The following day, Jae-Hee and Min-Ji met their prospective "allies" in the school's dilapidated storage basement—a forgotten corner smelling of dust and dried paint.
The group consisted of three students, all bearing the permanent pallor of fear. Their leader, a broad-shouldered but perpetually slumped boy named Dae-Jung, was Level 2, Class: Laborer. His skills were limited to basic lifting and moving heavy objects.
"You're the Level 10 who hit Do-Yoon," Dae-Jung said, his eyes wide.
"I need bodies and noise," Jae-Hee stated, cutting straight to the point. "You know the school's Level 1 and 2 students. I need five people who can cause a ruckus and then run, without fail. In exchange, no one from Apex touches you again."
Dae-Jung glanced nervously at his two skinny companions. "Apex patrols our neighborhood twice a day now. We haven't eaten a full meal in three days. We don't need protection. We need XP."
Jae-Hee scoffed. "You try to fight a Level 18 with your Level 2 stats, you die. I don't need your blood."
Min-Ji stepped forward, her Support Class profile giving her a quiet authority. "Jae-Hee is the only person who can raise your Level. Your only value to him is as a distraction. But... if you are successful, he can arrange 'accidental' Critical Hits against easy targets—Apex grunts below Level 10—after the main mission is complete. You get a controlled XP Siphon."
The deal was struck. Dae-Jung would gather five of the most desperate E-Class students and scout the Old Kookje Gym. Min-Ji would provide him with encrypted routes and timings.
Over the next two days, the plan was refined. The E-Class group would infiltrate the gym, make noise, and distract the enforcers by triggering alarms. This would force three key Apex lieutenants out of their centralized position and into the open, confined spaces of the gym's main hall.
"The target is to hit them fast, steal the XP, and collapse the roof on their operation," Jae-Hee explained, looking at the layout Min-Ji had drawn. "Three Level 18 targets. If I can land a Siphon on all three, I'll jump twenty Levels, easy. But the moment I rush in, the risk starts."
He reviewed his new stats:
STATUS WINDOW JAE-HEE PARK
LEVEL 10
CLASS CIVILIAN F-RANK
STRENGTH 16
ENDURANCE 14
AGILITY 15
SKILLS Observation Lv. 1, Iron Fist Lv. 1
He activated his [Iron Fist] skill. A faint red glow enveloped his knuckles. It was still weak. He needed to be faster, smarter, and absolutely brutal to bridge the Level gap.
"The key is surprise," Min-Ji reminded him. "They are strong, but they are complacent. They won't expect a Level 10 to intentionally pick a fight with a group of Level 18s."
Jae-Hee looked at the night-time map. The jump from Level 10 to Level 30 felt immense, terrifying, and necessary.
"No, they won't," Jae-Hee agreed, a chilling, calculating look replacing his old fear. "But that's why I'm the Unlikely Delinquent."