I wanted to calculate the speed of one of Manager Kim’s more casual feats, where he saves Shin from a gunshot and then proceeds to blitz at least 16 armed soldiers almost instantly.

This is NOT me claiming that the bullet was literally cut in half. The narration specifically explains that what looked like the bullet being sliced was actually Manager Kim’s AFTERIMAGE. The important part is that Kim moved so quickly that the observer initially interpreted his afterimage as the knife cutting the bullet.

1. The perception benchmark

This verse already establishes extremely superhuman perception among its soldiers.

Shin Seongho, for example, is explicitly treated as having “Supersonic perception speed”: he can perceive a bullet approaching him even though his physical movement speed isn't enough to dodge it.

For this calculation, I’m using a \~0.4 ms perception timeframe as the benchmark derived from the verse’s supersonic-perception scaling.

Importantly, I’m NOT using the more extreme explicit microsecond interpretation that can be argued from the verse. I’m intentionally using the more conservative \~0.4 ms value.

So:

0.4 ms = 0.0004 seconds

The interesting part is that Kim isn't just moving past one person.

There are at least 16 armed soldiers that Kim blitzes/attacks, plus the shooter and the intended target.

That gives us a minimum of roughly 18 people involved in the sequence.

I’m NOT saying 18 people = 18× speed.

Their importance is that Kim performed the sequence around/through all of these combatants without them meaningfully registering what was happening.

2. Minimum distance Manager Kim covered

The important thing here is that Kim wasn't simply standing next to Shin waiting for the bullet.

The minimum reasonable movement path is approximately:

• \~15 m to reach/save Shin

• \~10 m through the battlefield while blitzing the soldiers

So the minimum total distance is:

15 m + 10 m = 25 m

And this is deliberately a LOW estimate.

3. Speed calculation

If the entire sequence happens within less than 0.4 ms:

v > distance / time

v > 25 / 0.0004

v > 62,500 m/s

= 62.5 km/s

Mach 1 ≈ 343 m/s

62,500 / 343 ≈ Mach 182

RESULT: >62.5 km/s, or >Mach 182

And remember, this is ONLY the average speed required to cover the minimum 25 m within that timeframe.

It isn't his peak speed.

The same timeframe also includes:

• reaching Shin

• intercepting/redirecting the attack

• the apparent “bullet cut” afterimage

• moving through the battlefield

• attacking/blitzing at least 16 armed soldiers

• passing through a scene involving at least 18 people

• all while the surrounding combatants fail to meaningfully perceive the sequence

So the actual movement portion would have to occupy LESS than the full 0.4 ms timeframe.

That means the real required movement speed under this interpretation would be even higher than 62.5 km/s.

4. Why the 18 people matter

Again, I’m NOT multiplying the speed by 18.

The significance is that Kim's feat wasn't performed against a single stationary observer.

He moved through a battlefield containing at least 18 relevant people, including at least 16 armed soldiers, yet the sequence was perceived as essentially instantaneous.

This gives additional context for how badly Kim was operating outside their perception window.

The scaling is:

Superhuman/supersonic perception benchmark

↓

Kim's sequence occurs below that perception window

↓

minimum distance ≈ 25 m

↓

time <0.4 ms

↓

speed >62.5 km/s

↓

\>Mach 182

5. Why I consider this a high-end interpretation

I'm not saying this is the only possible interpretation of the feat.

If you use the full \~9.8 ms bullet travel time from a \~7 m distance, you'd get a much lower result.

But that assumes Kim spends essentially the entire bullet-flight duration performing the whole sequence, which doesn't fit the presentation of the feat or the perception scaling.

The point of this interpretation is that the feat happens within the timeframe in which the surrounding superhuman combatants should be able to perceive events, yet they don't meaningfully register Kim's movements.

So even using the relatively conservative 0.4 ms benchmark:

Manager Kim: >62.5 km/s / >Mach 182

And the crazy part is that this wasn't portrayed as some desperate, all-out effort.

This was basically a low-difficulty feat for Kim.

I’m also NOT claiming this is anywhere near the upper speed limit of the verse. This is simply what this particular feat reaches when the established perception scaling is applied.

At least 16 soldiers + the shooter + the target = roughly 18 people involved, and Kim essentially moved through the entire sequence before they could meaningfully process what happened.

Manager kim saving shin speed calc