Ji Won slowly awoke inside the infirmary—the sound of beeping machines and the sensation of being wrapped up in bandages so tightly that it felt like he was a butterfly—just waiting to burst its cocoon.
"Ello~ Testing testing. Can ya hear me ya masochist?"
There was a soft tap on the bandages and a muffled voice—but Ji Won knew that it Nae Jin-ho so he reluctantly nodded. Unable to speak.
"Well, that's good. You gave us all a scare there—that we would have to deal with an SS-rank hunter who just so happens to know her brother almost died... Thankfully that didn't happen."
The bandages were slowly removed—one by one, layer by layer as the bright light of the infirmary hit Ji Won's eyes like a truck.
He took in a deep breath, reluctantly opening his eyes to look over at Nae Jin-ho whose eyes were crinkled at the edges, a sign that he was smiling underneath his mask.
"Thanks again Sir Jin-ho... We're meeting a lot these days."
Ji Won's voice was hoarse and quiet—yet it still had its usual aloofness.
Nae Jin-ho sat down on the bed at Ji Won's feet—a small sigh escaping his lips before he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Kid. We need to talk. I might be joking about you being a masochist.. But you're concerningly getting close to that. Mind explaining? I'm a bit worried."
Ji Won remained quiet—not responding immediately as he himself thought about Nae Jin-ho's question.
"I don't know.. I don't enjoy pain but.. I just, don't feel a lot of it, its a skill-"
Nae Jin-ho cut him off, his voice becoming a bit more stern but it had deep underlying concern and worry.
"Unless your skill makes you die nearly every time. You have no excuse kid. You're not a savior yet and at this rate you'll never be one."
He paused—noting that he raised his voice a bit in frustration. But he couldn't help himself, Ji Won was talented. Improving rapidly yet he always threw himself into trouble that might cause his death.
"Try not to be one—this world loves seeing saviors die against villains. That's why tragedies exist. The savior role.. It doesn't always work out."
Ji Won was quiet—he didn't want to argue, he didn't want to anger others but. He knew a simple truth.
You can't please everyone—especially if they don't understand your suffering.
The statement echoed in the corners and alleys of his mind. Memories of failures and losing haunting his every movement as he sat up straight in bed—taking a deep breath before speaking. Being as respectful as possible.
"I understand your worry. Sir. But.. I.. I can't just stop. I need to grow stronger."
He stopped mid-sentence, picking up on the fact that him speaking his mind wasn't that much appreciated. But he kept himself strong, pushing forward nonetheless.
"I'll try not to die. But I want you to know. I am not a savior, nor am I trying to be one... I just want to be strong."
Nae Jin-ho stared at Ji Won. Not out of defeat or resignation, he just.. Didn't know what to say to that. Therefore. He just slowly shook his head, letting out a breath of exhaustion before stepping out of the infirmary—closing the door behind him.
Ji Won was sitting on the bed, his expression a bit sour now that he had just been lectured. But he understood where Nae Jin-ho was coming from.
'I'm a little too reckless.. But what did they expect? They sent me and Sae Jaehyun into a B-Rank dungeon, we aren't even hunters yet.'
Suddenly—his left hand started to burn, like someone was pouring a scalding hot bucket of water on it as he instinctively shook his hand in the air before he held it tightly, feeling like something was being written—or drawn across it.
After a few moments of pain that coursed through his entire body, it slowly melted away. Mellowing into a soft tingle—like his hand had fallen asleep and had just woken up.
His eyes widened to the size of saucers as he process what had just happened to his hand.
It hadn't changed in size, nor had it become a monster's claw, but it was something else entirely.
There were blood red tattoos, about three centimeters thick that had appeared out of nowhere—a line running down from the tip of his fingers to his wrists, converging to form a circle.
'What's this.. I better not be cursed or something!'
He opened his system screen urgently—his expression hardening in anger as indeed. The worst case scenario indeed occurred. Besides his username there was a short sentence written in bold, thick red letters that warranted his attention.
[Unfortunately. User Has Been Cursed By The Dungeon Boss: "Vell El Rafiom". -1 Points In Each Stat But User Shall Gain 10% More EXP And Has Gained Immunity To Other Curses!]
He took in a—composing breath. Gathering himself. The skill he got in the dungeon allowing him to process all the possibilities within a few minutes.
Running a hand through his hair as he lay back down on the bed. His mind racing yet—he felt a strange sense of being thrilled and excited as well as annoyed.
'So.. I just got decreased ONE stat point and basically got a major increase in growth speed? A good trade off if I do say so myself. But the damn Elf was petty as hell huh?'
He held his hand into the air in front of him, the tattoos almost seemed to be.. Glowing?
'Wait..'
He put his hand underneath his blanket, and indeed. The tattoos lit up with a red hue—small amount of glowing red and yellow steam emanating from the streaks.
'Cool.'
He smiled slightly in satisfaction, standing up from the bed. Rolling his shoulders round and round, the joints cracking and popping as Ji Won let out a soft sigh of relief.
'Well.. Lets find Sae Jaehyun..'
He slowly walked out of the infirmary and almost like Sae Jaehyun was fated to meet him—he also walked out from the infirmary in front of Ji Won's.
They both silently stared at each other's face—both not knowing what to say to the other but—Sae Jaehyun broke the silence with a rather tired voice.
"Listen, I ain't gonna ask this again and again, but how the hell did you change classes mid-fight? And two completely different ones too!"
His voice was a bit raspy but it still put his frustration and annoyance on full display.
Ji Won chuckled slightly, rubbing the back of his head—his cursed hand inside his pocket. He didn't want to reveal it just yet.
"Well.. I got a weird system.. I can copy skills, but not classes..."
Silence befell upon them both—Sae Jaehyun's expression had turned deadpanned as he stared into Ji Won's eyes. Ji Won wasn't sure if he was angry, annoyed or fed up. Maybe all three.
"Deadass? Swear on your manhood."
Sae Jaehyun asked. Not wanting to waste time with anything that might raise more questions than answers.
Ji Won paused—not expecting the rather.. Strange request for validity but he sighed softly before nodding.
"Deadass. Swear it... By whatever you want or something.. Weirdo."
Sae Jaehyun narrowed his eyes slightly—but he was at least showing signs of believing Ji Won.
"Well.. I'll take your word. But lets go. There's a club selection thingy going on, we should get in on it."
Ji Won hummed softly—falling in step besides Jaehyun as they both walked in a comfortable silence, a moment of peace and cotnemplation.
'I wonder.. Maybe that copying senior from the training hall. He should have a club.. I'll join it. That'll help to keep my cover in place.'