Past Life Returner

I saw a strange woman but did not have the strength to crush her neck. I thought I had been finally caught by the Eight Evils and Eight Virtues, and it seemed like I would not be able to avenge those who had died without meaning. I had regained my senses, but my body would not move. I should have saved up points and not use them all for opening a Challenger Box. Oh?

“You can’t move yet.”

The woman’s voice was soft, but I went through too much to be soothed by her tone. She must be using a skill, and I thought it was a mental skill. Maybe I had been caught by the Second Evil.

“Rest more.”

Her voice grew faint.

***

I woke to the smell of food. I opened the status window instead of asking Yeonhee Woo, and two days had passed since I last used the Man Who Overcame Adversity. Things had not been this bad last time in this dungeon, but the battle with the twin-headed monster had been worse than before, in my previous life. I saw Yeonhee Woo coming with water and pills.

“I healed you until my skill stopped working.”

“Where are we?”

“This is the first room. I made a trap at the broken door, but you should look at it.”

“Trap?”

“It only makes a sound. Just in case.”

She spoke indifferently. I saw that her neck, chest, and legs were wrapped in soiled bandages. I saw mine, which was clean. I had been changed into new clothes, and Yeonhee Woo spoke at my gaze.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t look.”

I saw her face, and her cheek was wounded. They were serious for civilians but would take three days for us to recover. However, I knew what had happened to her from her wounds.

“You survived.”

I flinched inside, as she was wounded because of me. While I had told her that everything was over if she had to fight a monster, I had forgotten how powerful survival instinct was for humans. She had survived a fight with a mutt, and I asked her to tell me how it went. She spoke like she did not want to remember, but her story was different from what I had expected.

She had not used the trap at the entrance room, maybe out of fear, and had met one of the monsters that got past me. Yeonhee Woo said she shot it with an arrow between the eyes, but the problem had been afterward. The monster had charged her regardless, and they went down together. I sat up despite her restraints because she seemed like she needed me to say some things.

“You did well. Your actions led to your survival.”

Yeonhee Woo showed a faint and sad smile. I took off my bandages and saw that there was no more blood. She rolled them up and placed them in her backpack. She had gotten it back after killing the mutt.

[You have completed the Quest ‘One on One Combat.’ Please decide who the first place is.]

She seemed to be seeing the same message, and we agreed that I would take first place and she would take second. After we did so, new messages popped up.

[You have completed the Quest ‘One on One Combat.’]

[You have accumulated 500 points.]

This was why hunters had tried to do any and all dungeon quests they could, in my previous life. Now was the time to reap the rewards.

***

I had received 1223 points in total from everything that had happened up to now, and they were worth four Bronze Boxes or one Silver Box and a Bronze Box.

[You have received a ‘Silver Box’ for the ‘Declan Extermination’ quest completion reward.]

I received fifty Strength points from the Silver Box I had earned for completing the ‘One on One Combat’ quest. I needed fifty more to raise my strength level from F to E, and if I could manage it, I would be able to go head-to-head with the mutts. It would become much easier to open the doors, and I could become a D class in Strength when using the Man Who Overcame Adversity. My strength  could match the agility level I could increase with the insignia. So I desperately wanted something that increased my Strength.

The Silver Box opened, and the message that popped up made me almost jump in joy.

[You have gained 36 Strength points.]

[Strength: F(86)]

I managed to get what I wanted, and now I only needed fourteen points to raise my Strength rank. I was torn between opening one Silver Box and one Bronze Box or four Bronze Boxes.

I then saw Yeonhee Woo waiting for me like she wanted to speak about her rewards and accumulated points.

“Wait.”

I wanted my Strength stats to increase, but I would need at least two Bronze Boxes if I wanted to fill fourteen points. The five major categories of box rewards were points, skills, attributes, items, and insignias. The possibilities were endless, so I decided to open a Bronze Box first.

[You have used 300 points.]

[Accumulated Points: 923]

[You have opened a Bronze Box.]

[You have gained 4 Strength points.]

[Strength: F(90)]

I knew this was the time to let it ride and opened another Bronze Box.

[You have opened a Bronze Box.]

[You have gained 10 Strength points.]

I hit the jackpot.

[Congratulations. Your Strength level increased by one rank. F -> E]

However, that was not the end.

[You have achieved the title ‘Strongman.’]

[You have gained the skill ‘Counter Strike’ as the first to increase your Strength rank.]

[Counter Strike (Passive Skill)

Effect: You will counter an attack at a very low probability rate.

Class: F(0)]

It was a passive skill, and I could not hold my joy back any longer. I let out a shout of joy, and Yeonhee Woo also smiled, feeling my emotion. My hands were shaking, and I wondered whether that guy’s luck had really come to me. It did not matter, and Yeonhee Woo started to speak, but I stopped her so I could open the other Bronze Boxes while I was on a roll.

[You have opened a Bronze Box.]

[Odin’s Wrath increases by 6 points.]

[Odin’s Wrath F(6)]

If I gained another skill, the Iron Skin skill would be thrown away since it was only an F class skill, so that was the right move. At my current F overall rank, my skill slots were severely limited.

[You have gained a Bronze Box.]

I saw that the reward was an item.

[You have gained the item ‘The Ring of the Blind.’]

[The Ring of the Blind (Item)

Effect: Increases the range one sees with the ‘Night Eyes’ skill.

Class: F]

Everything was perfect this time around, as there was nothing to throw away.