Chapter 3
—
In front of the KT Telephone Office located in Wolgok-dong, there was a very famous sundaeguk restaurant.
It was so crowded that even as Hyukmin ate, there were over 10 people waiting outside the restaurant.
The food was good, but it had the same flavor as any ordinary sundaeguk.
The reason for the restaurant’s success lay elsewhere.
The KT Telephone Office in front of it was the Seongbuk-gu headquarters of the Ronin Guild.
Slurp.
Long ago, he had desperately wanted to eat this.
Back when he had lost his family and everything else, to the point of starving and eating garbage.
He had gone to the Ronin Guild in hopes of finding something to do, anything to survive.
But the world Hyukmin saw back then was far from kind.
It was cold, harsh even.
“Life was unbelievably tough. But thinking about it now, it’s understandable.”
Even though he was an adult over 20 years old, Hyukmin had been level 4 with no productive skills, and even within the Ronin Guild, he was treated like an outcast.
Still, whenever odd jobs came his way, he risked his life to complete them.
He worked hard, barked when ordered to bark, and groveled when told to grovel.
He was like a piece of candy that tasted sweet when rolled this way and that, with no bitterness at all.
For three years, he relentlessly pushed himself to raise his level and stats.
By the time his level and stats had somewhat stabilized, he finally began living the proper life of a Ronin.
What is a Ronin?
They are free individuals unattached to any particular group.
They meet the minimum qualifications to explore dungeons and towers and have the skills required to do so.
As Hyukmin ate his sundaeguk, he noticed that everyone around him was such a person.
“I heard Mr. Choi got seriously injured this time? C-rank dungeons really are tough.”
“I wonder when it’ll end. It’s been a month now. A whole month.”
“Are you heading to a C-rank dungeon? I heard you’re one person short. What do you think about me joining?”
“Is there anyone here who can handle a B-rank dungeon?”
“If it’s a B-rank dungeon, why are you looking here instead of at the Ronin Guild?”
“Because the guild doesn’t have anyone available, that’s why. You know this is the next place they come to.”
The place buzzed with stories of dungeons and towers.
The nostalgic atmosphere stirred the strong spirit hidden within Hyukmin’s frail body.
Back in the day, he had struggled to understand how this system worked.
Thinking about it now, a faint smile escaped his lips.
-The Haeundae Guild, ranked first in the Busan region, has achieved a great unification of Busan.
The news coming from the TV caught Hyukmin’s attention.
Haeundae Guild?
The familiar name made him focus on the broadcast.
-With the first-ranked guild of Busan, Chung-ho Guild, now under the Haeundae Guild’s umbrella, experts suggest that Busan can effectively be considered Haeundae Guild’s territory.
A frown formed on his forehead.
“So Chung-ho Guild joined Haeundae Guild, huh.”
He vaguely remembered such an event from his past.
It had been said that the Chung-ho Guild, unable to withstand the tyranny of the large Haeundae Guild, had joined them.
But that was just an excuse.
About a year later, Haeundae Guild changed its name to Chung-ho Guild, surprising many people.
“It was intentional.”
Back then, rumors about Chung-ho Guild were rampant.
Hyukmin, struggling to survive, hadn’t realized the connection between Chung-ho Guild and his family’s downfall, so he paid little attention to it.
Still, he vaguely recalled wondering how the small Chung-ho Guild had managed to swallow up Haeundae Guild.
It had indeed been a major topic of conversation in South Korea.
“But to think it was today…”
The spoon in his hand came to a halt.
A sudden thought crossed his mind.
“Wait a second. Did Chung-ho Guild orchestrate the takeover of Haeundae Guild while simultaneously causing the incident in Sindang?”
The wrinkles on his forehead deepened.
The growing complexity of his thoughts made him set down his spoon.
“Or did the events in Sindang somehow help them take over Haeundae Guild?”
A sense of unease settled in.
Something was definitely happening.
The fact that he couldn’t grasp the nature of the looming danger made it feel even more perilous.
“How much is it?”
“8,000 won.”
Handing over a crumpled bill, Hyukmin headed to the Ronin Guild.
= = =
Upon arriving at the Ronin Guild, he immediately proceeded with registration.
Although there was a test, it was almost meaningless.
At a national level, there had been much debate about the test’s difficulty due to the increasing number of unqualified deaths in dungeons and towers.
However, any changes to the system wouldn’t come for several years.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you.”
Despite being level 4 with stats barely reaching double digits, Hyukmin officially received his Ronin license.
As expected, the gazes from all directions were filled with disdain.
“Even that’s considered a Ronin? Sigh.”
“Leave him be. Maybe he joined because he wants to die.”
“Haven’t you seen the bars? There are plenty of people who register as Ronin but never set foot in a dungeon. They just want to show off to women.”
“Ha, women these days have higher standards. Every community is full of ways to verify people. No one gets fooled anymore. These guys act like every woman is theirs.”
“I hope he dies in a dungeon. Tsk tsk.”
“How’s he going to die when he won’t even go near a dungeon? He’ll just rot away like the rest of them. Ha!”
Hyukmin felt an odd sense of nostalgia.
He hadn’t remembered it clearly, but now he vividly recalled the social perception of Ronin licenses during this era.
Even as he stepped outside, the scornful comments and stares followed him incessantly.
Fueled by the spirited encouragement of these hot-blooded critics, he hopped into a passing taxi.
“To Dongmyo Station, Exit 5.”
And so, he headed toward the highlight of the day.
= = =
About three years from now?
It was the time when Hyukmin was working to fully establish himself as a proper Ronin, listening to all sorts of stories at the sundaeguk restaurant he had just visited.
He remembered hearing such stories back then.
-You know that troublesome dungeon near Exit 5 of Dongmyo Station? They said that dungeon is actually a hidden treasure.
-Ah, that C-rank dungeon?
-Yeah, that dungeon. The one with the group of orcs, classified as a C-rank dungeon.
-There was so much controversy about that back then, right? People were furious, saying, “How can a dungeon with orcs be classified as C-rank? Are you trying to get people killed?”
Lost in these old thoughts, he soon arrived at his destination.
“Here we are.”
As he stepped out of the taxi, he handed all the money he had to the driver.
Walking into the alley near Exit 5 of Dongmyo Station, he found a tall wall that appeared to belong to a school at the end of the path.
That was his destination.
“This place has always been full of talk.”
Entering through the school’s main gate, he saw people walking around without a care in the world.
Amidst the carefree people, two old stone markers and an entrance leading underground caught his attention.
It was the controversial C-rank dungeon.
“It’s the same as it was back then.”
Despite the dangerous dungeon being within the school grounds, no measures were taken to deal with it, and people casually strolled around the area.
It was surprising, but this very situation was part of the reason why the C-rank dungeon had garnered so much attention.
It wasn’t dangerous.
Most dungeons with orcs were classified as B-rank, but this one was deemed C-rank for a reason.
This dungeon simply wasn’t threatening.
Normally, monsters would mercilessly attack anyone near or inside a dungeon, but strangely, this dungeon remained silent.
Even until the day it was cleared and vanished entirely.
Step. Step. Step.
Walking past the stone markers, Hyukmin stepped into the dungeon, drawing the attention of many.
“What? Is he really going in there?”
“He’ll probably check it out and come back.”
But no one paid much attention beyond that, which only underscored how long this dungeon had been here.
Descending the stairs leading underground, he continued down until he entered the dark dungeon, where no light from the entrance reached.
Suddenly, blue torches flared to life, greeting him.
“So this is what a hidden treasure looks like.”
The dungeon, shaped like a spacious cave, housed 30 orcs, all staring at Hyukmin simultaneously.
They simply stared, doing nothing else.
This was why, despite being a dungeon filled with orcs—known as apex predators among monsters—it had been classified as C-rank.
Grrr.
It was fascinating.
Orcs, which should have charged at him the moment they saw him, were merely standing still and watching.
Ignoring the orcs, Hyukmin looked around and nodded quietly.
“No wonder no one thought a dimensional bag could be here.”
The presence of the orcs was secondary.
The real reason most guilds and parties avoided clearing this dungeon became apparent.
Even in his previous life, Hyukmin had abandoned it due to its low magical energy.
-Didn’t they say the magical energy there was too weak to expect decent rewards? And it turned out to be a hidden treasure?
-Yeah, because of that, everyone avoided it. But then, some crazy guild decided to clear it as a test. And guess what they found?
Recalling thoughts about the rewards, a smirk crossed his lips.
“Let’s see.”
Who could have known?
That this troublesome dungeon with low rewards and high difficulty actually…
…contained one of the world’s rare dimensional bags.
“Oh, there it is.”
The orcs weren’t here to attack.
They were here to guard the old bag nestled discreetly among them, slowly devouring the dungeon’s magic.
Grrr…
“You noticed, huh?”
Perhaps he had stared at the dimensional bag for too long.
The once-docile orcs began shifting their stances.
One by one, they bared their teeth at Hyukmin, ready to attack.
Even in his current state as a level 4, their sheer bloodlust made his skin prickle.
“Don’t worry. This will be over quickly.”
Looking at the dimensional bag in the distance, Hyukmin muttered softly.
“Regression Mode.”
= = =
Step. Step. Step.
In moments like this, disappearing quickly had its advantages.
Walking out of the dark dungeon, the effects of Regression Mode wore off, starting from where sunlight hit.
The short hair stained with blue blood grew long again.
The blue blood dripping from his beard disappeared as the beard itself vanished.
His burly arms and legs, along with the blood-soaked leather coat, reverted to their original states, free of any trace of blood.
“A good start.”
In Hyukmin’s hand was an old bag.
“Not bad.”
Leaving the scene cleanly, without a drop of blood on him, he quickly disappeared from the area.
Exactly ten minutes later, a massive earthquake shook the entire school.
Rumble.
“W-what? Are monsters coming out?”
“Kyaaa!”
Chaos erupted as the dungeon sealed itself.
= = =
Leaving the school grounds, Hyukmin walked toward a secluded alley.
From the dimensional bag, he poured out the magical stones he had collected.
The warm, black gems, smeared with blue blood, were valuable items used as substitutes for monster hearts in dungeons and towers.
They were treasures that absolutely had to be taken.
“Huu, let’s get started.”
His nerves tingled with excitement.
Even in his past life, he had never possessed a dimensional bag.
It was an incredibly rare item, with only a handful existing worldwide.
People coveted it so much that its value was considered priceless.
And now, it was in his hands.
Holding the dimensional bag with trembling hands, he brought it close to the Status Window.
And then.
Ding!
[Would you like to activate the ‘Inventory’ system?]
[Yes / No]
The message he had been waiting for appeared.
-The dimensional bag allows you to store items regardless of their volume or mass, and you can take them out and use them anytime, anywhere. But what’s even more amazing is that it doesn’t just rely on the bag—it creates an entirely new system window to handle it.
“Yes.”
When he spoke aloud, the “Yes” button on the floating system window was pressed.
Shing!
With a flash of bright light, the dimensional bag was absorbed into the Status Window.
And then, a new window appeared.
[Inventory]
It was the moment the inventory system, which he had only heard about in rumors, opened before him.
But then.
Fwoosh!
Just as Hyukmin thought it was over, a brilliant light burst forth in front of him once more.
“This light…!?”
It was familiar, and he had anticipated it.
Though unexpected, who would refuse a sudden gift?
[You have obtained a Title.]
With a heart pounding like it was receiving a surprise birthday gift, he checked the newly acquired title.
[Pioneer]
- You are the first person in South Korea to activate the Inventory system.
- You are someone who has blazed a trail others could not.
- All Stats +10.
An unexpected title and a corresponding increase in stats befitting its difficulty.
And lastly, the word “first” written in the title.
“Ah…”
That’s when it hit him.
This was an era long before the Inventory system had become widely known.
“So I’m the only person in South Korea with the Inventory system right now…?”
The natural connection to being “the first” felt like a perfect gift for the first steps Hyukmin was about to take.
Squeeze.
Clenching his fists tightly, he could feel the strength of his newly enhanced stats.
Feeling it so clearly made him certain.
He now knew exactly where his path lay.
Monopoly.
“Let’s see, shall we?”
Chung-ho and Hanbit.
“I’ll take everything that belongs to you as well.”
—
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