Murmur-murmur-

The Association’s Academy testing grounds.

A massive dome that evoked a basketball court.

Mimic moved her feet in accordance with the test instructions.

‘That was close.’

Mimic felt a wave of relief as she recalled what had just happened.

-Don’t stand out, just finish the test moderately.

It was the request her Master had made before leaving.

And she had even received a million Gold as an advance payment.

But because of her Trait’s Rampage, she had not only stood out, but had even been called over by a staff member.

‘This is a big deal!’

The moment her Master finds out about this, she might have to cough up that million Gold.

-If you do that even one more time, we’ll be bringing you in. Keep that in mind.

But without any further measures, they let him send Mimic back.

So Mimic figured she’d lucked out.

“Why are they doing that?”

Mimic tilted her head and glanced around.

She had the Sense stat, too—she could tell.

Every single person in this place was staring at her.

She hadn’t done anything conspicuous. So why?

Dwelling on it wouldn’t solve anything.

‘Whatever, it’ll work out.’

Mimic decided to just tune it out.

Her goal was simple: just do well on the exam.

“Whoa~! What’s that?”

Mimic’s eyes sparkled as she looked at the facility’s apparatus.

Ha Gangwoo’s warning to keep a low profile was already crumbling before the test even started.

Meanwhile—

‘Damn it…’

Right in front of Mimic.

Yoo Junsik scowled as he watched the girl following close behind him.

‘Why did it have to be my number behind her?’

The Academy exam was an individual evaluation, but it wasn’t a closed-door test.

So candidates lined up in order of their numbers and proceeded that way.

The monster that had tried to kill him kept following him—how was he supposed to focus on the exam?

But then a doubt flickered through his mind.

‘Could it be a coincidence?’

No matter how he thought about it, it didn’t add up. Even having seen it with his own eyes, questions kept nagging at him.

That flame the kid spat out—it had to be a Trait.

The place they were in now was the Academy entrance exam hall.

A gathering spot for Level 1 Awakeners who hadn’t even seen the Tutorial.

Yet the flame that little girl had shown surpassed most pro Hunters.

Was that even possible?

Within Yoo Junsik’s common sense, it was absolutely impossible.

If a monster like that existed, she’d have been all over the news by now.

And so Yoo Junsik arrived at one conclusion.

‘It’s an Illusion Trait.’

An Illusion Trait user.

If that kid’s Trait was Illusion, everything clicked perfectly.

The reason she moved so fast she was momentarily invisible—the reason his invincible blade shattered like a cookie.

Flames at an impossible level. All those questions resolved in one stroke.

Having reached his perfect conclusion, Yoo Junsik curled his lips into a smirk and let his expression harden.

‘You dared to deceive me?’

A surge of rage flared up. Trembling and terrified by nothing but a cheap illusion—he wanted revenge right then and there.

And so Yoo Junsik reclaimed his lost pride and arrogance.

Was that why?

The surroundings he’d been too flustered to notice earlier started coming into focus.

‘What the hell? Why are there so many people?’

Apart from the examinees, roughly forty-some people were in the exam hall.

Especially the onlookers—their attire, the aura they radiated.

‘Players?’

They looked like Association Players at a glance. And among them was a face Yoo Junsik recognized.

“‘E-Emily Nancy.'”

No less than the Rank 9 Player. The idol of all Awakeners, a world-famous figure—Emily Nancy was right there.

‘She’s beautiful…’

Yoo Junsik gaped at Emily Nancy’s face, a stream of exclamations spilling from his lips.

Golden waves cascading down her back, features so delicate she looked like a doll.

Overwhelmed by Emily Nancy’s beauty, Yoo Junsik clenched his fists.

‘This is my chance.’

Because he’d realized.

Why would a player that famous come looking for a mere academy enrollment form? The reason was simple.

‘She’s searching.’

Talent cultivation.

She had to be here to find outstanding talent, to make them her own.

If that was the case, this opportunity was a once-in-a-lifetime golden chance!

‘I’ll show her.’

Fire kindled in Yoo Junsik’s eyes.

He’d trample everyone here, stomp his way to first place, and catch a Ranker’s eye.

Burning with zeal, Yoo Junsik stared at Emily Nancy.

“Huh?!”

And then he noticed.

That Emily Nancy was looking right at him.

Thump-thump—

‘As expected of a Ranker—she’s got an eye for talent!’

Yoo Junsik listened to his pounding heart and let his imagination soar into happy dreams.

‘Is it that little girl…’

Meanwhile, Emily Nancy was looking past the blushing Yoo Junsik.

A little girl with red ribbons. Head swiveling, face lit up with excitement.

Then she caught Emily’s gaze and grinned, flashing her teeth.

‘Interesting.’

Did she sense my gaze? Or my mana?

Emily Nancy narrowed her eyes at the Mimic.

‘What a shame…’

Even from this distance, just watching, she felt the pull of greed.

Clear, pure mana. Still raw and unripe, but tempting.

That was why regret washed over her.

If she’d secured him for sure back in Scenario 1, that kid would be in her hands by now too.

Still, there was still a chance.

Even though Ha Gangwoo had turned down her request, their relationship was still friendly.

Now was what really mattered.

‘Which parts are true.’

Emily Nancy traced her moist lips with a finger, lost in thought.

L-Grade player. Ha Gangwoo. The rumors were rampant.

Dozens surfaced every single day, and every single one was hard to believe.

—Ha Gangwoo, the first L-Grade job-class holder.

—The Tower of Job Change updated the moment Ha Gangwoo appeared.

—The little girl Ha Gangwoo adopted is a Hidden job-class holder.

It was all truly hard to believe, and it stirred her curiosity.

‘Is it real?’

That was why Emily had come to this place.

If that little girl really was a player who’d obtained a Hidden job class, then the rumors had some credibility.

Emily Nancy kept her eyes fixed on the child, smiling with innocent glee.

“Hello. It’s been a while.”

A woman walked up beside Emily Nancy. Crisp suit, neatly trimmed bob. It was Seo Hyorin, this year’s rising star.

“Hello. What brings Hyorin here?”

“I was curious if the rumors were true.”

“……”

Emily’s eyes narrowed as she studied Seo Hyorin.

Still that impassive face, impossible to read.

Emily knew Seo Hyorin’s personality well.

Which made her appearance anything but pleasant.

She who cared for nothing except Cha Yuseong — now showing interest in someone else.

‘No time.’

How must the others feel?

Everyone would be desperate to form a connection with Ha Gangwoo.

She’d planned to approach him gradually, but now she felt the need to move fast.

With that uneasy thought, Emily bit her red lip.

***

“Applicants 14 and 15, please step forward.”

The Academy exam proceeded uneventfully.

The first test measured an Awakener’s output.

Output indicated how effectively a Player could utilize their Stats.

It seemed trivial, but this test mattered greatly to a Player.

Imagine two Players with identical Stats but different output.

One a muscular man, the other a scrawny ten-year-old.

Who would win at arm wrestling?

Someone ignorant of output would pick the man.

He had bulging muscles, and a body four times the child’s size.

But the talent called output couldn’t be compensated for by mere muscle.

“We’ll begin immediately!”

At the staff member’s signal, both applicants swung their bats with all their might.

*Crack!*

A heavy impact rang out.

Ding-

[65%] [45%]

The two candidates’ scores flashed across the display.

“Not bad.”

“65% puts him in the top ranks, right?”

Players watching the exam grounds murmured among themselves.

Naturally, the 45% Player went unnoticed, while the 65% Player drew eyes.

Small wonder — a 65% output was a solid number, ranking in the top 30%.

‘Just a pile of trash, as always.’

But Yoo Junsik smirked, the corners of his mouth curling upward in satisfaction at the scene.

Yoo Junsik already knew his own output.

It was a crude device in an outdated facility, but his measurement had come back 86%.

A high enough figure to place in the top 5%.

‘Perfect.’

That was why Yoo Junsik was elated.

Everything was moving as if scripted, just to make him stand out.

The Players in the exam hall filed down, and Yoo Junsik’s turn arrived.

“Applicants 16 and 17, please take your positions. Strike the measuring device as hard as you can with the practice bat.”

Yoo Junsik moved at the staff member’s words, glancing to his side.

The little brat was grinning, teeth bared, as if he’d completely forgotten what just happened.

‘Fuck.’

It soured his mood.

Using some hallucination trick to make him piss himself.

‘I’ll crush him.’

He wanted to crack the kid’s skull open right then and there.

But with so many eyes watching, there was only one way to make that brat choke on his own smugness.

An overwhelming score.

Just moments ago, hadn’t high-scoring examinees been the center of attention while low scorers got sidelined as nobodies?

Being in the spotlight or not didn’t matter much now, but Yoo Junsik felt the fire of competition ignite in him.

‘I’ll win.’

He wanted to step on that little punk and reclaim his shattered pride.

Yoo Junsik’s eyes snapped wide open as he grabbed the bat—the apparatus for the first test.

It looked like a baseball bat and settled comfortably into his grip.

Following the staff’s instructions, he took his position where the device was installed. And then he saw it.

The contraption he was supposed to hit.

‘Who designed this thing?’

Junsik stared ahead, brow furrowed.

The gear he was using was the Association’s top-tier facility, but its appearance sapped all motivation.

The device looked like a teddy bear, floating in midair with its tiny arms and legs splayed out absurdly.

Whoever made it had a warped sense of taste.

“Haah…”

But this test mattered, so Junsik steadied his mind and tightened his grip on the bat.

“Please start whenever you’re ready.”

The staff gave the go-ahead,

“Hoooh…”

and Junsik drew a slow breath, cradling the bat lightly in both hands.

This test wasn’t about measuring raw Strength stats.

It was about how much of his existing stats he could actually manifest.

So he relaxed his muscles completely and—whish—swung the bat with effortless grace.

Bang!!!

The bat cracked against the back of the bizarre teddy bear’s head.

The floating bear flailed like a bungee jumper plummeting through the air.

‘Nice.’

Junsik smiled, satisfied with the impact reverberating through his fingertips.

An anxious moment ticked by, then—Ding-

A system window materialized in front of the bear.

[91%]

A crazy 91%!

‘I’m the best after all!’

Junsik bared his teeth in a triumphant grin.

Setting this kind of record on the grand stage where Rankers watched?

Maybe Ms. Nancy really would come looking for him now.

Junsik let out a shout of joy, and every spectator’s gaze swung toward his testing station.

“Wh-what? That score…”

“Is he insane?”

As expected, murmurs rippled through the crowd of Players.

An output above 90% was genuinely rare. And on top of that, Junsik’s Trait was A-Rank. What would happen when Association officials found out?

They’d grade him as elite material and invest directly, wouldn’t they?

Junsik, already acting like he’d conquered it all, curled his lips arrogantly and turned his gaze.

He was curious to see the expression on Emily Nancy’s face as she watched this brilliant talent.

And then he saw it.

A system window materialized in front of the little brat who had been flashing a mocking grin—teeth bared, taunting him with illusions.

[100%]

“……”

That was it. They weren’t looking at him at all.

They were staring at the annoying brat beside him.

A monster with an output of a full 100%.

‘No—no way…’

Yoo Junsik froze on the spot, his mouth hanging open at the unbelievable sight.

Was this another illusion? He tried to console himself, but he knew.

“I’ve never seen 100% before…”

“Gotta be a machine malfunction, right?”

He wasn’t the only one stunned by that number—every Player in this testing ground was.

Veterans, each one with a name to their reputation.

Was that kid really fooling them all with an illusion?

‘He’s a monster…’

Of course, Yoo Junsik already had his answer.

The flames he’d shown earlier, the speed—and now that 100% score floating before their eyes.

None of it was an illusion. It was all real.

‘Damn it…’

And so Yoo Junsik, with his 91% output rate, was shoved out of everyone’s sight, reduced to a nobody.

***

Ding—

[100%]

Above the blue gym ball placed before Mimic, another number materialized.

The final test: measuring Mana output.

“No—no way…”

With yet another 100% score, the onlookers had passed shock and reached silence.

From Strength output to Mana output testing.

Mimic had scored 100% on every single category.

So the onlookers fell silent.

Because the common wisdom that Cha Yuseong’s 99% output was the ceiling—a single little girl had just shattered it.

‘She’s even better than Olivia…’

At the heart of the astonishment,

Emily Nancy swallowed dryly, watching Mimic.

A 100% output rate—it was shocking, yes. But that alone wouldn’t have shaken her this much.

After all, output rate could fluctuate endlessly depending on Appraisal and condition.

No, Emily’s shock came from something else.

Mana control.

The way Mimic had projected her Mana into that gym ball.

That was what stunned her. At an age no older than six, to wield such latent potential.

‘I want her.’

Emily felt more than interest toward Mimic now—she felt possessiveness.

“Could it all be coincidence?”

Seo Hyorin asked Emily Nancy, her expression sulky.

Emily Nancy said nothing, just looked at Seo Hyorin and narrowed her eyes.

‘Of course not.’

The answer came after a moment’s thought.

An L-Grade Player, Ha Gangwoo, appears—and at the same time, Scenario 1 updates. The Job Change system updates. L-Grade classes emerge. And then he adopts that absurd little girl.

Really, all coincidence? The System, unchanged for twenty years, flipped upside down the moment one man showed up?

That was why Emily Nancy was certain.

At the center of all these events stood one man: Ha Gangwoo.

“Well, I wouldn’t know. I have urgent business, so I’ll be going.”

But Emily Nancy left Seo Hyorin with that vague answer and walked away.

She needed to move as fast as possible now.

‘How can I meet him again?’

Emily Nancy tapped her red lips thoughtfully, then stepped toward the center of all attention.