The first week at Zenith Academy was a blur of calculated adaptation for Jin Park. He followed his class schedule for the Prime Division, which was sparse. Unlike the general student body, Prime recruits were expected to be self-directed. They had foundational classes in Advanced Mana Theory and Dungeon Ecology, but the majority of their time was their own—a blank slate for them to pursue their unique talents.
It was during one of these Advanced Mana Theory classes that he first felt it—a trigger, a faint echo from a life he'd fought to forget.
The instructor, a wizened old mage, was demonstrating how to imbue an object with a temporary elemental charge. He channeled his mana into a simple steel knife, and a small, controlled flame erupted along the blade's edge. He then deliberately overloaded the infusion. The flame sputtered violently, turning black and acrid. The smell of burning oil and hot, ruined metal filled the lecture hall.
For the other students, it was a simple lesson. For Jin Park, the scent was a key unlocking a door to a dark, burning room in his soul.
…the heat, suffocating and absolute. The air, thick with black smoke that seared his lungs. The roar was deafening, not of a monster, but of a grease fire, a simple, mundane accident that had turned his world-class kitchen into an inescapable tomb. He remembered the face of his sous-chef, the one who had blocked the exit to save himself, the look of panicked, selfish betrayal in his eyes just before the ceiling collapsed…
Jin Park blinked. The vision was gone. He was back in the sterile lecture hall. A cold, hard layer settled deep within his core. It was a reminder. Trust was the fuel for betrayal. Harmony was a lie. There was only control, and the failure of it. He pushed the memory down, locking it away.
Later that day, in the privacy of his lab, he began his true work. He had spent the week not just attending classes, but meticulously observing. He watched the other Prime Division students. He noted their habits, their strengths, the faint auras of their most powerful passive skills. He had been a predator patiently stalking his prey, waiting for the perfect moment.
He laid out ingredients on the gleaming steel counter: the liver of a D-Rank "Gale-Wing Hawk" and a cluster of glowing "Manaflow Herbs." His goal was to create a dish to boost his mana regeneration, allowing him to train his skills faster.
He worked with a terrifying focus, his hands a blur of motion. As he worked, he thought of the upcoming bi-annual evaluation. He needed to show progress. His level was the most important metric. This dish was the key.
After an hour of intense concentration, the dish was complete: a simple, clear consommé.
[You have created a 'Mana-Regen Consommé' (Rare-grade dish). Quality: Masterpiece.]
[Your deep understanding of ingredient synergy has been recognized.]
[Skill: Cooking (Job-Specific) has been acquired.]
[Skill Acquired: Cooking (Normal) - Lv. 1]
> Description: A passive skill specific to the Chef job. Increases the chance of creating higher-quality dishes and unlocks insights into recipe creation.
[Due to the creation of a Masterpiece-quality dish using high-grade materials, you have gained a significant amount of experience.]
[You have leveled up!]
[You are now Lv. 5.]
A single dish had given him a full level. This was his path. While combat Awakeners were bleeding in dungeons for XP, he could level up in the safety of his lab.
He drank the consommé, feeling his nearly depleted mana pool begin to refill at a shockingly fast rate.
[You are under the effect of 'Mana-Regen Consommé'. Mana recovery rate is increased by 200% for one hour.]
He immediately turned to the training dummy, ready to grind his combat skills with his newfound buff. As he did, a different, far more important notification chimed in his mind. The sound he had been waiting for all week.
[Cooldown for Divine Copy is complete.]
[Status: Ready.]
He stopped dead, the training dummy forgotten. The hunt was over. It was time to act.
His mind flashed through the roster of students he had been observing. The ice swordsman. The spirit master. The boy with the defensive talent that shimmered like diamond. All of them were prime targets.
But there was one who stood above the rest. A target whose abilities were so unique, so perfectly suited to Muyeong's own ambitions, that there was no other choice.
His target was a quiet, third-year girl from the Alchemy division of the Prime program, named Elara. No, not Elara, that was the Dean. Her name was Seraphina. She was a prodigy, not in combat, but in creation. And she possessed a Mythical-grade talent that Muyeong coveted more than any offensive power.
He left his lab, his Imperceptible talent wrapping around him like a cloak. The time for observation was over. The wolf was on the move.