The class continued, but Min-ho could feel the Association representative's gaze like a physical weight on his spine. The man didn't look at the other students. He didn't look at the teacher. He just kept his eyes fixed on the back of Min-ho's head, his hand hovering near a tablet as if he were rewriting a file in real-time.
'He definitely saw it,' Min-ho thought, his heart hammering against his ribs. 'The floor tiles, the chair... I'm literally too heavy for this room right now.'
The bell finally rang, signaling the end of the session. Min-ho didn't wait. He stood up, trying to move with the same "lazy" slowness he always used, but the floor groaned beneath his boots again. He moved toward the door, ignoring Jung-su's call to grab lunch.
"Min-ho, a moment."
The voice was cold and professional. Min-ho stopped in his tracks. The Association representative was standing by the obsidian pillar, packing his equipment, but his eyes were locked on Min-ho.
"I'm late for my next class," Min-ho muttered, not turning around.
"I'm Agent Kang of the Hunter Association's Monitoring Division," the man said, walking slowly toward him. "Usually, Mana Measurement is a boring routine. But today, the gravity in this room felt... skewed."
Agent Kang stopped just a foot behind him. The man was a high-tier Awakener; Min-ho could feel the pressure of his mana radiating outward.
"F-Rank hunters don't weigh two hundred kilos, kid," Kang whispered, his voice low so the other students wouldn't hear. "And they certainly don't have the muscle density to crack reinforced school tiles just by sitting down. Who is your sponsor? Or did you find a Forbidden Artifact?"
'Artifact? He thinks I'm cheating,' Min-ho realized. He slowly turned his head, looking at Kang out of the corner of his eye. 'If I tell him the truth, I'm a lab rat. If I lie, he'll follow me home.'
"I told you, I'm just tired," Min-ho said. "Maybe the school should invest in better floors."
As Min-ho turned to walk away, Kang reached out, his hand moving with a speed that would have been invisible to a normal human. It was a test—a high-speed grab meant to force a reaction.
Whoosh.
Min-ho's body reacted before his brain could. His shoulder dipped, and he pivoted on his heel, his new Agility allowing him to slip past the man's grip by a fraction of an inch.
Kang's eyes widened. "That movement... that was a perfect evasion."
'Shit!' Min-ho cursed internally. 'I shouldn't have dodged.'
Before Kang could say another word, the school's emergency sirens began to wail. It wasn't the drill tone. It was the sharp, jagged rhythm of a Gate Break.
"Warning! A rift has opened in Sector 4! All students proceed to the bunkers!" the intercom screamed.
The windows of the classroom shattered as a shockwave hit the building. In the distance, the sky over the school playground was tearing open, leaking the same bruised purple light Min-ho saw in the Slumber Realm.
Agent Kang's face went pale. "A Gate? Here? This wasn't on the detection radar!"
He looked at Min-ho, then at the rift. "Stay here, kid. If you're really an F-Rank, you'll die out there."
Kang bolted toward the window, jumping out and landing three stories down with a boom of mana.
Min-ho stood in the empty classroom, the wind howling through the broken glass. He looked at his hands. The 110x multiplier was screaming in his blood, demanding he fight.
'My sister is in the gym right now,' Min-ho thought, his eyes turning a sharp, lethal gold. 'And that Gate is opening right on top of it.'
[Notice: Emergency Quest Generated!]
[Objective: Prevent the gym's destruction.]
[Reward: +500 Slumber Credits / Skill: 'Silent Step']
"Let's see how strong I've gotten can I handle a real monster?," Min-ho whispered. He stepped onto the windowsill, the concrete crumbling under his boots as he prepared to leap.