“Ugh…”

Kim Songcheol got up from the bed, his face deeply furrowed.

A zombie-like groan naturally escaped his throat.

There wasn’t a single part of his body that didn’t ache.

It felt like someone had beaten him with a club while he was sleeping.

‘Even if I was beaten with just a thread, it would be sharper than this…’

Kim Songcheol tried to lift his arm to loosen his shoulder but gave up.

He hadn’t used his arms much, so why did they ache so badly?

In the end, he was so exhausted that he climbed the ridge on all fours, but the muscle pain shouldn’t have been this severe.

‘Could this be Tension Mana Imbalance Syndrome…?’

He had read about it in theory.

Mana users sometimes report abnormal muscle pain after experiencing severe stress.

Especially, the higher the Mana Affinity, the higher the probability.

When tension increases, Mana in the body unconsciously gathers in the core, and even the Mana that maintains the body rushes there, causing minor physical damage.

The more Mana one possesses, the more rapidly the incidence rate decreases, but Kim Songcheol was not yet at that level.

“I thought I endured it pretty well, well.”

It seemed that what happened in the Dungeon was definitely stressful.

Kim Songcheol thought he was defending against stress in his own way, but after experiencing such an event in his first Dungeon, his mind endured, but his body could not.

“Hoo…”

He wanted to call for a wheelchair and a caregiver, but first, he had to urinate.

‘Ugh!’

Kim Songcheol made up his mind, got up, and hobbled towards the bathroom.

“Ugh…”

‘It’s too far. Too far.’

Why was the bathroom so far today?

After walking for a long time, Kim Songcheol arrived at the bathroom, fought with the toilet seat again, finally urinated, and returned to the living room.

“Ugh!”

A scream naturally escaped him as he sat on the couch.

“I can’t move anymore. I’ll just stay here today…”

However, the world did not permit Kim Songcheol’s rest.

Ding-a-ling!

His mobile phone rang.

And it was from the master bedroom.

Today was the weekend.

Moreover, at this time, it was definitely his mother.

To be an unfilial son and preserve his body, or to be a filial son and endure the pain.

At that crossroads, Kim Songcheol, by virtue of being born in the Land of Eastern Courtesy, chose the path of a filial son.

Kim Songcheol got up again and slowly walked to the master bedroom.

His appearance was no different from a 90-year-old man.

“Hoo, Mother.”

As expected, the two characters ‘Mom’ were displayed on his mobile phone screen.

Kim Songcheol barely managed to sit on the bed and answered the phone.

“Hello?”

[Son, are you awake?]

“Yes, I’m awake.”

[What’s wrong with your voice? It’s hoarse? Did you catch a cold?]

“What cold? In this warm spring weather. It’s because I just woke up.”

[You woke up late. I told you to wake up early.]

“…I usually wake up early.”

[That’s good then. Are you not too busy with work these days? The beginning of the year is over, right?]

“Yes, all the busy work is done.”

That was true.

Kim Songcheol still hadn’t told his parents about his current situation.

His parents still thought Kim Songcheol was working very well as an accountant.

Honestly, he had tried to tell them several times. But what could he do when he couldn’t bring himself to speak?

His son, who was perfectly fine as an accountant, suddenly becomes a Hunter?

There was no such thunderclap.

Crying hysterically would be a mercy; they might even faint.

[Then come down this month. Take some side dishes, and oh, right. You know Mi-yeong’s aunt’s brother-in-law, don’t you?]

“Who is Mi-yeong’s aunt’s brother-in-law, exactly?”

[I told you before, didn’t I? The one who reads the Four Pillars of Destiny.]

“I didn’t hear about it.”

[Of course you did. He’s down here these days. When you come down, let’s go see the Four Pillars of Destiny together. I want to ask when you’re getting married.]

“No, what are you talking about… I don’t believe in such things. In a world where Dungeons and Gates are appearing, what’s with the Four Pillars of Destiny?”

[What’s wrong with you? That’s that. No, let’s just go see him once. I don’t believe in that either. But you can’t say it doesn’t exist at all, can you?]

“What kind of nonsense is that, Mother? Just pick one.”

[Anyway, remember that. Can you come down?]

“No, I don’t think I can.”

[Why?]

“Various things, well… I have some things going on.”

[Oh, really? Do you have a girlfriend?]

“No, it’s not like that…”

[Hoho, then I guess it can’t be helped. See how things are and come down if you have time.]

“Anyway, I can’t go.”

[See how things are.]

“Yes, I understand.”

[I’ll call you again, son.]

His mother hung up the phone like that.

“Who on earth is Mi-yeong’s aunt’s brother-in-law…”

Kim Songcheol lay down on the bed with difficulty, tilting his head as if he couldn’t figure it out no matter how much he thought about it.

Now that his mobile phone was nearby, it seemed he could finally rest comfortably for the day.

However.

Ding-dong.

This time, the doorbell rang.

Someone had come to visit.

“Ah, what is it…”

‘There’s no one who would visit besides Mi-yeong’s aunt’s brother-in-law…’

Kim Songcheol once again struggled to get up.

He hobbled over to the intercom and saw Kim Myeongju’s face.

As always, she had a bright expression.

‘I’ll make her look like she’s about to cry in an instant.’

Kim Songcheol, annoyed by her visit, felt a little mischievous.

He bent his waist lower, maximized his pained expression, and opened the front door.

“Good morning… no, what…? What’s wrong?”

As Kim Songcheol expected, Kim Myeongju was startled and supported him.

However, her support only doubled Kim Songcheol’s pain.

He had been standing in a position that was least painful, but when his body was forcibly straightened, the pain surged.

“Ack…!”

Kim Songcheol couldn’t help but let out a single scream.

“What on earth is going on!?”

Kim Myeongju cried out in surprise. He was the most important talent in the Training Institute. There was nothing more frightening than something going wrong with his body.

“I think it’s Tension Mana Imbalance Syndrome. First… just, on the couch…”

“Oh, that…”

Kim Myeongju carefully helped the Illusionist lie down on the couch.

Perhaps due to the Mana, sweat beaded on his forehead in that short time, enough to heal.

‘His aftermath is also extraordinary…’

Kim Myeongju thought, looking at the limp Kim Songcheol.

“How is his condition?”

“I feel like I’ve been beaten up…”

“Beaten up… that’s serious. Why didn’t you tell me sooner? Please wait a moment.”

Kim Myeongju, flustered, put down the Document Bag he was still holding and went out of the house.

He left so abruptly that there was no time to say anything.

A moment later, Kim Myeongju came back, bringing a string of people with him.

There was a Doctor, a Male Nurse who brought a wheelchair, and even a Magic Official Position who had never taught Kim Songcheol.

Kim Songcheol received a diagnosis from the Doctor, was prescribed painkillers, and also received Mana Concentration Therapy from the Magic Official Position.

For Mana imbalance syndrome, the subject is forbidden from using Mana.

Instead, another person had to infuse Mana into their body to aid recovery.

After nearly 30 minutes of treatment, Kim Songcheol felt much better.

The painkillers were also starting to take effect.

He sent back the male nurse, who was also a personal assistant and wanted to stay, feeling it was too much of a burden.

With this level of pain, there seemed to be no problem living alone.

“I feel much better now.”

Kim Songcheol said, half-lying on the couch. His posture was more natural and his expression much better than before.

“From now on, if you feel anything wrong with your body, please tell me immediately. All treatment support is always on standby.”

“I thought it was just severe muscle pain…”

“Even that is a big deal. You must always maintain your best condition.”

Kim Myeongju spoke very seriously. He wondered if she was making too much of a fuss for his condition. But with her being so serious, it was hard to add anything.

“Ah, but what brings you here on a weekend morning…?”

Kim Songcheol belatedly asked Kim Myeongju the purpose of her visit.

Even though Kim Myeongju was busy, she usually rested on weekends.

A visit on a weekend morning was quite unusual.

“Well, just a moment.”

Kim Myeongju retrieved the Document Bag he had placed on the floor.

It was exactly where he had left it.

“I’ve compiled a list of items. I originally intended it as a surprise gift. But I just couldn’t decide what would be good, haha.”

Kim Songcheol received the thin Document File with a bewildered expression.

Inside the Document File were four or five sheets of paper.

They were printed sheets with item photos and effects.

“Items, suddenly?”

“Yes. The Training Institute thought you might need a little support.”

“Don’t trainees usually not receive items?”

“There’s no rule against it, haha. And… this is still under research, but if your performance is high, there’s a possibility that the Dungeon placement algorithm might be slightly distorted.”

“That’s… something I’ve never heard before.”

The only thing that can be set on the Stone Slab is the Dungeon difficulty.

And that’s only 7 stages in total, from 1 to 7.

Stages commonly named S~F-rank.

The public accepted it, but if you look closely, it’s a bit strange.

Considering the combat power of various Hunters, the classification was too crude, to the point of being ‘only 7 stages’.

“Powerful Hunters have a high probability of experiencing strange things. Especially early on.”

“Strange things?”

“If I had to put it, it’s a statistically low probability event. In fact, Quesha’s ambush is also a bit suspicious. While the Dungeon may not affect a Hunter’s mind, the fact that such a Quesha was deployed in the same Dungeon suggests that Dungeon intervention cannot be entirely ruled out. Of course, nothing has been proven.”

Meeting a Quesha in an F-rank Dungeon is quite rare.

That happened to Kim Songcheol.

Can it really be called a coincidence?

Kim Myeongju knew many similar cases.

He just didn’t expect it to apply from the very first Dungeon.

“Are you telling me to endure the King’s… burdens? It sounds a bit cringey when I say it myself. Something like ‘with great power comes great responsibility’?”

“It’s similar. And… two heads are better than one, right? Haha. In that sense, I’ve prepared a few things.”

Kim Myeongju tapped the file Kim Songcheol was holding.

“I can’t give you excellent items, even if I wanted to. Putting aside the Points issue, the Dungeon algorithm would become even more distorted. I’ve selected some items that would complement you. Which one do you prefer?”

Only then did Kim Songcheol examine the items with a somewhat serious expression.

As Kim Myeongju said, there were no particularly amazing items.

They were things that slightly assisted Magic activation, or demonstrated simple Magic through Mana charging.

It was a list primarily focused on Magic.

“Hmm.”

Kim Songcheol tilted his head.

Honestly, he didn’t really need anything.

His Mana Quantity was sufficient, and his Casting Speed was fast enough not to be lacking.

Then, the defensive Magic stored in the items would be the same.

Even in an urgent situation, it wouldn’t be different from casting it directly.

“Perhaps…”

Kim Songcheol shifted his gaze from the list to Kim Myeongju.

“Are there no items that boost stamina? That would be better. Wouldn’t that also affect the algorithm less?”

“Stamina?”

“Yes. If something attacks when I’m tired from moving, it seems more dangerous. My Magic Casting might waver slightly from being out of breath.”

“Ah… I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll get a new list. Just a moment.”

Kim Myeongju left abruptly after saying only that.