The morning after clearing his first Instant Dungeon, Jinwoo sat at bench in the park, staring intently at the glowing blue interface in front of him.
Along with his massive jump in stats, hitting Level 15 had unlocked a new tab in his System menu.
[ SYSTEM STORE: UNLOCKED ]
Current Balance:** 12,500 Gold coins
"Coins…" Jinwoo muttered, resting his chin on his hand. Every Raikan he had slaughtered the day before had dropped a few hundred System Gold coins, alongside their physical monster cores.
He tapped the holographic store icon. A massive catalog of items scrolled down before his eyes—weapons, armor, potions, and crafting materials. Most of the high-tier equipment was locked or impossibly expensive, but the basic materials were cheap.
His eyes landed on a specific item: [ Low-Grade Mana Crystal ]. Price: 1,000 Gold each.
In the real world, Mana Crystals were the lifeblood of the Hunter economy. They were used to power everything from defensive barriers to high-tech weaponry, and naturally formed crystals harvested from dungeons sold for a fortune.
"Let's test this," Jinwoo whispered.
He purchased ten of them.
*Ping!*
Ten smooth, glowing blue stones materialized onto the kitchen table, clinking softly against the wood. The mana radiating from them was incredibly dense and pure—far cleaner than the jagged, impure crystals usually mined by low-rank strike squads.
Jinwoo smirked, throwing them into his inventory. "Time to go to the bank."
Two hours later, Jinwoo walked out of a private Hunter Exchange Bureau in the bustling district of Gangnam.
He wasn't carrying the crystals anymore. Instead, he was holding a sleek black debit card.
The appraiser at the bureau had nearly dropped his magnifying glass when he inspected the stones. Because System-generated items had zero impurities, the man had graded them as premium B-rank equivalent materials.
The payout? A staggering 45,000,000 Won (roughly $35,000 USD).
For a guy who used to risk his life to earn a few hundred dollars to barely cover rent, holding a piece of plastic with that much money attached to it felt surreal.
Jinwoo looked down at his reflection in a storefront window. He was wearing a faded, oversized hoodie and worn-out sneakers. His clothes hung tightly around around his newly built, broad shoulders.
"I need an upgrade," he decided.
He stepped into one of Gangnam's high-end designer boutiques. The moment he walked in, a sharply dressed saleswoman eyed his shabby clothes with a hint of disdain.
"Welcome," she said, her tone flat. "The clearance section is in the back."
Jinwoo didn't even blink. The old him would have flushed with embarrassment and quietly shuffled away. The new Jinwoo simply walked past her, his eyes scanning the premium displays.
"I'm not here for clearance," Jinwoo said, his voice calm but carrying a heavy, undeniable authority that made the clerk stiffen. "Bring me your best fits. Dark colors. Something that breathes."
Ten minutes later, Jinwoo stepped out of the fitting room.
The transformation was absolute. He wore a tailored, charcoal-grey turtleneck fitted perfectly to his chest, paired with a sleek black trench coat and tailored slacks. The fabric clung to his broad shoulders and narrow waist, perfectly highlighting the dense, muscular physique he had built through the the exercise.
The saleswoman who had mocked him earlier was now staring at him, completely speechless, a faint blush creeping up her neck.
"I'll take this," Jinwoo said, tossing his new black card onto the counter. "And pack up those other three suits I tried on. I'm taking them all."
Later that afternoon, Jinwoo leaned against a brick wall outside Jinah's high school, holding several high-end shopping bags.
When the final bell rang, a sea of students flooded the courtyard. It didn't take long for Jinah to spot him. She froze on the school steps, blinking rapidly as she took in his appearance.
Several of her classmates were whispering.
"Whoa, who is that guy?"
"Is he an actor? A high-rank Hunter?"
"Oppa?!" Jinah gasped, running down the steps and staring at him in disbelief. She looked at his designer coat, his sharp haircut, and the imposing, confident aura he naturally radiated. "What… what are you wearing? Did you rob a bank?!"
Jinwoo laughed, ruffling her hair. "No. I just had a really good day at work."
Before she could interrogate him further, he handed her two large, glossy shopping bags.
"What's this?" she asked, peeking inside. Her jaw instantly dropped. Inside were the latest designer sneakers she had been staring at in magazines for months, along with two expensive, high-quality winter coats.
"Oppa! This… this is way too expensive!" she panicked, trying to shove the bags back into his chest. "We need this money for Mom's hospital bills! You can't just—"
"Jinah," Jinwoo interrupted gently, placing his hands on her shoulders.
The sheer calm in his eyes silenced her.
"The hospital bills are handled. The rent is handled. From now on, you don't have to worry about money anymore," Jinwoo said, his voice firm and reassuring. "You've spent the last two years eating instant ramen and wearing worn-out shoes just so I could survive. You deserve this. So just say thank you."
Jinah looked up at him, her eyes welling with sudden tears. The crushing weight of poverty that had suffocated their family for years was suddenly lifting, and the man standing in front of her felt like an unshakable pillar.
She wiped her eyes roughly with her sleeve and clutched the bags tightly to her chest, a huge, radiant smile breaking across her face.
"Thank you, Oppa," she beamed.
Jinwoo smiled back, a deep sense of satisfaction warming his chest.
"Come on," he said, turning down the street. "Let's go get some premium Korean BBQ. My treat."