Chương 64: MEASURES

At the Korea National Rifter Association Headquarters- The conference room was silent. A long table stretched across the center. The Association President and the five Guild Leaders sat around it.

"You know the reason of today's meeting," said Tae Won-shik, the Association President.

"Similar Outbreak incidents have been occurring all over the world. And the frequency seems to be slowly rising. We need to be prepared for another outbreak, just in case."

"So, what is your suggestion? What should be our plan?" said Yoo Hwa-rin, the Crimson Tower Guild Leader.

"I plan to advance the Fundamental course completion time by a week. And I have also discussed the incident and the current situation with the Academy Council Seats." Choi Min-seok, the Silver Fang Guild Leader leaned forward slightly.

"And?"

"I tried persuading them to advance the date of the next entrance exam from January to December," Tae Won-shik replied.

"As we need to increase the number of active Rifters, given the situation… But they are difficult to convince." The Iron Blood Guild Leader, Baek Sang-hoon scoffed.

"Those old geezers live in delusion now. What did they say?" Tae Won-shik exhaled slowly.

"They said they can't take any actions until there's substantial evidence."

"That's ridiculous," Choi Min-seok said immediately.

"Isn't this much evidence enough?"

"Their indifference and lack of concern is indeed infuriating," Yoo Hwa-rin said calmly.

"But I somewhat understand their stance." All eyes shifted to her. She continued, "Advancing the exam is not a small matter. Money, logistics, reputation… it affects everything. And public backlash cannot be avoided unless there's a justified reason." Han Ji-won said with sharp gaze, "So they'll wait until something blows up?"

"Yes," Tae Won-shik replied without hesitation.

"In short… they won't move unless something big happens." Han Ji-won murmured, "As always." Seo Min-woo, the Black Raven Guild Leader, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke.

"Then what should we do now?" The room quieted again. Tae Won-shik leaned back slightly.

"We do what we can do right now," he said.

"SCRIA and SCTT are already doing their job. But I have requested that they expand their operations network and be more vigilant… And I will announce the course completion time advancement today." His gaze moved across the table.

"I request all of you to be prepared as well." Everyone nodded in unison, "Of course." Tae Won-shik said.

"Thank you all. We will end this meeting here." The meeting ended and everyone left.

Baek Sang-hoon sat in the back seat of his car. The city moved past him through the tinted window. His phone ringing, as he called someone.

"Hello."

The next day, inside the F-Rank Rift's Boss chamber- A lance pierced right through the heart of the Horned Rabbit King. The impact was clean and precise. The massive creature let out a distorted screech and collapsed straight on the ground. Its body battered and bathed in blood. With some purple patches on its body. Then, the corpse vanished into particles of light after a few moments, as the loot appeared in its place But Jimin didn't even look at it. His eyes were fixed on the notifications, he just received.

[F-Rank Boss 'Horned Rabbit King' has been killed] Reward: +45 LP Total LP: 987 Then, another notification.

[Level-up] You have leveled up. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. You are now Rank-E, Lv. 7 A grin spread across his face.

"Hell yeah… Finally hit level 7," he muttered. After three damn weeks… But before the excitement could settle, another notification popped up.

'Telekinesis' has reached level-13 Jimin chuckled.

"About time…" he murmured. This one took even longer. Anyways… He deactivated 'Overtime'. Then immediately opened his status window. —-------------------------------------------------- 【STATUS WINDOW】 Name: Sam Jimin Age: 16 Rank: E Level: 7 HP: 426/485 STA: 153/310 MP: 134/410 PE: 317/675 STATS: STR: 16(+1) AGI: 19(+1) END: 20(+1) INT: 30(+2) WIS: 25(+3)(+2) VIT: 17(+1) CHA: 9(+3) PSY: 46(+6)(+2) LUK: 14(+4) FREE STATPOINTS: 5 UNIQUE SKILL: Skillmaster SKILLS → Telekinesis (Lv. 13) Telekinetic spin (Lv. 10) Telekinetic barrier (Lv. 10) Meditation (Lv. 11) Growth (Lv. 11) Dash (Lv. 11) Appraisal (Lv. 15) Psychic Reservoir (Lv. 10), Mana Reservoir (Lv. 8), Energy Bank (Lv. 7), Life Bank (Lv. 6), Repair (Lv. 9), Inventory (Lv. 10), Fireshot (Lv. 8), Heal (Lv. 7), Overtime (Lv. 7), Weight Distortion (Lv. 6), Pierce (Lv. 8), Accelerated Thinking (Lv. 8), Stealth (Lv. 7), Poison (Lv. 6), Treasure Hunter's Sense (Lv. 5), Euphoria, Gourmet, Training Freak, Sound Sleep Jimin scanned it quickly. Hmm…

I should hit 10 in charm now. He immediately distributed his stat points. [+1 CHA, +1 LUK, +2 PSY, +1 INT] A faint surge ran through his body. He checked it again, as the window refreshed.

HP: 426/485 STA: 153/310 MP: 134/410 PE: 317/675 STATS: STR: 16(+1) AGI: 19(+1) END: 20(+1) INT: 31(+2)(+1) WIS: 25(+3)(+2) VIT: 17(+1) CHA: 10(+3)(+1) PSY: 48(+6)(+2) LUK: 15(+4)(+1) FREE STATPOINTS: None

"All done," he murmured. His eyes narrowed slightly. The stat requirements have been met. I also have LP… I should create the 'Daze' skill now. He didn't waste any time. He opened his draft list and selected the 'Daze' skill. Then, he immediately created the skill, without any hesitation. A notification popped up.

[Skill Successfully Created]'Daze' – Acquired. Total LP: 77 Jimin let out a sigh. I should've created it earlier… A faint annoyance spread across his face.

"Who knew it would take three weeks for the next level-up…" He shook his head. Anyways, I'm lucky that I can create it now. We have to start raiding E-Rank Rift from next week. Then, Jimin opened his 'Telekinesis' skill window to check.

Base Weight: 65(+4) kg + (48 × 1) kg = 113(+2) kg Range: 19. 25(+0. 75) m + (31 × 0. 55) m = 36. 3(+1. 5) m Jimin stared at the numbers. I've been grinding for a month. My control power had almost doubled. I can even directly crush slimes now. My other skills have also leveled up a lot… Then, his expression flattened. But level growth has been slow as hell, ever since I hit level-5. A faint irritation crept in. I didn't even get the Boss every run. Had to come here with the party a few times.

And the LP gain has almost halved as well. He let out a big sigh. This F-Rank Rift is no longer viable for me.

He took a deep breath and shook his head. Then, he suddenly remembered the special class that was called today. But why were we called for a special class today? He frowned slightly. They just suddenly mailed last night, telling us to come prepared. His brows furrowed. What could it be? He contemplated for a few moments. Who knows… I should pack up first. Jimin collected and stashed the loot. Then, he headed for the exit gate.

After exiting the Rift, he changed into casual clothing. Then, he exchanged the normal loot for 700, 000 won. That makes my balance a total 289. 7 million won... His eyes sharpened slightly. I've been scraping any money I can. So that I have enough capital for the 'Mystery Chest Event'. I haven't even bought any gear since the last Ring. He took a deep breath. This ends tomorrow. Just one more day. If I sell the rest of the loot and the repaired items, I should be able reach 300 million.

Jimin left the facility and got on a bus. Took a seat near the window. Should I buy a car? He closed his eyes and leaned back. Maybe not… Can't attract too much attention. The bus departed, going at a steady pace. Newly appeared Rifts could be seen outside from time to time. Jimin kept meditating.

After almost an hour, Jimin finally reached his school. It was almost noon. The campus felt… quiet. Most students were already in classes. Only a few moved around. Jimin stepped forward. Then, noticed a few of his classmates walking toward the training hall. He followed behind. He could hear the chattering of students, as he approached the hall. As he entered, he could see that most of the students had already arrived. Jimin started strolling around. Soon, he spotted his party members chattering among themselves.

The group had grown a bit close over the time. Suddenly, Yu-jun spotted him and waved at him. Then, the rest also spotted him and gestured to join them.

"Come here."

"Hey," said Yu-jun, as he fist bumped with Jimin.

"Hey."

"Late as always," said Yuna.

"Can't help it," said Jimin with a awkward smile. Suddenly, Ryu Seong-ho entered the training hall, followed by the other instructors. The students immediately started forming an assembly. Seong-ho stood in front of them. He said, "Sorry, for calling you on such a short notice. We understand that you guys had plans today, so we called you at this time. But the matter is important. So, let's get to the point now." He gave the students a quick glance and continued.

"The Association has decided to finish this course a week early for undisclosed reasons." The students started whispering in excitement.

"Finally""Yay." Seong-ho gestured at them to calm down.

"So, you students have to start raiding the E-Rank Rift from Tuesday, 2 days from now." Suddenly, chaos broke amongst the students.

"What?"

"2 days!"

"I'm not prepared." But Jimin had completely different thoughts. Hell Yeah!