Truly Amazing
"It's truly amazing."
The Crying Priest muttered as she kneaded Geum Taeyang and Tteoksoon-i's limbs.
"Geum Taeyang's entire body has become as hard as steel, and Tteoksoon-i has muscles as springy and elastic as a leopard's."
At her words, Geum Taeyang and Tteoksoon-i touched their own limbs with looks of wonder on their faces.
"If we're talking in terms of Pangwol users, they're at the level of experts who've played steadily for at least a year."
"...That much?"
"Yes. How long have you been playing Pangwol?"
"Hmm... about three or four months, I think."
Even that included two or three months of grinding quests to death under Gordon just to become a chef. It had only been a little over a month since meeting the old man.
"...It's cheat-level. As expected of a hidden class."
She shot me a sideways glance as she said it.
"...Aren't you a hidden class too?"
"Well, yes."
I knew it. Where do you find priests who fight while bawling their eyes out? And why was there a glow coming from her tears?
"Don't other jobs do this? There are plenty that summon familiars, right?"
"There are necromancers, beast tamers, and spirit summoners who handle summons. But they grow stronger along with their summoners. They don't level up like Hura-nim's summons."
"What do you mean?"
"In Pangwol, stats rise little by little based on your actions, right?"
"Yeah."
"Every time the summons run or fight, those stat gains all go back to the summoner."
"...Isn't that the real cheat?"
"But the ratio is adjusted accordingly, so it balances out roughly."
"Aha."
"Once those stats build up and the summoner gets stronger, the summons gradually power up in tandem."
Got it. So they don't level up either—the summons just farm stats for their master.
"Hura-nim is pretty weak on his own, right?"
"...Not that weak."
"Hmm... how should I put it?"
The Crying Priest tapped her lips thoughtfully, then rattled off a string of embellished phrases.
"Handsomely weak? Splendidly weak? Magnificently weak? Brilliantly weak? Dazzlingly weak?"
"...Hey."
Who are you mocking?
"Anyway, let's just say you're weak."
"......"
"Seeing how weak Hura-nim is, it's clear none of the summons' stats have transferred to you at all."
"......"
"It seems like a system where the summoner doesn't grow at all, instead funneling all that growth into the summons."
"Oh ho."
"And somehow, it's structured around a leveling system that grows through experience points."
"Ooh. That's good, right?"
"Well... for now, yes. Hard to say it's purely good, though."
"Why not?"
"We don't know how the experience points are calculated."
"Huh?"
The Crying Priest picked up a stick and started scribbling on the ground.
"For example, some games make the EXP needed for level-ups increase exponentially as you go higher."
She drew a long bar representing EXP requirements: 1 unit, 2, 4, 8, 16, growing steeper and steeper.
"And then?"
"Yes. Fast growth early on, but it gets brutal later."
"Hmm..."
"Just an example. No idea how this leveling system works. I've never seen anything like it in Pangwol."
"......"
"From what we've seen so far, it looks like rapid early growth, but who knows about the late game."
"I see."
"Or maybe you got a massive EXP bomb early on."
"EXP bomb?"
"Some games have that. They call it 'carrying' or 'bus rides.' High-level players party up and kill monsters a lowbie could never touch alone."
"......"
Any points where a ton of EXP poured in? Yudin Lake's guardian water dragon, for one. After that, I'd mostly hunted using the Magic Ladle and Cooking Throw, so no time to check if they'd gotten stronger.
The Garden Master Lilac. Insanely tough. Baek Bal Baek Jung took it down, but I probably got a hefty EXP share.
And... all those monsters in the sand desert, shot down with Baek Bal Baek Jung's guidance using the Magic Ladle and Cooking Throw.
"......"
Thinking about it, there were plenty of EXP sources. And yeah, this was the first real fight for them since Shin-dong Village. No wonder I had no clue how strong they'd gotten. Now the sudden power spike made sense.
"Well, good news anyway."
"Right?"
I dusted myself off and stood. "Shall we get going again?"
"Yes."
Harten, with its endless blizzard, was still far off. It was still just chilly here.
We stepped into the forest, bathed in soft moonlight filtering through the trees.
Drip... drip...
The steady sound of water droplets. The damp humidity hit with every breath—this was the Tteokbokki Cult's underground prison.
"Heh heh..."
A sinister chuckle echoed eerily.
"Huff—huh—"
Rough breathing came from one of the cells. Inside the stone chamber sat a hulking brute tied tightly to a chair, gasping raggedly. After repeated merciless torture, his eyes had lost all spark.
"Heh heh heh heh..."
The laughter deepened at his agony. It came from the figure in a large hood watching nearby. Round glasses glinted coldly beneath the hood.
Thud. Thud.
Gwisinigo Kalroli approached the Blood Axe Thrower bound to the chair, holding a bao bun in one hand.
"Hey."
"Y-yes, ma'am!"
The Blood Axe Thrower snapped his head up.
"Hungry?"
"No, ma'am! Not hungry at all! S-so full!"
He shook his head frantically side to side.
"...Really?"
Gwisinigo Kalroli's lip curled up.
"Yes! I think I've had enough!"
"Hmm... too bad."
She slowly placed a hand on his shoulder. He flinched in terror.
She whispered in his ear.
"Then maybe I should just kill you?"
"......!"
"Three deaths in a row would tank your stats hard, right?"
"Guh... guh—I'll eat!"
He choked back sobs and submitted.
"Didn't you say you were full?"
"N-no! I'm starving! My stomach's screaming for food!"
"Oh my~ Really?"
"Yes! I want it so bad!"
Gwisinigo Kalroli, who had been grinning, suddenly turned icy cold.
"Then open wide."
Thwack!
She shoved the bao bun into his mouth.
"Mmph!"
She packed it in tight.
"You dare attack Hura-nim? Huh? Still haven't learned?"
"Mmph-mmph!"
"Eat! I said eat!"
Crumbs rained down. The floor was covered in them.
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
His writhing shadow flickered on the cold cell floor for a while.
......
"Guh... guhheok—"
The Blood Axe Thrower finally choked down the dense bao bun. He clutched his bloated gut, trying to settle it.
His mouth was parched and dry. He desperately craved milk.
A cup of milk appeared before his eyes, sloshing invitingly.
"Dense, huh?"
Gwisinigo Kalroli held the cup with a grin.
"Must be thirsty after all those bao buns."
"Y-yes! Exactly!"
He nodded vigorously.
"But what to do?"
"Huh?"
"I'm thirsty too."
Gulp—gulp—
"......!"
Gwisinigo Kalroli drank it right in front of him, blatantly.
"N-no, don't!"
Gulp—gulp—
He watched the milk level drop anxiously.
"Ahh! So refreshing!"
She wiped the white milk from her lips and nodded at the remnants.
"Yum! All gone. I'm not thirsty anymore."
She turned to him, eyes pleading desperately.
"You thirsty?"
"Y-yes!"
"Want the rest?"
"Yes!"
His eyes sparkled with hope.
"Okay. Here~"
She slowly brought the cup to his mouth. He gaped wide to receive it.
Just as it touched his lips...
"Oopsie~"
She dropped the cup right in front of him.
Crash!
It shattered, spilling milk everywhere.
"......!"
"Oh dear, what a slip-up~"
Gwisinigo Kalroli grinned wickedly.
The Blood Axe Thrower's eyes filled with dread as he stared at her.
"Y-you... demon...!"
Ignoring him, she pulled out a bag of crackers.
"Hardtack this time?"
"Hiiik!"
Awooooo—!!
"Master! We'll handle it!"
"Hahaha! Be right back!"
At the wolf howls, Geum Taeyang and Tteoksoon-i bounded off excitedly.
"...They're loving it."
The powered-up pair were itching to test their strength—like kids with shiny new toys. And knowing it'd make them even stronger? They dashed off to hunt monsters without needing orders.
"...So cute. Maybe I should level a summoner alt."
The Crying Priest watched their backs wistfully. Her tone had softened since we met—probably after her gender slipped out.
A middle-aged guy's voice made it feel off at first, but now it was endearing.
Crunch crunch—
Leaving the obstacles to them, we strolled leisurely.
"Priest."
"Yes."
"You're a ranker, right?"
I asked on a whim.
"Yes."
"Figured."
I'd suspected since she smashed down with that hammer mercilessly. The impact wasn't just strong—it shook the ground. Hidden class too? That said it all.
And crucially, she was a bit unhinged. That's how I knew for sure.
All the rankers I'd met were like that. Ranker prerequisite?
Cheon-gong was psycho. My sister seemed cool but was a total ice block. Molrangkau's infamous rep? Don't get me started. Even the relatively normal Beda was the "Monster Swordsman" who butchered monsters with a hearty laugh.
Baek Bal Baek Jung... I recalled him bawling over barbecue.
'Waaah! Mi-ok! Miooookaaa!!'
...Definitely not normal.
The Crying Priest fit right in. Maybe even high ranker.
"Why'd you become a ranker, though? Sounds brutal to maintain. For the money?"
"Heh heh. Would a priest move for money?"
Back to her initial priestly tone.
"Suddenly all pure and saintly? You scarfed all the tteokbokki earlier."
"...Ahem."
She cleared her throat, a bit embarrassed.
"Anyway, I didn't choose to be a ranker."
"Then what?"
"God's will."
"...Pardon?"
"I followed divine revelations, and suddenly I was a ranker."
"What rank?"
"9th."
I halted mid-step.
"...Rank 9?"
"Yes."
...Not even surprised anymore.
Today was Saturday. Long-overdue day off.
"La la la~"
I couldn't help humming. After five straight days on my feet, just lying here felt like bliss.
I rolled around on the fluffy bed, savoring the rare leisure. Scrolled cooking videos and tools on my phone, killing time leisurely.
"Ooh, that's neat."
"Looks tasty. Should I try it?"
"Ah, too pricey."
Mid-roll, my phone rang. Caller: Dahyun.
"Hello?"
"Customer-nim!"
"Yes."
"Come downstairs now!"