The Level Upper
Near the eastern outskirts of Seoul, in front of a Grade B gate.
The guild members of the Dawn Guild, who controlled entry to gates outside the approved personnel, were whispering among themselves.
"The mana reaction emanating from the gate changed once."
"Have you reported it to headquarters?"
"No, the mana levels returned not long after. It was probably just a device malfunction."
"The device is old, after all. Still, it’s better to report it just in case. It could be a variable gate?"
"Aigoo, no way..."
The party they were cooperating with right now, the one hunting inside the gate, were graduates of the Hunter Academy. Shouldn’t we make a support request as a precaution?"
"Hmm..."
Woo-woong!
At that moment the gate flickered, and a party of people who looked terribly beaten emerged.
Guild members of the Dawn Guild rushed over to them urgently.
"Are you all okay?"
"Everyone’s suffering from dehydration and severe burns... Where’s the healer?"
"Mana exhaustion! Contact the treatment center immediately!"
"H-Here!"
"Huh?"
While supporting his comrades, Na-yeon managed to ask the question despite her exhaustion.
"Has anyone else entered this gate?"
"What nonsense! We were guarding it perfectly."
"No ant got past us."
They shook their heads as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The people guarding this gate were the Dawn Guild hunters affiliated with the Rising Star.
Since the Rising Star’s party had obtained the monopoly on hunting this gate, controlling the entry of other hunters without a separate support request was the duty of their affiliated guild.
"......"
Confronted with their definite answer, Na-yeon had no choice but to close her mouth.
It was the hour before dawn.
In the rest area of the Dawn Guild Treatment Center, the Hunter Academy graduates had gathered.
"......"
Silence hung heavily in the middle.
Fortunately, thanks to Kim Hyeon-jeong’s immediate action at the scene, no one had suffered irreversible injuries.
Thanks to that, after initial emergency treatment, everyone had come to their senses, but among them the Rising Star, who had held on the longest, was in the middle of intensive care.
But they couldn’t stay silent forever.
There were mountains of post-battle feedback and reward distribution to discuss as well.
"...Still, we have to do what we have to do."
Finally breaking the silence, Ryu Jun-hyeok opened his mouth, and everyone began to chime in one by one.
"By the way, a variable gate, huh."
"How did we even make it back alive?"
"...There was a way to dispel the simultaneous sense of cold. The Centaur reinforcement was also lifted at the same time."
Na-yeon explained the situation at the time.
"Removing the spirit...!"
"That was movable!?"
"Why didn’t we think of that?"
"Everyone’s minds weren’t working properly because the temperature rose so sharply."
"Na-yeon handled it calmly even in the midst of all that."
"T-Thanks. Thanks to you, I lived."
"I’m not alone in this. It’s because Rising Star held on until the very end. ...Hehe."
Na-yeon scratched her head and let out a foolish smile.
Fortunately, the party’s mood brightened quickly.
After all, they had all come back alive.
"Then, Na-yeon finished off that guy?"
"Probably thanks to Rising Star’s early damage."
"Hmm, yeah, he was pretty ragged."
"......"
The comrades seemed to have reached their own conclusion.
But for Na-yeon, a question remained unanswered.
The Centaur that returned at Grade B was indeed ragged, but it wasn’t at a level where Na-yeon’s single strike could bring it down.
The final slash.
An aura that was unimaginably overbearing yet eerily beautiful.
It might not have been only the illusion Na-yeon had seen while her body burned.
But since the mana beast Centaur, composed of concentrated mana, disappeared right after its death, she hadn’t had time to check the wounds.
And the voice that had lodged itself in her ear, carrying a vaguely familiar feeling.
A girl’s figure flashed through Na-yeon’s mind.
A girl whose movements were as cute as those of a little fairy yet possessed the cunning of a fox inside.
"...No way."
But Na-yeon immediately shook her head.
The Dawn Guild’s skilled hunters would have noticed even a tiny child’s entry.
And Rising Star had just awakened her abilities, hadn’t she?
A small, frail girl unleashing such a terrifying slash was something even someone who had no idea of the limits of Rising Star’s abilities would find incomprehensible.
And even if she generously granted that it really was Rising Star...
After the boss fell, Na-yeon hadn’t seen what happened.
Where had it vanished to?
Still, just in case, she should ask.
While Na-yeon pondered the inexplicable phenomenon and groaned inwardly, the main topic came up among the comrades.
Kim Hyeon-jeong poked Na-yeon’s side with a grin.
"So, Na-yeon. You must’ve taken it, right?"
"Huh? Hehe, straight to the main topic already?"
Na-yeon pulled something from her bag.
Whoaah!
In an instant the treatment center rest area was filled with the dazzling light radiating from it.
"Wow...!"
"Real-grade mana crystals?"
"As expected, a variable irregular gate!
"I heard there were records of it appearing a few times in the past. Even though the damage during the hunt was severe, the reward was huge, apparently."
"Plus, none of us died."
Everyone cheered and added one by one.
Real-grade mana crystals.
They possessed enormous mana that could keep the city barrier system running for at least a year.
In terms of monetary value, even if the party of six split it, they could buy one building each.
"There’s still more. But what is this?"
"What!?"
"Another item?"
Kim Na-yeon tilted her head and reached into her bag.
Soon the gazes of the party members focused on the items placed on the table.
But what those items were...
...Two roots that looked like ginseng plants?
"Did we visit a ginseng field?"
"We know they’re rare items, but..."
"...Wait a second."
Kim Hyeon-jeong picked up her smartphone and began photographing it.
She was checking the Hunter Wiki for item information.
And soon Kim Hyeon-jeong’s lips twitched in a spasm.
The curious comrades all gathered around her.
"What is it? What is it?"
"...A type of Level Upper item."
"!"
"Wh-What."
Level Upper.
An item that assists awakened ones in their growth.
It was an item that the Rising Star had casually mentioned during the gate hunt this time.
It was the current hunter world’s consensus that awakened ones’ maximum growth limit is set at birth.
But rarely, there is a way to grow through items found in gates.
Those are the Level Upper items.
However, Kim Hyeon-jeong continued with a feigned look of regret.
"But it’s not as overwhelmingly powerful as one would think. True Level Upper items are usually unique objects whose origins are unknown. But this is a type that appears rarely in Grade A or higher dungeons, which could even be called common."
"What? Then it’s not that expensive?"
"No way. It’s still a Level Upper, after all. If we put both roots up for auction together, it should fetch at least the value of the real-grade mana crystals."
Ryu Jun-hyeok asked Kim Hyeon-jeong with sparkling eyes.
"What if I, who am Grade B, eat it?"
"It would definitely make me stronger, but it probably won’t raise my grade...? If I reach Grade A hunter level, I might not even see the effect. But with two, it could bring a Grade C hunter up to Grade B, apparently. But low-rank hunters won’t be able to properly value the Level Upper items, right? Probably just something stocked for rewards in a mid-sized guild."
"Haa, even if I ate both, I won’t reach Grade A."
"......"
Unlike Ryu Jun-hyeok who sighed deeply, Kim Na-yeon swallowed hard.
Level Upper items.
Hunter grade ascension.
The yearning for strength was strongest in Kim Na-yeon here, more than anyone else.
She wanted to become stronger than anyone to protect people.
And now, to protect the children who had become even more precious.
Kim Na-yeon, whose path of growth had opened thanks to Wiji Yeon’s help, but the unprecedented darkness hanging over this city was one that this level of power couldn’t dispel.
She had to become stronger, and faster, than now.
While Kim Na-yeon’s mind was absorbed in the Level Upper, the comrades exchanged glances.
And everyone nodded.
Kim Hyeon-jeong smiled brightly and held out the two Level Upper roots to Na-yeon.
"Na-yeon, take all of these."
"Wh-What!?"
Na-yeon was startled.
"W-What are you saying! This is an item we obtained by pooling our strength. We should properly sell it and divide the profits."
"We have enough mana crystals. Right?"
"Um, um. In exchange for Na-yeon taking the Level Upper, we’ll split the real-grade mana crystals among the five of us."
"Still, I could do that."
"Na-yeon."
Hyeon-jeong shook her head and grabbed Na-yeon’s shoulder.
"If it weren’t for you, we would all have buried our bones there. Are you going to keep carrying the burden on our hearts?"
"...But we should listen to Rising Star’s opinion too."
At that moment, the exhausted Rising Star came out from the hospital room and spoke.
"I agree too."
"Rising Star!?"
All the comrades pushed their seats aside and approached her.
"Are you okay!?"
"Yeah. Thanks to you."
"Rising Star."
"Na-yeon, as I said earlier? Sorry."
"........"
"Kim Hyeon-jeong is right. Even a little, it lightens the burden on my heart."
Rising Star, a prideful Grade A hunter, bowed her head deeply.
"Thank you. Top graduate of the Hunter Academy 71st class... the pride of our comrades, Kim Na-yeon."
"...Rising Star."
The two female hunters clasped hands tightly.
Sniffle... sniffle...
"Healing... Healing is needed..."
The external wounds were all healed, but the current Na-yeon, having poured out all her mental strength, needed mental treatment as well.
Na-yeon carefully opened the door to the inner office room, the children’s bedroom, and stepped inside.
Of course she had said it would take a day longer, but still, she looked concerned.
Under the dim sleeping light, two girls slept soundly.
The white-and-black angel of Na-yeon, Wiji Yeon and Lee Da-yeon.
Na-yeon approached the children’s beds like a mother hen.
Softly.
Having successfully slipped between the children and lain down, Na-yeon extended her long arms and embraced them.
"Uhn..."
The two angels wriggled in their sleep and snuggled into Na-yeon’s arms.
"Hehe."
Na-yeon smiled brightly.
She could live with just these children.
Suddenly the thought came to mind, and Na-yeon looked toward the dark-haired girl, Wiji Yeon.
The familiar-feeling voice she had heard from inside the gate.
But because it was a voice with noise, she couldn’t be sure.
Why had Yeon suddenly come to mind from that voice?
Was it not just a hallucination from a mind that wasn’t herself?
"Koo."
Wiji Yeon, eyes tightly closed, let out a small breath and nestled in Na-yeon’s arms.
"...It really isn’t her, right?"
Na-yeon, gazing at the girl sleeping in a world-peaceful expression as if she had removed all suspicion, turned her thoughts to realistic concerns.
Still, what to do with the Level Upper?
Such an expensive item, wasn’t it something to discuss with the brother and dispose of?
If she ate both, Na-yeon could become a Grade B hunter.
But.
Na-yeon lay still, alternating her gaze between the two children.