Chapter 2: Unranked System User

The morning light filtered through the hospital blinds, casting faint golden lines across the bed. Dong-suu stirred. Every part of his body throbbed—his ribs, his back, even his fingers. His hoodie was gone, replaced by a gown and stiff bandages across his torso.

He blinked. The ceiling was unfamiliar. The scent of antiseptic stung his nose.

Then he saw it—hovering just inches in front of his face.

> **\[XP: 100/500]**

> **\[Skill: Quickstep Lv.1]**

> **\[Class: ???]**

> **\[Status: Awakened]**

A glowing blue screen. Still there. Still real.

*This isn’t a dream.*

The door opened with a soft creak. A woman in a white coat walked in, clipboard in hand, followed by a man in a dark suit with the **Indian Hunter Association** crest stitched into his lapel.

“Dong-suu, right?” the woman asked, friendly enough. “You’re lucky to be alive.”

He said nothing. His eyes shifted toward the man.

“You were inside the Gate yesterday,” the man began. “You saved a student. You also… survived a creature well above E-Rank.”

Dong-suu nodded.

“We ran an Awakening scan,” the woman said. “You’re Awakened. But… your results are strange.”

The man held up a silver hunter card. No color. No class. Just a name and one word:

> **Class: ???**

> **Status: Unranked**

“You’re what we call an ‘Unknown,’” the man explained. “Your mana core doesn’t match any known archetype. No elemental alignment. No stat pattern. Nothing. It’s like your system isn’t tied to our framework.”

“Which means…?” Dong-suu asked.

“No guild will take you,” he said flatly. “You won’t be allowed in licensed dungeons. You’re a mystery, and mysteries are liabilities.”

The woman looked apologetic. The man didn’t.

“Rest well. And keep your head down.”

They left without another word.

---

Dong-suu returned home two days later.

The refugee district hadn't changed. Rusty pipes, flickering streetlights, and the same stray dog waiting by his stairwell. Inside, his mother lay in bed, weak but smiling.

“You came home,” she whispered.

He cooked for her. Cleaned. Changed her IV.

That night, he sat in silence at the kitchen table. Then he opened his notebook.

> *Quickstep: short-range dash. Uses 5 stamina.*

> *Gain XP after battle. Skill drop chance increases if finishing blow is landed.*

> *System combo possible…?*

He underlined the last part.

*I’m not weak anymore. I’m just… not like the others.*

---

Over the next few nights, Dong-suu trained in the shadows of Gangtok.

He snuck into dead zones—low-tier, neglected dungeons that guilds ignored. Some were half-sealed, others were dangerous leftovers too minor to assign teams. There, he hunted corrupted rats, hornets, and goblins.

> **\[XP Gained: +40]**

> **\[Skill Acquired: Piercing Fang Lv.1]**

> **\[New Combo: Quickstep + Piercing Fang \= Phantom Lunge]**

He leveled up. Slowly. Silently.

Each battle taught him something. Dodging perfectly boosted critical chance. Combo skills were stronger than individual ones. Timing mattered more than power.

And his system adapted. Faster than it should have.

---

Meanwhile, rumors began to spread.

On local forums, underground hunter chats, and black-market information networks:

> “Someone cleared an abandoned dungeon solo.”

> “No hunter tag. No rank.”

> “The mana left behind felt… wrong.”

At first, it was dismissed. Then came shaky videos. A hooded figure darting through monsters like a blur. Dungeons cleared without alerts. No guild involvement.

Some said he was a rogue hunter. Others thought he was a secret weapon from Nova Sanctum or Obsidian Wolves.

But Dong-suu? He just went home to his sick mother.

---

On the seventh night, he faced a nest of corrupted hornets in a parking lot dungeon. His stamina was low. Cuts lined his arms. But he kept going, moving like liquid shadow.

Mid-fight, the system flashed:

> **\[Passive Trait Acquired: Combat Adaptation Lv.1]**

> **\[Warning: Your class continues to evolve outside normal parameters]**

> **\[Temporary Title: Variant]**

He froze.

Not in fear.

In awe.

*The system isn’t just helping me level up. It’s rewriting itself—because of me.*

He took down the final monster, panting. Bloodied, dizzy. But stronger than yesterday.

He looked at his hands.

"I’m not a mage, not a swordsman, not even a fighter," he whispered.

"I’m something else."