Chapter 03…
It was no different from any other day.
I was just looking at the screen casually, with nothing unusual happening.
“…A reincarnator, huh.”
A woman, who happened to be looking at the screen, spoke softly.
She had turned it on out of boredom amidst her busy schedule, without any particular intention. By this time, the stream of newly appearing reincarnators wasn’t all that surprising anymore.
It was just timing. That was all.
Or so she thought.
[■ The presence of the reincarnator is too strong.]
[■ Pausing network for temporary reconstruction.]
“What?”
The woman narrowed her eyes at the alert.
Suddenly, the system window flickered and shook violently.
“What the…?”
Before she could even react, click!—the screen went black.
A few seconds later, when the network turned back on:
[■ The presence of the reincarnator is too strong.]
[■ Pausing network for temporary reconstruction.]
Click—!
“Huh?”
The screen went black again.
Four seconds passed before the network restarted.
When it did, an alert appeared immediately on the screen:
[■ Reconstruction successful.]
[■ Lord Wushin (Martial God) has entered.]
[■ Please give a warm welcome.]
The black text at the top of the screen was unprecedented—a color that had never appeared in the history of the reincarnation network.
Amid the explosive reactions, the woman anxiously surveyed the situation.
Hundreds of comments had appeared in an instant; soon it would be thousands. It was a naturally huge event, breaking the quiet that had lasted for some time.
Among the nonstop flood of comments, she muttered with a trembling voice:
“…Wushin…? Wushin…?”
“…Could it be…”
She moved slightly and added her own comment:
[Dragon Magician: Is it really you?]
A short, simple question.
Immediately, the comments paused for a few seconds.
[Dragon Magician? Isn’t that that woman?]
[Whoa, insane. A person who never appeared on the board in their entire life?]
[Suddenly appearing and pretending to know the newbies?]
[Who even is this newbie…?]
The woman’s comment had ignited the discussion even more.
Amid the fiery reactions, she watched anxiously, hoping—praying—for any sign of acknowledgment.
“Ahh…”
In the end, Wushin gave no reaction whatsoever.
Seeing that, the woman groaned:
“…Wushin…”
The simple yet striking dark-colored username and nickname—seeing them, she bit her lip.
“I have to find him.”
No matter what, she had to find him. By any means necessary.
[Comments]
[Comments]
[Comments]
[Comments]
“…What the hell…?”
While the forum was ablaze, I had to sit there stunned, trying to make sense of the situation.
“What is going on?”
I had logged in, yes, but what was this scene? I tried to check the forum, but the reactions were insanely fast, and posts were shooting up like chat messages—impossible to follow.
Moreover…
Ding—! Ding—!
The bell icon beside me kept flooding with notifications.
It was pure chaos. What was I supposed to click? Could I even click anything?
I tapped the icon lightly.
Immediately, it redirected me to an automatically created post announcing my login.
‘…Wushin….’
The post was in black text, signaling that Wushin had entered.
The color indicated rank. Each rank had a designated color, and the text displayed accordingly.
‘It’s dark-colored again.’
It had always been like this, but I had never even heard of such a color existing.
No wonder the reactions were intense.
The comments were endless, a riot of colors. From hard-to-see A-rank shades to occasional S-rank colors.
Even people like me couldn’t dare look directly, yet they appeared worldwide, leaving comments nonstop.
‘…Judging from the reactions.’
Clearly, something abnormal was happening. Anyone could tell.
Even…
“Uh…?”
A golden comment appeared amidst the flood.
The moment it appeared, the non-stop stream of comments paused for a moment.
[Dragon Magician: Is it really you?]
“Crazy.”
I widened my eyes immediately. Gold meant SS-rank, one of only three people of that level worldwide.
“Dragon Magician?”
Who was that? Soon, reactions surged like a tidal wave.
Everyone seemed to know the author of that comment.
The strange part…
‘“Is it really you?”’
That meant this person probably knew who I was. Could they know about Wushin?
‘…Should I reply?’
If they knew, I might as well ask.
I pressed the reply button, thinking this, when…
Zzzzt!
“Ugh!?”
Pain shot through my finger. Startled, I pulled back. What was that?
As I rubbed my tingling hand, I saw the system message:
[■ The synchronization rate is too low. You cannot leave a trace.]
“…I’m going crazy.”
I couldn’t even reply. Unbelievable.
‘So… I’m just supposed to lurk?’
I could only watch, unable to interact.
Ding—! Ding—! Ding—!
Even then, the notifications kept coming non-stop. I wondered if I could at least mute the sound.
[■ Daily login time limit of 5 minutes reached.]
[■ Entry to the network is restricted.]
[■ The network will be forcibly terminated.]
“What…?”
The system window popped up, and the network shut down.
“A five-minute limit?”
I had never heard of such a limit before.
‘…Everything is so weird.’
Nothing happening was like anything I knew.
“Did I really awaken…?”
I could see the network, so I must have awakened.
But the five-minute limit meant I couldn’t investigate further.
Huff…
What should I do now? While I was pondering, my pocket vibrated. A call. I glanced at it: Teacher Dan Ah-jin.
“Oh.”
I immediately answered, remembering something I had forgotten.
“-Ah, Jinwoo.”
“Yes, Teacher.”
“-Are you going smoothly? I couldn’t reach you.”
“…Ah…”
Right. I had been too absorbed in my awakening to remember this part.
‘Today, I had to go to Seoul.’
The teacher had recommended a company for me on the last day. My grades were enough, but I wondered if I could go due to the awakening. They had gone to great lengths to help.
“I’m sorry, Teacher. I should have gone, but something came up, so I couldn’t.”
“-What? Something came up? What happened?”
“Well… I awakened.”
“-What…!? Really!?”
A loud voice came from the other side.
“-Awakened? Is it true…?”
“Yes. I awakened.”
“-Oh my…! Congratulations, Jinwoo…!”
“Ahaha… thank you.”
Teacher’s congratulation was heartfelt.
“You went to all that trouble… sorry it turned out this way.”
“-No, it’s fine. Awakening is the important thing. Then, we’ll decline the company this time. You’re already almost there anyway…”
“No, I’ll go too.”
“-What?”
“It’s because of me that it happened. I should go together.”
I had to go to Seoul anyway and wanted to meet Teacher in person.
“I’ll head there now.”
I hung up and immediately left.
About forty minutes later, I emerged from the subway station.
Stepping outside, I saw the Han River in the distance.
It had been years since I had last been here. The familiar yet oddly uncomfortable feeling came over me.
“Jinwoo.”
I turned at the soft voice and subtle perfume.
A woman with gentle, striking features was there.
“Teacher.”
It was Dan Ah-jin, who had been my teacher for the past three years.
“Congratulations.”
She approached and patted my shoulder.
“Thank you.”
“You wanted this so badly… and you finally did it.”
Her gentle tone made me smile unconsciously.
“…I’m not feeling it yet.”
“That’s natural. Ah, it’s cold. Shall we go in? Have you eaten?”
“Not yet.”
“Then let’s grab something light.”
We found a restaurant below the company we were supposed to visit.
Two bowls of gukbap were served.
“What happened?”
Teacher asked.
“I don’t know exactly. I awakened suddenly yesterday.”
“Suddenly?”
“Yes.”
“Awakening is usually sudden. I was just like you at first.”
She was a B-rank superhuman. Her previous life had been teaching knights in a fantasy world.
“But this is unusual.”
Awakening just before turning twenty was unheard of. Teacher found it curious too.
“Anyway, congratulations.”
Her eyes flickered slightly, and I could read her thoughts. I smiled knowingly.
‘She’s curious about my rank.’
I could tell, but I didn’t answer.
Then her expression turned serious. I straightened up.
“Jinwoo.”
“Yes, Teacher.”
“Do you really intend to go through with it?”
She didn’t need to ask what I meant. I already knew.
“Yes.”
My answer was firm.
Teacher exhaled quietly.
“…Your awakening is worth celebrating, but realistically, whatever your rank is, it will be tough.”
She probably assumed my rank was very low.
I wanted to tell her, but somehow…
“…I feel like I should hide it.”
“I don’t want to block your goals, but reality is harsh.”
“I understand.”
“Still, do you really intend to become a superhuman?”
“Yes.”
I had to seize the opportunity.
“Even if your rank is low…”
Even if it was EX or something unknown…
“I have to go.”
I had to become a superhuman. No matter what.
“…Alright.”
Hearing my determination, Teacher squinted.
“I see.”
Her expression softened into a smile.
“Alright. If that’s your mind, we can’t stop you. We’ll decline this opportunity then.”
“Sorry you had to worry…”
“No, I’m glad you’re going with me. Our appointment is at three, so we’ll wait.”
“Yes…”
“Also, contact Kyungbeom.”
“Huh?”
The unexpected name made me blink. Kyungbeom? Why now?
“He’s been whining to me for not contacting you.”
“….”
I had to make a face of exasperation. Jin Kyungbeom, my only friend for the past years. Somewhat bothersome.
‘I could have ignored it for a while.’
About two weeks had passed. I hadn’t contacted him much due to busy schedules, and apparently, he reached Teacher.
“Anyway, congrats again.”
I pondered Teacher’s words.
‘Maybe I can ask and find out?’
Even without revealing my rank, I could learn about the EX-rank or dark color.
“Teacher…”
I was about to ask when—
“-Regarding the press conference for this incident—”
The TV announced it loudly. The restaurant owner had turned up the volume.
Naturally, our attention shifted. Teacher commented:
“That’s a problem. A terrorist… in this world.”
Recently, terrorists had been making noise. Unregistered superhumans were attacking companies and crowded places.
“What’s their goal?”
“…Who knows.”
Purpose. Did terrorism even have one?
Honestly, it hardly mattered.
‘What significant meaning could there be in terrorism?’
I watched the TV, feeling cold inside.
“Ah…”
Teacher glanced at me.
“Sorry. I wasn’t considerate.”
“Huh? No, it’s fine.”
I gestured.
“It’s okay.”
It really was okay. It had to be.
“Ah, I was about to ask something.”
Just as I was about to ask again…
“But Jinwoo.”
“Yes?”
Ding.
‘Huh?’
An alarm sounded. The system window appeared.
[■ Emergency quest triggered.]
“Huh?”
A quest? What does this mean?
Ding.
[■ Survive.]
“What….”
I couldn’t understand the message.
“Jinwoo?”
Teacher asked seeing my reaction.
“What is it?”
“No, it’s—”
At that moment—
Boom!
BOOOOM!!!
The building suddenly exploded…
