The thrill of leveling up wore off the moment the adrenaline faded. Jae-Hee spent the next morning hidden in a vacant classroom, counting his new stats. Strength 9 was better than 5, but it was still nothing against a high-schooler with a decent Level and actual combat training.
Min-Ji found him later that afternoon, a thick folder of notes under her arm. She hadn't slept.
"Your 'cheat' isn't a cheat, it's a death wish," she said, slapping the folder down. "The x2 damage penalty means that against anyone over Level 15, you won't just get bruised, you'll be hospitalized."
Jae-Hee looked at the new data she'd compiled. Min-Ji's [Data Analysis Lv. 3] skill allowed her to track known gang activity and Level ranges.
"Look," she pointed to a hastily drawn graph. "The weakest Apex members operate near the old Jangmi Market after 10 PM. They are Level 10-14. You are Level 5. That's a minimum >= 5 Level gap. That's our farming spot."
Min-Ji had planned a methodical grind, scouting target positions and designing escape routes using hidden service tunnels and maintenance alleys. She was his brains; he was the desperate, fragile weapon.
"You need a skill drop," Min-Ji insisted. "Your [Observation] is useless for combat. We need something that adds damage."
The next three nights were a blur of fear and pain. Jae-Hee would activate XP Siphon, rush a lone Level 10 Apex grunt, land one focused blow, steal the XP, and immediately run as his body screamed from the retaliatory x2 damage. He learned to aim for weak spots: the back of the knee, the side of the throat, the solar plexus.
He got faster, his Agility climbing rapidly from the constant running.
On the third night, after siphoning 80 XP from a particularly tough Level 12 target, a new light flashed.
NOTIFICATION: SKILL DROP!
The grunt had dropped a skill crystal. Jae-Hee snatched it up before the gang member could recover.
ACQUIRED SKILL: [Iron Fist (Lv. 1)]
"Finally!" Min-Ji breathed into her cheap headset, tracking him from three blocks away. "It's a basic damage buff. It adds + 2 to your Strength stat for 5 seconds when activated. It's weak, but it's consistent."
Jae-Hee tested it later by punching a brick wall. His knuckles throbbed, but the impact felt focused. He wasn't relying purely on luck anymore.
By the end of the week, his Level had stabilized.
NOTIFICATION JAE-HEE PARK HAS LEVELED UP!
LEVEL 5 -> 10
STRENGTH 9 -> 16
ENDURANCE 8 -> 14
AGILITY 7 -> 15
His body felt tight, responsive. He was still skinny, but the new muscle was dense, efficient.
"Level 10," Jae-Hee whispered. He had broken through the initial barrier.
"Perfect," Min-Ji said, her voice serious. "But now the danger spikes. To activate XP Siphon, you need to fight Level 15 and up. That means we have to move out of the side-streets. We need a new hunting ground, and I found one."
She brought up a blurry satellite image of a decaying, three-story building on the edge of Seongjin's abandoned industrial district.
"That's the Old Kookje Gym," she explained. "It's an unofficial neutral zone, but lately, a splinter group from Apex has been trying to claim it. The rumors say they've set up a command post there, and the average Level is 18."
Jae-Hee knew what that meant. He had moved from petty thieves to minor warlords. The stakes had just multiplied.
"Level 18," Jae-Hee repeated, a flicker of cold excitement in his eyes. "That's 8 levels above me. I can Siphon the entire command post."
"And if you get caught inside, the x2 damage will ensure you never walk again," Min-Ji countered, her tone cutting. "We need to be smarter. And we need help."
Jae-Hee's eyes narrowed. "Help? From who?"
Min-Ji pointed to a different part of her data sheet—a collection of Level 1 and 2 students who were perpetually hiding. "The actual F-Ranks. The ones who can't fight, but can distract. The ones who have nothing left to lose but their lives."