The creature looked at its hand, then at mine. A long silence fell. It wasn't anger I saw in its eyes. It was a strange kind of respect.
"[You won,]" it said, its voice holding no trace of malice. "[A deal is a deal.]"
It let go of Yoo-Na, who fell limply to the ground.
It looked at me carefully. "[You remind me of someone I faced a long, long time ago. Another mortal with a strange weapon. He had silver hair... But anyway. It's just a coincidence.]"
It nodded. "[That was a fun game, little one. We will meet again. When you have become strong enough to offer me a real fight. This isn't over.]"
It turned towards the rift. With a wave of its hand, it closed it. The tear in reality sealed itself, leaving only a sudden silence and a smell of ozone.
Then, the creature simply vanished.
I stood there, short of breath. I let out a long sigh of relief. I had survived.
My gaze fell on Yoo-Na. She was lying on the ground, her clothes in tatters, her fingers twisted, her face covered in blood and tears. The great Ice Queen, broken and pathetic.
And I burst out laughing.
A genuine, liberating laugh.
"An A-rank..." I said between laughs. "A 'national-level hero'... Meaningless. This whole academy hierarchy, it means nothing."
I took out my terminal. I took several photos of her, in her indecent and humiliated state.
Then I walked over. I grabbed her by the hair, forcing her to look at me. Fear and hatred burned in her eyes.
"Listen to me carefully," I whispered, my voice turning cold again. "I'm going to keep these photos. And if you don't want them to end up on every academy forum, and maybe even the internet, you're going to do exactly what I tell you."
I brought her face close to mine.
"You're going to go back to the academy and tell everyone that I did everything. That I defeated the monster alone. That I closed the rift. You're going to tell them that I, the F-rank, saved the day. You're going to make sure my ranking explodes."
"Understood?"
Yoo-Na tried to spit out a challenge, but the pain and fear were too strong. She just managed to nod, a barely perceptible movement. Tears of rage streamed down her dirty cheeks.
I let her go. She fell back to the ground, trembling.
I put my terminal away, the photos safely stored. The most valuable bargaining chip I had.
I turned my back on her, leaving her alone with her humiliation.
I activated the communication function on my terminal, selecting the academy's emergency channel.
"This is Kang Ji-Hoon. Pair 7," I said, my voice calm and professional.
A crackling voice answered immediately. It was the pilot. "Pair 7, we read you. What is your status?"
"Mission accomplished," I said simply. "The rift is sealed. All hostile entities have been neutralized."
There was a silence on the other end of the line. The pilot probably wasn't expecting such a quick response.
"Roger that, Pair 7. Any injuries?"
I glanced back at Yoo-Na. "My partner is injured. She'll need medical attention when we get back."
"Understood. We're sending the helicopter to your position. It will be there in fifteen minutes. Hang tight."
The communication cut off.
Fifteen minutes.
I sat on a rock, my back to Yoo-Na. I didn't want to see her anymore.
The sun was beginning to set behind the mountains. The forest had become silent again.
I closed my eyes.
The mission was over. But my war was just beginning.
The helicopter arrived as scheduled, its blades kicking up a powerful wind in the clearing.
It landed. I climbed straight inside, without a glance at Yoo-Na. A medical team came out with a stretcher to carry her.
As we took off, I looked out the window. Below, the tribe warriors had come out of the forest. They raised their fists and spears towards the helicopter, shouting insults that my chip translated. I gave them a small smile and a wave. I didn't care at all.
The return to the academy was quick. The news of our return had already spread. A small group of students had gathered near the helipad to watch.
"I bet the F-rank is in pieces," one of them said, loud enough for me to hear.
"If he's not already dead," added another.
The door opened. I got out first. Alone. Without a visible scratch, my minor injuries having already begun to heal.
A surprised silence fell over the group.
Then the medical team came out, carrying Yoo-Na on the stretcher. She was covered with a sheet, but her swollen face and twisted fingers were visible. She looked like she had been beaten up.
I met her gaze. It was a look full of hatred, but also fear. I just gave her a small nod. The warning was clear.
She understood. She turned her head towards the students and, in a weak voice full of a master actress's talent, she began her performance.
"It's... it's him..." she moaned. "Kang Ji-Hoon... He did everything... The monster... he beat it alone... He saved us..."
In a way, it was the truth.
One of the students, a friend of Park's, didn't want to believe it. "That's impossible! A dirty F-rank can't..."
I turned and looked him straight in the eye. "C-rank," I corrected him, my cold voice cutting his sentence short.
Just then, a teacher intervened to disperse the crowd. "Enough! Move along! Let the medical team through!"
As people began to leave, my terminal vibrated with a major notification.
[Mission report processed. Exceptional performance detected.]
[Academy Ranking Update.]
[Kang Ji-Hoon - Former Ranking: 478/478]
[New Ranking: 49/478]
I had gone from the bottom of the class to the Top 50. In a single day.
The game had changed. Permanently.
The news of my ranking hit like a bombshell.
The next day, walking through the hallways, the atmosphere was different. The looks were no longer of pity or mockery. It was fear, distrust, and for some, a glimmer of respect.
The "bottom of the class" was now number 49. I had surpassed hundreds of D-rank and C-rank students in a single mission. No one understood how.
The wildest rumors were circulating. That I had a hidden power. That I was secretly the son of a hero. That I had made a pact with a demon.
I met Min-Soo in the cafeteria. He looked at me, shaking his head with a smile.
"Top 50..." he said. "You never do things by halves, do you?"
"That was the plan," I replied, sitting down.
"That wasn't the plan," he corrected. "The plan was to survive. This is something else. You've caught everyone's attention now. Not just the bullies, but the real players. The A-ranks. The other members of the student council."
He was right. My life at the academy had just changed drastically. I was no longer a ghost. I was a target. A puzzle that everyone wanted to solve.
But I also had new advantages.
My new ranking gave me access to a better dorm, in the Beta building. A bigger room, with a real bathroom. It gave me access to advanced training rooms, to classes I couldn't even imagine before.
And most importantly, it gave me power.
When I walked into the practical combat class that afternoon, no one laughed. The teacher looked at me with new respect.
And when he asked for a volunteer for a demonstration duel, I was the one who raised my hand. Not to be a punching bag.
But to choose my next victim.
The teacher scanned the room, then his gaze returned to me. He nodded. "Alright, Kang. Choose your opponent."
My gaze swept over the crowd of students. They avoided my eyes. No one wanted to face me now. They had all heard about the mission. About Yoo-Na, injured.
But there was one who was staring at me, his face full of hatred. It was Park's friend. The one who had challenged me at the helipad. A C-rank, an earth specialist.
"Him," I said, pointing at him.
The boy swallowed, but he couldn't back down. He stepped into the arena, trying to look confident, but I could see the fear in his eyes.
"Ready? Begin!" the teacher shouted.
My opponent immediately stomped on the ground. Rock pillars shot out of the arena, trying to impale me.
It was a good technique. Powerful, direct.
But it was slow.
I dodged the first pillar. I jumped onto the second, using it as a springboard. I ran along a third one that came out horizontally.
My movements were fluid, precise. The forced training against Yoo-Na, the best speed fighter, had made me incredibly agile.
I landed right in front of him. He tried to create a stone armor around himself, but it was too late.
I summoned my dagger.
And I used one of the new abilities I had acquired.
I touched the arena floor with my free hand. I drew on the little bit of moisture in the air and the concrete.
Small tendrils of water shot out from the ground and wrapped around his ankles, tripping him.
The surprise was absolute. No one expected me to use another power. Especially not a water power.
He lost his balance for a split second.
That was all I needed.
My dagger pressed against his throat.
The fight had lasted less than ten seconds.
I looked at the teacher. "I win."
A dead silence filled the gym. I had won. Easily.
I made my dagger disappear and stepped out of the arena, leaving my opponent trembling on his knees.
The message was clear. I was no longer the prey.