Kaien returned to his dorm that evening with one thought running through his head.
I joined a criminal organization.
He dropped onto his bed.
"...What am I doing with my life?"
Joon looked over from his desk.
"You disappear for three hours and come back looking like you just committed a felony."
Kaien stared at him.
"That's oddly specific."
Joon shrugged.
"Am I wrong?"
"...No."
Joon slowly turned around.
"Wait, what?"
Kaien grabbed a pillow and threw it at him.
"Go to sleep."
The next morning, Kaien woke up to a notification.
Not from the academy.
From the system.
[Daily Quest]
[Exercise Weapon Control]
[Requirement: Fire 100 rounds]
[Reward: 2 Weapon Points]
Kaien stared at it.
"That's it?"
The system didn't respond.
He sighed.
"Fair enough."
He got dressed and headed toward the academy's training facilities.
The shooting range was almost empty this early.
Perfect.
Kaien summoned his handgun.
The weapon appeared in his hand with a faint shimmer of mana.
He raised it.
BANG!
The first target fell.
BANG!
Second.
BANG!
Third.
His movements became smoother with every shot.
He wasn't practicing accuracy anymore.
He was practicing control.
How quickly he could summon.
How quickly he could dismiss.
How much mana the weapon consumed.
How little mana he could use while keeping the weapon stable.
After two years, Kaien had learned something important.
His class wasn't simply about creating weapons.
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It was about understanding them.
The better he understood a weapon, the more efficiently he could use it.
And the system rewarded him for improving.
He finished the hundred rounds.
[Daily Quest Complete]
[+2 Weapon Points]
Kaien smiled.
"Easy."
Then another notification appeared.
[Weapon Points: 19]
He looked at the number.
He needed far more than that for his next upgrade.
Which meant one thing.
More hunting.
More monsters.
More points.
Kaien dismissed the window.
"Guess I'm going shopping."
That afternoon, Kaien received another message.
Unknown Number.
Old observation building. 18:00.
He stared at it.
"Again?"
He arrived exactly on time.
Seraphina was waiting.
The same girl from yesterday stood beside her.
Kaien still didn't know her name.
He decided not to ask.
Seraphina handed him a small envelope.
"Your first request."
Kaien opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
A young man.
Below it was a short description.
Target: Black-market information broker.
Objective: Retrieve stolen dungeon records.
Lethal force permitted if necessary.
Kaien looked up.
"Why me?"
"Because you're new."
He raised an eyebrow.
"That's your reason?"
"You need experience."
She pointed toward the photograph.
"He's operating near the eastern district."
Kaien studied the information.
"How many guards?"
"Unknown."
"Abilities?"
"Unknown."
Kaien looked at her.
"You don't know much."
"We're a new organization."
She smiled.
"Remember?"
Kaien sighed.
"Right."
He folded the paper.
"What's the reward?"
"Enough."
"That's not a number."
"Three hundred thousand won."
Kaien paused.
"...That's actually decent."
The girl beside Seraphina spoke.
"You're really worried about the money?"
"Obviously."
Kaien looked at her.
"Do you work for free?"
She opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
Seraphina laughed.
"He's got you there."
The girl looked annoyed.
Kaien smiled.
For a new criminal organization, they were surprisingly normal.
That somehow made the whole thing more concerning.
That night, Kaien stood on a rooftop overlooking eastern Seoul.
The city lights stretched beneath him.
He checked the photograph again.
The target was inside an old warehouse.
Kaien summoned his handgun.
Then dismissed it.
He didn't need it yet.
He moved toward the edge.
A few seconds later, he jumped.
Mana gathered beneath his feet.
A short burst slowed his fall.
He landed on the next building.
Kaien smiled.
"Still works."
He continued across the rooftops.
His body was tall and lean rather than heavily muscular, built more for speed and endurance than raw strength.
The years of training had made him comfortable moving through the city.
Eventually, the warehouse came into view.
Kaien crouched behind an air-conditioning unit.
He watched.
Four guards outside.
Two inside visible through the windows.
One awakened.
Possibly more.
Kaien reached into his pocket.
Then stopped.
He didn't need to rush.
He waited.
One guard stepped away.
Another looked at his phone.
Kaien summoned a suppressed pistol.
The weapon appeared in his hand.
He fired.
The first guard dropped unconscious.
Then the second.
Kaien moved.
He slipped around the building.
One of the awakened guards noticed him.
"Who's there?"
Kaien raised the pistol.
BANG!
The man's weapon shattered.
Kaien kicked him to the ground.
"Stay down."
The man stared at him.
Kaien stepped inside.
The warehouse was larger than expected.
Boxes filled the room.
Several men were searching through documents.
One of them shouted.
"Get him!"
Kaien sighed.
"Of course."
He summoned another weapon.
A shotgun.
BANG!
The blast knocked two men backward.
Kaien immediately dismissed it.
A pistol appeared.
Two more shots.
The remaining guards dropped their weapons.
Silence.
Kaien walked through the warehouse.
He found a locked metal case.
He opened it.
Inside were several dungeon reports.
He picked them up.
"Got it."
Then the system appeared.
[Quest Objective Complete]
[Bonus Condition Available]
[Defeat the remaining enemies.]
Kaien looked around.
There were three men still conscious.
He sighed.
"Guess I'm getting paid extra."
He raised his pistol.
The first man surrendered immediately.
The second followed.
The third slowly lowered his weapon.
Kaien blinked.
"...That was easier than expected."
He collected the documents.
Then left.
Back at the observation building, Kaien placed the documents on the table.
Seraphina checked them.
Everything was there.
She looked at him.
"How long?"
"About twenty minutes."
The other girl stared.
"You cleared it that quickly?"
Kaien shrugged.
"They weren't that strong."
Seraphina smiled.
"You're definitely going to be useful."
Kaien leaned back.
"That's what I'm afraid of."
She laughed.
Kaien looked at the documents.
One page caught his attention.
A dungeon location.
A name.
A date.
Kaien's expression changed.
He knew this place.
It was supposed to become one of the academy's first major incidents.
But the date was wrong.
It was happening months earlier than the comic.
Kaien slowly picked up the paper.
"Seraphina."
She looked at him.
"Yeah?"
"Where did you get this information?"
"Why?"
Kaien stared at the date.
"Because this dungeon..."
He paused.
"...is going to be a problem."
And for the first time, Kaien realized something terrifying.
The Veiled Crown wasn't just going to help him change the story.
They might become one of the reasons the story changed at all.