It was no different from any other day.
She was just casually staring at the screen, nothing out of the ordinary.
"...A reincarnator."
A woman who happened to be watching the screen sent a gentle gaze his way.
In the midst of her busy schedule, she'd turned it on out of sheer boredom. With new reincarnators popping up left and right, it wasn't all that exciting anymore.
It was just perfect timing.
That was all there was to it.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ■ The reincarnator's presence is too overwhelming. ■ Pausing network and reconstructing.
"What?"
The woman's eyes narrowed at the sudden alert.
The system window was glitching and shaking violently.
"What...?"
Before she could even be surprised, the screen blinked off with a ping!
A few seconds passed, and when the network came back online...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ■ The reincarnator's presence is too overwhelming. ■ Pausing network and reconstructing.
Flick!
"Huh?"
The screen shut off again.
Four seconds later.
That was how long it took for the network to reboot.
An alert popped up on the screen as it flickered back to life.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ■ Reconstruction successful. ■ Martial God has entered. ■ Please give a warm welcome.
A line of black text appeared at the top.
This was the first time in history that such a color had shown up since the Reincarnation Network's verification.
Amid the exploding reactions, the woman anxiously scanned the situation.
Hundreds of comments in an instant. They were on the verge of hitting thousands. It was only natural—this event had shattered a long period of silence.
In the flood of nonstop comments...
"...Martial God...? Martial God...?"
The woman muttered in a trembling voice as she stared at the screen.
"...No way...?"
The woman fidgeted and posted a comment there as well.
⭐ Top Comment — Dragon Mage Is that really you?
A short question.
The comments froze for a moment.
A few seconds of silence passed.
— Username Dragon Mage? Isn't that her? — Username Whoa, crazy. She never shows up on the boards. — Username Popping up out of nowhere acting like she knows the newbie? — Username Who the hell even is this newbie...?
Her appearance had fanned the flames even higher.
Amid the exploding reactions, the woman anxiously scanned the situation.
She desperately hoped for a response, praying over and over.
"Ah..."
In the end, the Martial God showed no reaction whatsoever.
Seeing that, the woman let out a sigh.
"...Martial God..."
A jet-black nameplate and a simple yet intense nickname.
Biting her lip at the sight, the woman steeled herself.
"I have to find him."
She had to track down that person somehow.
No matter what it took.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 💬 Comments
"...What the hell...?"
While the board had been burning up for a while...
I was left with a dumbfounded look at the unfolding chaos.
"What is going on here?"
Logging in was fine, but what was this? I'd just wanted to check the board, but the reactions were insanely hot. Posts were flying up like a chatroom, too fast to even read.
And not just that.
Ding! Ding!
The bell-shaped icon on the side was exploding with countless alerts.
My head was spinning. What do I even click? Can I click anything?
I lightly tapped the icon.
It took me to an auto-generated post announcing my login.
'...Martial God...'
The title was in black, announcing that the Martial God had entered.
The color represented rank.
Each rank had its designated color, determining the text shade accordingly.
'Still black this time.'
It had been that way from the start, but I'd never even heard of this color existing.
No wonder the reactions were off the charts.
There were way too many comments on the post.
A riot of colors.
From A-rank shades that were hard to spot anywhere, to occasional S-rank hues.
People I could never dream of approaching were showing up from all over the world, frantically posting comments.
'...Judging by the reactions...'
This didn't seem normal at all.
Anyone could see that.
And then...
"Huh...?"
A golden comment appeared in the middle.
The moment it did, the nonstop influx of comments paused for a beat.
⭐ Top Comment — Dragon Mage Is that really you?
"Holy shit."
My eyes widened the second I saw it.
Gold meant SS-rank—one of only three people worldwide.
"Dragon Mage?"
Who was that? Reactions poured in like a tidal wave right after.
Everyone seemed to know who owned that comment.
The weird part?
'Is that really you?'
This person was reacting like they knew who I was. Did they know something about the Martial God?
'...Should I reply?'
If they knew something, I should ask, right?
As I thought that and hit the reply button...
Zzt!
"Ack!?"
A sharp pain shot through my finger. I yanked my hand back in shock. What the hell?
As I cradled my numb finger, wide-eyed...
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ■ Synchronization rate too low. Cannot leave a trace.
"...This is ridiculous."
I couldn't even reply. It was absurd.
'So what, just lurk?'
I couldn't react and could only watch.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Even now, the alerts kept blaring nonstop. It was so noisy I wondered if I could mute it.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ■ Daily login limit of 5 minutes reached. ■ Network access restricted. ■ Network forcibly terminated.
"What...?"
The network shut down along with the system window.
"Login limit is 5 minutes?"
What did that even mean? I'd never heard of a time limit.
'...Why is everything so weird?'
Everything happening was completely different from what I knew.
"Did I even awaken properly...?"
I could access the network, so yeah, but even that was limited to 5 minutes. No time to figure anything out.
"Tch..."
What should I do? As I pondered...
Bzzz!
My pocket vibrated. A phone call. I pulled it out—Dan A-jin Teacher.
"Ah."
The moment I saw it, I hurriedly answered. I'd forgotten.
-Hey, Jin-woo.
"Yes, Teacher."
-Everything going okay? No word from you.
"...Ah..."
Right. I'd been so overwhelmed by the reincarnation that I'd spaced on this.
'I was supposed to go to Seoul today.'
On the last day, she'd pulled strings out of kindness to get me a recommendation letter for the company.
My grades were solid, but awakening status was iffy. She'd really gone out of her way.
"Sorry, Teacher. I was supposed to go, but something came up."
-What? Something? What happened?
"Well... I awakened."
-What...!?
A loud voice came through the phone.
-Awakened? For real...?
"Yes. I awakened."
-Oh my...! Congratulations, Jin-woo...!
"Haha... Thank you."
Her congratulations were full of genuine warmth.
"You went out of your way... I'm sorry it turned out like this."
-No, no. Awakening is what matters. So, we'll pass on this one. I'm almost there anyway...
"No. I'll go too."
-What?
"It's because of me. Feels right to go together."
I needed to head to Seoul anyway. And see Teacher's face.
"I'm heading there now."
I hung up and moved right away.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
About 40 minutes later, I stepped out of the subway station.
The Han River came into view just beyond.
It had been ages. Years, maybe? A familiar yet oddly uncomfortable feeling washed over me.
"Jin-woo."
I turned at the soft voice and faint perfume scent.
A woman with gentle features stood there.
"Teacher."
Dan A-jin Teacher, who'd taught me for the past three years.
"Congratulations for real."
She approached and patted my shoulder.
"Thank you."
"I hoped so much you'd make it... and you did."
Her signature soft tone made me smile without thinking.
"...Doesn't really feel real yet."
"That's normal. Oh, it's chilly—shall we head in? Eaten yet?"
"Not yet."
"Let's grab something light, then."
We found a restaurant. It was right below the company we'd planned to visit.
Two bowls of seolleongtang hit the table.
"How'd it happen?"
Teacher asked.
"No idea. Just awakened out of nowhere yesterday."
"Out of nowhere?"
"Yeah."
"Awakenings are sudden like that. I was the same as you at first."
B-rank superhuman.
That was Teacher's rank. Her reincarnation had been a knight trainer in a fantasy world.
"But this is a first."
No one had awakened right before turning twenty.
Teacher seemed intrigued too.
"Anyway, congrats again."
As she spoke, her eyes flickered slightly. I smiled, reading her thoughts.
'She's curious about my rank.'
I could tell what she was thinking but didn't say it outright.
Her expression turned a bit serious.
I straightened up at the shift in mood.
"Jin-woo."
"Yes, Teacher."
"You really set on doing it?"
I knew what "it" was without asking.
"Yes."
My answer was decided too.
Teacher let out a soft sigh through her nose.
"...Your awakening is worth celebrating, but realistically, no matter your rank, it'll be tough."
She must've pegged my rank low since I hadn't said. Her reaction suggested that.
I wanted to just tell her the rank if she asked...
'...But somehow.'
I felt like hiding it.
Like I should.
"I don't want to block a student's path, but reality's walls are thick."
"I know."
"Still wanna be a superhuman?"
"Yes."
I'd seized my chance.
"Even if it's the lowest rank."
Even facing this unknown EX mess.
"I have to go for it."
I had to become a superhuman.
Somehow.
"..."
Teacher's eyes narrowed at my firm words.
"I see."
A smile crept into her eyes after a brief stiffen.
"Alright. If that's your mind, can't stop you. We'll have to pass on this gig then."
"Sorry you went out of your way..."
"Nah. I'm glad you're coming along. Appointment's at three, so we can take it slow."
"Yes..."
"Oh, and text Kyung-beom."
"Huh?"
My eyes widened at the random name. Kyung-beom?
Why him?
"Kept whining to me that you weren't replying."
"..."
I made a face. Jin Kyung-beom. My one real friend these past few years. Kinda clingy.
'I can go a bit without texting.'
About two weeks.
Busy with stuff, so replies slowed, and he'd gone to Teacher.
"Anyway, congrats once more."
Hearing her, I racked my brain.
'Come to think of it.'
Maybe she knows something?
Not my exact rank, but about EX or the black color.
"Um, Teacher."
I was about to ask...
-The press conference on this incident—
News blared from the TV. The owner had cranked the volume.
Our eyes turned, and Teacher commented while watching.
"That's a mess too. Terrorism... In this world."
The recent terror incidents shaking things up.
Unregistered superhumans hitting companies or crowded spots.
"What's their goal anyway."
"...Who knows."
Goal.
The terrorists' goal. Did they even have one?
Whatever it was...
'Does a reason for terror really matter?'
A cold chill settled in as I watched the TV.
"Ah..."
Teacher glanced at me suddenly.
"Sorry. That was thoughtless of me."
"Huh? Oh, no."
I waved it off.
"It's fine."
It really was now. Or had to be.
"Oh, what I was gonna ask earlier."
Topic cleared, I went to bring up the other thing...
"But Jin-woo."
"Yes?"
Ding.
'Hm?'
A sudden alert.
The system window popped up.
📜 NEW QUEST 📜
Emergency Quest Activated
"Huh?"
Quest?
What did that mean?
Ding.
📜 NEW QUEST 📜
Survive
"What...?"
Unfamiliar text appeared.
"Jin-woo?"
Teacher asked at my reaction.
"What's wrong?"
"No, it's just—"
That instant.
Krunch.
KABOOM--!!!
The building exploded.
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