The Player Who Stands Above All

Chapter 6

"Status."

In response to Lee Shin's words, the translucent hologram text he had grown so accustomed to over the past 15 years materialized.

Name: Lee Shin

Level: 0

Strength: 2

Agility: 2

Sense: 9

Intelligence: 8

Lee Shin rolled his eyes to check his stats, then let out a sigh.

"This is incredibly pathetic."

The base stats for a player just starting the game were 5.

In other words, an average adult was generally at that level.

"Hmm~ LV.0 definitely meant a powerless person with no special abilities, right?"

Lee Shin rummaged through his memories for a moment, pulling out some dusty knowledge, then brought up his inventory.

"Hoo, so this is what the inventory looks like."

Until now, Lee Shin had only played the tutorial, so he hadn't known.

"One slot."

Pantheon's inventory system was designed to unlock one slot per level.

So, at his current LV.0, he shouldn't have been able to open even a single inventory slot, but right now, one slot in Lee Shin's inventory was activated.

Inside the activated slot was a gift prepared by the system for Lee Shin—or more accurately, for the players.

-The moment you awaken as a player, you will be able to check our gift in your inventory.

"Huh? What kind of gift?"

-As a token of our wish for you to fight well against the monsters, we are giving you a weapon that suits you.

"Ah, right. It's hard to get things like swords outside. I was wondering if I should buy a few kitchen knives and carry them around, so this is a relief."

Lee Shin nodded in satisfaction at the system's words, but he froze at the system's next statement.

-The gifts are distributed differently according to the character's ranking.

"......What did you say?"

Lee Shin said, but the system ignored his words and continued its role.

-To the top ten rankers, a special unique grade item. To the top hundred, a high-grade rare item. To the top thousand, a mid-grade rare item. To the top million, a low-grade rare item. And to all other players, a tutorial weapon.

"Hey, don't ignore me!"

-We wish the player good luck.

"Haa~"

Lee Shin recalled what the system had said and scratched his head in annoyance.

"If I had known this would happen, I would have just entered the main game and raised my rank instead of pointlessly doing the tutorial......"

In Pantheon, everything could be divided into six grades.

Mythic - Legendary - Epic - Unique - Rare - Normal

The sword currently in Lee Shin's inventory was a normal grade item, and not just any normal grade item, but a bottom-of-the-barrel tutorial item that didn't even have a single option, which even a typical normal grade item would have.

Lee Shin smacked his lips, looking at the sword in his inventory with eyes full of regret.

Generally, when an item's grade went up by one, a new option was added, and the level of the option also differed depending on the item's grade.

In other words, it was no exaggeration to say that while Lee Shin fought with a sword, high-ranking players would show an efficiency similar to fighting with a pistol.

The difference in items was not something to be ignored.

"Still, it can't be helped."

Feeling his mood worsen the longer he looked at it, Lee Shin closed the inventory, opened the door, and went outside.

As he did, his sunken spirits slowly began to lift.

Lee Shin came outside, hoping that a dungeon would be nearby.

"Huh?"

Was it the heavens responding to Lee Shin's heart?

Or was it Lee Shin's instinct, like that of a predator stalking its prey, that moved?

Seeing a group of people dressed like military enthusiasts in the distance moving quickly toward somewhere, Lee Shin naturally followed them.

The reason was simple.

For a brief moment, Lee Shin had clearly seen the shape of their mouths.

Their mouths were clearly saying 'dungeon'.

***

-Holy crap! It really appeared.

A post with this title appeared on the forum that used to share various information about Pantheon.

Inside the post was a circular mass of white light.

And below it was a text stating that the poster was about to enter it with their party members.

The content was so simple it was hard to find any sincerity in it, but the reaction to it was more than explosive.

-Crazy, where is that?

-Wow, I'm jealous. I want to go in too.

-Why isn't there one near me? I need to make money too.

-Oh, but it seems like they're continuously increasing. It's not just here, if you look on social media, there are tons of dungeon pictures.

As time went on, the number of similar posts increased tremendously.

The forum that used to share information about Pantheon had now transformed into a place of exchange for sharing information about dungeons and monsters.

And the players who had been preparing for a showdown with the monsters in this place of exchange cheered and rejoiced, realizing that their thoughts had been correct.

Originally, most of these people were those who had made money by hunting monsters in Pantheon and selling their byproducts or items.

But when Pantheon, their workplace, disappeared, they were suddenly reduced to being unemployed.

Their only skill was slaughtering monsters, and the only thing they knew was how to hunt monsters more effectively.

It was only natural, in a way, that they would try to enter the dungeons that would appear in a week.

Having prepared various equipment in advance, they moved toward the location of the dungeon.

They had even formed parties with people who had similar ideas beforehand, so they were confident they could overwhelm the monsters.

"Hoo, will it be okay?"

"You're still saying that after coming all this way?"

"That's right, get a grip. We're just around the corner."

It was the same for the group now walking toward the park.

Seeing the dungeon in a corner of the park, they swallowed hard.

A vortex of light swirling in mid-air, a sight completely beyond common sense, caused their tension to soar.

But that was only for a moment.

They suppressed their rising anxiety by pressing down on the protective gear they were wearing with their palms.

"Ready?"

"......Yeah."

At the large man's words, the others nodded, still tense.

"Hyaaaaaap!"

"Hiiip!"

"Keuheup!"

The man who appeared to be the leader took a deep breath in front of the dungeon, then threw himself inside with a shout, and the other party members followed him.

Tap- tap- tap-

After they disappeared and the park became quiet, one person appeared.

The man's footsteps were completely different from those of the people who had just entered the dungeon.

Unlike their heavy footsteps, weighed down by tension, the following footsteps were fast and light, like a child approaching a gift.

"Ooh~ So this is a dungeon. Seeing it in person, it doesn't look much different from what I've always seen."

The other visitor to the park, Lee Shin, circled the dungeon with a beaming smile, looking around, then drew the sword from his inventory.

Then, he stood there for a moment, looking at his inventory as if something was strange, before stepping into the dungeon.

***

Thud-

Landing lightly on the ground, Lee Shin looked around.

"Hmm, I was expecting something a little more, but it's just an ordinary cave? Feels a bit anticlimactic."

Lee Shin grumbled under his breath, but his eyes were scanning the surroundings.

A massive cave, as if created by a giant mole passing through.

Fortunately, thanks to the glowing stones embedded here and there in the cave walls, there was no major problem securing a field of vision.

"Hmm, it seems the people who went in first have already gone inside."

This was a good thing for Lee Shin.

He could enjoy it leisurely by himself.

Lee Shin's eyes sparkled as he walked into the dungeon.

"By the way...... I felt it a little outside, but now that I'm inside, I can feel it more clearly."

Lee Shin said, lightly waving his hand in the air.

The heavy air characteristic of a cave wrapped around his arm.

But that wasn't all.

Lee Shin's sharp energy sense could clearly feel the faint energy lingering in the air.

"Hmm~"

However, instead of being happy, Lee Shin made a slightly ambiguous expression.

"The concentration of magical power is a bit weaker than I thought."

Lee Shin muttered in dissatisfaction, but in fact, the concentration of magical power filling the dungeon was actually a little higher than average.

It was just that the tutorial environment where Lee Shin had trained until now had been too blessed.

"Sigh, well, it can't be helped."

Lee Shin, though disappointed, put down the sword he was holding and sat down on the floor.

"Hoooo~"

In that state, Lee Shin closed his eyes, regulated his breathing, and slowly sank into his inner self.

He controlled the movement of his internal organs, including his heart, through breathing, and even controlled the movement of his muscles.

In that state, Lee Shin focused on the existence of the magical power that had entered his body, mixed with his breath.

The magical power slowly gathered and grew in size, and Lee Shin guided it to flow where he wanted.

At first, the speed was as slow as a turtle walking.

But as time passed, the speed at which the magical power flowed began to get faster and faster, and the more it flowed through Lee Shin's body, the more its properties began to change.

It was turning into internal energy.

If other players had seen Lee Shin creating internal energy now, they would have been astonished at the speed.

There were people who had noticed the energy spread throughout the dungeon through their senses, like Lee Shin, but no one had been able to create internal energy this quickly.

'Haa, it's slow.'

However, the person himself, Lee Shin, was feeling frustrated.

Lee Shin grumbled inwardly, but he slowly became engrossed in the sensation of handling the internal energy.

Unlike the game body, which had no waste products, Lee Shin's current body had a huge amount of waste products accumulated, so it was quite painful every time he moved his internal energy, but Lee Shin didn't care.

In the first place, to Lee Shin, pain was something similar to caffeine that cleared his head.

The existence of the internal energy, which he had lost for a week and then regained, was very sweet.

On top of that, Lee Shin was also slightly excited for another reason.

What Lee Shin was currently operating was not an ordinary cultivation method.

It was a cultivation method he had created by investing countless hours, deconstructing various cultivation methods, and sublimating them into his own.

He was now reaping the fruits of that hardship.

There was no way he wouldn't be excited.

Woong-

Feeling that the nature of the energy flowing through his body had changed enough, Lee Shin gathered the internal energy and accumulated it in his dantian.

"Hoo~"

It was a small amount, like a single drop of water, but Lee Shin decided to be satisfied with this for now.

It was a small amount, but he had obtained the power to overcome the innate limitations of a human.

Feeling the vitality spreading throughout his body, starting from his dantian, Lee Shin slowly opened his eyes.

[A new stat, Internal Energy, is unlocked.]

[Your level increases.]

[Your stats change.]

[You have acquired the skill [Flame Lightning Tree God Art].]

At the same time Lee Shin opened his eyes, numerous system messages appeared in front of him, congratulating him on his achievement.

"Ugh~ Maybe because I did the energy circulation in a half-assed way, my body feels strangely stiff."

Lee Shin said, about to dismiss the message that appeared in front of him.

There was nothing new, and he was getting used to seeing system messages in reality, so he didn't feel any particular emotion.

"Hmm?"

However, the moment he saw the text message that followed, Lee Shin stopped in his tracks without realizing it and focused on it.

[The 'Akashic Record' is responding.]

[The 'Akashic Record' begins to look at your records in your game.]

[The 'Akashic Record' has confirmed that your appearance is madness. As long as you desire it, nothing can stop you. Even death cannot stop you.]

"What is this?"

A system message that even Lee Shin had never seen before appeared.

(End of Chapter)