The Assassin
"I just hope he's safe..."
Park Eun-ho's voice, as he sprinted through the corridor, was laced with anxiety. While dealing with the Red Heaven Cultists, he had received intelligence that the Ascetic was heading toward Kim Ilshin's location. No matter how extraordinary Kim Ilshin's talent was, facing an Ascetic alone was impossible. He could only pray that luck was on the boy's side and that he was still alive. He couldn't let a genius of that caliber meet his end in a place like this.
"Just hold on...!"
Having rushed to the scene, Park Eun-ho soon discovered the corpses of the Red Heaven Cultists. A clean, singular strike had taken their lives in an instant. It was a relief that the bodies weren't Kim Ilshin's, but these were ordinary cultists. 'Even so, he shouldn't have been able to handle an Ascetic...'
Park Eun-ho's train of thought screeched to a halt. At the far end of the corridor, beyond the bodies that looked far from ordinary, stood Kim Ilshin, closing the eyes of the victims. Seeing him standing there, completely unscathed, Park Eun-ho muttered in a daze.
"...This is ridiculous."
He wasn't a genius. He was a monster.
"Seriously, who handles requests like this?"
Choi Sang-il, a clerk at the Request Management Office, was in a foul mood. Because the Gangnam Police Station had requested a direct processing of the contract, he had been forced to push back all his other work. It wasn't as if such cases never happened, but he didn't like the fact that the person who had taken the request was Kim Ilshin. It was unprecedented for a police station to contact an academy student directly to assign a private request.
'And the Red Heaven Cult, of all things?'
They had even put Kim Ilshin on a request related to the Red Heaven Cult, the group they were most wary of lately. It would have been impossible to do so without acknowledging his abilities, and that only made Choi Sang-il feel worse.
"I'd like to apply for a request contract."
Just then, a hand extended toward him, offering a document. As Choi Sang-il looked up, a friendly smile bloomed on his face.
"Oh, student Baek Ha-yeon! I'll process this for you right away!"
The person applying for the request was Baek Ha-yeon. She was trying to solidify her position as the top student by boosting her grades with successful request completions. Choi Sang-il, who wanted to stay in the good graces of the Baek family, quickly began processing the request.
New email received from Gangnam Police Station.
"Ah, let me just check this real quick, then I'll continue helping you."
"Yes."
Choi Sang-il asked for Baek Ha-yeon's understanding and opened the email without much thought. Since B-class hero Park Eun-ho was involved, the request must have been a success. He just needed to confirm it briefly and move on.
'I'll just glance at it... wait, what?'
Thud!
The moment he scanned the contents, Choi Sang-il jumped up in shock. The recoil sent his chair rolling across the floor with a loud crash. Ignoring the reactions of those around him, Choi Sang-il read the email again.
[...Single-handedly executed the Ascetic Seo Ju-han, who was wanted for the murder of seven Red Heaven Cultists and a series of serial killings...]
Choi Sang-il knew the Ascetic's reputation all too well. They were said to be beings with strength incomparable to ordinary cultists. Furthermore, this Ascetic, Seo Ju-han, had a history of not only slaughtering civilians but also murdering the active-duty hero who had been tracking him.
'I... I treated someone like this...'
Choi Sang-il was feeling genuine fear. The memory of his own rude behavior toward Kim Ilshin kept replaying in his mind. If Kim Ilshin rose to a high position in the near future, he would surely retaliate. For someone like Choi Sang-il, who viewed the world through a narrow lens, it was the only conclusion he could reach.
"Is something wrong?"
At the sound of Baek Ha-yeon's voice, Choi Sang-il finally regained his composure. He replied that it was nothing, then, with trembling hands, continued processing Baek Ha-yeon's request. Baek Ha-yeon, having looked away from him, glanced at the monitor from an angle and thought.
'He defeated... an Ascetic.'
Even to Baek Ha-yeon, it was a staggering achievement. The more Kim Ilshin showed such incredible results, the more she began to look forward to their upcoming sparring match. Since the practical exam date was drawing near, the sparring application period would start soon. There wasn't much time left until she would cross swords with him.
"It's all done..."
"Thank you."
Baek Ha-yeon finished her request and walked out. That day, Kim Ilshin's grade was raised to Upper-Intermediate.
After dealing with the Ascetic and reuniting with Park Eun-ho, Kim Ilshin suggested they investigate the rest of the corridor, just in case any enemies remained. However, they found no one during their sweep. Having confirmed this, Kim Ilshin and Park Eun-ho headed up to report the outcome.
The police officers who heard the report were relieved that the Red Heaven Cultists had been suppressed safely, but they were also shocked by the fact that Kim Ilshin had handled the Ascetic alone, even going so far as to request handshakes, claiming he would become a very famous hero in the future. They finished the final investigation and recovered the victims' bodies.
"Both of you, thank you for your hard work! We'll take it from here."
Inspector Ahn Tae-young bowed his head in gratitude. His gaze toward Kim Ilshin was filled with respect.
"Please let us know if you find any other information or traces."
"Yes, understood. And if you ever want to become a police officer, please let me know. I'll make sure to pull some strings for you."
Kim Ilshin nodded vaguely. He had no desire to be a police officer in this world.
"Oh, and here is your request reward. The additional compensation I mentioned earlier will be deposited into your account."
Ahn Tae-young handed him a thin envelope. It was abnormally stiff and hard. Kim Ilshin knew it contained the Scales of the Four Kings. The quantity was more than he had expected.
"Good work."
Park Eun-ho, who had approached Kim Ilshin while he was accepting the envelope, said with a satisfied smile.
"If you ever need help later, call the number I gave you. Though I wonder if that'll ever happen."
"Understood."
Building a connection with an active-duty hero was a significant gain. Especially one with a high rank like B-class. It would be useful to have help from various directions in case of an unforeseen situation.
"Right. See you again."
Park Eun-ho gave Kim Ilshin's arm a friendly pat before leaving in his car. Kim Ilshin also said his final goodbyes and returned to the academy. The sun had already set. He wanted to go test the newly acquired Wolgok-gyeong, but he headed to Hana Lin's weapon shop first. He wanted to ask about the strange phenomenon he'd seen with the Hyeonwol sword and drop off the Scales of the Four Kings.
The weapon shop door was still closed, just as it had been during the day. She probably hadn't woken up yet. It was understandable, considering she hadn't slept for even ten hours in the past week.
Knock, knock. Knock, knock.
Click.
After a few knocks, the door opened. Hana Lin, who couldn't even open her eyes properly as if still lost in sleep, asked in a groggy voice.
"What is it..."
"I have something to ask."
"Just come in, then..."
Kim Ilshin entered the shop and explained the phenomenon that had occurred with the Hyeonwol sword while fighting the Red Heaven Cultists. It was a phenomenon similar to what he had seen with the raw material, the Blood Resonance Stone, which greedily absorbed the blood that touched it.
Hana Lin's reaction after hearing his entire explanation was very calm.
"Didn't I tell you? That sword is imbued with the properties of the Blood Resonance Stone."
"You didn't."
"...You should have asked."
Seeing him be so shameless after missing such an important detail made her want to give him a flick on the forehead. Still, she knew he must have been exhausted at the time, so she held it in and asked,
"So, what happens when the gauge is full?"
"I don't know the exact details either. But nothing bad will happen. That much is certain. Hmm... maybe it'll undergo an awakening or something?"
"...Hmm."
It was a relief that nothing bad would happen. It was a shame she couldn't find out more, though.
"Alright, I get it. I have one more request."
"Huh, right now? I'm tired..."
Kim Ilshin took out the Scales of the Four Kings from the envelope and showed them to Hana Lin. She looked indifferent, perhaps because they were a more common material compared to the Blood Resonance Stone, but her eyes widened at Kim Ilshin's next words.
"Compress these and make me a single glove."
"Y-you want to use all of these...? With this much, I could even make a shirt..."
"I don't want anything that hinders my movement. Is it possible?"
Hana Lin hugged the Scales of the Four Kings to her chest and answered energetically.
"Of course! But you have to pay! I'll send you the bill by text later!"
Hana Lin, now fully equipped with polite speech, muttered about how glad she was to have opened the door and ran off to her workshop. Her sleepiness seemed to have vanished completely. Having finished his business, Kim Ilshin closed the door properly and headed quickly to the training hall. It had been a long day, but he didn't feel tired at all. He wanted to test his new results as soon as possible.
A dark, narrow room underground. In a space where no light could enter, a pair of red eyes flashed. The owner of the red eyes was Chu Hyun-seung, a member of the Red Heaven Cult's assassination group, the Blood Rock Unit. He was in the middle of a confession to atone for his previous mission failure.
Step.
Chu Hyun-seung heard the sound of footsteps walking down the silent corridor. It was the first sound from the outside he had heard in a week. The footsteps stopped in front of the solitary cell where Chu Hyun-seung was held. A single document slid through the food slot at the bottom.
"The Bishop has issued a mission. Destroy the infidel who will become a great dagger in the future."
Chu Hyun-seung picked up the document with weak hands. It was filled with information about the assassination target. Kim Ilshin, a 3rd-year student at Cosmo Academy. He was Chu Hyun-seung's new target.
Chu Hyun-seung burned the contents of the document into his mind, vowing that he would never fail this time.
"On the day the Great Hero Raid operation is carried out, you will infiltrate separately and execute the infidel. It must be done in absolute secrecy."
"I accept the will of the God."
As Chu Hyun-seung replied, he recalled an artifact he had obtained previously. It was an artifact capable of temporarily sealing the mana in one's Dantian and Circle. It was a one-time-use item with many restrictions, but if he used it, there would be no way for the mission to fail. After all, there was no one who didn't gather mana in their Dantian or Circle.
'Since an item I obtained by chance has opened a path for me, what else could this be but the guidance of God?'
Chu Hyun-seung bowed his head to the ground, thanking God for his will.