I Think I Should Probably Run

The Shinhwa Guild headquarters was split clean between the surface and the depths.

Aboveground belonged to administration—the sterile realm of office desks, paperwork, and white-collar logistics. Belowground, however, was an entirely different world. It belonged to the subjugation teams: the Awakened. It housed recovery lounges, armories, material emporiums, and private vaults. Yet by far, the vastest expanse of that subterranean fortress was reserved for the training grounds.

“Whew…”

A soft sigh parted porcelain lips. With a light step, a crisp, crackling sound rippled outward across the reinforced floor, blooming into intricate crystals of pure white frost.

Slender, pale fingertips swept through the empty air. In an instant, the heavy training dummies erected in the center of the arena detonated into splinters.

Boom—!

Shredded debris scattered through the freezing air, obliterated so thoroughly that not even their forms remained. The architect of that devastation was a single blade forged from translucent azure cold. Yet that single sword was only the prelude.

Centering around her slender silhouette, six frostblades manifested and began to orbit in lethal synchrony. In a heartbeat, they erupted into a biting tempest of cerulean ice—the Ice Heavenly Flower Sword, a lethal combat art unique to Yoo Seolhyeon alone.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Standing at the epicenter of the storm, the woman whispered under her breath.

“Disappear.”

The tempest tore across earth and sky. When the ferocious gale finally settled, the dozens of steel-bound dummies planted in the dirt floor had vanished without a trace, vaporized into glittering dust.

Yoo Seolhyeon stared quietly at the countless gouges and slash marks carved into the floor.

“…”

Every single gouge was jagged and erratic. Her blade had trembled, destabilized by the stray thoughts crowding her mind. For someone cursed to feel almost nothing, there was only one person in this world who could shake her composure like this.

She gazed blankly at the hilt in her hand for a long moment.

“…Haah.”

With an uncharacteristic flash of temper, she hurled the sword to the ground, sank into a crouch, and buried her face in her knees. The scene from thirty minutes ago replayed endlessly behind her closed eyelids.

…Why did I do that?

Was someone like her simply not allowed to have normal things? Had she reached for something she shouldn't have, only for the heavens to step in and mock her?

Just as she was sinking deeper into misery, her phone vibrated against her pocket.

He had. But the world had a cruel habit of never going according to plan. Of all the moments for him to look, why did he have to glance over right when she took the tickets out? If not for that, she wouldn't have completely malfunctioned.

“It's frustrating…” she muttered.

“…I never should have done this in the first place.”

Yoo Seolhyeon turned off her phone and headed for the exit. Behind her departing back, the shattered floor of the training ground began to knit itself back together under the humming glow of repair enchantments. Her plan had been to go straight home and crawl under the covers—until she caught an unmistakably familiar presence crossing into the guild building.

“…Baek Sihyeok?”

With every stride I took, the scenery blurred past in a brisk rush. Even though I was walking at an aggressive clip without pausing for breath, my legs didn't ache in the slightest. It felt as if my body had snapped back to its absolute prime—or perhaps ascended well past it.

“…Status window.”

The moment I murmured the command under my breath, a translucent blue pane flared into existence in the open air.

“Strength, Agility, and Vitality are all at twenty?”

Excluding Mana, an Awakened's base stats normally started at 10. That baseline jump was the sole reason people felt superhuman immediately after awakening. The reason for my absurd numbers became obvious the moment I focused on my new ability.

“A passive type. …Hmm.”

The stat inflation was clearly courtesy of that last line. The other effects, however, were hard to quantify just by reading text. It was the kind of power you had to experience firsthand to understand. Not that it mattered right now; I was planning on entering the Tower tomorrow anyway.

“I'll figure it out as I go.”

Passing straight through Shinhwa Guild's main entrance, I made a beeline for the elevators. I pressed the call button, and after a brief chime, the doors slid open.

“Basement level four: Equipment Shop.”

Beyond the sliding doors lay rows upon rows of tightly packed display racks. Arrayed on those shelves were combat attire, protective gear, enchanted artifacts, and cold steel weapons. It was a sight that could set any man's pulse racing. I stood there, drinking in the magnificent view, when a bright voice broke through the quiet.

“Oh, Sihyeok? What brings you down here?”

The cheery, high-toned greeting echoed off the walls. I knew that voice instantly. After all, only one person personally managed this high-grade equipment shop.

“Guild Master.”

Turning my head, my eyes met a woman wearing round spectacles. She possessed waist-length jet-black hair and sharp, refined features, though her sunny demeanor effortlessly rounded off any cold edge. Without warning, she leaned in close.

“Did you get into a fight with Seolhyeon?”

“…Excuse me? What?”

“Come on, fess up. This big sis already knows everything, you know?”

“No, that's not—”

“Tsk, tsk! No lying!”

Tilting my head, I looked down at the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠petite woman whose head barely reached my chest. What is this? It's barely been ten minutes. Did Seolhyeon seriously come crying to the Guild Master already? Her eyes were filled with such absolute certainty that trying to argue felt completely futile.

“…Yes, well. Something like that happened.”

“Ha! I knew it. Good grief… Did you come down here to buy an apology gift? I doubt there's anything Seolhyeon can actually use out on the front shelves, though. The good stuff is kept in the back. Hold on a second, stay right there.”

“Wait, that's really not why—”

I reached out to stop her, but Shinhwa's Guild Master, Seong Yerin, had already vanished into the back room like a gust of wind. Watching her disappear, the first thought that crossed my mind wasn't how to clear up this ridiculous misunderstanding.

Come to think of it… what's Seong Yerin's ability again?

If I could copy it… wouldn't it be stupid not to?

“The more abilities, the better…”

Now that I had awakened, now that I had finally been handed the chance to grow strong, I needed to seize every single advantage with both hands. With Seong Yerin out of sight, this was the perfect moment.

Target: Seong Yerin.

The moment the thought crystallized in my mind, a flurry of silver pages fluttered before my eyes, scattering brilliant light across my vision. As the spectral tome spread open, the copying condition manifested over its luminous parchment.

“…Hmm.”

It wasn't impossibly hard, but it certainly wasn't easy either. More importantly, the grade of the copied skill depended on how utterly shocked she became. Watching Seong Yerin trot back out from the storage room, I muttered under my breath.

“…Half-measures won't cut it.”

How long was I supposed to stay beneath Yoo Seolhyeon, walking on eggshells around her? Now that I had my shot, I was going to climb above her no matter what it took. And for that goal, I was prepared to take whatever risks were necessary.

While those thoughts churned in my head, Seong Yerin stopped in front of me with a proud grin.

“Ta-da! The truly priceless treasures are kept right here. Seolhyeon's always had a soft spot for earrings. Tell you what, I'll give you a special employee discount—ninety-nine-point-nine percent off!”

…Wasn't that basically giving it away for free?

With a playful snap of her fingers, the central display pedestal flipped over, revealing a sleek glass case. Inside rested an assortment of swords, spears, and ornate accessories, every single one radiating an extraordinary, suffocating presence. Staring at the thin pane of glass, I couldn't hide my skepticism.

“They look expensive, sure… but is it really safe to keep things like this out in the open?”

“Hmph! It might look flimsy, but… ha!”

Thud—!

Seong Yerin tapped her small fist against the glass casing. The impact, however, was anything but small. The shockwave shuddered through the entire shop, violently rattling every display shelf in the room. Yet the glass case didn't bear so much as a hairline scratch.

“Who do you think set up this barrier? Regular physical force won't even tickle it!”

Seong Yerin launched into a long, self-satisfied lecture about the barrier's arcane mechanics, puffing her chest out in desperate need of praise. Letting her boastful words pass in one ear and out the other, I focused my gaze on the peculiar flow of mana coating the glass. The harder I concentrated, the clearer the barrier's internal architecture became.

Hundreds of paper-thin defensive layers were locked together like the teeth of intricate gears, perfectly distributing and absorbing any kinetic impact from the outside.

“So you see, this security is fundamentally unbreakable. That's what I'm saying… hey, are you even listening?”

She was right. From the outside, it was indeed impenetrable. But my brain was already racing along an entirely different track. If I shatter something unbreakable right in front of her eyes… wouldn't that shock the living daylights out of her?

“Yes, yes. Absolutely.”

Nodding casually, I reached out and casually slid a plain longsword from a nearby rack. Then, I mirrored the exact stance I had seen Yoo Seolhyeon use countless times on guild raid footage: gripping the hilt with both hands, leveling the tip precisely at eye level.

The moment cold steel touched my palms, an indescribable thrill shot straight up my spine. Honestly, I had no idea how I was going to deal with the fallout afterward. But if I hesitated here, the road ahead of me was far too long.

“…What are you doing?”

Look at that. There's already a hint of confusion in her voice.

“Who knows?”

The variable I had spotted lay inside the case itself. My focus locked onto a pair of earrings radiating a sinister, blood-red mana. If I utilized that internal mana flow, this was completely doable. This barrier was virtually absolute against kinetic energy applied from the outside… but its structural design was utterly incapable of withstanding force directed from within.

Reading the trajectory along which the earring discharged its pulses, I swung the blade downward with everything I had.

It was the first time in my entire life holding a live sword, yet the motion unfolded as naturally as if ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I had drilled it for a decade. The instant the descending edge struck the glass, the kinetic force of my slash resonated in absolute harmony with the mana surging from the earring inside.

KABOOM—!

“…What the absolute hell?!”

A crimson mist erupted as shattered glass decorated the air like glittering shrapnel. Seong Yerin's round glasses slipped clean off the bridge of her nose, tumbling to the floor with a tiny clatter. Her wide eyes trembled violently as she stared at me.

Nice.

While I silently celebrated in front of the floating prompt, Seong Yerin stood frozen, her jaw practically scraping the tiles.

“M-My barrier… I stayed up three whole nights without sleeping to make that…”

“Well, at least you found the flaw early. Now you can fix it for next time, right?”

“…”

A gaze dripping with unfiltered, murderous intent locked onto me.

…Uh-oh. Wrong answer.

I had a very strong feeling that I needed to start running right now.