3. The First Request...
Morning. We'd swung by the guild, grabbed a request, knocked it out in record time, and headed straight back to the inn. Anyone spotting us would've raised an eyebrow—how does an adventurer's job wrap up this early? Were we just goofing off, or had we punched out the guildmaster? But no, Cheong-ah and I had flawlessly completed the request and gotten the guild's official confirmation before returning.
Down on the inn's first floor, we sat to finally grab the breakfast we'd skipped thanks to finishing too damn fast. As we waited, Ju Cheong-ah propped her chin on the table with a bored sigh.
"Hmm. I thought being an adventurer meant staying busy, but this wrapped up way too quick."
"Can't be helped. You're just too strong, Cheong-ah."
"Pardon? What do you mean? How's my strength got anything to do with it?"
"Well, see..."
I explained the adventurer guild's requests to her.
"Guild requests usually fall into three categories. First up: subjugation."
Monsters popping up somewhere? Go wipe 'em out. Or they need monster parts from a specific spot? Subjugate and bring 'em back. This was one of the most common types.
"Next: gathering."
"I can kinda guess that one."
Stuff like herbs in bulk, fruits, spring water from some hidden source, and so on. Used for alchemy, magic reagents, cooking—you name it. Anything from nature's bounty, no monsters involved. Requests poured in for rare spots or massive quantities.
"Yeah, gathering's my bread and butter. Did tons of it."
"Makes sense. You couldn't even beat a single goblin, after all..."
"Uh, well..."
Her words hit like a dagger to the gut, leaving me speechless.
"But it's fine. I'll be your sword, darling."
"Damn, you poke the wound and slap on the bandage in one go."
"Hehe. Sorry. So, what's the last one? You said three types."
"Right, yeah... The third is exploration."
"Exploration?"
"Basically..."
These came straight from local nobles ruling the area or the guild itself. Just scout a region, as the name implied. Truth be told, I'd never done one, so explaining was tricky.
"Hmm... So today's request was subjugation, then?"
"Yep."
"Is subjugation easier than the others?"
"Nah, I told you—it's 'cause you're too strong."
Normally, subjugation requests matched the adventurer's rank. Iron badge got goblins; bronze got something tougher; silver stepped it up further. Stronger foes meant fatter payouts, obviously.
Anyway.
"We're iron badge right now."
"Ah, got it. We got a subjugation for trash mobs way below my level, huh?"
"Exactly."
Considering how she'd diced up an ogre, Cheong-ah's skills were beyond platinum—the guild's top tier. Handing her a goblin hunt fit for iron rank? No wonder it took zero time beyond trekking to their spot.
Someone might argue, Then just prove her strength and rank up? But guild policy said no dice. Newbies started at iron and waited three months. After that, rank-ups came with completed requests.
In other words...
"So I'll be twiddling my thumbs like this for months?"
"Pretty much."
"...Hmm. Is that so?"
Cheong-ah's eyes shifted, a sly glint creeping in. Her voice dipped into a sultry purr as she called my name. Her hand slid over, fingers tracing lazy circles on the back of mine, gaze heavy with invitation.
"Darling... So, shall we...?"
"Huh? What're you plotting?"
"Eat, then get the blood flowing? I could... help with that."
"W-wait, hold up!"
I cut her off, guessing where this was headed. Lately, ever since we'd gotten together, Cheong-ah had developed a real taste for it—and shockingly, she loved clinging to me during. Problem was my stamina couldn't keep up. She climaxed way more, sure, but her base endurance crushed mine. A lifetime swinging a sword had forged her into a beast...
I hurried on. "Let's save that for tonight."
Not that I hated it. Hell, I loved sex—especially with a knockout like Cheong-ah. But starting now? My back and balls would be toast.
"Tonight? What do you mean?"
"Come on, the sun's barely past noon. Jumping into that now's a bit much."
"Eh...?"
She tilted her head, puzzled.
"Darling, I think you're misunderstanding."
"Misunderstanding what?"
"I wasn't talking about sex."
"...Huh? You're not?"
Not? Then what the hell...?
"Of course not. Though I don't hate doing it with you. Feels amazing, the way you crave me... makes me happy."
Her cheeks flushed pink. She ducked her head shyly, and I scratched mine awkwardly.
"...Uh, thanks."
"But that's separate."
"So...?"
She lifted her cane—no, her sword—with a grin.
"Let's train. I'll whip you into shape a bit."
"Guhk... Hah... Urk...!"
I collapsed to the ground, hacking up my guts as if dissecting what breakfast had turned into in my stomach. Damn it all. My insides were churning like a blender.
"Hoo... haa..."
After spewing everything, I gulped air and scanned the yard. Vomit splatters everywhere—my "observations." Thought I'd emptied the tank, but...
Face-down in defeat, I heard soft footsteps crunching over.
"Up you get, darling. Can't be this wiped from that."
"...Hah."
Cheong-ah loomed with hands behind her back, smiling down. Black hanbok from head to toe, face ghostly pale—like some grim reaper come to claim me.
"Just a quick breather, yeah?"
"No breaks. Posture up, now."
"Sigh..."
I dragged my shaky legs upright with a groan.
"Alright... another run? Lucky this inn yard's so big."
"Speak for yourself."
I muttered, but she ignored it.
"Okay, thirty laps this time. You got this, darling!"
"...Fuck."
"Hey, no swearing!"
"Sorry."
Trembling legs churned forward. Stomach roiling, but one step, then another. As I started jogging, Cheong-ah fell in beside me.
Her "training" hadn't started this Spartan. At first.
"I didn't want to go this hard right away, darling."
"Hek... haa...!"
It'd been friendly enough—until she checked my meridians to teach me her inner energy method.
"But your body has zero qi. What can I do?"
She was right. No mana in me at all.
Apparently, creatures here naturally built up mana over time, strengthening their bodies. Adventuring honed it further, snowballing strength.
And that was...
"A constitution with no qi buildup at all. Explains why you can't beat a goblin."
"Heh... haa...!"
"Never imagined such a thing."
No matter how hard I grinded, no gains. Three years stuck at iron, called trash. Now I knew why.
Great timing.
"No choice. Build basic stamina at least—get strong without qi."
"Hurk... guh... haa...!"
"If you could gather qi, you'd hit decent levels without this grind. But nope."
...No more running. Please.
"Hang in there with me, darling. I'm not using qi either!"
"Uh... ugh...!"
And so, a bit later—my legs finally gave out mid-run, and I blacked out. That ended Cheong-ah's Spartan session.