acquiring talent in a dungeon

Chapter 9 - Day 3, 3rd Floor Pain

I thought about what was the best method. Honestly, it would be best to eat up everything alone. If I took care of all the monsters without any help then I could gain all the experience and get the boxes.

But I couldn’t send the two people away.

There was a large number of goblins. I had a 50/50 chance to succeed alone, but the odds weren’t stable. Instead, I chose the middle ground. “Let’s go together.”

"I-I don't want to. No, I can't go.” An Su-hyun was shaking.

"There were two E ranked... That enemy upstairs...”

"I will take care of both E ranks.” In fact, it had to be like this. Killing the two E rank goblins would give better rewards, and I wanted them. "And I will allow you to pick one box.”

“O-one?”

An Su-hyun stuttered with an absurd expression. I pulled a sword from my inventory. It was the ‘Elmer’s Dummy Destroyer’ that An Su-hyun dropped yesterday.

“That is my...”

"Why is this yours?” I frowned at An Su-hyun who was about to approach. I didn’t bring it out to give to him.

"You dropped it. Now it’s mine. It isn’t just this. Thanks to you, I received the Punching skill. It was easier than I thought to fight against the dummy. The reward was good."

I mixed my words with lies and twirled the sword in front of me.

"I won’t prevent you if you go down the safe stairs. Go down right now if you want. It will be a bit riskier, but I’ll get one more box. You gave it up. Just like this sword.”

“...”

"I wonder what's down on the fourth floor. You don’t know what type of person will come down and there might be harsher conditions than these goblins. Will you also whine and try to move onto the next floor?"

“No.”

"No what?” I snorted with derision.

"Didn’t you come down here yesterday with the expectation of receiving something?” I knew An Su-hyun to a certain extent. He was a type that was 180 degrees different from me, but he also wasn’t satisfied with the reality given to him.

"Until when will you live as a bug crawling up your parents’ backs?”

"Be careful...”

"What will you do if I’m not careful? There is no reason for me to care. You are garbage that has no room for improvement.” An Su-hyun was silent.

“Then... Give me more boxes.”

"No.”

“T-There are so many. Are you going to keep all of them to yourself?”

“Yes.” It didn’t matter if it was appropriate distribution or not, because I was the one making the decision about the distribution. The most important thing was my own survival.

"If you feel wronged then try to do better on the next floor. Wouldn’t it be better to obtain one box before going down?”

“...”

[Talent has been acquired.]

[Talent - Persuasion: The ability to persuade others to follow you without violence. Speaking ability will depend on the level. Charisma and logic have slightly increased.]

[Currently it is LV 1. Benefits will open at LV 3.]

An Su-hyun nodded. "...I accept.”

"Okay." As long as he was motivated, he would be a help against the goblins to a certain degree.

"I-I’ll do it as well.” Yoo Su-jeong spoke up.

"You will hunt the goblins?”

“Yes.” It was a remark I hadn’t imagined her making. Personally, I thought it would be useless. Of course, a woman’s body was never weak. They were capable of wielding a blunt weapon just like adult men. However, the important thing was the mental state. She didn’t seem to have the mental state to kill something.

“Me too... I understand after listening to your words. If I go down to the next floor then I won’t be able to do anything... If you give me a box then I’ll be grateful.”

"I won’t stop you, but if you get in the way or try to interfere then there will be no box.”

“Yes, I’ll work hard.” I beckoned to both of them. I stopped just before the hallway and issued instructions.

"I'll will sneak to the other side using the pillars. Stay here, but as I go to the other side, scream and draw attention.” The narrow passage meant the two of them would be able to fight quite a lot of goblins.

It would have been crazy if they tried to lure all the goblins. It was good to fight against the safe stairs. Once they lured enough, I would be able to monopolize the boxes.

“Understood.”

“I understand.”

[Talent has been acquired.]

[Talent - Leadership: The ability to effectively control and manage people. Eloquence and charm will increase proportionally to the level. Charisma will rise significantly.]

[Currently it is LV 1. Benefits will open at LV 5.]

This one also increased charisma. I left the two and went back to the hallway. I stood on the opposite side of the entrance and waited.

“Ack!” An Su-hyun started shouting. The goblins responded immediately. 1/3rd of them rushed towards the direction of the passage. As I speculated, the two E ranked didn’t move. Rather, they paced to the opposite side.

I waited for 30 seconds. Once the moving goblins were completely uphill, I activated my ability.

Activate. Limiter Release.

All sensation in my body disappeared. I jumped down the stairs, and there was a goblin warden not far away. I ignored the smaller ones and threw a punch with all my strength.

Ujik.

There was the loud sound of facial bones breaking and the goblin warden collapsed. What? Was it the same level as regular goblins? As I was thinking that, something stuck into my neck.

Huk.

I pulled it and found a needle.

It was from the remaining goblin warden. There was a large straw in its hand. It was a wind gun. (ED: similar to blow dart gun)

“Kyahh!”

"Kuwak!”

The rest of the goblins formed a wall that protected the warden. It was impossible to catch this warden without going through them.

Disable. Limiter Release.

If I wasn’t attacking the goblin warden, then there was no need to release the limit and wear out my physical strength. If I turned it off for a while...

“Eu... Ugh!"

[You feel intense pain.]

[You have been hit by the goblin’s poison.]

My entire body was in pain, with the worst of it being concentrated in my neck. It was the part that was hit by the needle from the wind gun a little while ago. I looked up at my HP bar.

[Current Balance: 117/123]

[Poison - Pained condition. Pain level: 7.]

There was no decrease in my health, it was a poison that just caused extreme pain. Even so, it was hard not to scream. I thought about it. Should I use Limiter Release?

No. It wasn’t free. Endure. Endure. I also had the Pain Tolerance talent. I could do it. I clenched my fist and went to work. Two goblins fell down. I felt a pain flare up on my side. I had been scratched by a goblin’s nails.

[Current Balance: 108/123]

“Son of a bitch!” I shouldn’t be hasty. Calmly hold my position. One by one, one by one. There would be a chance to take a breather.

[The level of a talent has risen.]

[Punching LV 2 -> LV 3. Related abilities have increased.]

Puk!

I felt something small pierce my thigh. There was an angle for the wind gun to be fired from behind me? Pain spread around the newly swollen area. Not only did the poison cause pain, it also amplified the previous pain. I could feel it every time a goblin scratched my side.

[Current Balance: 102/129]

[Poison - Pained condition. Pain level: 8.2.]

"Ack! Yak! Yak! Yak! Ack!”

I screamed while swinging my fists. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Yes. Think of the talent experience. The experience was causing Pain Tolerance to rise. Once I finished the 14th goblin, I had three rows of nail marks on my thighs but there was a gap in their ranks.

I took care of 25 enemies. At that moment, a needle from the wind gun pierced my chest.

[Current Balance: 74/129]

[Poison - Pained condition. Pain level: 9.3.]

Thanks to the 26th enemy killed, I made it through the gap in their ranks. I focused on the goal.

Every time I knocked down a goblin, the wall surrounding the goblin warden thinned and I could see its face. It seemed to be laughing at me as it held the wind gun.

Kill. I would kill everything.

So let’s go. The 44th enemy. A goblin jumped up and bit my shoulder.

“Ahhhhh!!!!”

My flesh was torn as I pulled it off my back. I bit my lip and threw the goblin at its allies. There were two standing between me and my goal. Three enemies left, including the warden.

[Current Balance: 29/129]

My win.

"Kii... Kyahh!”

The panicked warden wielded a whip. It was fast. The whip couldn’t be avoided and struck my cheek and chest. The decline in HP was small but the pain was more than I could imagine.

But I didn’t stop moving. There were only two enemies left.

Squash!

I took care of the second and caught the flying whip with my bare hands.

[The level of a talent has risen.]

[Pain Tolerance LV 5 -> LV 6. Related abilities have increased.]

[Endurance has exceeded its limit.]

[Willpower has exceeded its limit.]

[Endurance: 12]

[Willpower: 13]

“Is that it, you bastard?" One hand held the whip as I moved closer. I didn’t use Limiter Release. There was no need to.

“Kyah...”

I made a fist, and then the warden collapsed. I sat down, all my strength gone. My legs felt like jelly. But what about the passage? What happened to An Su-hyun and Yoo Su-jeong?

The answer came straight away as An Su-hyun walked out from behind the pillar.

“...”

It was like he was looking at a ghost.

I couldn’t see myself right now. My whole body was bloody from the cuts and cramping with pain.

“Crazy guy...”

"I’d rather be crazy than a pushover.” I said with a grin.

An Su-hyun was holding an ebony club in his hands. He looked at my condition and kept stepping forward. Behind An Su-hyun, the restless Yoo Su-jeong belatedly showed herself.

“E-Excuse me, Su-hyun oppa. It's still too...”

"Shut up! In the end, he isn’t so tough.” An Su-hyun said honestly and swallowed his saliva.

"I don’t intend to kill you.”

“Oh? Thank you for that.”

“Let’s divide the boxes in half.” Before I could say anything, he added an excuse. “It is wasn’t for me then you wouldn’t have been successful. I-I believe that I deserve half... I just want you to admit it. Once again, I don’t want to kill you.”

"Is that your conscience?”

“What?”

"If I don’t give you half then you will kill me. Stop saying such ridiculous words.” I laughed and got up from the ground. "The number of boxes given to you is fixed.”

It had been one box just minutes ago, but now it had decreased to zero. "Take the girl and descend the stairs.”

"Your legs don’t even work properly...”

“Activate. Limiter Release.” I said it out loud on purpose. My legs stopped trembling. The agonizing pain was gone and it was like I was in my best condition.

“W-w-what...?!”

“Look at this. You’re stepping backwards again.” If I told the truth? I’d rather have everything. If not, I would have been very angry. I also didn’t like this guy. He was the type of person who chose to give up and die when things became even a little difficult. I formed a fist.

Baduk. A smile spread across my face.

“Once again. Get lost."

“Ah...”

"Or at least attack... Don’t act so scared and do what you want! This garbage like bastard!!”

The fighting spirit on An Su-hyun’s face disappeared. The hand holding the club dropped down and his body started shaking as he moved backwards.

“Ah... Ohh...”

An Su-hyun reached the area that was right in front of the stairs.

"I have nothing to give you so take the stairs together.” Yoo Su-jeong, who had a look of dismay on her face, bowed. She spoke with a small sigh.

“... Really useless.” The next moment, blood was strewn across the staircase.

"Kuk...!” An Su-hyun’s eyes widened with surprise and he couldn’t grasp the situation at all.

“Ahh. A waste.”

Her hand was holding a knife that had dug into An Su-hyun’s carotid artery. She pulled the knife out of An Su-hyun without any hesitation. Blood gushed out like a fountain and he stared with disbelieving eyes… Yoo Su-jeong paid no attention to him at all.

"I had hoped, but I guess it was too greedy to think about killing Hee-chul ssi. But even so, he was a very pathetic person... Isn’t that right?”

Yoo Su-jeong moved backwards towards the safe stairs while smiling at me. It seemed like she wasn’t a stupid woman.

Chapter 9 - Day 3, 3rd Floor Pain

I thought about what was the best method. Honestly, it would be best to eat up everything alone. If I took care of all the monsters without any help then I could gain all the experience and get the boxes.

But I couldn’t send the two people away.

There was a large number of goblins. I had a 50/50 chance to succeed alone, but the odds weren’t stable. Instead, I chose the middle ground. “Let’s go together.”

"I-I don't want to. No, I can't go.” An Su-hyun was shaking.

"There were two E ranked... That enemy upstairs...”

"I will take care of both E ranks.” In fact, it had to be like this. Killing the two E rank goblins would give better rewards, and I wanted them. "And I will allow you to pick one box.”

“O-one?”

An Su-hyun stuttered with an absurd expression. I pulled a sword from my inventory. It was the ‘Elmer’s Dummy Destroyer’ that An Su-hyun dropped yesterday.

“That is my...”

"Why is this yours?” I frowned at An Su-hyun who was about to approach. I didn’t bring it out to give to him.

"You dropped it. Now it’s mine. It isn’t just this. Thanks to you, I received the Punching skill. It was easier than I thought to fight against the dummy. The reward was good."

I mixed my words with lies and twirled the sword in front of me.

"I won’t prevent you if you go down the safe stairs. Go down right now if you want. It will be a bit riskier, but I’ll get one more box. You gave it up. Just like this sword.”

“...”

"I wonder what's down on the fourth floor. You don’t know what type of person will come down and there might be harsher conditions than these goblins. Will you also whine and try to move onto the next floor?"

“No.”

"No what?” I snorted with derision.

"Didn’t you come down here yesterday with the expectation of receiving something?” I knew An Su-hyun to a certain extent. He was a type that was 180 degrees different from me, but he also wasn’t satisfied with the reality given to him.

"Until when will you live as a bug crawling up your parents’ backs?”

"Be careful...”

"What will you do if I’m not careful? There is no reason for me to care. You are garbage that has no room for improvement.” An Su-hyun was silent.

“Then... Give me more boxes.”

"No.”

“T-There are so many. Are you going to keep all of them to yourself?”

“Yes.” It didn’t matter if it was appropriate distribution or not, because I was the one making the decision about the distribution. The most important thing was my own survival.

"If you feel wronged then try to do better on the next floor. Wouldn’t it be better to obtain one box before going down?”

“...”

[Talent has been acquired.]

[Talent - Persuasion: The ability to persuade others to follow you without violence. Speaking ability will depend on the level. Charisma and logic have slightly increased.]

[Currently it is LV 1. Benefits will open at LV 3.]

An Su-hyun nodded. "...I accept.”

"Okay." As long as he was motivated, he would be a help against the goblins to a certain degree.

"I-I’ll do it as well.” Yoo Su-jeong spoke up.

"You will hunt the goblins?”

“Yes.” It was a remark I hadn’t imagined her making. Personally, I thought it would be useless. Of course, a woman’s body was never weak. They were capable of wielding a blunt weapon just like adult men. However, the important thing was the mental state. She didn’t seem to have the mental state to kill something.

“Me too... I understand after listening to your words. If I go down to the next floor then I won’t be able to do anything... If you give me a box then I’ll be grateful.”

"I won’t stop you, but if you get in the way or try to interfere then there will be no box.”

“Yes, I’ll work hard.” I beckoned to both of them. I stopped just before the hallway and issued instructions.

"I'll will sneak to the other side using the pillars. Stay here, but as I go to the other side, scream and draw attention.” The narrow passage meant the two of them would be able to fight quite a lot of goblins.

It would have been crazy if they tried to lure all the goblins. It was good to fight against the safe stairs. Once they lured enough, I would be able to monopolize the boxes.

“Understood.”

“I understand.”

[Talent has been acquired.]

[Talent - Leadership: The ability to effectively control and manage people. Eloquence and charm will increase proportionally to the level. Charisma will rise significantly.]

[Currently it is LV 1. Benefits will open at LV 5.]

This one also increased charisma. I left the two and went back to the hallway. I stood on the opposite side of the entrance and waited.

“Ack!” An Su-hyun started shouting. The goblins responded immediately. 1/3rd of them rushed towards the direction of the passage. As I speculated, the two E ranked didn’t move. Rather, they paced to the opposite side.

I waited for 30 seconds. Once the moving goblins were completely uphill, I activated my ability.

Activate. Limiter Release.

All sensation in my body disappeared. I jumped down the stairs, and there was a goblin warden not far away. I ignored the smaller ones and threw a punch with all my strength.

Ujik.

There was the loud sound of facial bones breaking and the goblin warden collapsed. What? Was it the same level as regular goblins? As I was thinking that, something stuck into my neck.

Huk.

I pulled it and found a needle.

It was from the remaining goblin warden. There was a large straw in its hand. It was a wind gun. (ED: similar to blow dart gun)

“Kyahh!”

"Kuwak!”

The rest of the goblins formed a wall that protected the warden. It was impossible to catch this warden without going through them.

Disable. Limiter Release.

If I wasn’t attacking the goblin warden, then there was no need to release the limit and wear out my physical strength. If I turned it off for a while...

“Eu... Ugh!"

[You feel intense pain.]

[You have been hit by the goblin’s poison.]

My entire body was in pain, with the worst of it being concentrated in my neck. It was the part that was hit by the needle from the wind gun a little while ago. I looked up at my HP bar.

[Current Balance: 117/123]

[Poison - Pained condition. Pain level: 7.]

There was no decrease in my health, it was a poison that just caused extreme pain. Even so, it was hard not to scream. I thought about it. Should I use Limiter Release?

No. It wasn’t free. Endure. Endure. I also had the Pain Tolerance talent. I could do it. I clenched my fist and went to work. Two goblins fell down. I felt a pain flare up on my side. I had been scratched by a goblin’s nails.

[Current Balance: 108/123]

“Son of a bitch!” I shouldn’t be hasty. Calmly hold my position. One by one, one by one. There would be a chance to take a breather.

[The level of a talent has risen.]

[Punching LV 2 -> LV 3. Related abilities have increased.]

Puk!

I felt something small pierce my thigh. There was an angle for the wind gun to be fired from behind me? Pain spread around the newly swollen area. Not only did the poison cause pain, it also amplified the previous pain. I could feel it every time a goblin scratched my side.

[Current Balance: 102/129]

[Poison - Pained condition. Pain level: 8.2.]

"Ack! Yak! Yak! Yak! Ack!”

I screamed while swinging my fists. Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Yes. Think of the talent experience. The experience was causing Pain Tolerance to rise. Once I finished the 14th goblin, I had three rows of nail marks on my thighs but there was a gap in their ranks.

I took care of 25 enemies. At that moment, a needle from the wind gun pierced my chest.

[Current Balance: 74/129]

[Poison - Pained condition. Pain level: 9.3.]

Thanks to the 26th enemy killed, I made it through the gap in their ranks. I focused on the goal.

Every time I knocked down a goblin, the wall surrounding the goblin warden thinned and I could see its face. It seemed to be laughing at me as it held the wind gun.

Kill. I would kill everything.

So let’s go. The 44th enemy. A goblin jumped up and bit my shoulder.

“Ahhhhh!!!!”

My flesh was torn as I pulled it off my back. I bit my lip and threw the goblin at its allies. There were two standing between me and my goal. Three enemies left, including the warden.

[Current Balance: 29/129]

My win.

"Kii... Kyahh!”

The panicked warden wielded a whip. It was fast. The whip couldn’t be avoided and struck my cheek and chest. The decline in HP was small but the pain was more than I could imagine.

But I didn’t stop moving. There were only two enemies left.

Squash!

I took care of the second and caught the flying whip with my bare hands.

[The level of a talent has risen.]

[Pain Tolerance LV 5 -> LV 6. Related abilities have increased.]

[Endurance has exceeded its limit.]

[Willpower has exceeded its limit.]

[Endurance: 12]

[Willpower: 13]

“Is that it, you bastard?" One hand held the whip as I moved closer. I didn’t use Limiter Release. There was no need to.

“Kyah...”

I made a fist, and then the warden collapsed. I sat down, all my strength gone. My legs felt like jelly. But what about the passage? What happened to An Su-hyun and Yoo Su-jeong?

The answer came straight away as An Su-hyun walked out from behind the pillar.

“...”

It was like he was looking at a ghost.

I couldn’t see myself right now. My whole body was bloody from the cuts and cramping with pain.

“Crazy guy...”

"I’d rather be crazy than a pushover.” I said with a grin.

An Su-hyun was holding an ebony club in his hands. He looked at my condition and kept stepping forward. Behind An Su-hyun, the restless Yoo Su-jeong belatedly showed herself.

“E-Excuse me, Su-hyun oppa. It's still too...”

"Shut up! In the end, he isn’t so tough.” An Su-hyun said honestly and swallowed his saliva.

"I don’t intend to kill you.”

“Oh? Thank you for that.”

“Let’s divide the boxes in half.” Before I could say anything, he added an excuse. “It is wasn’t for me then you wouldn’t have been successful. I-I believe that I deserve half... I just want you to admit it. Once again, I don’t want to kill you.”

"Is that your conscience?”

“What?”

"If I don’t give you half then you will kill me. Stop saying such ridiculous words.” I laughed and got up from the ground. "The number of boxes given to you is fixed.”

It had been one box just minutes ago, but now it had decreased to zero. "Take the girl and descend the stairs.”

"Your legs don’t even work properly...”

“Activate. Limiter Release.” I said it out loud on purpose. My legs stopped trembling. The agonizing pain was gone and it was like I was in my best condition.

“W-w-what...?!”

“Look at this. You’re stepping backwards again.” If I told the truth? I’d rather have everything. If not, I would have been very angry. I also didn’t like this guy. He was the type of person who chose to give up and die when things became even a little difficult. I formed a fist.

Baduk. A smile spread across my face.

“Once again. Get lost."

“Ah...”

"Or at least attack... Don’t act so scared and do what you want! This garbage like bastard!!”

The fighting spirit on An Su-hyun’s face disappeared. The hand holding the club dropped down and his body started shaking as he moved backwards.

“Ah... Ohh...”

An Su-hyun reached the area that was right in front of the stairs.

"I have nothing to give you so take the stairs together.” Yoo Su-jeong, who had a look of dismay on her face, bowed. She spoke with a small sigh.

“... Really useless.” The next moment, blood was strewn across the staircase.

"Kuk...!” An Su-hyun’s eyes widened with surprise and he couldn’t grasp the situation at all.

“Ahh. A waste.”

Her hand was holding a knife that had dug into An Su-hyun’s carotid artery. She pulled the knife out of An Su-hyun without any hesitation. Blood gushed out like a fountain and he stared with disbelieving eyes… Yoo Su-jeong paid no attention to him at all.

"I had hoped, but I guess it was too greedy to think about killing Hee-chul ssi. But even so, he was a very pathetic person... Isn’t that right?”

Yoo Su-jeong moved backwards towards the safe stairs while smiling at me. It seemed like she wasn’t a stupid woman.