How a D-Class Alchemist Avoids Death

Go-woon wasn’t simply focused on raising his level.

One day, he gave them swords they couldn’t even use, insisting they learn evasion techniques and kill monsters with these swords. He even assigned them homework to raise their skill levels.

And yet, he provided perfect instructions on how to raise these skill levels.

The four, who initially accepted this as beneficial, started to rebel against Go-woon as their fatigue accumulated.

“We can’t do this anymore! We won’t do it! It’s so hard we could die!”

“We can’t even sleep when we get home!”

“Are you deliberately torturing us?!”

“Oppa, this is too much.”

Even Min-hee, who had been grinding her teeth and bearing it to avoid hearing she couldn’t do this because she was a woman, burst into tears.

But in response to their rebellion, Go-woon responded with a sorry expression and continued his relentless approach. “Tired? Didn’t I tell you to do some stamina training? Go bring some monsters.”

To Hanjae, who was complaining about being tired, he gave a swift kick to get him to bring some monsters.

“Can’t sleep? You’re probably not tired enough. Let’s go to one more public dungeon after we finish the D-rank one this afternoon.”

To Ga-eul, who said he couldn’t sleep, he led them to another public dungeon.

“I’m doing this all for your own good. Do you intend to keep partying with me forever? I don’t plan to keep partying with you. You should feel the same. Don’t get complacent. Aim for a higher-level party. You told me, remember? You wanted to live a life of constant challenges. And now you want to live a life of complacency—”

To Woojae, who was fuming and accusing him of torment, he nagged him till the dungeon ended.

And finally, to Min-hee who had burst into tears, he provided mental care by letting her hold Salt.

“You wanted to touch Salt, right? Here, Salt.” 

Min-hee, who couldn’t resist anything cute, stopped crying the moment she held Salt and pledged loyalty in exchange for a hug.

The four, reminiscing about the past, silently began to eat their meals.

“Should we run away?” Woojae, who had been listlessly chewing his food, muttered with a sad face.

“Oppa, stop contemplating running away and eat your food.”

Woojae gave a gloomy nod.

Just like Min-hee said, they thought about running away, but they didn’t plan to.

No, rather, they wanted to stay in this party by any means necessary.

And that was only natural.

“If only our levels didn’t increase this well.”

“Right.”

Even the always gentle Hanjae, perhaps because he was tired, nodded in agreement with Woojae.

In Go-woon’s party, both the overall levels and skill levels increased too rapidly. It was an unimaginable pace compared to other parties.

Moreover, Go-woon, as the party leader, taught them how to raise skill levels based on their characteristics throughout the dungeon raid and took meticulous care of every small detail.

The man never scolded or yelled when they missed killing a monster but explained what went wrong and suggested a way to remedy it. The skill usage that Go-woon taught was something no one else could have thought of. They wondered if it had been shared on the Hunter-net, but there were only general skill usage tips there.

Once they experienced the fun of growth, Go-woon’s party was like a trap they couldn’t escape from.

“Looks like everyone’s enjoying their meal.”

Go-woon, who had appeared without them noticing, placed his plate down next to Woojae and smiled happily at the four. “Eat up. We’re going to the stamina training room after the afternoon dungeon.”

“Stamina…”

“Training room?”

Hanjae and Ga-eul were horrified.

The stamina training room.

That was a place rumored to be survivable only by those with S-rank stamina.

They were already exhausted and struggling, why should they go there?!

“Are you out of your mind?!”

“No, I’m not.”

“Why else would you take us there? To a stamina training room? Do you even know what that place is?!”

“Ppi!!”

When Woojae raised his voice, Salt, sitting on Go-woon’s head, chirped in protest.

Ignoring Salt’s protest, Woojae continued his argument, “That’s a place where even S-rank Hunters die! How are we supposed to go there?!”

“You won’t die.” Go-woon played with a red cherry tomato on his fork as he spoke. He then continued, “Nobody died, right? And we have a day off tomorrow.”

What Go-woon meant was that he had deliberately scheduled the physical training session because tomorrow was a rest day.

“But, that’s not the point…!”

“Hey, does it make sense that you guys are weaker than a klutz like me?”

Woojae, who was about to protest, closed his mouth.

“Honestly, I don’t speak up often, but do you think your current level of stamina is acceptable? Do you think I’m being unreasonable? It’s all for your own good. Did you ever suffer from listening to me? No, you didn’t.”

Defeated by Go-woon’s logical reasoning, Woojae tightly shut his eyes. The three people who had been secretly cheering him on felt the same.

“So, let’s work out hard. Okay?”

“Okay.”

“Yes.”

“Ye-es.”

Unlike Woojae, Hanjae, and Min-hee, who responded lifelessly, Ga-eul kept his mouth stubbornly shut, seemingly still wanting to rebel. He glared at Go-woon.

Even in the face of young Ga-eul’s resistance, Go-woon did not get angry or swear. Instead, he softly spoke, “Ga-eul, you need to level up your skill—”

“I’ll work out diligently.” 

Ga-eul, who tended to overspoke, drew the disdain of the others. Unlike them, Go-woon responded with a pleased smile and nodded.

This party, from which one desperately wanted to escape yet couldn’t, was a living hell.

As soon as they left the gate, the kids collapsed on the ground.

‘So weak…’

“I feel… like I’m going to die.”

“I can see my late grandmother.”

Ga-eul and Min-hee, who were sweating heavily, groaned in pain. But the fact that they could even lament meant they still had energy left.

“If you have the energy to speak, it doesn’t seem like you’ve had enough.”

“Ppi. Ppi.” Salt, who was sitting on my head, chirped in agreement with my words.

“Ah, enough!” Woojae, who had been the first to collapse, shouted angrily.

That’s true, isn’t it? If it’s truly hard, you wouldn’t even have the strength to speak.

“Ppi ppi! Ppi!”

As Salt chirped at Woojae, he glared at it.

“Are you siding with your owner now? After all the nice things I’ve done for you.”

“Ppi?”

I can tell that Salt is smirking, even without looking.

It was true that Woojae treated Salt well. Every time we came to the dungeon, he was the one who worried whether Salt would be too hot or cold. The problem was that Salt found Woojae’s reactions extremely annoying.

From Salt’s point of view, Woojae, who always asked if it was okay and called its name, was nothing more than a pest disturbing its sleep.

“Ppi!”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

Woojae collapsed on the ground as if shocked when I diplomatically delivered the message to shut up.

‘He’s weirdly assertive towards humans but weak towards animals.’

Tsk, tsk. 

As I looked at the kids sitting around me, they shouted in despair.

“We can’t do this. It’s killing us. We won’t do it.”

“You’re right. We’re drained of mana. There’s nothing left even if you squeeze.”

“M-Me too…”

Ga-eul fell down, and Min-hee whimpered. Hanjae, who always followed my instructions, was also nodding his head.

They did have a hard time. In the past, we used to lure one monster at a time to a safe area and defeat it together. But today, we charged at monsters without any safe zones.

‘Even though I’m the one who covered a lot.’

The mana crystal that Shin Sooha gave me after defeating the mushroom monster had more mana than the one I was carrying, so I didn’t have to conserve my mana bullets.

Whenever they missed or the situation seemed a little dangerous, I immediately fired my magic bullets and killed the monsters.

That’s why I earned the most contribution points, which are indicated in B-rank or higher dungeons.

But still, they were complaining, lying sprawled on the floor, saying that they were dying and protesting against the workout.

“Ppi. Ppi. Ppi!”

“Right. To kill or not to kill?”

“Please let me live!”

“Save me!”

“I want to live.”

“Save me!”

The children answer the words I unconsciously muttered. If it weren’t for the real party, I would’ve put them through more.

I waved my hands away. “Then get lost.”

“What about the report?” Min-hee asked with gleaming eyes.

“Feeling like dying from fatigue? I’ll do it, so get lost.”

“Yay!”

As Hanjae jumped up to greet me, the other three quickly followed suit and ran towards the exit.

“Ppi. Ppi!”

I wonder if they know Salt is mocking them being weak when they find him cute.

I clicked my tongue as I looked away from where the children disappeared, and called up the information window.

+

[Seo Go-woon]

Level: 28

Profession: Alchemist

Rank: D

Age: 27

Vitality: 370 / Mana: 2,000

Attributes: Strength C+ / Stamina C+ / Agility D+ / Magic A / Dexterity S+

Attack F+ / Defense F+

Unique Abilities: [Dissambly] / [Refine] / [Comrephension]

+

As I surpassed level 25, some attributes improved.

My strength and stamina, which were C-grade, became C+, and agility rose from D to D+. Both attack and defense improved from F to F+. The only attribute I can’t increase with levels, excluding magic, has all been upgraded to ‘+’.

Although the numbers didn’t seem to rise noticeably, my movements, strength, and stamina felt better than before they were ‘+’.

‘It’s still not enough.’

The cradle is SSS-grade.

When forming a party, they would surely use a machine to check the awakening status and abilities. Then, I’ll be 100% eliminated.

Besides,

“Sigh, my level isn’t increasing.”

Every time we tackled a B-grade dungeon with the kids, my level increased steadily, if not as rapidly as an A-grade dungeon. However, despite this being my third dungeon since reaching level 28, I still hadn’t leveled up. In the meantime, I had already completed the 8th-floor mission inside the Tower of Gods.

“Should I ask Shin Sooha for a little push?”

I wasn’t such a shameless person, but desperation makes me think of everything.

“Let’s report first, then go home and think.”

Taeju’s homecoming day is tomorrow. Looking at the contents I had written about the novel, today was the right time to reorganize the strategy.

Putting my own thoughts on hold, I found that there was not even a taxi that I had called ahead of time at the exit.

‘If they took a taxi, they should’ve called for another one.’

Anger surged as I picked up my phone but then put it down. 

There’s no point getting angry now, it won’t change anything. I’ll just push the kids as much as I’m angry right now tomorrow.

It’s good for me to let out steam, and it’s good for the kids to grow further.

Didn’t the class president of the next class catch a drug criminal by pushing and pushing the detectives like this?

‘It’s a win-win.’

I smiled happily and walked towards the city.

Anyway, a signal would have been sent to the guild as soon as we exited through the gate, so it wouldn’t matter much if the report was slow. This is the first time I’m taking a leisurely walk like this. Both my original self and the reincarnated me had to fight fiercely day by day for our goals.

“It smells good.”

Now I understand why people keep talking about phytoncide and traveling to mountains and forests.

My rushed feelings due to the level seemed to have eased a bit.

“Should I go for a walk alone during my break?”

My eyes popped open at my own muttering. “Right. There’s no need to go together.”

A party is like a group created by the guild. Of course, when we explore a guild dungeon, it’s mandatory to be with the party.

But what about the public dungeon?

A public dungeon is a dungeon that anyone can freely use, so it’s free from the party.

The 10% experience bonus is a little regrettable, but considering the experience shared, it wouldn’t be bad to go alone.

I hurriedly pulled out my phone and searched for public dungeons. Public dungeons are popular because anyone can enter, but this is only in the heart of Seoul. If you go to the outskirts, they’re not popular. So in rural areas, it’s common not to have a public dungeon.

Luckily, where I’m at now is a bit far from Seoul, but I was able to find a public dungeon.

“Most of them were conquered not long ago. It’s useless to go to such places. Are there any dungeons that were conquered a long time ago? Should I expand my search?”

As I scrolled down to check the dungeons, unlike other places, I saw an unconquered dungeon.