The most dangerous moment occurred when the sorcerer monster cast a reinforcement spell on one of the Double-Headed mutts. With that buff, its strength and agility were upgraded to the point where it was equivalent to my stats when I activated the Man Who Overcomes Adversity. The only saving grace was that the mutt didn’t have Odin’s Wrath. One class difference was huge for every stat, so their Strength was nothing compared to my E-class Strength. There were corpses in front of me including the Double-Headed, sorcerer and fifty regular mutts, which was a testament to my results.

[The Man Who Overcomes Adversity remaining time: 0 hours 2 minutes 12 seconds.]

I still had two minutes after killing them all. Everything was perfect, except for the fact that the pain that would start when the trait effect disappeared… Meanwhile, we were deep in the room as I had managed to kill the last sorcerer. I could see Woo Yeon-Hee in the corridor, but she couldn't see me. Tears rolled from her eyes, but she was raising her bow in the air and waiting for me with a rigid expression.

“Clear,” I said while moving toward her, and our eyes met.

“How much time do you have left?” she asked.

“One minute fifty three seconds,” I replied.

“We’d better move to a cleaner spot first.”

She then put my arms around her neck.

“Lean on me,” she said.

It was perhaps because she was a healer or her tough spirit was deep in her mind, but she was like a comrade. I nodded as she helped me, and my body ached everywhere.

“This treasure room means that the boss fight is just around the corner. Don’t use Mary's Hand, no matter how bad I look,” I said firmly.

Woo Yeon-Hee’s eyes shook like a child who had been caught lying. My words must have touched something that she was holding back as she lowered her head and her shoulders trembled. She began sobbing with her hands covering her mouth and raised her head with tightly closed lips.

“I can’t handle it with my Health stat, right?”

“It’s a good thing that you are aware. Let’s settle down here,” I answered.

[The Man Who Overcomes Adversity remaining time: 0 hours 0 minutes 42 seconds.]

“I’ll lose consciousness soon. How many points?” I asked.

“Two hundred, so I can’t open a box yet,” she replied.

“Search the burrows in the room while I’m down,” I said.

“Treatment comes first,” she grimaced.

“Of course.”

[The Man Who Overcomes Adversity remaining time: 0 hours 0 minutes 28 seconds.]

“You’ll be able to find one. This is the last time I remind you, don’t touch them,” I nagged.

“Anything else?” she questioned.

“Stay away when I’m waking up. I might attack you when I’m half asleep,” I answered.

“And?” she asked.

“That’s it,” I said.

[The Man Who Overcomes Adversity remaining time: 0 hours 0 minutes 16 seconds.]

I laid down and waited for the pain. However, Woo Yeon-Hee suddenly grabbed my bloody hand.

“Your hands will break, too. Let go,” I raised my voice.

“Just this once, I’ll ignore your wishes. Look at me,” she said.

[The Man Who Overcomes Adversity remaining time: 0 hours 0 minutes 2 seconds.]

[The Man Who Overcomes Adversity remaining time: 0 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds.]

[The Man Who Overcomes Adversity has ended.]

It was too late to shake off her hands.

“Oh gosh!”

The pure agony smashed my world apart. My back arched, and everything turned red. I thought my eyes had burst and my abdomen burned where the Double-Headed’s nails had clawed in. My thoughts ended there, and I convulsed in the red world with my right hand clenched tightly on something small.

“Hackk… Hack!”

***

Waking up to the image of the First Evil’s face in my mind was unpleasant. He had gone through a lot of pain, effort and suffering in his life, but I had ignored all of that in my past life simply because he was a pre-Awakened and possessed high-tier skills. Now, I had no choice but to admire his tenacity.

Woo Yeon-Hee wasn’t there when I opened my eyes, but a precious bottle of water and analgesics were placed in the pot so I could grab them. She was in the treasure room as expected.

“Seon-Hu?”

She sounded surprised. I got into her line of sight and sat down.

I commented, “It’s still hard to move.”

“You shouldn’t move now. You should know that better than anyone else,” she responded.

“Have you found the box?” I asked.

“I found three.”

I realized that Woo Yeon-Hee was using an empty can as a substitute for a sign. The three cans were placed in burrows which matched the number she said she found.

“I’ve searched everywhere, and I was looking back to see if I missed anything. You should’ve stayed there. I would’ve come back soon.”

“That would take too long,” I replied.

I got into a position to get up, but Woo Yeon-Hee supported me as if she couldn’t help herself from aiding me. The passage was narrow, so we could only go through by crawling. The width and height of the burrow remained the same as we moved on. I didn’t need to wait as she followed me, and I reached out my hand to the dungeon box.

[Would you like to open the box?]

“Of course.”

[The Man Who Overcomes Adversity has increased by 7.]

[Current value: F(7)]

I opened the second box.

[You have received Phobia (Gimlet).]

[Phobia (Gimlet)

Effect: Fear of sharp and pointed objects grows.

Class: F]

When I came out of the burrow, the corpses of mutts caught my eyes. I couldn’t take my eyes off their teeth and claws as they looked larger and fiercer than usual. It would be extremely painful to be bitten or pierced by such things.

“Is it a curse?” she asked.

“Yes, heal me.”

[Woo Yeon-Hee has used Anxiety Healing.]

[Phobia (Gimlet) has disappeared.]

I opened the last box when Woo Yeon-Hee’s skills were recharged the next day.

[Strongman has increased by 5.]

Only one of the three dungeon boxes was cursed, and the others provided me value by increasing my stats, which would last even during the rebuilding process. This meant I was lucky, and there was nothing else to doubt. However, I couldn’t enjoy my fortune because the next door would very likely be the boss room. My mood became downcast.

***

[Name: Na Seon-Hu

Health: F (23), Strength: E (0), Agility: F (15), Sense: F (25)

Total points: 295

Trait(3) Skill(3) Insignia(2) Item(2)]

[Traits ― The Man Who Overcomes Adversity: F (7), Strongman: F (5), Explorer: F (0)]

[Skills ― Odin’s Wrath: F (6), Iron Skill: F (0), Night Eyes: F (0)]

[Insignias ― Speed-up (E), Escape (F)]

[Items ― The Medal of Restraint (E), The Blind’s Ring (F)]

The stats window was simple compared to my past, but my growth rate was incomparable. After defeating the boss, I would increase my stats more. Woo Yeon-Hee was in agony, looking at the few cans and bottled water left on the ground. I stood up quietly as there was only one door remaining. She followed me, and I murmured as if I was chanting a spell.

“Please be empty. Please stay empty.”

Squeak-

I opened the door and couldn’t take my eyes off what was ahead of me. The corridor was empty, and this implied something more than a space full of mutts. I had told Woo Yeon-Hee that while the dungeon would be reset at random every time you went in, there was a rule in how the corridors were arranged. The treasure room would always lead to an empty passageway that connected to the boss room. Woo Yeon-Hee became quiet, and I was too. We stared at the empty corridor for a while before coming back.

“Let’s eat first.”

We didn’t say anything. The conversation between us disappeared while we were filling up on our scarce food. We remained quiet even after we ate. Time began to pass slowly, and we held our breaths before going to sleep. I slept as much as I could and woke up, but I didn’t feel refreshed. I decided to wait for Woo Yeon-Hee while stretching, but I wasn’t going to wake her up until she opened her eyes.

“Ah….”

However, she was moaning and frowning. Her eyes were trembling as she was suffering from a nightmare. That was why I was in a bad mood, too. I shook her awake, and she mumbled as she opened her eyes, “I’m ready.”

“If my plan hits the mark…It will be over sooner rather than later. You won’t die as you’ve managed to stay alive until now, right?” I asked.

Woo Yeon-Hee stood up after she finished listening to me. We entered the corridor, and our footsteps echoed. Was the corridor always this long? Or had we slowed down?

We eventually reached the door. Its appearance wasn’t different from any other door, but it was oppressive. I wasn’t even cursed with Phobia, but the rough texture of the door was too vivid. I felt like I had heard the boss monster’s growl already. While I knew how to defeat it, it didn’t guarantee my victory. I was just aware of what not to do, as one mistake could lead directly to annihilation.

Sigh.

There was no way my tension would recede with one short breath. My heart was thumping quickly and I could feel its shaky palpitations, and it was a clear warning to go back. However, I nodded to Woo Yeon-Hee, and she nodded awkwardly in return.

[You have used Odin’s Wrath.]

[Target: The user]

The moment I opened my eyes, I saw blue sparks. Several sharp lines appeared, circling my body and moving over my limbs.

“We’ll enter the boss room.”

There was no need to confirm what was ahead of me, and I threw myself into the room as I opened the door.