Ji-hoon stood alone, his sword lowered, staring at the ruined, bleeding concrete where his rival had vanished. He had confirmed his greatest fear, but the threat had escaped.
"The villain has awakened," Ji-hoon whispered to himself, his voice thick with a mixture of terror and grudging respect. "And he's already faster than me."
Han Tae-oh was now officially off the grid, having fled through the maze of shipping containers before settling in the city's forgotten sewer tunnels. His F-Rank body had been permanently modified.
[Status: Combat Rank: B- (Evasive Specialist, Replication Focus).]
The betrayal, the pain, and the sheer force of his own awakening had forged him into something cold and terrifying. He had achieved true power—a power that fed off the skills of others. The hope of peaceful survival was entirely gone.
He checked his System. The massive 250 VP from the espionage had been completely consumed by the Awakening. He had to start over.
Tae-oh stood up. The pain from the dagger wound was still there, but muted by the sheer force of his new mana. He channeled the black energy, feeling the raw, aggressive potential of his new existence.
"I need to test this," he muttered.
He targeted a common sewer drain grate. He used his new [Flaw Replication] skill on his own brief experience with [Ji-hoon's Mana Surge].
A small, perfectly formed bolt of shadow mana blasted the grate, fusing the metal into slag. The precision was immediate, the effect absolute.
He smiled—a chilling, triumphant smile. He was no longer Kim Min-jun, the analyst. He was the S-Rank Villain who would dismantle the world by stealing the weapons of the Heroes.
The news broke an hour later. Lee Ji-hoon was lauded as a hero for exposing White Star. Han Tae-oh was officially reported missing, presumed dead after a "solo raid gone wrong."
Tae-oh was now an unofficial Shadow-Rank player. He had time.
The Regressor thinks he knows my past, Tae-oh thought, channeling his black mana. But I will forge a future he can't replicate.
He needed to get stronger. Fast. He knew Lee Ji-hoon wouldn't rest until he was found.
He would only emerge from the shadows when he was strong enough to face his rival. The next time they met, he wouldn't be replicating a C-Rank skill.