A cafe in Sinchon.
Seong-jun’s party and Kim Chang-su sat facing each other.
“It is good to see you again. This is Hunter Bak Gwang-taek, the party’s Tanker, and this is Hunter Choi Yu-seon, our long-range dealer.”
As Seong-jun introduced Gwang-taek and Yu-seon, Kim Chang-su replied with sparkling eyes.
“O-Of course I know them! It is an honor to meet you both! I am Kim Chang-su, an Assassin class!”
Kim Chang-su jumped up and bowed his head hurriedly.
Though not as famous as Seong-jun, Gwang-taek and Yu-seon were also gaining quite a bit of fame.
It wasn’t simply because they were Seong-jun’s party members, but because of the achievements they had displayed themselves.
Gwang-taek was a Tanker with durability exceeding B-grade, capable of blocking even A-rank monsters.
He was the only Tanker in the country possessing the Chain of Light, a skill held by only a few people worldwide.
Yu-seon was the owner of a very rare Hidden Class.
Despite being B-grade, she was an Elemental Archer who exhibited abilities comparable to an A-rank.
If they wanted to join a guild right now, their skills were exceptional enough that they would receive recruitment offers not only from top domestic guilds but also from prominent overseas ones.
“Anyway, what happened? You said it was a Re-awakening? And to B-grade?”
When Seong-jun asked curiously, Kim Chang-su sat back down and answered slowly.
“Well, I was in an F-rank dungeon as a mercenary, hunting Goblins. Then, suddenly…”
Kim Chang-su explained what had happened inside the dungeon step by step.
He told them how a healer had unexpectedly lured a pack of Goblins and dumped them on his party.
He shared how he had fought for his life to survive and somehow managed to kill one Goblin.
Finally, he mentioned how he had suddenly Re-awakened.
“So that happened. I assume the specific conditions weren’t revealed?”
“No. I only heard that a specific condition had been met. I couldn’t confirm what requirement I fulfilled to meet that condition.”
Seong-jun had suspected as much, and indeed, the specific conditions were not revealed.
“I thought so. Regardless, did you Re-awaken within the Assassin tree?”
Unlike a forced Re-awakening using an Awakening Stone, a natural Re-awakening often only upgraded the rank of the existing class.
Of course, there were cases of Re-awakening into a completely different class, but such instances were extremely rare.
Naturally, Seong-jun assumed he had Re-awakened as an Assassin.
As Seong-jun expected, Kim Chang-su had Re-awakened in the Assassin class.
“Yes. I Re-awakened as a B-grade Assassin class, the Moonlight Assassin. It allows for rapid movement. While normal damage isn’t very high, there is a high probability of a critical hit if I take the rear position. Plus, the critical damage is extremely high. My attack skills are also quite powerful. For starters, my attack skills are…”
Kim Chang-su explained his abilities one by one as if he had nothing to hide from Seong-jun.
‘Huh, he’s revealing his own abilities completely. That isn’t easy to do. Just how high is his affection level for him to act like this? Deep Analysis!’
The last time Seong-jun checked, the affection level was in the seventies.
It was certainly very high, but not to this extent.
Therefore, he checked Kim Chang-su’s affection level again through Deep Analysis.
**[Analysis Results]**
Name: Kim Chang-su [B-grade Moonlight Assassin]
Average Stats: **[B+]**
Combat Style: **[Navigates through enemies using movement skills boasting extreme speed. Overpowers enemies through powerful attack skills and a high critical hit rate.]**
Core Skills: **[Flash of Lightning / Moonlight Dance]**
Reliability: 91
Psychological State: **[His respect for Seong-jun has reached its peak. Having Re-awakened as a B-grade, he is hoping that he might be able to join Seong-jun’s party if he plays his cards right.]**
According to the Deep Analysis, Kim Chang-su’s affection level had exceeded 90.
Since the last check, they had only spoken on the phone a few times and hadn’t met in person.
Seong-jun couldn’t understand why the affection level had risen this much.
‘Huh? His reliability is 91? Why? We only had a few phone calls. Why did it go up?’
Since this was a first for him, Seong-jun was momentarily flustered.
However, he quickly managed his expression, so no one noticed the brief change.
‘Anyway, if the reliability is over 90, there’s no need to wait any longer. From my perspective, Kim Chang-su is the best choice. But I should ask Brother Gwang-taek and Yu-seon.’
The reliability had risen by nearly twenty points even though he hadn’t done anything special.
This meant there was a very high probability that it would hit 100 and reach the Absolute Trust state soon.
It would be nonsense to look for someone else when such a candidate was right here.
Having made up his mind, Seong-jun turned to Gwang-taek and Yu-seon.
“Mr. Chang-su. I think that is enough information for now. So, what do you two think?”
At Seong-jun’s question, Gwang-taek and Yu-seon smiled.
“It isn’t easy to disclose information so without hesitation. It seems Mr. Chang-su’s trust in you is quite significant, Seong-jun. Putting everything else aside, I agree based on that alone.”
“Me too. I needed a dealer to handle the firepower with me anyway. The class is perfect, and his grade is B, just like ours. Is there even a reason to hesitate? If Brother Seong-jun says okay, then I’m okay with it.”
It seemed both Gwang-taek and Yu-seon thought well of Kim Chang-su.
After hearing their answers, Seong-jun looked at Kim Chang-su and asked.
“I’m glad everyone feels that way. Mr. Chang-su, would you like to join our party?”
At Seong-jun’s recruitment offer, Kim Chang-su’s eyes widened.
He had been wondering when to bring it up, so he was caught off guard when Seong-jun spoke first.
“Gasp! Kim Seong-jun the Healer’s party? It would be an honor! I was actually worried about how to ask, so thank you so much for suggesting it first! If you will have me, I will devote my life and work myself to the bone!”
Chang-su seemed to think that joining Seong-jun’s party was an honor in itself.
Seeing his sincerely moved gaze, Seong-jun chuckled.
“There is no need to sacrifice your life. Anyway, congratulations on becoming part of the family.”
As Seong-jun smiled and offered a light handshake, Chang-su spoke up.
“Please speak comfortably! I am only 23 years old!”
Seong-jun was 25, Gwang-taek was 28, and Yu-seon was 24, so she had been the youngest until now.
But with Chang-su joining, the position of the youngest had shifted from Yu-seon to Chang-su.
“Oh! Really? You’re younger than me? Haha, I’m finally graduating from being the youngest!”
Yu-seon looked joyful, perhaps because she finally was no longer the youngest.
Gwang-taek made a comment as he watched her.
“Do you like it that much? Regardless of age, looking at the way you act, it feels like you should just stay the youngest.”
“What did you say? Since Brother Gwang-taek acts like an old man, should I just call you ‘Old Man’ from now on?”
“Gack! Old Man? I’m not even thirty yet. That’s a bit much, don’t you think?”
Leaving the bickering Gwang-taek and Yu-seon behind, Seong-jun spoke to Chang-su with a smile.
“Why are you two fighting over that again? Anyway, since we’re family now, I’ll speak comfortably. It’s late, so go home and rest for today. I’ll text you an address, so come there by 9:00 AM tomorrow.”
After saying that, he quickly sent a text to Chang-su’s number.
*Beep!*
After checking the text, Chang-su asked with a puzzled look.
“Where is this?”
Seong-jun replied nonchalantly.
“There? Our hideout.”
At the word hideout, Chang-su looked surprised.
“A-A hideout?”
“Yeah, I just bought it today. There’s a lot to do, starting with remodeling, but it’s usable for urgent matters.”
After checking the address in the text again, Chang-su bowed his head.
“Understood! I will see you tomorrow morning then!”
Chang-su, bowing with stiff military-like discipline, left the cafe.
Once it was just the three of them again, Gwang-taek asked with a worried expression.
“Telling him the hideout means you’re planning to take Chang-su into the dungeon tomorrow, right? But is that okay? He seems like a good person and has strong trust in you, but isn’t it a bit early to reveal the Dungeon Creation Device?”
The Dungeon Creation Device was an artifact that had to be kept secret until the very end.
Gwang-taek was somewhat uneasy about revealing it to a newcomer who had just joined the party.
“Don’t worry about that; I’ll take full responsibility.”
Although Chang-su hadn’t reached 100 reliability to trigger Absolute Trust like Gwang-taek and Yu-seon, he still boasted a reliability of over 90.
Bluntly speaking, someone with over 80 would never betray you, so with over 90, there was no chance he would ever backstab them.
Of course, regardless of that, he could be loose-lipped, so Seong-jun planned to speak firmly about that when they met tomorrow.
However, since he couldn’t explain affection levels, he just brushed it off by saying he would take responsibility.
“Well, if you say so, I guess there’s nothing we can do.”
To them, Seong-jun was more than just a party leader; he was the savior who made them who they were today, the absolute core that allowed the party to exist, a brother they could trust, and a reliable pillar of support.
If Seong-jun said he would take responsibility, what more was there to say?
“Come on, we haven’t even had dinner yet. Let’s go somewhere, eat, and talk.”
When Yu-seon suggested moving because she was hungry, everyone nodded.
Both Seong-jun and Gwang-taek were equally hungry after grinding through dungeons.
***
In the early morning hours, while everyone was asleep.
Seong-jun was also enjoying a sound sleep in his bed.
But at that moment.
*Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!*
A loud noise struck Seong-jun’s ears.
“Ugh, what is it?”
Waking up, Seong-jun shifted his gaze toward the source of the sound.
“Hm? The Dungeon Creation Device? Why is that…!”
He usually kept it in the Subspace, but today he had been looking it over until late to check some things and had fallen asleep with it next to him.
For some reason, a warning-like sound was blaring from the Dungeon Creation Device.
Seong-jun hurriedly sat up and checked the device.
“Eh? What is this?”
Seong-jun wore a puzzled expression.
A type of dungeon he had never seen before had been added to the list.
**[Trial Hall], a 1-person privilege dungeon for the Dungeon Creation Device holder, has opened.]**
**[The 1-person privilege dungeon can be summoned additionally, separate from the currently summoned dungeon.]**
**[If not summoned within 1 hour, it will disappear from the list. Would you like to summon the privilege dungeon? Yes/No]**
“What? A privilege dungeon? Hall of Trials?”
He didn’t know exactly what it was, but since the word ‘privilege’ was included, it was clear that the dungeon would be beneficial to him.
However, given the name was ‘Hall of Trials’, he didn’t think it would be easy.
“I don’t know what it is, but it’ll disappear in 1 hour? And it can be summoned separately from the current one? Then there’s no reason to hesitate.”
Since it was a privilege, there was no reason to refuse.
‘Can I summon it right here? Surely no problems will arise? Just in case, let’s go to the living room to summon it.’
Summoning it inside his room felt a bit bothersome, so Seong-jun decided to do it in the living room.
Once there, he immediately summoned the privilege dungeon.
**[Summoning 1-person privilege dungeon: [Hall of Trials].]**
*Whirrrrr!*
A Dungeon Portal summoned in the center of the living room.
The portal was glowing golden and was just large enough for one person to enter.
“Ugh, I don’t know why I’m doing this in the middle of the night, but I can’t back out now. Let’s go.”
Seong-jun entered the dungeon with a groggy face.
*Fwaaaaash!*
As he crossed the portal and entered the dungeon.
**[You have entered the 1-person privilege dungeon: [Hall of Trials].]**
**[Class confirmation: Healer. A trial suitable for your class will be prepared.]**
In the empty darkness, only the notification sound could be heard.
Then, after a moment.
*Fwaaaaash!*
Terrain began to form in the pitch-black space.
“Huh? A wooden fence and a pillar? What is this place…?”
Wooden fences were set up all around, and in the center stood a pillar about three meters high.
Atop that pillar was a crystal ball emitting a soft light.
But that wasn’t all.
*Whir! Whirrrr! Whir! Whirrrrr!*
People began to be summoned inside the wooden fence.
What was strange was that none of them were okay; they were all in critical condition.
“Uuugh…”
“Cough! Argh…”
“H-Help…”
What on earth was this?
Another notification rang in Seong-jun’s ears.
**[The healer-exclusive trial has opened. Heal and support the wounded to block the swarming monsters and protect the Crystal of Light.]**
**[Divine Power consumption varies by soldier grade: Normal Soldier [500] consumed / Senior Soldier [3,000] consumed / Knight [50,000] consumed.]**
**[The trial will begin in 10 minutes. The trial consists of a total of 20 stages, and the reward grade increases as the stage becomes higher.]**
Having grasped the situation through the notifications, Seong-jun scanned the area.
“So, in short, it’s a defense game? Monsters attack in stages, and I have to heal and support these people to protect the crystal ball?”
Looking around the area, there were nearly 100 wounded people collapsed.
There were about ninety people who looked like normal soldiers, and ten senior soldiers who looked a bit stronger than them.
Finally, there was one person wearing plate armor, who appeared to be a knight.
‘By the way, the Divine Power consumption varies by soldier grade? A knight consumes 50,000? If that’s the case, a low-grade healer would have to start by healing only normal soldiers to block the wave. Does that make sense?’
The basic Divine Power of a D-rank healer was around 1,000, and when Seong-jun first awakened and was judged as D-rank, his was 1,500.
Even if Divine Power was restored after each stage, unless the total capacity increased, a low-grade healer couldn’t heal senior soldiers or knights.
In the end, it meant a low-grade healer had to block the waves using only normal soldiers.
Could this really be called a privilege?
‘Tsk, why am I worrying? It has nothing to do with me anyway. I have Divine Power to spare, so should I just heal every single one of them?’
Counting his pure Divine Power plus additional Divine Power, Seong-jun now had nearly 8,000,000.
This level of consumption wouldn’t even make a dent.
“Divine Healing! Wide Area Mode! Healing Light! Wide Area Mode!”
Seong-jun immediately filled their vitality and treated their injuries with Divine Healing, then cast Healing Light, a continuous healing skill.
“Gasp! T-This is!”
“A priest! A priest has come!”
“Ohhh! Now we’re saved! We’re saved!”
The normal and senior soldiers cheered at Seong-jun’s appearance.
On the other hand, the knight approached Seong-jun with a calm expression.
“I didn’t expect a priest to be here. Do you happen to know anything about this place? I thought I was dead for sure, but I was suddenly summoned here. I heard if we protect that pillar until the final stage, we can return to our original world. Ah, by the way, I am Ludban Chede, a junior knight of the Karhen Kingdom.”
The knight who introduced himself as Ludban Chede had his right arm severed by someone.
‘What is this? Not only me, but they were also summoned? If so, there is a high probability they aren’t beings created by the system, but people from another world. They might even be from the same world as Ermia Jaylin. Anyway, looking at the severed part of his right arm, it doesn’t seem like it happened that long ago.’
It seemed they had also been summoned here by something.
They were likely people who had been on the verge of death or had already died, and it seemed they could return to their original world if they helped Seong-jun clear the final stage.
Meanwhile, since the arm of the knight who introduced himself as Ludban was severed, Seong-jun asked cautiously.
“It seems you have lost your right arm. When did that happen?”
When Seong-jun asked, Ludban spoke with a bitter expression.
“I was struck while fighting a Living Armor a few hours ago. But I can fight well enough with my left arm, so do not worry.”
A Living Armor was roughly equivalent to a C-rank monster.
In other words, the knight was capable of facing C-rank monsters.
“I see. May I examine the wound for a moment?”
When Seong-jun asked, Ludban obediently offered his arm.
“Please do.”
Seong-jun placed his hand on Ludban’s right arm and immediately cast Diagnosis.
‘Diagnosis!’
**[Diagnosis Result: Complete recovery expected in 5 minutes. Accompanied by slight pain.]**
By consistently using God’s Miracle, the skill level had risen from Level 1 to Level 2, and as a result, the time required for complete recovery had decreased slightly.
‘Oh! I can treat him before the wave starts.’
After completing the diagnosis, Seong-jun looked at Ludban and asked.
“This arm. I can treat it. It will involve a bit of pain, but would you like to receive treatment from me?”
At the news that his arm could be treated, Ludban’s eyes widened.
“What? You can treat my arm?”
“Yes, it will take about 5 minutes.”
There was no need for words if his arm could be healed.
“If it can be treated, I can endure any amount of pain. Please, I beg of you.”
As he agreed to the treatment, Seong-jun immediately cast God’s Miracle.
‘God’s Miracle!’
*Whirrrrr!*
As he cast the miracle, a soft light enveloped Ludban’s arm, and soon, bone and flesh began to regenerate from the severed area.
“Urgh! Gah! M-My arm!”
Ludban winced for a moment due to the pain, but he seemed utterly bewildered as he watched his severed arm regenerate.