Youngwoo meets someone who gives him an offer he just can't reject

'Motherfuckers.' Thought Youngwoo as he walked forward, swiping his mouth for the final time as the debuff stopped working. Still, he could feel that he needed to rest for at least an hour or so; debuffs, after all, directly influenced those who were under them. Internal bleeding didn't just mean he'd vomit blood. That blood had to come from somewhere, in the end.

He passed by a few buildings, eventually finding his way to his favorite cafe. It was a small one built mostly for F-rank Hunters. It had cheap prices and equally cheap taste in all its products. But, he couldn't be picky, and in the end he didn't care much for quality of his coffee. Paying a few silver coins to the bartender who just started working, he couldn't help but notice that he was looking at him a little... weird.

Sitting down at a table outside, Youngwoo started sipping his coffee slowly. He wasn't expecting what had happened before (well, who would?), but now he was **** to do something to bid around his time. He had a few options. He could stay at his room, take a nice walk, do his laundry as he should... Eventually, he decided.

'A nice stroll away from center will be good for me.' He thought with a bit of contentedness as he took a sip.

"E-Excuse me... S-Sir..." He heard a girl's voice from his right. Entirely focused on his thoughts, he didn't even notice when she'd come around the cafe. There was, in fact, nobody but them two outside the place.

"...?" He looked at her with a questioning look.

She was a short gal, about 155, maybe 160 cm tall, with long, auburn hair going all the way to her waist. Her overall posture was small, and it reflected itself in her overall features, which could barely be called womanly. Tiny A-cup was hidden underneath her long shirt, and her small ass was constricted by her tight pants. Youngwoo looked at her face a little. She had clearly European roots, and her bright skin was befitted with some freckles. Green eyes looked at him with what he could only guess was worry and fear. Overall, he concluded that she was no more than 20 years old. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't even legal. Deciding against asking (as she most definitely wasn't Asian unlike him), he opted to simply returning his gaze around where he was looking before.

"Are you a-alright?" She asked with a bit of worried expression.

"Never better." He replied nonchalantly, but his tone was a bit sarcastic. 'A beggar.' He thought.

"M-May I heal you?"

"Huh?" He raised an eyebrow, focusing on her again. "Heal?"

"You look hurt..." She pointed to corner of her lips.

Youngwoo touched himself in place she pointed to, and found some blood, already half dried. 'Huh... didn't even feel that.' He thought. Looking back at the girl, he shook his head.

"It's not serious, and I don't have money to pay anyway."

"I-I'm not asking for money! I want to do it for free!" She replied hastily.

'Oh? Free healing? Where's the catch then?'

"So what do you want in exchange then?"

"I-In exchange?" She looked at him, surprised.

"There's no such thing as free things in this place. Everyone knows that. So, if you were to heal me, what'd you want?"

"I... I-I don't want anything, s-sir... I just want to practice my healing skill... I got it not long ago."

'Why's she acting so weird? Healing skill my ass, she's probably got a stealing one. You know what, fuck it. We'll see who's disappointed after you try to empty my pockets, bitch.'

"Alright, I guess. A little heal couldn't hurt."

"T-Thank you, sir. I'll begin now."

She placed her hands together and pointed her palms at Youngwoo. The girl closed her eyes and activated her skill. In an instant, orange light erupted from her hands and enveloped the man briefly. 'Wait she wasn't kidding?!' He thought, shocked, as he felt warmth spread across his body, all the internal injuries sealing like they were lies. In just a split second, both light and sensation were gone, and the girl lowered her hands.

Youngwoo took his phone out and turned on front camera. Immediately, he noticed that the blood trace was gone. He felt his body a little, and was surprised to not feel it ache at all. Hell, even the muscles that sometimes ached him after being excessively used didn't anymore.

'Whoa... that's not your normal healing skill!' He thought, knowing well from experience. Healing skills that he received so far (if anyone was so nice to him, that is) only repaired his external injuries and sometimes affected his internal bleeding if he had any. But this girl just now not only did both, but also healed his sore muscles?

"Ah... thanks..." He mumbled, unsure what to say.

"You're welcome, sir." Answered the girl with what he perceived as a happy tone.

"I know it's a bit rude to ask, but what's the rank of your skill?"

"It's S-rank." She replied calmly.

Hearing that, Youngwoo almost dropped his coffee. He felt as if he was hit again. This person, an unknown girl who healed him just because, was a monster with a S-rank skill? Term 'monster' befitted her nicely. He could only wonder what her other skills were. After all, he'd never heard of a healer with as good skill as her.

"S-rank? You must be pretty successful, no?" He tried to control himself, not wanting to show his shock.

"I suppose a bit." She smiled lightly. "Many people said it was very lucky for me to get that as my first skill."

"First skill?!" Youngwoo looked at her, visibly shocked.

"Ah, please, mister. You don't have to act so surprised."

"Act? I'm genuinely surprised! Getting a S-rank skill is like winning in a lottery! It's not something that happens every day! I should be grateful that you graced me with your presence, miss." Suddenly, he got up and bowed to her. The Tower might be a place where concept of language was uniform, but customs of different countries still remained. Youngwoo was Korean, so it felt natural for him to bow to show his gratitude.

"Ah?! Mister, please don't do that!" She replied, clearly flustered.

Youngwoo straightened up.

"I assume you are new to the Tower, miss...?"

"My name is Abigail." She replied hastily. "I've been here for about 5 weeks now. And what about you, mister?"

"My name is Youngwoo, but people call me Lee since it's shorter." He bowed again in courtesy. "I've been in the Tower for almost 9 years now."

"Ah, so, mister Youngwoo, you're a veteran of this place?"

"Well, yes, I suppose. Would you like to know anything, miss Abigail?" 'Let's see if I can play my cards right. Having a healer like her as a friend would be just amazing. This requires testing, but maybe she could rid me of the effects of Leather Hide Full of Poison?'

"Ah, no, but thank you. My guild members already told me quite a lot about this city."

"So, you already are in a guild? That's a great news!" 'That's a horrible news...'

"Yes, I'm in the Magician Guild. And what about you, mister Youngwoo?"

"Well, not really in a guild. I usually hunt solo."

"I see. May I ask how many skill you posses by now, mister? I heard that old veterans have 6 skills or more."

"Well, I have only 5." He bluffed. 'To hell with my chances of getting her only for myself. But I don't want to look like a newbie.'

"5? I see..." She looked a little disappointed.

"Well, it's difficult to get new skills unless you rise your rank. I'm still D-rank. Never joined a guild, so I guess that explains that." He said with a bit of confidence in his voice.

"D-rank after 8 years? And you have 5 skills? Wow, mister Youngwoo, for someone who has worked on his own it is a really great achievement! You must've worked hard for your success!" And suddenly, Abigail started sounding like a small girl eager to hear a story.

'Hmm, sure, why not. Might as well make friends with best healer there is, why not. It'd be awkward if she found out, but no one can check me easily. I can always pretend a bit.'

"Hmm? What's with that face?" He looked at her, making sure to look at least a little surprised. Of course, he knew the reason for her look, but didn't want to brag. After all, this was all about first impressions now.

"Ah, I'm sorry, mister Youngwoo. It must be awkward for you to talk about yourself like that..."

"It's not bad. I have an interesting audience."

"...?"

"I mean, you're S-rank. It's not an encounter I can have everyday!" He smiled lightly, hoping to clear the misunderstanding he just created. He didn't want her to think he'd be hitting on her, no. He simply wanted to make friends.

"I-I see. I'm sorry, I misunderstood."

"Don't worry about it." He said in a calm tone.

"But, if it's alright to ask you something?"

"Of course, miss Abigail."

"Have you faced the Iron Maiden?"

'Iron Maiden? Hell no. That thing completely swiped Magician Guild just yesterday. Soloing that monster would be impossible even for Mach Spear.'

"No. I wanted to raise my rank first. Maybe if I reach B, no, C-rank will be enough for me." He said. "With my current skill set, it should be possible to defeat Iron Maiden if I get to rank C."

"Are you skills that good, mister Youngwoo?"

"Well, maybe not THAT good, but it's all about using them properly. I learned from experience a lot. That's how I'm alive, after all." He smiled lightly; knowledge he gathered from sitting on internet for many nights was paying off, as he could see that Abigail was at least somewhat believing him.

"So, if you had some support, you'd be able to defeat Iron Maiden?"

"Maybe. I cannot be certain while I'm still a D-rank." He shrugged. "Why do you ask?"

"Mister Youngwoo... maybe you'd like to join the raid today?"

"Today? There's a raid today?" Youngwoo acted like he didn't know.

"Well, Magician Guild is attempting a raid again today."

"Again?"

"Well, we got pretty roughed up yesterday."

"Is that so... and yet you want to try the raid again?"

"Yes." She nodded, and he could see it; in her eyes, there was a glint of fierce determination. Whatever happened on floor 20 yesterday, she was going to make Iron Maiden pay.

"But, if you got defeated, isn't your power weaker than yesterday?"

"I know what you're thinking, mister Youngwoo. You must be thinking we're suicidal. But that's not true. The point is, we need to attempt this raid again today."

"Must you really? Why is that though?"

"I'm sorry, but I cannot say. We can't risk any leaks."

"I see..."

"But do not worry, mister Youngwoo. We called for assistance from other three large guilds, and even from militia forces. We're certain we can raid that monster this time. But it's always better to be safe than sorry. That's why I'd like to ask you to join us in the raid, mister Youngwoo." She said with sincerity, looking at him with her green eyes. While she sounded like she had a lot of resolve, her eyes still had a lot of pleading look to them. Those were the eyes that said please help us. "W-We can even offer some compensation for the trouble. I believe guildmaster said something about 50 gold coins for contribution..."

'There's something going on... They should be going on a break between raids... Something's off about this raid... And doesn't she mean 'Vicemaster'?'

"Are you sure you want to go that overgeared?" [Overgeared: In Korean slang it means a person that relies on items more than on skill in the game. But, people can be seen as items, too, right? I just hope I didn't butcher the meaning.]

"Overgeared?"

"Ah, I'm sorry, miss Abigail. It's a slang from where I come."

"I see... Then yes, I suppose we do want to go that overgeared. With a person of your talents, I'm certain there's nothing to be afraid of! And think about it this way: For your contributions, the Tower is sure to grant you C-rank, right? It's floor 20 boss, after all!"

'She might be young, but she sure does have swift tongue.' Thought Youngwoo as he put hand on his chin, thinking. 'I mean, I already dug this deep. With 3 guilds in place, I should be able to slither around the back ranks and do nothing while not causing much suspicion... right?'

Eventually, he nodded towards Abigail and said:

"Yes, you're right. This is the best way to raise my rank. Alright then, I'll be by the Gate. When is the raid?"

"It's at noon exactly. Please don't be late."

"Won't be." He reassured her with a smile. "Thank you for opportunity to talk. I'd love to meet you again sometime, miss Abigail."

"Thank you, mister Youngwoo. I'm on a tight schedule, but I'm sure there will be time sometime." She smiled lightly. "I'll see you at raid, then."

"Likewise." He bowed to her respectfully, even when she started walking away.

'Hmm... There's something off about this raid... I guess I'll see when I get there. And besides, 50 gold! That's a fortune for me!'

Meanwhile, Abigail was thinking about the situation.

'Is he really as good as he says? He's not on rankings, so I can't check his info. That's a little weird... He seems very confident, but I think I'll have to ask Truthsayer to try him... It'd be dangerous if he were to lie to me.'