RMS 03

Chapter 3

‘Why the hell do they take taxes? What has the country ever done for me?’

Grumbling inwardly, he picked up a few cheap potions, thinking they might come in handy.

He also took the lowest-grade magic stones, which he could at least sell for a little pocket money…

“…?”

At that moment, something strange caught Han Si-woo’s eye.

An unfamiliar object floating in the hazy, mist-like smoke.

It was floating there, giving off a soft, pure-white glow.

Snatch-!

Han Si-woo quickly grabbed it, and his eyes narrowed.

It looked nothing like a magic stone, and the light it gave off was different from anything produced by any grade of magic stone.

Frowning as he stared at it, Han Si-woo used Appraisal.

Ding-

[1 Soul Stone]

[Currency usable in the Transcendence Hall]

Han Si-woo stared expressionlessly at the object in his hand.

An item that could be used in the Transcendence Hall?

“Interesting.”

With a cold smile, Han Si-woo stood up.

There was nothing more to gain from the Goblin Chief.

Besides…

[Han Si-woo (Transcendent) – Lv 10]

[Class – None]

[Title – None]

[Strength – 17 (+9)]

[Vitality – 10 (+6)]

[Mana – 1 (+6)]

[Remaining Points – 4]

He had reached Level 10, the level required to challenge the first layer of the Transcendence Hall.

Satisfied with that fact, Han Si-woo started walking.

The reward for hunting the boss monster, the Goblin Chief, was 400,000 won.

After taxes were deducted, only 360,000 won remained.

‘A dungeon like this would take a five-man party several days to clear. They wouldn’t even make minimum wage.’

Before his regression, he had once been disappointed to learn that even after fighting like hell to clear this dungeon, that was all he would earn.

Back then, he had forced himself to think positively, telling himself that it was a stepping stone toward entering higher-level dungeons.

Of course, that wasn’t entirely wrong.

‘Still, this time was different. Did it take me about an hour to clear it?’

After taxes, he had 360,000 won from the boss.

Then, after selling the magic stones, he had nearly 400,000 won in his hands.

Thinking over the fact with a strange expression, he gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

‘I should just buy some potions and head home.’

Han Si-woo bought several potions from the shop inside the Center.

They were cheap potions that cost around 50,000 won each. They were consumables that could instantly heal minor injuries.

They were only effective enough to stop the bleeding from severe wounds, but they were still useful.

‘Better to be prepared, just in case.’

They say even a monkey can fall from a tree.

There was no guarantee that Han Si-woo would never get injured.

He was on his way home when—

“Excuse me for a moment.”

“…?”

Someone called out to him, so Han Si-woo turned around.

His eyes narrowed when he realized they were employees of the Center.

“What is it?”

“You just handed in a clear proof. We would like to ask for your cooperation in an investigation.”

“Cooperation?”

From the unexpected stop, Han Si-woo could roughly guess what was going on.

It clearly wasn’t because there was something wrong with the proof or because it was suspected of being forged.

‘It is a suspicious situation.’

Han Si-woo had awakened for the first time today and had his identity verified at the Center.

Yet a Level 1 Awakened had immediately entered a dungeon and cleared one with a recommended level of 10 or higher.

From a third party’s point of view, it wasn’t unreasonable to suspect that something dishonest was involved.

But Han Si-woo had nothing to hide, so he followed the employee.

“Please take a seat. An investigator will be here soon.”

“…An investigator is coming too?”

Even an investigator, who was normally brought in when something serious happened.

The displeasure was obvious in Han Si-woo’s voice, and the employee gave a small laugh.

“There have been quite a few cases of people illegally trading clear proofs lately.”

“I see.”

“Please have some coffee and wait a moment.”

Han Si-woo remembered the issue because it had once become a major social problem.

When an Awakened submitted a large number of proofs showing that they had cleared dungeons to the Center, the Center judged that Awakened to be trustworthy.

That greatly increased their chances of receiving requests from companies that entrusted their work to the Center, or participating in rare missions recruited directly by the Center.

For that reason, the illegal trading of clear proofs had become common in secret.

Click-

A moment later, the door opened and a man appeared.

The employees bowed politely to him before leaving the reception room.

“I’m Yoo Seok-hwan, the investigator.”

“Han Si-woo.”

Yoo Seok-hwan sat across from Han Si-woo.

Then he took out a notebook and spoke in a firm voice.

“I’ll get straight to the point. Where did you obtain the proof?”

There was a strong implication in his words that there was no way an Awakened who had only awakened today could have cleared a dungeon and obtained it himself.

Han Si-woo’s eyebrow twitched.

But from the investigator’s position, it was a perfectly reasonable suspicion.

“I cleared a dungeon near Peace Park and obtained it there.”

“…Peace Park.”

Yoo Seok-hwan wrote down Han Si-woo’s answer.

Han Si-woo didn’t know what he was thinking, but he had no intention of undergoing any more investigation.

So he decided to clear up their suspicions right away.

Ding-

[Goblin defeated, 77 EXP acquired]

[Goblin defeated, 81 EXP acquired]

…

[Goblin Chief defeated, 3,175 EXP acquired]

“This is proof that I defeated the Goblins one by one myself.”

Yoo Seok-hwan stared blankly at Han Si-woo’s message window.

It was undeniable proof that he had personally cleared the dungeon.

Yoo Seok-hwan stared at the message window in confusion and stammered.

“H-How…?”

“What do you mean, how? You mean how a Level 1 Awakened hunted Goblins?”

Han Si-woo stood up and downed the coffee remaining in his paper cup.

Then, as he walked away, he said,

“You just kill them well. Why are you making such a big deal out of it? It’s not like you’ve only been in business for a day or two.”

Click-

Han Si-woo walked straight out of the reception room.

Left alone, Yoo Seok-hwan remained lost in thought before eventually standing up.

Soon after, he took a deep breath in front of the office of the department head who oversaw the investigators, then walked inside.

“I have a report.”

“Go ahead.”

“It’s about the proof brokers who have been causing problems lately. We found someone suspected of possibly having contact with a broker, but it doesn’t appear that he has committed any offense.”

The department head asked him to explain, and Yoo Seok-hwan told him everything he knew.

The man had awakened today, yet he had cleared the Goblin Dungeon alone.

However, Yoo Seok-hwan had personally checked the hunting message window, so there was no possibility of cheating.

But the department head spoke in an indifferent voice.

“No offense? From where I’m standing, there are plenty of reasons to suspect him.”

“Excuse me…?”

“Who knows if he’s someone being trained by a broker? Who knows if he’s connected to an unregistered Awakened? Don’t make your own judgments. If someone seems suspicious, register them as a person of interest first. That way, we can arrest even one more person later. And don’t bother me with useless reports like this.”

At the department head’s words, Yoo Seok-hwan became speechless.

He already knew that the man was trash who had become blinded by performance records.

But he hadn’t realized it was this bad…

“…Understood.”

But it was an order from his superior.

Yoo Seok-hwan lowered his head helplessly and walked outside.

When his mother returned home, she was about to prepare dinner.

But then she saw something she never expected.

“…Son, what are you doing?”

Han Si-woo was standing in the kitchen.

At the unbelievable sight, his mother rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was seeing things.

“You’re home?”

Until yesterday, her son had done nothing but lie around in his room without even getting a job.

And now that same son was wearing an apron and holding a ladle.

“Is chicken soup okay for dinner? I don’t know if it’ll suit your taste.”

“Son, come here for a second.”

At his mother’s call, Han Si-woo put down the ladle and walked over.

When his mother’s cool hand touched his forehead, his eyes widened.

“Oh my, you have a fever. So that’s why you were bawling your eyes out earlier.”

“…I don’t have a fever. Your hands must just be cold from being outside.”

Han Si-woo chuckled, leaving his mother completely bewildered.

More importantly, how had a guy who never even cooked managed to make chicken soup?

When she asked him about it, Han Si-woo gave a simple answer.

“What? I just cooked it. Aren’t you hungry? It’s already done. You just have to eat.”

“Y-Yeah. Your sister will be home soon, so let’s eat together.”

“Okay. Go wash up.”

Before his regression, Han Si-woo had spent several decades as an Awakened.

After living like that for so long, even looking at simple rations or combat food was enough to make him sick.

You needed strength to fight, and you had to eat to have strength.

Veteran Awakened had to cook if they wanted to survive.

A little while later, Han Si-woo’s younger sister returned home.

At the sight of her, his expression became emotional, and he quickly went to the front door.

“…You’re home?”

“Huh?”

Her brother had actually come all the way to the entrance to greet her.

At that, his younger sister, Han Si-yeon, looked at Han Si-woo suspiciously.

“What? Why are you suddenly acting like this?”

“Hey, come here.”

When Han Si-woo beckoned her over, Han Si-yeon looked frightened.

Other people might have fantasies about the relationship between an older brother and younger sister, but wasn’t the reality usually a complete mess?

“Mom, Oppa is trying to hit me again…”

But what happened next was unexpected.

He gently stroked her hair, as if he were simply happy to see her.

It might have been a creepy thing to do in some ways, but Han Si-yeon was left stunned by the unexpected situation.

“…You’re home?”

“Y-Yeah.”

“Okay. Let’s eat.”

His mother, whom he hadn’t seen in decades.

His younger sister, whom he hadn’t seen in decades.

‘This time, I definitely will…’

‘Did I eat too much?’

His mother and sister were horrified by Han Si-woo’s sudden change in behavior, as if he had become a completely different person.

But apart from that, the family dinner was a success.

‘They’re more shocked by this than by the fact that I became an Awakened. Just how pathetic was I in the past?’

Han Si-woo made a self-deprecating expression and took a deep breath.

He had eaten a hearty meal, so the next thing he needed to do was obvious.

Crackle-!

The moment Han Si-woo used the Transcendence Hall, his vision began to change.

Soon, a pure-white world came into view.

The sound of bells rang from somewhere far away, and pure-white spires rose toward the sky as if they could pierce it.

Rumble-!

A pure-white stone tablet fell in front of him.

He had already experienced this once, so there was no reason to be surprised by every little thing.

“I challenge the first layer.”

[Would you like to challenge the first layer of the Transcendence Hall?]

“Yes.”

As soon as Han Si-woo accepted, his vision began to be sucked inward, just as it had before.

Soon, the sound of drums that seemed to stir his blood rang out.

Boom, boom, boom, the sound beating in time with his heartbeat…

Sssrrr-

Something pitch-black began to rise from the ground some distance away.

It rose in a strange shape, as though strands of black thread were shooting upward one by one. The mass gathered together and gradually began to form a human shape.

No, to be exact, something resembling a human.

Clank-!

A figure completely clad in black full-plate armor.

Blue-green eyes glowing from beneath its pitch-black helmet.

[Layer 1, a Dark Knight has appeared.]

[The time limit is 5 minutes.]

[If you defeat it within 1 minute, you will receive additional points.]

“…Ghk!”

Han Si-woo’s eyes trembled.

In the tutorial, a crude pile of bones had appeared.

‘It’s only the first layer, but they’re sending out a Dark Knight with a recommended level of 100 or higher?’

The gap between the first layer and the tutorial was ridiculous.

It was true that after clearing the tutorial, he had felt a little proud of himself.

But the harsh reality had completely crushed that feeling.

“What the hell is this garbage game…”

And then, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

The stone tablet had clearly said:

[The Transcendence Hall allows you to test your abilities.]

Right.

This was a test.

It wasn’t simply about growth, nor was it some kind of gift.

It was simply an opportunity to test his own abilities and limits.