The moment the referee's hand declared Min-jun the winner, the arena erupted. It wasn't just cheers; it was a cacophony of absolute disbelief and awe. People were screaming, jumping, some even throwing hats in the air. Min-jun stood there, feeling the adrenaline slowly recede, leaving behind the familiar ache of a hard-fought battle, but also a surge of exhilaration. He had done it. He had faced down Lionheart's champion and won.
He looked towards the VIP box where Grandmaster Lee Jin-ho sat. The S-rank's face was a study in pure, unadulterated fury. His jaw was clenched so tight Min-jun thought he might crack a tooth. That look, cold and murderous, wasn't just about a lost match; it was about pride, about authority, about the very foundation of the Awakened hierarchy being rattled by an F-rank. Min-jun knew, with a certainty that chilled him even in the celebratory roar, that this was far from over.
As he walked out of the arena, So-yeon practically tackled him in a tearful hug, her healing mana already flowing instinctively over his lingering bruises. "Min-jun-ssi! You were amazing! I was so scared!"
Chul-soo clapped him hard on the back, a rare, wide grin splitting his usually stoic face. "Good fight, Min-jun. You made that B-rank look like an F-rank."
Ji-won, usually reserved, bounced on the balls of her feet. "It was like... you just knew where he would be! It was awesome!"
The celebrations from their Jinhae classmates and the handful of other small guilds that admired Dream Weaver were short-lived. The moment they were back in their guild office, the air grew heavy.
"Lionheart won't let this slide," Chul-soo stated, setting his shield down with a thud. "Public humiliation. Jin-ho will demand blood."
"We need to be ready for anything," Min-jun agreed, rubbing the fresh scars on his short blades. He could almost feel the S-rank's burning gaze on them, even from afar. "They won't challenge me to another exhibition match. They'll come at us sideways."
And come they did. The very next day, news broke. The Awakener Association, under "unprecedented pressure" from a coalition of S-rank guilds (read: Lionheart and their allies), announced a "restructuring of dungeon access protocols." Essentially, it meant that all C-rank and above dungeons would now require higher guild accreditation or direct sponsorship from an S-rank guild. Dream Weaver, a young D-rank guild, was effectively locked out of all profitable and progression-critical dungeons.
Their income stream was cut, their path to growth blocked. It was a slow, agonizing death sentence, designed to choke them out without a direct, messy confrontation.
Min-jun immediately called Professor Kim Jin-woo. The Professor's voice on the phone was grave.
"Min-jun-ssi, I expected something like this. Lee Jin-ho is a proud man. He views your existence as an affront to his principles and his guild's dominance. This 'restructuring' is their attempt to put you back in your 'proper' place – irrelevance."
Professor Kim Jin-woo
* Rank: B (Retired)
* Level: 24
* Strength: 10
* Agility: 12
* Stamina: 16
* Mana: 45
* Skill: Mana Analysis (B-Rank) - Now capable of analyzing residual mana signatures to deduce skill usage and recent activity. Has a minor passive detection of large-scale mana fluctuations.
"Can the Association do anything?" Min-jun asked, a frustrated sigh escaping him.
"Officially? No. They'll claim it's for 'safety' and 'resource management.' Unofficially? They're terrified of Lionheart's political clout. However," Professor Kim's voice gained a subtle urgency, "I have been doing some deeper dives into the anomaly of your Lucid Dream Training, and its implications. Your recent performance... it suggests a unique method of energy manipulation. Are you able to process and apply environmental mana subtly?"
Min-jun hesitated, then decided to confide partially. "I can't manipulate external mana like other Awakeners, Professor. But in my dreams, I can analyze and understand the flow of different mana types. And sometimes, it feels like I can 'tune' my movements to resonate with the existing mana in the environment, making me more efficient."
"Fascinating!" Professor Kim's excitement was palpable, even through the phone. "That would explain your abnormal growth without conventional mana signature spikes. This is a breakthrough, Min-jun-ssi. This 'tuning' ability, if you can refine it, could allow you to operate effectively even in mana-dense, high-rank environments where a traditional F-rank would be overwhelmed. It might even allow you to mimic certain aspects of environmental manipulation, without actually possessing the skill. But be warned, this also means your presence in those dungeons will become even more anomalous, drawing even more attention."
Min-jun thanked him, a new line of thought opening up in his mind. The Professor's words, coupled with the new restrictions, gave him a clear direction for his next phase of training.
That night, Min-jun threw himself into his dreamscape with renewed ferocity. The goal was no longer just fighting; it was about survival against overwhelming odds and strategic infiltration. He started simulating raids against Lionheart-controlled dungeon strongholds, battling waves of B-rank and even A-rank phantom Awakeners. His dream-self would engage in desperate, drawn-out fights, practicing every evasive maneuver, every precise counter, every tactical retreat.
He focused on the "Tactical Flow Foresight" aspect of his skill, pushing it to its limits. He visualized not just individual movements, but the flow of an entire battle, the shifting mana signatures of multiple opponents, learning to identify moments of weakness in their coordinated attacks. He practiced navigating complex environments under pressure, using cover, exploiting terrain, and even manipulating the environment through his own movement – triggering collapses, creating distractions with falling debris, all without direct mana manipulation.
He also delved into Professor Kim's insights. He practiced "tuning" his dream-body's mana to the ambient mana of different simulated dungeon environments, feeling how it could subtly enhance his agility, or allow him to move more silently, or even briefly reduce the energy cost of his precise blade work. This was a whole new layer of refinement, pushing his F-rank skill to perform functions far beyond what it should be capable of.
His stats reflected this desperate new level of training:
Kim Min-jun
* Rank: F
* Level: 28
* Strength: 42
* Agility: 75
* Stamina: 50
* Mana: 30
* Unique Skill: Lucid Dream Training (F-Rank) - Advanced capacity for simulating high-rank combat and environmental mana integration. "Tactical Flow Foresight" now provides clearer, longer-duration insights. Can initiate "Environmental Mana Resonance" (F-Rank) for minor, temporary buffs to agility, stealth, or efficiency based on ambient mana. Current Focus: S-Rank Threat Mitigation, Large-Scale Battlefield Awareness, Covert Operations.
The new dungeon restrictions meant Dream Weaver was forced to take lower-ranked, less profitable quests, barely making ends meet. But Min-jun wasn't worried about the money. He was worried about growth. They couldn't gain experience against stronger monsters, couldn't find the resources needed to truly level up.
"Min-jun-ssi," So-yeon said one evening, looking disheartened as she reviewed their dwindling mission options. "We're stagnating. We can't keep clearing E-rank goblin dens forever."
"We won't," Min-jun replied, his voice firm. "We find a way."
He started looking for unconventional routes. Unclaimed, unmonitored dungeons. Secret, dangerous pathways into monster territories that were too risky for most guilds. These were often places where the Awakener Association hadn't fully established control, or where smaller, less reputable guilds sometimes operated outside the law.
He found one such lead from one of Shadow Syndicate's less savory contacts: a rumored, unstable C-rank dungeon deep beneath an old, abandoned factory complex on the city's outskirts. It was infamous for unpredictable monster spawns and shifting terrain. Most guilds avoided it like the plague.
"This is dangerous," Chul-soo warned, studying the crude map Min-jun acquired. "Unstable dungeons can collapse. Monster types are unpredictable."
"But it's not under Lionheart's control," Min-jun countered. "And it's high enough rank to give us the experience we need. We'll be prepared."
They gathered their meager supplies, the three of them, along with Ji-won. Their new guild office felt smaller, more tense. This was a gamble, a desperate move to circumvent the chokehold Lionheart had placed on them.
As they approached the abandoned factory, a chilling sense of dread washed over Min-jun. It wasn't just the unstable dungeon that worried him. His "Danger Sense" was flaring, sharper than ever before. He scanned the dilapidated buildings, the broken windows, the shadowed corners. This wasn't just a dangerous dungeon.
It was a trap.
And then he saw them – not just monsters, but figures moving in the shadows, their mana signatures cold and familiar. Lionheart. They had known. They had waited. Grandmaster Lee Jin-ho wasn't content with just restricting their access. He wanted them broken, permanently. The factory was a stage, and Dream Weaver was walking directly into a well-laid ambush. The real war had indeed begun.