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Translator: Vine
Chapter Title: An Unwritten Rule
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"Chae-hyun... should I just carry that?"
"No! I bought it, so I should be the one to carry it. I can do this."
Shin Ha-ru watched with concern as her friend precariously held a massive, three-scoop ice cream cone.
*She looks like she's about to drop that.*
And her prediction wasn't wrong.
The ice cream cone finally lost its balance and began to topple over.
"Oh, oh, oh... No!"
With Chae-hyun's scream, the ice cream tumbled toward the man standing beside her.
It looked like the man was about to be covered in ice cream, with no way to escape.
But then, something strange happened.
"Hmph!"
The instant the ice cream fell, the man dodged it, moving his body with incredible speed.
His reflexes were truly astounding. Enough to startle even her.
"Dain!"
"Dain!"
The two women standing next to the man hurriedly approached him.
*So his name was Dain.*
Though he was now covered in dust from the fall, the man got up, brushing off his clothes with a serene expression as if nothing was wrong.
"Ah, it's okay. I'm fine."
Of course, only his expression was calm; his clothes looked anything but fine.
He was covered in dust.
"Oh my... Are you okay? I'm so sorry. I-I was so clumsy..."
Chae-hyun approached him, her eyes welling with tears. As she was with her, Shin Ha-ru felt flustered too, but she walked over to him as well.
As they drew near, the man gave a disarming laugh.
"It's fine. Anyone can make a mistake. I suppose I was a bit dramatic. Haha, I should've just moved a little."
"Sniff, b-but still."
"It's fine. It's okay."
A strange scene played out, with the man comforting the one who had started to cry. Shin Ha-ru felt a pang of guilt herself. If only she had offered to hold it, this wouldn't have happened.
She also felt relieved they'd run into such a kind man. Most people would have flown into a rage, but he was taking it all in stride.
...Well, *he* was calm. The two women with him looked extremely displeased. To be fair, their reaction was the normal one. A man who could be so easygoing about it was the exception.
"Alright, Seo-eun. Shall we go...?"
The man seemed to need no compensation and gathered his companions to leave. It almost looked like he was in a hurry...
But Chae-hyun wasn't about to let it go. The moment she reached out, determined to compensate him somehow—
**BOOM—.**
A deafening roar echoed.
"Aaaaaaaaaah!"
Screams erupted from all directions.
She might be Shin Ha-ru, an ordinary university student, but she was also the hero Stardust.
Her assessment of the situation was fast.
Terrorism.
Most likely, a villain attack.
**BOOM—. BOOM—.**
A sound that shook the very heavens and earth.
Her assessment was fast, and her actions were faster.
First, she had to get Chae-hyun to safety.
"Chae-hyun, follow me!"
"Huh? Wh-what...?"
Grabbing the hand of her friend, who was half out of her mind from the sudden series of events, she ran in the opposite direction of the sound.
Having already released a portion of her Stardust powers, she was able to flee the scene much faster than anyone else.
Of course, for Chae-hyun, who was being dragged along by the hand, it was pure agony.
"Aaaaaaaaaah!"
They joined the crowd, everyone sprinting away from the chaos.
And then, a sound from far away.
Despite the considerable distance, it was a tremendous roar that could be heard even from here.
"STARDUST!!!!! STARDUST, COME OUT!!!!!!!"
For a moment, her running body stiffened slightly.
Kim Chae-hyun, whose eyes were already half-glazed over just from being dragged along, didn't notice Shin Ha-ru's body freezing for that brief instant.
Of course, after a brief hesitation, she immediately started running again, but her mind was in turmoil.
*What? Why are they calling my name?*
But for now, she decided to put everything else aside and get Chae-hyun to a safe place first.
"Gasp... Gasp..."
And so, the two of them soon arrived at a place far from the scene.
Around them, people who had evacuated like them were gathered, catching their breath.
It was quite a distance from the festival site, a distance that could be considered safe enough.
"My god... what was all that about..."
Kim Chae-hyun, completely dazed and out of breath, finally managed to speak once she'd calmed down a little.
"Ha-ru, you're really fast. Ha-ru... Ha-ru?"
But Chae-hyun couldn't finish her sentence.
Because Ha-ru's expression had become incredibly hard.
"....."
Her lips pressed into a thin line, she stared back in the direction they had fled.
Her mind was already a whirlwind of chaotic thoughts.
For heroes, there was an unwritten rule.
'Never engage the enemy without a perception filter active.'
This rule applied even in the past, before the advent of perception-filtering technology.
Never, ever take off your mask.
Before heroes went about with their faces uncovered as they do today, the heroes of the past—the 'champions' of old—all wore masks.
The moment their identities were revealed, their lives became a living hell.
A single principle adopted in common by all the world's Hero Associations.
No matter how horrific the terrorist attack, never intervene if your face is exposed.
Heroes are exceedingly rare.
Especially powerful heroes.
Powers that suddenly appeared in some people several decades ago.
So-called superpowers, or in other words, supernatural abilities.
Countless debates have raged as to why these abilities suddenly manifested in humanity, but nothing has ever been proven.
Theories ranged from a dormant trait in human genetics suddenly expressing itself in certain individuals, to cosmic phenomena like magnetic fields, to the outright hypothesis that they were a gift from a god...
People who were born with abilities or developed them later are largely divided into three categories.
First, the type that just lives an ordinary life.
The vast majority of people fall into this category. Many are simply content with an ordinary life, and besides, most superpowered individuals possess abilities that are not particularly useful.
For example, the ability to reverse plant growth. Other than putting an arboretum out of business, there's not much you can do. A strong stomach. You can digest anything, but so what? Even a person with this ability prefers chicken over eating rocks.
In other words, the majority just blend into society and live their lives.
To them, superpowers are little more than a party trick, something to show off at gatherings with a "Hey, check out what I can do!"
In fact, even those with powerful abilities often live ordinary lives. Say you have super strength. Does being strong mean you have to become a hero? The government certainly doesn't force it. Even with immense strength, one might want to be an artist, a photographer, an office worker, or a designer. They, too, live ordinary lives.
But people with somewhat strong abilities and a sense of justice choose to be heroes. You go to the Hero Association, get your abilities tested, and register.
However, there are very few heroes. Those who get their abilities tested with big dreams cannot accept the fact that they are merely B or C-class. Even if they argue why a villain with the same ability as them is A-class while they are B-class, they only get the textbook answer that the hero ranking system is stricter than the one for villains.
The criteria itself is designed so that only those with the rarest dual abilities or immense powers can receive an A-class rating. For S-class, you have to be able to do something like stop time. Being moderately strong will get you a B-class at best.
Furthermore, while they are called heroes, the job is a harsh one, practically no different from being a soldier constantly engaged in life-and-death battles. Because of this, most quit halfway through, no matter how high the pay.
Add to that the Korean public's impossibly high standards for a hero's moral character—where the slightest flaw is met with a barrage of malicious online comments—and the ratio of heroes in the country is far lower than in others.
But despite the small number of heroes, there are countless villains.
The reason is simple. Those with strong abilities tend to go down the path of a villain.
In fact, the proportion of villains who commit acts of terror against the public is very small. That's one reason why Egostic is such a hot topic.
Many villains quietly hide in the shadows and pursue their own interests.
And they usually remain unknown to the public, operating from the shadows and living with their identities concealed.
But what if a hero's identity is exposed?
They will immediately surface to eliminate that hero. A hero is a potential threat, one they are eager to dispose of quickly.
Therefore, a hero must never expose their face. That is common sense.
Common sense, however...
So, does that mean I should just leave these suffering citizens behind?
"STARDUST!!!!!!!"
**BOOM—. BOOM—.**
The sound of buildings collapsing.
The sound of people screaming.
Does this mean I have to abandon all of this?
Going to the Hero Association for a perception filter would take too long. By the time I returned, the situation would most likely be over.
Did she choose to become a hero just to run away in a situation like this?
"Ha-ru...?"
With a hardened expression, she took a step forward. *That's right, I have no choice.*
For the sake of the citizens, not for my own safety.
Just as she was about to spring into action, a man next to her looking at his smartphone shouted.
"It's Egostic!! Egostic is here!!!"
For a moment, she almost slipped.
*Wait, what is he doing here all of a sudden?*