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So then… this is the story of when I, along with Chae-rim’s Sister, conducted special training after deciding to participate in the exploration, preparing for that moment.

Given the limited time available for special preparations, the training was mostly focused on sparring, and that day was no exception. I found myself lying flat on the training ground, drained, having been thoroughly beaten by her yet again.

Chae-rim’s Sister had stepped away for a moment, saying she would grab me something to drink since I must have been thirsty from the training. When she returned, she held out a cold drink freshly dispensed from the vending machine and asked a rather unexpected question.

“Yoonseo, do you happen to know the difference between First-Class and Special-Class?”

It was a question thrown out during a time when I was just starting to catch my breath, and it felt a bit out of nowhere.

Nonetheless, I began to ponder it seriously because I believed she wouldn’t ask such a question without a reason.

Surely there had to be something behind it.

I had no doubt about that, so as soon as I received the question, I began to contemplate an answer. Unfortunately, I regrettably couldn’t find a reasonable response after a long while of thinking.

In hindsight, it might have been a bit naïve of me.

After all, how many people had been stuck at the First-Class level for years without making progress?

The position of Special-Class was akin to a dream for heroes, and despite many struggling to reach it even close to retirement, the reality was that very few had ever been granted the title of Special-Class throughout the Association’s history.

As evidence, in this day and age, there were only three Special-Class heroes.

Though the number of heroes was low, that was an astoundingly small number.

The threshold between First-Class and Special-Class was high and thick.

Perhaps even tougher than the notoriously difficult qualification exam.

But to think there might have been a way to break through it…

If I’d known that much, I probably would have ditched the Second-Class label I held and instead claimed the title of the youngest First-Class hero long ago.

Thinking this way made me suddenly curious.

What exactly was the difference that Chae-rim’s Sister referred to between First-Class and Special-Class?

What was it that made her rise from First-Class to Special-Class?

I was curious, but I couldn’t bring myself to ask.

I couldn’t do that.

That would basically be asking for a secret technique; just wanting to know would be too unreasonable.

So even though I was curious, I bit my tongue and tried to refrain from talking as much as possible…

Chae-rim’s Sister, however, seemed to have no intention of holding back on her younger sister, who was willingly heading into a potentially dangerous place.

“The difference between First-Class and Special-Class is…”

At that moment, as she stared at my face, the words began to flow from her lips.

“Mastery.”

Mastery, huh?

I understood what the term meant, but what exactly did it entail?

Just as I was wondering, an explanation followed.

“Yoonseo, have you ever heard that a true hero knows how to use their surroundings as a weapon?”

“Ah, yeah.”

Sure, I’d heard that before.

I hadn’t thought much of it and had let it slip past.

“That’s what people mean when they refer to the First-Class level.”

A state where talent and experience are harmoniously balanced, capable of crafting a dagger with just a slight edge to pierce the opponent’s heart.

That’s what she said First-Class was.

And for Special-Class…

“Special-Class doesn’t use the environment. From start to finish, they ‘design’ everything to be in their favor.”

A level of complete understanding and control over their own talents.

Thus, they are at a point where simply standing still and breathing can ‘transform’ the environment to their advantage.

That’s what Chae-rim’s Sister claimed were the conditions for being ‘Special-Class.’

And the concept of ‘Mastery’ which Chae-rim’s Sister deeply engraved in Yoonseo’s mind now brilliantly bloomed in the face of a crucial situation.

In truth, Yoonseo had never truly felt a sense of crisis while working as a hero.

That was partly because it was all too easy for her.

Overpowering villains who relied solely on their meager talents or clearing out Another Ones that would crawl out like cockroaches only took a gesture from her.

For the entire three years she had been active bearing the title of hero, it was highly unlikely she had ever felt any real sense of danger.

Yet at this moment, Yoonseo felt the sense of crisis for the first time.

The reason was simple.

If I let that guy go free, it could seriously disrupt future explorations.

That notion rang like an alarm in her mind…

And the talent she had long since honed reacted to her crisis, unleashing the potential she had never revealed before.

Crack—

A small puddle formed from the melting shards of ice that had fallen to the ground responded to her will and froze once more.

This occurred the moment the enemy, facing off against the five heroes including Yoonseo, leaned back, trying to escape the battlefield.

A thin sheet of ice had formed instantly—the sort that had never existed before.

It was enough to off-balance the weight of the foe already leaning back, and the instant that the foe lost their balance, sharp objects shot up from the wall they had aimed to escape.

Due to the phenomenon commonly known as condensation, the tiny droplets that had been gathered along the container barriers transformed into piercing spikes that pierced the foe’s body.

‘… Not enough.’

But it wasn’t quite enough yet.

As expected, I thought the individual was designed for agility, their external defense should have been weak. However, perhaps living up to the name of an upper-tier individual, they must have had at least a basic level of defensive capability.

The ice spikes managed to penetrate their body in an instant, but that was all they achieved.

They would cause injury but not be fatal.

‘So I need to do more.’

The ice spikes, reacting to her will, swiftly began to melt away.

Just after they had returned to their original form, they seeped into the foe’s body.

The melting midsections fell to the ground like leaves.

To onlookers, it might have appeared as if the foe had flailed about and broken something themselves.

Thanks to that, amidst the chaos, the foe finally freed themselves from the constraints of the things piercing their own body and charged toward the wall once more.

Seeing that, I thought.

So thankfully, though they might appear to have a decent level of intelligence, they seemed lacking in learning ability.

If they had experienced learning as well, much like ‘that thing’ which Chae-rim’s Sister had claimed never lost to her, it would have been truly terrifying…

Of course, I had no intention of letting this one go, either.

—Huh?!

Was something wrong with their body, or rather inside it?

The foe, who had been scampering up the barriers made of containers effortlessly, suddenly collapsed to the ground as if drained of all strength.

Before that moment, they were racing across the barriers as if they were flat terrain.

The stark contrast in appearance caused puzzled expressions to cross the faces of those preparing to land strikes against the fleeing foe.

“Why are they acting like that all of a sudden?”

“Uh, yeah, that’s true.”

“Could it be an act?”

“An act? An Another?”

“Yes.”

“Do you really think that’s possible?”

“It isn’t impossible. You must have felt yourself during the fight that this guy is different from the typical Another Ones.”

Perhaps this was an attempt to catch us off guard.

While those caught in conjecture hesitated to take action, the foe remained sprawled on the ground and unable to rise.

It looked like a bug squirming on the floor after being sprayed with insecticide.

Well, in truth, it was probably in a state very close to that.

The things that had seeped into its body were likely tearing it apart from the inside.

So even if that guy somehow revived, they wouldn’t escape that state…

But still, just to be certain, it would be best to finish it off.

As I directed my gaze toward the foe, it transformed from a bug into a hedgehog.

 

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