"It's been about 4 hours since the Karaoke incident, the police should've been called at this point and news reporters would be all over that place, I need to move fast before word spreads" she thought.
Seon-mi stood across the street from the house the boy told her about, idly fiddling with a vending machine outside a nearby store in order to blend in.
Looking down at her clothing Seon-mi commented "Hmph, this kid really went and bought me a shirt, anyway, he said the house with the shoji doors; this must be it,"
"I've been lingering here for about an hour and a half but nobody has gone in or come out yet. I guess what that kid said about there only being a few of them during the day was right."
The house sat quietly at the very end of the street, almost like it was hiding away from the rest of the world. It had a calm, traditional look to it, like something you'd see in an old Japanese town. The sliding doors were made with wooden frames and thin paper, letting in just a little light while still keeping the inside private.
Wooden beams and panels decorated the outside, giving it a clean and simple feel. There was a small garden around the house, with neat plants and a trimmed bonsai tree right next to the front gate. A gentle breeze made the tree's leaves rustle softly as the old gate creaked slightly.
A stone path led up to the door, each rock placed carefully, like it was guiding you on purpose. Through the sliding doors, you could spot the traditional tatami mat floors inside, soft and inviting. The faint smell of incense hung in the air, adding to the peaceful, quiet feeling of the place.
Seon-mi summoned the system box:
INFO
LEVEL: 3
XP: 29 (LEVEL UP AVAILABLE)
AVAILABLE COINS: 0
NAME: Song Seon-mi
JOB: Hitman*
GENDER: Female
AGE: 23
WEIGHT: 58KG
HEIGHT: 5'5
HP: 75
SP: 95
MP: 100
CONDITION: minor concussion, sore left cheek, minor blood stains
STATUS EFFECTS: None
XP TILL NEXT LEVEL: 15
"Minor concussion huh? Well that explains the throbbing in my head. I should probably level up before I go in, I need to be at my strongest if I'm gonna have any chance at walking out of there alive."
She proceeded to tap the level up button next to her 'XP' and the all too familiar surge of pure energy coursed through her entire being, increasing all of her stats by one point.
ATTRIBUTES
STRENGTH: 15 (+1)
SPEED: 10 (+1)
CHARISMA: 6 (+1)
DEXTERITY: 5 (+1)
AGILITY: 8 (+1)
IQ: 20 (+1)
SKILL: 7 (+1)
ENDURANCE: 16 (+1)
LUCK: 2 (+1)
HUMANITY: 991 (+1)
"Ah that feels much better. Levelling up automatically resets my health and stamina so this was definitely the right choice."
"Hold on, I know what 'HP' and 'SP' means, but what's MP? Magic? Yeah that can't be right, I'll look into that another time."
Now facing the imposing house, Seon-mi felt the weight of its intimidating aura. Encased within a protective barrier of high walls that enveloped the perimeter, the structure stood like a fortress, guarding its secrets from prying eyes.
Bracing herself for the impending challenge, Seon-mi took a moment to reflect, her gaze shifting toward the mysterious house. Her fingers danced over the system interface, checking her stats one last time before she embarked on the unknown journey that awaited her beyond the walls.
"Nine Agility points, let's see what I can do with that."
Seon-mi looked left, then right, quickly checking to make sure the coast was clear. She took a deep breath, let it out, and took off running across the quiet street toward the tall wall in front of the house.
Just before hitting it, she jumped to the side and used her left foot to push off the gate. Her hands grabbed the top of the wall, and with one smooth motion, she pulled herself up and over.
Sitting on top of the wall now, she finally got a full view of the house behind it. The sunlight lit up the scene, showing the details of the old-style Japanese home. It looked calm on the outside, but something about it still gave her a strange, uneasy feeling.
"Wow, it really is a nice house."
Seon-mi balanced carefully on the edge of the wall, her body steady like she'd done this a hundred times. With a quick spin, she turned herself around.
She pushed off the wall and flipped backward, landing softly on the ground below. Her knees bent to absorb the landing, and in one smooth motion, she was back on her feet—quiet, focused, and completely hidden within the shadows of the estate.
"Well I definitely couldn't do that before, so that's agility huh, I should really look into leveling that up more later"
Crouching low, she moved with newfound confidence, she could feel her stats slowly altering her physical capabilities and it lit a fire under her.
Pressing her back against the side of the house, she listened intently to the distant chatter,
"Hmm, that doesn't sound like someone talking, must be a tv"
Moving quietly around the edge of the house, Seon-mi looked for a good spot to see what was going on inside.
She made her way to the back and stopped in her tracks. What used to be a calm and peaceful garden was now a complete mess. The koi pond, once full of bright, colorful fish, was dirty and filled with beer cans and trash.
Stone lanterns were broken, pieces of them scattered across the path. Lily pads were torn up and floating around without purpose. The peaceful feeling the garden once had was completely gone, ruined by the careless people who had taken over.
Then she saw it, the back door had been left open. Staying low, she crept up to it and pressed her ear gently against the thin screen to listen.
Just then, something changed. She heard the soft creak of the wooden floor behind her... and felt a presence standing inches away from her.
The next words she heard, said with a sinister tone, intensified the chill that gripped her: "Don't fucking move."