Did I Go Too Far?
Whoosh!
A hunter's fist came charging straight at me.
They'd finally wised up—no more stepping into the mist. Their attacks shifted to patterns that avoided it entirely.
Our country's hunter scene really does have a bright future.
In that case, time for me to get serious too.
Muhwan (Mist Return)
Black mist surged through my body.
Enveloped in it, I casually ducked my head to dodge the fist swinging at my face.
He'd put everything into that punch, but I evaded it effortlessly. The hunter's face twisted in pathetic frustration.
I twisted my body and planted a footprint right on his mug as a parting gift.
"Gah!"
Bam! Bam! Bam!
The hunter tumbled away in a sorry heap.
But I had no time to spare him a glance.
Now that they'd figured out how to counter the mist—with him as the pioneer—they came swarming like mad.
"Oof."
Slash!
A razor-sharp blade whistled past, grazing right in front of me.
They really mean to kill me, huh?
No half-assed "it's just a test" vibe here. This was overkill.
What the hell did I do to deserve this?
The sword-wielding hunter swiftly regained his stance and swung again. The fluid, flowing combos were impressively smooth.
A month of villain-hunting must've honed him. I could tell at a glance—he was legit skilled.
Fine then.
Smoke - Muin (Mist Blade)
Time to counter with a blade of my own.
Black mist began condensing on my right leg.
I whipped it out in a wide arc, and a slashing wave of mist followed the trajectory.
The sword hunter raised his blade to block instead of dodging.
"Guhk…!"
His sword shattered like glass.
He got swept up in the slash and went flying.
He didn't die, right?
I held back on purpose.
I offered a silent condolence to the guy who'd sailed off into the distance, then stomped the ground hard.
Smoke - Musangbi (Fog Flight)
Boom!
Mist exploded beneath my feet like a propellant.
The recoil launched me skyward.
The hunters, suddenly like dogs chasing a chicken, stared up at me with blank faces.
I shot up until I nearly hit the ceiling, then spun 180 degrees midair.
As if the ceiling were the floor.
Sticking both feet to it and anchoring myself with mist, I gazed down at the upside-down world and the hunters below.
"One, two, three…"
Plenty still standing.
Surprisingly, no mages among them—they'd burned through their mana early and collapsed from exhaustion.
The ranged attackers aimed their weapons at me from below.
Guns, bows, and all sorts of long-distance gear.
They loosed arrows and pulled triggers without hesitation.
But.
"Shit…!"
The black mist evenly cloaking my body didn't let a single weak attack through.
Arrows and bullets plummeted harmlessly before they could get close.
One bow hunter spat curses in despair, realizing their attacks couldn't touch me.
"Tch."
This was starting to make me feel bad.
They'd charged in without a second's hesitation when the test began, so I'd met them with full force at first.
But the more we went on, the more it felt like I was just toying with them.
Even to me, they looked pitiful now—charging desperately but landing zero hits.
If I were in their shoes, I might've broken down.
…Nah?
Anyway.
This couldn't go on.
Just once.
One real hit, then I'd give them a window to attack.
I released the mist holding me to the ceiling.
My body plummeted under gravity, still upside down.
I rapidly scattered mist toward the floor.
Strands snaked out like serpents, binding every hunter on the ground.
"Ngh…!"
"Let go!"
"What the hell is this?!"
The bound hunters thrashed about.
I wrapped the mist around not just the conscious ones, but the knocked-out stragglers too.
Protecting them completely, of course.
And then.
Smoke - Gwangpok (Fury)
With my right hand compressed full of mist.
I carefully slammed it into the ground.
Rumble rumble boom!
A massive shockwave erupted with the explosion.
"Ugh!"
"Kyaaah!"
Kaboom!
The blast's aftermath indirectly hammered the bound hunters.
Those already out cold, without mist protection, got swept up helplessly with limbs tied.
Once the shockwave had swept the area.
I released the bindings and muttered.
"…Did I go too far?"
I'd planned one real hit, then give them time to strike back.
But using Black Dragon would've been too much, so I stuck to Gwangpok.
Yet now, every hunter stared at me with utterly broken wills.
"Alright, shall we call it here?"
Thud.
Seong Yu-mi descended from above.
She lightly shook the timer in her hand—ten minutes still showing.
"We've got about ten minutes left. Anyone object to ending the test?"
"…"
No reply.
They couldn't even if they wanted to—none were in any shape to speak.
"Whoa, Black Dragon. You don't look tired at all."
"Why?"
"Mana still full?"
"Mana's… fine."
If anything, I haven't taken a single hit.
Why even ask?
Seong Yu-mi waved it off like it was nothing and snapped her fingers, summoning a chair.
She plopped down, flipped through her papers, and spoke.
"First passer is, naturally, our Black Dragon—Han Mir."
"Oh."
Worth the effort.
I nodded in satisfaction.
"Second is participant 352, Kim Cheol-su."
"…!"
Whoosh!
A guy in a gray hoodie snapped his head up to look at Seong Yu-mi.
She flashed him a grin.
"Truth is, the villain cleanup was a lie. We were testing your skills and mindset. If you'd taken down Black Dragon successfully, you'd all have passed."
With that, Seong Yu-mi called out the passers one by one.
In the end, out of the hundred in the B-rank promotion exam, about ten passed—including me.
"That concludes the February B-rank promotion exams. Great job, everyone. See you next time."
She waved breezily, then vanished in a flash of light with Jeong Chan-woo.
"…What about me?"
Of course, I wasn't on the list.
I gotta clock in anyway—could've given me a ride.
Leaving me alone with these guys?
* * *
After some hassle, I made it up to the ninth floor and eyed Seong Yu-mi, who was beaming at the door.
"Hunter Seong Yu-mi."
"Yeah, Black Dragon? How'd you like our surprise?"
"Too much of a surprise."
Sigh.
I shrugged off my jacket.
Cheori, who'd been snoozing in my pocket, finally cracked her eyes open and slithered out.
Seong Yu-mi quietly offered her some mana crystals, but.
"Kyuuk!"
Cheori freaked out and hissed at her.
The moment Seong Yu-mi learned about Cheori, she'd stocked up on mana crystals—her favorite snack.
But Cheori refused anything from her or Jeong Chan-woo, no matter what.
Only mine would do.
I took the crystals from the dejected Seong Yu-mi and offered them to Cheori, who finally chowed down happily.
"I get why you did it, so I'll let it slide."
"Knew you would. You always get it without me saying."
Every time I showed up on TV, the doubts piled up.
Did he really clear that Sudden Gate solo?
Did he actually take down an Orc Lord?
Is the Association just propping up a fake hero who's not that strong?
All sorts of suspicions.
Today's stunt should clear most of that up.
Of course.
"Won't erase all the doubts about you, Black Dragon."
Some folks'll doubt forever.
Nothing me or Seong Yu-mi could do about that.
She nodded like I'd nailed it.
"Tell me next time you pull something like this."
"Will do. If there's a next time."
"Ah…"
Right.
I'd forgotten, getting used to it all.
I'm gone in a week.
Scratching my head, I told Seong Yu-mi.
"Take care of things till then."
"That's my line."
* * *
Time flies.
Hard to believe today was my last as an Association hunter.
Being the final day, I woke at six, aiming to get in early, and headed out.
"Kyuuung…"
Too early—Cheori was still groggy and stumbling.
I'd planned to leave her sleeping, but she insisted on squeezing into my pocket.
What could I do if she wanted to come?
Cheori tagged along to work again today.
"Black Dragon… right?"
"Yeah."
Handling incidents daily had boosted my recognition.
Even bundled up on an early morning, people started spotting me.
I nodded and signed the now-familiar autograph, heading to Gangnam.
Arriving before eight, the Awakening Association was dark.
"Nobody here."
The Association runs 24/7—Sudden Gates and villains don't clock out.
But official hours start at nine.
An hour early, so empty lobby made sense.
"Whew."
No one around, so I ditched the mask and hat, took the elevator to the ninth floor.
"Still no sign of who erased hyung's records."
A month.
Not short at all.
We'd busted our asses, making national news, but no leads.
"Maybe hold a press conference."
After today, I'd probably enter the tower.
Could be days before I emerged, so going public about hyung might work.
"…No."
I clicked my tongue and shook my head.
It was an option, but too risky.
If hyung was alive, the culprit might retaliate.
Reaching the ninth floor, lost in thought, I turned the doorknob.
"I'm in—"
Trailing off, I stared at the broad back.
An old man with hands clasped behind him, gazing out the window.
He slowly turned his head.
"An honor to meet you like this, Han Mir. Didn't expect you this early. Good thing I waited from the morning."
Snow-white hair.
Golden eyes.
A long scar from his right eye to cheek.
And hands covered in countless scars.
I knew who he was.
Everyone in the country did.
"Name's Kang Yong-chan. Embarrassingly, I'm the president of the Korea Awakening Association."
Kang Yong-chan, president of the Korea Awakening Association.
The man with power rivaling the president's himself was waiting for me.
Speechless, I gawked at him with mouth agape.
"Heard today was your last day."
"Y-Yes…"
"Got a moment to spare?"
I nodded mutely.
When the top dog's calling, you answer…
Kang Yong-chan smiled, satisfied.
"Then to my office. Wouldn't want to disturb Yu-mi or Chan-woo here."
And so I followed Kang Yong-chan to the president's office.
"…"
An awkward time began.