Morning sunlight streamed through the classroom curtains. The final-year students of the Bio-Gene Warrior School in District 10 were buzzing with chatter and energy.
Crunch. Crunch.
Hyun-joo's noisy snacking mixed with his chuckles. The round, mischievous boy — and Seung-woo's best friend — waved a hand excitedly.
"Hey, Seung-woo! Big news!" he shouted while tossing a snack into his mouth. "Only ten students from our class got an invitation to the 'Shadow Test Program!' Isn't that epic?"
Seung-woo looked up from his notebook, squinting. "What's that got to do with me?"
Hyun-joo laughed. "Because you're one of them, dummy!"
The classroom fell silent. All eyes turned to Seung-woo, some wide with surprise, others sharp with envy.
It wasn't surprising. Ever since Seung-woo had "stopped a combat drone mid-air" the week before, he'd become the talk of the school.
With a quiet sigh, Seung-woo pulled a deep black envelope from his bag. On the front was the silver emblem of the Global Federation and the words: "Urgent Summons: Classified Level B."
Subterranean Training Center
The magnetic lift descended slowly. Metallic echoes clanged with eerie pressure.
"Feels like we're being hauled to an execution..." Hyun-joo whispered beside Seung-woo.
Eight other students stood silently in the lift, all summoned by similar letters. Tension hung thick in the air.
When the doors opened, a massive simulated environment unfolded before them. The terrain mimicked a blend of desert wilderness and craggy mountain terrain. Half the structures appeared abandoned; the other half brimmed with energy traps.
Standing at the center was a man in full black Bio-Gene training gear. Tanned skin, a body of dense muscle, and piercing eyes that scanned the students like prey.
"Welcome... to your personal hell," he said flatly.
"Name's In-suk. Former Prime-Class legend. Now stuck babysitting special training brats."
Hyun-joo laughed nervously, only to be silenced by a cold stare.
"Your mission is simple..." In-suk tossed a small energy device to the ground. "Survive 24 hours in this field. No weapons. No AI. No armor."
Shock rippled through the group.
"And as for you... Kang Seung-woo," he pointed, "You'll train alone. In the Tier 3 energy zone."
Seung-woo raised his head slowly. His gaze was steady, though he felt a strange pressure under his feet.
In-suk gave a faint smirk. "Let's see if 'drone-stopper boy' is the real deal... or just lucky."
Tier 3 Zone
Dark blue energy barriers sealed the area. The air thickened, as if gravity had doubled.
Seung-woo stood in the middle of cracked stone ground. No weapons. No friends. No instructor. Just himself, and the trial.
"Simulation start... Releasing Tier 3 mutant into the field."
Mechanical doors opened with a hiss. A chilling wind whooshed as something monstrous emerged.
A violet spotlight struck the ground. Steam swirled, and from the mist stepped a towering creature:
Korrax Ragahun — a Tier 3 mutant beast, registered by the Federation as a "deceptive hunter."
Over six meters long. Skin armored with overlapping greenish-black scales. Glowing red energy veins snaked across its body like ancient tribal tattoos.
Four crimson eyes, two pairs stacked atop each other, darted erratically.
A serpentine neck moved silently but exuded killing intent.
No footsteps. Only the sound of its breathing — a sharp, slicing exhale that radiated violent bio-energy.
Each step made the ground subtly quake.
And then... it roared.
The sound wasn't just rage.
It was a curse, bellowed from the depth of its twisted genes.
"GRAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!"
Stone slabs shook. Cracks splintered. Even the status monitors glitched under the energy pulse.
Seung-woo froze.
Not from fear. But because what he saw... was something no human should ever witness up close.
"One of those... is insane enough," he muttered, dodging a claw swipe inches from his head.
The impact thundered. Shards exploded outward.
He moved with surreal precision. No training, yet his body reacted instinctively.
No weapons... use what I have... my mind.
He closed his eyes. Breathed deep. The whisper from before echoed again.
"You... are the wielder of dormant power."
A faint silver light enveloped him. Gravity shifted. Dust floated.
His eyes gleamed violet. Stones levitated.
He flung them at the beast like a storm of psychic bullets.
Boom!
Its scales cracked. Flesh tore. But it didn't fall.
It retaliated with a pulse wave. Seung-woo was slammed into a wall. Blood trickled. But he didn't black out.
"Nara... I can't stop yet..."
Another surge of will. His body rose, cloaked in deep purple light.
Left hand caught the beast's claw. Right hand released a gravitational blast.
"STAY... DOWN!"
A shockwave burst outward, shattering the ground.
Control Room
In-suk watched in silence. Beside him stood a man in a white suit with the Federation's S-Class Overseer badge.
"Gravity... combined with psychic force?"
"His DNA is highly abnormal — could be Experiment 17."
"If he survives... we may be looking at the first Infinity-Class from District Ten."
Back in the field...
Seung-woo collapsed into a crater, dust swirling. But his body remained still, composed.
The training system chimed:
"Test concluded... Subject: Kang Seung-woo Status: Tier 3 Trial — Survived."
A faint smile touched his lips — not of victory.
But of someone... who finally began to understand his fate.
And this... was only the beginning
Of a story that would shake the fate of the universe.