Acrid smoke filled the room.
"Cough, cough."
Yoo Jin-Ho covered his nose with his wrist and coughed. But he was more worried about Jin-Woo than himself. The Lizardman Shaman's attack had been that threatening. Contrary to his worries, though, Jin-Woo emerged from the smoke completely unscathed. Yoo Jin-Ho let out an exclamation of awe.
'That's the big bro I know!'
The Lizardman was said to be the most difficult monster to deal with in a C-rank Dungeon. And Jin-Woo had dodged a blow from a shaman without so much as a single hair out of place. It seemed like he was getting faster by the day.
'...Or am I just imagining it?'
Jin-Woo spat out the grit that had gotten into his mouth.
"Ptui."
The spit that hit the ground was black.
'These bastards...'
The fact that he'd had to breathe in exhaust fumes just because of a single showboating lizard infuriated him. His displeasure showed plainly on his face. Jin-Woo's brow furrowed.
[Skill: 'Killing Intent' is activated.]
Intense killing intent radiated from his wide-open eyes.
['Effect: Fear' is triggered.] [All targets' stats are reduced by 50% for 1 minute.]
The Lizardmen exposed to the killing intent panicked.
"Sssooo?" "Ssorruka?"
Not wasting the opening, Jin-Woo threw 'Kasaka's Venomfang' with all his strength. The dagger flew straight and lodged itself between the eyes of a Lizardman spearman. Thud! With their slowed bodies, dodging Jin-Woo's dagger was simply too fast.
"Sssoqua!"
The spearman roared in fury at witnessing his comrade's death. But where the spear was pointed, Jin-Woo was no longer there. He had vanished without a trace.
"Ssorrukanaka!"
The shaman screamed in agitation.
"Ssorrukanaka!"
When the shaman repeated the same words to the spearman over and over, the spearman turned toward the shaman and let out a shrill cry.
"Ssouqua!"
The spearman bared his teeth and approached the shaman. The shaman refused to be outdone.
"Sseuwa—"
Then.
"Kck!"
A hole burst open in the spearman's chest. Splattered with blood, the shaman recoiled in shock and scrambled backward.
"Sssooo?"
Slither. Stealth deactivated, revealing the spear that had pierced through the spearman's chest. The one gripping the spear was Jin-Woo. When he let go, the spear and the impaled Lizardman dropped to the floor together. Thud. In the meantime, Jin-Woo retrieved 'Kasaka's Venomfang' from the head of another Lizardman spearman.
"Ssowaaaahhh—!"
Scarlet flames began to coalesce once more in the shaman's two hands. But Jin-Woo didn't give him the chance.
'Dash!'
The distance between Jin-Woo and the shaman vanished in an instant. The shaman's eyes widened. Reptilian, grotesque pupils. Woosh. Jin-Woo dodged the flames about to erupt and circled behind the shaman, driving his dagger into the creature's spine.
'Vital Strike!'
Thud! The shaman screamed.
"Keeeyaaak!"
But when he stabbed the back again, the scream wasn't as long as the first. Thud!
"Kck!"
The Lizardman Shaman vomited blood and crumpled forward. Thud. Jin-Woo threw a mental uppercut. Looking back on it, it had been a clean fight.
'Nice!'
As if to celebrate the victory, the System played a cheerful chime. Ding!
[Level Up!] ['Player' has reached the required level.]
An unfamiliar message behind a familiar one.
'Required level?'
Up to this point, he had no idea what that meant. But when the next chime rang, Jin-Woo struggled to calm his heart, which was pounding so hard it hurt. Ding!
[Class Change Quest has arrived.] [Will you accept the Class Change Quest?] (Y/N)
'A... Class Change Quest?'
He'd been so focused on raising his level and stats that he'd forgotten about an entire section of his Status Window.
[Name: Sung Jin-Woo] [Level: 40] [Job: None]
The 'Job' field, occupying the third line of his Status Window.
'A Class Change Quest being available means...'
It meant the chance had come for a word other than 'None' to fill that slot. To have a job. In most games, characters receive tremendous benefits upon a class change. The System, which operated similarly to a game, shouldn't be any different. Thump thump. His heartbeat grew heavier. The thought that he could take one step closer to his goal of gaining great power made it impossible to calm down.
[Will you accept the Class Change Quest?] (Y/N)
Yes or No continued to flash before his eyes.
'Well, obviously...'
What fool would throw away a chance like this? Jin-Woo was about to accept the Class Change Quest without hesitation. But instinctively, he stopped.
'Wait.'
He didn't know what kind of quest it might be. Behind the instinctive signal came a rational warning.
'I'm inside a Dungeon.'
A Dungeon was the most dangerous place in the world. Even if he'd grown sufficiently accustomed to C-rank Dungeons, a Dungeon was still a Dungeon. There was no need to deliberately court danger. Besides, Yoo Jin-Ho was nearby. It wasn't that he didn't trust Yoo Jin-Ho. But did he really need to give him a clue about the System, or explain whatever bizarre phenomenon might occur during a class change? Things could get complicated.
'And depending on the quest content, Jin-Ho could end up hurt.'
What if monsters suddenly spawned?
'At that point, I'd count myself lucky.'
Monsters, at least, could be dealt with by killing them directly. But quests far worse than that could just as easily drop. For example, like the Emergency Quests he'd received twice before.
'The objective might be to kill the nearest Hunter.'
In the worst case. It was purely hypothetical, of course. Just then, Yoo Jin-Ho approached.
"Big bro!"
He looked covered in white dust, apparently from the magic the Lizardman Shaman had launched just before dying, which had landed nearby.
"How did you just disappear and reappear like that? Do you have a skill like that?"
Yoo Jin-Ho asked with flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes. The rare skill of Stealth had clearly fascinated him.
'I'm more fascinated by the state you're in right now.'
Instead of answering, Jin-Woo pulled a handkerchief from his inventory. It was an item he'd received as a Daily Quest reward the day before.
"B-bro?"
With it, he ruthlessly scrubbed Yoo Jin-Ho's face.
"Mmph, ppbt!"
The snow-white handkerchief turned black. Only after examining the handkerchief Jin-Woo handed him did Yoo Jin-Ho realize the state his own face was in. Embarrassed, he quietly wiped every corner of his face clean.
"Jin-Ho." "Yes, bro." "Something urgent came up."
Yoo Jin-Ho's head snapped up.
"Do you need to go?" "Just let me finish clearing this area." "Understood. Then I'll cancel the reservations for the other Gates."
He hadn't been able to show it in front of Jin-Woo, but Yoo Jin-Ho was inwardly disappointed about the three Gates he'd reserved.
'I'm starting to run low on funds.'
Yoo Jin-Ho had no source of income beyond his allowance. Since this was something he did behind his father's back, there was a limit to how much money he could swing. If a Gate was canceled, the deposit paid for the reservation wouldn't be returned. Hard-earned money, gone. How could he not be disappointed? On top of that, his unique raiding style had already eaten through far more of his budget than expected. Now he had to waste more money? Yoo Jin-Ho's shoulders drooped naturally. But Jin-Woo spoke with a casual expression.
"Why waste money canceling it?"
Yoo Jin-Ho tilted his head.
"Huh? If you don't enter a reserved Gate within two days, the authorization gets canceled automatically, bro."
Of course, Jin-Woo wasn't unaware of that basic fact.
"Leave it to me."
Was there some clever solution? Yoo Jin-Ho was curious, but also felt reassured.
***
Baekho Guild building.
"Section Chief Ahn! Do you even have a brain?!"
Loud shouting erupted from the Second Management Division. The owner of the voice was Baek Yoon-Ho. He was the master and president of the Baekho Guild. The fact that no one else but the president had come down personally to the floor below to confront them meant the situation was very bad.
"You can't even secure a single Gate to train the new recruits? Do you realize you've already pushed the training schedule back three days?!"
All the employees of the Second Management Division lowered their eyes. Everyone was anxious, worried about sparks flying their way. Section Chief Ahn Sang-Min, who was bearing Baek Yoon-Ho's finger-pointing right to his face, also hung his head low.
"..."
Ahn Sang-Min was not so green as to keep firing back at an enraged superior the way his subordinate Hyun Gi-Chul did, only fanning the flames further. In times like these, keeping his mouth shut tight was the best policy. Whether Ahn Sang-Min's feelings were understood or not, Baek Yoon-Ho waved the report that had come up from the Second Management Division that morning.
"Is this what you're offering as an excuse? Other teams are quoting too high a bid price, so you can't make a reservation? Does our guild not have money? Or are the other parties backed by some chaebol family?"
At this moment, his mouth was truly itching to speak, but Ahn Sang-Min endured it with ironclad patience. He had an agreement with Jin-Woo.
'If I open my mouth now, the whole story about Yoo Jin-Ho and Sung Jin-Woo is going to spill out on its own.'
Oblivious to Ahn Sang-Min's burning insides, Baek Yoon-Ho shouted loud enough to rattle the entire office.
"I don't care if it's a hundred million or two hundred million—reserve the Gate no matter what! Do you understand?!"
Right then, Ahn Sang-Min's phone rang.
[Ah! Sorry I missed you earlier, I was meeting a friend so shy shy shy~♪]
A quick glance at the caller made Ahn Sang-Min's eyes widen.
"President, I need to take this call." "..."
The Second Management Division, whose primary responsibility was recruiting new Hunters, lived and died by timing. Ahn Sang-Min was the boss of that division. No matter how much of a mistake Ahn Sang-Min had made and how angry that had made him, stopping him from taking an incoming call would be stupid.
"What are you standing around for? Pick it up, quick."
Baek Yoon-Ho grudgingly granted permission. Ahn Sang-Min gave a slight bow to ask for his understanding, then hurriedly answered the phone.
"Yes. This is Ahn Sang-Min of the Baekho Guild."
While Ahn Sang-Min took the call, Baek Yoon-Ho stood in front of him with his arms crossed, waiting.
"Yes, yes. Understood. If you wait at the first-floor café, we'll come right away. Yes, then."
After hanging up, Ahn Sang-Min spoke as fast as a bullet.
"President, I think I need to step out for a moment."
If the ace of the Second Management Division, the one and only Section Chief Ahn Sang-Min, had to rush out on a phone call in the middle of such an uncomfortable situation... Baek Yoon-Ho's expression softened slightly.
"Is it a call related to recruiting a new Hunter?" "Yes."
From the confident look on Ahn Sang-Min's face, Baek Yoon-Ho sensed something was up.
'So even Section Chief Ahn is going out personally to scout a new recruit?'
That meant the other party was no ordinary talent. A smile crept onto Baek Yoon-Ho's face, which had been twisted in anger moments ago.
"We can't have our recruitment specialist blocked from doing his job. Don't worry about the work here—just go and come back."