Level Up Tutorial (1)
Level Up Tutorial (1)
"What should I do...."
Hwaran felt dizzy before the greatest crisis of her life.
The Director-nim had collapsed after just two glasses of soju.
When Hwaran tried to support her, the Director's legs were completely limp, making it difficult to even help her walk, so she ended up just carrying her on her back.
It wasn't that difficult.
No matter how heavy someone is, there's a limit to human weight, and the Director didn't weigh that much. If anything, she was on the lighter side because she was short.
Besides, Hwaran wasn't just an ordinary person; she was an Ability User. Even if she wasn't an enhancement-type Ability User, hoisting a woman onto her back didn't even count as heavy lifting.
The problem was what to do with the dead-drunk Director.
It seemed too late to take her back to the office, and she couldn't exactly ask the Director for her address to take her home.
Even now, Hwaran kept tapping her, saying, "Please, wake up. Where should I take you?" trying to wake her, but the Director's consciousness had long since faded away.
Instead, she was using Hwaran's tapping as a lullaby, making little snoring sounds, dororong.
It was a bit scary to call Seora, the office operator and the Director's former secretary.
It was long past closing time, so calling would be a nuisance, and if she hadn't left yet, it meant she was working overtime, so she would likely be quite displeased.
Going through that thought process made Hwaran's anxiety grow even more.
She couldn't get on her bad side from the very first day.
But she didn't feel comfortable bringing her to her own home either.
So, what else could she do?
As Hwaran turned her head, looking around, a flashing sign caught her eye at the edge of her vision.
The letters were glowing in tacky, rainbow colors. It was a motel.
It was the perfect place to lay down for a night at a cheap price.
It wasn't far from the office, so it didn't seem like such a bad choice.
Thus, Hwaran's anxious footsteps began to move little by little.
†
"Carefully, carefully...."
The motel room she had rushed into, lest anyone see them.
Trying hard to ignore the musty smell of cigarettes deeply soaked into the wallpaper and ceiling, Hwaran carefully laid the Director down on the cheap mattress.
She didn't think she would wake up, but she didn't know what she might hear if she suddenly did.
Of course, these were actions born of good intentions, so there was no one to blame, and the Director wasn't the type of person to get angry over something like this.
If anything, she would be embarrassed and express her gratitude.
But from Hwaran's perspective, not knowing the Director well and this being her first time in such a situation, everything felt delicate.
Worried she might be uncomfortable, she carefully took off the shoes the Director was wearing, and once she did, she felt the tension snap, causing her body to go limp.
"Phew..., it's not as easy as I thought."
Sitting on a cheap chair that suited the cheap motel room, staring blankly at the Director, she felt a strange sensation.
'Isn't this dangerous?' she thought.
Dragging a dead-drunk person and naturally ending up in a motel room. Wouldn't anyone who saw this easily mistake her for a shameless person?
The only fortunate thing was that they were the same gender, so she was a bit more free from such gazes.
"...She's pretty."
As she continued to let her thoughts wander, Hwaran stared at the Director's face with a dazed expression.
It might be a bit embarrassing to say, but Hwaran didn't think her own looks were lacking anywhere. She had been quite popular even before getting the Ability User label, and since her personality wasn't one with low self-esteem, she wasn't the type to put down her own looks.
The problem was that after getting her ability, her confidence soared, she proudly entered the Association, received a B-rank, and then her self-esteem plummeted when she realized the world was full of people better than her.
As she felt depressed and admired her beauty at the same time, the heat in the room gradually increased.
The chest rising and falling with her wheezing breaths, the two cheeks flushed red from the heavy intoxication, and the brow slightly furrowed from the discomfort of the clothes worn outside—all of this made Hwaran's own insides feel like they were heating up as well.
Then, ttiring.
An alarm sound rang out.
It wasn't Hwaran's phone, nor was it the Director's.
The Director's status window, which she had seen during the briefing earlier, had somehow floated up by the Director's head again.
But the content written on it was a little different from the useless and indecent status window from before.
[Would you like to do the Level Up Tutorial? Y / N]
A sudden notification window.
It was a status window that the Director couldn't see, only others, so it seemed to be asking Hwaran.
Level up?
A world where rifts open, all sorts of monsters pour out, and Ability Users, who are more fantastical than fantasy itself, run rampant.
But this is reality, after all.
The way Ability Users get stronger is set in stone.
Either by working their bodies to gain experience, or by clearing rifts (operations) and getting items as rewards.
If not that, the only other way is to receive buff skills from enhancement-type Ability Users.
They say there are moments when one breaks through their limits, but that's almost like the absurd stories floating around on the internet.
Once you're assigned a B-rank, you have to live as a B-rank for almost half your life.
If you roll around on all sorts of battlefields, gain experience, become a veteran, and build up a decent career, the Association might raise your rank, but that's closer to the growth of skill in handling the ability, not the growth of the ability itself.
Gulp.
If you could simply get stronger without all that?
It's a story that would make any Ability User's eyes pop, and for a rookie who hasn't even started a proper operation yet, it's even more tempting.
It's not some fake drug sold by a junkie; it's like a game system window asking her.
Want to do it?
The word 'tutorial' bothered Hwaran.
If it only teaches her this one time and that's it, it means she'll have to do something on her own next time.
An unknown variable, not knowing what's waiting. The fear of that.
But she couldn't just give up already.
Just hoping it wouldn't be painful, Hwaran reached out and pressed Y firmly.
Then, the bluish window shattered with a paat sound, then immediately gathered back together to create a different window.
[Level Up Tutorial starting.
......
Bring Agabang Guardian to Climax.]
Upon checking the contents of the window, Hwaran's mind went completely blank, as blank as it could possibly get.
Ah... Agabang Guardian refers to the Director sleeping soundly right in front of her.
It was a somewhat difficult and meaningless name, but regardless, hadn't the status window, which was full of question marks, changed into that?
But Climax, of all things.
Could it be that kind of...!!
Hwaran prayed it wasn't that.
She fanned her face, which was flushed as red as it could possibly get, trying to cool it down and force her thoughts in a different direction.
"Th-that... that must be it, right?"
There was no one in the room to answer, but she muttered the question to herself.
In the current situation, she couldn't think of anything but something lewd.
Why did things like that have to be written on the Director's status window?
"But if I do it now, it's, r-rape...."
Forcibly bringing someone who has lost consciousness to the point of fainting to a Climax.
This wasn't right.
If she woke up in the middle and caught her, how would she make excuses and get past it?
The fact that she was already thinking about such things meant Hwaran's hesitation was already too late.
Wasn't she already operating on the premise that she would do it?
It couldn't be helped.
An age so young it couldn't even be called young. Hwaran is only 21 years old.
Never mind a decent job, in a time where most people work in jobs related to rifts, an Ability User's rank was very precious.
Because at least then she could get into an office somewhere and live while being treated well.
But that's only a story for when you reach a certain rank.
B-rank isn't a common rank, but it's not enough to be treated well.
Even if her rank doesn't go up right away, if she could somehow get stronger, wouldn't future operations become easier? Then her standing would rise, and her rank would naturally go up too.
Gulp.
Hwaran swallowed dry saliva once more.
Then, as if she had made up her mind, her eyes sparkled.
Tap tap.
"Director-nim, Director-nim? Are you asleep?"
"Umm...."
She tapped her shoulder somewhat roughly, but the Director only flinched for a moment.
Ah, she felt certain that she wouldn't wake up.
Perhaps that's how it had to be.
Taking a deep breath, Hwaran, with very careful movements, slowly peeled off the Director's clothes layer by layer, as if crawling.
I'm sorry. If I get stronger, it's good for you too, Director-nim.
In the eyes of Hwaran, who had already finished rationalizing it to herself, expectation was brimming more than guilt.
The first thing she took off was the bottom, her lower garment.
She carefully rolled down the black stockings, left them around her knees, and then slowly lifted the skirt.
Then, pure white panties that had never been shown to anyone revealed themselves.
Without realizing it, she brought her face to the brand-new-looking panties and sniff sniff.
A sweet yet somehow thrilling scent burrowed into Hwaran's nose.
"Ex-excuse me."
Hwaran covered the white fabric with trembling hands.
Worrying that she might wake up, the plump flesh that wrapped snugly into her extremely careful hands was truly alluring.
And Hwaran realized it belatedly.
This is more dangerous than I thought.
That the real hardship wasn't the Director waking up, but enduring her own impulses.