Rookie: Baek Jaesung 6
The strategy for tackling Level House had been laid out only as loose guidelines, unlike all the previous plans.
The dungeons that Jaesung's party had explored so far were ones where dungeon hunters were highly active. There was plenty of information available from outside sources, and standardized exploration routes had been established. That's why Jaesung's party had been able to devise textbook, stable, and highly efficient plans.
But this time was different. Level House was a dungeon where even the Hunter Association was struggling with a full clear. As such, the available data was extremely limited. On top of that, the dungeon itself was so ever-changing that even painstakingly gathered intel was of questionable value.
And this time, Jaesung's party's goal wasn't monster hunting. It was to illuminate unknown, uncharted areas and achieve a full clear of the dungeon—as quickly as possible.
With the dungeon's conditions and the exploration direction completely different from before, the plan they'd drawn up inevitably took on an unprecedented shape.
The most stark contrast to past expeditions was the vastly extended exploration period. Jaesung's party had planned to camp inside the dungeon for at least a week.
"A whole week. That's gonna mean hauling a ton of gear."
Jueun, the party's analyst, muttered as she tapped away at her computer. Longer expeditions naturally meant heavier backpacks. Optimizing the loadout to minimize weight was the analyst's job.
But Jaesung's party was free from such physical constraints.
"Don't worry about the packs. I can cover that with my ability."
Jaesung had the cheat-like Inventory ability.
They set the expedition start for next week. Jaesung's party members each began their preparations.
An Rina, the party's dealer and awakener of the material-world ability Chain Disaster, was making her own preparations too.
Despite her petite, girl-like frame, porcelain skin like a noble young lady, and rare platinum hair uncommon among Koreans, Rina was a dungeon hunter who freely wielded pitch-black chains to pierce monster flesh and shatter bones—far from the delicate appearance she gave off.
Dungeon exploration always came hand-in-hand with life-threatening risks. Thorough preparation wasn't optional; it was essential. No dungeon hunter anywhere skimped on prep—those who did were long dead.
Rina checked her gear and ran a full body inspection. Both her physical condition and equipment had to be in peak form. With her life on the line, she double- and triple-checked everything.
Her recently purchased new armor was still pristine. The shock-absorbing suit, resembling a bulletproof vest, had cost a cool 100 million won—a top-tier piece of gear.
For ranged dealers, the biggest threat was ricochet attacks. If a tank slipped up and let a monster's strike through, a dealer with a clear head could react somehow, but bounces were tough to dodge even with sharp reflexes.
Luckily, those were usually low-power hits, blockable with a shock-absorbing suit. For a ranged dealer, it was like a spare life.
Her body was in top shape too.
Rina's skills had sharpened like a needle with each passing day. Her senses were razor-alert, her body light as a feather. She felt ready to dive in right now.
Dungeon hunter prowess was a composite of various stats—like ability power, variety of techniques, or mana capacity.
The Hunter Association evaluated these comprehensively for promotions. Rina's current level was solidly 7-rank hunter territory. One more step, and she'd hit 6-rank.
Typical dungeon hunters needed nearly a decade of training to reach 6-rank. They honed their bodies to expand mana reserves, mastered techniques, and built practical application through dungeon experience. That grinding self-forging led to the final pinnacle: 6-rank.
6-rank wasn't called the "endpoint" of dungeon hunters for nothing. Those who surpassed it were labeled geniuses among their peers.
'At this rate, I might shatter the 6-rank wall in three years.'
Rina could sense the astonishing changes in her body through her own instincts, yet it still felt unbelievable.
Her growth was ridiculously fast.
To exaggerate a bit, it was unprecedented in hunter history. She hadn't even been a dungeon hunter for a full year yet.
'The other sisters are growing just like me. And Jisu too.'
The cause of this abnormal growth was obvious: Jaesung.
Thinking of his face made her body heat up. It was pure conditioned reflex now.
Just picturing Jaesung stirred a boiling heat from deep within. Folks called this "heat," right?
In heat from mere thoughts. Her body didn't even feel like her own anymore. Her emotional shift was as drastic as her power surge. From an innocent virgin who didn't know the first thing about sex to a fallen bitch in heat—it hadn't even taken a month.
'Whew... Seriously, if it gets any worse, I'm scared of what I might do.'
Fortunately, despite the scorching emotional blaze, Rina kept her mind in check. Her face might flush hot, but she wouldn't lose reason to lust and crave cock.
It wasn't superior self-control. Quite the opposite. She and Jaesung fucked whenever the mood struck.
And knowing that let her paradoxically rein in her raging flesh. Since she could relieve it anytime she wanted, pleasure never dominated her.
This wasn't just her. Every woman in Party House was Jaesung's sex slave.
They knew they could never escape him. It was like a collar forged from the world's sturdiest chain, but none of Jaesung's women minded a bit. Their little kingdom's lord satisfied them all.
Plus, his bizarre powers included the cheat ability to create clones. Thanks to that, Rina and the others could all desire one man without mental or physical friction.
Truth be told, they were the ones who couldn't satisfy him. In blazing sex like flames over gasoline, Rina and the girls always tapped out first—not Jaesung.
Rina was content with the setup.
Jaesung was definitely a bad guy. Or more bluntly, an undeniably wicked one.
But he had the skills, and above all, she'd fallen for him. Even if he'd twisted her mind with some nefarious means, the love was already underway. She'd sunk too deep into the Jaesung swamp to pull out.
Sure, he had a lot of women—that was a flaw. But considering the dungeon hunter life, it wasn't finger-wagging territory. And since he treated them all equally, there was no room for petty jealousy.
Besides, Jaesung wielded a unique power no one else in the world had. In his words, something he "didn't fully understand himself, so [he] couldn't explain." It was surely behind her and the others' explosive growth.
"What time is it?"
Rina checked the clock. Just past midnight. Normally, she'd have been asleep an hour ago. But sleep wouldn't come tonight.
She stepped out of her room. The quiet hallway felt lonelier than usual. Rina knew exactly what to do when insomnia hit.
'Suddenly missing home.'
Her feet naturally led her to the basement. They'd recently built a training room there.
Rina loved the new setup. Spacious enough, perfect for a quick workout.
Her family was a martial house. Influenced by her father, Rina had trained naturally since childhood. Even as a ranged dealer, she was damn confident in her hand-to-hand skills.
Dungeon hunters skewed male—nearly twice as many as women. Even those with the aptitude hesitated to throw themselves into this brutally dangerous world. But Rina had been an adventurous, bold tomboy since kid days.
'Hm? Someone's here.'
The training room had a prior occupant. She sensed movement inside, lights on too.
Who'd be using it in the dead of night? Sujin-unnie? Yeonji-unnie? Or Jisu?
The faces that came to mind were all the party's women. But the familiar silhouette in Rina's eyes completely shattered her guesses. It was Jaesung.
'Training?'
She started to call out but only her lips moved—no sound. Jaesung's intensely focused back, locked in total concentration, stole her voice.
Curiosity suddenly surged. What was he training?
She tiptoed in on cat feet, heel-toe, to the corner, crouched, and watched his session.
Jaesung was KHC master Kim Minyoung's sole disciple. He'd surely learned killer hand-to-hand from her. Rina's heart began to thump.
Jaesung stood like a stone statue. Feet shoulder-width, one arm extended forward, the other tucked tight to his side and slightly bent.
From that low, stable center of gravity with fist raised—it was the most basic KHC stance. Hell, it was standard in any martial art.
His body moved slowly. Not fast, but precise. Mechanical perfection, no wasted motion.
How much effort to ingrain that into his body?
Slow yet unyielding, heavy yet solid, grandeur over finesse.
A well-honed martial artist pours their all into a single motion. Jaesung had just done that.
Rina felt awe here.
Jaesung was a healer, but also a dealer and tank.
His Light Control ability was optimized for multi-roles from the start. He'd trained various positions since the academy and excelled at them.
The hand-to-hand Rina had seen from him before was speed-based. Jaesung was a fast dungeon hunter. He evaded with blinding speed beyond foes' perception, struck before they could react, dropping them.
He even had something like body acceleration—though he called it fast-forwarding his own time.
He overwhelmed with speed. His combat tactic boiled down to outpacing the enemy.
But this motion was far from swift. His punches were honestly slow enough for a civilian to dodge. Yet Rina couldn't mock them.
'Solid. No openings.'
Jaesung's stance was rock-steady. Punching out, his balance never wavered, and the power behind it was no joke.
He seemed to attack with perfect efficiency, zero wasted force. From that one move alone, Rina gauged his growth.
'If we fought...'
She wondered suddenly. Who'd win between her and Jaesung?
Curiosity killed the cat—or in this case, had to be sated. Rina shot to her feet.
"Oppa!"
"Huh? Rina. You were here?"
Jaesung snapped alert like he'd woken from sleep. Too zoned in to notice her arrival. Hearing her voice, he turned.
"What're you doing in the dead of night?"
"Same as you, oppa. Can't sleep. Back home, I'd always work out like this."
"Oh, right—your family's a martial house?"
"Yeah. They run a small dojo, nothing fancy. Anyway, oppa—wanna spar with me?"
Jaesung knew why Rina was suddenly challenging him. She'd watched his training and gotten fired up. No reason to refuse—a spar was growth fuel.
"Sounds good to me."
Jaesung wanted to check Rina's progress too.
He'd grown massively in the Geukgeomcheonsin world—a total cheat. Scraping up opportunities based on the original story, like using the novel's "攻略 guide."
But he wasn't the only one growing. His women had surged too, thanks to his Power of Sex. Their gains had long exceeded normal bounds.
'Power of Sex works better on the girls than me.'
Rina and Jaesung faced off. The training room wasn't suited for ability-heavy brawls. Wrecking it would be a huge waste, so they set limits.
"The others are sleeping, so keep it quiet. Nothing that'll trash the place. No ref, so five minutes flat."
"Got it."
Confidence brimmed in Rina's eyes. She wanted to show him her growth.
"Starts right when the second hand hits 12."
Jaesung pointed at the clock. Rina nodded.
The second hand crawled slower than usual.
5. 4. 3. 2.
"Here I go!"