Remember, last chance.
Also, yes: This is Obito x Gina. I hope that can be a welcomed addition, I liked Gina from the offset and considering she's also an A-Rank Mage with Telekinesis as a power so that's also cool.
~NRK~
He smiled nervously as Gina nodded sagely at the rapid number of cameras flashing in his and Jong-In's faces.
"Oh… I'd forgotten they were there," the 'C-Rank' said nervously as half the Guild started snickering while others wailed as they lost their bets. "Um, remind me, Jong-In, how long does it take the press to print anything?"
"A matter of hours," the S-Rank Mage said with a weak smile at one final flash. "Oh thank God, quick, we need to leave."
"Easy there, you two," Hae-In said with a smile and giggle. "We are in the middle of something, you wouldn't want to disrespect Yoon-Ho, would you?"
"Yes," Jong-In said instantly as the man-in-question squawked from across the way.
"You bastard!" The White Tigers Guild Master gawked.
"Ahem, I mean to say," he began to backtrack. "Of course not… Do you think he believed that?" Jong-In whispered to Obito.
"Not in the slightest," the lower-ranked Mage chuckled. "Now, onto the next big trial, the press."
As the three navigated through the social minefield of the human majority, people watching the livestream were surprised.
~NRK~
"Hmm?" He blinked from within his office, surprised. "Wait, he's supposed to be a C-Rank?" The man said in surprise.
"Hyung-nim, have you seen this?" Another, younger, man said as he popped into his office before coming over. "Apparently, that man's been working with the Hunters for over four years."
"Hmm… And what of his occupation?"
"It says he's their miner?"
What?
~NRK~
"Have you seen this, Ryuji?" A woman said as she leaned around a man's large office chair. "This guy… He's supposed to be a C-Rank Mage but he beat that A-Rank Assassin not only in speed but in physical power as well," she added with a look of interest.
And the livestream showed his name and she balked.
"H-He's Japanese?!"
The man in the seat, Ryuji, blinked as they showed the man's actual profile on the screen. "No? He's a Korean-Chinese mix," that was beyond surprising.
What would make a man change his name, assumably, twice over?
~NRK~
He shook his head, the bullshit on the screen not concerning him in the least.
"Just another weakling conquering weaklings," he'd never get how this was big. '... Still,' he read-up on the man's on-screen information and raised a brow at both the number of Raids he'd been in but also his previous 'Status'. "One of their former leaders, this C-Rank?"
He knew how the Hunters worked, they didn't have teams composed of a single C-Rank. Much less their leader of the B-Team being allowed to be one.
"Tsk, God, do I need to care about this trash?" Probably not but he did have a Guild, maybe they'd want him. "Eh, Thomas might not even care," still, it'd be better to call the man and let him know.
~NRK~
Obito sighed in relief even as he ignored his phone currently ringing like it'd lost its mind.
"I'm not answering that," he said, quickly putting it on 'Silent' before focusing back on their upcoming fighters. "Cheol, Ki-Hoon, and Chi?" Obito considered as the chosen ones nodded.
Ki-Hoon looked downright inspired while Cheol chuckled next to the short woman who'd joined them. "Yes, sir!" He said with vigor that Jin-Woo smiled at.
Jin-Ah, meanwhile, quickly typed on her phone, fingers going a mile a second. "Geez, all my school is freaking out about you," she pouted as he sweatdropped.
"That's not my fault," he said. "Besides, it'll hopefully die down, he said unsurely," Obito added before narrating for himself a bit. "I don't even like using the internet and I can already tell this is gonna be a pain in the ass."
"Wait, seriously?" Gina snickered. "Obito, come on, it's the internet. It's one of the most useful things in the world."
"And I hate using it. I'd sooner go to a library if I can."
Half the crowd shivered at the thought as Jin-Woo snorted at that.
Following that, they watched the matches of the other new members. Combat between B-, and A-, Ranks that seemed emboldened by their first match.
As they did, Jin-Woo watched the Fighters. Not to say he thought Ki-Hoon and Cheol were weak, or unimpressive, they weren't. Especially the older man who showed a sort of dexterity with his javelin the E-Rank didn't expect.
But he also needed to see how other Fighters fought.
And after watching that short woman, who'd joined their line-up, he was left impressed but feeling a bit insecure.
'I don't have any Skills,' it was something that Classes got after some point.
Mages got their spells/abilities from the offset, it was in their name after all. Jin-Woo knew that all Tanks got 'Taunt' as an ability somewhere down the line and knew it was the same for Fighters with fighting skills.
Looking down at his hands, he looked at his calloused palms before finding a hand on his shoulder.
He blinked and looked to the side to lock eyes with a smiling Hae-In.
"You're overthinking things," she said as he flinched before looking away from her. "I'm sure your uncle showed you many times, being the best of your Rank can open many other doors," Cha explained.
"I… I get that, I really do. Uncle's amazing in so many ways I feel like I'm just learning about," he said as they turned their heads to watch Obito giving tips to Ki-Hoon and Chi. "But I'm literally called 'The Weakest' amongst even E-Ranks."
"Y-You are?"
"Y-Yeah," he admitted, utterly embarrassed. "I'm supposed to be a Fighter a-and I do pull my weight in D-Rank Gates," she looked a bit impressed and he burned more. "But that's not enough. I… I have to lift any burden on my uncle's shoulders."
Cha Hae-In's eyes widened as she remembered Obito's words from a year back before her eyes softened. "I don't need to guess how much he matters to you."
"Uncle's done everything for us," Jin-Ah added from ahead of them, back to the oldest Fighters. "He likely could have been A-Rank if he's really out here fending off those kinds of fighters but he gave it up to make sure we didn't… S-So we wouldn't be alone," she scuffed her heel as Jin-Woo rested a hand on her shoulder. "... I want to go into medical school."
He looked surprised while Hae-In smiled.
"J-Jin-Ah, I-"
"Nope, just because you're a Hunter doesn't mean you're gonna take all of that on your own," she turned to him and grinned. "I… I want to solve the Eternal Slumber," his head dropped. "I-It's not just people like us who have asleep parents like mom. I just want to do something."
"You're mature for your age," Hae-In smiled. "Though, I'm curious, are you not a Class, Jin-Ah?"
"Nope, I'm just a normal person. Though our uncle says I've got a lot of good reflexes and pretty decent flexibility."
"Hmm."
"I wondered if I'd have been able to get a healing skill," Jin-Ah said with an embarrassed laugh as Jin-Woo blinked at her. "But I never got chosen, ya know?"
"That's not necessarily a sure thing," Hae-In said. "Remember, Cheong said she only Awakened recently, two years older than you to be exact. It can still happen."
Jin-Ah considered that. "... If I could, ya know? I'd like to just raid with my family, mostly" she blushed. "And then we have to find dad."
"H-Huh?"
Explaining that their father went missing in a Gate startled her but not more than when they told her how they knew he was alive.
"Obito has such a skill?" She asked.
"Yeah," Gina said as she came over. "Obito's thread can give him the exact coordinates of someone who willingly accepts its existence. It's like it vanishes from this dimension and sticks around like a shadow. It's another one of his power's rules but not more than 'attaching'. From there, he can tell you where they are by following it but even into a closed Gate?"
"I mean, is it that weird?" Jin-Ah asked.
"It's more esoteric than most could attempt," Hae-In said. "It's true that Obito wields spatial magic but is it so powerful?"
"We don't know, he just knows that a person who's died with it attached would leave it broken," Jin-Woo said with narrowed eyes. "He was also originally looking for him before he had to take care of us, that's another reason we need to be able to look after ourselves. At least for a bit."
"Hmm… Did he have any whereabouts?"
"That's the thing, he said dad's been moving," Jin-Woo rubbed the back of his head, confused. "He puts it like this. Dad's signature isn't in South Korea anymore, uncle's got a good grasp on his powers' locating ability and we've looked at the maps to guess where it is. He's currently in the middle of the ocean."
The two women looked startled as Jin-Ah nodded.
"Last we asked him, it was heading towards America," Jin-Ah explained.
'It reaches that far?!' It was almost insane that Obito hadn't been picked up by the Monitoring Division if she didn't already know he kept things under wraps. "T-That's incredible."
"Yep," Gina smiled as she showed her bicep.
There, they could see an invisible band of some sort. It was almost-impossible to notice but there was something there.
"I know he's done it for all of us. The other guys probably don't know why he did it but just accepted it and moved on."
"Wow, uncle gets way more respect around here than I can imagine," the youngest Sung said in disbelief as Gina smirked.
"You'd never believe but he's gotten asked out a couple times."
Hae-In's head snapped to her with intense interest. "R-Really?! When?! I-I'm sure I would have heard," she leaned in with the other two as Gina grinned slyly.
"Dammit, we lost," Yoon-Ho said an hour later as Jong-In chuckled.
"It's all good to know where these Hunters of our stand," he said even as his fellow S-Rank crossed his arms with a look.
"You know there's no way he isn't stronger, of course you do. He handled Gideon so easily despite getting a few cuts and you held him back."
The S-Rank Mage smiled knowingly.
"So, really, how strong is he?"
The air between them was silent before Choi Jong-In ran a hand through his hair.
"He's close," he said vaguely even as Yoon-Ho's eyes widened. "Very close, what he lacks is equipment. It's something I never realized but hyung-nim doesn't have any. Not even an iron scythe or chain," Jong-In said. "I want to get him those things but I know he won't accept something so easily. He's a headstrong man on the oddest of topics but I understand his pride."
"If the public knew, that'd be good news, wouldn't it?" Another possible S-Rank would be amazing to them… "Why?"
"Because he desires to not out himself?"
"... Well, I guess that's all I should really accept," the well-built man said with a sigh. "What I wouldn't give to be able to be a S-Rank and not be bothered by reporters."
"Preaching to the choir on that one."
~NRK~
The days following that event had been a bit more exciting depending on who you asked.
An entire month of people wanting to know him, to get close, to butter him up, or even people who wanted to date him.
Oh, yeah, that had been fun.
~NRK~
Obito smiled nervously as he did his best to dissuade the tenth woman who'd come to his nephew and niece's home asking him for a date by month's end.
As he closed the door at the wobbly-eyed woman, he sighed in relief as Jin-Ah grinned.
"Uncle, you've gotta get out of the house and enjoy your slow youth!" She admonished him with a faux-pout he ignored with a simple headpat.
"I'm not going to just date some woman who comes up to me because they think I'm famous or something. Those women are not trying to date me for me," Obito admitted as Jin-Ah blinked at his thoughtful response. "Besides, I need a woman who can exercise alongside me if I was to be fair and most of those women were more housewives than anything else."
She gawked. "Wait, you have an actual preference?!" She asked in disbelief.
"What?"
"Uncle, I thought you just didn't understand women!"
Obito's face contorted into confusion before he shook his head. "Nope, I'm making dinner and not dealing with your brand of insanity today, you definitely got that part from Kyung-Hye," he muttered as he moved into the kitchen only to find her coming in with another grin. "... No more trying to get me to date, I'll handle it."
"Hehe~ Nope, I'm here to help cook!" Jin-Ah said with a scout's salute and a gleam in her eye.
"I don't trust you but very well."
As the two of them went to work in the kitchen area, she did have a few other questions.
"Wait, did bro go on a raid today?" She asked.
"Yes, it's another rare D-Rank Gate for him. I hope he's doing well with his new daggers."
Yes, Obito had finally gotten around to that part of his deal with his nephew.
Giving the boy some of his old throwing knives had been something he'd been meaning to do.
"He's getting good at usin' 'em," she said as she washed the rice. "But he is a 'Fighter', isn't he? Knives? That's more Assassin-like than Fighter-like," Jin-Ah said as Obito considered her words.
"Well… You're right on that front but I think it's because Jin-Woo understands his strengths and weaknesses more as he raids. Remember? Originally, he had a sword and that changed, he's becoming a better warrior by understanding battle in his own way."
The girl nodded before they continued on.
As the risotto began to simmer, she hopped onto the counter as Obito leaned back against it.
"Actually, me and bro were wondering, uncle," she began as he raised a brow.
"Yes?" Obito asked.
"Don't you have equipment?" Jin-Ah asked. "You say those old daggers were from the beginning but every other time you talk about equipment, you're talking about making it which is a whole other thing," she blinked before shrugging. "But my first question, please, don't you have your own personal equipment like your fellow Guild members or even Gina-unnie?"
Obito considered her words. "Hmm… The thing is, I've always focused on making my own," he began as she nodded. "But working with monster parts isn't easy and I wasn't experienced enough to do it in the beginning so I stopped and focused on mastering my magic and body. I guess, following that, I just made basic battle attire and fought like that until I could reach a good level of smithmenship."
"It's crazy that you can say that. Shuushuu, you beat an A-Rank Hunter, aren't you… I-I don't know, interested in that?"
"On some level, I do like a good fight so don't make that mistake. I've got my own want to fight and do battle with others. That said, I don't want that kind of attention. Just from that one fight alone, Jin-Ah, I've gotten hounded by women, reporters, and other Guilds."
"Yeah, I remember that," she hummed. "I mean, it's obvious you won't go to them so I don't know why they're so adamant. You've got a good relationship with a lot of the people in the Hunters, you've got respect, recognition, pull, and even taught one of the S-Rank. What do other Guilds think they can offer you?" Jin-Ah considered it a lot of the time.
With her initial shock wearing off, she'd come to realize how good her uncle's life was as a C-Rank with power and experience that could best an A-Rank.
Not many could boast the things he'd done or could do. It was a big topic on forums she'd snuck into to gauge the public's opinion and most people were saying that he was some kind of hidden agent or an Association member playing between Guilds to monitor them.
"It's just business, they want people in their Guilds who can fight tougher Gates. With tougher Gates handled, you get better equipment, materials, things to sell or eat, is it that surprising?"
"When you put it like that I guess not."
As soon as she said that, there was a knock on the door that surprised the two of them before Obito blinked.
"Gina?" Obito said in surprise as Jin-Ah hopped off the counter and hurried to the door. "She didn't tell me she was coming today," he added, eyebrows raised even as Jin-Ah grinned.
'Maybe it's not about business, shuushuu,' she thought with a good hunch. 'It's likely about your dating preferences.'
She answered the door and found a familiar A-Rank Mage there holding onto a large shopping bag.
Wearing a white v-neck crop top, a pair of black tights with pockets that fit well against her legs, and some red running shoes, Gina Acollete smiled at Jin-Ah.
"Afternoon, how's it going?" She asked the younger female who gestured into the home with a nod and smile.
"Life's moving and uncle's love life is annoying him," Jin-Ah said cheekily as Gina smirked.
"You should see the forums with some of the women Hunters, I swear to God, Jin-Ah, some of those ladies are not child-friendly."
"I can imagine, unnie."
Taking off her shoes at the front and coming in, Gina's stomach growled as she grinned hungrily at the smell of risotto.
"Oh man, he's making that good stuff again," she said, surprising Jin-Ah.
'Wait, opportunity!' She realized quickly. "You've eaten his cooking before?" Jin-Ah asked nonchalantly as they walked down the hall towards the kitchen.
Gina laughed embarrassedly at that, rubbing the back of her neck with a bashful grin that got all of Jin-Ah's attention.
"Well… Okay, so, Obito did say he could hold stuff like normal spatial magic, right? So, one time, during a mission into a C-Rank Gate, we got separated from the others. It was a 'tall' Gate that had like seven floors and this was back when I was still new to raiding," she smiled some more. "So, while we were working on how to survive, he surprised me by showing me his spatial skill but I didn't expect much. Regular spatial magic typically can't hold a lot… And then he brought out the portable stove."
Jin-Ah covered her mouth as her bark of laughter was barely restrained, Gina smirking at her.
"Yep! Rice, water, chicken stock, and apples, I swear that man walks with his kitchen," she chuckled. "I was utterly baffled by that but then I ate food I couldn't imagine in a dungeon, lost but not starving. I knew how to look at the 'good' of a situation and that's also when Obito showed me his locating ability. We got back to the group in under three hours completely unharmed."
Noting the woman's look of admiration as they looked around the corner, Jin-Ah nodded to this.
Gina did like Obito, that much had been confirmed!
Now, how to get the man to reciprocate… That would take much planning.
"Good afternoon, Gina," Obito said as he turned to face them, the woman's grin wobbling as she blushed before quickly showing her bought goods.
"I-I bought us some beer! Ya know, the kind we'd drink on occasion after a raid?" She stuttered somewhat as Obito hummed but nodded with a smile. 'Oh, God, kill me now,' Gina's cheeks burned as he chuckled a bit.
"Sure, I don't mind drinking with you. Though, would you be up for dinner?" Obito asked without tact as the woman's heart beat rapidly before she shook her head, hiding her embarrassment by shifting a bang. "?"
"Y-Yeah, sure you can take me o-Let me eat here!" She corrected horribly as he raised a brow.
"Well, glad to have you," he smiled and the woman's heart barely settled. "Did you have a raid today?"
"H-Huh? Oh, I went to one of the lower Gate Raids as a sort of guard," the A-Rank Mage admitted as she came into the kitchen, put the beer down on the table and moved to his side to look at his cooking. "I figured I might as well and just give some people more chances to experience C-Rank Gates. Those aren't easy to come by, usually they're mostly bought up by other Guilds."
Obito's head turned to observe her for a moment before his slowly falling eyes snapped back to the food, the man running a hand through his hair with some red on his own cheeks.
"Hmm~," Jin-Ah observed the two adults from the dining table with a sly look. 'Uncle's barely noticing but we can work on that,' she concocted her plan as the front door opened.
"Hmm?" A familiar young man's voice made a curious sound before he chuckled. "Oh, uncle's cooking."
"Your uncle's been all over the news," came a female voice that had Jin-Ah's head snapping to the hallway towards the kitchen. "Ah, excuse me," the sound of someone dropping their shoes reached her.
'Did my brother bring home a girl!?' Impossible! These chances were too slim and yet, here she was, getting two shows for the price of one!
When her brother came around the corner, he blinked at the situation in the kitchen in surprise. "Ah, Ms. Gina came over," Jin-Woo smiled before gesturing to the new female who'd entered their home as the older Hunters turned their heads. "This is one of my formal raiding partners, Lee Joo-Hee," he said with a bit of a blush but a grin that was hard to miss.
The Hunter around Jin-Woo's age bowed to the group despite her awe at the two adults in the kitchen.
Joo-Hee was a young woman who stood at Jin-Woo's height with long bright orange hair, pale skin, and blue eyes. Wearing a knee-length maroon coat, a plaid black-and-white dress beneath it, and some socks, she looked at Obito and Gina with some awe.
"I-I thought you said it'd only be your uncle here?" She asked Jin-Woo who chuckled.
"Him and Ms. Gina are close comrades from the Hunters Guild," he told her succinctly and without issue.
Gina shifted a bang out of her face as Obito raised a brow at her pink cheeks, leaning forward a bit in an act that sent the woman's face into the red gutter.
Jin-Ah's eyes squinted at that and realized she might be able to kill three birds with one Jin-Woo!
"Pleased to meet you," Obito greeted the young woman with a smile, relieving Gina of her heart-melting burden.
"Y-Yeah, nice to meet ya," she said with a shaky grin. 'Can he just not be hot right now? Please?' Even in the man's tight black top and gray sweatpants, he looked good to her.
Like, did she have it that bad or was he just hot? Gina wasn't sure if she wanted to know, the feeling in her chest very much welcomed the confusion despite her embarrassment.
Joo-Hee took one look at the situation and squinted as Jin-Woo blinked at it all.
'What's going on?' He wondered as he gestured to the table in the kitchen. "You can sit here. This is my sister, Jin-Ah," Jin-Woo explained as he put his bag down just outside of the kitchen area, the pair of long kunai crossing on its side noted by Obito along with a bandage on the young man's cheek.
"How was today's Gate?" The man asked the two. "Did your knives work well for you?" Obito said with a chuckle as he turned and handled the stove, turning off the fire as Gina nodded.
"You've been taking the occasional D-Rank from what Obito tells me," she said, regaining her composure. "How are those? From E to D-Rank is at least a five-times jump in difficulty."
"R-Really?" Joo-Hee asked, surprised by being given numbers on the difference. "I don't think anyone's ever said it like that."
"Well, it's not something people really put down into numbers. That said, E-Ranks are basically nothing but bigger animals whereas D-Rank is where you'll likely meet some animals with special traits or even the boss will be a larger animal than average who has special abilities," the A-Ranker explained, surprising the younger trio in the home. "Make no mistake, they're still strong compared to a normal person."
"T-They are but, thanks to uncle's training, it's not as bad as it could be," Jin-Woo nodded as Gina raised a brow. "E-Rank Gates are actually pretty easy, all things considered. They're mostly just a numbers game, right?"
'Oh? Someone might have a little fire in him like Obito?' Well, she was happy for him getting to hit his stride. "You're right, bosses in E-Rank Gates, or dungeons, aren't really bosses so much as a lot of opponents 90% of the time."
"The D-Ranks we've been doing have only half that type," Joo-Hee said, getting a nod out of Obito as he pulled out several plates. "The other half are usually what you said, large animal monsters. W-We faced a giant wolf with water blades over its paws."
"It wasn't easy. Thankfully, Mr. Chi-Yul was there but it had a strong nature compared to his, he's a fire-using Mage," Jin-Woo explained as Obito and Gina considered that. "He's a C-Rank like uncle and is the teacher of Ms. Hae-In."
"Oh, right, Jong-In did say something like that," Gina really wondered where these neverending weird ones were coming from.
Two C-Rank Hunters who'd trained S-Rank Hunters in the same timeframe? That sounded crazy.
"He sounds like he's well-rounded," Obito said as Joo-Hee nodded before being served some risotto.
"A-Ah, thank you!" She thanked him a moment later as Obito set everyone their own food.
And left a blushing Gina with a large plate of food, something that stacked almost a foot-high, which Jin-Ah didn't hesitate to comment on.
"Um, no offense, ma'am, but isn't that too much?" The youngest there asked as the Mage woman cleared her throat while Obito sat opposite her.
"Ahem, no, I'm just a big eater," she admitted bashfully as the other Mage in the room chuckled knowingly. "Quiet you," Gina pouted and Obito smiled goodnaturedly.
"Not a word," he told her and she blushed again, crossing her arms under her chest.
The bounce that followed wasn't lost on the younger ones seated at the table.
Joo-Hee's hair stood up on end before her head mechanically turned to the looking-away Jin-Woo.
'They're huge!' He thought in disbelief and embarrassment.
Jin-Ah wasn't much better, her eyebrow twitching painfully. 'Is that where all that food goes?!' She thought with indignation. 'That's not fair!'
Gina's pout barely lasted until her second bite wherein she just blushed and looked away from the smirking Obito whose mind was still boggled.
'Did she… I don't remember them being so big,' he thought with a look away from Gina.
'Stupid hot smirking men,' she muttered in her mind as she kept on eating.
She'd eaten two servings of that amount before the others could finish their first, something that didn't get ignored.
'WHERE DID IT GO?!' The younger group balked. 'ARE YOU A BLACK HOLE?!'
"Mmm," Gina rolled her shoulders before patting her stomach. "I'm gonna need to do some exercise after this," she whined softly as Obito chuckled, his own food done already.
"Well… How about we exercise together and then drink those beers?" He offered her and the woman perked up, definitely attracted to the idea. "I didn't know you did physical conditioning," Obito said with some surprise and respect.
Gina huffed but smirked all the same. "Of course I do, Mage, you never shut up about your own training sessions despite being our Class. I couldn't just lag behind and, besides, it did help me keep my figure. I-I might have been ten pounds heavier before we met," she muttered with a red face.
"I'm glad to be such an influence. Now, are you kids up for some training?"
~NRK~
Joo-Hee gasped as she barely kept up with Jin-Woo and Jin-Ah.
"W-Why? I-Is… This what… Y-You've been doing?" She gasped for each breath on their tenth lap around the park. 'My lungs are killing me!'
"Um, well, yeah," Jin-Woo explained, looking only slightly bothered with his sister a step below that. "Hmph… I train with my uncle every other day," he said with determined eyes, the three of them turning their gazes to the running ahead duo of Obito and Gina.
The woman didn't seem as fit as the man was but she was easily a sight better than them, her pace and Obito's kept in-sync as they shot ahead.
"You're good!" The man said with a smirk as Gina controlled her breathing before grinning as she began to pull ahead. "Oh?!" Obito uttered as he pushed his body once more.
As they began to even-out, Gina smirked at him.
And shot ahead with speed he didn't understand for all of three seconds.
"You clever woman!" He praised before he intensified his next step.
The man shot off after Gina, the two somehow quickly rounding the bend behind the shocked teens-WASN'T THERE HALF A MILE OF PARK BEHIND THEM?!
"Wait, what?" Jin-Woo balked in confusion as the adults passed them but not before revealing what was up.
"Your telekinesis?!"
"Learned from the best!"
They ran ahead once more, leaving the three to consider their words.
"Mages are so versatile," Jin-Woo considered in surprise. "I didn't realize that Gina-noona could do something like this as well but her powers would be perfect, wouldn't they?" He said to the other two with a look of wonder. "Finding different ways to apply the power they've been given is how they become A-Ranks," he nodded as Joo-Hee balked at it all before tripping. "Are you alright?!" He asked quickly as he and Jin-Ah came to a stop, going back to kneel by the Healer's flat-against-the-ground form.
"Mmmmmm," the young woman shot him the biggest set of wobbly eyes possible, getting a off-to-the-side cough from Jin-Woo lest he be 'beaten' by her look of pain and anguish.
Jin-Ah sweatdropped at it all.
Obito rubbed the back of his head as he looked away from his fellow Mage's moist form next to him.
"Whew!" Gina tugged at her top a bit, cheeks flushed, body full of sweat, but stomach less bulky. "Y-You don't play around," she said as she turned to the facing-away Obito.
And froze as the man pulled at the bottom of his top, peeling off each inch of cloth like some kind of tease.
She burned up as his top came off with a 'pop', his hair mussed up as he flapped his clothing off to the side.
And Gina got a good view of the man's back. "W-What are you doing to me?" The woman whispered with a look of 'fear' that was only drowned out by the fact she was basically ogling what had to be the perfect back.
Muscle, low fat, and definition that couldn't be beat sat before her and turned the A-Rank's mind to mush.
The others either blushed or looked sheepish.
Jin-Woo was in the latter category, observing his uncle's result of his neverending training.
"He's bigger when he doesn't have clothes on for some reason," he said to Jin-Ah who drank some water but nodded, amused beyond words by the sight of Gina losing her freaking mind over her relative. "Like, how? That's not how physics works."
The girl released the lip of her bottle and grinned. "It does for manhwa."
"Oh, please, I don't wanna hear that."
"You're seeing it," she snickered as he tried to rebuke her but came up with nothing. "I don't get it, I think it's one of those mysteries of the universe," Jin-Ah chuckled. "Guys get 20% bigger when they don't have their clothes on, probably some science in there. Maybe primal instincts?" She joked.
Sung Jin-Woo rubbed the back of his head before looking down at his own top. 'I'm not vain but I've also been doing my best to match uncle…' He shrugged and began to pull it off. "Can you give me an honest opinion?" He asked his sister as he finally removed his own top. "Like, comparison-wise?"
Joo-Hee wheezed out a breath before burning bright red and covering her face. "I-Indecent!" She squealed in her small corner of the world as Jin-Ah sweatdropped before giving her brother an honest opinion.
"Well, for one, we both know you're different. Uncle's a lot broader than you," she said, getting a nod out of Jin-Woo. "But you're filling out, even your face has gotten a bit slimmer over the past year," and Jin-Ah wasn't lying.
Before her, Jin-Woo's body could be called 'lean' or even 'athletic' compared to the scrawny boy he used to be a year and a half ago.
'He likely hasn't even noticed the other parts, either,' the fact he'd actually gained a few inches, the parts where his eyes grew more narrow, and even how he carried himself. 'You can watch everyone else's walk but your own,' poetic, huh?
That her brother was beginning to grow into his 'Fighter' role without even noticing.
Jin-Woo, meanwhile, looked surprised by that as he felt his face. 'Really?' He'd always disliked his childish looks so that was definitely a positive if it was true. "I have to keep following uncle's regime. Maybe I'll actually look my age in a couple years," Jin-Woo laughed embarrassedly as Jin-Ah laughed outright.
Joo-Hee just squealed in the fetal position.
~NRK~
Yes, that day had begun a 'trend' if you will.
Of Gina and Joo-Hee coming over more often, the two women showing up at their apartment a couple days out of the week. Even Jong-In and Hae-In had begun randomly showing up and were welcomed without issue.
The newest additions to their lives had been welcomed so easily, it was almost laughable.
And a year later, Obito decided to give Jin-Woo a small 'sample' of what it was like.
Inside of a B-Rank Gate.
~NRK~
Sung Jin-Woo's eyes trembled at the sight of it.
That bus-sized hole in front of him that emanated enough magical energy that even he, a lowly E-Rank, could feel it.
"T-This is a B-Rank? What are A-Ranks like?! I can feel it, that's terrifying!" He said to Obito who nodded.
The now-man had grown well with another year of training under his belt and experience in mind but Jin-Woo hadn't changed all that much as a person.
He was still easily startled but Obito hoped he could show the now-man true terror and power so he could understand and push forward.
And, also, with a year of him getting stronger, Obito had given him something more personalized in combat attire.
Wearing a pair of black boots, slightly baggy gray pants with special holsters for his newest Iron Knives, a dark blue tunic with the Hunters Guild logo on the back, and some black 'Hunter' wraps for his hands up to his elbow, Jin-Woo swallowed as Obito nodded.
His uncle hadn't changed… At all, actually. Now 35, he still didn't look like he'd aged a day since they truly became a family five years ago.
Wearing a skin-tight sleeveless dark gray top, black gloves, a pair of pants not dissimilar to Jin-Woo's own in color and type, and some martial artist flats, Obito nodded to him as he made them stretch before the Gate.
Coming up on their side, Hae-In and Jong-In nodded to the duo. "Are you ready?" The glass-wearing man asked.
With the passing years, he'd changed up his own attire. In place of his previous clothes was an immaculate reinforced white suit with hardened leather pads in joint spots, his hips, and his shoulders where a new red cloak sat 'combing over' his side in a regal display with golden-plated pauldrons.
Hae-In, meanwhile, had taken a couple pointers from Jong-In's own attire.
Now adorned in a taut, reinforced, dark red suit with yellow lining and black accents on her sides, coat hem, and collar, she'd sort of reversed her usual armor placements.
Instead of armor for her torso and abdomen, she now wore silver greaves & gauntlets, her new white-gold pauldrons sitting well on her shoulders as cloth tassels hung from them and the breechcloth around her waist where a sheathed sword rested on its side.
All in all, 'S-Rank' sprung to mind the more he saw these two over the years.
"Hyung-nim," Hae-In said as naturally as she breathed, a smile on her face as she addressed the two. "Sung Jin-Woo, welcome. I hope you're open-minded about this experience," she said, looking from the nervous Jin-Woo to the Gate. "This is a B-Rank Gate, the dungeon on the inside will be dangerous so it's to your benefit that you stay by your uncle's, or the tanks', side whenever possible."
"U-Understood," Jin-Woo said. 'I'll be able to see something not even Joo-Hee has,' a B-Rank Dungeon. 'It's intimidating… But I can't let this chance go to waste!' His eyes narrowed at the gate. 'I will absorb as much as I can from this. I will get better due to this and make life easier on shuushuu, help mom, and make sure Jin-Ah doesn't need to worry,' even if that was mostly an emotional point instead of a literal one.
Jin-Woo just wanted his family happy, together, and taken care of.
"Alright," Obito nodded as he stood up with his nephew. "When we get the time, I'll lead you through a formation against one of the monsters with a small team composed of Cheol, Ki-Hoon, and Gina. You need to absorb all of this, nephew, this isn't a chance many people get."
Jin-Woo nodded, picking up a satchel off the ground and tying it around his waist as Obito spun some thread together around his wrists up to his biceps. The creation looking like athletic sleeves to those not in the know.
"Alright, you two," Gina said as she adjusted her new giant gold-colored waist belt with a pair of pouches on the back, the woman's pointer fingers now sporting a pair of black bands. "You ready? I know Obito's not been fighting inside a Gate in a while," she added, shooting her fellow Mage a look he shook his head at.
"I haven't, not even the D-Rank ones Jin-Woo and Joo-Hee have been doing. This will be a refresher course," Obito said as he crossed his arms. "What about you? Prepared to test your newest ideas?" He asked her curiously as she nodded.
"I… I didn't think about using my powers in such a way," she nodded to Jin-Woo. "I'll thank your sister once more when we get back, Woo. I didn't think I could push my powers like that."
"Jin-Ah's just glad to help," Jin-Woo nodded. "Now… L-Let's go inside," the boy said nervously as Jong-In agreed.
"Alright, Strike Team A, come forth," he called out to their large band of Hunters.
Normally composed of 11 A-Ranks and six B-Ranks, they'd added a bit more to the team temporarily for the sake of this expedition's newcomers.
Ki-Hoon, Cheol, and Gina nodded as they assembled by Obito and Jin-Woo, the C-Rank leading the charge of that small 'Exploration Team'.
It'd been the idea that Obito had suggested to Jong-In before changing his occupation. Having a small team composed of individuals with strong escape skills, knowledge, or wide-area defensive abilities to scope ahead for a bit.
With Cheol's experience & defensive barriers, Ki-Hoon's high aptitude for close-quarters combat & hearing, Gina's improved telekinesis & spatial awareness, and Obito's precise spatial thread & Assassin-like speed and nature, they were perfect. Jin-Woo's status as a 'Fighter', no offense to him, wasn't really a factor but Jong-In already liked the idea of such a smaller team.
Especially with the idea of himself being the part of one so they could truly cover their bases beyond comparison.
"Alright, Team One," Obito began as each member showed their 'Spatial Bands'. "We're going in. Cheol, be at the back of the group," he ordered.
"Gotcha," the other mature man said as he shifted behind Ki-Hoon.
"Gina, you're at the center with Jin-Woo. Make sure to keep your senses open."
"Understood," Gina said with a soldier's salute, belt shifting on its own power. 'Seeing him in action again is nostalgic,' she smiled.
"Ki-Hoon, you're to stay at Jin-Woo's side during any combat or movement," Obito said. "As the youngest, and most in-experienced, provide him the type of tanking that can only come from an A-Rank."
"Y-Yes, sir!" Ki-Hoon grinned as he and Jin-Woo nodded to each. "Nice to meet you again," he greeted as they shook hands.
Jin-Woo smiled. "Still not beat that level?" He chuckled as Ki-Hoon's eyes burned with righteous fire.
"A-Almost! I just don't get the system," he whined softly as they walked in, random bags of different sorts on their backs, hips, or thighs in Obito's case.
They entered that large blue portal that released a unique pressure only felt by Gates.
~NRK~
Entering a Gate wasn't surprising to Jin-Woo.
But their surroundings did give him some pause. "A waterfall?" He blinked as the group recomposed themselves and looked about well.
Standing on a lone giant rock, they could look around them to see water running down the nearby walls of the cavern they'd arrived in. Even below the edge of their decently-sized plateau, they could see water falling from its moss-covered sides all the way down to a large lake below.
"Hmm," Obito cupped his chin. "This is the second-time we've been in a locale like this in the past half a year," he said to the other four.
"Really? Aren't there D-Rank Gates like this?" Jin-Woo asked the others.
"Yes, the lower Gates are typically a lot more lenient in design," Gina said with narrowed eyes as she pulled a small ball from one of her pouches. "But in higher-ranked Gates… This usually means something here is gonna thrive off these surroundings and I don't just mean the water."
"Slimy walls, condensation," Cheol spoke up with crossed arms. "Long drops into the water below, maybe even the stalactites above. This place could harbor a possibly diverse boss," he explained as Jin-Woo looked surprised.
'Of course,' the Ranks of Gates could easily make what he'd experienced up to this point moot. "I didn't think about that," he admitted.
"It's fine. Gates of a lower nature, if you're not climbing the Ranks on occasion, can harden your way of thinking," Cheol said. "You need to make sure to always be prepared for different aspects no matter what level. That can also be a bigger clue to the boss as well."
Jin-Woo nodded with narrowed eyes as the group walked towards one edge of their plateau.
"Let's see, there are three large holes across from us," Obito said as he pointed to a far-off wall with said holes in them.
"What are the odds that they weren't made by the boss?" Ki-Hoon asked with a small sigh.
"Low," Gina said with a nod as she looked around them at the shining waters below. 'Is it amphibious?' She wondered before kneeling down and placing her small metal ball into a crevice. "I'm gonna spread my senses, watch my back," she told the others as she placed her hands against the ground and closed her eyes.
She expanded her telekinesis all the way down at half-strength, an idea she'd gained from her previous days working with Obito.
By not forcing her powers like a tide, they could spread more easily and she could probe her psychic ability for different things. She shook the metal ball, its vibrations adding to her senses and showing her more about the space below all the way down to half the plateau.
As she did, her brows furrowed a bit. "There are small lifeforms inside the rocks," Gina told them. "They've got magical energy that's oddly large for their size, though," she opened her eyes as she frowned.
"What could that mean?" Ki-Hoon wondered as Jin-Woo cupped his chin.
'Large magical power in small beings?' Well, maybe they had good stats despite their sizes? '... Wait,' his eyebrows narrowed. "Small, compact, and full of magic… T-That sounds kind of like one of those magic hand bombs, doesn't it?" Jin-Woo hissed out softly as the others' eyes narrowed. "I've dealt with a few porcupine monsters that would shoot explosive quills, Mr. Song said he sensed their high magic power."
"In that case, there's a chance these small creatures, or even objects, will attack us at some point. Possibly, they're even connected to the boss," Obito said before raising a hand.
It glowed before thread shot from his glowing limb, the thin material shooting out across the expanse of what had to be at least two blocks to connect to the wall with the holes.
They latched in deeply before the thread began to thicken into cables.
Soon, the space between them gained small-gapped thread-plank paths.
"T-That's amazing," Jin-Woo said in surprise as Obito smiled at him. "Uncle, you can do all of that quickly and easily?"
"Yes, another upside to my power is that it's low-cost even like this," Obito said. "I can make complex structures and items to use on the fly that can have many properties. I'll probably be showing you a bit more of my exploited power when we get to the boss. I think I'll bring out that skill."
Gina tilted her head before making an 'Ooooh' sound. "Oh, right, thread," she tapped her noggin as Ki-Hoon and Cheol scratched their heads with Jin-Woo.
"Thread… Thread…" What did he know about Obito's thread that he'd use against a possible water-type boss? "..." He wasn't sure.
How much had his uncle exploited his powers? He wondered if he'd ever see the 'max'.
Still, they had a path now.
So, with measured but trusting steps, they walked across the large lake below, the rushing water all around them a little loud but not enough to drown-out their voices or hearing.
"So, how big do you wanna bet this place is?" Cheol asked the others as he chose to hold onto his shield the whole way. "This area alone is the size of a soccer field."
"It's got upper areas too if the waterfalls are to be believed," Ki-Hoon said.
"Likely, it's about as big as a stadium in depth and height," Gina suggested. "That water's gotta be deep but it's not filling up all the way so there's an exit somewhere. We might have ended up in a cave system of some mountain or forest in this world."
Obito agreed as he kept looking out and around.
And then the five stopped at the sound of something exploding out of stone.
"Gina!" Obito commanded.
The A-Rank Mage's eyes closed as she held out her hands.
An explosion rocked against a barely-visible sphere that surrounded them, Ki-Hoon's eyes narrowing in its direction before his ears twitched.
"From below!" He shouted.
Obito's eyes snapped down and saw, between the thread of their pathway, dark blue dots within the water that erupted into flying triangular fish.
They glowed before erupting against Gina's barrier like missiles, the half-American frowning as she lowered her hands after locking in her barrier.
"I guess you were right," she told Jin-Woo appreciatively. "Still, what did it? Why are they attacking NOW?"
Cheol's head turned on a swivel before he noticed something. "Hey… Remind me, when did shadows move on rocks?" He growled as the group's heads snapped in the direction of such a phenomenon.
That began moving FAST.
"It's a chameleon?!" Jin-Woo said in shock as that 'shadow' moved with incredible speed before vanishing into the shadows up above. 'It's using the stalactites!' Cheol had been onto something.
"We don't know if it's a chameleon though," Gina said before Obito nodded.
"Get back to the platform!" He declared as they began to run on the now-fully-solid path of thread.
Mid-way, Ki-Hoon's ears twitched and he grit his teeth.
He jumped up an incredible distance before locking his shield against something that sparked on contact.
"What?!" He said in shock before being pulled back suddenly, a harsh swipe of air barely passing by his face. "Hyung-nim!" The A-Rank Tank said as Obito brought him back down to the stone plateau.
"You're good, nice work," the thread-user said as he looked around up above. "That sound, Ki-Hoon."
"It wasn't metal, skin, leather, or rock," the Tank frowned before explaining it to Jin-Woo. "My dad's a tailor, he's dealt with all kinds of material before and I've never heard any of those sounds so it's likely scales," he realized as an echoing 'crackle' of large lips reached their ears. "Its mouth is likely composed of a similar material."
Jin-Woo was truly taken aback by this group's even non-magical abilities. 'These are High-Rank Hunters,' he realized as he looked around nervously, mind still frazzled by the suddenness of the attack.
But they'd recovered so easily, so fast, and used their senses to figure out their opponent.
There was another sound of erupting earth before eight of those exploding fish sprouted over the edges of their plateau and shot towards them.
Before each and everyone of them was sliced in half by an unseen attack, something so quick and precise the fish seemed to explode for no reason.
Jin-Woo went to Obito's cross-armed form, the man not looking bothered in the least.
And then there was a shift in the air that sent a tremble over their skin.
Cheol skidded in front of the Uchiha with his glowing shield raised.
"Flame Barrier!" He cried out.
And a wall of gold formed, repelling a slimy 'thing' with its surface that sent a hissing flame up a receding organ.
"Confirmation, it is a chameleon," the B-Rank Tank said. "That wasn't a normal limb and it's slimy," he said, the man sounding like he frowned as the flames from his technique died out before even reaching their target. "And I think we can consider it a water-element. The counter on my barrier is supposed to hit the target unless their nature combats my own."
Obito frowned at that. 'But something doesn't seem right,' there'd been no rise in their invisible opponent's magical power when those fish were sent at them, right? "... Ah, I see now," he realized as the group turned to him. "It's not one monster, it's two. They're in a symbiotic relationship."
As he spoke, the air hissed with numerous flying bomb fish, their numbers eclipsing their previous attempt by three magnitudes.
"Haa."
A single sigh and the large number of projectiles were attacked and slashed in seconds, each and every one of those fishes not reaching the group even by ten meters.
"Efficient as always," Gina said as she raised her hand to the side and caught a bunch of the fish before they could crest the edge of the plateau. "Though you're rusty, I can tell."
Those frozen fish were destroyed in an instant as Obito rubbed the back of his head.
"Once again, it seems so," he considered before slowly nodding. "Then, let me handle our opponents," Obito told the group as he widened his legs and crouched low. "I should be able to handle two monsters like these."
The ground erupted, the mage's form vanishing within it.
"I don't get it but I feel like he can kill those things," Cheol said with crossed arms. "All on his own."
There was a wicked black spark from above.
"SENKO!"
The top of the cavern erupted into lightning that flickered dark blue with a black epicenter. Ki-Hoon, Cheol, and Jin-Woo jumped at the attack as it ran rampant around the conductive cavern and tore apart a part of the ceiling.
"H-Hey?! I thought it was spatial magic!?" Ki-Hoon said in shock as the area stopped shaking "What's going on?!"
"T-That's it!" Cheol realized with a laugh. "It's both spatial and material magic, Ki-Hoon. He's applying his thread's properties… Along with his spatial ones if I'm right."
A large shadow dropped from above, the group watching its hissing shape fall before a random 'CRACK!' in the air sent it crashing down on a far-end of their plateau.
Gina whistled as Obito landed, his bound arms crackling with flickers of electricity. "Damn, I have not seen that in a while!" She laughed as Jin-Woo's jaw dropped.
"W-Wait?! How!? That much electricity doesn't make sense!" The youngest of the group said in shock and awe.
"It's due to the special properties of my thread," Obito told him as he let out a hot breath.
The electrified creature twitched before its form slowly revealed itself within a mist of its illusion.
"... Well, Woo was partly right," Gina said as they looked at the clearly in-shock creature, all pun intended.
There, currently struggling to its six claws, was a creature with a chameleon's eyes and tail but it was something more.
Its large spiny form couldn't be mistaken. "A sea urchin?" Jin-Woo gawked at it. "B-But where is its tongue-"
He didn't see it before it was already right in front of him, a thick fleshy organ that would have sent his head flying before it was held at bay by a single gloved hand.
The floor beneath their feet cratered as Obito tightened his gloved grip. "Be careful, Jin-Woo," he said as Gina's form shot towards the still capable creature. "Don't let your guard down."
"Yep!" The Mage woman agreed loudly as her hands glowed bright red and trailed just above the ground, strips of stone peeling off the ground as she circled the sea urchin. "Don't lag!"
The stone began to swirl around the sea urchin beast as it kept trying to recede its tongue to little effect and tugs.
Gina shot back as her stone prison began to close in, her hands throwing something into the air in the center before they raised and came together as she landed.
"Binding!"
They gripped one another before the small metal ball floating at the center of it all pulled it all together at a point.
The creatures squealed as its body was crushed by brown stone, the gush of fluid from its body splattering over the ground beneath its stony coffin.
Gina released a sigh of relief while Ki-Hoon blinked in shock as Cheol cupped his helmeted chin.
"You've been learning from him, haven't cha?" The B-Ranked, but more experienced, Tank said with a single finger gesturing to the smirking Gina.
"I'd be lying if I said 'no', so,' she chuckled as Obito nodded, impressed with her work. "Before he switched over, me and Obito didn't just sit around and drink beer, ya know? We talked a lot about our powers and how they were different, similar, and then unique in attributes," Gina twirled a finger and a small number of pebbles followed suit. "I have telekinesis that can't match a National-Ranked Hunter but it has properties to it. For one, I can sort of imbue my telekinesis into things I touch. They're one-time uses but it's more than I can use all at once."
"R-Really?" Jin-Woo asked, holding onto his chest in shock. 'I-I would have died!' Was even an injured magical beast such a threat?
It began to dawn on him just how terrifying it was to be in a dungeon like this without being on-guard.
'B-Rank Magical Beasts, the area, the amount of advantages to note,' this was why raiding parties were so large.
To be caught in here without the right amount of experience, skill, or even senses would get someone or a team killed!
'And yet, uncle was able to band-together into a group of four who could do just that,' considering all he'd learned in the past ten minutes they'd been in here… 'They're the pinnacle of their Hunter Ranks.'
Two Mages and Two Tanks could pull off so much when they were truly skilled. And then there was Obito who seemingly could perform a powerful number of roles on the fly.
Speed of an Assassin.
Magical might of a Mage.
The Defensive Skills of a Tank.
And just the physical capability of a Fighter. Hell, the only thing the man was lacking was Healer-based power and Jin-Woo was sure he would become beyond broken if he did have that.
'Unless he does have them,' the man's brow trembled at the way too much his uncle had. "Uncle, you're ridiculous," Jin-Woo said as Obito sweatdropped.
"And we're in," came the familiar voice of Jong-In as he entered the area with the rest of the original strike team. "Let's see… Hmm… Hmm, yes, you've all already taken care of the boss?" The man seemed impressed.
"... Oh right, we forgot about the other-" Ki-Hoon began to realize with a shaky grin before the area rumbled. "Crap."
The cavern shook as the waters below swirled before rupturing as a beast of magnificent size breached.
Its form slowly 'swam' up the plateau's side, its glowing body cresting the edge before it shifted in the air above them, floating with its own power.
It was whale-like with sharp barnacle-encrusted limbs and an odd dorsal fin one wouldn't find one the notable sea mammal.
With its four pure red eyes, the four large hole-like barnacle mounds on its back, and the scaly-looking jaw it had, when the creature let out a bellow that caused the air to vibrate… Well.
Cha Hae-In already stood atop its noggin, her lone silvery blade plunged into its head.
Jin-Woo's eyes widened to impossible levels. "W-When… How did she…" He didn't understand.
He hadn't even seen Hae-In enter the dungeon, much less move up there.
"Hyung-nim's team really is something else," she told the magical beast as her weapon began to glow. "Truly, he's the oddest C-Rank around," Hae-In said as she flicked her blade beside Jin-Woo and resheathed it. "There, done," she smiled as the man's jaw remained dropped, Jin-Woo mechanically turning to see her smile.
"I-I don't… I'm done for today," he realized as the magical beast began to become covered in white marks that cleaved apart its form and reduced it to nothing but meaty chunks before it could even release a death cry.
"Hmph, this is an odd ecosystem," Jong-In said with a hum and cupped chin. "How far did you all get into it?" He asked like he was talking about the weather.
"The end of the bridge," Obito said as he gestured to the still-there construct. "We never got to go into those holes on the other side of this place and I'm still worried about whether we killed the bosses or not."
The S-Rank Mage nodded before gesturing to the Obito-made path, the whole group going forward onto it. "Honestly, hyung, are you sure your thread is so weak?" He asked, tapping their foothold.
"It's spun together, it's not the same thing," Obito explained. "It's as simple as adding more material and binding it together through simple rotation, no more, no less."
"Hmm… I guess doing this for clothing wouldn't work?" Gina asked him.
"Not for the kind I'd need to last."
"?" That was a curious phrase, huh? 'Likely another technique or something,' she wouldn't be surprised.
As they made it across the expanse, Jin-Woo looked all around.
"I don't see the usual crystals and stuff," he said as Hae-In nodded.
"I don't either," she said to Jong-In who cupped his chin before looking down at the waters below.
"... Perhaps they're in the water?" He offered the group as half of them looked through Obito's bridge's railing to stare at the glowing liquid below. "If this place is water-based, that wouldn't be impossible," Jong-In explained as one of their A-Ranks pulled out a throwing knife and dropped it over the edge.
They watched as it fell before 'plunking' into the water.
The area below glowed with a green light before a ring formed and allowed them a clear view of the environment's depths.
"I was right. We'll probably have to build a set of steps down so the other teams can do their jobs. Sunpung, go and tell the other teams the situation and begin working with them to make a path down."
One of their B-Ranks nodded before he blurred away like a phantom, his Assassin status clear.
"Five of you go with him," their members followed suit. "Alright, we'll slowly go through the tunnels and hopefully clear out all the monsters first and foremost," Hae-In nodded as the group continued on.
Jin-Woo was left intrigued as they traveled, fought, and even marked numerous parts of the cave system for the next three hours before the air grew intense.
"W-What the?" He shivered as Cheol pat his shoulder.
"That is the boss's mana, we're extremely close. Look at the ground," the B-Rank Tank said as Jin-Woo did.
And blinked in surprise at oddly perfectly-angling trails of glowing water that, now that he was looking around, moved in perfect unison further down the slope they were on.
"This is a usual case for most bosses," Ki-Hoon said with a nod. "The thing is, powerful mana changes the environment around where its epicenter is. In that case, most boss rooms, or paths, are obvious when you keep a track of the mana around or just our surroundings. It's why Mages are important to a lot of higher-ranked raids."
Jin-Woo hummed as they kept on moving. 'There's so much about raiding I don't understand yet,' he thought as he watched their backs despite being in the middle of them all, eyes gleaming with the specific image of Obito's. 'Yet, it's so amazing,' he thought.
The planning, the feeling of danger being circumvented by your comrades, and just the idea of being important to the whole. Jin-Woo desired a future like that.
One where he mattered and could move alongside a path of comrades.
As they made it down the incline, they found themselves standing at a doorway.
Obito nodded to the group. "This will likely be a bit bigger than the whale," he chuckled as Hae-In nodded, pouting. "Please don't kill it all by yourself," he joked as she blushed at that while the others snickered or looked hungry.
"Alright, open the doors," Jong-In said as Obito nodded.
He pressed his hands against the two sides.
They flung open with what looked like barely a push, the large stone tablets that had been blocking them flying back and slamming into a far-off wall.
And what revealed itself in front of them was a humongous 'well' of fifty meters with outcroppings popping out of the wall in a sporadic manner and a long string of light at the center of it all that led all the way down to the bottom of an indiscernible height.
"It seems the boss is quite welcoming," Cheol snorted. "Honestly, I'll never understand why some of these dungeons are like this."
"Is it not just the rarity of things?" Ki-Hoon considered with a shaky grin. "I have more stories than I'd like to admit about unfair dungeons."
The others either chuckled nervously as well, said the same, or smirked.
'So, how's this going to work?' Jin-Woo cupped his chin as he noted that, at the very least, a few of the platforms were close enough to work as their 'staircase'. "I wonder what the protocol here is."
"Same," Ki-Hoon said with excitement. "This is my first time working with the S-Ranks of our Guild, I wonder if they've come up with different methods for this-"
Obito, Jong-In, and Hae-In jumped off the ledge?!
"WHAT?!" Half the group shouted while their more experienced, with their leaders, members laughed.
Gina let out a cackle as she wiped a tear from her eye, even Cheol was left gawking at the madness before them.
"W-What the hell?! Are they just like this?!" He asked in disbelief as Jin-Woo and Ki-Hoon's skin dropped a few shades.
"They're also our team's crazies," the A-Rank Mage said.
Back with the falling trio, their hair flapped behind them as they fell without a care.
"I believe that's it!" Obito said as the three of them saw the waters below begin to bubble.
A huge dark shadow formed over half the water's surface below before it ruptured and released a large, long, bellowing eel of some sort covered in crystals that made it look more like a monster made of stone than a living organism.
It shot up towards them as they fell down at it.
"Any ideas?!" Hae-In asked over the wind with a pout. "I was admonished for 'selfishness'," she twitched her fingers. "And so I'd like to hear better concepts!"
Obito chuckled at that as the thread around his arms sparking, surprising Hae-In for all of a second before she shot him a flat look.
"Simple immobilization! They need experience against big bosses!" Obito said as they reached the crystal eel, his arms reared back. "NI-SENKO!"
Up above, the slowly descending team jumped as electricity crawled up the wall, carving into the stone surface, before erupting into small explosions of light that left heated air in their wake.
"Huh?!" Someone asked. "Um, when?!"
Gina chuckled as she carried Jin-Woo down faster than the others, the man's arm around her shoulder with hers around his waist.
"Your uncle's incredible, huh?" She told him with a grin as they landed halfway down and watched the chaos down below. "The more time I fight alongside him, I can't help but wonder where he 'bottoms out' if you get my drift. Where his skills actually land him."
They floated down with their bodies covered in a red glow.
"... I've wondered that for a while, too," Jin-Woo smiled the closer they got. "Uncle's got so many things and he cultivated all of them. It makes you wonder if… I-If you can do the same thing, you know?" He admitted bashfully.
"Yeah, I get that."
They landed on a thick black thread that spanned the entirety of the walls in a circle, Obito appearing beside them.
"There, that should keep this thing more doable," he chuckled as he crossed his arms, Gina nudging him a bit.
"Finally work off the rust?" She giggled as he ran a hand through his hair.
"I feel like it, yeah? I might need to make sure to actually raid with you all every now and then to keep my skills up-to-date."
"We'll welcome ya anytime."
Jin-Woo took a deep breath before blinking as thread climbed up his boots, hands & arms, chest, joints, and neck.
"There, you should be able to handle yourself even if only a bit," Obito told him as he pat the man's back, his thread even crawling up his Iron Knives and causing their edges to spark. "Go and experience a threat bigger than most you've faced."
Jin-Woo's eyes widened at that before he clenched his hands and nodded. "Thanks, shuushuu, for everything," he smiled.
And then jumped off with determined eyes, feet held down and making first contact on the crystal eel's hissing hide, the beast wriggling as Jong-In and Hae-In stood off to the side with observing eyes.
They wouldn't help them fight and would intervene only when it was necessary.
Jin-Woo's eyes glowed a powerful hue.
This was HIS moment to grow.
Obito watched with proud eyes as Jin-Woo arced about the crystal eel's hide, powerful slashes of the new adult's 'enchanted' Iron Knives carving into what was left of the crystal hide and doing more than he'd ever been capable of before.
Gina wrapped an arm around his waist and gave him a bit of a hug. "You believe in him a lot, I can't imagine how much that means to him," she chuckled as Obito rubbed the back of his head with one hand but held her to his side with the oher. "Hm~," Gina grinned as he raised a brow.
"So… Being honest? How long?"
"O-Oh, well…" Her cheeks colored but she considered her answer. "... Maybe two years?"
"Two years?!"
She laughed at him, hugging him closely. "Yep! Do you have any idea the type of effect you have on a gal? I mean, I know you can be a bit dense, at times, but you really do need to grasp the power you wield," Gina added on with a teasing smirk as Obito rolled his eyes.
"Yes, yes… Well, if you'd like to give 'us' a try?"
"I thought you'd never ask."
Obito chuckled at that as they watched their other newer members descend from above, attacking the dungeon boss without hesitation.
~NRK~
It was only the next day that they'd revealed they were giving dating a shot.
And the reactions were… Well, outside of expectations.
"Oh God, really?!"
"My bet's finally come through!"
"YEAAAHHHH!"
Obito sweatdropped while Gina blushed and muttered something, Hae-In's eyes shining with wonder as she slowly shimmied over.
"R-Really?" She whispered in awe and interest as the Mage woman blushed harder but nodded with a shaky grin.
"Y-Yeah, we older folk are giving dating a shot," she said with a bit of a stutter. "Just… Ya know? Don't want anyone getting freaked out or anything but now I'm learning people have been placing bets on us for years," Gina sweatdropped. "So, obviously, I'm 'flattered'."
Obito snorted as Jong-In patted his shoulder.
"I'm happy for you, hyung," the glasses-wearing S-Rank smirked.
"Well, one of you had a normal reaction," the Uchiha chuckled.
~NRK~
They'd revealed it to the siblings after work, Joo-Hee even there for the reveal after she and Jin-Woo came back from their raiding for the day.
"Wait, you're dating!?" Jin-Ah balked as Gina blushed but nodded all the same.
Joo-Hee gasped with big bright eyes. "T-Tell us how it happened!" She squealed as the older woman cleared her throat but laughed regardless.
"It's not that crazy but… Sure."
Working in the kitchen, Jin-Woo was surprised.
"Huh, well, congratulations, uncle," he smiled as Obito reciprocated one back. "I knew you two were close but I guess I didn't really understand how deep that went."
"I suppose that just speaks of my ignorance in romance, Jin-Woo," Obito said with a hum as he chopped some onions. "Kyung-Hye wanted to pair me up… A-A worrying amount, at that, when I first came down here. You two probably didn't know but she set me up on a few dates over the years that didn't work out."
The younger man was surprised beyond words but not unaware of his mother's tendencies. "H-Hehehe, mom really is like that, huh?" Jin-Woo smiled as he oiled a pan. "Well, I'm sure she'd love to meet Gina-noona."
"I'm sure she would."
~NRK~
And so two years passed.
And a fateful day came onto Jin-Woo's shoulders.
~NRK~
"Hmm, you're going to get your Rank checked after today?" Joo-Hee asked as she and Jin-Woo stood before the Gate.
It was supposed to be a weak one, another D-Rank Gate that they'd handle together with their usual raiding group.
"Yeah," Jin-Woo nodded. "I want to see how far I've come in actual words or if I just need to find my own way into a higher Rank," he smiled at her and she blushed a bit before huffing and turning her head away from him. "Hehe," he grinned.
"Ah, you two finally ready for us old guys to arrive?" Came a joking voice as the two turned to face the oncoming rest of their party.
"Mr. Song," Jin-Woo smiled as the middle-aged man before him laughed a bit.
Song Chi-Yul was a man of moderate height, maybe an inch or two above Jin-Woo's own, with slightly wrinkled fair skin, narrow brown eyes, and slicked-back dull-orange hair.
Wearing a blue coat, white dress shirt, black pants, and some boots, a sword bounced off his waist as he pat both younger members on their shoulders.
"We'll be in your care again, Joo-Hee," Chi-Yul said with a nod to the Healer.
"N-No issues!" She declared with a nod.
"Jin-Woo, I need you to mind our right again," the middle-aged man said to the Rank-E Fighter who nodded.
"Always," he said as his knives hung off his backpack. "Still… Um, Mr. Song," Jin-Woo blinked at the Gate.
The other two turned their heads to it, raising a brow at Jin-Woo's look of worry.
"M-Maybe it's just me but doesn't it seem… Weird? Off?"
Joo-Hee looked at him and then back at the Gate. "Is… I-Is it?" She asked, worried.
Chi-Yul cupped his chin as he walked ahead a bit, looking all around it. "It doesn't seem to be emanating any odd mana," he told the Fighter who rubbed the back of his neck.
"Sorry."
"No, it's fine, you've been in bigger Gates than this," Chi-Yul smiled, relaxed. "Ever since, you seem to have a knack for odd situations. Don't discount that just yet, you're 50% right," he joked as Jin-Woo sweatdropped.
"Thanks, sir," he said with a weak grin.
~NRK~
Perhaps, Jin-Woo considered as he slowly awoke in his medical bed to the relieved looks of his uncle and sister.
Perhaps he'd have lived a simpler but no less fulfilling life if he'd taken his own feelings to heart and tried harder to stop the others from entering the Double Dungeon.
Maybe, he'd have slowly risen up the Ranks as an experienced Fighter. Looking back on it from the future, though, Sung Jin-Woo was likely destined for the path he'd end up on.
To find an impossible 'System' that'd give him opportunities to live out his wildest dreams at the cost of any normalcy. The ability to soar far above his station all for the sake of reaching a 'peak' no one else would be at.
He'd likely follow that path… At least, he should have.
Jin-Woo smiled as Jin-Ah cried messy tears he wiped away.
But he had more than that hypothetical 'him', didn't he?
Obito sighed in relief as he pressed their foreheads together.
More and more, he'd gained a 'foundation' that he'd never lose.
Joo-Hee entered the room and they locked eyes.
The Healer's puffy red gaze trembled again.
So much more.
~NRK Out~