In the level 1800 hunting ground Land of Ancient Spirits.

Puck! Puck! Bang! Bang!

I have already done all the preparations for the event ‘Advance Party.’

So I kept hunting like before because I had nothing to do but to hunt right now, and there were a lot who could monitor any unusual changes in the event on behalf of me.

Of course, my family members wanted to double check if I was really ready.

My sister said, “Brother, you must be confident, right? I guess you must have some emergency measures just in case. I know this event offers you an enormous reward, but surely you are not tempted by the reward.”

“That’s right, Juyoung.”

Starting off with my sister, my family members gave me advice one by one.

They didn’t actively stop me this time because they trusted me.

They knew how strong I was. So I told them about the ancient cooldown removal charms and the level 10 skill Ice Breath for the first time.

Then I explained to them casually, “I have to confront this enemy anyway, and it’s a good opportunity for me. I can obtain a good reward, and at the same time I can get some information about the identity of the enemy.”

When I said that, my brother said, “Phew, if I can have my way, I would like to go with you with others who can protect you, but I will give up since we will just bruden you. But if you think you are in danger, use that charm right away!”

My sister then said, “That’s right. You know if you keep something too long, it will be useless, right? If something bad happens to you, I’ll never forgive you!”

I promised my father, mother, brother, sister and sister-in-law that I would take every action to protect myself, then I made the final decision to participate in the event ‘Advance Party’ by myself.

***

It has been exactly 10 days since the message about the event ‘Advance Party’ rang.

Suddenly another message rang.

You have met the conditions for participating in the event ‘Advance Party’.

– Would you like to participate in the event?

-Yes

/No.

“…I will participate.”

Although I was a little hesitant, I did not intend to change my decision, so I chose to participate immediately.

You have chosen to participate in the event ‘Advance Party’.

-Current number of participants: 37.

-After the 24 hours of recruitment time is over, all the participants will be transferred to the area o o o immediately.

-If there are less than 300 voluntary participants, 3,000 people will be randomly selected and transferred to the area o o o.

You are a voluntary participant of the event ‘Advance Party’.

– You receive the following rewards:

: An increase in your level by 10, regardless of your current level.

: 1 billion golden rings.

: 500 remaining stat points.

: 10,000 coins.

Of course, I usually received the reward at the end, and after clearing the event at that.

But it was different this time. I received the reward, albeit only a part of it, as soon as the event started.

So I felt as if the reward was like a ritual meal or bait before my death.

While I was thinking about it, I heard another message ringing.

You have leveled up.

You have leveled up.

:

:

You have leveled up.

You have leveled up.

I didn’t care about the message because I knew it would ring, so I opened the status window right away, and invested a total of 600 remaining stat points consisting of the 100 I received from leveling up 10 times and the 500 from the reward into Intellect, then closed the status window.

“By the way, I can’t do anything with 10,000 coins.”

With the remaining coins I had before the quest and the 30,000 coins I obtained as a reward after cleaning the quest ‘Destroy the Crystal Tower’, I could increase my reality actualization rate by 2%.

For the window of 131~140% of the reality actualization rate, 18,000 coins were required for each 1% increase.

Since I had the title ‘First Achiever of 100% Reality Actualization Rate,’ the required coins per 1% were reduced by 2500, so I could achieve the 1% rate with only 15,500 coins.

But since I had used up all my coins to increase my reality actualization rate by 2% to 137% before I volunteered, I could not use these 10,000 coins right away. So I just stored them in my inventory.

Then I headed back to the 1800 level hunting ground Land of Ancient Spirits.

There were still more than 23 hours left before the recruitment deadline ended, and hunting was the perfect way for me to relieve my tension.

And I could always get a good sleep and break after hunting.

***

At the main base of the Myongjin Shelter.

“Got it? Always think only of yourself alone. Don’t ever feel any compassion for them.”

“That’s right, Juyoung. They are not participating in this ‘Advance Party’ event for something like sacrifices and service. They are doing it for their own growth and interests. And they have to take responsibility for their decisions.”

With less than three hours left before the deadline, my sister was so nervous and worried about me, telling me to protect myself unconditionally.

Even Director Sok agreed with her, stressing the importance of my safety among other things.

Since I appreciated their genuine concern, I nodded at their repeated advice on ensuring my safety.

To be honest, I had no intention of taking care of those who would go with me.

Did I worry about their possible criticism of me because I moved alone without taking care of them after some of them successfully returned to the earth?

Not at all. I wasn’t afraid of such criticism at all.

Why? It’s not because I was completely brazen-faced, but because they wouldn’t do any harm to me even if they did so.

Anyway, I slept close to 10 hours right before the deadline was over, and I had a very good break, so I spent a great time with my family in the best condition.

If I were in a really dangerous situation, I would use the Ancient Cooldown Removal Charm, but I would see them again anyway in 30 days.

After that, exactly 3 more hours passed when a message rang.

The recruitment deadline of the event ‘Advance Team’ is 1 hour away.

-Current number of participants: 11,774.

“Wow, it is a lot more than I thought.”

Initially, there were not many participants. But when the participant number reached the 1,000 mark, there was an explosive increase which ended up exceeding 10,000 in an instant.

“It looks like more joined because they think they have more chances of surviving when there are more participants.”

“I agree,” I said, nodding at Director Sok’s comment.

Then another hour passed, and the message rang again on time.

The final number of participants in the event ‘Advance Party’ is 13,821.

-All of them will be transferred to the area o o o immediately.

As soon as the message rang, I felt as if I was being dragged somewhere, so I immediately waved to my family with a wide smile on my lips.

No matter how much I convinced them that I would return to the earth safely, my family members would have no choice but to worry about my safety.