Chapter 1: Rescue of a broken man
Han Sai took a deep sigh, looking up at the drab building in front of her, considering if the risk of losing her life in such a stupid way seemed appealing, both to her and the media. The rays of the sunset dappled her fair skin, almost telling her to hurry before the day was over. 'Well, better do this fast, wouldn't want to keep Mags-oppa waiting.' she thought to herself. After all, it had been quite some time since she had seen him, and his signature was found at this dungeon gate. The guildmaster almost had to barricade her from jumping at the news, instead giving her rights to the rescue of the disappeared hunter. And so, in order to look her best, she had taken a shower and dressed in the best equipment she had, just so the charm was turned up to 11. (Note: in korean, oppa is a suffix added to older males when the speaker is very close with them; it can be used as either older brother, friend or boyfriend, depending on the context.)
Step upon step upon step, she touched a floating semi-transparent window, both to ready her abilities and to use the System window as lighting. <Confirmed: [SIDEREAL BODY] activated. Time remaining: 4 minutes 53 seconds.> Feeling herself slightly float inches from the ground Han Sai let out a small ditty, passing over the holes made from both time and rotten wood.
Some strands from her deep blue hair glimmered like stars, feeling the waves of the sea of reality as if scouting for dangers, both from further ahead and behind. Stopping in front of a door she took a deep breath, regretting it straight away from the smell of unwashed carpets and unsolved murders. Steeling herself, she knocked on the door.
"Oppa, are you there?" Han Sai opened the door gingerly, scanning the room. It was a mostly empty room, save from some basic amenities left behind from the previous tenants: a used couch, an electric stove and a broken table were strewn about in the room, as if the ones who lived there had left a long time ago. Taking a step inside, her System blurted out an alarm <WARNING, A-RANK MONSTER IN THE VICINITY. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.>. 'Well, that's not good', she thought, readying her weapon. A small orb bounced around in her hand, taking the shape of a handgun as she chambered a bullet.
Silence filled the room as she approached the couch, two small figures huddling together, if not for warmth, then something else. Tapping the larger figure's shoulder, she peeked over the thin blanket, drawing a smile on her face. "Hey oppa, you awake?" she asked in a sing-song voice, hoping to find Mags' eyes twinkling like jewels. Boy, was she wrong.
Han Sai quickly jumped back as a small creature jumped forward from the mound letting out a SKREEEEEEEEEE, trying to swipe at the young woman. Han Sai dodged to the side, pulling the trigger. Two shots ringed out in the room as they passed through the shadowed figure, seemingly unharmed. The small figure tried to bite her though its attacks quickly bounced back from the effects of [Sidereal Body]. Floating away from the range of the unknown being she pulled out her System window: a light purple rectangle shimmered at her side, awaiting further orders. Han Sai locked on the target and used [Otherworld Knowledge], one of the skills her blessing gave her. Han Sai had to take a double-take as the information poured in the window:
<SPECIES: CHIMERA; TYPE: GRIFFON; RANK: A-SS RANK; CONSTITUENTS: CASSOWARY/HONEY BADGER; DUE TO ITS SIZE, IT SEEMS TO BE A YOUNGLING, CALLED A GOSLING. IMPOSSIBLY AGGRESSIVE WITH REGENERATIVE ABILITIES. WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT CONTACT.>
Han Sai dodged away from the leaps of the gosling, parrying the blows she could but taking damage from its claws. <WARNING: [SIDERAL BODY] HAS LESS THAN 1 MINUTE LEFT. 5 MINUTE COOLDOWN SOON.> the System blurted out, much to the despair of the young girl. The gosling unfurled its wings, blowing gusts of wind powerful enough to shatter the windows and rip the door from its hinges. As she backed into a corner, [Sidereal Body] ran out and she slumped against the couch, knocking her head into the still shaking figure. As the gosling approached her, a shaking hand rested upon her head, stopping the beast in its tracks: its prey had awoken. "Sai… is that you?" the voice asked, trembling, hoarse and tired.
She looked up at the voice, hope filling her soul. A gaunt man, with bloodshot sunken eyes peered at her, his long dark brown hair disheveled and patchy with sweat touching her forehead, his hands calloused and scarred, a large chunk on his arm ripped off and bloody. Han Sai couldn't believe it, it was him; Granted, he looked like he had run through hell, but it was him. She leapt upon him, hugging him whilst sobbing "Mags-oppa, where were you? You were gone all week and we couldn't reach you, I've been worried sick! Johann-ssi didn't say anything, and my skill said you were gone! What is that creature? Why aren't you saying anything?". The man, though tired and looking like death, slowly hugged her, stroking her hair, the smell of ammonia lingering in the air. (Note: ssi is a suffix used in korean as an honorific: it can replace Mr. or Mrs.)
"Sai… one question at a time… please. I'm… not a superman." He chuckled, hacking and coughing from a parched throat and settled saliva. Slowly lifting himself, he looked at her, then at the creature. The creature tried to pounce on the unsuspecting Han Sai, but a stretched hand pointed at its neck, a small vortex swirling around the gosling and tearing it into small chunks. "There we go... no longer a dinner. The dungeon… was EX-rank. I didn't expect to be trapped there… my escape items… disabled. Time was dilated there… had to use my skill to leave, that thing... it followed me. It hurts… to breathe, to think… to be. …Forgive me." The man known as Mags lowered his head, remorseful from his friend's behavior.
Han Sai sighed, helping him stand up, giving him her jacket so he had something to cover himself. "Here, it's A-rank with temperature control. Rei-ssi might be an asshole but she makes good equipment. Before we go back to the guild, we're going to get a bite to eat, okay? You look like you're made of skin and bones. Speaking of which, you need to clean up as well; Can't have the greatest hunter of our guild looking like a homeless man." Han Sai closed the distance between them once again, hugging him tight, her voice muffled from the jacket. "Seriously speaking though, I missed you while you were gone. I'm glad you're okay."
Mags smiled, choking back on his tears but quickly composing himself. "Thank you, Sai, I appreciate it. Though I'd prefer… if we went back to the guild first, there is… something I need to tell the guildmaster." Patting Han Sai on her head, Mags was surprised when he received a punch to the arm; though playful in its nature, it still hurt. "What a lousy response oppa." she said in mock offense "I mean, I practically confessed to you, and you treat me that way? I'm wounded." Hugging Mags from behind and holding onto him, she activated [Sidereal Body], trying to lift him out of the room. "Come on, I'll take you there, you don't seem to be in walking condition."
When she tried to cross the door, a transparent wall blocked their way, a shrill sound following from the air surrounding them, crashing and cracking, the sound a mixture of glass breaking, thunder and screeching. They fell to the ground, and the purple window that belonged to Han Sai popped up <ATTENTION: SYSTEM FORCEFULLY OPENED BY PATRON [THE ONE BORN TO BE LOVED]. SKILL [OTHERWORLD KNOWLEDGE] ACTIVATED. WARNING: DUNGEON BREAK OCURRING IN YOUR LOCATION, LOWEST RANK CONFIRMED A-RANK. REPEATING: DUNGEON BREAK IN YOUR LOCATION, LOWEST RANK A-RANK. [THE ONE BORN TO BE LOVED] WISHES FOR YOUR SAFETY AND ADVISES YOU TO LEAVE THE DEAD WEIGHT BEHIND.>
Han Sai was shocked, did her patron tell her to abandon her oppa? Steeling herself, she stood in front of Mags, waiting for the first monster to come out, but it never came. Looking behind her, she saw the disheveled figure of Mags, hand stretched out into the crack, the runic symbols in his arms glowing a faint teal. From his lips, words were spoken, not in any spoken language, but in the speak of the world itself "Skill, [Shattered Realm]." The distorted space screamed out, before exploding into millions of pieces of ethereal glass. Han Sai looked at him, muttering under her breath "Jeez oppa, just how powerful are you?". She held onto him again, both exiting the building.
As they crossed the road the silence was deafening, Han Sai being the first to break it. "So oppa, what was that? Your skill?" She mused, trying to understand what had happened before "You do know that when a dungeon break is happening it can't be prevented, right? But here you are, doing some wierd magic and poof, it's gone. Seriously, I can't understand how or why Johann-ssi treats you like this, does he want to get cancelled?" But the response never came, as Mags had fallen asleep holding onto her. Sighing, she said aloud for no one to hear "What a shame, you can't go to the guild if you're asleep. Looks like you're going to spend the night at my place." A small sly smile parted her lips, though the following System message filled her with intrigue <[THE ONE BORN TO BE LOVED] SMILES UPON THE LOVEBIRDS. SKILL [MAIDEN'S HEART LVL.1] WAS OBTAINED. ATTENTION: [ONE-EYED KING] WINKS AT YOU AND LAUGHS AT THE INVERTED POSITIONS YOU FIND YOURSELF IN. AS PAYMENT FOR THE LAUGHS THE SKILL [OTHERWORLD KNOWLEDGE] WAS INCREASED IN PRECISION. HUNTRESS HAN SAI HAS LEVELLED UP.>
Han Sai was shocked, 'Could this One-eyed King be Mags' patron? He said he didn't have one. Could it be he doesn't know?' She thought to herself 'Speaking of which, what is this skill? Skill info [Maiden's Heart].' <SKILL [MAIDEN'S HEART]: GIVEN BY [THE ONE BORN TO BE LOVED], IT IS A WHIMSICAL SKILL. EFFECT: BOOSTS THE STATS [SPEED][STRENGTH][ENDURANCE] OF THE USER WHEN NEAR THE OBJECT OF THEIR AFFECTION. USAGE 3 TIMES A DAY, COOLDOWN 30 MINUTES.> Han Sai was mortified, almost dropping Mags unto the ground before pulling herself together "Sigh, nevermind. I levelled up, didn't I? Open status." Once again, the window popped up.
<NAME: HAN SAI; AGE: 19; SEX: FEMALE; RANK: A LEVEL: 34
STATS: [STRENGTH B (61)] [ENDURANCE B (72)] [SPEED A (84)] [MAGIC A (95)] [POTENTIAL S (100+)]
SKILLS: [OTHERWORLD KNOWLEDGE] [SIDEREAL BODY] [DEEP ABYSS] [WAYS BETWEEN] [MAIDEN'S HEART]
TITLES: [FAMED HUNTRESS] [FIRST PROXY] [MAIDEN IN LOVE]>
'I levelled up again, looks like I'll have to thank oppa for that'. Han Sai giggled, as she stopped in front of a villa. Opening the gate, she helped him in into her home and up the stairs into the bathroom, running warm water until it filled the bathtub. Humming a soft tune in order to not wake him up, Han Sai softly lowered him down into the rippling water. As Mags slept, she helped him off his clothes and gingerly washed his body, her soft touch removing the grime from his body, the water running through his arms and cleaning the runes on them. Han Sai washed his hair with a gentle touch, the water turning a dirty brown from the sludge caked on it. <[THE ONE BORN TO BE LOVED] IS SURPRISED HER HUNTRESS DID NOT POUNCE ON THE MAN AS SOON AS THEY WERE ALONE.> the system message mocked.
Pouting, Han Sai replied "Of course, it's not the time yet. He trusts me and this is enough reward, for now. Oppa has been through a lot." Toweling Mags off, Han Sai helped him get into a change of clothes he had forgotten at her home last time, carrying him into the couch in her living room. Once again, the window had popped up <[THE ONE BORN TO BE LOVED] SIGHED IN FRONT OF SUCH PUPPY LOVE. [ONE-EYED KING] LAUGHS, STATING THAT HE DOESN'T NEED MIMIR FOR THIS DEVELOPMENT. [THE RUNIC WITCH OF THE WOODS] ASKS IF SHE SHOULD GIFT YOU A CAT.>
Han Sai simply blushed as she lowered Mags into the couch, following soon after, the tiredness of the day catching up to her. If there were any issues to be dealt with, they could wait until tomorrow.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone