Unlocking the Shop
A system window popped up saying the shop was available, but there were no instructions on how to use it.
What an unfriendly system.
Shouldn't it at least explain how to use it?
It wasn't like a real game with buttons or anything.
Does a merchant pop up from somewhere or what?
Just in case, Jae-jun tried calling out the shop verbally.
"Shop."
He'd secretly hoped for something flashy, but what appeared before his eyes was just another system window.
Accompanied by the familiar chime.
Welcome to The Gamer Shop.
You can buy and sell items at the The Gamer Shop.
The The Gamer Shop only trades in gold.
[Purchase] [Sell]
[Held Shop Gold: 10]
Jae-jun's guess had been right.
Gold was the currency used in the shop.
It showed the 10 gold he'd earned from completing the Gremlin Hunt quest.
Jae-jun pressed the purchase button.
Categories scrolled down below it.
[Weapons]
[Armor]
[Potions]
[Food]
[Skills]
[Perks]
He'd check weapons first.
But when Jae-jun pressed the button, no list of weapons appeared as he'd hoped.
No weapons available for purchase with your held gold.
Does it mean if I don't have gold, I can't even browse?
That's petty.
The skills tab, which Jae-jun had been most excited about, was the same.
Where do I get gold?
This time, a window popped up as if the system had heard him.
You can acquire gold by selling magical cores.
You currently hold no magical cores.
Either way, it all came down to magical cores. Whether for cash or gold, he needed them.
"Tch."
Quests seemed to give gold too, but he couldn't choose quests freely.
To get magical cores, he'd need to enter at least an E-rank dungeon.
That just gave him more reason to somehow get into higher dungeons.
Time to head back.
The dungeon exit had spawned near the dead Hopgremelin.
Jae-jun was about to step into it but paused.
His gaze turned to the Hopgremelin.
It's a boss mob, after all. Shouldn't it drop something?
As he examined the limp corpse, something sparkled inside the bisected head.
No way?
The monster's brains and blood had spilled out, but Jae-jun reached in anyway.
Embedded in the head was a magical core the size of a pea.
Definitely different from a regular boss mob.
But that wasn't all.
Hopgremelin's Poison Stinger discovered.
Acquire it?
"Acquire."
Hopgremelin's Poison Stinger moved to inventory.
Inventory?
As Jae-jun thought it, a window divided into small slots appeared before him.
One of the slots held a dagger-shaped icon.
This must be it.
When Jae-jun reached for the slot, a stinger-shaped dagger materialized in his hand.
The blade glistened green.
E-rank (Rare)
Strength +15
Special: Bleeding
Hopgremelin's poison stinger crafted into a dagger. Inflicts bleeding on the target when stabbed.
[Bleeding: Reduces wound recovery and decreases stamina of the stabbed target.]
Hmm. Not bad.
Jae-jun's expression brightened.
As a rare-grade item, it came with a special bleeding effect.
E-rank was a bit disappointing, but he couldn't expect to get full on the first try.
Considering the bleeding effect, it seemed decent as an occasional off-hand weapon.
However, as an E-rank item, its base stats were sorely lacking compared to the A-rank Frost Blade.
Jae-jun nodded, newly appreciating the value of A-rank gear.
Choi Sung-woo was a treasure goblin, huh.
With nothing left to check, Jae-jun dusted off his hands and stood.
Then he passed through the exit.
Just like when he'd first entered the gate, the scenery before him shifted completely.
City buildings and the Hunter Association's barricades came into view.
Coming from the filthy, musty sewer to Earth, the air felt fresh.
Shuuuuk—
The gate Jae-jun had exited gradually shrank and soon vanished.
"Huh? Mr. Choi Jae-jun?"
It was a young man wearing glasses.
He alternated between his papers and the spot where Jae-jun and the gate had been, asking,
"You already cleared it?"
"Yes. That's right."
"...It's only been an hour."
"It took longer than I thought."
What? Longer than he thought?
The man gaped, oblivious to his crooked glasses.
Even F-rank dungeons usually took at least three hours.
Solo clears took much longer.
He couldn't believe Jae-jun was acting like it was no big deal.
Is there a mistake in the paperwork? It clearly says F-rank...
Unable to stand the man staring holes through the papers, Jae-jun spoke up.
"Can I just go?"
"Ah, no. Um, wait a sec!"
Normally, he'd call the female staffer who'd been there when Jae-jun entered, but she was currently at the Hunter Association headquarters.
It'd be awkward to make him wait for her.
The man quickly decided and held out his papers to Jae-jun.
"Please write your account number here for the F-rank dungeon clear reward."
Jae-jun wrote down the account he used most often.
"We at the Hunter Association usually buy any magical cores first... You don't have any, right?"
Magical cores rarely dropped from F-rank dungeon monsters.
The man asked with full confidence.
But Jae-jun pulled the lowest-grade magical core from the Hopgremelin out of his pocket and handed it over.
"The boss dropped it."
"Lucky you. F-ranks don't drop them easily."
The man took out a pen-like device and held it over the core.
Beep—
"E-rank lowest-grade magical core. If you sell it to us now, we waive taxes. What do you say?"
Sell it for The Gamer's gold, or take cash?
But Jae-jun decided to sell.
Loan interest and rent were due soon.
Come to think of it, his little sister's birthday was around now too, right?
"Sure, sell it."
"Got it. We'll send the money with your clear reward to your account. You're good to go now."
Jae-jun nodded and left.
Jae-jun's home was an old apartment on the outskirts of Seoul.
He punched in the door code and entered.
The house was dark.
Sis isn't back yet.
A glance at the clock showed 9 p.m.
His sister often came home after 11 from studying at school.
She's working hard.
Jae-jun stripped off his clothes and headed to the bathroom for a shower first.
Hunting in the dungeon had left him soaked in sweat.
Constantly moving in that hot inferno, it was inevitable.
After washing up, Jae-jun lay straight on the bed.
His body was full of energy, but mentally exhausted, sleep came rushing in.
But there was something to check before bed.
Status window.
Passive Skills: None
Active Skills: Fire (F-rank)
This morning, he'd been a mere level 3 with just Fire.
After half a day in the dungeon, he was already level 30.
Looking at the status window made the busy day feel real.
His strength had broken 100 even with corrections, and the other stats were all 39.
By his estimate, his physical prowess alone had surpassed F-rank.
I need to get retested as soon as possible.
That way he could enter higher-rank dungeons and level up faster.
The road ahead was still long.
Viiiing.
His phone vibrated by the pillow.
Who's texting this late?
It was a text from the Hunter Association.
Two million won?
More than expected.
Excluding the 500,000 won clear reward, one E-rank magical core was worth 1.5 million.
No wonder hunters get rich.
Jae-jun checked his bank app.
Just over 3.5 million won.
After paying 500k rent, 1 million loan interest, and 1.5 million for his sister's meds via transfer, only 500k left.
Tight.
If he hadn't earned from the dungeon today, this month might've been dicey.
Whew.
All in all, Jae-jun was satisfied with the day.
Got a rare dagger and got stronger too.
For a while, he could sweep F-rank dungeons for levels or find a decent raid party.
If worst comes to worst, I can make my own raid party.
His eyes sparkled.
Jae-jun planned to keep getting stronger.
—Author's Note—
Thank you.