The training hall in the basement of the Hunter's Association was empty, save for two men. The lights were dimmed, casting long, sharp shadows against the reinforced concrete walls.
Song Chiyul sat cross-legged on the floor, his wooden sword resting across his knees. His breathing was steady, the practiced calm of a man who had spent decades honing a craft that the world had deemed "C-Rank." Despite his age, his posture was as straight as a spear, but Jinchul could see the truth through his mana-sight: the man's internal "gate" was calcified, restricted by the natural limitations of his first Awakening.
"You asked me here at an unusual hour, Inspector Woo," Chiyul said, his eyes remaining closed. "I assume this isn't about the paperwork"
Jinchul stood five paces away, his hands clasped behind his back. "I've been watching your sparring sessions with the newer recruits, Mr. Song. Your technique is flawless. Your spirit is that of an S-Rank. But your body... it's a vessel that is too small for the soul it carries."
Chiyul chuckled softly, a dry, raspy sound. "It is the lot of a C-Rank, Chief. We are the foot soldiers of this world. We do what we can with the crumbs we are given."
"What if the crumbs were a feast?" Jinchul asked, stepping forward. "I did it for Kang Taeshik. I purged the darkness in him and forced his mana to evolve. You are different from Taeshik. You... you are a teacher. You represent the discipline that the Hunter world lacks. I need that discipline in the days to come."
"I am someone who has seen the end of the road and decided to pave a new one," Jinchul replied. "I can unlock the seals on your mana heart. It will be painful—far more than it was for Taeshik. Your circuits have been set in their ways for a long time. They will feel like they are being shattered and re-forged. If you fail to endure it, your heart will stop."
Song Chiyul stood up slowly, his joints popping. He gripped his wooden sword and looked Jinchul in the eye. "I have survived till now. I have seen many deaths. You gave me new path which I am walking currently but my strength is limiting me. I want to walk further, so help me Chief"
"Then sit," Jinchul commanded.
The process began. Jinchul placed his palms on Chiyul's back. He didn't just flood the man with power; he entered Chiyul's mana-network like a surgeon. Using the technique he had practiced on Taeshik, he began to dissolve the "rank-walls" that inhibited Chiyul's potential.
In the original timeline, Song Chiyul was a man of immense willpower but limited output. Here, Jinchul acted as a bridge, pulling ambient mana from the surrounding air and compressing it into Chiyul's core.
"Arrgh!" Chiyul's teeth moved in a silent scream. His skin turned a deep, bruised purple as his capillaries strained under the sudden pressure. His orange hair, seemed to shimmer with light.
"Focus, Mr. Song!" Jinchul's voice was a thunderous command in the small room. "Don't fight the pressure. Become the pressure. You aren't a C-Rank anymore!"
The air in the room began to swirl. The wooden sword on the floor vibrated, then snapped in half from the sheer weight of the atmosphere. Suddenly, a pulse of pure, golden mana erupted from Chiyul, slamming Jinchul back a few inches.
The silence that followed was heavy.
Song Chiyul remained seated, but he looked... different. The deep wrinkles on his face had smoothed. His frame seemed broader, his muscles revitalized. When he opened his eyes, they weren't the eyes of an old man. They were the eyes of a predator who had just rediscovered its claws.
He looked at his hands. They were steady. He reached out and picked up a piece of the broken wooden sword. With a flick of his wrist, a blade of pure mana extended from the wood—a feat only high-ranking combatants could achieve.
"This... this feeling," Chiyul whispered. "The world... it's so loud. The mana... I can hear it singing."
"Peak B-Rank," Jinchul said, wiping sweat from his brow. "Possibly A-Rank. Your experience with the sword will make you more dangerous than most A-Ranks who rely purely on raw power. Welcome back to the front lines, Mr. Song."
Chiyul stood, and this time, there was no sound of aging joints. He bowed deeply to Jinchul. "I owe you a life I thought was over. Command, and I shall follow."
"Good," Jinchul said, his expression turning professional. "Because the Bukhan Mountain A-Rank Dungeon, we are going to raid in eight hours. The Association is officially sanctioning a 'Special Investigation Team.' It will be me, you, Seok and Kang Taeshik"
"An A-Rank with only four people?" Chiyul asked, a smirk playing on his lips. "That sounds like a suicide mission. I like it."
As Chiyul left the room, his stride confident and powerful, Jinchul looked at his own hands. The Future is changing from his own hands. He was building an army of anomalies and eager to know where it takes him"
The A-Rank Gate in the Bukhan Mountains was a jagged tear in reality, bleeding a dark, nauseating crimson light. This wasn't a standard raid. The Association had blocked all civilian access for a five-mile radius. This was the debut of the Association Vanguard—the elite strike team designed to show the world that the "Bureaucrats" were the new apex predators.
Kang Taeshik leaned against a tree, flipping a jagged dagger. His eyes, usually filled with a murderous glint, were now focused on Jinchul. "Chief, you're sure about this? Usually, A-Rank raids require a twenty-man squad. We're going in with four."
Song Chiyul, the elderly master of Kumdo, tightened his grip on his sword—now reinforced with high-grade mana-conductive alloys. "We can do it Taeshik. Do not discourage everyone here"
Jinchul stood at the threshold of the gate. He wasn't wearing heavy armor. He wore a specialized tactical weave that looked like a sleek black uniform, allowing for maximum mobility.
"Our objective isn't just to clear the gate," Jinchul said, his voice carrying the authority of his Reawakening. "It is to clear it with absolute efficiency. Taeshik, you handle the scouts. Chiyul-ssi, you maintain the center. Kim Seok, you are the tank. I am the mage & support."
"And what about me?" Min Byung-gu shouted from the medical tent. "I'm just sitting here drinking coffee?"
"If anyone gets hit, Byung-gu, I'll consider the mission a failure," Jinchul replied with a ghost of a smirk. "Just stay ready for the extraction."