Chapter 28

Jinwoo’s heart began to race . It was because the size of the box was familiar to him . He quickly unwrapped the box and opened it,

‘It is!’

His eyes opened wide . There was a golden key inside of the box . An Instant Dungeon key that he had been wanting for a long time . The information box popped up on the key .

ring~

The Demon Castle Key

Rarity: S-rank

Type: Key

Key to enter an Instant Dungeon .

Usable in Daesung Tower .

“S-rank?”

His voice was raised . Of course, there was no guarantee that the rarity of the key indicated the difficulty of the Dungeon, but it would not be an unusual conclusion to have . After all, the Instant Dungeon he had entered with the E-rank key was as easy as an E-rank Gate’s Dungeon .

What if this key’s Dungeon was S-rank? It would be difficult to clear it even with a team composed of only S-rank Hunters . The probability of success would be 50% .

Above the B-rank, the difficulty of a Gate increases at a geometric rate . In the past 10 years since the Gates first started appearing, only a handful of S-rank Gates had opened across the world .

‘And Jejudo[1] was one them…’

After South Korea’s Hunters failed to clear the Dungeon on the island, the S-rank Gate underwent a Dungeon Break, and the island became uninhabitable and was now abandoned by the country .

Jinwoo looked at the key in his hand .

‘This is something that I wanted?’

There was one potential silver lining . Compared to the first key, which “moved” him into the Dungeon, this key stated that he could “enter” the Dungeon[2] . Jinwoo concluded that the difference in the wording meant that he could move in and out of the Dungeon . Even if the key disappeared like last time, he still had the return stone in his inventory . He would not be imprisoned by an invisible wall again .

‘Well, I shouldn’t throw away a rare opportunity like this . ’

He would confirm the Instant Dungeon with his own eyes .

-2 . The Demon Castle-

Jinwoo stood in front of the Daesung Tower . With exactly hundred floors, the building reached high towards the sky . Fitting of a skyscraper, even looking up at it from the ground gave a sense of vertigo .

It was currently night, and there was practically no one in the area . The absence of humans created a gloomy atmosphere .

‘But just in case…’

Jinwoo looked around and lowered the hood over his head tightly . If someone saw a man disappear into thin air without a Gate in sight, it would surely cause a disturbance . In the case that he gets caught on the surveillance cameras here and there, a little anonymity would be useful .

As matter of fact, there was someone who was watching Jinwoo .

‘What’s he up to?’

The security guard that was posted in the lobby of the building looked at the shady, hooded man who was loitering in front of the building . The guard rose from his seat and walked over to take a closer look, then was caught off guard in shock .

“W-what?!”

The hooded man that was walking towards the building suddenly disappeared without a trace . No matter how long the guard stared at the spot, not even an insect could be found .

“Er… Must’ve been seeing things…”

The man turned to go back inside but then saw something in the corner of his eyes . He screamed and fell to the ground .

“Ah! What the hell?!”

The hand that was floating in the air disappeared again .

Jinwoo retracted the hand that he was holding out .

‘It’s connected to the outside . ’

Unlike last time, there was no invisible wall blocking his exit . The key also did not disappear but remained in his pockets . Jinwoo confirmed that he would be able to exit and come back whenever .

‘Alright, the path to retreat is secured…’

As he did not know if the rarity of the key corresponded to the difficulty, Jinwoo was being a lot more careful than usual . He took off his hood and turned around .

“…”

It was a scenery that invited despair .

Moments ago, when he took few steps towards the Daesung Tower, the world before his eyes changed in an instant .

Could this even be called a Dungeon?

In front of him was an entirely new world .

In place of the Daesung Tower stood a massive tower .

‘Can’t tell if it’s a castle or a tower . ’

The tower that stretched towards the sky was surrounded by a crimson flame . Instead of being on fire, it was more like the tower was holding the fire back .

“A tower on fire…”

This felt like a more fitting description of the place than a Demon Castle .

Jinwoo took steps toward the tower .

flare!

As he got closer, the sound of the fire roaring became louder .

‘Could I even get inside?’

Even if he could, there was another problem . The last Instant Dungeon used the subway station as the template for its levels . If this one used Daesung Tower as its, Jinwoo would have to clear a hundred different levels of monsters . He could not imagine just how long that would take .

‘Hmm?’

He stopped, feeling a powerful presence near the tower’s gate . Taking a closer look, he saw a black beast, the size of a bull, rolled up on the ground sleeping . Jinwoo took out the Casaka’s Poisoned Fang .

ring~

Casaka’s Poisoned Fang

Rarity: C

Type: Dagger

Attack Power +25

Inflicts ‘Paralysis’ and ‘Bleeding’ on attack .

‘Paralysis’: The target has a chance to become immobilized .

‘Bleeding’: The target will lose 1% health per second .

A dagger made of Casaka’s poisoned fang, still dripping with its poison .

You may keep this item in your inventory .

You may sell this item in the shop .

Although its attack power wasn’t that high, its special effects had already proved themselves in battle .

‘It’d be nice if I could just kill after paralyzing it . ’

Jinwoo slowly approached the beast, quieting his footsteps as best as he could . But he could not hide from the monster’s sense of smell . The beast soon started to rise, sniffing the air .

‘Shit . ’

Jinwoo clicked his tongue . The beast’s form, standing up fully, raised three separate heads towards Jinwoo .

‘Gatekeeper of Hell, Cerberus’

A vicious looking hound with three heads . Its heads were adorned by its name in red letters . This meant the monster’s level was high .

‘If it’s red, does it mean it’s the same as the centipedes from the penalty zone?’

He recalled running for his life from the centipedes . After all, he was just level 1 back then .

‘I’m different now . ’

In a short period, Jinwoo had experienced an explosive growth . The monster before him was definitely strong, but it did not give off a feeling of overwhelming pressure . This was ascertained with Jinwoo’s sense stat .

He had not raised the attribute thoughtlessly . Valuable points were invested into it so that it could help him determine whether to fight or run from an enemy .

Grrrrrl!

The Cerberus registered an enemy and bared its teeth . The beast’s tail caught Jinwoo’s eyes momentarily . The long, whip-like tail decorated its tip with powerful flames .

‘Fangs and tail . The thing’s attack pattern will have at minimum two moves . ’

Jinwoo gulped . The Cerberus slowly closed the gap between the two, then stopped right before the Hunter and stared .

‘Is it looking for an openi-’

The Cerberus suddenly leaped towards him .

Woof!

Jinwoo was caught off guard .

‘It’s fast!’

Jinwoo quickly slid underneath the Cerberus’ body and dodged its bite . Landing on the ground, Cerberus immediately turned around and bared its teeth across all three heads .

Bark! Bark Bark!

The fangs between its jaws shone in the light .

ring~

The effect of the title, ‘Wolf Slayer’, has been activated .

Wolf Slayer

All stats increased by 40% against beast type monsters .

A title given to a hunter experienced in slaying wolves .

Jinwoo felt his body becoming lighter .

‘I can feel it!’

The Cerberus charged at Jinwoo . Jinwoo rapidly took backward steps, trying to distance himself from the Cerberus’ advances, and repeatedly blocked its bites with his dagger .

slash, slash, slaaash, slash!

clang! clang clang! clang!

The sound of the metal clashing against the fangs rang loudly . Although he was swinging the dagger with an incredible speed, it was all he could do to block the Cerberus’ attacks .

‘I’m being pushed back even with the title buff!’

The Cerberus’ agility had surpassed his expectations . Jinwoo tried to turn the tide of the battle with a skill .

Bloodlust has been activated .

The target’s resistance was too high . Effect cancelled .

Jinwoo was shocked .

‘It didn’t work?’

The Cerberus’ whipped its tail at Jinwoo .

snap!

Jinwoo reflexively lowered his head to dodge, but this stopped his legs temporarily . The Cerberus did not miss the opportunity; one of its heads bit down on Jinwoo’s left shoulder .

“Uwaaaaak!”

Jinwoo stabbed its forehead with all his strength .

stab!

Paralysis has been inflicted .

The target’s resistance was too high . Effect cancelled .

Bleeding has been inflicted .

The target’s resistance was too high . Effect cancelled .

whimper!

The Cerberus yelped and backed away . Thankfully, Jinwoo managed to drive it off before the other heads could also bite down, but the damage was done to his left shoulder . His left arm hung limp at his sides, the joints mangled . The beast’s jaws had a terrifying bite .

Jinwoo furrowed his brows . Compared to the small damage he had inflicted on the Cerberus, his own injury was far greater .

‘If only paralysis or bleeding had stuck…’

Jinwoo glared at Cerberus with disappointment .

Suddenly, the beast’s eyes started turning red .

‘Huh?’

grrrrrl

A frightening pressure washed over Jinwoo .

‘What?’

The Gatekeeper of Hell, Cerberus has used ‘Rage’ .

It will enter a state of rage for 3 minutes .

Cerberus’ all attributes are doubled .

Cerberus’ cannot feel any pain .

Jinwoo cried out in frustration,

“What?!”

A magic beast, no, a monster using a skill?!

The Cerberus kicked the ground and charged .

‘Shit!’

Jinwoo could not react in time; his swinging dagger bounced uselessly off the beast’s head . All three heads bit down on Jinwoo .

crack!

“Argh!”

Jinwoo clenched his teeth . The beast had simultaneously clamped down on Jinwoo’s neck, sides and thigh . It continued its momentum and slammed Jinwoo into the castle’s gates .

slam!

Jinwoo’s health plummeted to the ground .

“Cough!”

Health: 411 / 3,602

ring~

Your health has fallen below 30% . ‘Unyielding Spirit’ has been activated .

All damage received is reduced by 50% .

Thanks to the Unyielding Spirit and his physical damage reduction, Jinwoo managed to avoid an instant death .

“Kuh…”

His eyes shot open .

Translator’s Notes:

[1]: “Jejudo” (제주도): An island province of South Korea . Considered the “Hawaii” of South Korea, it is a popular destination for tourists (both domestic and foreign) and honeymoons .

[2]: Sorry, in my attempt to be concise in the translation of the first key, I didn’t really emphasize the difference between “moved into” and “enter” .

Sponsored Content

I Alone Level-up: Chapter 28.

.

Jinwoo’s heart began to race . It was because the size of the box was familiar to him . He quickly unwrapped the box and opened it,.

.

‘It is!’.

.

His eyes opened wide . There was a golden key inside of the box . An Instant Dungeon key that he had been wanting for a long time . The information box popped up on the key . .

.

ring~.

.

The Demon Castle Key.

Rarity: S-rank.

Type: Key.

Key to enter an Instant Dungeon . .

Usable in Daesung Tower . .

.

“S-rank?”.

.

His voice was raised . Of course, there was no guarantee that the rarity of the key indicated the difficulty of the Dungeon, but it would not be an unusual conclusion to have . After all, the Instant Dungeon he had entered with the E-rank key was as easy as an E-rank Gate’s Dungeon . .

.

What if this key’s Dungeon was S-rank? It would be difficult to clear it even with a team composed of only S-rank Hunters . The probability of success would be 50% . .

.

Above the B-rank, the difficulty of a Gate increases at a geometric rate . In the past 10 years since the Gates first started appearing, only a handful of S-rank Gates had opened across the world . .

.

‘And Jejudo[1] was one them…’.

.

After South Korea’s Hunters failed to clear the Dungeon on the island, the S-rank Gate underwent a Dungeon Break, and the island became uninhabitable and was now abandoned by the country . .

.

Jinwoo looked at the key in his hand . .

.

‘This is something that I wanted?’.

.

There was one potential silver lining . Compared to the first key, which “moved” him into the Dungeon, this key stated that he could “enter” the Dungeon[2] . Jinwoo concluded that the difference in the wording meant that he could move in and out of the Dungeon . Even if the key disappeared like last time, he still had the return stone in his inventory . He would not be imprisoned by an invisible wall again . .

.

‘Well, I shouldn’t throw away a rare opportunity like this . ’.

.

He would confirm the Instant Dungeon with his own eyes . .

.

. .

-2 . The Demon Castle-.

.

Jinwoo stood in front of the Daesung Tower . With exactly hundred floors, the building reached high towards the sky . Fitting of a skyscraper, even looking up at it from the ground gave a sense of vertigo . .

.

It was currently night, and there was practically no one in the area . The absence of humans created a gloomy atmosphere . .

.

‘But just in case…’.

.

Jinwoo looked around and lowered the hood over his head tightly . If someone saw a man disappear into thin air without a Gate in sight, it would surely cause a disturbance . In the case that he gets caught on the surveillance cameras here and there, a little anonymity would be useful . .

.

As matter of fact, there was someone who was watching Jinwoo . .

.

‘What’s he up to?’.

.

The security guard that was posted in the lobby of the building looked at the shady, hooded man who was loitering in front of the building . The guard rose from his seat and walked over to take a closer look, then was caught off guard in shock . .

.

“W-what?!”.

.

The hooded man that was walking towards the building suddenly disappeared without a trace . No matter how long the guard stared at the spot, not even an insect could be found . .

.

“Er… Must’ve been seeing things…”.

.

The man turned to go back inside but then saw something in the corner of his eyes . He screamed and fell to the ground . .

.

“Ah! What the hell?!”.

.

The hand that was floating in the air disappeared again . .

.

.

.

Jinwoo retracted the hand that he was holding out . .

.

‘It’s connected to the outside . ’.

.

Unlike last time, there was no invisible wall blocking his exit . The key also did not disappear but remained in his pockets . Jinwoo confirmed that he would be able to exit and come back whenever . .

.

‘Alright, the path to retreat is secured…’.

.

As he did not know if the rarity of the key corresponded to the difficulty, Jinwoo was being a lot more careful than usual . He took off his hood and turned around . .

.

“…”.

.

It was a scenery that invited despair . .

.

Moments ago, when he took few steps towards the Daesung Tower, the world before his eyes changed in an instant . .

.

Could this even be called a Dungeon?.

.

In front of him was an entirely new world . .

.

In place of the Daesung Tower stood a massive tower . .

.

‘Can’t tell if it’s a castle or a tower . ’.

.

The tower that stretched towards the sky was surrounded by a crimson flame . Instead of being on fire, it was more like the tower was holding the fire back . .

.

“A tower on fire…”.

.

This felt like a more fitting description of the place than a Demon Castle . .

.

Jinwoo took steps toward the tower . .

.

flare!.

.

As he got closer, the sound of the fire roaring became louder . .

.

‘Could I even get inside?’.

.

Even if he could, there was another problem . The last Instant Dungeon used the subway station as the template for its levels . If this one used Daesung Tower as its, Jinwoo would have to clear a hundred different levels of monsters . He could not imagine just how long that would take . .

.

‘Hmm?’.

.

He stopped, feeling a powerful presence near the tower’s gate . Taking a closer look, he saw a black beast, the size of a bull, rolled up on the ground sleeping . Jinwoo took out the Casaka’s Poisoned Fang . .

.

ring~.

.

Casaka’s Poisoned Fang.

Rarity: C.

Type: Dagger.

Attack Power +25.

Inflicts ‘Paralysis’ and ‘Bleeding’ on attack . .

‘Paralysis’: The target has a chance to become immobilized . .

‘Bleeding’: The target will lose 1% health per second . .

A dagger made of Casaka’s poisoned fang, still dripping with its poison . .

You may keep this item in your inventory . .

You may sell this item in the shop . .

.

Although its attack power wasn’t that high, its special effects had already proved themselves in battle . .

.

‘It’d be nice if I could just kill after paralyzing it . ’.

.

Jinwoo slowly approached the beast, quieting his footsteps as best as he could . But he could not hide from the monster’s sense of smell . The beast soon started to rise, sniffing the air . .

.

‘Shit . ’.

.

Jinwoo clicked his tongue . The beast’s form, standing up fully, raised three separate heads towards Jinwoo . .

.

‘Gatekeeper of Hell, Cerberus’ .

.

A vicious looking hound with three heads . Its heads were adorned by its name in red letters . This meant the monster’s level was high . .

.

‘If it’s red, does it mean it’s the same as the centipedes from the penalty zone?’.

.

He recalled running for his life from the centipedes . After all, he was just level 1 back then . .

.

‘I’m different now . ’.

.

In a short period, Jinwoo had experienced an explosive growth . The monster before him was definitely strong, but it did not give off a feeling of overwhelming pressure . This was ascertained with Jinwoo’s sense stat . .

.

He had not raised the attribute thoughtlessly . Valuable points were invested into it so that it could help him determine whether to fight or run from an enemy . .

.

Grrrrrl!.

.

The Cerberus registered an enemy and bared its teeth . The beast’s tail caught Jinwoo’s eyes momentarily . The long, whip-like tail decorated its tip with powerful flames . .

.

‘Fangs and tail . The thing’s attack pattern will have at minimum two moves . ’.

.

Jinwoo gulped . The Cerberus slowly closed the gap between the two, then stopped right before the Hunter and stared . .

.

‘Is it looking for an openi-’.

.

The Cerberus suddenly leaped towards him . .

.

Woof!.

.

Jinwoo was caught off guard . .

.

‘It’s fast!’.

.

Jinwoo quickly slid underneath the Cerberus’ body and dodged its bite . Landing on the ground, Cerberus immediately turned around and bared its teeth across all three heads . .

.

Bark! Bark Bark!.

.

The fangs between its jaws shone in the light . .

.

ring~.

.

The effect of the title, ‘Wolf Slayer’, has been activated . .

.

Wolf Slayer.

All stats increased by 40% against beast type monsters . .

A title given to a hunter experienced in slaying wolves . .

.

Jinwoo felt his body becoming lighter . .

.

‘I can feel it!’.

.

The Cerberus charged at Jinwoo . Jinwoo rapidly took backward steps, trying to distance himself from the Cerberus’ advances, and repeatedly blocked its bites with his dagger . .

.

slash, slash, slaaash, slash!.

.

clang! clang clang! clang!.

.

The sound of the metal clashing against the fangs rang loudly . Although he was swinging the dagger with an incredible speed, it was all he could do to block the Cerberus’ attacks . .

.

‘I’m being pushed back even with the title buff!’.

.

The Cerberus’ agility had surpassed his expectations . Jinwoo tried to turn the tide of the battle with a skill . .

.

Bloodlust has been activated . .

The target’s resistance was too high . Effect cancelled . .

.

Jinwoo was shocked . .

.

‘It didn’t work?’.

.

The Cerberus’ whipped its tail at Jinwoo . .

.

snap!.

.

Jinwoo reflexively lowered his head to dodge, but this stopped his legs temporarily . The Cerberus did not miss the opportunity; one of its heads bit down on Jinwoo’s left shoulder . .

.

“Uwaaaaak!”.

.

Jinwoo stabbed its forehead with all his strength . .

.

stab!.

.

Paralysis has been inflicted . .

The target’s resistance was too high . Effect cancelled . .

.

Bleeding has been inflicted . .

The target’s resistance was too high . Effect cancelled . .

.

whimper!.

.

The Cerberus yelped and backed away . Thankfully, Jinwoo managed to drive it off before the other heads could also bite down, but the damage was done to his left shoulder . His left arm hung limp at his sides, the joints mangled . The beast’s jaws had a terrifying bite . .

.

Jinwoo furrowed his brows . Compared to the small damage he had inflicted on the Cerberus, his own injury was far greater . .

.

‘If only paralysis or bleeding had stuck…’.

.

Jinwoo glared at Cerberus with disappointment . .

.

Suddenly, the beast’s eyes started turning red . .

.

‘Huh?’.

.

grrrrrl.

.

A frightening pressure washed over Jinwoo . .

.

‘What?’.

.

The Gatekeeper of Hell, Cerberus has used ‘Rage’ . .

It will enter a state of rage for 3 minutes . .

Cerberus’ all attributes are doubled . .

Cerberus’ cannot feel any pain . .

.

Jinwoo cried out in frustration,.

.

“What?!”.

.

A magic beast, no, a monster using a skill?!.

.

The Cerberus kicked the ground and charged . .

.

‘Shit!’.

.

Jinwoo could not react in time; his swinging dagger bounced uselessly off the beast’s head . All three heads bit down on Jinwoo . .

.

crack!.

.

“Argh!”.

.

Jinwoo clenched his teeth . The beast had simultaneously clamped down on Jinwoo’s neck, sides and thigh . It continued its momentum and slammed Jinwoo into the castle’s gates . .

.

slam!.

.

Jinwoo’s health plummeted to the ground . .

.

“Cough!”.

.

Health: 411 / 3,602.

.

ring~.

.

Your health has fallen below 30% . ‘Unyielding Spirit’ has been activated . .

All damage received is reduced by 50% . .

.

Thanks to the Unyielding Spirit and his physical damage reduction, Jinwoo managed to avoid an instant death . .

.

“Kuh…”.

.

His eyes shot open . .

.

.

.

Translator’s Notes:.

[1]: “Jejudo” (제주도): An island province of South Korea . Considered the “Hawaii” of South Korea, it is a popular destination for tourists (both domestic and foreign) and honeymoons . .

[2]: Sorry, in my attempt to be concise in the translation of the first key, I didn’t really emphasize the difference between “moved into” and “enter” . .