Tae-oh was back in the safety of his tunnel. His Hyper-Regeneration was working overtime. He didn't waste a second. He crushed the A-Rank Skill Crystal of [Flowing Aegis] and consumed its power.
A wave of pure, potent A-Rank mana flooded his core, pushing him past the limitations of B-Rank.
[A-Rank Crystal Consumed. Core Efficiency Increased by 40%.]
[Host Status: Combat Rank: B+ (Core Stability: 70% of A-Rank)]
He was almost an Elite Hunter.
He then accessed the data he'd stolen from the Siren. He didn't just have the skill; he had the flawless blueprint for the Siren's Lament.
[Synthesizing Flaw Replication Data: Siren's Lament. Cost: 50 VP.]
He now had a strategic use for his VP: Skill Synthesis. He had only 24 VP left.
As he rested, he looked at the shattered rooftop where the Siren had stood. He noticed a faint, shimmering distortion in the air—a residual digital echo of the powerful A-Rank confrontation.
World-Building: This was an Aetheric Scar, a concept from the original novel. When high-ranked Hunters (A-Rank and above) clash, their raw mana leaves a temporary imprint on reality that skilled observers can analyze.
Tae-oh realized his Flaw Replication skill wasn't just stealing data; it was leaving behind shadow scars on the world that only another powerful analyst—or a Regressor—could detect.
Ji-hoon knew where I was going to be because he analyzed the Aetheric Scar of the Siren's previous attack. I need to be more careful.
The Siren's defeat was a victory, but it meant Ji-hoon's trap worked: the Regressor now had a confirmed trace of the Shadow-Rank's activity.