Level 002

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(*)

Level 002

It's been four days since Jinwoo woke up. Whenever she could, Helia visited her husband. At the moment, he was completing his daily quest by running 10 kilometres, while she sat on a bench, watching him and exploring the systems with EDI's help.

"Jinwoo has already made great progress." Helia mussed looking at his stats. "I'm sure he will reach me one day."

[The Player System was designed to give Alpha and Omega absolute power and make them equals in anything.]

"But you don't know for what we were giving this absolute power."

[Afraid so Mistress Helia. The blockade in my system won't come down.]

The red-haired woman gently rubbed her belly, soothing her active child. "We just need to create the right circumstances to breach the blockade. We've done this before, EDI. I'm grateful for the CO-OP Mode. I'm sure the Stream-Mode will come in handy when Jinwoo visits his first Insta-Dungeon, along with the shared inventory."

"Helia, Lia!" Joohee called as she approached, holding a small chest filled with flowers. "I came to see Jinwoo! I'm so happy to see you too."

The two women embraced, and Lia invited Joohee to sit beside her so they could catch up.

Joohee was delighted to see how fit Jinwoo was after the horrors of the double dungeon, although she found it surprising. She then asked Lia how her pregnancy was going and felt relieved to hear that her friend was doing well and that the baby was too.

"How's it going with your guild?" Joohee asked next. "Can Youngmi and Youngsuu handle it?"

Helia snorted lightly. "Eh, you know Youngmi. The girl has always had fashion on her mind, but she is a good hunter. Youngsuu, as my vice, handles the guild efficiently and thoughtfully. When they need me, we video-call, but mostly they tell me to just enjoy my maternity leave."

Joohee nodded in agreement as she reflected on Helia's guild and its members.

The Invictus Guild was not only the most powerful guild in South Korea but also in the world, a feat accomplished by Helia and her summons. She referred to the powerful ones as Avatars, like Evangeline and EDI, while those without names were called Wisps. Jinwoo once told Joohee that Helia had control over 100000 Wisps, not counting her Avatars. It was an incredible number!

"What's going on with you, Joohee?" Helia asked gently. "You were also in that nightmare... Are you sure you don't want to join my guild? I can make sure you only have to participate in E-Dungeons."

"That's sweet of you, Lia," Joohee replied, "but I already feel bad that, as a B-Rank, I can't participate in high-ranking raids. Having you give me special treatment as my friend feels unfair."

This made the pregnant woman sigh. "See? You and Jin are the same. I've told him often enough that he should join my guild; it would be safer for him, but no!"

Joohee chuckled at Helia's pout, but she understood both sides of the situation.

Soon, the women were joined by Jinwoo, who was happy to see that Joohee was feeling better, and they started to catch up. He thanked her for the flowers before the B-Rank healer had to leave.

They said goodbye for the day but promised to stay in touch.

Jinwoo wrapped an arm around Helia while she leaned her head on his shoulder, as he spent his day earning stat points all in strength.

"Do you plan to look like a bodybuilder, my knight?" Helia wondered, amused.

"No, but is it bad that I want a six-pack like yours?" Jinwoo mused, kissing her temple.

Playful, Lia hit his chest. She could feel how much harder it had become.

Such is the wonder of the System!

"I'm round and chubby!"

"No! You're beautiful, even more than before. You glow and look like Aphrodite's younger and hotter sister."

"You charmer."

For his sweet words, Jinwoo received a passionate kiss from his wife, which turned into a make-out session right there in public.

They didn't care at all about the stares from passersby. Love truly made you blind.

(*)

There were a lot of perks when your wife was a S-Rank and Humanity Strongest.

Normally Jinwoo didn't try to use Helia's status for special treatment, but if it wasn't great he had a big hospital room for himself and a big comfy bed where he could make love to his amazing wife.

Fuck, yes that was awesome!

Their sex life had always been wild and hot, but now Lia was even more hungry for him and she always had an impressive libido.

Lia said it was because she was Italian and they were passionate about anything.

Jinwoo couldn't agree more.

Knowing he could bring forth such a side from his wife, made him incredibly proud.

He always had been shy and awkward with girls, but Lia made him feel like a king.

How she shuddered and begged to be taken, to be filled over and over again by him, so sweet and hungry, it was the biggest ego-boost.

After round seven of their lovemaking, Lia finally was satisfied, laying in his arms spend, while he caressed her beautiful pregnant body, worshipping it as she deserved it.

This was not only the Love of his Life, she was the mother of his child.

Lia not only loved him enough to marry him, but she loved him so much to have taken his seed, from him, the weakest Hunter in the world and created life.

And his wife already told him she wanted more kids.

They would be busy the next years.

Anyway, Jinwoo opened the Random Loot Box he earned today and raised an eyebrow.

Okay, that was new.

Normally he had gotten pens, bandaids and other useless stuff, but a key?

What was up with it?

"Seems like you will get your first Insta-Dungeon," Helia murmured, her hot breath tickling his neck.

Indeed his Interface confirmed it.

He kissed her sweaty forehead. "Any tips, love?"

"Yeah. Level as much as you can and don't get cocky." Lia warned. "My first Insta-Dungeon nearly killed me. Better be overpowered."

"Understood."

"I wish I could join you, but thanks to Stream-Mode I can see what you're doing and give support from here."

"One day, we will fight again side by side, don't worry. Our baby is more important than that."

"True. We would be kind of asshole parents if we bring our babies into a dungeon!"

(*)

Aeons ago, where light and shadow met to create twilight...

He was darkness, shadow and death.

She was light, glimmer and life.

Monarch and Ruler.

On different sides.

Locked in eternal combat.

But once every aeon they came together to create, since life can't exist without death as death can't exist without light.

Their fighting turned then into dancing steps, to push and pull, an endless circle.

In this timeless moment, in each other arms, there truly was peace, even short-lived.

"Do you hate me?" he wondered, confused how she could be so gentle and loving with him in their dance and yet so ruthless and cold when they fought.

"How can I hate what is mine?" she replied, truthfully, eyes shining with vast galaxies, of a glimmer of another life, of endless possibilities.

And he understood at this moment how he felt the same.

Forbidden.

Wrong.

Impossible.

No, they couldn't.

It was not meant this way.

Life and Death only came together to create, not to...love.

But was love not the greatest creation?

Neither of them could tell who took the first step, however, was it important?

When their lips met and created worlds and dimensions?

No, it was not.

He took hard and desperate on the place where they could exist together in peace.

She cried and held onto him, knowing how this was a sacrilege, the most terrible tabu they broke.

Neither cared.

Not in this perfect moment.

He filled her with his dark seed.

She felt it taking root.

And nothing would ever be the same again.

(*)

Helia gasped and sat up in bed. Worried that she might have woken Jinah, who had been sweet enough to sleep beside her until Jinwoo returned from the hospital, she let out a sigh as her sister-in-law continued to sleep peacefully.

She rubbed her head, feeling the dampness under her eyes. Like mist at dawn, the memory of her dream vanished into thin air. Only the painful clench in her heart remained.

Being careful not to disturb Jinah, she stood up and walked out of the bedroom, taking her phone with her. Sitting down on the luxurious leather couch in the living room, Lia called Jinwoo.

Yes, it was well past midnight, but she needed to hear her husband's voice! He answered after the second ring.

"Princess?" Jinwoo said quietly, a hint of worry in his tone. "What's wrong? Do you feel ill? Is the baby okay?"

"I just needed to hear you," Lia murmured. "I had a bad dream."

"Oh sweetheart, I wish I could hug you. It was just a silly dream," he cooed lovingly.

"Mmh, yeah," she replied.

"Come on, you're probably on the couch. Get comfortable, and I'll tell you some stories. I know how much you love Korean fairytales."

"You're the best, my knight. Could you start with 'Kongjwi and Patjwi'?" Lia asked eagerly, making Jinwoo chuckle lightly.

"It's cute how much you love this story," he said.

"Of course," she replied, her voice full of warmth. "It was the first story you ever told me, Jin. It will always be my favourite."

This made Jinwoo gulp, feeling tears well in his eyes. The story held a special significance for him too, as he had told Helia this tale long ago during one of their first raids together.

They had become separated from their raid group, and Lia had started to panic. Who could blame her? She had been a weak E-Rank Magician with only a few debuff and support spells, while he was just a mediocre E-Rank Assassin.

Although Lia had awakened as a Player, she still felt unsure of herself. They needed to hide as best as they could in the cave of the dungeon, hoping that no monsters would come for them and that their raid group would eventually find them.

However, Lia slipped into a panic attack, and Jinwoo struggled to calm her down. At that point, they had only been on two or three raids together and hadn't talked much. How could he possibly calm her down?

Jinwoo remembered how his mother used to tell him and Jinah stories when they were afraid, so he decided to share the first tale that came to mind. To his surprise, it worked wonders. Slowly, Lia began to emerge from her panic, started to listen, and found herself enchanted by the fairy tale.

They spent hours afterwards talking about fairy tales from their respective countries, laughing at the differences, marvelling at the similarities, and simply enjoying each other's company.

For a while, they nearly forgot they were in a dungeon, separated from their group. Just by sheer luck, they were eventually found.

After this little adventure and their bonding time, Jinwoo and Lia became friends. As the saying goes, the rest is history.

As so long ago, Jinwoo began to wave the fairytale of 'Kongjwi and Patjwi' for his beloved wife.

Lia made herself comfortable on the couch, listening to Jinwoo's soothing voice, formally seeing the story he described before her eyes.

The fairytale closely resembles the story of Cinderella. In this version, Kongjwi is the kind-hearted protagonist, while her cruel stepsister, Patjwi, torments her with the help of their mother.

When a ball is announced, where the Magistrate is seeking a wife, a celestial being gifts Kongjwi a beautiful dress and colourful slippers. In a twist similar to Cinderella's tale, Kongjwi loses one of the slippers at the ball. Determined to find the owner, the Magistrate states he will marry the girl whose foot the slipper fits, ultimately discovering that it belongs to Kongjwi.

However, Patjwi manages to kill Kongjwi and takes her place. She is found out thanks to Kongjwi's spirit, which reveals the truth to a brave man. The Magistrate then finds a golden lotus and kisses it, causing Kongjwi to be reborn.

In the end, the Magistrate sentences Patjwi to imprisonment, where she is killed and cooked into a sauce. The stepmother, believing it to be a gift from Kongjwi, consumes the dish. Only upon realizing it contains Patjwi's remains does she scream in horror, ultimately leading to her death. In conclusion, Kongjwi and the Magistrate live happily ever after.

The moral of this story is that those who are kind and persevering shall be rewarded.

Finally, the red-haired Lia had calmed down. The couple talked for a bit more before Jinwoo told her she should go to bed.

She needed her rest.

"Alright, I love you, my knight."

"I love you, my princess. I will always be there to scare the bad dreams away."

"I know, good night then, Jin."

"Night, Love, we will see each other tomorrow."

(*)

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