Baekho Guild – Sector 1 HQ, Internal Disciplinary Division
The room was white, empty, and too quiet.
Joo Yeong-su sat calmly at the center of it, fingers resting on his knees. The only sound was the faint hum of mana suppression fields.
He had been called in.
Not invited.
Not congratulated.
Summoned.
A moment later, the doors slid open.
In walked three people:
Seo Rina, Vice Captain, dressed in a moon-silver cloak
Chief Evaluator Min Soo-jin, a strict-looking woman with a floating tablet
And Director Han Yong-sik, head of internal control, silent but always watching
> "Joo Yeong-su," Seo Rina said with a polite tone hiding steel, "your performance during the dungeon breach has raised several questions."
Yeong-su met her eyes. "I followed orders. I saved lives."
Min Soo-jin spoke sharply. "You used a space-type skill. You possess unscanned traits. Your registered combat rating is E-rank, yet you outperformed B-rank teams."
> "We cannot allow unregistered irregularities in the Guild system," she added. "This is for your safety. And ours."
> "You're being detained for further classification and magical dissection."
Yeong-su's system buzzed.
---
[System Warning – Guild Intervention Detected]
Suppression Attempt: 17% Success Rate
Option A: Submit to full scan (Class exposure risk: HIGH)
Option B: Activate Emergency Exit Protocol (Underground Escape)
Option C: Accept Guild Challenge
> 'They won't listen. They want control.'
He looked up.
> "Give me a trial by combat."
Silence.
Rina raised an eyebrow. "Explain."
> "I'll fight whoever you choose. On record. If I lose, I'll submit to your scans. If I win, you leave me alone."
Min Soo-jin opened her mouth to object, but Rina raised a hand.
> "Agreed."
---
Elsewhere – Black Fang Safehouse
The rogue agent sat in a cold room, watching the conversation unfold via an intercepted mana signal.
> "He chose the third option..."
Behind him, a shadowy woman leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
> "He's going to be exposed."
> "No," the man said. "He's going to awaken again."
> "Prepare the Blood-Eye Dungeon. If he survives Baekho… we make our offer."
---
Later That Day – Baekho Guild Public Arena
The battle was kept internal—no cameras, no audience.
Just Guild staff, some higher-ranked Hunters, and a few selected trainees.
The opponent?
Kang Hyeon-ju.
Top-ranked D-rank trainee.
A brutal, arrogant flame user with one major difference:
> He awakened a system too.
But unlike Yeong-su, his awakening had been public, flashy, and celebrated. Sponsored already by Baekho's upper brass.
He entered the arena with a flaming spear and a smirk.
> "So this is the E-rank they're afraid of?"
> "You look like a busboy, not a Hunter."
Yeong-su said nothing.
But his system whispered—
---
[New Combat Threat Detected – System Host Confirmed]
Opponent Class: Ember Spear
Estimated Tier: Mid C
Combat Forecast: High risk
Adaptive Prediction Engaged
---
Match Begin
Hyeon-ju charged forward, flames igniting beneath his feet.
His speed was incredible, boosted by his system's Burning Dash.
> "You won't even see it coming!"
Yeong-su didn't blink.
He vanished just before the spear hit him.
Shadowstep – Activated.
He reappeared to Hyeon-ju's side and struck low—
—but Hyeon-ju had seen it coming.
Clash.
Flames exploded around both of them as his spear spun midair.
> "I've fought your type before," Hyeon-ju snarled. "I have Anti-Phase Vision now. You're not special."
Yeong-su gritted his teeth, arm burning from the heat.
> 'He adapted faster than expected.'
The next few minutes were brutal. Neither could land a clean hit. Yeong-su relied on raw precision, real-time prediction, and flashes of teleportation. Hyeon-ju used overwhelming power and continuous area denial.
Their fight cracked the arena floor.
Observers murmured, stunned.
> "That's not an E-rank…"
"They're both system users, aren't they?"
"Why hasn't Baekho announced this?"
Finally, Yeong-su's system chimed again.
---
[Hidden Trait Awakening – "Tempo Disruption" Lv. 1]
Effect: You may delay or advance a predicted movement window by 0.3 seconds
Cooldown: 60 seconds
---
Hyeon-ju spun forward, thrusting his spear with full momentum.
Yeong-su didn't dodge.
He stepped into the strike.
Time snapped.
Using Tempo Disruption, he broke the rhythm—interrupting the predictive window—and launched Phantom Strike into Hyeon-ju's collarbone.
CRACK.
The spear dropped.
A second hit landed into Hyeon-ju's solar plexus, cutting his breath.
He fell.
[Victory – Joo Yeong-su]
---
Aftermath – Baekho HQ Private Office
Seo Rina poured herself a glass of cold tea.
> "That boy… isn't part of the system anymore."
Her assistant asked carefully, "Should we detain him?"
> "No. That would only push him into Black Fang's arms."
She looked out over the lights of Seoul.
> "Let's keep him close."
> "Promote him. Publicly."
---
System Update – Ghostwalker Evolution
[Skill: Phantom Strike – Lv. 2]
[Trait: Tempo Disruption – Stable]
[Reputation: Rising Phantom]
Effect: Hunters who witness you fight will report inaccurate descriptions. Your presence becomes distorted.
[Special Quest Unlocked – "Echo Hunt"]
Objective: Survive the Blood-Eye Dungeon Trial (Hidden)
Reward: Ghostwalker Ascension – Stage 2
---
Yeong-su sat on the rooftop again, the city flickering below him.
The black card in his pocket pulsed softly.
> "Let's see what the underground has to offer…"
> "Before the surface collapses."