The First Scandal at the Verification Field

The first scandal erupted right there in the Verification Field. I'd just saved someone, but the Association dragged me back down to rock bottom.

The center of the Verification Field was marked by a white line. Dried blood still stained the ground beneath my feet. Hot pain throbbed up through the fresh bandages Cha Yu-ri had just wrapped around me.

Standing before it, Association verifier Park Do-hyun flipped through my record sheet with a smirk.

"Hunter Kang Tae-san. Solo gate core destruction. Mini-gate threat eliminated. And yet your registered attack power is 4."

He looked up.

"The numbers don't add up."

Laughter rippled from the spectator seats. Association staff, reporters, even ranking broadcast reps had crammed in. All because a single video lingering on a back-alley convenience store window had spread like wildfire overnight.

A man blocking a monster in front of civilians, without gear. A man sending a charging monster flying back. And a man listed as a trash-grade tanker on the official rankings.

Those three lines had become the entry ticket to today's verification.

"He needs treatment before verification," Cha Yu-ri said from beside me. She wore her combat healer jacket instead of a white coat. Her shoulder-mounted mini-camera was off, but the Association's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠broadcast cams outnumbered it.

Park Do-hyun chuckled. "Are you the treatment lead?"

"Yes."

"Not officially assigned, though."

"I applied, and the patient didn't refuse."

Yu-ri's voice was firm.

Han Mi-rae raised her hand from behind. "I signed as guardian."

Park Do-hyun's eyebrow arched. "Guardian?"

"You said earlier he didn't have one. Figured if it was blank, the Association would snatch him up."

"Ms. Han Mi-rae. This is an official verification."

"That's why I signed officially."

Mi-rae smiled, but her pen never stopped moving.

One side of the spectator seats buzzed. The murmur reached Yoon Seo-ah's seat first. She stared silently at the board. On her lap sat a folded paper.

Partner Contract Termination Agreement.

Until yesterday, that single sheet could've erased my spot beside her. Today, it was the opposite—that paper kept her from coming down to my side.

"Let's begin," Park Do-hyun gestured.

Three armored training dummies were dragged into the Verification Field. Crystal gauges for attack measurement were embedded in their chests.

"Basic strikes first. Hammer use permitted."

I hefted Gravity Hammer Muk-roe. The Verification Field floor rumbled low. The laughter quieted a bit.

I stood before the first dummy. Swung with all my strength.

Bam!

The sound boomed. But the number on the crystal was tiny.

Someone in the seats burst out laughing.

"What, his defense is really the only thing?"

"Yesterday's video was faked, right?"

"Monster just tripped on its own?"

Park Do-hyun nodded like he'd been waiting. "Attack power is indeed low."

He turned slightly toward the broadcast camera. "Hunter Kang Tae-san's case is likely a special variable from the gate berserk. Hard to count as official combat power."

Cha Yu-ri's eyes iced over. "You're jumping to conclusions without even checking the patient's condition properly."

"Treatment leads should stick to treatment."

Han Mi-rae wiped her smile. "Verifier. Watch your words."

Park Do-hyun ignored her. "Next, defense verification. What Hunter Kang Tae-san excels at, right?"

The wall at the back of the Verification Field slid open. A mana cannon rolled forward slowly. Too thick-barreled for "training."

Cha Yu-ri stepped forward immediately. "That output isn't for injured people."

Park Do-hyun shrugged. "He showed it in the video. Blocked a charge, smashed a core. If it's real, no problem."

The words were verification. The ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠intent was public humiliation.

I planted Muk-roe on the ground. "Fire."

Cha Yu-ri grabbed my arm. "Mr. Kang Tae-san."

"I'm fine."

"No 'fine.' You bleed every time you say it."

"Then short version." I shook off her hand. "Get back."

Yu-ri bit her lip. She retreated anyway. Not fully—stopped at heel's reach.

Han Mi-rae placed her hand on the control line outside. "Don't cut the broadcast."

Park Do-hyun glanced at her. "What?"

"Guardian's opinion. Record everything. Output levels too."

An Association staffer flinched at that.

Yoon Seo-ah rose from her seat. She started down, then stopped. Not a guardian, not treatment lead, not partner. No title at all.

Her face showed she realized it.

The mana cannon glowed blue. "Fire."

Boom!

The impact slammed my chest. Heels scraped the floor. Breath hitched.

But my knees held.

Numbers flashed on the board. Laughter died.

Park Do-hyun's face stiffened. "One more."

The second shot hit my shoulder. Bones rang inside. Muk-roe's handle grew heavy, sticking to my palm.

Someone in the seats muttered low. "It's actually storing it?"

Park Do-hyun gritted his teeth. "Third."

Cha Yu-ri shouted. "Verifier, stop!"

"Treatment lead, get back!"

"He's a patient!"

"Verification target."

My fingers tightened on Muk-roe at those words. Patient. Target. Shield. Porter. People changed names so easily.

I looked up. "Park Do-hyun."

The verifier's eyes turned to me. "Don't call me by name casually."

"If you're stopping, do it now."

"A threat?"

"No." I stepped forward one pace. "A chance."

The verifier's face flushed red. He raised his hand. "Overcharge prep."

Staff around us stirred. "Verifier, that's beyond safety limits."

"I'll take responsibility."

Han Mi-rae said low. "Hear that? It's all recorded."

Yoon Seo-ah couldn't sit anymore. She gripped the spectator rail. "Tae-san-ah, dodge!"

Back then, I might've laughed. Not now.

I faced front. "Not dodging."

Cha Yu-ri hooked her heel on my back. Warm light seeped into my wounds. "Then endure it."

Her voice trembled. "I'll hold you from behind."

Muk-roe hummed low. The mana cannon erupted.

Unlike the first two, not blue—white light. The floor's safety lines shattered first. Impact swallowed me.

Screams erupted. I slid one step. Two. Stopped at three.

The board glowed red. I swallowed blood. Then lifted Muk-roe.

Heavy. All the force that had tried to crush me was inside now.

The verifier's eyes shook. "Wait, you can't use that inside the—"

"Get back."

This wasn't for him. Staff near the control line retreated. Han Mi-rae yanked the line, pulling people out. Cha Yu-ri raised a barrier.

Yoon Seo-ah vaulted the rail to the field's edge. Rules be damned, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠she scooped up a kid and shoved him back.

She didn't run. I saw that.

I slammed Muk-roe down. The Verification Field went dark from top to bottom.

Kwaaaang!

The shockwave engulfed the mana cannon head-on. Its barrel crumpled like paper. Residual force raced across the floor to Park Do-hyun's feet.

His knees buckled. Right in front of the camera.

He braced with his hands to avoid falling. Too late.

The broadcast caught it crystal clear: the mocking verifier kneeling before his own overcharge.

The Verification Field fell silent. I looked down at Park Do-hyun.

"Wasn't wrong because you're weak."

His lips trembled. "An accident during verifica—"

"Apologize to the victims."

"What?"

"The civilians hurt in that alley yesterday. And everyone you scared with your overcharge just now."

The broadcast cam zoomed closer. Park Do-hyun couldn't lift his head.

Han Mi-rae laughed. "Perfect. Official apology live too."

Cha Yu-ri grabbed my arm. "No smiling. Sit. Standing now looks weirder."

"Not smiling."

"Your eyes are."

"You saw wrong."

"We should add patient lies to verification items."

Soft laughter from the seats. The same people who'd called me trash-grade moments ago. The tone had shifted.

Yoon Seo-ah stood frozen at the field's edge, hand still in the pose shoving the kid back.

I met her eyes, and she whispered tiny. "I... came down too."

Excuse or report, maybe both. I nodded. "Saw you."

Her eyes shook at those words.

Han Mi-rae sidled up. "Oppa. Not canceling the guardian signature, right?"

Cha Yu-ri ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cut in. "No signatures till treatment's done."

"Already signed."

"Then I'll note it invalid per treatment lead."

"Isn't that overreach?"

"Patient survival rights."

Sparks flew between them again. I slung Muk-roe over my shoulder.

Body heavy. But the air in the Verification Field was far lighter than when we'd started.

Under the board, a reporter frantically edited his headline.

The text vanished. A new one rose.

Moments later, another change.

I sighed at the title. "More tiring than fighting."

Cha Yu-ri rewrapped my bandages. "Get it now?"

Han Mi-rae laughed. "First scandals are always exhausting."

Yoon Seo-ah said nothing. But she stayed in the Verification Field, not the seats, until the end.

The verification ended. My attack power still clocked low.

But everyone saw. The hits I take don't vanish.

And the names around me now? Not so easy to erase.