F-Rank Dungeon

The masters of F-rank dungeons were kobolds.

Small creatures that lived in mines — tiny, weak, and physically unimpressive, but cunning and terrifyingly organized. Among F-rank monsters, they were the ones famous for being the biggest pain to deal with.

But.

Fwoooosh!

Before Seo Hwarang's Master Fire Bolt, none of that meant a thing.

This was the spell that had annihilated a D-rank Horned Bat. What chance did a pack of F-rank kobolds possibly have?

One shot was more than enough — anything that so much as brushed the blast radius either burst into flame or died shrieking on the spot.

"Honestly, that was kind of underwhelming, you know? All that talk about how a bookworm like you would wet his pants the second he stepped into a dungeon... doesn't hold up so well now, does it?"

"...You absolute monster."

Yoo Seon-ah clicked her tongue.

What on earth had this lunatic awakened as? He was hurling that horrifying fireball endlessly, like it cost him nothing. Once every ten seconds. Without pause. How were kobolds supposed to survive that?

If an orc wandered in, even it would turn tail and run.

"What are you, made of infinite MP? Or are you secretly chugging mana potions when I'm not looking?"

She knew that couldn't be it. Mana potion prices were nothing to sneeze at.

"A genuinely fascinating creature, aren't you."

"Oh, cut it out with the questions already. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Anyone walking by would think the Bureau sent you to investigate me."

"That's how absurdly broken you are!"

"Don't forget — I'm technically the one who hired you with the reward money, remember? Or would you rather ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠return it?"

"Huuuugh. Fine, fine. I'll shut up and guide."

Clearing the dungeon was easy. About ten minutes of walking down a straight mining tunnel, and a treasure chest came into view.

"Open that box and the dungeon's done."

"Ooh, what comes out of it?"

"Junk, crafting materials, low-grade items, that sort of thing. Don't expect much from an F-rank."

"Then how do we split the profit?"

"Depends on the situation and the contract. This time, keep it all. You did all the work anyway — I didn't lift a finger."

"Yes, sir. Thank you!"

Seo Hwarang broke into a grin.

The first reward of his first dungeon!

Just what would come out of it?

Clunk!

The door swung open.

He'd leveled up.

...Literal junk flooded his inventory — the kind of worthless trash no shop anywhere would even take off his hands.

That's it?

This is all?

Just as Seo Hwarang's eyes darted around in rapid calculation—

Oh!

Ohhhhh!

There it was!

One coin — finally!

Gather five of these, and he could return to that land once more!

Which meant only one task remained.

Grinding.

"Mom, I'm going to crash at the sauna tonight."

Whew.

Seo Hwarang let out a long sigh.

"Mom, I'm about to turn thirty. Normally, when a son says he's staying out overnight, the mother breathes a sigh of relief and says 'good for you.' Who knows? Maybe I'll go out somewhere and come back with a girlfriend."

"Then I've said my piece. Bye, Mom."

Click.

Hanging up, Seo Hwarang turned to Yoo Seon-ah.

"One full day of grinding today. Let's run it."

It wasn't as though he was going to show up at the library anyway, so Seo Hwarang threw himself fully into hunting down F-rank dungeons.

Coins didn't drop every time. Sometimes they came, sometimes they didn't — roughly a fifty percent chance, he figured. After about ten runs, he'd barely scraped together five coins.

The clock already read four in the morning.

"...Hey, punk, how long are you gonna keep this up? I'm dying of exhaustion here."

"Thank you for your hard work."

Five coins was all he needed with her along. And after ten runs, he'd confirmed he could manage on his own from here.

"That's it for today. You don't have to help me anymore. Thanks for everything."

He'd leveled up a fair amount, too.

Now came the question of distributing his stat points.

No matter how he looked at it, Magic Power was useless. His MP was already infinite — what would MP recovery even mean in that case?

Strength was equally meaningless. His class's whole gimmick was conjuring skills endlessly out of thin air.

'I'll just split it 1:1:3.'

One point of Vitality, one of Agility, and three of Intellect per level.

Just like that!

With his allocation finished, Seo Hwarang shot Yoo Seon-ah a wink.

"See you around, then."

"Yeah. Oh, wait."

Apparently she had something to say — she called him back.

"If you ever need to run a higher-rank dungeon... think we could bring you into our party?"

"A party?"

"Mm. Some younger folks I run with a lot. Good bunch, all of them."

"Hmm... let me think about it. I haven't even decided whether I'm registering as an awakened hunter yet."

"...Right, got it."

Yoo Seon-ah smacked her lips, clearly dissatisfied, and turned away.

Seo Hwarang should have been heading home too.

'No time for that.'

Slipping into a secluded corner of the pre-dawn park, he activated the skill without delay. He was a little drowsy, but he could sleep over there once he arrived—

First things first.

9th Circle.

Astra Gate.

Consume 5 Coins.

Vuuuum!

Every color of light poured across his field of vision.

'Here we go.'

When his eyes opened, he stood on the third floor of the Mage Guild. Exactly as before.

The thing he'd been most curious about: how did time actually flow here?

For one thing, Earth's time seemed to be frozen while he was here. If that weren't the case, there was no way he wouldn't have come face-to-face with the Horned Bat the instant he returned.

And then—

What happened to this place's time while he was on Earth?

The answer lay just outside.

Clunk!

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Opening the door and stepping out, Seo Hwarang spoke up.

"Excuse me."

"Mm... yes?"

The half-dozing guard jolted awake with a start.

"Is something the matter?"

"How long has it been since I went in?"

"Hm... the monastery bell rang for the fourth time just now, so it's a little past noon. You still have plenty of time on your pass — a full day, after all."

"Ah, I see! Thank you!"

Just as he'd hoped!

This place's time had been frozen too. If it was noon now, roughly three hours had passed—

Which meant...

About twenty-one hours still remained.

'I'm sleepy, but I can't sleep yet.'

He'd already paid two coppers for entry — he might as well squeeze every drop of value out of it.

'Speed-reading time.'

Seo Hwarang immediately went hunting for a skill book.

This one, right off the bat!

Once he finished reading, he'd be thrown back to Earth — no, he'd return to Earth — but by then, everything about this spell would already be carved into his understanding.

And what did that mean?

That even if the Bureau came knocking, he could handle himself!

Read!

Reading was winning!

Swish.

The pages turned.

'Heh heh.'

Before long, the corners of Seo Hwarang's mouth had begun creeping upward. He was actually enjoying himself.

The process was always the same.

He read the skill book, and every last principle behind the spell imprinted itself into his mind — perfectly, as though he had already cast it thousands, tens of thousands of times.

...Master Veil of Deception?

Having acquired a spell he'd never even heard of, he was booted back to Earth. No — back home.

Earth time: four in the morning. The exact moment he'd parted ways with Yoo Seon-ah.

"Ha, hahaha."

It was extraordinary.

'So that means I...'

Could hop between two worlds, with no limit on time, and master skills in the process?

Jackpot!

A literal, god-given jackpot.

Human lifespans were finite — and yet here he was with the perfect setup to shuttle between two worlds reading endless books!

How could he not be overjoyed?

'Ugh, my head.'

The only downside was the throbbing ache behind his eyes. Spending all day forcing his brain to comprehend skills had left it burning hot, and his eyelids were starting to droop.

Well, no wonder it hurt — he'd learned an absurd skill like that in a mere three hours.

And on top of that, he'd burned the candle at both ends — crossing between worlds twice, from morning to dawn — until his whole body felt like it was melting.

'First things first.'

Inside. He'd go in and sleep for now.

The next day.

Knock, knock.

"Team Leader Ha Taemin."

A Bureau employee appeared at the team leader's office, documents in hand.

"Come in."

"Sir!"

The employee opened the door and stepped inside.

"What is it?"

"The man you told us to keep an eye on, sir. The one named Seo Hwarang."

"Yes?"

"...We've found evidence he entered an F-rank dungeon early yesterday morning."

"What?"

Ha Taemin furrowed his brow.

Ha.

Figures.

No wonder the man had been in such a hurry to collect his reward and leave — so he was an awakened hunter, after all.

"He seems to have tried to cover his tracks, but he apparently failed to spot the CCTV installed along the hiking trail."

"So. An unregistered awakened hunter, hmm."

"What are your orders?"

"Orders? It's a flagrant violation of the law. What happened before is water under the bridge — we go now."

"I'll issue a dispatch order and gather the equipment."

"I'm coming with you. Get it ready."

"Yes, sir! Understood!"

The employee gave a crisp bow and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hurried out, and Ha Taemin rose from his desk to pull on his coat.

'He's no ordinary awakened hunter.'

A man who could incinerate a Horned Bat in a single strike — and who had deliberately chosen to hide his abilities. He was clearly no pushover. For all they knew, he might even be tied to a criminal organization.

Someone of team-leader rank needed to be on the ground, not just rank-and-file staff.

'We raid him.'

If they stormed in immediately and brought him in under the law, what could the man possibly do about it?

Only one thing nagged at him.

He'd entered an F-rank dungeon, of all places. Would a hunter of that caliber really have any reason to bother with F-rank?

"Team Leader!"

It was just then that the employee who'd left came rushing back in.

"Now what?"

"That man, Seo Hwarang, sir."

"Yes?"

"...He's currently standing in front of the Bureau building."

"What?"

"He says he awakened last night — and he's here to officially declare it."

...Huh?

Now?

Ha Taemin's eyes narrowed into a razor-sharp squint.

Just what kind of situation was this?