"Hey! Are you serious?"
Hearing my story, Jong Ho was freaking out .
He heard from me that I took down Jin and obtained information from him .
I answered calmly, and continued the conversation .
"Yes . I already thought I had to take care of him soon ever since Se-Jin Kim from the association gave me a visit . But he saved me the trouble and visited me on his own . "
"So you took down Jin in one move, and even took information from him?"
"Yes . I already told you?"
"Oh boy . You're scary you know? I'm more scared of you than Jin or the radical faction . My liver is shaking in fear, I can't even enter this house . " 1
Jong Ho waved his arms about, while giving me a playful look .
While shaking his head too .
This guy's class was a warrior .
His special attribute must be humor or something .
I couldn't hate him no matter how hard I tried .
Can't leave him hanging with his humor .
I put my hand on Jong Ho's shoulder and spoke .
"Meteor Call! It's been fun, hyung . "
"Ah . Wait . It's a prank, bro . A prank!"
"Pfft . Ah! Hyung, what's your passive? A sense of humor?"
"Hey! I have quite the passive . Nothing compared to yours though . "
"Really?"
"I have a low chance to attack twice . Without delay . The passive is called 'Berserker's Onslaught' . "
"Oho . . That's pretty good . Does it matter if the attack is a skill or a regular attack?"
"Yeah . Even if the second attack triggers from a skill, there is no mana cost for the second attack . I guess you can look at it as a free attack I get? When I first Awakened, it happened on its own, so I was surprised . "
"I would be too . Must become better the higher your level gets and the stronger your skills grows . "
"That's something in the future to consider . But why do you ask about it now?"
The reason why I asked Jong Ho about this topic was to find out information regarding this subclass that Joker possessed .
I was pretty sure Jong Ho would know something like this .
I put on my serious face once more and continued to ask Jong Ho .
"Hyung . Do you know anything about subclasses?"
"Of course . It's when you Awaken with two classes?"
"Yes . That's right! Could you tell me exactly what that's about?"
"It's super rare, but I heard some of the top rankers in the association have subclasses . "
"I guess you can't get in the rankings just my leveling quickly . "
"Of course . You need to get a good class . The passive too, but it's all random . "
"Wait, it's difficult to level even with two classes?"
"Yes . Think about it . If a warrior had a magician as a subclass, you would need points in strength, mana, health, and even dexterity . All stats would need to be raised . "
"Yeah . "
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"If that happens, you'd become a jack of all trades . Focusing on your attack power will make your defense lack, and vice versa . It would make hunting impossible . You can't do both . "
"I guess that makes sense . "
"And there are cases that blacksmiths get subclasses when they're Awakened . This is also like losing the lotto by a single number . "
"For a blacksmith that can level up by swinging their hammer, gaining a subclass with its passive is useless, right?"
"Exactly . "
Thanks to Jong Ho's explanation, I could understand it now .
My passive that gave me limitless mana was also given to me at random .
No one knew about the passives other than their effects .
Classes were the same .
That was the reason why I searched the web intensely after I became Awakened about passives .
Because there were cases where the passives would ruin any chances of making a living, even after being Awakened .
I asked the most important question .
It was about Joker .
"Then how about a warrior class having the executioner subclass?"
"Can that even happen? That's like 3 generations of… more like all the luck from every generation in your family coming together?"
"… . "
"I've only saw the executioner class in books, as there are not many who have it . Not only that, after being Awakened, they become S ranking special individuals, and most of them end up working for the association . "
"Hm… . "
"It would be against the law for them to level up above 300 . Of course, the executioner class is really hard to level up . Most skills are single target, and the mana cost is insane . "
"It's bad enough to have a law made about the class?"
"Because they don't know if they will defect into a killing machine . Though if it is a subclass, I guess you could hide it . "
I realized that my situation was worse than what I thought previously .
And all 3 of them had subclasses .
There were two more monsters like this one .
On top of that, the final boss above them .
While thinking about this, I accidentally spoke aloud .
"Guess it's going to be tougher than I thought…"
"What? Who? No way…?"
"… . "
"Am I right? Really? That's insane! The radical faction's boss is a warrior with a subclass as an executioner?"
"No, I heard he's just one of the leaders under the boss?"
"That's crazy . "
Putting a hand on his forehead, he stared at the ceiling .
For a while, he only sighed .
I broke the long silence .
"It's not like there isn't a way . "
"A way? What's that?"
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With both his hands out, I had Jong Ho's full attention .
At his question, I quietly put on the Lich King armor set .
Then I put on the Banwol Jincheons as well .
"I'll need to carry all the equipment and work hard . "
"Oh boy . That's just like you . "
"Hyung, would you also like to come along?"
"Where? The level 23 dungeon? No thanks . Thanks to you carrying me through the level 18 one, I grew enough to laze around for the next three months . And are you really in a situation to help others? Just come back safely . "
"I knew you would say this . I understand . I'll just bring the warrior skill books if they drop . "
"I decline . "
"I decline your decision to decline . I'll be going then, hyung . "
"Gah . I'm guilty then . Guess I'll have to get up too . "
* * * *
"Hiyaa!"
"KUH-UK!"
Hit by the Awakened Meteor Call dead center, all the ghouls perished at once .
It was a damage that was on another level compared to what it was like at 60 .
The ghouls were torn apart, while their remains charged at me .
Honestly, the damage was enough to even obliterate the remains instantly as well .
The number of meteors did not increase, but the size had by an enormous amount .
It was the same for Iceberg .
The speed and accuracy . Both seemed to increase with my growth .
Skill proficiency did not only include the level of the skill, but also the accuracy and understanding of how it worked .
Once I hit level 200 with it, I should be able to cast the larger and more powerful version without any limitations on time .
Growth . Raising my health and dexterity stats via growth .
Depending on that growth, I get increases in skill levels . The things I needed badly .
That's why I couldn't be satisfied with the level 23 dungeon .
I needed to go to dungeons of higher levels so I could obtain even more experience .
However . The association was already putting me under surveillance .
If I cleared dungeons above level 23 solo, their suspicions will only grow further .
However, it would incredibly stupid of me to go with a party .
After finishing the hunt and returning home via taxi, I thought of an idea .
The most Se-Jin Kim could hold off on the report to the association would be one month .
If data of me clearing higher level dungeons come into their hands?
Another member would be immediately dispatched to find out about me .
'Is there not a way?'
Then I had a decent solution come up .
'Mastering the Shadow Step that Jin used to use, and using a forged ID to run the dungeons?'
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It wasn't a bad idea .
It was illegal though .
The skill Jin used was an S ranking stealth skill .
In order to detect the user, one would need to have the Eye of Insight skill and have the level of it match or be higher than Shadow Step .
The chances of someone mastering the heavy mana costing Eye of Insight was very low .
However, it also was not easy to master Shadow Step when it obtained experience only on single use .
And I only had roughly a month and a half worth of time left .
I would lose all my time on preparing .
"Stealth . . I need an aoe stealth skill…"
While it would use up an incredible amount of mana, it would be able to stealth many targets at once .
That would allow me to level it up a lot faster .
But I didn't know if such a skill existed .
"Hm? What did you say, dear customer?"
"Ah… nothing . Just talking to myself, driver . "
"Haha . Alright . "
"Sorry Mr . driver, but could you go to Sinseol-dong instead?"
"Huh? You said you wanted to go to Guli though…"
"Yes . Something came up . "
"I understand . Sinseol-dong it is . "
* * * *
Passing my house, it was a long while before the taxi arrived at Sinseol-dong .
This was where the midget's office was located at .
'When it comes to obtaining skill books, there is no place like this . '
Entering, I saw the midget and his two goons guarding the place like usual .
Confirming my arrival, the three of them bowed in greeting .
"So you've come?"
"Oh . What services do you need of us this time?"
"Yes . Have you been well?"
"Of course . We're doing well thanks to you . But what skill book do you need this time?"
"You already know without me telling you?"
"What other reason would you have to visit us?"
Smiling, the midget continued .
It seemed that he was being the middleman between these trades, nicking some in the process .
At this point though, money didn't even register to me as a concept .
It didn't matter at all .
"Ah . Guess the commission fee you got from the skill books I've obtained have been quite a lot? Since you're greeting me with such happiness . "
"Huh? Ha… Ha… I mean, we did the work…"
"That's true I guess . "
I went to the sofa where they were gathered .
It was a situation where I needed information even from these two goons .
Sitting between them, I brought up the main topic .
"I'm looking for a skill . "
"Yes . As expected . "
"It's a skill assassins use, for stealth purposes . Something that would allow for mass stealthing . "
"Hm… . "
The midget was lost in thought while stroking his chin .
Both the goons as well .
It didn't take long for the goon with the berserker class to speak up .
"Well . . There is one, but it's really rare… . "
"Expensive?"
"No . It's an unused skill, so the cost isn't high . However, it'll take a while before we can get it . "
Hearing that the price wasn't high, the midget glared at the berserker .
I couldn't help but think 'What a scammer . ' in my head .
Pushing down my anger, I asked again .
"So there is a skill like that?"
"Yes . 'Mass Stealth Jutsu' is the name of the skill, but it's an executioner class skill . "
"Executioner?"
"Yes . "
It was as if fate had tied these together .
Why did it have to an executioner class skill .
I was bothered by this existence known as Joker once more .
"The user can be stealthed as well, right?"
"Yes . Of course . "
"One week! It's possible, right?"
"Wew… Guess it'll have to be possible . "
"Good . I'm glad since the cost isn't much, I won't have to prepare an Awakened Essence . "
"Yes . That's right . It can be done with money as well . "
It was an answer that I welcomed .
A skill that had everything I needed .
Ah . I almost forgot one thing .
"One more . Can I get a fake Awakened ID?"