A Slightly Different Spectacle
Right now, the PER dorm was in absolute chaos. It was late at night, the kind where everyone should have been fast asleep without a care in the world, but a famous player from the American Hunters League had shown up.
"Whoa... is that really Leman?"
"Dude, you think it's fake?"
"...Yeah, Chang-hyun really does live in a different world."
Even the PER team members who had just started practice on the second floor couldn't help but react with a mix of awe and excitement. He was a player whose name everyone in the building knew.
And then, out of nowhere, Leman walked straight up to Lee Chang-hyun and said,
"I want to have a match with you."
No one there—except Leman himself—had seen that coming. The whole place erupted in shock.
Sure, Lee Chang-hyun had a record of beating Minamino Takumi before, but Leman was on another level entirely. And for a celebrity like him to show up at a second-division team and immediately challenge someone to a fight? It was only natural to wonder why.
But what was even more intriguing was Lee Chang-hyun's response. In a situation that would fluster anyone, he didn't ask a single question about the sudden request. Instead, he jumped straight into the details of the fight.
"Sure, sounds good. What are the rules?"
"Palace of Illusions as the map. And we'll start with seven doppelgangers right from the beginning."
"That's...!"
The PER team members, who had personally endured Chaos before, were horrified at the words.
"That would trigger Chaos..."
"It's fine, Han-gyeol. He must have his reasons. Anything else?"
"Do whatever you want with the rest."
Lee Chang-hyun's reply to that was unexpected once again.
"Ho... really? Well, since you're a celebrity all my team members already know, how about we make it the whole PER team?"
"Huh?? He came to see you, Chang-hyun."
"Doesn't matter."
Maybe because he knew the rest of PER would struggle just to stand under the effects of Chaos. Leman accepted without hesitation.
"Alright, let's get started."
And so began this inexplicable midnight duel.
Leman... Even before his regression, Lee Chang-hyun had never fought him directly. The American League was one of the highest-level leagues in the Hunters League, so making it to the international stage was tough enough— it wasn't surprising.
But regardless, his abilities and playstyle are pretty well-known.
Gigantification and Hardening. He was the textbook example of a tank specialized build.
As such, simple attacks probably wouldn't scratch him at all.
And he wants to fight in the Chaos state of the Palace of Illusions...? Maybe he wants to see how I overcame it in that last match.
Honestly, he wasn't sure if it was that big a deal. But whatever—it wasn't important right now.
What mattered now was his PER kids.
"Hey, you all get why I dragged you into this match, right?"
"Uh? 'Cause it's too tough to win solo?"
A perfectly Kim Do-jun answer. But of course, that wasn't the reason at all.
"None of you except Han-gyeol have experienced Chaos before, so I figured you'd get a taste. And... fighting a hunter like him is a rare chance until we hit the international league. Survive if you can—flail around a bit if you have to."
There were definitely lessons to learn from top hunters other than himself.
Soon, preparations were complete, and the second-floor PER practice room gradually transformed into the Palace of Illusions.
By the time the stark white walls were fully dyed in the map's eerie purple hue—
Riiiing.
A momentary vertigo, like wires twisting in his brain. And with it, Chaos began.
Thud.
The reaction was immediate. The PER team members around him toppled over, unable to control their own legs.
"Urgh... what the hell is this...?"
"I try to brace with my arms, but my thighs keep moving instead."
"Puhahaha! Hey, Kim Do-jun, you said it looked easy, but now you're rolling around like a tumbleweed."
Yoon Han-gyeol was gleefully mocking Kim Do-jun, as expected.
Normally, he'd teach them how to cope or overcome it. But tonight, he planned to let them feel the hardship for themselves.
Alright, time to hide and watch.
How well they'd handle it. Or what they'd do if they couldn't.
"You grubs stay put. I'm off to see Leman. Oh, and watch out for doppelgangers."
With that, he slipped around a corner, donned his mana-blocking robe, and observed his team from hiding.
Leman will come this way eventually if I wait.
Plus, good things deserved good returns. Why not use the time efficiently?
Meanwhile, Leman faced a familiar sight after so long.
He stared directly at the Palace of Illusions, filled with that nauseating purple haze.
Memories from the past crept up on him stealthily.
The dying screams of comrades. And there, clumsily—a seasoned hunter stumbling because he couldn't control his own body.
Escaping the Chaos effect that scrambled bodily control wasn't possible now, either.
Thud.
He tried to move his left leg, but his right shoulder and elbow jerked instead.
Still the same. Bizarre. Uncontrollable. No easy way to counter it. No method to adapt.
This grotesque power offered no clear path. Feeling these sensations again after so long was agonizing, but Leman started over from scratch.
How had that guy from today's match moved? Using every bit of visible info, he tried to figure it out somehow.
But seconds later, he staggered up only to collapse again.
Several minutes passed like that. Had he grown a little accustomed? He finally managed to stand.
Haa... Can't even brag about being a famous American hunter anymore.
Self-mockery flickered in his mind as he limped toward the flow of mana, using the barely familiar controls.
He figured he couldn't adapt further. He wanted to see with his own eyes how Lee Chang-hyun handled it—the guy from the match.
Soon after walking, he sensed mana flow and presences.
Doppelganger...? Or Lee Chang-hyun?
It didn't matter. Leman had Hardening. Normal attacks from them wouldn't leave a mark.
Turning a corner in the palace, an unexpected scene unfolded.
No Lee Chang-hyun. Just the other PER members he'd brought, desperately trying to move their uncooperative bodies.
Just like back then...
But that was normal. Even he, with years of experience and practice replaying those Palace of Illusions memories, could only cling to a wall and shuffle after minutes of adaptation.
Still, it was a match. As he approached the PER team—
Doppelgangers swarmed in like they'd been waiting.
...
Not entirely unexpected.
But.
"Kyaaahhh!"
Maybe startled by doppelgangers appearing suddenly from behind, from the side—in their unsteady state. One PER member's scream revived it all.
That past moment he'd thought forgotten, reduced to mere data and info. The trauma of powerlessness surged back as raw emotion.
That was why—even against opponents—Leman snapped to and found himself rushing to help the PER members.
Or trying to.
But he couldn't.
Had excitement surged too suddenly? Or desperation? No.
A guy barely maintaining balance by leaning on walls couldn't suddenly sprint. Nothing had changed since then.
More trophies, recognition among top players, fame abroad—he was a renowned hunter now. But everything remained the same.
The doppelgangers mocked Leman's clumsy fall, swinging swords at the still-floundering PER members.
He knew it was just mock battle practice. Fake.
They weren't allies to protect.
Still, his chest ached fiercely.
He stretched his unreachable arm toward them. But it wouldn't connect.
Then—
Boom!
...
Like a mortar round blasting across a battlefield, a massive explosion roared as something fired.
A bullet, enhanced somehow, pierced multiple doppelgangers with devastating power.
At the end of its trajectory stood Lee Chang-hyun.
This guy really...
He could move.
Not some trick to escape Chaos, or a cheat. Definitely not—Leman himself was under its full effect, feeling its might firsthand.
But that's not enough.
Yes. Pulling a trigger, shifting his body slightly—that alone couldn't change this situation.
Even if that sniper shot worthy of being called a bombardment took out three. Four doppelgangers remained.
No matter if he's their ace, he'd barely win using his full body at peak efficiency...
Overturning decades of ingrained bodily senses naturally? Impossible.
Yeah... what happened in this Palace of Illusions back then was unavoidable... Just how it was.
The moment Leman surrendered to realization—
Something unbelievable happened.
Not the incomplete, risky maneuvers from the PSG match. Awkward ones.
Lee Chang-hyun moved like he was in even better condition than usual. Air Beats scattered wildly, Air Anchors launching him as he switched his weapon to a sword and charged.
A sword, not a gun?
The shock didn't end there.
The morphed weapon shifted to a spear for range advantage, pressuring foes; to a shield to block attacks.
In a state where just moving twisted the brain, causing falls— he swapped weapons at perfect timings, altered tactics, changed motions, pushing his body to its limits.
Leman grimaced in pained disbelief at the scene that defied his own eyes.