Seunghyuk dashed up the stairs back into his apartment and kicked his door shut.
"Oh my god...I can't believe I actually did it..." Seunghyuk's whole body shook in delight, he was almost hyperventilating with joy, "Wait...I need to stay calm and focussed, after all, this small achievement is nothing to the many Conquerors out there. I can't let this rush to my head."
Right after that enlightenment, he regained his composure immediately as he realised he was still a newbie climbing up the tall Conqueror ranks. The gray System screen continued to levitate in front of him and Seunghyuk finally took notice of the Beginner Statpack in his System Inventory.
"Oh, System: Use Beginner Statpack," Seunghyuk requested and the gray System screen showed an animation of a small box being opened, "Wow, that was kind of cool. It's just like a game...but the game's reality"
"You have opened the Beginner Statpack and received the following:
Strength Stat (1)
Agility Stat (1)
Defense Stat (1)
MP Stat (1) "
All of a sudden, Seunghyuk's ring flashed again, this time flashing consequetively green. Each and every flash shined even brighter than before, then a 'beep' was sounded. Upon hearing the beep, the visible green particles produced from the flashing of lights seemed to surge into the System screen, causing the System to go into a strange state.
"Wait! Hey! What is happening?" Seunghyuk exclaimed with his eyebrows knitted with fury, watching the System screen spew out binary codes and unknown symbols that he could not make any sense out of, Seunghyuk only turned his attention to the ring on his finger, which supposedly stopped flashing right after the error has occurred, "Stupid ring! You helped me once, then now you ruin me? What did you even do?"
Seunghyuk tried again and again to pull the ring out of his finger, but this time it seemed like no matter what, the ring would still be stubbornly stuck onto his skin, as if it was a part of his own body. Just as Seunghyuk was about to attempt heating the ring intensely in order for it to expand, the System screen sounded another 'beep', and the text showed on the screen took away all the words out from Seunghyuk's widely opened mouth.
"Wha...What..."
"You are equipped with the ??? Ring of ??? and Beginner Statpack is upgraded.
Strength Stat (3)
Agility Stat (3)
Defense Stat (3)
MP Stat (3) "
"How is this even possible?" Seunghyuk asked, staring flabbergasted at the System screen but the System offered no explanation or whatsoever, "Why the question marks? Hey...Ring, you're not anything ordinary, right?"
Obviously, the ring gave no reply, however, Seunghyuk tried asking anyway, hoping some sort of a mystical soul or an ancient god would fly out of the ring. Unfortunately, nothing of that sort happened. Seunghyuk hence developed a theory, although simple and obvious enough, he theorised that the ring isn't just a normal family ring after all.
"System: Use all stats available," Seunghyuk requested, and no matter how unsure he was about the ring's actual origin, he was excited about the 3-point increase per stat, "Let's see how strong I would get. Would I actually feel the difference?"
Well, the answer is yes. A big yes.
Seunghyuk started to feel his abdomen warm up, as if a newborn Phoenix was starting to hatch in there. The System screen showed his statistics increase and Seunghyuk's body felt like it was heated to the extreme, then the overwhelming warmth halted abruptly.
"What...?" Seunghyuk only opened his mouth to question, but the extreme heat came back and this time his stomach started to pulse, vibrating vigorously as he could feel his body growing bit by bit.
The tension surging all around his body seemed to reach the maximum capacity it could hold and released in all four directions before Seunghyuk could even say knife. The objects all around him in his apartment moved, the heavier ones shifted strongly and the lighter ones flew through the air. Seunghyuk was feeling lucky it was late at night and that no one would technically be observing him, because it would look like he was trying to harness a tornado in his apartment. Now, his apartment is in an even worse state.
"Okay...That was easily the most intense feeling I've ever felt in my life..." Seunghyuk exclaimed, drenched in sweat from top to bottom, like a roasted chicken that just fell out of the microwave oven, "System: Show Status Window."
Conqueror's Name: Choi Seunghyuk
Conqueror's Level: 2
Strength: 4 (Raised by 3)
Agility: 4 (Raised by 3)
Defense: 4 (Raised by 3)
MP: 4 (Raised by 3)
Skills: Short-Fused Explosion, Eye of Detection, Heart of Cold Steel
"That's amazing...I really need to complete more missions. Though I have to shower first...this shirt is sticking onto my sweaty back and its really uncomfortable."
Seunghyuk entered his bathroom for the second time today and pulled his shirt over his head for the second time today as well. However, this time his eyes widened in surprise seeing the noticeable difference in the mirror.
"That's me? You're saying that's me? In the mirror?" Seunghyuk looked at the figure in the mirror, with more defined features, although not so much of 'muscular', and there still isn't an obvious muscle definition like abdominals or pectorals yet, but it was a start, "I guess I'm still skinny, but not as skinny anymore. I really need to earn myself some more of those stat points.
Seunghyuk took his happier shower in his whole life, he was glad being able to see his changed self in the mirror while the water runs through his body. Currently, many people would have gotten complacent due to the results they have achieved, but Seunghyuk is different, because he has a goal, and a weirdly unrealistic one. It is to become ome of the top Conquerors in the world, otherwise known as Legendary Conquerors, and that process will start promptly with shaping his body first.
Similarly, he showered quickly and rushed out of the bathroom without a top on, asking impatiently, "System: Are there any missions available? Isn't my Auto-Receive on? Why are there no missions yet?"
"The Conqueror System Missions are dispatched and given to the Conquerors from all over the world. The chance of a Level 2 Conqueror like you receiving a mission is lower than 10 per cent. However, Obelisks offer an alternative. Currently, the Obelisk near you, visible right out of your window, will be opened 14 minutes and 27 seconds later."
"What? That quick? Apparently Conquerors really don't feel the need to sleep..." Seunghyuk sighed loudly as he dashed out of his house for the second time of the day, many second times are happening today.
Seunghyuk ran as fast as his legs could carry him, and he promptly realised he was literally sprinting at a speed of a car driving at normal speed. Seunghyuk felt refreshed with the cold, night wind blowing in his face as he sprinted down the quiet, night streets of Korea, the Obelisks becoming bigger as he nears it. 4 points in Agility really is no joke.
"Wooh!" Seunghyuk yelled as he practically dashed down the streets, leaping over bushes and fences and finally arriving at what seems like the area of the Obelisk, "Why is there so many people? Are they all Conquerors? I better keep a low profile."
Seunghyuk blended into the crowd, at first with the plan of being less conspicuous but later, he realised he could actually get some valuable information from the many Conquerors around him. Seunghyuk was still a newly-awakened Conqueror and still had many more things to learn and know about.
"Are those people from a Conqueror Company?" One young Conqueror asked his tall friend standing beside him and the friend promptly replied while lowering his voice down, "Yes, they are from the ConcCube Company, the leader is the huge bald man leading the members, his name is Kim Seongwon."
Seunghyuk's eyes looked straight over the two man's shoulders and took notice of the so called ConcCube Company walking down the path towards the Obelisk. The weird thing is that no one is stopping them. Every single Obelisk in the world has a certain Conqueror Limit, meaning the Obelisk will close off temporarily when the limit is reached, and only reopens when one defeats the boss inside and gets the treasure. Is everybody that confident they can find the Obelisk's entrance later that they don't need to stop the company from reaching the Obelisk first?
What happened next answered every single question asked by Seunghyuk.
"What did you say? Was I just called a baldy by some lowlife uninvited by any company?" The leader of ConcCube Company, Kim Seongwon stepped out, raised his hands out, and the man who called him a baldy previously flew towards him like he was pulled by an invisible string, "Did you think I wouldn't be able to hear you? It's called a hearing skill, which is something someone like you will never get your hands on. You're just a puny Conqueror without a company so I suggest you keep your mouth tightly shut next time."
The man was threw far away, with just a slight throw from the ConcCube's Leader's arm The man flew a good 200-metres back, slamming painfully onto a stone pillar, causing cracks to run across the pillar. Seunghyuk swallowed a ball of saliva as he exhaled nervously, now he knows why no one dares to obstruct ConcCube, it is probably due to the leader, Kim Seongwon.
"There's still around 4 minutes until the Obelisk's entrance is revealed, and I welcome anyone who is unhappy with either ConcCube or me. Step forward now, and I'll gladly reduce the amount of competitors I'll face later competing for the Obelisk's entrance."
Kim Seongwon sounded strongly, and obviously, no one dared to take even a single step forward. No one wants to lose their lives.