Assassin's Test

Kaito moved before he could think.

His assassin instincts—honed through years of survival—took over.

His body twisted, his spine bending just enough to let the blade slice past his throat. He felt the cold kiss of steel skim his skin, missing by less than a hair's breadth.

Too close.

He countered instantly—his foot slammed into the ground, launching him backward. His sword flashed out, aiming straight for the man's ribs.

But—he was gone.

Kaito's blade cut through empty air.

The assassin vanished.

A whisper in the wind. A blur in the darkness.

Then—

A dagger pressed against his back.

Cold. Unyielding.

Impossible.

Kaito's heart didn't race. He didn't panic.

Instead, he smiled.

Because he understood.

This wasn't an attack.

It was a lesson.

"You're fast," Kaito murmured. "But you hesitated at the last second. If you wanted to kill me, I'd be dead."

Silence.

Then, the dagger was gone.

The man stepped back, his expression unreadable. "Interesting."

Kaito turned slowly, keeping his stance relaxed. "This was a test."

A smirk. "Was it?"

"You didn't come to kill me," Kaito said. "You came to see how I'd react. How I'd fight. If I was worthy of something."

The man's glowing yellow eyes studied him.

Then, he laughed softly.

"Sharp instincts."

Kaito stayed silent, waiting.

Then—

The man tossed something at him.

Kaito caught it without thinking.

A small, black lotus pendant.

A mark of the Black Lotus.

"Keep it," the man said. "Consider it an invitation."

"Invitation to what?"

The man's smirk widened.

"To the real world, Jin Tae-Hyun."

Then, in the next blink—he was gone.

Vanishing into the darkness like a shadow that had never been there.

---

A New Path Opens

Kaito stared at the lotus pendant in his palm.

The Black Lotus was not a sect.

They were not warriors.

They were something far worse.

A silent force that operated in the depths of Murim—assassins, spies, manipulators. The unseen hands that toppled entire sects, killed lords, and erased dynasties.

And now… they were interested in him.

Kaito chuckled.

It seemed his actions had drawn in more than just the elders of the sect.

The underworld itself was watching.

But was this an opportunity… or a trap?

Either way, one thing was certain.

His rise had just begun.