The Second Hidden Class
“All right! Drink up and follow my lead! This is the kind of moment that calls for a round!”
“I-I’m underage…”
“Underage? There’s no such thing in the Tower! Everyone’s an adult here, got it?!”
“I’m f-fine with just…”
Thud!
Bang!
The sound of cups clashing and chairs scraping back rang out one after another across the inn table.
At the center of it all were two people bickering with each other, with Choi Doheon caught between them.
“Doheon, this is how you learn to drink—by drinking with your elders. Come on, take it!”
“Hey, you muscle pig! What are you doing to the kid?”
Park Minsu tried to force a glass into his hand, while Ryu Jia snatched it away and growled at him in return.
Choi Doheon could only fidget helplessly in the middle, his eyes darting back and forth.
“I-I’d really just like some water…”
“Water later! Take a proper sip of this adult’s liquor! Hahahahaha!”
“Stop forcing him, you idiot!!”
As a few glasses rolled across the tabletop and the inn quickly devolved into chaos, Kim Jun watched in silence and let out a small sigh.
Those two are out.
In party play, the importance of a tanker and a main damage dealer went without saying. If he gave the Book of Incomplete Advancement to Park Minsu or Ryu Jia, they would undoubtedly see an immediate rise in combat power.
But—
“Muscle pig!”
“You little brat!”
“Oh? What’d you just call me?”
“A brat. A. Brat. You’re, what, 160 centimeters tall…”
Crackle—
Blue sparks suddenly burst from Ryu Jia’s hand.
“Wait, don’t tell me… you’re doing this right here—”
Crackle-crackle-crackle!
“You’re kidding, right? You’re kidding, right?”
“Lightning Bolt.”
Sizzle-sizzle-snap!!
“Kyaaaagh!!”
“W-what the hell?! Have you lost your mind?!”
“What’s going on in my inn, you crazy bastards!”
Watching the two of them roll around on the floor, drenched in each other’s electricity, Kim Jun was able to reach a clear conclusion.
That left two people.
Seoyeon and Suin.
The healer, Lee Seoyeon.
In a word, a monster.
Body Regression, which restored severed limbs to their original state. Buff skills that could turn an entire battlefield upside down as long as she had enough mana.
Her buff effects scaled with the caster’s intelligence, and the problem was that her intelligence was already at a transcendental level.
Even before the Tower appeared, she had to have been SS-rank already.
Before the Tower came into existence, the highest officially recognized rank in the world had been S. But Kim Jun was certain.
Lee Seoyeon had already gone beyond that.
Maybe that was why.
The moment she revealed herself, every guild had rushed to make her an offer—promising her even better treatment than their own guild masters received.
But her answer had been firm.
No to all of them.
She had chosen instead to run gates with amateur hunters and grow alongside them.
And there had been one more inexplicable detail.
She had refused countless offers, yet had voluntarily joined Kim Jun’s Han Guild alone.
That was when Han Seojin started openly hating me.
Smiling faintly, Seoyeon noticed Kim Jun’s lingering gaze and sent him a subtle smile.
“What is it, guild master?”
“Ah, no, it’s nothing.”
“Hmm~?”
“Heh heh heh…”
That brief exchange of eye contact with Seoyeon ended there, and Kim Jun’s eyes soon drifted to the corner of the room.
Han Suin, unable to mix with the others, sat there alone, her cheeks flushed as she quietly tipped back a mug of beer.
Suin’s ability is… solid.
Her combat style wasn’t flashy.
She wasn’t on the front lines like Park Minsu, she didn’t provide Seoyeon’s radiant protective light, and she didn’t unleash Ryu Jia’s storm-like magic.
And yet.
She would stand there in silence as if doing nothing at all, only for Kim Jun to look up and find blood dripping from the tip of her blade.
By then, the monsters around her would already be lying on the ground with their throats slit.
An unseen sword.
That was Han Suin’s true value.
And…
Kim Jun bit down hard on his lip.
Every time he looked at her, the guilt he had buried deep inside his chest rose to the surface once more.
The one person who, in his previous life, had never reached a hidden class and died in the end.
The comrade he had failed to protect.
…Is this decision really just because of my feelings?
Since his regression, Kim Jun’s eyes had always lingered on her.
He couldn’t help it; there was always the fear that she might fall at someone else’s hand again.
The bastards from the dark guild that had killed her had already all been cut down, but the Tower was a lawless place.
Besides, even people I thought were dead can turn into monsters… things are different from before.
Other villains could appear at any moment.
And her trusting nature, her complete inability to even suspect others, made her an easy target.
That was why he kept looking at her.
He wanted to watch over her, and he wanted to protect her.
But at the same time, one thing had become painfully clear.
This isn’t an emotional decision.
This wasn’t simply pity or guilt.
No one could question Suin’s skill.
冷静하게 판단해도 이 선택은 감정적인 집착이 아니라, 분명히 가치 있는 투자였다.
As he kept watching her, Han Suin seemed to notice and turned her face away for a moment. Then, as if the alcohol had gotten to her, she lowered her head, unable to hide how red her cheeks had become.
“Suin.”
“…”
“Suin?”
As Kim Jun approached, she opened her mouth awkwardly.
“Guild master…”
“Yeah?”
“…Why do you keep looking at me all the time?”
It was the sort of thing she would never normally say.
Maybe because she was drunk, her voice carried a strange tremor.
Kim Jun was briefly at a loss for words.
He had no idea how he was supposed to answer that.
Have I really been staring too much?
Since his regression, his gaze had always been on her.
Whenever they were together, always.
Apparently, Han Suin had noticed as well.
“I have something to say.”
“Something… to say?”
“Yeah.”
At that curt answer, her shoulders gave a slight tremble.
She didn’t reply. She simply lowered her head, though the tips of her ears, warmed by alcohol, turned even redder.
*
“Have you sobered up a little?”
“…”
Once they had left Thebes’s north gate and walked for quite some time, a small hill came into view beyond a wide field.
The grass swayed gently in the night breeze, and wildflowers blooming here and there scattered a faint fragrance into the air.
Instead of butterflies, tiny white insects shimmered in the moonlight as they drifted between the flowers.
Above them was a sky without a single cloud.
The cold, clear moonlight spilled down like silver dust, faintly coloring the entire field.
Far off, the soft chirring of crickets could be heard, and every time Kim Jun took a step, the fresh scent of grass rose up around his feet.
“…Hmm.”
Kim Jun stopped walking for a moment and looked at the girl beside him.
Talking to Han Suin was always difficult.
He was quiet himself, but her silence had a different quality to it.
After some hesitation, he spoke again.
“The reason I brought you here is…”
“…!”
At once, Han Suin’s shoulders jerked, and her cheeks reddened even more.
It wasn’t just the moonlight.
“Because I wanted to give you a gift.”
“…!!”
Her eyes widened violently at that.
Her heart pounded so hard she couldn’t hide it.
A gift?
For a moment, Han Suin’s mind went blank, and then she was almost offended by the absurdity of it.
No matter how handsome he was under the moonlight, how the definition of his chest beneath his shirt was enough to take your breath away,
no matter how good his face looked, or how astonishing his reputation was in society—
to call her confession a “gift” right out in the open?
“This should be enough for yo—”
“W-wait! I’m not ready yet…”
At that moment, Kim Jun extended a small book from his hand.
[Item Information]
《Book of Incomplete Advancement》
Item Grade: SSS
Effect: Ignore the rules of the class system and advance into a hidden class!
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
It seemed there had been some sort of misunderstanding.
“If you take this, you’ll get stronger.”
…
It was an item that forcibly unlocked a hidden class.
At this stage, there was no item better than this one—without question.
And yet, for some reason, Han Suin was frowning at him, her mouth hanging open in disbelief as she stared daggers at him.
Why does she look angry?
Kim Jun had no idea, but whatever. It was fine.
With this, he now had two people who possessed hidden classes, including himself, which meant the guild’s overall strength would rise even further.
Soon, Han Suin began to use the Book of Incomplete Advancement.
[Advancement System]
User: Han Suin
Current Class: Assassin
Hidden Classes Available: 2
Reaper
Class Description: An assassin who symbolizes death. They melt into the shadows and reap the lives of their enemies.
Traits: Enhanced stealth / Instant-kill skills / Weak recovery ability / Explosive mobility
Recommended Weapon: Dagger
Blade
Class Description: A hidden class specialized in razor-sharp swordsmanship.
Traits: Overwhelming attack speed / Maximum chain slashes and combo potential
Recommended Weapon: Dao
“Reaper and Blade…”
…
He remembered that one of the bastards from the dark guild who had killed Suin had taken the Reaper class.
Blade, however, was a class he had never seen before.
“Hmm… which do you think would be better?”
…
As Han Suin examined the options with bright, careful eyes, Kim Jun silently hoped she would choose Blade.
The reason was obvious.
At present, all the equipment in his possession was the finest work ever made from dragon materials.
The greatsword Dragon Eater,
the armor Dragon Skin,
the gauntlets Dragon Claw.
And then there was one that had been left unused.
A thin, swift blade: Dragon Tail.
It was a weapon that would suit the Blade class better than anything else.
S-rank
Attack Power: +30
Attack Speed: +60%
Special Effect: Double Strike (30% chance to trigger sword energy)
Unique Skill: Dragon Tail Flash – Cuts down enemies in an instant with lightning-fast swordsmanship.
Binding: Current owner, Kim Jun
Though it was currently bound to him, like Melchizedek's Formless Sword, it could be transferred at set intervals.
And if the assassin’s stealth was combined with Blade’s chain slashes?
Honestly, that’s excellent.
The hesitation didn’t last long.
Click.
“W-what did you press?”
“Blade…”
There it is!
In truth, the fact that Kim Jun had obtained S-rank equipment this early was nothing short of luck.
In his first life, he had barely managed to get even one by the time he reached the 50th floor.
And yet Dragon Tail had been sitting unused the whole time.
An S-rank weapon that wasn’t being used was nothing but waste and loss.
It was almost ridiculous to choose a class because of equipment, but—
That just shows how insanely powerful the item is. If she picks Blade, I’d hand it over immediately.
Whooosh—
The once-quiet field began to stir.
The butterflies fluttering through the night scattered and vanished.
Even the moonlight seemed to tremble as a violent wind gathered around Han Suin.
Boom—!
In an instant, the wind compressed into her body, then exploded outward and disappeared.
Hidden Class Blade Acquired!
Skill Final Whisper S Acquired!
Skill Flash A Acquired!
Skill Mist C Acquired!
Title Dancer Acquired!
Once her awakening was complete, Han Suin suddenly glared at Kim Jun.
“Shall we… spar?”
She looked like she was trying to vent something that had piled up inside her, but still.
Fine by him.
“Feeling confident, are you?”
Kim Jun smirked and met her gaze.
The new hidden class, Blade.
It was a perfect chance to find out what it could do.
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