[The dungeon has been destroyed.]

The agents continued looking at me even with frozen and blank faces even though the dungeon was collapsing. I didn’t say a single word as I was tired from the boss fight, so I waved at them to tell them to get out of the way. 

“Do you…want us to go…away? You need to be treated.”

I stared at Mick when I heard his question, then he quickly grasped my meaning. 

“We’ll be at the lodge. Please call us if you need anything,” Mick said hurriedly.

He put down the walkie-talkie on the ground carefully so as to not provoke me. Others followed Mick by slowly distancing themselves away from me without turning their backs before speeding up. The Man Who Overcomes Adversity was going to wear off in two minutes, and I didn’t have a healer who could take all my suffering. I suddenly wondered if she had overcome the side effects of increasing her Sense to E-class. It had been ten days since I last saw her, so she could have been looking for me. 

Anyway, it was my turn to recuperate. The camp tent wasn’t equipped with ultramodern medical facilities but had a first-aid kit. I quickly washed the blood off and put a bandage on the part where my flesh had been torn off. I changed my blood-stained rags into clothes that someone had taken off, then I started laughing because the faint sound of the radio in the tent made the reality that I had conquered the dungeon alone become real to me. I was unfamiliar with this dungeon, so I had to fight the boss without any knowledge or tips. I would not have attempted it if I didn’t have the Deva King’s Protective Gloves. The item indeed possessed a master box class power as they had absorbed an enormous amount of damage from the boss monster’s magic. 

[The Man Who Overcomes Adversity duration: 0 hours 0 minutes 5 seconds]

It was time to get ready to suffer from pain, but I would accept it with pleasure even though one of my items had broken during the boss fight.

***

I had four days left until the Man Who Overcomes Adversity was recharged which meant I was in bed for three days straight. The Ring of Flames had been destroyed during the boss fight, and it was a bummer since the item was a good one with flame magic skills. The boss monster would have wanted to shatter the Deva King’s Protective Gloves as well, but it wasn’t able to. Monsters that destroyed hunters’ items were the worst, but fortunately, I could replace the Ring of Flames with the Ring of Shadows that I had acquired for completing the boss fight. It allowed me to hide from the target and I had used this item in the past.

I had obtained four boxes from this dungeon: two silver and two gold. As I had mentioned, I received the Ring of Shadows from a D-class gold box. In addition, I received an increase of 61 points for Strongman from another gold box, 2 points for Health, and 32 points for the skill Earthquake. To sum it up…

[Health: E (2)]

[Strongman: F (66)]

[Earthquake: F (44)]

I was dissatisfied with the overall rewards. The points could have been added to better skills and traits like the Man Who Overcomes Adversity or Devi’s Sword. After all, I would have to throw away Earthquake when a better skill appeared anyway. I admitted that I was unlucky.

***

I heard the sound of a waterfall somewhere beyond the lush forest. Small birds were crouching down on the branches, and the sun was shining brightly. It was the season of green and beauty, so I wanted to bring my parents here one day. There was also a cabin down the mountain, so this was the best place to forget about everything else and enjoy nature. As the previous landowner said, it would have a different charm in the winter. 

I washed up in the valley water and began opening the boxes with 5122 points I earned a few days ago on top of those I obtained from the Gimje dungeon. 

[Total points: 8,380]

I could open nine silver boxes or three gold boxes, but not the platinum box that was worth 13,500 points. I didn’t have to take bronze boxes into account as five of my stats were at E-class. Opening them up meant wasting points.

I decided to use all the points on silver boxes. 

Hopefully, my luck is better this time.

[You have opened a silver box.]

[Your Sense has increased by 8.]

[Sense: E (8)]

It was a good start.

[You have received the insignia (Teleportation).]

The First Evil was able to escape from the scene with this! His F-class insignia only allowed a person to travel a distance of twenty meters, but I could teleport within a hundred meters with an E-class Teleportation insignia. I was just disappointed I could use it only once since some people had received ones that had three usages if they were super lucky. 

But surprisingly…there was a skill from a challenger box that had a teleport effect, and it was the Fifth Virtue’s main skill. Furthermore, he could teleport not only himself but also other objects or people. I was desperate to get that skill one day. 

[Night Eyes has increased by 28.]

[Night Eyes: F (28)]

Unlike Earthquake, Night Eyes was a skill that should never be abandoned, so it always took one out of our allotted eight skills. At F-class it only brightened up the darkness, a higher class allowed the user to see through an enemy’s tricks or avoid traps. In the end, I was satisfied with getting points and skills that had the potential to develop into S-class in the future. Next! 

[Your Sense has increased by 9.]

[Sense: E (17)]

Yes! Points should be added to stats like this! 

I wondered if I was becoming luckier.

[Your Sense has increased by 3.]

[Sense: E (20)]

Again?

Since all my stats had increased to E-class, the best-case scenario was to quickly upgrade them to the next class. Sense would be the best as that had been my priority stat in the past. The current situation made me debate whether or not I should try opening a gold box or continue with silver boxes as I had originally planned. The maximum points I could earn from a gold box was forty, but the possibility of increasing Sense four times in a row was like winning a lottery. However, when only considering what would come out on a box, the probability of getting points for Sense on this next one was pretty decent as the results of previous boxes didn’t impact on this one. The Awakened often said, “boxes have no memories.”

I had a good feeling, and I thought that with my luck in this life, I could hope for the best. I opened the gold box and prayed. 

[You have opened the gold box.]

I had enough items, insignias and skills to target the next dungeon, so I just wanted points for the stat. 

Let me upgrade my Sense! Come on!

[Your Sense has increased by 40.]

[Sense: E (60)]

...ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

***

[Total points: 1,180]

I had enough points to open another silver box but stopped there. I felt like I had to recharge my luck. The agents were training in the front yard of the lodge, and their free-spirited vibe vanished as I approached them. There was no need to ask as they would have reported what they had witnessed to their agency’s executives and John Clark. Then, those reports would be put together and sent to my email.  

The agents began to run towards me, but I waved them all back except for Mick. He must have learned something from encountering the First Evil as he was the only one who looked at the dungeon with fear. Even now, he seemed scared despite his rugged countenance. I asked him, “I’d like to have a proper meal. Could you please prepare it for me?”

I sat on the bench, loosening my rigid expression.

“What kind of food would you like to eat?” Mick asked.

I replied, “Steak with a cold bottle of coke if possible.”.

“Okay, sir.”

I watched the agents train as I waited for food. Since they had taken off their tops, I could see their muscles glisten with sweat while their firearms lay organized in a corner. Any ordinary civilian would have run away if they saw this scene.

Soon, the meal was ready, and the lodge was cool because of the air conditioning. The table was far from the air conditioner, and I told Mick to sit across from me.

“Take a seat.”

Mick sat down like a soldier facing his superior. I sliced the steak and said as if it wasn’t a big deal, “I’m going to promote you to a board member, Mick.”

Mick gave me a quizzical look.

“Ah, John must have not told you yet. I have the authority to do so,” I said.

Mick didn’t reply immediately as he seemed to be trying to understand the situation. By the time I had finished half of my meal, he cautiously asked, “What should I do?”

“Report every move of John Clark and the executives to me. But I’m not telling you to doubt them as everyone has been working up to my expectations,” I explained.

Former agents of the U.S. National Intelligence Service often ran private detective companies after their retirements. John Clark’s organization was still small, but its scale had been expanding day by day since the purchase of a private military firm. They seemed to be amateurs now, but I could definitely see their potential. Therefore, I wanted Mick to develop this organization into what would be the Awakened Association in the future and he looked all right to do the job. From now on, he would keep an eye on John Clark and his subordinates on my behalf.