Han Tae-oh stood on a high scaffold overlooking the Hunter Union's Primary Relic Vault. The building was a brutalist block of steel and reinforced concrete, humming with visible A-Rank mana wards.
A public A-Rank clear and the immediate securing of a highly coveted defensive crystal. Too convenient. It screams 'trap,' Tae-oh analyzed, his eyes narrowed. But the flaw must be genuine. Ji-hoon knows I only move when success is guaranteed. He's betting I'll value the A-Rank skill over the low probability of capture.
He activated his Flaw Replication skill, sweeping the entire structure. The wards glowed faintly, but one specific area—the circuit protecting the display pedestal—blazed with a faint, angry red light.
[Flaw Identified: Secondary Mana Circuit Overload (Regressor Signature Trace).]
[Analysis: Intentional, precise overload allows a low-grade frequency pulse to create a 0.03-second lapse in the physical firewall. Risk: 15% detection by S-Rank sensors.]
"Fifteen percent is too high," Tae-oh muttered. He needed an additional skill.
He recalled his recent foray into the Black Market Nexus—the area was secured by obsolete, but complex, sensor grids.
[Flaw Replication Activated! Target: Black Market Security System (Infrared Bypass).]
[Skill Replicated: D-Rank [Infrared Camouflage] (Duration 5 min).]
He now possessed the means to hide his physical movement and mana signature, but he needed to move fast.
Tae-oh channeled his mana into his legs, utilizing the replicated [Raw Strength] from the Stone Behemoth for a silent, explosive vertical jump. He landed on the vault's exterior ledge, moving like a phantom.
He reached the window of the Relic Display Room. He focused the black mana of his core, channeling the subtle frequency required to bypass the flaw Ji-hoon had deliberately left open.
The S-Rank ward surrounding the crystal sputtered for a fraction of a second.
Tae-oh acted. He activated Shadow Glide, bypassing the physical barrier, and reappeared directly next to the A-Rank Skill Crystal of [Flowing Aegis]. He grabbed the crystal and retreated, all in less than one second.
The flaw has been exploited. Time to extract.
But as Tae-oh began his descent, the world fractured.
A high-pitched, almost silent sonic frequency tore through the night air, targeting the bones in his inner ear—a precise, debilitating attack that bypassed armor and mana shields. It was a specialist attack, designed to induce instant vertigo and paralysis.
Tae-oh staggered, dropping the crystal. He hit the rooftop and immediately collapsed, fighting the overwhelming nausea.
"Welcome, Shadow-Rank," a cold, musical voice whispered into the night.
Standing twenty feet away, perched on the gargoyle statue of the Union building, was a woman dressed in flowing midnight silk. Her eyes, glowing with a soft, dangerous light, were fixed on Tae-oh. This was Kim Yoo-jin, the Siren.
"The A-Rank skill was bait," she continued, a predatory smile forming on her lips. "But Ji-hoon wasn't hunting you. He was hunting me. He knew I'd come to claim the crystal, and he knew you'd be here to steal it from me."
Tae-oh looked up, panting, realizing the brutal genius of the Regressor's trap. Ji-hoon hadn't just used the crystal as bait for Tae-oh; he had used Tae-oh as bait for a higher-level villain.
Ji-hoon had traded a single A-Rank crystal for a guaranteed confrontation between his rival and his enemy.
Kim Yoo-jin channeled her power—a devastating [A-Rank Sonic Wave]—and launched it at Tae-oh.