The academy's underground training center was massive—carved deep into the earth, reinforced with mana-imbued walls, and filled with mock dungeons that simulated real-life rift zones.
Jinhyuk followed the other students silently, hands in his pockets as their group assembled near Dungeon Simulator: Zone 3.
Instructor Ryu, a grizzled veteran hunter, addressed them with a sharp tone.
"This mock dungeon simulates a C-rank rift. Stay in formation. Watch each other's backs. If you mess around, you die."
The students straightened up immediately.
Yura stood near the front, arms folded, eyes occasionally flicking back to Jinhyuk.
He yawned.
"You'll be split into teams of five," Ryu continued. "Group 3—Jeong Yura, Kang Daeho, Min Seulgi, Park Hojin… and the transfer."
Groans from some students. Glares from others.
"Great," Hojin muttered. "Dead weight."
"I'll carry him if he cries," Seulgi smirked, twirling her staff.
Yura said nothing—but her gaze lingered.
> [Quest Updated: Blend Among Them
Subquest: Survive Mock Dungeon without revealing cultivation status
Optional: Protect team without being detected
Bonus: Extract dungeon core before Yura]
---
Inside the simulation zone, the air shifted instantly.
It wasn't just a room anymore—it felt like a real dungeon.
Damp stone walls. Dim torchlight. The faint stench of blood and decay.
> [Dungeon Environment Loaded: Forgotten Catacombs]
[Threat Level: C+]
[Dungeon Boss: Bone Widow (Necrotic Spider-Class)]
Yura took point. "Formation—Delta. I lead. Hojin behind. Daeho and Seulgi guard the flanks. Transfer—"
"I'll take rear," Jinhyuk said.
"You'll stay behind and not get in the way," she snapped.
He didn't argue.
The team advanced.
For the first ten minutes, nothing happened—until the low clicking of legs echoed through the tunnel.
Skeleton Spiders.
Dozens.
Hojin cursed and raised his bow. Seulgi cast a firewall, funneling the swarm down a narrow path.
Yura summoned frost spears and launched them like missiles.
Jinhyuk stood back… until one spider lunged at Seulgi from the ceiling.
No one noticed—except him.
He moved like a whisper.
> [Skill Activated: Qi Pulse – Bone Shatter Technique (Concealed Output)]
His fist met the spider midair. It didn't just fall—it crumbled to dust.
"Did it just… collapse?" Seulgi blinked, confused. "Weird."
Jinhyuk returned to position before anyone could glance back.
One by one, the group advanced deeper—Yura doing most of the damage, Hojin and Seulgi supporting, and Jinhyuk subtly eliminating threats from the shadows.
Yura's frown deepened each time something mysteriously died before she reached it.
> [Suspicion Level: Jeong Yura – 22%]
---
They reached the boss chamber.
The Bone Widow hissed from the ceiling—a massive arachnid skeleton wreathed in necrotic flames.
Yura launched her ultimate.
"Frozen Spear Rain!"
Dozens of icy javelins struck the beast, pinning its limbs—but not killing it.
Hojin was grabbed.
Seulgi screamed as a leg tore through her barrier.
Daeho froze in fear.
Jinhyuk sighed.
"Guess we're done playing."
He stepped forward.
> [Limiter Removed – 1% Output Allowed]
[Skill Activated: Flow Break – Bone Disintegration]
[Weak Point Detected – Executing Precision Strike…]
With a blur, he vanished.
One strike—precise, surgical, and elegant—shattered the core inside the Bone Widow's skull.
The beast screeched, twitched—and then collapsed.
Silence.
Smoke. Dust. Faint green light from the dissolved necrotic flames.
Everyone stared at the crumbling bones.
"…What just happened?" Hojin gasped.
"It… it died. Instantly?" Seulgi blinked.
Yura's eyes locked on Jinhyuk.
"You… didn't even move."
He shrugged. "Maybe it was old."
She didn't laugh.
Instead, she walked closer.
"You're hiding something. Again."
He looked straight at her, calm and unreadable.
"And you're obsessed. Again."
> [Quest Complete: Blend Among Them
Optional Objective: Achieved
Bonus Reward: Passive Upgrade – Perfect Mask (II)
Jeong Yura's Impression: Intrigued | Suspicious | Slightly Impressed]
---
That night, Yura stared at the recording orb from the dungeon.
In frame: Jinhyuk. Blurry. Motionless. No energy signature. No attack detected.
And yet, the boss died right after he moved.
"Who the hell are you, Lee Jinhyuk?"
---
End of Chapter 8.