Alfiria Saga

---

Tud... Tud... Tud... Tud...

For seven long hours, I kept swinging my Trainee Sword against the same worn-out Training Dummy.

Despite all that effort, I had only gained 2 points in Strength and 1 point in Dexterity.

The stat gains in the Training Field are completely random, and they usually only affect Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX), and Constitution (CON).

Still, I needed to raise my STR as much as possible to complete the first Sacred Treasure quest.

"Status."

John Leben [Lvl. 1]

HP: 100/100

MP: 0

Class: [None]

Rank: [White]

Title: [None]

Skill: [None]

Str: 1 (+2)

Int: 1

Dex: 0 (+1)

Con: 0

Wis: 0

Available Points: 0

Skill Points: 0

"Looks like this will take longer than I thought," I muttered to myself.

What I had confirmed so far was that the stats gained through the Training Dummy weren't visible when scanned by the Adventurers Department's stat crystal.

That meant these were "hidden stats," untraceable through normal means.

Maybe that's why no one else was using the Training Dummy.

In fact, other adventurers had laughed at me.

Even Ms. Nora tried to stop me earlier with a pitiful look on her face.

Flashback...

"Sir Leben," she said gently,

"no matter how long you hit the Training Dummy, you won't gain any stats.You need to kill monsters outside the village to earn EXP and level up."

"Okay, Ms. Nora," I replied with a sheepish laugh.

End flashback...

By now, night was falling.

I checked my coin pouch to assess how long my funds could last.

"Hmm... I've got enough for a month," I calculated.

"Ten silver for lodging, another ten for food. That leaves five silver in reserve. If I run out, I can always pick up a Gathering Quest. Even one of those can feed me for two days."

The currency here in Alfiria was simple.

100 Bronze = 1 Silver

100 Silver = 1 Small Gold

50 Gold = 1 Big Gold

25 Big Gold = 1 Alfiria Coin.

Honestly, it wasn't a bad system.

Still, even if being an adventurer sounded glamorous, this kind of grinding was the real experience.

---

I grabbed something to eat from a vendor before heading into the old, three-story inn where I was currently staying.

As I entered the hallway, I saw the innkeeper carrying out the trash. I was about to offer help, but...

"Don't worry about it, Sir. You should go rest," the innkeeper smiled.

"Word is, you've been hammering away at those Training Dummies since noon. Just pay for the room in the morning."

"Heh... thanks."

I watched him walk out before heading upstairs to my room on the third floor.

There were only two rooms there, and mine was the one to the right.

Inside, I quickly laid out the food I'd bought and ate quietly.

Then, I pulled out a notebook and began drafting my grind chart for the Training Field.

I also made a weekly schedule for Gathering Quests to cover my daily expenses.

"Okay... Five days of stat grinding, two days of questing. Let's make this work."

---

Five months passed.

I decided it was time to stop grinding stats.

My numbers were now high enough to take on the first Sacred Treasure quest.

I purchased equipment with 5% Dark Resistance—the upcoming dungeon would be crawling with Dark-type mobs.

I also bought five Red Lilies, five White Lilies, and five Purple Strings, items needed to unlock the hidden quest.

I didn't bother leveling up since the quest required,

"Entry Requirement: Adventurers under Level 10 only"

I was confident I could handle it.

The Eyes of Fin Ring may be a low-level item, but its ability to reveal the status and background of any creature was invaluable.

When combined with the full Sacred Treasure set, the bonus effects were powerful enough to make any adventurer drool.

"Status."

John Leben [Lvl. 1]

HP: 100/100 (+70)

MP: 0

Class: [None]

Rank: [White]

Title: [None]

Skill: [None]

Str: 1 (+21)

Int: 1

Dex: 0 (+5)

Con: 0 (+7)

Wis: 0

Available Points: 0

Skill Points: 0

I had grinded 33 stat points in five months, training 14 hours daily.

Every 7 hours of practice yielded an average of 3 points randomly split between STR, DEX, and CON.

Eventually, the dummy would flash a message:

Flashback...

"Training Dummy has reached its limit. No more stat points can be earned from this dummy. You can craft your own Training Dummy using a crafting skill and the proper materials."

End flashback...

I had no clue how days were tracked in Alfiria, but I made my own calendar based on my old world: 31 days per month.

So far, 157 days had passed.

Five months, just like that.

"Time flies..." I sighed.

I journeyed to the left side of Gram Village and entered the forest of Jera.

Along the way, I fought low-level mobs—slimes and young kobolds mostly.

"Level Up"

"Level Up"

"Status"

John Leben [Lvl. 3]

HP: 140/140 (+70)

MP: 0

Str: 1 (+21)

Int: 1

Dex: 0 (+5)

Con: 4 (+7)

Available Points: 0

Skill Points: 2

I dumped my available stat points into CON for more health and defense.

I didn't need more STR for now; even slimes died in a single blow.

I hadn't learned any skills yet either since I hadn't taken Class Lessons.

The current system was based on real-life effort, unlike the old MMO where I hit Level 100 in a month.

Now, I had to ask myself things like:

Can I handle this?

What if there's a boss?

What if I get ambushed by bandits?

Even if the resurrection system made me technically immortal, death still hurt.

A lot.

Just remembering how that Great Liger gnawed on me during my first day in this world gave me chills.

I vowed it would never happen again.

---

Eventually, I reached a Save Point outside the Forest of Jera.

Mobs couldn't enter here—a sanctuary blessed by Goddess Alfiria.

I sat down, placing my small inventory bag beside me.

It only had seven slots, barely bigger than a string bag from my world, but it was interdimensional and crafted by a high-level artisan.

"Status."

John Leben [Lvl. 5]

HP: 180/180 (+70)

MP: 0

Str: 1 (+21)

Dex: 0 (+5)

Con: 8 (+7)

Available Points: 0

Skill Points: 4

Two more levels gained.

Again, all points went into CON.

I didn't trust my HP yet.

My current STR was enough to one-shot weaklings, but I couldn't shake this uneasy feeling.

---

At last, I arrived at the Grave of Jera.

I searched for the specific tomb that would trigger the Hidden Quest.

Along the way, I encountered weak skeleton mobs, slow and unarmed.

I easily avoided most of them.

Eventually, I found the grave.

I pulled out the lilies and string, crafting a small bouquet.

I placed it before the tombstone and waited.

In the game, an NPC used to visit this very grave.

If I was right, he would appear soon.

Thud...

I turned to the source of the sound and smiled.

An old man stood behind me, holding a similar bouquet—though his had fewer flowers.

I handed him mine.

"I'm here to enter Fin's Labyrinth," I said quietly.

"I want the key. I want to avenge the adventurers who died in vain."

His eyes widened.

"Please don't kneel to someone like me. I'm just a poor old man," he said, trembling.

"But I'm touched. You care about what happened to my son and his companions."

He told me the full story.

His son had led a group of adventurers under a Royal Quest to defeat one of the Demon King's lieutenants, Marquis Fin.

Only his son returned, broken.

He couldn't bear the grief of losing his friends, or his fiancée, Henda.

In time, he took his own life, leaving a letter and a key.

The letter said:

"Give this to the one who dares face Fin and retrieve Henda's necklace."

"Please," the old man said, placing the key in my hands,

"kill the monster who took my son."

I bowed my head.

"You have my word. I'll finish this."

"You obtained one of the Seven Unknown Keys."

"Hidden Quest Unlocked."

"Kill Marquis Fin, the Dark Knight in Fin's Labyrinth."

Rewards:

Equipment Chest (Gold)

Eyes of Fin Ring (Soulbound)

Dark Knight (Title)