The damp, metallic air of the city's underbelly was Tae-oh's new office. He found a secluded, abandoned subway tunnel, perfectly suited for a hidden base of operations. The ache in his kidney was now just a reminder of the betrayal, and the cost of his power.
"I need to know what I'm up against," Tae-oh muttered, checking his System. He mentally commanded the System to display the established Hunter ranking structure, needing a concrete goal for his growth.
[Universal Power Hierarchy (Dimensional Ranking)]
| Rank | Title | Status |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| G | Demi-God | Mythic, Absolute Power |
| SSS+ | Transcendent | World-Ender |
| SSS | Celestial | Planetary Threat |
| SS | Architect | Regional Lord |
| S | Legend | Guild Master Level |
| A | Elite | Peak Hunter |
| B | Expert | Mid-Tier Combatant |
| C | Competent | Entry-Level Raid Member |
| D | Apprentice | Standard Hunter |
| E | Novice | Basic Operative |
| F | Trash | Starting Rank |
Tae-oh stared at the list. Demi-Gods and Transcendent? That's the end-game. His current B- Rank status felt like stepping from kindergarten into high school—better, but infinitely far from the top.
"I need to climb," he stated simply. "And I need VPs for skills."
He saw his encrypted tablet vibrating with a message. The Regressor had broken their agreement of silence. The message was a single, chilling line:
Tae-oh. The SIM data you retrieved had a hidden flaw. You didn't find the real secret. You're still too slow. I've left a new target for you. The Red Claw Gate.Don't die before I can find you.
A pin dropped onto his map. It wasn't an F-Rank Gate. It was a contested, dangerous C-Rank Gate on the edge of the city.
He's throwing down the gauntlet, Tae-oh realized, a cold smile forming on his lips. He wants to see if I'll take the risk. He wants me to prove I'm a rival worth hunting.
He checked the Red Claw Gate's details: High-density Gargoyle-type monsters. Contested by weak D and C-Rank Hunter teams, meaning high chaos and perfect cover for a rogue agent. It was dangerous, but the rewards—and the potential for replicating C-Rank skills—were massive.
Tae-oh had to test his limits. He activated his newly purchased stealth skill.
He dissolved into the nearest patch of shadow, the feeling akin to being compressed into a dark, volatile liquid. Two seconds later, he reappeared, ten feet away, silent and untraceable.
"I'll take your target, Hero," Tae-oh muttered, heading toward the Red Claw Gate. "I'll use it to steal a C-Rank skill from your next target and become your superior."
The C-Rank Target
Tae-oh slipped through the back entrance of the Red Claw Gate, cloaked in the shadows of the crumbling concrete mine entrance.
The air inside was thick with dust and the shrieks of the Gargoyle Crawlers—monsters known for their hard carapace and devastating sonic attacks.
He found his target quickly: a disorganized D-Rank team from a minor guild was being overwhelmed near a massive cavern. Leading the team was a highly-skilled C-Rank Hunter, Park Seul-ki, known for her powerful Crowd Control magic.
Seul-ki was fighting defensively, desperately trying to keep the gargoyles cornered. She unleashed a complex spell: a wide, radiating field of heavy gravity.
[Skill Observed: C-Rank Gravity Field (Area-of-Effect, Crowd Control).]
Tae-oh's eyes narrowed. A perfect strategic skill. Lee Ji-hoon relies on pure power. I need control.
He watched Seul-ki channel the spell. His Flaw Replication skill didn't seek the flaw in the mana itself, but the flaw in its execution.
[Flaw Replication Activated! Target: C-Rank Hunter Park Seul-ki (Gravity Field).]
[Flaw Identified: Excessive casting time due to unnecessary verbal incantation (5.2 seconds). Replication Initiated.]
Tae-oh, still hidden, moved closer. He didn't speak. He focused the black mana of his own core, channeling the precise rhythm and structure of the Gravity Field spell, but eliminating the 5.2 seconds of unnecessary verbal incantation.
He unleashed the replicated skill. A wave of shadow-black gravitational force slammed into a cluster of gargoyles adjacent to Seul-ki's area. The gargoyles were instantly crushed into the ground, immobilized.
Seul-ki spun around, shock etched on her face. Someone had used an advanced Crowd Control skill to save her team, but the mana signature was alien and terrifying.
Tae-oh was already gone, melting back into the shadows via a perfect Shadow Glide.
[C-Rank Skill Replicated: Gravity Field (Duration 5 min).]
[Monster Kills: VP +24. Quest Objective: Demonstrated B-Rank Evasion and C-Rank Assault.]
[New Virtue Points (VP): 24]
Tae-oh smiled. He hadn't just replicated a C-Rank skill; he had optimized it, proving his new power was superior to simple theft.
The Hero leaves me a target. I use that target to steal a superior skill and prove my value, Tae-oh thought, channeling his black mana. The first step towards Legend Rank has been taken.