[Ash's Apartment – Sector 9] [Time: 07:00 AM]
I stared at my bank account balance on my phone.
[Balance: 45,000 Won ($35 USD)]
"I had fifty million won yesterday," I said to the empty room. "Fifty. Million."
[System: And you spent it on a suit that makes your butt look good and a pile of scrap metal to upgrade a stick. Fashion and violence are expensive hobbies, Jin.]
I groaned, flopping back onto my mattress. "I need money. The rent is due. The utility bill is overdue. And I promised Mom I'd buy her fresh fruit, not the canned stuff that tastes like sadness."
I opened the Hunter Freelancer App.
Since I was now a registered C-Rank Hunter, I had access to better jobs. No more carrying bags for idiots like the Red Vipers. Now, I was the one doing the killing.
I scrolled through the listings.
[Raid: Skeleton Catacombs] - Full.
[Raid: Goblin Fortress] - Requires Fire Mage. (I could do it, but Fire Mages are expected to cast massive explosions, not punch things with fire fists).
[Raid: The Festering Swamp (B-Rank)] - Urgent Recruitment.
I tapped on the Swamp listing.
[Mission: Area Defense] [Location: Sector 3 Wetlands] [Pay: 2,000,000 Won + Performance Bonus] [Note: High physical resistance monsters. Acid environment. Bring extra boots.]
"B-Rank," I muttered. "That's a jump. But the pay is good."
[System: B-Rank monsters usually have a 'Gimmick'. Regeneration, toxicity, or just being really, really annoying. Perfect for testing 'The Persuader'.]
"Accept," I tapped the screen.
[Sector 3 Wetlands – Gate Entrance] [Time: 09:00 AM]
The air smelled like rotten eggs and regret.
The Gate was located in a boggy marsh on the outskirts of the city. A group of twenty Hunters had gathered. Most were C-Ranks, with a few B-Rank leaders shouting orders.
I walked up, my new Night-Weave Suit gleaming faintly in the morning sun. On my back, the Persuader (my massive spiked war hammer) was wrapped in cloth to look less... homicidal.
"Name?" The Raid Leader, a woman with a massive shield and a scar across her nose, barked.
"Jin," I said. "C-Rank. Melee Mage."
She looked at me. She looked at the giant lump on my back.
"Melee Mage?" she scoffed. "That's a new one. What do you cast? Fist?"
"Physics," I corrected. "I cast Impact."
"Whatever. Just don't melt. The monsters here are Acid Slimes. If they touch you, you dissolve. If you hit them, your weapon dissolves. Good luck."
She waved me into the formation.
I looked around. The other Hunters were equipped with spears, arrows, and long-range magic staffs. Nobody wanted to get close to an Acid Slime.
Except me.
[System: Acid is just a chemical compound with excess hydrogen ions. You know what neutralizes acid?]
"A base?" I whispered.
[System: Correct. Or... extreme heat. Evaporate the liquid, leave the residue. You have Tier 1 Fire. Use it.]
I smirked behind my mask. "I love science."
[Inside the Gate: The Festering Swamp]
The terrain was awful. Mud up to the knees. Trees that looked like they were screaming. Pools of bubbling green liquid that hissed when rain fell on them.
"Formation!" The Leader shouted. "Tanks, front! Mages, back! Jin... uh... you float."
"Float," I repeated. "Got it."
I took a step. My boot sank into the muck.
Tier 3: Friction/Surface Tension.
I focused on the mud beneath my feet. Mud is a suspension of water and dirt. If I increased the surface tension of the water molecules...
Harden.
My boot stopped sinking. I stood on top of the mud as if it were concrete.
I walked casually past a struggling C-Rank Spearman who was waist-deep in filth.
"How?" the Spearman gasped, trying to pull his leg out. "How are you walking on top of it?"
"Light feet," I said, striding past him. "I'm on a diet."
GLORP.
The sound came from the trees.
Dropping from the canopy like giant boogers were the monsters. Acid Slimes. They were green, translucent, and the size of small cars. Inside their jelly bodies, I could see the half-dissolved bones of their previous victims.
[Monster: Corrosive Slime] [Rank: C+] [Ability: Weapon Destruction, Split]
"Open fire!"
The Mages unleashed a volley of fireballs and lightning.
BOOM. ZAP.
The Slimes hissed, but they didn't die. The fire boiled them slightly, and the lightning just conducted through them harmlessly.
"Physical attacks!" The Leader shouted. "Spearmen, poke them!"
The Spearman thrust his steel tip into a Slime.
Hiss.
He pulled it back. The steel tip was gone. Melted.
"My spear!" he wailed. "That cost me six months' salary!"
"They're immune to standard steel!" The Leader cursed. "We need mithril or magic coatings! Fall back!"
The Slimes surged forward, sensing weakness. They moved disturbingly fast for blobs of goo.
I sighed.
"Step aside," I said, walking to the front line.
"Jin! Get back!" The Leader shouted. "You can't punch acid!"
I reached over my shoulder and grabbed the handle of The Persuader. I unwrapped the cloth.
The jagged, black metal hammer gleamed in the dim light.
"I'm not going to punch it," I said. "I'm going to educate it."
A massive Slime lunged at me, opening its "mouth" to engulf me.
Tier 3: Gravity (Hammer Mass: 450kg). Tier 1: Fire (Thermal Coating).
I didn't shoot a fireball. I coated the head of the hammer in a super-heated layer of plasma. The air around the weapon shimmered.
"Home run," I whispered.
I swung.
BOOM.
The hammer connected with the Slime.
Usually, hitting a liquid with a hammer just makes a splash. But I manipulated the Viscosity.
Thicken.
For a split second, I forced the Slime's fluid dynamics to act like a solid.
CRACK.
The Slime shattered.
It didn't splash. It broke into a thousand crystallized, steaming chunks of green glass. The combination of the sheer kinetic impact and the flash-heat had evaporated its water content instantly.
[You have defeated Corrosive Slime.]
I stood there, steam rising from my hammer. The Dark Ore was completely unaffected by the acid. It was S-Rank material; it ate C-Rank acid for breakfast.
The rest of the raid group stared at me.
"Did he just... shatter a liquid?" The Spearman whispered.
"Next!" I shouted.
I charged into the horde.
It was a massacre.
I was a blur of black steel and orange fire.
Swing. SPLAT. Overhead Smash. KABOOM.
I wasn't just killing them; I was cleaning the map.
One Slime tried to jump on me from behind.
[System: 6 o'clock. Duck.]
I didn't duck. I spun.
Centrifugal Force.
I caught the Slime with the side of my hammer and spun around like a top. The G-force stretched the slime out into a thin noodle.
"Yeet," I said, releasing the swing.
The Slime was launched into a tree, exploding on impact.
"He's not a Mage," the Leader muttered, lowering her shield. "He's a demolition crew."
Within ten minutes, the first wave was gone.
I stood in the center of the clearing, surrounded by dried green crusts. My suit was spotless (thanks to a thin Wind Barrier I kept around my skin to repel droplets).
"Status report?" I asked, looking back at the stunned group.
"Uh... zero casualties," the Leader blinked. "Thanks to you."
"Good. Can we move to the Boss? I have a shift later."
[System: You don't have a shift. You're unemployed. But nice lie. +1 Mystery.]
[The Boss Room – The Mud Lake]
The Boss was exactly what I expected. A bigger, uglier booger.
[Boss: King Slime] [Rank: B] [Size: House]
It rose from the lake, a towering mountain of purple sludge.
"It's huge," the Spearman whimpered. "How do we kill that? Even your hammer is too small, Jin!"
He was right. If I hit it, I'd just sink into it. It was too massive to flash-evaporate with my current mana levels.
"We need to separate it," I analyzed. "Break it down into manageable chunks."
The King Slime roared—a wet, gurgling sound—and spat a glob of acid the size of a bus.
"SCATTER!"
The raid group dove for cover. The acid hit where we were standing, melting the rock into soup.
"I have an idea," I said, tightening my grip on The Persuader. "But I need you guys to distract it."
"Distract it?" The Leader yelled. "How? It spits buildings!"
"Just shoot at its eyes! Or whatever those lumps are! Give me thirty seconds!"
I turned and ran away from the Boss.
"Where is he going?" someone shouted. "He's fleeing!"
I wasn't fleeing. I was running toward a massive, hollow dead tree near the edge of the lake.
"System," I panted. "Is my theory correct?"
[System: Theoretical Physics says yes. Practical application says you might vomit. But let's try it. Create a Vortex.]
I jumped into the hollow tree trunk. It was like a natural chimney.
I pointed my hand down.
Tier 1: Wind. Tier 3: Centrifugal Force.
"Cyclone."
I created a localized tornado inside the hollow tree. The air pressure dropped drastically.
Then, I ran back to the lake edge.
"HEY! JELLO-BRAIN!" I screamed, waving my arms.
The King Slime turned toward me. It surged forward, ignoring the arrows bouncing off its hide. It wanted to eat the loud, annoying human.
It lunged.
I stood my ground until the last second.
Now.
I side-stepped.
The Slime's momentum carried it forward—right toward the suction of the hollow tree.
"Physics Hack: The Vacuum Cleaner."
I maximized the Wind spell. The hollow tree became a giant straw.
FWOOOOM.
The King Slime was sucked toward the opening. It was too big to fit, but the suction was too strong.
[System: It's stuck. Now! Use Gravity!]
I jumped onto the top of the Slime's exposed back.
Tier 3: Gravity. Target: Self + Hammer. Mass: 10 Tons.
"Hammer Down!"
I drove The Persuader into the center of the Slime while it was pinned by the suction.
SQUELCH.
The pressure was too much. The Slime couldn't hold its form against the vacuum pulling it one way and the gravity crushing it the other.
POP.
The King Slime exploded.
It didn't die gracefully. It burst like a water balloon dropped from space. Purple goop rained down over the entire swamp.
[You have defeated the King Slime.] [Level Up!] [Level Up!] [Current Level: 13]
I stood there, covered in purple slime (my wind barrier had shattered under the sheer volume), holding my hammer.
"Ew," I said.
The rest of the raid group slowly emerged from cover. They were spotless. I was a grape-flavored disaster.
"He... he vacuumed the boss," the Spearman whispered in awe.
"He unclogged the dungeon," the Leader corrected.
I wiped my goggles.
"Janitor," I stated. "I told you."
[Outside the Gate]
I collected my pay—2 million won plus a 1 million won MVP bonus. It wasn't life-changing money, but it was enough to survive another week.
As I was packing my gear, a black sedan pulled up.
A man in a white suit with a White Tiger emblem on the lapel stepped out. He walked straight past the Raid Leader and stopped in front of me.
[System: Alert. Guild Recruiter. White Tiger Guild. Try not to look desperate.]
"Mr. Jin?" the man asked. He had sharp eyes and a professional smile.
"That's me," I said, wringing purple slime out of my sleeve.
"My name is Manager Choi. I represent the White Tiger Guild. We've been hearing rumors about a 'Physics Mage' with unique gravity abilities."
He handed me a business card. It was made of actual gold leaf.
"Our Guild Leader, Baek, is very interested in Gravity magic. He would like to meet you."
I looked at the card. The White Tiger Guild. One of the Top 3 in the country. If I joined them, I'd be set for life. Money, fame, protection.
But...
I thought of Chairman Lee. I thought of the "Game" I was playing. If I joined a Guild, I'd be watched 24/7. I couldn't be a variable if I was an employee.
"Tell Mr. Baek I'm flattered," I said, flicking the card with my thumb.
"But I'm a freelancer. I don't do contracts."
Manager Choi's smile didn't falter. "Everyone has a price, Mr. Jin. Think about it. We pay our C-Ranks ten times what you made today."
He walked away.
I looked at the card again.
[System: You just turned down a golden ticket. Why?]
"Because," I said, watching the sedan drive off. "I don't want to be a tiger. I want to be the one who owns the zoo."
[System: Arrogant. I like it. Now, go shower. You smell like a grape soda that died.]
I walked home, The Persuader heavy on my back.
The Janitor was cleaning up. And the mess was only getting bigger.
[End of chapter 14]