher stats, leveling up would become much easier.
But at the same time, he also felt a bit fearful.
On the one hand, he couldn't help but have a vague hope that starting today, all the daily quests that came his way could be converted into hidden quests.
“However, if the rewards are that important…”
Next, the odds of daily quests completing were also incredibly high.
Also, if the hidden quest was only available for one time, it meant he had to be very careful when choosing the third reward.
Reward 3.
1) Blessed Random Box
Or
2) Cursed Random Box
This would be the first time he had to choose his reward.
If he chose one, he would lose the other.
"So I couldn't see either of them forever, could I?" »
Just by looking at their names, it was pretty obvious which one he had to choose, but…
But it could also be a trap.
"Collect the third reward."
Ti-ring!
[You must choose between one of the two random boxes available.]
[Blessed Random Box]
Presents the player with the item they want.
[Cursed Random Box]
Presents the player with the item he needs.
[Which one will you choose?]
Their explanations were extremely simple. And that made the choice even more difficult.
If there hadn't been any explanation to begin with, he would have chosen the random 'blessed' box in a heartbeat. But now that he had read the dang explanations, he felt like he would always end up missing out, no matter which one he chose.
‘One thing I want and one thing I need…’
From those explanations alone, both seemed like a good deal.
"But, there's definitely a catch here."
The thing he “wanted” would be something he wanted because he recognized its usefulness in his current situation.
However, the thing he “needed” might not necessarily be like that. Something he might need but didn't want might come out instead.
For example, when he needs a powerful weapon, he might end up getting a gruesome bomb that could completely blow himself and all of his teammates up in one go.
"That's why it's called the Cursed Random Box, isn't it?" »
So he would opt for the low-risk selection.
In situations where the end results of a choice were not known, this would be the wisest way to minimize the amount of regret felt later.
Ajin finally made up his mind after weighing the pros and cons with composure.
"Blessed random box."
A small box slowly materialized in front of his feet.
Ajin picked it up.
'Could it be….?'
His heart began to beat faster and faster. Because, the size of the box was quite familiar to him. His hands opening the box became much more urgent.
'As I thought!'
Ajin's eyes widened. There was a golden key inside the box.
Indeed, it was the key to an instant dungeon, the one he was looking forward to.
Information about the key appeared soon after.
Ti-ring!
[Subject: Demon's Castle Key]
Rarity: S
Category: Key
A key that will allow you to enter the "Dungeon: Demon's Castle".
"Is that an S?" »
Ajin raised his voice in surprise.
Of course, there's no guarantee that rarity ranking will affect dungeon difficulty. But he couldn't think otherwise.
The 'E' rarity key opened a dungeon that was on par with an E-rated gate, after all.
What would he do if the difficulty of the Instant Dungeon turned out to be "S", then?
Even with a raid team of only S-rank Hunters, there was no definite guarantee that such a dungeon would be cleared.
The odds were around 50:50?
The difficulty of a gate exploded beyond rank B, and even looking across the world, there had been too few instances of rank S gates opening in the world.
"One of them appeared on Devil's Island, though. »
The humans tried to conquer this island 5 times but suffered total failure, the hunters were brutally murdered by the monsters that lined up inside.
Subsequently, Devil's Island became an abandoned hell where no humans could exist.
Ajin stared at the key in his hand for a long time.
"Is that what I really wanted?" »
If there was a silver lining to be found here, then that would be the explanation saying he could "enter" the dungeon with this key, unlike the previous one which said he would be "transferred" instead.
The implication being that he could escape at any time if he felt like it.
Even though the key suddenly disappeared from him, he still had the Last Dungeon's Return Stone waiting to be used in his inventory as well. He was no longer afraid of finding himself in a dungeon alone like the last time.
"I worked hard to earn this chance, so I can't just throw it away now, can I? »
He just had to confirm with his own eyes right away if that was really what he wanted or not.