Level 90. It was final. No ifs, no buts, just a clear instruction. Do it or remain in the dark till it becomes too late.
"Hmm," Minho hummed stroking his chin. "Level 90, eh? Where am I now? I shouldn't be that far from it." He brought up the main screen.
[Name: Lee Minho
• Title: Herald of Annihilation
• Level: 88
• EXP: 200/10000
• Attributes: Strength 420, Stamina 460, Agility 450, Intelligence 450, Perception 420, Destructive Potential: 4800.]
"What?!" Minho exclaimed, his hands flying to his head. "How?! Ten thousand EXP?! Wasn't it like a thousand and half at 87?!"
Rathalos stood by the side, confused as Minho complained and cursed a "system." He tried following Minho's gaze, which led him to the wall across then he looked back at Minho, then at the wall, then at Minho again. "A-are you okay, my Liege?"
"Do I look 'okay' to you, Ratalon?! What the hell did your grand speech do to my system?!" Minho snapped, then returned to complaining about the system.
Rathalos blinked, looking away dejectedly. "I should not have asked." He muttered.
After a few more minutes of complaining, Minho finally calmed down. "Oi, Ratatouille, why doesn't this dungeon have mana crystal?"
"Eh?" Rathalos looked up. "It is a trial I made, not a normal dungeon."
Minho nodded. "Now, how exactly do I leave looking like this?" He gestured to his ragged clothes and glared at Rathalos who looked away quickly. Then his features leaned towards concern now. "And how do I explain a dragon man following me around, calling me 'My Liege'?"
As if on cue, the system screen appeared.
[Disciples can be dismissed and summoned just like items.]
"Well would you take a look at that?" Minho said. He scrolled through his inventory. "Weapons, artifacts, potions, items… where do you put—ah, there it is." flicking his wrist at Rathalos. The dragon hybrid disappeared, the same way his weapons did.
The dungeon made a low rumble as Rathalos disappeared, then it stopped.
Minho looked around. "Yeah, the dungeon boss is gone." He opened his inventory screen and scrolled down. "I remember having obtained something like a cloak."
His eyes landed on it. "Ah, there it is. I owe the dead elves this one."
[Ice Elven Cloak.]
[Use] | [Leave]
He tapped use and a dark blue cloak formed on his hands. He put it on and left without a word.
Minho stepped out of the dungeon and saw a few low rank hunters - probably C and D-ranks - standing outside, preparing to enter it. The dungeon gate sealed shut behind him.
The guy who seemed to be the leader of the raid team rushed to him. "Ex-excuse me, did you raid the dungeon alone?"
"Hm?" Minho turned to him, expression blank. The moment their eyes made contact, a primal fear ran through the hunters being. He froze in place, sweat beading on his forehead, his sword shaking in his hand.
Minho raised a brow, confused. He didn't use any skill, nor was he releasing too much mana. Was his eyes that cold?
He looked down, before he was able to speak. His voice low, as if not wanting to be disrespectful. "Y-you must be an S-rank hunter, sir."
The other hunters managed to make out the words. S-rank hunter? An S-rank hunter who hasn't been announced by the Korean Hunters Association yet?
Minho just turned and started to walk away without a word. His eyes fell on a girl with a white hoodie jacket, leaning on a tree. She seemed young. Too young.
The girl was looking down a shadow loomed over her, she raised her head and found Minho standing in front of her. His eyes hidden behind the cloak's hoodie.
"Are you a hunter too?" He asked, his voice low but firm.
She looked down. "Yes, got a problem?" Sounding rude.
"Rank? How old are you?"
She gritted her teeth. "I don't know."
"It's not a request." Minho replied.
She looked up at him. Under the hoodie were two crimson glowing eyes fixated on her. She quickly looked down. "Han Song-Yi, E-rank."
Minho's features softened. Maybe he was being too intimidating. He took off the hoodie. "Aren't you supposed to be studying in school? Being a hunter is far from safe… for an E-rank even."
"I don't need someone else telling me what to do." She replied.
Minho exhaled, closing his eyes. This was his exact response when he was told being a hunter was too dangerous for an E-rank in his first dungeon raid. He summoned one of his old daggers, bringing it out of of the cloak and handing it to her. "Here. I don't know how much it'll cost, but I'm sure it'll be really expensive. Sell it if you need money."
Her eyes widened, she looked up at him then at the dagger. Her first instinct was to refuse it, tell him she didn't need his pity, but the craftsmanship of the was unlike anything she'd ever seen before. Reluctantly, her hands wrapped around the hilt.
He turned to leave. "If you're still planning on being a hunter, then that's a fine weapon you got there. Didn't have a weapon that good when I became one. Don't die." He muttered, leaving the site.
She stared at it. Black blade, jagged on the edges with a swirling crimson design in its middle. She wanted to call out and appreciate, but he was gone already.
Song-Yi turned to the tree to test it out. She slashed the tree trunk in one fluid motion. The dagger went through like it was cutting butter. The cut on the tree was deep. It really was a high grade weapon.
She noticed a couple of eyes on her. The other hunters had watched their exchange. She quickly left, before she could be confronted by any of those jealous eyes.
Ahead, while she was leaving. She walked past a tree and stopped, not turning.
Minho was leaning on it. Head down, arms crossed. Song-Yi wondered if he was waiting for her to thank him. She about to speak when he did.
"Here," he handed her a piece of ragged cloth - his shirt. "I don't have a sheath. Use this to wrap it before hurting yourself or someone else."
She took it hesitantly. Without a word, he walked off again. "Don't get bullied, Han Song-Yi. If you have to put one down… you need to put one down."
She yelled a quick "Thank you," but he didn't reply. Just disappeared around the corner. 'An S-rank hunter,' she thought. 'What is his name? He seemed terrifying but… he's so calm and nice.' She wrapped the dagger and left.
Herald of Annihilation? Well, if a dagger and a warning counts as "Nice", then sure.