'Let's think it through step by step. First, this thing called Lv. That obviously means level, right?'
Usually, skill ranks are fixed between F~S-Class when acquired. Once a skill rank is determined, it never changes, and only temporary adjustments can be made through items or other auxiliary skills.
However, Kwon Jihan had an additional detail marked as 'Lv'. Considering that his trait is evolver and that he had a feature not found in others, the conclusion was clear.
"Kwon Jihan's skill rank has no limit…."
Even as Yoon Seo spoke it out loud, the realization was so terrifying that he got goosebumps.
A skill that continuously grows and evolves. How incredible is that?
Moreover, his awakening rank is S-Class. The higher the awakening rank, the more skills one can obtain. The Gaia system allows awakened individuals to gain new skills at any time, even those who awakened 12 years ago during the Great Cataclysm, and Kwon Jihan is still young. This means he can acquire even stronger skills in the future.
If his awakening rank is S-Class and he maxes out all of his skills to S-Class? He might truly be able to destroy an entire planet with ease. Of course, Kwon Jihan wouldn't use that power to destroy the Earth but rather to break dungeons.
Well, having a strong hunter is a good thing.
This world now needs absolute power more than ever.
However, the reason Yoon Seo couldn't simply welcome the emergence of a strong junior was due to the last trait listed on Kwon Jihan's profile.
It was as he had expected.
'The Chosen One.'
A trait that appears in those granted Gaia skills.
Gaia skills are determined as L-rank from the moment they are obtained, and a special message, entirely different from other skill acquisition messages, appears.
[Gaia System bestows a skill upon you.]
[Gaia System chooses you as a pioneer of the universe.]
[You acquire a new trait.
'The Chosen One'
O virtuous and righteous one,
Protect peace with Gaia's power…
A new world awaits you…]
Yoon Seo knew this well because he, too, was a 'Chosen One' possessing a Gaia skill.
At first, he thought this trait only applied to virtuous and righteous individuals due to the message upon acquiring the skill and trait, but it remained attached to him even though he hadn't participated in battle for 10 years, which puzzled him. Then, seeing it attached to Kwon Jihan, his suspicion turned into certainty. It didn't matter whether one was virtuous or not—it seemed to simply attach to strong individuals.
Until he met Kwon Jihan today, he believed that he was the only 'Chosen One' left in the world. All the 'Chosen Ones' he knew had died in the Great Dungeon. Additionally, given how special the skill acquisition message was, he assumed that if someone were to become a Chosen One, it would definitely be reported in the news.
'Is Gaia selecting new Chosen Ones?'
Gaia.
A higher being or absolute god that one day appeared, granting the world the 'Gaia System'.
At first, humanity thought Gaia's existence aimed to annihilate them, but it continuously updated the system and helped humanity. It was a mysterious existence that threatened humanity by generating portals while simultaneously protecting them by granting skills.
The Gaia skill Yoon Seo possessed was extremely powerful. However, because he never wanted to use the skill Gaia had given him, he hadn't touched it even once in the past 10 years.
"Sigh…"
Words like Gaia, the Chosen One, Gaia skill, and pioneer of the universe swirled in Yoon Seo's mind, making him feel uneasy.
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn't see this as a good thing for Kwon Jihan.
Because he knew the fate of the Chosen Ones.
Because he knew better than anyone how horrifically the virtuous and righteous Chosen Ones met their end.
Yoon Seo closed his eyes.
Even now, when he closed his eyes, vivid scenes would unfold before him.
Burning hot lava that melted everything without leaving a trace.
A swamp that couldn't be escaped no matter how much one struggled.
Darkness where no exit could be found and worms devouring rotten corpses.
Yoon Seo was still there. For 10 years, not once had he escaped.
***
3. Memories of the Past
The only time in history that an S-Class Red-Black Dungeon appeared after the Great Cataclysm 12 years ago.
The Great Dungeon.
1,203 brave volunteers headed there.
The first terrain of the dungeon was a lava zone. The portal connected directly to the middle of a river of lava. As part of the leading entry group, Yoon Seo quickly deployed his shield as soon as he felt the heat, but he was slightly too late.
At the time, the entire world was at war with monsters, and humanity's weapons were in extremely short supply. Even so, to save Earth from the brink of destruction, various nations pooled their resources to provide weaponry such as tanks, armored vehicles, and self-propelled artillery. However, most of them either fell and melted away as soon as they entered the dungeon or were destroyed upon entry. Similarly, dozens of brave volunteers lost their lives instantly upon stepping into the dungeon.
Craaaaah!
Kraaaak!
There wasn't even time to retrieve the bodies as monsters immediately rushed at them. Crawling out of the lava, the monsters were goblin-like in form. The Revengers had no time to reorganize their formation upon stepping through the portal and were forced into a frenzied battle. The first fight didn't end until several hours later.
From then on, the days were filled with wandering through the fiery pits of lava, relying solely on the shields of defensive hunters. The one who suffered the most was Yoon Seo. With his high mana capacity and quick recovery rate, he had to keep his shield up three times longer than others. Unlike other defensive hunters who focused solely on shielding during battles, Yoon Seo also had to take part in the offense.
Occasionally, they would find an island where Yoon Seo could rest, but these islands often sank within a day. Yoon Seo repeatedly pushed himself to his limits, using his shield even in a state of mana exhaustion.
However, Yoon Seo's skills were only helpful for survival, offering little progress in the dungeon's conquest.
The hunter who contributed the most to the "conquest" was Lee Domin.
An S-Class awakened individual, Lee Domin was the same age as Seo Chaeyoon—19 years old. Unlike Seo Chaeyoon, he revealed his face to the public. With a flair for showmanship and mature remarks beyond his years, he was a popular hunter.
And… he was also Seo Chaeyoon's long-time friend.
Yoon Seo decided to participate in the Great Dungeon raid because of Lee Domin.
When news of the Great Dungeon first broke and the raid team was being assembled, Yoon Seo didn't volunteer. However, when Lee Domin shamelessly informed him that he was joining the raid, Yoon Seo couldn't let his friend go alone and became a Revenger.
Thirty days passed in the Great Dungeon, focused solely on survival. By then, the number of survivors had dwindled to the 800s. It was at that time that Lee Domin quietly gathered the leaders of the Revengers.
There were five leaders in total: Lee Domin, Seo Chaeyoon, Lee Kangjin, and two foreign hunters.
"This isn't going to work. There are only 48 days left until the explosion, and we still haven't escaped the lava zone. There must be other terrains beyond this, but at this rate, we'll run out of time, and the dungeon will explode."
"We know that. But there's no solution."
"I have a way."
"A way?"
"I have a skill called
"…I'd like a more detailed explanation."
Lee Domin looked around. Among the surging lava, he grabbed a tiny 'lava worm' no bigger than a finger and placed it on the ground.
"Chaeyoon, use
Without understanding the purpose, Yoon Seo used
The bug should have been immediately burned to death by the small lightning strike, but within the boundary, the lightning froze midair, and the bug remained motionless.
"How…?"
Yoon Seo, Lee Kangjin, and the others curiously observed the phenomenon. Lee Domin explained.
"From our perspective, time within this boundary is flowing extremely slowly. You could even say it's nearly stopped. Just as events within a black hole don't affect anything outside the event horizon, the space-time inside and outside this boundary is completely severed at this point. That's why it doesn't affect us."
Lee Domin reached out and deactivated the skill.
What appeared before the group's eyes was a small pile of ash. Yoon Seo widened his eyes beneath his mask.
"You said time flows very slowly. So why is it already burned to ash?"
"That's how it seems from our perspective outside the boundary. From the bug's perspective, time flowed normally without anything unusual happening."
"…"
"I'm thinking of using this skill on the dungeon. Specifically, on the dungeon's Gaia system. That way, the remaining time until the explosion won't pass."
"I see. That makes sense."
"Yeah. I completely understand now."
The others marveled. Yoon Seo, who didn't understand at all, nodded as if he did. Thanks to his mask, no one noticed his bewildered yet innocent eyes.
"Hunter Lee Domin, if you had a skill like this, why didn't you use it sooner?"
"I couldn't use it on my own. While our time would be extended, we'd have to live through years or even decades without perceiving the flow of time. I couldn't make that decision by myself."
Lee Domin was right. This was an issue everyone had to bear together, and it wasn't something the leaders could decide on their own. Lee Kangjin shared this with the group.
After a brief discussion of pros and cons, they concluded to use the skill.
With 30 of the allotted 78 days already wasted, there was essentially no other choice.
From that day forward, Yoon Seo wasn't the only one collapsing into a half-faint state from mana exhaustion.