Dark Detection
"Are you the one who took down these zombies and that villain?"
"Yes. That's me."
"I heard you're a student at the academy... To have this kind of skill, it's impressive."
She's not onto anything specific, but I could sense a hint of wariness in her tone.
Did she somehow pick up on the scent of dark energy from me? A ridiculous thought crossed my mind.
"Mu-hyuk awakened as a mage class!"
"A mage?"
"Yeah! He awakened just yesterday and leveled up to 5 all by himself in the training room right away—he's a total genius! Genius!"
Go Chang-seok was thumbs-upping and making a huge fuss with an excited grin, but Shin Yu-ra's eyes narrowed even further.
"Awakened yesterday, hit level 5, and today wiped out a villain and zombies..."
"What's the problem? Shouldn't you be praising a student for taking down a villain and zombies?"
Seol Yun-ji stepped forward with a puzzled look, and Shin Yu-ra raised both hands with a smile to brush it off.
"You're right. Don't misunderstand—I was just asking questions for the investigation. We detected dark energy here."
"Ah, dark energy? You don't mean... that stuff from B-rank or higher advanced dungeons?!"
"Eek! I heard dark energy is super dangerous..."
At the mention of dark energy, Chang-seok and Yun-ji started edging away from the zombies.
I definitely need to keep my true identity hidden from them.
"I didn't use any dark energy. All I used was a tiny bit of my own generated mana."
I placed a hand on my chest with a serious expression, and everyone stared at me silently.
"...Understood. Of course, I'm not suspecting the student. It's just the first time dark energy has been detected outside a dungeon, so we had to investigate."
I inwardly sighed in relief at Shin Yu-ra's words and dramatically staggered, feigning exhaustion.
"Ugh... dizzy. Looks like my mana is depleted..."
"Oh? Yeah, mana depletion symptoms. I told you not to push it when you're still low-level..."
"Don't say that. We all survived thanks to Mu-hyuk."
"Ah, Mu-hyuk! This won't do. You should head up and rest first. You're gonna collapse."
"Ugh..."
Thanks to Chang-seok and Yun-ji pushing my back with worried voices, I was able to turn away from Shin Yu-ra and head back to the dorm. I ignored the persistent gaze following behind me.
After wrapping up the scene with reports from her subordinates, Shin Yu-ra boarded the Hunter Association bus again and glanced around the area.
The site where the zombies and Kwak Jae-ho's self-destructed corpse had been cleared was a grim reminder of the chaos moments ago, but no traces of dark energy lingered.
Dark energy, primarily detected in advanced dungeons, was known to be the source that bound undead like zombies or ancient, mad, destructive monsters within those gates.
The prophecy from the Future Sight trait holder—that dark energy would bring world destruction—had put nations worldwide on high alert, pouring resources into research.
The Hunter Association's full support for Shin Yu-ra, who had awakened the somewhat vague Dark Detection trait, stemmed from that context.
Personally, her parents had died in a dungeon gate overload tied to dark energy, driving her to pursue her duties more rigorously than anyone.
There was definitely powerful dark energy here. How could something that immense vanish in an instant?
Even after defeating a dungeon boss, dark energy's aftereffects didn't fade easily—gates often took one to two hours to close post-clear.
Some dungeons even stayed open long after the boss fell, serving as leveling spots for hunters.
They said it hadn't even been five minutes since he took out the villain and zombies...
The dark energy she'd detected here was on par with an A-rank dungeon at minimum. Judging it highly dangerous, she'd mobilized her team for an urgent dispatch...
Nothing at all now. Not even the residual traces that should remain from the aftermath.
"Kwon Mu-hyuk..."
A level 5 mage taking down a villain and zombies infused with A-rank-level dark energy in one go. Was that even possible?
He felt like he was hiding something, but since no dark energy was detected on him directly, she couldn't press further.
Hiding one's abilities and building strength was standard self-preservation for most hunters.
She'd heard he was registering as an awakener today.
Once registered, she'd know his abilities in detail.
If there's even a hint of suspicion, I'll confirm it clearly. That's my job.
The bus carrying Shin Yu-ra sped down the brightly lit morning road.
There were only 15 Awakener Registration Centers nationwide. The machines that confirmed awakenings were creations of special class awakeners, impossible to mass-produce in factories.
As a result, every center was always packed with people getting checked and registered daily.
Fortunately, the Hunter Academy had reserved spots in advance, sparing us the endless wait.
"You all brought your student IDs, right?"
"Yes, Professor."
The magic professor escorting Seol Yun-ji and me was thrilled—the academy was finally producing a mage.
"You might feel a slight vibration or dizziness after placing your hand on the machine, but don't remove it until the end. It's for accurate mana measurement. Got it?"
"Yes, don't worry, Professor."
By the time his repeated warnings had us both worn out, the staff called our turn.
We followed the guiding staffer into a room equipped with the awakener confirmation device.
Through the observation glass wall, we saw a futuristic machine in a stark white space, its monitor screen lit up.
"Number 2365, Seol Yun-ji. Beginning awakener confirmation."
"Yes!"
Yun-ji placed her hand on the machine first.
"Starting mana scan. Do not remove your hand from the screen."
The staffer activated it with a businesslike face.
Woooong—!
"Scan complete. Awakening confirmed. Detailed results will be sent via text to your phone."
"Yes~!"
Yun-ji bounced out excitedly, and finally, it was my turn.
After countless regressions and using my powers, no machine had ever detected my dark energy. This was truly my first time using an official awakener confirmation device.
To think the day would come when I'd awaken through the normal route...!
A swell of unspoken emotion welled up in my chest. Even the slight dizziness at my fingertips felt purely joyful.
"Huh? What's going on with this?"
The staffer suddenly looked flustered, glancing between the screen and me.
"Um... could you place your hand on the screen again?"
"...? Sure."
What the hell? Unease crept in—had dark energy shown up on the info screen?
If so... I might have to use Death Terraforming on the staffer to wipe the data.
Killing intent subtly rose from my fingertips on the screen.
"Team Leader Park, machine 3 is glitching. How should we handle it?"
Overhearing the staffer's intercom call, it was about a machine malfunction. Soon, two or three more staffers rushed in, fussing over the device.
"Looks like the recent surge of awakeners overloaded it."
"What do we do? Other machines are backed up with reservations—no room for rechecks..."
What? Does that mean no confirmation today?
I grabbed a staffer checking the machine in worry.
"If I can't get confirmed today, when's the next slot?"
"Earliest is three months out. Slots are strictly scheduled."
That was a problem. I planned to power-level in a dungeon tonight—without an official license, even F-rank dungeons were off-limits.
I could sneak in without one, but...
Bribing entrance hunters with skills to make them my minions would be easy, but that'd derail my grand ambition of enjoying a normal black mage life for once.
Besides, having already crossed paths with Shin Yu-ra, who had Dark Detection, it was wise to avoid dark skills outside dungeons as much as possible.
She was someone I'd only meet five years later normally. I was still a student, but she'd awakened young and was already a team leader at our age. Shin Yu-ra had always been competent in past loops, but she'd grown her powers this early?
Shaking off thoughts of her, I looked up to see the inspection room door burst open—Shin Yu-ra strode in.
Huh? Why's Shin Yu-ra here...?
"Oh? Team Leader Shin Yu-ra?!"
"Hello. Team Leader Park Jin-woo. I saw trouble from outside and came to check."
"Well, yeah, but is there something a team leader like you can—"
Not just me—Park Jin-woo, the team leader, looked awkward at her sudden appearance.
"We just need to confirm mana awakening, right? Stats can be checked later—even basic confirmation allows registration."
"But how do we confirm mana awakening without the machine?"
Shin Yu-ra glanced at me, then smiled at Park Jin-woo.
"Per Hunter Association awakener operation bylaws, any level 50+ team leader or higher executive can perform confirmation. You know that, right?"
"Uh? Er... yes, I know..."
"So, I'll verify Kwon Mu-hyuk's mana awakening via sparring. That okay?"
"Well, that's how it was done before machines were widespread. Fine. Please handle it."
After finishing with Park, Shin Yu-ra approached me. Ignoring the main party—me—they'd decided on their own. I protested with a baffled look.
"Sparring out of nowhere? With a Hunter Association team leader, no less?"
"Planning to leave like this? Wait three months for a recheck?"
"That's a problem, but..."
Why had she come here, and why spar me specifically? Had Dark Detection picked up something else? Unlikely.
Recalling how she'd died in various gruesome ways after losing to me in past loops made my stomach turn—even sane, the thought was uncomfortable. And now sparring...?
"Has this happened before?"
"Not really. Team leaders aren't bored enough to spar random awakener hopefuls. But for promising talents they take interest in, they sometimes test via sparring."
A promising talent she eyes... More like she couldn't fully buy this morning's events.
Reluctantly, I moved with Shin Yu-ra to the sparring arena to prepare.
The Hunter Association's early-built mana awakening confirmation arena was spacious with a high ceiling, designed for intense, unrestricted fights.
One side held various sparring weapons for fresh rookies.
"Since you awakened as a mage, you can use a wand."
"No need. Let's start."
A low-level mage without even a wand facing an Association team leader was a tall order. I'd gained two more levels taking out the zombies and Kwak Jae-ho this morning, but she was at least level 50—a paladin.
Dark energy would make this easy, but that's off-limits. Still...
A normal black mage's bright future mattered, but losing pathetically right now was unacceptable.
My magic was low-level with just Fireball for mana confirmation, but I had 998 regressions' worth of combat experience.
I won't go down easy.