Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Beginner’s Protection Period

Chapter 1) Beginner’s Protection Period

The message window that filled the air disappeared as I looked around .

‘Really…back at the beginning . ’

I was in a huge cave .

The blue light flaring that represented a ‘Dungeon Core’ was the only presence .

The right arm that I had lost ages ago now remained in front of me . It couldn’t be . Yet there was only one meaning in this situation .

I really came back to the past! It was unbelievable . Going back in time .

‘Status Window . ’

I repeated it in my brain and a window rose in front of me .

Name:RandalphSurname:BrigsielOccupationDemon Earl (Dungeon Master)TitleNoneStatsStrength64Intelligence42Agility59Stamina72Magic50 Uniqueness: None

‘Ha! My abilities have gone back to the past . ’

If my abilities were rolled back then it is natural to think that I also returned to the past . I gripped my fists tightly and my eyes lit up .

‘I have hope again . I was given a second chance . ’

I had only one infinite desire when I was dying . My abilities were all at the initial stages but I didn’t regret it . Just being given the chance was sufficient .

Besides, I remembered all the methods to become stronger .

‘I won’t lose again . ’

I turned and looked at the Dungeon Core . A stone the size of an adult body and emitting blue light onto the rocks was the core of the dungeon .

It was a treasure that had to be defended . I had lost it too quickly before . Now, I won’t lose it no matter what happened . I had no intention of losing anything that was given to me .

Swiik .

Soon an even more intense blue light emerged from the core and formed a small image .

Little by little, it took shape until it was finally completed . As I expected, the completed shape was like a translucent fairy .

The palm sized fairy spun around . It had a cute and adorable appearance but the emerald hair and lantern eyes made it a beauty that couldn’t be created with machines .

After a while, the fairy nodded and landed in front of me! She bowed to my belly button .

“Hello, Dungeon Master . I am the Dungeon Master’s companion fairy, Yihi! Yihi!”

Yihi laughed brightly, revealing her teeth .

‘Yihi’ was her laugh . The name of a fairy that would be kept for their entire life was normally in this style . The owner of a clear mindset .

I spoke sincerely .

“It has been a while . It is good to see you . ”

Meeting Yihi again…it had been exactly 25 years .

The fairy desperately did everything in order to help me . In the end, her effort was accepted without receiving anything in return .

At the time, I had been obstinate and wanted to solve everything alone . Now I was different .

I swear on the Dungeon Core; I will never lose Yihi again .

“Thank you for welcoming Yihi, Dungeon Master . ”

Yihi waved a small wing . Although she was called a fairy, she was actually more like an insubstantial power relay . This was why Yihi named herself .

“But what do you mean by it has been a long time? Has Dungeon Master seen Yihi somewhere before?”

Yihi placed a finger to her lips while confused . Then her pink lips opened and she blinked her eyes .

“You just appeared . Is there any reason other than that?”

No matter how nice, I couldn’t tell her anything . Fortunately I hadn’t become that soft .

Yihi clapped her hands! Clap .

“Ah, that’s right . Giving explanations to Dungeon Master is Yihi’s mission . What are you wondering about? Yihi will tell you everything I know . Or do you want me to recite everything from the beginning?”

I didn’t mind listening to Yihi’s long explanation . But I firmly shook my head . I already knew the contents and I needed to handle something quickly .

“The description is okay . ”

“Really?”

Yihi said as she blinked her wide eyes .

“Isn’t this a completely different world? Doesn’t it have a different operating system? I can give a short and easy to understand explanation . Yihi will explain it . ”

She pouted as her wings flapped weakly . I understood her anxious attitude .

A fairy was basically a chatterbox . Yihi was no different 25 years ago . If I accepted then she would be talking for several hours until her saliva dried up .

“I’m sorry but there is no need . ”

“I understand . ”

Her wings drooped . Then she sneaked a peek at me . She was trying to convince me to listen to her explanation with her attitude but it didn’t work .

“I will use the store . ”

“Pant! You know about the store? Have you prepared before coming here? No, no way!”

Yihi jumped .

She was starting to make a big fuss . This was the response that I had roughly expected from Yihi .

“Yes, I can read minds . ”

“Wah, how amazing . Master! Mind reading!”

‘So that’s why an answer isn’t necessary~ . ’ Yihi answered herself .

Yihi . She was the representative of simple ignorance .

“I will now open the store . ”

Yihi coughed a few times after settling down and then spat into her hand . Soon letters rose in the air .

[Welcome to the Store of All Things . ]

A countless number of things were arranged under the message window .

Points (pt) were necessary when purchasing .

I currently had 200,000 pt . I heard that the Dukes and Grand Dukes started with a lot more points .

There were things from common potions to very strong magic armour . Some were so expensive they needed millions of pt .

But I wasn’t looking for an expensive item . My eyes scrolled through the store’s list quickly . Then a list called ‘Skill Books’ caught my eyes .

If skill books were purchased and used then skills could be learnt . It depended on the grade but there were very interesting skills . More pt were needed to learn high level skills .

How I regretted it during the time I lost the dungeon! Now I had gone back 25 years and could use the store again .

There were thousands of skill books . The quantity was also limited . Very good skills often only had one skill book and an expensive price . Perhaps if I bought it then it would disappear from the list of other demons .

Among them were skill books that I wanted .

‘All of these . ’

I moved my finger faster . Skill Combination (Rare), Far View (Normal), Magnification (Normal), Eyes Closed Tightly (Normal), Outstaring (Normal), and Calm (Exceptional Normal) .

Yihi bit her fingers and made a ‘obeobeo’ sound as I chose six skills .

“M-Master? Shouldn’t you carefully use your points? It is hard to earn points . Yihi doesn’t recommend this . All of them really aren’t very great skills… . ”

Yihi tried to dissuade me but I had already clicked the buy button .

“Oh my god… . !”

150,000 points combusted .

Flop! Yihi collapsed . She seemed to have received a big shock .

She should be .

A Dungeon Core would become stronger with their Dungeon Master and could help them receive the devil’s seat . If the dungeon was kept until the finale then they would be elevated a rank .

Yet 150,000 flew away as soon as she started… . it was natural to panic .

Yiing!

There was something rolling around in an empty space . Like a whirlpool . It was the six skill books that I purchased .

The learning method was very simple . Hold the desired skill book and say ‘Learn . ’

[Skill Combination (R) has been learnt . You can combine skills below the Rare rating . ]

[Far View (N) has been learnt . Increasing the proficiency means you can see further . ]

This was the skill learning process . I learnt the remaining skill books . But this was not the end .

“Skill Combination . ”

[Please select the skills to combine . ]

“Far View, Magnification, Eyes Closed Tightly, Outstaring and Calm!”

[Far View, Magnification, Eyes Closed Tightly, Outstaring and Calm has been selected .

Are you sure you want to continue?]

I nodded my head . This much preparation should be enough .

The highest grade of skill that could be combined was Exceptional Normal . Skills of the Rare grade or higher couldn’t be combined .

Yihi was drooling as she stared at me with tearful eyes . Her eyes were asking what I was doing .

Skill Combination looked good at first glance . I could obtain skills not sold in the store but the odds were very low . A majority of the points would just fly away . In some cases, strange skills were created that made the person weaker .

But… . .

[Congratulations! Unique skill, ‘Mind’s Eye has been made by combining 3 skills that pierced the heart! Unique rated skills can only be learnt once . ]

[Congratulations on being the first person to combine a unique skill . 30,000pt will be paid . ]

My lips smiled .

Mind’s Eye . It was a skill I wanted .

I used 150,000 points to aim for this . The compensation was also okay . 30,000 pt wasn’t a small reward for something that didn’t give a title .

“T-that is ridiculous!”

Yihi’s voice was filled with astonishment . It seemed so unbelievable that her mouth dropped open .

It was understandable . In some cases, the price of a unique skill book was more than 1 million points . Yihi was also surprised that this unique skill cost 150,000 pt .

Once he opened the status window, the unique skill was added .

-Skill:

Skill Combination (R)- Can combine skills of the rare rating and below .

Mind’s Eye- Can see the status window of the opponent . Hidden Status, Potential has been opened .

There were only two . But I was reassured .

I used the status window to confirm the Hidden Status . There were some changes to the area below his stats .

Name:RandalphSurname:BrigsielOccupationDemon Earl (Dungeon Master)TitleNoneStatsStrength64Intelligence42Agility59Stamina72Magic50 Potential: (287/500)

Uniqueness: None

Skill: Skill Combination (R), Mind’s Eye (U)

Potential had been added . Skills had also been opened .

I nodded with satisfaction . Potential represented the possibilities involved in my growth .

I currently had 287 and the limit was 500 . Once I raised all 5 stats to 100, the potential would be raised to the threshold of 500 .

Titles or good armour with stats was required to break through the limit . The Grand Dukes were the only ones who knew the method to break through the limit . Of course, the process wasn’t necessary for me right now .

‘This is good to start off with . ’

Mind’s Eye was a deceptive skill .

Being able to see the opponent’s status window was great but it means nothing if that person doesn’t have talent .

A person who had the skill in his previous life was ‘Duke Dipella with 30 mouths . ’

She liked to experiment with Skill Combination . Many of the points earned were used for Skill Combination . In the process, Dipella coincidentally obtained Mind’s Eye .

It wasn’t a secret because Duke Dipella had a large mouth . Unfortunately, only one person could learn the unique skill . If someone else used the same combination then Mind’s Eye wouldn’t appear .

Duke Dipella used Mind’s Eye to make a very powerful army . She was a strong leader . The level of Duke Dipella rose above the crowd . She received many benefits as a result .

Duke Dipella exchanged things with other demons and garnered quite a number of points . Those points were used to buy skill combinations . As a result, her dungeon became famous for being impregnable among humans .

Even Grand Dukes who entered Duke Dipella’s dungeon would be injured . The level was enough to reach rank 2 .

‘It is worth pouring points into learning Mind’s Eye . ’

Duke Dipella had recklessly used points and stats into abusing Skill Combination so she couldn’t compare to the Grand Dukes . Still, Mind’s Eye was a useful skill .

“M-Master . What magic is this?”

“It is just magic . ”

One of the most important skills had been secured . However, it hadn’t ended yet .

I searched through the list of stores . I now had 80,000 points remaining . They needed to be used for maximum efficiency .

‘I need to raise my stats during the duration of the Beginner’s Protection Period . ’

The Beginner’s Protection Period was 8 months .

It wasn’t pleasant but he needed to be in the dungeon during that time .

During the Beginner’s Protection Period, the Dungeon Master could only attack random creatures that appeared on the first floor . The number was small but they were tough opponents .

It was also true for other demons .

In other words, the Beginner’s Protection Period applied to both humans and demons . For 8 months, the demons couldn’t directly attack humans .

A human warrior that appeared would need time to adapt to a dungeon . The demons could use this time in the dungeon to relax or plan . That was the Beginner’s Protection Period .

I used 20,000 pt to buy an alarm spell .

This skill was different as it used the magic of the Dungeon Core . If someone sneaked into the top floor of the dungeon then the Dungeon Core would sound an alarm . It was an insurance if case someone accidentally invaded his dungeon while training .

Of course, the possibility was close to zero but it was in case something bad happened .

Now lastly… .

[Training Room Ticket – 20,000 pt on first use .

The points will be consumed when used a second time . ]

I bought access to a training room without hesitation . I only had the opportunity to stay in this room for 8 months .

After the Beginner’s Protection Period ended, I would be too busy with new dungeons . Of course, that was on purpose .

‘I need to obtain all the benefits possible within a dungeon . ’

Unlike my previous life .

The answer shall be at the end of the road .

* * *

The training room .

I felt it the moment I entered . An abundance of mana! Just that fact alone made my body feel good .

I looked around slowly . It was called a ‘room’ but this place was more like a maze . The narrow paths bent and divided into multiple paths like the roots of a tree .

My goal was to see the end of this maze .

‘In fact, this is the purpose . The training bonus . ’

It could raise my stats very quickly . A weakened body would adapt and accept the original power properly . This was the concept of ‘recovery . ’ In that sense, a mana rich room was the perfect place for me to regain my abilities .

But rather than raising my stats, clearing the training room would give more desirable benefits . The room could raise my stats but clearing it would give one reward .

It was a title . In fact, this wasn’t clear . I only heard about it from a story . Still, the odds of getting something was huge . I hoped to acquire a title but points would also be good .

‘A title is really tricky to obtain . ’

A title was one of the ways to penetrate through blocked stats . It was possible to obtain multiple and duplicate titles but in my past life, I only obtained 2 . I survived until the end and still only got 2 . So it was difficult to obtain .

However, my Potential had a wall blocking it . Then a title was a good existence for moments like that .

Especially for me . In the past, I couldn’t raise my 5 stats to the threshold . I only achieved 93 points in Stamina . The value was relatively low compared to the others so I went through many troubles .

‘I only used the training room a few times . ’

I lost dungeons faster than anyone . Naturally I couldn’t take advantage of a long training .

A roaring fire burned inside me . I swore to commit to this life .

Anyway, a title could help me with the wall . Its importance was enough to mention it a few times .

There were restrictions to wearing titles but they could be duplicated . If someone didn’t realize the significance of a title then they wouldn’t become stronger .

“It has been a while since I’ve seen this . ”

The concentration of mana blocked me from all sides .

A maze was a maze . It was packed so tightly that it was impossible to fly . And I confirmed the items held in the leather pouch hanging from my waist .

If I wanted, I could return to this room at any time but I vowed not to leave until it was cleared . Therefore, I used 10,000 pt to purchase a magic bag . I could put items in it up to 150 times the size of the bag .

It could be everything including food and water . Even a demon would starve after 8 months . I prepared more practical oriented food instead of taste . It was enough if it could stop my hunger .

I shut the leather pouch after checking the items .

‘Let’s run lightly first . ’

The training room gave a challenge at each junction . I needed to complete the task at one of several branches in the path .

I ran until the first branching point . After 3 hours, an enormous room emerged . Dozens of primary weapons were placed in the middle of the room . There seemed to be one of each type .

[Please choose your weapon . ]

The message window popped up in the air . I chose an iron sword with no regrets . And the other weapons disappeared like a mirage . The mana in the area became agitated . There was a suspicious mana surge .

“Grr… . ”

Soon a number of cracks appeared in the space . The number seemed to reach 300 .

[Get rid of the wolf type Crazyhound! 300/300]

A demon could deal with these creatures with one finger . Crazyhound . But my stats were now restricted so the number of creatures was dangerous .

I used Mind’s Eye to check their status window .

Name: CrazyhoundStatsStrength31Intelligence14Agility42Stamina34Magic9 Potential: (130/130)

Uniqueness: Temporarily summoned to a room . Has an intense hostility towards Randalph Brigsiel .

Skill: Berserk (Normal)

Mind’s Eye can’t read the description of the skill . But looking at the name of the skill and the name Crazyhound, I could roughly imagine the effect .

‘A mad dog running about . ’

They were lacking abilities . The Crazyhounds rushed towards me from all sides .

“Krwaang!”

I didn’t become impatient and blocked from all directions . Then I strongly kicked the first Crazyhound into another one . There was a hole in one direction and my sword headed in another direction .

The time between attacking and defending was 0 . 1 seconds and I didn’t make any errors .

In a very short time .

There was a large number of opponents but it was simple to knock them out .

Kaekang! Kaekaekang!

The dead Crazyhounds dissolved and scattered everywhere .

They reverted back to mana . It was natural as they were summoned here in the first place with mana .

The number of Crazyhounds decreased rapidly . After getting rid of 100, the gap widened further and my sword indiscriminately moved between them .

I appeared to be swinging at random but the result was different . A Crazyhound died with every stretch of my wrist .

It took me approximately 10 minutes to eliminate all 300 .

[Victory . You have exterminated all the creatures!]

Kukung!

The status window that was floating closed and the stone walls moved . The total number was five . I could take one of five paths .

‘I guess I should decide the rules when moving . ’

I chose the one on the very right . I would continue moving to the right when arriving at a blocked crossroad .

Once my rule was established, I immediately moved forward holding the iron sword .

* * *

“So . You know . Yihi has been thinking… . ”

As I walked forward .

Yihi sat on my left shoulder while babbling . An insubstantial fairy . The Dungeon Core hadn’t been with me for a long time .

I didn’t ask any questions and created a unique combination skill . I caused a small amazement .

There was a small thought!

“Ah, my ears . You are insulting Yihi . ”

Yihi grabbed her ears . Later, Yihi came up to my ears and started jabbering .

“Anyway . A unique skill is really hard to get . Totally expensive . I couldn’t get it in my entire lifetime . Yet Master just suk! Sak! Bbeong! And it was created . So Yihi!”

Yihi clenched her fists tightly like she was pledging something .

“……?”

“I give up on that idea . Yihi~”

And she just laughed foolishly . Yihi shrugged her shoulders .

“It is a waste of time to worry about it . Is it wise to report something like this?”

Yihi knew the meaning of words but there was a giant, invisible wall standing between her being wise .

“How great . ”

I blankly came up with an answer . Yihi took it as a compliment and flapped her wings .

“Yihi . ”

She seemed to be in a good mood . Yihi looked at my face for a moment and gave a silly laugh! And she rubbed her lips against my cheek .

She had the body of a young fairy but she was still a Dungeon Core . Therefore I didn’t feel anything .

“…… . ”

I gently raised my hand to my shoulder as I walked . It was like driving a pesky mosquito away . Yihi who was bumped by the back of my hand flew away screaming . I was inwardly glad to see Yihi’s behaviour but I had to train her from the beginning .

“Hing . So unfair . ”

After a while, Yihi grabbed my collar and complained .

I raised my running speed . I had broken through 5 junctions . There was still a long way to go but I needed to give my body a little rest .

‘Just one more round until I take a break . ’

Time was limited . I don’t know if 8 months is good enough .

However, it wasn’t good to abuse my body . Doing that could possibly destroy it . There was no need to be unreasonable .

I walked a little more and arrived at a junction . A message window instantly surfaced when I entered a huge room .

[Sit in meditation at the specified place .

[If you don’t focus then the time will be reset . ]

I looked at the rectangular shape in the centre of the room .

The message indicated that I couldn’t move my feet for 3 days . Anyway, I was glad that I could rest for 3 days . I don’t know why I was asked to meditate but it required mental concentration .

I lightly sat on the ground . And I regretted it .

* * *

23 days!

That was the time I spent in the meditation room . I spent 23 days on just meditation .

Paduduk!

I grinded my teeth together .

The slightest movement would release my spirit and reset time . The system that could recognize my mental state was like a scary ghost .

I didn’t know I had so many idle thoughts . Concentration was completely different . Not even concentration could empty my mind . The phrase in the message window was a trap .

Therefore, I took 23 days . If my luck was bad then I might have spent 8 months meditating .

‘I heard about the training room 10 years later so I didn’t hear about everything . ’

That…any Dungeon Master could enter the training room . But the news only reached my ears after 10 years . By then, it was much more complicated .

‘I can’t lower my guard . I need to be a little more nervous . ’

I thought it would be easy . It was necessary to be more tense . Beat my neck a few times . Prepare my mind so I could cope with anything that would emerge .

* * *

[Wield the sword 100,000 times . ][Do a headstand and move 50 laps around the room . ][Catch 10 of the ‘Madness Rabbit . ’][Endure the ‘cursed’ state . ]

Perhaps I don’t have any luck?

I had that thought after receiving the mission at the 80th junction . Once I reached over 90 and was approaching 100, I thought that this was karma .

I laughed bitterly as I continued to explore the maze . There was still time left .

110, 120…149!

If I hadn’t set a goal then I would’ve abandoned it . I didn’t give up after passing through room 149 but was forced to swallow my saliva the moment I entered room 150 . The room only had one path .

The end?

[Boss, fight against the guardian Arkal!]

The end!

My eyes flashed .

Arkal was an armoured creature 2 metres large . I rushed with all my strength towards Arkal . My stats had become incomparably stronger after travelling through 149 rooms .

Finally, my sword managed to make Arkal collapse .

Suddenly I was standing in front of the Dungeon Core . At the same time, a few message windows emerged .

[The training room’s last boss Arkal has been defeated!]

[The first training room has been cleared . The title ‘Indomitable Warrior’ has been given . ]

[All branching points in the first training room has been surpassed . 300,000pt will be paid . ]

I finally cleared it after it almost reached 8 months . I closed my mouth firmly as message windows surfaced in the air .

It was natural to check my status window afterwards .

Name:RandalphSurname:BrigsielOccupationDemon Earl (Dungeon Master)TitleIndomitable Warrior (Exceptional Unique, all stats +2)StatsStrength76 (+2)Intelligence48 (+2)Agility72 (+2)Stamina80 (+2)Magic62 (+2) Potential: (238 +10/500)

Uniqueness: None

Skill: Skill Combination (R), Mind’s Eye (U)

[Before and After Comparison]

Strength 64 Intelligence 42 Agility 59 Stamina 72 Magic 50 Potential (287+0/500)

Strength 78 Intelligence 50 Agility 74 Stamina 82 Magic 64 Potential (338+10/500)

Remarkable growth . The important thing was the title .

Indomitable Warrior . An exceptionally unique title!

Title, skills and items also had ratings like normal, rare, unique, epic and legend . Among them, those with ‘Exceptional’ after the rating was slightly superior .

It didn’t reach the Epic rating but it was superior to Unique . An Exceptional Unique rating .

I had almost never heard of someone obtaining the Epic rating . Until the very end . However, Indomitable Warrior could be comparable to Epic .

A title that increased all my stats . That it particular made it better . It was rare to find things that could enhance stats .

I have a total of 348 stats . This was enough to make me confident about being at the forefront of the 72 demons .

‘Is this the pleasure after all the suffering?’

A proverb I often heard from humans . It was like they said . The 300,000 pt was worth the 8 months of work .

Now… . . ”

My objective was achieved .

The Beginner’s Protection Period was almost over . The points were also sufficient .

I lightly nodded .

‘It is time to strengthen the dungeon . ’