[You have passed level 200! You are now eligible for [Job Advancement (F) ]!]

  'Huh...' I blinked. 'Will I get another skill like that [Hard Swing (F)?]'

  I tapped the prompt.

  But instead of a new menu, a new list of punishments, a new curse... the window faded. Replaced by a quiet ripple of white light. Almost gentle.

  Then something appeared.

  Not a screen.

  Not a choice.

  A line.

  Grunt (F) >> Knight (F)

  I stared.

  I didn't understand.

  'Why...?'

  'Why would it give me this?'

  There was no reward. Nothing. Not even an extra skill.

  Then another message unfolded — as if someone had written it by hand.

  [Dear warrior,]

  [You received the worst hand any F-Rank can be given.

  You should have cried to death.

  You should have been broken.

  You did neither.

  You persisted. You insisted. You struggled even if luck did have a hand in shaping your achievement.

  Through grit and will alone, you reached a threshold no F-Rank in recorded history has touched.

  From this point onwards, Carry the rank 'F' not as the burden it once was,

  but as proof of your spirit.]

  I didn't blink.

  The words hovered.

  ‘... Just a pat on the back.’ I exhaled. ‘Seriously?’

  ‘Did this… really require a job advancement? Wow.’

  I sat.

  ‘F-Rank is just… The worst.’

  But before I noticed, I took a breath that was shakier than I’d intended.

  'Alright... Alright... I...'

  And again. My breath shivered. I couldn’t take it all in smoothly.

  ".. I'd... Have preferred something more practical than this," I murmured, and walked over to the table. I lay on top of it, staring up at the ceiling.

  ‘What’s wrong with me?’ I placed a hand on my chest, feeling it rise and fall shakily and clumsily with my breaths,

  ‘Why do I feel so weak from seeing that?’

  I gulped again.

  “Don't get lax…” My voice hoarse, 'It specifically said you reached a threshold no F-Rank in recorded history has touched. It said that.' I blinked, my shaky breath steadying.

  'F Rank. Not D. Not E. Not C, B, A...' My fist tightened as I stared upward.

  The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

  '... Or S.' My eyes narrowed. 'This may very well mean upper ranks reached higher.'

  I pushed myself up from the table and looked toward the dark hallway beyond the ruined door.

  'I have to keep going. To the Eighth Circle. I need to level up some more. I can't afford to get lazy if I want to bash Kazuya's fucking skull.'

  'And I WILL do it.'

  'I WILL fucking kill him.' I got up from the table and left the room, not even looking around to check the loot. I just walked...

  ... back to the Final Circle.

  'Huh... Why'd I go here?' I wondered as I stepped inside, passing the stone map I carved, resting beside the doorway. My eyes drifted over the ruined dungeon — the entire floor I'd obsessively torn apart just to beat the Ninth boss.

  My eyes fell to the map again.

  'I guess I just didn't want to leave this behind. Is it sentimental value?' I wondered. 'Well, I'll just take it into my inventory now. I hope it won't be stored as just another granite slab or something...'

  [Item Obtained: Granite Map (7x7x3m) x1]!

  "Hah." A chuckle slipped out. In that moment, I realized just how much I loved my Item Storage skill.

  'And now...' I exhaled, pulling my armor out of my inventory, then the rest of my clothes, then the linen. 'I should learn how to wear this properly...'

  I laid everything out on the floor first. The plates, the linen cloth, the chainmail, the gauntlets, the greaves — all of it lined up like a butcher's selection of steel; all except my highschool clothes. I doubt I'd need them anymore.

  'Hmm...' I muttered. 'It's weird seeing it like this.'

  The first time I wore this armor, it wrapped itself around me on its own. I just slapped the broken plates ripped linen and chainmail onto my body and let the Gear Maintenance mend everything together around me. I didn't actually learn anything.

  It felt so, so long ago.

  But now that I wasn't sprinting from a mutt gnawing my lungs out, I had the time.

  And more importantly:

  'I should at least know what I'm wearing.'

  Piece by piece, I put the armor on. This time, slowly. Chainmail first, then the padded underlayer, then the plates, the gauntlets, the greaves. My hands moved almost on their own.

  Was it because I'd worn this thing for so long?

  Or was it because of my Dexterity?

  Either way, it took far less time than I expected. Before long, the weight settled onto me with a familiar heaviness, like I'd slipped back into a version of myself I understood.

  'Now...'

  'Let's check what I got from that goblin...'

  I opened my inventory.

  [Raw Black Steel x50]

  [Gold Coin x10,000]

  '...'

  'That's it?' I exhaled through my nose and pulled one of the Black Steel pieces out, turning it over in my hand.

  A matte, pitch-black obelisk-shaped rock. Rough edges, strangely smooth faces, catching the light just enough to look unnatural.

  'Weighs about... 4 Kilos? Yeah, sounds about right...'

  "[Item Inspect (EX)]."

  [Item: Raw Black Steel x1]

  [Rank: Unique (SS)]

  [Description: One of the toughest, rarest metals in the world. Nigh-absolute insulation against cold and heat; and has a 95% shock absorption rate; despite being absurdly light for its size. Incredibly resistant to all forms of magic. A craftsman might know what to do with it...]

  I blinked at it once.

  '...So it's just a cool rock,' I muttered, lowering my hand and slipping it back into my inventory.

  'I suppose I could hand it to a craftsman. Maybe he'd make me a nice sword or something. There has to be blacksmiths and whatnot in this world, right?' I sighed, pulling out one of the gold coins next and calling [Inspect] on it.

  [Item: Gold Coin x1]

  [Rank: Rare (B)]

  [Description: A form of currency. 1 gold coin is worth 1,000 silver coins.]

  'Alright...? Is it a lot, then?' I wondered. There was no way to tell; I just put it back with another sigh.

  'Maybe I could buy some nice food with it once I leave.'

  Food. Right.

  ‘It’s been months since my last meal.’

  I blinked.

  'Anyway, I should go check the rooms I sealed. Maybe I'll find a broken sword or something I can fix with Gear Maintenance...' I decided, starting toward the Ninth Circle once more.

  '....' I paused, glancing back at the Final Circle one last time.

  "... Catch you later, I suppose," I murmured before walking on.

  The 8th Circle is waiting for me.

  ,,, An irritable i?t?c?h? inside me, urging me to meet whatever's waiting for me there.