Chapter Title: Martial God Goes Viral
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Lee Jin-woo, the young superhuman who thwarted the terrorists.
In an instant, knights surged forward like a tidal wave, drawing all eyes. Amid simultaneous terror attacks across the globe, with superhuman rescue teams and knights lagging behind, public anxiety was skyrocketing.
Then came the news of a freshly awakened superhuman stepping up to save the citizens. People went wild.
There's still hope in this world.
Is this the birth of a new hero?
It had been just one day since all the follow-up articles and reactions started exploding.
That single day.
📰 Breaking News [Who is the Martial God?]
...
All articles about Lee Jin-woo sank without a trace due to another incident.
📰 Breaking News [First Gate Contribution 100% Achieved.] [A New Superhuman Ends a Variant Gate in One Strike. Martial God. Who Is He?] [The Jet-Black Superhuman. What Is His Rank?] [A New Color Superhuman Rocks the Reincarnation Community.] [According to C-Rank Informants' Footage...] [Black Night Witch, Rumored to Have Clashed with Martial God, Snaps at Interview Request...]
The internet was flooded with talk of the Martial God.
Watching it all, Lee Jin-woo—that is, I—felt a strangely mixed emotion.
"...Should I call this a loss or a win?"
What to even say. That's me, and this is me too. I had no clue how to feel.
"Tch."
I swallowed a grunt and clicked on a video uploaded to the site. A blurry, low-quality screen popped up, capturing someone amid the chaos.
It showed a horde of people charging out all at once. Beyond the noise, beastly roars echoed from a familiar plain.
I knew the place. It was none other than the variant gate I'd entered myself.
And then.
Amid the rushing crowd, one figure stood alone, wearing a black mask.
It was me.
The moment I assumed a stance and swung my fist in the video.
💥 CRITICAL HIT! 💥
Kwaaaaaaaa---!!!!
Light bloomed, engulfing the screen.
The video ended with word that the gate was cleared. It was a simple clip, but...
"What the hell is this view count?"
The views had already blown past ten million. Insane. Ten million?
...Way too many, right?
You might wonder how gate footage gets pulled into reality.
...Informants are impressive.
There were people who could record gate conditions and status to bring out.
Mostly reincarnates with mage-class abilities, commonly called "informants."
They captured footage like recordings with skills, then posted it online upon exit.
That let everyone know what went down inside gates.
High-rank superhumans often brought informants along for the ride.
It was a chance to promote themselves, after all.
"Hmm..."
There I was, smack in the middle of one such video.
What the hell was I supposed to call this feeling?
I cautiously checked the comments too.
💬 Comments — Anonymous What the...? Wipes them all out in one hit? — Anonymous Whoa lololol insane right? — Anonymous Look at Black Night Witch's shocked face. Feels so good. — Anonymous But what rank does that kind of power put him at? — Anonymous At least A-Rank. — Anonymous A-Rank my ass. Remember last year when China's Dragon Spear nearly died soloing a variant gate? That's at least S-Rank. — Anonymous S-Rank lololol bullshit much? If a new S-Rank popped up, the Association would've announced it. — Anonymous Fine, if not S then B-Rank? — Anonymous Probably used some treasure. — Anonymous Treasure my ass. You think one treasure does that? You're no superhuman. — Anonymous You a superhuman typing comments from your bed? Cosplay much.
Hundreds of comments, most reacting to the unprecedented sight.
Predictions of his rank trended higher than A, almost certainly.
Real superhumans chiming in only solidified it.
— Superhuman The community crashed temporarily when Martial God appeared. — Superhuman First time seeing a jet-black nameplate... No idea what rank that is.
The folks online when I logged into the network mentioned the glitch.
"Rank, huh..."
I scratched my cheek. Definitely not A.
It's EX.
A never-before-seen rank. Unthinkable power.
Gates ramped up in danger, sure. But my power jumped 50-fold too.
Had that ever happened? Not that I knew.
"And that mask."
The one slapped on me the second I entered the gate. Suspicious.
— Anonymous Mask means he doesn't wanna be known. — Anonymous Guy's a terrorist too? They all wear masks. — Anonymous Black suggests it's a treasure.
Comments nailed it.
...It's a gate entry setting.
The mask let you choose to hide your identity.
Most didn't bother. Informants captured them anyway, and exposure boosted value. But some with hang-ups wore them.
Didn't help masked superhumans' image.
Especially now, with terrorists on the loose.
And then.
— Anonymous He's definitely Korean, right?
"...Damn."
Comments dug for my identity, nationality included. Simple reason.
— Anonymous This variant gate only invited Koreans.
Variant gates popped worldwide, inviting select superhumans.
D-Rank and up got random invites; first come, first served.
This variant...
Only Koreans invited.
Unprecedented.
"That's why they're saying Martial God might not be Korean..."
Troubling.
What to do?
The world fixated on this new high-rank superhuman, Martial God.
Here.
If I reveal I'm him.
Helpful? I pondered, chin in hand.
Probably not.
I shook my head. Because...
Attention's fine, but...
This power seemed to shy from it. Forced the mask on entry.
Even with the Association President.
Baek Hyun-ho confronted.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ■ Illusion of Korka activates. ■ Blocks opponent's insight. ■ Cannot surpass the Four Gods. Your essence is concealed.
That alert.
...He tried something on me.
Association President attempted something; SS-Rank treasure blocked it.
Hid my identity. And this too.
That old man's pick.
The reincarnation granting my power chose from Pandora's Box.
How's that possible?
Beyond common sense. Hell, everything about me was.
"Something's off."
Way off. What to do?
"...With this power."
Experiencing its alien nature shifted my thinking.
"Might be able to pull it off."
Hunt them down and crush them.
For my goal, it'd help plenty. For that.
...I can play along.
If it wants hidden, fine by me.
"Hoo... Alright, time to log in."
With that, I carefully moved my finger.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ■ Entering Reincarnation Network.
A large screen appeared, showing the site from before.
Posts everywhere, no different from outside.
💬 Reincarnation Network ⭐ Top Post — Aurora Princess So Martial God's SS-Rank?
More Martial God talk.
The network brimmed with it.
Aurora Princess?
I paused at the name. Russia's S-Rank superhuman?
Russia's star reincarnate.
— Not A Quack Could be SS-Rank. Or even higher. ⭐ Top Post — Aurora Princess Higher than that? SSS-Rank? Ridiculous. — Flash Ninja It's absurd, yeah. If SSS appeared, nations wouldn't stay quiet. — Not A Quack That power and impact? S-Rank minimum. No nation announced. Means Martial God's hiding his identity. ⭐ Top Post — Aurora Princess How? Fooled the box? — Not A Quack Didn't register rank. Unregistered superhuman most likely. ⭐ Top Post — Aurora Princess Dangerous guy. — Not A Quack That's how I see it.
Unregistered superhuman. That's how they viewed Martial God.
Makes sense...
In this situation.
⭐ Top Post — Aurora Princess But if he did register?
Russia's superhuman raised a question.
⭐ Top Post — Aurora Princess Martial God hit the network just days ago. Means he awakened recently. Natural to log in right away. — Flash Ninja That power in days? ⭐ Top Post — Aurora Princess Exactly, impossible. From Korea? That tiny Asian shithole producing another freak?
Someone jumped in on Aurora Princess's rant.
— Black Night Witch Why's Korea coming up?
"Huh."
Black Night Witch from the gate.
⭐ Top Post — Aurora Princess Oh look, our stunned little darkie preserved forever. — Black Night Witch Just raise questions, why drag Korea into this, you hag? ⭐ Top Post — Aurora Princess Why? Wrong? It's a rat-shit country. — Black Night Witch Aah~ So your big country got fucked by disaster with zero SS-Ranks? Congrats.
She jabbed at Russia's ruin and lack of SS-Ranks.
Aurora Princess snapped.
⭐ Top Post — Aurora Princess You crazy bitch? I'll kill you if I see you. Got it? — Black Night Witch Jealous? Come try. Banned from entry, still yapping. ⭐ Top Post — Aurora Princess This fucking cunt... — Flash Ninja Stop fighting... That's not the point. ⭐ Top Post — Aurora Princess Butt out. — Black Night Witch Who asked you? You're the same. Trashed us in your interview. Think I forgot? — Flash Ninja ...No, that wasn't the intent.
Poor cowed Flash Ninja.
...Flash Ninja. No way.
Japan's S-Rank? Nameplate color matched.
Black Night Witch more patriotic than expected.
"...All posts about Martial God."
Jet-black nameplate meaning.
Martial God's existence.
His nationality, rank.
Posts reeked of probing.
"Ugh."
Throat tightened. Worry first.
If they learned I'm Martial God?
...Who knows.
Something might happen. Better stay cautious. Scrolling the network.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ■ New message.
Hm?
Alert. Bell icon rang.
Messages for me.
999 maxed out.
Even more waiting.
"Why so many?"
Notifications everywhere. Tapped it.
Chwarrrrk—!!! Massive flood. Shocking volume. — Who are you? Which country? — Korean? Your rank...?
Questions galore. Eye-strain city. Colors varied by rank.
Couldn't read half. About to close.
Huh?
One golden glow stood out.
Golden nameplate from before.
⭐ Top Message — Dragon Mage I'll come find you.
Coming to find me?
What scary shit is this?
Where, who? Freaked me out.
Closed messages. Hoped for more info on network.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ■ Time limit expired.
"Ah."
Network booted me.
That time limit again.
"...Driving me nuts."
Why only me?
Couldn't dig into anything.
"Wasn't expecting much anyway..."
Still too fast.
"Ugh."
Network crap, this mess—what now?
Pondering.
Knock knock.
Someone outside.
"You there?"
Friend Jin Kyung-beom.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"What?"
Jin Kyung-beom, chicken in hand, gawked at my words.
"...They want you to be a knight?"
"Yeah."
"Association President?"
"Yeah."
"...Whoa."
Chicken leg paused mid-air.
"Knight offer. Crazy. You doing it? Obviously, right?"
I'd always wanted to be a knight; he figured it was a done deal.
"...Not sure."
"What? Why?"
"Feels off."
President probing me.
...Status weird.
Timing for knight push suspicious.
Something.
Like using me to distract the public. Without knowing my rank.
What if D-Rank? Still take me?
Doubtful.
Never heard of it.
Knight exams had no rank req, but lowest passer was B-Rank.
Brutal pass rate. Just waltz in?
As if.
Absurd. His kindly smile didn't fool me; I stayed wary.
"So, passing?"
"...Said I'm thinking."
Still tempted. Knights, after all.
Why I clawed for superhuman status.
I needed to be a knight.
"Whatever, I'd say go for it."
I narrowed eyes at him.
"What's with you? Used to talk me out."
"That was pre-awakening. Different now."
Chicken bite, then.
"You want it. Try."
"..."
"Intent whatever, no regrets."
His deadpan stare; I eyed him.
"...You sneak some meds?"
"Talking shit means you're good. I'm out."
"What? Eat chicken and bounce?"
"Just face-check. Gotta see Dad."
"...Oh."
"Later."
He left no-nonsense. I recalled his words.
"Whatever, no regrets."
"..."
Martial God reincarnation. Hiding desired.
President's intent.
Weighed it all.
So.
No reason not to.
Parachute?
Screw it.
"...If they let me, great."
Nodded. Grabbed phone.
President's number for when decided.
Texted.
[I'll take the offer.]
Sent, flopped on bed.
"Ahh."
Who knows how it'll go.
Work out?
No.
Make it work.
Rubbing face, eyes hardened through fingers.
Always same conclusion. Steeled myself.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ ■ EX-Rank Exclusive Achievement. Successfully accessed Reincarnation Network 3 times. Achievement reward incoming.
"...Huh?"
Random reward.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Click.
Out of the room, Jin Kyung-beom glanced back, then walked on.
"...Hm."
To a quiet spot, pulled phone, dialed.
Ring ring.
Short wait.
Click.
-Yes. On the line.
"Me."
-Speak.
"Update on that check?"
Goofy face for Jin-woo gone.
Ice-cold now.
-Escaped terrorist not found. Association blocking access.
"...Right?"
Tch. Association cover-up confirmed.
"Then what about that? You said destroyed."
-Yes. No forced break marks, but definitely shattered.
"B-Rank treasure. Jin-woo breaks it? Makes sense?"
The mood light I'd gifted. A valuable protective treasure.
"If treasure broke like that, barrier failed."
-...That's.
"Sold by GAA?"
-Yes.
"Cut them. No need dealing with defective sellers."
-...Miss... GAA ties deep with our firm...
Edge crept into voice.
"Title."
-...Sorry. Young Master Kyung-beom.
"Nothing more unpleasant than untrustworthy partners. Cut."
-Understood.
Man yielded to resolve.
"And tonight, Chairman. Prep notice."
-Tonight?
"Yes. Say Association matter."
-Yes... Chairman'll be pleased.
"Yeah. Hanging up."
Click. Done, hung up.
"...Association."
Cold eyes scanned void.
"Annoying."
Mood soured.
"After all that setup."
Poached teacher, lined interview at solid firm for normal life.
"Dares."
Mess with my stuff?
Lips curled.
"Watch."
Time to show what happens touching the untouchable.