###
An Seong-min being visited in the hospital by Mar.
Mar rested her face on her hands, smirking.
“Hey, isn’t this a good look? Don’t you think?”
“Shut up!”
“Hehehe.”
An Seong-min shouted, but seeing Mar’s laughter, his anger melted away.
He turned his head, trying to hide his flushed face.
“So, why are you hospitalized for a whole week? Isn’t concentrated healing enough to recover even from serious injuries in two days?”
Internal injuries are not easily healed.
But to modern Awakened, the concept of internal injuries was unfamiliar.
“Why are you asking me that?”
Was she teasing him?
“Hey, what do you think of my mentee? Not bad, right?”
“What do you mean, not bad? Do you think those tricks will work in actual combat?”
“Well, wouldn’t they? Think you could beat him in a real fight?”
“Of course!”
His stats were C+, while that guy was E-.
“That’s just relying on cheap tricks, like someone who got in through connections.”
“Really? You still think it’s all connections? Didn’t yesterday’s match prove otherwise? Do you think Chae-young couldn’t see through that?”
“If she missed it, that’s exactly why things ended up like this!”
“Wow~ You’re so predictable. Aren’t you?”
A vein popped on An Seong-min’s forehead.
Twitch.
But arguing further would be beneath him.
“…Fine. I’ll admit their theoretical skills are decent.”
Yet, an unchanging truth remained:
An Awakened’s worth is proven by their stats.
“The important thing isn’t theory or gimmicks.”
“Then what about the Perfect Clear Awakened?”
“What?”
“Isn’t the Perfect Clear Awakened amazing because they’re strong despite low stats? Are you saying Perfect Clear is just gimmicks too?”
“…W-what are you talking about?”
He was at a loss for words.
Desperately, he tried to find a weak point to attack.
“The Perfect Clear Awakened is different. They’re on another level—humanity’s greatest talent.”
“Hey, you know your argument doesn’t make sense, right?”
“What are you trying to say?”
An Seong-min snapped.
“Nothing~”
But her playful tone made his anger vanish.
Once again, Mar had An Seong-min wrapped around her finger.
“Hey.”
“…Now what?”
“You’re not planning to spread bad rumors, are you?”
Her words left him speechless.
“You know, losing and then spreading baseless rumors is really pathetic.”
“I haven’t done anything yet!”
“And you’re not going to, right?”
“Fine, I won’t! I won’t!”
“Hehehe.”
With that, there would be no harm to her mentee.
Unlike immature peers like An Seong-min, Mar was thoughtful.
###
Mar, after visiting An Seong-min, headed to Kang Hyun.
<Where are you?>
<Training Room 3.>
As she opened the door, a bizarre scene greeted her.
“Three more!”
“Ughhh!”
Aden was doing push-ups, with Kang Hyun perched on top of her.
Aden’s arms trembled like those of a newborn fawn.
“More, more! You saw that guy yesterday. Do you want to end up like that?”
That ignited Aden’s determination.
“No!”
But her strength was driven by something else.
Sheer rage.
‘Those bastards!’
She still remembered vividly the scene of her master being surrounded and threatened.
Of course, her master had handled it well.
‘Next time, I won’t let it slide.’
For now, she was a rookie A-rank.
Everyone saw her potential, but she had no achievements or influence yet.
When she could hold her own, her impact would grow—like Mar, who had stepped in to protect her master yesterday.
‘I remembered all their faces.’
Not leaving a single one behind.
She will never forget!
Kang Hyun still didn’t know this.
Aden was a very long-winded person.
“Urghhh!”
“See? You can do it! I told you!”
Watching from the side, Mar spoke up.
“…What are you doing?”
“Oh, you’re here.”
Kang Hyun, sitting cross-legged on Aden’s back, moved up and down with her movements.
Meanwhile, he casually unwrapped and chewed on a throat lozenge.
Hah.
“Why are you chewing on a throat lozenge?”
“Because that’s how candy should be eaten.”
Well, some people were like that.
‘But why a throat lozenge?’
Mar’s mentee had peculiar tastes.
“So, why are you here?”
“…I’m your mentor, remember? I came to train my mentee, obviously!”
“Oh, right, you did.”
Oh, right, you did?
‘Where does this rookie get such nerve?’
Most rookies who entered Seonghwa were nervous wrecks, but this one was just plain fascinating.
“Hey, why don’t we go to a café and talk?”
“Sure. One more rep! Just one!”
“Urghhh!”
“…I should’ve come sooner to save you.”
The three went down to the cafe on the first floor.
Aden gulped down the chocolate shake.
“Ahhh! A luxurious 7,100-won café drink after a workout! Life is good!”
“Drink as much as you want. Let me know if you want more.”
“Thank you!”
Such a simple junior to please.
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
“How did you do it?”
The incident from yesterday.
The event where Kang Hyun quickly took down An Seong-min.
“How?”
“Mm… so you’re not going to explain?”
“There’s nothing to explain. Even if you’re not a mage, you got the gist of it, right?”
Though not mages themselves, other positions aren’t entirely ignorant of magic.
After all, they’ve teamed up with mages and witnessed magic firsthand.
<Charge>, <Burst>.
These are basic 1-Circle spells that every Awakened knows.
What they saw yesterday was exactly that.
Kang Hyun had intervened in the magic circle, breaking it apart.
The method, however, was a bit… violent.
“Hmm. I understood it, but how did you know that was even possible?”
“Tsk.”
How did he know?
The idea itself was simple—a basic trick anyone could think of with enough research.
The only reason it’s overlooked today is because nobody cares.
Modern Awakened rely on skill levels and stat upgrades to strengthen their magic.
Combat, for most mages, is limited to casting spells from a safe position in a dungeon.
‘A hundred years ago…’
Even a street mercenary mage wouldn’t have fallen for such a simple trick back then.
“With research and experience, everything follows naturally.”
“You know what? You sound like a boomer.”
“My master is totally a boomer.”
“This is all for your own good!”
Mar tilted her head like a curious bird.
‘Is he older than he looks?’
His mindset and skills were far beyond what other Awakened of his age typically displayed.
“Oh, by the way! Guess what? I’m taking over as Aden’s mentor from now on.”
“Oh! Is that so?”
“Yep. Since Seong-min is bedridden. Thanks to someone.”
She glanced pointedly at Kang Hyun, who didn’t seem to care.
‘Harpies really do have pretty eyes.’
He simply stared back, unbothered.
Mar flinched, quickly averting her gaze.
“So, you seem pretty happy about it?”
“Honestly, we didn’t really get along.”
After all, Seong-min had been one of the people who oppressed Kang Hyun—a name firmly on Aden’s revenge list.
“Aren’t you curious about what happened to that senior you knocked out?”
“He’ll recover in about a week.”
“Huh?”
The doctor’s opinion was the same.
‘Coincidence? Or did he control his strength that precisely?’
The more she saw of him, the more fascinating this mentee became.
“See? Chae-young was right. She really has an eye for talent.”
She had heard he was brilliant in theory, but not to this extent.
“Though, whether such tricks will help in real combat remains to be seen!”
“Why do you keep throwing stones at my words?”
The incident had spread rapidly.
Opinions boiled down to this.
An Seong-min was a fool.
The “parachute” had an unexpected talent.
He was exceptionally skilled in theory.
“But~ the whole ‘parachute’ label has completely disappeared!”
An E- rank defeating a C+ rank with theory alone?
It was a shocking result, so much so that rumors spread within a single day.
Of course, stats were still crucial. But precisely because stats mattered, the outcome was even more astonishing.
“They’re saying you’re weak physically, but your theory skills are unmatched. That’s the current evaluation of you!”
“Why add the insult at the beginning?”
“Confident, aren’t you?”
“Of course.”
“And what if I had been there instead yesterday?”
He hesitated.
If it was a straight-up fight, he’d win, no doubt.
But in that specific situation?
‘I couldn’t use Words of Power because of the onlookers.’
Mar was C-rank, and judging by the rapier at her waist, she was likely a swift fencer.
Fortunately, his opponent yesterday had been a mage.
But if it had been Mar instead?
‘Could I beat a C-rank in pure melee combat with my current stats?’
He couldn’t say for certain.
It would depend on how things played out.
“I really need to raise my stats.”
“Hehe.”
Living with F- rank physical stats was rough.
He’d have to hit a dungeon later.
Maybe he’d get lucky with an elixir drop.
“By the way, don’t you like coffee? You haven’t touched it. Should I have ordered something else?”
“Caffeine’s bad for the throat.”
“Your throat? Are you sick? Is that why you’re wearing a mask? It looks good on you, though, that black mask!”
“Ask one question at a time.”
Just then, noise erupted from the first-floor lobby.
“Step aside! Emergency patient coming through!”
“Nurses, head in first and prep for surgery!”
Seven patients were being rushed in.
The stretchers were drenched in blood.
“That number…”
“…Yeah. Probably a dungeon anomaly.”
She had seen the same sight in the emergency room yesterday.
She’d even experienced an anomaly firsthand before.
Now, she could feel the tension in her very skin.
“Something’s definitely wrong.”
“Yeah…”
Seeing things like this, it was hard to stay idle.
“Can I see a list of gates owned by the guild?”
“Huh? Why?”
“I want to take a look around.”
After all, they were on the same team now.
He wanted to make sure there was less bloodshed under this guild’s watch.
‘Let’s root out all these dungeon anomalies.’
Kang Hyun planned to investigate them all and then hand over the findings to Yoo Chae-young.
After that, the guild could decide whether to investigate further or simply be more cautious.
‘And while I’m at it, I’ll clear a dungeon and pick up a Perfect Clear too.’
Without hesitation, he set off.
###
A conversation between Yoo Chae-young and Section Chief Choi Young-ho.
<The Emergency Response Committee is expected to be formed soon.>
“So, it’s finally come to that…”
The large-scale dungeon anomaly crisis had officially reached a visible threshold.
“Have you reviewed the data I sent you?”
<Yes. Like other guilds, Seonghwa also seems to view this situation as critical.>
“This isn’t a simple issue.”
The rising mortality rate among Awakened was a loss to national power.
But it didn’t stop there.
“This will have a significant impact on the economy.”
Mana stones formed the backbone of the economy.
Dungeon raids were inextricably tied to their production.
“First, mana stone production will decrease.”
<Of course. Fear of raiding will increase.>
But that wasn’t all.
Economic instability would only be the beginning of disaster.
“Fear of raiding could lead to systemic national collapse.”
<…I’m no expert in this area. Can you explain?>
The ominous tone in her voice was impossible to ignore.
“When gates are left unattended, they overflow after some time.”
<That’s true.>
“If fear reduces dungeon raid rates, dungeons will start to pile up.”
This would increasingly burden the nation.
<Ah…!>
“If the situation resolves quickly, fine. But what if it drags on?”
Once accumulated dungeons became uncontrollable?
Chain collapses.
Entire nations had already met their end on Earth this way.
<This is far more severe than I thought…>
“And in the immediate term, it’s also a problem. Anomalies will lead to more failed raids.”
Failed raids caused dungeon collapses, which spilled into civilian casualties.
Failure.
It was a catastrophe in itself.
Even under normal circumstances, collapses happened.
Nationally, they occurred once or twice a month.
This was already terrifying enough to the public, who lived in constant fear.
This was why Awakened were revered.
“Frequent collapses will further reduce the willingness to raid, creating a vicious cycle.”
<Hah…>
Only now did Chief Choi grasp the gravity of the situation.
<No wonder the government is responding so swiftly.>
“This is when raid encouragement and support are more critical than ever.”
Of course, addressing the root cause was essential.
<Thank you for sharing this data. Speaking of support, is Kang Hyun receiving sufficient resources?>
“…Of course.”
Yoo Chae-young’s face twisted into a wry smile as she lied.
She couldn’t bring herself to admit the truth—it was far too embarrassing.
‘I want to support him too!’
But the atmosphere was tense.
Too many eyes were watching.
Without concrete achievements, it was hard to justify offering support.
‘He said he was low on mana…’
Even though he was a Perfect Clear user, she couldn’t nurture him as quickly as she wanted.
‘If only he could achieve something notable, I could back him without hesitation.’
But his low rank made it difficult to send him to higher-level dungeons.
It was frustrating.
“Oh, perfect timing—Kang Hyun is calling me now.”
<Oh, really? I’ve said all I needed, so take your time.>
She ended the call and connected to Kang Hyun.
<Why are there so many dungeon anomalies?>
“Did Chief Choi already tell you about them?”
<Huh? About what?>
“Wait, he didn’t?”
The conversation seemed to diverge.
<Never mind. I emailed you the list of anomalous dungeons. Take a look. It’s quite a lot.>
A list of anomalous dungeons? What was he talking about?
<I’m heading into a dungeon now, so I’ll hang up.>
And just like that, the call ended abruptly.
‘What list? Did he collect cases from news reports? Why send that out of the blue?’
She decided to check her email.
As Yoo Chae-young reviewed the data, her eyes widened.
‘What the…?’
It was a genuine list of anomalous dungeons.
These were identified from guild-owned gates near Seoul, filtered systematically.
‘He identified the anomalies? Is that even possible?’
If it were anyone else, she wouldn’t have believed it.
But this was Kang Hyun.
‘If this is real…!’
At the very least, it could reduce the guild’s losses.
No—this could go even further.
By standardizing the method of anomaly identification, it might provide a breakthrough in resolving the crisis.
With trembling hands, she quickly tried calling him back.
But all she got was the distinct tone of someone inside a dungeon.
Beep. Beep.
“Ugh, seriously!”
Why now, of all times?
After leaving her completely flustered, he’d gone and disappeared into a dungeon!