Ch 199: No Plot Armor to save you.

"I have received a message from the guild." said Heejin in the middle of breakfast, checking her smartphone between two mouthfuls of cereals.

"A message related to us?" asked Akeno as she peeled an apple.

"Yes. We have two C-rank dungeons to conquer this afternoon, and we now have enough high-ranked members to make two teams. One will be led by the four of us, and at the end of it, I will have to write a report about everyone's performance. We will have four C or D-rank members with us. We need to gather at the Namsan Outdoor Botanical Garden at 14:30. It's about five kilometers from there. Since it's a C-rank, we expect it will take us about two hours to complete."

“I see. We'll be there.” nodded Akeno. "How much are we expected to do aside from emergency situation? If we get serious, the others won’t have much to do.”

“That’s a good point.” said Heejin. “In normal situations, you should try do about one eighth of the work. We want everyone to feel like they're contributing to everyone's success, without feeling like they are being exploited, or that they are useless.”

"Alter won't like this." grinned Jeanne.

"That's how it is." sighed Alter. "Hey, Heejin. We can still do dungeons independently, right?"

"Yes. Just keep in mind that you represent the White Tiger Guild from now on, so don't do anything that would deteriorate our reputation."

“Are we free this morning? We want to do some shopping, and start looking for a good place to stay."

"Yes. You can also expect a meeting with some politicians and medical experts in the very near future, due to the stunt you pulled at the hospital. Our guild Master already received a call about it. He was quite surprised." said Heejin with a speculating gaze.

Akeno nodded. She was willing to spend an hour or two every day healing incurable patients, as long as it didn't cut into her training. In the end, saving the world from the Monarchs and the incoming world fragment were more important than treating individuals.

…

Akeno used a golden chain to hobble the cyclops at a crucial time, making it stumble and fall to the ground. Alter used her battle flag to pierce the right wrist of the beast and pin it to the ground, making it scream in pain.

With its huge eye now close enough to be hit with melee attacks, the sword-wielding warrior of the group didn't miss the opportunity and drove his blade deep inside, killing the C-rank boss.

"Good job, everyone." smiled Heejin, very satisfied with their clearing speed. The dungeon that should have taken about two hours had been completed in barely more than one.

Akeno nodded, used light swords to open up the cyclops's body, and extracted the core. One thing she appreciated with guild runs was that the loot was evenly divided, easing tensions between the participants.

After a few minutes, the ground started shaking. The dungeon was disappearing. They would automatically emerge from the gate before it closed.

And almost as soon as they returned to Seoul, Akeno's smartphone pinged, as well as the freshly bought ones of Jeanne and Alter.

Akeno checked her smartphone and frowned as she saw many messages from the group chat they had set up, and their content wasn't good.

Jinah: "Have any of you seen my brother? I can't contact him, his phone is in his room."

Joohee: "I hope nothing happened to him."

Chi-Yul: "Sorry, I haven't seen or talked to him since yesterday."

Jeongho: "Same here. Where was Jinwoo the last time you saw him?"

Jinah: "He said he was going to his room, to study. Mom and I are getting really worried."

Meilin: "Sorry, I haven't seen or heard of him either."

Sangshik: "I haven't either. I hope nothing bad happened to him. Does he maybe have a girlfriend?"

Jinah: "I don't think so. And it's not his style to disappear without telling us."

"That's very bad." stated Jeanne as she looked up from her phone as well.

"Yes." said Akeno. "Let's hope it's just a false alarm, and that he is okay."

Akeno quickly typed a message.

Akeno: "Sorry to answer just now, I was inside a dungeon with Jeanne and Alter and just came out. Can you give us an approximate time window for his disappearance?"

Jinah: "It was just after lunch. He entered his room around 13:00, I think. I noticed he wasn't inside our home around 15:00."

Akeno frowned more, thinking about possibilities. Could their secret have leaked, and Jinwoo been abducted by a third party? He would be the logical target, with his reputation of being the weakest hunter. But another possibility came to her.

Akeno: "Jinah, you told me yesterday that, for personal reasons, Jinwoo wasn't really interested in using the System. We all received the System at approximately 13:20 yesterday. Did Jinwoo do the daily quest? There was mention of a penalty if the quest was unfulfilled."

Jinah: "Oh no! He didn't do it. He said he wanted to focus on finding a job first."

Joohee: Surely the penalty isn't that bad?

Akeno left the chat and called Jinah directly.

"Akeno?" replied Jinah.

Akeno could hear the worry in her voice.

"Jinah, can you give me your address? We'll come as soon as possible."

"Yes, thank you."

Jinah gave her the information, and Akeno told her a few words of encouragement before ending the call.

"Let's go see her." said Akeno, and Jeanne and Alter both nodded.

"Akeno, do you think the penalty is what caused him to disappear?"

"Yes. Hopefully, he will reappear soon. Whatever that penalty is, it should be survivable."

"Yes. The system would probably have displayed a more explicit message if failing to do the quest was punished by death." shrugged Alter.

"We haven't done today's quest yet. How about we investigate that penalty? If Jinwoo is held captive somewhere, maybe we'll find him." suggested Akeno.

"I agree." nodded Jeanne. "At worst, Alter and I can just dematerialize, or even die, and you will summon us again. And you are strong, Master. I am not worried about your safety."

Akeno nodded, and they found a taxi to go visit Jinah and her mother.

…

"Thank you for coming." said Jinah as she opened the door. She looked like she was about to cry.

Akeno hugged her tightly.

"I'm sure he's fine. He survived for years in the dungeons, right?"

"…right." breathed Jinah.

"Please come in." smiled Sung Kyung-Hye. She, too, looked very stressed.

"Sorry for intruding." said Akeno as she released Jinah and stepped back.

"Not at all. I am grateful that you came to support us. I'll make you tea."

"Thank you very much." nodded Jeanne.

"…After our chat, when you suggested that daily quest might be the cause, I told Mom about the system, and what we really experienced in the double dungeon." admitted Jinah.

Sung Kyung-Hye nodded.

"I see." said Akeno. "It will make things easier if we can speak freely."

"Yeah." muttered Jinah.

"On our way to your home, we have taken a decision, Jinah." said Akeno. "We won't do the daily quest today. Whatever this penalty is, Jeanne, Alter and I are the most apt to investigate it, assuming that is really is the cause of Jinwoo's disappearance. Have you done the quest today?"

"This morning." said Jinah gratefully. "Thank you, Akeno, Jeanne, Alter. I'd come with you if I could."

"Do not mind it. Helping each other is what friends do, and I'd also be sad if something bad happened to him. The penalty will kick in at midnight. Is it fine if we stay here until then? it would be good to have an outside observer to see what happens."

"Of course, you are welcome here at any time. Thank you very much for being willing to help us once again." said Jinah's mom as she served them tea.

"Jeanne, can you inform the group chat that we're going to investigate that penalty? I will call Heejin and tell her that we're probably not returning to her apartment tonight."

Jeanne nodded and took her smartphone.

A few minutes later, Akeno received a call from Baek Yoonho the Guild Master of the White Tiger Guild. He wanted to organize a meeting with them and some officials of the Health department.

Akeno told him she was unavailable for the rest of the day but agreed to attend one the next day, and confirmed that she could indeed cure people suffering from Eternal Slumber.

Time passed, the clock crept closer to midnight, and Akeno, Jeanne and Alter prepared themselves, ready for anything.

"Ten seconds left." said Akeno, watching the counter on her status screen.

"Good luck, everyone. Please find him." pleaded Jinah, with her mother hugging her.

"We'll do our best." promised Akeno.

The counter reached zero, and Jinah and Kyung-Hye saw their three guests instantly disappear.

…

Aken found herself in a sand desert, alone. A burning sun was high in the sky, and a new window appeared in front of her.

[Penalty mission:

Goal: Survive until the end.

Remaining time: 3h 59m 56s.]

Akeno frowned as she looked around. She couldn't even try to contact Jeanne and Alter through a servant's bond, as none of her Command Seals was one of theirs. As far as she could tell, she was alone.

She was about to deploy her devil's wings and get some altitude when she saw something move under the sand, not far from her.

A massive beast burst from the ground.

A giant centipede, easily a hundred meters long. The abomination raised its head a few meters above her, its sharp mandibles and mouth full of fangs opening and closing in anticipation. Drops of its saliva fell on the desert sand, making sizzling sounds.

The name appeared above its head, written in white characters.

[Venomous Giant Desert Centipede]

Akeno sighed as she took her two swords from her inventory. It seemed like they wouldn't find Jinwoo alive after all.

When the centipede lunged at her, Akeno used Shunpo to jump to the side, severing one of the oversized's mandibles as she did. Before it could realize that she had evaded or feel the pain, Akeno struck the side of its head again with both swords, destroying some of its eyes and opening a deep gash in the flexible joint connecting the monstruous head to the rest of its body. Green ichor gushed out, and Akeno instantly decided to avoid close combat with it, taking to the air.

Akeno floated away as the giant centipede trashed around, sending sand flying everywhere. After a few seconds, the centipede seemed to locate her again and tried to reach her with a roar.

Akeno used a large light sword to finish it, severing its head.

[You have leveled up.]

Akeno discarded the notification.

She should have been happy, as each level gained with this world's system increased all of her attributes by 1. If she could stay long enough in this world, she would become far stronger than even Noah. But the awareness that Jinwoo had likely died in this place stopped her from feeling happiness.

She floated down, but as soon as her feet touched the sand, a half-dozen Centipedes emerged from the ground some distance away, already encircling her.

Not wanting to let them reach her simultaneously, Akeno chose one and ran toward it.

…

After fifty centipedes became corpses, no more came, and Akeno sat on the intact part of one of the bodies. She created an umbrella to get some shade, and a bottle of water.

Killing the centipedes had allowed her to gain two levels, which wasn't bad at all. She would have to try to fail the daily quest again to see if she could farm it.

She patiently waited the end of the cooldown, and when it was over, reappeared in the living room of Jinah's home, flanked by Jeanne and Alter.

"You're back!" exclaimed Kyung-Hye, but her hopeful expression died when she noticed Akeno's somber face.

"Miss Kyung-Hye, Jinah, I am really sorry." sighed Akeno. "I haven't seen any sign of Jinwoo in the place I was sent to, and… No E-rank Hunter could have survived this."

Jinah froze for a moment as she processed Akeno's words. Then she started sobbing. She and her mother hugged each other and cried loudly, losing control of their emotions. But before they could lose it completely, they both froze when they heard a loud clap.

"I know a way to resurrect the dead, if you are willing to pay the price." slowly said Akeno.

"H-How?" croaked Kyung-Hye.

Akeno created two contracts.

"Before I say more, I need for you to sign a confidentiality contract."

With trembling hands, Jinah and Kyung-Hye took the contracts. The terms were simple and consisted of a single sentence, only forbidding them to spread knowledge of what Akeno was about to talk about without her consent.

"No need for a pen." said Akeno as she saw Kyung-Hye reach for a drawer. "You need to sign those with a drop of blood." said Akeno, creating a small knife of solidified light.

Jinah and her mother both nodded and signed the contracts, their eyes widening in surprise when they burst into heatless flames and disappeared.

"What was that?" asked Jinah.

"Magic contract. So I can be sure what I am going to tell you isn't going to leak. It would make things more complicated than they need to be." said Akeno as she created tea and served them.

"Can you really bring back my brother?" asked Jinah, not daring to believe it.

"I do not joke around with matters like this. I will answer your question, but I need to talk about a few things first."

Jinah nodded, and Akeno started talking. She began with the Goddess Lilith, and her need for Champions to oversee the worlds she created. Akeno talked about Noah, and how he revived her long dead mother. She talked about her acting as Noah's representative, the not-quite-final destruction of Rin's world, the timelines and the incoming world fragment, and her purpose in this world, including the three Quests Lilith had given her.

"Back to your question, Jinah. Yes, Noah can revive Jinwoo and have him live in one of the worlds under his responsibility. He can talk to the local governments and make certain Jinwoo will not want for anything. But he will have to pay a price to revive him, and he will not be able to bring him back to this world."

"…He has to pay a price, you say." said Jinah. "What kind of price, and what will he want from us to compensate him?"

"…I have the following suggestion. Noah will pay to revive Jinwoo, and I will bring both you, Jinah, and your mother to Chaldea when we leave this world. After all the Demonic Pillars are dead, Noah will be allowed access to Rin's world, and you will be able to reunite with Jinwoo. Jinwoo and your mother will live in one of the three South Koreas those parallel worlds possess, or any other country of their choosing."

"And you, Jinah, will repay Noah by serving him as one of his maids."

"A maid?" explained Jinah, surprised.

"Yes. But not ordinary maids. It wouldn't be wrong to call us Quarter-Goddesses, as Noah is a Demi-God. Just look at me. I am immortal, and you have witnessed just how strong I am. Most of the abilities I used to kill the Lord in the double dungeon are things you will also gain, if you become his maid. Noah also won't restrict your freedom too much, and you will be able to visit your mother and Jinwoo as often as you wish. Bringing them to Noah's main residence to visit also wouldn't be out of the question."

"By 'Not restricting my freedom too much', what do you…" started Jinah, then she paused as she blushed fiercely. "…does being a maid involve... how to say it tactfully…"

"Night service? Warming his bed?" gently suggested Akeno.

"…yes." nodded Jinah.

"It does. But even among the dozens of maids already living with him, there isn't a single one that isn't looking forward to being chosen for the night, or who regrets becoming his maid. He treats us all like family. Here's his picture."

Akeno showed a few photos of Noah on her smartphone to Jinah and her mother.

"Jeanne, Alter, are you also his maids?"

"We have yet to meet Noah in person." smiled Jeanne. "But Alter and I agreed to it. We have interacted with many of the other people who will join Noah's household once he gains access to our world, and they all are good people. This isn't a trap, Jinah."

"You do not have to answer immediately." said Akeno. "Jinwoo and you are our friends, and this offer will remain available to you until the day we leave this world. And I think we should return and get some sleep before the sun rises. You can always call me for any question you may have."

Jinah and her mother slowly nodded and accompanied Akeno, Jeanne and Alter to the door.

Once they were out, Jinah and her mother tightly hugged each other, not saying a word for a long time.

"What should I do, Mom?" finally muttered Jinah. "You've been completely silent."

"…I am sorry, Jinah. I am still under the shock of it all. And this isn't a decision I can take for you."

"But I still want to know…What would you do, in my place?"

Kyung-Hye hesitated for a few seconds, then sighed.

"…I would do anything to have both of my babies back... As long as Noah can revive Jinwoo and allows you to visit us… As long as he doesn't mistreat you… Please forgive your mother for being selfish, Jinah." said Kyung-Hye as tears fell down her cheeks.

"I understand. And I'm not angry at you… I'll… ask more about him, before I decide." nodded Jinah.

…

Noah, holding Yoruichi's hand, teleported once again to Soul Society, appearing in the plaza in front of the building where the Captains of the thirteen divisions gathered to take decisions.

"Didn't you say it was urgent?" asked Noah to Yoruichi, but seeing no particular signs of an emergency.

"I may have exaggerated a little." grinned Yoruichi. "Don't worry, once you learn why I brought you here, I don't think you'll mind."

"You got me curious, at the very least."

Noah followed her, and they entered the building. Waiting inside were several important people.

The Captain-Commander, Genryusai Yamamoto, standing with this staff in front of him, looking at him solemnly with his piercing gaze.

One of the four Royal Guards of the Zero Division, Oetsu Nimaiya, waved at him as he entered. The man looked someone like an American rapper, but Noah knew he was the one who created the Asauchis that later became Zanpakutos. His own Zanpakuto was so sharp that no sheath could contain it, and was kept floating in an aquarium when not in use

The Captain of the second Division, Soi Fong. As usual, she only had eyes for Yoruichi and barely nodded to Noah.

Nanao Ise, the lieutenant of Eighth Division, the non-nonsense Lieutenant who kept trying to keep Captain Kyoraku from going too far in his womanizing ways. She stared at Noah while adjusting her glasses with a finger. Her sister, Lisa Yadomaru, a Visored newly reestablished and replacing Kira Izuru as third division's lieutenant, scrutinized him intently.

Isane Kotetsu, the white-haired Lieutenant of Third Division, one of the best healers of Gotei 13. She fidgeted as she made a nervous smile at him.

Rukia Kuchiki, thirteenth division's lieutenant, smiled warmly when their gazes met. Beside her was Inoue Orihime, whose presence surprised Noah, as she wasn't a Shinigami. Orihime waved happily at him, still having that pink kitsune mask hanging from her belt

Momo Hinamori, fifth division's lieutenant, made an embarrassed smile as she nodded, still feeling bad about her reaction when Noah had outed Aizen as a traitor.

Hiyori Sarugaki, also a newly reestablished Lieutenant and one of the Visored, replaced Hisagi Shuhei, who had been killed by one of the Sternritter.

Nemu Kurotsuchi, the artificial Shinigami created by the mad scientist leading the twelfth division. She stared at Noah without any expression.

And last, but not least in terms of sex appeal was Rangiku Matsumoto, the blonde Shinigami with breasts so large they threatened to spill out of her uniform. Just like the Captain-Commander, she had lost an arm during the last fight, but Noah had healed her.

Noah wasn't a fool, and with no less than ten women present, not counting Yoruichi, already had a clue about the reason the Captain-Commander asked for him to come. They were after his ability to share some of his powers.

They wouldn't be the first.

Still, it would be embarrassing if he turned out to be wrong, so he simply smiled politely and bowed.

"Greeting, Captain-Commander, and everyone else. I hope you didn't wait too long."

"Took your sweet time." muttered Hiyori. Although she didn't really seem angry, just grumpy.

"Thank you for coming promptly, Noah Enfield." said the Captain Commander with a small nod. "Soul Society is in need of your services."

"You want my immunity to curses, and the other abilities I can share?"

"This is correct. Yourself, Asuna Yuuki, and the three Chiefs from the Anti-Demon Corps made major contributions last time. You likely are the biggest reason Yhwach didn't press his attack."

"It makes sense, considering the present company, and that Yhwach is still very much a danger."

"How long would it take you, to share your abilities with every woman present?"

"If I go all out, I would say one or two per week. More, if I ask some of my subordinates to help with the preparations. I probably will. But are they all willing? Once they start, they will not be able to stop until they gain those abilities."

"Bring it on. Whatever it is, I'm not afraid." declared Hiyori with a fearless gaze.

"Kuro-kun, gaining those abilities will make me a better healer, right?" asked Orihime. "And I'll be able to defend myself as well. Please help me become stronger."

The others all seemed to share their determination, even if none seemed to know exactly what they were in for.

"Do you accept, Noah Enfield?" asked the Captain-Commander.

Noah, who had once given up on adding Orihime and Rukia to his harem, somehow found himself in a situation where they volunteered for it. Surely this was fate, and he should accept without complaining?

"I do. But I will warn you, Nemu. If your Captain tries any of his unusual shenanigans with me, I will know, and I will turn his laboratory into a crater."

Nemu nodded without a word.

"Thank you. We will remember this favor." said the Captain-Commander.

"It is fine. I also do not wish for Yhwach to win or inflict heavy casualties on the Shinigamis. If that is all, I will keep imparting those abilities to Yoruichi, then return for the next volunteer."

The Captain-Commander nodded, and Noah waved goodbye to them all as he left, Yoruichi following.

"I have my work cut out for me, it seems." said Noah after he teleported back home with Yoruichi.

"Yes. But you like it." grinned the former Captain.

"Of course! Now follow me to my room, Yoruichi. We only had some fun here and there until now, but from today onward, properly training you is my priority."

"Ohoh, but I won't make it easy for you, boya." grinned Yoruichi.

"I look forward to watching you train Soi Fong." snorted Noah.