Chương 57: Rewards and Results (2)

Meanwhile, outside the Boss's lair - The party of the guy Jimin rejected, had approached the burrow. They found the entrance to the boss's lair blocked and scoffed.

"What the hell. We were too late... Who the hell reached here before us?" the guy muttered.

"Yeah… Bad luck. If we were just a little quicker."

"No, point in sulking now. The boss might die any moment. Let's just kill as many monsters as we can before that," said one of the members. The party members came to an agreement and they left in a hurry, cursing the party that entered.

Inside- Yuna suddenly exclaimed, "Yay… I leveled up. I reached level-3." Min-ji's eyes widened as she stared at something in front of her.

"Wait… Me too!" she said excitedly.

"I also reached level-3." Jimin smiled slightly when he heard them.

"Congrats," he said.

"So did I." As he spoke, he deactivated 'Overtime'. The party was finally high in spirit. But their attention immediately shifted to Yu-jun as he said, "I leveled up too. I reached level-4." He was still sitting on the ground, leaning on one hand as he tried to get up. Gun-woo grabbed Yu-jun's arm and helped him stabilize. Everyone gathered around Yu-jun. Despite the heavy hit he took earlier, Yu-jun looked far from defeated. Yuna stepped forward and started healing Yu-jun as much as she could.

Too bad I can't use healing on him right now, thought Jimin. Yu-jun chuckled lightly.

"Don't worry, guys. I'm not that hurt." Then, he looked directly at Jimin.

"You really killed it." Jimin shook his head immediately.

"We killed it," he corrected.

"It wouldn't be possible without you guys." Really wouldn't be easy, I mean. Gun-woo suddenly raised his hand awkwardly.

"I-I reached level-3 too." Everyone looked at him. Then, they burst into laughter.

"Why are you announcing it like that?" Min-ji said between laughs. Gun-woo scratched his head.

"I just thought… everyone was sharing…" Even Yu-jun laughed.

"Good job," he said. Meanwhile, Jimin was thinking about something else. He reached level-4? His gaze briefly fell upon Yu-jun. He must have awakened at level-3… I don't think he killed as many monsters as I did. Yet, he leveled up. His lips curled slightly. It's the damn level-1 curse. Jimin had already experienced that difference firsthand. Suddenly, Gun-woo pointed toward the spot, where the boss's corpse was supposed to be; but it had vanished.

"Hey… the boss monster dropped some loot." Jimin followed his gaze. Two objects were lying near the body of the Horned Rabbit King. He nodded.

"I'll go and collect the loot." There was a large golden horn and a thick black pelt lying on the ground. Jimin picked them up one by one. Then, he secretly appraised them. Item information windows appeared in front of him. —----------------------------------------- Name: Horned Rabbit King's Horn The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Grade: Rare Description: A majestic, spiraling and golden horn. Harvested from the Horned Rabbit King.

It possesses two times higher durability than steel. —----------------------------------------- Jimin's eyes widened slightly. —----------------------------------------- Name: Horned Rabbit King's Hide Grade: Rare Description: The thick, tough and black pelt of a Horned Rabbit King. It is surprisingly heavy and highly resistant to slashing and piercing attacks. —----------------------------------------- These should fetch around a total of 1. 3 million won. If we divide among the whole party…

He glanced at the five of them. No wonder only newbies hunt here. Jimin also collected the loot from the mobs and returned to the group. He showed the loot to everyone.

"These should sell for a million," he said.

"But we shouldn't expect much. It's an F-Rank Rift after all." Gun-woo's eyes widened.

"That's more than what I expected." He hesitated for a moment before asking, "So… we are dividing equally. Right?" Everyone looked at each other. Then, they nodded.

"Of course," Yu-jun said.

"No complaints here," Min-ji added. Yuna smiled, "I don't mind." Jimin nodded as well. Yu-jun stored the loot in his storage ring. But then, Jimin's expression turned slightly serious. He said, "Anyways, we need to leave right now… We are running out of time." Yu-jun immediately agreed.

"You're right. Let's head out." Jimin handed Yu-jun his shield. Jimin then asked, "So, which gate are we heading to? My gate seemed like it was at the edge of this Rift. It's really far." Yuna raised her hand slightly.

"Our gate should be closer."

"There won't be any monsters for half an hour, since the Boss is dead. We can make it in time if we hurry." Jimin nodded decisively.

"Then, that is our destination. Let's leave." The party left immediately. As they began moving through the burrow again, Jimin turned 'Overtime' on. His stats increased. Jimin and the party sprinted toward the gate at a comfortable pace. —--- On their way, they hadn't encountered any other parties. After a while, Jimin said, "I think others are already nearing the gates or even left. I don't see a single soul." Yu-jun nodded slightly, "Yeah. I noticed that too."

Then, he sighed, "Don't tell me we're gonna be the last to exit." Jimin chuckled.

"What's the problem? We might even be in the limelight." Gun-woo's face immediately turned nervous. He said, "I'm not sure if I want that." Min-ji looked equally uneasy. Yuna also scratched her cheek awkwardly. Their reactions were all similar. Jimin glanced at them briefly. Maybe these guys have it hard too. —--- A while back, outside the Rift- The training ground was filled with students waiting for the Rift to close. Ryu Seong-ho stood near the staff table.

He turned to one of the staff members and said, "How many students are yet to return?" The staff quickly checked a tablet and said, "18 students, Sir." Seong-ho nodded slightly. There's less than 30 minutes left. His eyes remained fixed on the Rift gate. Let's see… Suddenly, a signal beeped. Seong-ho's eyes sharpened.

"That's…" One of the staff members said immediately,"The boss has been killed." A murmur spread across the waiting students.

"The boss?"

"Already?"

"Which party did it?" Seong-ho folded his arms. Which party could kill it… A thought crossed his mind. Or was it him? He immediately shook his head. No, it can't be. He isn't that skilled to solo it. His eyes returned to the gate. Let's see which parties exit now. —---- Two parties of four exited right after the signal went off. They looked exhausted but relieved. Seong-ho glanced at them briefly. It can't be them. That leaves just two more parties… and Sam Jimin.

Two minutes before the end of the training- Another party of five exited. Seong-ho approached them immediately and said, "Did your party kill the Boss?" The students looked confused. Then, one of them replied nervously.

"No, Sir. We didn't." Seong-ho frowned slightly. Even this party didn't? His gaze returned to the Rift. Then that just leaves… But there's less than a minute left. Where are… Suddenly, a figure stepped out of the Rift gate. Then, several more followed behind. Seong-ho's eyes widened slightly. It was Jimin and the rest of his party. Seong-ho approached them quickly.

"Who killed the Boss?" he asked. His eyes moved between them.

"You or your party?" Jimin and the party answered almost simultaneously, "We did, Sir." Seong-ho blinked.

"Huh… You guys really killed the Boss monster?" He frowned slightly.

"Wait… What do you mean by 'We'?" Jimin calmly explained. He told Seong-ho how he joined their party after hunting alone and helped them raid the boss's lair. Around them, students had already begun whispering.

"Hey… isn't he that E-1 guy?"

"Yeah. But is he still E-1?"

"Maybe not. That guy is quite good at fighting after all." Another student scoffed.

"What are you guys even talking about? He said that they killed the Boss."

"Unbelievable." Seong-ho quietly listened to Jimin's explanation. Then, he nodded, "I see." He crossed his arms.

"That was a good strategy."

"You gained experience on your own and then joined the party in time to kill the Boss as well." Then, he looked at the entire group.

"Well done."

"Thanks, Sir," all the members replied in unison.

"Now, submit your required materials."

"Okay, Sir." Jimin left with his party to submit the materials. —--- Not far away, a student stared at Jimin with a bitter expression. It was the guy whose invitation Jimin had rejected earlier. He turned to his party and sneered.

"Look at that bastard. He rejected my invitation, acting like he didn't need a party. But he joined their party. He's just a pretentious loser." One of his teammates, a chubby boy, spoke cautiously, "But he and his party killed the boss. But we couldn't even…" SMACK!! The boy got slapped on the head.

"Shut up, you dumb fatso." —--- On his way to submit the materials, Jimin was checking his status window. —-------------------------------------------------- 【STATUS WINDOW】 Name: Sam Jimin Age: 16 Rank: E Level: 4 HP: 398/420 STA: 123/255 MP: 242/250 PE: 202/405 STATS: STR: 13(+1)(+1)) AGI: 14(+2)(+1) END: 16(+2)(+1) INT: 19(+2)(+2) WIS: 15(+2) VIT: 13(+1)(+1) CHA: 4 PSY: 28(+4)(+2) LUK: 10 FREE STATPOINTS: 5 UNIQUE SKILL: Skillmaster SKILLS → Telekinesis (Lv. 8) Telekinetic spin (Lv. 6) Telekinetic barrier (Lv. 6) Meditation (Lv. 6) Growth (Lv. 6) Dash (Lv. 6) Appraisal (Lv. 10) —-------------- —--------------- —----------------------------------------- Jimin examined the numbers carefully. Damn… This time Intelligence, Wisdom and Psyche increased by 2. Now, for the free statpoints… He thought for a moment. I'll just distribute the statpoints after I take these gear off. Overtime's duration ended long ago but the gear's stats are still here. He exhaled softly. It looks a bit confusing for now… There's no hurry.

"Hurry up, Jimin. Why are you lagging behind?" His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Yuna's voice. Jimin closed the window. He looked up and smiled.

"Nothing…" But in his mind, a different thought formed. It's time to earn some cash from here.