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” (???): 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” (???): 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” . .