I saw a strange woman when I opened my eyes, but I had no energy to grab her neck. I thought I had finally been caught by the Eight Evils or the Eight Virtues. Either way, it seemed like I wouldn’t be able to get revenge for those who had died without meaning. I had to come to my senses somehow, but my body didn’t listen. 

Damn it, I should've saved up points. I had advised the youngsters not to spend all of their points on one thing, but I did the exact opposite. I used them all for opening a challenger box. Oh?

“Not yet.”

The woman’s voice was soft. I wasn’t the type to be fooled by the tone but my eyes were too heavy. She must be the Second Evil or using a mental skill. This was why I had avoided the Second Evil, but I was eventually caught by her. 

“Get some more rest.”

Her voice began to recede. 

***

The smell of food woke me up. It wasn’t pleasant, but my stomach reacted to it. Instead of asking Woo Yeon-Hee, I opened the status window to check the cooldown time of The Man Who Overcomes Adversity.

“List of traits.”

It had been two days since I last used the trait. Things had not been this terrible last time in the dungeon, and the battle with the Double-Headed mutt was worse than in my previous life. Then, I saw Woo Yeon-Hee gesturing for me to wait and approaching with water and pills.  

“I’ve healed you as best as I could until my skill stopped working,” she said.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“The first room. I set up a trap at the broken door, but take a look at it later,” she replied.

“Trap?” I questioned.

“It’s just the sound. Just in case.”

Woo Yeon-Hee answered indifferently. Meanwhile, I frowned at the blood-stained bandages wrapped around her neck, chest, and legs. When I checked mine, there wasn’t a drop of blood. My clothes had also been changed.

She commented when she saw me looking at them, “Don’t worry. I didn’t look.”

I stared at her face and saw wounds on her cheek. It would’ve been a serious injury for civilians, but for us, it would naturally regenerate in three days. However, I could tell what happened to her from the bandaged areas and her wounds. 

“You managed to survive.”

I flinched inside as it happened because of me. I had told her that everything was over if she had to fight against the mutts, but I was wrong. I had forgotten how powerful human survival instinct was. She survived after fighting with mutts with that tiny body, and I asked her how it went even though she didn’t seem to want to recall. Her story was different from what I expected.

She didn’t use traps, probably because she was so scared, and encountered one of the mutts that got past me. She shot an arrow and got it right in its eye, but the problem happened afterward. The mutt charged her regardless, and they were tangled together. I sat up despite her restraints because she seemed to need encouragement and a compliment. 

“Your actions led you to survival. Good job, Woo Yeon-Hee,” I said.

A faint smile with a hint of bitterness appeared on her face. I unwrapped the bandage and saw no blood. All the fatal wounds that were caused by the Double-Headed’s claws and teeth only remained as scars. Woo Yeon-Hee rolled up the bandages and put them in the bag. When did she even get her bag back?

“You are hungry, right?” she asked.

There was something more pressing to do before satisfying my hunger, and that was to check the reward!

[You have completed the quest ‘One on One Battle.’ Please decide on the first and second person to finish the quest by agreement.]

The message popped up again as if it was being friendly. Woo Yeon-Hee must have been looking at the same notification as me.

“I’m first, and you are second,” I said firmly.

There could be no objection, and when she agreed, a new message appeared.

[You have completed the quest ‘One on One Battle.’]

[You have obtained 500 points.]

This was why hunters jumped to complete dungeon quests in the past. Now was the time to reap the rewards.

***

The cumulative points we received up to the first room was 184. Since then, Woo Yeon-Hee received one point after removing the trap, ten points for killing the Double-Headed mutt, and another 28 points for defeating other mutts. On top of that, we earned a thousand points for completing the quest Declan Extermination and One on One Battle. Therefore, the total was…

[Total point: 1223]

That was worth four bronze boxes and one silver box. 

[You have obtained a ‘silver box’ for being the first one to complete the quest.]

Before I lost consciousness, I received fifty Strength stat points from the silver box I earned for completing the quest. I needed fifty more to upgrade my class from F to E.

Please give me Strength! Strength!

I prayed earnestly inside. Just one increase in class would provide me strength to fight head-to-head against the mutts. It would be much easier to open the doors, and I could become a D-class in Strength when using the Man Who Overcomes Adversity. My Strength could match the Agility class that I could increase with the insignia. So I desperately wanted something that would boost my Strength from the box.

The silver-rimmed box began to open, and that moment was bound to be filled with tension and excitement. A ray of light came out of the box. If it shone on the chest, it meant an insignia, and if it went to other places, it was an item. However, the light spread in all directions this time.

[Your Strength has increased by 36.]

[Strength: F(86)]

Yes! Strength came out from both silver boxes in a row, and the stat increases I received were above the average. My whole body began to tremble uncontrollably due to happiness. I only needed fourteen points to raise my Strength class. I had two options: opening one silver box and one bronze box by using the points I gathered so far? Or opening four bronze boxes in a row? Then, I saw Woo Yeon-Hee waiting for my orders like she wanted to comment about her rewards and cumulative points. 

“Wait,” I said.

My expectation on cumulative points was clear as I wanted my Strength stats to increase. However, the remaining figures were ambiguous. If it was a single digit, I would’ve opened four bronze boxes, but I would need at least two bronze boxes if I wanted to fill fourteen points. The five major categories were stats, skill-related contents, trait-related continents, items, and insignia. The possibilities of Strength coming out from subcategories were endless. But, it would be useless if Strength came out from two or more boxes but its numerical figure was low. There were so many variables. I decided to open a bronze box first because I would still have points left to open a silver box later. 

[You have spent 300 points.]

[Total points: 923]

[You have gained a ‘bronze box.’]

[Strength: F(90)]

“It’s up…”

Strength had popped up three times in a row. Twice from the silver box and once from the bronze box. The possibility for this was so low, perhaps to thousandths of the decimal place. However, the stocks with the upper limits were more likely to continue rising tomorrow instead of falling. I had a hunch that it was time to keep the momentum going. 

[You have gained a ‘bronze box.’]

[Your Strength has increased by 10.]

Jackpot!

[Congratulations! Your Strength has increased by one class. Change: F → E]

That wasn’t the end. The System was now a giving tree that poured out rewards!

[You have completed the achievement ‘The Power that Breaks Rocks.’]

[You have obtained the trait ‘Strongman’ for being the first one to complete the quest.]

[Strongman (Trait)

Effect: You’ll counteract an attack at a very low probability rate.

Class: F(0)]

It was a permanent trait with no duration or cooldown time! I screamed my joy loudly.

“Wahhhh!”

Woo Yeon-Hee joined me in cheering as she could feel my happiness. My clenched fist was trembling, and I wondered if that guy’s luck had really come to me. It didn’t matter what the reason was, and I kept smiling. She began to speak, but I stopped her so I could open another bronze box with this great momentum. 

I couldn’t guarantee my survival with my current stats, so I had to prioritize the nearest future instead of the long term. So I opened it!

[You have gained a ‘bronze box.]

[Odin’s Wrath has increased by 6.]

[Odin’s Wrath: F(6)]

Ah! Points were given to S-class potential skills. If I gained another skill later, I had to throw away F-class skills such as Iron Skin, so that was the right move. Next box!

[You have gained a ‘bronze box.’]

A ray of light stretched out from the box, but it was not shining toward my chest. It was an item.

[You have gained the item ‘The Blind’s Ring.’]

[The Blind’s Ring (Item)

Effect: Increases the range of one’s visibility with the skill ‘Night Eyes.’

Class: F]

Everything was fantastic this time as there was nothing to throw away.