— Tak.

I closed my laptop.

“… Well, that's terrifying.”

Cheok Jungyeong killed someone purely for enjoyment. I had created this world. On the surface, society seemed functional with science and magic vastly improving the quality of life, but underneath existed demi-humans without morals. Demi-humans referred not only to djinns, but also superhumans who rejected heroes. Governments officially recognized them as wanted criminals, but the public called them villains.

“What killed him?”

The drone was unable to capture exactly what happened. Only after slowing it down ten times did I catch a glimpse. Cheok Jungyeong threw a jab and a violent pressure erupted, instantly killing the police officer.

“He killed someone without even touching them. Also, this thing…”

I stared at the drone on my bed. It could come in handy if I bought a more expensive one and modified it with my settings.

Wiing—

My smartwatch rang.

[Yo, can I nominate you?]

It was Chae Nayun. She seemed to be talking about tomorrow’s duels.

[Why?]

[What do you mean why? You provoked me several times.]

I still had one nomination left. Cadets had to duel at least three times and at most six. I didn’t need to fight anyone else unless someone nominated me.

[No, I’m exhausted.]

I couldn’t possibly win against Chae Nayun when I couldn’t even dodge her arrows which were stronger than my bullets.

[You can think about it tomorrow. Also, how did you destroy qi reinforcement with a bullet? You didn’t even use your personal weapon. That’s all everyone is talking about. It was your gift, right?]

So this was her real goal.

I just ignored her. I doubted she had any nominations left. Even if she did, she wouldn’t waste her energy since she was fighting Rachel tomorrow.

“Whoa, it’s already 12?”

I took off my smartwatch and prepared for bed. When I turned off the light, I received another message.

[You put on quite a show.]

It came from Yoo Yeonha. I briefly replied.

[I didn’t want to get hit.]

[Because you destroyed a qi reinforcement with your bullet, many guilds are interested.]

[I know.]

I gained quite a bit of SP, 185 since noon. Once I collected a bit more, I could create another art or physique.

[They’re already calling your gift superpower bullet and bullet reinforcement. Speaking of which, what do you think about guilds?]

[Those names suck.]

[No, what do you think about Essence of the Strait?]

“Hmm.”

Yoo Yeonha only judged people based on their usefulness. Unfortunately, this would only worsen as she grew older.

[Contacting cadets beforehand is illegal. That’s a 500 million won penalty.]

I sent a joking message to end the conversation.

[First, I’m still a cadet. Cadets can recruit other cadets without violating the law. Second, I can afford to pay at least that much.]

She replied quite seriously. I felt a bit awkward.

[That’s not your money, it’s your parents.]

[Oh right, your acting during the second and third match was superb.]

“… This girl.”

Why did she talk like I hid my true power? If anything, Kim Suho was the one hiding his power.

[Were you watching?]

[I had some time. I think your growth rate is too quick. You were rank 934 during the initial exams, but overwhelmed the rank 18 cadet after switching to a gun. It’s too noticeable…]

“What is she going on about?”

I also ignored Yoo Yeonha. Honestly, I was exhausted after three fights today.

“… Oh right.”

I suddenly remembered something else. I turned on my smartwatch and sent Park Soohyuk a message.

[Hyung, thanks for the drone. I’ll take good care of it.]

***

The Chameleon Troupe’s boss sat cross-legged on the ground in a pitch-black abandoned factory. A series of battles from the day played in her head.

Kim Suho’s swordsmanship was as she had heard. His sword strikes were light as a feather, but carried destructive power. Every movement flowed like water. It was so well polished it seemed more suitable to call it a sword art that swordsmanship.

Next was Shin Jonghak. His spearmanship was truly domineering. He stabbed directly at his opponent’s vitals and overwhelmed anyone’s defense. Using his long reach, he relentlessly attacked from every direction. It looked more like a one-sided beating than a duel.

— Next is the man you mentioned, Boss. The one who called you hot.

She nodded silently. The video in her eyes changed to a battle between a sharpshooter and a warrior. It was obvious who would win. However, she suddenly opened her eyes. She had only briefly watched the video, but the sharpshooter’s bullet destroyed the warrior’s magic power. She carefully examined the magic power around the bullet. If her eyes weren’t mistaken, it could only be one thing. The power of anti-magic. What she was looking for all along, the silver bullet that could kill that man.

— Interesting, isn’t it? I was surprised too when I first saw it.

“Kim Hajin. Write his name down on the notebook.”

She spoke without hesitation.

— …Really?

“Yes.”

— But Jungyeong said he didn’t like him.

“Gyeong hates sharpshooters.”

Cheok Jungyeong was a true warrior who believed in staring into the opponent’s eyes and striking them down. He also didn’t like the other Chameleon Troupe members that fought from long range.

— I guess. He did say Kim Suho and Shin Jonghak were okay.

“Then put their names down too.”

— Then we’ll only have 5 slots left. Is that okay?

Individuals with their names in the notebook would have their live locations tracked. The notebook acted like a GPS. In addition, the owner of the notebook could teleport to the target’s location. However, one condition had to be met: [The target cannot know their name is in the notebook]. As long as the target wasn’t told, there was no reason they would notice.

— Who do we prioritize?

“Mmm.”

Boss closed her eyes and recalled that day 11 years ago when she first cried because of that man’s betrayal and the death of their previous leader. She vowed revenge in front of a grave and carried the Chameleon Troupe on her shoulders.

“For now…”

The Chameleon Troupe survived after the death of its previous leader. With a new leader, they took a giant leap forward using vengeance as nourishment. However, they couldn’t find the traitor. Even if they did, they wouldn’t be able to do anything, so Boss kept searching.

The power of anti-magic, which could destroy the magic power physique…

“Put Kim Hajin on top priority.”

***

I stayed in my room until noon on Tuesday. Although the duels continued until today, no one nominated me.

“I should have just stayed in my room.”

Currently, it was 1 P.M. and I stood outside. I was bored, so I went to watch Chae Nayun (rank 4) fight Rachel (rank 3) and Kim Suho (rank 1) against Yohei (rank 8).

“The seats are full.”

The arena had 5000 seats, but I couldn’t spot a single empty seat.

Should I go back? Or should I just stand and watch?

A couple suddenly stood up and left.

“Cough.”

I nervously took a seat, hoping they wouldn’t come back.

— Thank you for waiting!

The host announced the start of the duels, and the crowd excitedly cheered.

Sssss.

Someone sat next to me. I glanced with a bag of popcorn in my hand and looked back ahead.

“…?”

An image of the person flashed in my head. She... looked familiar. I swallowed the popcorn in my mouth and glanced again. My heart suddenly stopped as I held my breath. The boss of the Chameleon Troupe sat next to me. She lived without a name and was only known by the title Yasha.

I stuffed my trembling hands into the popcorn and fixed my eyes on the arena. Why is she here? Did I do something wrong? Or is it a coincidence? Right, it’s just a coincidence. She came to watch Kim Suho and just happened to sit next to me…

In the middle of my panic…

“Huak!”

Someone walking down the stairs suddenly tripped. This nameless person held a large soda that spun in the air before landing on someone’s head like a hat. For the record, the soda was filled to the brim.

I didn’t know whether my luck played a part, but not a single drop landed on me. However…

I turned to the side, feeling dizzy. Under the soda cup, Boss' eyes trembled uncontrollably.