“…No Way.”

Having served as the Player Association Chairman's executive secretary for nearly ten years, Yoo Soo-yeon had always prided herself on her emotional control. Considering who she attended to, maintaining a rational state in all matters was only natural.

But right now, “That was definitely Lady Sung Hyun-sook's...”

Even she couldn't help but cover her mouth with her hand.

The ferocious whirlwind that had swirled around the sword strike Jae-min had just unleashed. If it wasn't her imagination,

it was unmistakably one of the legendary player's ultimate techniques.

Storm Slash.

A skill that made countless players who wielded swords or blades light up like children just hearing the name.

'No matter how ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠terrifying a swordsmanship skill someone demonstrates, they can't surpass the wall of Storm Slash.'

It had even spawned the internet slang “anything below Storm Slash is trash.”

Yet Jae-min had executed a skill that countless others only dreamed of, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Her son had inherited his mother's technique.

There was no other way to interpret it.

“Chairman—.”

The moment she turned to check Lee Tae-ho's reaction, Yoo Soo-yeon swallowed hard.

His pupils, fixed on the cyber field, were trembling violently.

'It's been a while since I've seen the Chairman react like this... even as his secretary.'

She was surprised, but didn't find it strange.

Lee Tae-ho was simply showing a perfectly reasonable reaction.

A heavy emotion laced his voice.

“After Hyun-sook left, I thought I'd never see that technique again.”

“......”

“Who would've thought I'd witness it once more.”

A laugh filled with complex meanings burst from Lee Tae-ho's lips.

“For a brief moment just now, I even had the illusion of seeing Hyun-sook's apparition behind that kid.”

“I felt the same, Chairman.”

“...You saw it too? Then it might not have been my imagination.”

Lee Tae-ho let out another small chuckle, his gaze turning toward Jae-min.

There stood the young man, radiating brilliant mana from his entire body with unwavering confidence.

It reminded him of the distant past.

The 'future' he had seen when he first met Hyun-sook was now manifesting in Jae-min at this very moment.

“...Yeah. It's definitely not an illusion.”

Gripping his hands behind his back as he stared silently, hot sweat beaded on his palms.

Watching the Cerberuses get swept away by the slash, I could only let out a hollow laugh.

“...Wow, damn.”

I was so shocked myself that I wanted to grab my cheeks. If not for the trembling in my hands.

“...No way I can chain it twice in a row.”

Once I consciously swung the sword intending to use the skill, Storm Slash activated for real.

Great... but.

The problem was that my arms and hands were shaking like I'd been bench-pressing for hours.

Plus, the range wasn't that wide.

About 3 meters, as stated.

The Storm Slash I'd used in Mom's body in the Reverse Dungeon had extended at least 10 meters.

But,

Above all, the fact that I'd actually pulled it off was what mattered most, right?

My chest swelled with emotion.

Who would've thought the day would come when I'd wield my mom's signature killer skill myself.

On top of that, I'd taken out five—not one—of those Cerberuses that used to terrify me back then, in a single blow.

It was a moment where I truly felt how much I'd grown.

'Alright then.'

Why had Storm Slash, which had been full of question marks, suddenly unlocked?

Whatever, it didn't matter now, but I was still curious.

“Huh?”

What was that signal from Mom?

She seemed to know something.

“Ah~ Yeah, sure, whatever?”

...Wait a sec.

I had no memory of Mom ever strengthening my body?

I was about to ask if she'd done it behind my back, but shut my mouth.

The uncle outside the field could hear me too.

So I switched to polite speech.

Soon after, Mom explained when she'd strengthened my body.

...Ah, so the Witch of Eternal Sleep hadn't fully died back then.

If it weren't for the real Mom, I'd be walking the path to the afterlife by now.

“If something like that happened, you should've told me. Why keep it a secret?”

...Come on, tsundere or not, why didn't you tell me?

Anyway, I gazed at the message with eyes full of gratitude.

What kind of son was I?

I should've confirmed the enemy was truly dead before catching my breath.

Your worthless son has nothing to say.

I nodded glumly with a dejected face.

Anyway, I'd figured out why Storm Slash had suddenly unlocked.

'It's not “maybe” because of the body strengthening—it's the only possible reason.'

When I'd visited the SSS-rank Workshop recently to craft the Divine Living Armor, Jung Sun-ah had said:

— It happens sometimes. After the agent undergoes body strengthening, they partially inherit their sponsoring constellation's true power.

Through the body strengthening, my understanding of Storm Slash had skyrocketed as I inherited Mom's true power.

In short: massive profit.

That's when.

<“…How can you, Jae-min, use Hyun-sook's technique?”>

The uncle's astonished voice came through the field speakers.

...Well, obviously.

Hiding my power wasn't my style anyway, and I couldn't keep it hidden forever.

That said, I hadn't prepared any fancy excuse.

Any reason I gave would sound like a lie.

So, “I just roughly copied what I saw Mom do in videos, and it worked.”

<“.......”>

Just brazen it out—that's the play.

<“You think you can just copy it like that?”>

“What can I do? It worked. Must be that mother-to-son power transmission thing.”

<“You're saying Hyun-sook isn't actually your sponsoring constellation?”>

“......”

Twitch.

...Seriously. If they ranked intuition, this uncle would be SSS-rank.

Y-yeah. If I hesitated even a moment, it'd be as good as admitting it.

I rubbed my forehead in disbelief and shook my head.

“Mom being my constellation? Uncle, you serious? Even cheesy fantasy novels don't use setups that lame these days.”

<“…Hmm, yeah. Even I think it's a stretch now that I say it.”>

“Be careful next time. That could be taken as a pad lip.”

<“Uh, uh-huh. S-sorry....”>

After leaving the Association's medical facility and finally returning home, I made a decision.

— Kkiyaang!

“Aigoo, my baby's jumping so well. ...Too well.”

...Time to move to a bigger house soon.

Every time Gift, seeing his owner's home for the first time, excitedly bounced around, the house shook like it was about to collapse—boom, crash.

Haha, our Gift. You really set on making Dad homeless?

“Gift, sit!”

— Kkiwoong!

At the single command, he stopped dead and plopped down.

Good thing he listens well.

I proudly scratched under the chin of Gift, whose eyes sparkled.

“House too small, huh? Bear with it for now. I'll get us a bigger place later.”

— Kkiwoong!

Thanks to this guy, I won't be lonely living alone anymore.

This must be why people raise familiars.

...We'll ignore the potty issues for now.

“Alright then.”

Time to organize my future plans.

First priority: rescuing the kids turned into chimeras.

In other words, conquering the purple gate that would appear in Japan three months from now, Full Moon Canyon.

“Problem is, even with my current stats, clearing Full Moon Canyon smoothly will be tough.”

“Yeah. Back then, over ten S-rank players died. It's always in the top 10 hardest gates ever.”

Gates of the same color don't mean the same difficulty.

Terrain, monsters, climate... unpredictable variables.

That's what makes them dungeons.

And Full Moon Canyon was notorious even among purple gates.

“Exactly.”

This wasn't just a gate clear—those kids' fates hung in the balance.

100% success required.

I stroked Gift's chin with my left hand and my own with my right.

“Hmm... I've got a bunch of skills to test, levels to grind. Guess I'll have to spin gates non-stop for three months—.”

“......”

I'm getting tired of reactions like “...Huh?” or “...Mom?”

It's not the first or second time.

I was confident I wouldn't be surprised—.

Kwaaaa—!

“Wha—what is this!”

I'd barely finished thinking I wouldn't be surprised when I jumped in shock.

No, of course I'd be startled—a gate popping up right next to me.

I backed away from the brightly glowing gate and asked,

“Wh-what is this, Mom?”

“That doesn't answer anything...”

“......”

Mom's sanctuary... meaning the space where Mom is?

That realization had my feet crossing the gate before I knew it.

The mystical sensation of space-time warping prickled my skin briefly.

Whoosh—!

A biting wind like midwinter's gale enveloped my body.

When I fully opened my eyes and looked around, a familiar sight unfolded.

A colossal circular arena filling the area without gaps, majestic in scale.

Empty spectator seats exuding a desolate silence.

First time here in person, but it felt no stranger than it should.

“...The Colosseum?”

I'd seen it countless times in movies and photos.

So this was Mom's sanctuary?

“Quite the testosterone-fueled spot for a sanctuary...”

“...Fair enough. No teddy bears, but potted plants suit Dad more than Mom. But why the Colosseum of all things?”

My mom, her tastes are... I sighed helplessly and slowly scanned the surroundings.

“You're gonna train me here?”

“Does your only son's suffering bring joy to Mother Dearest?”

Thinking of the unknown trials ahead already darkened my vision.

Still, it seemed way better than mindless gate grinding.

Family education—no, special training under Mom's direct command. That was trustworthy.

Legendary player giving one-on-one tutoring, basically.

“But do other agents train in their constellations' sanctuaries like this?”

Come to think of it, there was that high affinity message earlier.

Even as I chatted with Mom, my eyes busily darted around.

“...Mom.”

“Where are you right now?”

This being Mom's personal space meant she was somewhere here.

Text communication versus face-to-face was different.

My heart pounded at the thought I might see Mom's face with my own eyes again.

But,

Not the answer I wanted.

A desperate urge to grasp at straws welled up.

“Even if affinity exceeds 90% like me and Mom?”

“No dice, huh...”

The part I hoped for most, denied—left me deflated.

“Then what's that one case where a constellation and agent can meet alone?”

“Ugh, just tell me. Mom, you're the worst.”

...Well, at least it's motivating?

Focus on the task at hand, as Mom says.

Yeah. Not the time to mope over not seeing Mom's face.

Smack—!

I slapped my cheeks to snap to attention.

“Alright. Mom's son is ready. Let's start the special training.”

“...Doesn't matter. But is this the right place? Too empty for training—.”

— Kugugugu.

At that moment, with a light rumble, an iron gate on one side of the Colosseum rose.

Inside was probably the corridor where gladiators emerged.

And sure enough.

Thud, thud—.

Footsteps echoed from the unnaturally dark corridor beyond.

Whoever it was, guessing they'd be my training partner wasn't hard.

More surprising: someone else besides me, an agent, in a constellation's sanctuary?

As I heightened my senses and drew up mana,

— Clack.

The footsteps' owner finally entered the arena, revealing herself.

“......”

I'd expected some hulking brute or armored knight.

Instead, a woman appeared whose visuals clashed completely with the Colosseum backdrop.

'...What?'

Even from afar, her striking beauty let me make out her features clearly.

A seductive aura mixed with the Colosseum winds, wafting over.

And her black dress with frilled white apron made it even more...

'Is that a maid outfit?'

...What direction are you training your son in, Mother?

Stunned, I watched as she lightly bowed toward me, her soft voice flowing.

“Pleased to meet you... though that might not be accurate.”

“...Pardon?”

“In a way, we're already acquainted, so it's no exaggeration.”

“Acquainted? When did we—hmm?”

Her voice felt familiar somehow?

...No way?

“Does this jog your memory of who I am?”

As the deja vu clicked, her lips curved like a crescent moon.

“Hwang Jae-min, child.”

“......”

“Was the shop I gave you last time useful?”

...Nanny?