When you have a lot to think, it's hard to fall asleep.
This is especially true for Cha Shin Hyeon, who needs little sleep. To him, sleep was closer to the concept of closing consciousness for a while and resting.
Since he was not limited by time, it was common to stay up all night when he started to concentrate on something. Most of them were when the idea of Martial Arts came to mind, and sometimes he just dug into it for a few days.
'Is it already past 3 o'clock?'
Cha Shin Hyeon, who suddenly checked the time on his cell phone, smiled bitterly.
The topic was a little different, but it seems that he was lost in thoughts today without even realizing the passage of time.
He shifted his gaze back to the status window that had been floating in front of him for several hours.
[Cha Shin Hyeon]
Stamina: 100% (Half-lost movement is applied)
Spirit: Unlimited
Outer Work: Level 50 (Max) (Fable level)
Inner Strength: Level 50 (Max) (Fable level)
Summation: Level 100 (Max)
List of skills acquired: (Open)
[Cha Shin Hyeon]HP: 100%
MP: 0 / 0
Class: No Class
Level: 1
List of stats: Points that can be distributed 1
Strength 0 / Durability 0 / Agility 0 / Intuition 0 / Spirit 0
Skill List: (Close)
Swordsmanship
Five days ago, there was no difference from when I took the aptitude test at the police station.
No, except for the 'Swordsmanship' skill that was added yesterday evening.
It was a skill learned with the skill cube that Cha Eun-seol had saved last night. I was thinking of learning a cheaper 'fighting art', but Cha Eun-seol suggested that I do it because swordsmanship is easier to obtain.
Either way, it's a decent amount of money.
Cha Eun-seol clearly said to Cha Shin Hyeon, who was wondering if this was worth it.
"You can't return an item that has been crafted to its material state. You don't cook it, keep it, and then sell it? To sell the cubes you bought cheaply to others, wouldn't it be disrespectful to its maker?"
"Ummm."
"Don't regret it because you saved a lot more money than you already thought. Skills are multifaceted. Even if it doesn't seem like much, there's absolutely nothing wrong with learning it. So learn it now. If there is a defect on the cube, I have to go tomorrow and ask for a replacement."
That being said, he couldn't refuse.
In the end, Cha Shin Hyeon used the skill cube and had swordsmanship skills.
Well, that's good so far.
The problem is other than that, the status window hasn't changed at all.
It was because Cha Shin Hyeon was struggling until dawn.
The biggest weapon he has is nothing but martial arts. The reason he chose Hunter as a profession was because he was confident that he would wipe out all of the monsters even if he had no skills.
But the plan started creaking from the beginning.
'Obviously, there was a kind of origin skill.'
Skills can be divided into three categories according to the acquisition method.
A class skill that the class holder automatically acquires as the level rises.
A monster skill that can be obtained rarely while hunting a monster and seems to imitate the ability of the monster.
An origin skill that a hunter awakens by obtaining special enlightenment under certain circumstances.
What Cha Shin Hyeon was secretly looking forward to was the origin skill side.
He was aware of martial arts, so he was expecting it to be registered as a skill if he used martial arts.
'Skill means skill, and it can be seen as a kind of martial art skill.'
However, the skill was not added even though I tried to use martial arts whenever I had free time for the past few days.
I tried everything like swordsmanship, kwonbeop, footbeop, and newbeop in the nearby hills to avoid the gaze of others, but there was no change. I even tried to do each movement carefully, but there was no response at all.
Since there are two status windows, I wondered if there was a problem that I couldn't master the skill at all, but I didn't learn swordsmanship well before. It didn't seem like there was a problem with the status window itself.
'It will be difficult if this happens in the future.'
As I said, hunters must defeat monsters with skills to receive experience points and level up.
But what if martial arts cannot be treated as a skill?
Then, in order to level up, you have to either seal the martial arts and hunt by relying on swordsmanship, or give up on leveling up. Neither was a choice I really liked.
'Maybe it's because something doesn't meet the conditions, but I don't know.'
No one knows exactly how to acquire Origin Skills. Even if the skills look similar, the situation in which each person acquires is different. If you just do it, you'll get used to it. It is the same as not being able to artificially control enlightenment.
The place called the dungeon might not be important, and there may be restrictions in the middle of fighting monsters. Or it could be because he didn't want to do martial arts with all his might.
Or is it possible that the martial arts status window on the Moorim side is treated the same as the skills on the earth side status window, so you can level up just with no attacks? Well, this was entirely Cha Shin Hyeon's wish. If you're unlucky, you could play with each skill separately.
'The day after tomorrow will be the turning point.'
It was a problem that you had to go to the dungeon and hunt the monster yourself to know for sure. At this stage, nothing is certain. There would be no point in worrying any more.
'Please don't bother me.'
Closing the status window and closing her eyes, Cha Shin Hyeon muttered to himself.
* * *
As of 2025, there are two main ways to become a hunter in Korea, namely, to obtain a hunter license.
First. Graduated from Hunter Academy.
When you turn 14, take an aptitude test and take a class, you will be given the opportunity to enter the Hunter Academy instead of a regular high school. The duration is the same as in high school, 3 years.
When you graduate from the Hunter Academy, you are automatically given a Hunter license.
"It's the case where I graduated from the academy and became a hunter."
Cha Eun-seol explained.
"But you can't do it this way because you have a no-class."
Taking a class didn't necessarily mean you had to go to Hunter Academy, but if you don't have a class, you can't enter the school itself.
There were fewer than 500 academy graduates in a year, because the rate at which they were given classes in the aptitude test was so small. It's kind of like an elite course.
"Even if it is possible, I want to decline. Going to school for three years with high school students at this age is a little… … No, it's very annoying."
Cha Shin Hyeon shook his head nervously.
There was a second way to register at the Hunter Training Center.
The conditions are quite strict. He had to learn at least one skill and had to pay a whopping 2 million won for a two-month course. It was said that the cost would be broken from the start considering that the skill would eventually have to be purchased with money.
"By the way, even if you put tuition aside, many people don't like this because you have to do camp training for two months. Is it like an army? You won't like it either."
"I don't know how great education is, but I think two months is a waste."
"Its is not? You know you have a great sister. Thanks to that, you can use the third route."
Cha Eun-seol said proudly.
The third route, she said, was a method used only by a small number of people, unknown to the general public.
"This is the exact condition for issuing a Hunter license. Must be level 5 or higher regardless of class. When you enter the academy, you take an average of 15 levels over 3 years of practice, and in the case of the training center, roll hard for 2 months to make level 5. In other words, if you somehow get to level 5, you don't have to go through the academy or training center."
But there are obstacles to this.
To become a Hunter, you must be level 5, and to raise the level, you must hunt monsters in the dungeon.
However, only hunters could apply for dungeon entry.
Even if you are a hunter in the first place, you cannot go to any dungeon whenever you want.
There is no dungeon without an owner in the narrow Korean land mass.
Each dungeon had a guild they managed, and only those who allowed by that guild could enter the dungeon. Well, you could sneak in, but if caught, it was natural for the guild to punish you.
The reason why trainees from the academy or training center could raise their level in the dungeon was because the dungeon was managed by the academy or training center.
Therefore, ordinary people without any connection had no way to enter the dungeon, and had to follow the instructions quietly.
"So you're saying you rented a dungeon?"
"Huh. For today."
Cha Eun-seol belonged to the two largest guilds in Korea, the 'Dawn' guild, which is influential in Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do. She was also not a regular employee, but a team leader who was in charge of a team under the manager.
When she became the team leader, it wasn't too difficult to talk to the guild and rent a dungeon. If you have the ability, you will see that level of convenience. She wasn't even giving it away for free anyway.
"There are a few places called 'tutorial dungeons' among the dungeons managed by Dawn. Like the dungeons used in the academy or training center, places with less degree of risk. It seems that people who want to shorten the time of two months with money, or the upper class who are a little gritty when they stand out, rent a place like this and secretly raise their level."
"People who want to save time will understand, but why would the upper class want to become hunters? "
Even if you don't have a Hunter license, it's easy to level up to level 5, and it helps a lot in your daily life even if you go up to that level. If you have MP, you can use magic tools, and even if you only get 10,000 points of strength or stamina, the feeling is pretty great."
"Is this the feeling of buying health with money?"
"It's similar. Of course, taking stats doesn't change your body itself, but if you have a lot of money, you'll have to take care of your body. If you adjust the stats a little, you can enjoy a comfortable life. We have arrived."
Cha Eun-seol said as she put the car exactly in the parking line in one room with front parking.
Saturday morning, one week after Cha Shin Hyeon got the status bar.
Currently, they are in Wonju.
The two arrived at one of the many branches of Dawn.
It was a small one-story building located in a rather remote place near Mt. Chiak. The people working inside are, of course, the Dawn Hunters.
"What did you come here for?"
"I am the person who rented the dungeon today."
A young man in his early 20s, Hunter, and Cha Eun-seol had a conversation. The young man who checked her ID got up from his seat.
"Come this way."
The two of them were guided to the back of the building. In the middle of the space tightly surrounded by barbed wire, a black hole could be seen with its mouth open in the air.
It was the entrance to the dungeon.
The young man said as he opened one side of the barbed wire.
"You are of the higher ups in the headquarters, you know the procedure well, so I don't have to tell you, right?"
"Yes. it's okay."
"If you don't come back before midnight, it will be considered as something wrong and a search party will be dispatched. Please let me know once more."
"All right."
"Then."
The two o them were let in and the barbed wire closed again.
As if his job was over, the young man went back into the building.
Cha Shin Hyeon, who was silent for a moment, muttered.
"I thought I was going in alone, but that person seems to think it's quite natural for two people to go in."
"Hunters never go into dungeons alone. I don't know what's going to happen inside. There is a big difference between having colleagues and not having them."
"And the tutorial dungeon is even better. No matter how dangerous a dungeon is, it is not a place where a level 1 can do anything alone. Of course, it is a place to go with a group."
"Group?"
"It is said that the hunter who applied for the dungeon rental serves as a guardian and helps beginners. So that beginners can hunt as many monsters as possible on their own while taking care of them as little as possible."
"I don't need that kind of help."
"I will. I don't want to help either. No matter how low your skills are, the monsters here won't be a threat. But we have to go in together. Otherwise, other people will think it's weird."
"… … Well, I got it."
I had something to try, so I was most comfortable alone, but if that was the case, it was okay for the two of us to go. It wasn't that the test was impossible because her sister was by her side. A newcomer would have to worry about leaking information, but as her family he trusted her.
"Come on, let's go in."