The gates of Floor 37 sealed behind them with a clang. The dust settled. Six banners fluttered — symbols of small Korean guilds once mocked as "low-tier."
But not today.
Red Wolf Order. Azure Dagger. Storm Pike. Black Orchard. Ember Circle. Iron Willow.
Together, they had conquered Floors 25 through 37 — twelve straight floors, no casualties.
The raid room erupted in cheers.
Park Juno slammed fists with Han Do Hyuk.
> "Twelve floors. Clean sweep. You believe this?"
Yoon Ara gave a small, rare smile.
> "They'll stop calling us 'scraps' now."
Kang Mirae closed her eyes and offered a prayer for stability — and strength for the journey ahead.
> "This is what recovery looks like," she said. "This is how we heal."
Seo Min Kyu simply gazed upward, eyes dark and calculating.
> "If we can do this... imagine what he could do alone."
That name didn't need to be spoken. Every leader in the room had already thought it.
Rover Cheon.
The silent storm.
The boy who stood untouched after the dragon's breath scorched the land.
---
Meanwhile — Jinwon Academy, Seoul Campus
Lunch bells rang as students filled the courtyard. Uniforms flapped in the breeze, sandwiches unwrapped, and gossip bubbled like soda.
Inside the third-year science hall, Ayaka Tsukishiro and Mina Jeong sat by the open windows. Mina was sipping miso soup, half-reading from her tablet. Ayaka, chopsticks in mouth, leaned forward dramatically.
> "So... our literature professor said Rover's name again in class. Third time this week."
Mina blinked. "It's not like he submitted a thesis. He punched a wyvern in the jaw and lived."
> "Technically, it was a dragon," Ayaka said. "Or was it a pseudo-dragon? I need to double-check the elemental traces. Mina?"
Mina pushed up her glasses, squinting at her notes. "Its fire was blue. Likely more arcane than biological."
> "So... magic dragon punch confirmed," Ayaka grinned. "He's gonna be famous forever."
Just then, a buzz spread through the campus.
> "Hey… wait… is that—?"
> "It's him. Outside the gates."
A dozen students stood and pointed toward the courtyard wall.
There he was.
Rover Cheon.
In a simple black hoodie, holding two paper bags full of groceries. A baguette stuck out the top like a comical antenna. His hair was slightly messy. He looked — inconveniently cool.
But not on purpose.
Gan and his entourage had frozen. Just five meters away from the gate, Rover's eyes briefly passed over them.
Gan's fingers trembled. His flames sparked involuntarily.
His friend whispered:
> "He—he saw us. What do we do?"
> "Don't make eye contact," Gan muttered, backing up. "Just… just don't engage."
But Rover didn't even stop.
> "Yo," he said, nodding casually to Ayaka and Mina as he passed. "Just buying groceries. Professor Kuroda gave me a list. Tomatoes, eggs, cursed salt — you know, the usual."
Mina blinked, confused.
> "Wait, isn't cursed salt illegal—?"
> "Kidding, kidding," Rover grinned.
Ayaka leaned over the balcony, laughing.
> "You're skipping school again?"
> "I never enrolled," he called back. "Good luck on midterms though!"
He vanished around the corner, whistling. A loaf of bread bounced gently in the grocery bag.
Students stared. In complete silence.
One boy muttered, "He… he joked about cursed salt…"
Another: "That's confidence. Or insanity. Or both."
Gan was pale.
> "He didn't even look at me. Like I'm… nothing."
He was.
---
Back in class, Ayaka sat with a sly smile.
Mina returned to her notes, pretending she wasn't impressed.
But she was.
Something was happening.
Not just to the world, but to Rover Cheon.
And nobody — not even Rover — knew what came next.
---
To be continue...