Late Wednesday night, within the capital of Korea. Due to the guild visit scheduled at Cube on the Friday two weeks later, countless guilds were reviewing footage of the incoming group of Cube Cadets for any potential diamonds in the rough.
<Essence of Strait>, <Desolate Moon>, <Frost Sanctuary>... those and more were perusing the recent drone footages posted online on Cube's Cadet portal as well as various clips they obtained through alternative sources.
...Cube Cadets had to make money somehow, after all. Tuition was quite pricey if you didn't have backing.
But among those guilds looking at the incoming group of Cube Cadets, there was the guild <Creator's Sacred Grace>.
Formerly number one guild in the world before <Essence of Strait>, currently fallen from grace... ironically enough.
They were hunting for the next big hit. The explosive potential they could hone to seize their lost glory.
And the person responsible for that at the moment was the Vice-Leader, Yun Seung-Ah.
A petite beauty with brown eyes, light brown hair, and glasses... with her hair currently tied in a ponytail and with a crumpled blouse from nervously fidgeting with it all day, she looked like an HR manager on a desperate headhunting search.
Which, in practice, she was.
"...Kim Suho is talented as expected." Yun Seung-Ah murmured as she watched the footage of Suho leading his team to a decisive win in the monster training exercise. A win obtained in less than five minutes.
Sharp sword qi, fluid movements, a formless sword style that allowed him to easily move and cleave apart the monsters in front of him...
"...I want to bring him in no matter what. But it'll be hard..." Yun Seung-Ah nibbled her lip and pressed a ballpoint pen in her right hand, clicking it again and again.
She was certain of it. If Kim Suho joined <Creator's Sacred Grace> then they could nourish him properly. And since her own Gift was teleportation, it would be possible to drop him into combat and retrieve him. Then with his adaptability...
"No, I shouldn't fantasize too much." Yun Seung-Ah sighed.
It was necessary. And she wanted it if she could.
But at the end of the day, the Cube Cadets had the final say. And considering how many would by trying to recruit him...
"Well. We can only try." Yun Seung-Ah murmured.
After making a note prioritizing Kim Suho, the footage was closed and the footage of the next promising individuals that her secretary noted began to play.
"Hm?"
It was a gun user. Not only that, but a gun user who had clearly trained in another weapon first-
Wait.
Yun Seung-Ah quickly sat up as she checked the team lineup. And when she did, she still couldn't believe it.
Rachel Elizabeth Louise, Chae Nayun, Yoo Yeonha, that gun user, and then a spear user who walked around like he already had experience as a hero...
"What kind of powerhouse team is this?" Yun Seung-Ah murmured and then made a quick call to her secretary.
"Hello?"
Hearing the secretary answer, Yun Seung-Ah said, "Hey. This footage with the gun user. The team information attached to it... is it accurate?"
"Oh that. Yes. Everyone was surprised, but it seemed like the system decided to balance it out that way. The spear user is ranked 999 and the gun user is rank... 937? Something like that. Since there wasn't room to fit anywhere else, it ended up that way."
"Did it...?" Yun Seung-Ah murmured as she watched the spear user easily take charge and lead them across the terrain. All while picking the gun user up to preserve his stamina.
A decision proven wise when they arrived and the gun user fired 36 shots in the blink of an eye, clearing out the wave of baby octopi from the Blackhumped Octopus they fought.
"Yes. The discussion forums in the Cube community is buzzing about them. Well, mostly about the spear user. Apparently he's extraordinarily close with Lady Rachel. He's also American, and he converses with Lady Rachel in English all the time. But as you can see, he seems to easily get along with the others as well."
Yun Seung-Ah nodded, watching the group dynamics. Especially how that spear user... No. According to the notes, his name was Lee Shin.
Yun Seung-Ah especially noted how Lee deescalated the situation, involved everyone in the discussion, and then carefully managed the delicate interplay between the different members. Especially considering how volatile their personalities all were.
Because Yun Seung-Ah knew for a fact that getting those three girls of such esteemed backgrounds to not argue would be difficult enough. But then to have them acknowledge a cadet who looked like he was CLEARLY sandbagging from how he dragged his feet despite his trained body...
"Hm... It's a pity that he's close to Lady Rachel." Yun Seung-Ah sighed. "...It's clear that he's going to the <English Royal Court>."
As competent as he looked, Yun Seung-Ah ALSO noticed how Rachel looked at him.
That usually disinterested princess was clearly eyeing Lee in every frame of the video, always keeping him in eyesight.
And most of that was unintentional. Reflexive, as if she was afraid he would disappear if he looked away.
"...Well. He's either going to the <English Royal Court> or he'll be executed for Lese Majeste." Yun Seung-Ah chuckled.
But after that, she dismissed Lee, decisively giving up on him.
"That gun user though, Kim Hajin..."
It was an interesting ability.
Yun Seung-Ah's gut was telling her that he was someone to keep an eye on as well...
But as the video played, she saw Yoo Yeonha's reaction after the instantaneous barrage of gunfire.
"Dammit." Yun Seung-Ah clicked her tongue.
Because she recognized that look. She'd seen it on herself at times in the past.
The look of a woman who'd found a diamond necklace while out on a stroll. Or a steal when thrifting.
"...Hah... We'll scratch him off the list then."
Fighting with the <Essence of Strait> was hard enough when they weren't trying to poach talents from them. But if they actively tried to pull in a cadet that the Guildleader's daughter was interested in...
"No. Let's focus on Kim Suho."
The secretary on the other side of the line spoke up. "Understood. Shall I send our recruiters to him?"
Yun Seung-Ah cleared out her material and said, "Yes. Prioritize that one. If you see anyone else interesting in the lower ranks past 500, send out feelers. But we will put everything to pull in Kim Suho."
A future where that brilliant swordsman stood beside them. One where his swordsmanship and Yun Seung-Ah's teleportation allowed them to claim and monopolize a Tower...
Yun Seung-Ah clenched her fists, her heart racing at the thought. "...Everything. You got it? Everything."
"Understood, Vice-leader."
===
The Chameleon Troupe's temporary headquarters, located in a certain factory at an undisclosed location. Past midnight.
Although they didn't have plans to step onto Cube's campus until the exam periods, Yi Byul, who the other members called 'Boss' had been alerted to an interesting fact by Jain, the master of disguise who usually kept track of current events.
Boss read the report and then said, "...The princess of England, the Immortal's granddaughter, and the daughter of the Essence of Strait's guild leader, all on the same team? Is the system broken?"
Jain ran a hand through her blonde hair and said, "You would think so, right? A few of the other cadets are crying foul play. But it's technically balanced because of the other two. One is a crazy guy who changed from a sword to a gun and DEFINITELY looks like he's cutting his growth on purpose... probably to hide the fact that he absolutely achieved Enlightenment. And the other is the second from the bottom, Rank 999 Cadet Lee Shin."
Boss paused. "...The fact that you mentioned him by name. Is he useful?"
"Well." Jain smiled and held up her wrist, letting her smartwatch project the drone footage of Team 2's combat training.
Specifically, the moment that Lee swung his spear to cut the Blackhumped Octopus's tentacles.
At first, Boss was annoyed. It was just a simple swing of a spear.
But then she realized why Jain was showing her.
Boss's violet eyes immediately sharpened as she sat straight. "That. Play it again."
"I knew Boss would see it~" Jain rewound the footage.
And then it was clear.
A distortion in the air. What SHOULD have been ki... What should have been mana condensed and folded into a blade to cut where the spear couldn't.
That's what it looked like on a first glance. And to anyone who hadn't experienced something like that before, it's all that it would seem to be.
But.
"...That isn't ki or mana. And it's not the spear."
Jain giggled. "Yep~ But it's not over. Look closely. I think people missed it, but the princess's sword ki wasn't stable. Her mana went further than it should have and cut Lee Shin as well. At least... it SHOULD have cut him. But watch."
It was a blink and you miss it moment.
Lee and Rachel had attacked the octopus at the same time.
There was a brief overlap.
Lee's attack had been controlled. Being cognizant of Rachel, he had slashed from right to left.
But Rachel hadn't mirrored him. Instead, she had also cut from right to left.
So, for a brief moment, her sword brushed against Lee's hand and spear. At least, her sword ki did.
But it shattered.
To the casual observer, it must have simply looked like it was Rachel dismissing the sword ki to not harm her comrade.
And nobody in the group of cadets had noticed either.
But Boss saw it.
Because she had seen the same effect on one other man before.
The man she had to kill.
"...Magic Power Body."
Jain shook her head. "Nope! Something more ridiculous! Because that guy?" She pointed at Lee Shin. "He already HAS a Gift. It's a basic <Lightning Thrust>. And there's records and registration documents about him using it."
Boss froze. "Then... it isn't a Gift. But instead..."
"That's right~!" Jain laughed. "Congrats, Boss. You found it. Not an 'anti-magic' user. But someone with an 'anti-mana' physique."
Boss...
No.
Yi Byul.
She stared at the frames repeating on loop, watching Rachel's golden sword ki shatter against Lee's exposed wrist. Something so subtle that you wouldn't even consider it unless you were looking for signs of anti-magic in the first place.
"...When are the guild visits again, Jain?"
"The Friday two weeks from now~"
"Good." Yi Byul nodded. "Arrange a proper disguise for me. I need to meet him."
Jain paused and dropped her levity. Looking at Yi Byul with a serious expression, she said, "...Do you want to recruit him?"
"No matter what it takes." Yi Byul watched the footage again, noting how close Rachel was to Lee. "...Even if it means stealing the princess from England to give over to him as a welcoming gift."
Jain's eyes widened. Then she laughed and said, "Oho~ You're serious about this one. But fine." Her eyes sharpened. "...If it means we can kill 'that man' I suppose no price is enough, right? That's the whole point of what we've all been doing."
"Yes." Yi Byul watched the footage again, feeling a faint trace of hope for the first time in years. "...It is."
All the years spent running the Chameleon Troupe. All the searching. The single reason why she was still alive today...
'Wash your neck, Bell. Your death is approaching.'
===
At a luxury inn at Busan.
Bell, the former seat of black in the Chameleon Troupe.
Currently, he was out with a promising talent that he was raising. Jin Sahyuk, a girl with the Gift of Reality Manipulation and constructing magical armaments.
It was late at night, and the girl was already fast asleep after a long day of harsh training.
Bell, of course, didn't require sleep. Due to his Gift, which was more of a curse than anything, he persisted. And due to his 'friend' that was still asleep deep within him, his physique had changed a long time ago to no longer require normal human functions.
So, to pass the time, as always, he was idly scrolling through Cube's community, seeing if there was anything interesting.
Although Jin Sahyuk had promise in killing him, Bell was a man who preferred back-up plans.
Because of that, he looked through the more promising talents... at least, 'promising' by the world's standards.
Kim Suho... skilled swordsmanship, but nothing too special.
Shin Jonghak... arrogant and talented, but that was it.
Chae Nayun...
"Hm?"
Bell paused.
The Immortal's granddaughter was on a team with the daughter of Essence of Strait's guildleader. And on that team, there was also Princess Rachel.
But that didn't catch Bell's eyes.
Instead, it was the clip of Chae Nayun killing a Blackhumped Octopus posted on Cube community.
They were highlighting it because of her launching a flashy arrow made from mana.
But just before then, the spear user in the group and Princess Rachel had cut the octopus's tentacles.
And then Bell saw it.
"...That is not sword ki or mana."
That spear user... Lee Shin.
The moment he swung his spear, it wasn't ki or mana that unfolded, but something 'else.' Something that coated his spear in an instant and extended the edge.
But not only that, his body disrupted the sword ki from Rachel's sword as it struck him by accident.
But no one had noticed.
No one commented on it.
"...They wouldn't, I suppose." Bell murmured, his mind going over the ramifications.
Then, out of curiosity, he looked into it more.
A hunch. An idle thought.
Because it was similar. VERY similar to him, who had become raw magic power itself due to his contract and his Gift.
"Lee Shin, Rank 999. Previously, a talented student at the Agent Military Academy, but completely lacking in magic power..." Bell murmured as he summarized the information he pulled from paying certain sources.
And then a thought came to mind. A hypothesis.
Because there were beings like him, who were too attuned to mana. Someone who embraced mana completely, using it like a second limb because it WAS a second limb to him.
...But then there must also be the opposites.
Those with a body that vehemently rejected mana-
No.
A body so 'whole' that external forces like mana were denied.
And a body so inviolable that even the mana it generated couldn't be stripped away.
"Interesting."
It was too soon to tell.
And Bell had already invested too much in Jin Sahyuk to change course now.
But...
"If I noticed, then 'she' will have noticed as well."
Yi Byul. The current Boss of the Chameleon Troupe. And the one still hunting his neck.
Bell let out a soft laugh. "Well." He smiled, putting his phone away and pouring himself a glass of wine. "...I suppose I'll find out in the future, hm?"
If Jin Sahyuk managed to kill him first, then so be it.
But if that girl and this new 'resource' she found was able to steal his life first...
"Hm... should I tell Jin Sahyuk? A bit of motivation is always useful... No. It's too soon."
Knowing her, Jin Sahyuk would immediately rush to Cube to challenge that Lee in a duel to the death.
And as amusing as that would be... especially as he had a hunch Lee's body would completely neuter Jin Sahyuk's main powers due to denying mana entirely...
"Play is play. Business is business," Bell murmured.
And right now, he didn't have room to play.
...But maybe a bit later. When Jin Sahyuk matured a bit.
After all, she DID need a proper training partner... and someone who can push her Gift to a new level...