Miracles and dangers of a player

Jin-Woo opened his eyes.

He saw a white ceiling, and his nose stung from the odour of disinfectants. He also felt the sensation of a hard mattress against his back. Jin-Woo immediately recognised where he was.

'A hospital?'

Ever since he met the rank B Healer, Ju-Hui, the frequency of him staying in one had decreased somewhat, but still, hospitals were familiar places for Jin-Woo, just as he'd be with a local convenience store.

´Then that means Naruto!´

¨Calm down,Jin-Woo.I´m here and you overexcited.¨

¨Naruto?We are alive,we made alive!¨

¨Yeah and there are some people waiting for you.¨

¨You are awake.¨

Jin-Woo was surprised by the weighty voice coming from the corner of the hospital room, and hurriedly turned his head to look.

"I apologise if we took you by surprise and Unfortunately, we are unable to wait any longer."

Two men appeared in black business suits approached Jin-Woo's bed. The youth then tilted his head and asked them.

"Who…. are you?"

He had never seen these two's faces before.One of them with the close-cropped hair like a soldier and wearing a pair of sunglasses presented him with a business card.

¨This two are from the Association.¨

¨It´s better if you let us introduce ourselves.Here is my business card.¨

Jin-Woo received the business card and read what was written on it.

'Woo Jin-Cheol, the section chief of the Monitoring Division, the Korean Hunter's Association?'

The Monitoring Division was the only department in the Hunter's Association with many strong Hunters in their payroll. Well, since this department was tasked with managing the country's Hunters so, quite obviously, they would employ many high-class Hunters to facilitate that purpose.

"What does the Monitoring Division want from me?"

Woo Jin-Cheol dragged a chair closer to the bed and sat down. The other man, who must've been his subordinate, stood behind him.The unspoken pressure emanating from the two buff guys staring down in close vicinity was quite heavy. The story they conveyed was rather surprising, though.

"I was unconscious for four days?!"

¨Yup, I was only unconscious for two days.¨

"By any chance, do you remember what happened before you blacked out?"

"Yes, I do."

"Please tell us everything you can remember."

Jin-Woo told them everything truthfully, minus the strange hallucinatory words he and Naruto heard before they both lost their consciousness.

¨See, its the same.There is no need to even ask!¨

¨Quiet, Hunter Naruto and that's when you lost your consciousness… Is that all?¨

"Yes. I open my eyes next, and I'm in a hospital."

Woo Jin-Cheol and his lackey exchanged meaningful glances. For some reason, they seemed to be troubled by Jin-Woo's lack of knowledge.Actually, Jin-Woo was the one who wanted to find out what happened the most in this room.

"Just how did I get to this hospital? Did a large Guild enter and kill those damn things?"

"Well, actually…."

Woo Jin-Cheol awkwardly opened his mouth.

"By the time the agents of the Monitoring Division and the White Tiger Guild arrived at the scene after being briefed by the survivors…."

The White Tiger Guild was a super-massive Guild and also one of the top five in the country. The Association had recognised the danger, hence they requested the aid of such a huge Guild as the White Tiger Guild in the first place.Just what did happen back there?Jin-Woo nervously swallowed a dry spit.

"By the time….?"

"….Everything was 'gone'. The only thing to be found within that open space was you, Mister Seong Jin-Woo and Mister Naruto here. There was not one trace of the god statue nor the stone statues and the runes on the floor."

"Come again?!"

Jin-Woo displayed a shocked, disbelieving face.

¨That´s what they told me too,ya´know?¨

"It's hard for us to believe it as well. If there had been any inconsistencies in the testimonies of the survivors, or if we had failed to find the remains of the victims in the chamber, we might have suspected something fishy was going on."

It'd been six years since he got ranked as an 'A' and started working for the Monitoring Division. He could confidently say that he had witnessed and experienced pretty much everything during his tenure. However, this kind of situation was a first even for him.He had asked other Guilds as well as the Associations in other countries, but the end result was nothing worthy to speak about.

"So, this is what we've been thinking….There were powerful creatures in that chamber, without a doubt. But, they were taken care of by an unknown group, or an unknown person. Because, no otherworldly beings escaped from the Gate before it was closed, you see."

They had to consider all the possibilities. Even if the odds were low, they had to confirm them all. The head honchos of the Association deliberated, and then deliberated for some more, and finally came up with a theory.

"We… suspect that Hunter Seong Jin-Woo-nim with Hunter Naruto Taifū might have gone through another Awakening."

Another Awakening!Jin-Woo's eyes shot open wide.Although extremely rare, there had been instances of a human who had awakened his or her abilities as a Hunter going through yet another Awakening.Often referred to as 'Re-Awakening', those who undergo this process would normally become extremely powerful compared to before.Originally, once a Hunter's rank was assigned at the beginning, it rarely changed. A Hunter's abilities were determined the moment one went through an Awakening, that was why.However, it was a different story for those going through the Re-Awakening process.Jumping past their own limitations to rise up from, say, rank C to A, or even from B to S, such things had happened before.

'Seong Jin-Woo…. If he went through a Re-Awakening and became a rank S, no, maybe even exceeding that, then it's possible for him to kill those monsters all by himself and since Naruto here has only magic energy of nine.'

The god statue was said to have melted rank C Hunters with nothing but its eyes, according to the survivors.If one were able to kill such a creature even while unconscious, just how powerful one could possibly be?To prepare for this unlikeliest possibility, Woo Jin-Cheol labelled this incident as 'top secret' and made sure everyone involved would keep their mouths shut.This was also the reason why Seong Jin-Woo and Naruto found themselves in a hospital room all alone, as well as being looked after by some of the finest medical practitioners in the nation.There were less than ten people in the entire world that could truly be described as a global powerhouse. But, what if Korea were to possess a powerhouse that were said to rival a nuclear warhead in terms of pure firepower?Of course, confirming the truth of the Re-Awakening wasn't difficult at all. Didn't the wise elders once say to make hay while the sun still shines?Woo Jin-Cheol signaled to his lackey.

"Bring it here."

Then, the lackey went to the corner of the room and began rummaging through a briefcase placed there.

"It's the device to measure your magic energy."

He added that, although this device had been miniaturised, its efficiency or accuracy did not fall short of the actual full-size measuring device located in the Hunter's Association.

"All you have to do is to place your hand on this magic crystal over here."

On top of a circular plate, there was a fist-sized magic crystal embedded in the middle. Its colour was pitch-black, as if it was a black hole that wanted to suck him in!It was one of the highest quality magic crystals that cost as much as a billion won, not to mention that could only be found in monsters ranked A or higher.When Jin-Woo stared at the magic crystal without saying anything, Woo Jin-Cheol formed a dignified, serious expression and spoke up.

"This is a necessary step during our investigation, so please, cooperate with us."

¨They did it with me already,it´s alright.¨

Jin-Woo nodded his head.If he indeed had undergone a Re-Awakening, then his life would do a 180 in an instant. And they were going to test it out for him for free, so who was he to refuse?Jin-Woo placed his hand on top of the black crystal and soon enough, warm rays of light oozed out from it.

*SFX for a beam of light dissipating*

Woo Jin-Cheol hurriedly took off his sunglasses and confirmed the numbers.Right away, a small earthquake rocked Woo Jin-Cheol's eyes.

"How can this be?!"

He rechecked the numbers, but it remained the same.How could a person holding a Hunter licence possess the magic energy value of only 10?!This is just like Naruto!When considering the fact that the lowest average value for rank E – the bottom rank – was around 70 to 100, Seong Jin-Woo was no different from a regular person.Seeing the suspicious reactions of the two Monitoring Division agents, the result must've been somewhat beyond their expectations.Meanwhile, Woo Jin-Cheol was comparing the existing data on Jin-Woo with the new measurement.

'His first measurement returned the value of 12. Four years later, it's 10. It has decreased by 2, but it is within the margin of error.While Naruto first measurement was 23.Two years later,it´s 9.It has decreased by 14.´

In other words, the magic energy measuring device was working fine. Instead, it was Seong Jin-Woo's magic energy and Naruto energy that happened to be just illogically, nonsensically low.It was a miracle that they had survived until now.Woo Jin-Cheol rapidly realised that being here was a waste of time, so he got up from his seat.Woo Jin-Cheol and his lackey quickly packed up to leave.

"Thank you for your cooperation. If you remember anything else, please give us a call anytime."

[You have several unread messages.]

He closed his eyes and opened them again.

[You have several unread messages.]

¨So you´re looking at the screen right now,right?¨

¨Yup.¨

¨If you want to read,say open mail.¨

¨What are you two talking about?¨

Jin-Woo's younger sibling, Seong Jin-Ah appeared at the door.Jin-Ah blankly swept her gaze all over Jin-Woo, before she came closer while her breathing became uneven, angry. And then, as soon as Jin-Woo assumed a defensive posture, she began punching him in all the unguarded parts.

"I told you to stop getting hurt!! You have any idea how worried I was?!"

"…..I'm sorry."

"Other people walk away fine, but how come it's only you who gets hurt all the time?!"

"….Sorry."

The strength behind Jin-Ah's punches gradually seeped away. She soon stopped, and as her head fell, began crying. Jin-Woo slowly patted the back of his sobbing sister.Naruto laughed at the scene.Then Jin-Ah wiped away her tears,walked towards Naruto and slapped him there.

SFX sound of slapping

¨They told me,that you was dead!¨

¨But i am still here,aren´t i?¨

¨But.....¨

¨Shh,it´s all right,i´m here.¨

¨I need to leave now.¨

¨Where´s my kiss?¨

"Care to explain, Naruto?"

"uhm, we are dating?I don't know."

"Buddy... How long have you two been dating?"

"Like 6 months back?"

"Man, we be bros in the future though."

SFX sound of kissing

¨Thats gross.¨

¨Where are you going?¨

"Yeah. To school. I got permission to leave so I could check up on you. So I gotta go back."

Jin-Woo nodded his head.

"Right, the university entrance exams are next year."

¨Good luck!¨

SFX door slam open

BLAMM!!

¨What the?¨

¨Nīsan!1¨

¨Hey imouto!!Right,I have not introduce you to each other. This is my imouto,Araki and this is my best friend Seong Jin-Woo!!¨

"So there´s nothing to worry about?Sayonara 2,Nīsan."

"I will be going too now."

"Bye then."

¨So what did you say earlier to open the text?¨

"Just say 'Open mail'."

"Open mail."

Tti-ring!

As soon as Jin-Woo said the word 'Open mail', a clear beep entered his head and the hidden messages revealed themselves.

[There are two unread messages.]

– Congratulations on becoming a [Player] (unread)

– [Daily Quest: Preparations to become strong] is now available. (unread)

Jin-Woo smiled brightly.

¨Don´t be to happy yet. Check the first message.¨

Tti-ring!

[This System will support the growth of the 'Player.']

[Failing to comply with the System's instructions will result in potential penalties.]

[Your rewards have been delivered.]

[Daily Quest: Preparations to become strong] is now available. (unread)

Tti-ring!

[Daily Quest: Preparations to become stronger]

Press-up, 100 times: Incomplete (0/100)

Sit-up, 100 times: Incomplete (0/100)

Squat, 100 times: Incomplete (0/100)

Running, 10 km: Incomplete (0/10)

※Warning: Incompletion of Daily Quests will result in appropriate levels of punishment.

´What the hell is this!?!´

"You found out about the training already?That´s good, I'm done with it! I recommend that you should do it!" After those words, he just left.

"If anyone could become stronger by doing these exercises, who would be willing to go through that much hardship, then…?Wait,never mind only Naruto."

Jin-Woo shook his head.Then Jin-Woo lied down spread-eagled on the bed and just wordlessly stared at the ceiling.

´Gah,f*** it.Let´s do this!´

"One, two, three….."

The count started from 'one' and quickly climbed upwards.

"…..97, 98, 99, 100."

Since he started this thing, he decided to do all 100, but quite different from his expectation, nothing happened when he was finished.Other than his arms aching just a little, that was.

¨What am i even doing?Screw this,I´m going back to sleep.¨

The needles spun and spun around until they indicated 11:59:57 PM.

58, 59, 60….

The needles stopped moving precisely as they touched 12:00:00.

Tti-ring.

[You've failed to complete the Daily Quest. You'll be transferred to the 'Penalty Zone' for a set period of time.]

RUMBLE!!!

Jin-Woo's eyes shot right open from the violent tremor that shook his entire body.

"An earthquake?!"

Jin-Woo sat right up and grabbed the edges of the bed. The shaking was so bad that he couldn't maintain his balance.

RUMBLE!!

The shaking got progressively worse as the seconds ticked by. It happened then.

*SFX for things turning into powder and falling to the floor*

One of the steel bars on the bed he held on for dear life suddenly broke. No, it didn't break per se, but simply 'disappeared'. Jin-Woo hurriedly looked at his palm. No steel bar there, just grains of sand.

'Sand?!'

*SFX for things turning into powder and falling to the floor*

The other steel bar also transformed into sand as well.

Meanwhile, the 'earthquake' became even more violent.

RUUUUMBLE!!!

"Uwaaahk!!"

In the end, Jin-Woo was thrown off from the bed. He bounced around all over the hospital room and screamed out. Even when that was happening, items within the room was turning into sand one at the time.

"Uwaaaahhhh!!¨

….Plop.

Jin-Woo was flung away and got deposited rather unceremoniously.He felt something soft against his fingertips. They happened to be ultra-fine grains of sand and the accursed earthquake had stopped.

"Ptooi! Ptooi!!"

Jin-Woo spat out the sand in his mouth and hurriedly raised his head up.

"….?!"

His eyes caught the sight on an endless plain of nothing but sand.Jin-Woo frowned heavily and got up. All the sand that found its way inside his clothes poured out. He dusted the sand caked on his chest while taking a look around him.

Indeed, all he could see was sand. And more sand.

"A desert….?!"

This couldn't be real.

Until a few moments ago, he was sleeping on a bed inside a hospital located in the middle of Seoul. But now, as soon as he opened his eyes, he was in the middle of a massive desert?

Jin-Woo scooped up a handful of sand, and let it slip through his fingers. The fine grains fell straight down to the ground.

'There is not a single breeze here.'

It wasn't just the breeze, though – when he raised his head up to look, the sky didn't have a sun, a moon, or any stars for that matter.

It was an empty sky, as if it was filled up with black ink and nothing else.

However, for some reason, he had no trouble seeing at all.

"Just where is this place?"

Out of nowhere, the sandy ground next to him caved in and a deep pit formed there. Jin-Woo desperately ran away so he could avoid getting sucked in down there. The sandy pit grew wider and wider, and eventually, Jin-Woo had to crawl on all fours just to pull himself out.He plopped down on his butt, panted heavily and stared at the bottom of the pit. Quite bizarrely, he could see that the sand at the bottom was 'boiling'Jin-Woo instinctively forced himself up. He was getting a really bad premonition right about now.

¨What the hell is this?!?¨

Sure enough, just as Jin-Woo took a step back, the sand within the pit suddenly exploded upwards.

Phushu-!!

The falling sand emitted the roar of a waterfall.

Jin-Woo's eyes went extra round in the meantime.

"An… an insect?"

The identity of the thing that exploded out from the sand was a giant centipede.

Kiiiieeehhhk!

When fully revealed, the damn thing's head almost reached the height equaling that of a five-story building.Jin-Woo anxiously swallowed his saliva.For sure, the thing was unrealistically huge. He had never heard of such a centipede this big existing in the world before. But the size of the centipede wasn't the only thing that shocked Jin-Woo.

"Why is there a… name floating on top of that monster?"

Was he dreaming again?Jin-Woo closed and opened his eyes again, yet nothing had changed. Even now, there were five red words floating on top of the monster's head.Just like a monster from a video game might have.

'The Poison-Fanged Giant Desert Centipede.'

Just like its horrendous and bizarre appearance, its name too was something he'd like to avoid at all cost. What drew his attention the most was the two letters "poison" and "fanged".He spotted a pair of fangs as large as a child jutting out just below the bastard's jaw. It didn't take a genius to figure out what might happen if he got stabbed by those fangs simply from its name alone.Seeing those large fangs and its jaw constantly opening and closing, it was as if….

"It's busy licking its lips, right?"

It was then, the sound went off in his head again.

Tti-ring.

[Penalty Quest: Survival]

Goal: Please survive until the end of the time limit.

Time limit: 4 hours

Remaining time: 4 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds

'Are you kidding me….?'

However, as soon as the 'remaining time' changed to 3 hours, 59 minutes, and 59 seconds, the centipede parted sand and rushed towards him as if it couldn't wait any longer.

*SFX for sand parting ways*

"Wha-what the hell?!"

Jin-Woo hurriedly spun around and ran for his life.

¨I should have listen to Naruto!¨

¨Achoo!!¨

¨Bless you!¨

¨Why I feel like Jin-Woo didn´t listen to me,oh well sucks to be him.Wait then....that means the centipedes!¨

"Wha-what the hell?!"

Jin-Woo hurriedly spun around and ran for his life.There was no time to deliberate on things. If he wanted to live, then he had to run!That was the only thought racing in his head.However, even before he had taken several steps, another pillar of sand exploded upwards not too far from his position.

Boom!!

"Euh-ahhck?!"

Jin-Woo fell on his rear from the powerful shockwave. He rolled on the sandy ground before urgently getting back up. He swiped the sand off his face before his eyes shot open even wider.

This time, it wasn't just one or two of them.

Boom!!

Booooom!!

Before he had even noticed it, there were seven sand centipedes jutting out from the sand and they were all glaring at him.

Kiiieeechhk!!

Kiieeek!

As the centipedes issued shrill cries, Jin-Woo's complexion changed for the worse. A lot worse.

"God damn it…."

Jin-Woo reappeared in the hospital room exactly four hours later.Plop.Jin-Woo keeled over on the floor and painfully wheezed out.

"Cough, cough!! Ptooi, ptooi!!"

His mouth felt full with this coarse, grainy taste. His eyes stung badly too, seemingly like sand particles got in there. Jin-Woo whimpered and groaned for a long time, before powerlessly falling flat on his back. He didn't have any energy left to lift even a finger.

"Pant…. Pant…. Just…. What was that….?"

Jin-Woo continued to pant heavily when a new message appeared before him.

Tti-ring.

[You've completed the 'Penalty Quest.']