Kang Ji-Hoon did not go home after the dungeon. He just stayed out. Did not go back, to his house. Kang Ji-Hoon was still out and about after he finished playing the dungeon.
So the man just walked away. He did not run or anything the man just walked.
The streets of Neo-Seongnam were really loud. There were hunters talking about the things they found people from guilds yelling about what they could do, for you and neon signs flashing what rank you were and how things you killed. Ji-Hoon walked through all of this like he was not there. He had blood on his sleeve that had dried and turned dark. His mind was still thinking about what happened in the dungeon. Neo-Seongnam was a place but Ji-Hoon did not seem to notice. He just kept walking, thinking about the dungeon and what he did there.
The System window was just sitting there not doing anything. It was really quiet. The System window did not make a sound.
[Condition Active: Solitary Growth]
When people do things on their own without any help, from others that is when they really start to make progress. Progress increases when no external assistance is received.
Ji-Hoon said that is the rule he said it to himself in a voice.
Alone.
Always alone.
When he got to his apartment it was already night. He took care of his wounds by himself doing things that a nineteen year old should not know how to do. The mirror showed a face sharp eyes and he was very tired you could see it in his skin.
The knight was standing behind him. He was just standing there in the corner of the room not moving all. The knight was still.
The thing is that it did not disappear since we were in the dungeon. It is still here. That is really something because it has been a long time since we left the dungeon. The dungeon was a crazy place and a lot of things happened there but this thing is still, with us. It did not disappear since the dungeon.
Ji-Hoon turned slightly. "You do not need to stand all night."
The knight just stayed quiet. Did not say a word.
When Ji-Hoon lay down on the bed he heard a sound. It was like metal shifting. This sound was really soft. It seemed like the metal was moving closer, to Ji-Hoon.
The man. He did not have any dreams.
The next morning was not good. Trouble came to my place early. It was like trouble was waiting for the morning to come so it could arrive. The morning trouble showed up early.
Ji-Hoon felt something was off before he even saw what was happening. The air felt thick with pressure. He got that creepy feeling on the back of his neck. He looked outside. Saw that sirens were blaring loudly. Emergency alerts were flashing over the big screens, in public.
[Warning: Dungeon Breach Detected]
[Location: Seongnam Medical District]
Ji-Hoon was already moving.
The medical district was a mess. A mid-tier dungeon had broken down. That meant monsters were now all over the streets. Hunters were running around in groups yelling at each other to do things. They were arguing with each other so loudly it was even worse than the sound of their swords clashing. The medical district was really in chaos because of the monsters, from the -tier dungeon.
Ji-Hoon stopped at the edge of the cordon. He did not go further. The cordon was right, in front of Ji-Hoon. Ji-Hoon just stood there at the edge of the cordon.
A voice that sounded really familiar reached his ears.
"You—rooftop guy."
The man turned around.
Choi Hae-In was standing there. Her white combat coat was moving a little in the hot air. The silver insignia on her coat showed that she was a certified high-rank support hunter. When Choi Hae-In saw the dried blood on Ji-Hoons sleeve her eyes got really sharp. Focused on it. Choi Hae-In was looking at the blood. She did not look away, from Ji-Hoons sleeve.
The woman told him that he should not be there. This place is not a place where people go to train. "You should not be here " she said in a voice. "This is not a training dungeon " she said.
Ji-Hoon said I know.
Yoon Seo-A was standing next, to Hae-In. She had her spear resting on her shoulder like it was no deal. Yoon Seo-A was looking at Hae-In in an open way checking him out.
Seo-A said to me "You are alone again." She asked me "Is being alone, like that a habit of yours or do you have a death wish?"
Ji-Hoon looked past them toward the smoke and the screams and the shattered street where the monsters shadow was twisted in a weird way. The smoke was rising up. The screams were getting louder and the street was all broken. Ji-Hoon saw the monsters shadow. It was moving in a way that did not look right.
He said that he will handle the side.
Seo-A laughed once. She said "You do not take orders from anyone do you?"
Ji-Hoon took a step forward.
Hae-In stopped for a moment. "You should least take a beacon with you. If something happens to you. You get injured. "
Ji-Hoon said that he will not do it.
Not arrogance.
Conviction.
The knight came up beside him. His armor was shining in the firelight. This was the time that both women really felt something. It was not like the special power that some people have and it was not like the feeling of being pressed down on. It was something colder. Something that had been around for a long time. The women felt this thing. They knew it was older, than anything they had felt before.
Seo-As face looked all of a sudden. The way Seo-A was looking at things had changed.
"…What is that?"
Ji-Hoon did not answer.
The man went into the breach zone by himself. He was really alone when he entered the breach zone.
The monster that was waiting inside the place was not supposed to be real. The monster was something that people did not think existed.
The creatures body was really messed up it looked like it was put together from parts of animals and its eyes were glowing with this weird energy from the dungeon. This energy was not stable all. Every time the creature took a step it distorted the air around it. The ground would crack underneath its feet. The dungeon energy, in its eyes was what made this happen to the creature.
Ji-Hoons grip got really tight. Ji-Hoon was holding on tightly. The grip of Ji-Hoon tightened a lot.
The first clash really sent him flying. The man got hit hard that the first clash sent him flying across the room.
Pain shot through his ribs when he hit a bus that had fallen over. The air was knocked out of his lungs. He let out a loud gasp. His mouth was filled with blood. The bus was really messed up. He was in a lot of pain. He had pain in his ribs from slamming, into the bus.
[Warning: Fatal Damage Detected]
The knight moved fast his shield was up and he stopped the next hit that would have hurt Ji-Hoons head very badly.
Ji-Hoon made himself get up.
"So… this is the price."
The man wiped the blood from his lips. Then he stepped forward again. He was really hurt, but he kept moving the blood on his lips was, from the fight and now he was stepping forward again the man was not going to give up.
This time he did not rush.
The man sat there. He watched.
The monster was really strong. It was not very stable. It was trying to do much. The monster was relying on being powerful to get things done.
Ji-Hoon slipped inside the guard of his opponent his blade striking the joints, the tendons the points that most hunters never even noticed. Each hit that Ji-Hoon made was really precise. Ji-Hoon thought about each movement he made he calculated what he was doing. Ji-Hoon was very careful.
The knight. Learned to do things in a different way. The knight was able to adapt.
When Ji-Hoon staggered the thing covered him. Then when Ji-Hoon advanced it pinned the monsters limb. This only happened for a while but it was long enough, for Ji-Hoon.
The minutes felt like hours. Time was really moving slowly. Those minutes felt like hours.
The creature let out a scream that shook the whole street and then it fell down. The scream was so loud that it made the street feel scary. The creature it just collapsed.
Ji-Hoon dropped down to one knee.
The System gave an answer.
[Solitary Victory Achieved]
[Legion Authority Sync: 0.6% → 1.2%]
[New Trait Unlocked: Commander's Instinct (Dormant)]
Ji-Hoon laughed,. It was really weak. He did not sound very funny when Ji-Hoon laughed like that. Ji-Hoon tried to laugh but it was still weak.
"Dormant, huh… figures."
When he looked up Hae-In was standing a distance away, from him. The healing light was already starting to form in Hae-Ins hands. Then it just stopped.
The System did not allow it.
Her face got all tense. You could see frustration and concern in her eyes. She looked really worried, about something. Her eyes gave away how she was feeling it was like you could see her emotions there.
The woman told him that he was losing a lot of blood. She said it in a very soft voice.
Ji-Hoon looked at her his eyes meeting hers.
I know.
For a second neither of them looked away from each other. They just kept looking at the person. The person they were looking at was the thing that mattered to them at that moment. They were completely focused on the person and nothing else seemed to exist. This moment was, about the two people looking at each other and that was it.
There was something that they did not say out loud that passed between them. It was like curiosity and tension and the start of something that could be bad, for them. The air was full of this feeling this thing that they did not talk about and it was the beginning of something something that could change everything for the people involved for them.
Seo-A clicked her tongue from behind. "You are completely crazy Kang Ji-Hoon."
Ji-Hoon smiled faintly.
"Probably."
The knight was standing quietly behind Ji-Hoon. Ji-Hoon realized the truth about what was going on. He understood that the knight was there for a reason. The knight being, behind him was not a coincidence. Ji-Hoon thought about the knight. What the knight was doing there. Ji-Hoon realized the truth.
They did not give me the power.
It was taken one step at a time. That step was a very lonely one.
And this was only the beginning.
End of Chapter 3