EP1. Mana Level MAX? - 4
Whoosh—
A powerful surge of mana swirled fiercely around Jae-jun's body.
Fire
Casting Fire.
Mana consumption varies based on flame size.
1000 mana per second consumed.
'This should do it!'
Fwoosh!
Flames erupted explosively, spreading out from Jae-jun at the center.
The blaze filled the vast space around him completely.
In an instant, the surroundings lit up, revealing the gremlins.
Fuzzy fur the size of basketballs.
Teeth sharp as syringe needles.
The gremlins were engulfed in flames in the blink of an eye.
Their bodies writhed as they burned from head to toe.
Kieeeek!
Kiiiiiek!
Gremlin defeated.
Gremlin defeated.
...
Gremlin defeated.
Gremlin Hunt
[48/200]
In that brief moment, a good number of gremlins had perished.
Sizzle!
Gremlin corpses piled up at his feet, charring black.
Kieeeek!
One gremlin, even as it burned, leaped toward Jae-jun's face.
Jae-jun casually twisted his body aside.
The gremlin grazed his face and tumbled to the ground.
Jae-jun reversed his grip on his sword and slammed it down into the gremlin's torso.
Crunch!
Another gremlin charged from the side.
Instead of swinging his sword, he threw a full-force punch.
Boosted by the Frost Blade's strength correction, the heavy blow smashed into the gremlin's face.
Splat!
Its head exploded in a single strike.
The impact was so fierce that its eyeballs burst and brain matter oozed out.
He'd expected it, but seeing it firsthand confirmed the monstrous strength.
'So this is the power of stats.'
The surviving gremlins, unnerved by the gruesome sight, hesitated and backed away.
Some plunged into the water they hated, trying to flee.
'Not letting a single one escape!'
Fwoosh!
3000 mana per second consumed.
The flames blazed even more fiercely.
Fire rained down from the ceiling like a torrent.
Sizzle—
The sewer water evaporated into steam and dried up.
Amid the inferno, Jae-jun became a silent yaksha, steadily thinning the gremlin ranks.
The terrified gremlins trembled and tried to flee, but it was futile.
Each swing of his sword sent them spilling blood and splitting apart.
Slash!
Kieeeek!
Kiiiiiek!
Gremlin defeated.
Gremlin defeated.
...
Gremlin defeated.
Gremlin Hunt
[123/200]
Notifications chimed nonstop in Jae-jun's mind.
—
Kieeeek!
Stab!
Jae-jun shoved his blade into the mouth of the last fallen gremlin.
The flames gradually died down.
The sewer was filled with gremlin corpses reduced to charred lumps.
As the battle ended, the overlapping chimes rang so loudly they made his head throb.
Ding!
The sheer number made it hard to tell exactly how many levels he'd gained just from the sounds.
Jae-jun opened his status window.
Magic: 999,999,999 (SSS) | Available Stat Points: 24
Active: Fire (F-grade)
The first thing he checked was his level.
'25!'
Jae-jun clenched his fists tightly.
He'd jumped a whopping 22 levels.
Power leveling, as they called it.
And that wasn't all.
Each level-up granted an extra stat point, bringing all his base stats to 34.
Strength was at 85 thanks to the A-rank weapon's bonus.
Normally, without gear corrections, he'd need to be in the mid-70s to reach that.
'How much stronger am I now?'
Jae-jun did a light jump in place.
His body defied gravity, soaring upward.
His head nearly brushed the ceiling over 3 meters high.
With higher agility, his reaction speed had sharpened too.
Gremlin attacks he couldn't have dodged before were now trivial to evade.
He had 24 available stat points from the level-ups.
Strength: power.
Agility: speed and reaction time.
Stamina: vitality.
Endurance: he wasn't sure of the exact effect.
Literally, it meant sustaining effort, but Jae-jun hadn't pushed himself to exhaustion yet, so it was hard to feel.
'Related to fatigue, maybe?'
His current fatigue was at 35.
Curious about its effects, but he'd have to experience it firsthand.
'I'll hold onto the stat points for now.'
Levels would raise stats anyway.
No rush; he could allocate them later where needed.
'Wish I had more skills.'
His only skill was F-grade Fire.
Even with infinite mana to amp its range and power, base damage was low.
He wondered if the shop gold from gremlin hunts was for buying skills.
'Like a real game, if I could buy skills or items.'
Jae-jun checked the remaining gremlins.
Gremlin Hunt
[199/200]
Exactly one short of 200.
He looked around, but none nearby.
It must've fled before the flames or hidden elsewhere.
'Annoying.'
The sewer was huge.
He wanted to skip it.
But the quest wouldn't let him leave without it, so he had to hunt it down.
'Curious about this shop gold too.'
As he headed to another sewer passage,
his eyes caught the scattered gremlin corpses on the floor.
'Right, these don't drop magical cores.'
Gate monsters usually had cores inside for item crafting.
The Hunter Association and markets bought them at high prices.
Hunting for cores was a hunter's main income.
On a whim, Jae-jun sliced open a gremlin with his sword.
Slash.
Nothing from its belly.
He'd heard it before, but it still felt disappointing.
Same with a few more.
'Gotta be satisfied with the power leveling.'
Jae-jun stood up.
He searched the sewers methodically.
Gremlins were tiny, curling into shadows made them hard to spot.
To save time, he maxed the flames and dashed through.
High agility and strength propelled him forward with each step—zoom, zoom.
Kieeeek!
A small gremlin in the corner startled by the fire and bolted.
Jae-jun spun mid-air and dropped onto it.
Slash!
His sword cleaved the shrieking gremlin clean in half.
Gremlin Hunt
[200/200]
Ding!
Gremlin Hunt completed.
Reward: 10 Shop Gold
Hobgremblin Appears
The Hobgremblin, enraged by your slaughter of all gremlins, has appeared.
Defeat the Hobgremblin for massive EXP.
Dungeon rank temporarily rises from F to E.
'What?'
Hobgremblin? What the hell?
Jae-jun's excitement at finally being able to leave deflated.
But his eyes lit up at "massive EXP."
'Where's this Hobgremblin?'
He scanned around, but nothing.
Suddenly, a sharp whoosh from above.
Thwip!
He reflexively leaped back and eyed the ceiling.
Scuttling rapidly across it was the Hobgremblin.
Twice the size of a gremlin, and far faster.
Thwip!
Its body hair was needle-sharp, launching toward Jae-jun like quills.
Clang!
He parried with his sword.
The quill clashed like metal on metal, heavy and resounding.
Whoosh!
Dodging quills, Jae-jun ignited flames.
The fire snaked upward like a living serpent, following his will toward the ceiling.
The Hobgremblin dodged, but fire was faster.
Engulfed, it halted on the ceiling.
But Jae-jun's eyes widened.
"What the—?"
The Hobgremblin inhaled sharply, sucking in the flames.
Its massive ruby orb eyes glared at him.
With each breath, its body swelled larger.
Fire attacks were useless—it absorbed them to grow.
Jae-jun felt unease and swiftly retreated.
At the same moment, the Hobgremblin charged.
Clang!
His swung sword repelled it.
It felt like batting away a heavy rock.
Thud.
It crashed into the sewer wall, shook its head, and rose.
Chunks of stone fell from its skull.
'Hmm.'
Immune to fire, steel-like fur resisted cuts.
Then...
'Gotta beat it to death.'
Jae-jun dumped all 24 remaining stat points into strength.
With Frost Blade's bonus, strength hit 109.
'Hup!'
Over 100 strength remade his muscles anew.
Fibers in muscles and tendons grew tougher, stronger.
His body bulked into a muscular frame, rippling with every move.
'Hoo.'
Gripping Frost Blade like a club, he charged the Hobgremblin.
Clang!
The blade clubbed its head.
It rocketed like a soccer ball, smashing into the wall again.
Jae-jun didn't stop.
He targeted only the head, hammering relentlessly.
Clang!
Bam!
Clang!
Bam!
Kyaaaak!
Blood flowed from its head.
It screeched in agony, twitching to evade.
'Not enough!'
He doggedly bashed the skull.
The feel was coming to him now.
Clang!
Bam!
Splorch!
Its steel quills had long been ripped out.
Crunch!
Keeeek!
Finally, the blade crushed its skull.
White brain and blood spilled from the split cranium.
Ding!
Boss of Gremlin Sewer defeated.
Dungeon exit opens.
Sudden Quest completed.
Massive EXP acquired.
System function unlocked.
The Gamer Shop now available!
Jae-jun stared at the flurry of windows, eyes widening.
"Huh?
A shop?"