The sky was still dark as Sung Jihan arrived at the training hall. A mist hung low over the village, and the wooden doors now loomed tall and silent before him.
He faltered.
Master Hyeon actually asked me to come… me?
Before doubt could settle, the doors slid open.
Master Hyeon was standing inside, holding up a lantern. His face was impassive, as usual.
"You're early," he said.
Jihan bowed. "Y-Yes, Master."
Hyeon stepped aside. "Enter."
The hall was empty—no other students, no sound but the creak of old wood. The air felt sharper, colder, as if it waited for something.
"Stand in the center."
Jihan did so, his stomach churning with nervousness.
Hyeon set the lantern down and crossed his arms, observing him silently—so silently that Jihan felt every flaw in his stance bared to view.
Then Hyeon spoke.
"Yesterday… when you reacted to Han Gun's strike—did you feel anything unusual?"
Jihan swallowed. "I… don't know how to describe it. My body just moved. It felt… sharp. Clear. Like everything slowed down for a moment."
Hyeon's eyes flickered with interest.
"Good. Let's see if it happens again."
He took a wooden staff from the wall.
Jihan tensed. "Master… you're not going to—"
Hyeon swung.
Fast.
Jihan flinched as he was thrown off-balance, the staff stopping just an inch from his head.
Hyeon's voice was calm. "Again."
A second swing came-faster.
Jihan instinctively raised his arms, stumbled, and almost fell.
But the staff stopped short again.
"Relax," Hyeon ordered.
"Fear will only slow you."
Relax? Jihan's heart was pounding out of his chest.
Hyeon stepped back and changed his grip.
"Last time. This time, I won't stop."
Jihan's eyes widened. "Master—!"
Hyeon sprinted ahead, the staff slicing the air like a razor.
Jihan panicked-
—and then it happened.
[User threat level: Critical. Reflex override initiated.]
A soft chime rang inside him.
The world shifted.
The strike slowed drastically, like he was watching through water.
His muscles responded before thought could form as the Nexus pulled the threads of movement through instinct rather than training.
Jihan slid a foot back.
Lowered his weight.
Tilted his head just enough.
They walked right past him.
It grazed the edge of his sleeve but didn't touch his body.
It disappeared in that very instant, leaving him breathless and shaking.
Hyeon froze.
Slowly, he lowered the staff.
His eyes—usually calm—widened a fraction.
"That movement…" he murmured. "That precision…Jihan, that was not the footwork of a beginner."
Still panting, Jihan stepped back. "I—I don't know how I did it."
Hyeon's face hardened with seriousness he had never shown before.
"Do you hear me, Jihan? That was not normal. Your reaction was beyond anything a child with no training should manage."
Jihan looked down, his voice small. "Is that… bad?"
Hyeon didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he walked past Jihan and closed the doors to the training hall.
When he turned around, his face was serious.
"Jihan," he said quietly, "from this moment on, do not show these reactions to anyone else. Not even your fellow students.
Jihan's breath caught. "Why?"
"Because abilities like that attract attention," Hyeon said.
"And attention to the wrong people will destroy you and your mother, possibly even the village."
Jihan's chest tightened.
Hyeon continued, "But if you learn to understand and control it yourself, no one will be able to stop you."
There was a long silence between them.
Then Hyeon put the staff aside.
"Your training begins now. We start off with stance drills. I need to see how your body reacts without fear pushing you." Jihan nodded, his eyes gleaming with resolution. As he set his feet, ready to start anew, the Nexus Core pulsed softly in his spine, processing data, readjusting parameters, preparing for what was to come. It whispered in a voice only he could hear: [Synchronization: 19%.] [Host potential: rising.] Jihan tightened his fists. For the first time, he wasn't chasing the others. He was chasing something inside himself.