[Dungeon Cleared]
[Time of Completion: 3:21:31]
[All monsters have been defeated]
[Total: 150 Werewolves: Killed, Giant Black Wolf: Killed]
“What the heck is this?”
Jung Si-woo suddenly saw the window rising before his retinas and was momentarily frightened. As she looked at him, Soo Ah-rin laughed. She remembered being like him once as well.
“It’s the ‘Interface,’ the ability that is given to all players. It allows us to check records related to the dungeons and our records. Don’t worry; it shouldn’t interfere with your vision.”
“That means I…”
“Yeah. Now that you have cleared the test dungeon, you’re officially recognized as a player. Congratulations, Jung Si-woo.”
Soo Ah-rin smiled awkwardly. She could never imagine that it was possible to clear a dungeon this quickly and easily. Moreover, it was done by this man who knew nothing about Sky Castle or dungeons! Although this place wasn’t the Sky Castle but the Ant Cave, and it was clear from the very beginning that he is a bizarre person, he still managed to clear the dungeon.
[Performance Rank – EX]
[The following skill has been additionally awarded: Courage of the Ignorant (Passive)]
The first message disappeared, revealing the second a beat after. Jung Si-woo frowned while reading the content.
“What?”
Soo Ah-rin already knew about skills. They were special mana abilities that could be obtained by clearing dungeons, hunting special monsters, or achieving special conditions! It referred to miracles that could either give you a new power entirely or could greatly strengthen your available senses. In other words, it was a good thing.
Indeed, immediately after checking the second message, Jung Si-woo felt a small stream of flame bloom deep inside his body. It felt like an organ, which he hadn’t known existed in his whole life, suddenly started working, but it didn’t feel bad. The skill itself wasn’t a bad thing. There was also Soo Ah-rin’s prior explanation that skills weren’t easy to obtain, and even a skill that was gained by clearing the test dungeon can give a great boost! The problem was the name of the skill given to him. The courage of the Ignorant! It had never been used as a word of compliment before, as far as Jung Si-woo remembered!
“You said Courage of the Ignorant…? This is the first time I’ve heard about that skill. Is it perhaps a unique skill?”
“Is it really important whether it’s unique or not right now?!”
“Of course, it’s important! This means that in the whole world, only you, Jung Si-woo, have that skill!”
He was unable to communicate his frustration to her. Jung Si-woo wanted to check what kind of skill this Courage of the Ignorant is, but when he thought about it again, he didn’t know how to check it. While his thoughts were in disorder, new messages appeared.
[You are now an Underground Player.]
[You have unlocked: Tail of Chaos (Passive)]
[Your inventory has been unlocked.]
[Character preparation complete. You have been awarded nine levels.]
Soon after, Jung Si-woo was hit with a huge wave of agony.
“Ughhhhh!”
“Kyaaaghh!”
Soo Ah-rin received the dungeon rewards at the same time. All she did was explore the dungeon and advise Jung Si-woo, but did that count as participation? He was curious, but his body was in too much pain for him to worry about her.
“Gaaaaaahhh!”
However, Jung Si-woo wasn’t a superhuman for nothing. Realizing that this pain was part of the process of strengthening him with an unknown force, he soon bit down his pain and stood in place. The result was astonishing.
‘Crazy…this is far too different than when I got my first skill!’
Jung Si-woo, who was a superhuman but had lived a life that wasn’t related to mana, was reborn as an Underground Player with mana. The change was enormous. The majority of the mana that constituted the dungeon was absorbed by Jung Si-woo, changing him. The seeds of mana were injected into each cell in his body to open the possibility of its sprouting and growing, and the waste that had accumulated in his life without mana was cleansed. It thoroughly disassembled and reassembled his entire body, down to the bone, immediately filling in the gaps.
If he were a normal player, the change would’ve ended at this point, but Jung Si-woo’s incredible power absorbed more mana and succeeded in increasing. Mana was the power that pervaded all things, so of course, he was able to amplify his abilities. It wasn’t a dramatic change, but in the process of achieving mana, his powers were fundamentally different, and so he gained an endless potential for development. Jung Si-woo, the master of abilities, even had the possibility of transcendence!
Jung Si-woo didn’t know how these two forces of different natures were combined and developed. He just succeeded in grasping a little bit of how the new powers in his body moved. That was, in fact, great enough.
[Jung Si-woo]
[Underground Player]
[Level 10]
[Strength: 102 | Agility: 101 | Endurance: 112 | Mana: 10]
[Passive skills: Tail of Chaos: Lv. 1, Courage of the Ignorant: Lv. 1]
[Active skills: None]
“Ugh.”
After the modification process was over, Jung Si-woo staggered, struggling for balance. He must have taken it for granted that his world had undergone a fundamental change! But it didn’t last long, as he soon grabbed the center of gravity with his tail and stood in place…
“What again?”
Tail? He hurriedly felt behind him. Then, something firm and long was caught protruding from the place where his tailbone should be. There was a great sense of resistance, but he brought it before his eyes. It was a tail covered with black scales.
“…”
Jung Si-woo was left speechless. A tail, a weird lizard tail at that! He knew that players had wings, but what was with this tail?! He wanted to escape from reality, but he couldn’t stop thinking of it when he saw the tail moving freely as he wished. Why was it a tail and not wings, and for it to be the tail of a dull lizard of all things? Thinking like that, a window appeared again before his eyes.
[Tail of Chaos Lv. 1]
[The key between the Low-tier Player and the Ant Cave. It is possible to enter the Ant Cave by digging the ground with the Tail of Chaos. It is treated as part of the body and can be used to attack and defend. As the skill level rises, it becomes more powerful and changes as it reaches a certain level.]
“Dig the ground…with this…”
It would be much faster to dig with a shovel! It was Jung Si-woo who wanted to spit out curses but judging by the fact that players could only enter the Sky Castle and dungeons by flying with their wings, he was quick to deduce that the role of the tail wouldn’t be much different from the wings.
‘The Ant Cave’s entry condition is to take a player who falls from the sky with his bare body, then clear the test dungeon and receive a tail as the key. I don’t know who made this world, but they need to use their head.’
When he met the person who made this tail grow out of him, he really wants to have a word with them, but it was impossible right now. So, Jung Si-woo, with a heavy heart, did what he could do now. That was to confirm the ability of the second skill, ‘Courage of the Ignorant,’ which he possessed, using the ‘Skill Reading Ability’ that he just discovered.
[Courage of the Ignorant Lv. 1]
[When you don’t know the fear that comes from perception and the dangers that will come upon you, you become braver. Reduces the damage of all surprise attacks you deal with by half, and you won’t receive critical damage from traps or skills you have no knowledge of. As the skill level rises, the ability becomes more enhanced and diversified.]
“Hm.”
It was a very good ability. Even Jung Si-woo, who didn’t know much about players and dungeons, could see that. Perhaps, this was the skill gained by the way he entered the dungeon? Although the name of the skill was unpleasant, Jung Si-woo thought that it would be acceptable if it were so effective.
“What do you think about this, Ah…rin?”
Jung Si-woo, who was finally out of his own world, turned Soo Ah-rin. No, he tried to talk to her. However, Soo Ah-rin wasn’t in a situation where she could respond to him right now.
“You…what happened?”
“I don’t know!”
Soo Ah-rin was on the brink of crying. Her voice sounded a lot smaller than before. No, it wasn’t just her voice that had grown smaller. Her body, her white feather wings, her clothes, everything about her was small.
“I think this is what a supporter looks like!”
She became small enough to be able to fit onto Jung Si-woo’s palm.
“They could have just saved you normally; why do they need to shrink you like this…?”
“Oh, it’s fine. I was originally supposed to die. I can live like this, so I have no complaints. No complaints…but still.”
Jung Si-woo, who became an underground player and was able to wield mana, could see Soo Ah-rin’s small body and her focused magic. Compared to Jung Si-woo, who cleared the test dungeon and was reborn as a Level 10 low-tier player, there wasn’t too much difference, but it was only that much overall. No more was Soo Ah-rin, the level 219 healer. Now she was just a level 3 supporter. She lost both level and mana and even became a fairy-like character. Jung Si-woo couldn’t dare to say he understood her feelings. Instead, he scratched his head and reached out carefully.
“That…it’s dark here, so I can’t see you even if you cry.”
“…Thank you, Si-woo.”
“Yes…”
Jung Si-woo inadvertently nodded at her voice. He just wished that Soo Ah-rin didn’t see it. Soo Ah-rin cried for a long time on his palm, and by the time she calmed down, she pulled herself out of his palm with some embarrassment. Her angel-like white feather wings were maintained, so it wasn’t difficult for her to fly away.
“I’m so glad that the person who saved me is you. But I’m embarrassed so that I won’t talk about this anymore.”
“Well, I’m embarrassed enough too.”
He said he couldn’t see well, but in fact, both Jung Si-woo and Soo Ah-rin could now see right through this darkness. The two laughed, exchanging a sheepish smile.
“Oh, anyway, I’m going to help you with all my heart. I believe that doing so will surely bring my body back someday.”
“It’s good that you have a new goal now.”
With the goal of becoming a player, he has been idle for over a decade…thanks to his self-development time; now, he had been reborn as an underground player!
“Did you finish checking your current status?”
“Yes.”
“Then it’s time to settle the items. Now, follow me.”
Feeling refreshed after crying, Soo Ah-rin decided to focus on her role as a supporter. As she fluttered her feathers and moved forward, Jung Si-woo also followed, and soon they could see an altar emitting a faint white light in the dark.
“I already told you that you have to dedicate the crystal beads you collected here to get a reward, right? When a single digit is dedicated, consumables such as potions and bandages come out, and equipment can be acquired from more than two digits. Of course, the more you devote, the higher the quality you can get, and the higher the chance to get rare and special magic or power items from the altar. Of course, you won’t find such a brilliant item in a test dungeon.”
After listening to her explanation carefully, Jung Si-woo thought seriously about getting consumables. Potions and bandages were for restoring one’s condition, but Soo Ah-rin fluttering in the air next to him had a healing ability. Even if he lost most of his mana, Soo Ah-rin wouldn’t have any problem treating Jung Si-woo with her abilities. Then…
“Are there any restrictions on how many beads can be offered at once?”
“I don’t think so…wait, no!”
“Okay.”
Jung Si-woo smiled. Then, he poured all 151 crystal beads into the altar at once.
