The café remained deathly silent.
Jihwan's grip on the hidden blade didn't loosen. The man's words still hung in the air, suffocating in their weight.
Measured.
He had spent his life believing the system was a mechanism, a set of rules designed to guide and restrict. But now… now it felt like something else. Something alive.
Sohyun's gaze flickered toward him, waiting. Expectant.
Jihwan inhaled slowly. "If what you're saying is true…" His voice was calm, measured. "Then what exactly is the system watching for?"
The man smiled slightly, but this time, there was no amusement. "Potential."
The single word sent a chill through Jihwan.
The system—this force that had dictated his survival, his power, his very existence—wasn't just watching. It was searching.
"Potential for what?" Sohyun asked, as if this were an interesting puzzle rather than a direct threat.
The man leaned forward, just slightly. "Ascension. Or annihilation."
Jihwan didn't move, but the weight in his chest deepened.
"You're saying the system isn't just tracking my progress." His voice was cold now. "It's deciding if I should even exist."
The man didn't confirm or deny. He simply watched Jihwan with unsettling patience.
Sohyun, however, let out a soft laugh. "Well, that's dramatic. So, what? If he doesn't pass some invisible test, the system erases him?"
The man turned his gaze to her, expression unreadable. "Something like that."
Jihwan clenched his jaw. The system had rewarded him for surviving Death's Mansion. But it had also marked him. What if that "reward" hadn't been a gift? What if it had been a test?
What if everything had been a test?
The thought made his stomach twist.
"You're saying the system is alive." His voice was quiet.
The man exhaled. "Not alive. But aware. And now, it's aware of you."
Jihwan's fingers twitched against the handle of his knife. This wasn't paranoia anymore. This was something else. Something bigger.
Sohyun tilted her head slightly. "And you? What's your role in all this?"
The man finally leaned back, his gaze shifting. "I'm just another piece on the board. One that doesn't like being played."
Jihwan studied him. "You expect me to believe you're on my side?"
The man's lips curled slightly. "I expect you to make your own decisions."
A slow, suffocating silence settled over the room.
Jihwan exhaled sharply. "Then let's stop wasting time. You came here for a reason. What do you want?"
The man's expression darkened.
"I want you to survive."
Jihwan didn't blink. "And why do you care?"
The man met his gaze without hesitation. "Because if you don't, something worse will take your place."
A cold weight pressed against Jihwan's chest.
The door chime rang again.
Sohyun's eyes flickered toward the entrance.
The man simply smiled.
"Looks like our time is up," he murmured.
Jihwan didn't move.
Footsteps. Slow, deliberate. Another presence entered the café.
Jihwan's breath slowed.
The game had already begun.
Jihwan didn't look toward the entrance immediately. Instead, he studied the man in front of him. His expression hadn't changed. Not surprised. Not wary.
He was expecting this.
Sohyun, however, had shifted slightly, her fingers lightly tapping the edge of her cup. Not tense, but… aware.
The footsteps grew closer. Slow. Measured.
Jihwan finally turned his gaze toward the newcomer.
A woman.
She was dressed simply—dark pants, a long coat, gloves that hid her hands. But it wasn't her clothing that caught Jihwan's attention.
It was her eyes.
Cold. Piercing. Studying him the same way he studied others.
He recognized that look.
A predator analyzing its prey.
The café, which had already felt unnaturally silent, now felt frozen.
The woman stopped a few steps away. She didn't glance at the man who had been speaking to Jihwan. Didn't acknowledge Sohyun.
Her focus was entirely on him.
"Yoo Jihwan." Her voice was quiet, but it carried weight.
Jihwan didn't respond. He simply watched.
A slight tilt of her head. "You're exactly as they described."
His grip on the hidden knife tightened.
"They?" Sohyun mused, breaking the silence. "That's vague."
The woman finally spared Sohyun a glance. "You'll understand soon enough."
Sohyun's lips curled slightly. "I do love a good mystery."
Jihwan exhaled slowly. "You're not just here to talk."
The woman smiled faintly. "No. I'm here to confirm something."
Jihwan didn't move. "And what's that?"
The woman lifted a gloved hand and tapped her temple. "Your value."
His fingers curled tighter around the knife.
The man across from him let out a low chuckle. "You're being appraised, Jihwan."
His patience snapped.
"By the system?" His voice was sharp now.
The woman didn't answer.
But she didn't need to.
His heartbeat was steady, but his thoughts weren't.
The system wasn't just watching. It was acting.
And now, it had sent someone.
Jihwan's next move would determine everything.