The gate's light burned like a second sun.
Inside, the air smelled wrong — metallic and ancient, like a wound left open. Lee ji ho stepped forward with his heart hammering in his throat. The academy world — the jeers, the insults, the banners calling him "traitor's son" — shrank behind him like a bad dream.
He inhaled.
The System's blue interface glowed faintly in his vision.
[QUEST: ENTER YOUR FIRST GATE — ACTIVE]
Objective: Clear the gate's core.
Time Limit: 60 minutes.
Reward: +50 Karma, Random Skill (F–A), Gate Material
Ji-ho's palms were sweaty. He felt fear, but also a strange calm. He tapped the Energy Burst skill instinctively — the palm-sized orb of blue light hovered obediently over his hand.
"Okay," he whispered. "One step at a time."
THE DUNGEON — LEVEL: C-GRADE RIFT
The world inside the gate was a ruined temple swallowed by roots. Moonlight filtered through cracks in a shattered ceiling. Statues of forgotten warriors watched silently as ji-ho passed.
A faint echo sounded — claws on stone.
From the shadow, small creatures detached themselves from the root-carpet. They were Shade Imps: low-level but numerous. Their eyes shone with malice.
Ji ho steadied his breathing. The System ticked.
[ENCOUNTER: SHADE IMPS ×6 — Threat: Low]
He attacked.
Energy Burst — a small ball of condensed mana — shot from his palm and struck one imp in the chest. It exploded into ash. Two more lunged, chattering in a language only monsters use.
Ji ho dodged clumsily, using more instinct than skill. One imp bit his forearm; pain flared. He snarled and countered with a hand slice — the Energy Burst extended into a crude Energy Slash, the F-rank skill the System had offered as a purchasable option earlier.
He realized, mid-fight, that he hadn't actually bought Energy Slash — the System had given him a tiny temporary upgrade after the first activation of Energy Burst. It felt like a tutorial gift.
Two imps down. Four remaining.
He pushed forward. Every small victory filled him with a warmth that had nothing to do with power — it was the first feeling of being useful.
THE CORE ROOM
After corralling the imps into a collapsing hallway, ji ho stumbled into a domed chamber. At its center floated a crystal — the gate's core. Its light pulsed like a heartbeat.
Beneath the crystal, perched on a pedestal of cracked stone, was the real threat: a C-Rank Root Siren. Its tendrils writhed; its song was a whisper that made ji ho thoughts heavy.
The System pulsed a warning.
[ENCOUNTER: ROOT SIREN — Threat: C-Rank]
Recommended: Do not engage alone.
Ji ho chest tightened. He'd never fought a C-Rank solo. His status window flashed in his mind — F rank, low stats. The rational part of him screamed to run.
But the quest timer was ticking. The reward — Karma, a skill, materials — glowed like a promise. And something deeper tugged him: he had to prove he could stand for more than shame.
He stepped forward.
BATTLE
The Siren's tendrils lashed. One wrapped around ji ho legs, attempting to pull him to the ground. He felt the pull of its song in his mind — images of his father's trial, the crowd's hatred, the years of being spat upon. For a moment, he staggered, chest aching.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
"THE SIREN EMITS PSYCHIC SONG. MENTAL RESISTANCE LOW."
Ji ho slapped his temples as if to dislodge something. He remembered Mira's quiet voice on the bench earlier. You're not like your father. He clung to that phrase like a lifeline. The Siren's song tried to drown it, but he fought.
He struck out — not with more raw power, but with cunning. Using the Energy Burst to detonate a root above the Siren, he caused a shower of debris. The Siren flinched, its focus broken.
Ji ho charged.
His strike landed on a tendril. The System reacted.
[KARMA +2 — Damaged C-Rank Siren]
[COMBO! +1 SKILL XP]
He felt something different: his body responded faster; his muscles remembered movement. The fight became a brutal dance: dodge, strike, retreat, bait. The Siren's tendrils lashed like whips; its song kept trying to claw at his head.
Then, the Siren unleashed a shockwave that threw him across the room. Pain bloomed in his ribs. He tasted blood. His status window flashed red.
Ji ho pushed himself up. The energy orb in his hand flickered with the System's assistance.
[SYSTEM OFFER — SHOP POPUP]
"BUY NOW: F-Rank Skill — ENERGY SLASH — COST: 20 KARMA"
"BUY NOW: C-Rank SKILL — WIND STEP — COST: 80 KARMA"
"BUY NOW: S-Rank SKILL — JUDGMENT OF LIGHT — COST: 10,000 KARMA (REQUIRES GATE CLEARANCE LEVEL: S)"
"BUY NOW: SSS-Rank SKILL — COSMIC ABJURATION — COST: 100,000,000 KARMA (LOCKED — AVAILABLE WHEN HOST IS Transcendent )"
Ji ho blinked.
He remembered the user's rule — S and SSS skills existed and were purchasable, but at astronomic costs. The System's popup confirmed it.
His Karma: 16.
He ground his teeth. The S-level skills were laughably out of reach — not even a distant dream. But the knowledge that such power existed — purchasable, quantifiable — planted a seed of hunger.
He didn't have ten thousand Karma, but he had something else: desperation. He had this fight. He had the will to take a chance.
He scrolled the shop with his mind.
Energy Slash — 20 Karma. He didn't have 20 yet.
But the System, mercifully, offered another path.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
"TEMPORARY LOAN: BASIC SKILL PROVISION — Energy Slash (F) — 10 seconds duration — FREE (Cooldown: 5 minutes)."
It was a safety net — a brief taste of a purchasable skill to help low-ranked hosts survive. The conditions were stricter than buying, but it gave him a chance. Ji ho accepted without thinking.
He channeled the borrowed Energy Slash. Power flowed through him as if a child put on a suit of armor that was slightly too big. For those ten seconds, his strike was clean, perfect — and it split the Siren's central tendril.
The Siren shrieked, a sound that curdled blood. It recoiled, losing its grip on the gate's crystal. The core's light dimmed, and a fissure opened beneath it.
Ji ho slammed the Energy Burst into the fissure. The light converged and imploded.
[GATE CORE DESTROYED]
[REWARDS: Karma +50 | Gate Material ×3 | Random Skill (F–C)]
Ji ho collapsed on one knee. His chest heaved. He felt every bruise, every broken rib, every tear. But the System chimed with a pleasant sound.
[KARMA +50]
[CURRENT KARMA: 66]
He'd cleared the gate. He had 66 Karma now — enough to actually buy an F-rank skill outright, and nearly halfway to the Wind Step C-rank skill.
He laughed — a small, incredulous sound. Mira's image flashed in his mind; for a moment the world felt warmer.
BACK OUTSIDE — THE HALL'S REACTION
When ji ho reemerged from the gate, dragging torn clothes and clutching gate crystal shards, the academy guards and Principal Soo Jin crowded around. A hush fell over the yard.
Students murmured with disbelief.
"He cleared the gate?"
"He's still F rank…"
"He killed a C-Rank Siren!"
Principal Soo Jin's eyes were unreadable. He scanned ji ho , then the crystal shards. He picked one up and examined its glow.
"You cleared a C-grade gate alone," he said finally. "This is not normal."
Kwon Tae's face turned pale. The jeers were gone, replaced by a dangerous silence.
Ji ho 's status window hung briefly in his peripheral vision.
[STATUS UPDATE]
Rank: F → (COMBAT RATING: Raised Slightly)
Strength: 4 (+1)
Agility: 3 (+1)
Endurance: 4 (+1)
Mana: 7 (+2)
Karma: 66
Skills: Energy Burst (F), Energy Slash (F, PURCHASED TEMPORARILY — COOLDOWN ACTIVE)
The System rewarded actual growth — not just through purchases but through experience. Karma was his new currency, and the gate's clear was his first big deposit.
THE SHOP — DECISION TIME
That night, in the cramped privacy of the academy clinic (he was under monitoring, but the doctors weren't cruel), ji ho opened the shop again. He could feel the weight of choice.
[SYSTEM SHOP — AVAILABLE ITEMS]
Strength +1 — 10 Karma
F-Rank Skill: Energy Slash — 20 Karma
F-Rank Skill: Guard Pulse — 30 Karma
C-Rank Skill: Wind Step — 80 Karma (Unlocks: Mobility & Evasion)
A-Rank Perception Boost — 900 Karma
S-Rank Skill: Judgment of Light — 10,000 Karma (High damage, requires S-gate clearance)
SSS-Rank Skill: Cosmic Abjuration — 100,000,000 Karma (Locked — only purchasable at late stage)
Misc: Health Potion ×3 — 5 Karma each
Temporary Stat Boost (24h) — 100 Karma
Ji ho's fingers hovered over the list. The temptation to hoard Karma for something huge — an S skill one day — warred with the practical need for survival now.
He closed his hand and bought something he could use immediately.
Energy Slash — 20 Karma.
[PURCHASE SUCCESSFUL]
[KARMA REMAINING: 46]
[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED: Energy Slash (F) — Permanent]
A small notification chimed in his ear — permanent ownership. The shock of permanence warmed him. He practiced, carving arcs in the air. The blade of energy felt smoother than the borrowed version. He smiled for the first time that night without thinking of pain.
He also bought three Health Potions for 15 Karma total — a safety measure. 31 Karma left if he wanted to save it.
Before bed, he scrolled again to check the S-level entries one more time. Judgment of Light — ten thousand Karma. He imagined the day he might buy it: clumsy dreamwork, yes, but motivational.
He slept with the System's glow faint in his mind.
A LAST NOTE — WATCHFUL EYES
Principal Soo Jin met with an academy committee that night. Surveillance footage, gate residue, and the fact that ji ho carried shards of a C-rank core unsettled them. They debated whether to promote, restrict, or detain.
Outside the window, a man in a dark coat watched the academy from the rooftops. He snapped a photo of ji ho battered form. His eyes glittered.
"Interesting," he murmured. "The traitor's son… may be useful."
The camera clicked.
Ji ho slept unaware, dreaming of a field where he walked without being spat at. Karma numbers floated like stars above him.
[SYSTEM TIP]
"S-Rank and SSS-Rank skills are purchasable, but prices increase exponentially. Achieve gate clearances and world events to gain high Karma. Some S/SSS items will require specific world conditions to unlock."
Ji ho lips curved into a fragile smile even in sleep.
He had a system.
He had choices.
And for the first time in years, he had hope.
Chapter 3 Complete.
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