The air in the Academy infirmary tasted like ozone and disappointment.
I lay on the thin cot, staring at the flickering fluorescent lights. The rhythmic beep-hiss of the mana-trace scanner was the only sound in the room until the nurse finally pulled the sensor array away from my chest.
"Still a flat 1.5, Instructor Kim," she said, tapping her tablet with a sigh. "The cellular density is off the charts, but that's just the 'Burnout' effect. His body is physically reinforced because it's trying to compensate for the fact that his mana circuits are essentially fried."
Instructor Kim leaned against the doorframe, his face unreadable. "So the Limit Break was a terminal one. He traded his future for a single fight in a scavenger pit."
"In medical terms? Yes. He's essentially a high-performance engine with no fuel tank," she replied. She looked at me with a pitying smile. "You're lucky to be walking, Jin-woo. Take the medical discharge from combat duties. You can still transfer to the Mana-Theory department or Logistics."
"Thank you, ma'am," I said, my voice sounding appropriately hollow.
As soon as they left the room, I sat up. The "hollow" feeling was a lie. Inside, my core was roaring, fueled by the 2,000 credits from the Obsidian Scale I had just "devoured." I didn't need a table to tell me what I needed; the System's instinct was a hum in the back of my brain.
I selected [Aether Step] and [Dragon's Eye].
The world didn't just change; it expanded. Suddenly, the infirmary didn't look like a room. Through the walls, I could see the "leakage" in the nurse's own mana-circles. I saw the hidden surveillance spells planted by the Academy in the ceiling corners. And most importantly, I saw the person standing right outside my door, their energy signature a turbulent, orange swirl of wind.
"You can stop pretending, Jin-woo. They're gone."
The door slid open. Min-ah walked in, her orange hair messy and her eyes red. She didn't look like a proud C-rank 'Wind Runner.' She looked like she'd been crying.
"Min-ah? What are you doing here? Class isn't over," I said, pulling the shock blanket tighter around my shoulders to maintain the "Weakling" image.
"I heard what the nurse said," she whispered, walking to the edge of the bed. "They're saying you're a 'Dud' now. That you burned out your soul to save us from that Granite Devourer."
"It was worth it," I said. It wasn't a total lie. Saving her was worth it, even if the "Burnout" was a fabrication.
Min-ah grabbed my hand. Her grip was shaking. "No, it wasn't. You were supposed to stay safe in the back, Jin-woo. Now you're... you're stuck as an F-rank forever. How are you going to support your mom? How are you going to live in a world that only cares about Ranks?"
"I'll figure it out," I said softly.
[Notice: 'Dragon's Eye' has detected a 'High-Rank Tracking Sigil' on Min-ah's sleeve.]
My blood ran cold. I looked closer. It wasn't a spell from the school. It was a jagged, dark-blue mark, invisible to the naked eye. It was the mark of the Blue Tiger Guild—the personal guild of Han-gyul, the S-rank heir who had been hounding me since Chapter 1.
He wasn't just bullying me anymore. He was marking my friends to see where I went.
"Min-ah," I said, my voice changing slightly. The "Dragon's Fear" flickered in my gaze before I suppressed it. "Did you see Han-gyul today?"
She blinked, startled by the change in my tone. "Yeah, he stopped me in the hall. He... he offered to pay for your medical bills since you were 'injured on Academy time.' Why?"
"Don't take anything from him," I said. "And stay away from him. He's not looking for a charity case, Min-ah. He's looking for a leash."
Before she could respond, my new phone vibrated. It was a message from Sae-rin, but the [Dragon's Eye] flagged it immediately.
[Warning: This message is being intercepted by an external source.]
I looked at the text. Sae-rin: The stones are ready. Meet at the usual spot tonight. We need to talk about the man in the armor.
If I went, Han-gyul's trackers would follow Min-ah to me, and the Association's interceptors would follow Sae-rin's message to the meeting spot. I was being boxed in.
"Jin-woo? You're acting weird," Min-ah said, leaning in.
I stood up, ripping the sensors off my chest. I didn't care if the alarm went off.
"I'm fine, Min-ah. I just realized I forgot to do something."
"In your condition? You can barely walk!"
I looked at her, and for a split second, I let the "F-rank Mask" slip just a fraction. I used [Aether Step].
I didn't move. I simply was on the other side of the room. It was so fast and so silent that the human eye couldn't even register a blur. To Min-ah, it looked like I had just teleported three meters without a single spark of mana.
"Wait... how did you..."
"Go home, Min-ah," I said, my back to her. "Tell my mom I'm staying late for a 'logistics' seminar. I'll be back late."
I walked out of the infirmary, my mind racing. Han-gyul was playing a game of cat and mouse, but he didn't realize the mouse had just bought a set of S-rank fangs.
2:00 AM: The Han-gyul Estate – Private Training Grounds
Han-gyul was alone in his private gym, a state-of-the-art facility built with mana-dampening walls. He was mid-swing, his practice spear glowing with a fierce blue light as he decimated a row of Rank-B training golems.
"Sir," a voice spoke from the shadows. His lead scout stepped into the light. "The tracker on the girl is stationary at her home. The target, Jin-woo, is still missing from the infirmary. And we successfully intercepted the 'Ice Queen's' message."
Han-gyul wiped sweat from his brow, a cruel smirk on his face. "So the Thermos and the Ice Queen are playing house? Interesting. Sae-rin always did have a soft spot for strays. We'll wait until they meet, then we'll drop the Association's Internal Affairs on them. Dealing with an unregistered 'Limit Breaker' is a felony. I'll have her guild's license suspended and that F-rank trash in a cage by morning."
"A cage is such a small place for a Sovereign, don't you think?"
Han-gyul spun around, his spear leveled at the source of the voice.
I was sitting on top of his weight rack, my legs crossed, tossing a small, glowing purple mana stone into the air and catching it. I wasn't wearing my mask. The golden veins in my neck were pulsing with a steady, rhythmic light.
"You..." Han-gyul's eyes widened. He looked at the door. "How did you get past the S-rank security wards? The alarms—"
"—Are currently frozen in a localized time-loop," I finished for him, jumping down. The ground didn't crack; the space simply accepted my weight. "You've been very busy, Han-gyul. Tracking my friends. Reading my messages. You really want to be part of the 'Great War' that badly?"
"I don't know what you're talking about, you F-rank freak," Han-gyul spat, his blue mana exploding outward. "But you just broke into a Tier-1 Private Estate. I can kill you here and the law will give me a medal!"
He lunged. The spear move was perfect—a Rank-A 'Piercing Tsunami' technique.
I didn't even call the [Aether Blade]. I used [Void Reach].
As the spear tip reached an inch from my throat, I reached out and caught the shaft. But I didn't grab the wood. I grabbed the concept of the spear's momentum.
Reverse.
The spear didn't just stop. The kinetic energy Han-gyul had poured into the strike was reflected back into the weapon instantly. The reinforced carbon-fiber shaft shattered into a thousand splinters, and Han-gyul was sent flying backward, slamming into his own reinforced wall.
"You... you're not a 'Dud'," he coughed, blood leaking from his mouth. "That power... it's not mana..."
"It's Aether," I said, walking toward him. Each step I took made the room dim, as if I were absorbing the very light from the bulbs. "And if I ever see another tracker on Min-ah, or another intercept on Sae-rin's phone, I won't just break your spear. I'll fold this entire estate into a space the size of a marble."
I leaned down, my golden eyes inches from his terrified face.
[Skill: 'Dragon's Fear' – Maximum Output.]
Han-gyul didn't just shake. He let out a strangled whimper and lost consciousness, his mind unable to handle the primal pressure of a 4.2% synchronized Sovereign.
I stood up and exhaled. The room returned to normal.
[Notice: Hidden Objective Complete: Silence the Bully.]
[Reward: 500 Credits.]
[Current Balance: 800 Credits.]
I looked at the unconscious heir. "Now," I whispered. "Let's see what Sae-rin actually wanted to talk about."