The Obsidian Spire's training grounds did not sleep.
Even in the quiet hours before dawn, the place thrummed like the heart of a beast. Blades clashed in distant corners, the crackle of magic filled the air, and the sound of bodies hitting reinforced floors echoed like steady drums. For most cadets, the training halls were a place of exhaustion and pain. For S-ranks, it was simply survival.
Rin stood at the threshold of the gravity chamber, his reflection faintly visible on its obsidian walls. The words of the Guildmaster still clawed at his mind.
"The former Guildmaster… was your father."
The sentence replayed in silence, a shard of glass caught in his thoughts. He said nothing to Hyun-woo, who was busy stuffing protein bars into his mouth as if he hadn't eaten in weeks. The fiery-haired boy noticed Rin's silence but didn't press—it wasn't his way.
"Yo," Hyun-woo said around a mouthful of crumbs. "You taking first or am I?"
Rin adjusted the bracelet on his wrist and stepped forward. "I'll start."
The chamber hissed as it activated, the floor pulsing with white runes. Numbers floated across the hovering display:
Gravity ×30.
The moment it locked, the weight crashed down. A normal human would have been pulverized into paste. Even seasoned hunters would struggle to move under ×5, much less ×30. But Rin did not falter. His shoulders rolled back, his chest lifted, and his steps cracked the reinforced tiles as he began his warm-up.
Push-ups became earthquakes. Each rep sank his palms deeper into the floor until spiderweb cracks blossomed outward. When he rose into squats, the ground beneath him shuddered like it was carrying a mountain. Sweat streamed down his jawline, but his expression remained calm, almost detached.
Hyun-woo whistled, his flame aura flickering lazily behind him. "You know, watching you work out makes me feel like a regular guy at the gym. And I hate feeling like a regular guy."
Rin ignored him. He closed his eyes, focusing instead on the sensation of pressure crushing his body, compressing his aura until it burned within him like a star. Each movement was not merely physical; it was discipline, precision, the act of teaching his body to flow under impossible conditions.
When he finished, he released a slow breath. Frost rolled from his lips, curling across the room as if even the air responded to his command.
The chamber deactivated. Gravity ×1.
Suddenly weightless, Rin moved—and the world cracked. His body blurred across the chamber faster than the eye could follow, a flash of silver and frost. The reinforced air barriers groaned as though reality itself strained to contain his velocity. For an instant, he was no longer a man but a streak of cold light, breaking space like glass.
When he stopped, ice flowers bloomed where his feet had touched.
Hyun-woo clapped. "Show-off. My turn."
He stepped into the chamber, twisting the dials. Gravity ×20. The runes flared, and Hyun-woo grunted as the weight bore down. Unlike Rin's silent composure, Hyun-woo met the pressure with fire. Literal fire. Flames rippled from his body, dancing across his shoulders as he forced himself into motion.
"Don't look at me like that," Hyun-woo growled, pushing against the weight. "I know I'm not you, but—" His arms trembled, fire exploding outward as he pushed through a set of presses. "—I'll get there."
Rin said nothing, but his eyes softened. He remembered watching his friend throw himself into flames again and again, each time burning, each time rising. Hyun-woo's strength wasn't just his fire—it was his refusal to be extinguished.
The chamber buzzed as Hyun-woo staggered out, steam rising from his skin. He collapsed onto the bench, panting. "Alright. Enough of that. Let's eat before I pass out."
---
The cafeteria of the Spire was unlike any mess hall. Walls of glass opened into the city skyline, neon lights flickering against black steel. S-rank chefs—yes, even chefs could be ranked—prepared meals infused with mana-rich ingredients, each dish steaming with energy. Plates carried meat from monsters that had once toppled mountains, grains harvested from dungeons, and drinks infused with elixirs to stabilize aura.
Hyun-woo devoured a platter of flame-roasted wyvern ribs, grease streaking down his chin. "This—this is living. Screw fighting dungeons, screw exams. If I could eat like this every day, I'd retire early."
Rin's plate was untouched. He sat quietly, staring past the glass, the city sprawling like veins of light. The Guildmaster's words burned louder than any flame.
My father…
He gripped his fork tighter. The thought of the man, faceless in his memory yet looming larger than life, filled him with an unease he couldn't name. He had faced monsters, necromancers, trials beyond reason—but the idea of bloodlines, of truths hidden in silence, unsettled him more than any blade.
"You're spacing out again," Hyun-woo muttered between bites. "Thinking about him?"
Rin didn't answer. His eyes lingered on his reflection in the window, searching for a resemblance he wasn't sure he wanted to find.
---
Elsewhere in the Spire, the training grounds thundered with activity. In one hall, cadets tested their agility against illusory dungeons—walls shifting, beasts lunging, traps snapping. In another, psychic warriors meditated beneath obsidian spires that projected illusions meant to break their minds. Sparks of magic arced through the air, and the scent of sweat, ozone, and iron mixed into a tapestry of raw struggle.
It was a reminder. Strength was not given—it was carved.
Rin rose from the table. His plate remained untouched, frost gathering faintly on the edges.
---
That was when the alarms rang.
Sirens screamed through the Spire, red lights painting the training grounds in violent hues. Voices rose in confusion, trainers shouting for order. The announcement system crackled alive, the voice of a senior officer booming through the chaos:
"Attention! S-rank raid detected. All active hunters prepare for deployment. Repeat—S-rank raid detected."
The cafeteria froze. Forks clattered. Conversations died. Even Hyun-woo stopped mid-bite, the rib slipping from his hand.
Rin's eyes narrowed. His aura stirred faintly, like a storm waking in silence.
An S-rank raid.
The world was about to bleed again.