EP1. Mana Level is MAX?
Trrring.
Hye-seon woke up to the alarm blaring by her bedside.
With bleary eyes, she fumbled around for her phone.
7 a.m.
She'd gotten home from the study room at 3 a.m. after cramming, so she'd only slept four hours.
Yawn.
I'm so tired.
Rubbing her crusty eyes, she dragged herself upright.
Technically, it was the weekend, so she could've slept in.
But Hye-seon always made breakfast for her brother on weekends.
At the very least, she wanted to cook for him on weekends.
It was her way of thanking him for all the hardship he'd endured since their parents passed away.
Click.
Thinking of her still-sleeping brother, she quietly opened the door.
Maybe I'll make some seaweed soup today.
Do we have any left?
Lost in her housewife-like thoughts, Hye-seon stepped into the living room.
But then—
"You're up?"
"Huh?"
"Oppa?"
Hye-seon jumped in surprise and looked at Jae-jun.
He was already awake and freshly showered, a towel wrapped around his head.
"Oppa, why are you up so early?"
"Just felt like it."
Jae-jun shook the water from his hair and headed to his room.
Then, as if remembering something, he turned back to her.
"Your birthday's coming up soon, right?"
"Let's go somewhere today. Get washed up and ready."
"Huh? Where?"
"To buy your birthday present."
With that, Jae-jun went into his room.
A birthday present.
A smile spread across Hye-seon's face.
It had been years since their parents died— she'd never gotten one since then.
She'd thought it'd just pass by again this year.
I gotta dress up nice.
Hye-seon hurried to the bathroom but paused, glancing at her brother's door with a tilt of her head.
Has Oppa always been that tall?
Not just taller— his shoulders looked broader, his build bigger overall.
Must be my imagination.
Hye-seon cocked her head curiously before slipping into the bathroom.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Back in his room, Jae-jun booted up his computer.
While Hye-seon got ready, he planned to check the Hunter Association site for available dungeons.
There were five he could join:
📋 Available Dungeons 📋 Joinable Gates
⊳ F-grade Forest Where Leeches Live
⊳ F-grade Haunted House
⊳ E-grade Slime Cave
⊳ E-grade Spider Forest
⊳ E-grade Steep Valley
Just like yesterday, Jae-jun applied to all five.
Even early in the morning, his phone rang almost immediately.
📞 Hunter Association - Dungeon Management, Yoon Mi-kyung
"Hello. This is Yoon Mi-kyung from the Hunter Association's Dungeon Management Department. Is this Choi Jae-jun?"
A familiar voice came through the phone.
"Yes. That's me."
"You cleared that dungeon really fast yesterday."
Now Jae-jun recognized her.
The stiff-looking association staffer he'd run into at the gate.
The one who'd snapped at him: What, are you that confident without packing food or medical supplies?
And as he'd entered the gate, he'd shot back:
I'll be out soon.
"...I'm calling about the dungeons you applied for today. The F-grade Flower Garden and F-grade Haunted House are available. How about those?"
With Jae-jun silent, Yoon Mi-kyung continued. She wasn't one for chit-chat, but she felt a bit nosy yesterday and was trying to smooth it over.
"What about E-grade dungeons?"
Jae-jun asked, a pang of regret in his voice.
"Well... We showed your profile to the raid leaders for E-grades, but they turned you down."
Short explanation, but he got it.
No one wanted to team up with the infamous Fainting Hunter.
Pity, but F-grade it was.
"Can't be helped. What times?"
"Haunted House needs you now, but Forest Where Leeches Live is flexible anytime today."
"Forest Where Leeches Live, then. After lunch."
That'd line up after buying Hye-seon's gift and grabbing a bite.
"Got it. I'll text the address. Give us a call before you head over."
Jae-jun hung up.
At this rate, I'll be stuck on F-grades forever.
Re-examination? Even if applied for, it'd take a month for approval.
He couldn't wait around doing F-grades that whole time.
Jae-jun searched the Hunter Association site for how to form a raid party.
Hunter Association Rule Raid Party Formation
Raid party applications can only be submitted by hunters with 10+ successful clears of lower-grade dungeons. Only dungeons within the applicant's clearable rank qualify.
Nothing's easy.
Excluding the one he'd already cleared, it'd take nine days at one per day max.
Still better than waiting for re-exam.
Jae-jun shut down the computer and got ready to head out.
Right on cue, Hye-seon was ready too.
Stepping outside, Jae-jun hailed a cab immediately.
Downtown wasn't far— for two people, cab beat the bus.
"Anything you want?"
"Hmm. A few things, yeah."
Hye-seon thought for a moment before speaking up.
"Buy me some books."
"Books?"
Books? Jae-jun couldn't wrap his head around it.
"Like, books to read? Novels or something?"
"No, reference books. Everyone else has subject-specific ones, but I don't. I borrow from friends, but... it'd be nice to have my own, right?"
The more she said, the stonier Jae-jun's face grew.
Hye-seon eyed him nervously.
Should've picked something cheaper.
Reference books added up quick— tens of thousands of won easy.
She felt bad burdening him when they were out together for once.
"No one else has reference books?"
"No, it's fine! I can borrow! Just get me something else."
Jae-jun wasn't mad about money.
He was furious at himself for not knowing his sister had to borrow books because they couldn't afford them.
Sigh.
The cab soon reached downtown.
Jae-jun led Hye-seon straight into a big bookstore.
"Get every reference book and workbook you need."
"...For real?"
"Yeah. Or I'll get mad."
Hye-seon pretended to relent and started picking.
She grabbed a few at first, but after a scolding from Jae-jun, she got one for every subject.
So many she could barely carry them with both hands.
"How much for all this?"
Beep-beep.
The screen by the register climbed with each scan.
260,000 won.
Jae-jun paid with card and hauled the books out.
Hye-seon gaped as he lifted the heavy stack effortlessly.
"What do you wanna eat?"
"Hmm. Tteokbokki?"
Jae-jun grimaced.
"I really wanna eat tteokbokki. With fritters and sundae— so good!"
"Only if it's a good spot."
"There's a really tasty one near home."
He'd planned to get whatever she wanted anyway.
Jae-jun grabbed another cab and headed homeward.
The place Hye-seon mentioned was a snack bar a short walk away.
Entering, the ajumma greeted them warmly.
Hye-seon ordered tteokbokki and took a corner seat.
Moments later, the ajumma limped over with the plate, looking uncomfortable.
A boy burst from the kitchen, snatching the dish.
"Mom! I'll handle serving!"
"No, it's right here. I'm fine."
"Fine my foot. Sit down."
The boy was dusted with flour from cooking.
As he set the plate down, he froze spotting Hye-seon.
"...Enjoy."
He retreated to the kitchen.
The tteokbokki was meh.
Paying and stepping out, Jae-jun eyed Hye-seon.
"You picked this place because of that kid, huh?"
"Huh?"
Hye-seon flushed and looked away.
"You know him."
She glanced at Jae-jun and nodded.
"Lee Tae-seong, from elementary and middle school. Family's going through stuff lately. Skips school a lot."
Jae-jun glanced at the overdue notices plastered by the door.
City gas and water bills.
He thought a moment, then pulled four 50,000-won bills from his pocket and handed them to Hye-seon.
"What's this?"
"Pocket money. Buy what you want, treat your friends with the rest."
"For real? Woo!"
She was happier than with the books.
Cash really was king.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Jae-jun dropped Hye-seon home and headed straight for the gate.
He called Yoon Mi-kyung 15 minutes early, as requested.
She was waiting at the gate.
"Hello."
Jae-jun nodded in greeting.
Just like yesterday: sign the forms, enter the gate.
He felt her gaze on his back but didn't turn.
Striding confidently, Jae-jun entered.
The dungeon was a breezy forest— far nicer than the last sewer.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
Quest generated.
📜 NEW QUEST 📜
Protect the Giant Tree!
📍 Leeches are clinging somewhere on the Giant Tree, hindering its growth. Remove the leeches from the Giant Tree or subjugate them!
🎁 Reward: Random Box
⚠️ Failure: Cannot escape dungeon
Sure enough, a quest popped up the moment he entered.
Random Box?
Last time it was 10 shop gold; this was a new one— Random Box.
Maybe a skill?
Unwarranted hope flickered.
Finding the Giant Tree wasn't hard.
True to its name, it towered over the others in the distance.
But its leaves were withered and blackening to death.
Leeches, huh.
Jae-jun headed straight for it, Frost Blade already drawn from his inventory.
—Author's Note—
Thank you.