The café was unnaturally silent.
Jihwan's gaze lingered on the body sprawled across the floor. The assassin had died in an instant—too precise, too controlled. His death didn't feel like failure. It felt like a programmed shutdown.
Sohyun sipped her drink, unbothered by the blood pooling near her feet. "You seem unshaken," she mused, watching him.
Jihwan didn't respond immediately. His mind raced, replaying the attack. There was something wrong—something deeper than just an assassination attempt.
The assassin had known where to strike. How to strike.
Only one entity should've had access to that knowledge.
The hacker.
A cold realization settled over Jihwan. Death's Mansion had been a personal event—something only he had experienced. The power he gained there should have been a secret. Yet, someone had known. Someone had tested him.
A slow breath escaped him, his fingers curling into fists. He wasn't just being targeted. He was being observed.
"Someone is watching the system from the outside," he muttered.
Sohyun's gaze sharpened. "And how are you so sure?"
"Because they've been tracking me," Jihwan said, his voice barely above a whisper. "The system hacker… they knew about Death's Mansion. They knew about me."
A long pause stretched between them. Sohyun held his stare, unreadable as ever. "So, what will you do?"
Jihwan exhaled sharply. "They think I'm just another pawn." His eyes darkened. "I'll show them I'm not."
The words hung in the air, thick with unspoken meaning.
Then—the door chime rang.
Jihwan's body tensed.
The atmosphere shifted instantly. The café felt colder. The lights, though unchanged, seemed dimmer. A slow, deliberate presence entered the room, bringing with it an air of something… wrong.
Sohyun remained still, as if she had expected this.
Jihwan's grip tightened around the knife hidden beneath the table. His instincts screamed danger.
A tall figure approached, steps measured, movements deliberate. His presence distorted the air itself. Not through aura, but through something more subtle—more terrifying.
"Ah." The man's voice was low, almost amused. "You've met already."
Jihwan's eyes narrowed. There was no doubt. This man knew about him. About Death's Mansion.
"Who are you?" Jihwan asked, his tone sharp.
The man smiled—a slow, knowing smile. "Someone with a vested interest in your survival." A pause. "Or perhaps, your downfall."
Sohyun finally moved, setting her cup down. "Dramatic," she murmured, unimpressed.
Jihwan ignored her. His entire focus was on the man before him. Something about him… felt unnatural.
"Another puppet of the hacker?" Jihwan asked coldly.
The man let out a quiet chuckle. "Not quite." His gaze gleamed. "But I do know this—you're tangled in something far bigger than you realize."
Jihwan said nothing. His mind moved quickly, analyzing every word.
"I can offer you a choice," the man continued, his voice laced with quiet confidence. "Join me, and we take the hacker down together. Or…" He tilted his head. "Stay on the path they've set for you."
Jihwan's grip tightened. "And if I don't trust you?"
The man shrugged. "Then you'll learn soon enough. Because in this game, trust is a luxury you won't always have."
Jihwan remained silent, but one thing was clear.
The hacker wasn't the only one pulling the strings.
And this man… was a problem he couldn't ignore.
The café remained still.
Jihwan didn't lower his guard. The man before him wasn't normal—his presence felt too deliberate, too controlled.
Sohyun, as always, seemed unfazed. She leaned back in her chair, watching the exchange like an amused spectator.
Jihwan studied the man. His clothing was simple, unremarkable, yet something about him made the air feel heavier. His stance, his tone—everything about him suggested he wasn't here to negotiate.
"I don't remember inviting you," Jihwan finally said.
The man chuckled. "No, but we both know invitations don't mean much in this world."
Jihwan's fingers remained near his hidden blade. He wasn't stupid enough to believe this was just a conversation.
The man tilted his head slightly. "Your reaction tells me you already know what I am."
Jihwan didn't answer.
Because he did know.
This man wasn't an assassin. He wasn't a random player in the system's twisted game.
He was something worse.
"Ah." The man smiled, as if reading Jihwan's silence. "So you do understand."
Sohyun finally spoke. "You're being annoyingly vague. Just say what you came here for."
The man chuckled again, though this time, there was a faint edge to it. "Very well." He turned his gaze back to Jihwan. "I came to offer you a warning."
Jihwan's expression remained unreadable. "A warning?"
The man nodded. "You've drawn attention."
Jihwan's eyes darkened. "From the hacker?"
A pause. Then—
"No."
Something in Jihwan's gut twisted.
Not from the hacker?
Sohyun's fingers tapped against her cup. "Then from who?"
The man's smile faded slightly. "You misunderstand. The hacker is dangerous, yes. But they aren't the only force watching the system."
Jihwan's grip on his blade tightened. "What are you talking about?"
"The hacker… is only one part of the equation." The man's voice lowered. "You aren't just being watched. You're being measured."
Measured.
Jihwan's mind immediately ran through the implications.
Sohyun, for the first time, looked slightly intrigued. "Measured by who?"
The man's lips curled into something resembling amusement. "By the system itself."
A beat of silence.
Jihwan's heartbeat slowed. He had expected a faction, an organization, maybe even another hacker.
But the system itself?
"That's not possible," he said quietly.
The system was a set of rules, an artificial construct. It rewarded, it punished, but it didn't act with intent.
The man watched him carefully. "You think so?"
Jihwan's mind flashed back to the way the system had responded to him after Death's Mansion.
[ You have survived. ]
[ You have been marked. ]
He had thought it was just a message.
Now, he wasn't so sure.
Sohyun exhaled softly. "Interesting." She turned to Jihwan. "It seems you're more special than you thought."
Jihwan ignored her. His focus remained on the man. "What does it mean?"
The man leaned forward slightly. "It means that whatever you do next… will determine whether you remain a player in this game."
Jihwan narrowed his eyes. "And if I don't?"
The man's expression darkened. "Then you become something else entirely."
A cold feeling settled in Jihwan's chest.
The hacker wasn't his only enemy.
Something far bigger was moving in the shadows.
And the system itself… was watching.