Not So Solo Leveling III (Patreon)

“Clearly this is the System’s fault.” Soohyun grumbled as she continued her push-ups. “Like, we were hot but now we’re hot.” She side-eyed Jinwoo, who was now apparently carved from marble. ‘Like what the hell?! He went from cute to adonis!’ She shook her head and steadfastly looked away from their new hunk, because she was sure she was going to lose count if she saw another bead of sweat roll off his skin.

“Soohyun!” Joohee was blushing madly.

“Less talking, more working!” Miho growled out, “This is our last day in the hospital! I want to get this done before we leave!”

“Anything in particular you want to do?” Jinwoo asked, a small smile on his face as he continued pushing himself.

“Just eager to get away from this place. Never been a fan of hospitals. It smells too sterile and full of chemicals.” Miho replied with another grunt.

“Well, I would hope the hospital smells sterile.” Joohee snarked with a bit of a giggle. “How about you, Jinwoo?”

“Eager to see Jinah again. She hasn’t been able to visit since I woke up.” Jinwoo said, before his smile fell a bit, “…I’d like to visit mom, too.” He said softly.

The tease that had been on Soohyun’s lips died. She instead smiled softly, “You’re a good man, Jinwoo.” She sighed, “I should probably go see my family too. Or at least my younger cousin. He’s the only fun one.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me about unfun family. I want to plant my foot right up my brother’s a-” Miho started to say as she sat up, but Joohee sounded scandalized as she giggled.

“Miho!” They all shared a laugh, except for Miho.

“He’s just treating me like a damn invalid.” She got to her feet and clenched a fist, an aura of fire engulfing her, “I can’t wait until I’m an S-Rank and can rub his damn nose in it!”

“We’ll get there.” Jinwoo smirked as he stood, not noticing how all three girls flushed as he pulled his shirt up to wipe his forehead. “We’ll all get there.”

‘That’s a weapon of mass destruction.’ The thirst was in full control as the girls stared.

-]|[-

Jinwoo let out a massive yawn that stretched his face as he walked out of his room, “Hey, going to school?”

“Huh? Since when do you wake up this early?” Jinah asked in confusion as she turned around and stopped short. ‘What the?’

Jinwoo was scratching his belly, which she could see was a full six pack. If he wasn’t her brother, Jinah would definitely have been drooling a swimming pool’s worth. “Damn cars honking woke me up a while ago.”

“Have you been working out?” She ignored his explanation and asked as she stood and opened the door.

“Uhh, yeah?”

“Well can you teach me your secrets? You’re like a foot and a half taller! Since when does exercise make you grow taller?! After 20, even!”

“Stop asking weird questions and take your umbrella.” He said, trying to hand it to her.

“It’s not supposed to rain! And my backpack is already heavy enough.” She turned and tried to walk out.

Jinwoo rolled his eyes and unzipped her bag in a smooth motion that she didn’t even notice until she couldn’t walk forward anymore. “It’s just a light umbrella, and I’m pretty sure it is going to rain. Stop whining.” He waved her out the door with a smile, before sighing and sitting down heavily on the couch. “Don’t feel like running now. I’ll do it later.” He mumbled before pulling up his stats.

Name: Sung Jinwoo

Level: 20

Job: None (As always, this annoyed him. It made him feel like the System was mocking his former status as the world’s weakest hunter.)

Fatigue: 0

Title: Beast Menace

HP: 2500

MP: 390

Strength: 50

Agility: 29

Perception: 29

Vitality: 29

Intelligence: 29

Available Ability Points: 12

With the way his body looked now, he wondered if he wasn’t investing too heavily into strength. He certainly didn’t want to become a bodybuilder ‘mass of muscle’ like he’d seen on TV far too many times. He spent some time wondering how he should distribute his points. Agility was useful for sure, and Perception had proved surprisingly so as well. Strength was obviously his best stat, but his small mana pool might prove a hindrance if he didn’t work on it. Then again, it seemed like a really bad stat to invest in. At level one, he’d had 10 MP at 10 Intelligence. Now with 29 Intelligence, he only had 390 MP. That was a meager 20 MP per point invested.

Miho’s warning shot through his mind, and he eventually sighed.

Strength: 56

Agility: 35

Perception: 29

Vitality: 29

Intelligence: 29

Available Ability Points: 0

He decided to split his points evenly between Strength and Agility this time. Next time he’d split Strength and Perception. He figured that was the best thing he could do for himself. The twenty points he’d get from each point into Intelligence just didn’t seem worth it. It cost more than that just to revive a Shadow. He’d have to find some other way to raise his mana pool, and not overly rely on his Shadows.

His musing was cut off as his phone started to ring. “Hmm? Wasn’t expecting a call. Maybe it’s the girls?” His face fell when he picked up, and it turned out to be the landlord. He hurriedly had to apologize for missing the rent and had to explain that he had been in the hospital. The landlord was nice and offered to let him pay over the next few months, but Jinwoo denied him. “Don’t worry, I’ll deposit the money by the end of the week. Earlier if I can.”

“Well, if you’re sure. Thanks Jinwoo.” The landlord hung up, and Jinwoo tossed the phone onto the sofa with a groan.

“Great. I need cash and I need it fast.” He grumbled as he let the back of his head fall on the cushion. “Such a pain in the ass. Should I go get reevaluated?” He scratched his chin before shaking his head. “No, Miho’s right, like usual. We JUST got measured as E-Ranks. If I go get myself reevaluated now, then when I rank up again, it’ll be too suspicious. But it’ll be hard to find work otherwise… Too much competition in E-Rank dungeons, and the loot is crap anyway. I need something better.” He grabbed his phone, “I need to get into a Strike Squad.”

He scrolled through the Hunter’s app looking to see if anyone needed a squad filled out, and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw an ad. He immediately called this Hwang Dongsuk to get the details. After a few minutes, he was shocked, “Two million Won in cash just to show up and fill out the party?”

“That’s right.” Dongsuk said, “Since the Gate is a C-Rank, you probably won’t be joining any of the fighting and you won’t get any Essence Stones, but we can’t actually enter the Gate without more party members. So, two million just for showing up and acting as a porter or a miner if we find anything worth taking. Pretty sweet deal, right?”

“Yeah, it sounds perfect, honestly.” Jinwoo said. ‘Maybe a bit too perfect.’ The thought came unbidden, but he had no reason to suspect anything nefarious. It was just a strange gut feeling, and he hadn’t survived up until now by not following his gut. “When are we starting?”

“Close to dusk.” Dongsuk replied, “Just meet us here, and we’ll be good to go.” The man hung up.

He smiled and stood, going off to get dressed. He still needed to go do his run, so this worked out perfectly for him. It was while he was out on his run that his phone rang again, and he smiled when he saw it was Soohyun. “Hey Soohyun, what’s up?”

“Hey Jinwoo.” Soohyun’s bubbly voice sounded excited, “Miho and I want to introduce you and Joohee to our friends in the White Tiger and Hunters Guilds. We’re going to go have lunch in a couple hours! Think you can make it?”

Jinwoo winced, “Ah, sorry Soohyun.” On the other end, Soohyun’s face dropped, “But because of the hospital stay, I actually haven’t been able to pay rent this month. I signed up to be part of a Strike Squad to make some cash.”

“Oh, phooey.” On the other end, Soohyun blew some hair away from her face, “Shame. We’ll have to introduce you some other time, then. Be safe!”

“Hope you have fun!” Jinwoo said, before they hung up, with a drooping Soohyun giving the other girls the bad news.

-]|[-

“Hey, over here!” Jinwoo’s attention was drawn by a ruggedly handsome older man with a wide, friendly smile as he arrived at the construction site. He introduced himself as Dongsuk and confirmed Jinwoo’s details. Predictably, this got the rest of his party to start snickering in amusement when they learned their Strike Squad filler was the ‘Weakest Hunter of all Mankind’ himself. Jinwoo didn’t really let it bother him. Or at least nothing showed on his face.

The friendly Captain of the party got them to quiet down, before filling Jinwoo in on the details again and handing him a contract to sign. Jinwoo put his new Perception to work, eyeing the party ‘Five C-Ranks, and three D-Ranks or lower.’ That put them at just below the minimum threshold for going into the dungeon, so one person was clearly yet to arrive.

That was when someone drew his attention, “Hey, guess we’re both just here for the headcount.” Jinwoo looked over, and nearly choked when he saw the boy, “Hey, the name’s Yoo Jinho. I’m a 22-year-old D-Rank.” He winked and smiled at Jinwoo, and his teeth pinged. “I’m not a member of the Strike Squad. Just filling in, like you.”

“…Right.” Jinwoo looked blue in the face as he took Jinho in. ‘This guy! What’s with all the fancy equipment?!’ Jinho was wearing one of the fanciest sets of armor Jinwoo had ever seen. It was white with orange accents and gleamed in the waning sunlight. ‘Is he the son of some business tycoon or something?’

He quickly shook off the sight and looked at Dongsuk, “So, what do you need me to do?”

“Nothing.” Dongsuk patted him on the shoulder, “Just carry our bags and keep up with us. We’ve got lunch boxes, spare clothes, first-aid kits… little bit of everything, honestly.”

“Then we’re going in without a Healer?” Jinwoo’s eyes widened, ‘This is… foolish.’

Dongsuk looked amused, “Yeah, that’s right. I doubt you’re not already aware, but Healers are hard to find for private Strike Squads. You don’t have to worry. We’ve always done business like this.”

The bad feeling in his gut got a little more intense. He read the contract, and it looked pretty standard. It outlined that the squad would not be responsible for any accidents inside the dungeon and also outlined the pay. He eyed the leader once more, and compared the level of power he could feel to his own. That was when he came to a startling realization, ‘…I’m stronger than him. I’m stronger than all of them.’

He'd still be keeping a close eye out, but that was a comforting realization to come to. The rest of the Strike Squad was raring to go, and they started to hurry into the dungeon the second he signed the contract. He made to follow them, when Jinho patted him on the stomach, “What are you worried about?” He winked at Jinwoo again and pointed his thumb at himself, “You said you were E-Rank, right? Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”

“…Haaaa…”  Jinwoo contemplated turning around and going to meet with the girls. In the end, he grabbed the bags and followed them into the dungeon.

-]|[-

“Heejin!” Miho called out, smiling as she saw her friends, “Gina, Bora, Semi, Jiwoo! How have you girls been?”

“Hey Miho.” Gina was a blonde, tall, and quite busty woman. Taller and bustier than even Soohyun, if that could be believed! “You seem happier than you did after that Double Dungeon.” She exchanged a hug with the more petite woman.

“Well, we seem to be recovering.” Miho said, smiling as she saw some of their eyes widen.

Lee Bora was a shorter woman with a beauty mark just under the left side of her lip, as well as large, round glasses. “I can see that.” She was by far the most perceptive of the group, something which had saved their Strike Team a few times in the past. Normally fairly unexpressive, she smiled at Miho, “I think you’re back at B-Rank.”

Miho grinned, “It’s a relief. Don’t tell my brother though. That doofus has a surprise coming to him.” They all started to giggle. “Anyway, Heejin already knows her, but this is Yoo Soohyun, the newest member of the White Tigers.”

“Hey girls!” Soohyun was always happy to make some new friends and gave them a wave.

“Nice to meet you, Soohyun.” Han Semi, a beautiful woman with long and wavy purple hair styled into a braid that draped over her shoulder, greeted her.

“You as well! And this is Lee Joohee. She’s one of the other survivors of the Double Dungeon.” Soohyun introduced the redhead.

Joohee smiled and bowed, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“You as well!” Semi bowed back to her. “I’m Han Semi.” She elected to be the spokeswoman, “This is Gina.” The blonde smiled at her as well, “Lee Bora.” The woman who loved dressing up as a gothic maid bowed to her, “Seo Jiwoo.” She had quite the resemblance to Lee Bora, albeit with shorter and messier hair, as well as a much more muscular physique, “And finally, Park Heejin.” Like Lee Bora and Seo Jiwoo, she had pitch black hair, which just made her gleaming emerald eyes stand out more.

“It’s wonderful to meet you all.” Joohee smiled and bowed to each of them in turn.

Heejin put a hand on her hip, “I thought there was one more person who survived with you three. Did they not want to come?”

Soohyun pouted, “We invited him-” There was a chorus of ‘ooohs’ and cheeky grins over them inviting a male to what was essentially a girls’ day out, “-but because we were in the hospital for so long, he was late on rent. He had already joined a Strike Team when I called to invite him.”

“Ah, what a shame.” Gina sighed, “Still, no sense burning daylight. Let’s go and have some tea.”

…

Minutes later, they were all sitting at a huge table in one of their favorite tea places. Jiwoo was a little hesitant, but she asked the question that had been on most of their minds, “Was the Double Dungeon really that bad?” Instantly, Soohyun and Joohee shuddered, and she almost wished she hadn’t asked. “It’s just… other than the official information we haven’t been given anything. Even the fact that one of our friends was hurt wasn’t enough…”

Miho sighed, “It was a nightmare.” She knew why the Association was trying to keep it quiet and knew that Choi Jongin was likely fishing for more info, but she really didn’t care, beyond keeping her and her three comrades safe until they could make S-Rank. “You could have had every S-Rank in Korea in there, and I’m not sure we could have won.”

Soohyun looked away, “That damn place was just toying with us.” She grimaced, her tea tasting a bit bitter all of a sudden.

“Sorry for bringing it up.” Jiwoo apologized.

“I’m not saying I don’t believe you,” Bora said softly, “But I just don’t understand how it could have happened without a Dungeon Break.”

Joohee’s voice was soft as she looked down at the table, “We’ve talked about that… we think that there was never really a possibility of a Dungeon Break. We didn’t think of it at the time, but with hindsight…”

“The temple had its own rules.” Miho picked up where she left off, “Those things… they honestly didn’t even feel like monsters. We’ve seen plenty of Stone Golems and other such monsters. They didn’t feel anything like that. It was like they weren’t really alive. And the fact that it seemed more like a trial to pass is the only reason we’re alive.”

“But what was the point?” Semi just looked confused, “Dungeons have always been… strange.” Soohyun and Joohee didn’t know, but the other girls all did. Her parents had been researching the Gates before Semi had awakened, and the reason she even became a Hunter was so she could try to find information on their mysterious demises. “I’ve never heard of any Dungeon where unbeatable monsters just vanished after completing a set of tasks.”

“Couldn’t tell you.” Soohyun said, though again, Bora noticed a slight hitch in her voice as she said that.

‘…I think they know more than they’re letting on.’ She mused to herself but decided not to fish for details. Miho had been friends with them for years at this point. Longer than they had been Hunters for. If there was something they didn’t want to share, there had to be a good reason for it. Instead, she asked, “What about the other survivors? Eight of you got out, right?”

“Who cares?” Miho’s voice was flat, and their eyes widened.

“Miho?” Heejin looked shocked. Then they all noticed Miho’s clenched fist, “What happened?”

Joohee sighed, “After we…survived the first two trials, the final one started.”

Soohyun explained what had been involved, “The statues started to walk towards us, but it was like they were playing children’s games with us. Staring at them made them stop moving. All we had to do was keep looking at them for thirty-six minutes, and we all would have been let out.”

“Those cowards ran out the open door instead, abandoning us inside and making it so that it was harder to survive. We were… seconds away from the statues killing us when the thirty-six minutes were up.” She decided not to say that they probably had almost died. Joohee’s flinch over the memories helped sell it.

“I’m sorry for even bringing this up.” Jiwoo apologized profusely.

“Let’s talk about something more interesting.” Gina had a slight smirk on her face, “How about this guy you tried to invite.” She teased, and was rewarded with a slight reddening of Soohyun’s cheeks and Joohee blushing bright red. “What’s his name?”

“Sung Jinwoo.” Soohyun told them and saw Jiwoo’s eyes widen.

“Oh, I think I heard of him before. Isn’t he the Weakes-” She started to say and was again shocked when all three girls snapped.

“Don’t.” Their eyes all widened, and Jiwoo even leaned back, afraid she had really put her foot in her mouth this time, “Jinwoo is the only reason we made it out. He was the one who figured out the first two trials.” Joohee said, her tone the firmest they’d heard so far.

“Really?” Bora blinked over at Miho, “But-”

Miho knew what she was going to ask, “When I saw how powerful the statues were, I flew into a complete panic. And it just got worse when one of them didn’t obey me and tried to run out. He got turned into a pair of legs.” She admitted, and several of the girls recoiled, “Jinwoo was the only one who both kept his cool and tried to figure something out. I only got my head back on straight when he figured out that we did have a chance to survive.”

“Damn…” Gina said, before smirking at them, “So, when are you introducing us?”

“Oh, hush. Like Soohyun said, he was busy today.” Miho rolled her eyes, “What have you girls been up to while I’ve been out of commission?”

“They went to an A-Rank Dungeon training session led by Cha Haein.” Heejin smiled as Joohee, Soohyun, and Miho’s eyes widened, “How was that, by the way?”

“Watching her was amazing. She really is just like a dancer.” Jiwoo gushed.

“It was awe inspiring for sure.” Gina said, “But I’m not really sure what we were supposed to get out of it. Obviously an S-Rank Hunter would be overwhelming compared to us.”

“They called it training, but a ‘showcase’ would be more apt.” Bora told them, “Hunter Cha moved like lightning and took out A-Rank magic beasts we were struggling with in moments.”

“Maybe they were trying to show how decisive she was in battle?” Soohyun sounded a bit dubious. “After seeing Miho in action,” Oh, shit. She wasn’t supposed to say that. Act natural! “I saw how she always aimed for weak spots and landed quick, decisive blows.”

Heejin blinked, “…When would you have seen Miho in action?” She looked at them in confusion, “By all accounts, Miho didn’t really get to participate in the Double Dungeon, and you’ve been in the hospital since then.”

‘Great job, Soohyun.’ Miho snarked in her head, “…We ran a Dungeon while we were recovering.”

“Miho!” Heejin, Bora, and Semi yelped, “Are you insane?!”

“I refused to believe we had all survived that only to be turned into kittens!” Miho snapped, slamming her hand on the table, and then felt bad when they recoiled. She sighed, “Sorry, but I’m getting enough of that from Yoonho. I don’t need it from my best friends too.”

“Miho…” Gina gave her a compassionate look, “You’re all recovering. You’ll make it back to the top. You all will.” She smiled gently at them and got some smiles in return. “Just… please be careful. We don’t want to lose you.” Miho got up and gave her a hug.

“We will.” Soohyun promised, “The Double Dungeon scared me straight. I was honestly tempted to just retire after it. Miho and Jinwoo had to convince me otherwise.”

“Same.” Joohee said, with none of them mentioning the System. She was surprised when she and Soohyun were pulled into a group hug, but it made her smile, nonetheless.

“Come on, let’s go catch a movie or something.” Jiwoo said, “Enough of this dreary talk!”

The girls all agreed and went to enjoy one of the latest romcoms to come out and then went shopping for some cute clothes. Joohee’s face would be red for a while when Soohyun got her to try on some very… risqué lingerie. She got even redder when she realized she was admiring her two friends a bit more than she thought she would have. At least they were having a great day, and Joohee hoped Jinwoo’s day was going as well as theirs was.

-]|[-

Jinwoo was not, in fact, having a great day. Not only had the Dungeon ended up being filled with insects, the absolute worst type of magic beast to face due to their tendency to swarm and knock you down, but now he and Jinho had been trapped inside the Boss Room by the rest of the squad. ‘I really should listen to my gut when it tells me things are off.’ He sighed.

Things hadn’t started off all that poorly. The Strike Squad was very competent and had good teamwork. Once Jinwoo noticed that the crawling masses of insects were coming from above, they sprang into action. Kyuhwan had some impressive magical power, and Captain Hwang was quite a skilled Tank. The rest of the squad was decently equipped, and swords and magic bullets made quick work of the nuisances. Jinwoo only had to kill one himself, with a negligent swipe of his leg that no one noticed. He was just admiring their teamwork… even if he couldn’t help but find it lacking compared to his group’s teamwork in their last dungeon. ‘I guess that’s just what being fire-forged friends does.’

Jinho was doing okay as well. He was inexperienced but his equipment was good enough to let the D-Rank moonlight as a C-Rank. He was able to take out a few of the insects himself.

But despite the success of the team, Jinwoo couldn’t help but feel frustrated. He wanted to fight. He wanted to level up and become stronger! Since none of these guys were party members, the EXP Share that he had enjoyed with Miho, Soohyun, and Joohee wasn’t functional. He would only get EXP if he killed beasts himself.

Soon, all the Essence Stones had been gathered, and Captain Hwang even came up and patted Jinwoo on the back, “Good show back there, Sung. If we had noticed them any later, they might have gotten one of us. How’d you know?”

“I heard them.” Jinwoo explained, while musing that Perception was pretty damn useful.

“Well, thank goodness for those sharp ears!” The man grinned, patting his shoulder one more time. He was then called over by Kyuhwan, and they noticed that some of the insects didn’t appear to have been beaten by them. They appeared chewed on, which implied stronger enemies.

They continued on, and slowly, the group started to get a little irritated. The Dungeon was a maze, and the enemies that they encountered were fairly weak for the Dungeon, it seemed. Soon, they stopped having encounters with enemies. Or rather, the enemies they encountered ceased being alive. They were all bitten through and chewed up. They were prepared for stronger enemies, but none ever came. Still, they figured they were at least on the right track.

That was when they finally reached the Boss’s lair. The tunnel was abruptly covered in webs and cocoons filled with dead ants. They continued on, carefully this time, to avoid getting entangled in the sticky webs. Jinwoo had to keep Jinho from falling over and getting stuck twice. He was very much not used to his equipment’s weight.

When they finally reached the end of the hallway and entered the Boss’s Room, most of their jaws dropped. The room was FILLED with Mana Crystals. They weren’t high ranking Mana Crystals, but the sheer quantity of them inside the room more than made up for their quality. One of the Strike Squad’s members calculated that it was likely over a billion Won’s worth.

And that was when the bad feeling in Jinwoo’s gut turned almost burning. As the Hunters talked about their find and how they were going to split it, Jinwoo noticed immediately when they spoke about splitting everything eight ways. ‘Ah… so that’s what’s going on.’ His expression remained placid as he remembered a warning he had received long ago about ‘Lizards.’ Hunters who abused their powers and committed crimes inside Dungeons. Electronics and recording equipment didn’t work inside, and therefore nothing that happened inside Dungeons was ever publicized or investigated. Not without Hunters doing it themselves, and they didn’t exactly have to tell the truth.

He was not surprised in the slightest when Jinho asked to see Jinwoo’s contract and went to go talk with Captain Hwang about the discrepancy. The man was charismatic though, and if it wasn’t for the sensation he felt in his gut, Jinwoo might even have believed him with the friendly look on his face. He wasn’t surprised at all when Captain Hwang drew their attention to the Boss, an absolutely massive spider. He distracted Jinho with an explanation that the young kid should have known already, “The Gate will close after defeating the Boss, so we need to mine all these crystals first. Luckily, it’s sleeping, so we have the opportunity to do so.”

And surprising only Jinho, he then turned to one of the other Hunters, Lee Chuljin, “Do we have all the equipment?”

Chuljin had a sheepish grin on his face, “No, sorry. We only have those two pickaxes Sung has in his pack. Who would have thought we’d find this many Mana Crystals in a C-Rank Dungeon?”

“Ugh, how annoying.” Hwang scratched the back of his head, “Okay, looks like we’re going to have to go back and grab everything.” He turned to Jinwoo and Jinho, “The boss is fast asleep, so you guys should be fine as long as you don’t disturb it. We’re going to go grab everything and we’ll be right back.”

Jinho looked a little dubious now, and Jinwoo already knew what was going on. But this suited him, so he said nothing. If anything, he was eager to see what the Lizards would do. With all of them leaving, that gave him the alone time he wanted with the big honking spider. He could already taste the levels!

“The entrance!” Jinho yelled in panic as the sound of repeated crashing and rocks falling echoed through the Boss Room. A wave of dust and grit erupted from the tunnel. “You’ve got to be kidding me! Are they really going to try to kill us for some Mana Crystals?!” He slammed a fist on the wall.

“They’re Lizards.” Jinwoo said, “Hunters who like committing crimes. I should have known when they said they do business like this without having a dedicated Healer.” He sighed as he dropped the pack, “And they’ve gone and woken up the boss too.” He said as he stared at the giant, stirring spider.

“Oh no.” Jinho trembled as he drew his sword and raised his shield. “Jinwoo, stay behind me! I-I’ll do whatever I ca-”

Jinwoo put his hand on his shoulder and pulled him back as he walked past. “You stay put.” He said as he stared down at the boss, “This guy’s mine.” His dao appeared in his hand as his mana started to spark around him.

“A-Are you insane?! Only B-Rank hunters and higher can go against a C-Rank boss alone! How do you plan on fighting that thing?!  You should be coming up with a plan to escape instead!”

‘Jinho is right. Even with the System, I’m still weak. This thing is a whole other level compared to Kasaka.’ A flash of a sickening smile, ‘A…whole other level?’ His eyes sharpened, ‘No, compared to them, this thing is nothing. There has to be a reason I don’t feel intimidated.’ He smirked, ‘It’s because I’ve gotten stronger!’

“Watch out!” Jinho yelled, only to blink and find Jinwoo above the boss. A spray of green blood erupted from the spider’s back, and the tip of his dao was also green.

‘Yosh, looks like my attacks work against it.’ That was all he needed to know. His weapon was good enough to hurt it, so it was good enough to kill it. He blazed forward, his legs pumping hard as he sliced at it, again and again, leaving shallow little cuts on its carapace. “Tch.” He clicked his teeth when he noticed it, “Not good enough, huh?” The wounds were gushing blood, but for the size of the creature, he knew that it wasn’t truly enough. These cuts were little more than annoyances. Its armor was thick even for the amount of strength he had, and it was surprisingly nimble. It was slightly dodging every blow he tried, making it impossible to deal a truly powerful blow.

As for Jinho, he was gaping at the sight. ‘He… he’s an E-Rank Hunter?! There’s no way!’

The spider used its front claws like spears or clubs, trying everything it could to bash Jinwoo. He noticed just how strong it truly was. He imagined that each impact from those claws would be like getting hit by a freight train. Each time he dodged behind a boulder, it crushed the rock like it was an empty tin can, showering him in pebbles.

He tried getting around it, but the fact that it had eight limbs meant it had eight weapons. Each of those clawed legs was capable of skewering him, and he knew that any blow could be a potentially fatal one. He moved like lightning as he avoided its limbs. He was probably going to have to change tactics. Those eyes were likely huge weak spots. He doubted they were armored.

Jinho, after watching for a little while longer, was even more sure that Jinwoo wasn’t an E-Rank. ‘This is impossible! I can’t move or fight like this, and I’m a D-Rank! I know what his ranking in the registry is, but it’s impossible! It can’t be true! Is he… a False Ranker?! I-I thought I had a good read on him! Is he just like those psychopaths?!’ The smile on Jinwoo’s face made him squeak and back away a step.

“This is getting me nowhere.” Jinwoo sighed as he backed away from the spider, “Time to even the odds.” He smirked, “Come out.” His shadow surged behind him before Jinho’s disbelieving eyes, and his jaw dropped when Kasaka’s shadow rose behind him. Even the spider seemed shocked by the sight of the huge serpent rising up in challenge. It screeched at the snake, forgetting Jinwoo entirely. “Go.” Jinwoo commanded, and Kasaka hissed loudly before barreling forward.

Its huge, heavy form (Jinwoo had been surprised by how much substance his Shadows had. Its scales felt as hard as the real deal’s scales!) slithered through the chamber, and Jinwoo was surprised and excited to see many of the mana crystals getting tossed about. Apparently Kasaka could mine for him!

The spider reared up and slammed both of its front legs onto Kasaka, who hissed in pain but sank its teeth into one of them. The spider let out another screech as Kasaka ripped its head back and tore the limb off. Green blood poured out of the new wound, and it was too distracted by what it mistakenly thought was the bigger problem to notice Jinwoo beneath it.

“RAGH!” Jinwoo let out a yell as he finally got a clean blow on the Boss, carving straight through one of the back legs with his dao and sending the limb flying through the air. He landed and turned around, smirking at the spider, only to gasp in shock as its massive, fanged maw opened and then a deluge of glowing, green liquid shot out at Kasaka.

Kasaka hissed as it was struck and forced back. His summoned Shadow instantly dissolved, and Jinwoo hissed like a snake himself when a screen popped up in his peripheral vision. Kasaka had revived and slithered away from the puddle of green, bubbling liquid, and had taken a full third of his mana with it. His fatigue was also up at fifty percent. He’d been doing a lot of dodging and attacking. He could already feel himself beginning to slow down. He had to end this fast.

He vanished and appeared next to Jinho, who let out a terrified shriek. “Jinho. Can I borrow that sword?”

“Y-yeah, of course, boss!” Jinho had a terrified smile on his face as he handed his European sword over.

‘Boss?’ Jinwoo thought, momentarily distracted by the +20 to attack he had just received, before ignoring the comment. He took a deep breath as he watched Kasaka and the spider (Giant Arachnid Buryura, he finally read from its orange nametag) were battling like two titans. It appeared that Buryura could only use its acid spit every once in a while, because it hadn’t tried to do so again.

That was perfect, because two could play that game. “Kasaka, spit!” He yelled, and his snake hissed as its giant mouth opened wide. A spray of purple poison erupted from its maw, striking the giant spider and drenching it with the liquid.

Buryura began to thrash and even rammed its massive body into Kasaka again. The impact onto a mass of mana crystals was enough to kill his summon for the second time, but it did enough damage to greatly weaken the boss.

Jinwoo blitzed forward as the spider thrashed and stumbled around. With his two swords, he flashed around its body like lightning once more. With each swipe of his blades, another leg went flying, and soon Giant Arachnid Buryura was Buryura the Legless. He almost laughed at the sight of the spider trying to roll itself around and failing. “It’s over!”

But the Arachnid had one more trick up its sleeve. It spat its acid directly at the wall, and the impact caused it to turn into rain. “GAH!” Jinwoo yelled in pain as some droplets landed on him and instantly started to burn away his HP. He growled in anger as he backed away and summoned Kasaka one more time. The serpent tore through the Boss Room and a bunch of mana crystals before rising in front of Buryura. Its scythe-like fangs gleamed as it dove forward, biting deep into the spider’s head and forcing its mouth shut. The spider’s muffled screeching grew weaker as Jinwoo hit the ceiling above it. “DIE!” He yelled, landing on its back with crushing force and swiping his two blades through its carapace in an ‘x.’ Blood erupted to either side of him as he almost cut the beast in half. Its struggles ceased for good, and he let out a short laugh of elation.

[You have Defeated the Dungeon Boss.]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

[Shadow Extraction has leveled up!]

[Shadow Extraction Lv.2]

His eyes widened, and a gleeful smile erupted on his face as he read the most important part.

[Shadows able to be stored inside your own shadow for later use: 1/2]

And finally, he raised his eyebrow at the final notification.

[Kasaka Lv.4 

Rank: Normal Grade]

“So, my Shadows can level up too. Excellent.” He got off the giant spider, and his eyes began to glow. “Arise.”

Shadows rose from the defeated boss, and like Kasaka, coalesced into a slightly smaller version of the enemy he had just killed. He had been worried, but its name had been orange, not red like Kasaka’s, so he probably shouldn’t have been. His mana had barely gone up though, so he’d have to take care about using both of them. The two Shadows sank into his shadow. A full third of his mana to revive just Kasaka was a steep price to pay. If it had died one more time against the spider, he wouldn’t have been able to summon it again.

The Shadows stored, he started to cut the Essence Stones he earned from the beast’s mana-less corpse, before realizing it had more inside its stomach. He had no idea that Jinho was still trembling in terror about the False Ranker he was trapped with. He had grabbed the pack Jinwoo had been carrying and was now doing his level best to make himself useful. “Uhh, pardon me.” He was smiling, though the amount of sweat pouring from him and the way he was smiling made him look hilarious. “Would you like me to carry your Essence Stones for you, sir?”

‘Sir?’ Was the only thought that ran through Jinwoo’s head. He then continued to blink owlishly as Jinho offered him a bottle of water. ‘Why is he acting like this all of a sudden? Is it because I saved his life?’ The idea that Jinho thought he was a False Ranker didn’t even occur to him as he accepted the bottle and watched Jinho start to mine the Mana Crystals. “You know we’re not going to be able to carry all of those, right?” Unless he could stuff everything in his inventory.

“Wh-What do you mean?” Jinho stopped mining and looked over at him, before seeming to stiffen, “Sir.”

“Just take your sword back already.” Jinwoo handed it to him. Jinho didn’t have a chance to respond as an explosion rocked the cave. ‘Here we go.’ He still wasn’t sure what was going to come of this.

For the first time, Captain Hwang’s expression wasn’t jovial. “What the hell? They’re still alive?” He was frowning as he looked behind them, “And the boss is dead?! How the fuck?”

“That’s impossible!” Kyuhwan exclaimed, “How could a D-Rank and an E-Rank kill a C-Rank boss?”

Hwang sneered, “Maybe it was all size and no strength.” He glared at them, “And with it dead, we can’t mine for long, or we’ll be trapped inside the dungeon.” His glare sharpened on Jinho, “I guess that’s what gear does. Fancy ass armor like that turned a chump into a tiger, huh?”

Jinho stiffened, “Wait, they think I did this?!” He whispered and took a step back.

“Of course.” Jinwoo smirked slightly, “I am just the E-Rank, after all.” Jinho swallowed audibly.

“Yoo Jinho!” Hwang called out, “I did a little bit of research while we were outside. That fancy armor of yours caught my eye. You’re the son of a pretty impressive guy, aren’t you? Yoojin Construction’s chairman, Yoo Myunghan. He’s your father, isn’t he?” He started to smirk.

Jinwoo’s eyes widened, and he looked at Jinho, ‘Wait, is this Soohyun’s cousin? I thought the name was just a coincidence.’

“Y-yeah, so?” Jinho stammered in response.

“Didn’t think you’d be some rich tycoon’s son. This is perfect.” There was an ominous glow to Hwang’s eyes, “We’ll give you a chance to live. All you have to do is kill Sung Jinwoo.” Jinho gasped, “Become our accomplice. With the amount of money you’ve stolen from us by closing this dungeon early, that’s the only way you’re getting out of here. Do it, or we’ll just have to take our compensation from that armor you’re wearing. After you’re both dead, of course.”

Jinho started to sweat, knowing that following the order was a death sentence. And more to the point, he’d rather die defending the one who saved his life than attacking him on a murderer’s behest.

Hwang got irritated with his hesitance, “What are you waiting for? Nobody ever finds out what happens down in the dungeons anyway.”

Jinho turned to Jinwoo, “Jinwoo…”

Jinwoo wondered if this was really the guy Soohyun’s cousin was. “Of course you’d betray me. I’m weak.” He said, almost feeling like he was egging the boy on. The chips would land where they would.

Jinho’s face was shadowed as he ground his teeth and drew his sword. And then, to Jinwoo’s surprise, he turned around and faced Hwang and his group of eight.

“What are you doing?” A vein bulged on Hwang’s forehead, “You’re going to take his side and fight against us?”

Kyuhwan sighed, “It would be a waste to kill him. What should we do?”

Hwang clicked his teeth, “Kill the weakling first.” He drew his sword, “Have you… ever killed someone before?” He drew an ominous presence as he advanced, and Jinho and Jinwoo could both feel his killing intent.

And to Jinwoo’s shock, so could the system.

[An urgent quest has arrived!

Urgent Quest: Defeat the enemies!

There are enemies nearby that intend to kill the Player. Destroy all foes and ensure your safety.

If you fail to follow these orders, you will be given a penalty.

Number of foes to defeat: 8

Number of foes defeated: 0]

‘What is this?!’ The messages distracted Jinwoo, ‘The System is acting up!’

Kyuhwan raised his hand, and it blazed with a brilliant light that fired rapidly at Jinwoo.

[There are enemies nearby that intend to kill you. Kill all foes and ensure your safety.

If you fail to follow these orders, you will die.

Number of foes to defeat: 8

Number of foes defeated: 0]

Jinwoo had the barest of moments to realize the System was being explicit about what ‘destroy’ meant and telling him exactly what the price for failure here was before the ball of light smashed into him. The resulting explosion blew him clean across the cave, wiping out half his HP in one hit.

“JINWOO!” Jinho’s horrified voice rang through the cavern.

“Stop worrying about a dead man. Come with us.” Hwang said sharply.

“You bastards!” Jinho was even tearing up as he whirled around.

In the pile of rubble that Jinwoo’s legs were sticking out of, one word kept echoing through his head. ‘How?’

How. How. How. How! HOW! HOW! HOW! HOW! H̴̜̖͍̯̞̙̯͓̪̿̇̌́͒̚͝Ö̴̢̡̫̘̞̠̠͔͈̞́̿̈́̀̓͌̍̾̔͐́̆̍͝͝W̸̛̱̬͖̩̫͖͙̹̼͚͇̅̑̎̀́͠͝!̷̨̢̠̼̪͙͍̼͓͔͙̣̇̋͊̆̔̍͋́̍́͛̀̌͘ͅ ̸̨̨̖͎̝̭̳͖̙̜͇̗̖͋͗̔̾̽͛̀̆̑̀H̶̨͎͕̝̣̼̔̀͐͐̀̃Ö̴̡͖́̂̿̾͊̊̓͂̏̄͋̕̕Ẁ̸̢̯̻̱̜͚̘͔̰̥̻̳̋̅̈̊̈́̈́͛̒͋̚͜͝ͅ!̵̖̗̗̥̗̹̻̬͇̳̀͆͊̆͌ ̸̛̯̣̰̞̦̹̠͙̿̆̓́̉̀͛̇̔͊̉̓̀H̴̢̛̘̯͍̙͈͔̮̰̳̼̻̯̅̈̕O̶̜̿̍̔̓̋̋̇̉̀͐̈̈́͆͘̚W̶̫̻̖̫͎̔̉̎!̴̧̥͎̩̜͍̊͛͆̏̽̓̇̌̌͌͊͛̚͘͠ ̴̧́͒̀̔̀̂͂́̉̌̎̕͝Ḩ̷̢̥̲̲͚̮̍̋̏̔̿̾͐̃͗͒̌̕͝͝Ǫ̶̢̫̳̥̦̜͈͈̜̼̰͕̀͆Ẃ̸̦͍̙͕̙͚̯̱̜̞̞̯̌͊̉̌̀͗̂̈̀͘!̷̡̗̜̪̞̙͓̜̖͎͇̆̒̍̊̄̀̍̕͝͠͝ͅ ̵̨̡͇͓͕͖̣̟̖̉͐̎͆̓͐̔́̾͗̚̚͠H̶̡̧͖̣͍̱͉͇͚̬̯̤͔̰͗̈̓̒͊̐̅͋̊̆̔͝͠O̵̻͚͗͑͆̔͛͌̚W̷͉̭̟͕͚̟̉̾ͅ!̷̧̥̥̜̮̳̥̦͊̐͆̀́̃̊͂̂̈̚͝ ̶̡̡͓̲̦̟͍͍̞̯̙̘̫͕́̓̆̋͋̓͊̉͊̏͂̚͝

‘How could I have underestimated everything?’ He thought to himself as he used his Full Restore from the day’s daily quest, ‘Did our success in the Instance Dungeon go to my head? How could I have forgotten that the inside of a Dungeon is a life-or-death struggle? Whether to save their own skins or to make more money, there are bastards ready to betray you in every Dungeon. The only ones I can trust…’ Joohee, Miho, and Soohyun’s faces flashed in his mind. After a moment, Jinho’s face appeared as well. The boy had proven his heart when he turned his back to Jinwoo and raised his shield and sword in his defense. ‘And the System…’ He rose from where he was lying, the pebbles on top of him falling and clattering on the floor, drawing the attention of his enemies.

‘The System is forcing me to kill them. To murder other humans. This isn’t a coincidence.’ Despite all the strength they’d gained, all of them had been worried that the System would one day vanish as abruptly as it arrived. After all, who would have believed such a ludicrous thing even existed, and that they would be chosen to use it. ‘It’s actively trying to keep me alive. The System needs us as much as we need it. It needs us ALL to be strong.’

“Ehh?” One of the Lizards yelped as he saw Jinwoo walking forward slowly, “He’s still alive?!”

Jinwoo had an ominous smile on his face, “The System is using me… and I’m going to use it.”

The Hunter with the pompadour snickered, “Man Kyuhwan, you kinda suck. It should have only taken one blow to wipe out an E-Rank.”

“You should have done a better job.” Hwang chuckled.

“M-My bad.” Kyuhwan looked embarrassed, but his true thoughts weren’t shown on his face, ‘B-But I hit him with everything I had! I used more than half my mana! Did I miss?’

Jinwoo was still walking forward slowly, and an ominous aura that none of them could truly perceive was starting to engulf him. The Hunters in front of him wondered why they suddenly had goosebumps. “Since you guys like playing around with people’s lives, I’m assuming you’re ready to face the consequences as well.”

“What is this idiot yapping about?” One of them asked.

Jinwoo stopped walking, his eyes glowing a deep blue, black lightning tinged with purple crackling around him. None of the Hunters had high enough perception to see it. “Since you call yourselves Hunters, I’m asking if you’re prepared to be the hunted.”

“Dongsuk, let me take care of him.” The one in full armor had an easygoing smile on his face as he walked over. “Look man, you still don’t seem to understand the situation here.” He put an arm around Jinwoo’s shoulders, and to any observer, he would have looked like a man throwing an arm around a buddy. In actuality, he was trying to put Jinwoo into a headlock and was using all the force he could to try to make Jinwoo bow forward. And what he just couldn’t comprehend was why all of his strength couldn’t even make Jinwoo budge.

And then Jinwoo’s hand was on his neck. “One.” Jinwoo said, before the sound of tearing flesh erupted in the Boss Room as he tore the man’s head from his shoulders. Blood poured from his stump as his body fell backwards, and then Jinwoo tossed his head at Hwang’s feet.

[Number of foes to defeat: 7

Number of foes defeated: 1]

“J-Joontae?!” They all yelped. “Wh-what the hell?!”

Kyuhwan looked horrified, “He tore his head from his shoulders! How?!”

‘How?!’ Hwang started to sweat, ‘How could a lowly-’ He choked on his own thoughts and felt his spine freeze. ‘N-No! He can’t be, can he?!’

Despite the callous actions, Jinwoo wasn’t okay. He looked to the side at the corpse, ‘I…I killed him. I killed a human being…’ A minute tremor ran through his body, ‘I was only following the System’s orders, but I still killed him. I-If I don’t, I’ll be killed. But…’ Joohee, Miho, and Soohyun’s faces crawled through his mind again, ‘Wh-What will Miho think? What will Soohyun think? What will Joohee think?!’ He didn’t know if he could take it if their disgust over his actions ended with him alienated. ‘But I can’t turn back now.’ He glared at the Lizards, ‘Because only the Strong will survive here.’

“Damn you!” Three of the Hunters leapt into the air, two of them touting Mana Guns, while the last had a sword. “Take this!” They shot at Jinwoo, who summoned his dao and spun it. His blade caught the glowing magical bullets, and he laid them in a neat row next to him. “What the?!”

Jinwoo swiped his blade again, and the bullets shot back at them even faster. All eight of the bullets found a target, blowing the swordsman’s brains out before he could even land. And then, as soon as the two Gunners touched back down, Jinwoo was behind them. Their heads flew off their bodies, and blood gushed like fountains into the air.

“Th-This isn’t possible!”

“Four.” Jinwoo’s voice was ice cold as he continued to glare. The two other melee fighters leapt forward, trying to cut off all avenues of escape by attacking as a coordinated unit. Jinwoo cut through their weapons, leaving them terrified as they stared at their shaking hands. It was the last sight they ever had, as Jinwoo cut both of them in half vertically.

“Do something, Kyuhwan!” Hwang yelled in panic.

Kyuhwan had spent all that time charging up his trump card: A vastly overpowered ball of light that he shot at Jinwoo. “TAKE THIS!”

Milliseconds before the ball struck him, Jinwoo vanished. The ball continued onward and hit a mass of crystals, igniting an enormous explosion that illuminated the entire cave in blinding fire. And then Jinwoo appeared in front of Kyuhwan with that conflagration as his backdrop. His arm moved like the wind, and before the evil Hunter could even react, he was in two dozen pieces on the floor from Jinwoo’s flurry of attacks. The explosion died down, bringing the eerie darkness back.

[Number of foes to defeat: 1

Number of foes defeated: 7]

Jinho trembled as the action slowed for a moment, ‘H-How?! How is this possible?! He’s stronger AND faster than he was when he fought the Dungeon Boss!’

Hwang was completely shaken as he took a terrified step back, “H-He took out my entire squad?!” He ground his teeth as fury engulfed him, “Bastard! False Ranker!”

‘…Oh, that must be why Jinho was so afraid.’ The realization struck Jinwoo upon Hwang’s words.

Hwang spat at him, “You’re the one who really killed the boss as well! Don’t think that will matter against me! I’m different from all of them! ENHANCEMENT!” He roared, and a visible red aura engulfed him, turning his muscles into steel. ‘No matter how strong he is, he must be tired after fighting a Dungeon Boss and seven Hunters! Swinging that sword around in an exhausted state won’t be enough to break through my defense! He won’t have the strength to beat my Enhancement skill!’

“Captain Hwang-” Hwang Dongsuk blinked, and Jinwoo’s palm was five centimeters from his face, “You really are stronger than the rest of them.” His palm struck Hwang’s face so hard that the man’s eyes popped out slightly, “But there’s one thing you still don’t know.” Jinwoo said, before he crushed him onto the floor of the cavern. He stood, his eyes still glowing ominously, and that aura of death engulfing him. Hwang could finally see it. “I’m always leveling up.”

Hwang coughed multiple times as he laid spread-eagled, ‘Wh-what just happened? Did he drill me into the ground just now?! What kind of monster did we try to scam?!’ He sat up as best he could, “W-Wait! Don’t kill me! Please! I-I’ll give you everything I have! Take all the Mana Crystals and Essence Stones too!”

“Three times.” Jinwoo said, glaring down at Hwang, “You tried to kill me three times. And now you beg for your life?”

Hwang trembled, “D-Don’t be a fool! You can’t possibly think you’ll get away with this!”

“Didn’t you say it yourself? What happens in the dungeons-” Kasaka rose up behind him, and Hwang actually shit his pants, “Stays in the dungeon.”

“NO, DON’T-!” His final cry was abruptly cut off as Kasaka surged forward and swallowed him whole. A crunch rang through the Dungeon, and then there was silence.

Up until Jinho vomited.

Jinwoo sighed and closed his eyes as the Quest Reward screen popped up. When he opened them, he just softly said, “Accept.” His eyes widened when he saw just how generous the rewards were. A full Status Recovery (which he didn’t need right now), a full ten ability points (which he dumped half into Strength and half into Perception, as promised), and a skill called Bloodlust.

He hated what he’d had to do to acquire those rewards, but it made the bitter pill just slightly less bitter. He brought up his stats. Between his daily quest from earlier that day and the ten points he’d acquired just now, he had thirteen points to play with. He allocated them and then looked at his stats.

Name: Sung Jinwoo

Level: 22

Job: None

Fatigue: 0

Title: Beast Menace

HP: 2750

MP: 430

Strength: 65

Agility: 37

Perception: 37

Vitality: 31

Intelligence: 31

Available Ability Points: 0

It was satisfying to see, though he couldn’t help but feel that cold sensation in his gut over what it cost to earn them. He turned to Jinho, and was surprised when Jinho bowed to him, “Please don’t kill me! I swear I won’t tell anyone about your power!”

Jinwoo eyed him for a moment, before speaking, “You wouldn’t happen to know a ‘Soohyun,’ would you?” He wanted confirmation.

“S-Soohyun? She’s my cousin.” Jinho raised his head, swallowing hard, ‘Oh no, he’s not a creep, is he? He’s not going to try to-’

“Huh, small world.” His inner thoughts were cut off as Jinwoo walked away after some nonchalant words. Jinwoo then looted all the Essence Stones that the Strike Squad had collected earlier but was met with a surprise as he reached Kyuhwan. ‘What the?! This is!’ He eyed the Rune Stone in shock.

[Rune Stone: Guiding Bolt

Type: Rune Stone

Breaking this Rune Stone will grant you a skill.]

The stone in question was white with a gleaming yellow sigil in the middle. ‘This must be that skill he used against me. I shouldn’t use this. One of the girls would get more use out of it. I think Joohee needs an attacking skill. Who knows what the System will do if she ends up in a situation like this.’ He put it inside his Inventory and went back to looting the remaining Essence Stones, as well as Hwang’s wallet of all the money inside. ‘Huh, he actually brought the four million Won. I guess the plan wasn’t actually to kill us. At least not at first. I suppose it makes sense. Word would get out quickly if every raid he ran ended up with Fillers being killed.’ He walked over to Jinho and handed him his own two million.

Poor Jinho looked utterly confused. He just looked back and forth between the wad of bills and Jinwoo, who was paying him no mind.

“Now, I wonder…” Jinwoo summoned Kasaka and Buryura. He picked up a Mana Crystal and tossed one at the snake, who obediently ate it. To Jinwoo’s surprise, he heard a ping and opened his inventory. He grinned evilly as he noticed the Mana Crystal had transferred directly into his inventory. He also noticed that Hwang’s corpse was, thankfully, nowhere to be found inside of it. “Jinho, how long has it been since I killed the boss?” He asked his companion.

“Uhh?” Jinho swallowed heavily again, “I’m not sure? Ten-fifteen minutes, maybe?”

“Then we’ve got twenty-five minutes.” Jinwoo said, “More if I carry you. You two, get to work.”

Kasaka and Buryura screeched and started moving around, breaking Mana Crystals from the ground and eating them. They weren’t the cleanest breaks, so that might devalue them, but the sheer quantity was bound to be beneficial. Jinwoo sat on a boulder, and Jinho hesitantly walked up to him, “Uhh, Sir? Why did you ask if I knew Soohyun?”

“She’s a friend.” Jinwoo said softly, much to Jinho’s surprise. ‘…I hope… after all this.’ He didn’t say as he glanced over at the human corpses.

Jinho felt hot relief flood him. If Jinwoo was friends with Soohyun, then maybe he was safe? “H-How did you meet?”

“We were two of the four survivors of the Double Dungeon Incident.” Jinwoo said shortly, much to his shock, “Now quiet down. I… want to think.”

Jinho swallowed again, and didn’t speak again. When thirty minutes passed, Jinwoo called back his shadows. He then shocked Jinho by picking him up and blitzing from the room. Jinho was almost dizzy when they finally got out, and the gate closed as soon as they made it out into the night outside.

-]|[-

“Do you think something happened?” Joohee was fretting as they walked over to the park Jinwoo had called them to.

“He seems fine.” Soohyun said, “I checked our party screen, and he seemed healthy. Even gained two levels. Heck, I think his stats are higher than they should have been.”

“Then why did he sound so…” Joohee wormed her hands together.

“Afraid? Despondent?” Miho sighed, “Whatever happened must have been urgent. We had to cut the girls’ night short.”

“Jinwoo!” The redhead gasped and started racing forward. Miho and Soohyun’s eyes widened as they looked at him. He was sitting on the park bench, staring off into the distance. Not really looking at anything. They hurried after Joohee. “Jinwoo, what happened?” Joohee asked, kneeling in front of him and grabbing one of his hands, “You’re not hurt, are you?”

“No… I’m okay.” Jinwoo said, but they could see how nervous he was. His face was expressionless, but they could tell that not everything was okay. Maybe it was how close they were, or maybe it was the increased Perception stat…

“You don’t look okay.” Miho said softly as she sat next to him.

“What happened, Jinwoo?” Soohyun asked, putting an arm around his shoulder.

“…The Strike Squad that hired me was completely made of Lizards.” He replied softly, still not really looking at any of them.

Miho and Joohee gasped, but Soohyun looked confused. “What does that mean?”

Miho growled, “‘Lizard’ refers to actual lizards. You know, how they’ll drop their tails if it can get them away from danger? Basically they’re Hunters who will commit crimes in Dungeons where they can’t be caught, either to save their own skins or for a bigger cut of the pie when the dungeon is finished.”

“Oh.” Soohyun said shortly, and her face hardened. “What happened, Jinwoo?”

Jinwoo sighed, “They hired me and one more person for the headcount so we could enter the dungeon… the other person ended up being your cousin Jinho, Soohyun.”

Soohyun stiffened, “Is he okay?!”

“He’s fine.” Jinwoo swallowed heavily, “…The Lizards aren’t.” Joohee gasped and covered her mouth in shocked realization.

“Oh, Jinwoo…” She teared up, knowing what must have happened based on that statement.

“Tell us everything.” Miho ordered.

And so Jinwoo spoke. Spoke about the bad feeling he had, that Captain Hwang’s friendly charisma couldn’t dispel. Spoke about the Insect Type Dungeon they had entered. Spoke about how he had helped them and kept them from being surprised at the beginning of the raid. Spoke about how they had discovered a Boss Room filled with Mana Crystals worth a billion Won.

And then he told them how the demeanor of the Strike Squad had instantly changed. How they had trapped him and Jinho in the Boss Room. How he and Kasaka had managed to kill the boss, scaring the pants off Jinho in the process. How Captain Hwang and his Lizards had come back to find the Boss dead and their Mana Crystals impossible to gather in time. How they had made the decision to kill Jinwoo and ransom Jinho.

“…” he took a deep breath as their concern ratcheted up, “And then the System gave me an emergency quest.”

“Oh no.” Miho had a feeling she knew what he was going to say.

“It wants us alive. Maybe needs us alive. And it’s not going anywhere.” Jinwoo said, still not looking at any of them, “At first, it said that I had to destroy the enemies or get a penalty.” Joohee started to cry, and Soohyun’s grasp on his shoulder tightened, “But then they attacked, and the system stopped playing around. It said that if I didn’t kill them… it would kill me.”

“Oh, Jinwoo!” Joohee finally let out a full sob as she leapt up and tightened her arms around his neck.

“It’s not your fault, Jinwoo.” Soohyun said, her voice hard as she hugged him too.

“And don’t think for a second that we’re disgusted with you. I would have done the exact same thing.” Miho said, before twitching, “I did do the exact same thing, once.” She admitted, and all three of them gasped, looking up. She looked away, “I wanted to strike it out on my own. I didn’t want to be under my brother’s shadow. So I joined a few Strike Squads, and eventually, we got into a dungeon that was just a bit too difficult for our squad. All but three of us were dead, and we were running for the exit.” She growled, “One of the bastards turned around and bashed the slowest runner in the face, knocking her down and using her as bait. I can still hear her scream and the horror on her face before those insects buried her underneath them.” She glared at the moon, “I cut his head off and escaped alone. I wasn’t going to let him get away with it.” She said softly, “That was the last Gate I ran without a guild. I called my brother to clear it before the Dungeon Break happened and joined the White Tigers the next day.” She clenched her jaw, “I never told anyone what happened.”

Jinwoo’s arm wrapped around her shoulder and pulled her close. She rested her head against him. “We’re all in this together.” She said softly, “Never think otherwise, Jinwoo.”

“I… hopefully this is the last time anything like this happens.” Joohee said, still crying quietly. “I… I don’t think that I could handle it if the same happened to me.”

“You can.” Soohyun grabbed her hand.

“…But I don’t want to.” Joohee whispered, “I… why can’t we all just be good people? Why do these Dungeons have to keep appearing? I don’t want to have to kill anyone… and now I might be forced to because of this System.” She choked up a little, “…I wish we had never walked into that temple. I know you might not agree… but I can’t help it. I hate this…”

“I know it seems hard now, Joohee.” Miho grabbed her other hand, “But think of all the good you’ll be able to do. One day, you’ll be the one keeping all of us alive if we ever get in over our heads. Focus on that.”

Finally, Joohee let out a watery little smile. She hugged the three, and Jinwoo finally allowed himself to feel the relief he’d been denying himself all night. He hoped that he’d never have to see that Emergency Quest again, but at least he had the assurance that if it ever came again, he would still have his friends to pull him from a dark and dangerous place.

-]|[-

Well, that’s that! Hope you all enjoyed!

As you saw, I’m NOT going to have them all glued at the hip for every single Dungeon. In fact, there will even be some Dungeons (Such as the Job Change Quests) that are Solo only. And not just for Jinwoo either. Yes, they’ll run SOME dungeons together, and more and more of them later in the story, but especially in these earlier parts, there will be quite a bit of soloing or duoing rather than going in as a full party.

Now, I’m pleased to note that I’ve actually completed this story all the way up to chapter 5. Got plenty of action for you all. That said, I’m sure at least some of you are hoping for other stories, and I HAVE started work on Thunderous Soul chapter 11. Unless something goes REALLY wrong, that will be the mid-month update. And luckily, I only work through Wednesday this week, so I’ll have a nice long weekend to get shit done.

Again, hope you all enjoyed it!

Later!