---
Han Joon-Woo understood one thing very clearly.
Power revealed too early
was just another way to die.
He had already lived twenty years in Murim.
He had ruled as the Demonic Copy Sovereign.
And he had learned—often through blood—
That the world did not fear strength.
It feared uncontrollable strength.
So this time…
He would stay invisible.
---
A Common Guild
Three days after leaving the hospital, Joon-Woo signed up with a raid guild no one talked about.
Iron Fang Raid Guild.
No history.
No reputation.
No influence.
The guild leader, Kim Seung-Ho, was a C-rank hunter.
The vice leader, Choi Ran, was also C-rank.
That alone told Joon-Woo everything.
A guild like this survived by avoiding attention.
Perfect.
"You're applying as… a porter?"
Kim Seung-Ho asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes," Joon-Woo replied calmly.
Porters were not hunters.
They carried supplies.
Collected monster cores.
Dragged bodies.
Disposable—but unnoticed.
Seung-Ho nodded.
"Pay is low. Risk is still there."
"I understand."
And just like that—
Han Joon-Woo disappeared into the background.
---
D-Rank Gate — Routine Raid
The D-rank gate shimmered weakly in the abandoned subway station.
A standard raid.
Eight hunters.
Two porters.
Joon-Woo walked at the back, carrying a crate of supplies.
His mana was completely suppressed—
so perfectly that even magic sensors read him as empty.
Inside the dungeon, the monsters appeared.
Goblin Soldiers.
Mutated Rats.
Bone Crawlers.
Easy prey.
The hunters handled them casually.
But Joon-Woo's eyes narrowed.
Something was wrong.
The dungeon layout was too dense.
Mana flow too aggressive.
D-rank… but unstable.
Then he felt it.
Three presences.
Hidden.
Coordinated.
D-rank Generals.
Rare monsters that commanded lesser beasts.
If they revealed themselves together,
this raid would collapse.
People would die.
So Joon-Woo moved.
---
Stealth — Absolute Silence
No one saw him step away.
No sound.
No mana fluctuation.
His body moved with Murim footwork—
Shadow-Drifting Steps, refined beyond perfection.
The first general—a Fanged Goblin Commander—
was perched above a tunnel arch.
Joon-Woo appeared behind it.
One strike.
No blade.
Just two fingers infused with compressed Qi.
The goblin's spine shattered silently.
The body slid down—
already dead.
The second general, a Bone Troll Overseer, sensed something wrong.
It turned—
And its skull exploded inward.
Joon-Woo had copied countless assassination arts in Murim.
This was mercy.
The third general tried to flee.
It never made it.
A thin line appeared across its neck.
Its head fell.
Three generals.
Dead.
Total time—
twelve seconds.
---
Unseen, Unnoticed
Moments later, the dungeon's monster flow collapsed.
The hunters noticed it immediately.
"Huh?"
"Why did the pressure drop?"
"Did the dungeon stabilize?"
They laughed.
"Guess it really was just D-rank."
Joon-Woo returned to his place among the porters.
Sweaty.
Silent.
Invisible.
No one noticed the blood on his gloves.
No one sensed the fading demonic Qi he had already sealed away.
Inside, his eyes were calm.
This is good.
No fame.
No suspicion.
No enemies.
Until he reached his true potential—
Han Joon-Woo would remain a shadow.
And when the world finally noticed him—
It would already be too late.
---