Han Tae-oh stood across the street from the White Star Guild Headquarters, a gleaming tower of reinforced concrete and anti-mana wards. The building itself was a boast—a symbol of S-Rank power. He was wearing an expensive, dark-gray suit, using the persona of the Black Blade Guild Master's genius son for cover.
Frontal assault is suicide. I'm F-Rank. The system is the weakness, Tae-oh decided.
He activated his Basic Audit skill, pointing it at the White Star building.
[Flaw Identified: S-Rank Mana Wards (Integrity 99.9%). FLAW: Emergency Firewall Port (Unpatched since 2017).]
[Analysis: Port is tied to a single, retired C-Rank Administrator's biometric signature.]
A single, unpatched security flaw? This is the kind of bureaucratic negligence that gets people fired, Tae-oh scoffed.
He walked past the lobby guards with a confident stride, ignoring their suspicious glares.
"Han Tae-oh, of Black Blade Guild," he announced to the front desk, using his inherited arrogance. "I have an urgent logistical inquiry for your Master regarding the A-Rank Gate taxation forms. Direct me to the database room immediately."
The attendant, stunned by the sheer gall and the familiar name, fumbled with the access card. In that split second, Tae-oh leaned close to the attendant's workstation and silently activated his Audit skill again.
[Flaw: Database Access Terminal (Session ID: 771-B. User: C-Rank Administrator Choi).]
Tae-oh murmured a phrase of complex, low-grade mana manipulation—a simple F-Rank skill used for cleaning dust—but focused it entirely through the Audit-identified flaw. The effect was a digital flash.
He had hijacked the Administrator's active session ID.
He was in.
He was directed to a sealed server room. Inside, the main Guild database pulsed with S-Rank protection runes. Tae-oh pulled out the encrypted tablet Ji-hoon had given him.
He activated his Audit one final time, sweeping the room.
[Flaw: Server Rack E-7 (Cooling Vent Stress Fracture—1/1000th inch).]
[Analysis: Fracture allows a low-grade, focused electromagnetic pulse to bypass the physical firewall.]
Tae-oh approached the rack, pretending to inspect the air vents. With a whisper of F-Rank mana—the same energy he once used for cleaning dust in his old life—he delivered a precise, microscopic pulse directly into the fracture.
The S-Rank runes flickered violently, not in alarm, but in confusion. The system saw a minuscule environmental disturbance, not a hack. The physical firewall briefly opened a digital back door.
The encrypted tablet immediately began downloading the Structural Integrity Map (SIM). The process was done in under fifteen seconds.
Tae-oh smiled—a true, predatory smile this time. He felt the cold rush of power that came from being untouchable.
[Quest: The Rival's Test Completed! Reward: Virtue Points +150.]
He turned to leave, walking out as smoothly as he walked in. The mission was a success. He had proven his tactical brilliance to the Regressor.
He met Ji-hoon at an abandoned warehouse near the Gangnam docks. The Regressor was alone, waiting.
Tae-oh tossed the tablet to Ji-hoon, who caught it and immediately began verifying the SIM data.
"Flawless, Mastermind," Ji-hoon said, a grudging respect in his voice. "You executed a perfect B-Rank infiltration with an F-Rank body. You're more dangerous than I thought."
Tae-oh felt a flash of pride, but then a sharp pain lanced through his side. He looked down, horrified, as a pristine, razor-sharp B-Rank Mana Dagger was sinking into his kidney.
Standing behind him was Hyun-woo, the C-Rank team leader from the dungeon patrol, his face twisted in a sneer of jealous rage.
"You think we'd trust the trash heir?" Hyun-woo spat. "Master Ji-hoon said you were too dangerous, an asset that had to be removed immediately after retrieval. Sorry, Young Master, but you're too smart for your own good."
Tae-oh stumbled, collapsing to his knees, his blood pooling on the cold concrete. He looked up at Ji-hoon, who was still holding the tablet, his expression unreadable.
"Ji-hoon..." Tae-oh gasped, realization dawning. "You... you set me up."
Ji-hoon finally looked up, his expression cold and regretful. "I knew your genius would be too great a risk to the future, Tae-oh. I had to verify your power, and then I had to eliminate it. Nothing personal. It's just the safest path for the world."
The pain exploded. Tae-oh's vision went white.
[System Alert: FATAL DAMAGE RECEIVED!]
[Emergency Protocol Initiated: Hidden Talent Activation!]