Hana had insisted.
There was only so much time Jinyoung could spend in the library looking for mentions of the onion knight and No Class skills before he felt like he was back in prison. To him, the past three years had been an endless battle with the goal of finally breaking free of the shrine and adventuring in the world. And try as she might, there were only so many excuses Hana could make.
“I know you want to protect me, but that’s not your job. It’s mine. One that I haven’t been able to perform for the past two decades, little sister.”
There it was. It wasn’t the condescension that bothered her. In fact, she wasn’t actually bothered. Hana was worried. Concerned. Uneasy.
After decades of working with thousands of players, she’d gotten pretty good at spotting it. And she spotted it in Jinyoung. It wasn’t surprising, after all, Hana had replayed the day her big brother disappeared for years. She remembered the route through the dungeon they had taken and the time it had taken before they encountered the incursion. But most of all, she remembered Jinyoung. The need. The hunger.
And now, 20 years have passed for her, but only three for him. That hunger was still there.
In the end, she realized that Jinyoung needed to go out into the world. He needed to see for himself how much the world had changed and adventure through the dungeons he’d dreamed of. But she couldn’t very well let him wander into the world and attempt to clear dungeons at level 11. And that really only left her one option.
“You want me to be a cadet. Again?” Jinyoung was gobsmacked. He understood why his little sister was concerned, but to require him to repeat a year of training was insane, ridiculous, insulting… All those things and more.
“Not a cadet, no. That’d be cruel, but I do need a teaching assistant. You would be working with me to test trainees and take them on dungeon runs. Think of it as wading into the shallow end of the pool.”
Begrudgingly, Jinyoung had admitted to himself that the world had changed a lot in 20 years. Everything from proper etiquette to dungeon strategies had shifted significantly. But more importantly, Jinyoung would have to start alone. Wherever Seah, Cyrus and Johann were, they weren’t here.
“Fine. When do we start?”
***
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The number of dungeons had only grown over the years. Humankind was beating back the monsters, but for every dungeon that was cleared, four more took their place. It was impossible to know when or where a new dungeon would appear, but they were no longer relegated to densely populated areas as they had been. Breaks could appear in the empty countryside or on roadways. And as the danger spread, the need for players only increased.
Initially, it was chaotic at worst and unorganized at best. Rumors of new breaks would catch players’ ears and a small town could wake up one morning to a horde of players offering their services.
On the other hand, smaller counties could find themselves overrun by monsters which had outgrown the dungeon they spawned in. These were called outbreaks. One of the effects of a dungeon that’s not properly cleared of monsters is a growth in the population of monsters. Initially, the monsters will fight amongst themselves. But eventually, they will leave the confines of the dungeon area and roam beyond their own borders.
Densely populated cities were relatively safe due to a constant presence of players, but smaller towns and boroughs could be sieged and cut off from outside help.
That’s where the Player Society originally found their purpose. They would receive requests from all over the country and dispatch players to areas in need. And as time went on, the Society was given the authority to block off dungeons. This could be to allow a dungeon time to repopulate or due to the danger it posed to lower level players. Eventually, the Society took responsibility for most of the dungeons in Korea including determining who they allowed in.
***
The cadets reminded Jinyoung of himself. They were eager to complete their final dungeon assignment and graduate from the Academy. He could see the eagerness in their eyes and it felt like only yesterday he was in their shoes.
"Listen up, follow the rules and we'll be done before afternoon." Hana rested her hands on her hips and took a deep breath.
"The cadets know the rules, but seeing as how we have a newbie, a review couldn't hurt."
It took a minute before Jinyoung realized the cadets were staring at him.
“Seriously, Hana?”
His little sister smirked. “This dungeon has been classified as a D-tier assignment. Your assignment is to reach the checkpoint safely as a party. Once you’ve reached the checkpoint, you may engage the mid-boss or leave the dungeon. Once the entire party returns safely, you will be considered graduates of the Academy.”
It was Jinyoung’s turn to smile. Since his disappearance 20 years ago, the academy had updated their testing procedures. For one, the cadets were put through three dungeons of increasing difficulty rather than one. And for another, the cadets were accompanied by two instructors at all times. And lastly, the cadets were allowed to engage the mid-boss so long as the instructors and the party agreed as a whole.
“You ready, Jinyoung?”
To him, it’d only been a week since he was freed from the shrine. Since his life was taken from him and he was dropped into a world that had moved on without him.
Jinyoung tightened his grip on his sword and let out a slow and steady breath. He smiled.
“Ready.”