<Seon-Hu: I’ll be back before the summer ends, so don’t worry.>

<Father: Call your mother often, son. You will always be a child to your mother.>

<Seon-Hu: I’ll try.>

I hung up. Flying around the world during vacation had become the norm for me, and there was only one week left until school started. I couldn’t just sit around and wait to hear news about the First Evil as it was important to strengthen myself in order to kill him.

“You don’t need to be nervous since I’ll be entering alone this time,” I told Woo Yeon-Hee, who suddenly had become speechless, unlike the way she was at the airport. She looked at me with round eyes, and I could see defiance in them. We were still below the standard to challenge the top class dungeons, so our next target was another F-class dungeon in Gim-je. However, I had never been to this one, so the goal for this entry was exploration.

“I can do better this time,” Woo Yeon-Hee said after turning down the radio volume. It had been six months since we destroyed the dungeon in Hwasung, and she had not been obsessed with medical corporation work. It was also an additional task for her, and her time had been devoted to training. I could guarantee that she was using a knife better than most civilians. If she wasn’t an Awakened with regenerative powers, her hands would be full of scars and calluses. Also, she had focused on physical training in order to use her Agility in battle efficiently. Despite the fact she was a healer, her Agility figure was higher than mine. She needed to protect herself more than other healers of this period.

“You could be helpful,” I said reluctantly.

She pleaded, “But why won’t you let me go? I prepared two backpacks including mine.”

I wanted to bring a Healer if possible but she didn’t have an Escape Insignia while I had one on my chest. I asked after I finished explaining my thoughts to her, “Do you really want to enter the dungeon?”

“I need more money,” she replied immediately.

“Solve it with what you currently have. You won’t be able to manage further if you blindly choose a purely nonprofit model,” I cautioned her.

“Hey.” She looked at me.

“What?” I answered.

“Can I make investments in the firm?” she asked.

“Jonathan Investment doesn’t receive private funds at the moment. The funds he is managing are only from pension funds and his net worth,” I responded.

She was quiet but seemed to be aware of it. She questioned back, “Aren’t there many hedge funds in the group?”

“The minimum qualification is one million dollars. I’m sure there’s not much left in your corporate account,” I said.

“Yes, so I want you to take me with you. I’ll be able to help even a little bit this time,” she replied.

“You were really supportive last time. It’s no big deal to enter by myself since it’ll only be a preliminary exploration. That’s why I’m telling you to stay. What did I say about the leader’s order?” I asked.

“It’s absolute,” she spoke in a faint voice.

“Yes, so be nice, Woo Yeon-Hee.”

***

The motel in Gim-je had red lights, creating a sleazy mood that reminded me of a low-quality pornographic film. I didn’t book separate rooms as that would be inconvenient, and Woo Yeon-Hee looked around the interior with curious eyes as if it was her first time in a motel. Then, her gaze stopped at the gigantic mirror attached to the ceiling that reflected us.

I changed the light to a normal one and saw Woo Yeon-Hee’s flushed face. The waterbed made a muffled sound as I sat down, and she sat on the floor and began going through the survival items that were in the backpack. There were matches, candles, needles, thread, noose ropes, a flexible saw, narcotic and non-narcotic analgesic pills and injections, bandages, tissues, surgical blades, portable tableware, solid fuel, fishing needles and lines, extra survival knives, underwear, jackets, shoes, food, water and barrels. She brought all those by herself. The other stuff in the bag, such as a longsword, dagger and materials for traps, were from my office.

Her eyes suddenly paused to look at the fishing line and tiny hooks, but she must have thought that they were necessary for creating traps as she examined the next item.

The only information I had about Gim-je’s dungeon was that it was cave-shaped and had a pool of water that I could fish in if I could stomach it.

“Let’s open the box,” I said.

Then, her face brightened as if she had been waiting for a long time.

***

Woo Yeon-Hee currently had lots of points remaining because we waited until she mastered her high Agility stats to use them. There were hunters who couldn’t adapt to gaining too many stat points at once.

[Name: Woo Yeon-Hee

Health: F (22), Strength: F(0), Mentality: F (40), Agility: F (64), Sense: F (0)

Total points : 3500

Traits(3) Skill(6) ]

[Traits ― Empathetic person: F (7), The Revived: F (0), Explorer: F (0)]

[Skills ― Mary’s Hand: F (6), Joy: F (0), Anxiety Healing: F (0), Physical Healing: F (71), Bravery: F (0), Night Eyes: F (0)]

Woo Yeon-Hee had received Agility and Physical Healing stats from two gold boxes and Joy from the platinum box in the dungeon in Hwasung. I handed over the paper and pen to her to double-check her capabilities, and I confirmed I had remembered things correctly. She had an additional stat on the list that I didn’t have, which was Mentality. That was how the System described it.

Mentality was a unique stat for Healers, and theories claimed it was derived from their empathic abilities. Therefore, it only meant how much emotions they could endure, which came from themselves and others. It didn’t indicate psychological strength that one needed to overcome adversities. Even if it was the System, it couldn’t quantify the complex mental world of our human beings!

Woo Yeon-Hee was staring at the paper with her stats written on it.

“What if I receive the Escape Insignia?” she asked.

“Then, we should head back to Seoul,” I replied.

There was not enough time to conquer the dungeon as damn school would start soon. Some would be desperate to return to school life, but that meant their minds would become immature again.

“But the Escape Insignia is a rare item,” I said.

“I know it shows up from the dungeon boxes, but it’s better that I have one so I don’t slow things down, right?” she asked.

I answered, “We would be able to start properly if you got one.”

It would definitely lower the risk before entry.

“Let’s open all the eleven bronze boxes,” I said.

“Can I wash up first?” she questioned.

I nodded. There was no need to stop Woo Yeon-Hee from having her ritual. Revering my body and mind meant nothing to me, but it could be different for her. She was growing over time, and I had to respect that.

However, she must not have noticed the interior structure. The room and washroom were connected with a large translucent glass instead of the concrete wall. Anyone would know that I could see her silhouette, but she was determined to take shower even if she hesitated a bit. I noticed her figure when she undressed, so I lay completely down on the bed. Although I had sat in first class, long flights were still tiring. I had come here to refresh before going into the dungeon. I drowsed, waiting for her to come out.

Woo Yeon-Hee appeared with her hair wrapped in a motel towel and comfortable clothes. I stared at her skinny neck as there was a huge wound there before I flew to New York. Since it was near the artery, she could’ve died. As I recalled that fateful day, she told me she was ready.

She seemed to be more nervous than excited because she was desperate to obtain the Escape Insignia.

“Don’t feel pressured the moment you open the box. You should enjoy yourself here. Do you understand?” I emphasized.

“Okay, shall we start?”

“Yes.”

She stared in the air at something that existed but was invisible to me. Her expression was negative.

“My Strength has increased by one.”

It was difficult for women to raise Strength by training. Without the help of the box, she couldn’t increase the stat. She had actually undergone intensive weight training, but there was no change in her stat. She only got fitter through her efforts.

“You probably don’t like the number, but it’s good that your Strength increased. Continue,” I said.

She looked happier this time.

“Physical Healing has increased by four,” she said vaguely as her gaze was still fixed in the air.

“Next,” I replied.

She exhaled a deep breath and looked like she had already opened another box.

“The useless Explorer skill went up by only three. Maybe, I should take another shower again. Do you mind?” She asked.

“No.”

Woo Yeon-Hee returned after taking double the time she did before to wash up. Then, her gaze shifted to the air where the box would be.

“Agility has increased by five!”

She shouted as if her ritual had worked, but she eventually spoke in a desolate voice when opening the next one.

“Ugh, once again, only a one point increase for Mary’s Hand.”

“Even a single point on high-ranked skill is great. Take it with pleasure,” I said.

“Okay.”

She composed herself at my comment, and her face brightened for a moment. Her gaze instantly shifted to her chest, but it didn’t look like Escape Insignia. She looked at me and handed over the insignia with a smile as she had not forgotten our deal.

[Woo Yeon-Hee has handed over the ‘Liberation’ Insignia.]

It was an insignia that protected me against restraint magic skills. It wasn’t useful compared to other insignias, but I complimented her. She opened the next one with a happier look.

“Six for Agility! So far, I have seventy-five points for Agility. Only twenty-five left until the upgrade!”

She was clenching her small fists and stared into the air while humming excitedly. A dagger with a sharp blade was placed in her hands, and she looked at me in surprise since it was her first time receiving a weapon item. The shape of the handle and blade resembled the main weapon of the Third Virtue, but there was no way it could have come out from a mere bronze box. She handed me the dagger.

[The Clown’s Dagger (Item)

Effect: The victim wounded by this item receives a random negative effect with a very low probability.

Class: F]

It looked exactly like the Third Virtue’s infamous and blood-stained weapon. Did he actually reinforce an item that came out of a bronze box?