Main Character Hides His Strength

“It is a trial whose fabulous prize has never been revealed yeyo!”

Though the exact reason was unclear, it seemed the ones running the dungeon wished for Marakia to live.

‘What a lucky guy,’ was Sungchul’s thought as he turned to look at Bertelgia.

Bertelgia didn’t seem all that pleased but she shrugged with her body before replying coolly.

“Oh well, let’s save him. It can’t be helped it seems.”

Sungchul returned the all-precious thirty Dungeon Coins back to Voulu.

Voulu let out a sigh of relief upon receiving the coins. She then turned back towards Marakia and spoke with a brilliantly bright tone of voice.

“-Is what they said!”

On the other side, the elated voice of Marakia could be heard.

“I knew it! I knew they’d come through! We’re friends, friends I tell you!”

“…”

“…”

Sungchul and Bertelgia did not reply.

Sungchul’s bad premonitions have an unfortunate tendency to come true.

For Sungchul who had made a very costly donation for Marakia, there was a brand-new complication waiting for him.

And that was a type of restriction system by the name of “Dungeon Fatigue”.

According to the explanation that was given, the total number of ordinary trials a challenger can attempt in a day was limited to just five.

The Ultimate Trials did not count towards this daily limit, but completing the Ultimate Trials immediately puts an end to any further attempts for the day.

Therefore, an ideal day would have five regular trial attempts followed by one Ultimate Trial.

However it may be, for someone as busy as Sungchul, being limited to just 5 normal trials a day was a severe restriction to have.

And to make things worse, the rewards for completing the normal trials weren’t all that great either. It was because unlike the entrance exam, it required the clearing of lower difficulties before next difficulties become unlocked.

[1-1]

Sungchul who finally entered a trial after rescuing Marakia, a text and goblin before him explained everything.

[Legendary Goblin, Wah’rok]

“Ki ki ki ki!”

Goblin with an unnecessarily grand title was playing around with magic to taunt Sungchul.

But in the end, a goblin is just a goblin.

Smack!

“Urk!!!!”

Reward was given to Sungchul who finished the first trial in one hit.

Clang.

One Dungeon Coin.

There wasn’t even a congratulatory message either. The only thing that appeared was a text box asking if he wished to proceed to the next stage.

[Will you proceed to the next level? (Y/N)]

[Proceeding to the next trial will consume one Dungeon Fatigue.]

[Remaining Dungeon Fatigue(4)]

“Mmm…”

There was no way that Sungchul would be looking happy right now.

Even if he already knew this was going to be a problem when he had saved Marakia, the inconvenience Marakia had inflicted upon Sungchul was unspeakably terrible.

Sungchul was fully aware that the beginning of any new journey was important.

To take Summoning Palace as example, whether it is by becoming Selected or otherwise, the ones who gather information faster was able to get ahead and keep their lead until the very end and take a lion’s share of the rewards.

‘Even if 30 Dungeon Coins is not a large amount, it’s an incredibly large amount at this stage.’

His premonition was on point as usual

[1-2]

[Legendary Goblin Wah’rok]

Two Goblins.

Clang.

And two tokens.

The next stage played out in a predictable manner.

At this point, Sungchul stopped to make a request to Voulu.

“I wish to challenge the Hidden Trial.”

But of course this was rejected.

Voulu avoided looking Sungchul in the eye as she replied in a small voice.

“Not anyone can attempt the Hidden Trial. If any random person is able to stumble upon it by accident, it would be a disgrace for trial carrying the name ‘Hidden’ is my personal thought, yeyo.”

“So, when can I go attempt it?”

“You can challenge it after completing the eighth Ultimate Trial yeyo.”

“Eighth Ultimate Trial you say.”

It was going to take forever to reach it. It was even doubtful if he would get the opportunity to attempt it, considering the number of days he had left. But that was no reason to stop here.

Sungchul resumed the Goblin massacre he had put on pause.

And thus, Sungchul obtained a total of fifteen Dungeon Tokens on the first day. Even though he wished to continue, Dungeon Fatigue blocked further progress.

‘Just what the hell is supposed to be fatiguing about this?’

Sungchul tried to argue with Voulu about the Fatigue system as well but nothing came of it.

Voulu opened her eyes wide and looked displeased as she replied.

“Dungeon Fatigue has existed long before I ever came here, because it was a rule created by god himself. It is not something that can be changed by me yeyo.”

A challenger who has exhausted all available Dungeon Fatigues were automatically teleported to a particular location called Plaza. The plazas were color coded as blue red white and pink, and he could choose which of the four plaza to use as his base of operations during the dungeon run.

Of course it was possible to leave the Dungeon from here, but all items and Tokens were lost upon doing so.

‘The plaza system of the Summoning Palace must have been copied from this. Although its function is entirely different altogether.’

Sungchul chose the White Plaza.

At the center of the White Plaza paved with white marble tiles was a group of shops run by Fairies, such as restaurant, inn, and market.

Of course, the only currency in Aegehios was the Dungeon Tokens.

In each of the restaurants and inns were quality ratings; cheap, regular, high quality, top class.

Of course, even the cheapest food and lodging required payments in the form of Dungeon Tokens.

It was an unspeakable luxury for Sungchul for whom each individual tokens were precious.

Meanwhile, among the shops run by Fairies were shops that sold legendary class weapons, armor, and consumables that were terribly rare to find in the world outside.

The one that caught his attention was the Spirit Essences.

The essences were priced differently for combat use and noncombat use, which were as follows.

[Fairy Shaeloc’s Token Exchange Shop]

Assortment of Essence of Spirit (combat) – 1500

Assortment of Essence of Spirit (noncombat) – 1350

“Too expensive.”

It was completely out of the question with the amount of tokens he had on him.

But compared to other items in the shop, the Essence of Spirits were on the cheap side.

The next item that consumed his attention was an item by the name ‘Second Inner Flames’.

[Fairy Shaeloc’s Token Exchange Shop]

Second Inner Flames – 22,250

It boasted a price tag exceeding 20,000.

“Why is this so expensive? Is this a scam?”

Sungchul asked Shaeloc bluntly.

“S…Scam?! Don’t be ridiculous yeyo! It’s pricy because it’s worth it yeyo!”

Fairy Shaeloc knew Sungchul was hopelessly impoverished with only fifteen tokens to his name, but she still explained about the effects of the item because he was the first visitor in ten thousand years.

“This is a highly precious item that allows the user to have a second Magic Fingerprint yeyo!”

Sungchul’s eyes were deeply colored by surprise.

‘A second Magic Fingerprint…?’

It was an opportunity he didn’t even think was a possibility.

It was known that Magic Fingerprint was a blessing bestowed upon the lucky few that had the favor of the gods. He had not once heard of a case it could be obtained by artificial means.

But this was God’s Dungeon. Anything was possible in here.

And for Sungchul to have a second Magic Fingerprint, it meant he would be able to learn magic from schools aside from Cosmomancy.

But even if he were to have a second Magic Fingerprint, it was pointless if there was no one to teach him spells.

Even though Sungchul’s name had been cleared, it would be no easy feat to meet another mage as powerful as Altugius.

Especially because many of the most powerful mages were a part of the Followers of Calamity, which were absorbed into the Order of Extinction.

“Do you sell magic tomes at all?”

Sungchul took a glance down the list of items available for purchase before he asked.

Fairy Shaeloc opened her eyes wide before pointing at a building next to the shop that resembled a palace.

“Magic lessons are offered in that Palace of Wishes, from Genies yeyo.”

“Genie?”

“It’s a type of fae. They have quite the fussy personalities, but their skills are the real deal yeyo!”

“Am I able to learn spells above the 5th level there?”

“5th Level? You must be kidding yeyo! You can learn even the advanced 7th level spells there!”

Judging from the way Shaeloc was speaking, it seemed that one could most definitely learn magic inside of that peculiar looking palace.

Except, it was currently closed.

According to Shaeloc, the Palace of Wishes only opens its doors to those who have cleared the 4th Ultimate Trials.

But this was enough for Sungchul to feel his blood boiling for the first time in a while, running into an opportunity that he didn’t expect to find.

‘Second Magic Fingerprint, huh?’

Pyromancy or Cryomancy were both good.

Pyromancy was good against groups of enemies, and Cryomancy was effective in fighting individuals.

Of course, Pyromancy was good for cooking. Cryomancy was also good for cooking.

‘Should I try and make some Ice cream?’

Sungchul had a moment of pleasant thought before he turned to Bertelgia to speak.

“Bertelgia, take note.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“Second Inner Flames. Token Twenty two thousand two hundred and fifty.”

“O…Ok…”

Shaeloc who was listening off to the side snickered when she heard this.

“But will you have enough to buy it yeyo? With the 15 that you have, it’s no where near close enough yeyo.”

“Anyone can dream.”

Sungchul left the shop leaving those words.

Ferocity returned to his eyes.

“Who are you looking for?”

Bertelgia asked after seeing his look.

Sungchul answered with a steady tone that was subtly warped by a seething barely contained anger.

“Marakia.”

By now, Marakia must have passed the entrance exam after lowering the difficulty. Which means he should have received a few tokens as a reward.

Sungchul was going to take those tokens away.

But no matter how much he waited, Marakia did not show up.

Sungchul talked around to a few Fairies to ask them to fetch Voulu for him.

Voulu reappeared before Sungchul but had a surprising news for him.

“Hmm? That Avian? That Avian is currently staying at the Crimson Plaza yeyo.”

“What…?”

“He asked about where you were staying yeyo. Once he heard that you have chosen the Blanche Plaza, he immediately picked the Crimson Plaza!”

“…Is it possible to travel between Plazas?”

“It is certainly possible yeyo. Except, you must wait a day before you’re able to.”

“Damn.”

Next day

After getting out of the tent that he brought and filling his stomach with the rations, Sungchul set out to challenge the regular Trials.

[1-6]

This time, his enemy was different.

It was a single Orc.

“Chiiiik~”

[Legendary Orc Blood Warrior]

But Orc shared the same fate with the Goblins.

Splat.

Clang

This time, with 6 Dungeon Tokens. Followed by the accursed text informing him about the Dungeon Fatigue System.

Sungchul, out of a lack of better things to do, went ahead and did a speed run through the ordinary dungeons.

Though he could have attempted the Ultimate Trial now, he waited till the end because it would end the day prematurely.

Even if he were to save up what he earned now, it barely scratched the total amount he needed. But Sungchul thought even such small change was worth saving and collecting while he could.

At the end of this run, the total number of Tokens he gathered was 45. Including what he had earned yesterday, it was now 60 tokens.

It was now time to attempt an Ultimate Trial.

Sungchul immediately asked Voulu to open the gates to the Ultimate Trials.

Voulu warned Sungchul as he headed towards the dimension gate leading to the Ultimate Trial.

“The Ultimate Trials are different from the regular Trials in that powerful named enemies show up, so don’t let your guard down when you face them yeyo!”

Past the dimensional gate, a much more formidable looking foes were waiting for him.

[Demon Chieftain Orc Grok & Goblin Balgrim]

It looked visually similar to the orcs and goblins that he had seen in the regular Trials, but these were not illusions but actual flesh and blood creatures.

Sungchul learned through his Transcendental Senses that the enemies facing him were a combination of powerful warrior and mage.

But this was only true from the perspective of a mortal.

Bam! Bam!

Sungchul was a being who already far surpassed the limits of mere mortals.

“S… Strong.”

“I acknowledge you…! Kiki! You may pass to the next stage…!”

The bosses of the first Ultimate Trials readily admitted defeat to Sungchul.

The rewards were announced via text that appeared before Sungchul’s disinterested eyes.

[You have overcome your first Ultimate Trial.]

[The doors to a more difficult Trial has opened.]

[To you who have completed the Ultimate Trial, your rewards are as follows.]

1. Dungeon Token – 1000

2. Elixir (Highest grade)

3. One week stay at the Dragon Hotel ‘Grand Keereh’

Clang

A token of completely different size until now had appeared.

‘Is this the ones for 1000?’

As expected of trial worthy of the name ‘ultimate’, the quality of the rewards were on a completely different scale.

For all it’s worth, there was now hope where there wasn’t one before. The hope that he might be able to obtain some of the more precious rewards the Dungeon has to offer that seemed completely out of reach before.

If he continues to complete the Ultimate Trials, Sungchul might eventually be able to buy something precious.

After concluding his thoughts on the matter, Sungchul turned to Voulu to move onto the next destination in his itinerary.

“To Crimson Plaza.”

It was time to go and collect Marakia’s overdue debt.

However, Sungchul was unable to meet Marakia that day.

“That penguin looking Avian? He went to the Azure Plaza yeyo.”

Hearing Voulu’s carefree voice, Sungchul closed his eyes shut as he made a silent vow for tomorrow.

Afterwards, Sungchul was just about to ask around for the location of the so-called Dragon Hotel that he won a free one week stay at.

“…”

Sungchul detected some sort of presence watching him from a dark alley way.

“Who goes there?”

Sungchul turned to ask towards the darkness, which caused whatever was hiding in the dark to scurry away into the alley way and out of sight.

Sungchul wanted to pursue this oddity but all tracks and traces of it suddenly vanished.

It vanished so completely it could have been a ghost.

Sungchul returned to the main avenue as he thought about the presence he had just detected.

It was most definitely not a fairy. But to call it a human, it seemed too misshapen.

“What was that?”

Sungchul asked Voulu about the being that just disappeared.

However, Voulu blinked her eyes as if this was a surprise to her as well.

“I don’t know yeyo. But if I had to guess, there’s a good chance that was either another fairy or a genie yeyo. Genies are very curious yeyo. There’s even a saying ‘curiosity killed a genie’ yeyo!”

“A genie…”

He had never seen one before.

‘I guess it’s fine to leave it as is?’

Sungchul did not feel any ill intent from the bizarre creature that appeared just now.

Whether the fairy’s guess was right or wrong didn’t matter.

The important thing was the time remaining for him, and the greatest amount of rewards he can reap.

Same as when he had told himself when he first set foot in the god’s dungeon, he was planning on taking everything there was to take with him.

‘At minimum, the second Magic Fingerprint shall be mine.’

Another day passed in the god’s dungeon where the sun never touches.