Patching the Distance

by Nasha Rei-Kun

The whole point of the [System] had been to give Sung Jin-Woo gifts of power to prepare him for a role that would lead to a great loneliness at the peak of his world. Yet an addition, a man, a 'simple' addition that could have meant NOTHING... Had meant EVERYTHING. The man who kept up with him, who kept him grounded, who kept his HUMANITY, his uncle. Xover with 'Solo Leveling'.

3. A Different Game

~NRK~

"H-Hyung, you sure you're alright?" Jin-Ah asked as Jin-Woo sat up with a roll of the shoulder. "Y-You were asleep for three whole days and…"

"I was?" The man looked alarmed as Obito nodded, Joo-Hee swallowing as she sat down on his other side. "I don't… A-All I remember is… W-Well, that thing in the air, somewhat?" Jin-Woo said unsurely.

Obito and the others looked up, confused, as Jin-Woo blinked at their confusion.

"Wait, you guys can see it… Right?"

"See what?" Joo-Hee asked nervously, clenching her medical gown's hem. "Y-You almost died, m-maybe you're not feeling well?" She asked, concerned.

Jin-Woo frowned at that, observing that box. That dialog box.

{MESSAGE BOX}

{-YOU HAVE UNREAD MAIL}

Obito cupped his chin as his eyes narrowed. "... You do see something, what does it say?" He asked as Jin-Ah wiped her eyes while looking at the 'nothing' there.

"C-Crazily enough?" Woo began, looking nervous. "I-It looks like some kind of game dialog. It says I have unread mail?" He said nervously as the others balked. "... Jin-Ah, do you remember how this kind of stuff worked in MMOs?"

"Eh?" The young woman looked alarmed and nervous. "Well… Yeah, duh, you'd open it."

"Okay, um, open mailbox-W-Whoa," Jin-Woo blinked again as Obito's eyes transformed. "W-What the, um, let me read what it says now."

{WELCOME, PLAYER (UNREAD)}

{DAILY QUEST: PREPARING TO BECOME STRONG HAS ARRIVED}

Telling them the words, the group looked alarmed as he swallowed.

"Should… Should I read it?"

"I-If it's like in games, and you're not crazy," Jin-Ah stressed very seriously. "... T-There's probably stuff inside of it-What is happening?" She tried to keep her cool but it wouldn't work.

He's saying he had a game's UI? What?

"... I think," Obito began to say, gaining the group's attention. "I think you've gotten that. You've Double-Awakened, nephew. And this is how it looks to you."

"What? T-That doesn't sound like it makes sense," Joo-Hee swallowed as Jin-Woo nodded rapidly, eyes going to the message in the air once more.

"Your aura has changed," Obito said. "There's something there that I can't make out, it's vague and large," too large.

As in, he didn't see the end of it the more his eyes flickered around to the black power spreading across the ground and out the room.

What had happened to his nephew?

{ALARM: SYSTEM WILL HELP [PLAYER]'S GROWTH}

{ALARM: IF HE FAILS TO OBEY THE SYSTEM'S ORDERS, THERE MAY BE A PENALTY}

{ALARM: YOUR REWARDS HAVE ARRIVED}

Obito's eyes narrowed. "Penalty? And what would count as something like that?" He frowned as Jin-Woo followed suit.

"I… M-Maybe I am a bit tired? But if this is true…" He swallowed before opening the 'quest'. "... This has to be a joke," Jin-Woo sweatdropped.

"W-What is it?" Joo-Hee had officially hit the bottom of the 'I have no idea what's going on' well.

"The [Daily Quest] is seemingly some kind of workout regimen… A-And on the bottom, it says that if I don't complete it, I'll get hit with the 'appropriate' penalty."

"What are they?" Jin-Ah asked, suddenly nervous.

"I-It has to be me being tired because it's a 100 push-ups, squats, curl-ups per arm, and a 10km run. This is stupid-"

"Woo," Obito began as he stood up and held his nephew's shoulder. "No matter what, never take a threat as a joke. We don't know what's going to happen to you if your powers are a bit more esoteric and sentient in design. Let's just do the exercises once you get out today."

And just then, the doors to the room opened up to allow in a pair of men.

Both wearing black suits, shoes, and ties, they strode forward before standing at the side of the bed, one nodding to the group.

"Mr. Sung," he began with a look over the admitted man's form. 'Nothing's off about him,' but something had to be up.

Having slicked-back light tan, slightly orange, hair, fair skin, and eagle-like eyes, the man handed him his card.

"The inspectors?" Obito spoke up, expression apathetic as he and the man locked eyes.

'This is that other weird one,' who'd have thought the two would be related? "Good evening, I hope we're not interrupting too much. We simply have a few questions and we'll be on our way."

"I'm surprised you'd want to meet me, sir," Jin-Woo said as he observed his card. "Woo Jin-Chul?"

"Yes, we do on account of the Double-Lair incident," Jin-Chul said as Joo-Hee flinched, eyes dimming as he frowned mentally. "... I'm sorry for bringing it up but it needs addressing, ma'am. Situations like the one you and Mr. Sung were in aren't normal, especially not with the… The results," he frowned off to the side as Obito's eyes closed. "I'm simply of the mind that this isn't normal and that you, Sung Jin-Woo," his eyes locked with the bedbound Hunter. "Maybe have Double-Awakened-"

"I was of the same mind," Obito said, gaining both men's surprise and interest.

Just in time to make them miss the others' reactions but Jin-Woo's shake of the head got the females' attention.

He mouthed 'secret' and focused on the conversation.

"Yes, you were the first on the scene," Chul said with slightly narrowed eyes. 'We'd contacted the White Tigers Guild at the time,' they'd been the closest and the right choice.

Yet, this C-Rank Hunter had arrived on the scene first amongst all else and entered the Gate without warning.

His testimony had been curious.

"All we found in that room was you on an altar, clothes torn and uninjured, but nothing else."

"W-What?" Joo-Hee's head snapped up at his words, getting a nod out of the man. "H…" She considered the situation before grimacing. "T-They were there."

"We know, had it been a shift in testimony from you all, we might have been able to chalk it up as simple stress and mistakes," Jin-Chul frowned deeply. "But that's not the case. All of you saw those things, that Dungeon wasn't anything less than A-Rank and you all barely survived with Mr. Sung being the only one who stayed back. You being alive was a miracle despite how thin that line was, sir, and that's what leads us to believe you've Double-Awakened."

The other man brought out a golden instrument with a purple gem at the top.

'What will this reveal?' Obito thought with a furrowed brow as Jin-Woo put his hand down on the purple crystal. 'And what will I have to do to keep him safe?'

With that other member holding up a black box connected to the glowing contraption, he blinked at it as a set of numbers slowly flipped onto the screen.

And came back with a curious result. "Hmm, that's curious," he said, his only slightly surprised reaction getting raised eyebrows around the room. "Hmm, you were originally set with a magic power level of '10', correct?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"No, it's nothing wrong, we saw your application to get your Rank re-tested from the day before," Jin-Woo made an 'oh' sound. "We didn't expect much, no offense, but it seems you might have done something or some such because your Magic Power is '130'."

"It went up?!" Jin-Woo asked, excited by the prospect before slumping at his sister's raised brow.

"Um, bro, that's not exactly high, ya know?" Jin-Ah said. 'Still, he raised it over thirteen times?' She wondered if his training had something to do with this.

And/or if it was because of his Double-Awakening.

"Hmm, it seems like it was for no reason, then," Jin-Chul said even as his eyebrows rose. 'He was originally just 10? That's rather odd if not impressive.'

Hunter 'stats' were usually set in stone, with some margin for improvement, upon their Awakening.

Mostly, Mages could increase their Magic Power readings by getting better but Jin-Woo was a 'Fighter' Class, at least, he didn't seem to have had enough magic power in the first place.

'Curious,' his eyes went to the curious Obito giving Jin-Woo his own praises and compliment, the older man's eyes closing as he did. 'And then there's you,' this other odd prospect.

The Chairman had even been rather intrigued by him for some reason, the Hunters Association head always looking kind of nostalgic about 'Obito Uchiha'.

Anything they could find on the Chinese-Korean man had been that he had an unfortunate accident with his father's death around eight years ago before he moved to Seoul around seven years ago.

He'd been one of those ones at the beginning, a man whose magic wasn't fully understood despite his demonstrations being documented by every random reporter.

"Hmm… We'll take our leave," he said to the four as he got up, the doors to the room opening to allow in a huffing Gina, the woman taking one look at the group and sighing in relief as she walked over.

"Goddammit, Woo, your uncle basically rips out the boss's heart and leaves us standing around like idiots. At least, I thought so until I heard the news," she said as Jin-Chul's mind whirled.

"Apologies," Obito said with a bashful smile she sweatdropped at.

"Boyfriend, boyfriend, boyfriend, you really don't make sense sometimes," Gina said as she came over and nodded to the group before noting the inspectors. "?"

"Little issue, ma'am, we were just getting testimonies on the event," the other inspector said as she hummed but nodded in the end.

"Alright, well, damn, I hope everything's alright?"

"It is though Mr. Sung did do a good bit of training over the years and raised his Magic Power."

"Really? Hahah! Good job, Woo."

"T-Thanks, noona. I'm glad my efforts are going somewhere despite the weird training uncle came up with," Jin-Woo said with a nervous sweat going down his brow as Obito nodded knowingly. "You're actually pretty crazy, shuushuu."

"Crazy gets you places, sometimes," Obito said as the inspectors began to leave.

Jin-Chul's ears were prepped as Gina took a seat.

Standing outside the door and slowing their walk, his eyes narrowed at an interesting bit of info.

"You don't just do what Obi did, you two, this man of mine really just left the four bosses dead for the sake of hurrying out."

"S-Sorry about that, uncle."

"It's fine."

'I see,' someone wasn't showing their full power. 'Yet, how?' Was it some new equipment?

But that shouldn't have been possible, Obito Uchiha hadn't actually bought or registered equipment over the past five years. In fact, the man had only some daggers in the beginning that his nephew had inherited but nothing else besides a few he bought for the younger man.

'Something tells me,' Jin-Chul thought slowly as he and his co-worker hurried out. "You're hiding something, C-Rank," he said to himself.

---

Meanwhile, back in the room, Obito filled Gina in on the situation.

"The fuck?" She asked as the others looked sheepish. "H-How in the world are you just going to say that and act like it's normal?" Gina's jaw dropped as Jin-Woo blushed.

"Um, to be fair, it's kinda crazy to just say out loud," he said.

"Exactly. Freaking… Okay, so, you hid that, obviously," she said as Joo-Hee bit her lip. "Think about it, Joo-Hee, that kind of situation isn't normal even for those rare folk who've Reawakened. It'd be a bad idea to just out Woo like that."

She perked up before looking embarrassed, the older woman patting her shoulder with a nod.

"So, you opened up those messages yet?"

~NRK~

Officially signing Jin-Woo out of the hospital had been done with a little pressure from the older Hunters but they'd gotten through with it in the end.

Thirty minutes later, the group were in the Sung home, the five sitting in the living room as Jin-Woo and Obito did his supposed [Daily Quest] tasks.

"T-Thankfully, we could just run home," Jin-Woo said with a huff as he finished his last push-up. "And… Done!" He declared as he let out a sigh before wiping his chin. "That's thankfully not so-"

There was a 'Ding' at his side, the young man blinking in confusion.

"O-Oh, well, I completed the-Rewards?!"

"You get those?" Jin-Ah, Joo-Hee, and Gina balked as Obito sat up with a nod.

"I've no good game knowledge but I figured it might happen. It was that or you got those skill point things," he said before Jin-Woo's mouth trembled with a shaky grin.

"U-Um, there are three things I get," Jin-Woo said with a shaky smile. "O-One of them is Skill Points."

"W-Wait! No, that's BS!" Jin-Ah squealed. "That's not fair! And you get those every day?"

"T-That's what it looks like."

Gina cupped her chin while Joo-Hee looked confused.

"W-What's the first one?" The Healer asked.

"It's called 'Status Recovery'," Jin-Woo said as Obito hummed.

"Hit it," he said.

Doing as told, the group watched as a golden glow flashed over Jin-Woo before it fell away to reveal a completely clean young man whose jaw dropped.

Joo-Hee wheezed as Gina blinked.

Jin-Ah nearly fell out of her. "S-So… T-This is real?" She asked, officially convinced as Obito nodded.

"So it seems. Woo, what kind of things can you put these 'Skill Points' into?" The oldest in the room asked.

{STATUS}

{NAME: JIN-WOO - LEVEL: 1}

{JOB: NONE - FATIGUE: 0}

{TITLE: NONE}

{HP: 500}

{MP: 188}

{STRENGTH: 25 VITALITY: 20}

{AGILITY: 23 INTELLIGENCE: 15}

{SENSE: 15}

{REMAINING POINTS: 3}

"That's insane," Gina said in disbelief after he told them what was up. "Wait, so, those are your base stats, right?" She asked curiously.

"I think so?" Jin-Woo rubbed the back of his head. "So, uh… What should I put my skills into?"

That got a blank-faced room if it ever did.

"Um… So, 'SENSE' might be spatial awareness and stuff, right?" Jin-Ah asked. "All of the others make more literal sense but that stat isn't really explained."

"Um, I don't know if there's a 'HELP' menu."

"Of course, it wouldn't be that easy."

"..." Obito considered it all. "... Then," he began, gaining the room's attention. "Let me ask you, Woo, what path do you wish to follow?"

"H-Huh?" Jin-Woo blinked, confused. "U-Uncle?"

"From what I understand about games, and the fact that you have stats & a LEVEL," the man emphasized as the others gasped. "That means, you, amongst all others, can become stronger than even you know… But you're at the beginning of your journey, nephew. What appeals the most to your situation? What are you in need of to progress your goals?"

The younger man's eyes widened as he looked back at the system before frowning. "... I don't know," he admitted to the room. "T-This is a once-in-a-lifetime ability that I understand but… I-I don't know what to do? Do I tell people one day? Do I hide it for my entire life?" Jin-Woo asked the room, looking more nervous as he spoke. "I… I just want to wake mom up and make you and noona, everyone, proud. How do I do that?"

Jin-Ah's eyes widened at that before she looked down with clenched fists. "... Y-You have a better chance at it than anyone else, maybe?" She said, gaining his attention as Joo-Hee's eyes remained transfixed on the horribly worried and anxious man.

Hadn't he always pushed her forward in the past?

---

"Hehe, I think you can do a lot. I know I can't do the things you can do," Jin-Woo told her as she healed his cut arm. "Maybe if I had… N-No, it's nothing."

"What?" Joo-Hee asked him.

"... You have a great power, Ms. Joo-Hee. I think you just need time to see that."

---

'He'd been thinking about his mom then, too, hadn't he?' She thought before looking down in thought, fists quaking. 'I'm not like him,' she didn't have his training.

His perceptiveness, his physical prowess, his courage.

Joo-Hee was more of a coward than anyone, she's sure her Class made that apparent…

"I know you can do it," she told him, gaining his attention. "I-I don't have the same drive as you do but I-I've seen how you are," the Healer said as Gina's eyes softened. "I think you have a greater chance, now more than ever, to find a way to be who you want to be."

His eyes widened at that, eyes snapping to his screens before he swallowed.

"I'm… I'm sorry for my outburst," he said, apologizing in full. "I've got a real worthwhile power now but I have to do something with it. I-I'm fumbling over something as little as a Stat increase like an idiot when I should be focusing on what I want to do… Games are so diverse," Jin-Woo thought out loud as Obito pat his shoulder.

"I think that you just need more time, Jin-Woo. It's been one day and your mother is still under great care. We have all the time we need."

"... You're right, both of you," he said, nodding to the embarrassed-looking Joo-Hee. "I need to take advantage of this, all of it, to the best… So, I-I guess if it's following game logic," he began with a shaky grin as Jin-Ah swallowed.

"Y-You're going to try and raise your level, right?" She asked as he nodded.

"I don't know what else I'll get, remember? There's still that random box I get for my third [Daily Quest] reward. Speaking of."

He accepted it and found a virtual-looking box in his hands.

"Can you guys see this?" He asked them, clenching his hand to show them the attempt at trying to grasp something.

"Y-Yeah, actually," Gina blinked in confusion. 'The feel from that thing is almost like a dungeon,' not in concept, obviously, but the energy within it. "It feels like a high-ranked mage's power, actually."

"A-A Mage?!"

"How to put this," Obito began. "With Mages, we have higher sensory skills as you know. The thing is, when we're feeling other's magics, we can tell they're similar to some monster's skills we've met. For example, I've fought fire monsters that Jong-In's magic feels like."

"I've fought some ice folk," Gina added. "Some with thunder, others with air powers, it's a big cauldron of energy."

"So, this might be a Mage-like Reawakening?" Jin-Woo wondered. "W-Wasn't dad a Fighter? Why would I get this?"

"Ehh… It's not like that kind of stuff is locked in, ya know?" Jin-Ah offered. "I've been looking at bloodline stuff and, well, while it'll be the majority, a Fighter's family can still have a Mage or Assassin in it. Duh, uncle? They're more likely to have a Tank, ya know? But it's possible."

"... Open."

The box undid itself under his careful gaze, the young man's eyes narrowing as it broke apart to reveal!

… BANDAGES?!

"I-I feel so robbed."

Jin-Ah snorted as Gina laughed, Joo-Hee blinking at the 'result' before giggling a bit.

Obito shot the younger man a patient smile.

"Give it time," he said.

~NRK~

The next two days were just spent doing the usual [Daily Quest] workouts and focusing on trying to understand this [System].

And they had, quite a few things, actually.

~NRK~

"Huh, my Iron Knives, shuushuu," Jin-Woo said as he and the man sat in the living room. "It's got stats."

{Item: Iron Knives}

{Type: Daggers}

{Attack + 5 / Agility + 8}

"I see… I guess you'll have to get more interesting equipment. Thankfully, this isn't so odd, you understand," Obito said as Jin-Woo nodded.

Materials, magical items, and equipment were already both accepted terms but understood things.

This was basically just putting that understanding into explainable words and numbers.

"... I think I know what I'll do now, uncle," Jin-Woo said as he looked at his STATUS menu and put all his points into STRENGTH and SENSE. "I'll keep my SENSE stat up half the amount of my STRENGTH."

{STATUS}

{NAME: JIN-WOO - LEVEL: 1}

{JOB: NONE - FATIGUE: 0}

{TITLE: NONE}

{HP: 500}

{MP: 180}

{STRENGTH: 31 VITALITY: 20}

{AGILITY: 23 INTELLIGENCE: 15}

{SENSE: 18}

{REMAINING POINTS: 0 (Formerly '9')}

"Alright, that sounds good," Obito smiled as Jin-Woo nodded. "Still… Some of your stats clearly come into play, eventually. Like 'MP'? Is that a stand-in for 'Magic Points'?" He asked as his nephew chuckled.

"I think we should spend more time going over… Games…" His eyes went flat. "Uncle."

"Better to remember now than later. Now, what about your Reward Box?"

Getting the item, he opened it, expecting another lackluster item-

And getting an Instant Dungeon Key?!

His jaw dropped as Obito's own narrowed with glare. "There you go, something interesting," the man said with a focused tone.

{Item Dungeon Key:}

{Item Class: E}

{A KEY THAT ALLOWS YOUTO CREATE AN INSTANT DUNGEON. YOU MAY USE THIS IN THE 3RD ENTRANCE OF HAPJUNG STATION}

"It… It gives you a location?" Obito asked, utterly confused.

"I mean, most games do that, uncle," Jin-Woo said.

"But the world isn't a 'game', correct?"

The air grew silent as the two began to grow nervous.

"O-Oh shit."

~NRK~

His uncle had given him a good idea after they chose to ignore that existence-breaking question.

Three days later, on a Saturday, Obito and Jin-Woo looked down at Hapjung Station.

With his STRENGTH and SENSE now at '37' & '21', respectively, he adjusted his clothes.

"You're getting good at working with materials, uncle," Jin-Woo said as he stretched in his blue muscle shirt, black shorts, and normal sneakers, the bandages he'd gotten from his first Reward Box wrapping both his arms up to his elbows. "I feel so much tougher now," he added, his Iron Knives on his hips but with a new add-on. 'So, smithing exist?' Maybe.

{Item: Beast-Altered Iron Knives}

{Type: Dagger}

{ATTACK+ 8 / AGILITY + 14}

With a new dark blue-bladed edge, both his weapons made him feel ridiculously powerful.

"I'm glad I could try and they worked out," Obito said from beside him.

Wearing a tighter pair of clothes compared to his nephew, the man adjusted his gloves as they began to walk down the steps.

"So, um, how sure are we that you can, ya know?" Jin-Woo asked him, minding the people around them. "What if this is a me-only thing? Like a special event?"

"I'll have to try. Maybe it'll be like I said so you just need to go to the right spots if I can't slip-in when you go in."

The younger man nodded as they kept going until the third flight of stairs, the moving people around them growing scarce in number.

Activating his item, Obito's Sharingan blazed as he watched his nephew step through a distortion that just formed ahead of him.

'Alright,' Obito thought as he moved to walk in and reached out his hand in a show of scratching his head.

And hit a 'wall' of sorts.

'We were right,' these dungeons that the [System] might have created were Jin-Woo-specific. 'But you're not able to escape my eyes,' which meant one more particular part of his skillset was useful here.

One no one else in his guild, sans Jong-In, knew about.

One of his 'S-Rank Skills'.

Obito walked down the steps, bypassing that invisible portal, before hurrying into the third floor's bathrooms.

His ears piqued and he nodded at the lack of people before he went into a stall and held out his hands.

They clawed-up as he glowed a powerful blue, the magical aura slipping off his skin and going down his arms towards his thread-spilling fingers.

His Spatial Thread was likely a sort of altered holdover from his previous life.

The magical material began to spiral in a circle.

Kamui, his greatest skill from his life as a shinobi.

The circle began to glow blue, more and more thread forming a boundary in that altered space where he saw Jin-Woo.

A power to move between dimensions!

He began to pull his hands apart, the clenching fingers fighting against something in the air that fought against him.

His Sharingan rotated before the left one began to bleed the more he pushed it.

'This is different compared to a normal Gate!' Obito thought as he pulled his arms apart more and more. 'There's a power here that's bigger than even the lower-ranked Gates…' His eyes narrowed.

His muscles bulged as he pulled and pulled before he reached the crescendo.

He ripped them back.

And a glowing blue portal formed ahead of him, the man sighing in relief as he used some toilet paper to wipe at his eyes.

"I'm coming," he whispered as he entered.

~Instant Dungeon~

Jin-Woo's eyes widened in shock and awe at that new glowing portal, one that allowed a sighing figure through and into this crazy world.

Obito smiled for his grinning nephew. "Was it tough so far?"

"I-It was, in the beginning," Jin-Woo smiled as he held up his bloody knives. "But you protected me like always."

"Any time, any day, any dimension, you bet your ass I'm gonna find a way to help all of you," the younger man laughed. "Alright, so, what really happened?"

Jin-Woo explained the situation up to now.

Of the colors in monsters' names, their danger levels, their dropped items, and more.

By the end, he read out his new level.

"Level 3? And each level gains you a collective five points? You have Skills?"

Jin-Woo nodded, explaining each concept as best he could.

[Muscularity Lv.1], [Sprint Lv.1], and another one called [Dagger Arts Lv.1]. Those three alone already impressed the older brunette.

"So, I'm guessing you've chosen your path? Or not yet?"

Jin-Woo wore a sad smile as he clenched his daggers closely. "Dad used to use daggers, right? Both of you. I wanna use these, too, and take that to its peak."

Obito smiled.

Following that, though, the two went through the floors, tore through the monsters, collected more items, and more.

All the while, Jin-Woo noted his SENSE seemed to be piquing with each of his uncle's attacks.

'It's interesting,' he thought as he carved through a steel-jawed red wolf with a cleave of his right dagger, the other one locking with the jaws of another so he could bring the pommel of the first down onto its head.

It died as he noted another level.

'I guess without me killing everything, I get less EXP,' he wondered.

Could he take on the boss alone? Was that possible with his current prowess?

They kept going, the monsters growing more numerous and dangerous as they did but with skill, speed, and awareness, they killed them with efficiency.

Obito was surprised by this fact, as well. 'He's growing so strong,' in a good way.

The Reawakened man's movements had grown sharper and more precise, the Uchiha guessing his growing skill in daggers, his [Dagger Arts], giving Jin-Woo the skill he needed.

But that wasn't everything.

They landed after another mob-kill, looking down another set of stairs where a decently strong, to Jin-Woo, aura emanated from.

Obito felt it out and wasn't really bothered… Like, at all.

Jin-Woo's eyes went to his uncle's casual raised brow. "... Uncle?"

"Yes?"

"I want to fight it, alone."

Obito closed his eyes in thought at the idea. 'Is he strong enough?' Obito didn't know.

Jin-Woo had always been a studious man ever since receiving his tutelage. The man was smart, wise to the Gates & their threats, and even a stubborn fool like him.

He had good skills and now a new power set that would, likely, set him apart from everyone else in strength.

'And I'll be there every step of the way,' he thought. "Alright," Obito smiled for him and Jin-Woo grinned happily.

"I want to show you how far I've gotten, through power and skills," the younger man said as Obito nodded. "Let's go."

Taking their first steps down, they continued on into this odd space that seemingly extended beyond normal.

"Well, dungeon aesthetic?" Jin-Woo offered him as Obito shrugged.

"It's the world of these things. Really, we can only assume so," he said.

By the time they reached the final platform… They found a swamp.

With the area looking eroded by the sticky-looking waters, green moss, and humid air, Jin-Woo looked further ahead as his eyes glowed.

"There he is," he uttered as Obito remained by the staircase. "I can do this," Jin-Woo thought as he looked all over that dark blue serpent that came further into the corridor.

It had dark blue scales with some orange ones on its side, a thick-looking hood, yellow eyes, and thin black eyes.

'I can tell, your scales will just ignore my daggers,' the Fighter thought with a glare. 'My [Dagger Arts], though, might give me the type of attacks I need,' the Skills system within his power was seemingly based on skill experience and usage.

He'd gotten [Sprint] from using high-speed lunges and movements off walls and the like for quick attacks. So, he assumed that he'd get a sort of Dagger-skill with enough focus, usage, and intent.

"The only parts of you that I can hit that will do damage are your mouth, eyes, and maybe under your hood."

The snake let out a ground-quaking screech that pushed back the duo's hair and clothes but to little more effect.

Obito crossed his arms with his Sharingan ablaze. '... I can see its name,' like with the other monsters though, comparatively.

This one was more clear.

[Swamp's Ruler, Blue Poison Fangs, Rasaka]

It was a white name as far as he could discern.

And then it moved with the speed reminiscent of the wolves and beasts.

'That kind of speed, for its size,' it tore apart the surroundings by just moving, the snake's head thinning like a missile.

Woo was already above it, form landing on the ceiling. 'I can see you!' He thought as he kicked off it to dodge another one of that creature's passes. 'I can see you!'

He landed on the train tracks before running down its length, the snake behind him.

Rasaka gave chase at a higher speed than he could muster, the man's eyes narrowing as it began to shoot towards him in a straight line.

Perfect.

He hopped mid-run, turning in the air as his feet began to touch the floor.

[SPRINT]

He shot down the rushing snake's side, dodging its vicious fangs and bringing his knives down its side as he kept sprinting down its flank.

By the end of it, he jumped up and over its lashing-out tail before landing on the side of the platform, eyes locking onto Rasaka's returning slither with a frown.

The marks down the side of it, they were skin-, or really scale-, deep.

He'd been right earlier, he only had so many options.

As it returned, though, he noted its slower more cautious pace, its expanded hood a good indicator.

"Heh," he released a small grin as a blue glow formed over him. "You're WORRIED now, aren't you?" Because he could hurt it.

And if he could hurt, he could kill.

He erupted from his spot as its head slammed into it, rupturing the platform but snagging nothing as a sharp pain ran down its side.

Rasaka let out a hissing cry as Jin-Woo hopped off its scales and landed on the roof again.

With [Sprint Lv.1] still active, he ran down it before jumping off to land on the other side of the tracks.

He held his knives up in front of him, crossed with the edges glowing a wicked blue that confused him before another window popped up.

{Item: Beast-Altered Iron Knives}

{Type: Dagger}

{NEW: -EFFECT BEAST EATER: Deals 20% bonus damage to beasts.}

His eyes glowed an ephemeral hue as his body hissed out a blue aura.

"Good."

Rasaka lunged at him with a bleeding side before finding the low-ranked Hunter below its body, on the tracks, before he unleashed a series of crossing cuts that spilled blood.

Enough to color his blade and pants leg before he was moving around it with more.

More.

Fight more ferociously.

MORE.

Cut off its strong points!

MORE!

Jin-Woo's daggers slashed across the snake's eyes as it released another screech.

Getting hit by a reckless head slam, he cratered the wall behind him.

'It hurts but I can keep moving!' He plunged both his blades into the snake's noggin.

It began to swing its head around, screeching, but he held true even as he was slammed into walls, the roof, and the floor.

He bit in with all his might as he clenched up his knees to keep its damn mouth shut.

With each slam, his weapons sunk in more and more before it began to slow down.

Bloody, broken, cut, and wounded, Rasaka the Blue Poison Fang's head hit the ground as he finally released it.

Landing on shaky feet, a pair of hands settled him on his shoulders, Obito leaning into view with a nod.

"Amazing work," he praised as Jin-Woo let out a long, arduous, breath before grinning and laughing. "You're truly growing well and I couldn't be more proud."

Was it wrong to say he didn't feel embarrassed about crying and hugging his uncle? At the age of 23, he was hugging the man like his life depended on it.

And Obito reciprocated with a smile, giving him the head-ruffles and praise he'd always wanted.

Because he was on the way.

He could become so strong.

~NRK~

{Item: Rasaka's Fang}

{Item Class: C}

{Type: Dagger}

{ATTACK + 25}

{Description: A DAGGER MADE FROM RASAKA'S FANG. ABLE TO PARALYZE DUE TO LEFTOVER VENOM. GRANTS BLEED EFFECT. CAN BE EQUIPPED, STORED, OR SOLD.

-EFFECT 'PARALYZE': ATTACKED FOES HAVE A CHANCE TO BECOME UNABLE TO MOVE.

-EFFECT 'BLEED': ATTACKED FOES LOSE 1% OF THEIR HEALTH EVERY SECOND

}

{Item: RASAKA'S VENOM}

{Item Class: A}

{Description: A POUCH THAT CONTAINS RASAKA'S PURIFIED VENOM. OBTAINABLE BY DEFEATING RASAKA. UNLIKELY DROP RATE. DRINKING IT WILL GIVE YOU HARDENED SKIN BUT WILL WEAKEN OUR STRENGTH

-EFFECT 'RASAKA'S STEEL SCALES': -20% PHYSICAL DAMAGE TAKEN

- DEBUFF 'WEAKENED MUSCLES': -35 STRENGTH

}

"Well, that's cool," Jin-Woo smiled as he showed the new dagger to Obito, explaining its effects.

The man was utterly floored by another fact, though. "Wait, the weapon I made gained a new effect?" He asked, utterly confused.

"U-Um, actually, yeah, that one was actually weird," the younger man explained as he pulled one of his knives out from their holster and held it up with Rasaka's Fang. "... 'Beast Halter' sounds good," Jin-Woo nodded as Obito sweatdropped. "Also, I got a Title."

"Right, we'll talk about it later-Wait, what-?"

{ALARM}

{THE BOSS HAS BEEN SLAIN. THE DUNGEON'S INTERIOR WILL REVERT TO NORMAL}

The area around them began to break down into squares before fading away, Obito's eyebrows rose as a blue glow around him shimmered before breaking apart as they were left in a normal, well-lit, train passageway.

"Let's go."

Walking out of the area and going up the steps to the next level, both became more and more confused as they noted no one.

"What?" Jin-Woo wondered as they walked up the last steps out of the station. "W-What happened?"

"I think something outside did," Obito said before noticed a person coming up to them. "Here we go."

"S-Sirs? Um," the man fitted out in full military gear blinked at the duo, noting their attire and then Obito himself. "I-It's you!" He looked happy beyond imagination, confusing the duo.

"Wait, no, what happened?" Obito asked with a frown.

"Sir! There's been a Dungeon Break nearby!"

There was a rumble in the ground and both uncle & nephew's heads snapped to the side with narrowed eyes.

At the small tower of magical power that reached towards the sky.

"Shuushuu."

"I know, we're going."

"Huh? Sirs, please let me lead you-!" The soldier began to say, saluting the duo.

And quickly finding a pair of craters in front of him, no Hunters in sight.

"W-What?!"

~NRK~

Joo-Hee grimaced as she healed another person, the giant glowing blue rock monster fending off the Fighters and Tanks who'd arrived on the scene with her, at the last minute.

"W-We can't keep this up!" She told a person beside her, hiding from the giant monster's 'gaze' despite its lack of a face. 'I-It's just like that time,' the Healer swallowed as she rushed around.

With the recent two years' long training sessions she'd joined in on for totally platonic reasons, she'd learned more evasive movements, gained more stamina, and learned how to sense more dangerous situations.

Which all didn't help by the time she healed the tenth person and looked up by accident.

And locked eyes with a-

---

-Terrifying grin full of malice.

From that thing that looked like a god.

---

She froze as her skin ashened. 'I-I can't…' She couldn't move, even as she watched another person lose an arm. 'I-I can't-!' Joo-Hee held her head as she quivered in fear.

"It's fine," a voice at her side said, startling her out of her terror. "Joo-Hee."

She turned on a dime and locked eyes with a smiling Jin-Woo who jumped and blushed as she slammed into him, head tucked beneath his chin.

"I-I can't!" She trembled as his eyes widened before he was holding her close.

"I'm sorry, you're still… You're strong, I promise," he told her, holding her at arms length so she could see his grin. "And if you're ever scared."

The world around them rained glowing blue rocks, neatly cut bits and pieces of the monster behind them.

"I've got you."

The other Hunters' jaws dropped as Obito landed in front of them, the diced-up pieces of the golem-like monster falling around him while being deflected by random strings to not hit anyone else.

"Is everyone alright?!" He called out to the other gasping Hunters or relieved-looking Tanks. "I guess the Gate broke too suddenly," Obito said, ignoring the numerous flashing cameras all around him as he jogged over to the relieved duo. "Are you alright, Joo-Hee?"

"Y-Yes, sir," the carrot top burning as Jin-Woo looked down at her with a smile. 'W-When did he get handsome?' It was startling to notice but that was right.

Maybe it was him maturing over the years, maybe a growth spurt hit, but looking at Jin-Woo now?

Her face burned bright red as he pat her shoulders with a chuckle and grin that sent her to the world of the unconscious.

"Whoa?!"

Obito facepalmed.

~NRK~

{STATUS}

{NAME: JIN-WOO - LEVEL: 14}

{JOB: NONE - FATIGUE: 54}

{TITLE: NONE}

{HP: 1708}

{MP: 298}

{STRENGTH: 42 VITALITY: 31}

{AGILITY: 48 (+14 from dagger) INTELLIGENCE: 26}

{SENSE: 29}

{REMAINING POINTS: 0}

~NRK~

The next day was spent explaining the whole situation to their familiar female guests.

"So, like, this is legitimate," Gina said with a flat expression, wearing a casual white shirt, black jeans, and socks as she held Rasaka's Fang. "Woo, I don't know what the hell to say besides, uh, if ya ever find stuff that's good for telekinesis magic, I'm ya gal," she grinned as Obito snorted in the kitchen in a tight black shirt and shorts.

Jin-Woo chuckled in his white shirt and gray pajama pants as Joo-Hee muttered something next to him in a white dress and Jin-Ah tilted her head in her training ware.

"So, how many of those have ya gotten? Those Instant Keys?" She asked and he shook his head.

"Only that one, like, literally only that one. I got three more bandages, another pen, and I think some special paper?" He showed all the items, the paper being folded with nothing on it. "I really do wonder what the hell is up with that box."

"M-Maybe it depends on your level," Joo-Hee muttered as he cupped his chin. "You're now level 15?"

"14," he corrected, showing Obito's daggers, too. "And that's not all. Uncle's daggers gained a new effect mid-fight with Rasaka. I'm not sure why and neither is he, they didn't have this [Beast Eater] effect originally."

"... Maybe," Gina observed his knife before handing it back to him, leaning back in her seat with her hands crossed in her lap. "Well, it's not like this changes too much but what if it grows with your level?" She offered as he put the knife away into thin air. "God, that's weird."

He chuckled at that. "Hmm, well, I wonder what'll come out of that box next," Jin-Woo said. "And I need to go and make some more money," he added nervously. "I can't keep borrowing uncle's clothes, thank God I was growing well into this or else I'd cause a problem on the streets."

Obito's laughter got a blush out of him as Gina snickered along with him.

"Don't do what I wouldn't," the Uchiha said as Jin-Woo steamed and Joo-Hee burned, Jin-Ah shaking her head at the two.

"You guys don't hesitate," she chuckled.

~NRK~

They went clothes shopping the next day, dressed the same as they'd been but with Jin-Ah at school, the four hummed as they moved about in a clothing store.

"Hmm, well, you know he's got your kind of aesthetic," Gina said as she kept Obito's arm in her hold as they looked around.

Behind, Joo-Hee looked at the yawning Jin-Woo's loose arms with a blush before pinching the bottom of his sleeve.

He shot her a sleepy look before shrugging.

'Maybe she'd wanna show me specific things?' The clueless man thought.

Reaching a section for people of their height and width, Obito nodded to Woo with a smile.

"Alright, well, what kind of colors do you like besides black and blue?" Obito asked him as Gina and Joo-Hee walked off to look at potential attire for him. "And do so quickly, a woman's very quick to attack you with choices."

Now more awake, Jin-Woo rubbed the back of his head as he looked around. "Um, crap. I liked my blue hoodie, a lot actually. And, well, black and gray?"

"Alright."

"W-We're back!" Joo-Hee declared as both men turned and began to nervously stare at the pile of clothes she'd brought. "T-This might not be enough."

'It isn't?!' They thought in horrified unison as Gina came over with a good pair of stacks in her telekinetic hold. 'Oh… Oh God.'

Jin-Woo was clearly not going to get out of this unclothed.

~NRK~

The Reawakened man muttered with red cheeks as Joo-Hee walked robotically next to him, her face emblazoned.

Gina hummed with some red cheeks of her own, eyes going to Obito's abdomen. "Man, when did you two get that fit?" She asked her boyfriend with a shy gaze, the man running a hand through his hair before grasping her waist. "W-Well! It's fit for our profession!" Gina squeaked with red cheeks. 'H-How long have I been fighting next to THAT?' It made her appalled at herself.

She'd let this MAN walk around without a bit of possessiveness?!

"H-Hmph, I should put my points into AGILITY this time," Jin-Woo muttered even as he looked to the side at the bright-red Joo-Hee. 'Dammit, she touched me a-and I'm freaking out!' He thought, 'Mental Jin-Woo' losing his freaking mind right now. "H-Hey, it was an accident, don't worry about it."

"R-Right!" She squeaked and he found it cute but also found that it clashed with his own embarrassment. "Y-You said you wanted to go do a Gate for money! L-Let's do that!" Joo-Hee said, likely to just change the conversation.

He welcomed it with open arms.

~NRK~

Obito brought the hammer down on the scale, breaking it apart with the tenth hit before he moved it into a large stone bucket.

Jong-In nodded to him as he held out his hands and flames formed at the tips before shooting out and covering the bucket completely after Obito put it down.

"Hmph, thanks, Jong-In," he said to his former student, stretching in only a pair of dark brown pants. "This… I'm reaching a point I didn't expect. They have effects."

It was true, Jong-In knew it as nothing else.

His teacher had stepped into the realm of smithing that many vied for outside of most high-rank Healers.

"Yes, that ring you made me," the redhead began as he looked at his right pointer finger where a red-furred stone accessory sat. "It's doing its work," he clenched his hands.

With more materials, a Hunter could do many things. Sell them, trade them, or even have a SMITH make something.

And now Obito was working to fill that role.

"After the amount of reading you've been doing, I'm not surprised by the amount of speed you're progressing at," Jong-In said as Obito nodded. "I'm sure Hae-In will enjoy her new mantle when she gets back," he chuckled as the older man smirked.

"How much effectiveness has your ring made, by the way? That fire boar wasn't that great at using magic but it could passively."

"If I had to guess…" He took it off and closed his eyes, focusing on his internals.

A moment later, he put the accessory back on and nodded.

"Five percent," he said, Obito cupping his chin. "It's better than the focus-all of my other silver rings, to be fair. Those gave me 3% per piece. Now, we're working on upping that, you've net me a 16% bonus, thank you, hyung."

"Always. Now," Obito looked at the ten melted buckets with a nod. "Let's get to work."

~NRK~

Gina leaned down on her knees as she wiped her chin, Hae-In looking interested in her state.

The giant frog boss with crystal eyes and fins hit the ground with a wet thud, dead, as the others hurried in and handled the rest of the mobs around them.

"You're getting faster, Gina," the younger woman said as the mixed-blood leaned back up and sighed in relief, the four black bands around her fingers dimming. "You and hyung-nim truly show how versatile a mage's power is."

"To be fair," Gina crossed her arms as they both looked at the battle around them. "It's really luck of the draw, I think. I lucked out with telekinesis. Yet, every Nation-Ranked Hunter can use my same level, at least somewhat."

"Maybe before nowadays, yes."

"I'm glad, ma'am, really I am, but I'm left wondering what else I can do."

Hae-In cupped her chin at that, the monsters around them dying to their comrades. "... Have you considered enhancing your sash?" She asked.

The currently floating 'belt' shot back around the taller blonde's waist.

"It's nothing but hard cloth, correct? Why not find a better one?"

"... I want Obi to make one," Gina admitted bashfully as Hae-In smiled brightly. "He's working hard, too, to keep upping his skill set. I want him to make it. So, for now, I've gotta get better at keeping my body moving. I actually began reading some medical books on my muscles if you'd believe it."

"Wait, that's what caused your explosive growth?!" The S-Rank asked in shock as the A-Rank grinned.

"It's been a big help, especially because Jin-Ah's helped me understand it more. I've got as much spell mastery as I can. Now, I've gotta build my body."

~NRK~

Jin-Ah nodded to her anthropology book before making notes.

'There's gotta be something in the brain, maybe,' she thought as her friends sat around her. 'I just need to find it.'

Maybe something to 'jump-start' her mom's mental activity. She'd already been sharing ideas with Gina & Obito and they'd been rather impressed and supportive to the point that the man had made a whole new training method out of it.

She wanted to make sure that support wasn't wasted.

~NRK~

A day later, Obito and Jin-Woo sat in the former's room.

He revealed everything that had occurred in his small trip to make money from a C-Rank Gate.

"... I want you to know, I don't blame you for what you had to do," Obito said as Jin-Woo let out a nearly unnoticeable sigh. 'You've been worried for a while,' he felt for him, he did.

And, compared to a normal person even with Hunter power, Obito was simply a different beast comparatively.

He'd been a shinobi, he'd killed more people than Jin-Woo would likely ever come close to.

He had no right to blame him for killing to protect, mostly himself.

"Eight bodies, how do you feel?"

"... I tried to rationalize it," Jin-Woo said as he gripped his knees with a frown and grimace.

"The [System] made me do it."

"I was worried for Joo-Hee and Jin-Ho."

"I wasn't that strong."

"He was an elite C-Rank."

"I didn't want to die and was already injured."

"I had to kill them."

He rattled off each excuse as another tear fell from his eye, Obito pulling the now-similar-heighted man into a one-arm hug.

"In the end, you killed people," Obito said. "You will live with it your entire life but never let it control you," he added as his nephew let out a shuddering breath. "... I've killed people before, Jin-Woo. Before I came here to Korea."

The man's eyes widened before they snapped to Obito's solemn expression.

"... Your mother never told you, and for good reason, but we're not from a normal family. Not so much us but two men in our family," the Uchiha frowned. "Our grandfather and father became part of the Chinese mafia around when we were born. It was around the age of ten that we were separated. She'd left with our mother and I stayed with our father, for good reason as grandfather sought an heir," Obito's eyes narrowed.

"You never became it," Jin-Woo said with all his heart.

"No, I didn't. I'd never become that kind of man," not again. "But I had to play the 'game', Woo. I had to live a long life of horrid miseries to reach the point where I could kill them, all of the heads of that family… And even my own father," Jin-Woo bit his lip. "This was around two years after people had Awakened. I'd had the power, know-how, and ability to stop the biggest problem in China's recent history. I did it, I killed them, and I'll never forget it."

"..." He gripped him in a similar embrace.

"I will never cast judgment upon you for that, I've done the same thing and killed more people than I hope you ever have to. I believe in you and your sister's choices no matter what even if I'm confused sometimes. So, I understand and I trust you. Just don't let killing rule your life, I had to spend a long time figuring that out, myself."

They let go with one shared breath before Jin-Woo nodded, explaining to him his levels, new skills, and his new… 'potential' for them.

"This young man, Jin-Ho, wants us to help him clear 19 C-Rank Raids?"

"Yeah. He promised me a 30 billion Won-building and 3 million for each raid like all the other fillers. For us, that'd be 6 million each time."

Obito could see what he'd meant as Jin-Woo explained the entire situation.

"So, he wants to gain experience, huh?" He wore a nostalgic smile. "Alright, I might not be able to make it every time, obviously, so have someone on standby. That said, I think I can impart some knowledge to this young man."

Jin-Woo raised a brow at that. "Oh, also, Jin-Ah and I were training and I figured out more about the [Daily Quest] system. I can over-do it," he told Obito who blinked.

And then he showed him the S-Rank Key Item.

{Item: Demon Castle's Key}

{Item Class: S}

{Description: A KEY THAT CAN BE USED TO ENTER THE [****** DEMON TOWER]. CAN BE USED AT SONG PA GU TOWER.}

~NRK~

Standing before Song Pa Gu Tower, the two looked at it from a nearby building.

Wearing some new Obito-made combat ware of a black coat, an opened one in Jin-Woo's case, baggy dark blue pants, and a pair of special boots he'd made, they jumped off and landed without issue.

{Item: Song-Sung Boots}

{Item Class: C}

{Class: Boots}

{-5% PHYSICAL DAMAGE TAKEN

-EFFECT 'SONG OF THE WIND': SILENCES SOUNDS}

They landed without an issue, the two looking around at the thankfully empty streets.

Obito's Sharingan spun to life. "Do it," he said, giving the go-ahead.

Jin-Woo nodded as he held up the Demon Castle Key.

The air glowed red with its turning, the sound of something 'unlocking' reaching even Obito's ears.

'Wait, that doesn't seem right,' he'd never heard anything the first time Jin-Woo had done this.

Watching that oddly more visible large flame-orange gate open up some more, his eyes flickered unknowingly as Jin-Woo went in.

Standing by the Instant Gate, Obito clenched his hands as he performed that same song and dance from last time.

The red fought against his blue power, the thread snapping repeated as he tried to maintain the portal.

'This is a lot more difficult!' He grunted at the feeling of the Gate's energy fighting against his own. 'But it doesn't matter!'

Both his eyes spun, blue energy forming over him in a higher amount before his small rip in dimensions began to stabilize.

By the time it did, his actions were unnecessary, all he got to show for it was a four-foot-tall portal floating in front of him.

"Um… Uncle, you might want to come in here."

Well, no time like the present.

Just jumping through the portal like a trapeze artist, Obito landed on the other side of-Were they in hell?

Looking up and around at their arid, on-fire, surroundings, the broken down ruins in the distance, and the literal giant gate in front of them, Obito's attention was taken away from all of it by a single being.

A single three-headed dog the size of a four-story apartment with dark red fur, flame-like manes, pure red eyes, and long horns with metal plating between their foreheads. Looking more at it, the amount of magical power coming from this creature caused some beads of sweat to fall down their faces.

[HELL'S GATEKEEPER, CERBERUS]

"Yeah… This might be a good idea to tell me where I'm at," Jin-Woo said, pulling out one of his Beast Halters and Rasaka's Fang, the pair his usual favored pair. "With [Title: Wolf Slayer] in effect and [Beast Eater], I should have a 60% increase against beast-like monsters."

Obito, meanwhile, let out a breath as the ground beneath his feet was filled with a rapid swirl of invisible wind.

'An S-Rank item,' was it the same?

'Are they the same strength as a normal S-Rank Gate?' Jin-Woo unknowingly continued the thought.

'Or is it different?'

'What if it's weaker? Can I compare?'

'One thing's for sure!'

Blue aura spilled from the duo's bodies.

'I WANT TO FIND OUT!'

They vanished in flashes of blue, lightning-like blurs of a similar hue flashes across this beast's napes and chest.

Jin-Woo noted the wounds he could leave with interest, his body crossing with his uncle's in a flash of sparks as they slashed at the hellish canine's shoulders.

A bit of blood spilled as it shot onto its hind legs, both brunette's landing on the large gate's surface.

"It's tough!" Jin-Woo's eyes narrowed.

"Remove its movement!" Obito's Sharingan glowed.

They shot off the door at the beast with a pair of kicks that slammed into its chest, the creature stumbling before two of its heads snapped out at the two.

Obito kicked his nephew away before he was shooting around the chomping jaws in an impossible aerial display that ended with his foot slamming into the top of its center head.

It trembled for a moment before shaking him off and trying to bite the man only for a knife-wielding comet to slam into its chin.

"Go down, you bastard!" Jin-Woo kept slashing at its chin, trying to enact [Paralyze].

When it seemingly took place? It broke, the screen shouting at him that this beast was too resistant?

"Tsk!" He shot back from the beast's other heads' jaws, landing beside a similarly-landing Obito. "If a monster's strength is too high, it can resist status effects."

"It's doing something," Obito grimaced as Jin-Woo paled a bit.

{HELL'S KEEPER, CERBERUS IS USING [SKILL: WRATH]!}

{-[WRATH] LASTS FOR 3 MINUTES

-CERBERUS'S STATS WILL BE DOUBLED}

"So, bad news-"

"It's aura just doubled, yeah, I know-"

The two lunged apart in alarm, eyes wide at Cerberus's speed.

'Was it so great?!' Obito wondered with a look of horror before it lunged at him. 'Tsk!'

He lunged onto its third head's snout before his arms became covered by tight black material.

"NI-SENKO!"

The dual palm thrust slammed into the center head's neck side, electricity sparking away from the head-rumbling force as Jin-Woo came in from above, blades slamming into the back of its neck before he lunged around it at high speeds.

The dual attack brought the head off with a squelching 'POP!'.

"Keep moving-!" Jin-Woo tried to say only for a pair of jaws to grab the back of his coat. "What-?!"

He was flung across the expanse of a far-off ruin, going through the wreckage, rocks, and old structures before tumbling into a rock formation with a torn coat.

The pain was hilariously high, stunning his mind for a moment as a large shadow came into view above him.

"Oh, fuck-" He began to say only for a glowing blue figure to slam into Cerberus's side, getting a relieved sigh out of the [Player].

Because the monster was sent flying into the ground beside the ruin, tossing up sand, dust, and pebbles that were blocked by the landing black figure's numerous cutting threads.

When Jin-Woo saw him, his eyes widened at the figure's raised finger and shaking head, his [System] failing to categorize him.

{?}

"Let's finish this. I can't keep this up for more than a minute."

The younger man realized that, really?

He hadn't seen the depths of his uncle's power. Not even close.

He grinned as he slowly sat up, body hissing at him before he accepted his first [Daily Quest] reward.

"[Status Recovery]."

A familiar golden glow sprung up around him before Jin-Woo stood up while letting out a breath.

"Alright," his knives settled in his hands, his grip tighter. "Let's take another shot at this!"

They shot forward at high speeds.

~NRK~

"Ha… Haa…" Jin-Woo groaned a bit as he rolled his shoulder, his sleeves missing. "Dammit, my clothes do not like staying unripped."

Obito chuckled beside him, outfit only having a couple cuts. "It's about the experience. Speaking of," he trailed off.

"I got four Level-Ups."

{STATUS}

{NAME: JIN-WOO - LEVEL: 22}

{JOB: NONE - FATIGUE: 0}

{TITLE: NONE}

{HP: 3105}

{MP: 401}

{STRENGTH: 61 VITALITY: 39}

{AGILITY: 59 (+14 from dagger) INTELLIGENCE: 34}

{SENSE: 43}

{REMAINING POINTS: 3}

Telling his uncle his next move, Jin-Woo put 1 more point in VITALITY and 2 more in SENSE, evening them out to '40' & '45', respectively.

"And the items you got?" Obito asked him, noting the necklace, key, and fang he'd received.

{Item: Warden's Necklace}

{Item Class: A}

{Type: Necklace}

{AGILITY + 20 / SENSE + 20}

{Item: Castle Door Key}

{Item Class: A}

{Type: Key}

{Description: A KEY THAT CAN OPEN THE DEMON CASTLE'S DOOR. OBTAINED BY KILLING THE GATEKEEPER}

{Item: CERBERUS' FANG}

{Item Class: A}

{Type: MATERIAL}

{Description: A FANG THAT CAN BE OBTAINED BY SLAYING CERBERUS}

"Oh, that's just useful," Obito chuckled as Jin-Woo put on the necklace while pocketing the key. "Smart," his eyes went to the door before he let out a breath. "That was just the guard. We don't know if it was even an S-Rank or just an elite A-Rank."

"It's crazy how strong some monsters are," Jin-Woo understood as he put away his knives. "But it means there's power for me to find. The [System] has to be pushing me towards this and that has to mean something."

'Hopefully only good things,' Obito worried about the mechanic's wants and needs. "I'm sure. Now, come on, let's go," he said as Jin-Woo pulled a stone from his pocket, a Returning Crystal. "Oh, wait, this will be interesting," he said as he walked to the normal Gate's opening before taking a deep breath. "One moment."

Jin-Woo perked up, watching how Obito got into these odd dimensions that only he had a key to, surprised by the man's power allowing him the ability to get in and out.

Obito, meanwhile, raised a brow as he formed a way out. 'That was easier than getting in,' even when he'd done this to a C-Rank Gate in the past, he'd never had it so easy. 'Maybe there's a change due to us beating the Gatekeeper?'

For now, they had to go home.

~NRK~

Drinking with Obito in the Sung living room, the Sung siblings already asleep, Gina leaned into his side in some red pajamas as he chuckled in his black ones.

They clinked their beers before drinking from them, the man's hand clasping her waist well as she moved into his lap.

She turned and pressed her lips to his and he secured his arm around her as he deepened it.

Moaning for a bit, they separated with a chuckle, foreheads pressed together.

"Nothing like a drink and kiss after a rough day," the woman said as she laid against his chest, the two just sitting there. "How was the Instant Dungeon?"

"Hell on earth," the man said as she laughed a bit. "It was S-Rank and just the Gatekeeper outside the real dungeon was a problem in and of itself. I had to pull out One-Horned Oni for it," Obito said, confusing her as she sat up in his lap.

"One-Horned Oni?"

"It's the culmination of my magic skill."

Gina perked up at an idea. "Wait, yeah, that's it!" She grinned, leaning back in his lap.

And getting a grunt out of him, Gina jumping in shock at a feeling below her rear.

She burned up as Obito looked away with a nervous smile.

"You've hit the right 'spot'," he admitted sheepishly as the half-American's free hand settled on his chest, her shifting in his lap getting another grunt out of her boyfriend. "Mm! Are you suggesting something, Gina?" Obito 'warned' as he pulled her in close, his chin atop her breasts. "... Just wow-"

"Don't you dare!" Gina placed a finger to his lips with a red-faced pout. "P-Pervert," she muttered with a tense core. "... W-We've never really talked about that kind of thing… Have we?" She asked, removing her finger.

Obito hummed, eyes locked with his girlfriend for a time before he shrugged. "I never really brought it up, we were dating, you were happy, and we were both working, I was fine with that," he admitted as she nodded. "Besides, with all this new 'business', it's been hard to think about it outside of when you're wearing workout clothes."

Gina squinted at him before pressing her lips to his, Obito adjusting her in his lip before pressing up.

Chest-to-chest, Gina moaned into it as Obito's free hand slid down and gripped her rear with a growing want.

"I do want us to reach that 'stage', now, though. I'm blaming you for that, you beautiful woman."

She blushed and chuckled, grasping his cheek. "And you make me feel so many things, you handsome man. Like a couple days ago, how dare you look sexy in just pants and gloves? How have I not seen you in that kind of clothing yet?"

"That was 'clothing'?"

"It's close enough."

Obito chuckled at her knowing look. "Look, since we're clearly both on-board with the idea, how about this?" He began with a smile. "We'll both request a week off in a month's time and do it then, alright?"

"I'd love to," she smiled, arms around his neck. "Still, umm, I hope nothing else crazy happens, you know?" Gina pouted again as he wore a nervous smile. "Honey, every week something else seems to be happening."

"I know, it's weird but we can hope for the best."

"Definitely. Oh, how about we save up some money and go on a trip?! Oh, we can go to Florida and see the sick oceans! It's so much better with superpowers to clean it up and the ocean's so blue."

He chuckled, pecking her on the lips. "Sounds grand."

~NRK~

Jong-In smiled knowingly as Hae-In blushed knowingly the following morning.

Gina's cheeks colored as Obito smiled shakily at the S-Rank Fighter's look of embarrassment and understanding.

"Y-You two are going to-!" Hae-In almost shrieked.

"Easy, easy, let's not out our experienced Mages like that, please, Cha Hae-In?" Jong-In said immediately, stopping the blushing woman from causing a scene.

"I-I'm sorry! It's, uh," she looked so shy. "G-Good luck!" She said quietly.

Obito chuckled as he held Gina's shoulder, her his waist. "Well, that's the plan. So, in that time, I'm going to do more Gates as a fighter than clean-up crew, Jong-In."

"Understood, glad to have you," the S-Rank Mage smiled.

~NRK~

It was only two days later that Jin-Woo and Joo-Hee explained the situation with this D-Rank Dungeon.

"W-What the hell is with you two's luck?!" Gina asked in sheer disbelief as the two younger adults grew bashful or sheepish, Joo-Hee and Jin-Woo, respectively. "Jesus, are you guys alright?"

"J-Jin-Woo handled it," the Healer admitted as the Reawakened let out a breath.

"Not without your help," he told her, Joo-Hee biting her lip. "I needed you, don't forget that," fighting the Cerberus had been so different.

He'd been sure he was greater than a B-Rank Hunter, no? He'd also had a 60% bonus to his attacks and his uncle had been there, right? So, how had he struggled for so long with Joo-Hee's help before using [Bloodlust]?

He needed more strength.

"... Actually," the young man said with a frown. "Do you remember that Monitoring guy? From when I woke up?"

"Woo Jin-Chul?" Obito asked, getting a nod. "What about him?"

"He told me some things I'm not happy with… You don't know, noona," he said to Gina only to blink as she shook her head, Joo-Hee looking embarrassed.

"No, Joo-Hee gave me the specifics. It's better that you guys ran out of there when you can, fuck those guys," Gina said, seeing the relief on Jin-Woo's face. 'I'll let him know, I know, another day,' Joo-Hee had told her everything.

The deaths, the trap, the 'Lizarding', all of it. Gina had been pissed but knowing that Huang Dong-Suk was dead made her temper cool.

She knew Jin-Woo had taken a life but she'd let him accept it more before revealing that.

"... Alright, noona, well… His younger brother, you know who he is, right?"

"... Fuck me, I don't like that you brought him up."

Obito's eyes narrowed at that, leaning forward in his seat with his hands steepled by his mouth. "He's made a threat, hasn't he?" He asked with a single unleashed breath.

And the air vibrated like a thrumming string, the area's color seemingly tinting.

Jin-Woo's eyes widened as they snapped to his uncle. 'Wait, his aura is rising?' And not in a small amount, either.

No, his uncle seemed scarier than Jin-Chul's aura was.

Gina placed a hand on Obito's knee and he sighed, his aura relinquished in an instant.

Yet, that didn't stop the younger adults from gawking at its disappearance.

"I'm sorry, that was unbecoming of me," Obito told them. "Woo, tell me everything I need to know."

Jin-Woo considered him for a moment before nodding. "He told me that Huang Dong-Su might be coming down here to start something," the Reawakened's eyes glittered with intrigue. 'I knew he was still more powerful than me,' by a long shot.

Obito's speed and skill outstripped his own by a good bit when the man was going almost all-out, a shocking yet enlightening fact he kept close to his heart, while the Uchiha could increase his power beyond anything Jin-Woo could hope to muster.

The man before him was beyond his level and likely was the biggest threat outside of an S-Rank.

"He didn't give me much else but those are all the facts I know," he said as Joo-Hee swallowed, concerned beyond belief. "... Uncle…"

"I'm well aware of where you stand and I won't let that come to face you without trying to kill it myself," Obito said with a grunt. "... If I'm going to deter this man, I need to research him a lot. I'm sure of my skills but…" The Uchiha's eyes went down to his hand. "I can't go against an S-Rank like an idiot, it might be time for me to finally go and get a weapon."

All eyes widened at that as Obito clenched his fist.

"... What kind of weapon do you prefer, uncle?" Jin-Woo asked with a focused gaze. 'Can I get strong enough to fight off an S-Rank in the time it'd take?' He didn't know.

Painful as it was to admit? He didn't see that being possible.

He was level 25 and he'd had some difficulty with a B-Rank. The Ranks weren't just for show and the leap between A and B might have not been that crazy.

But the jump to S-RANK wasn't something he could even try to put into numbers, it was simply not possible to say 'they're ten times an A-Rank' without looking like an idiot. Especially with the man known to be the Strongest Korean S-Rank.

'Dammit,' he grimaced. 'And what will I do if he has equipment, too?' That'd bring a whole different kind of mess to this fight. "Dammit."

Obito considered him for a moment before looking at his own hands. '... Pride isn't important here,' Obito thought to himself. "I'm someone who prefers chains and a scythe. I haven't used a weapon in so long but I'm in need of fast ones… So, instead of a chain and sickle, what I need are two sickles."

Jin-Woo's eyes narrowed. "The question is just finding it in time," he said. "I'm sure I could buy you a pair from the [Store], maybe?" He opened up his menu before checking. 'A scythe or sickles,' as he looked, his eyes narrowed at the 400,000,000 gold scythe he'd found before scoffing. "They can go that high? That's useless with my sad funds," he frowned.

As he kept checking, frown deepening each time, Gina shot Obito a worried look that was well-justified.

Obito gripped her hand in his with a focused gaze, putting something in her palm as he did. "I'm not going to die on anyone, much less them, much less you," he said as he held her hands solidly with a secure grip, a small flickering of the finger and thread going unseen by anyone but Jin-Woo. "I hope this is a good way of showing that."

The younger man's jaw had already dropped before he'd revealed the ring on Gina's finger?!

Joo-Hee's eyes widened before she covered her mouth in shock and awe.

The telekinetic mage's eyes mechanically went down to the golden band on her finger that was covered in Korean inscriptions with the phrase 'I love you' on it.

"... Y-You understand, if you even faint, I'm coming to the afterlife to kill you, r-right?" She trembled a bit as Obito pulled her in close. "I love you, you idiot!"

"I know, I love you, too. And that's more than enough reason to do this," Obito declared with his hug, eyes narrowed as they went to Jin-Woo. "Woo, instead of looking to buy one," he nodded. "Give me material and I'll MAKE one."

~NRK~

The following day, Obito sat in Jong-In's office, the younger man's eyes narrowed on his desk.

"... Hyung," he whispered. "Are you sure about this?"

"Yes, amongst all else," Obito said with a protective gleam in his eye.. "He's the Strongest S-Rank from Korea, Jong, I can't take him lightly nor will I allow that meathead to think he can try and run-up on my family and not suffer for it. Not just Jin-Woo, Jin-Ah, or Gina. You're also at risk along with our guild," Jong-In's eyes darkened at that.

"He'd find nothing but his own blood here if he tried."

"Exactly, I won't let him even think he can get that far. That's also why I need materials."

"I'll give you a quarter of our inventory," Jong-In said with a worried frown. "Hyung, please, don't die."

"I won't," Obito told him gently. "... I proposed to Gina, by the way," the redhead looked startled. "If possible, would you mind us doing it here?"

"Please, this is our home, I'd be remiss to not want to witness this."

"Hmm, I'd also want you and Jin-Woo as my best men."

"I'm already thinking of five suits."

~NRK Out~