Two-Man Party

A two-man party. But one of them was E-class and the other was a porter….

“I’m sorry. Per regulations, that’s not allowed.”

“Come on, can’t you make an exception? We’ll only go in for a bit, and if it seems too dangerous, we’ll run right back out.”

“Haa… You said you were a former trainee from the White Dragon Guild, right? Then you should know the basic rules. Regulations state that anyone below S-class must form a party of at least two people to challenge floors one through ten. And if you’re E-class on top of that…”

The receptionist’s gaze as she looked me up and down was laced with irritation.

I could understand it completely. If I put myself in her shoes, I’d try to stop an E-class hunter from stubbornly insisting on entering the Tower alone too.

It wasn’t that she cared whether an E-class lived or died. She just didn’t want to get disciplined for breaking the rules.

For a second I considered blurting out that I had six traits, but I stopped myself. Even if I told her an E-class had six traits, would she even pretend to believe me? I’d be lucky if she didn’t treat me like a lunatic.

If the employee called security and had me thrown out, I’d lose my chance entirely. So I decided to back off quietly.

“Alright. Thanks for your time…”

In the end, I let out a sigh and plopped down on the circular bench in the center of the reception area.

“Haa…”

Blocked right from the start.

A deep sigh escaped me without meaning to.

The minimum entry requirement was two people or more.

Sure, it said two or more, but what E-class hunter could possibly beg their way into someone else’s party? They wouldn’t even give me the time of day, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠let alone accept me.

If only I were a porter, at least I could try to squeeze in somewhere.

Yeah. If I’d been a porter, I wouldn’t be stuck in this mess.

Besides, a porter who used to be a White Dragon Guild trainee would at least be able to protect themselves inside a dungeon. They might even be more popular than regular porters.

“Haa…”

Just as my sighs grew heavier and heavier—

“Excuse me.”

Was she talking to me? I looked around, then pointed at myself and asked the woman standing in front of me.

“Me?”

“You’re the one who was arguing with the receptionist earlier, right?”

She pointed toward window number three where I’d had my dispute with the staff. My face flushed red as I answered.

“D-did you see that?”

“I doubt I was the only one. Probably not.”

“Hahaha…”

I must have stood out more than I thought. Come to think of it, I had gotten down on my knees and begged that receptionist…

“I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop. Your voice was just really desperate and loud.”

“Ah… I’m sorry…”

“No, it’s not like you did anything wrong to me, and I didn’t come over to receive an apology. It’s just that your situation looked pretty desperate. I overheard you say you’re E-class. Did I hear that right?”

I lowered my head, a self-mocking smile tugging at my lips as I muttered.

“It’s ridiculous, isn’t it? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠An E-class throwing a tantrum, demanding to enter the Tower alone… Even I know how insane that sounds…”

“Would you like me to go with you?”

“…Pardon?”

What kind of nonsense was that? It sounded like she was speaking in tongues.

Her completely unexpected offer made my eyes widen. I jerked my head up to look at her.

“I’m late with introductions. I’m Han Sowon, an A-class level 34 porter. The party I belonged to had something come up today, so I suddenly found myself with free time. It felt wrong to just go home empty-handed. While I was in that situation, I overheard you… and calling you ‘you’ feels awkward now. May I ask your name?”

“Ah, I’m late too. I’m Ahn Humin.”

“Right. Anyway, after hearing your circumstances by chance, I thought I might as well earn some pocket money. Even though I’m A-class, I’m just a porter, so I won’t be any help in combat. Is that still okay with you?”

“I don’t mind at all, but are you sure it’s alright for you, Sowon? Even though I’m E-class?”

“Well… it’s not like we’re trying to climb all the way up the Tower. You were a White Dragon Guild trainee, right? Then even on the first floor, you should know how dangerous the Tower is. If an E-class is being this stubborn, I assume you have a good reason. If not, we can just run away immediately. Even as a porter, on the first floor I should at least be able to escape by myself if something happens. So, is that fine with you?”

“Of course! Thank you so much!”

Han Sowon had spoken honestly, but she hadn’t revealed everything.

There was another reason she wanted to help him. Ahn Humin had looked far too desperate. And because she had once been in a similar situation herself.

Well, if it really gets dangerous, I’ll just run. After that, it’s his problem.

An E-class damage dealer and an A-class porter forming a two-man party. The receptionist expressed concern and tried to talk them out of it several times, but it was no use.

Since they were technically following the rules, the employee had no choice but to stamp the entry permit.

And so I was finally able to enter the Tower together with Sowon.

“This place is…”

“Amazing, right? I felt the same way the first time.”

A blue sky. Drifting clouds. A pleasant breeze. The scent of grass and earth carried on the wind…

To me, experiencing the Tower for the first time, it was nothing short of a shock.

The Tower.

Thirty-some years ago, towers suddenly appeared in the heart of every major city across the globe, plunging the entire world into chaos.

What appeared alongside these towers were the Awakening Stones.

Miracle stones that could turn ordinary people into Awakeners. Only hunters who had awakened through these stones could enter the Tower and conquer it.

The spoils those people brought back from the Tower shattered common sense.

While many of the materials still defied scientific explanation, what truly captured the world’s attention was the new energy source known as Mana Stones.

Like uranium, they could produce an enormous amount of energy from a tiny quantity, yet they caused zero environmental pollution and were far safer to extract energy from.

As they emerged as the hottest topic in future energy resources, hunters capable of obtaining Mana Stones had become invaluable human assets that no country could do without.

“It’s really incredible. I experienced it through augmented reality training capsules during training, but this is on a completely different level.”

“You can only enjoy that feeling for now. The moment you step one foot outside the neutral zone, you’ll probably regret coming here.”

If you wanted to leave the Tower, you had to return to this place—the neutral zone.

Whether you cleared the quest to ascend the Tower or not, you could only exit by returning to the neutral zone.

Which means for now, I should hunt as close to the neutral zone as possible.

“Ready?”

“Yes!”

At Sowon’s question, I nodded with a determined expression and pulled a short sword out of my inventory.

The moment we stepped past the fence that marked the neutral zone, monsters running across the plains finally came into view.

The monsters probably couldn’t see humans inside the neutral zone either, which was why it was safe.

“Be careful. Training and real combat are very different.”

I nodded.

I took Sowon’s warning to heart and approached the nearest monster.

Fenet.

A canine-type beast monster. Roughly the size of a rather large wild dog?

With sharp fangs and excellent strength and speed, getting bitten could lead to serious injury, so letting my guard down was not an option.

Thankfully it wasn’t an aggressive monster and lacked pack awareness. Otherwise, every Fenet in the area would have come running.

In other words, I just need to hunt them one by one, calmly.

I carefully crept up behind the nearest Fenet. I moved as quietly as possible, and it seemed the creature still hadn’t noticed me.

The remaining distance was about five meters. For an assassin or swordsman class, it would have been close enough to dash in and stab with a sword.

But I was a mage class.

Getting a little closer would increase the success rate of my ambush.

Damn it. If I’d known this would happen, I should have taken a magic skill as my second skill instead of getting excited and raising my intelligence…!

But then—

Grrrr!

Had it sensed something was off? The Fenet suddenly whipped its head around, spotted me approaching, and bared its fangs with a growl.

The sight of those sharp teeth made my heart pound. The killing intent I could never experience in training or augmented reality made my hairs stand on end.

Still—

If I was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠going to give up here, I never should have started!

“Uaaaaah!!”

I’d already been spotted. There was no turning back. I kicked off the ground with everything I had and charged at the beast.

It fully turned its body and rushed straight at me.

But?

My body feels so much lighter than I expected!

Compared to before my awakening, my body felt as light as a feather.

Right now it was daytime inside the Tower, with the sun shining brightly. Thanks to the Joy of Hemera trait, all of my stats were doubled.

Don’t panic. Think!

I had studied the Fenet’s behavior patterns until I was sick of them.

The first thing it aimed for was the neck, ankles, or wrists—any joint.

So.

I deliberately extended my left arm—the one not holding the sword. As expected, the Fenet’s gaze naturally shifted to my left wrist and it opened its jaws wide.

Now!

I pulled my arm back at the perfect moment. The creature’s head twisted, its closed mouth missing my wrist by a hair.

Instead, my short sword sank deep into the side of its neck.

Thud!

Splat!

A fountain of red blood gushed out, splattering hot across my face.

Even though it was a monster, the thrill and guilt of taking a life tightened around my heart. But I clenched my teeth and forcibly shook off that bitter feeling.

It was an emotion I would have to grow used to experiencing countless times from now on.

“W-wow. I’ve never seen anyone hunt a Fenet alone like that before.”

Sowon approached, genuinely impressed. I wiped the blood off my face with my sleeve and replied.

“Among my fellow trainees, I was still ranked first in basic close-quarters combat.”

“First in close-quarters combat? Among the White Dragon Guild trainees? For real?”

“There’s no reason for me to lie about something like this. If I got caught lying, it would only make things more pathetic.”

Han Sowon couldn’t help but be truly shocked. She hadn’t expected Ahn Humin to possess that kind of talent.

That made the man before her seem even more pitiful.

If only he had been at least a B-class… no, even a C-class close-combat class, he could have been active in a guild…

“Just a moment. Bonus looting.”

Sowon used her Bonus Looting skill on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the dead Fenet in front of me.

Bonus Looting was a skill exclusive to porters. It allowed them to obtain more items and Mana Stones from defeated monsters.

Combined with their special inventory called a ‘backpack’ that could hold even more items, these two abilities made porters an absolutely essential class for any party, even though they offered zero help in combat.

“By the way, I forgot to ask earlier—what’s your class, Humin? Swordsman? Thief? Assassin?”

“Well… it’ll be faster to show you than explain with words.”

I stood up and cast my skill toward the dead Fenet.

“Minion of the Underworld. Summon.”

The moment purple smoke enveloped the dead Fenet, Sowon’s eyes widened in shock.

The guild kicked him out without knowing he was EX-class.