Growth (1)
"Hoo, haa...!"
Jeong-hwa shook the blood off her dagger with ragged breaths. She'd soloed the entire dungeon, from the trash mobs to the boss—the sick kobold warrior—and even extracted the purified mana stone for me.
"How was it?"
"Your stamina's recovering super fast, right? And your movements are way smoother now that you've got the basics down. You could pull your weight in a 9th-grade dungeon already."
"Right? Hehe."
Jeong-hwa, who'd vented her frustrations by clearing every room solo, beamed at the praise and snapped back to her usual bubbly self.
"Your skills are solid enough for 9th-grade now, so let's pick up the pace."
We'd outgrown 10th-grade dungeons for real gains, but I'd promised Jeong-hwa we'd clear it as fast as possible.
For someone like her, whose physical stats were still below average for a 10th-grade hunter, there were still rewards to be had from clearing them.
"It's not even lunchtime yet, so let's do one more lap."
"Huh? Is that allowed? I thought dungeons were once-a-day only."
"That's just for all-10th-grade parties. If you've got higher-grade hunters in the mix, you can run it as many times as you want."
It was basically bussing, but riding the bus wouldn't help if your skills couldn't keep up—you'd just die in higher dungeons. Hunters too dumb to know their limits weren't useful to the nation anyway, so there were no real restrictions.
Of course, if you already had the skills, it was a shortcut to higher dungeons.
"Do you have a high-rank hunter friend coming?"
"Oh, I didn't mention? I'm 6th-grade now."
"Whaaat?!"
"I told Jeong-hu, but I guess he didn't pass it on?"
"How'd you jump to 6th-grade all of a sudden?!"
"It's a long story. Anyway, let's go."
"Right now? Can't we rest a bit first?"
Jeong-hwa shook her head frantically at the idea of diving back in. Her stamina had improved, but soloing a whole dungeon had worn her out.
"Just watch this time. Brina and Slami will handle the dungeon."
I said that and re-entered immediately.
Jeong-hwa eyed the petite Brina and Slami skeptically, doubting their combat prowess, but once they started hunting, her jaw dropped.
"Done."
"These guys are total pushovers~?"
Brina and Slami returned with the purified mana stone from the sick kobold warrior boss. The clear time was shorter than the travel between rooms.
"So fast... and strong...?"
Jeong-hwa muttered in shock after the second clear took only half the time of her solo run.
"They're summons from an S-rank ability. What'd you expect? They can handle 7th-grade bosses easy."
"Whoa... no wonder it's S-rank."
Jeong-hwa marveled, then sighed and pouted.
"What's with the sudden mood swing?"
"Just... watching Brina and Slami fight makes me wonder if there's even a spot for me in the party. I thought I was growing fast, but seeing your pace, Yeoul oppa... I'm not sure I can keep up."
She seemed deprived compared to my growth.
"Don't sweat it. If I thought you were weak, I wouldn't have invited you."
She'd always been weaker than me. My "S-rank" ability was actually EX-rank Onahole Master, so our growth curves weren't comparable. Unique abilities varied wildly even among 10th-graders.
I hadn't expected her to match me.
"Does everyone need equal firepower? Why form parties then? To cover weaknesses. And overlapping roles? I told you—more frontliners the better."
My ability seemed omnipotent now, but who knew what limits it'd hit later. More powerful unique abilities meant better coverage.
Even Cheonma Han Se-ah, an S-rank with top-10 hunter status, built a faction and partied for towers and dungeons.
Diversifying strong unique abilities was key. With endless dungeons beyond Earth leading to the Tower, Jeong-hwa's A-rank potential made her worth keeping—even if weak now, her ceiling was unknown.
"So quit overthinking and focus on getting stronger. Got it?"
"Yes, Yeoul oppa."
She perked up at my words and nodded firmly.
"Alright, one more lap? You've rested enough—you can do it."
"Again?!"
"This is all money, Jeong-hwa. Everything you earn solo is yours."
"Fine, let's do it."
Motivated by cash, we cleared three 10th-grade dungeons that day. Near the final boss, her stamina hit its limit and things got dicey, so Brina and Slami finished it.
Exhausted after the last run, Jeong-hwa still grinned at her fatter payout.
After settling up and grabbing lunch, we hit a café for a break before heading to the training center.
"You're here?"
Siriel waited with arms crossed and a sulky face. Knowing why, I grinned and teased casually.
"Shortening words already? Call me oppa."
"You're here, Yeoul orabeoni?"
"...Huh?"
I'd meant to rib her, but her deadpan smile threw me off.
"...Orabeoni? That's creepy."
"You don't have to say oppa. Orabeoni's even more honorific than oppa. You don't know your own language?"
She laughed at my reaction—over her sparring loss.
Still, using honorifics but banmal? Weird mix.
Better than full formal from someone older than my parents, though.
I shrugged it off, but Jeong-hwa jumped in.
"Why's the instructor calling Yeoul oppa 'orabeoni'?"
"Yeoul oppa?"
Siriel and I exchanged looks.
"Obviously, he's older, so oppa. But you're older too—why orabeoni?"
"Jeong-hwa, I'm barely adult by human years. It's from a bet I lost to Yeoul orabeoni. He agreed. Right, Yeoul orabeoni?"
"Uh, yeah, sure."
No memory of demanding it, but I'd agreed to the bet.
"See? He says so. Why's a third wheel butting in?"
"Third wheel? Yeoul oppa let me call him oppa too. Right?"
"Yeah, sure."
"There. And if you're barely adult human-wise, we're peers. So I can drop formal too, Siriel?"
"Nah, I don't think so, An Jeong-hwa trainee?"
Their banter escalated. Stuck answering, I quietly asked late-arriving Brina and Slami.
"Hey, what's their deal?"
Slami, who'd been watching, and Brina both gave me pitiful looks.
"Sigh, Master has zero awareness."
"Total clueless loser owner~"
"What the...?"
As I fumed at their head-shakes, Siriel turned.
"Wait, what are those?! How are monsters here?!"
Her elven ears caught them fast, going on alert.
"Forgot to mention. My summons—Brina and Slami."
"Summons? Not like any I've seen... You can tame monsters as summons?"
"Unique ability."
Spirit-user Siriel found it odd, but unique abilities were as varied as awakeners. "It's my unique ability" explained most weirdness.
...So his sparring wasn't even full power?
Siriel reeled. I held back too, but without his unique ability, he matched me?
Humans' edge was unique abilities—not physicals or racial traits. That's why elves and dwarves backed them.
The Tower valued their potential diversity. Pushing her that hard without it shocked her.
"Anyway, quit fighting over titles and train already."
Siriel and Jeong-hwa grumbled into the training dungeon. Me and the onaholes headed to another to sync up when a text came.
"Huh? Message from Han Se-ah unni?"
Wondering why, I recalled requesting monster data with potential skills yesterday.
"Asked last night, and she already sent it?"
Grateful amid her busyness, I eagerly checked.