The atmosphere remained strange. An unfamiliar silence and tension clawed at each other. Meanwhile, names were called one by one.

Before long, each person returned looking as if their life force had been drained. The cycle repeated endlessly. It seemed like they were only going up for a brief moment, but the results were devastating. Few emerged with an acceptance token around their necks.

‘Hmm, is it really that difficult?’

It didn’t seem like anything special. For me, who had passed the test just by pulling a trigger, the situation was puzzling.

"Ha, I better start looking for flights."

"You’re heading to Japan?"

"Even if their academy is a step below Korea’s, it’s still fairly renowned. I should at least give it a shot."

"You’re working hard."

"What else can I do? Climbing the Tower without official recognition would just be a death sentence."

Their conversation was laced with bitterness and resignation. The sluggish, heavy movements as they packed to leave were evident. Yet, they couldn’t stop glancing at me.

Some were outright glaring. Did they think I wouldn’t notice? Even with my eyes shut and sunglasses on, I could sense it all through Ideation.

"They’re staring a lot."

[Isn’t it obvious? You’re much younger than them, yet you ranked first in the written exam and were the first to pass the practical. Human emotions are predictable.]

"You talk as if you’re not human."

[Well, I have transcended…]

At that moment, a bright and lively voice cut through the air.

"Yo, kid! You’re pretty amazing, huh?"

I reached out with my Ideation. One interesting thing about Ideation was that it didn’t just sense presence—it painted shapes and colors clearly in my mind.

Red-haired boy.

No, not a boy.

‘That cross-dressing woman.’

It was the same person who had helped me at the reception desk. Familiar energy triggered my memory.

"Ah, hello. Thank you so much for your help before."

As I bowed my head in greeting, she let out her signature bright laughter.

"Hahaha! It was nothing."

She waved a hand dismissively as she spoke. Despite her casual demeanor, there was an air of refinement about her.

"Now that I think about it, I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Jung Chaemin, from Busan."

"I’m Kim…"

"Kim?"

For a brief moment, my old name reached my lips. But I managed to stop myself.

Erniaan Ludwig.

My new name sounded like that of some noble lady. The system and Academy registration records were already under this name, so I had no choice but to get used to it.

"No, I’m Erniaan."

"Wow, what a pretty name! Four syllables is a bit long, though. How about shortening it to ‘El’?"
[TLNote- 에르니안 E-Leu-Ni-An is the KR phonetic]

"I don’t mind."

She decided on the nickname ‘El’ and smiled naturally. That was what people called a fatherly smile—or in this case, maybe a motherly one?

‘Her name is probably fake too. After all, she’s disguised as a man.’

The single syllable ‘El’ didn’t feel foreign; rather, it was oddly comforting. I had a feeling it would come in handy in the future, so I was personally satisfied.

"El, you’re quite young, but you speak Korean fluently! Oh, right. You aced the written exam, so of course you do."

Jung Chaemin nodded to herself as if it all made sense.

Well, it wasn’t surprising anymore for foreigners to speak Korean fluently. Ever since Korea established itself as the top Hunter powerhouse, Korean has become a global language.

‘Though my case is a little different.’

Even if someone asked me to speak English, I wouldn’t be able to.

‘I can devour a bowl of gukbap down to the last drop of kimchi radish broth, yet somehow people think I’m Western? Ugh, I could really go for some gukbap right now.’

I only looked Western on the outside. Deep down, I was Korean through and through. No matter how much my life had flipped upside down, my ingrained DNA remained unchanged.

"You said you were from Busan, but your Seoul accent is pretty good."

"Really? I’ve been working on it, so I’m glad you noticed."

Busan. I had never been there, but I’d heard it was a city of strong-willed men. A place where people lived alongside the rough sea. Especially the ocean, which was infamous for being overrun with monsters emerging from Gates.

‘It’s not as bad as North Korea, which is literally called Hell, but I heard the sea is still extremely dangerous.’

People from such a place were said to be naturally tough and resilient. That explained the vibrant energy and free-spirited nature I sensed from her. The complete opposite of me—a perfect extrovert.

‘Her MBTI probably starts with an E.’

As I blinked in thought, I suddenly felt a warm hand ruffling my hair.

"You’re so polite and well-mannered. It’s adorable!"

I froze.

Or rather, I was taken aback.

‘Why is she touching my hair?’

My long hair became tousled under her touch. I never cared about my appearance since I couldn’t see myself, so my hairstyle never mattered to me.

"Ah, um… You don’t have to touch my hair…"

"Oh! Sorry! You were just too cute—I did it without thinking."

Cute?

Me?

That was the first time anyone had ever called me that.

I guess looking like me could be considered cute.

"Everyone here has probably been called a genius at least once. Back home, they called me a genius too. So I never expected you to pass. You look even younger than my little sister, yet you got a perfect score on the written exam and even broke Blinking Sword’s weapon."

Wait.

Did that mean people had watched my test?

I had passed first and was quietly sitting in the waiting room, so I hadn’t realized.

‘So that’s why everyone was glaring at me.’

No one else had passed, but I had cleared the test with a single trigger pull. If I were in their shoes, I’d feel bitter and frustrated too.

"Do you know when the next exam starts?"

"Huh? Did you come to the Academy without knowing anything?"

I gave a small nod.

Even such a simple gesture seemed to amuse her.

It was as if she had discovered a rare creature.

Like a human, she looked at me fondly despite not knowing what to do.

‘It’s obvious.’

If she wanted to hide the fact that she was a woman, she shouldn’t be acting like that. Now that I thought about it, she had been keeping her voice low and steady all this time, but when she laughed, it seemed to rise into a slightly higher pitch.

"Hehe. Ah, next is the interview."

"Interview?"

"Yeah, Hell Joseon’s entrance exams are all the same. The Academy isn’t an exception. You’ll be facing a high-pressure interview in front of the world's top professors. It’ll probably start soon."

"With so few passing, they’re starting immediately?"

There were barely twenty people. At my question, Jung Chaemin shook the acceptance token around her neck.

"Maybe because the exams were extra brutal this year. The number of passing applicants is significantly lower than usual. On top of that, Blinking Sword had his eyes wide open during the practical… The Academy isn’t stupid, so they’ll probably accept more applicants to fill the quota."

Using waitlists or additional admissions to meet quotas was a common practice. Schools and institutions often selected backup candidates when the initial number of qualified applicants fell short. These individuals were notified based on their ranking, filling up the remaining spots.

This system provided a second chance to applicants while helping institutions maintain their numbers.

‘Just like regular entrance exams.’

I’d never taken the college entrance exam, but the Academy’s supplementary admissions seemed to follow a similar pattern.

"At competitive Hunter Academies like this, if there aren’t enough successful candidates, they tend to select additional applicants who show strong potential."

The acceptance token hanging around her neck caught the light and shimmered. That small object seemed to encapsulate the entire atmosphere here—the rarity of success and the weight of that rarity.

‘And I passed this test?’

My shoulders unconsciously lifted.

By then, the practical exams had wrapped up, and it was my turn for the interview.

"Erniaan Ludwig, please proceed to the main building."

Since I ranked first in both the written and practical exams, it seemed I was being interviewed first as well. Jung Chaemin encouraged me.

"S-ranks are human too. Don’t get intimidated and just speak confidently. You got this!"

I nodded and rose from my seat, heading toward the main building with Hayangi. The building was imposing.

[Ho, quite the architectural marvel.]

Even a World Boss from another realm was impressed. I extended my Ideation, but every attempt to grasp its height scattered into the void.

‘What kind of building is this? My Ideation can’t even reach its boundaries. It’s not like this is some divine temple…’

I couldn’t even tell how many floors there were. All I knew was that it towered over me, overwhelmingly vast.

At the entrance, a staff member spoke calmly.

"Please proceed to the top floor."

"Is there an elevator?"

The top floor? Asking about an elevator was a reasonable question. There was no way an elementary school-aged child could climb that high on foot. On top of that, I was a blind girl. But the way they looked at me was odd.

‘Wait… is there really no elevator? What kind of blatant discrimination is this?’

Then again, considering Hunters could fly and leap between buildings, maybe it wasn’t so strange.

"There is one here."

Thankfully, there was an elevator.

[The doors are opening.]

Shortly after, I arrived at the top floor. An imposing, antique door stood before me. As I approached, Achilles spoke solemnly.

[Hmph. So even in this place, such beings exist.]

"Is something wrong?"

[Beyond this door lies an entity that cannot be fully explained in human language. I warn you again—do not open your eyes. Be cautious with every movement. Never let go of your rationality, and let all your senses learn the silence.]

He was being so dramatic, but if even a World Boss was saying this, it had to be serious. I gave a small nod and opened the door.

‘There’s no way a Martial God would be in here, right?’

But the moment I took a single step inside—

A thunderous roar echoed through my skull, and a shiver ran down my spine, from my hair to the base of my spine.

"An intriguing child has entered."

My Ideation was being suppressed.

It wasn’t that the person did something to it. My Ideation simply shrank and cowered before the immense, towering Saga surrounding her.

"Ordinary people carry their Ideation within them, yet you scatter it freely. Why is that?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the Ideation around me shattered like ice. My Ideation screamed and dissolved in the face of her overwhelming presence.

It was as if I had become a complete blind person again, deprived of all information.

I had become nothing more than a speck.

"…It is an honor to meet the Martial God."

I recognized her instantly.

There couldn’t be more than one person in this world like her.

The one known as the strongest under the heavens—

The Martial God.

‘Wait, weren’t the interviewers supposed to be S-rank Hunters?!’

The woman before me was a hunter on the level of a nation’s power—someone who could stand against entire countries on her own.

In the complete darkness before me, her voice rang out.

"Bold child. Tell me, what is your relationship with the Death God?"

I swallowed hard.