That Guy's an F-Rank?

After catching my breath, I called up my status window to check my changed condition.

"Status window."

Unlike at the very beginning when I had nothing, a decent number of skills now filled the status window.

'Huh? My rank went up?'

My rank had jumped a step from F to D. That meant my overall abilities had improved.

'Well, I've been spamming high-rank skills one after another.'

It made sense. Plus, thanks to the Mana Control skill, there was almost no wasted mana, so even high-rank skills weren't much of a problem as long as I didn't overdo it.

On top of that, taking down this guy had netted me a solid High-Speed Movement skill and the game-changing Berserker skill with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠its momentary amplification.

'Come to think of it, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠don't need to learn every damn thing.'

I didn't want to end up as some half-assed jack-of-all-trades by picking up random crap willy-nilly.

More importantly, learning that the Information Viewing skill could check not just awakeners but monsters too was the biggest gain.

Knowing their skills in advance slashed the risk of getting caught off guard, and it gave me the leeway to counter them properly. That was hugely advantageous info.

'Better keep this under wraps too, huh?'

If I went around showing off, some asshole might snatch me up before I knew it. These days, the world's full of psychos itching to gut the golden goose out of curiosity.

'Anyway... that guy was the successor to the Chauca tribe?'

I stuck out my tongue and glared wide-eyed at the dead goblin. No wonder he had that oddly noble vibe. Well, a goblin being noble was still just a goblin.

'Hm?'

As I stared at him, something crushed under his chest caught my eye. Up close, it was a fist-sized skull split clean in half.

'Hmm, wonder if this works?'

I tilted my head and activated the skill.

'Information Viewing'

I stood there, mouth agape, staring at the info that popped up.

'Holy shit! For real. This is insane.'

Not content with monster statuses, Information Viewing could now read item info too.

'Wait, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what'd it say again?'

Location and survival of the possessor? I looked down at the skull in my hand. It was cracked in half—didn't look great.

Think about it. The guy was the Chauca tribe's successor. Chauca sounded like a goblin tribe name, and this dead goblin was their heir.

So who had the other half?

'Fuck!'

I chucked the skull to the ground and scrambled up a nearby tree. Recalling the goblin village's position from the ridgeline earlier, I scanned the area.

Climbing the tree, I spotted the ground rippling like a living wave.

'Gasp! N-no way. That's all goblins?'

It was pretty far off, but that wave rushing this way looked insanely fast.

'Shit, we're fucked.'

Confirming the team members' retreat, Park Chan-gyu chased after the goblin and leaped toward the rookie who'd bolted.

'No goblins swarming yet, so he probably didn't screw up.'

That split-second judgment outshone even the maknae of his own team.

'If he weren't F-rank, I'd recruit him for the guild.'

If he really was an Irregular like he seemed, investing in his future wouldn't be a bad call.

But first things first—get him out safe.

'Hmm, had quite the scrap here.'

Pausing, he inspected the ground traces, glanced around, then launched himself one way.

Soon, he found a goblin corpse sprawled on the floor.

'Finished it here?'

Touching the body up close, he noted the lingering warmth and scanned the surroundings. A fresh corpse meant the killer was nearby.

Tat-tak, tak.

Suddenly, someone dropped from a tree.

"Huh? Leader hyung?"

I hopped down and waved at the familiar face.

"You?"

He descended, eyeing me up and down silently.

"No injuries?"

His eyes gleamed as he asked.

"Nah, but how'd you get here?"

"Came to find you. What do you mean 'how'? More importantly, you an Irregular?"

"..."

His question hit like a sucker punch. I paused, staring to gauge his intent.

Park Chan-gyu, our C-rank team leader. A weird vibe emanated from him.

I glanced at the goblin corpse, then sighed lightly.

"Yeah, that's right."

No other way to explain my pristine state next to the dead goblin.

"Hm, figured. Knew it."

"..."

Unlike my tension, he just nodded casually.

Seeing that, he smirked.

"Relax, I'm not plotting anything. Folks might think I'm bullying you or some shit, y'know?"

"N-no, sir."

"Bullshit. You were geared up to activate a skill any second."

"..."

Busted.

Just like he said, I'd been prepped in case. Park Chan-gyu's skills were higher than I'd thought.

"Ah! We gotta bail, fast."

Then I remembered what I'd forgotten and blurted it out.

"Huh? Why?"

I faced his wide-eyed question.

"Goblin horde's coming."

"..."

The smile vanished from his face.

We bolted from there, racing to rejoin the group.

Mid-stride, he glanced at me.

"So, that guy's the goblin chieftain's son or whatever?"

"Yeah. Before dying, he clutched the skull necklace around his neck and wailed. Then it split in half."

I couldn't say I'd checked the item info, so I bullshitted.

"And then the horde started swarming?"

"Yep."

"Hmm..."

I claimed spotting the horde was pure luck. Had to. Any suspicion, even minor, was bad news right now.

"Heard of dungeon items like that. Probably something similar."

'Phew~'

I sighed inwardly in relief. Dodged that bullet.

"Still, that many goblins left inside."

"Goblins breed fast, right? Numbers explode in no time."

"Depends on the timeline. Mid-to-small guilds clean this place regularly. No way they'd miss goblins multiplying that much."

"I see."

Didn't know mid-to-small guilds periodically culled monsters here.

"And those three were mutants."

"Yes."

"Lucky if just those three. If the whole chasing pack's mutants, we're in deep shit."

"..."

Past goblin wave memories flooded my mind. Days of relentless assaults in huge numbers—even pro guild teams struggled. Fresh academy awakeners? No chance.

Thud-thud-thud-thud.

Faint vibrations through my toes.

"Hold up."

Park Chan-gyu halted, ear to the ground, eyes shut.

"Damn, they're close already. And we're still exposed."

He grimaced in frustration. At this pace, no time to prep before they hit.

Muttering thoughtfully, I spoke up.

"I'll go ahead and warn them."

"Huh? You can?"

He eyed me, surprised.

"Yeah."

I nodded firmly. Impossible till recently, but now? Piece of cake with my new skill.

"Alright, do it. Reopening the entrance takes at least two more hours. We'll need every ounce to hold till then."

"Got it."

"Go!"

"Yes, sir!"

I yelled back big, then triggered the skill.

'Berserker's Roar!'

Vitality surged through me as the buff kicked in. I kicked off the ground and chained another skill.

'High-Speed Movement!'

Wooong.

Mana spun fiercely inside, splitting into two streams ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠toward my feet, then blasting out the soles.

Shhiiing.

Wind whipped my cheeks sharply. Berserker's Roar doubled the efficiency of High-Speed Movement.

Feeling that dizzying speed, I poured on full throttle.

Park Chan-gyu watched blankly, then shook his head.

'That guy's an F-rank?'

Professor Kim Tae-min was overseeing this semester's dungeon training—a courtesy from the academy before his looming retirement. Mid-tier guild seniors handled most of it anyway, leaving him little to do.

Far off, a lone figure sped toward him.

'That?'

He recognized the movement skill instantly. High-Speed Movement. The telltale mana waves rippled through the dense dungeon air.

'Who the hell's using a B-rank skill?'

Highest rank here besides him was C.

'Wait, that guy?'

Too distant to ID at first, but closing fast. Kim Tae-min confirmed the face, baffled by the contradiction.

The student barreling in was definitely F-rank.

'Name was... Kang Min-ho, right?'