The cold from the dungeon still lingered in Chun Ma's bones, long after the last glowing light vanished behind them. When his shoes touched the city pavement again, it felt strange—like he had stepped from one world to another. From darkness and death into neon and bus fumes.
Cars passed. Lights flickered. A group of students laughed as they walked by.
The world had no idea what lay beneath its feet.
Woo-jin was the first to break the quiet.
"I want fish cake soup," he muttered, rubbing his stomach. "That thing we fought messed up my soul."
Hye-rin shoved her hands into her hoodie pocket and gave him a side glance.
"You screamed louder than the monster."
Chun Ma didn't speak. He stared at the passing cars, calm and still, as if the chaos around him had nothing to do with him.
Hana noticed.
"You really aren't surprised," she said. "Not even a little. Not even after seeing all that."
Chun Ma tilted his head slightly, eyes following the glow of a streetlamp.
"I've seen worse," he said. "And I've survived it."
She didn't know what to say back.
Eventually, they went their separate ways. No plan. No words. Just quiet.
The city swallowed them again.
The next morning came with the hum of fluorescent lights and the smell of instant noodles from someone's backpack. Classroom 2-B buzzed with energy. Everyone acted like nothing had happened.
Only Chun Ma sat still.
He watched the trees outside. Listened to the wind. His body was here, but his mind was somewhere else—still inside that dungeon, still hearing the system.
Woo-jin sat down beside him and unwrapped a sandwich like he was disarming a bomb.
"You're acting weird again," he said, chewing with his mouth half full. "You sleep sitting up or something?"
Chun Ma didn't look at him.
"I was meditating."
"You looked like you were trying to teleport."
"I was listening."
"To what?"
"The air."
Woo-jin blinked. "Bro. Get some bread in your system or something."
But Chun Ma wasn't joking. Ever since the dungeon, something had awakened inside him. Something he couldn't ignore.
He saw a message in the corner of his vision.
⎛System Notification⎠
Skill Available: Iron Vein Root – Basic Breathing Technique
Effect: Increases stamina recovery and internal energy control
None of the others saw it. Not Hana. Not Woo-jin. Not even Seo-jin, who spent half his life staring at data.
Only Chun Ma.
It confirmed what he already suspected.
This system... belonged to him alone.
Later that day, after classes ended and the halls emptied, Chun Ma stood in front of the old storage room near the back of the gym building. The door creaked when he opened it. Dust floated through the slant of late-afternoon light.
The room was small and forgotten. A broken bench leaned in the corner. An old basketball net sat on a pile of mats. But to Chun Ma, it looked like a training hall.
He stepped inside and waited.
A few minutes later, the others arrived.
Hye-rin was first. She didn't say anything, just walked in and leaned against the wall like she did this sort of thing every day.
Woo-jin came next, holding a half-eaten rice ball.
"Seriously?" he said, looking around. "This is where the magic happens?"
Seo-jin followed with his laptop bag and earbuds still in. Hana came last, arms crossed, eyes sharp.
"I said I wasn't coming," she told him. "Then my legs ignored me."
Chun Ma looked at them one by one. Then he removed his shoes, stepped to the center of the room, and stood still.
No words. No speech.
He simply began to move.
A slow inhale. A small shift of the foot. Arms rose and fell like waves. His body flowed like it remembered the motion from a lifetime ago.
There was no glow. No sound.
But the air around him changed.
He opened his eyes.
"This is Iron Vein Root," he said. "It begins with breath. With stillness. It teaches control, not power."
Woo-jin scratched his head. "You're saying… this is a martial arts breathing thing?"
"It is the root of everything."
"Like yoga?"
Chun Ma didn't answer.
Hye-rin stepped forward and copied the stance. She wasn't perfect, but her instincts were strong. Woo-jin tried next and immediately fell out of form. Seo-jin sat cross-legged and tried to match the breathing, eyes closed, lips whispering something about "bio-sync fields."
Hana didn't move from the wall, but her eyes never left Chun Ma.
He walked between them. Adjusted posture. Nudged shoulders. Shifted weight. His movements were calm, but sharp.
Time passed slowly.
The room grew warm, not from heat—but from focus.
Hana suddenly felt a strange pull in her chest. Her arms tingled, like blood was flowing better than before. Her breathing steadied without effort.
Her eyes narrowed.
"…What is this?"
She didn't see any message. No system prompt. Just her own body responding to something deep and unfamiliar.
She kept that thought to herself.
Later that night, Chun Ma stood on his apartment balcony. The city blinked below, alive and uncaring.
He leaned forward, elbows on the cold railing, and let the wind touch his face.
A message floated into view.
⎛System Notification⎠
First Disciple Has Awakened: Lee Hana
Spiritual Resonance Detected
System Expansion – Stage One Unlocked
You Are the Seed.
He read the words without emotion. Then he smiled.
So it had begun.
Even if she didn't see the system, she was changing.
The others would follow.
Somewhere across the city, in a cramped room filled with monitors, a boy leaned back in a gaming chair. His screen showed security footage from the school rooftop, played in slow motion.
He zoomed in on Chun Ma's face. Paused. Rewound. Watched again.
"That move. That reaction time… no way that's normal."
He typed quickly.
Target: Unknown Male – Transfer Student
Category: High Risk Anomaly
He smiled to himself.
"Let's see what you really are."
The next day after class, the group met again in the storage room.
There was no discussion. No excuses.
They just came.
Chun Ma watched them carefully. Hye-rin's stance was stronger. Woo-jin lasted ten full seconds in meditation before falling over. Seo-jin had printed breathing charts and color-coded spreadsheets.
Even Hana had stopped pretending she wasn't trying.
After they finished the first round, Chun Ma stood tall and spoke clearly.
"You are not students anymore," he said. "Not to me."
"So what are we now?" Woo-jin asked. "A cult?"
"No," Chun Ma said. "You are disciples."
There was a long pause.
Then Hana raised a hand.
"If you make us wear matching robes, I'm out."
Chun Ma almost smiled.
"No robes," he said. "Just strength. And purpose."
They didn't fully believe him yet.
But they were starting to.