[Kraaaaaaaaaaak-!!]

It might have covered half the field with ice. Thinking it couldn’t go on any longer, the dragon started to fly away.

With each flap of its wings, a gust of wind blew, forcing Rude to grip the black half-scissors planted in the ground even tighter. Rude looked up with difficulty and frowned.

“Damn it… Looks like it’s entered a new phase.”

The dragon was flying in circles inside the field. Rude had wanted to change all the field attributes before it changed to a new phase.

But his stamina had been depleted more than he’d thought. Kang Ihyeon, seeming to have gauged Rude’s condition from afar, was running towards him.

[Kieeeeeeek-!!!]

The dragon spun around in midair and let out a roar. At the same time, the field shook violently.

Magma spurted up from places that hadn’t yet fully turned to solid ice. The ice he had barely managed to create was melting from the intense heat.

Kugugugugung-! An ominous sound filled the field. The ceiling of the field was creaking and moving in response to the dragon’s roar.

‘If this were a real gate… that ceiling above would have collapsed.’

Cracks were already forming on the ground and surrounding walls. If it were real, just thinking about it sent chills down his spine.

At the moment he complacently thought it was fortunate this mock battle was virtual reality so he wouldn’t get hurt, a message appeared before Rude.

[Warning! Falling rocks ahead.] [These falling rocks are not virtual reality. Please be cautious and avoid them.]

“What?!”

Startled, Rude looked up. Bang-!! A rock fell into the magma. Splash, the magma leaped up and melted the ground.

“This is real!”

The world’s greatest illusionist, Rude, immediately noticed the anomaly and his eyes widened. It wasn’t an illusion. They were really dropping objects from above and changing the field situation accordingly. If hit, it would be truly dangerous.

“Are these holy shrine guys crazy?! Going this far in a mock battle?!”

Kugung, kung… Another ominous sound was heard. Rude looked up. The stones in the ceiling were shaking precariously along with the dragon’s roar.

[A large amount of falling rocks incoming. Please be cautious for your safety.]

“Ah shit, really…! Hey! Kang Ihyeon!”

Since it was real, all he could do was avoid it as much as possible. Rude spread out a mental barrier. Then he ran towards where Kang Ihyeon was. Ihyeon was also running towards him with his barrier activated.

To immediately separate the space when Ihyeon arrived, Rude held the golden half-scissors in his other hand and used the power of the constellation. The king’s skill swirled around Rude’s other scissors.

“Mr. Rude!!”

“Hey!! Come here quickly!!”

Bang-! The moment the two met. With a tremendous vibration, rocks fell all over the field. Feeling everything shaking violently, Rude grabbed Ihyeon right in front of him and fell.

He was completely disoriented. Did I use my skill? Or didn’t I? Rude couldn’t even tell that much. Magma splashed up all around.

A hazy fog and acrid sand dust covered everything. After a few minutes of silence, Rude coughed.

“Kuhuk… Ha shit… Ah, these damn holy shrine bastards…”

Coughing repeatedly, Rude slowly opened his eyes. Although the skill implementation hadn’t worked properly, fortunately his body seemed to be unharmed.

As he was sighing in relief, Rude realized someone was on top of him and looked up.

“Mr. Rude. Are you alright?”

Kang Ihyeon was lying on the ground, half-embracing him. All around were fallen rocks and magma. It seemed he had covered Rude at the last moment to keep him safe.

“Hey, you…! Are you okay?!”

Rude sprang up in surprise and checked his condition. Fortunately, Ihyeon didn’t seem to be injured either, but his white armor was nowhere to be seen.

“Yes! I’m glad you’re safe.”

Completely unarmored in just a white short-sleeved T-shirt. The flustered Rude reached out his hand.

Jalgeurak, discovering something draped over his arm, Rude slowly looked down at his body.

[You are wearing the Holy Flame Armor. User’s defense increases.]

The white armor was wrapped around him. Clearly, in the moment of crisis, Ihyeon had unequipped it and put it on him. Rude jerked his head up to look at Ihyeon.

“What are you doing? What if you get hurt?”

“I… I’m fine. I’m tough. And I can’t let you get hurt…”

“Are you crazy?! You could have just covered me with your armored body. You might get seriously injured like this!”

“It’s okay!”

Ihyeon smiled brightly. Then, with an expression as if nothing was wrong at all, he answered.

“I heal quickly even if I get hurt! My specialty is regenerating limbs instantly even if they’re cut off. So giving the armor to you is more efficient.”

“No, regardless of healing, it still hurts in the first place. What’s wrong with you?! Don’t you trust me?!”

“But, but this is the most efficient way. It’s not that it doesn’t hurt… but it’s only for a moment anyway. I’m fine!”

A tone as if he had always been doing things this way. Rude stopped speaking for a moment as he looked at Ihyeon. Or rather, it was closer to being unable to speak.

Rude suddenly thought of his mother. His mother who came home with her whole body wrapped in bandages almost every day. Sometimes, every night, his father would put patches all over his mother’s body.

The patches were so strong that normal people couldn’t even touch them, let alone Nari, as they were awakened-only patches with no effect for ordinary people.

At that time, there weren’t many awakened people. Therefore, there was no way there were enough medical supplies for the awakened. Mother lived on over-the-counter painkillers and antibiotics every day. Those that had no effect.

Most of the priests who could heal them had full schedules, so most hunters would roughly splint what they considered minor injuries – which were not minor at all for ordinary people, like fractures – and jump into the next gate.

Nari’s mother always jumped into gates even when injured.

Our mom is originally so pretty, the prettiest in the world. But she couldn’t show her pretty face well because she wore bandages or patches every day.

Nari, upset in her young heart, asked her mother one day.

‘Mom, can’t you just tell other people to do it? Doesn’t it hurt, Mom? I wish you’d stop with the bandages, Mom.’

‘Our Nari is worried about Mom? Mom’s fine. Mom is much stronger than other people. It can’t be helped. Heroes are supposed to hurt originally.’

‘But I don’t like Mom hurting. Mom, don’t be a hero.’

Nari, burying herself in her mother’s arms, nuzzled against her. Her mother laughed and stroked Nari’s hair.

‘Then when Nari becomes even greater than Mom later, you can save Mom.’

‘Me?’

‘Yes! Then Mom would feel at ease too.’

Mom patted Nari’s back. Mom’s embrace always smelled of disinfectant. Nari hugged her mother tightly.

‘Then I’ll become a hunter when I grow up too. So people like Mom won’t have to hurt anymore.’

‘Alright, alright. Our Nari can do it. Our daughter is really, how can you be so kind~ Mom is touched~’

After saying that, Mom comforted Nari all night long.

Shin Binnari, who became one of the top hunters in the country like her mother at the age of twenty-five, wondered for the first time. What Mom might have thought when she heard her words back then.

“Ha… shit really.”

Rude frowned deeply as he grabbed the black scissors and stood up. He thought things would be a little different after 10 years. But this damn hunter world hadn’t changed at all, then or now.

Just debuting meant a reversal of fortune. Elementary school students’ number one career aspiration. But unlike the glamorous exterior, it was the job where mind and body wore out the fastest.

It was natural. This was a place where you couldn’t survive unless you thoroughly objectified yourself. Like Kang Ihyeon, like Mom. And Nari hated that.

“Kang Ihyeon.”

“Y-Yes…?”

Realizing Rude’s expression wasn’t good, Ihyeon flinched slightly. Rude’s expression was fierce.

“Don’t do that kind of thing anymore.”

He slowly got up and picked up the black scissors. Black mental energy rippled around him. He looked up at the dragon circling in the air above.

“No, no, I’m really fine. I’m really not hurt at all! It doesn’t even hurt once I heal…”

Rude looked at Kang Ihyeon. Black mist billowed from Rude’s body. Rude’s form wavered slightly. Kang Ihyeon was reflected in his wavering eyes.

[Releasing illusionist-exclusive high-rank skill :: ‘Persona’.]

‘Not all, just a little. Just a tiny bit.’

[Removing 5% of the mental energy forming ‘Persona’.]

Rude pulled out a bit of the mental energy forming his avatar. Rude’s body wavered, then thick mental energy dripped down. Rude’s appearance became slightly blurry.

Pain is pain. Whatever you do, I should come first.

He no longer wanted to see people who don’t take proper care of themselves, saying it’s fine because sacrificing their body is the most efficient method.

Nari was absolutely sick of the smell of disinfectant. And as her mother said, she became stronger than her mother.

So, if I just give up a little, just a tiny bit of greed, if I just give up a little of the anxiety about being found out… if I, just open my heart a tiny bit…

Rude, who had scattered the thick black mental energy throughout the field, looked at Kang Ihyeon. Ihyeon was looking at him with a tense expression.

“Is it okay as long as you’re not hurt?”

Rude slowly opened his mouth. His expression was cold as usual, but his tone was gentle.

“…It hurts me to see it.”

[Trait :: ‘Natural Lucid Dream’ is activated!]

Black mental energy filled the field. At the same time, only a chilling coldness lingered. The sweat flowing on Kang Ihyeon’s cheeks, the fierce pillars of flame, all froze instantly.

Thud-! The dragon’s wings froze and it crashed to the ground. In the pure white world, white breath flowed from the dragon’s mouth.

He had reversed the field’s attributes. There was no meaning in continuing the mock battle any further. A message congratulating Rude on his final test pass appeared before him.

An announcement flowed from the speakers attached to the white room.

“Level 2 gate subjugation complete. Subjugation time, 29 minutes 45 seconds. Contributors, Rude, Kang Ihyeon.”

[This is the timeline separator]

“Ah really!!”

The white room after the mock battle ended. Attack drones, holograms, temperature control machines, etc. were turning themselves off after stopping operation. Rude kicked a fallen rock lying in the room with an angry expression.

Although it was a rock the size of his waist, it flew far away at Rude’s kick. Rude seethed inwardly.

“A sponge made to look as much like a rock as possible… really ha… really…”

Touching the rock that fell on top of him with a soft thud, Rude sighed. He was well-versed in illusions and hallucinations, but special effects makeup wasn’t Rude’s domain. So he didn’t know. So he thought it was real…

[The Lord of Chaos shrugs, saying there’s no way they’d do a mock battle intense enough to actually get hurt.]

“That’s true… But still, shit, isn’t not telling about this kind of thing in advance illegal?! Huh?!”

Given the situation, he thought it was real, and Rude ran a hand through his hair once and let out a deep sigh. Then he approached Kang Ihyeon sitting far away.

“Hey, hey!”

“Yes…? Ah, ah… yes…”

Ihyeon, who had been squatting, looked at Rude and smiled awkwardly. Rude, wondering why this guy was so out of it, blinked and then spoke to Ihyeon.

“The guild master is calling. Says I should go to the guild master’s office. I don’t know the way so take me there.”

“Huh? Huh? Ah… n-now? Why?”

“Why do you think.”

Glancing at Ihyeon, Rude patted his shoulder. Then he let out a deep sigh.

“I got the job.”