It had been three months since Sarah Lang, the most terrifyingly competent swordswoman I'd ever met, reluctantly agreed to work with me. Reluctantly, because she saw right through my endless web of half-truths and flashy sales pitches.
"You're a grifter," she had said, pointing her katana at my chest after we'd barely escaped a collapsing dungeon. "I hate grifters."
"And yet, here we are," I'd replied with my best disarming smile. "Let's face it—you need me."
"No," she had growled, "I tolerate you."
From that moment on, our partnership had operated under a single unspoken rule: she saved my skin during every dungeon, and I made sure she got opportunities and payouts she'd never have gotten without my… connections.
---
The Powerhouse and the Hustler
Sarah wasn't just good with a sword—she was devastating. Watching her take down a pack of orcs by herself was like watching a work of art come to life. Every swing of her crimson blade carved clean, precise arcs through the air, leaving a trail of destruction that no monster could withstand.
She never needed help, but she tolerated having me around because, frankly, I made things easier.
"Found a new gate, Sarah," I said one evening, sliding a document across the tavern table where she was quietly sipping a drink.
Her amber eyes skimmed the paper. "B-Rank?"
"With a bonus payout from a guild that's short-handed. Guaranteed double the reward if we clear it fast."
She set her drink down and studied me with her usual suspicion. "What's the catch?"
"No catch!" I grinned. "Okay, maybe a tiny catch—there's talk of unusually strong sub-bosses, but with you there, that's barely even a—"
"I'll go," she interrupted, cutting me off like one of her unfortunate targets.
I smiled. "That's why you're my favorite partner."
"Don't push your luck," she muttered.
---
Inside the Gate
As always, Sarah was the star of the show. The dungeon was teeming with ogres, their thick, armored hides shrugging off most attacks from the hired hunters we'd joined. The moment Sarah drew her sword, though, the tide shifted.
While the other hunters struggled to land even a single hit, Sarah darted between the ogres with practiced ease, exploiting every weakness in their defenses. Her sword glowed faintly as she infused it with mana, cleaving through armor as if it were paper.
The rest of us? Mostly screaming and staying out of her way.
"Sean!" Sarah barked, dodging a particularly nasty swing from an ogre's club. "If you're going to stand there, at least make yourself useful!"
"Useful? I'm supervising!" I called back, staying firmly behind cover.
"You mean cowering," she shot back, leaping onto the ogre's back and driving her blade into its neck.
The ogre let out a guttural roar and collapsed, twitching. Sarah jumped off, landing lightly on her feet.
"You're welcome," she said, brushing nonexistent dust off her armor.
"I could've handled it," I lied, flashing her a cheeky grin.
Sarah glared at me. "You wouldn't last five minutes without me."
"Five minutes? Give me some credit! I'd make it at least ten," I replied, earning an eye-roll.
---
A Partnership of Necessity
Despite the constant bickering, our partnership worked—mostly because we complemented each other's strengths. Sarah was the muscle, a force of nature who could slice through monsters with terrifying precision. I was the schemer, always one step ahead when it came to dealing with merchants, negotiating contracts, or talking us out of trouble.
"Why don't you pick up a sword?" Sarah asked one night as we set up camp outside a dungeon.
"Why don't you learn to sweet-talk people?" I shot back.
"Because sweet-talking doesn't stop monsters."
"Exactly," I said, smirking. "Which is why I leave the monster-slaying to you, and you let me handle the people. Division of labor—it's efficient!"
Sarah muttered something under her breath that I didn't quite catch, but it sounded suspiciously like, "You're lucky you're useful."
---
The World Reacts
While we were carving our path through dungeons, the rest of the world wasn't sitting still. News of Sung Jinwoo's meteoric rise dominated the headlines, his solo dungeon clears and unbelievable feats becoming the stuff of legend.
"Guy's insane," I said one day, watching a news broadcast about how Jinwoo had single-handedly wiped out an entire S-Rank gate.
Sarah glanced at the screen. "He's strong," she admitted, her tone begrudging.
"Strong? That's underselling it," I said. "I mean, have you seen him? He doesn't even look like he breaks a sweat."
"Focus," Sarah said, turning the TV off. "We've got our own problems."
She wasn't wrong. With higher-ranked gates popping up across the country, demand for hunters was skyrocketing—and so was the competition.
---
The Bigger Hustle
The more gates we cleared, the bolder my schemes became. I started "borrowing" Sarah's reputation to secure exclusive deals, claiming that she and I were a package deal.
At first, she was too focused on fighting to notice.
"Hey, Sarah, great news!" I said one day, waving a freshly signed contract. "Got us a sweet job from the Silver Fang Guild. Triple payout, hazard bonus, and they're covering all expenses."
She glanced at me suspiciously. "Why do I feel like I'm being scammed?"
"Scammed? Sarah, you wound me!"
"I mean it, Sean," she said, narrowing her eyes. "If you're dragging me into some con—"
"It's all above board," I interrupted, grinning. "I swear!"
She muttered another curse under her breath but let it go—for now.
---
Love, Hate, and Everything in Between
Despite the constant tension, I couldn't deny that Sarah had grown on me. Sure, she was blunt, impatient, and had an alarming tendency to swing her sword at anything that annoyed her—but she was also fiercely loyal and endlessly capable.
And maybe, just maybe, she felt the same way.
"I still hate grifters," she said one evening as we walked out of a freshly cleared dungeon.
"Good thing I'm more than just a grifter," I said.
She glanced at me, her lips curving into a rare smile. "Barely."