Chapter 41 …
Tududduk.
The barrier tore apart, and a shockwave erupted beyond it. The impact swept along the wall, pulverizing it into debris.
Fragments began falling to the ground little by little. As everyone stood there in stunned silence, watching—
‘…What the hell?’
The eyes of Jeon Yuseon, an Association-affiliated superhuman, shook violently.
His gaze was fixed on the center of the sparring arena—on Lee Jinwoo, standing there with a blank expression, gasping for breath.
In front of him stood Jin Yeonhee, the blue-eyed woman with a deep frown on her face.
‘…Jin Yeonhee lost?’
The fact that Lee Jinwoo had defeated Jin Yeonhee in a spar sent Jeon Yuseon’s mind reeling.
‘How?’
It was impossible.
Among superhumans, rank—an absolute numerical value inherited from one’s past life—was an unbreakable law. A C-rank could never defeat a B-rank, and a B-rank could never defeat an A-rank. The higher the ranks, the more absolute this rule became.
‘An A-rank defeated an S-rank.’
And not just any S-rank, but Jin Yeonhee, the Brain Spirit, a veteran who had been active on the front lines for years—defeated by a rookie who hadn’t even been awakened for a full year?
‘What kind of nonsense is this?’
It defied all common sense. And worse—
Chijijijik—!!!
The golden barrier cast by Irene, which enveloped the air itself, had been cleanly torn apart. A defense said to be unbreakable unless one was SS-rank or higher had been shredded without ceremony.
Which meant—
‘…Lee Jinwoo’s attack…’
Wasn’t that equivalent to SS-rank power?
Then—
‘Was there an error in the rank assessment?’
Could he really be considered only A-rank? Had the Association’s evaluation been wrong?
Just as that thought crossed his mind—
“…Excuse me.”
Irene called out to Jin Yeonhee. Jin Yeonhee turned to look at her.
“Why didn’t you use your Authority?”
Authority.
At those words, Jeon Yuseon finally realized it.
‘Ah.’
The power known as Authority—the exclusive domain of S-rank superhumans. A transcendent force lower ranks could never possess. A trump card reserved only for those of S-rank and above, capable of directly influencing the natural world.
Jin Yeonhee hadn’t used it.
To that, Jin Yeonhee replied,
“My opponent doesn’t have Authority.”
“…So you’re saying you lost because of that…? You weren’t even fighting seriously in the first place…?”
“……”
Jin Yeonhee fell silent. It seemed the remark about not fighting seriously had hit the mark.
‘She wasn’t serious?’
Was she saying Jin Yeonhee had gone easy on Lee Jinwoo? Well—
‘It would be strange for an S-rank to lose.’
If that was the reason, then perhaps her restraint played a part—but even so—
‘…That barrier.’
The torn barrier bothered him. With that level of destructive power, no matter how one looked at it—
“Ghk….”
Just then, as Jeon Yuseon was lost in thought, Lee Jinwoo suddenly let out a groan. His body began to collapse.
At that moment—
“Tsk.”
Irene moved instantly, supporting Lee Jinwoo—more accurately, lifting him into the air to prevent him from falling.
It seemed she disliked touching him directly. Irene was famous for her extreme cleanliness.
‘Irene doesn’t touch other people’s bodies.’
It was said she hated physical contact to an extreme degree and had never permitted it with anyone.
“He passed out again…”
“…Again? So this happened last time too?”
“…It seems he can’t endure the skill…”
“……”
A compression technique.
Or a one-strike kill.
If he possessed such a skill, it would explain how he could unleash that level of power, even if only for an instant.
“…Send him to the infirmary.”
Irene casually handed the floating Lee Jinwoo over to someone nearby.
The person fumbled as they caught him, then hurried out.
“Next.”
Irene stepped forward to prepare for the next sparring match. At the same time, the torn barrier naturally restored itself.
“……”
Jin Yeonhee, who had moved to support the collapsing Lee Jinwoo, quietly withdrew the hand she had instinctively reached out.
* * *
Darkness filled his vision.
As his consciousness slowly returned, he lifted his heavy eyelids.
An unfamiliar ceiling came into view. Spotlessly white.
“…Ugh.”
He groaned and pushed himself up. A throbbing soreness spread through his entire body.
“Ahh….”
Why did everything hurt so much? Every single joint felt like it was screaming.
Only then did his mind fully clear.
“A hospital room…?”
Looking around, it seemed to be an infirmary. Why was he here?
‘Ah.’
Right.
‘I sparred with Jin Yeonhee.’
Had he used the power of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword at the end and collapsed?
‘…Then what happened? Who won?’
He couldn’t remember clearly and was racking his brain when—
Ding—!
A notification sound rang out.
[■ Quest Completed.]
[■ You have won the sparring match against the Brain Spirit.]
[■ Rewards are being distributed.]
[■ ‘Mask of Resolve (S)’ has been acquired.]
[■ ‘Labyrinth Strategy Guide’ has been acquired.]
“…Huh?”
If the quest succeeded, that meant he had beaten Jin Yeonhee?
That was a relief. He’d been nervous about the whole curse-on-failure thing.
‘Even though winning doesn’t really make sense.’
How had he won…? He couldn’t remember that part either.
That aside—
‘The rewards…’
The Mask of Resolve.
It even had an S-rank attached. But—
‘Why isn’t it here?’
It said it had been granted, but he couldn’t see anything. Normally it should’ve popped out of thin air.
As he found this strange—
[■ Entering the Past Life Network.]
‘Huh?’
The Past Life Network opened on its own, even though he hadn’t activated it.
Then—
[■ Mask of Resolve is being activated.]
[■ A new framework is being overlaid onto Martial God (EX).]
[■ You may set the rank and name to be used on the network.]
“…Whoa.”
So that’s what the Mask of Resolve was.
‘It lets me operate under a different identity on the network?’
He could set a rank and name?
‘That means…’
He could cover up the name Martial God with a fake identity?
Carefully, he moved his hand.
He created a nickname at random and adjusted the rank.
[■ Rank can only be set to EX-rank or lower.]
A warning message popped up the moment he pressed the rank button. That was fine—he’d planned to set it far lower anyway.
‘My official Association rank is A-rank.’
So he matched it.
[■ ‘Incheon Honey Punch (A)’ setup complete.]
His alternate character was created.
[■ Incheon Honey Punch (A) is now overlaying Martial God (EX).]
[■ Settings may be changed at any time.]
The nameplate and color at the top of the network changed. The black name vanished, replaced by the network’s distinctive red hue.
“…Oh.”
Interesting. Should he try posting something?
He casually made a post.
[Incheon Honey Punch: Hello. I’m new here.]
Comments appeared almost immediately.
[Red-Light District Detective: Newbie? You’re A-rank? Just awakened?]
[Gyeyang Mountain Duck Butt: Judging by the name, you’re Korean. Hi hi. From Incheon?]
└ [Incheon Honey Punch: Yes. That’s right.]
Oh, so this was how it worked.
As Martial God, he probably wouldn’t have been able to post freely like this.
‘Not bad.’
It was a pretty useful reward.
[Red-Light District Detective: There wasn’t any notice about a new member though?]
[Gyeyang Mountain Duck Butt: Probably didn’t enter the network right after awakening.]
[Red-Light District Detective: Ah, I see.]
Someone noticed the inconsistency, but it was brushed off lightly.
No real issues.
[Gyeyang Mountain Duck Butt: Anyway, good luck.]
[Incheon Honey Punch: Thank you.]
He was about to browse the network some more when—
‘Ah, right.’
Now wasn’t the time for that.
‘There was another reward.’
He’d briefly forgotten because of the mask.
‘What was it again?’
Something about a labyrinth.
[■ Labyrinth Strategy Guide.]
Right.
‘What is this supposed to be?’
Labyrinth? What labyrinth?
[■ Labyrinth Strategy Guide (10F–9F)]
[■ Contains攻略 methods for Floors 10 and 9 of the Labyrinth.]
[■ Activates upon entering the Labyrinth.]
“….”
It only activates once he enters the Labyrinth?
‘What even is the Labyrinth?’
For a reward, it felt oddly vague. There wasn’t even an explanation.
‘Hmm.’
Still, he didn’t view it negatively.
‘If anything…’
From clearing quests so far—
‘It keeps giving me exactly what I need.’
The rewards were always things he wanted, or—
‘Things I’d need in the future.’
As if it had predicted what he’d require and provided it in advance.
So maybe this was the same.
As he was thinking that—
“Awake?”
Someone spoke to him. He hadn’t sensed anyone approaching.
Startled, he looked up.
“I came to check on you since you collapsed. Looks like you’re fine.”
“…Uh…?”
An unexpected figure stood there.
The Black Night Witch, Ye Jiram.
Why was she here?
“That look says you’re wondering why I’m here.”
“…Oh… how did you know?”
“…You think you’re hiding it? You’re really bad at lying, you know.”
“I don’t usually live my life lying.”
“So you were raised well?”
“My family education was pretty good.”
“Hm.”
She let out a soft snort and stepped closer.
“I’ve been thinking this since last time, kid. You’re interesting.”
“I think I might be a bit too old to be called a kid…”
“Am I easy for you? Most people don’t feel comfortable around me.”
Had he been too casual? Ye Jiram frowned as she approached.
“That’s not entirely bad. It’s amusing.”
“…Ah, yes. Thank you. But what brings you here?”
“Oh, nothing much. Since I’m the vice-commander now, I thought I’d check on a fallen member.”
“Vice-commander?”
“That’s right. I’m the vice-commander.”
“…How?”
“What?”
“No, I mean—”
When the question slipped out unintentionally, Ye Jiram frowned.
‘I mean, come on.’
Her opponent had been Oh Jimin, an S-rank superhuman—
‘Did Ye Jiram beat him?’
Was that even possible?
“Hah. Is that what you’re thinking?”
Had she read his mind? Ye Jiram spoke up.
“Is it because you didn’t fight me? Someone passed out, so I won by default. If you’re dissatisfied, we can fight.”
“What? Ah—no. I’ll pass.”
Her eyes burned with competitive spirit.
Thankfully, the misunderstanding went in a different direction.
“Why? If you want to, let’s do it.”
“…No. I have no complaints at all. You’re free to be vice-commander as you like—”
Just as their conversation was about to continue—
Diiiriiing—!!!
“Ugh!?”
“Ghk?”
A piercing alarm rang out.
[■ Gate Detected.]
“What?”
A Gate appeared?
‘A variant?’
The timing was wrong. Did that mean it was another variant Gate?
“Why is this happening so often—!”
As he was about to say more—
[■ A-rank Gate ‘Labyrinth Emergence (A)’ has appeared.]
…Huh.
‘Labyrinth…?’
His eyes widened at the familiar name.
