Min-ho snapped awake and bolted upright in his bed. He gasped for air as if his lungs had been emptied for a century. His chest heaved and he clutched at his throat while the oxygen finally rushed back into his system. The transition from the Celestial Forge to the physical world felt like being crushed into a narrow box.
He moved to stand up but felt a sticky resistance. A thick and viscous black sludge coated his entire body and ruined his sheets. The substance smelled of sulfur and rotten iron. It was the physical impurities of his body purged during the four months of training. He gagged at the stench and realized he could not stay in the room for another second.
He caught his reflection in the mirror on his way to the bathroom. His white hair had grown nearly a foot longer and hung past his shoulder blades in a tangled and silver mess. His facial features were sharper and his eyes carried a faint golden glow that had not been there before. He looked like a different person.
Min-ho stepped into the shower and turned the water to a scalding temperature. He spent twenty minutes scrubbing the black grime from his skin. The sludge fell away in clumps and revealed a body that was denser and more defined than before. He felt a coiled power vibrating in his marrow. He found a pair of scissors in the cabinet and hacked his hair back to its usual length before throwing on a fresh black hoodie and sweatpants.
The sound of heavy engines idling outside drew his attention. He looked out the window and saw six black SUVs blocking the entire street. Men in tactical combat suits were cordoning off the house. They carried the emblem of the Hunter Association on their shoulders.
Min-ho ran downstairs and found his parents in the living room. His mother was crying while his father tried to keep Min-ah behind him. A heavy thud echoed through the house as someone slammed a fist against the front door.
"Open up! We have a warrant for Kim Min-ah for unregistered high tier mana usage!" a voice boomed from the porch.
Min-ho reached the door and pulled it open before they could strike it again. A dozen agents stood with their weapons drawn. At the front of the group was a tall man with a scar running across his chin and eyes that looked like cold flint. This was a high rank investigator. He held a digital tablet displaying Min-ah's profile.
"Step aside kid," the investigator said. He reached out to shove Min-ho out of the way.
Min-ho did not Budged. He planted his feet and the investigator's hand hit his chest like it had struck a mountain of solid lead. The man's eyes widened in surprise, and he immediately realized he was not dealing with a normal civilian.
The air on the porch suddenly grew cold. Min-ho stepped out and closed the front door behind him to shield his family. He looked the investigator in the eye and did not say a word. He allowed a fraction of the power he had cultivated in the Forge to leak out.
The investigator gritted his teeth and a jagged blue aura flared around his body. He was a B rank Hunter, and the sheer weight of his mana caused the wooden porch to groan and crack. He was trying to suppress Min-ho with pure intimidation.
Min-ho met the challenge. He unleashed the second level of Sovereign's Pressure. A deep and violet aura erupted from his frame and slammed into the blue mana like a physical wave. The two energies collided in the center of the yard and created a visible distortion in the air.
The tactical agents behind the investigator fell to their knees. The windows of the SUVs on the street shattered simultaneously from the atmospheric pressure. The investigator's boots sank into the concrete of the driveway as he struggled to remain upright. Neither of them moved. They stood locked in a silent and violent clash of wills as the neighborhood fell into a terrifying silence.