Not So Solo Leveling VII (Patreon)

Merry Christmas to anyone who celebrates!

Enjoy.

-]|[-

A low vibration made all four of them groan. Jinwoo, Miho, Soohyun, and Joohee were all just sprawled out on his Queen-sized mattress wearing Jinwoo’s clothes, and they had all been dead asleep. “Whose phone is that?” Joohee rubbed her eyes tiredly.

“Whosever it is better turn it the fuck off.” Soohyun groaned, burying her face in Miho’s chest. The magenta-haired woman grumbled in response.

Jinwoo slapped around for the device a few times before he found it. “H-Hello?” He asked in the world’s most exhausted voice.

“JINWOO!” Jinah’s voice screamed shrilly, making all four of them moan. “WERE YOU STILL ASLEEP?!”

He grunted, “Y-Yeah… our Dungeon took way longer than we thought… we didn’t get in until five…”

“Oh for crying- Jinwoo, it’s 2PM! Did you forget about my parent-teacher conference?!” Jinah yelled at him.

Jinwoo sat up so abruptly that Soohyun and Miho squealed and rolled off the bed. “Owie…” The two groaned.

“…Were they with you, big brother?” Jinah gasped as he heard two of their voices.

“When do I have to be there by?!” Jinwoo ignored her, all traces of exhaustion gone from his face.

“Five!” Jinah replied.

“I’ll be there for sure!” He yelled as he leapt from the bed, actually causing a screech as he slid to a stop in front of the bathroom before diving in.

“Thanks big brother! Just call me when you arrive.” Was the last thing the girls heard as he shut the door and then the shower turned on.

“…Right, that was today.” Soohyun and Miho crawled back into bed. “Well, at least he has two and a half hours left.”

Joohee closed her eyes, before blinking them open again. “…Does he have any formal clothes?”

“Why wouldn’t he?” Miho unburied her face from between Soohyun’s breasts this time.

“Because he grew like a foot and put on fifty pounds of muscle.” Joohee said flatly.

Soohyun and Miho both turned to her, faces deadpan. “…Did he ever go get that debit card and actually update his bank account with the cash he made off the Lizard dungeon?” Miho asked.

“I don’t think he did.” Joohee sighed, smiling sardonically.

“Great.” The other two deadpanned. “We’ve got our work cut out for us.” Miho groaned, before poking Soohyun and making her squirm, “You take him for a haircut.”

“What, why?” Soohyun looked at her in confusion.

“Knowing him, he’ll try something new and end up with some trendy K-Pop ass cut if we leave him alone.” Miho said and both of the other two sputtered.

“Fair enough!” Soohyun laughed as she imagined it. “I mean, it wouldn’t look bad, but I don’t think it fits him at all.” The other two began to laugh as well.

“What are you three giggling about?” Jinwoo asked as he got out of the bathroom, drying his hair with his towel.

“Don’t worry about it.” Soohyun laughed some more, “Now, let’s get going. Grab your chequebook and some shoes so I can warp us to my place.” She got up and stripped off her borrowed shirt, leaving Jinwoo to stare as her boobs bounced lightly now that he was actually awake enough to enjoy them.

“Uhh???”

“You’ll need new clothes, Jinwoo.” Joohee got up as well. “Can’t go meeting Jinah’s teacher in sweats.” She and Miho joined Soohyun in stripping.

His eyes roved all over them hungrily, up until Miho smirked and snapped her fingers in front of his face, “Admire the scenery later. Get going.” She said as the three women got dressed in their ruined raid clothes.

“Ready.” Jinwoo had put on a clean set of clothes, and the girls all grabbed his and each other’s hands. Within a moment, they were in Soohyun’s very fancy penthouse apartment.

The girls quickly stripped again and then got in the bath after Soohyun gave Jinwoo instructions so he could find the local branch of his bank.

“We’ll meet up with you once you’re done at the bank.” Joohee called out as he left the apartment.

…

Jinwoo experienced something he had never even imagined that day: The life of a mannequin. By the time he got to Jinah’s school, he was wearing a set of black slacks and the nicest dress shoes he’d ever worn, a button up shirt in a deep, rich purple, and a completely new haircut. He had almost tried to go for the one Miho called the ‘K-Pop ass cut,’ which had made him laugh as he realized what they had been laughing about when he’d gotten out of the bathroom.

When he met up with Jinah, she froze and gaped at him. “…I-Is that you, Jinwoo?”

“Hm? Do you think it looks bad?” He blinked at her.

“N-No!” In fact, he looked so good Jinah knew for a fact she’d be all over him if they weren’t siblings. She shook her head, “Damn, those girlfriends of yours do good work. I can’t believe how different you look!”

Jinwoo smiled slightly, “Well, I can’t exactly meet your teacher in a tracksuit.”

She rubbed the back of her head, “People sure can transform, huh…” And then she had a great time taking him through the school and teasing him over all her classmates, in her year and below, practically drooling over him. She would have asked if he wanted her to introduce them… but Miho, Soohyun, and Joohee had apparently already staked their claim. ‘How the heck is that going to work anyway? Hunters sure are different, huh…’

Jinwoo entered the room where her teacher was waiting. She was an older woman who still looked to be just past her prime, with just a few wrinkles and gray hairs. “Oh, nice to meet you! I’m Jinah’s homeroom teacher! You must be Jinwoo.”

He smiled back, “That’s me.” He shook her hand.

“My, I didn’t know Jinah had such a handsome brother.” She smiled pleasantly at him.

Jinwoo wanted to rub the back of his head bashfully, not really sure how to react. She quickly directed him to the comfy chair and sat across a table from him. “So, how has that little troublemaker been performing?” Jinwoo asked.

“Perish the thought!” The woman laughed, “Jinah’s an angel. I wish more of her classmates were like her.” She poured them both some cups of tea, “She has good grades and a kind heart, so you definitely don’t need to worry about her. I have no concerns about her future either.”

“That’s good to hear.” Jinwoo smiled, sipping his tea. “She was always better than me at studying.”

“Hmm.” The two continued to chat as they went over Jinah’s scores, and Jinwoo was happy with what he was seeing and hearing. Jinah might be awful at housekeeping, but she was an amazing student and her interest in the medical field would take her far. And then the conversation took a turn, “I heard that you’re a Hunter.” Jinwoo’s eyebrow raised and he nodded. “Hypothetically speaking… if Jinah Awakened, would you allow her to be a Hunter?”

“Absolutely not.” Jinwoo said adamantly. Not even the little surprise he, Miho, and Soohyun had discovered while waiting for Joohee to complete her Job-Change quest would change his mind on that. “Like I said, I was never a good student. I had nothing to look forward to. Jinah has a good life ahead of her and I would never let her risk her life needlessly.”

“I see.” Her teacher sighed, “I… the reason I asked is that a student here wishes to drop out because she has Awakened. She’s been skipping school lately, and if she continues to miss class, we’ll have no choice but to take action.” She looked at her teacup, worry plastered all over her face, “Even if she does become a Hunter, wouldn’t it be better for her to graduate at least? I’m sorry for all these questions… it’s just… I don’t know much about Hunters. I don’t know how to help her.”

“Well, whether or not she can make a good living as a Hunter depends on her skills.” Jinwoo said. He would say her rank too, but he had proof that it was possible even at low ranks… albeit with a lot of help. “A good weapon can pull a lot of weight, but they break quite easily unless they’re of superb quality. What rank is she?”

“I believe she’s an E-Rank.” The older woman responded.

Jinwoo clicked his teeth, ‘She’ll be killed before long… provided no one interferes.’ He sat back, unhappy but not allowing it to show on his face.

“I was hoping that you could do me a favor.” The teacher said, “As another Hunter, maybe she’ll listen better to you. Or at the very least, you could take her under your wing.” She sighed, “Though I suppose that’s asking too much.”

“Let me see her profile.” Jinwoo said, waiting a moment as she got up and grabbed a folder. She handed it to him and he opened it. His jaw almost dropped as he saw who she was. Han Songyi, age eighteen, with middling grades at best. Some classes she was barely passing. And most importantly, she was the same girl who was a part of their Strike Team!

“Hmm?” The teacher must have noticed the recognition on his face. “I suppose it makes sense that you know her. She is Jinah’s best friend, after all.”

Well, that certainly settled matters, didn’t it? He passed the folder back to the teacher, “I’ll help her.” He said and relief crossed the woman’s face, “I’ll speak with her and see where her head is at. I can’t promise she’ll return to classes,” He warned, “But at the very least, I’ll set her up for success.” Had it been anyone else, he wouldn’t have bothered and would have just taken her on a dangerous raid to scare her straight. But Jinah’s best friend? That merited some thought, especially with that new System surprise.

“Thank you. I suppose that’s all I can really ask for.” The teacher thanked him before ferrying him from the room.

Jinwoo only spent a bit of time congratulating and praising his sister and letting her know he would see her later, before leaving. He grabbed his cell phone and dialed Miho, “Hey Miho? I need a favor…”

…

“It’s a small world, isn’t it?” He asked as Songyi exited her apartment building.

Songyi stopped short and tilted her head in confusion. “Hey, you’re… what are you doing here?”

“Like I said… it’s a small world.” He walked up and turned his phone to her face, “Recognize her?”

“Jinah?” She blinked, “Wait!” She gasped, “You’re Jinwoo?” He nodded, and something seemed to click for her. “Wait a second.” She glared at him, “I have no idea what our teacher told you, but I’m not quitting Hunting!”

“Do you know what happened to me on my first ever raid?” Jinwoo asked and she twitched, shaking her head. “I got impaled. Multiple times over.” She paled, taking a step back. “I’m only alive because a Healer was in the party.” He continued, “You’re an E-Rank. It’s nearly impossible to make a living like that. Any money you manage to scrape together is either spent on bills or on futilely trying to buy weapons that might break the first time you swing it in a Dungeon.” He crossed his arms, “You made good money with our Strike Team, but that’s never what raids are actually like. You have to actually fight and kill to get anywhere, and there’s only so much better gear can do. At most, excellent gear could bump you up to C-Rank at best and getting and maintaining that gear might leave you completely broke.”

She bit her bottom lip, “But you’re E-Rank too.” She said softly, “You and those girls and the Squad Leader clear Dungeons easily!”

“Our situation is special.” Jinwoo replied, “Something you’ll find out about in a few weeks.” It was something they had decided on. They were confident that they were all S-Rank already, but better to be sure than to be wrong. They would get reevaluated after their next forays into their S-Rank Dungeons.

Songyi clenched her fists in frustration. “Damn it, I’m a useless student! I hate it! Hunting… Hunting is the only thing I have. Why’d you have to come here and lecture me?!” She spat angrily.

“I’m not here to tell you to quit.” Jinwoo said, surprising her. “Come on.” He turned and began to walk away.

“Wait, then why are you here?” She hurried after him.

“I’m going to take you into a Dungeon.” He said flippantly. “That way you can see with your own eyes just how dangerous it is.” She growled at him. “By the end of the day, either you’ll be a real Hunter or a student.”

Her eyes widened, “T-Trial by fire?”

“That’s right.” Jinwoo said as they got in his Jeep and he began driving.

-]|[-

“Mr. Sung!” Manager Ahn grinned as he saw Jinwoo. “You made it.”

“Thanks for getting this together, Mr. Ahn.” Jinwoo said.

“Oh, it was nothing. When Miss Miho made the request, I dropped everything to take care of it.” Ahn replied. “Here they are now.”

Jinwoo blinked, “Girls?” He saw that the girls were all in casual clothes like him. “What are you doing here?” He eyed the one young woman he didn’t know curiously.

Soohyun grinned as they strolled closer, “Well, we found out that Heejin here was a part of this Strike Squad, so we decided to tag along too.” She threw her arm around the black-haired woman’s shoulders, “This is Park Heejin, one of our friends.”

“Nice to finally meet you, Mr. Sung.” Heejin smiled at him, making her gorgeous emerald eyes sparkle.

“You as well, Miss Park.” Jinwoo bowed his head to her, “Everyone, this is Han Songyi.” He grinned a little, “Miho, Soohyun, and Joohee, you already know her.”

“That’s right. You’re on our Strike Squad.” Miho smiled at her, “You ready to get your first real taste of a Dungeon?”

Songyi smiled, though it was a bit nervous as she remembered what Jinwoo had told her. “Yes. Thanks for having me.”

‘Wait, she’s never been in a Dungeon?’ Ahn thought to himself, ‘Then she’s not the same as Mr. Sung. Why are they bothering bringing her on a- wait, she’s a student. I know that from the other day. She must have been skipping class to be there. She was pretty rude as well, and likely stubborn. Is Mr. Sung trying to show her how dangerous it is so that she’ll go back to class?’ Jinwoo would have been shocked if he knew just how smart Ahn was about things like this. “I’ve already informed the other Hunters that you’ll be joining them. This neighborhood is a high frequency area, so this Gate opened up just this morning, actually.”

“How long are you going to stand around and chitchat?” They turned to a man wearing heavy plate armor, and unlike Jinho, he had the size and bulk for it. “This isn’t a field trip.”

“Kim Chul.” Miho sighed, “Still an impatient ass, I see.” Ahn balked as Miho immediately insulted the Strike Squad leader.

“Watch it, bitch.” Chul glared at her, “It’s already a waste of time babysitting a bunch of E-Ranks. Now I have to deal with you too? You’re no longer an A-Rank or a part of the White Tigers. I don’t see why we should play along with your whims, Baek!”

‘Waitwaitwait!’ Songyi gasped, ‘What does he mean A-Rank?! She’s an E-Rank like me, isn’t she?!’ Then she realized something else, ‘I didn’t even notice! She dyed her hair! Hold on a minute, Baek? Is that Baek Miho? I knew I had seen her somewhere before! Has she been carrying the other four?!’

“As charming as ever, Chul.” Soohyun sighed, palming her face. She turned to Jinwoo and Songyi, “He’s an A-Rank from the White Tigers and is leading the raid. The rest of the squad except us are seven B-Ranks and four C-Ranks.”

“…That’s a little overkill for a C-Rank Dungeon.” Jinwoo deadpanned. ‘Wait… but us four will push it to a B-Rank. Shit.’ He glanced at Miho and she nodded minutely, on the same page as him.

“It’s a training run.” Heejin explained, “All of us Awakened relatively recently except for me. In terms of experience, I have the most from the actual Strike Squad. Not including you guys. Even if their ranks are high, we can’t just toss them into A-Rank Dungeons and hope for the best. We train in lower rank Dungeons to ensure teamwork is on par.”

“I see.” Jinwoo said, ‘Hmm, this can still work. The Dungeon will be harder than they’re expecting but not out of their skill level. Songyi will still get a good showing of just how dangerous these Gates can be. She’ll see just how powerless she is as an E-Rank. And then we’ll see what she’s really made of.’

Ahn’s assistant Hyun got their attention, “Please try to limit your participation; otherwise, the raid will be too easy. The rookie Hunters need experience.”

Songyi and Heejin both heard him as well, and Heejin smiled as she realized that her friends were probably close to full strength again. Bora or Gina could tell for sure, but her perception wasn’t anywhere near as good as theirs.

“Excellent!” Ahn called out, “Let’s get started then!”

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” Kim Chul growled as he walked through the Gate.

The other Hunters all followed, with Songyi smiling and trying to project confidence at Jinwoo, “Let’s go!”

“I’ll be right behind you.” He smiled back as she swallowed, nodded to herself, and walked in. He followed, as promised. As they stepped through into a dark cave, Jinwoo, Miho, Soohyun, and Joohee all froze. ‘What? Something is off. This bizarre sensation.’ Songyi must have realized something was wrong when all four of them whirled around to face the Gate. Wind buffeted them as red lightning began to course from the Gate. The blue melted away, the color slowly bleeding red. “This is-” Jinwoo grabbed Songyi’s arm to her shock and pulled her back towards the portal, trying to shove her through it.

He managed to get their heads through it, shocking Ahn and Hyun, “Mr. Sung!”

“Manager Ahn, contact the primary strike team!”

“What’s happening?!” Songyi wailed as she was forced back inside.

“Do it now!” Jinwoo was dragged back too. When he opened his eyes, they were in a winter storm. A blizzard buffeted them, and forests surrounded them everywhere they looked.

“Mister, what happened?” Songyi asked.

“That Gate disappeared!” One of the C-Ranks called out. “What is going on?!”

“How do we get back now?!” Another asked, scratching the back of his head.

“That was a Red Gate.” Miho growled, looking around cautiously. The danger of this Dungeon had skyrocketed.

“What is a Red Gate, Mister?” Songyi asked him.

Jinwoo let out a puff of steam from his mouth, “One of the worst things that could have happened.” He said, making several people flinch. “Unlike typical Gates, there’s no exit for us. Once you step through, you’re trapped in a completely isolated Dungeon until there is a Dungeon Break, the Boss is dead… or the Strike Squad is. And no one can send help from outside.” She gulped, and she wasn’t the only one. “Not only that, but the Magic Beasts inside are stronger than normal. If a Dungeon is a C-Rank and it becomes a Red Gate, you can assume the Dungeon is actually a B-Rank.” She began to tremble, both from the cold and from nervousness.

“And worse-” Miho said, still scanning the trees, “Red Gates only happen in Dungeons that are already B-Rank or above. We have ten years of data proving that, which can only mean that the Hunter’s Association mis-ranked this Dungeon. And that means this just became an A-Rank Dungeon.”

And that was only if their System-influenced difficulty tweak didn’t make it an S-Rank Dungeon. This was a clear and obvious top three in terms of danger they had been in.

And then Jinwoo, Miho, Joohee, and Soohyun all sprang into action, grabbing arrows that would have killed three of the C-Ranks and Songyi right out of the air. Jinwoo cradled the younger girl to his chest and caught the arrow in an iron grip behind her head. ‘I couldn’t sense them because of how far away they were.’

Heejin gaped at the sight as Kim Chul yelled, “Ambush!” He took his shield out, “Ice Elves in the trees!”

Jinwoo glared up at one of the Elves as Songyi had a mild panic attack and got closer to him. The Elf swiped his thumb across his throat in a clear message to them. He, Miho, Soohyun, and Joohee crushed their arrows with loud snaps, glaring up at them. The group of Elves all vanished.

Songyi looked terrified, “Mister… what were they?”

“Ice Elves.” Jinwoo replied, “But that’s too pretty a name for them. They’re clever and cruel beyond measure. Hunters call them something more befitting demons… Ice Slayers.”

-]|[-

“Damn it!” Baek Yoonho pounded a fist on the surface of the Red Gate. “I can’t get through! How the hell could a C-Ranked Dungeon have become a Red Gate?!” Yoonho was a very tall man, much taller than his sister, with spikey orange hair and eyes. He was in a fitted tux despite the situation.

“I suspect it was a mistake by the Association.” Ahn said, “I’ve contacted them, but they keep telling me they’re ‘one-hundred percent sure’ that this Gate was a C-Rank.”

“Those damn pricks!” Yoonho snarled, glaring at the Gate. ‘This doesn’t add up. This is absolutely at least a B-Rank. If we’re astoundingly unlucky, it could even be an A-Rank!’

“Should we grab a Mana Meter ourselves?” Hyun asked, but Yoonho shook his head,

“That’s a waste of time. Red Gates don’t emit any Mana at all. Measuring it is impossible now. How many of our Hunters went in?!”

“Twelve, sir. A-Rank Kim Chul and seven B-Ranks, including Miss Park Heejin.” Ahn replied.

“Damn it, that few?” He snarled, “If this Gate is B-Rank, they’ll need at least three or more A-Rank Hunters. If it’s A-Rank, then they need either ten A-Ranks or one S-Rank! If this thing is an S-Rank Dungeon, our Hunters are as good as DEAD!” He punctuated his sudden roar with another slam of his fist on the Gate. “Maybe one or two Hunters could escape if they’re lucky!”

Ahn swallowed, “A-Actually, sir, while only twelve of our Hunters went in… there were seventeen total Hunters.”

“What?!” Yoonho whirled to him, “What is that supposed to mean?”

Ahn swallowed again, sweating all of a sudden, “Miss Miho and the other three survivors of the Double Dungeon Incident all entered.”

Yoonho’s eyes went gold and his hair white. “Are you telling me…” His teeth became fangs, “THAT MY SISTER IS IN HERE?! AFTER SHE WAS CRIPPLED?!” He grabbed Ahn by the lapels and raised him into the air.

“S-Sir, I firmly believe she and her friends have all recovered!” Ahn protested.

“What?!” Yoonho put him down, “Explain!”

Ahn swallowed, even more nervously now, “I’ve got no proof. Or at least no direct proof. But I’m absolutely certain none of those four are E-Ranks.”

“How is that possible?!” Yoonho asked.

“I have no idea.” Ahn replied, “But I witnessed the four of them plus the D-Rank Strike Squad leader clearing a C-Rank Dungeon without so much as a scratch on them while the other five fillers sat outside and got paid to do nothing.”

Yoonho clenched his jaw, “When?”

“Just last week.” Ahn replied, “After she and Miss Soohyun had already left the Guild, mind you.”

‘Damn it Miho!’ He turned to the Gate, ‘I was just trying to protect you! Don’t tell me you took it that badly that you’d hide something like this from me!’

He didn’t get a chance to respond as a car screeched to a stop. “What the hell? Get a load of this!” A man stepped out from the car. A man who instantly made Yoonho’s heckles rise. “I’m pretty sure this was supposed to be a C-Rank Gate.”

“Hwang Dongsoo!” Yoonho snarled, “What are you doing back here, traitor?”

“Ha! That’s real rich, Baek Yoonho.” Dongsoo pushed his sunglasses up, not losing his smirk. “Just here on some business. My big brother died, after all.”

“And yet you’re here instead of taking care of your business.” Yoonho said, his hair turning white, “What the hell are you doing on our turf?”

“Right, right, the White Tiger Guild’s turf.” Dongsoo said, losing his smirk and glaring at Yoonho, “If that’s the case, why is some unaffiliated E-Rank trash on this raid? Don’t tell me your strike zone for Hunters is so low that you’d recruit lame Hunters like that?”

“E-Rank? Who the hell are you talking about?” Yoonho was confused.

“Sung Jinwoo.” Dongsoo sneered, “He just entered that Gate. Unless, of course, Woo Jinchul here drove me to the wrong place.”

“The location is accurate.” Jinchul said flatly, “Though it appears your luck isn’t, Hwang Dongsoo.”

“Tch. You’re right about that. Not even my Guild Master could break into a Red Gate.” Dongsoo spat at the Gate, watching as it acted like it was glass and the drool just inched downward. “I was hoping to at least get a look at the bastard. And now he’s probably just going to bite it on the other side.” He shook his head before walking away from it, “What a damn waste of time.” He began walking back to the Mercedes he was being driven in and then stopped as if he had remembered something. “Though that does bring up the question of why the hell he’s in there in the first place.” He turned around and glared at them, “Why the hell was he with your Strike Team?”

Ahn swallowed nervously, “He’s a friend of one of our Hunters. He wished to observe the raid, so she had me set it up.”

“Ah, so just bad luck, huh?” Dongsoo clicked his teeth and started walking away again. Ahn let out a sigh of relief. And then he was in the air, held up by his throat via one giant, meaty hand. “Do you think I’m a fucking moron? I know you always had a knack for sniffing secrets out.” Dongsoo snapped as he choked the man. “Fess up!”

Yoonho clapped a hand around his wrist, his nails elongating into claws, “Let. Go. Of him.”

“Ehh?? You sure you want to be giving me orders, Baek Yoonho?” Dongsoo dropped Ahn, who quickly back-crawled away from the two S-Ranks. “You must think you’re such a big fish in this tiny ass pond.”

“Say that again.” Yoonho glared, before magical power erupted from the both of them. Things had just gotten terrifyingly dangerous in a hurry.

-]|[-

“Attention!” Kim Chul roared like he was some kind of drill sergeant. “As they said,” He inclined his head to both Jinwoo and Miho, “Being in a Red Gate means we’re completely cut off from support and facing enemies that are rank B or higher. It is now my duty to ensure we make a safe return.”

Miho and her group simply listened, curious as to what Kim Chul would say. He was the leader, after all.

“But I’m not going to stand here and make promises I can’t keep!” Kim Chul continued and Miho closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. She knew exactly where this was going. “One thing Baek and the E-Rank-” Jinwoo held back a sigh and roll of his eyes, “-did not mention is that all Red Gates are under time dilation. Every hour out there is a day in here.” Several gasps rang through the snowy clearing. “As this Gate spawned this morning, that means that we’ll be in here for months until a Dungeon Break occurs, unless we try to kill the Boss and clear the Gate.” He sneered, “And that means I can’t be babysitting five damn E-Ranks or four C-Ranks for months if the worst happens. I can’t afford to bring along any dead weight.”

“What a cruel man.” Joohee sighed quietly to her friends as the four White Tiger C-Ranks started to panic. Songyi was trembling in place until Jinwoo put a hand on her shoulder. Even then, she was still terrified, though somehow she felt a lot better with his support.

“Don’t look so depressed. Just stay alive until we kill the Boss, and we can all go home.” Kim Chul said when he caught the looks from the C-Ranks. “I’ll clear this Gate by myself if I need to. Any who wish to volunteer their aid, just follow me. We’ll kill the Boss as fast as possible and get out of here.”

“Right, well, that’s enough of this.” Miho sighed, drawing his attention. “You’re as stupid as ever if you think this is a good plan.”

Kim Chul sneered at her, “Shut up, Baek. You might have been our Vice Guild Master, but after your accident, you’re just weak trash like them.” He jerked his head at Songyi, who flinched, and Jinwoo. And then Miho vanished, burying her fist into his armor. Kim Chul’s eyes bulged, and he vomited out what looked like a gallon of bile as he sank to his knees. “W-What?” He rasped as his helmet fell off his head. Stunned gasps rang out.

“I knew it!” Heejin whispered quietly. ‘She put Kim Chul on the ground with one punch! Forget regaining her strength, I think she’s S-Rank now!’

Chul trembled as he looked at her, “Wh-What the hell?! I th-thought you lost all your power!”

“I got better.” Miho said flatly.

“Y-you d-damn bitch!” He snarled at her.

“Now listen up!” She said, turning to the rest, “This might be the first Red Gate any of you have ever been in, but it’s my third!” Murmurs rang out through the clearing. “I might not be your Vice Guild Master anymore or even affiliated with the Guild any longer, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel responsible for getting everyone here out safely. Since Kim Chul apparently didn’t pay attention in classes-” The man grit his teeth in furious embarrassment. “I am taking the lead here. If you want to get out of here alive, you stick with me.”

“Damn you.” Chul staggered to his feet, glaring at her.

She turned and leered at him, “As far as I’m concerned, the pecking order goes you, the dirt, the worms in the dirt, the rest of these guys, Heejin and Songyi, and finally Jinwoo, Soohyun, Joohee, and I.” She glared back as he clenched a hand on his weapon. “If you have a problem with it, feel free to go die like you originally planned.” Miho glared back. This was one former guildmate she had never gotten along with. “Or shut up and listen and maybe you’ll even learn something for next time.” She turned her back to him without a care, “First thing any Hunter must do when stuck inside a Red Gate is to figure out who the weakest enemies are and take over their territory. Once that is done, we can create a home base we can shelter in.” She smirked humorlessly, “I hope you lot have a taste for Magic Beasts, because it’s all the food we’ll have in here.” Several Hunters made vaguely disgusted faces. “Soohyun.” She nodded at their purple-haired girlfriend.

“You got it!” Soohyun winked and then Warped up. She floated high in the air, just below the clouds, activated Kasaka’s Gaze as she looked around and put her enhanced Perception stats to good use. “Hmm.” She pursed her lips, “…This is a pickle.” She muttered as she went back down. Several Hunters jumped as she just appeared in their midst, and Kim Chul was grinding his teeth as he realized he truly wasn’t even second on the pecking order. “Okay, good news and bad news.” She pointed in one direction, “Good news is that the weakest enemies are that way.”

“What are they?” Heejin asked.

“From what I can tell, Ice Bears.” Soohyun responded.

“And they’re the weakest?” Chul swallowed his pride and asked her, getting a nod from the beauty and a flinch from Heejin, who knew just how strong they could be. “Damn, that means this is definitely an A-Rank Dungeon.”

“Minimum.” Miho agreed with the Tank. “What’s the bad news?” She asked Soohyun.

“…I can’t tell who the boss is.” Soohyun said grimly. “I sensed two presences that way that could be the boss.” She pointed in the opposite direction of the Ice Bears. Or more specifically, in the direction the Ice Elves had disappeared towards, “-and a third in that direction.”

“What?!” Miho twitched, “I’ve only heard of Double Boss Dungeons!” She uncrossed her arms, “And you say it might be a Triple Boss Dungeon?”

“Yeah.” Soohyun said unhappily.

“Then let’s go kill those bears.” Miho said before in a flash, her casual clothes were replaced with her raid suit.

“Spatial Magic?!” Heejin gasped, “But you never-”

And then Joohee and Soohyun did the same, before Soohyun shivered. “Brr, it’s cold.” Miho smirked smugly. She didn’t feel a thing. “Here, before we get started.” Soohyun bought a warm-looking coat from the shop for a few gold and put it on.

“Summoning Magic too?!” Heejin looked completely shocked.

“But even High-Ranked Hunters have trouble storing more than two or three low-level items!” One of the C-Ranks yelped.

Miho bought one too and tossed it to Heejin. Their friend’s jaw dropped as she snatched it. Joohee did the same, as did Jinwoo, who put it on Songyi’s shoulders first. The girl blushed as she buttoned it up.

“Even the E-Rank?!” Chul snarled, eyes bloodshot. “What the fuck is going on?”

“Don’t ask questions.” Jinwoo said flatly as he put on his own coat and joined the girls in handing out coats. Kim Chul looked like he was going to pop a blood vessel as he grabbed one himself. “You won’t get answers.” Chul growled.

“And didn’t you listen to Miho?” Soohyun giggled slightly maliciously, “Us four are at the top of the food chain here, Chul.” A tooth might have snapped inside Chul’s jaw. “After all… you didn’t even see those arrows. If we hadn’t been here, four Hunters would have already been dead.”

Chul missed a step as he realized she was right. ‘What the fuck?!’ He eyed Jinwoo, ‘False Ranker? No, they all know each other. Did this bastard Reawaken?!’

“Enough yapping. Let’s go!” The newly decked-out crew took off for the forest with even the seething Kim Chul following orders.

“Uhm, Miss Baek, aren’t you cold?” Songyi asked as she looked at the lithe woman.

“Not even a little.” Miho smirked, ‘Thank you, Dragon’s Resistance!’ She smiled at Songyi, “Don’t worry about me. You just keep an eye out so you can learn.”

Songyi blushed at the older woman before grumbling, “How am I supposed to learn if the enemies are so strong?”

They had only traveled for a few minutes before Heejin said, “Uhm, I’m not exactly questioning you here, Miho, but Ice Bears are pretty tough enemies and there’s bound to be a lot of them.”

“Better than the Yetis, the Ice Elves, or the Mammoths.” Soohyun said flippantly.

Even Kim Chul almost tripped at that, “Mammoths?!” He asked in shock, “But only one Dungeon has ever had Mammoths inside!”

“Four years ago. Russia. S-Rank.” Jinwoo said, smirking slightly, ‘Well, looks like we’re going to get some pretty sweet rewards from this, huh?’

“We’re in an S-RANK Dungeon?!” One of the C-Ranks almost fainted.

“That’s not guaranteed.” Miho said, “They’re not necessarily the same type of Mammoths.” She shared a look with Joohee, who made a small face, knowing Miho was just trying to put their minds at ease.

They were one-hundred percent in an S-Rank Dungeon. “Don’t worry.” Joohee finally spoke up. “As long as you don’t die, I can heal you.” She turned as she walked and smiled brightly at them, “Just be careful and we’ll all be fine.”

Several sighs of relief rang out as Chul looked at her with narrowed eyes. He didn’t get a chance to speak as bears started to exit the trees. They were gigantic. “What?! These aren’t Ice Bears!” Ice Bears were pure white like polar bears, had glowing red eyes, and four generic-looking, icy-blue Essence Stones in their chests.

These bears were still white but were significantly bigger than expected and covered in what looked like ice armor. They had purple eyes, and red Essence Stones in their chests. “They’re Frost Bears!” Miho said, grinning. She opened her maw and unleashed a powerful Dragon’s Breath that charred the pack leader to the bone. Heejin gaped at the sight before Soohyun used a Gravity Blade to slice another in two. Joohee summoned her morningstar and let loose a Ray of Light that evaporated the bear’s head. And Jinwoo?

He decided to show off, leaping over the last bear and bringing his fist down on its ‘helmet.’ The ice cracked, followed swiftly by its skull. Its fangs cut its tongue off as it collapsed to the ground. The shockwave from the blow blew all of the snow on the ground in a twenty-meter radius away and dropped the bear into a new crater. He landed on it already sitting, “Hmm, some pretty good EXP.” He muttered just loudly enough for the girls to catch it.

[Level Up!]

Kim Chul fought a burning rage and a panic. He was about to be shown up by an E-RANK! Granted, it was pretty obvious he was no E-Rank at all, but still. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to prove his skill before those four had stolen all the thunder!

“Mister, who are you?!” Songyi stomped up to him.

He smiled at her and reached down, patting her on the head. “The guy who got you into this mess, and the one responsible for keeping you safe.” She blushed in response, looking at the ground.

“All you guys need to know is we’re going to get you through this.” Miho said, grabbing their attention. “In return, all we need from you is for you to keep your mouths shut once we’re out of here. Don’t ask us questions. You won’t get answers. You may rely on us, but unless you’re her-” She pointed at Songyi, “Or her,” she pointed at Heejin, “-then don’t make any requests either. We’ll focus on clearing the Gate.”

Soohyun clapped cheerfully, “Now, let’s get a camp together. I can’t guarantee that it’ll be permanent since we might find a better location, but it’ll do for now.” She raised her hand and it glowed purple as she started ripping trees from the ground to form a wider clearing around them.

“You four!” Miho pointed at the C-Ranks, “Get started on rending the beasts down.” She bought a chest from the Store, “Any Essence Stones go in here. We’ll divvy everything up once we’re out. Then, get started on preparing the bears for their meat. If you don’t know how, I’ll teach you.”

“You too, Songyi.” Jinwoo hopped off the bear and waved her closer.

“What?!” She gasped, looking vaguely green.

“You want to be a Hunter, don’t you?” He smirked at her, “Well, that’s part of the job. You can’t make a single solitary Won without getting your hands dirty.” Her face screwed up in revulsion, but she gamely stomped forward. ‘Hmm, I thought she would have already been scared away.’ He smiled just slightly, ‘Guess she’s tougher than she looks.’

“Rest of you-” Miho said and looked over at the B-Ranks, “Let’s start getting some shelter set up.” She looked at Chul, “And you… do whatever you want. There’s bound to be other bears around. Go let off some steam if you wish. Just don’t get the attention of those damn elves. Come let us know if you find their den.”

“Whatever.” Chul scoffed and stormed off deeper into the forest. At the very least, that was an order he could respect. He wanted to get his axe wet.

…

“It’s a bit chewy, but it’s surprisingly tasty.” Go Myunghwan, one of the C-Ranks muttered as he tore another bit of meat off his hank.

They were all sitting around a large campfire and, much to Chul’s irritation, all seemed to be having a good time. Jinwoo and Songyi were chatting lightly, with Songyi trying not to think too much about the actual dungeon. “Does Jinah study all the time at home, too?” She laughed, “She told me she plasters her walls with pages from the dictionary so that she can memorize words before she falls asleep.”

“Pffft.” Jinwoo showed his amusement over that idea, “Not even remotely. Once she comes home, she’s just a sleepyhead who loves fried chicken. If she does any studying at all, it’s right before bed.”

“How are her grades so good then?!” Songyi pouted, “Mine are awful!”

He shrugged his shoulders, “No clue. Back when I was in middle school, we’d just hit up the arcade and play games.” He sighed, “I’ve honestly been a bit too busy to really keep track of her as well as I should.”

Off to the side, one of the B-Ranks was wondering why the Frost Bears were attacking less often. “We’ve cleared out a decent area.” Joohee responded, “So they probably haven’t caught our scent.”

Heejin grinned, “That’s because our leaders wiped them all out!” She said cheerfully.

“Not all of them.” Miho nommed on another shank of meat, chewing aggressively. Tasty but tough indeed. It wasn’t quite shoe-leather, but these cuts definitely needed a slow cook barbeque-style to break down all the connective tissue. She swallowed, “I can still sense plenty of them in the area, they’re just pretty far from here.”

As their meal winded down, the B’s and C’s wandered off to sleep. They’d made (and bought) quite a few shelters, so everyone could sleep comfortably, either alone or in groups. Chul finished his food and stomped off, practically throwing himself into his tent. Jinwoo, Miho, Soohyun, and Joohee all shared a look before standing. “Hmm? Where are you going?” Heejin asked curiously.

“Going to work out.” Soohyun stretched, feeling her back pop.

“What?” Songyi blinked, “But you guys worked the hardest! How can you want after-meal exercise too?”

Jinwoo chuckled and held out his hand, “You’re coming too.”

Songyi balked as Miho smirked at Heejin, “You too, Heejin.”

Heejin looked like she was contemplating finding a bear of her own to fight.

…

“Okay, that should be far enough, don’t you think?” Soohyun muttered. “We clear, Jinwoo?” He nodded.

“Far enough for what?” Songyi asked nervously. “The vibe got all weird all of a sudden. Weren’t we going to work out?” Heejin nodded in agreement.

“We have something to share with you girls.” Miho said, putting her foot up against a tree and pushing. The whole thing uprooted, falling with a loud crash.

“Share what?” Heejin asked, still feeling kind of faint as she watched one of her best friends just push a tree over. Miho had always been strong but her true strength had always been her speed.

“An opportunity.” Jinwoo said, leaning against another tree with his arms crossed.

“But the thing is,” Joohee said, looking specifically at Songyi, “This is like your contract with Jinho in terms of non-disclosure, Songyi. No one can know about it, and we mean that.”

Soohyun shot one of her famous friendly smiles at the two increasingly nervous girls. “If you say you don’t want to know, that’s fine. We’ll just work out as planned.” Her smile widened, “But if you trust us and hear us out, you won’t regret it.”

“…What’s this about, guys?” Heejin asked them, “I can’t agree to that without some idea about what I’m agreeing to. Not even for you, Miho.” She said quietly, now feeling incredibly unnerved.

“The truth of what happened at the Cartenon Temple.” Miho replied, looking at Heejin, whose eyes widened.

“The what?” Songyi was utterly confused.

“Ah, right, you weren’t with the girls when we spoke a few months ago.” Joohee said, before starting to tell the story, “It all started when we entered a run of the mill D-Rank…” Which immediately got Songyi’s eyebrow to twitch. That sounded familiar.

…

“And then Mr. Woo measured all of us. All of us measured a measly ten. Completely pathetic, in other words. So weak that calling us F-Ranks might not have been out of the question.” Soohyun finished the story.

Heejin and Songyi had tears in their eyes, “How could they?!” Heejin yelled. She had known it was bad from the short discussion they’d had on it during their girls’ day, but not how bad.

“Why do you think I couldn’t bring myself to give a fuck about any of them, Heejin?” Miho sighed, “They left us to die. I’m pretty sure they expected me and Soohyun to just grab Joohee and leave Jinwoo behind.”

“What awful people.” Heejin seethed.

“So that’s why you were going around as E-Ranks during our C-Rank Dungeons!” Songyi had taken something else from it, though she obviously wasn’t happy about what she had learned either.

“Not quite.” Soohyun grinned, “That’s the part you have to agree to keep secret.”

Heejin and Songyi looked at one another, before nodding to one another and looking back, “We promise. Tell us!”

Miho chuckled, “Like we said… they left us to die.” She grinned, “But we got the last laugh. We didn’t get out of the Cartenon Temple empty-handed.”

“Your new skills!” Heejin gasped, finally having it click. “That’s your secret.”

“No.” Jinwoo shook his head, “Our reward for surviving the Cartenon Temple wasn’t anything as pedestrian as new skills. No, our reward was the ability to grow stronger as Hunters.”

Heejin and Songyi both froze. “…What?” Songyi finally said, searching Jinwoo’s face for answers.

“We gained the ability to grow stronger.” Miho repeated, smirking at them.

Joohee giggled, “Like the plot straight out of a video game.”

“Or to be more accurate,” Soohyun had a catty, amused look on her face, “Our reward was literally the power of video games.”

“Invite Han Songyi to Party.” Jinwoo said, with Miho repeating it for Heejin.

The two girls all but leapt out of their skin as two screens appeared in front of them. “What the fuck?” Songyi gaped before looking up at Jinwoo. “Are you serious right now?!”

“NO ONE would believe us even if we DID tell someone!” Heejin was gaping at the emerald-green screen (the same color as her eyes), moving her head and body and trying to get away from it and watching as it just followed her around.

[You have been Invited to the Party by Baek Miho. Limited access to the System will be provided. Do you accept?]

[If refused, you will not be able to be invited again.]

“So if we accept… I could get stronger? NOT be an E-Rank anymore?!” Songyi had a look of incredible excitement on her face.

“That’s the idea!” Soohyun cheered, grinning eagerly at them. “At least if it’s like our experience. This is the first time we’re trying this.”

Joohee then grabbed their attention, “BUT!” She said, “It’s not just a way to get stronger. The System will FORCE you to get stronger… whether you want to or not.”

Heejin twitched, “…What happened?” She asked, “Something must have happened; otherwise you would be just as excited to invite us as we should be of accepting.”

“Many things happened.” Jinwoo said, “The System will push you to your absolute limits and it will occasionally give you quests you really don’t want to complete.”

Miho speared them with a look, “The thing you have to understand about the System is that it WANTS you to succeed. It will outright cheat in your favor, occasionally, like activating a skill or outright giving you a new skill at the perfect moment to save your bacon.”

“But on the flipside…” Soohyun sighed, her excitement melting away for seriousness, “You could have what happened to Jinwoo and Joohee pop up.”

“What happened?” Songyi asked, swallowing nervously.

“Occasionally in Dungeons, your party members aren’t good people.” Jinwoo said simply. “And I don’t mean not good people as in ‘they’ll trip you to get away from a Magic Beast.’ I mean not good people as in ‘they’re sadistic bastards who love the fact that their crimes won’t be investigated if they do them inside a dungeon.’”

Heejin froze, “…What did the System do?”

Joohee sighed, “Jinwoo and I both ended up in Dungeons where our party members tried to kill us. For Jinwoo, it was so that they wouldn’t have to share the loot of a very lucrative Dungeon. For me… well, the guy was a murderer who liked killing people more than Magic Beasts.” She looked at her feet, “The System did not like that.”

“Not one bit.” Miho said softly, “And the System gave them emergency quests that could not be refused. ‘Kill your attackers or die.’” She finished, forcing flinches from both of the girls. “Think it over carefully, ladies. Either way, it’ll change your life.”

“Accept.” Songyi said softly.

Heejin gasped as her silver screen disappeared before several more popped up. “Songyi!”

Songyi grinned weakly at her, “Hunting is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do. Sports always bored me. I always hated studying, and the only reason I ever went to school was my friends. I used to spend all day playing video games instead, before I Awakened. Whatever diploma I would have gotten wouldn’t have been worth the paper it was printed on, other than to a community college I wouldn’t want to go to anyway.” She looked at her feet, “If… if it wasn’t for this… I probably would have figured out what Jinwoo tried to tell me before he brought me here. I probably would have sucked it up and gone back to classes… because I can tell now that Dungeons are no places for E-Ranks. This gives me a chance!” She got fired up.

Heejin looked at the younger girl with shock on her face. For her first truly big Dungeon (and one that was far bigger than it was ever supposed to be!) she had been well on the way to the realization that Jinwoo had wanted Songyi to have. Even B-Ranks like herself had no place in disaster Dungeons like this. She looked at Miho and Soohyun, ‘But they’re not B-Ranks. They’re not even A-Ranks anymore… I could do the same. But do I dare to try with the risks involved?’

It came down to a simple question. Could she bear becoming a pencil pusher with the Guild? Maybe even leave this life behind entirely?

She looked at Miho especially. She had always been confident, but it was different now. Miho was different. She looked so…happy. It put a smile on Heejin’s face. “Accept.” And then she had screens in front of her too, and Soohyun cheered.

“WOOOHOOO!” Soohyun picked Heejin up and twirled her.

“Soohyun!” Heejin protested, laughing lightly.

“Alright girls, let’s read these to see how exactly you’re ‘limited.’” Miho said, sitting down between the two of them and throwing an arm around each shoulder.

[Congratulations! You have now become a Player.]

[The System will help the Player Develop.]

[Failing to comply with the System’s orders could result in penalties.]

[As you have not met the requirements to complete the Secret Quest “Courage of the Weak,” you will not receive Kandiaru’s Blessing.]

“Shit.” Miho cursed as she read that one. “Okay, they have to be more careful than we do.” She told the rest of them, “They don’t have Detoxification or our ‘Healthy Body’ passive.”

“What does that do?” Songyi asked, pouting that she was already behind.

“Jinwoo had his leg ripped off in the Cartenon temple but woke up with it back.” Joohee said, “Basically your injuries will stick with you, unlike us, unless you have a Healer with you.”

“Hax!” Songyi called out, pouting even harder. They all laughed.

“Okay, now bring up your stats.” Jinwoo said, sitting next to Songyi.

She did so, and he snorted. “Well, you’re stronger than I was.”

Name: Han Songyi

Level: 4

Job: None 

Fatigue: 0

Title: None

HP: 475

MP: 70

Strength: 13

Agility: 13

Perception: 13

Vitality: 13

Intelligence: 13

Available Ability Points: 0

“How am I possibly stronger than you were?!” Songyi gaped at him.

“I was tens across the board.” Jinwoo grumbled, “As were they when the System ‘reset’ them. 100 HP. 10 MP.” Songyi gaped at him.

“We were pathetic.” Miho grumbled, “I kinda shudder even thinking about it.”

“Gee, thanks.” Jinwoo deadpanned, and she blew him a kiss.

“You’re stronger than even we are now, Jinwoo.” Soohyun plopped down on his lap, making Songyi flush. “Now let’s see Heejin!”

Name: Park Heejin

Level: 32

Job: Wizard

Fatigue: 0

Title: None

HP: 1475

MP: 1690

Strength: 20

Agility: 46

Perception: 46

Vitality: 21

Intelligence: 72

Available Ability Points: 0

“Huh, I was wondering how that would work.” Jinwoo muttered, “We never got to see any of your stats since we got reset, but it looks like Miss Heejin is still physically strong enough to punch a wolf across the room even though she’s definitely a spellcaster.”

“What do you mean?” Heejin asked, “And just Heejin, please.” She smiled prettily at him.

“Well, look at Songyi. She’s not any particular class and her stats reflect that. Every level you get gives you one point in each stat.” Miho said, “So if the System did everyone the same, you would have forty-one across the board.”

“But because you’re already a Mage, your stats have distributed themselves differently.” Soohyun said as she analyzed it. “Honestly, your Intelligence stat isn’t bad. What spells do you know again?”

Heejin smiled and held up her staff… which was more of an extra-long, bladed wand than a staff. “I can do this.” She wrote a very strange character none of them could read in the air with surprising speed. The second she finished; a blast of wind erupted from the word that was powerful enough to gouge out a huge bite from one of the trees. It immediately collapsed under its own weight.

“Oh that’s SUPER cool!” Soohyun had stars in her eyes.

“Can you imbue them into objects for later attacks?!” Jinwoo was eager to learn more as well.

Heejin opened her mouth… and then closed it with a strange look on her face. “…Can I?”

“We’ll test it later.” Miho said, “I’m more worried about how slow you were writing it. In the grand scheme of things, it was pretty fast, but against super strong enemies, it wasn’t nearly fast enough.”

“Do you have a skill description, Heejin?” Joohee asked her.

“Hmm…” Heejin brought them up, “Word of Power. Write whatever effects you wish into reality. Power of the spell is based on Intelligence. Speed of writing is based on Agility.”

“Well, we know what her dump stat is going to be.” Songyi laughed. “Everything but strength will actually be useful.”

“I don’t know, sometimes a good fist to the head is what the doctor ordered.” Miho joked, making the group laugh some more.

“Which leaves the question of what kind of Hunter Songyi wants to be.” Joohee smiled kindly at the younger lady.

“I’m not sure.” Songyi mumbled, “I had been planning to buy daggers, but it kinda feels like the world is my oyster right now.” She looked around, “Uhm, what classes are you?”

“Miho and I are Fighters.” Jinwoo said, before Soohyun smirked and wiggled in his lap.

“No you’re not, you’re a Mage!” She said, smirking as both Heejin and Songyi blushed lightly.

“How does that make sense?” Heejin asked in confusion.

Joohee giggled, “Jinwoo put most of his stat points into everything but Intelligence, but his best skill is a magical one.”

“Oof, that’s rough.” Heejin winced, “That must be awful! You have to completely change your build path!”

“What skill is it?” Songyi asked eagerly, “Can we see it?”

Jinwoo chuckled, “Well, you asked.” His shadow stretched out, making Songyi jump, and then both she and Heejin screamed in surprise as Cerbie came out and let out a loud bark.

“Jinwoo is a Necromancer.” Miho laughed, “Any monsters that our party kills, he can revive as a Shadow.”

“Holy shit!” Songyi had stars in her eyes.

“And it’s such a cheapass skill too.” Soohyun grumbled, “It has no mana cost! He can use it whenever he wants! The only mana cost is in reviving the Shadows if they get killed.”

“Hush Miss Infinite Void.” Jinwoo said imperiously while Heejin gaped. He dismissed Cerbie, “So yeah, I’m a Fighter, but when we go get reevaluated the Association will probably think I’m a Mage.”

Heejin took a deep breath, “Okay, so Warrior Necromancer, a Fighter with dragon skills, a… Void Sorceress, and a…?” She turned to Joohee.

“Cleric.” Joohee said, pouting. “I STILL wish I could have been a straight Healer but NOOOOOOO.” She grumbled.

“Okay, so four forms of attack, two magical and two physical, as well as Healing and Support.” It was Heejin’s turn to pout, “What did you call it, Songyi? Hax?” Songyi sputtered and began giggling while she nodded, “I call hax then!”

“Hush, Miss Writer-of-Primordial-Secrets!” Soohyun said imperiously.

They all began laughing. “Anyway, back to you, Songyi. What would you like to do?”

“…Well, I don’t think I’d be a good Tank.” She deadpanned, “I really don’t think I’d like getting up front and personal at all. I almost threw up while you were teaching me how to dig out the Essence Stones.”

“Ranged then.” Jinwoo concluded, before grinning. “I think I have an idea.” He summoned one of the Knight Rangers from his Job-Change Dungeon. The lightly armored knight rose before them. “Manufacture.” He declared, and the Shadow began contorting and spewing out shadows. A moment later, Jinwoo grinned as finally he got something that wasn’t a C-Rank item.

[Shadow Item: Failnaught

Grade: B

Type: Ranged Weapon

Attack +60

Strength +10

Agility +10

Perception +10]

Heejin’s jaw dropped again as he handed Songyi the bow. “Woah…” Songyi gasped, feeling stronger already. “How does it…” She stood and stretched the shadowy string and gasped as a shadow arrow simply appeared. She fired it and it blew right through the tree, leaving behind a beach-ball-sized hole in the unnaturally huge conifer.

Songyi immediately threw her arms around Jinwoo, “Thankyouthankyouthankyou!”

They all laughed at the excited girl. “Don’t thank us yet!” Joohee said, and for once had an evil grin on her face. “Open your other unread mail.”

The two blinked, looked at each other, and then opened the last unread message. They both read through the quest requirements and visibly drooped. “…You guys suck.” They both pouted. “What’s the penalty?”

“Well, I think it changes based on your level.” Jinwoo said, before smirking as his shadow surged. “But we had to survive four hours with ten of this guy-” He pointed very, very unhelpfully at the giant centipede that was making both Heejin and Songyi’s skin crawl, “-trying to kill us.”

“At level one.” Soohyun added helpfully.

“TIME TO GET BIG MUSCLES!” Songyi yelled as she leapt to her feet and pulled Heejin up. “One, two, march!” She took off jogging, dragging the older woman behind her. The Cartenon Temple survivors burst out laughing before joining them.

-]|[-

Songyi gulped nervously as they walked out of the forest as a group. She was now decked out in some very decent gear that Jinwoo had made for her out of several Frost Bears they had encountered on the way in. As she decided to display her awesome new gear (except for the helmet), she was wearing a form-fitting gambeson made of black leather with a few patches of enchanted ice acting as armored plates. It even had a small cape made out of shadowy/fiery fur. It was ultra cute in her opinion, and more importantly, it was lightweight and each individual piece gave her a huge boost to her stats, adding onto the stats she got from her bow.

[20 VIT] from the gambeson, [20 AGI] from the boots, [20 STR] from the vambraces, and the best piece was the helmet, which gave her [20 PER] and [20 INT]. The entire armor set also gave her some flat damage reduction: twenty percent. She was as ready as she was ever going to be for this

“Songyi, light ‘em up as soon as they start appearing. We’ll supervise and keep you safe.” Miho commanded as Songyi gulped. The extra three points she had gotten from her dailies had gone straight into Strength since that was the best stat for a Ranger apparently. They had tested this via having her shoot at Jinwoo’s Shadows. She had done a bit more damage with every point, though she wondered if she was going to get any magical skills. She kind of hoped she did, because arrows with magical effects would be really cool.

“Right!” She tried to act like she was confident when she was anything but. As the lowest level in the group by far, she had a ninety-four percent EXP gain reduction if the highest-leveled members so much as sneezed on a Magic Beast she was fighting. To get any EXP at all, she would need to get at least one kill herself.

She drew her arrow back as she focused on the cave ahead of them. The second she saw a gleaming set of purple eyes appear; she shot just below it. Her arrow flew at supersonic speeds, slicing through the air with a small sonic boom, and landed just shy of where she had aimed. She was rewarded with a growl.

“Again!” Jinwoo commanded, and she hurried to obey as the first bear entered the light.

It had a large crack in the icy armor of its right shoulder. She compensated on the next shot and fired again, the arrow landing right inside its left nostril and blowing half its snout off. It reared back and howled in agony. She fired third and fourth shots, one after the other. The first smashed into the icy armor on its chest and cracked it as the arrow bounced off. The second hit almost the exact same spot and shattered the ice, leaving its chest exposed. A fifth shot blew out its right lung, causing it to hack in agony. It fell forward onto its paws, right in time for a sixth arrow to bury itself into one of its gleaming eyes.

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

…

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

“OH MY GOD!” Songyi squealed in glee as that one A-Ranked threat gave her enough EXP to get her to level twenty-three. She absolutely would not have been able to even touch the monsters without the gear Jinwoo had crafted for her!

Behind her, Heejin grinned as she got two levels of her own out of it.  “Keep it up!” Joohee patted Songyi on the shoulder. “Don’t get distracted. Here they come!”

“Right!” Songyi yelled and she nocked another arrow, letting it fly. With the extra nineteen points in strength, her arrow shattered the bear’s armor in one blow and dislocated its shoulder. It was, at least, still alive as it crumpled to the snow floor.

And then it wasn’t.

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

That got her five levels this time, though Heejin only got one. And then she fired again, and again, and again, and started peppering the bears with shots until they were starting to get uncomfortably close. “Help!” She yelped as one bear finally reached her.

Soohyun crushed it into the floor with a flick of her finger. “You did good, Songyi.” Jinwoo said as he patted her on the head, passing by her with his shadow swirling. “Get out here.” His army rose and immediately, everyone but Igris ran forward, meeting the rest of the still-huge-number of bears in a huge clash.

A centipede wrapped one up and started digging into it with its claw-like feet. Cerbie’s right head bit one and yanked it into the air, before the left head gnawed on its rump. The two heads yanked, tearing the bear into two with triumphant howls. Six bears used the distraction to start climbing it like a tree and slashing away at it.

The Gnolls and Knights leapt into the fray, pounding their hammers or digging their swords into the bears, shattering bones and slicing through thick, dense flesh alike. Swipes from the bears claws were enough to shatter armor and slice through shadowy flesh. And then the mages burnt them to crisps with their combined fireballs, before two bears killed two of them with vicious bites.

The two bears were instantly poisoned and melted by Kasaka and Buryura respectively.

Jinwoo watched gleefully as he truly understood the scope of his power for the first time. This was a huge army of bears, and he was making mincemeat of them with only a strong drain to his mana. He had always known that the skill was strong. It had proved itself more than once as they leveled up before their Job-Change Quests. But with the relative lack of ability to store Shadows, it had always seemed like just a decent supplement to their battle power. With Miho, Soohyun, and Joohee in the party, they had almost felt like afterthoughts because he just couldn’t store a lot of them.

And here he was, with his strongest Shadow just chilling next to them. “This is amazing.” Heejin gaped as she watched. Songyi had almost caught up to her in level and would have if she hadn’t been gaining EXP from Songyi’s kills too.

“Bit boring though.” Miho said, before transforming and leaping into the fray, cutting down three bears with one swipe.

Soohyun giggled as she raised her finger, allowing a tiny, cute red ball to slowly form with a whisper of ominous wind. She made a finger gun, “Bang.” She said, firing the ball forward. It sped through the air before hitting a bear. It and every bear and Shadow behind it flattened. It even hit the cliff-face the cave was built into and crumpled it like a giant had taken a hammer and just smashed it inward. The rock didn’t even break. It compressed.

“Might as well try this new one out!” Joohee raised a hand, calling forth her Celestial Beam. Day turned into much brighter day as a huge ray of light came down from the heavens. It had a sound almost like metal being grinded away as it melted everything it came into contact with. Bears, Shadows, the snow, even the sodden ground beneath. It left behind a molten trail as Joohee controlled its path, making it dance in a snaking path before going away.

“Friendly fire.” Jinwoo deadpanned as he was forced to regenerate the Shadows he lost to their attacks.

“Whoops!” Soohyun looked entirely unrepentant as she gave him a big old smooch on the cheek.

“Just drink some Mana Pots.” Heejin nudged him cheekily. He snorted, before their attention was drawn by the biggest bear any of them had ever seen. It shattered the cliffside as it burst from the cave, roaring furiously.

The regular Frost Bears had been about the size of elephants or just over three meters at the shoulders. This thing was nearly nine meters or bigger than even the biggest of prehistoric mammals that had been discovered. Hell, it was bigger than a T-Rex. Standing it would probably be around fourteen meters tall! Its jaw was big enough that it could probably bite Miho in half.

Even with the icy breastplate it wore, it was easy to tell that it had glowing purple Essence Stones in its chest. Its eyes were blood red like Ice Bears, and it had a huge flowing mane of black fur almost like a lion that trailed all the way down its back. Scars covered its body and especially its eyes and face. Larger scars peeked out from beneath the frost armor it wore.

“Ooh, you’re a big boy, aren’t you?” Miho said in delight, bending her knees as she prepared to launch herself at it.

Jinwoo called out, “Hold on, get back here, Miho!”

“Why?!” She yelled back petulantly, looking like she was going to stomp her foot.

“Igris needs some exercise too!” He pointed at his loyal knight. He didn’t even know how strong Igris was after being turned into a Shadow! Miho slumped, dejectedly walking back to the group with her head bent forward.

Songyi had a deadpan look on her face as she patted their resident adrenaline junkie and battle nut on the shoulder. “There, there.” She said as the gigantic bear went wild, tanking venom, acid, fireballs, you name it. It didn’t even flinch as it tore through his soldiers like they were made of tissues. Even all the huge Shadows like Cerbie, Kasaka, Buryura, and the centipedes didn’t make a difference. They all attacked at once, biting it and trying desperately to stop and hurt the gargantuan Frost Bear, but that only pissed it off.

It effortlessly moved into a standing position and roared. The roar had actual magic power behind it, blowing every single Shadow Soldier away and draining the rest of Jinwoo’s mana in one go. “The Shadow Soldiers were wiped out instantly. I don’t have the Mana to resummon them.” Jinwoo grinned, “Igris.”

The Black Knight stepped forward, his armor clunking with each step. The bear growled, seemingly furious that a single enemy was being sent against it. It charged forward, leaping and trying to pound Igris into the ground. A huge plume of snow obscured their view, only for Igris to fly out of it with a trail of blood following his blade. An agonized howl erupted from the bear, before it whirled around and tried to slash at Igris.

Igris vanished and appeared higher in the air, before somersaulting forward and burying his huge blade about halfway through the Frost Bear Alpha. He stood and then punched down, shattering the icy armor in a single blow that also pushed the bear down into the ground with a thunderous boom. Far away, the six humans even felt the ground shake from the minor tremor.

Igris stood, grabbed his blade, and then raced down its back, slicing it open from shoulder to hip as it tried to get up and shake him off. It reared up onto its hind legs from the pain, before Igris whirled around and sliced the back of its knees and sent it crashing down to them.

“Holy shit!” Miho had stars in her eyes, “We’re SO sparring when we’re out of here!”

Meanwhile Heejin and Songyi could only gape at the relatively tiny knight as it walked around the panting bear. It tried to gather its magical energy to roar once more, purple lightning surrounding it as it did so. Only for Igris to swipe his blade though the air, slicing its head off its neck without even touching the beast.

[Level Up!]

‘If Igris had used his blade for the entire fight, he definitely would have killed me.’ Jinwoo had a smile and a sweatdrop on his face as he stared at the knight. Igris grabbed the bear’s head, and if they hadn’t been so shocked or awed by his strength, they all would have laughed at the knight dragging a head almost bigger than he was behind himself. ‘Even now…he’s probably still stronger.’

Igris stopped before the Party, presenting the bear’s head to his master, before kneeling before him. Jinwoo stepped forward and put a hand on Igris’s shoulder, “Good work, my Knight.”

“How the hell did you beat him?!” Joohee was aghast. “He would have chopped Semias down like a regular tree!”

Jinwoo snorted as Igris entered his shadow once more, “He was holding back.” A pained smile rose on his face, “By a lot. He even fought me hand-to-hand instead of using his blade.”

Soohyun shook her head, “The System strikes again, huh?”

“I sure as hell am not complaining.” Miho grinned as she patted the bear on the head. She looked comically small next to it. “Do your magic Jinwoo and then let’s check their stats one more time before heading back.”

“Gladly.” Jinwoo grinned as well as he declared, “Arise.”

The bears’ shadows all writhed before rising from the corpses. Every single one of the bears was an Elite rank like his best Shadows (other than Igris, obviously) except for the Alpha, who was a Knight. “Ooh, looks like you get a name.” He grinned up at the absolutely gigantic bear, “I think I’ll name you Tank.” Tank roared in approval.

“I suppose it’s at least appropriate for once.” Soohyun grumbled, as they had learned over the past few months that Jinwoo’s naming scheme left a lot to be desired. Jinwoo pouted as he summoned his knights and Gnolls so they could start harvesting the Essence Stones for them.

Songyi hugged Jinwoo tightly. “Thank you so much!” She said gleefully, “I got all the way up to level thirty-eight!”

He patted her head gently, “Not much of an E-Rank anymore. What are those stats looking like?” She showed them.

Name: Han Songyi

Level: 38

Job: None 

Fatigue: 0

Title: None

HP: 9350

MP: 1490

Strength: 80

Agility: 77

Perception: 77

Vitality: 67

Intelligence: 67

Available Ability Points: 0

“What a huge jump.” Joohee congratulated the young girl.

“Why do I still not have a job?” Songyi asked in confusion. “Isn’t that our class? Am I not an archer?”

“You need to go through a Job-Change quest that first becomes available at level 40. DO NOT try it as soon as you get it. We were in our late-forties when we went in, and the quests still kicked all of our butts.” Soohyun replied, making her gulp nervously.

“What about you, Heejin?” Miho asked, “I noticed you leveled up a few times while Songyi was farming.” As Heejin was a higher level, she had gotten no EXP penalty from the younger girl’s kills, though they both had gotten a pretty big reduction once their mentors took over the fight.

“I need better gear.” Heejin grumbled as she revealed her stats.

Name: Park Heejin

Level: 45

Job: Wizard

Fatigue: 0

Title: None

HP: 3100

MP: 2330

Strength: 33

Agility: 59

Perception: 59

Vitality: 34

Intelligence: 88

Available Ability Points: 0

Soohyun started to giggle helplessly as Songyi’s jaw dropped. “Holy crap girl, is your gear F-tier?”

“I haven’t bought anything good yet!” Heejin whined, stomping her feet. “Even my staff is kind of bad.” She raised it and waved it a few times in the air.

“Well luckily, we have plenty of materials to cover it!” Miho said cheekily, nudging Jinwoo. “You have too many to store anyway, right?”

He nodded, “And even luckier, the skill is now level two after all the crafting I did for Songyi, so I can now choose what type of item to craft.” Jinwoo said as he summoned the rest of the army. “Hmm…” He glanced at Heejin, “Can I see your staff?” She blinked and handed it over so he could examine it.

He didn’t want to say anything, but his grimace said enough. Holy crap was this thing bad. The only thing it did was give her a twenty percent reduction in Mana cost whenever she used her magic. It didn’t even give her any bonus stats! He chucked it over his shoulder and Heejin watched with a deadpan look on her face as one of the werewolves grabbed it out of the air like it was playing fetch and started to gnaw on it.

Jinwoo grabbed a Frost Bear, since they were his highest-rank regular soldiers. “Manufacture.” If this didn’t give them a decent item, he’d have to sacrifice one of the mages and hope for the best. The bear roared as it compressed into a wand much more appropriate for a Harry Potter setting. It was a solid black though it still had the texture of the bear’s enchanted ice and was covered in fiery purple runes.

[Shadow Item: Wand of Everfrost Lv. 1

Grade: A

Type: Magical Focus

+80 Attack

+15 Agility

+15 Perception

+15 Intelligence]

“Here you go.” Jinwoo handed it to her, and she gasped as a black, shadowy aura engulfed her. The runes on the wand extinguished and appeared on her wrist instead, before vanishing. After a moment, the ghostly wand’s runes returned in green, the same color as her eyes. “Are you okay?” He asked quickly, wide-eyed.

“Alright?” She beamed at him, “I’m better than alright! That gave me a new skill!” She beamed and pointed her new wand at the cliffside. A green laser erupted from the tip of the wand, flying faster than Songyi could react to, though the other four would have been more than capable of dodging. She wrote a ghostly-green rune on the wall much faster than she had been able to before, and then a huge section of it exploded a second after the beam cut off. Rocks tumbled in huge chunks off the cliff, crashing down below.

Soohyun and Miho cheered, hugging their grinning friend. “It gets even better! I can level this thing up!” Heejin said, “Apparently Rank-A items can upgrade to Rank-S or beyond!”

“Oh, that’s cool!” Miho laughed, “Not useful for us since our gear is just straight better in most cases, but for you and Songyi if we can make her an A-Rank item?”

“I’m already happy, but I wouldn’t say no.” Songyi giggled, hugging her bow to her chest.

“Now for some other gear.” Jinwoo said, turning to the rest of the army. He made his choices and declared, “Manufacture.” In moments, Heejin was decked out in gear that equaled Songyi’s in stats, albeit rather than leather armor, it was a shadowy dress, leggings, and witch’s hat. And that left her with a much more respectable:

Name: Park Heejin

Level: 45

Job: Wizard

Fatigue: 0

Title: None

HP: 6100

MP: 4650

Strength: 53

Agility: 94

Perception: 94

Vitality: 54

Intelligence: 123

Available Ability Points: 0

Now with all of these bonuses, she felt almost sad that there were no more Frost Bears in the area to test herself against.

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