Chapter 2: The Mythical SSS Clear
The arena screen illuminated, showing Rocky standing in a grim, crimson-hued cavern. The "E-Rank" environment was a lie; the SSS difficulty had transformed it into a pocket of hell. The air shimmered with heat, and jagged crystals pulsed with a dangerous light.
BOY 9 (Snickering): "He's just standing there! Probably freezing up!"
BOLAS (Loudly, to his friends): "Ten seconds. Tops. Then we hear screaming."
From the shadows, three creatures oozed forth. They weren't the expected goblins.
[Crimson Cave Reaver – Level 15. Status: Enraged. Note: SSS-Difficulty Exclusive Spawn.]
They were insectoid nightmares, each the size of a horse, with bladed forelimbs and acid-dripping maws.
The audience gasped. Pro Hunter Kaia leaned forward.
PRO HUNTER KAIA: "Reavers. In an E-Rank gate. The system's not playing."
ELDER THORNE (Frowning): "This is excessive. He'll be torn apart before the rescue team can mobilize."
The lead Reaver screeched and charged in a blur of chitin and claws.
Rocky didn't reach for a gun. He didn't draw a sword. His right hand dipped to his thigh and came up holding three ordinary throwing knives.
Flick. Flick. Flick.
The knives flew not in an arc, but in dead-straight lines, embedding themselves with perfect precision into the ocular clusters of all three Reavers. They shrieked, stumbling, their charge broken.
GIRL 4 (Eyes wide): "Did… he just… with knives?"
BOY 2: "That's a Thief skill! 'Precise Throw'! Since when can a Jobless do that?!"
Rocky was already moving. He dropped the coffee cup. It hadn't even hit the ground before his whips were in his hands. They snapped out, not to strike, but to wrap around two stalactites. He vaulted into the air, over a spray of burning acid, and landed behind the disoriented Reavers.
The longsword whispered from its sheath. One stroke, clean and horizontal. The leading Reaver's head tilted, then slid off its body.
BOLAS (Scoffing, but less confidently): "L-lucky hit! Reverse grip is for show-offs! No power!"
The remaining two Reavers attacked from both sides. Rocky dropped into a low stance, sword held in a reverse grip behind his back. As the left one lunged, he pivoted on his heel, the sword becoming a silver blur that carved up through its soft underbelly. He finished the spin and let go of the sword.
It flew, hilt over blade, and thunked into the wall, pinning the third Reaver's bladed limb.
Silence. The entire fight had taken less than eight seconds.
ELDER THORNE (Eyes narrowed): "That was… Swordsman technique 'Whirlwind Rend.' But also Assassin's 'Vital Strike.' And the mobility of a high-level Ranger."
PRO HUNTER KAIA (Grinning): "Kid's got style."
Rocky walked over, yanked his sword from the wall, and cleaned it on the Reaver's carapace. He looked directly up at a glowing crystal—the camera—and winked.
The female portion of the audience (and a few males) erupted in squeals.
GIRL 2 (Fanning herself): "I'm deceased. He killed me. That wink was a critical hit."
BOY 10 (Muttering): "Show-off…"
The dungeon rumbled. The floor split open, and a colossal shape heaved itself out. Six bladed limbs, a tail glowing like molten lava, and a health bar that appeared on the main screen.
[Crimson Reaver Queen – Boss. Level 25. Party Wipe Warning.]
The arena gasped. This was an A-Rank boss, appearing in an E-Rank dungeon solely because of the SSS setting.
BOLAS (A vicious smile returning): "NOW he's dead! That thing took down a team of five B-Rank Hunters last month!"
RIKA (Hands clenched): "No…"
On screen, Rocky looked at the roaring boss. He looked at his sword. He looked at his guns.
Then, he started taking them off.
He set down his shield. He unstrapped his rifles. He laid his swords on the ground. He piled up his gear neatly, like he was unpacking for a picnic.
BOY 1 (Incredulous): "Is he surrendering?!"
GIRL 5: "No… his stance… it's like a Monk's 'Serene Ready' posture!"
The Queen charged, a tsunami of claws and rage. Rocky stood still until the last possible nanosecond. Then he stepped forward, inside the arc of a scything limb. His open palm, fingers together, struck a specific joint with a sound like a gunshot.
CRACK.
The limb shattered. The Queen recoiled, howling in a pitch that made speakers feedback.
What followed was not a fight. It was a dissection. Rocky flowed around the monster like water, every movement minimal, every strike devastating. A palm strike to a nerve cluster here. A finger jab to an eye node there. He used the Queen's own momentum, flipping it, throwing it, using its weight against it.
PRO HUNTER KAIA (Standing): "Pressure-point mastery… that's a lost Grandmaster Monk art! He's not just fighting it; he's deconstructing it!"
ELDER THORNE (Voice hushed): "Impossible. A Jobless cannot have learned this."
The Queen's health bar plummeted. 70%... 40%... 15%...
With the monster stunned, Rocky picked up a single throwing knife from the floor. He didn't even look as he flicked it backwards over his shoulder.
It sailed in a perfect arc and vanished into the Queen's one hidden weak point—a slit under its jaw.
The health bar hit ZERO.
[Crimson Reaver Queen Defeated. Clear Time: 1 minute, 47 seconds.]
[New Record: Fastest Solo SSS Clear. Previous Record: N/A.]
[Performance Rating: **MYTHICAL**]
For five full seconds, the arena was a tomb. Then, it erupted into deafening chaos. Cheers, screams, disbelieving shouts.
BOY 8 (Shaking his head): "What… what did I just watch?"
GIRL 7 (Screaming): "I DON'T KNOW BUT I NEED HIS NUMBER!"
BOLAS stood frozen, his face a mask of stunned humiliation. The jealousy curdled into something darker, more poisonous.
Rocky, on screen, calmly collected his gear, re-strapped every weapon with ritualistic care, and continued deeper into the dungeon. He disarmed magical traps with a Rogue's finesse. He used his shotgun with custom shells to decimate ghost-type monsters. He solved an elemental puzzle by combining Mage theory with Engineer-level tinkering.
He was a one-man party, switching classes every minute. The audience watched, mesmerized, their earlier mockery replaced by awe.
When he faced the final Guardian Golem, he didn't fight it. He spent a minute building an elaborate Rube Goldberg machine of traps using mining charges, tripwires, and the dungeon's own geometry. He lured the golem into the center, then shot a single sniper round at a ceiling support.
The resulting collapse triggered his trap chain, immobilizing the golem. He placed one small explosive on its core, walked to the exit, and didn't look back at the blast.
[Dungeon Cleared. Total Time: 4 minutes, 12 seconds.]
[Overall Evaluation: **BEYOND PERFECT**]
The gate hissed open. Rocky stepped out. Not a hair out of place. Not a scratch. He took a deep breath of the arena air, as if coming in from a brisk walk.
He looked at Elder Thorne, gave a slight, respectful bow, then his eyes swept the crowd. They landed on Bolas, and for a fraction of a second, his charming smile turned icy, predatory. Bolas flinched.
Then it was gone, replaced by polite neutrality.
ELDER THORNE (Amplifying his voice, sounding deeply shaken): "Rocky. Jobless Class. You have… passed. With a rating that forces us to create a new category. Report tomorrow for your advanced assessment and… class re-evaluation."
Rocky nodded. As he walked out, the crowd didn't just part—they recoiled. Some in reverence, some in fear. He was no longer a joke. He was a phenomenon.
Rika stared, her earlier infatuation now mixed with sheer terror and fascination. Who… what are you?
Bolas's fists were clenched so tight his nails drew blood. Cheat. Freak. Monster. I'll expose you. I'll break you.
Pro Hunter Kaia watched Rocky leave, a fierce grin on her face. "Elder. We're not looking at a new Hunter. We're looking at a natural disaster in human form."
Elder Thorne slowly sat down. "A disaster, or a revolution. Mobilize the Council. We need to know everything about him. Everything."
[Chapter 2 End]