The moment he spoke the words to accept the reward, a subtle blue glow covered his body .

    ‘Oh… this feeling is?’

    Juhee’s face immediately appeared in his mind . It was a similar sensation he felt when he received healing magic; the feeling was comparable to breathing in crisp, fresh air after being stuck in a muggy, stuffy room .

    shooooo-

    He felt the glow subside but had hoped it would last a little longer .

    Standing up from his spot, Jinwoo stretched and moved his body around .

    “Whoa!”

    The heart that felt like it was about to explode had calmed down, and the shortness of his breath had also disappeared . There was not a trace of exhaustion remaining . His body that was on the brink of collapse now felt like it had woken up from a good rest . The effects were unbelievable .

    ‘This is amazing . ’

    His eyes were open wide in wonder . He wasn’t sure if it was magic or something else, but the powerful effect it had left a great impression on Jinwoo .

    ‘Then the “stat points” must be…’

    Turning his head toward his bed, he saw a small box and a status screen before his eyes .

    ‘That must be the random box it was talking about, and…’

    His attention was focused on the status screen . The information box that hung in the air contained various data regarding his status .

    Name: Sung Jinwoo

    Level: 1

    Class: None

    Title: None

    HP: 100

    MP: 10

    Fatigue: 0

    Stats

    Strength: 10

    Constitution: 10

    Agility: 10

    Intelligence: 10

    Sense: 10

    (Available stat points: 3)

    Skills

    Passive Skills

    -(Unknown) (Lv . Max)

    -Unyielding Spirit[1] (Lv . 1)

    Active Skills

    -Sprint[2] (Lv . 1)

    He recalled the online RPGs he had played in the past; his stats were reminiscent of a freshly created character .

    ‘So these are my stats?’

    Current level 1 . All stats at a basic level .

    Faced again with the reality of being the weakest E-rank Hunter, his stat numbers did not surprise him . Rather, his eyes were focused on his skills . The passive skills ‘Unyielding Spirit’ and active skill ‘Sprint’ . They were strangely familiar to him .

    ‘Now that I think about it… Yesterday…’

    Yesterday . More accurately, the dawn of today . He recalled the messages he received while being chased around by the centipedes in the Penalty Zone . It was around the 3rd hour of running from the clutches of death .

    You’ve learned “Sprint” (Lv . 1)

    You’ve learned “Unyielding Spirit” (Lv . 1)

    He did not pay attention at the time, his entire mind focused on running, but now he was able to take a closer look .

    Sprint (Lv . 1)

    Active Skill

    Mana Cost: 5 (+1/Minute)

    Activate to increase your movement speed by 30% .

    Costs 1 mana per minute to maintain .

    “Your running has strengthened your legs . ”

    Unyielding Spirit (Lv . 1)

    Passive Skill

    Mana Cost: 0

    When below 30% HP, all damage received is reduced by 50% .

    “You have an unyielding spirit . ”

    ‘So because I ran like a dog, I learned these two skills?’

    The logic was sound . This meant that repetitive actions that met certain criteria unlocked skills .

    “Amazing!”

    The merits of this were incalculable . Normally, the repertoire of skills that Hunters used were received and fixed at the moment of their Awakening . Only the rare Runestones[3] that sometimes dropped from A-rank or higher magic beasts could be used by a Hunter to learn a new skill . This is why the price of Runestones ranged from hundreds of million to tens of billion won . He recalled a recent event of a Runestone being sold at an auction for the price of 70 billion won . It was a Runestone that taught a powerful healing magic that could completely restore an injured person, purchased by an anonymous foreign S-rank Healer-class Hunter who emptied his wallet for it .

    Jinwoo’s heartbeat sped up .

    A skill to increase his movement speed and a skill to reduce damage taken .

    Not quite skills that would cost tens of billions of won, but they were still useful skills . And he had earned such skills for free . Although it probably was difficult to make full use of “Sprint” with his low magic power, the fact that he had these skills now was amazing .

    ‘And the “Unyielding Spirit” doesn’t even take any mana…’

    It seemed like “mana” was referring to “magic power” . This meant that even his body that lacked magic power could take advantage of the “Unyielding Spirit” . This alone was a great boon to Jinwoo .

    ‘However… What is this skill…’

    (Unknown) (Lv . Max)

    Passive Skill

    “Unknown” that took up a line under his passive skills . As a passive skill, it should be something that activated automatically, but its information screen did not reveal any details .

    ‘I have no clue what this is . ’

    There was nothing he could find or figure out about this unknown skill . Realizing his worries would get him nowhere, Jinwoo turned his attention to the other section of his status screen .

    ‘Stat points…’

    The stat points he received as the reward for the Daily Quest remained undistributed .

    Stats

    Strength: 10

    Constitution: 10

    Agility: 10

    Intelligence: 10

    Sense: 10

    (Available stat points: 3)

    ‘So I can raise 3 points worth of stats?’

    Five different attributes were under the stats section . Being level 1, his points across the board were rather low . But remembering all that he had experienced up until now, he could not carelessly distribute his points . If the assignment of points truly enhanced his abilities, how could he make the decision lightly?

    His expression hardened .

    ‘The meaning behind “Strength” is pretty clear…’

    Strength, constitution, agility . He grasped the meaning behind these attributes quite easily . After all, they were some of the more straightforward ‘stats’ in video games . The problems were the “Intelligence” and “Sense” stats . The curt and distant System revealed no additional details to Jinwoo .

    Would he become smarter if he increased “Intelligence”?

    Or more keen and sharper if he increased “Sense”?

    Regardless, those two attributes did not seem particularly useful to him . He was a Fighter-class Hunter . What he needed the most was strength, mobility and durability .

    ‘If I had to choose one, it’d be strength . ’

    Increased strength would rather make a lot of things easier . He was curious on what kind of change his body would undergo when he increased his stats . As such, he selected the stat that would probably result in the most physical change in his body .

    “3 points into strength . ”

    ring~

    Stats

    Strength: 13

    Constitution: 10

    Agility: 10

    Intelligence: 10

    Sense: 10

    (Available stat points: 0)

    ‘Is… is that it?’

    That was it .

    All that changed was the number in front of “Strength” going from 10 to 13 .

    In his mind, he had expected the recreation of the scene in movies or cartoons where the hero pulled forth an unknown power from within .

    “Well, did anything change?”

    Jinwoo decided to test out his strength . He stood next to his bed and lifted it . He felt a slight resistance from the bed’s weight but was able to easily lift it off the ground . Still, he was unable to tell whether this was due to the lightness of the bed or his increased strength .

    ‘Should’ve made a comparison before and after I used up the points . ’

    As his points were already distributed, it was hard for him to distinguish the before and after of his changes .

    ‘If I just had few more points…’

    Rolling his tongue in his mouth, Jinwoo suddenly remembered something:

    “The reward from the Penalty Quest!”

    He had remembered that it wasn’t just the Daily Quest he completed today . Although he had almost died from it, he did complete the Penalty Quest and even remembered the reward message from it as well . He quickly opened his message box .

    The reward for completing the Penalty Quest has arrived .

    Would you like to verify? (Y/N)

    “It’s there!”

    He clenched his fists .

    Of course, the answer is “Yes!”

    You’ve received the below rewards:

    Reward 1 . Stat points +3

    Reward 2 . Random Box x 1

    Accept all?

    Compared to the Daily Quest, there was no reward of status recovery, but what he needed now the most were stat points . Initially worried that a Penalty Quest might give reduced rewards, Jinwoo was relieved to see that it still gave him 3 stat points .

    He distributed the points in delight,

    “Add 3 more points into strength!”

    ring~

    Stats

    Strength: 16

    Constitution: 10

    Agility: 10

    Intelligence: 10

    Sense: 10

    (Available stat points: 0)

    His strength had increased from 13 to 16 . He went before his bed once more and used his arms . Compared to before, the bed felt much lighter in his hands . He was able to fully comprehend the difference this time .

    “It’s true…!”

    He really had become stronger . By simple math, going from 10 to 16 points meant that his strength had increased by 60% . The result was blatantly clear to him now . Unable to control his excitement, Jinwoo loudly went from corner to corner of his room, lifting every furniture that he could get his hands on . He had to stop when a passing nurse peeked in and glared at him .

    “…Sorry . ”

    After she left, he sighed a breath of relief .

    “Phew-“

    But his excitement could not be abated . His heart was beating vigorously .

    ba dum ba dum

    A Daily Quest and stat point rewards!

    As long as this strange occurrence continued, his life would turn around completely going forward . It was an incredible opportunity for him . On top of that, the “level” he saw under his status screen,

    ‘It should be possible for me to raise my level as well, right?’

    He tilted his head .

    ‘Eh… probably not . ’

    It was but a dream; he did not expect himself to go that far . Just the daily rewards were good enough .

    Using stat points to increase his attributes .

    Yesterday then today, today then tomorrow, he would become stronger every day .

    ‘To think that I, an E-rank Hunter, the “Weakest Soldier”, could become strong?’

    Forget the A-rankers and S-rankers, even his C-ranked and D-ranked comrades would laugh at him .

    Sung Jinwoo becoming strong?

    That weakling Sung Jinwoo?

    But he did not care that he would be laughed at . No, he was already used to it after all . He was just happy that this opportunity had arrived in his hands .

    Then a question appeared in his mind,

    ‘Perhaps this is the process of a Second Awakening?’

    It was a rare event, but there were cases where a Hunter at the bottom of the barrel shot up to first class through Reawakening . Maybe all those Reawakened Hunters had gone through the same phenomenon that he was experiencing right now?

    ‘Let’s find out . ’

    The now curious Jinwoo sat in front of a computer in the corner of his room . As he was designated a special patient by the Association, the VIP room that he was placed in even had such luxuries for his use .

    clack clack clack clack

    His fingers moved quickly across the keyboard .

    Search after search after search .

    He went through dozens of websites, including sites only accessible by those with Hunter licenses . Going as far as purchasing paid information, he gathered and went through as many documents he could find on Reawakening .

    But nothing he found matched what he was experiencing now .

    ‘It’s different…’

    His newfound powers were completely different from a Reawakening .

    The Hunters that went through Reawakening underwent the same process as their first Awakening[4] . No one mentioned hearing any voices on the verge of death or a video game like System that gave them stat points that increased their abilities .

    Translator’s Notes:

    [1]: “Unyielding Spirit” (??; geun-sung): The word on its own just means someone’s disposition or natural spirit . Contextual clues imply the “spirit” in this situation is one that would not give up even at 30% HP, so I chose to add the “unyielding” in front of it . The skill description also goes as far as to say “You have an unyielding/untiring spirit . ”

    [2]: “Sprint” (??; jil-joo): Lit . “speeding” or “sprinting” . Shortened to just “sprint” based on contextual clues .

    [3]: “Runestones” (??; rune-suk): “Rune” in english + “stone” suk . Pretty straightforward .

    [4]: I just want to clarify this with information gathered from context throughout the story (not a spoiler) . All Hunters go through their first Awakening, receiving some form of power . This power includes a combination of increases in physical ability, magic power and a list of skills . What they get at their first Awakening does not change (except for new skills learned through Runestones) . A second Awakening (Reawakening) is exactly the same: An Awakened Being would receive power again which includes a combination of increased physical ability, magic power and new skills . After Reawakening, same as before, a Hunter’s power does not change .

    Sponsored Content

    I Alone Level-up: Chapter 11.

    .

    The moment he spoke the words to accept the reward, a subtle blue glow covered his body . .

    .

    ‘Oh… this feeling is?’.

    .

    Juhee’s face immediately appeared in his mind . It was a similar sensation he felt when he received healing magic; the feeling was comparable to breathing in crisp, fresh air after being stuck in a muggy, stuffy room . .

    .

    shooooo-.

    .

    He felt the glow subside but had hoped it would last a little longer . .

    .

    Standing up from his spot, Jinwoo stretched and moved his body around . .

    .

    “Whoa!”.

    .

    The heart that felt like it was about to explode had calmed down, and the shortness of his breath had also disappeared . There was not a trace of exhaustion remaining . His body that was on the brink of collapse now felt like it had woken up from a good rest . The effects were unbelievable . .

    .

    ‘This is amazing . ’.

    .

    His eyes were open wide in wonder . He wasn’t sure if it was magic or something else, but the powerful effect it had left a great impression on Jinwoo . .

    .

    ‘Then the “stat points” must be…’.

    .

    Turning his head toward his bed, he saw a small box and a status screen before his eyes . .

    .

    ‘That must be the random box it was talking about, and…’.

    .

    His attention was focused on the status screen . The information box that hung in the air contained various data regarding his status . .

    .

    .

    .

    Name: Sung Jinwoo.

    Level: 1.

    Class: None.

    Title: None.

    HP: 100.

    MP: 10.

    Fatigue: 0.

    Stats.

    .

    Strength: 10.

    Constitution: 10.

    Agility: 10.

    Intelligence: 10.

    Sense: 10.

    (Available stat points: 3).

    Skills.

    .

    Passive Skills.

    -(Unknown) (Lv . Max).

    -Unyielding Spirit[1] (Lv . 1).

    .

    Active Skills.

    -Sprint[2] (Lv . 1).

    .

    He recalled the online RPGs he had played in the past; his stats were reminiscent of a freshly created character . .

    .

    ‘So these are my stats?’.

    .

    Current level 1 . All stats at a basic level . .

    .

    Faced again with the reality of being the weakest E-rank Hunter, his stat numbers did not surprise him . Rather, his eyes were focused on his skills . The passive skills ‘Unyielding Spirit’ and active skill ‘Sprint’ . They were strangely familiar to him . .

    .

    ‘Now that I think about it… Yesterday…’.

    .

    Yesterday . More accurately, the dawn of today . He recalled the messages he received while being chased around by the centipedes in the Penalty Zone . It was around the 3rd hour of running from the clutches of death . .

    .

    You’ve learned “Sprint” (Lv . 1).

    .

    You’ve learned “Unyielding Spirit” (Lv . 1).

    .

    He did not pay attention at the time, his entire mind focused on running, but now he was able to take a closer look . .

    .

    Sprint (Lv . 1).

    Active Skill.

    .

    Mana Cost: 5 (+1/Minute).

    .

    Activate to increase your movement speed by 30% . .

    Costs 1 mana per minute to maintain . .

    .

    “Your running has strengthened your legs . ”.

    .

    Unyielding Spirit (Lv . 1).

    Passive Skill.

    .

    Mana Cost: 0.

    .

    When below 30% HP, all damage received is reduced by 50% . .

    .

    “You have an unyielding spirit . ”.

    .

    ‘So because I ran like a dog, I learned these two skills?’.

    .

    The logic was sound . This meant that repetitive actions that met certain criteria unlocked skills . .

    .

    “Amazing!”.

    .

    The merits of this were incalculable . Normally, the repertoire of skills that Hunters used were received and fixed at the moment of their Awakening . Only the rare Runestones[3] that sometimes dropped from A-rank or higher magic beasts could be used by a Hunter to learn a new skill . This is why the price of Runestones ranged from hundreds of million to tens of billion won . He recalled a recent event of a Runestone being sold at an auction for the price of 70 billion won . It was a Runestone that taught a powerful healing magic that could completely restore an injured person, purchased by an anonymous foreign S-rank Healer-class Hunter who emptied his wallet for it . .

    .

    Jinwoo’s heartbeat sped up . .

    .

    A skill to increase his movement speed and a skill to reduce damage taken . .

    .

    Not quite skills that would cost tens of billions of won, but they were still useful skills . And he had earned such skills for free . Although it probably was difficult to make full use of “Sprint” with his low magic power, the fact that he had these skills now was amazing . .

    .

    ‘And the “Unyielding Spirit” doesn’t even take any mana…’.

    .

    It seemed like “mana” was referring to “magic power” . This meant that even his body that lacked magic power could take advantage of the “Unyielding Spirit” . This alone was a great boon to Jinwoo . .

    .

    ‘However… What is this skill…’.

    .

    (Unknown) (Lv . Max).

    Passive Skill.

    .

    .

    “Unknown” that took up a line under his passive skills . As a passive skill, it should be something that activated automatically, but its information screen did not reveal any details . .

    .

    ‘I have no clue what this is . ’.

    .

    There was nothing he could find or figure out about this unknown skill . Realizing his worries would get him nowhere, Jinwoo turned his attention to the other section of his status screen . .

    .

    ‘Stat points…’.

    .

    The stat points he received as the reward for the Daily Quest remained undistributed . .

    .

    Stats.

    .

    Strength: 10.

    Constitution: 10.

    Agility: 10.

    Intelligence: 10.

    Sense: 10.

    (Available stat points: 3).

    .

    ‘So I can raise 3 points worth of stats?’.

    .

    Five different attributes were under the stats section . Being level 1, his points across the board were rather low . But remembering all that he had experienced up until now, he could not carelessly distribute his points . If the assignment of points truly enhanced his abilities, how could he make the decision lightly?.

    .

    His expression hardened . .

    .

    ‘The meaning behind “Strength” is pretty clear…’.

    .

    Strength, constitution, agility . He grasped the meaning behind these attributes quite easily . After all, they were some of the more straightforward ‘stats’ in video games . The problems were the “Intelligence” and “Sense” stats . The curt and distant System revealed no additional details to Jinwoo . .

    .

    Would he become smarter if he increased “Intelligence”?.

    .

    Or more keen and sharper if he increased “Sense”?.

    .

    Regardless, those two attributes did not seem particularly useful to him . He was a Fighter-class Hunter . What he needed the most was strength, mobility and durability . .

    .

    ‘If I had to choose one, it’d be strength . ’.

    .

    Increased strength would rather make a lot of things easier . He was curious on what kind of change his body would undergo when he increased his stats . As such, he selected the stat that would probably result in the most physical change in his body . .

    .

    “3 points into strength . ”.

    .

    ring~.

    .

    Stats.

    .

    Strength: 13.

    Constitution: 10.

    Agility: 10.

    Intelligence: 10.

    Sense: 10.

    (Available stat points: 0).

    .

    ‘Is… is that it?’.

    .

    That was it . .

    .

    All that changed was the number in front of “Strength” going from 10 to 13 . .

    .

    In his mind, he had expected the recreation of the scene in movies or cartoons where the hero pulled forth an unknown power from within . .

    .

    “Well, did anything change?”.

    .

    Jinwoo decided to test out his strength . He stood next to his bed and lifted it . He felt a slight resistance from the bed’s weight but was able to easily lift it off the ground . Still, he was unable to tell whether this was due to the lightness of the bed or his increased strength . .

    .

    ‘Should’ve made a comparison before and after I used up the points . ’.

    .

    As his points were already distributed, it was hard for him to distinguish the before and after of his changes . .

    .

    ‘If I just had few more points…’.

    .

    Rolling his tongue in his mouth, Jinwoo suddenly remembered something:.

    .

    “The reward from the Penalty Quest!”.

    .

    He had remembered that it wasn’t just the Daily Quest he completed today . Although he had almost died from it, he did complete the Penalty Quest and even remembered the reward message from it as well . He quickly opened his message box . .

    .

    The reward for completing the Penalty Quest has arrived . .

    Would you like to verify? (Y/N).

    .

    “It’s there!”.

    .

    He clenched his fists . .

    .

    Of course, the answer is “Yes!”.

    .

    You’ve received the below rewards:.

    Reward 1 . Stat points +3.

    Reward 2 . Random Box x 1.

    Accept all?.

    .

    Compared to the Daily Quest, there was no reward of status recovery, but what he needed now the most were stat points . Initially worried that a Penalty Quest might give reduced rewards, Jinwoo was relieved to see that it still gave him 3 stat points . .

    .

    He distributed the points in delight,.

    .

    “Add 3 more points into strength!”.

    .

    ring~.

    .

    Stats.

    .

    Strength: 16.

    Constitution: 10.

    Agility: 10.

    Intelligence: 10.

    Sense: 10.

    (Available stat points: 0).

    .

    His strength had increased from 13 to 16 . He went before his bed once more and used his arms . Compared to before, the bed felt much lighter in his hands . He was able to fully comprehend the difference this time . .

    .

    “It’s true…!”.

    .

    He really had become stronger . By simple math, going from 10 to 16 points meant that his strength had increased by 60% . The result was blatantly clear to him now . Unable to control his excitement, Jinwoo loudly went from corner to corner of his room, lifting every furniture that he could get his hands on . He had to stop when a passing nurse peeked in and glared at him . .

    .

    “…Sorry . ”.

    .

    After she left, he sighed a breath of relief . .

    .

    “Phew-“.

    .

    But his excitement could not be abated . His heart was beating vigorously . .

    .

    ba dum ba dum.

    .

    A Daily Quest and stat point rewards!.

    .

    As long as this strange occurrence continued, his life would turn around completely going forward . It was an incredible opportunity for him . On top of that, the “level” he saw under his status screen,.

    .

    ‘It should be possible for me to raise my level as well, right?’.

    .

    He tilted his head . .

    .

    ‘Eh… probably not . ’.

    .

    It was but a dream; he did not expect himself to go that far . Just the daily rewards were good enough . .

    .

    Using stat points to increase his attributes . .

    .

    Yesterday then today, today then tomorrow, he would become stronger every day . .

    .

    ‘To think that I, an E-rank Hunter, the “Weakest Soldier”, could become strong?’.

    .

    Forget the A-rankers and S-rankers, even his C-ranked and D-ranked comrades would laugh at him . .

    .

    Sung Jinwoo becoming strong?.

    .

    That weakling Sung Jinwoo?.

    .

    But he did not care that he would be laughed at . No, he was already used to it after all . He was just happy that this opportunity had arrived in his hands . .

    .

    Then a question appeared in his mind,.

    .

    ‘Perhaps this is the process of a Second Awakening?’.

    .

    It was a rare event, but there were cases where a Hunter at the bottom of the barrel shot up to first class through Reawakening . Maybe all those Reawakened Hunters had gone through the same phenomenon that he was experiencing right now?.

    .

    ‘Let’s find out . ’.

    .

    The now curious Jinwoo sat in front of a computer in the corner of his room . As he was designated a special patient by the Association, the VIP room that he was placed in even had such luxuries for his use . .

    .

    clack clack clack clack.

    .

    His fingers moved quickly across the keyboard . .

    .

    Search after search after search . .

    .

    He went through dozens of websites, including sites only accessible by those with Hunter licenses . Going as far as purchasing paid information, he gathered and went through as many documents he could find on Reawakening . .

    .

    But nothing he found matched what he was experiencing now . .

    .

    ‘It’s different…’.

    .

    His newfound powers were completely different from a Reawakening . .

    .

    The Hunters that went through Reawakening underwent the same process as their first Awakening[4] . No one mentioned hearing any voices on the verge of death or a video game like System that gave them stat points that increased their abilities . .

    .

    .

    . .

    Translator’s Notes:.

    [1]: “Unyielding Spirit” (??; geun-sung): The word on its own just means someone’s disposition or natural spirit . Contextual clues imply the “spirit” in this situation is one that would not give up even at 30% HP, so I chose to add the “unyielding” in front of it . The skill description also goes as far as to say “You have an unyielding/untiring spirit . ”.

    [2]: “Sprint” (??; jil-joo): Lit . “speeding” or “sprinting” . Shortened to just “sprint” based on contextual clues . .

    [3]: “Runestones” (??; rune-suk): “Rune” in english + “stone” suk . Pretty straightforward . .

    [4]: I just want to clarify this with information gathered from context throughout the story (not a spoiler) . All Hunters go through their first Awakening, receiving some form of power . This power includes a combination of increases in physical ability, magic power and a list of skills . What they get at their first Awakening does not change (except for new skills learned through Runestones) . A second Awakening (Reawakening) is exactly the same: An Awakened Being would receive power again which includes a combination of increased physical ability, magic power and new skills . After Reawakening, same as before, a Hunter’s power does not change . .