.

-]|[-

“Alright, where’s that wise guy?” Miho was in a rare mood as they warped into Soohyun’s apartment.

“If you mean Jinwoo, he’s cooking up a storm.” Semi called out from her place on Soohyun’s couch. Miho froze and looked at them, wide-eyed, before she smiled. Semi smiled back at the returning group, “It’s been a while, girls!” She waved.

Soohyun beamed at the group, “I didn’t think you guys would have already been here!” She looked at their glasses, “And already hitting the booze, I see.” She smirked, “Was your Dungeon that fun?” She snarked.

“Ugh, don’t even.” Gina shuddered in place. “I don’t know what he meant by ‘Miho being a brat-’” Miho’s eyebrow twitched, “But thank you, Miho.”

“What happened?” The magenta-haired woman demanded.

“Oh, nothing much.” Bora muttered, “Just about two-thousand High Orcs.” Miho, Soohyun, Heejin, and Joohee all choked, and Miho even started to cough up a lung.

“Oh, and the Shaman who could probably beat the Guild Master at his own game.” Jiwoo chimed in. “But that’s no big deal right?”

“What the fuck?!” Miho rasped, “Why did they give THAT Dungeon to YOUR team?!” She gaped at them in shock. ‘Oh, holy fuck, I can’t even be mad at Jinwoo. Thank fucking god he was there!’

“As best as we’ve been able to figure out, the boss was probably keeping the mana levels lower than they should have been to lure whatever Hunters entered into a false sense of security.” Semi responded.

Heejin rushed over and hugged the two closest to her: Semi and Gina. “No one is hurt, right?”

Gina smiled, “Yeah, Jinwoo saved our butts.”

“Uhh, how bad are High Orcs?” Songyi sheepishly raised her hand. “We haven’t run into any yet.”

“Think Yetis except smarter than the Kobolds, capable of wielding weapons, and with the magical resistance of Inonoch.” Miho deadpanned, causing Songyi to cringe.

“Holy crap, and there were two thousand of them?!” Jinho gaped at the thought. “Damn, it’s a good thing boss was there…”

“Yeah.” Joohee sighed. She smirked playfully at Miho, “Maybe you should, hehehe, be a brat more often?” She teased her girlfriend.

“Don’t push your luck, Joohee.” Miho wagged a finger in her direction.

Soohyun started to speak, “Anyway, we just got out of a Dungeon ourselves, so we’re going to go freshen-” She trailed off as she finally internalized the fact that there was someone she didn’t actually know in person on one of her couches. “Wait, is that you, Miss Cha?” She gaped.

Haein was blushing slightly, “Um, hello, Miss Soohyun? I think?”

Miho was blinking, “Not that it’s not nice to meet you again, but…” She trailed off and tapped her nose.

Semi giggled, “Jinwoo made her a mask with one of the High Orcs.”

Soohyun grinned, “Oh, hell yes! Welcome to the party then!”

Haein smiled, “It’s… nice… to be able to actually participate in things again.” She replied bashfully.

Miho smirked, “I’ll bet it is. I always felt kind of bad after I learned about that mana sense of yours.” She shuddered, “It’s intense enough for me and my brother without it actively smelling that bad.”

“Anyway, make yourselves at home.” Joohee smiled at them, “We’ll be right back!” They went off. Soohyun had quite a few guest rooms and, therefore, a couple showers in her penthouse. She, Soohyun, and Miho shared the master, while Jinho, Heejin, and Songyi grabbed the last three.

Once they came out, Miho ran straight for the kitchen and almost knocked Jinwoo over. “Thank you for keeping them safe.” She said before aggressively kissing him. He didn’t even manage to get a word out.

“We were lucky.” Jinwoo breathed when they pulled back, “If I had gone with you instead…” He trailed off.

She shuddered against him, “I don’t even want to imagine it.”

Soohyun and Joohee joined their hug. “That was a good thing you did for Miss Cha.” Soohyun said, before smirking, “Maybe you are fishing to have her join our bed, hmm?” She murmured as low as she could, just in case Haein’s ears were sharp too.

Jinwoo rolled his eyes, “Minx.” She kissed him, followed by Joohee as well.

“What are we cooking?” Joohee smiled as she looked at the kitchen. “I see we had to break out the big pot again.” She looked at the giant pot of rice.

“Maybe I should just go buy like five more rice cookers.” Soohyun snickered at the idea. “Or even one of those commercial ones.”

They all shared a laugh as Joohee took over grilling some beef ribs and Miho started making some fried chicken. “Is Jinah coming?” Joohee asked as well.

“Yup. She’s on the train now.” Jinwoo replied. “It’s a good thing we were able to finish up quickly in that A-Rank.”

“I’m sure Jinho will be thrilled.” Miho smirked as Jinwoo twitched a little. “Don’t tell me you didn’t notice them making eyes at each other the last time we were all together.”

“Oh, I noticed.” Jinwoo muttered as the girls giggled, “And I can’t even give him the shovel talk because I already ‘lil’ bro’d’ him.” Miho burst out laughing and the rest followed.

“How many shadows do you have now?” Soohyun asked curiously once they subsided.

“Just over a thousand.” He smirked, “Also, I had an idea.” He took one of the ‘defective’ equipment pieces that he had made and handed it to Miho. “What do you think of selling gear to less fortunate Hunters?”

Her eyes went wide in response, “Woah, this was one of the defects, huh?” Getting a C-Rank item out of an A-Rank beast would definitely qualify it as ‘defective’ in her book. But that didn’t mean it was a garbage item. Just not something either of them would give to an A-Rank. “Are you thinking of-”

“Selling them cheap to E, D, and C-Rank Hunters?” Jinwoo finished the thought, “That’s exactly what I’m thinking about. Just imagine how much better my life would have been if I could have had that knife on my belt.”

Indeed, all of them could see the stats due to their System.

[Orc Dagger

+20 Attack

+10 Strength

+10 Agility]

It wasn’t even as good as Kasaka’s venom dagger… but just those tiny stat buffs would have put him closer to D-Rank rather than the absolute bottom of E-Rank.

“We’d have to do background checks.” Joohee said immediately. “None of us would want gear like this falling into the hands of someone like Hwang Dongsuk.”

“That’s what the Guild can be for.” Miho smirked, “The Hunters Guild is the one that operates the Auction. They could use some competition, right?”

“Hehe, looks like we’re going to be shaking quite a few things up.” Soohyun couldn’t wait for the chaos to start tomorrow.

Soon, the food was ready and they brought everything over with Soohyun’s powers. “Hope everyone is hungry!”

“Starving!” Jiwoo had already hit a bit too much of the booze and had a healthy flush on her cheeks.

“Well, help yourselves!” Soohyun beamed as she distributed plates and grabbed some more glasses with her powers. She also started filling up some glasses with liquor.

“Can I have some too?” Jinah asked, giving her big brother puppy-dog eyes.

“One glass.” Jinwoo said, floating it over to her as she yelped in glee. “Same for you, Songyi.”

“Ugh, I’m nineteen in two weeks. I can have more than-” Songyi wilted as they turned looks on her. “Fine.” She grumbled.

“Well.” Gina smirked as she raised her glass, “To our four new S-Ranks!”

Miho jerked a bit, “You told them?!” She glared at Jinwoo. “It was supposed to be a surprise!”

He laughed, “Oh, what’s the harm?” He raised his glass as well. “They already knew about me.”

Haein smirked a little, “You know, I think I’m going to quite enjoy not being the most tempting target for gawking.” She also raised her glass with a small smirk, “To you guys taking attention off me!” She and everyone else laughed at their expense.

“Ugh.” Miho grumbled before they all followed, “Geonbae!”

“Geonbae!” They all cheered and clacked their glasses together. Soohyun grinned and activated the entertainment system so that some music would play. They all started to enjoy dinner, with some of the more excitable members of the group (read: Songyi, Jinah, and Jiwoo) turning it into an impromptu karaoke night.

Miho wanted to hear all about the Dungeon they had just cleared, so the girls took turns regaling Jinwoo’s girlfriends and party members with their struggle against the beasts and his heroics.

“Seriously?” Songyi’s eyes were wide, “One of them almost broke your Captain’s shield with one spear? How freaking strong are they?”

“Yeah, it was super scary.” Semi admitted, “…I didn’t think I was going to make it until Jinwoo showed up…”

“High Orcs would definitely be the strongest enemies you’ve faced so far.” Miho told her, “Though you weren’t with us when we took care of the mammoths.”

“Is that what you were facing in the Red Gate?” Haein asked them. “It’s incredible you made it through, if that’s the case. I thought those were exclusively S-Rank beasts like the Russian S-Rank Gate.”

“We faced Frost Bears, Mammoths, Yetis, and Ice Elves in there.” Jinwoo told her.

Bora smirked a little, “Hey, maybe we would have been fine in that Gate without you. Clearly you guys have no luck at all.” Several of them sputtered at the joke from the quiet one of the group. They resumed eating and polished off their plates. As they filled up the dishwasher and rejoined everyone on the sofas, they were surprised to see Bora looking serious. The festive atmosphere had also dimmed a little.

“Did something happen?” Miho asked cautiously as they sat back down.

Bora sighed, “I… don’t mean to bring down the mood… but I have questions.” She said softly. “…The Double Dungeon.” She said and the four survivors straightened up. “All four of you were the only ones to survive it… and now all of you are S-Ranks. Extremely powerful S-Ranks, at that.” She looked over at her other old friend, “And Heejin here doesn’t feel like much of a B-Rank anymore either. Miss Songyi certainly isn’t an E-Rank… nor is Mister Jinho a D-Rank… One reawakening is already news. Four is impossible news. Seven?” She looked at them, “Something happened inside that temple, didn’t it?”

They looked at her for a moment before Miho sighed. “Damn, I knew you would figure something out, Bora.” She smiled softly, “You were always the smartest of us.” She teased her old friend.

Joohee giggled, “Something did happen in there.” She confirmed, “Probably both the best and worst days of our lives.”

“Is it something you can share, then?” Jiwoo asked curiously. She smirked, “Are we going to reawaken via having our butts saved?”

Jinwoo chuckled at her question, “No, nothing like that. Not unless our thing throws another curve ball at us.”

“So it’s something ongoing.” Haein sounded curious. “But not something you can share?”

“Well, not any more than we have already shared it.” Soohyun’s smile dropped. “And if we do tell you about it, it’s the biggest possible secret we have.” She mimed zipping her mouth shut and everyone nodded rapidly. “But if you want to know, I don’t think we mind.” She looked at her lovers for confirmation. None of them were against it.

“Uhm… should I be here?” Haein fidgeted. “You’re friends with them. I barely know you…”

“What do you girls think?” Miho asked, looking at her oldest friends.

“Miss Cha is amazing.” Gina said and Haein blushed a little, “And honest. If she promises not to share anything with anyone, she absolutely won’t.”

Haein nodded, “…This would be the first time since high school that I would have had any friends.” She said quietly. “I won’t betray your secret.”

“That’s good enough for me.” Miho, who had the best perception of the group at the moment, could sense she was being honest.

Jinwoo chuckled, “Alright then.” He grinned, “Though keep in mind, it’s completely unbelievable.”

“And by that he means ‘batshit insane.’” Soohyun said, causing everyone to start laughing once more. “And it goes like this…”

…

“That-” Gina gaped as they finished telling the girls about the Cartenon Temple and the System they had acquired for surviving it. None of their guests had dry eyes as the strawberry blonde yelled, “That is so BULLSHIT!”

Bora was massaging her temples, “Okay, if I had a million guesses as to what happened to you guys, I still wouldn’t have guessed the plot of a fiction novel.”

“So this stupid System just tries to kill you all, and it rewards you when it fails?!” Semi sounded completely aghast at the thought.

“That’s…” Jinwoo trailed off and made a wishy-washy motion, “Not… wrong, I suppose.”

Haein was pinching the bridge of her nose. “It’s the most ludicrous story I’ve ever heard.” She deadpanned, “And yet somehow, I believe every word. There’s nothing even remotely like Jinwoo’s powers… and I can feel that he feels stronger now than the first time I ran into him. The fact that he’s strong in every way is telling as well. He’s as physically powerful as I am, and yet the most appropriate class for him is Mage. It’s actually crazy.” She giggled a little.

“Oh, speaking of which!” Soohyun snapped her fingers, “Can you sniff us too?”

Haein’s face exploded with a blush, “Wh-What?!”

Miho rolled her eyes, “What the vixen means to say is we’re curious if it’s a Jinwoo thing or a System thing. There’s realistically no reason for Jinwoo to smell differently to you. The only things that set him apart is his role as the Shadow Monarch, which I personally would think should make his mana smell worse since it deals with the undead; and his status as a Player.”

“Um…” She was still quite red. “I can try, I guess? But the mask…”

“Just imagine it and pull it off.” Jinwoo told her.

She stood and walked over to them, before reaching for her face. The mask melted back into existence, and she pulled it off. She leaned forward and sniffed Miho hesitantly. She blushed, before turning to Soohyun. Her blush darkened. She then sniffed Joohee and made a strange noise. Smirks rose up all over the room.

And then she got to Songyi and recoiled, slapping the mask back onto her face. Songyi’s expression fell, “Is it really that bad?” She sounded a little hurt.

“S-Sorry.” Haein apologized profusely as her mask vanished. “J-Just, if you could smell it like I can, you would understand… It’s why I haven’t been close to anyone in years.”

“It’s okay.” Songyi pouted, “But that was even more than less than unhelpful.”

“Heh, Pirates of the Caribbean. Great movies.” Soohyun snickered.

“She’s right though. Was that because she’s not an original player, or because she hasn’t done her Job-Change quest?” Joohee wondered.

“Guess we’ll have to find out later.” Jinwoo said as Haein took her seat again. “But yeah, that’s our story.”

“You weren’t kidding when you said it was completely unbelievable.” Gina said with a groan, “And it sucks that you can only share it four times. Just think what would be possible if you could share it freely!”

Haein nodded, “It’s frustrating and raises more questions than answers.” She agreed, “Why can you level up when absolutely no one else can? Why can’t we grow stronger? Why did Gates start appearing at all?” She looked frustrated. “Why can’t we just get some answers?”

“Sorry. We don’t have those answers.” Joohee sighed, “I wish we did.”

Miho rubbed her chin. “Fuck it. No harm in trying.” She said, getting everyone’s attention. “Invite Myung Gina to Party.” Screens lit up in front of every Player. Their eyes widened. “Error. Party size limit has been reached. To invite more Players-” She sputtered and started to cackle like a maniac.

A smirk rose on Jinwoo’s face. “To invite more Players, enable Guild System.” The girls’ jaws dropped.

“Well, how about that.” Soohyun purred as she looked at Haein, Jiwoo, Bora, Gina, and Semi like prime cuts of beef.

“Wait!” Jiwoo frowned, “So the only way to have access is to abandon our team?” She frowned, “I… don’t know if I like that.”

“I can’t say I do either.” Bora sighed from her place beside the Fighter.

“Didn’t think of that.” Miho looked a little contrite. She shook her head and shot them a sad smile, “Well, the offer would be open, in any case. We’d love to have you.” She grinned, “It would even let us hang out more often.”

Gina sighed, “Tempting… but I’d feel pretty bad about leaving the group.” Semi nodded a little glumly. “Not saying I wouldn’t. This System seems too good to pass up, honestly.”

Heejin shrugged, “I’m not particularly attached to anyone at the White Tigers, so it’s an easy choice for me. I’ll be moving over as soon as they’re up and running.”

“Just to play Devil’s Advocate, they might not even need to leave their Guild.” Joohee chimed in, “It’s not like our Party System is anything really concrete, forcing us to be together all the time. It could be something only the System itself registers.”

“I suppose that’s possible.” Soohyun frowned, “But if that was the case, I’d expect us to be able to just do it now. We have to actually make our Guild…”

“I have a question.” Haein chimed in, “How effective is the System? You’re obviously all incredibly powerful, but I believe Soohyun and Joohee are Mage and Healer, respectively, while Jinwoo seems to be some odd sort of multi-class.”

“Broken.” Jinwoo said bluntly. “I don’t think you’ve quite realized how powerful it is.” He reached into his inventory and pulled out his very first Dao. “Hunter Cha, how would you rate this?” He asked after handing it to her.

“Hmm.” She examined the blade. “Not great. I’d say it’s a decent lower-C-Rank sword. Maybe four or five million Won? And you all can call me Haein, please.” Her cheeks pinked a little.

“That was literally the cheapest weapon in the Store when we got access to it.” Jinwoo said bluntly. “About five thousand gold, if memory serves. We weren’t even a quarter of the way through our very first Instanced Dungeon before I was able to buy it.” They all looked at him, wide-eyed. “So with that in mind, how would you rate this one?” He pulled out the Monarch’s Dao and handed it to her.

The second her hand closed around the hilt, Haein felt more powerful than she ever had in her entire life. Just the blade had her feeling stronger than she felt when in full equipment. She gaped at the blade. “Like my sword is a toy.”

“I got that for free as a quest reward.” Jinwoo was as blunt as ever and she almost dropped it in shock. “And then I bought its paired twin with the gold I had.” He summoned the Fallen Ruler’s Dao and handed it to her. The most intense aura Haein had ever produced exploded from her.

“That’s bullshit.” Jiwoo said in total awe as Haein handed the weapons back to Jinwoo. Her hands were trembling just a little as she relaxed on the sofa.

“Oh, that’s not all.” Miho smirked, “Show Gina the Orb, Jinwoo.”

“What orb?” Gina asked, looking more than a little eager. She then looked at the Orb in question in confusion once Jinwoo plopped it into her hand. “It’s big! And it feels weird. What does it do?”

“Take a wild guess.” Joohee giggled.

“Well, you gave it to Gina, so it must be a Mage item.” Haein said, still shaken from what she had just learned. “Hmm, if I had to guess, it must increase her magic’s strength, right? Guildmaster Choi’s rings strengthen his fire magic by fifteen-percent each.”

“Oh, so that’s why he’s always wearing those gaudy rings.” Heejin muttered.

Everyone giggled for a moment, “How much did they cost?” Jinah chimed in, having just been watching silently (and slightly jealously.)

“Well, they were each made from the corpses of S-Rank beasts.” Haein said, “As well as Fire-Attuned Mana Crystals found inside an S-Rank Dungeon. I don’t know the exact number, but if I had to guess, a couple billion Won each.” Jinah’s jaw dropped. “He has eight of them now, so it gives him a hundred-twenty percent boost in power for probably fifty-billion Won or so?”

“THAT’S NUTS!” Jinah and Songyi yelped.

“That’s S-Rank gear for you.” Semi giggled. “None of us have any S-Rank gear.” She held out her hand and showed them the single ring on her finger. “I’m nowhere near as rich as that, so this is the only one I’ve been able to afford. This A-Rank ring improves my healing proficiency by ten percent. Rings for healing are more potent than ones for damage, so a comparable S-Rank ring would give me about a twenty percent boost.”

“And I can’t help but notice-” Bora drawled, “That none of you look impressed.” She swallowed a little heavily. “What does that Orb do?”

“A hundred percent boost to any type of magic.” Jinwoo smirked as the Orb rolled out of Gina’s suddenly-limp fingers. It vanished back into his Inventory with a mental command.

“A-A hundred percent?!” Haein asked shrilly as all of them gaped at the group. “Jinwoo, people would literally kill to get their hands on something like that. G-Guildmaster Choi could probably become a National-Rank Hunter with that!”

“And he got it by killing a single mid-level boss in his personal S-Rank Instanced Dungeon.” Soohyun gleefully threw gas into the fire.

Joohee giggled a little at the thunderstruck look on their faces. “Oh, and you said I was a pure Healer, didn’t you, Haein?” She giggled a little more and stood up. She gestured for Jiwoo to stand as well, “Hit me, Jiwoo.”

“What?” Jiwoo balked, “Why?”

“Just do it. As hard as you can.” Joohee still had a kind smile on her face.

“B-but, are you sure? I-I may not have my gear, but I still cut a High Orc in half with a punch…” Jiwoo looked at her and then the other four dubiously. She hesitantly raised her fists when Joohee confirmed that she wanted her to swing for the fences. Jiwoo hesitated for a few moments longer, before grunting and giving Joohee a straight jab.

Joohee held up a single finger and caught her fist.

“What?” Semi stood up in shock. “That’s impossible!”

“I’m not a Healer.” Joohee was still smiling, “I’m a Cleric. And more, besides.” She sighed and summoned her mace for them to look at. “All four of us can solo Dungeons like Jinwoo did for you guys. Of us four, Miho is the only one who would currently need any help, and that’s only because she has nothing in her skillset to handle the mining and hauling. Before I got the System, I was so scared of fighting and going into Dungeons that I stuck to E and D-Rank Gates despite being a B-Rank. And even after getting the System, I still wanted to quit Hunting because of how awful the Cartenon Temple was.” She sat down and shook her head, “But the System frankly doesn’t care. It’ll make you strong, whether you want to be or not. It gave me weapons and pushed me to fight and to stand on my own two feet. I can barely recognize the girl I used to be.”

Soohyun threw an arm around her shoulder and pecked her on the cheek. “Physically, I’m the weakest in the group except for Heejin. But either one of us could punch an A-Rank mob across a room if we needed to. Each of our stats gets boosted by one every time we level up, and we get three points per day just for exercising.” She smirked, “Haein is probably a much higher level than all of us, but if she acquired the System, she would probably find herself trailing us in stats. That’s the real power of the System.”

“That’s intense…” Gina’s hand trembled a bit as she filled her cup. ‘And tempting. So tempting…’

“There’s no need to commit to anything now.” Jinwoo said reasonably. “We don’t know the details and probably won’t know them for at least a couple days.” He raised his glass, “I say we just go back to enjoying our night.”

“I’ll toast to that!” Gina laughed before downing the rest of her drink. “But before we get off that topic, I have to know because something tells me it has something to do with this System of yours.” She smirked at her old friend. “How exactly were you being a brat, Miho? Fess up!”

Miho rolled her eyes as Joohee and Soohyun began to laugh. Heejin was the one who answered, “She was pissed Jinwoo was a higher level than them, so she banned him from their ‘waiting for reassessment’ raids so they could catch up.”

Jiwoo, Haein, and even the normally stoic Bora snorted into their drinks, sputtering all over themselves and beginning to cough uncontrollably. Everyone else burst into laughter.

-]|[-

Slowly, the party wound down. Everyone had a lot to think about (and at that point, several of the girls were quite drunk) so Soohyun quickly flashed everyone home. Once they were alone in her bedroom, she smirked, “So, I’m pretty sure Haein, Gina, and Semi are crushing hard on you, mister.” She poked Jinwoo’s chest.

He rubbed the back of his head. “…Is that going to be a problem? I wasn’t exactly trying to do that…”

“Not like they’re the only ones.” Joohee uncharacteristically snarked as she slipped off her cocktail dress. “I’m pretty sure Songyi wants you for her birthday.” Jinwoo bit back a cough.

“And Heejin is just being shy.” Soohyun giggled.

“I suppose that just leaves the question of whether we’re okay with getting some bigger beds.” Miho chuckled, “Me and Gina even fooled around back in high school.” She admitted, “So I wouldn’t be against it.”

“I love you girls.” Jinwoo said softly. “I absolutely don’t want to ruin what we have.”

“We love you too.” Soohyun embraced him and kissed him gently. “Unless Joohee has anything against it, I’m fine with ‘what happens, happens.’”

Jinwoo grumbled, “What is this, How I Died in a Hellish Temple and Woke Up as a Harem Protagonist?”

Miho and Joohee almost fell over laughing. Soohyun had to hold herself up using his neck and shoulders.

“Not a harem! They’d be our girlfriends too!” Miho chimed in.

“Mhm. We’re a package deal.” Joohee agreed as she pulled Jinwoo and Soohyun into bed. “As long as we’re all aware and in agreement of that…” She snuggled into his left side. A smirk rose on her face. “Not like you don’t wear us all out every night anyway.”

Miho grumbled from his right side, “One of these days, it’ll be me winning!”

Jinwoo gripped her ass before delivering a sharp spank that had her moaning. “In your dreams…” His lips quivered, “Brat.”

None of them got any sleep that night.

-]|[-

Dozens of reporters were lining up cameras and doing their mic checks. In a large van parked off to the side, a smug-looking man with messy black hair was smirking. “Looks like we’ve got a pretty big turnout. Not that I expected anything less.”

“Here.” The slightly unkept-looking man next to him handed him a paper. “It’s tomorrow’s headline. What do you think, Minsung?”

“‘Lee Minsung, the man who has it all, will soon possess superhuman powers.’ A bit cheesy, but I don’t hate it.” He chuckled indulgently.

In the parking lot, three cars arrived at almost the same time. The reporters all looked over in confusion before they lit up in excitement as Baek Yoonho, Choi Jongin, and Cha Haein exited their vehicles. Yoonho looked confused, “What the hell are all these reporters doing here?” He asked in confusion. “What’s with all the fuss?”

The reporters and their cameramen wasted no time. “Have you come to the Hunter's Association to recruit Mr. Lee Minsung? Do you think Mr. Lee will retire from show business?!” On and on and on they went, with Yoonho just looking confused. He wasn’t a movie buff and definitely didn’t pay attention to tabloids.

“I’m not here because of him. I have nothing to say.” He said harshly.

Jongin was more personable, “Mr. Lee has already been contracted by the Fiend Guild. It’s common knowledge among industry people.” The reporters all drooped at the lack of a scoop. “We’re all here for something different.”

Haein sighed, “I have no opinion on Mr. Lee, nor any interest in his evaluation. I’m also here for a different reason.” She spoke softly as the three S-Ranks started making their way to the building.

“I’m surprised to see you here, Miss Cha.” Jongin commented. “And without your handkerchief, even.”

“Our new friend from last night had something to help me with it.” Haein smiled at her Guildmaster. “Though I’m sure you read the report.”

“I did indeed.” Jongin sighed, “What incredible luck…”

“So, it’s true then. Your Guild also had a close call, huh?”

“Yes, though we didn’t lose an A-Rank rookie like the White Tiger Guild did.” Jongin riposted calmly.

Yoonho immediately got pissed off as Haein closed her eyes and shook her head. “Why can’t you two just get along?”

Yoonho’s irritation vanished. “I suppose I shouldn’t really get mad. I would have released that idiot if he had survived anyway.” He should maybe even consider promoting Ahn and his team over Joo.

“Ah, I’ve been forced to do that once or twice.” Jongin said flatly. “At this point, I’ve started considering arrogance and self-centeredness as our Guild’s biggest red flags when recruiting.” He side-eyed his fellow S-Rank, “So you’ve given up entirely on recruiting any of them?”

“There’s no point. They have a plan, and if there’s one thing my sister is, it’s a stubborn bitch.” He chuckled, “Should have known demoting them like that would have made her want to beat the hell out of me, but who could have predicted they’d go from A to E to this.”

Haein kept her mouth shut. Thankfully, someone else spoke up. “Choi Jongin, Baek Yoonho, and Cha Haein?” Lim Taegyu walked up to them. “What’s up, big shots? You’re not here to try to woo Minsung, are you?”

“Who the hell cares about this Minsung?” Yoonho grumbled. “I don’t even know who this guy is.”

Haein giggled, “Not a movie fan, I take it?”

“I like movies fine.” Yoonho said as the door opened and they went in, “But I don’t get this damn Hero worship for the actors.” The doors closed behind them, leaving Taegyu standing there in confusion.

And in his van, Minsung was getting the entirely wrong idea. “Three more S-Ranks showed up? I can’t believe all the country’s best are fighting over me.” He smirked, “As they should.” He laughed to himself arrogantly.

…

“Why the hell are there so many people here?” Jinwoo asked as he, Miho, Soohyun, and Joohee arrived for their appointment.

“Did the press catch wind of what’s going on?” Miho asked quietly. They hadn’t crossed the street yet, so none of the reporters were looking their way.

“How are we going to get in with this mess?” Joohee tried to stand on her tip-toes to see what was going on.

“Let me see.” Soohyun floated up and looked at the entrance. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me.” She grumbled as she landed, “Why is that cunt here?”

Their eyes all widened, “What? Who is it?” And what had they done to earn her enmity?

“Fucking Lee Minsung.” Soohyun swore.

“The actor?” Joohee asked curiously, “Why do you dislike him so much?”

“Because I’ve worked with the sleezeball and he will not stop hitting on me every time we film together.” She growled out. “I’ve told him I’m not interested so many times but in his mind, he’s fucking god’s gift to man.”

“Ugh.” Miho groaned, “So like Kim Chul?”

“YES! Except with sexual harassment instead of Hunting!” Soohyun glared at the reporters.

“No one will miss the guy, right?” Jinwoo’s eyebrow twitched as he started summoning his Dao.

“Down boy.” Joohee had an amused smile on her face as she grabbed his wrist. “Let’s just go.” She started to walk forward.

And immediately annoyed the hell out of the reporters as they just started pushing them out of the way so they could get through the throng. Up ahead, Minsung was reveling in the attention. ‘How gullible can they get? I’ve got my A-Rank already. My contract with the Fiend Guild is for two years only. More than enough time for people to forget about my scandals and mandatory military service. And after, I’ll be an A-Rank Hunter who acts.’ He had his eyes closed and passionately held a fist in front of his chest. “No matter what rank I receive, I’m prepared to put my life on the line-”

“Hey, what the hell do you four think you’re doing?!” His bodyguard raised his hand to halt a group of four who had walked through the reporters while Minsung wasn’t paying attention. “Don’t you see all these reporters?! You’re in the way! Buzz off!”

“We have an appointment, so you’re in the way.” Soohyun barked.

“Hey, I recognize that voice!” Minsung put on his ‘suave’ grin, “How are you doing, bab-”

“Fuck off, Lee.” Soohyun glared at him. Minsung instantly felt a heavy chill go down his spine as she pressed some of her aura on him. To his right and behind, Taegyu choked. “I told you not to refer to me familiarly.” She hissed at him. She then raised a finger and the bodyguard glowed and yelped before lifting off his feet. She gently set him aside as the group ascended the stairs. The doors opened, only it was someone exiting rather than because they got close enough. “Chairman Go!”

The reporters all started to murmur as Gunhee walked out. “I seem to recall asking you to refrain from holding a press conference at this hour, Lee Minsung.” He said without glancing at the man.

“Uhm, but…” Minsung stammered, completely shaken from the experience. “I’m trying to distract from my…”

“Right this way, Hunters Sung, Baek, Lee, and Yoo.” Gunhee ignored him entirely. The group entered without further hassle.

‘What do I do now? How do I get the spotlight back on me?’ Minsung sweated a bit. After a moment, he smiled at the reporters, “I’ll be right back. I just need to confirm the schedule with the Association.” He turned around. ‘I’ll just skip ahead and get started with the evaluation.’ Only his entrance was barred by Jinchul and several other agents. “Now what?!”

Jinchul had no sympathy for him and had sensed Soohyun’s agitated aura. “This is why Chairman Go requested you hold your little press conference later in the day.” He said calmly. “Other Hunters are getting evaluated now, and entry will be barred for several hours.”

“HOURS?!” Minsung gasped, “But my evaluation is in thirty minutes! I have to go in now!”

“A matter of higher priority has arisen.” Jinchul said uncaringly. “The schedule has been altered. Pray it isn’t altered further.”

Minsung’s teeth ground. He leaned in and whispered, “Don’t you know who I am?! I’m Lee Minsung! Yoojin Construction is the Hunter Association’s biggest sponsor! My father is the vice president of Yoojin Construction! Are you sure you want to humiliate me like this in front of all these cameras?! Are you sure you can handle the consequences?!”

“Yes.” Jinchul replied bluntly.

“What the hell is so special about those Hunters?!” Minsung exploded.

“If I tell you,” Jinchul took off his sunglasses, allowing his glowing eyes to intimidate the younger man, “Will you be able to handle the consequences, Mr. Lee?”

-]|[-

Miho smirked, “Sup, bro.” She fist bumped Yoonho. “Ready to get shown up by your little sister?”

“Ready to see just how big of a brat you are, maybe.” Yoonho rolled his eyes.

“Hello, everyone.” Haein smiled at them. “Hope you don’t mind the extra attention.”

“We weren’t exactly counting on a horde of reporters being here before we even started.” Soohyun grumbled, “Fucking Lee Minsung.”

“I do apologize for that.” Gunhee said, somewhat contritely, “A bit of an unfortunate scheduling conflict. In all the excitement, it slipped everyone’s minds that he was scheduled for today until early this morning.”

“It happens.” Joohee shook her head in amusement.

“Please just ensure that all of our private information stays private.” Jinwoo asked the man. “I definitely don’t want Jinah getting harassed by paparazzi outside our home or getting to school late because of any reporters.”

“Consider it done, Hunter Sung. Only your Hunter profiles will be made public. Any private information will be scrubbed.” Gunhee told him. “This way, please.”

“Will we all be evaluated at once, like we were three days ago?” Joohee asked curiously.

“If you wish.” Gunhee said, “It might even be helpful to do so, from what I know.”

“If you three want to watch, feel free.” Miho called out to the three official S-Ranks. Haein didn’t hesitate for a moment to follow. Yoonho and Jongin did as well, and the group was sealed within a cavernous room.

A man was standing there with a clipboard, and Gunhee walked to stand beside him. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hunters Sung, Lee, Baek, and Yoo.” The man greeted them. Once they returned it, he spoke once more, “Before we begin with the re-evaluation, we will check your skill sets in order to categorize you into your classes. What skills are you capable of using?”

“Well, that’s the thing.” Miho was the one who spoke, “All four of us could fall into multiple different classes.”

“Really?” He looked intrigued, “How so?”

“Watch.” Jinwoo said, before he and Miho vanished. The Association man gaped as they moved at high speed across the area, their fists causing shockwaves every time they hit.

“My word!” The man gasped, “You two move even faster than Hunter Baek!”

Indeed, they were. Yoonho’s unblinking golden eyes were delivering the information, but he could scarcely believe them. ‘I knew they were strong, but how are they this strong?!’

Jongin chuckled as he wiped away some sweat. “I can’t even keep track of them. How is this possible?” He asked in consternation as he looked at some of the small fissures they’d left in the ground from their clashes.

When they landed, not even breathing hard, the man was ecstatic, “Utterly amazing! You two must stand at the pinnacle of Fighters!”

“And that’s exactly the thing.” Miho sighed before walking to the side and utilizing a Draconic Breath with the fire element. Jongin choked as he felt the sheer power of that attack. It was definitely stronger than anything he could output. The man was gaping at the sight once she took a breath. “And then, of course-” Her body seemed to pulse as she grew in height slightly, transforming into her Draconic Form. “I assure you I don’t exactly need a shield to be a Tank like this.” She threw him a fanged smirk as she flapped and lifted into the air.

“You’ve got to be kidding me! She can fly now too?!” Her brother cursed. Haein patted his shoulder with an amused smirk on her face.

Gunhee laughed, “How interesting. I recall Thomas Andre has a similar ability. Does that mean you all can transform as well?” He asked the other three as Miho transformed back.

“Just me. For now, at least.” Joohee stepped forward and transformed into her archangel form.

Haein gasped, “How beautiful…” She breathed. It was a sentiment echoed around the room.

Joohee smiled bashfully, “If you want to class me into anything, it would be as a Healer. But I’m more of a Cleric than anything.” She said before raising her morningstar and unleashing a Ray of Light that burned a furrow right next to the one Miho had left. She didn’t let it linger long so as not to burn through the back wall.

“I see why you all were confused as to what class you would get.” The bespectacled worker rubbed his chin. “What about you, Hunter Sung?” Jinwoo summoned all of his Elites and several of the weaker shadows. Instantly, Jongin and Yoonho felt their knees weaken over the sheer amount of power he was exuding. “S-Summons! But there are so many!”

“No there aren’t.” Jinwoo said bluntly, “I can summon about a thousand of them now.”

“A-A THOUSAND?!” He screeched, “How can that be possible?!”

Jongin almost wobbled over, “I hate to interrupt, but I have to agree. I couldn’t believe my ears when Son Kihoon informed me of what happened last night. How can you possibly summon this many, Hunter Sung?”

Jinwoo chuckled, “I need to keep some secrets, don’t I?” He asked with an amused smirk at the redhead. Haein was forced to hide a smile. She knew the secret and wasn’t about to spill the beans.

“Ugh…” Jongin wasn’t too happy about that but would be forced to accept it.

Gunhee chuckled, “I suppose the mechanics don’t matter as much as the skill itself.” He turned to Soohyun, “You’ve been quiet over there, Miss Yoo. How about you?”

Soohyun giggled, “Well, that’s because of the four of us, I’m the only one that can be conclusively sorted. I am a Mage.” She said as she warped behind the two with a flash. “And my powers control gravity and the fabric of spacetime. I suppose you could call me a Spatial Mage.” She raised a hand as they whirled around. She swiped her hand and a deep rent appeared in the floor of the testing area. “My other spells are definitely too destructive to try in here.” She said, “And while I am a Mage,” She made a fist, “I could definitely still punch out most B-Ranks.”

“Utterly incredible…” The bespectacled man could only breathe in astonishment. “I see the conundrum, but for simplicity’s sake, I believe we’ll still class you normally.” He looked at Jinwoo, “While your physical abilities are astonishing, we cannot class you as anything other than a Mage with a skill like that. Miss Lee is a bit tougher, but as healing is her primary use of her skills and she is already classed as a Healer, we will keep her like that. Likewise with you, Miss Baek. Your elemental attacks are supplements to your physical abilities, and so you shall remain a Fighter. And Miss Yoo is the easiest of all. We’ll just keep you a Mage, ma’am.”

“Sounds good to us!” Soohyun giggled, “So, where to from here?”

And so began the testing to finally re-assess them.

-]|[-

Jinwoo felt an odd sense of pride as he looked at his new S-Rank ID. He and the girls walked out of the room where they had printed the new cards. Once they did so, they heard clapping. They looked up and smiled upon seeing Haein, Jongin, and Yoonho clapping.

The orange-haired man was smirking, “Oddly simple, wasn’t it?”

Miho snorted, “And here I was, thinking we’d have to wrestle captured Ice Bears.”

All three established S-Ranks snorted before Yoonho and her lovers burst out laughing, “You remembered that?!” Yoonho managed to get out.

“Just now.” Miho joined them in laughing. “Reporters still out there?”

“Yes.” Haein sighed, “We’ve got a back entrance if you want to avoid them.” She tapped her right ear, “They’ve clearly been given the news if the clamor I’m hearing is any indication.”

“Ugh.” Jinwoo groaned, “I wanted to head to the Auction House.” They grimaced. They all knew how eager he was to get back inside the Demon’s Castle.

“We’ll have plenty of time.” Joohee patted his arm.

“Hmm, might as well deal with the Guild details now then.” Soohyun muttered, “Give them some time to convince everyone we’ve left.”

“Sure you don’t want to just join the Hunters?” Jongin gave it one last shot. “Would certainly save you the paperwork.” He offered them a slightly cheesy grin.

“Ha!” Miho laughed.

“No thank you, Mr. Choi.” Joohee said diplomatically, smiling back at the man.

He chuckled in response, “Didn’t think so. I’m fairly certain President Baek here would try to fight me if you changed your mind.”

“Damn right.” Yoonho grumbled. “So, what are you calling this Guild of yours?”

Jinwoo smirked, “The Apex Guild.”

-]|[-

It only took an hour to get everything together. To his shock, Miho had given him the position of Guildmaster. He had expected her to take the job due to her prior experience. Her soft assertion that he deserved it hit him right in the heart.

The two had to be excused for a few minutes and came back with messed up hair. Everyone they weren’t currently in bed with dutifully ignored it, though Yoonho was ineffectually giving Jinwoo the eye.

As soon as they were finished and Gunhee gave them the final approvals, the System also confirmed their act.

[Apex Guild creation certified.

Guild Hunters 04/20

Employees will not be counted against the maximum total of members.]

So, it was true. They would have a maximum of twenty members, though they really doubted that they’d fill that many. It also counted all four of them, so obviously it was at least connected to the real-life Guild System. ‘Looks like they’d have to leave their Guilds after all.’ Miho thought to herself. ‘Interesting. Looks like Kasaka and Chief’s Dungeons could be rerun. Our S-Rank Dungeons will be added once we finish them.’

Jinwoo smiled and shook Gunhee’s hand, “Thank you for getting this set up so quickly, Chairman.”

Gunhee smiled at him, “I merely await what wonders your Guild will accomplish, Guildmaster Sung.” He looked outside, “Though it appears the reporters are still clamoring. I’m afraid you’ll have to leave through the back.”

With that, they said their goodbyes. “I’m afraid I must leave you as well.” Jongin commented, “We’re still working through all the paperwork and consequences of last night’s disaster. Hunter Cha?”

“I’ll be accompanying them to the Auction.” Haein told him. “I was only a late witness to the raid, so I wouldn’t be able to tell you anything the others wouldn’t.”

“I suppose that makes sense.” Jongin commented, “Very well. Enjoy the rest of your day, ladies, gentlemen.” He walked off.

“Is this when I get to treat you all?” Yoonho smiled, “There’s quite the good restaurant we haven’t been able to visit in quite some time, Miho.”

She shook her head. “Sorry Yoonho, but if we have an actual celebration, it’ll have to be next week at the earliest.” She idly cracked her knuckles, “All of us have some unfinished business we want to take care of. And the earlier the better.”

He sighed, “And will you come back even stronger than today?” He raised an eyebrow. Haein had to hide her surprise. Yoonho didn’t have the details behind the System?

“You know it.” Miho smirked at him. “Next time you see us, we’ll be as strong as the National-Ranks.” His eyes widened in shock.

“…” He closed his eyes and sighed, “I better at least get the details out of you, then.” He pulled her into a hug. “I know you’re stronger than me now, but Mom and Pop will have my hide when I go if you don’t stay safe. So just be careful.”

Miho smiled, “They’d be proud of you, Yoonho.” She felt him flinch slightly against her.

“I’ll see you next week then.” He said a little hoarsely, leaving them alone with Haein.

Jinwoo looked at the blonde apologetically, “Sorry, Haein, looks like you will have to leave the Hunters if you want access.”

Haein sighed, “I’m not surprised.” She looked at the ground for a moment as they began to walk, “I don’t know if that’s a step I’m willing to take. At least right now. I’ll need to do a lot of thinking…”

“Don’t feel pressured.” Joohee said, side-hugging the woman. “We’re friends now. We won’t turn you away if you decide to stay with the Hunters. And we’d welcome you with open arms if you decided to join. Now, later, doesn’t matter.”

Haein gave her a content smile, “Thank you, Joohee.” She smiled at them, “Shall we take my car to the Auction?”

“Heh, no need.” Soohyun grabbed her hand, and the group vanished from the Association HQ.

-]|[-

In America, an S-Rank Hunter was absolutely grinding his teeth. After being called away from Korea, Hwang Dongsoo was instructed to meet with a man who claimed to be a Korean Hunter who had gotten trapped inside a Gate ten years prior. Dongsoo thought the request was nonsense and had seethed all the way home, especially since they guy apparently spoke English just fine!

Only to arrive and discover that the man in question was Sung Ilhwan. Sung Jinwoo’s father. Dongsoo hadn’t been able to believe his luck and had instantly declared to the Association that Ilhwan was a Magic Beast. That gave him all the justification he needed to start his revenge on Sung Jinwoo by killing his father.

Only Sung Ilhwan all but put him in the ground before telling him to never set foot in Korea again, for ‘You will never rest in peace, even in death.’

Those words had haunted Dongsoo since he had woken up in the hospital. He was still in the hospital now and had been absolutely itching to get out so he could go buy the most powerful artefacts he could get his hands on. He wanted to find that bastard and shove his smug head up his own ass.

But now? “Sung Jinwoo.” His teeth were nearly cracking under the force of the announcements he had just seen on the news.

Korea announces four new S-Ranks in one day! Introducing Baek Miho, Lee Joohee, Yoo Soohyun, and Sung Jinwoo!

Korea’s four new S-Ranks announce the formation of a new Guild! Introducing the Apex Guild!

-]|[-

“Welcome, brave Hunters.” The man speaking was dressed in an exquisite suit, had slicked back, perfectly coifed hair, and even a very tiny pair of glasses that barely cleared his nose. None of them could figure out what use there was for such tiny spectacles. “Allow me to congratulate you on the news!”

“Thank you.” Miho said pleasantly enough. “We’re here to look for artefacts. Jinwoo here has the most pressing needs, so let’s take care of him first.”

“Of course! What are your needs, Master Sung?” The man asked.

“I’m looking for protection from fire, heat and extreme weather.” Jinwoo told him. “The temperature inside can make Death Valley look balmy, but I’ve seen freak storms as well. I hope they’re not too rare. I couldn’t find any online.”

“I see!” The man waved them over to one of the displays. “It is not surprising you found none online. Artefacts with elemental resistances tend to be pricy, so they generally don’t show up in online auctions. This may be what you’re looking for then, Master Sung.” He waved his hand at a cloak and a ring. “This Windrider Cloak produces a cooling breeze that deflects heat. I’m told that similar items have even been able to deflect bolts of lightning, though this item has not been tested against that.” He then indicated the ring, “And this ring had been imbued with the water element. It should help cool you even further and keep flames away.”

“Those should be perfect.” Jinwoo said, “How much are they?” Behind him, Haein and Miho smirked in amusement. The man showed Jinwoo the price and he choked. The girls all started to giggle as he asked for a discount.

The man let out an indulgent chuckle, “The prices are what the prices are, I’m afraid.” He smiled at Jinwoo, “Though if you’re able to break this magically-reinforced glass, I can offer them to you for free. They’re rated to withstand blows from even A-Rank Fighters.”

“He’s kidding, Jinwoo.” Haein said immediately. Jinwoo looked disappointed as he relaxed his fist. She chided the manager, “Don’t do that. He’d believe you.”

“And he’d definitely succeed in breaking it too.” Soohyun giggled.

He swallowed, “M-My apologies. It was in poor taste.” He stammered for a moment.

“Anyway, now that we know what he needs to buy, let’s have Joohee go next.” Miho said.

“Y-yes, of course. What can we find for you, Mistress Lee?”

“Anti-Holy relics.” Joohee told him. “And anything that can help me see through illusions.”

“I see. That’s a much tougher request.” He frowned, “Let me see if I have anything…”

And with that, they went off throughout the auction, browsing the wares on display.

…

After everyone had found at least one item that could maybe help them out, they went off to the weapons section of the store to sell some store items. Jinwoo especially was flabbergasted to see just how powerful the store truly was.

If your goal was to get rich, at any rate.

‘Are you kidding me? This thing is barely better than Kasaka’s spear. It only costs a couple million gold!’

And yet the return on investment was more than enough to cover his purchases. The girls, who were mostly hoarding their gold and even still had free items from their S-Rank Dungeon rewards, probably would have been able to bankrupt the Auction House.

“I don’t get it.” He said once they left and warped over to Miho’s penthouse. “The best sword they had was barely better than my last set of swords, and just one of them cost ten billion. How is the quality of available gear still so poor?”

“It may have been ten years since Gates first started appearing, but that means it was only ten years for all the craftsmen to actually learn how to work with the materials.” Haein told him. “Blacksmiths aren’t exactly a dime a dozen in this day and age, as the Americans would say. We’ve transitioned to making items they would have made via machines. Most craftsmen before Gates showed up were hobbyists and makers who catered to those wanting custom pieces. So there were few of them to begin with, and then they had to learn how to work with monster corpses.”

“She’s right.” Miho chuckled, “The very first smiths who tried to work with monster parts to make weapons and armor ended up breaking all their materials.” She smirked, “I heard one even lit his whole workshop on fire. Carapaces don’t exactly work like steel.”

Jinwoo scratched the back of his head, “Man, that just makes me wish at least some Hunters awoke with supplementary skills instead. If some of these E-Ranks and D-Ranks had crafting skills instead of mediocre fighting skills…”

“Yeah, that would be something.” Joohee agreed with an amused smirk on her face. “Maybe they should have given me a hammer instead of a mace.”

Everyone laughed. Soohyun had that catty smirk on her face, “Well, we have a crafter now. It’s time for a shakeup, don’t you think?”

Haein sighed, “What have I gotten myself into?” She giggled, “Well, more Hunters being safe in the Dungeon can never be a bad thing.”

…

Jinwoo had returned home. “Hey.” he greeted his sister.

“Jinwoo.” She got up and hugged him. “Ugh, you should have seen the girls at school. They absolutely swarmed me and Songyi.” She grumbled, “They started inviting me to all sorts of parties and events and asking me to bring you too.”

Jinwoo chuckled, “It’s a good thing Soohyun was there. If I had been alone, I probably would have run into all those reporters like a doofus.”

Jinah started to cackle, “Speaking of which!” She had to fight to get her giggles under control. “You guys totally showed up Lee Minsung! Everyone totally forgot about him.”

“Good.” Jinwoo smiled viciously.

“Eh?”

“He hit on Soohyun.” He said and she smirked. “Every chance he got, apparently. She almost made him piss himself today.”

“Oh jeez, I didn’t know he was an asshole.” She winced.

“More than one, according to her. She hates his guts.” Jinwoo told her. “Anyway…” He said as her shadow began to bubble.

She squeaked and jumped away as the Knight rose from her shadow. “I forgot that he was there!”

“Told you, you would.” Jinwoo chuckled as he absorbed the Knight. “These guys are much stronger.” He said as Kargalgan’s four strongest warriors rose. He pointed to the one covered in black, shadowy armor. “You’re in charge. Keep her safe.”

“Aren’t they better off with you?” Jinah asked as the red shadows melted into hers.

“I have a thousand of them now. I promise I won’t miss them.” Jinwoo replied, “I’ll feel much better knowing you’re safe.”

“Fiiiiine.” She sighed before smirking. She pointed at her shadow, “But if they’re mine, then I’m naming them Eenie, Meenie, Miney, and Mo.”

Jinwoo groaned.

-]|[-

Jinwoo walked into the Demon’s Tower with a smirk. He equipped his new Windrider Cloak and water ring. He looked pretty badass, at least if the girls were to be believed. “This time.” He swore as he looked at the burning castle. “This time, you fall.” He promised.

[Quest Alert!]

He smirked, “Let’s see what goodies this tower will have for me this time.” Jinwoo said as the next screen appeared.

[Regular Quest: Collect the Demons’ Souls. (2)

The Demon King, “Baran,” resides at the top floor of the Demons’ Castle. Defeat Baran and collect his soul.

Rewards:

1. Top-tier Rune Stone

2. Bonus Stats +30

3. Undisclosed Reward]

He let out a whistle. “The rewards are even better than last time.” He said as he requested more information on the Rune Stone. “A Job-Specific skill, huh? Excellent.” All Job-Skills were amazing. He couldn’t wait to see what this next one would be.

The pillar of light into the sky was available and he stepped in. “Seventy-Six.” He said, before warping all the way up to where he had left off. He breathed a sigh of relief. “Looks like the artefacts are working. It’s nice and cool.”

Heavy footsteps began to shake the ground. He looked around and saw a rather creepy-looking demon. It had a very strange face and a white, gangly body, with oversized limbs and cloven hooves for feet. “Time to earn your rent.” He said as he tossed the Orb of Avarice up.

It landed in Tusk’s hand and started to enlarge as the High Orc Shaman turned into a giant matching the white demon in size. As Tusk stood tall, the demon roared. It was loud enough to blow several of the remaining glass windows out on the burning skyscrapers flanking them.

Tusk didn’t make a sound. Instead, the Orb began to glow. A giant ball of flame appeared above his head as Tusk’s hood turned into a dragon’s maw. The ball compressed into blue flames that shot unstoppably at the demon’s face.

It was so bright Jinwoo had to cover his face with the cloak. “Holy hell! That’s strong.” He exclaimed in surprise once the light dimmed. All that remained were the two hooves. Tusk had blown the demon and even parts of the buildings away. “Damn, I’ll have to use that sparingly. Sorry Beste, but it’s probably for the best if Tusk holds onto the Orb.” The Shadow formed behind him and hugged him, pouting.

Somehow, he got the feeling that she was saying, ‘I haven’t even used most of my bigger spells yet!’

Jinwoo chuckled, “Don’t be jealous.” He said, “You two can trade off, I guess. Just ask him for it if you need it.” He cracked his knuckles, “Now let’s kill us some demons.”

-]|[-

“Ugh, looks like I was right.” Miho grimaced as she stepped into the Dragon’s Summit for what would hopefully be the last time.

The entire landscape was a devastated mess. She couldn’t see a speck of green in any direction she looked. And worse, the weather was awful. She could see multiple tornadoes all around and bolts of red lightning were striking the ground every few seconds. “Glad I overprepared.” She said as she slipped on a bunch of different elemental resistance rings.

Her wings popped out, and she took to the air as the Quest Info screen popped up.

[Regular Quest: Climb to the Apex of the Dragon’s Summit. (3)

The dragons of this land are in constant struggle for supremacy. End their conflict for good and stand atop all.]

She read through the quest info as she made her way to the edge of the island, before she froze in the air. “What the fuck?!” She blurted in shock.

The entire island was floating inside a storm. There wasn’t a hint of sea anywhere. She smacked an errant lightning bolt out of the air. “I don’t suppose you’ll give me a damn map this time.” She snarked aloud. The System was silent.

Something else wasn’t. She turned and instantly felt her throat dry out a little. Flying towards her was a dragon.

Only this time, it wasn’t some strange, never-before-seen beast like the ones she had been fighting the previous two times. Oh no.

This beast might not have been nearly as big, but it looked like Kamish.

After a moment, her expression hardened. “Bring it on!” She hissed and sped towards the beast.

A massive shockwave raced through the sky as they collided.

-]|[-

“I hope this thing is worth it.” Soohyun said as she entered Cursed Seoul once more. Already, she could hear the groans and moans of zombies. ‘Must be an Arch Lich in this level.’ She grumbled to herself as she fingered her new pendant, ignoring the quest screens for now. According to the Auctioneer, if she pumped Mana into it, it would exude an aura that repelled beasts.

Unfortunately, it was an experimental artefact created specifically for Red Gates. It had never actually been tested long-term.

She had gotten a discount on it and still ended up needing to trade her free store item for it. She didn’t even have any guarantee that it would work. After finding a nice hole to hide in, she gripped it and pumped an A-Rank spell’s worth of Mana into it. Immediately, it started pumping energy back out.

Soohyun closed her eyes and extended her senses. A smile rose onto her face. ‘Alright, it looks like these zombies, at least, are being repelled.’ She sensed all of them shambling away from her. ‘I don’t know if it will work on stronger monsters, but at the very least, I should be able to rest.’ She put it in her inventory so that it would stop working and burst back into the open air. “Now I’m not into zombies, guys. They’re too uncute.” A Spatial Divergence formed at the tip of her finger as hundreds of zombies of all types started to race for her. “So die quickly for me.” She hissed and let the red ball explode.

Thousands of zombies were turned into a sea of blood.

-]|[-

The Auction House didn’t have anything that was anti-holy, unfortunately. Joohee instead had on a cute pair of glasses that supposedly would help her see through illusions, though it hadn’t worked against her Stealth skill when she had Miho try them on. She hoped she hadn’t been sold garbage.

She was again in that bright, golden city. Her safe zone was still active, apparently, with a literal set of pearly gates waiting in front of her. She took a few deep breaths to settle her nerves, before assuming her Archangel form and opening the gates. She instantly knew she was meant to fly up, and did so, ascending to the First Circle.

As she flew, she heard a loud, unearthly howl.

She swerved out of the way as a huge, red-scaled serpent clad in golden adornments tried to barrel into her. “Woah!” She cried as it passed by.

[First Sphere

Inspired

Throne]

It was an orange-named beast. Joohee watched as it coiled upon itself, transforming into something resembling a wheel. It spun through the air and turned around, flying right back at her.

She summoned her morning star with a roar and smashed it into the wheel, cracking scales and sending blood flying everywhere as she cut it in half with a burst of light. More screeches rang out as dozens more of the Inspireds started descending towards her. Her grip on her morningstar tightened. “Come then!” She yelled as the Blood of Ashborn started to glow. “Come meet your maker!”

Holy light illuminated the clouds.

-]|[-