So, yes, I once said I couldn't stand Solo Leveling and this might seem weird for those who remember that.
Well, for one, that sentiment hasn't really changed all THAT much but I did think the art was cool, the concepts were pretty awesome, and the politics curious.
So, I thought, what if Sung Jin-Woo didn't have to lose so much to become the powerhouse that he was? Not so much in strength but EMOTIONALLY. And that's what sprouted this idea.
Enter C-Rank Hunter, Obito Uchiha, twin brother to one Park Kyung-Hye, mother to Sung Jin-Woo. Yep, Obito's an older uncle this time around… I don't think I've done this before.
One second.
*Reads summaries of other fics*
I've actually done this around two times with a pair that doesn't count: Fascinating Felines and Ten Steps to Dragon to Izuku. Whereas with Hell and Goat, he's kinda in the Octavia seat of 'Other Dad' & 'Uncle' despite his station.
Finally, well, Dust In Dark Silver he's actually Ruby's/Yang's uncle.
So, this is the fifth go-around if you count those.
Also, for the sake of being transparent for this fic I'm just gonna say it.
I ain't a fan of Cha Hae-In, not to say I dislike but I don't like her, either. As far as I'm concerned, the author kinda dropped the ball on the romance when it comes to her and Jin-Woo and I wasn't even a fan of where this sudden romance came from.
~NRK~
He kept on gasping as the number of men around him were either ferried by ambulances, just as tired as he, or dead.
All around, carcasses of oddly large animals laid against the broken street. All by their hands.
Bloody but alive, the man at the middle of it all, with the most kills alongside another, hit his rear as he looked down at his hand that glowed a wicked blue.
"What the hell is happening?!" Another man shouted into the sky as more of these odd occurrences dotted the street.
People screaming.
The bodies of people and monsters littering the ground.
And those who stood atop it all, wielding power of all sorts that were esoteric in nature and protecting the populace.
This was the day of the Beginning.
The Beginning of Hunters.
~NRK~
~Three Years Later~
He ran his hand through his hair. 'Three years already, huh?' He blinked as he looked around from his place on a park bench.
He was a man of decent stature, nowadays, being six feet and an extra inch. Bearing spiky black hair, fair skin, and black eyes, he ran one of his fingers over an old scar on his palm. Wearing some light clothes, a tight dark blue t-shirt, black sweatpants, and some black martial artist flats, he sighed.
'Three years since we were separated, three years since the Gates arrived, three years since HE disappeared-'
"Hyung-nim?" Came a voice that broke him out of his reverie. "Hyung-nim!" A happy woman said as she hurried over and smiled.
Bearing similar features to the man on the bench, her hair was long and smooth to the point that it reached below her rear if it weren't in her usual ponytail. Wearing a simple white shirt, light blue track pants, and a pair of white-and-blue running shoes, the man got up from his seat.
"Kyung-Hye," he smiled before chuckling as the woman, his twin sister, hugged him. "It's been some time," he said.
"Ke jin-No, ah, right," she smiled at him as he rubbed her back. "It's 'Obito' now, isn't it?" Kyung-Hye smiled happily for him as she held him at arm's length. "You really went and changed your name," she said softly.
"You know how it was with our house," he said with a soft look. "Besides, it's over," Obito told her, confusing her.
"W-What?"
"I handled it, please, let's just be happy about me moving into the neighborhood."
The way the woman's jaw dropped but her face lit up ignited that new nature Obito Uchiha had gained in this second life.
He ruffled her hair and she laughed as she hugged him again.
To protect his family, even just his sister's own, that he cherished amongst all else.
"Come on, we'll talk as we exercise."
They took off in a small jog afterward, a light speed that gave them space to move and speak.
"So, how have Jin-Ah and Jin-Woo been? They should be in school right now, right?" Obito asked Kyung as she hummed.
"They're growing well, even with Il-Hwan's disappearance, I'm doing my best to ensure they can grow up happy, warm, and fed… T-Thanks, by the way, I know we can seem a bit burdensome," Kyung blushed a bit even as Obito pat her back.
"I don't think you're like that, not one bit, you're my true family, and any others you become happy with will become part of that, too. Family takes care of each other and I plan to stick to that."
The woman shot him a look as they rounded a corner and kept going. "How…?" She asked him, confused.
"Hm?" Obito raised a brow.
"How are you not married by now?"
Obito stumbled a bit but recovered with a loud hum.
"K-Kyung-Hye, please, my life's not been… Acceptable, before this, to worry about those kinds of things," he said quickly as she pouted at him. "Besides, it's not crossed my mind. Not a lot."
"Hyeng-Nim, you're thirty," she told him with a flat look as Obito's brow began to twitch. "You're in good shape, you're a Hunter, too," Kyung muttered softly.
Obito's face grew solemn before his eyes grew determined. "I'll find him," he told her, surprising his sister who blushed and looked down. "I've been looking up all the details of the dungeon he disappeared into. You know how my power works," Obito smiled for her as she nodded quickly, looking a good bit reinvigorated. "I know that 'string' is still there and it's never stopped moving. He's alive, and surviving pretty well, but we either have to wait for another Gate to open or I need to find a way to go into the one he was at."
"You're so amazing," she said to him with a look he smiled bashfully at. "Don't they only see you as a C-Rank Hunter, Obito?"
"They do and that's fine. I've already transferred over to this branch while keeping as much as my skill hidden as possible."
Kyung-Hye blinked in confusion. 'I wonder,' she thought as they sped up a bit. 'How strong is he really?' Her brother had always been a powerful individual, in her mind.
His maturity, intelligence, good looks even if he didn't like to recognize it, and his creativity had never left her unamazed.
Yet, the man's 'magical level' only read as a 'C-Rank' for his occupation as a Hunter.
Kyung didn't know how they scaled people like him but she felt like it should have taken experience and understanding of his skills into account. Especially with their old family's involvement.
~NRK~
The two of them made it to her daughter's elementary school.
"I-It's been so long since I've had a race with you!" Kyung grinned as Obito chuckled, the two wiping their foreheads with some hand towels he'd bought before they got here. "And you're so dang athletic, remind me, how are you single?" She asked with a look of smug and yet minor disbelief.
Obito grinned nervously as they waited outside the gates, the stream of children coming out looking at the two curiously. "Can we not talk about that?" He pleaded.
"Nope! From here on out, Hunter or not, I'm finding you a girlfriend~," she said half-jokingly.
"Oh God."
"Mom!" Came the voice of a young girl as she ran out and then right into her mother's stomach. "You're early again!" She grinned before noticing Obito. "?" She tilted her head.
"Jin-Ah, don't you remember your uncle?" Kyung asked her daughter with a grin as the girl's face went blank while Obito sweatdropped. "Hm, hm, it's fine, you'll have time to get more comfortable with each other since he's now living in Korea."
Jin-Ah was a short girl with slightly round fair-skinned cheeks, gray eyes, and dark brown, almost black, hair that was tied into a small ponytail. Wearing her school uniform, the girl kept on looking up at Obito with puffy cheeks.
The man crouched to her level. "Good afternoon, Jin-Ah," he smiled at her and the girl puffed out her cheeks more before holding onto her mother's hand and reaching out for his own.
Grabbing it a bit, she felt it. "... S-Shuushuu?" She asked and he nodded. "Mmm, I didn't know you existed."
"That's for a good reason, I'm sorry I've missed many of your birthdays," Obito smiled at her and the girl pouted again. "That said, things should be different now as Kyung-Hye explained. I'm living here, now, I'm even in a place near your own home," he told them as he stood up, confusing his sister.
"You are?!" Kyung asked in disbelief. "Where? You never told me."
"H-Hehe, um, across the street in the other apartment complex?"
THe woman's jaw dropped again. "H-Hyung-nim?!"
"I'm sorry, I wanted to surprise you all."
~NRK~
Getting to her home, Kyung sweatdropped as Obito gestured to the literal apartment ahead of her own across the street.
"I know you told me but that's still so ridiculous that it's funny," she chuckled as Jin-Ah observed.
"S-So, you'll be coming for my birthday party, right, uncle?" The girl asked and got a hair ruffle for her troubles.
"From now on, I'll do my best to try and be a part of your lives but I've got a mission to do," Obito smiled knowingly as his sister reciprocated happily. "I hope to give you one of the biggest surprises of your life, one day. I just hope it won't take too long."
Jin-Ah looked surprised by that. "What is it?"
"Not yet," he chuckled as they leaned on the railing ahead of the two's apartment door. "Actually, now that we're here, where's Jin-Woo-"
"I'm back, mom!" Came a young, developing, male voice as a young man crested the last set of steps to the apartment floor. "And I just got a… W-Who's this?"
He was a bit below average height, for his age, the young man likely only being sixteen.
Bearing fair skin, a boyish face, gray eyes, and chin-length black hair that fell over his head and hid his ears. Wearing a pair of jeans, sneakers, and a blue hoodie, he looked startled as he hurried up to the trio.
"Hyung-Nim!" Jin-Ah greeted cheerfully as the teen blinked before smiling at her.
"Good evening, Jin-Ah," the girl's brother said before focusing back on Obito. "Um, who are you, sir?" He asked politely.
Kyung-Hye grinned and Jin-Woo looked confused. "Hehehe, you likely don't remember him, Jin-Woo, but this is your uncle. Formerly 'Keng-peng', he recently changed his name to 'Obito Uchiha'. He's my brother," she smiled.
Jin-Woo balked at that, observing Obito and coming back with one thing. 'T-This guy's handsome!' Was that the nice side of his gene pool!?
Was he left with nothing?!
The boy's sudden sulk got a confused raised brow out of Obito. "Um, is he alright?" He asked as his sister and Jin-Ah snickered.
"Jin-Woo's been defeated!" The girl said, confusing the man further as Jin-Woo whined.
"D-Dammit," he wailed.
"I'm lost."
~NRK~
It was only four hours later that the family of three entered Obito's home, the man welcoming them in.
"Oh, it's about the same size as our home," Kyung said in surprise. "Wait, right, C-Rank Hunter… Thanks, Hyung-nim, for all the help over the years," she thanked him from her heart.
Obito smiled wholeheartedly as she was soon in his arms and laughing all the while. "Always, I look after my family as much as I can," he said as Jin-Woo blinked at the two, still in his school clothes.
'Mom always said she had a brother she cared a lot about,' he considered as Jin-Ah ran about the living room where the young man saw something curious. "Shuushuu, you work out?" The teen asked as he walked over to a corner of the larger-than-usual living room to see weights.
Weighted bands, dumbbells, a barbell, a couple odd individual metal bars, and a weighted vest, Jin-Woo blinked at it all as Obito nodded, him and Kyung coming over.
"Well, I have to keep myself in tip-top shape, Jin-Woo," Obito explained. "I'm a Hunter, after all, and it's the best way to see how strong I can get."
"Right, um, w-what Rank?" The boy asked, intrigued.
"C-Rank."
Jin-Woo was impressed by that. "You're the same Rank dad was when he… W-When he went off," he said before trailing off nervously, Jin-Ah still moving about and not hearing them.
"I know," Obito whispered. "And, like I told your mother, I'm going to find him," he smiled as the teen's head snapped up in disbelief.
"W-What?"
"I'm a Mage-class Hunter, I have skills that can tell me that he's alive and moving," Obito smiled as the younger male's eyes wobbled a bit, he wiped it away before his sister could see.
"R-Really? Um," he'd never thought he could hear those words before.
His father was alive? Really? A-And his uncle could find him?
"A Mage-class Hunter… If that's true, then, why are you working out?" The boy asked, interest reignited and yet befuddled. "I've read up on them a lot, all the different Classes, you have a weakness to upfront combat."
"Mmm, no, your uncle very much doesn't, Jin-Woo," Kyung-Hye said after a moment of thought, confusing the boy.
'What?' He didn't understand. "I don't follow, mom. That's the norm amongst all Mage Hunters."
"So?" Obito asked the boy as he balked. "Jin-Woo, let me give you a bit of advice. Whether you join this life or not," he kneeled down as the young man's eyes widened. "Never allow yourself to fall into some box that tells you what you can or can't. If someone says a Mage inherently has bad physical scores, I'll deal with it. I'll expand my senses to block an Assassin & protect our Healer, I'll raise my power to destroy a Tank, and I'll increase my physical skills and abilities to deal with any Fighter. I'm not afraid of them nor will I allow something as ridiculous as a generalization of my abilities make me weak."
Jin-Woo was floored by the man's words. 'Can you really do that?' Well, in his defense?
Seeing his uncle's height, the man's broad shoulders and chest, even through his shirt and shorts? Jin-Woo had originally thought he was a Fighter, at first. He'd never considered the man wasn't due to how he walked.
It was another thing he noticed with different Classes. The Mages and Healers didn't walk like Fighters, Assassins, or Tanks. They held a sort of cautious gait.
Assassins walked casually without worry, Tanks displayed their stature almost subconsciously, and Fighters… Fighters walked like people with pride and humility.
They all walked in different ways and he'd saw a 'Fighter's Walk' in his uncle's own movements but, if that wasn't the correct assumption, did that mean there were people like that?
People who conquered such general weaknesses?
'Likely, those are…' The S-Rank, the top of the top Hunters in every country. 'Chill out, man, your uncle's just a C-Rank,' that didn't stop his mind from wandering.
Where would the man stand compared to those top Hunters?
~NRK~
That had been how they'd integrated the man into their family life and Jin-Woo could say that they'd taken a big jump in happiness levels.
Three years later, he'd been out of high school for a year and was left exercising.
His uncle had impressed him a lot that day when he'd arrived. To not let himself be weak and fall into boxes… Even if Sung Jin-Woo realized that might have been a bit tough.
Because he had Awakened, the phenomenon when someone awoke to the power to fight in Raids that sought to explore Gates and beat the monsters… But he was weak as hell!
'E-Rank, and not exactly the strongest,' not even close.
He had no special magical skill even though he was classified as a 'Fighter' by his uncle's own words. He had little magical ability to the point of having even less than a normal E-Rank!
10. That had been his score and a normal E-Rank was supposed to have, at a minimum, 70 or higher.
But, even then, embarrassing as it was, Jin-Woo had taken to trying his best to train. His uncle had even told him that if he wanted to actually fight in Raids, he'd lend him a few basic weapons he'd made.
That'd been another thing, his uncle had told him that he worked for the HUNTERS GUILD! One of the five big Guilds in South Korea!
'He's so cool!' He wanted to cry manly tears. 'Sure, he's still on stand-by but uncle's gotten the eyes of so many people,' it made him want to try harder and harder.
So, as he finished his workout in the park… Jin-Woo's world began to fall down.
His phone rang and he blinked as he pulled it out and paled.
~NRK~
He rushed through the hospital doors as quickly as he could.
"M-Mom?!" Jin-Woo gasped rapidly before his eyes locked onto a single figure and he froze. "... Mom?!"
There, asleep on a medical bed, was Kyung-Hye.
The woman didn't look hurt or ill, not in the least. She was just in a 'peaceful sleep'.
"We're sorry," a doctor said as he entered the room, head down as he stood by Jin-Woo.
The young man hit his knees. "N-No!? Why?! Not mom, please!" He begged the man as he sighed.
"It's another case of Eternal Slumber."
Jin-Woo grit his teeth.
'Eternal Slumber', a magical disorder brought about by the invasion of magic beasts entering their world six years back and the introduction of Gates to humankind.
Many said that it was due to the change in the world, normal people couldn't handle the stresses of the power of the Gates that seemed to intertwine with the world at large.
'No! I-I can't lose my mom, too!' But then another angle came into place. "H-How do I-"
There was a ring from his phone, the young man scrambling with wet eyes and a gasping breath to answer.
"U-Uncle, mom is…" He sniffled with a limp tone.
-Jin-Woo! I know, they told me- Obito kissed his teeth over the line, the sound of rushing reaching the young man's ears. -Keep me on the line, I'll be there soon after picking up your sister-
~NRK~
"Mr. Uchiha, where are you going?!" One of the other Hunters asked the man as Obito dropped off a magical gem.
"I need to go!" The C-Rank said as the young woman there raised a brow at him.
Bearing blonde hair in a bob-cut, fair skin, and gray eyes, she blinked at him in her white tunic, black pants & boots, and silver corset/chest plate.
"We need to debrief," she told him as the Uchiha closed his eyes before shaking his head. "T-This is your promotion to leader, is it so serious?" She asked nervously.
"Hae-In, young lady, I don't have the time, I'm sorry."
The slightest bit of blue light formed beneath their feet-
And he vanished from before her, the young woman's eyes widening before they snapped to side where a small figure disappeared into the distance.
"W-What?" Hae-In, Cha Hae-In in full, balked at the absurd rise in speed and sheer jumping power. "When did he have such speed?! That's not the speed of a C-Rank Mage," she frowned as she covered her nose. 'But his scent is still so weak?' How?
~NRK~
Jin-Woo had long since moved to his mother's bedside, holding onto the sleeping woman's hand.
"You need to understand that it's not a simple process," the doctor spoke with a sigh. "If you were a Hunter, we might have been able to-"
"I'M A HUNTER," came a voice from the room's flapping doors, Obito grunting as Jin-Ah sat in his arms, looking pale.
"M-Mom?!" The young teen cried out as Obito put her down before she ran up to Jin-Woo and Kyung-Hye. "Mom?! Mom?!" The girl cried out as she pulled on the woman's sheets as if to jostle her awake.
"Did you say you were a Hunter?" The doctor asked the grimacing Obito who closed his eyes with a nod. "Then, I can offer you an idea. The Hunter Association has a big stake in men like you, they'll pay for her medical costs if you're a Hunter, sir. What Rank?"
"C," Obito said tersely, the doctor flinching before the Hunter grabbed his own face and kissed his teeth. "I'm sorry, sir, I don't mean to scare you. Please, continue."
'A-A C-Rank?' Either Hunters were scarier than the medical professional remembered or this man wasn't just a C-Rank. "Y-Yeah, ahem! As I said, you can apply for a medical waiver due to your position as a Awakened."
"How does it work?"
"You'll be required to clear a quota of Gates. It doesn't matter what Rank they are but you have to prove your worth by being part of raiding parties."
Basically do what he'd been doing? Obito was sure he could handle it-
"M-Mom… D-Don't leave us like dad."
His eyes widened as his gaze went to the crying duo, the children leaning over their mother's unconscious body.
"... I can't leave them alone."
~NRK~
"W-Wait, what?!" Cha Hae-In, along with many of the others, balked at Obito as he smiled sadly. "W-Wait, think this through-"
"That's enough, Cha Hae-In," a man said from behind the quickly parting crowd, his form cutting through it like a divine figure. "... Sir, are you sure of this?"
"Yes, Choi Jong-In," Obito said with a bow towards the, quickly waving it off, younger man. "I have to take care of some others now due to… Due to an Eternal Slumber in the family."
The young man before him frowned softly at that. "Oh…"
He was a tall, lanky, man with fair skin, cleanly-kept red hair that swept over the right side, and light gray eyes. Wearing a simple white dress shirt, black slacks, and brown dress shoes, he cupped his chin.
The entire area winced at the reveal, much more so after realizing just how serious this was.
"I understand, will you still be with the Hunters? You're a man of amazing talent, Mr. Uchiha, it'd be hard to imagine the B-Force working without you," Jong-In said, mind in a more tattered state. 'Hyung?' He hadn't expected this.
The man didn't look downtrodden so much as solemn, the gleam in his eyes still there but they'd changed.
This was likely a big shift in responsibilities.
"If it'd be no issue, please put me in the Cleaning Party."
The miners gawked. "N-No foolin'?" One of them, their Mining Team Leader, asked.
"Not in the least, Yoon-Suk, I still need to be considered 'clearing Raids' even as the clean-up work. It's part of my new quota," Obito explained.
"I don't… Understand, wouldn't it be better for you to continue being an active Hunter, regardless?" Cha-In asked, confused.
"Nope, I can't put those two into a third loss, Vice-Guild Leader."
The woman froze before paling harshly, Jong-In frowning deeply at that.
'That's harsh,' but likely an appropriate amount of information to satiate her confusion. "We understand. As Guild Master, I've no issue changing your station, Mr. Uchiha."
"Thank you, I mean it."
~NRK~
Returning to his sister's home ended with him sighing as he slowly opened the door and heard no other noises than a TV being on.
'Dammit,' he let out a soft sigh before closing the door behind him, depositing his shoes by the door, and coming in to find a heartbreaking sight in the living room.
Jin-Woo and Jin-Ah asleep together on the couch, tear tracts coming down from their eyes.
'This isn't going to be easy for them,' Obito feared what would have happened if Jin-Woo had been made to go through this all on his own. 'But I will be here for them,' his eyes narrowed. "... I'll make them some food."
Jin-Woo awoke from his 'empty' slumber to the head of his also-shifting-awake sister on his chest and a hollow feeling filling him upon awakening.
'Mom's gone,' Eternal Slumber was not something many considered even curable.
Most people died during it, losing an immense amount of life force from the disease if they weren't on life support…
"U-Uncle," his eyes widened as he looked away from the TV to the door. "I-Is he-?"
"I'm here," a voice said from the kitchen, startling the siblings as they turned their heads to see him turning off the stove. "I cooked, come on."
It was only then that the smells hit them, the two swallowing at the feeling clashing with their despair.
"I changed my occupation at the Hunters Guild," Obito said with a small closed-eyed smile. "I'm not leaving you two alone, not like this. I'll be on the Clean-Up Team from here on out."
"What?" The two stumbled out of their couch and hurried over to the kitchen, the warmth of it, the smells of food, and just another adult being in their home causing more tears to bubble. "S-Shuushuu… Snff!"
"I know, I miss her immensely already," Obito said, a single pair of tears falling down from his eyes. "She's my twin, your mother's the only family I've had left for a long time, you two… But then she got married and brought a pair of wonderful children into the world," he grinned for them. "I'm not her replacement, neither hers nor your father's, but I can be the uncle I promised her to be. I'm not leaving you two alone, not now, not ever."
Jin-Ah cried almost immediately as her brother held her close, barely on the verge as Obito came over.
He held the two close and that did it.
Sung Jin-Woo and Sung Jin-Ah broke down one more time that day, embraced warmly by their uncle.
The family was fractured, very much so.
But dammit they had someone else still.
~NRK~
In the year that passed, several changes had been made.
For one, Obito had officially moved in with them after canceling the lease on his apartment.
Jin-Ah was entering high school.
And Jin-Woo had become a Hunter in occupation.
That last bit had terrified his sister to no end but Obito had did his best to assuage her fears by introducing them into a secret their mother had.
"We trained together often if you'd believe it," Obito told the two shocked siblings. "She likely never told you but Kyung picked it up almost seven years ago and I helped her get better. Your mother was no slouch, you two, she likely could have gone to Internationals as a gymnast if she'd wanted."
And, so, that'd started their 'Family Training Time'.
Where Obito would lead them through exercise to make them healthier, stronger, more capable of not falling victim to as many physical threats as possible.
~NRK~
Jin-Woo grunted as he hit the ground again, a wooden knife sinking into the ground beside him.
With the three's regular training sessions, Obito had seen fit to make them clothing for it. A pair of odd slightly baggy black trousers, thin but durable dark blue tunics, and black gloves covered all three of them as they trained in their preferred footwear.
"You good, bro?" Jin-Ah asked from the sideline of the small Obito-made ring. "Uncle, you're being too rough."
"No, wait, it's fine," Jin-Woo said with a breath as he sat up before finding Obito's hand in front of him. "A-Ah, thanks, uncle," he thanked the man as he pulled him up with so much ease. 'What was he like, as a Hunter?'
It'd been one of Jin-Woo's many regrets for his uncle. The man had explained to them the promotion to team leader he'd have gotten if things hadn't turned out like this.
'Leading B-Ranks and A-RANKS,' the thought was almost too much for the now-20 man to wrap his head around.
A C-Rank Hunter gaining that much credibility and respect was downright unheard of. The only reason he said 'downright' was because his raiding party over the past year had a man in it, another C-Rank, who said he had a S-Rank student.
When he'd learned her name, Obito had informed him that she was his Vice-Guild Master.
Never before had Jin-Woo been more in disbelief than knowing that two C-Ranks could garner so much respect.
It'd only made him more determined, though. To keep training, to keep fighting.
To not become a burden on his uncle and share the costs for his mother's bills. In the back of his head, Jin-Woo hoped he could mix their coverage and get the woman a better room. Maybe there were such things and she could get better care?
He didn't know, despite how much research he'd done the past year.
"Your brother's a lot tougher than you think, Jin-Ah," Obito chuckled as Jin-Woo blushed and grumbled. "While he doesn't have the natural attribute increases of his designated Class, he's got something that can and will take him far."
"A moldable body?" Jin-Ah joked as her brother wheezed.
"H-He means spirit!" He corrected her, cheeks bright red as she snickered at him. "Mmm… That's not lady-like, JINNA."
"Oi! It's Jin-AH, I'm not an American!"
He blew a raspberry and chuckled as she squawked at him before turning to face his uncle. Jin-Woo blushed at the man's amused look and cleared his throat.
"D-Don't mind her, she's in puberty," he said quickly.
"E-Excuse me?! Come and say that to my face!" Jin-Ah declared dangerously as he laughed nervously.
"Nope!"
Obito chuckled at the two of them before blinking as his phone rang, the oldest of the three pulling it out and answering the call as Jin-Woo raised a brow. "Hello?" He greeted as Jin-Ah came over.
-Hello, hyung?-
'?' The only people who called him that were… "Jong-In?" He whispered.
-Yes, it's me. You said that, of your recent charges, one of them was a Hunter, right? Well, we're having a small event with another Guild. The White Tigers have a few new B-Ranks who want to test their mettle and we accepted. Is he up for it?-
~NRK~
"N-No way!" Jin-Ah squealed quietly as she followed behind the sheepish Obito and, just as awestruck as her, Jin-Woo. "Uncle, w-we're at your Guild! The Hunters!"
Wearing a simple white shirt, a skin-tight black long-sleeve beneath it, and some blue jean shorts with some tennis shoes, she kept looking around at all the high-ranked Hunters.
Jin-Woo, meanwhile, looked at them all with a sort of awe and scrutiny. 'These are other C-, B-, and A-Rank Hunters,' he considered with interest.
Wearing a white hoodie, a light blue sleeveless tunic, and a pair of black pants and sneakers, he couldn't help but compare.
The more he looked at them all, his eyes would always snapped back to his uncle as he led the way.
The man's loosely-tied dark blue yukata, baggy dark gray pants, and odd open-toed sandals moved like one of the crowd. Not looking bothered, or cowed, in the slightest no matter who was near him.
"Uncle really does belong here," he whispered to his sister who tilted her head before watching the man's back for a bit and nodding.
"He's probably gotten used to it," she told him. "These are still A-Rankers and stuff, they'd be terrifying to fight," Jin-Ah shivered as Jin-Woo nodded.
"Ah, welcome," came the voice of Choi Jong-In as he walked up to the three with a smile, a pair of glasses sitting across his nose. "Mr. Uchiha."
"Jong-In… Ah, did the contacts not work out?" Obito asked casually even as his nephew and niece gawked in sheer jaw-dropping shock. "Also, these are my nephew and niece, Jin-Woo and Jin-Ah, respectively," he smiled as he folded his arms into his sleeves. "You both, this is one of our Guild's two S-Rank Hunters, Choi Jong-In. The Hunters Guild's Guild Master, he's also a Mage-Class Hunter."
The revealed S-Ranker bowed to the gawking siblings, Jin-Woo's eyes going over the man's lanky body and yet coming away with nothing but 'STRONG'.
This man was a Mage? REALLY? Because Jin-Woo didn't think he could ever get the drop on him even if he was a B-Rank Fighter.
'Uncle was right,' and his own estimations as well.
Only those who'd conquered their Class's weaknesses could stand at the top.
'I looked them up,' Jong-In thought. 'So, this is the so-called Weakest Hunter in the World?' It was rather cruel.
The boy's records showed him as someone who'd been in a bunch of raiding parties over the past year, even coming out of a few of them as a decent fighter, for his Rank, but they still labeled him as such.
'And hyung is training him?' There was room for growth, of course, the .young man named 'Jin-Woo' had only been a Hunter for a year and yet had done as well as an average E-Rank would in their second-year. "Pleasure to meet you, our former B-Team Leader speaks lovingly of his family."
The siblings blushed at that, Obito chuckling without remorse.
"Of course," he smiled. "So, Jong-In, what's all this craziness about? Usually, I know the two Guilds will compete but this is a rare occurrence," Obito considered as Jong-In nodded before gesturing to the right side. "Ah, come along, you two," the Uchiha said to his nephew and niece as he and Jong walked.
"Whoa, wait up!" Jin-Ah said as they caught up to the two. "... H-Hey, hyung, maybe it's just me but… Don't they seem kinda chummy?" She whispered to her brother.
They did. In fact, the more Jin-Woo observed the chatting duo, the more he saw a different 'scene'.
Of a younger man showing off to his older brother?
"Eh?" He blinked in disbelief while his sister nudged him for answers. "H-Hey, easy. Look, it's… Doesn't he seem like he's showing off to uncle?" Jin-Woo whispered to her.
She blinked in shock before nodding rapidly as they scrutinized the two some more.
"Yes, actually, we've been working on that one idea you supported," Jong-In explained as they stopped by a table surrounded by Hunters. "Though, it's still in its working stages. The corpses of monsters aren't easy to work with, after all. Now," he clapped his hands with a smile, the eight rings on his fingers gaining Jin-Woo's attention.
'Rings? Wait, didn't I hear about Choi Jong-In using those as his staff? Don't only the high-rank Mages do that?' That was insane but so damn cool. 'Wait… Now that I think about it,' his eyes went to his uncle.
"Everyone, the time has come for us to show off our newest members," the redhead smiled for his Guild as Obito soon found two women at his sides.
"Welcome back, Mr. Uchiha," Hae-In greeted him with an observant look while the woman on his other side knocked her knuckles against his bicep. "It's been some time and… Who are these two?" She asked, looking at Jin-Woo in a large amount of surprise. 'Wait… I don't smell a lot coming from him,' Hae-In blinked in total confusion as Jin-Woo cleared his throat and looked away from her.
'S-She's so pretty,' kind of like that B-Rank Healer he'd met recently.
Lee Joo-Hee, a woman around his age who'd taken to healing him the most in all of the raids he'd taken part in.
Honestly, did all these women need to be so damn pretty?!
Meanwhile, Obito raised a brow at the grinning woman on his right. "Gina? Long time no see, how was your vacation?" The man asked cordially with a smile, the woman's grin continuing even as her cheeks colored a bit.
"Pretty well! Thank God for A-Rank paychecks!" She smirked.
Gina Acollete, an American-Korean citizen, was a tall woman, around his height minus an inch. Bearing a large red cloak with a hood, a black corset-brassiere-qipao mix, and thigh-high dark brown boots, the woman chuckled.
"I'm sure you'd love to know."
"Bite me, Gina, I make fine money," Obito shot back with a smirk of his own as she chomped her jaws.
"So you say but you could have been making more," she told him, brow raised. "You're literally one of the best leaders the B-Team's ever had, do you realize that? Even among B-, and A-, Rankers, your experience and observation are way too good. You could have gotten a recommended Rank-Up, my fellow Mage."
Jin-Woo and Jin-Ah considered that high praise.
Those weren't exactly normal ways to get a higher Rank. Most would say that the 'right' way was to go get your magic power rated by the Monitoring Division, the organization under the Hunters Association that handled looking after all Hunters. That said, there were small, near-impossible, paths to higher Ranks.
Say, if anyone in S-Rank recommended you. Or if the leader of your Guild and five A-Rankers spoke up for you. They were rare but 'Rec. Rank-Ups' were another path to a better life.
'Uncle did say he was almost promoted,' Jin-Woo figured he wasn't that surprised by this word of mouth while his sister giggled slyly. "What are you up to now?" He whispered.
"Duh, look at her," she whispered as he leaned in with Hae. "She's totally into uncle," Jin-Ah said obliviously as the older two looked at the two Mages interact.
Obito's sassy remarks and Gina's smirking rebuttals went back and forth, the two switching the roles pretty easily and quickly.
"I-Is that true?" Hae-In whispered in shock.
"I guess women do like men like uncle," Jin-Woo admitted bashfully.
"Duh, despite being a C-Rank, uncle's got some of the goods," Jin-Ah smirked with a wink. "C-Rank isn't even bad, it's above the average curve. Not just that but uncle's in one of the top five Guilds, he's got a good rapport with the Guild Master, and he's got looks aplenty. That's hard to ignore for a regular woman and, as it looks like, it works on women even in higher ranks."
She snickered as the two considered her words.
"Mmm, s-she does pose some good facts," Hae-In admitted sheepishly as Jin-Woo nodded.
"Uncle's got a lot going for him, we work out all the time and he's so powerful, physically, even though he's a Mage," he said as the blonde nodded.
"He's gone on record to tell a lot of our members that 'just because you're a certain Class, that doesn't mean you should allow your weaknesses to stay'."
"That sounds like him."
The two nodded in unison before Jin-Woo froze and quickly burned up, Cha-In not noticing at all.
Jin-Ah balked, just noticing her as well, before she saw her brother and grinned.
"Alright, these are our fighters," Jong-In showed Obito as the Uchiha looked at the four lined-up individuals.
"Mm? Oh, a new person? I guess he got in at the last minute?" Obito asked as one of the members stood-up straight with a salute.
"Yes, sir! I'm Son Ki-Hoon, I recently ranked up to A-Rank from B-Rank! I'm a Tank!" He declared.
Son Ki-Hoon was a young man of above-average height, a slightly long face, fair skin, short spiky black hair, and black eyes.
Wearing a pair of baggy blue-and-dull-yellow-striped pants with leather padding on the side, silver greaves, and silver armor over his torso and arms with dull yellow accents, the young man seemed capable with a shield half his size on his back and the longsword at his waist.
"Pleasure, Ki-Hoon. Have you fought in raids before?" Obito asked with crossed arms. "And don't make that a him-only question. All of you," he focused on all four new members who stood to their full heights. "Have any of you been in any raiding parties?"
"I have," Ki-Hoon admitted. "Like I said, sir, I was originally a B-Rank Hunter and I made a living over the past two years going into Gates. Mostly C-Rank ones but I've done the occasional B-Ranks."
Two other members of the line-up looked bashful at the Tank's admission of his experience.
"There's no point to feeling like that," Jong told the other three, two of whom blushed. "Remember, we all ended up where we are at different times, places, hell, even graduations," he chuckled as one of the line-up, a Healer, blushed a brighter red.
"I-I'm Hwagsilhan Galdae-In," she said.
Having long dull-purple hair that swept over one shoulder with a scrunchie on the end, she had fair skin, and purple eyes. Wearing a simple purple dress and black mantle with thigh-high boots, she nodded with a wooden staff in her hands.
"M-Most of my friends call me 'Dae'," the Healer admitted. "My name's a mouthful," she blushed. "I'm an A-Rank Healer. I chose to become a Hunter last year."
"A powerful Healer," Cha-In smiled at that. "We need more of those, trust me," she said encouragingly as the Healer smiled happily.
"Then, I'm next!" The teen next to Ki-Hoon began. "Sunjinhan Cheung, reporting for duty! I'm a B-Rank Mage, sir!"
That'd been a young woman who couldn't have been older than nineteen, maybe even eighteen.
She had white skin, big black eyes behind a pair of circular glasses, and chin-length black hair that wrapped around her head. Wearing a long-sleeved white dress shirt, a strapless black lolita dress over it, thigh-high black socks, and black dress shoes, she had a lavender-metal staff in her hands.
"I see, what type of magic are you proficient in?" Obito asked and the teen chuckled bashfully.
"I can summon spirits using talismans," Cheung said, flicking out her hand and revealing three such items. "I-I can only make three of them at a time, sadly, a-and I don't have much experience… More like zero!" She declared as Ki-Hoon sweatdropped before chuckling a bit. "Mmm, a mean one," she pouted.
"No, wait, that's not what I mean!" He said quickly as her pout kept going. "I just, your confidence in your lack of experience was a bit f-funny," Ki-Hoon said nervously as Dae giggled a bit while the last member of this quartet hummed with crossed arms. "H-Hey, let's introduce our last new member of the Hunters!" The Tank did his best to turn away from her, much to the last newbie's amusement.
He chuckled before jabbing a thumb at himself. "Hyusig Cheol, at your service. I'm a B-Rank Tanker," the now-named Cheol said.
Being a man of incredible height, easily seven-feet-tall, he was covered head to toe in red armor with golden accents, the armor covered in scratches. With the only bits of it not being armor being around his crotch, elbows, knees, and ankles which were covered in a thick-looking fabric for ease of movements, he wielded an iron javelin along with an odd medium-sized shield that was red with a thick gold cross on it that even 'tipped' past the edges.
"You seem like you've got the most experience here," Obito said as the man tilted his head at him, his odd-pointed helmet shifting with the movement. "Yes?" Obito smiled in amusement as Jong-In chuckled.
"You… I've looked up the directory of A-Ranks and B-Ranks before but I can't place you. I knew about these three already," Cheol said as he gestured to his fellow new members. "But not you."
"That's likely because you won't find me among those Ranks, I'm a C-Rank Hunter, no more, no less."
"Bwah?!" The other three gawked as Cha-In smiled in amusement.
"Don't let his Rank dissuade you from seeking advice," Gina said with a smirk. "He's a fellow Mage but he bears far more experience than all of you save for maybe Mr. Hyusig over there," she added. "Obito's one of our better leaders and has led a B-Rank Gate mission a few times."
"Really?!" Ki-Hoon said in shock. 'This man? And he's a C-Rank?' Not to disparage him.
Ki-Hoon had some good friends outside of the Hunters who were that Rank and respected the hell out of them. It's just… How?
How had this man seemingly gained the entire upper-hierarchy's respect?
He grew intrigued.
Jin-Woo observed it all. "They really respect uncle, he didn't tell us about that B-Rank Gate," he said to his sister who nodded.
"To be fair, we didn't ask," Jin-Ah said and his face went blank as she snickered once more. "Nothing's going on in that head of yours, huh?"
"Shut up."
"Hmm, I had a feeling," Cheol said. "I don't have a problem with it, it seems like you know how things work around here. Pleased to meet another man who likely fought at the 'Beginning'," he added as Obito wore an impressed expression.
"So, I was right. I had a feeling but Cheol is definitely someone who was at the frontlines of the beginning of this," he told Cha and Jong.
"Hm, that's good. It'll be nice to have someone else who's knowledgeable about things besides you and Gina," Jong-In said as the A-Rank Mage nodded.
"Wait, you as well?" Ki-Hoon asked as his fellow new members also looked curious sans Cheol.
"Wait, b-but she looks so young!" Jin-Ah exclaimed in disbelief as Gina grinned smugly while Obito rolled his eyes.
"Don't let her young looks fool you, behind that face is the mind of a military woman with ten years of service," he smirked as she pouted at him, arms crossed beneath her sizable bust.
"One, five years of service, bucko, I was a military gal as a kid. Two, Ignore him, I'm sure he's fifty," Gina smirked as Obito snorted. "No but, seriously, most of you all probably don't know this but Hunters who enter Gates often don't exactly age like normal people. Despite his recent verbal bullshit," the man chuckled. "Obito's right, I'm literally 30 already but I don't look it, huh?"
"YOU ARE?!" Half the Guild shouted in disbelief as her brow twitched in annoyance while Jong-In smirked behind his steepled hands at the planning table.
"Wait, no way?!" Jin-Ah said in shock as Jin-Woo nodded. "Wait, you knew?!"
"I mean, yeah, it's all up on the internet," he admitted as Cha nodded, flustering him. "U-Uncle always spoke of examining every part of the Gate to have a better idea of what you're getting into. There are people, even outside of Mages, who gain a sixth sense about how strong they're supposed to be," he swallowed nervously. "A-And then there's the stuff about those dangerous ones."
"He means the Red Gates," Hae-In explained, surprising Jin-Woo and some of the guild. "I'm sure at least a good amount of our newer members from the past three years won't know but a Red Gate is an anomaly amongst Gates."
"They're sharp increases in danger level and magical power," Choi Jong-In continued. "These Gates are also impossible to exit."
"Red Gates happen randomly," Obito said. "It's a special decision to go in and try to clear it because that's the only way to get rid of it. You have to kill the boss or the Gate will never go away… Well, unless either the entire party inside dies as well," he added nonchalantly even if those uninformed paled, his nephew and niece as well. "The point is that they are dangerous and to go into one means you're prepared for either a dungeon break, total victory, or death."
"H-How often?" Cheung asked. "I mean, surely people have calculated this kind of risk… Right?"
"Sadly, they're impossible to predict," Cha-In admitted as the newbies paled. "That said, don't be so worried. Within our Guild, we don't leave you without the numbers, forces, or skill to take care of Gates typically of B-Rank. That's the minimum level of a Red Gate and the most often ones," she smiled disarmingly.
"Hmm, I'm sure we should have this kind of talk in the hall later," Jong said. "For now, you all will be facing some of White Tiger's new members along with a single one of their recent additions. Nothing crazy or even life-threatening, these are simple spars to test your experience or mettle. So, on that note, which of you would like to fight?"
The entire Guild murmured, some making bets, others playing rock-paper-scissors, and a few who even joked and pushed another one forward.
Looking around, Jin-Woo and Jin-Ah were a bit surprised by the laid-back atmosphere.
"A bit surprising, isn't it?" Obito chuckled as he walked up to them with Gina.
"You probably think we're super-serious all the time, dontcha?" She asked the two who nodded.
"I… W-Well, yeah, I did," Jin-Woo admitted. "I always thought they were composed of nothing but the best and the best, i-in my head, are… Ahem, always ready to fight?"
Gina laughed. "Ha! Don't worry, there are guys like that but they're not as serious as you think," she smirked as he nodded.
"I figured you guys would be worried," Jin-Ah said as Obito cupped his chin.
"You're taking this more seriously than it really needs to be, Jin-Ah. It's just a spar between the newer members," he shrugged as she raised a brow. "Sure, there might very well be some impressive ones in the bunch like Cheol or Dae, there will definitely be some grandstanding," Obito groaned as Gina shook her head.
"Some of these guys are real class acts," she said in amusement.
"But, in the end, most of us are professionals who can have some fun with these kinds of things. It's competition, nothing wrong with it," he said even as camera crews slipped in. "Ah, I've been wondering where they were."
"It's bound to happen, unfortunately," Jong-In said as he got up. "Alright, of our newest members, two are willing to go up, yes?" He smiled as he turned to Obito. "In fact, do you mind performing with them? I'm well aware of how some of White Tiger's newbies are, trust me, you'll do fine against most of them."
Obito considered the idea before finding Jin-Ah smiling in front of him while Jin-Woo looked embarrassed.
"Come on, ya gotta show us what a C-Rank is made of!" His niece said with a teasing grin as Gina smirked. "Come on, ya might have gotten rusty."
"Well I never," Obito said as half the Guild started laughing while the other began placing more bets. "Hmph, fine, it'll be nice if two of my students ask outright," he added as he walked off to the center of it all, leaving behind a cheering lot and a smiling pair of siblings.
Then, Jong's chuckles silenced them all as he followed after Obito, leaving them confused.
"Wait," Jin-Woo blinked in confusion. "W-Wait, wait, wait! He said something crazy just now!"
"Is it?" Jong said with one last turn of the head as Cha stumbled. "I mean, it's not that surprising, Cha-In herself had a C-Rank teacher," he chuckled before continuing on, leaving behind a gawking group.
"WHAT?!"
Jin-Woo was just stunned. 'T-They're just like Mr. Song?!' That made things more exciting than he thought!
With Obito and Jong-In, the two moved through the crowd, ignored the paparazzi, and found themselves face-to-face with a single man with four individuals behind him.
Yet, it was the man at the front who garnered the many cameras and looks of wonder. Him and Jong-In amongst all else.
After all, they were fellow Guild Masters and S-Rank Hunters.
"It's been around a couple months, Baek Yoon-Ho," Jong-In smiled cordially for the man across from him, the other S-Rank shooting him a nod before finding his eyes landing on Obito.
'... This guy…' His eyes squinted as the Uchiha shot him a look.
Baek Yoon-Ho was a tall man, the same height as himself and Jong-In, with a muscular form barely held behind a simple white dress shirt, black slacks, and black dress shoes. Having slightly tan skin, an orange mane of spiky hair, pronounced canines, and orange eyes, he cupped his chin as Obito shook his head with a chuckle.
"... Ah, wait, didn't Jong-In speak about you?" He asked, confusing Obito for all of three seconds before he shook his head. "Yeah, he said you made incredible food. A bit weird but he was probably just being annoying again."
"... Ah~?" Jong's brow twitched as a twitching vein popped onto his cheek. "Excuse me, Yoon-Ho?"
The well-muscled S-Rank smirked a bit. "Nothing, you just talk too much sometimes," he said with a sly grin.
Sparks flew between them as the others caught up and sweatdropped at the clearly competitive duo.
"Alright, alright, men, please, we're adults here," Obito said from between them with a raised brow as the two leaned back. "Besides, giving the paparazzi less ideas is better for all our sakes."
The two flinched before mechanically turning their heads to get flashed by a ton of cameras. "Instant regret," the two said in unison as Obito wore an amused smile.
"Now, who am I fighting?" He asked Jong-In who blinked before perking up with a smile as Yoon-Ho shot him a weird look.
"Wait, I thought he said he was a cook," he said.
"I said he's an amazing cook, not that he was a cook," the bespectacled man said as he adjusted the seeing-eye lenses in question. "No, I just have members who have an array of impressive skills compared to most Guilds," Jong-In smiled 'ignorantly'.
Yoon-Ho's indignation reared its head. "... Stupid frickin…" He grumbled something as Jin-Ah and Jin-Woo peeked around their uncle's sides. "Tsk, what's your Rank?"
"C-Rank," Obito answered easily, surprising him.
"Wait, what? You're joking right? I know for a fact the only C-Ranks on this bastard's team," he pointed at the grinning Jong. "Are not on either strike force."
"Well, I was, for a good three years, before I switched over a year back to clean-up crew."
Now, Yoon-Ho was just confused. 'What the hell is he planning?' He thought as he shot Jong a flat look. "Look, no offense to you but all of my newbies this month are B-, or A-, Ranked. I don't think that'd end well for you."
"I'm not worried about their Ranks in the least, this fight won't last long enough for any one of them I face," Obito smiled intently as Yoon-Ho's eyes narrowed in annoyance but interest.
"That so? So, you'd be up for fighting one of our A-Ranks who's got a year under his belt?"
"I'm up for anything, I'm not worried."
Well, they'd see, wouldn't they?
"Alright, since you clearly got more crazies in that club of yours, I'm picking a saner ring," Yoon-Ho said as Obito sweatdropped before turning to his nephew and niece.
"H-Hey, uncle, I know you're possibly super smart and stuff but will that work here?" Jin-Ah asked, worried, before finding a hand ruffling her hair.
"I believe you're misunderstanding just how far enough smarts will take you but you're also missing another key piece of concept about fighting. Smarts, strength, cunning, creativity, and skill are the basics. I'll show you them here and now," Obito smiled calmly as Jin-Woo considered his words.
"I wanna see it," he said to his uncle. "I wanna see just how far you can push a C-Rank power," he specified as Obito smirked.
"Your brother's understanding of what I mean is showing," he chuckled as the young man blushed but nodded all the same. "But he's right, how far you push a power, no matter how weak-looking it might seem, is a big part of why this fight won't last long."
Yoon-Ho's ears twitched at that. 'Creativity, huh?' Well, now he just had to see it. "Yo, Gideon, you're up."
"On it."
The man who'd answered was a thin one of Cheol's height.
Having long shaggy platinum blonde hair that hid his eyes, fair skin, and an impeccable grin, the man before him wore a sleeveless white top, black track pants, a pair of black boots, and a tan-colored scarf that wrapped up his right bicep.
On his hips, Obito noted the pair of hatchets. '... No, his body-type,' his eyes narrowed imperceptibly before he crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "You're an Assassin-Class, aren't you?"
Gideon flinched for a moment even as Jin-Woo blinked before nodding.
"H-He walks like one," he muttered as Cha raised a brow at that.
'Wait, can he tell?' Curious, could this E-Rank Hunter differentiate between Hunter Ranks on sight? "Why do you say so, Mr. Uchiha?" She was intrigued.
What part of this man's body made him think so?
"Well, for one, he's a dual-wielding 'Fighter'," Obito twitched his fingers as Gina rubbed her chin with a nod. "But his chest isn't wide enough, anyone who'd swing around those axes would likely be more built than he is but, for the sake of argument, let's say he can. It doesn't compliment attire. Literally look at every Hunter here who's a Fighter and tell me what's the same about them."
Yoon-Ho's eyes widened at that. 'Alright, I didn't expect that,' it was an obvious thing most wouldn't recognize without high spatial awareness.
"And, of course, the biggest thing was the weapons in question," Obito smirked as the 'Fighter' snickered a bit. "Those are either fake handles or they have a special property to them, they're not in special holsters to secure them to your pants, obviously, it'd fool someone who wasn't thinking about it but there's no way an axe, even a small one, wouldn't weight down your pants at all."
"... Well, damn," Gideon blinked thrice though it was hidden behind his hair. "Geez, dude, what? Did you take a class on checking people out?"
"I'm aware of what many different types of Hunters are like, a Guild is full of all kinds, after all."
"Excellent," Jong-In grinned as Yoon-Ho huffed.
"You're still fighting him," he said to the 'picked-apart' Assassin. "His observation's pretty high but that doesn't mean he has the physical ability to keep up with you…" Yoon-Ho had been fine saying that out loud, sure of it.
But he'd made sure to look at Obito to see his expression and, when he saw it, he knew something 'off' would happen in this fight.
For Obito's smirk spoke of a confidence to face against an A-Rank Assassin? That left Yoon-Ho completely caught off-guard.
"Let's start the spars with a pair of experienced hands," Jong-In said as the group walked to a circle on the White Tigers' side. "Ah, yes, hyung," he spoke casually to Obito who nodded even as the entire damn group gawked at them. "I have a feeling I'll know how this will go but, for the sake of truly showing experience over pure skill, just 'Movement' should be good enough. No 'Attachments'."
Obito hummed at that. "Alright, there shouldn't be a shortage in my arsenal on that level," he nodded as Cha-In finally spoke up.
"Jong-In, how long have you really known Mr. Uchiha?" She asked straightforwardly. "You hold a great amount of respect for him, we all do, but you seem to know more than even before the Guild."
The S-Rank and C-Rank locked eyes before Obito shrugged.
"That's because I and he met before the Gates were a thing," he admitted, surprising a good amount of people.
"To be fair, is it that odd?" Gina offered the group. "It's not like life started once the Gates and monsters became a threat, people lived lives before all of this madness."
Jin-Woo considered her words before nodding. "She does have a point," he said to his sister who rubbed the back of her head.
"I mean, when you think about it, 'S-Ranks' back then were mostly normal people. There's probably a ton of people from Choi Jong-In's neighborhood who knew him before all of this," she admitted as the other Hunters considered it before nodding. "Hunters just became so big compared to everything else."
"Hmph," Yoon-Ho did agree with her assessment but there was something 'else'. 'That'd be different, to believe in his abilities and having a great amount of respect for someone is not always mutual,' Jong probably knew more about this 'C-Rank's' powers than he'd let on.
They'd see, though, seeing as they reached the ring of his side's creation and the two combatants went inside.
With the ring being a fifty-meter circle with metal rails to fence it off, they had enough space for some simple combat.
"The rules of the spars from here on out are as such," Yoon-Ho began as the two in the circle turned to him. "The first to be unable to fight back, loses. If you're thrown out of bounds, you lose. If your opponent could have made a killing shot, you lose. We're Hunters, we've got good Healers on standby, no killing but you've got free reign."
The air grew thick with excitement and anticipation, Jin-Woo and Jin-Ah in the latter category.
"I-I hope uncle's as good as he makes himself out to be," the girl said as Jin-Wood nodded but… He felt an odd amount of calm.
Something within him believed in his uncle beyond a doubt and, so, he took a deep breath and watched it all with every bit of his attention.
"The fight can commence at any moment," Jong-In smiled as Yoon-Ho waited for them to begin.
And they did, both combatants vanishing in intense swirls of wind that didn't. Make. Sense.
The White Tigers Guild Master's eyes snapped up and around, disbelief filling his gaze as the sound of rapid impacts reached the crowd's ears.
"Jong-In."
"Yes, all that's been said, every letter, has been nothing but the truth," the bespectacled S-Rank said even as Cha-In's eyes moved around with curiosity.
'He's almost half as fast as I am,' how though? That's the part that didn't make sense. "... Actually, Choi Jong-In, I never figured it out but what exactly is his magical power?"
Jong-In smiled as Gina nodded. "I don't wish to reveal the truth of his skills, not in full, but 'Spatial Magic' isn't the worst way to explain its main functions," he cupped his chin with a nod even as the others blinked, half the group did, at least.
The other half of the Hunters nodded. "That's the best way to put it," a random Fighter said.
"Wait, I don't… Right, he's on Strike Team B," Cha-In realized as those members grinned or smiled knowingly. "Hmph," she pouted a bit and a good amount of them chuckled.
Gina grinned knowingly as two figures skidded back from one loud collision in the center of the arena, allowing the group to see the state of them. And, let's just say…
The White Tigers weren't looking too hot.
"What?" Yoon-Ho balked at the tattered state of Gideon's clothing and some of the bruises revealed from those openings, the man's axes in his hands. "What the hell happened?" His eyes narrowed on Obito.
Outside of a few cuts in his top, only a single cut on his shoulder was all he got in exchange.
"W-What's he hitting that guy with?!" Jin-Ah asked in disbelief even as relief filled her entire being. "I-I don't get it, what is uncle's magic? I don't think spatial magic does that."
"Not if it's obeying the rules of normal spatial magic," Gina explained to the younger female, confusing her. "There aren't really a lot of people who can say they can use spatial magic as an attack. It doesn't add up from most Mages' repertoire. Well, those that can use spatial magic."
"It's mostly for putting items away or traveling long distances," Cha-In said. "But that doesn't explain what's happening. He's not teleporting, he's keeping up with Gideon's speed. I can watch them the entire way, he's overtaking him in that category as a Mage? That seems, and is, physically impossible," as a Fighter, she'd been blessed with speed that ascended her beyond many of her peers.
Being S-Rank meant a lot compared to even A-Rank. It was such an exponential jump that one couldn't even consider them in the same Ranking System sometimes.
So, how was a mage with a supposed 'C-Rank Power', as the man, Jin-Woo, said, able to enhance him this much?
Hadn't Jong basically said for him to hold back? What exactly was his 'full power' if he was such a threat already?
"Spatial Magic… Can he control the flow of spatial magic?" Yoon-Ho's eyes narrowed. "No… That's simply not possible," he frowned as Jin-Woo considered it.
"It'd have been all over the world by now if he could," he said and the S-Rank nodded.
"It's as Cha-In said," he continued as the two combatants met in the middle of the ring.
Obito's forearms slammed into Gideon's, locking them there.
The carrot top's eyes glowed as they separated, something there that he couldn't truly make out until the next exchange… Supposedly.
"... No wonder he said what he did," he scoffed as Jong chuckled. "He's using this odd spatial power to enhance his blows and body," Yoon-Ho said, surprising but, ever more, confusing the others. "There's a mechanic here we're missing that some of ya know already."
Gina chuckled. "Trust me, if you actually knew what was going on, you'd be so confused," she shrugged at his look of confusion. "The point is, 'spatial magic', 'abnormal rules', and the 'method of using his magic' are the big facts. The moment you see the 'truth' of what he's manipulating, it'll make more and less sense at the same time unless he explains it."
There were five more clashes that 'ran' down the length of the ring before it ended with Obito's leg locking around Gideon's neck.
There was a large rumble and dust cloud that ended with a body bouncing against the ground before it flopped onto the dirt after its last tumble, an Assassin groaning against the firm but malleable earth.
Obito stood up in the original dust cloud, dusting off his clothes and rolling his shoulders.
"It's been a while since I've used it like that," he said, nodding to Jong-In's claps. "You were right, Jin-Ah, Jong-In, I might have gotten a bit rusty but I'm back to a good level. I'll need to make sure to not let that happen again."
"It's of little matter, you've handled it well," the Mage said with a nod before turning to their gawking new members. "Do you understand the difference between a man with a fully 'exploited' average power and a Hunter with all the power in the world from the offset? People assume a lot of us 'S-Rank' but you all need to remember that an amazing power in the hands of a fool is just a Fool's Power. We train just as much as you do, some of us more oddly and others just more rigorously, we're not unused to hard work. That's the difference between many S-Rank 'levels' and the same holds true for you all."
Obito nodded as he folded his arms into his completely untouched yukata…?!
"What?" Yoon-Ho's eyes widened as the Uchiha smiled a bit before holding up a hand and allowing it to glow blue before it released…? "Is that string?"
"Thread," Gina clarified at the thin black length that curled out from around Obito's wrist. "Spatial Thread," she said more specifically.
She'd been correct earlier.
Yoon-Ho had no fucking idea how this worked.
"I don't… I can't…" The man's brain fizzled out for a bit. "I'm done, my head hurts," he grumbled as he walked over, picked up his downed comrade, and ran back to his side. "Planning time!" He shouted at his Guild, the group shooting Obito nervous smiles before they followed their Guild Master.
Cha-In cupped her chin as Obito smiled in amusement. "I don't… And you can use something greater than what you just did?"
"Yes, quite a few applications of both spatial power and thread," he told her and her eyes narrowed in thought as Jin-Woo smiled but looked confused.
"I was right to not worry but, like everyone else, this doesn't make sense," he chuckled.
"Yep, it's just thread. Well, spatial thread, whatever that means," Jin-Ah said while pushing on it- "H-Huh?" The youngest Sung blinked as she tried to push on the thread.
And couldn't reach it.
Cha-In's eyes widened at that. "You can make that into clothing, can't you?" She realized almost instantly as Jong nodded.
"Though, don't be fooled, my thread allows a lot of force via command, it's a power that's meant to be brittle," Obito said as he gripped the middle of the line. "Like so."
He snapped it.
And an explosive force, not a great one but a decent one, threw her hair back. But her brows shot up to meet her hairline as it all 'clicked'.
"This is a C-Rank Power," Obito smiled. "With an unknowable Rank of possibilities," he chuckled as she tilted her head to the side.
"I see," she said with narrowed eyes of interest as Ki-Hoon blinked.
"I-I don't… Why does it do that?" He asked as his fellow newbies nodded save for Cheol.
"It's the force around it," he elaborated after a moment of thought. "That girl couldn't touch it, there's a spatial energy barrier around it, likely from compressed spatial magic. So, imagine what happens when you break the 'shape'."
All confused eyes understood immediately.
"So, by using that on your feet, you can gain that kind of speed," Cha-In smiled at the very precise power. "Am I right in assuming you can break the thread on command?"
"You'd be right," Obito chuckled as he folded his arms together. "Spatial Thread has all the tensile threat of normal thread but I can make it as strong as a steel cable if I need to. And you can imagine several different ways you can apply thread, yes?" He said and she nodded. "So, my thread can follow those same rules. By spinning together, crossing, or applying a different pattern, I can enhance the way the spatial nature of it works. Oh, and I still have normal spatial power, I just need to wrap it in my thread first or be willing to be without an eye for a bit."
"Wait, that last one doesn't work," Jin-Ah pouted as he chuckled.
"Oh, it does," Obito said, confusing even Gina. "It's one of the ways of using it that really pushes the envelope," he smirked as her face went blank.
"H-Hold on there, buddy, buckaroo," she sidled up to him and flicked his nose. "No, you do not break the laws of our lovely simple system with your bullshit."
"Oi."
"Nu-uh. Right, guys?!"
"YEAH!"
Obito facepalmed as Gina cackled while Cha-In barely restrained herself and Jong-In didn't.
Jin-Ah was laughing along with the blonde Mage while Jin-Woo chuckled behind a fist.
Yes, it seemed his uncle was quite odd.
~NRK~
Maybe that's why he was able to 'bridge the gap', so to speak, for him in the 'end'.
To keep him grounded to another powerful individual who took such a complex but 'small' power to the level of it even reaching into the domain of the gods themselves.
~NRK Out~