Jae-min arrived at the Hunter Association's Training Gate facility shortly after opening hours.
The building resembled a reinforced transit station, designed more for containment than aesthetics. Stabilized dungeon gates were embedded several levels below ground, each calibrated to a specific rank threshold. Security checkpoints monitored mana fluctuations, biometric stress levels, and combat output deviations.
Low-tier hunters filtered through the entrance in small groups. Some were visibly nervous. Others were overconfident in the way beginners often were.
Jae-min approached the registration desk.
"Name?" the attendant asked without looking up.
"Kang Jae-min."
The attendant paused briefly, likely recognizing the previous day's headlines, then resumed typing.
"F-Rank. Training Gate Three is available. Goblin-type monsters. Low aggression pattern. Recommended for solo F-Rank testing."
"That works."
He received a temporary monitoring band for safety tracking and stepped toward the descent corridor. The air grew denser as he moved lower, ambient mana pressure increasing subtly but noticeably.
Training Gate Three activated with a low hum as he crossed the threshold.
The environment shifted.
Rocky cavern walls surrounded him, lit faintly by bioluminescent growth along the ceiling. The ground was uneven but navigable. Several other F-Rank hunters were already inside, forming cautious groups of two or three.
Jae-min moved alone.
His displayed rank remained F. That meant Association monitors would not expect abnormal output. Excessive power display would trigger review flags.
He needed controlled testing.
A goblin emerged from behind a jagged stone formation ahead.
It stood slightly shorter than him, with green skin stretched tightly over wiry muscle and a crude iron blade clutched in one hand. Its eyes locked onto him instantly.
The creature lunged forward.
Jae-min did not retreat.
He activated Reinforcement at C-Tier.
The power settled smoothly into his frame. There was no surge, no distortion of balance. Only calibrated amplification.
He stepped to the side as the goblin swung.
The blade passed through empty air.
He drove a measured strike into its chest.
The impact lifted the creature off its feet and sent it crashing into the cavern wall several meters away. The goblin collapsed immediately.
Jae-min remained still, evaluating.
C-Tier output against F-Rank dungeon monsters resulted in overwhelming force. However, he had deliberately limited the strike to avoid excessive visible destruction. The cavern wall had cracked slightly but not catastrophically.
A faint notification appeared.
[Minor Experience Acquired]
He narrowed his eyes.
This had not appeared during the previous night's testing.
A thin experience bar materialized beneath the message, partially filled.
So there was more to the system than pure upgrades.
He dismissed the notification and continued forward.
Two goblins approached from a side tunnel, moving in coordination rather than blindly charging. Their behavior suggested low-level pack instincts rather than random aggression.
He activated Reinforcement again.
This time he tested acceleration.
He closed the distance before either creature completed its attack arc, striking the first in the throat with restrained force. The second attempted to retreat, but his enhanced speed allowed him to intercept easily.
Both fell within seconds.
[Minor Experience Acquired]
The experience bar filled slightly more.
He paused again.
If dungeon kills provided experience and upgrades required no cost, then growth had two independent vectors. That redundancy increased scaling potential significantly.
He proceeded deeper into the cavern.
The density of mana increased slightly toward the center chamber, indicating proximity to a mini-boss spawn point. Association monitors would be observing this zone more closely due to statistical risk patterns.
A larger goblin variant emerged from the central chamber.
Its frame was broader and covered in crude metal plating. A faint mana core pulsed in its chest cavity, visible through gaps in its armor. Unlike the standard goblins, this one did not charge immediately. It assessed him.
Jae-min kept his breathing steady.
He activated Reinforcement again.
The enhancement layered cleanly over his baseline condition. He adjusted his stance slightly lower, prepared for heavier impact.
The armored goblin lunged with surprising speed.
Jae-min sidestepped and allowed the blade to graze past his shoulder, intentionally testing defensive tolerance under enhancement. The impact registered but felt muted, far less damaging than expected.
He pivoted and drove a controlled knee strike into the creature's abdomen, targeting the mana core.
The plating cracked.
The goblin staggered.
He followed with a precise strike to the exposed core.
The mini-boss collapsed.
The cavern grew quiet again.
[Moderate Experience Acquired]
The experience bar filled significantly, nearing a threshold.
He allowed the enhancement to fade naturally.
No exhaustion followed.
He scanned the cavern carefully to ensure no secondary spawns remained.
Other F-Rank hunters in distant tunnels had likely heard the impact but would assume it was routine combat noise.
He looked at the interface.
The experience bar glowed faintly.
[Experience Threshold Reached]
A subtle pulse passed through his vision.
[Upgrade Available]
He did not immediately press Confirm.
Instead, he evaluated the situation.
If he upgraded here and continued clearing at higher output, the discrepancy between his registered rank and combat performance would widen. Association analysts reviewed dungeon logs regularly, and anomaly detection algorithms flagged irregular kill times.
He needed to avoid suspicion this early.
He deactivated the interface overlay partially and began walking back toward the gate exit.
The first test had confirmed several critical points.
The enhancement scaled cleanly in live combat.
There was no backlash under stress.
Experience accumulation existed alongside tier upgrades.
And perhaps most importantly, C-Tier output was already excessive for F-Rank dungeons.
As he approached the exit corridor, he noticed one of the Association observers glancing at a tablet screen briefly before looking up at him.
There was no visible alarm.
No intervention.
But data was being recorded.
He stepped through the gate and removed the monitoring band.
The attendant glanced at the screen.
"Clear time was fast," she said casually. "You soloed?"
"Yes."
She nodded without suspicion.
"Efficiency was within acceptable variance."
Good.
He exited the facility and stepped back into the morning air.
The skyline stretched ahead, unchanged.
But the ranking system that governed it felt far less rigid than it had yesterday.
The interface flickered faintly at the edge of his vision.
[Upgrade Available]
This time, he allowed himself a slight smile.
He would not rush.
He would not explode upward recklessly.
He would climb in controlled increments.
And when the rankings shifted—
They would not understand how.