"Uggh," said Ji-ho groaning from the small greyish steel chair he sat on. He had woken up very early.The morning sun streamed through the curtains leaving traces of dancing particles, yesterday's event was still fresh on Ji-ho's mind as he recalled what had happened.
Ji-ho still couldn't fully understand why he couldn't kill Ye-rin yesterday, or even why he cried to a girl, a human no less. Ji-ho had always been the type to bottle up his emotions and chalk it up with an emotionless face.
"Ughh," he groaned again, ruffling his hair in frustration, he atleast got to explore the human realm and understand their way of life. Life in Nekronis wasn't really pretty or even decent for Ji-ho. Sitting on a nice steel chair wasn't something he would have guessed yesterday.
"N-no mister ducky, it's not yet time to go out," Ye-rin mumbled from the double-decked bed she lay on. Ye-rin was still fast asleep and was mumbling words at random. She had a wide grin on her face as she squeezed her pillow.
Ji-ho couldn't help but watch this unpleasant show, not wanting to dwell on this pitiful sight, his mind wandered off to the future. What if Ye-rin betrayed him or thought by killing him the contract comes undone.
There were several horrible outcomes that played in Ji-ho's head which made reconsider if his actions were reasonable or stupid. He took a step from his steel chair and picked a book from Ye-rin's shelf it was a book written by Maya Angelou. Truly Ji-ho was an odd ball, but if he got to exhibit such behaviors here then he didn't mind staying for a while.
RING! RING! Ye-rin woke up to the harmonious melody of her ringtone, she had refused to open her eyes even though it was clear she was now awake but her phone buzzed continuously.
With a frown Ye-rin stretched lazily in her ducky pyjamas. "Who could be calling me so early," she mumbled half-eye open before Grabbing her phone with a groggy hand. She answered and heard her mother's firm voice.. "Ye-rin darling! Don't forget the party for your father and me. Thirty years of marriage don't you dare miss it," said Mrs.Han Mi-ryeong.
Ye-rin sat up groaning as she processed her mother's words. She winced at the thought of attending. It wasn't the party itself that bothered her, but the inevitability of seeing her younger sister, Ji-ah flaunting her relationship with Do-hyun, her ex.
Ye-rin sighed, running a hand through her hair. ''I'll be there,'' she mumbled on her phone before hanging up.
She flopped back on her bed, "this is going to be a nightmare,'' she muttered. As if looking for someone to lament with, she glanced over at Ji-ho but he didn't seem to care about her predicament.
''You seem interested in reading that book, do you even know what it is,'' she asked as she glanced at him again. "What do you even think we are? A primitive race who just kills for the fun of it?'' his attention diverting from the book. "I'm sorry'' she said trying to calm the offended reaper.
"Well if you must know, we are quite intelligent beings, he grinned his half bony, half human mouth structure widening at the sides. "'I happened to have graduated recently, Ji-ho puffed out his bony chest feeling some sort of pride. A very respected academy, I still wondered how I was able to enroll, he wondered dropping the book onto his lap.
As Ji-ho started thinking he noticed Ye-rin's curious gaze fixated on him. "Well, what I'm trying to say is we are very much educated and civilized," The rest of my kind would call you a lesser, this was what Ji-ho wanted to say next, it wasn't a lie the two other realms had always regarded humanity as inferior beings. But he decided to keep it to himself.
''Ye-rin's curious gaze remained fixed on him. "You are strange you know," she snorted. "Believe me, I have been told that a lot of times already," said Ji-ho, trying not to spoil the mood.
He tried to smile but he knew it would be fake. "Well... I need your help," Ye-rin said, propping her self up with her elbows. Ji-ho raised an eyebrow. ''I'm a Grim reaper not a therapist," he said, trying to focus on his book.
''I need…. a date. A tall, handsome guy. Curly hair, six-packs abs, and over six feet tall," Ye-rin said drooling over herself. Ji-ho groaned, ''sorry to disappoint I'm not a genie besides, I don't look like that.'' Ye-rin pouted dramatically, flopping onto her stomach. "I'm so screwed," she wailed.
Ji-ho sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. ''I do possess a humanoid appearance." Her face lit up mischievously, ''what does that mean?" She asked. "Why that face when you don't even know what it means Ji-ho questioned. "Anyway," he continued, "We Grim reapers are born with two forms," he said gesturing with his two fingers.
"A Veilborn form, this is our true self," he said gesturing to himself. "Ohh I see," Ye-rin replied. "Then the other is our humanoid form it's similar to a human appearance but except mine, my kind don't really blend in as humans."
Ji-ho had always hated his existence, every single miseries and pain was because of his appearance, but now he had found use for his criticized looks. "Then that settles it," Ye-rin said gleefully, Ji-ho's eyes darkened, ''I guess,'' he said leaning towards Ye-rin.
I think i need to tell you a bit about our History though, You see my dad is the retired chief director of EDC, ranked as a grade 2 for a matter of fact, and he Will surely flood you with questions," she said with a rile smile. Ye-rin's dad was a global icon and a reverend man to the whole world, even at an old age that didn't dull his sharp and crude tongue.
The mood shifted slightly. "A grade system huh? Is that your country's ranking system?" Ji-ho asked. He had heard a little of it before from eavesdropping on his superiors' conversation back in Nekronis. His eyes narrowed with curiosity, "I'm all ears."
"Well, sure." Ye-rin adjusted her posture, sitting up properly. "We used to be powerless, or so I've heard. Demons could kill us easily." She leaned forward, idly tracing circles on the wooden table with her finger. "But one day, the gods gave us a gift. Our people call it mana."
Ji-ho listened carefully, his eyes darkening with a thought. So we use the same energy… No wonder it feels so natural here. What else are the higher-ups hiding from us, or was it only me? He muttered under his breath.
Ye-rin caught his distracted look and tilted her head. "Should I continue?" "Please do," he said, shaking off his thoughts. "During the Age of Technology and Growth, people had to learn how to understand and control mana. Those who could were called an ascendant."
"To measure the exact power of an individual, they created something called Fortitude Percentage, 99% to 1%." Ji-ho leaned in. The lower the percentage, the stronger the person?" Ye-rin smiled. "Yes, It's a metric that shows the percentile comparison of people who are no longer regular humans like me."
Sitting up straighter, her voice carried an excited edge. "That's where the grade system comes in." She held up six fingers. "Grade 4 to Special grades. Grade 4 ascendants are born with superhuman abilities, but nothing crazy. The strongest, a Special grade, falls between 4% to 1% of humans in Korea." She said, crossing her arms." Ji-ho chuckled. "Good to know.
That explains a lot." But as he processed her words, a cold realization settled in. Why was I never told this part of the story? The information of details on civilization outside Nekronis, his world. Things were becoming more unclear to Ji-ho.
He doubted he was the only one kept in the dark. Is this the truth… or a carefully crafted lie.
"The point is he's bound to ask a lot of questions," Ye-rin said in a manner- of-fact. Ji-ho nodded in response to her warnings, "so we'll need to be careful."
With that Ye-rin darted to the bathroom, "well at least be good looking a little bit,'' Ye-rin giggled as she ran into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her as her heart raced.The icy water from the shower-head hit her skin,making her gasp.She turned the dial to adjust the temperature, letting the warm cascade wash over her.
As the droplets traced every curve of her body, Ye-rin closed her eyes, temporarily losing herself in the smoothing rhythm. She ran her hands through her hair, working shampoo into her thick ladder and sighed.
A few minutes later, Ye-rin opened the bathroom door, still rubbing her hair with another towel, She froze mid-step, her words cut in her breath. She was only able to utter a single word, "who are you?"
TL NOTE;
🔸Fortitude: 99% – 80%. 🔸Fortitude: 79% – 50%
1st stage-2nd stage-3rd stage. 1st stage-2nd stage-3rd stage
🔸Grade 4 Ascendants 🔸Grade 3 Ascendants
🔸Fortitude: 49% – 20%. 🔸Fortitude: 19% – 10%
1st stage-2nd stage-3rd stage. 1st stage-2nd stage-3rd stage.
🔸 Grade 2 Ascendants 🔸 Grade 1 Ascendants
🔸Fortitude: 9% – 5%. 🔸 Fortitude: 4% – 1%
1st stage-2nd stage-3rd stage. No stages.
🔸 Semi- Special 🔸 Special Grade
Grade Ascendants Ascendants