"Sorry? Could you repeat that?"
"…Your rank is F."
Oh, why has it come down to this?
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I walked out of the awakening centre glumly, deep in my thought. 'Even in my new life, I am still F rank..perhaps it was my fate all along' I sighed, feeling heart-broken as if I had just broken up with my girlfriend.
I sat on a nearby chair, digging into my bag for a sandwich.
After some weeks since the outbreak, I decided to wait until the awakening centre was built before going out to rest my rank. It seemed I was the type to awaken quickly so thankfully, it went well.
'went well? Ha, what a joke.' I could hear the words echoing in my head. F-rank…F-rank…F-rank…
…How annoying.
I bit into the sandwich. Since Yuna-ssi had awakened after the outbreak, she wanted to see her rank so we had decided to go together. And here I was, waiting for her to finish.
'I wonder what rank she'd be..'
Not too long after, I heard a familiar voice calling out from the distance. I looked up from my place.
"Yuna-ssi? You're done already?"
"That's right!"
Yuna seemed happy with her rank. Her face showed all type of emotion. Happiness, Excited, Determination. Well, good for her. I suppose..
"By the way, who are they behind you?" I questioned, looking behind her. There were two men in suit, they were quite tall and had a sturdy form. Typical bodyguards imitation…
"Of course, they're my new bodyguards!"
or not..
"What!?"
Yuna smiled sheepishly, "I awakened as A rank with a [locator] ability." Hearing that made my jaw drop. However, Yuna kept going, "The ability actually enables me to find hidden treasures in gates, even though it's not a combat skill, i'm actually quite happy! I even got an offer from one of the top 5 guilds! Have you heard of 'Pantheon'?
…
"Haesung-nim? Are you okay? Don't tell me you're jealous.." She snickered.
"Just go away.."
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I laid on my bed with my head dangling off the side. Truly, how am I so unlucky?
'Anyways, I'll see you soon, Haesung-ah. Since we're friends now. Let's drop the formal title okay?'
Were…were we not friends?. How humiliating.. I rolled to my side and sat up.
"Open."
[Welcome, player, to the System Shop! If you have any questions, please use
The last time I had used contact, the system refused to answer me, or couldn't. This time, I'd make sure it talks. I tapped on the
A few seconds passed.
'…'
[Hello, player! I am an Ai bot wh-]
"Yes, yes I know. Let me get straight to the point. Why do you expect me to clear a gate when I'm F-rank? What kind of beginner quest is this?!"
By now, I felt as if I was losing my mind. Seriously, does this system plan to make a mockery of me? I mean, come on, I can't even clear an F-rank gate. That's basically failing the tutorial stage!
"Hey, if you want me to do my quests, at least give me some beginner rewards to get me started! At this rate, I'll die before I even finish the quests!"
[I understand, please wait whilst I prepare the starter pack.]
Oh, that was easy? I thought I needed to threaten the system to get what I want. 'Though, it's not like I'd be able to threaten a robot..'
To waste time, I decided to think about the future. In a few years time, there would be a catastrophe that would destroy a huge part of Korea…It was actually the first time Korea had an SS-grade dungeon break. Of course, details were not clear, so people weren't able to find out what had caused it. In order to prepare for that day, I would definitely need to get stronger. If I can't, I could always use the plane and travel to China instead. 'I heard that they have beautiful scenery..It would be great to clear my mind every now and then.'
Ping!
[Starter pack has been sent to your inbox!]
Oh? That was quite fast. "I'm actually quite excited to see what I get. It better be something that guarantees my survival." I opened the inbox and claimed the reward.
Anyways, how would it work? Would it be delivered to me?
zap
The box appeared before me, making me startled. "Woah, it just showed up out of nowhere, this is sick!"
I examined the box. It wasn't that big but wasn't small either. In fact, it fit nicely on the table. The box looked quite simple, with a red ribbon wrapping the box like a christmas present. Up close, I could feel faint mana coming from it.
"Shall we see what's inside the box?"
I could feel my fingers shaking with excitement. I slowly opened the box and prayed. 'Please! Please be something good!'
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"Hayoung-ah, please be careful, don't run too far!" A woman with warm, brown hair and light brown eyes panicked. Jisoo Kang, 16 year old. She was one of the unlucky people who didn't get to awaken. At first, she was quite upset about it, shutting herself in her room and refusing to come out until she had her awakening. In the end, she remembered about her little sister who still was too young to take care of herself.
'If I had awakened, I wouldn't be able to be there for my sister. I'm glad I wasn't awakened.'
Her parents had died when she was just 14. They said it was from a car accident but Jisoo never believed it. She thought that her parents had abandoned them and traveled overseas. So after that day, she worked hard and dropped out of school in order to provide for her sister. In the end though, their Grandma took them in, and provided for them instead.
"Eonni! Come quick, I saw a cute cat!" The little girl, Hayoung, said brightly. She followed after the cat into the dark alley with her sister in tow.
"Hayoung-ah, you shouldn't go into dark places.. you may never know what's inside!" She scolded her sister, bringing her close.
"Ehe! Sorry, Eonni, but this cat looked so cute!" Hayoung giggled, hugging the small cat in her arms.
Jisoo sighed, crouched down and looked at her sister in the eyes. "Hayoung-ah. You should never chase a cat, okay? You're only scaring them more, you don't want that, do you?"
Hayoung gasped, "N-no way! I want to become their best friend!"
Jisoo smiled softly, "Then let it go, okay?" She took the cat from her sisters hand and Hayoung let her. She placed the cat down. Instantly, the cat ran off, disappearing into the shadows.
"Do you think that cat would be alright?" Hayoung quietly asked, looking into her sister's eyes. Jisoo nodded, and comforted her sister.
"Let's go eat some ice cream now, Hayoung-ah." Jisoo got up and took her sister's hand. The girl brightened immediately. "Okay, Eonni! I want strawberry!"
Jisoo laughed, "Of course~ anything for my sweet little sister!"
MeeeOWWW
Uh? Was that the cat? Jisoo looked behind and gasped sharply. 'No way..'
She stepped back. From the shadows, a small gang appeared before them, they were covered in tattoos and sharp weapons dangling off their belt. Jisoo instinctively covered her sister's eyes and brought her closer.
"Eonni, what's going on?"
The man, probably the leader, stepped forward. He had a wild smile with a large scar across his face. 'I can sense a powerful aura around him.. Is he an awakened?'
She looked at the guy's feet. The cat they saw from before was bruised. Did they kick it?
Jisoo felt disgusted. 'That poor cat..'
"Boys, it seems like the heavens blessed us a cute girl!" The leader snickered.
" let's quickly take her and sell her as a slave." The leader licked his lips and beckoned the closest one closer, "Go grab her, don't bruise her though. We need her to be in tip-top shape if we want to earn lots of money.."
The Right-hand man complied with his Boss's orders. He stepped closer to Jisoo, smirking.
"Hey, little girl, follow us quietly okay? We promise to be gentle…kekekeke"
"Don't get any closer, you big bully!" Jisoo warned, pushing her sister behind her. "If you do, I'll bite you!"
The man in question looked surprised, "It seems you're a feisty girl. Don't worry, I'll make you obedient soon."
The man raised his hand closer to Jisoo, ready to grab her arm. She immediately snarled and bit his hand.
'Jisoo dear.. remember, never be scared if a big bully tries to hurt you, okay? If they do, make sure to fight back, but don't go too far, otherwise you'd end up hurt'
'Grandma, you're way too paranoid! I'm careful every day~'
Those were her Grandma's advice. However, she would've never imagined she would be in this situation.
'Shoot..what do I do? They're definitely awakened. There's no way we can outrun them..'
She clutched her sister's hand tighter. Hayoung seemed to notice something. "Eonni, are you okay? What's happening?"
"Nothing, Hayoung-ah, it's okay." Jisoo looked at the guy slowly approaching her. He looked quite angry, clutching his bleeding hand with his other hand. Jisoo spat out some blood on the floor.
"Hey, little girl, you've really made me angry." The man said, looking at his hand. "I'll make sure to make you pay."
"Don't get closer, do you hear me?! You big, disgusting creature!" She kept stepping back until her back was pressed against the concrete wall.
'Someone, please help! Get this man away from me!'
The man raised his hand. Jisoo shut her eyes tightly and braced herself.
"Kekeke- You should've never bit my hand, you fre-"
whoosh
Jisoo felt someone grabbing her hand and pulling her along.
"H-huh?" She opened her eyes in shock, it was a guy. A guy with black hair and pure, black eyes. He had her sister in his arms.
"W-who?" She asked, the guy looked at her and smiled. "Hey kid, are you good? Let's run and talk after. The men are still behind us."
The guy stopped and crouched down. "Hey, get on my back, it'll be faster." Jisoo looked quite embarrassed. 'This guy, is he helping me? I suppose It is better to follow..' She quickly climbed on his back.
The guy tucked her sister, Hayoung, into his arms. "Eonni, do you know him?"
"..I don't…"
The man took off, startling the two girls. "Eeeeeek! Why are you so fast!" Jisoo shouted, clutching his shoulders in panic. 'This crazy guy! I'm going to piss my pants!..'
She could hear the men chasing behind her, however, the noise was slowly fading into the distance. 'Goodness!.. he's that fast?'
She decided to shut her eyes. If she doesn't, she might actually get sick.
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"Hey kid, sorry for startling you before." The guy rubbed his neck, feeling quite quilty.
Jisoo huffed, "It's fine, my Hayoung-ah seemed to enjoy it so I can't be mad."
The man looked confused, "who?.."
Jisoo pointed to her sister, who was drinking juice given to her by the man. The man just nodded.
"Anyways, thank you for earlier.." Jisoo looked down, red creeping up her neck. 'This is so embarrassing..'
The man smiled, "It's all good. I just wanted to test something out."
Jisoo studied his face for a moment and suddenly thought, 'this guy looks ancient…'
"I'm Jisoo."
"Haesung."
"Can I call you ahjussi?" She asked, grabbing her sister from running off again. Haesung's eyes widened as he gasped, "Hey, I'm not even old! I'm only 25, what the hell?"
Jisoo laughed, "That- that is old! A-anyways cough, thank you again, ahjussi~" She wiped her tears away.
"Th-this disrespectful brat!"
Haesung just sighed, bringing his hand to his face. "Anyways, you guys have to be careful okay? You may never know what trouble awaits you next time. I might not even be there to help you so you have to be careful." He sternly said, pointing at Jisoo.
"Yes, yes, I understand, Ah-ju-ssi!"
"Stop calling me Ahjussi dammit!"