The Hero Returns

by Stayrr

The strongest hero of humanity, Kim Sung Bin. He threw everything on the line and fought but… He still couldn’t prevent the destruction of the world. But his legend has just begun as he returns 20 years into the past.

2. 33 - 64

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Chapter 33: Chapter 33

Lee Ju-ho, who was fidgeting on his smartphone, suddenly had a surprised expression on his face.

Lee Ju-ho, who habitually went on Abyss Online on the go to check for updates, got his eyes caught on a post where an awakener introduced himself as the awakener on the 12th floor.

"Already…?"

The awakener who had cleared the 11th floor was moving onward to the 12th, which meant the record on the 12th floor was the ranking from the 11th floor's trial.

Seated beside Lee Ju-ho, Kim Ba-reun asked, "What? What is it?"

Lee Ju-ho brought his smartphone screen in front of Kim Ba-reun's eyes.

"Kim Su-hyeun? He has already cleared the 11th-floor trial?"

"Yeah. It looks like Su-hyeun's record this time was quite insane, too."

"They're really something. Whether it's this Su-hyeun or the other Su-hyeun, they're both…" Kim Ba-reun, who wasn't aware that both Su-hyeuns were actually the same man, shook his head.

His admiration was just for the famous Kim Su-hyeun, the one who had been creating the highest record made in history as he climbed each floor. But the surprise that Lee Ju-ho had was of a different level than Kim Ba-reun's.

He, on the other hand, had received a call from Su-hyeun yesterday morning.

"I am going to go to the 11th floor of the Tower of Trials. I might be hard to get in contact with for the time being."

Reality and the world in the Tower of Trials were totally different. And obviously, it would be impossible to contact anyone from inside the Tower of Trials via smartphone.

Thinking that Lee Ju-ho might have contacted him immediately, Su-hyeun gave him a heads up in advance. No one could tell unless they knew in advance how long it would take to clear a trial or the content of the trial.

But…

How could he have cleared it in a day?

Su-hyeun had always cleared the level 10 trials of each floor. It was a kind of identity for the awakener named Kim Su-hyeun. And of course, it was almost impossible to clear such a trial just within a day.

Really… He makes others quite speechless.

Lee Ju-ho grinned widely and locked his smartphone. He laid back down and spoke. "Head back now if you're done. I can discharge tomorrow, so don't be too worried." Lee Ju-ho, who was donned in a patient's outfit and was being admitted to the hospital, waved his hand at Kim Ba-reun, implying that the latter was annoying.

Kim Ba-reun hit his chest at Lee Ju-ho's reaction, feeling frustrated. "This fool. How did you think of challenging a dungeon when its level was raised?"

"I don't know either. But it was harder than I had thought, really."

"Thankfully, you did not die. Don't you know? The rule of the Tower of Trials. How big of a difference it is for every floor."

Even if it was just a single level difference, the difficulty got exponentially harder as it ascended. Therefore, the higher class awakeners would challenge the lower level trials, but never the higher ones. It was a clear rule for the awakeners to survive.

But Lee Ju-ho had broken that very rule.

"Right. I know that it was suicide, but it just so happened."

"Why did you suddenly have a change of heart? You even said so yourself that climbing the Tower of Trials was a stupid thing to do."

"I'm not sure. After escaping from death once, my thoughts seemed to have changed."

"…You have changed a lot."

"I'll take that as a compliment. And I want to rechallenge it sometime later."

"Are you for real?" Kim Ba-reun asked in surprise.

How could he want to rechallenge it after all that? Even if he was lucky enough to have survived that time, he had not actually passed the trial.

He should have returned back to reality by now.

"Yeah. I will continue to challenge it as long as I'm alive."

"…What about the dungeon attacks?"

"I'm sorry, but we can't go together in the future. I think I'll concentrate on climbing the Tower for the time being."

Kim Ba-reun bit his lips tightly after hearing Lee Ju-ho's response. As he saw the expression on Kim Ba-reun's face, Lee Ju-ho felt a bitter pang in his heart.

Looks like it's really the end here.

He was the friend who contacted him suddenly one day, saying that he had become an awakener.

In the years that followed, Lee Ju-ho and Kim Ba-reun had gone to dungeon attacks together. And it had been a year since then. But instead of supporting or worrying about Lee Ju-ho, Kim Ba-reun looked disappointed at the fact that they could no longer go on dungeon attacks anymore.

Lee Ju-ho closed his eyes. Kim Ba-reun lastly wished him well and then left the room. Lee Ju-ho felt slightly bitter, but at the same time relieved too.

It was something he had to say either way. In fact, he was also afraid of how his friend would have reacted to it. But now, he would be able to focus on climbing the Tower, like before.

Would it be possible?

As he recalled the trial which he had challenged the day before, he felt a little frightened. Even so, it was not suitable to be hesitant about challenging the trials.

Tomorrow, I must once again….

[Kim Su-hyeun, your 12th-floor trial starts now.]

Three months later, a yellow level dungeon appeared in Jongro, Seoul. The Ares Guild was being selected as the guild to head the dungeon attack.

"Thanks for the hard work!"

"Thanks for the hard work!"

Tens of awakeners bowed towards one man in the group: the Ares Guild's master, Jeong Dong-yeong. Jeong Dong-yeong went around patting each awakener in the guild and sent them off.

"Right, you've worked hard. Hak-joon stays back, and everyone else should head back for an early rest."

"Yes!"

At Jeong Dong-yeong's orders, the guild members quickly dispersed on the spot. Jeong Dong-yeong and Hak-joon remained and let out exhausted pants while boarding the back seats of a black sedan.

"Is it tiring?"

"This dungeon attack was quite tough. Why didn't you take an easier one?"

"If I did that, the attack would be too easy. Yellow level dungeons are hard to come by, and it could also be a chance for others to increase their skills."

"Someone could die in the midst of it. These days, the death rates of awakeners are increasing, too…"

"If so, that will explain that person's capabilities."

Hak-joon's expression became slightly twisted after hearing Jeong Dong-yeong's cold reply.

Jeong Dong-yeong genuinely did not care for the other awakeners' lives. Had he paid more attention to the dungeon attack as an A-rank awakener, the dungeon attack would have been completed without anyone getting injured.

"I heard that you're in contact with the kid called Kim Su-hyeun?"

Hak-joon's face stiffened at Jeong Dong-yeong's question. Hak-joon had never told Jeong Dong-yeong about it.

"…Yes."

"Was he really that Kim Su-hyeun? That guy apparently has gone up to the 15th floor recently."

The 15th floor.

It was never a high floor. No, instead, it was a relatively low floor.

Hak-joon was now already on the 28th floor, challenging all the level 8 trials on each floor. But even so, if anyone asked whether Hak-joon was stronger than Kim Su-hyeun, it definitely wasn't so. All the records Kim Su-hyeun had made up until now on the 15th floor had already surpassed Hak-joon's records on the 28th floor by a lot.

"If he was that guy…"

"It couldn't be."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes. Haven't I told you before? Brother…"

"Brother? You've got a lot closer to him now, haven't you?'

Hak-joon could not continue further. No, he thought that he should not answer any further. Whatever his answer was, the consequences would be adverse.

Jeong Dong-yeong grinned at Hak-joon's stiffened expression.

"Kiddo, what's with this expression? I was only asking."

"It's nothing. Just…"

"Anyway, if he is the Kim Su-hyeun I know, try to entice him. Even if it fails, that's fine, too. If you guys are close, isn't he considered my younger brother as well?"

The Ares Guild was growing bigger as each day passed. Jeong Dong-yeong, too, was quite a capable awakener, and the guild had a lot more awakeners than before. Now, even the guild placed in the higher ranks as well.

"…Yes. I got it."

Hak-joon nodded his head while he replied. Hak-joon was quite disturbed by the smartphone in his pocket. As the sedan's engine started, it started heading somewhere.

It was the next dungeon's location.

Act 6

[Kim Su-hyeun, the 15th-floor trial starts now.]

Time had passed by quite quickly.

Time did not give anyone even an inch of error. The world continued moving on like a rewound video, slowly showing the next scenes of a story.

But there were definitely differences that had occurred.

A small stone that was tossed into a gigantic lake.

And the waves that it created started rippling out.

The year was 2021, when the world had actually started to change.

Grr—

A 16-foot tall huge monster stood with its mouth open.

The monster's two horns were broken into halves, and it had bright red-colored skin similar to that of a tiger. The monster appeared in the middle of a medieval European city. It was said that the beast was sealed in the grounds underneath the city since ancient times.

Su-hyeun frowned as he looked at the monster.

"It took me a lot of effort in finding you."

"Please, please be careful!"

There was someone who did not run away. He was a young man who lived in the village, and Su-hyeun had come across him a few times.

Kyaa—!

The ancient monster faced the skies and cried out loud. It was laughing instead of crying. It was laughing madly.

It seemed that it was quite happy to have been freed from its seal.

"You, you must escape…"

Even if he was stammering, the young man could not make his run without Su-hyeun. Su-hyeun was not sure whether he was being nosy or had a sense of justice. Either way, Su-hyeun was thankful that he worried about him.

But…

"Hey."

Su-hyeun ignored the young man's words and called out to the ancient beast.

"You shouldn't be laughing at a time like this."

Grr—

Only then did the ancient beast look at Su-hyeun directly. It had a puzzled look. It crumpled its face after realizing that Su-hyeun wasn't the least bit afraid of itself.

"What are you looking at?"

It turned around at Su-hyeun's voice which came from behind.

Slide—

Squelch—!

The sword wielded from behind, blew up at the ancient beast's body. Blood gushed out from the slash made on its back.

Stomp, stomp—

Crack, kyaaa—!

The ancient beast roared at Su-hyeun as it had almost gotten stuck to the ground.

Su-hyeun swung his sword a few times in the air as he felt a heavy feeling at the tip of his sword.

"Indeed, I can't use this any further."

The ancient beast's skin being thick was a problem in itself, too. But there was also a problem with the sword that he was using as well. A year had passed since Su-hyeun had started wielding the sword. It wouldn't be much of a problem on the lower floors, but using it at this time was an issue.

He did say it would be completed soon, so…

It was time to stop talking about the sword. Even if he used a blunt sword, it would still be enough to deal with the monster which stood before Su-hyeun.

"So let's…"

Kya, kyaa—!

The flame was set ablaze on Su-hyeun's sword. Two birds created from the flame appeared around Su-hyeun at the same time.

They were phoenixes, which were born from the flames.

"Bite it."

Kyaa—!

The two phoenixes flew towards the monster at Su-hyeun's order.

Black flames that came out from the monster's mouth swept through the phoenixes' bodies. The phoenixes disappeared without a trace, and the monster shifted its vision on Su-hyeun.

Slash—!

Squelch—!

The two phoenixes broke through the black flames and began to bite on the monster's body.

Kyaa—!

The monster struggled to shake off the two phoenixes that clung onto its body, but the monster had overlooked something for the moment.

It was Su-hyeun that was now over its head.

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Chapter 34: Chapter 34

The flames turned blue for a while. As the monster felt high heat above its head, it stopped its actions and looked above.

Grr—

What the monster saw above its head was a gigantic blue sword.

And soon.

Slash—

A blue line similar to that sword sliced the monster's body into half.

Sludge, sludge—

The monster's body fell to the sides, starting from its head. The beast quickly raised its arm to keep his body from falling off, but, of course, it wasn't possible.

Stomp, stomp—

Its massive body finally split into half and fell onto the floor. Thick blood flowed, and Su-hyeun, who stood in front of the corpse, extinguished the flame and caught his breath.

Pant—

A blue flame and the flame's bird, the phoenix.

Both of them were newly acquired abilities obtained through leveling Flame's skill. It was his first time checking out their effects, and each had its own pros and cons.

Did the problem lie with the magic factor?

Firstly, the required mana to maintain the phoenix was quite substantial.

Moreover, the phoenix was a summoner that never perished if Su-hyeun could have an indefinite supply of mana to maintain the flame.

But the mana consumption was too high. And it was the same for the blue flame.

Their abilities were powerful, but… I might have to restrain myself.

The phoenix maintained its original form even though it had suffered attacks from the ancient beast. It was because Su-hyeun had kept supplying mana so that it doesn't disappear.

But at that moment, Su-hyeun felt his magic factor got slashed tremendously. It was a tremendous amount of magic that he hadn't expected to use.

I've got to increase my proficiency. Compared to the skill's effectiveness, the mana consumption is…

Stumble—

Then, the monster's body convulsed vigorously. Su-hyeun's gaze fell onto the monster's half slain body. It was fascinating that the monster hadn't died yet. It's too horrible to think of one being alive while in that state.

Come to think of it, there wasn't any message of him clearing the trial.

Was its long life one of its unique traits?

It wasn't too bad of a trait, but it wasn't one that would make Su-hyeun envious. What could one do with that enormous amount of strength if he had to also be stuck in that situation?

"Even so, you…"

Burning—

Su-hyeun brought out the flame once again.

"I can't use the transfiguration ingredients either."

But it was also much too useful for an 18th-floor trial. It wasn't to the level of wanting that ancient monster's trait to himself.

Clank—!

Su-hyeun swung his sword and lit the flame. At that moment, a gigantic blaze swept over the ancient monster's body.

[You have gained 50,000 achievement points.]

[You have attained the highest achievement.]

[You have cleared the 19th floor trial with perfection.]

[You will be ranked according to your performance.]

[You have been ranked first.]

[You have gained 1 health point…]

….

[Will you ascend to the next floor?]

The string of messages appeared simultaneously. It had also meant that the monster had finally died.

The objective of the trial was to end the unstable resurrection of the ancient monster and the creature. Of course, several forces attempted to fully revive the monster in the process.

It should have made the fight start from the very beginning.

It was annoying being instructed on what to do.

Although it would be manageable for Su-hyeun to handle the monster at the current level, it would not be a smooth process. However, he had eventually succeeded in finishing off the ancient monster that had hibernated under the city. It had taken him two months to clear the trial.

"T-t-the monster…"

The young man who had warned Su-hyeun to be careful earlier had now flopped on the ground and was muttering to himself. After the monster appeared, everyone had escaped to the outskirts of the city. Only Su-hyeun and the young man were left.

Su-hyeun looked at the young man. The young man looked back at Su-hyeun with fear in his eyes.

Well, in his eyes, both I and the monster are one and the same.

There was no other reason for him to stay there. Su-hyeun lifted his head towards the sky and spoke.

"Ascend."

[You will ascend on to the 20th floor.]

His sight had turned white in an instant, and a vast city appeared before him once again.

It was a city that had been fully frozen and covered in white. The world on the 20th floor was a frozen city called Raglia.

Its temperature had reached as low as minus 60 degrees. On the 20th floor was a dying city where no living human would be able to live in.

Su-hyeun could hear people's mutters as he stepped into the square.

A crisis existed every 10 floors at the Tower of Trials. The trials at every 10th floor had exceptionally high difficulty, which brought about high numbers of death. Thus, only special awakeners gathered every 10 floors, including the 20th and 30th floors.

Regardless, I have arrived within the stipulated time.

31st December.

Today was the last day of the year.

Su-hyeun had aimed to achieve his goal to reach the 20th floor before the year ended. Though he had cleared the trial with ease at first, the last trial had been a drag.

Even so, he was able to arrive on the 20th floor according to his goal. Of course, something was missing.

As expected, was level seven too far-fetched?

The magic level and factor.

His original aim was to achieve a magic level of seven, and a magic factor of 70, but he was short of achieving those goals. Although he was able to pull up his magic factor to 68, which neared 70, his magic level still stayed at level six.

[Name: Kim Su-hyeun]

[Magic Factor: 68] [Magic Level: 6]

[Strength: 71] [Agility: 78]

[Health: 69] [Reflex: 80]

[Skill: Leap *Details.]

[Skill: Transfiguration *Details.]

[Skill: Flame…]

…

[Fatigue: 15.]

Compared to two years back when he first entered the Tower of Trials, the status window had lengthed quite a bit.

There was an overall increase in stats and magic level, a magic factor was a given, and an increase in skills.

Two years.

Though it wasn't a short time, it wasn't quite long either. If someone were to witness Su-hyeun's stats with their own eyes, his mouth would be wide-open in awe.

It was definitely a rapid growth.

Although he had a high magic factor and level, the overall increase in stats was remarkable, too.

Although the growth in magic was slower than expected…

Some parts complemented others, and there were some areas that Su-hyeun was satisfied with.

Well, the growth in skill proficiency was quick.

It was not sufficient, but rather at a rapid speed. His initial aim was set so high that it could be deemed as impossible to meet. Having nearly achieved his initial goal, it also meant that his performance wasn't that bad.

[Achievement points: 1,981,400.]

Su-hyeun checked on the amount of achievement points he had accumulated.

Although it was a massive number, it was slightly insufficient.

20,000 more points to go.

2,000,000 achievement points.

It was the price of the "highest grade potential booster" that Su-hyeun wanted to get his hands on. Like all the other awakeners, what Su-hyeun needed most was magic.

Though nothing such as the skill's composition or items were unimportant, high magic levels and factors had the power to ignore them all.

I wanted to accumulate more points before arriving at the 20th floor.

Considering that it too was an impossible goal, he had accumulated quite a considerable amount of achievement points.

Although it was a pity, it had not occurred to him that he would not clear the 20th floor's trial.

He definitely said that it was today, right?

Thankfully, the date had matched up. Kim Dae-ho said that it would take almost a year to complete the weapon that Su-hyeun had requested.

"The ranking has been updated!"

Then, the square was filled with a certain awakener's voice. The ranks were, of course, updated regularly, but it wasn't hard to understand his words.

"Ranking? Could it be the first place?"

"Could it be…"

"Kim Su-hyeun has arrived on the 20th floor?"

The square turned noisy in an instant.

The ranking had been updated. This also meant that Kim Su-hyeun had ascended to the 20th floor.

I have to leave here soon.

Su-hyeun left the square and turned into a dimly-lit alley. Su-hyeun moved quietly alone in the crowd, and the public seemed to not have paid any attention. There were already tens of people gathered at the square anyway.

As soon as he entered the alley, Su-hyeun opened the door.

Rip—

Su-hyeun returned to reality and soon turned on the car's engine.

It was a relatively expensive red sports car. It's quite a pity to drive it deep into the mountains.

Though Su-hyeun did not have much interest in the car, he had no reason to not ride it since it was a gift.

I don't even ride it often enough.

It was a gift from Lee Ju-ho, who had gifted him the sports car after completing a dungeon attack one day. As per Lee Ju-ho's words, Su-hyeun only added gas in and took it out when he had to travel.

Screech—

Su-hyeun drove his sports car into a hillside at Yangpyeong, the mountain where Kim Dae-ho's house was located. He drove it as deep as his car could go into the mountains, parked it, and started walking in.

Clank, clank—!

The sound of steel could be heard without fail.

Su-hyeun wondered when he took his rests. It was hard to imagine how much he loved hitting on steel.

"Uncle, I'm here."

Clank—!

The sound stopped.

Soon after, Kim Dae-ho trudged out to meet him.

"You're here?"

"Yes. It's today, right? Our promise."

"What do you mean promise? I only said that I would complete it before the year ends."

"Doesn't that mean the same thing?"

"I had long completed it, kiddo. Come in immediately," Kim Dae-ho said and turned around quickly. It wasn't to get the weapon, but instead, it was to guide him into the house.

Su-hyeun was slightly surprised at Kim Dae-ho's reaction.

Kim Dae-ho never allowed strangers into his smithy. Being invited into his smithy meant that he had a certain level of acknowledgment and friendship. Su-hyeun had entered Kim Dae-ho's smithy once in his previous life, but it was only after they had known each other for three years.

At the back of Kim Dae-ho's house was a smithy with a steel woven spherical ceiling. As he entered the smithy through the door, various equipment was laid out.

It's been a while.

The high heat was almost cooking his flesh. If an awakener like him could barely withstand that amount of heat, what about Kim Dae-ho?

He wasn't called a craftsman for nothing.

"Aren't you surprised?" Kim Dae-ho asked in a relatively small voice. It seemed that he had expected a surprised reaction.

It was reasonable to be surprised at this amount of equipment.

"Ah, I am surprised."

"I know that you're not. How mean."

It seemed that he wasn't satisfied with Su-hyeun's reaction.

Su-hyeun laughed awkwardly and looked at the equipment hung on the walls: swords, spears, armor, wrist guards, etc.

Amongst those, the first equipment that came into Su-hyeun's eyes was the swords.

As expected… They are quite superior.

There was a vast and minor difference in all the equipment; they all had ether stones mixed in them.

Though it was tough to smelt ether stones, making use of that and creating weapons like those were only made possible by certain craftsmen. In the current era, there was no one better than Kim Dae-ho who could make equipment of this quality.

If all these were brought to the market…?

It could shake up the world quite a bit.

"What are you doing there? Stop looking at the junk and pick up your weapon now."

Junk.

It was too much to call this equipment junk.

But of course, the equipment placed by the entrance was what Kim Dae-ho had regarded as failed creations. The successful ones were in the basement.

And…

"You might be quite surprised at it."

The weapon that Kim Dae-ho made for Su-hyeun was a masterpiece amongst them.

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Chapter 35: Chapter 35

Su-hyeun followed Kim Dae-ho through the hall of the hot smithy.

At first, he wondered how Dae-ho could endure such heat, but now he was no longer worried. Kim Dae-ho had developed a tolerance to the heat since he was a child.

More importantly, Su-hyeun wanted to see the sword that Kim Dae-ho had forged.

As they descended the staircase leading to the basement of the smithy, he could see equipment hanging on the wall.

It was the true masterpiece that Kim Dae-ho had created.

This place is incredible no matter how many times I see it.

These weren't items that could be found in this generation.

This was equipment that could only be found in the future, after a long period of countless research, advancement in crafting techniques, and smelting of the ether stones.

Kim Dae-ho was already creating this kind of equipment at this time. He was indeed both a master and a genius.

"Here, this is it."

Kim Dae-ho picked a sword off the wall and handed it to Su-hyeun.

It was a sword of the highest quality made with ether stone, and he had it hanging on the wall.

An ordinary silver long sword. One couldn't really tell it was anything special by its appearance alone.

Su-Hyeun held the sword handed to him by Kim Dae-ho. It was heavy.

It was definitely more massive than a regular sword, but it didn't feel that bad to Su-hyeun.

"How is it? The weight is perfect, right?"

"Indeed, it is."

It wasn't the weight of an ordinary sword. However, it wasn't a weight that would be considered heavy to the average awakener.

Instead, an appropriate weight was added to the power of the sword. It was a weight that held the proper balance.

"The weight can be adjusted according to the melted ether stone on the sword. You can make it weigh as heavy as a ton or as light as a feather. It's not really a good function, but I made it so that you can adjust it to your preference so use it to your liking."

"What else?"

"Per your request, I forged it so that it stays true to a sword's function and magic conductivity, rather than the sword's overall use effect. The more powerful the user of the sword, the higher the efficiency of the sword will be."

"Well, it's not that special."

"Yes, it's not special. However, it's perfect."

Shing—

Su-hyeun pulled the sword out from its sheath. The shining silver long sword showed off its sleek blade and reflected Su-hyeun's face.

Slash—

Su-hyeun took the sword and slashed at the tip of his clothes. The blade just swished through the fabric as if it were a blunt stick.

This time, he took another sword that he was carrying and threw it up in the air.

Swish— Slash—

Thud— Thud—

The sword that Su-hyeun swung lightly cut through the sword that he threw in the air neatly in half.

As the halved sword fell to the ground, Su-hyeun commented, "Interesting."

It was as if the sword was alive.

Even without using magic, it was able to differentiate between what he was trying to cut and what he wasn't. Furthermore, its sharpness and its degree of strength were unbelievable as well. The level of sharpness could not be simply made from any substance.

"A magical device…"

"Oh, can you tell?"

As Su-hyeun realized the true worth of the sword, Dae-ho Kim smiled brightly.

"Correct. No technique can form that degree of sharpness. So, as you requested, I used the ether stone, which contains magical properties to form that extremely sharp and firm blade."

"Did you base it off the principle of an electric saw?"

"You've got good eyes. Indeed. Rather than just being sharp, if you add the friction of rotation, that power will be amplified. Of course, it can't be seen with the naked eye."

Su-hyeun was quite surprised.

His request was just for the shape and function of the sword to be accurate and perfect to its basic form. It was because he thought that suited him better than a sword needlessly plastered with skills. However, he never could imagine that the sword's power and sharpness could be increased like this.

The method is remarkable, too, but the fact that it was made possible in and of itself was incredible.

As expected, it was the right choice to ask Kim Dae-ho to create this. It had taken a whole year, but the creation of a weapon of this degree was worth the wait.

"What is its name?"

Kim Dae-ho engraved a name on all his equipment. Of course, it was only for the equipment that he deemed well made.

This sword was well worthy to receive a name. It definitely should have a name.

"It doesn't have one, twerp."

"It doesn't?"

What a surprising answer. Kim Dae-ho roughly scratched his head and spoke.

"It's your sword, so you name it. You're not a kid, so why are you expecting me to name it, too?"

"…Is that okay?"

"What is?"

"You're not greedy for it? You made such a wonderful sword like this."

"What greed is there to speak of? Forget it. I'm satisfied that I could even have the chance to forge a sword like this."

His chance to name the sword was now passed on to someone else. It might be something troublesome and meaningless, but for Kim Dae-ho, it was a huge concession.

Su-hyeun thought about the sword's name for a while. Instead of coming up with a name by himself, he wanted to share it with Kim Dae-ho, who had spent one year to painstakingly forge this sword.

Su-hyeun spoke after a while of thought.

"I'll name it Dragon Slaying Sword, Gram."

"Gram? Dragon Slaying Sword? What kind of rustic name is that?"

The name Balmung was also named by Su-hyeun in the past.

Gram was another name of Balmung, used in North Europe's mythology. They were practically the same name.

But to Su-hyeun, above anything else, he did not want to give up on the title of a dragon-slaying sword.

However, he did not want to reuse the name Balmung either. He thought that he might fail again if he used the same name.

"Well, I was wondering if I might be able to slay a dragon with this sword someday."

At Su-hyeun's vague answer, Kim Dae-ho looked at him, speechless.

"Ha, what a cheesy kid."

No matter Dragon Slaying Sword or Gram, it was all the same embarrassing name to Kim Dae-ho. Even so, Su-hyeun quite liked the name he had come up with. Su-hyeun was not aware that his wits of coming up with names were decreasing.

"I have deposited the fees before coming here. Please confirm it."

Su-hyeun spoke while putting Gram back into its scabbard. Kim Dae-ho blinked in surprise at the news which he had heard for the first time.

"Fees? What fees?"

"I had also sent a down payment. Didn't you see it?"

"What? Did you take me for a beggar, kid!" Kim Dae-ho jumped and shouted as if the smithy was going away. To Kim Dae-ho, money was nothing but funds to make materials to forge equipment.

"What else can I do when I have nothing else to give you? I don't want to hear from others that I'm making use of you at this age."

"Nonsense! If you wanted to fund me, you should have given me some materials instead of money. Aren't you an awakener, too?"

"Even so, wouldn't I be too shameless if I did that?"

"Forget it. I need the right materials instead of money. If you really want to thank me, you should have gotten me those."

What he said was right.

A real reward should be what the other party needs most. To Kim Dae-ho, who regards money similar to a stone, it might not be considered a bonus.

But…

If so, why didn't he take some of the equipment here to sell?

Kim Dae-ho only bought the ether stones and used them on forging equipment, but did not sell them anywhere else.

He might have been quite wealthy thanks to his reputation as a craftsman now, but his wealth would run out someday.

In fact, Kim Dae-ho had been struggling with cash since 2021. Knowing the truth, Su-hyeun had deliberately deposited the money to him.

Buzz—

That moment, the smartphone in Su-hyeun's pocket rang. Kim Dae-ho, who was hurling abusive language at Su-hyeun, stopped and waved his hand at him.

"Why should I be wasting my energy on you? Forget it. If there's nothing else, get lost."

"Yes, Uncle. I'll be back again."

"If you have nothing else, don't you come to me!"

Kim Dae-ho still came out to send Su-hyeun off despite having said that. Indeed, he was someone who acted differently from his words on a good note.

The vibrations which had continued for some time stopped. Su-hyeun quickly took out the smartphone from his pocket and checked the missed calls list.

It was from Lee Ju-ho. As Su-hyeun returned the call, Lee Ju-ho picked it up immediately.

"Hello?"

"What have you been doing recently?"

"I just got a weapon made. I'm about to head up to the 20th floor."

"I've heard about it. There is a huge commotion about it on Abyss Online now."

Did news travel this fast?

Somehow, there was no other faster source than online for people who loved writing. Su-hyeun scratched his head and walked towards his car.

"But why are you looking for me? Is there another dungeon this time?"

"Yes. There's that, too, and I thought of having a meal with you sometime. I had just cleared the 34th floor a while back."

"I could probably meet you for a meal but… I think it might be tough for another dungeon attack."

"Is there anything wrong?"

"I think I'll enter the 20th-floor trial immediately."

Vroom—

Su-hyeun started the engine as soon as he got in the car.

"Let's meet up for a chat first."

Act 7

Su-hyeun drove his car towards a city near Yeongdeungpo in Seoul.

Su-hyeun and Lee Jun-ho met amidst the crowd. As it was dinner time, they went to a restaurant with a private room and ordered food. The dinner table was soon filled with Korean cuisine. As the door closed and their surroundings became quiet, Lee Ju-ho spoke.

"Are you very busy?"

"I didn't want to push back any of my challenges."

The 20th floor was a special section.

As much as it was the most challenging trial, its rewards were the best. Su-hyeun wanted to clear this section to the best of his potential.

"You seem to be in quite the hurry…"

Lee Ju-ho seemed to know Su-hyeun well. He felt that Su-hyeun was anxious.

"Is there anything wrong?"

"I have a favor to ask of you."

The reply that Lee Ju-ho got was different from his question, but Lee Ju-ho thought that his reply had nothing to do with his question.

"What is it?"

"You have appeared a lot on the media recently, and even gotten more famous…"

"Recently, yes."

Since a year back, Lee Ju-ho had been ascending the tower taking on trials that were more difficult than he usually handled. After it was found out by the public, Lee Ju-ho was the center of attention for news related to awakeners. He was so-called the 'level-fluctuating' awakener.

Lee Ju-ho was already a B-rank awakener before the commotion. When taking into consideration his level and the method he used to ascend the tower, it wasn't something special for the media to pay attention to him.

"Can you possibly get in personal contact with the authorities?"

"If you mean authorities… Do you mean the higher-ups?"

Su-hyeun was referring to not purely the awakeners authority, but the higher-ups that managed and operated the organization.

"It's not impossible, but…"

"Please convey a message to them."

"Just what is it about?"

"In the coming month or so…"

Su-hyeun started sharing his story.

When the story ended, Lee Ju-ho's expression was frozen in astonishment.

"Is that… true?"

"In all likelihood."

"How did you get to know about this?"

"From the gatekeeper on the 20th floor. Although I'm not exactly sure if the gatekeeper is also in the know about the issues going around here but… it's worth doubting."

Gatekeepers.

The residents who only resided on every 10th floor, who were known to have all the information in the world.

They seemed to be all unrecognizable by their appearances, but at the very least, their information had never been wrong.

Not even once.

Of course, even if the results were accurate, the process was false. This information was not from the gatekeeper, but rather from Su-hyeun's personal experience.

"So that's why the number of dungeons appearing lately had been alarming…"

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Chapter 36: Chapter 36

It was now 2021. The world had changed dramatically after 2020 had passed. The number of awakeners increased, and the corresponding number of dungeons drew a sharp upward curve.

The dungeons weren't solely a social issue but were turning into a huge problem. Outbreaks were occurring more often since dungeon attacks aren't executed earlier. Fortunately, there was no significant damage due to the swift action of nearby awakeners, but it had become a severe problem.

"In the future, there will be an increase in dungeons appearing and dungeon outbreaks. Although the number of awakeners is much higher than the dungeons right now…"

"You're saying that the tables would turn later?"

"At least that's what I think would happen."

If it was according to Su-hyeun's words, the situation had gone beyond a severe level.

Lee Ju-ho was one who had several years of experience as an awakener. He drew up the scene that Su-hyeun shared with him in his mind, where the number of dungeons outnumbered the awakeners.

Lee Ju-ho's face turned blue in an instant. He put the chopsticks he had in his hand down on the table.

"…It's over."

What if dungeons appeared all over the world, and all of those had outbreaks?

There would only be one result. The end of the world.

It's a relief that he understood.

When Su-hyeun brought up the story, he had wondered if Lee Ju-ho would ignore his words. As the proportion of dungeons to outbreaks increased, it had become a social problem.

That's probably why Lee Ju-ho could not ignore his words. Furthermore, if assuming what Su-hyeun said was true…

"If that's the case, this isn't favorable at all. Of course, I'll help."

"Thank you."

It was a relief.

If Lee Ju-ho's negotiations with the authorities were successful, this issue could be solved without much trouble.

However, the problem was that unlike Su-hyeun, who knew how the future went, no one could be certain what decision the authorities would make.

I can't expect too much.

The case was only a gamble of probability to a certain extent. It was up to him to prepare in case the gamble failed. The preparation was something which he had on his mind for quite some time.

"But… It's certainly coincidental."

"What are you talking about?"

"The period which you mentioned. It coincides with the green level dungeon attack that appeared at Ansan."

It was sporadic for a green level dungeon to appear.

Not only did such dungeons require A-rank awakeners, depending on the situation, they might also need help from S-rank awakeners.

If the outbreak occurred in such dungeons, the whole city would be in immediate danger, forcing the nation and the Awakeners Authority to focus entirely on the green level dungeons.

In other words, it was also the period where Seoul and Gyeonggi province would have a lack of manpower.

"In fact, I had thought of going there if I couldn't get to go on the dungeon attack with you…"

It's not a good thing to say after hearing those words.

"Haa— It's complicated."

Even so, he couldn't leave the green level dungeon alone. If there was an outbreak in the green level dungeon, it would also become a great danger to the city.

"Please don't expect too much. It's because it's me — that's why I believed it but isn't it quite a groundless story?"

"I got it. I'll make my preparations separately."

Right now, there was a limit to what Su-hyeun and Lee Ju-ho could do, so they could only do their best within their boundaries.

As soon as the meal is over….

Su-hyeun once again concentrated on his meal and continued his train of thoughts.

I'm going to challenge the next floor.

They soon finished their meal.

Lee Ju-ho felt that he could not hold back Su-hyeun for long. He too had to challenge the next floor's trial and also had to help Su-hyeun with his favor.

Su-hyeun thought over for a moment if he should head back home. It had been a while since he saw Shin Soo-yeong's face, too.

She should be fine.

Instead, it might be better for her to think that Su-hyeun was still focused and working hard on ascending the tower. However, he thought that a call would be alright.

Ring—

Su-hyeun called Shin Soo-yeong.

"Hello?"

Though he hadn't heard her voice for some time, she sounded urgent. She must have been busy on the other line.

"Oh, mom. What are you doing?"

"I've been busy for a while with the guests. Your call came at a good time. I was just about to take a break from the guests who just left."

Shin Soo-yeong had set up her own store. After selling gold for more than a decade, Su-hyeun presented her with a jewelry shop. After setting up her own shop, she did not stop working for a moment. Her shop was quite prosperous, perhaps because of her volubility and ability.

"Are you done with your work? I haven't heard from you in a while."

Su-hyeun left the house after getting a small studio. He thought that if he continued to stay with Shin Soo-yeong, he would still be concerned about her. Shin Soo-yeong, too, was more than ready to allow Su-hyeun to become independent.

Still, Su-hyeun still occasionally took time out to spend with her, but of course, he hadn't had the time to do it recently.

"Yes, it just ended. But I think I'll have to start on another now."

"Right away? Wouldn't it be tough?"

Wouldn't it be tough? It was the most common question from her. It was only asked by Shin Soo-yeong. Although he knew she was worried, Su-hyeun liked hearing it.

"It's all right. I'm not hurt anywhere. People say that I'm a genius. Though I've said it before, I think I'm well-suited for this job."

It wasn't a lie. In fact, various communities, including Abyss Online, and other countless awakeners, called Su-hyeun a genius and a divinity. Of course, only one of them, Lee Ju-ho, knew Su-hyeun's face.

"Son, don't you think you're too proud of yourself? Karma will get at you for being too conceited."

"I know. Don't worry."

"How can a mom not be worried about her son? Oh, I have a customer. Son, let's talk again!"

"Okay. Take care."

And with that, Su-hyeun ended the call.

Vroom—

Su-hyeun drove back in a hurry. He soon arrived at a relatively tall studio apartment building. Su-hyeun was done for the day. He got a new sword, Gram, and met Lee Ju-ho to convey the story. He also had a brief talk with Shin Soo-yeong.

In the coming month….

December 31, 2020.

There was only one month left. During that time, Su-hyeun had no intention of staying idle.

All preparations are complete.

The 20th floor.

The ordeal on that floor was bound to be tense.

"Let's go."

As usual, he muttered to himself and stretched his hand forward.

Rip—

The door opened to the other world.

Su-hyeun's feet stepped forward.

Amid the freezing cold, Su-hyeun moved his feet.

When he breathed out, cold air came out from his mouth. While looking at the cold air from his mouth, Su-hyeun walked towards the portal.

A middle-aged beggar sat crouched in front of a gigantic portal that was filled with magic. A familiar vibe came off from the middle-aged man. He felt somewhat similar to the gatekeeper who resided on the 10th floor.

"Are you asleep?"

"Hmm? Ah, um…"

The gatekeeper, who was crouched, raised his head at Su-hyeun's call. The gatekeeper, who had been yawning, rubbed his eyes with one hand.

"Why? What is it, you called me?"

"If you're tired, I'll just go."

"No, I'm not tired. More than that…" The gatekeeper extended a friendly hand to Su-hyeun.

"Money."

Most of the gatekeepers' habits were similar. There was no difference seeing how they were usually crouched and dozing off all day, or asking for money the moment they wake up.

Just what is it with them that they keep asking for money without fail? The achievement points they have had earned so far would be astronomical.

"How much do you want?"

At Su-hyeun's question, the gatekeeper stared at Su-hyeun's face. The gatekeeper, who had been looking at Su-hyeun's face for a while, sighed quietly and said.

"You, you're a freak."

"If that's the case, I'm well aware of that."

"I'll need to get a little more from you. 100,000."

It was enough to be a jaw-dropping price if others heard of this.

100,000 achievement points was an amount that would take some awakeners their entire lifetime to collect, and they might even barely gather enough.

Su-hyeun, however, paid the amount without hesitation. The achievement points were transferred when he put his hand into the gatekeepers'.

[100,000 achievement points consumed.]

The gatekeeper looked at Su-hyeun with a distant look, as if he was contemplating.

"Huh, Euhuhuhuh!"

He grinned widely with his expressionless face and laughed out loud. The gatekeeper, who had been laughing for quite some time, placed his extended hand into his pocket and said.

"The freak is real. So, what do you want?"

"What do you think is waiting for me?"

"The question is too vague."

"What should I be careful of?"

"None."

"What?"

"There's nothing for you to watch out for. You're not going to die."

It was a good thing.

There was nothing to watch out for and nothing to die from, which meant there was less danger.

It was good news if he could have his risks reduced while ascending the tower.

But that didn't mean that Su-hyeun was pleased with what the gatekeeper said.

"Is that it?"

Lesser risks had also meant fewer rewards. Moreover, he had readily paid 100,000 achievement points, so how could he only have this much advice? He felt that he had gotten the short end of the stick.

"Don't worry. I'm not frying."

Where did he learn that phrase?

"Someone said this a while back. I took his money and ran away. Haha, it was his fault for not understanding the hint."

"So there's another hint?"

"It's not you who should be careful, but the others. And if possible… Don't kill anyone."

"What do you mean don't kill anyone?"

"That's all for the hints. Now, get lost."

The gatekeeper waved his hand and started dozing off after getting back in his crouched position. It was an ambiguous hint.

Although the gatekeepers are always like this…

Hints for level 10 trials were always like this. As expected, the hints Su-hyeun got from the 10th floor were vague, too.

But they have never been wrong.

At least the hints given by the gatekeepers have never been wrong. Their hints had always been the keywords to the right answers.

Sometimes Su-hyeun wondered what kind of people they were before. Su-hyeun bowed slightly to the gatekeeper and walked towards the portal.

As he stood on the portal, a message appeared.

[Kim Su-hyeun, will you start the trial now?]

Su-hyeun nodded.

"Let's start."

[Kim Su-hyeun, your 20th-floor trial starts now.]

[Please select the difficulty.]

[Level 1~10.]

[The higher the level, the more difficult it becomes. The higher the level, the higher the reward of the trial.]

They were different floors, but the question itself was the same every time.

"Level 10."

He answered with the same words as usual.

Immediately after making the decision, the trial's scene appeared in front of Su-hyeun's eyes.

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Chapter 37: Chapter 37

[The 20th floor's level 10 trial starts now.]

What appeared in front of Su-hyeun was a massive castle wall and numerous soldiers spread out below it. The soldiers, standing close together like ants, looked down from the top of the wall. Just by looking at them, Su-hyeun knew what he had to do.

Is it a siege?

But it was strange. No matter how he saw it, there was no one but himself around. Unlike the thousands of soldiers below, he was alone.

[The trial starts now.]

[Recently, thousands of soldiers and mercenaries are guarding the impenetrable fortress, the kingdom Gran Dalum. It is your responsibility to use all methods to take down the fort.]

[Take down the castle. There is no limit to what methods can be used. You may recruit allies within the arena.]

[But please remember: you are not their enemy.]

[You have a month to complete this.]

[You will fail this trial if you die or exceed the given time limit.]

[Please take down the fort.]

[Dig up the castle's secrets.]

[The rewards will differ according to the results of the trial.]

The mission's contents were quite lengthy. Through the contents, Su-hyeun was able to infer some facts.

This isn't a normal castle.

Firstly, the aim to "dig up the castle's secrets" was clearly written, which meant solely taking down the castle was not the only objective.

Furthermore, he was told that the soldiers and mercenaries were not Su-hyeun's enemies. Looking at this, he could understand the gatekeeper's hint.

To not kill anyone…

But why? Why would the citizens' lives dictate the rewards?

The Tower's system did not deem humans' lives to be that important. There were usually missions to kill, but missions to save were rare. To Su-hyeun's knowledge, there wasn't any mission that stops one from killing the enemy just to let them realize how precious life was.

Moreover, since it said that they are not enemies…

Su-hyeun looked up at the castle and scratched his head.

"This is difficult."

One could have come up with many assumptions based on their own thoughts. But Su-hyeun could never find out anything by just standing there.

Su-hyeun closed his eyes and amplified the radius of his magic as far as possible. The magic was spread over the soldiers and mercenaries. With that, Su-hyeun was able to clearly feel each and everyone's feelings.

Most of them deal with magic.

Most of the mercenaries were around the standards of a C-rank awakener. The other soldiers were quite well-trained as well.

It was by no means easy to take down the steep walls and thick iron gates that were guarded by thousands of soldiers. Furthermore, according to the gatekeeper's words, Su-hyeun could not even kill them.

What's with this difficulty?

The trial's difficulty suddenly skyrocketed exponentially.

How should he clear the trial? Others would definitely have this thought on their minds if it was them, as missions of that standard should never have appeared on 20th-floor trials.

Of course, that would be the case for other awakeners. It might be an impossible trial for other awakeners who ascended the Tower in the usual way up to the 20th floor, but it wasn't the case for Su-hyeun.

A month.

The time coincided nicely. Su-hyeun had aimed to clear this floor within a month as well. He thought he knew why he was given a time frame of a month.

Amongst the mission's contents, the hint said, "You can form allies."

Perhaps during that month in that world, Su-hyeun might have to go through a complicated process such as meeting someone from that castle and having a hostile relationship with them.

But…

"With a time limit of one month…"

Trudge—

Su-hyeun started walking towards the castle's wall.

"It's too long."

That process should be omitted. It was too troublesome, and it didn't match his personality. Moreover, he didn't feel the need to go through with it. It was something that he had to face head-on now.

Su-hyeun felt that it would be sufficient for him to do it on his own.

The gigantic castle, which was a few hundred meters tall, could be seen from farther away.

Su-hyeun approached it slowly without hurry, with the thought that he had ample time. Every time the distance between him and the castle narrowed, he could sense something from within the castle.

Another reason why Su-hyeun ambled towards the castle was to observe the reactions of those guarding it.

"Stop!"

As the distance narrowed to a certain length, mutters could be heard from the top of the castle.

Su-hyeun was unsure if magical effects were used, but the voice was different. A small amount of magic could be felt, as well.

Su-hyeun stopped in his tracks and looked upwards. Soon, he could hear the voice again.

"You can't come any nearer. Turn around!"

It was a pressurizing voice.

Su-hyeun looked at the owner of the voice distinctly. Although the distance was far, he concentrated magic on his eyes and allowed him to see the other party distinctively.

"Sorry, but can't I stay over for a few days?"

"No! This place isn't for ordinary people…."

The man who was responding to Su-hyeun stopped talking when he realized that something was amiss. How could such a small voice be heard that clearly when there was a considerable distance between them? It was impossible unless he had pretty good magic control.

"You. What are you?"

"I'm just a passer-by… I wanted to borrow your castle for a while." Su-hyeun started walking once more. "So, all of you please come out of the castle."

"This crazy man!"

A commotion arose at the top of the castle.

It seemed that they had now recognized Su-hyeun as their enemy.

They shouldn't have felt threatened when only one person was walking towards their castle, but after they realized how good Su-hyeun's magic control was, they seemed to become defensive.

Of course, Su-hyeun would not feel scared with just that.

"Now, let's…"

As soon as Su-hyeun realized the other party was prepared to fight, he took out the sword, Gram, which was hung by his hip.

"It finally commenced."

Clink—

With Su-hyeun's magic, Gram produced a low sound.

Numerous arrows shot out from within the castle, with the arrowheads aimed towards Su-hyeun. Su-hyeun then stepped forward, giving strength to his step.

Spat—

A big leap brought Su-hyeun's body up into the air. With another big leap, Su-hyeun flew even further up tens of meters instantaneously.

"Shoot!"

The man who seemed like a commander did not fluster and gave out his order. Someone with skills similar to Su-hyeun's probably existed amongst them as well.

Slick, slick—

Phewwwww—

Hundreds and thousands of arrows were shot over Su-hyeun's head.

The mercenaries' archery skills were quite excellent. Even with a long distance between them, the arrows were aimed quite accurately at Su-hyeun.

Burning—

Flame shot out from the sword that Su-hyeun was brandishing, making the arrows from over his head pour down. At the same time, Su-hyeun vanished from that position.

Su-hyeun's clone attracted everyone's attention in an instant when it arrived near the gate. Only a minority could capture such instantaneous movements without missing.

"Over there!"

But even that wasn't good enough because Su-hyeun had already arrived in front of the gates.

"I'll break it in one go."

Woong—

Su-hyeun injected magic into Gram.

With the highest strength and length, as well as an unbelievable sharpness, Gram was a sword optimized for cutting things.

No matter how sturdy or impenetrable the gate was, Gram could still cut through it.

Grip—

Su-hyeun grasped Gram with all his might.

The gate's thickness exceeded the sword's length by multiple folds. But even so, Su-hyeun never thought that he would not be able to cut through the gate.

A tremendous amount of magic enveloped Gram and increased its length.

The sharpness of Gram's blade was due to the rotating friction by the extremely fine magic. Su-hyeun increased the maximum range of that rotation and forced it to increase its speed as well. Gram's range and power had doubled.

Although quite a substantial amount of magic had been used…

"Good."

It should be enough.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Su-hyeun brandished his sword as he approached closer to the gate.

The sword didn't seem like it had cut through anything. The gate made of sturdy iron had been cut like soft tofu.

Clash, clash—

The slashed gate fell to the ground. It was destroyed to the extent that it was beyond restoration.

"T-the gate is broken!" Someone called out from the top of the castle.

Su-hyeun muttered as he drew in deep breaths after having used up such a tremendous amount of magic in a short time.

"It's not broken, but…"

As if they were instructed to meet Su-hyeun, numerous soldiers appeared from behind the gate.

"It's been cut."

Su-hyeun was now certain after having used it.

Gram was the best sword.

Act 8

At Su-hyeun's request, Lee Ju-ho went to the nearest Awakener's Authorities at City Hall. Several of the nation's awakeners were waiting in the building. Additionally, politicians who were managing the awakeners had their offices in the higher levels.

Lee Ju-ho presented his awakener's registration card and headed up to the higher level floors of the building. A few awakeners who recognized him greeted him.

"Oh, isn't this Lee Ju-ho? What brings you here?"

Along the corridor, Lee Ju-ho bumped into one of the high ranking members of the authorities who also the nation's A-rank awakener, Kim Do-ui. As they were quite acquainted after having met a couple of times before, Lee Ju-ho greeted him and said, "I have something to attend to. Is Director Lee in?"

"Yes, he should be in. I don't think he has any appointments today."

"Is that so? That's great."

"You needed to see the Director? Shall we go together?"

"There's really no need…"

"I actually have something to tell him about the green level dungeon attack that happened recently. Let's go together."

Lee Ju-ho finally nodded and agreed after agonizing for a while how Kim Do-ui joining him would work out. He thought Kim Do-ui might be able to assist in persuading the Director.

"If so, let's go then."

Lee Ju-ho and Kim Do-ui headed towards the Director's room.

The Director who oversaw the Awakeners Accreditation Authority and managed the nation's awakeners was an old man well over his 60s.

He had a face filled with dark pigmentation and droopy eyes, with an unreadable expression. Formerly a presidential candidate, he was the highest-ranking council member managing the authorities and all the nation's awakeners.

"Director, you have guests."

Kim Do-ui, who had been serving the Director for a long time, treated him quite comfortably. The Director quickly glanced at Lee Ju-ho and returned to reviewing his documents, and asked, "What is it?"

Lee Ju-ho didn't seem to be of any importance to him. Lee Ju-ho, who had known well of the Director's personality, spoke without getting flustered.

"I have a favor to ask."

"A favor?"

"Yes. It is related to the safety of the citizens."

The citizens' safety. It was a problem that the Director of the Awakener's Authority had to deal with in the highest priority. It was a subject important enough to draw the Director's attention.

"The citizens' safety…"

The Director's attention returned to Lee Ju-ho once again.

"Come, let's hear about it."

Done.

As he met the fastidious Director, he let out some bait that could possibly provide him more time to talk.

Lee Ju-ho felt relieved and started to relay Su-hyeun's words.

"Now that I've met the Director, firstly…"

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Chapter 38: Chapter 38

Caw, caw—!

Late in the night, a strange-looking bird cried out in the forest. Looking closely, it might cry similar to a crow but looked like a dove's mixed breed as well.

Whatever it was, Su-hyeun stood up from where he sat. He could see a castle standing tall in the distance.

'This is enough for a break…'

He had used up quite a bit of magic after crushing that gate.

Immediately after, Su-hyeun chose to retreat. He decided that it was not wise to barge into the castle without knowing anything.

"Now is a perfect time."

The sky grew darker as it went deeper into the night.

Even if he started a fire, the fear emitted from the darkness was unavoidable.

Of course, that fear was an exception for him. Su-hyeun had experienced a dark world with no sun in the far future.

He had no idea where the enemy would be.

The gate was crushed, and it would be unsure when would one be stabbed in the back.

Now was the best time.

'Of course…'

Crack!

Su-hyeun picked up a thick tree branch nearby and broke it into half.

'I won't head back.'

As he took each step, he headed towards the castle.

If possible, he wanted to clear the trial within one night.

Grandalum's commander, Maxman, stayed awake and stood guard on the castle top.

It was the same for the other soldiers. Even if they were exhausted, they could not sleep a wink and waited all day for the intruder.

'What the hell is that intruder doing?'

Maxman recalled the stranger who crushed the gate.

He had thought the man who first approached the castle was strange.

They were up against the Kingdom of Audram, not individuals.

But that individual had achieved what the Kingdom of Audram could not. That person took down Grandalum's iron castle gate.

'Just what is he, that weirdo.'

That same thought kept echoing in his mind.

He had his doubts about the other party. Maxman might have probably seen hallucinations.

But when he saw the smashed iron gate, that thought had gone away.

Even if there was a castle wall several hundred meters tall, there was no use for the gate that had been taken down.

Repairing the castle gate would've taken a long time. If the Kingdom of Audram attacked them at a time like that…

'No, that's not it.'

It wasn't the Kingdom of Audram; that was their only problem.

What if that kid from earlier today came attacking them again?

"Damn it."

Precarious thoughts continued to ensue and tangle.

At that moment…

"What kept you so focused on?"

A gloomy voice spoke up from behind Maxman.

Maxman turned his head around and looked at the person.

It was a guest from the center of the Kingdom with his face hidden by a black robe. Accompanying him was his superior, the newly appointed chief.

Nobody even knew his name.

But as per orders from the higher-ups, Maxman had no other choice but to treat him as his superior.

"I was worried about the gate being crushed."

"Was it because of the kid from earlier today?"

"Yes. I was worried that the kid would come at us again."

Maxman let out a long and deep sigh as he shared his worries.

"Honestly, as soon as the gate was taken down, it became tough to even protect the castle. It would be better to call the soldiers back and protect the next fort…"

"That won't do."

The robed man cut off Maxman's words and spoke firmly.

"I'd rather all of us die here than do that."

"…What?"

Did he mishear the robed man?

For a moment, Maxman had doubted his hearing.

No matter how obstinate a person is, no commander had ever told his soldiers to die so readily, even if it was his thoughts.

However, the man in front of him said without hesitation that he would rather die than run away.

It was a difficult situation for Maxman, who had been on the battlefield for several years.

The robed man continued speaking without acknowledging Maxman's reaction.

"Please hold out by all means, without letting it become a reality. You only need to do so for the coming month."

"A month… Is there any point in waiting for a month?"

"Yes, there is."

Just what significance did it have?

It was a period that Maxman, the commander of the soldiers, could not understand. Did it mean that they would be receiving a substantial helping hand after a month?

Though he was filled with curiosity, the robed man turned around, seemingly having no intentions to explain further.

"Just hold out for a month. That's all."

Before he left after leaving those words, he did not forget his last words of cruelty.

"Hold out even if it costs all the lives of the soldiers in this castle."

"…Yes. I got it."

Maxman bit his lips, almost tearing them.

That was one example of how the battlefield was unreasonable.

As it was his superior's orders, he was obliged to carry it out no matter how unfair it was.

Thinking objectively, it was right to make their escape to save the lives of their soldiers.

However, he could not disobey the direct orders from his superior, the robed man who held the nameplate that was given directly from the Kingdom's court. Doing so would have been considered treason.

'It would be better if it was just me defying orders…'

If he ignored what the robed man said, what would happen if he had the soldiers retreat?

He might be accused of treason and executed, but wouldn't he have saved the soldiers?

Or would the soldiers be accused of committing treason as well?

If that's not the case…

"It's the enemy!"

Just then, a soldier's cry interrupted his thoughts.

Maxman quickly shifted his gaze to the bottom of the castle.

The guy from earlier that day was walking towards them.

"Being welcomed like this doesn't feel that bad."

Su-hyeun looked up at the numerous soldiers who were waiting for him at the top of the castle.

It seemed that the numbers had increased as compared to the day. They seemed to be waiting for him, unable to sleep in that panic situation.

Flick, flick!

He lightly swung the tree branch in his hand.

It was a weak tree branch that could break anytime, it did not produce a massive sound.

'Replace the lacking strength with magic…'

Crack, crack!

He filled the empty insides of the tree branch with magic.

This would've been enough.

'It would be better to kill; it's so bothersome to subdue them".

He needed to be careful to avoid killing any of them or losing control of his strength. It was a tricky mission.

Numerous arrows with sharpened arrowheads were aimed at him.

It seemed that they have finished all the preparations.

When the gate was wide open, the arrows would've been pointless; they would never be able to hit him.

'Let's go.'

He finished taking a deep breath and started moving.

Spat!

Su-hyeun's body ran forward towards the wide-open gate.

That action flustered the soldiers who were at the top of the castle aiming their arrows at him.

"What?! How is he so fast?!"

"I can't aim at him!"

"Calm down and prevent him from entering the castle!"

"No, don't waste the arrows! You can't hit him!"

The soldiers shouted, scared out of their wits.

As the commander, Maxman used his magic and shouted.

"Forget about the arrows and block out the gate! Prevent that guy from entering!"

After going through several hardships for a long time, the soldiers' trust in Maxman was as strong as a sturdy castle. At Maxman's command, the soldiers moved entirely in unison.

'That's the commander.'

Su-hyeun knew that Maxman was the commander, whom he had spotted earlier in the day.

'I'll go after him first.'

However, before that…

Slash!

Hundreds of soldiers appeared, blocking out Su-hyeun's vision.

Holding spears and swords in their hands, they showed intense hostility towards Su-Hyeun.

He had to fight all these soldiers and subdue them without killing any of them.

"Kill him!"

"Prevent him from entering the castle!"

The soldiers started to run towards Su-Hyeun.

They should have known that they are no match for him, yet they were courageous enough to hunt him down. They must have seen Su-Hyeun's ability when he destroyed the gate earlier that day.

Worst of all, it was quite a pain when he couldn't kill them but instead let them off.

'How annoying.'

Slash!

Pierce—!

The tree branch, which was held in Su-hyeun's hand, struck the soldier's neck, who was running head-on towards Su-hyeun.

The soldier's body fell onto the ground, with his eyes rolling backward. It seemed that his neck did not break thanks to the sturdy armor.

"Even so, they aren't too much trouble to deal with."

Stab, stab, stab, stab!

The tree branch in Su-hyeun's hand accurately hit every soldier in their necks.

There were only these three points to consider: moderate strength control, accuracy, and evasiveness. If there was one more thing, it would've been Su-hyeun's unexhaustive stamina.

"If I were to fight with these dwarves, this fight might continue for four days…"

Flick!

Pierce, pierce!

Several invisible blades came flying towards Su-hyeun.

The wind passed, ticking Su-hyeun's skin. Thankfully he quickly used magic to protect his body. Otherwise, there would've been several cuts made on his body.

"Well, was I too ambitious?"

Su-hyeun hid behind the soldiers and observed the mercenaries who had their hands stretched out forward.

The mercenaries who dealt with magic became a problem.

There's no knowing how many skilled mercenaries were in the castle.

'Could I subdue all of them? No, if not…'

Just as when Su-hyeun stopped all his movements and stood silently:

"Wind Cutter!"

"Fire Stone!"

"Ice…"

Swish, swish!

Clank!

Magic fired at Su-hyeun caused a massive explosion. A faint smoke rose around Su-hyeun as he was hit by multiple magic attacks head-on.

"Done!"

"Well, that was no big deal…"

The men who gave out the magic attacks started cheering, but their faces soon hardened.

Su-hyeun trudged out from the thick fog around him. He remained safe from all attacks without sustaining any injuries.

"H-how?"

"He's not injured at all…"

"On top of that, shouldn't there at least be a speck of dust on him?"

Although they voiced out their unjust, the result remained unchanged.

Soon, another round of magic attacks was shot at Su-hyeun. A massive explosion, a sharp blade, and a spear flew and pierced through his body.

It was pointless.

'Force through the front.'

['Indomitable Body' was activated.]

[It increases magical and physical resistance by continuously consuming mana for a specified period.]

It was a rare skill which Su-hyeun had obtained as a reward when he cleared the 17th floor's trial.

Su-hyeun thought it could've granted him an extra life to be used in emergencies.

Although he didn't need to use the skill often since there were few life-threatening situations, it was quite useful in his current situation.

He couldn't kill off the enemies, but it was troublesome to even subdue each of them. The magic that each of them released was bothersome too.

If so, ignoring them would be the end of it.

'What I wanted wasn't their lives, but to take down the castle.'

To take down the castle…

There were a few loopholes and ambiguities in the conditions of passing the trial.

Firstly, the standard for taking down the castle was not clear. All the soldiers present weren't enemies, but he couldn't know under what conditions would it consider the castle to be taken down.

Secondly, he did not know the reason why he wasn't allowed to kill them. The Tower of Trials would not have cared less about respecting lives.

Moreover…

'Something smells fishy.'

Clank, clank!

Flash!

Su-hyeun received the magic attacks with his body and swept away the fog was covering his vision.

'The smell of a bad-tempered guy.'

Su-hyeun's eyes searched for someone located from within the castle.

He extended the range of his magic and found a human with a different kind of energy.

A man covered deeply in a black robe…

No, it had to be Lich.

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Chapter 39: Chapter 39

Flick!

Clank, clank!

Pierce, pierce!

A relatively sharp Ice Spear flew over and exploded in front of him.

Su-hyeun brought his hand up and blocked his face from the debris. During that short time, all signs of the Lich had vanished.

It seemed that it had become aware of Su-hyeun and escaped.

Su-hyeun raised his head again.

'He didn't seem to be half as good as the previous one…'

It was a different Lich than the one that appeared as the dungeon's boss in the level-fluctuating dungeon.

Different from the summoner Lich, who had imperfect vitality and power, the Lich here was the real deal.

'A Lich on the 20th floor…'

The level of difficulty increased the further he ascended.

The existence of Lich could've brought about many variables.

The Lich was a monster that was very knowledgeable about magic. According to their level of magical knowledge, a Lich could do a variety of things.

The Lich could not be seen as a boss on the 20th-floor's trial.

Instead, the 19th-floor's ancient monster was a more demanding opponent.

If so…

'A certain situation that the Lich is trying to make…'

That would be the primary key to the trial.

'Good. End of thinking.'

Sweep!

Su-hyeun's body disappeared from the spot as if he had sunk.

The mercenaries releasing magic attacks at Su-hyeun were caught by surprise and shouted, "He… he disappeared!"

"Find him!"

Though they searched the area, Su-hyeun was nowhere to be found.

[Shadow Assimilation.]

Sweep!

Su-hyeun reappeared under a bronze statue located in the distance.

At the back, the soldiers were still busy searching for Su-hyeun, unaware that he had already entered the castle.

'It takes a while to manifest.'

'Shadow Assimilation' was a skill that was obtained in the case of infiltration. It was purchased on the 15th floor with a considerable amount of achievement points.

It was commonly used by awakeners of the assassin class, where it gave one the ability to move with a specific shadow in sight.

It was quite a useful transportation skill.

One needed to use a shadow larger than the user himself. Although the shadow needed to be within sight, a penalty like that was not much of a problem for a spatial skill.

The problem was its manifest period.

As it was a spatial skill, the difficulty level increased, leading to an extended manifest period.

'Should I have increased my skill proficiency level?'

It would have been a pain to do that.

To a certain extent, the skill was only obtained for infiltrations like this, not a skill that could be used frequently.

It was better to increase the skill proficiency of other skills instead.

'Anyway, I should have gone far enough…'

He hid behind the bronze statue and observed the soldiers searching for him.

Thankfully, they were not able to spot him. Before Su-hyeun got caught, it was better for him to go deeper.

[Shadow Assimilation.]

Su-hyeun soon spotted another shadow in sight.

From a distance, he used the shadow he saw to utilize the Shadow Assimilation skill.

With that, Su-hyeun succeeded in infiltrating the castle.

The castle was empty.

It seemed that most of the soldiers were sent out to prevent him from entering.

Although Su-hyeun had succeeded in infiltrating, the castle was dead silent as if the soldiers didn't think that he had entered the castle.

'There's nothing special…'

Trudge.

'Must I go in further?'

The scale of the castle was relatively massive.

It was hard to even look around the castle in a day. It was nearly impossible to just observe this place alone.

'If so…'

Su-hyeun lowered his head and looked at the ground.

"Well, those with something up their sleeves usually liked the underground more.'

Slung!

Su-hyeun hung the tree branch held in his hand on his back and took out Gram.

And…

Burn!

The flame lit up, and Su-hyeun held on to Gram in the opposite direction. Holding the sword's handle with both hands, he directed it towards the ground.

Poke!

Burn!

The fallen sword made the interior of the castle hot with the flame. Cracking sounds were heard as the castle walls and floors started to crack apart.

Crack, crack!

Rumble!

The corridor where Su-hyeun stood at started to crumble.

'Regardless of whether the castle falls or not, what does it matter to me.'

There was a shortcut downwards; he didn't need to find his way around.

Crumble!

The floor of the castle crumbled, rumbling loudly. Su-hyeun grabbed onto the walls and fell along slowly.

Looking down, he spotted nearly pitch-black energy.

No, he had felt it.

"Bingo."

Thinking that it was not an ordinary castle, he believed that something was hidden in there.

He had been worried that it would be concealed in a complicated way, but it didn't seem so after he managed to find it so easily.

'Indeed, it was easier to act instead of thinking about it.'

In truth, it was better to have used both brains and body to execute, instead of just relying on either one.

Of course, that didn't mean Su-hyeun wasn't a clever thinker.

Slick!

Su-hyeun threw himself down. Since he was now sure there was something beneath, there was no need for hesitation.

Pierce, pierce!

Swoosh!

At that moment, black stems shot out towards Su-hyeun as he fell.

Su-hyeun leaped upwards reflexively. He then injected flame into his sword and sent it downwards.

Bang, bang!

Burn!

As the flame hit the stems, both had been wiped out. Su-hyeun climbed along the undamaged corridor and looked in the direction where the energy came from.

"I had thought some rat came along, but it was the kid from earlier."

A husky voice rang out.

But it wasn't like Lich's, where it was fully split.

It was using voice modulation magic.

"What were you doing here?"

Su-hyeun wanted to obtain some hints from him.

Su-hyeun had already learned that the castle was intertwined with the Lich. However, there was no knowing what the Lich would've done there.

If possible, Su-hyeun was hoping that the Lich would be a tell-tale.

"Why would I tell that to someone who would soon become a dead man?"

"If our aims are the same, wouldn't it be better if we cooperated?"

The Lich started to gather magic in its hands, but Su-hyeun re-directed the topic.

These words used to work quite well.

Either way, they only worked towards their motives. If someone as strong as them were to cooperate with them, they would have considered it.

However…

"I don't trust you."

Lich's reaction was firm.

"Why is that so?"

"The energy that you're using."

Lich took off its hood revealing its face and pointed at Su-hyeun.

"It was the energy that would become our enemy."

"…Ah, is that so?"

The flame was the problem.

The flame's nature was similar to light and fire, which conflicted with the Lich's energy. Just as light and dark didn't go together, the Lich despised Su-hyeun.

"Well, what a shame."

Burn!

Su-hyeun raised the flame that Lich had despised onto his whole body.

The castle was soon heated up. With that power, Lich backed away with black magic wrapped around him.

"If so, I would have to finish you off first slowly…"

As he talked to Lich, Su-hyeun did not approach but instead turned his head away.

At that moment, the Lich who backed down while being pressured by Su-hyeun's magic stepped forward again.

"Did you think that I would be alone?"

Slide, slide!

Underneath, three more robed men appeared in the endless underground.

Su-hyeun put up a perplexed expression, as he felt the same kind of magic from them as well.

'Things are getting complicated.'

There wasn't just one Lich there.

Crumble, crumble!

The castle shook again.

The heat filled up the hall. Maxman stopped commanding his soldiers and stopped in his tracks.

"This… What…"

The intruder had entered the castle.

His existence was enough to overwhelm thousands of his soldiers. With a single blow, he could've cut down the iron gate to their fortress and resisted the magic attacks from dozens of his mercenaries.

He was a monster.

Although Maxman had been on the battlefields for decades, he had never seen a monster like that intruder.

Thus, Maxman had to stop him. If such an intruder was in the castle, none of them could sleep a wink.

However…

'Is the intruder an enemy?'

Maxman was surprised at the quick brief on the damage report by his soldiers.

There were no dead soldiers.

Come to think of it, the intruder did not hold a sword in his hands. Instead of a sword, he held a tree branch he had picked up somewhere.

Of course, the intruder could have killed the soldiers with just a single tree branch.

He had the skills to cut down the iron gate, so did it matter with what weapon he was holding?

However, the intruder did not act that way.

It meant that he didn't intend to kill anyone.

'Then why…?"

He could not understand his objective.

Despite being confused, he was sure about one thing.

'Something was going on.'

The feeling of danger and anxiety he felt now was not due to the intruder since he had no intention to kill the soldiers.

Even if the kid was an intruder, it was hard to consider him an enemy when he did not harm the soldiers even at the expense of trouble.

'If so, just what is this feeling…'

"Captain!"

Maxman turned his head sharply towards the soldier who called out to him.

"There's a signal from within the castle! I think the intruder had entered the castle."

"What's his exact location?"

"The basement."

"Gather the soldiers and mercenaries immediately… No, wait."

Maxman shook his head.

"Pick out those who can move and set off. I'll go there myself."

Clank, clank!

Crack, crack!

Dozens of rectangular windows were fixed on the walls. Su-hyeun fell back as he was hit by the flame.

"How disgusting."

He furrowed his brows and turned his head around.

One of the skeletons reached out its hand and stood there.

Whoosh!

They seemed to have prepared for a long time since quite a bit of energy was shot out.

It was a familiar type of magic.

'Dark Gun, Guide.'

It was a high level of dark spatial magic that took the life of opponents after pressurizing them by crumbling every space available.

It could not be received by the normal flame.

"Damn it."

Burn!

The flame on Su-hyeun's sword had become blue.

Wrapping it around the sword, Su-hyeun made a downward stroke.

Slash!

Rip!

The Guide's darkness was split in half. The scattered power dissipated, revealing the Lich.

"The Guide…!"

Seemingly flustered, the Lich's voice cracked as it initially would. Three more Lich appeared around Su-hyeun and surrounded him.

"Haa…"

Su-hyeun let out a long sigh.

Had he known this would happen, he would have taken his time.

'All I can do now is regret…'

It seemed that Su-hyeun had to use one more of his cards.

'I hadn't wished to use it hastily if others got involved…'

Creak, creak!

Starting from the back of his hands, Su-hyeun's skin was gradually covered in scales.

When both arms were covered entirely in scales, Su-hyeun's eyes had turned similar to those of a beast's. All his senses were amplified and turned sharper than before.

"I have no other choice."

[Transfigure: Imoogi.]

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Chapter 40: Chapter 40

Act 9

The mission on the 18th floor was pretty simple. Su-hyeun had to knock down a single object, a single monster.

The mission itself sounded the easiest and simplest. But as a result, the trial on the 18th floor was the most difficult one.

[Knock down an old Imoogi.]

Although it was described as old, Su-hyeun was dumbfounded about this trial at first.

"Imoogi? Did it just say Imoogi?" he asked.

It was an unreasonable monster to come out on the 18th floor. Although it was a single monster, it was difficult to defeat. After fighting for more than half a day, Su-hyeun finally knocked down Imoogi. Without a second thought, he used transfiguration skills to defeat it.

As a result, Su-hyeun gained the power of the Imoogi, the mythical snaked that tried to become a dragon with divinity.

"Of course, it is not perfect yet," he thought.

So far, he could not control the power of the Imoogi perfectly. Physically, Su-hyeun was not as powerful as the Imoogi. Because of this, Su-hyeun did not try to the traits of the Imoogi. Unless he was trying to improve his proficiency on purpose. However,

"If I do this…"

Crunch—

As he grasped his hands, he could feel the scales on the back of his hands. Without spreading his magic, he could feel the surroundings and energy vividly. It had been a long time since he felt this.

"Well, then…" he said.

Whip—!

Riiiip—

He tore the energy down that flew in front of him. His long, sharp nails were better than any other sword.

"Watch out! This brat—" one Richie shouted.

"It is too" —Su-hyeun said and grabbed the head of the Richie—"late to watch out."

Bam—!

Crack, crack—!

The hallway floor was shattered. Su-hyeun's hand broke Richie's head and the Life Stone came out.

Snatch—

Su-hyeun quickly grabbed the Life Stone. At the same time, he glanced at the other three remaining Richies.

"I don't have much time. I have to finish it quickly," he thought.

As his five senses extended, he could feel signs from outside of the castle. Soldiers were coming into the castle. Their signs quickly approached. Soon, they would arrive here. Then, it would be difficult for him to keep this state.

"Well…" he said.

Swish—

Su-hyeun's new form disappeared, leaving afterimages. In an instant, he got closer to the monsters. Three Richies condensed their magic.

Whirl, whirl, whirl—

A solid dark sphere wrapped around Richies. Su-hyeun stroked the sphere with Gram.

Crack, crack—!

Whirl—

A curtain created by the three Richies magic didn't stay long. It started to crack.

Crack—!

The crack had broken, and huge magic came out from it. Dozens of dark ashes began to embrace Su-hyeun.

Whoosh—!

At that moment, Su-hyeun made the Flame on the other hand. The red Flame quickly got bigger and started to cover the Richies.

"What the…?!" one Richie screamed.

The three Richies were surprised and moved away from Flame. In the middle of that, one Richie pushed another Richie's back. The Flame pushed the darkness away and turned that Richie into ash. It was the kind of heat that would turn everything, even a Life Stone to ash.

"Now, there are two," Su-hyeun said.

Slash—!

He swung the sword once more, successfully cutting off one Richie's arm. He meant to cut the body in half, but only one arm flew away.

Crack—!

The curtain that the Richies made was pointless. They finally realized that and chose to avoid rather than to block.

"We have to get out of here…" one Richie said.

"We can't win like this," the other Richie realized when he was Su-hyeun was using the transfiguration skill. He should have figured that out sooner.

Crunch—!

A bird flew from somewhere bit off one Richie's neck. That Richie's movement stopped. Soon, his body began to burn.

Crunch—!

Caw, caw—!

A phoenix came and bit off the neck and separated the body and head of one Richie.

There was only one Richie left.

"Damn. No way…" he screamed.

"Yes way," Su-hyeun said.

Swish—

Su-hyeun's new form flew to Richie's front. The surprised Richie stretched his arms quickly. Soon, he released his magic with all his strength.

Whoosh—!

Once again, Guide covered Su-hyeun's body.

It was a hit.

Richie yelled for joy. Since he swept with the Guide, Su-hyeun would not be safe.

"Finally!" Richie thought.

But his pleasure didn't last long. When he yelled for joy—

[Indomitable body.]

Whoosh—!

—Su-hyeun stretched his arm and grabbed Richie's neck. Richie grabbed Su-hyeun's wrist with his bony hand as if he couldn't believe what was happening.

"How could he…!" Richie screamed.

The Guide was the dark magic about space. It was supposed to trample space and the pressure was strong enough to break down quite a bit of steel. In such a space, an ordinary human couldn't survive.

There were two facts that this Richie overlooked. First, Su-hyeun was not an ordinary human. Second, his body was now assimilated into the body of the Imoogi.

"If you answer my question, I won't break your head," Su-hyeun said.

With the threat of Su-hyeun, the magic on Richie's hand disappeared. He was wanted to live, but he knew he could die if Su-hyeun made the Flame at that moment.

But as Su-hyeun said, if he could answer the question, he would survive. Because Richie's power was not in the body; it was the Life Stone in his head.

"So, what do you think?" Su-hyeun asked.

Most of the Richies were born from refusing death too frequently. They could not give up their lives. Su-hyeun thought this Richie in front of him would not be much different. And his guess was correct.

"O…K," Richie said.

Richie, who seemed to be worried for a while, soon accepted Su-hyeun's proposal. Su-hyeun decided to use this Richie. He could just blow away the body, and there was no reason to keep the promise. There was nothing to worry about.

"First, what's down here?" he asked.

"Under here…"

The moment Richie tried to open his mouth.

Shiver—

Su-hyeun got chills. He was surprised and released Richie's neck. He activated the Indomitable body again and quickly fell from the spot.

Squish—

Stab—

Two black spears came out from under his feet. One of them pierced Richie from the bottom. The other rose where Su-hyeun was standing. He could be pierced if he didn't move. Richie could not continue to speak and stayed still.

Slide—

Clink, clink—

The spears went back to the floor. Life Stone that was pierced fell from Richie's head to the floor. Richie lost the Life Stone and his life.

"…Well. That is annoying." Su-hyeun mumbled.

Su-hyeun wanted to get the answer and tried to leave quickly.

"This way!

"He is here!"

Soldiers found Su-hyeun.

Among them, the man who was at the forefront was skilled. He had the most intense magic of anyone in the castle. He was Maxman.

"Everyone! Don't approach. Cover me…" Maxman yelled.

When Maxman found Su-hyeun, he pulled his sword and watched him. He soon froze after he saw the area where Su-hyeun and the Richies fought. He found remains.

"What, what is all this?" he asked.

Only bones of the Richies' remained. And Su-hyeun was standing in the middle. The sight made Maxman very confused.

"Well. Should I say it is good timing…?" Su-hyeun glanced down and said, "you are in charge here, right? Take your men out of the castle, right now."

"What are you talking about?" Maxman made an expression that showed his mixed feelings

It was their castle. He was the commander of this castle, and Su-hyeun was the one who had to get out.

But Su-hyeun looked very dignified as if it was his house. Maxman was a bit embarrassed about it, but first, he had to figure out the situation.

"Well, if you look around, you will figure it out. This is what happened," Su-hyeun said.

"You mean…Richie?" Maxman asked.

"Yes. This is a den of Richies. If you stay here, you will die," Su-hyeun said.

"Maybe it is you who brought Richies. Or maybe those skeletons were our soldiers."

Maxman couldn't just step out of his protection just because they were Richies. He wasn't even sure they were Richies. He couldn't afford to blindly believe the words of an invader.

"Can you see this?" Su-hyeun said.

He lifted the hollow Life Stone on the floor.

"This is Richie's Life Stone. Richies plant these in their heads and save their lives."

"…Prove to me that you didn't bring these Richies," Maxman said.

"Well. If I could bring this number of Richies, I wouldn't make you guys come to the castle. If I was a real enemy, I probably would have just killed everyone already."

It was creepy, but it was true. Richie was a monster like a high-ranking wizard. If Richies teamed up with such a skilled swordsman, they would easily raze the castle to the ground.

In such a situation, Su-hyeun acted like this and killed all Richies? That would be nonsense.

"Then, really, Richies were here?" Maxman thought, "if that is true, should we escape the castle as this guy said?"

"Don't you have to save your soldiers?" Su-hyeun pointed at his feet and said, "If you guys stay here… you all are going to die."

It sounded a bit extreme. Nothing was certain. But Su-hyeun's believed it and fortunately, Maxman thought the same.

"I…" Maxman opened his mouth. When he almost finished his worrying—

-Don't run away.

Whirl, whirl, whirl—

—they heard the voice ringing the whole castle. It was the voice of Maxman's immediate superior, who descended from the kingdom.

"What…the…?" Maxman said.

-Don't run away. Kill that man. Right now.

Whirl, whirl, whirl—

The voice rang the castle. Su-hyeun could tell whose voice it was.

"It is him," he thought.

It was the Richie that he met the first time when he entered this place. He had the highest concentration of magic. It was that man's voice.

I am ordering you, as your superior, Maxman.

"Did he just say superior?" Su-hyeun thought.

He looked at Maxman with surprise. Maxman was about to agree with Su-hyeun, but now he was restless.

"So… Richie was drawing feudal allowance." he thought.

It was a ridiculous situation. The man in front of Su-hyeun, Maxman, was a soldier. For soldiers, the command of the superior was like the command of a god. It was the absolute rule that had made men like Maxman serve for a lifetime. So, he had no choice but to fight. Even if he thought Su-hyeun was right…

"What should I do?" Maxman had no choice. He had to fight.

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Chapter 41: Chapter 41

Maxman closed his eyes for a while and thought. In just a second, he thought many things. The scales in his head were tilted to one side and then back to the other constantly. He had never thought so deeply and quickly in such a short amount of time. Maxman finally opened his eyes.

"I…" Maxman opened his mouth.

He could see Su-hyeun in front of him. The voice from below still made his head dizzy.

It was at that moment.

Well, then. I think all you guys should rather die here.

Whirl, whirl, whirl—

Maxman made his decision.

" All army…!"

He turned his body and looked at the soldiers.

"Get out of the castle! Right now!" He put magic in his voice and shouted. His voice was full of power. He worries completely vanished.

And it was a rebellion against the high officials of the kingdom, who made sound from downstairs.

-Are you betraying the kingdom?

The shrilly voice shook the castle. Maxman looked down with contempt and opened his mouth.

"A real soldier doesn't feel diffident superior," he said, "the real soldier reads subordinate's countenance. Especially, if the price is the life of people, there is nothing to think about."

The reason he stopped worrying was simple. It was an easy question. The balances shook several times and soon it tilted to one side. The difference in weight was quite clear. Maxman had no intention of keeping the superior's order, which was a death sentence for the soldiers.

If you do that…

Crack, crack —

Barroom, crack —

The castle started to shake, and some sort of dark energy flowed through the walls. Maxman was surprised and pushed the soldiers back.

I will kill you all.

Whooooom—

"Runaway! Right now!" Maxman had a feeling and shouted.

The soldiers were also anxious. In the meantime, the order fell, so they ran as quickly as they could.

"R-run away!"

"Get out of the castle!"

"Hurry up! Quickly!"

The soldiers began to move in perfect order, the energy from the wall began to shoot.

Pow, pow, pow—!

Swiiiish—!

Hundreds of thousands of spear blades struck the soldiers.

Maxman quickly moved his magic, but he could not cover all the soldiers with only his power.

"Is it too late…?" he thought.

Whoosh—!

At that moment, a huge fire swept through the walls of the castle.

crackle—

The heat had encroached on the castle. The heatwave seemed like it could burn the flesh. Thankfully, the black spears that had been firing at the soldiers were destroyed by the fire.

"W-what the?… Maxman mumbled.

"Are you in charge here?" Su-hyeun asked.

Maxman turned his head to Su-hyeun when he heard his voice. He thought this guy was his enemy, but he saved their lives.

"You've made a good choice. Go out, quickly," Su-hyeun said calmly.

"Why…?" Maxman asked.

"The reason is not important right now. You have to survive first, right?"

Su-hyeun's word was right. First of all, surviving was the most important thing. He didn't want to let thousands of soldiers be killed because of his foolishness. Maxman nodded and opened his mouth.

"Donald!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Take all the soldiers out of the castle and escape right now. I will leave the rest to your judgment," Maxman commanded.

"What, sir? What do you mean, sir?" Donald asked.

"You heard me! Move right now! We don't have much time!"

With loud scolding of Maxman, the deputy commander, Donald, shook his body and nodded. As Maxman said, there was certainly no time to linger. Su-hyeun was blocking, but the threat had not yet disappeared.

"Run! Escape out of the castle! Now!" Donald shouted.

He began to lead soldiers. He had been in charge of the soldiers for a long time with Maxman.

Su-hyeun opened his mouth as he watched the soldiers running away.

"Why don't you go?"

"I want to see with my own eyes if my judgment was correct," Maxman answered.

"Do you still think I might be the enemy?" Su-hyeun asked.

"Perhaps… No… Yes," Maxman answered slowly.

Maxman had made a choice, but he was not sure about it yet. Right at the moment, he thought saving the soldiers was the right decision and he didn't regret it. However, it was necessary to check who Su-hyeun was.

"I am grateful to save the soldiers. As a superior, I thought it was better to take your side than that ruffian that told all soldiers to die. But…"

Maxman shut his eyes, opened again, and continued to say.

"I can't eliminate any single possibility. I have never seen you before. So, if my decision was wrong…I will take responsibility for myself."

It was understandable. Su-hyeun was the person he never saw before, especially he invaded the castle. It was hard to believe that Su-hyeun was on his side, even if he had saved them. At least Maxman thought he needed to check the situation as the man in charge.

"Whatever. Do as you please," Su-hyeun said.

Rumble, Ruuuuumble—

The walls shook more and more loudly. Su-hyeun gave a little more magic to the Flame. The magic of Richie and Su-hyeun continued to collide.

"It could have bothered me," he thought.

Maxman's choice about the voice that came from below was fortunate for Su-hyeun. If Maxman decided to keep the position and attack Su-hyeun, he had no choice but to escape from the soldiers.

He was not sure what was underneath. But no matter what was there, if the soldiers stayed, he could not be rash in a choice move or fight.

"Since he made a difficult decision—" Su-hyeun thought.

Whoosh, whoosh—

"—I guess, the decision I made was not wrong."

Su-hyeun was blocking all the sides' walls in the castle with the Flame. Additionally, he had controlled his power and focused to not burn the soldiers so far. The magic and concentration that was consumed in the process were difficult to cope with even though he was excellent at controlling magic.

And Maxman, who was facing Su-hyeun himself, might know that. Maxman was also a man who could use magic. For a long time, Su-hyeun concentrated and blocked Richie's magic. When he was convinced that all the soldiers had escaped from the castle, he finally put out his Flame.

"Huu—" he sighed.

It had been a long time that he had used so much magic. Although his Magic Factor increased over the past year, there was a limit, of course.

Sweat formed on his tired face. Su-hyeun sat down and checked around.

"Is he tired, too?" he thought.

Richie, who had been fighting for a while, also stopped releasing his power. Su-hyeun was thankful for that, he had time to take a breath.

"You really won't go out?" Su-hyeun asked once more to confirm before he stood up, "I can't protect you anymore."

" I can protect myself," Maxman said.

"Well… I don't think so…" Su-hyeun said.

"Don't' worry. I won't beg for my life. As commander here, I must see what is going on in this castle."

He was an inflexible and stubborn man. Su-hyeun wondered, how this kind of man could decide against the kingdom.

"I guess he takes care of the soldiers that much," he thought.

Maxman was a good superior. Thanks to him, this test became much easier.

"Now, it is almost time to end," Su-hyeun thought.

Tuk, tuk—

He beat the dust off the pants and stood up.

Maxman also stood up and drew his sword.

"Then, let's go," Su-hyeun said.

"Are you going underground?" Maxman asked.

"Yes," Su-hyeun answered.

"I'll take the lead. Follow me."

Maxman, who knew the castle's structure well, stepped to one side to guide him.

"You don't have to."

Crack—!

Su-hyeun struck the sword toward the floor as he did the first time. Then, he injected his magic and began to break the floor.

Whack, whaaaack —

Craaaash—

Maxman shouted in surprise as he looked back at Su-hyeun, who was about to break the castle disappear below.

"How dare you break the castle…!"

"We don't have time to go around," Su-hyeun said.

"But…"

"If we don't hurry, all soldiers may die."

In response to Su-hyeun, Maxman shut his mouth up. The soldiers might die. Nothing more effective for Maxman than that and it was not just to make his mouth shut.

Crack, rumble—

The floor began to collapse. Su-hyeun jumped down and glanced at Maxman. While falling, Maxman calmly slowed down. He didn't particularly study magic, but he had quite excellent physical skills.

"Hmm… He is quite good," Su-hyeun thought.

Maxman had a good magic ability, but he was the swordsman who had a much better physical ability. He might be comparable to Richies that Su-hyeun just fought. At least, he would not be a burden.

Swish—

Crunch, crunch—

Su-hyeun broke the floor several more times. As they descended, they finally arrived at the dark underground. There was no light. Indeed, it was dark. It was not just because there was no light. There was some energy hovering around. It was very dreary energy, and could even erase the musty smell of the underground.

"Where is this place…?" Maxman mumbled.

He never saw this place before–a surprise since he knew the castle underground so well. It consisted of prisons for sinners or for soldiers who had committed wrongdoing. But this place was not for that. The underground that Maxman knew was above this place. This place was the underground of the underground.

Maxman, who was commander of the castle, never knew this place existed.

"Watch out. Don't move," Su-hyeun said.

He quickly grabbed Maxman's shoulder as he was about to take a step forward.

"Your ankle will be cut off."

"…!"

Maxman looked around in surprise. Hundreds and thousands of blades were laid on the floor. They wriggled and wandered around the floor as if they were alive. They were not normal weapons. They were blades made in some magical way.

"That is too bad. You could pay the price for betrayal."

The shadow of a person revealed with a giggle.

"Betrayal, my a*s. I don't think someone fooled others can use such words."

Richie, who was looking at Maxman, turned his face to Su-hyeun as if his words made him feel bad.

"Where did a guy like you come from?" Richie asked in a quiet voice.

"I dropped with a thud from the sky. To kill the bastards like you," Su-hyeun said.

It was not necessarily wrong. He had fallen to pass this place to pass the test. Until now, it was only a series of steps to complete this trial perfectly.

And perhaps the final test of this trial would be the Richie in front of him.

"Are you trying to play some sort of hero?" Richie asked.

"Did you just say a hero?" Su-hyeun knitted his brows at Richie's question and said, "watch your mouth. That word. I don't like it much."

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Chapter 42: Chapter 42

Whirl, whirl—

The magic started to overrun around Su-hyeun. The highly concentrated magic blew violently and became hotter. In a sudden change of mood, Richie also pulled our his magic.

"Well, that is good. Because I do not like the type of people who pretend to be a hero." Richie chuckled and laughed at Su-hyeun. He continued to say, "but isn't it weird? What you did was a hero thing. Why did you save the soldiers? Go to all that effort? And why did you trust me to not hurt them after they ran away?"

"…What?" Maxman looked back at Su-hyeun in surprise. "Even after the soldiers ran away?"

Su-hyeun had helped the soldiers run away and checked the Richie during his break. He focused all his nerves on Richie in the deep underground. He also checked the soldiers' movement. In the process, he consumed with considerable concentration and even physical strength.

"I did not care for them at all. You fool just wasted your power." Richie sneered.

"It was not a waste," Su-hyeun denied what Richie said and stepped forward.

Crack—!

He trampled the blade under his feet. The magic spread around him with rage. His eyes sparkled. He stared at Richie.

"Why was that a waste?" he asked.

Thump—

Su-hyeun closed the distance toward Richie.

"Since the soldiers ran away because of me, it is my responsibility to keep them alive. This man, right here, evacuated the soldiers because of me."

Su-hyeun remembered what Maxman said, "If my decision was wrong…I will take responsibility for myself."

The sense of responsibility and pressure that Maxman felt, Su-hyeun could understand better than anyone else. His one action and one word could decide so many people's lives.

"If so… I should decide that the decision was not wrong. That is my responsibility," Su-hyeun determined.

"What funny sophistry! Are you sacrificing yourself to save others?"

"It is not a sacrifice. It is a responsibility. Responsibility for my actions. Can you say a fool who doesn't know that he is a wizard of knowledge?"

"…I know for sure," Richie said with certainty, "you are the same as every other hero I know."

"Really? Is that so?"

Stab—

Su-hyeun's sword penetrated Richie's head.

"Well then, let's just say you are right," he said.

Whoosh—!

Richie's body started to burn and lit up the dark underground. Su-hyeun turned his body behind the burning Richie.

"Kekeke." Richie's laughter came from the back.

At first, the burned body by Flame was not Richie's. It was some sort of hallucination magic.

"You are a funny guy. A hero? … No, you already knew about me, didn't you?" Richie asked.

"About half?" Su-hyeun answered.

He had a rough idea about the final destination of this trial, the mission that he got at this moment.

"The God of Death. Well, that is just a name… I think you are an apostle of the king, the Richie King."

The Richie King. Among the intelligent monsters, he was also known as the God of Death. The Richie in front of him was an apostle of that Richie King. He was an upper-grade Richie, who was master of death-related magic

Su-hyeun looked at the huge pattern drawn on the floor of the underground. It was a very complex pattern. He had seen this pattern once before.

"Death-Force Absorption."

Death-Force Absorption was the name of this pattern named by awakeners. It was a skill to draw the souls around the pattern and to improve the power of the user. It was a kind of magic circle that was mainly used by the apostle of the Richie King. Su-hyeun had been contemplating this skill since hearing the content of the trial and knowing the existence of Richie.

"If all people were dead…," he thought, "that Richie probably had much stronger power than now."

That was the reason why the gatekeeper gave him a hint, "Do not kill anyone."

"Kekeke. You are just proving your ignorance by disparaging His Majesty by that name," Richie giggled and said.

"Bullsh*t. He is just a little stronger skeleton. You are the ignorant one, serving that man as a god."

"That is because you have no idea who His…"

"That fellow. He will be killed by my hands." Su-hyeun cut Richie off.

Richie stopped laughing by Su-hyeun's word. He was pretty loyal to his king, as soon as Su-hyeun mentioned the king's death, he did not look relaxed anymore. But what he said was not just a lie to provoke him.

"What? Can't you believe me? Then, go otherworld and wait. You will see him soon."

"…You brat. Are you serious?"

"Yes, I am. You would know. If my word is true or not."

What Su-hyeun said was true. The Richie King was a great being praised by Richies as the God of Death, but he was also just a monster.

At the time of the dungeon outbreak, Su-hyeun had dealt with him. That time, he killed the Richie King and destroyed all Richies in the world. The Richie King was the creator of Richie's life extension system. That was why all Richies served him as a god.

"You're saying something you shouldn't," Richie said in a low voice.

Kuuuuuu—

Crash, Craaaash—

The magic of Su-hyeun and Richie started to crash. Maxman, who was in the middle, grasped his fist. His feet started to tremble.

"This is… This is a different world than I lived in," he thought.

Maxman already knew how strong Su-hyeun was. He saw his skills with own eyes. The mysterious fire and magic he was using, and his magic factor was high. Plus, his sword skills were way higher than average. Maxman could not hesitate to say he was just amazing. But he still thought, there would be something he could help. But…

"What the hell am I doing…" he mumbled.

He was seeing the kingdom's secret right at the moment. The Richie was appointed as the lord of a castle. Somebody in the kingdom planned to kill all soldiers and to increase the power of Richie.

And since Maxman confirmed all the facts, he had to help Su-hyeun at least a little bit. But he could not. He had no power for that. He was not sure if his help would help Su-hyeun anyway.

Sizzle—

Two huge bolts of magic hit and bounced in all directions. At that moment, it had become bright in front of Maxman's eyes. When he opened his eyes again, they were gone.

"Where did they go?"

Craaack—!

Whack—!

He could feel the hot heat and stinging aura.

Rumble, ruuumble —

The underground started to shake.

Swish, swish—

Whoosh—!

Maxman barely protected himself from the aftermath of the fight. Su-hyeun swung Gram and struck Richie's head.

Guuuuu—

Swish—

Gram's way was warped by the huge pressure that shot from his hand, the Guide magic. But Richie could not turn the way of the sword as he expected. The attack he had made intending to destroy it in the first place.

"As I expected…," Richie thought.

Swish—!

The ominous black sphere twisted its shape and shot at Su-hyeun. He did not avoid it, he rather cut it off, and approached Richie.

Slash, slash—

Boom, boom, boom—

The sphere was cut and lost its direction and burst out. Richie focused on Su-hyeun's sword.

"That sword is pretty annoying," Richie thought.

He looked at the sword in Su-hyeun's hand. Su-hyeun's ability was extraordinary, but his sword was something very special as well.

Su-hyeun did not use much of his power. He was saving his magic. The hardness and sharpness of the sword was all the ability of the sword itself. Richie was surprised at the fact that the sword could cut his magic by its power.

"and that power—"

Whoosh—

The flame surrounded Su-hyeun, who was burning all the dark magic and approaching him. He could not get closer to Su-hyeun because of that. That was a good defending method, also an absolute attacking method. That Flame was incompatible with Richie, who was using the dark magic.

"— is very tricky," Richie thought.

In this way, it would be hard to fight back. Moreover, the skill he was preparing did not complete. The situation was disadvantageous to him.

"Then…," Richie thought something and rushed to Su-hyeun.

Richie was a wizard, but he ran into the swordsman. It was not a normal situation. Su-hyeun's eyes flashed in an unexpected situation.

"What is he doing?" Su-hyeun thought.

Swish—

Richie stretched out his hand to Su-hyeun.

In that short moment, Su-hyeun's head spun fast. "Should I make this face-to-face? Is it some sort of trick? Is this an opportunity or a trap?"

With complicated thinking, the Flame on his hand changed its color.

Swoosh—

The Flame that changed to blue inflated its size.

"I won't avoid you. Face-to-face."

The worries were brief, and there was no reason to save power since he had made the decision.

[The Transfiguration skill: Imoogi.]

[The Flame.]

[Indomitable body.]

Su-hyeun's body was surrounded by scales of Imoogi. The blue Flame covered his body and sword. His body became harder than steel because of the Indomitable body skill. There was no need to save his magic. If only he could cut Richie now.

"What the…" Richie, who ran straight to Su-hyeun, was surprised by the unexpected strength. "He is more powerful than I expected…!"

The moment when their hands and swords cross each other—

Swoosh—

Boooom—!

—The blue and black magic hit, and the shock wave shook the whole huge castle.

Act 10

Kuuuuuu—

The castle, which had been shaken by the aftermath of the huge explosion, began to stabilize.

Patter, patter—

The broken walls and ceiling fell. Maxman coughed and lowered his arm that he had raised to protect his head.

"Cough! Cough!"

Kkkrrraak—

Crash—

A pile of rock that had poured over his head spilled onto the floor. It was a miracle to survive in this mess. Maxman thought if he was a wizard, not a swordsman, he would not have survived.

"What is just happened…?"

Maxman, who had barely recovered his vision, lifted his head and stiffened like a rock and opened his eyes wide. His mouth opened in surprise.

"C-castle…"

The empty underground was cluttered with the collapsed ceiling, meaning that the aftereffect of the explosion had affected not only the underground but also the ground itself. It was amazing that such an explosion occurred due to the collision of power, but it was also amazing that he survived in it.

"Wait! What happened to that guy?"

In this collision, what happened to the parties, Su-hyeun and Richie?

"Could he survive? Even the castle collapsed!" Maxman quickly stood up and looked around. Su-hyeun had saved many soldiers in the castle and himself.

Crash, crash—

At that time, he sensed somebody's presence at the piles of stones at one side.

Rumble—

The pile of stones was shaken. Some debris poured down. And from the crack of the pile of stones, one arm came out.

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Chapter 43: Chapter 43

Crack—

-Ugh… Uh…

Maxman heard a voice crack in frustration. There was a hand had no flesh, only bone.

Crumble—

Soon, Richie came out from the pile of stones and looked around.

"…Sh*t," Maxman swore despite himself. He hoped that the person who survived there was Su-hyeun. But Richie survived and stood right there.

"Can I win?" Maxman thought. He already knew the ability of Richie.

"If it was a normal fight, I would lose," he thought. He was sure about that. But now, Richie was not in good shape. "Maybe I can win. If I fight now before he recovers. I have to hurry…"

Crack—

At that moment, another hand squeezed out of the pile of stones. And…

Snatch—

Crash—!

That hand grabbed Richie's head and slammed it down on the ground.

"Cough, Cough!"

Su-hyeun, who appeared with a cough, muttered with Richie's head on the floor.

"Ah, I ate a lot of sand."

"You…!" Maxman yelled.

"Oh, are you alive? I thought you died. Well, I am glad you didn't," Su-hyeun calmly said but he was covered in blood. The blood spilled from the broken head. His arm was almost crushed, and his body was staggering. He certainly did not seem to be okay.

"Are you worried about me now?"

"I won't die, I know my body," Su-hyeun said and shook his hand. One arm was crushed, but the other one was fine.

"But still…" Maxman looked aghast when he saw Su-hyeun who pretended to be fine in awful shape.

Crack, crack—

-You… Bastard…

"Ah, man?"

Crash—

Su-hyeun trampled on Richie's head. With a crunching sound, his head crushed and the Life Stone popped out.

"You are making me sick," Su-hyeun said.

Flop—

He plunked down on the ground. It was a short moment, but he thought he might have died.

"I can't believe he blew up the skill itself," he thought.

Death-Force Absorption was a skill that gathered the souls of the dead and melted it to turn it into the user's power. The soul had greater power than expected. Even though the person was weak, the soul itself kept considerable power in it.

Su-hyeun thought that Richie had not absorbed any soul with the skill. But there was one thing he had overlooked. The prisoners in the castle. The underground of the castle was a place to keep prisoners or soldiers who had committed crimes. There were dozens of people thrown in jail. Richie absorbed their souls in the skill and exploded it all at once. It was a gamble that risked the Richie's life.

"Really… That was so close," Su-hyeun sighed.

If more souls had been absorbed by Richie, he probably wouldn't be standing. Protecting the soldiers, making them run out of the castle had been the right choice. With the thought that it was over, his body loosened up. He took a deep breath. The dust spread underground came into his mouth. He frowned.

Maxman walked to him. He checked Su-hyeun and asked, "Are you… really okay?"

"Yes, I am fine," Su-hyeun answered.

"But…" Maxman hestitated.

"It will be better if I get some rest for a few days. I am really fine."

The physical strength of awakener was not just the ability to run and fight for long. The higher Health stats, the more the body recovery ability increased rapidly. Su-hyeun's Health stats were not at all low. No matter how severe the injury, it would be best to take a few days to rest.

"Thank you." Maxman bowed his head to Su-hyeun. "Thanks to you, not only me but my soldiers were able to survive. I had no idea the lord of a castle was Richie."

"It is okay. I didn't do it to save anyone. There is no reason to be thanked." Su-hyeun was ashamed by the sudden change of Maxman's attitude.

Strictly speaking, Su-hyeun had helped him because it was a challenge of trial. If the soldiers died, Su-hyeun would be in trouble.

"Well, good things are good things," he thought and picked up the Life Stone on the floor.

Richie's Life Stone, this was the main part of the Richie.

Whoosh—

Crackle, crackle—

The Life Stone in Su-hyeun's hand burned in the Flame. The sound of the soul's screams echoed in his head.

"Shut up. Just go."

Sizzle—

The Life Stone melted. At that moment, a message came to his head.

[You have gained 100,000 achievement points.]

[Calculating your accomplishment.]

[Remaining Time: 29 days.]

[You did not get help from Osman kingdom.]

[You did not get help from Hero, Priscilla.]

[You did not get help from Hero, Gerschmann.]

[You did not…]

…

[Counting the number of surviving soldiers.]

[7,129 soldiers survived.]

[You have attained the highest accomplishment.]

[You have passed the 20th-floor's trial with perfection.]

[Your achievement will be ranked.]

[You have ranked first.]

[Your Strength has increased by 1 point.]

[Your Agility has increased by 2 points.]

[Your Health has increased by 2 points.]

[Your magic factor has increased by 2 points.]

[You will get an additional reward depending on your accomplishment level.]

[You have achieved the additional reward – 'Hero: immortality.']

[Will you ascend to the next floor?]

"…"

It was the first time he had seen such a long message. He had never received a message this long, even in his previous life, which meant that Su-hyeun's achievements were excellent.

-A help from Osman kingdom.

-A help from Hero, Priscilla.

-A help from Hero, Gerschmann.

-A help from Hero…

What it meant was clear.

"Well. It was a sh*t hard time." Su-hyeun thought.

The system gave him almost 30 days. It was time to get their help. Perhaps the heroes and Osman kingdom already knew the existence of the Richie here. At first, it was not typed of the trial to solve alone. Even at level 10, the difficulty of this trial was insane for the 20th floor.

"Four Richies, and one apostolic Richie…" Su-hyeun sighed.

"But thanks to that, the achievement was calculated pretty high."

At least, there was something to comfort himself. Su-hyeun felt a little better to think about that. Unfortunately, his magic level did not increase by much. He felt sorry for that. He knew that there was a big difference in each level from level 6. But this time he expected a little.

"Well. I guess I just have to satisfy with the additional reward," he thought.

He got 100,000 achievement points, including Strength, additional stats, and magic factor. He also got a new skill, which was not a bad reward.

"Goodbye, mister" Su-hyeun waved at Maxman.

Maxman was surprised for calling him mister and a sudden salutation.

"M-mister? Wait. What do you mean goodbye…?"

Pooooof—

Su-hyeun's appearance began to become transparent. Maxman reached out to Su-hyeun and shouted something loud, but his voice didn't reach him.

[You will ascend to the 21st floor.]

Thump, thump—

Su-hyeun, who returned to the home could barely walk to the bed. Although he passed the trial, his injury remained. He could use the treasure of Shayre and recover his body, but it was not bad enough to use the healing tool when he only had the opportunity to use it twice. Using it for this would be a waste.

"Phew," Su-hyeun sighed. He felt tired. Although he took the pain pills he found at the store, the pain was not completely gone. If he didn't rest for a few days, the pain would probably continue.

"I can hold it in. I can…"

Plump—

He lay on the wide bed with blood on his body. He was overcome by fatigue and closed his eyes. He did not know when he fell asleep. He slept almost all day, every day. As people say, sleep is a good cure. He felt much better when he awoke.

"Ugh…" Su-hyeun made a moaning sound.

The crushed arm was more of a problem than anything else. The fatigue made Su-hyeun quite relaxed, but one arm was still unnatural. Even with the remedy, the healing seemed to take a long time.

"I guess I have to go to the hospital and have it at least bandaged," he thought.

He could not walk around outside with a crushed arm like this. It seemed like it would be hard to see Shin Su-yeong for a few days. She would be frightened to see him injured this badly.

Buzz—

The smartphone next to the bed rang. It was a text. He checked his phone and found several missed calls. He was not aware of the vibrations in his sleep.

"How deep did I sleep?"

It had been a long time since he had been so tired. Su-hyeun sat on the bed and checked the phone. The missed calls were from Lee Ju-ho.

-Did you pass the 20th floor already? In a day?

-Are you not able to pick up the phone? Are you not feeling well?

-It is crazy in Abyss Online. They are talking about how a person can pass the 20th floor in a day. Especially this time…

"…Umm. Is it already posted?" he thought.

From two years ago, the interest in Su-hyeun had steadily increased on Abyss Online. Recently, there were more and more people who saw him on the same line as S-rank awakeners. Of course, most of that interest was because Su-hyeun was the only awakener to challenge the trials of level 10 and that his face was not known at all.

"Well, I guess there is a reason he is worrying."

The 20th floor was already known for its difficulty. People usually lowered the level of trial for this floor, but Su-hyeun kept insisting on level 10. And he passed the trial just in one day. It was far beyond the expected range.

"I also have to check what I asked for him," he thought.

Brinngg—

Su-hyeun pressed the button and called Lee Ju-ho.

Su-hyeun made an appointment with Lee Ju-ho and headed straight to a nearby hospital. At the hospital, he scheduled the surgery and set the broken arm right. Of course, after that, the hospital urged Su-hyeun to be hospitalized immediately.

"Look. You can't go around with that body! What will you do with that arm anyway?" the doctor said.

"I am an awakener."

"Still! Your body…"

"I am fine. Just apply for some medicine on my arm and wrap the bandage. Give me some pain killers as well if you can."

"Huh…" The doctor sighed and look at him as if he was crazy.

Su-hyeun, who acted casual with his mangled body and arm, did not seem normal. No matter how resilient awakening people are, they would know and feel pain.

"If you have any problems, you must come right back. Don't move too much."

"Okay."

Su-hyeun thought to answer him positively would be better than having a war of words with him. But no matter what happened, he did not have any plans to come back to the hospital.

"I'll be better in one day, except for my arm," he thought.

Of course, he was confident that his arms would be better in a few days. The difficult part was setting the broken bone. After that, it would recover quickly. Su-hyeun already largely set the broken part, so the doctor's job was only a detailed operation.

After treatment, he came out of the room. Lee Ju-ho was waiting for him on the 1st floor. Ju-ho was surprised to see Su-hyeun injured.

"Are you okay?" Ju-ho asked.

"You mean this?" Su-hyeun turned his bandaged arm around and answered, "It is nothing."

"Oh, come on now!" That time, the doctor yelled at Su-hyeun behind of him.

He looked at him as if scolding that he was not careful.

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Chapter 44: Chapter 44

"Let's go." Su-hyeun, who told the doctor that he would be careful, flinched from his lack of care. He pushed Lee Ju-ho's back. He could hear a nagging of the doctor behind them, but he pretended not to hear and moved in a hurry.

The two men headed to a nearby cafe. Since Su-hyeun bandaged his arm and body, it attracted others' attention. So they found a place to sit away from prying eyes.

"How is your arm?" Lee Ju-ho, who ordered a cup of coffee, asked Su-hyeun.

"It is okay. I'm fine, really," Su-hyeun nodded and answered.

"I saw your face crumpled when you were swinging your arms earlier…" Lee Ju-ho said as his voice trailed off.

"Well, it is moving. That is good enough. Besides, injuring this much is not a big deal when we pass the trials, right?" Su-hyeun answered confidently as if he asked an obvious thing.

Lee Ju-ho didn't know what to say anymore. Since the injured one himself said he was fine, there was nothing he could do.

"Well, moving around a day after a trial like this means his injury must not be too bad," he thought, "This is pretty normal."

After the trial, seven or eight of the ten people usually injured themselves and devoted time to healing and recovering. Lee Ju-ho had been injured many times before as he ascended in the Tower of Trials. But Su-hyeun had not been injured much so far, except for some small wounds. This was the first time he was wounded badly. He was just a special case that he hadn't been injured much so far. The degree of injury he had now was not something serious compared to others.

"The problem was that it was the first time he was truly hurt, " Lee Ju-ho thought.

But if Su-hyeun thought this wound was not something special, there would be nothing to worry about. So, Lee Ju-ho decided to not worry about Su-hyeun anymore.

"It's nothing, but I called you to answer the question you asked the last time and ask you how you through the 20th floor so quickly."

"That… I used some ignorant way…" Su-hyeun faltered the end because he was not sure how to explain this.

Then, he thought it would be better if he didn't talk about it, so he closed his mouth. Lee Ju-ho did not ask again as if it was not a big deal. In the end, there was one reason they met.

"By the way, what happened to the thing I asked you? What did the director say?"

"Umm, that…," Lee Ju-ho sighed and replied, "It is failed."

When Lee Ju-ho finished talking, there was only a devastating silence in the director's office. The air felt heavy, it was hard to breathe in there. Kim Do-ui, who followed Ju-ho with a light heart, felt cautious even to swallow. The situation continued like that for a while.

"…That is bullsh*t." The director opened his mouth in a low voice.

"S-sir?" Kim Do-ui was surprised and called the director.

The word came out because he was embarrassed. He did not open his mouth to say anything. The director gazed at Kim Do-ui. When he got the attention of the director, he was startled. He lowered his head and stepped back.

"Why do you think so?" he asked.

"There's no basis, is there?" the director asked.

It was obvious. Even Lee Ju-ho thought he had not enough evidence. But that didn't mean he would step back simply.

"But what if my words are true…"

"Then, bring me that evidence." The director got up from his seat as if he did not want to listen to him anymore.

"In a month, a dungeon will appear in the sky of Anyang City, Gyeonggi Province? And what's inside the dungeon will cause an outbreak immediately? So, we have to dispose of awakeners and evacuate the citizens?"

The director listed the things that Lee Ju-ho had asked so far and laughed ridiculously.

"Are you out of your mind?" The director sneered.

"Sir."

"Do you know how many people live in Anyang City? It's nearly 600,000 people. Are you saying we have to evacuate all those people? Because of you?"

"Yes. It is the matter with that 600,000 people."

"If we evacuate 600,000 people, 60 million people in this country will be in fear. Because of your poorly-founded word."

"…"

"Where did you get that information anyway? If you tell me the source, I will investigate," the director said.

The source of information, was Su-hyeun, of course. But even Lee Ju-ho did not hear the exact basis of this information from Su-hyeun.

"Just… I heard he got this information from the Tower of Trials."

"So, it is not you. You just heard from someone."

"Yes."

"Then, tell me, who this man is."

At the end of the director's remarks, Lee Ju-ho thought a while, "Should I tell him this? If I tell him I know who Kim Su-hyeun is, how with the director react? Should I hide it? But, what if it's true. Then, hundreds of thousands will die."

Lee Ju-ho shut his eyes and said, "I heard it from Kim Su-hyeun."

"Kim Su-hyeun?"

As if that was an unexpected name, the director's eyes shook for the first time, and so did Kim Do-ui, who was standing next to him.

"Is Kim Su-hyeun… Possibly that…?"

"Yes. He is that Kim Su-hyeun."

"Did you have an acquaintance with him?"

"I accidentally got in touch and he asked to tell you about this. I don't know him."

"Why are you sure that he is Kim Su-hyeun?" the director asked.

"I am not sure. But just… he said he is Kim Su-hyeun."

Lee Ju-ho hid Su-hyeun's identity and found a compromise point to persuade the director.

Kim Su-hyeun was a name that no one could ignore among the awakener of recent years. The name had a special meaning as well as a mystery. He was the world's only 10-level trial challenger. It would be understandable, that he got this information in some special way, during his trial. At least, it would be better than Lee Ju-ho to make up a lie. Whether it worked or not, the director seemed to be thinking for a moment.

And soon, the director opened his mouth. "No."

"Sir!" Lee Ju-ho's voice rose for the first time.

Even he mentioned Su-hyeun, the director still denied it. Even after Lee Ju-ho's response, the director shook his head as he reconfirmed his decision.

"It is hard to believe what you just said. Even if the source of information is Kim Su-hyeun, we don't know if we can trust him. The information may be wrong."

"But still! You should not play a gamble with the lives of so many people!"

"I am the one who listened to you and made decisions. I'm responsible for that decision. So, if your information is wrong, I'm responsible for it too. Can you take responsibility for that?"

Lee Ju-ho gritted his teeth at the director's words. In the end, it meant that he would not act because he was afraid of responsibility. For the director, even if Lee Ju-ho 's words were true, there was no problem. Citizens would die, but it would be an unexpected and difficult situation to cope with, like natural disasters. He wouldn't have to take responsibility.

But what if he evacuated citizens as Lee Ju Ho's requested, but then what would happen if the dungeon didn't appear? The responsibility of putting the people into fear with false facts would follow. And that would be the responsibility of the director, not Lee Ju-ho. Lee Ju-ho was not in a position to take such a responsibility.

"So… Are you going to gamble with the lives of the citizens?" Lee Ju-ho asked.

"What do you mean gambling?"

"You left the safety of the people behind to avoid the responsibility now. If… If what I said happens, will you pretend you never heard this?"

"That is not what I meant. Do you have to think awry like that?"

"That is what it is!"

Thump, thump—

Slam—!

Lee Ju-ho approached the director and hit the desk with his fist. The desk was cracked and the documents on it fell. The director frowned at his anger.

"You are so upset now. I will pretend I didn't hear that."

The director glanced at Kim Do-ui next to him. His glance meant to let Lee Ju-ho go quickly. Kim do-ui sighed and took Lee Ju-ho out of the room. He regretted following the director's orders.

"That is what happened." Lee Ju-ho looked very angry as he was finishing the story.

His red face looked like it would almost explode soon. The director's decision showed nothing but negligence and disregard for the safety of citizens to avoid responsibility. However, Su-hyeun, who asked him to talk with the director, didn't seem very upset.

"Yeah, he is that kind of man. Whew…" Su-hyeun sighed deeply.

He looked resigned rather than upset. Lee Ju-ho looked at Su-hyeun curiously.

"Do you know the director?" he asked.

"Yes."

"The way you said that sounds like you know him very well…"

Of course, Su-hyeun knew what the director of the Awakeners Accreditation Authority was like. Perhaps not many people knew him as well as Su-hyeun.

"I had lots of bad experiences," he thought.

The director was always just like this. He was full of fear of his responsibility, and he was indifferent to the safety and security of others. As a position to be responsible for the safety of many people, Su-hyeun thought he was the worst person. So, he didn't expect much. But there would be a chance. That was why he asked Lee Ju-ho to talk with him. But the result was as he expected. Since he expected the result of this, he was not upset.

"Are you okay?" Lee Ju-ho asked.

"What do you mean?"

"That I mentioned you."

"Well, that is—"

Su-hyeun didn't think it was a big problem. Lee Ju-ho had tried to persuade the director in his way. Rather than getting angry, it was something to be thankful for.

"—okay. Anyway, getting help from the Authority won't be an option anymore."

"What will you do now? It will be hard to get other awakeners' help that day. Many people will be gathered in Ansan to attack the dungeon in there."

It was unfortunate. If there were more awakeners, even the damage would be great, but hundreds of thousands of people would not die. At that time, so many people had died. It was one of the worst disasters that Su-hyeun remembered. And…

"I was there," he thought.

This disaster happened when Su-hyeun just started as an awakener. He was not mobilized in the green dungeon that day. Instead, he mobilized in that disaster. And he had to see with his own eyes that many people dying on the spot. And he had no power to stop that.

"It is different…this time."

Unlike the time when he had just started to awaken, he had power now. It would be different. Remembering the future and being empowered made that difference.

"If the Authority won't help," Su-hyeun said in a low voice, as he had planned anyway, "I guess I will do it by myself somehow."

Lee Ju-ho thought Su-hyeun said nonsense. He felt embarrassed, so he asked him, "…What? By yourself?"

"Yes," Su-hyeun who thought he might not hear well, replied clearly, "By myself."

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Chapter 45: Chapter 45

Act 1

"What does he mean? Do it all by himself?"

Lee Ju-ho was disconcerted by Su-hyeun's confident answer. At first, he thought Su-hyeun might have an excellent plan. But he said he just take on the dungeon by himself. Lee Ju-ho had no idea how to take it.

"Well, don't worry too much. I have an idea," Su-hyeun said.

"It will be alright, won't it?"

"Yes. I will make it alright."

Su-hyeun didn't plan to do anything. Although the situation would not help, he decided to manage it somehow. Lee Ju-ho smoothed down his chest after he listened to Su-hyeun's definite answer. Since he looked confident, maybe he had an excellent plan.

"Then, I will count on you, Su-hyeun," Lee Ju-ho said.

"Well…" Su-hyeun hesitated a little bit and said an uneasy word to Lee Ju-ho, who was finally relieved, "Although, it is not a very reliable way."

"What?"

Su-hyeun didn't say anything to Lee Ju-ho. Since he had already got treatment in the hospital, he caught a taxi and returned home. When he opened the front door, the first thing he saw was the blood trail from the living room to the door of the bedroom.

"I guess it'll take a while to clean up."

He opened the bedroom door. He had forgotten, but the bedroom was the same as well. Even the bed was covered with blood.

"I think… I just have to hire a cleaner."

He tried to clean it up, but this was a mess that he couldn't clean alone. He had lots of money he didn't know what to do with. There was no place he could go, so he called the cleaning company. He discarded the dirty bedsheets and ordered new ones.

Plump—

Su-hyeun perched himself on the edge of the bed until the cleaners came. Now, there was only one month left until the disaster.

"Should I challenge the 21st floor?" he thought.

There was more time left than he thought. Trials on the 20th floor ended faster than expected. Originally, it was supposed to take nearly a month, but Su-hyeun ignorantly passed it in a day. Because of that, now he had a month to spare. He started to think about how to use this time.

"What if I get injured like this again?"

That would be dangerous, depending on the type of trial, he might end up having a serious wound. It was possible he couldn't pass the trial in the right amount of time. If he completed the trial in one day, that would be a really big problem.

"I should hold trials for a while."

Then there was only one thing to do for the rest of the month.

"The highest potential potion," he mumbled.

Thanks to the rewards he gained after the recent trial, his achievement points exceeded two million. This was enough to buy what he wanted, the highest potential potion. He had been delayed until now since he had a serious injury. But he almost recovered to the point that he could move again.

"Wait a second," He recalled another reward that he had forgotten, "Was it a new skill?"

The name of the skill was Immortality. Would it be as good as the name sounded? He checked the skill.

[Hero – Immortality.]

Rating: It is direct proportion to the user's magic.

Category: Passive

Lv: 1

This is a body of Adele Kleimer who fought against the devil a long time ago. It is said that the body of a hero was nearly immortal, like a god who does not die or get injured. It will automatically activate when the lifeline goes below a certain level. Regenerative Power and Health will quickly recover, and physical ability will rise rapidly. Duration, cool time, Regenerative Power and Health recovery rate is proportional to proficiency.

It was a tremendous explanation. More than anything else, the description of the hero, Adele Kleimer, who fought against the devil, seemed unnecessary. Unlike the name immortality, the ability of skill itself was not immortal.

"Is it because the skill level is still low?" he thought.

There was no skill that incredibly effective regardless of skill level. Such cases only happened when the skills didn't require proficiency or level and they usually had a clear limit. Then, it would be much better to have Level-dependent skills like this. The existence of proficiency or level meant that there was no limit.

"I guess it is technically a higher version of Berserk skill."

Berserk was a skill that compensated for physical strength and strengthened overall physical ability in proportion to negative conditions, such as physical strength and bleeding users. In terms of skill used in crises, Immortality and Berserk were similar.

The difference between them was in the form of active or passive. Unlike the Berserk that could be used at any time, Immortality was a passive skill that was activated when certain conditions were set.

"Of course, this is better because there are no side effects."

Strictly speaking, Berserk was not a skill to recover the lost Health. It was only to make the user feel as if he had recovered his physical strength for a certain period. So, in the end, this skill made him feel more tired than he was the first time.

Immortality, on the other hand, was the ability to recover Health and regenerate injuries. Besides, physical abilities would rise rapidly. Although it was a passive skill, it could be called a higher version of Berserk.

Of course, he had no idea how much this skill would help his Health recovery or Regenerative Power. That would be something he had to check from now on.

"But how can I raise the proficiency of this skill?"

There was only one way to come to his mind right away.

"Should I harm myself?"

A sigh came out. It looked like he needed to do it once, at least. To use the skill, he had to know when it would activate or how much it would recover his health, and how much it would regenerate. It wasn't a bad skill. He just was not sure how great this skill was as its name.

"Well, then…:

Su-hyeun, who checked the effect of the skill, got up and opened the door.

"I guess I have to go shopping first."

"What did you say?"

"I said the highest potential potion! A catalyst!"

Su-hyeun said in frustration to the middle-aged man with a shaggy beard. He asked Su-hyeun three times already.

The middle-aged man, who was the owner of the store, blinked his eyes and asked again, thinking this question would be the last one, "You mean…the highest one?

"Yes."

"Why are you looking for that here?"

He thought his previous question would be the last one, but he asked again.

The owner thought this situation was very ridiculous. It was only the 21st floor. He could not believe there was someone who was looking for the highest potential potion. He tried to convince himself he misheard a higher grade. But no matter how many times he heard, this customer kept saying highest.

"Why? You don't have it?"

"No, I have it…"

"Then why don't you just give it to me?"

The owner thought he might be joking, but it seemed like it wasn't. People usually purchased a low-grade potential catalyst. Some rich people bought a middle-grade potential catalyst. But this man was asking for the highest one. The middle-aged man reached out to Su-hyeun. He wanted to make sure he had enough Achievement Points.

[Achievement Point: 2,081,400.]

Su-hyeun was not joking. He had 2,081,400 points. He had enough points to buy the highest-grade potential catalyst which was two million.

The owner could not believe it at first. He never thought there would be anyone who would buy this expensive thing. He also never thought there would be anyone who would get that many points either. He thought he would never take this stuff out from the shelf.

"Huh, well…"

"What's wrong? It is a good thing for you to sell expensive stuff, right?"

"Yea. I mean. I am a little surprised. Yes, it is a good thing."

There would be no shop owner who would deny selling expensive things. He hurriedly brought the stuff from the downstairs.

"Here. This is the highest-grade potential catalyst."

What the middle-aged man brought was a small, thumb-sized bottle of dark purple liquid. The size and shape were not significantly different from other catalysts. The only difference was the darkness of the purple. But Su-hyeun, who already knew this product, recognized it at once.

[You have spent 2,000,000 achievement points.]

"Thank you for the stuff. Have a good day."

Su-hyeun took the catalyst and left without hesitation. He left the shop and headed to a small inn in the city. He rented a room and went in. He opened the bottle.

Pop—

"Yuck."

As soon as he opened up the bottle, a terrible smell filled the room.

"I can't believe I have to drink this again…"

Su-hyeun had already drunk the highest-grade potential catalyst several times in his previous life. It had the worst flavor ever. He could not believe this horrible taste could exist in the world. He didn't want to drink this anymore. After he had drunk a few more times, it didn't give him greater power anymore. He didn't drink it anymore after that. But…

"If it is used for the first time, the effect is significant." Su-hyeun took a deep breath. "I can do this. I just got to do it." He was trembling more than before he fought Fafnir.

Gulp—

He could feel vividly the feeling of the catalyst passing over to his throat. The taste he could not use to it, no matter how many times he drank, lingered on his tongue. He felt sick. He felt like he would vomit soon. There were many times people drank this catalyst and spit it out again because of this flavor and feeling.

"Weck…"

He closed his mouth with hands and barely endured not vomiting. It was disgusting.

Gulp—

Once again, he swallowed the disgusting taste left in his mouth with saliva. He swallowed the lingering flavor on his tongue a little. His stomach felt sick, but it was better to not taste it.

There was no time to hesitate. Su-hyeun sat down quickly and began to concentrate his nerves on his body. Now, the most important part would begin. If he hesitates because of the flavor, the catalyst would be digested soon.

"I have to hold it."

Whiiip—

The catalyst that reached to the stomach after passing his throat started to react. The key was how much he could melt this catalyst in his body. The catalyst was for inflating the magic. It reacted with original magic in the drinker's body and increased it. How effective it would be was depending on the individual's ability. Even if it was the highest-grade potential catalyst, to somebody it could be just a horrible flavored useless potion. It also could be the best restorative for someone.

Rumble, rumble —

The catalyst began to loosen little by little at Su-hyeun's will. The first thing he had to do was spread it throughout his body. However, since the concentration was much thicker than other grades of catalyst, it did not move as he intended. If his Magic Level and Factor were lower, it might not move at all.

"Move."

Rumble—

The catalyst started to react. The catalyst that contacted his magic started to spread the power from the stomach all over his body.

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Chapter 46: Chapter 46

"Okay. Good," Su-hyeun thought.

It was important from now on that he slowly drew his magic to maximize the effectiveness of the catalyst. If he drew his magic too quickly, the catalyst would evaporate. At the same time, he felt the pain. It was as if his body was burning.

"Focus. I need to focus."

It was a pain he had been prepared for in the first place. Su-hyeun clenched his teeth and raised his magic.

Rumble, rumble—

The magic, which reacted to the catalyst, gradually grew—the size and concentration began changing.

"Good."

The magic wasn't done growing yet, but suddenly it stopped. Su-hyeun was embarrassed and pulled down the moving magic.

"Did I try to make it grow too quickly?"

He had been thinking of increasing the Magic Level at the same time as the catalyst, but it did not work well.

"Then… I have to confine it first," he thought.

The catalyst was worth two million points. He didn't want to blow this in vain. He decided to keep it in his body before it started to evaporate.

Whoooshh—

Rumble, rumble—

The catalyst that was evenly spread through his body began to move to one side. He led it to the edge of his heart. The blood circulation would help the magic spread faster.

Zip—

Then, he encircled the area to prevent oxidizing the catalyst. With this, he did not have to worry about the catalyst disappearing.

"I wanted to finish it quickly…Oh well."

It seemed hard.

"Since this is what happened… I guess I will melt it for a long time."

John, who was the owner of the inn, Makdallum, went to room 301. A customer was staying there who paid to stay for a week but had been there for 10 days without paying extra!

The guest had mentioned ahead of time that he would stay longer than a week, so John didn't worry at first. But he couldn't stand it anymore. Not just because he was behind on the payment but because also other customers started to complain about the strange smell from that room.

"What is this smell?"

John came up on the third floor and frowned. It smelled like something sour got rotten. He felt like his stomach would be turned inside out.

"Oh my god. What is this…?"

It smelled much worse than he thought. He had no idea what this customer was doing in the room.

"Seriously…!"

Bang, bang, bang—

John knocked on room 301 roughly.

"Hey, man! What are you doing inside? You haven't paid for your extra days!"

Click—

Creak—

The old door slowly opened. John made a wry face. He was ready to nag. But soon, his frown deepened. He wanted to say something, but he could not open his mouth.

"O, oop…"

The smell in the room was more putrid than in the hallway.

"Y-yuck…!"

John shut his mouth with both hands and hurriedly went down the stairs. He had no time to argue at the moment. He had to find a restroom before he threw up.

"Umm…"

Su-hyeun looked at John's back. He expected this, but he felt sorry.

"How long has it been?"

The process of absorbing the catalyst took a long time. He thought it would take a week at most, but he concentrated so much that he could not figure out how much time had passed. The reason why John came to his room was probably the smell.

"I guess I should pay him some extra money."

He did not want to run away after he made the inn smell this bad. Su-hyeun scratched his head and headed for the bathroom. First, he had to shower.

Su-hyeun paid the money he owed to John after John vomited until nothing was left in his stomach. Although he had spent two million achievement points before, the remaining points were more than enough to use on the 21st floor. When he paid extra 3,000 achievement points, John's face lighted up quickly. That amount was equal with what he earned running the inn for a month.

"10 days…"

Su-hyeun checked the remaining time after he came back to the real world.

"Now, only 18 days left," he thought.

There was not much time left. More time passed than he had expected. Since there was a result, the time spent was not meaningless. Now, it was time to find a way.

"Should I persuade the director again?"

If he would meet him in person, he might be able to make up more plausible reasons to persuade him.

"No… Probably not."

It didn't take long to shake his head for that idea. He knew the director. He was not that kind of person. As Lee Ju-ho had experienced, the director concentrated all his thoughts on his comfort. It was a wonder how he could manage to rise that high position. He was not a person who could risk it.

"Now, what I only have…"

There was only one way he could think of. Although he told Lee Ju-ho confidently, he knew his plan was stupid and ignorant. But this was the only way.

"I guess my secluded life will be over," he thought and scratched his head. "It doesn't matter, though."

It seemed too early to reveal himself, but he had done so many things. He achieved his goal, so there was no reason to hide anymore. Above all, there was no other way he could think of.

"When things are complicated, it is best to face them directly."

Rattle—

Su-hyeun pushed the chair back and turned on the computer. He logged on Abyss Online and left an anonymous post.

Click, Clack—

On January 17th, a new post on Abyss Online went viral. At first, everyone ignored it. But the writing posted repeatedly, and it included detailed content. It started to have many recommendations and became a sensation. Hak-Joon was looking at the thread on his smartphone.

[Title: Anyang, January 31st.]

On January 31st, 6:00 p.m, there will be a terror over Anyang City. Dump Guild will create this terror. What is Dump Guild? This is the guild of terrible awakeners. It is a gathering of the worst killers. They are just hiding in the shadows now… I am writing it here, risking my life. If you live in Anyang, I recommend not being in town on that day. I hope you don't risk your life. That would be very stupid.

"…"

It was clear how this article became popular. It was because of the Dump Guild.

"What do you think?" Jung Dong-Yeong asked Hak-Joon.

He was looking at Hak-Joon's smartphone next to him. The question was so obvious.

Hak-Joon replied, turning off the smartphone screen. "I think it is fifty-fifty."

"You mean the possibility?" Jung Dong-Yeong asked again.

"Yes."

"Well. I guess this person is not just a grandstander since he knew about Dump Guild."

Dump Guild was a group that was recently mentioned among the high awakeners. They were a large guild who secretly committed crimes. Originally, the gang hid in the shadows, but as it grew, it was gradually exposed to the world. But, there were only a few awakeners who knew of its existence.

"But… Why would Dump Guild will do such things? Isn't there a reason?"

"Yes. I think that evidence is pretty lacking," Hak-Joon answered.

He turned his phone screen back and started to read the comments of the post. Not surprisingly, many people seemed to think the same.

-Dump Guild? What is that? I have never seen or heard of it before.

-Dump? I know them. It is not a fiction of an attention wh*re.

-Right. This is true. I think we should watch out.

-Will this writer be okay to write something like this? If it is true, watch out for black cars and walking in the night.

-But why would Dump Guild do such thing? If they're a secret society like this post says, why would they create terror?

Yea. That is true.

"What people think is all similar. Right?"

"I guess so."

"At this point, I think some people will try to figure out who the writer is," Jung Dong-Yeong said.

At Jung Dong-Yeong's words, Hak-Joon turned his head and looked at him. He grinned dreary as if he was up to something.

"Are you…" Hak-Joon was about to say something.

"I just wonder who found these things and wrote the post," Jung Dong-Yeong said.

Hak-Joon was with him for quite a long time. He could tell Jung Dong-Yeong was not smiling because he felt good.

"Why…?" Hak-Joon thought, "Why does he feel so bad about this writing?"

He couldn't tell why. It was a just post he shouldn't think twice about. Jung Dong-Yeong would not be interested in other people's lives. He probably didn't have a connection with…

"Wait… Is he?" He had a light bulb moment. "Dump Guild, Ares Guild, and Jung Dong-Yeong…" The worst thought crossed his mind. He shook his head. "No, it couldn't be."

Jung Dong-Yeong sent Hak-Joon to the next dungeon attack site. He also adjusted his physical condition for his trial. Jung Dong-Yeong, who came back to his office, sprawled on the sofa. He did not feel good. It was even worse recently.

"I don't like it."

Jung Dong-Yeong brought Hak-Joon to raise him like a loyal dog. He saw his weaknesses and treated him well enough to forget that he was caught. He treated Hak-Joon better than other henchmen who had been together for a long time. But…

"What the hell is this fellow doing?"

Jung Dong-Yeong turned on his smartphone. On the screen was the post he saw before. It was the same post that Hak-Joon read. He was surprised to see this article for the first time. He could not believe there was someone so openly speaking about Dump Guild.

He investigated and found who the writer was; it wasn't difficult. He just needed to track the IP address and figured out the owner of the ID. Although it was illegal, it didn't matter. Now that he knew who the author was, there was no turning back, illegal or not.

"Kim Su-hyeun," he mumbled.

Jung Dong-Yeong received a report from the guild members and came to think of Hak-Joon.

"I am sure… I saw them contacting each other often… Is this a coincidence?" he thought.

The noise was increasing in his brain. Jung Dong-Yeong thought about asking to Hak-Joon directly, but he could not do that now. He decided to watch what would be going on first.

"Kim Su-hyeun," he said again.

It was urgent that he found out what his purpose was.

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Chapter 47: Chapter 47

Act 2

It was on January 30th. The post spread quickly, not only to Abyss Online but also to various SNSs. It could have happened because of one famous awakener. He confirmed that the Dump Guild was an actual organization.

-A few days ago, Rank B awakener, Mr. Lee Ju-ho, who is also known for raising his trial level, mentioned Dump Guild. Dump Guild is called the guild of killers. Does it really exist?

-There is no clearer information about that yet. But in the opinion of many experts, yes, this society may be real.

-Then, do you think Dump Guild will create terror tomorrow?

-Well. At this time, opinions vary. Even though Dump Guild exists…

Beep—

The director of the Awakeners Accreditation Authority nervously turned off the TV. He raised his red face and asked. "What have you been up to?"

"What do you mean?" at the director's words, Lee Ju-ho asked back while he was sitting on the couch as if he was bothered.

He sat with his legs crossed and picked his ear. It was like he decided to tease the director. And if that was the intention, it succeeded. Because the director was really upset.

"What is that interview! What the hell is it?"

"Well, since you didn't cooperate, I had to do it." Lee Ju-ho answered.

"But how could you sell the name of Dump Guild? What if they go crazy?!" the director shouted.

"Even if they go crazy, they will not kill as many Anyang City people. And besides, we can't cover it up forever."

There was nothing wrong with his words. Dump Guild was the organization that had to be mentioned someday. Before they got bigger, it was clear that this guild had to be publicized to root it out. But…

"That is all possible when the information you brought was true," the director said.

The premise was wrong. The director still did not believe Lee Ju-ho. He also did not believe the source of the information was Kim Su-hyeun. In the meantime, the news spread. There was no wonder that the director was in trouble.

"What? Why? What is wrong now? You don't have to take responsibility now."

"Are you insane? How did you make this so big with that stupid post?"

"Even if it is false information, there is nothing to lose for you, isn't it?"

"Dump Guild… Isn't it something you made up?"

"People will die because of either Dump Guild or monsters. It's the same."

"You've got to be kidding"

When the director started to rant, Lee Ju-ho finally set down properly and opened his mouth.

"Well, things already happened. Will you now sell my name and announce that it won't happen? Then what if the monsters fall into the city?"

"That…"

The director could not say anything about Lee Ju-ho's words. What if it did happen? In the worst case, he might have to step down from the director position, because of the words and actions he took in a fit of anger. With his word, they would not react to prevent a sudden dungeon outbreak.

"But no matter what, other awakeners will not take action. Your words can be a piece of news, but that is not enough to make high awakeners set out."

Lee Ju-ho was a pretty famous man. He was an awakener that showed up on the TV quite a few times. So, it was not wired that his word and interview became news on TV. There would be some citizens who would listen to him and evacuate in advance. But not everyone would. Above all, the majority of awakeners did not know the existence of Dump Guild. The high-ranking awakeners who knew their existence had not listened to Lee Ju-ho.

"If you believe your words could move the world, it's a mistake."

Lee Ju-ho nodded calmly at the director's twisted words and ridicule.

"I know that."

"What?"

"I am curious. I just did what I was told to do…"

Lee Ju-ho didn't know much.

He just heard from Su-hyeun that the dungeon outbreak of Anyang would happen tomorrow. Only Su-hyeun knew a plan to prevent that. Lee Ju-ho just called journalists and released information as Su-hyeun asked him.

"What does Su-hyeun think? How will he handle the outbreak and evacuate people?" Lee Ju-ho thought.

"Let's just see" —Lee Ju-ho, who had visited the director's office at his call, got up from his seat as if he had nothing to say— "What is going on tomorrow?"

It was on January 31st. This day, it snowed all over Gyeonggi Province. The world was paying attention to two things.

The more remarkable thing between them was Green Dungeon that appeared in Ansan City, Gyeonggi Province. Green Dungeon was one of the most difficult dungeons in existence. Numerous high-ranking awakeners participated to conquer the dungeon, including S-ranked awakener Kim Hyun-soo. The success of the attack was almost certain. The question was how much damage could be reduced in the process.

The second one was about the terror attack in Anyang City, Gyeonggi Province. There was not much interest in this part. Because there were many stories that it would be just a rumor since people could not check whether it was true or not. Furthermore, people underestimated the risk since it would be a terror to people, not a natural disaster like a dungeon. For many reasons, the story about the terror of Dump Guild was noisy only in Abyss Online.

"There are not many people who are evacuated, are there?"

-Yeah. One in five citizens evacuated after hearing the news.

Lee Ju-ho grunted and complained on a phone call with Su-hyeun. He suffered all the troubles and warned people there would be a terror, but only one in five people evacuated.

"Well, still more than 100,000 people have been evacuated. It is a pretty big number. Since there was no evidence or anything."

-Yea. I guess you are right.

"I was very grateful to you. Mr. Lee Ju-ho, and I think the interview helped."

"Haha. You're welcome. Wait. Didn't you say your mother lives in Anyang, too?"

"No. She opened her shop in Suwon City. So, she moved out there."

-Ok. That's good. But still, Anyang and Suwon are quite close.

"Yeah. So, I sent her a trip today. You don't have to worry about her."

"What are you going to do with the rest of the people? I will be there since I don't have any other dungeons to attack…"

"Do you know what?" Su-hyeun grinned while talking to the phone. "The terror was not a lie."

-What?

"Now, listen carefully…"

Su-hyeun started to say something Lee Ju-ho. And…

"Are you out of your mind?" That was the most ridiculous thing Lee Ju-ho had ever heard.

"I am in my right mind."

"The idea is good, but is that possible?"

"We have to make it possible, don't we?"

"It is easy to say but…" Lee Ju-ho thought that what Su-hyeun planned would never be possible. It was natural. It was difficult enough to question whether it was possible or not aside from intention or result.

"Anyway, see you later."

Su-hyeun hung up the phone after that. Now, it was time to start.

"Well, I am ready…" he thought.

He put on a mask and got up from his seat. Suddenly, he felt a sense of shame.

"I can't believe I have to wear this at this age. I haven't worn it since I was young."

Su-hyeun touched the character mask on his face. He sighed out and made his step.

"Huu—"

Gwon Jang-hyuk blew cigarette smoke.

He had no idea how many years he did nothing but kill time in a corner alley. Some of the friends already left him.

"Damn. There is no one to take money from…"

He was already 24 years old, but he had no intention of changing his nature. After he had been flayed once from the man he had bullied, he hesitated to bully other people, but soon he searched for other prey.

"Hey man. You sure it will be ok?"

"What?"

"People say there will be a terror here today. Didn't you hear that?"

"Bloody hell. F*cking terror my ass."

Gwon Jang-hyuk snorted at the advice of a friend. He knew people were noisy about terror. But he was just an ordinary man and thought that would be nonsense.

"Hey. What age are we living in? This is Korea. I don't know why people are making a fuss about it. That was just bullshit of a crazy nut."

"But the awakener, Lee Ju-ho testified that Dump Guild is a real thing."

"So what? Other awakeners said that Dump Guild will not move by now?"

"But still…"

"Sh*t you, coward."

"Why are you so hard on me? I am just worried about you, man."

"Worried about me? My ass. You are doing this because you are scared."

"What? You wanna die?"

It was about time to Gwon Jang-hyuk started to fight with his friend.

"I was wondering what kinds of men are chattering in this dark alley. Was it you guys?"

The four people, including Gwon Jang-hyuk, turned their faces to the voice at the end of the alley. They wondered who he was–he had a strange mask of a smiling face.

"A mask?" Gwon Jang-hyuk thought.

It was not a masquerade; he had no idea what that mask for was. He could not think anyone who wore those things would be sane. He was already in a bad mood. Gwon Jang-hyuk thought it would be safer and more fun to beat up one person with his friends rather than fighting with a friend.

"What the hell are you? Hey, you. Come over here."

"What will you do if you know who I am?" the masked man asked.

"You will be beaten to death, of course."

"Hahaha."

With Gwon Jang-hyuk's talking, the other three started to laugh. He laughed as well and glanced at the man in the mask. But something was off. Usually, people seemed a little frightened by now.

"Well. Do you think you can handle if you know?"

The man in the mask didn't look scared at all. The eyes exposed through eye halls of the mask looked cold. And when Gwon Jang-hyuk met the masked man's eyes, he got goosebumps all over his body.

"What…What the?" he thought.

The others also thought something was strange about this man. At that moment, the masked man raised his hand.

Whoosh—

Swoosh, whoosh—

A huge fire rose in his hands and spread. Gwon Jang-hyuk and the three other gangsters were flabbergasted and started to step back.

"W-what the hell is that?"

"Is he an awakener?"

"Why would an awakener be here…?"

Their anxiety started to elevate. The ominous thinking crossed Gwon Jang-hyuk's head.

"Wait, is this guy…? No way."

"Did you ask what the hell I am?"

Swish—

The masked man blasted fire over his head and burst it like firecrackers.

Boom, boooom—!

Bang, bang, bang—!

The flames burst from the sky began to fall. Su-hyeun opened his mouth, looking at Gwon Jang-hyuk. His eyes shined red reflecting the fire.

"I am a terrorist."

It was the beginning of the show.

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Chapter 48: Chapter 48

Gwon Jang-hyuk and other gangsters started to run away. They even didn't look back. Their commanding presences were nowhere to be seen. Like old times, they were still weak to strong, strong to weak.

"Those bastards still did not break their bad habit," Su-hyeun thought.

He almost forgot of them but felt pathetic because they still lived the same. He would like to break a leg or arm to teach them some lessons. But if he did, they would probably be caught up and die in the upcoming incident.

"I guess I will take care of them later when I have time."

The firecracker, actually the Flame that Su-hyeun set off, was enough to attract people's attention. Some might have thought it was a fireworks display, but as they had already been warned of terrorism, that would be their first thought.

Whoosh, whoosh—

"Ok. Let's go," Su-hyeun said to himself.

Su-hyeun stamped his feet and flew high. He headed to Beomgye, the downtown area, where most people gathered at this time. Of course, he did not forget to shoot firecrackers on his way.

Boom, boom, boom—!

The sound like thunder rang out loudly. A lot of people were confused, and they began to run.

A terror. By that word alone, people left their homes and started to flee. But they could not see where the explosion happened. All the explosions were happening in the sky, not on the ground.

"…Did you say there is a terror?"

The director, who had heard the news, jumped up. Kim Do-ui, an A-rank awakener, who belonged to the country, nodded his head and delivered the news.

"Yes, sir. An explosion occurred in Pyeongchon, the most populated area of Anyang City. As we heard, there are signs of terrorism, and people are evacuating."

"Holy sh*t… What the hell is going on?" the director mumbled.

Today was January 31st. Terrorism was not planned. Even if Lee Ju-ho's information was true, there should be no terror by the Dump Guild.

"But the terror began? How this can be happening?" the director thought.

"I don't know exactly… But it looks like the act of one person," Kim Do-ui said.

"One person?"

The director, who looked puzzled, soon crumpled his face. He soon muttered in a confident voice, "Kim Su-hyeun."

"Sir?"

"He is Kim Su-hyeun. It is that guy!" the director shouted.

It was a play pretending to be a terror. Kim Su-hyeun was now pretending to be a terrorist to evacuate people.

"Do you think Kim Su-hyeun showed up?" Kim Do-ui asked.

Kim Su-hyeun was a person who had never revealed himself before. His name was famous but other information, including his face, was not revealed. He had been hiding in the shade thoroughly, but for some reason, he appeared to save people for the first time. And he appeared as a terrorist.

"Kim Su-hyeun is not important right now! The important thing is he is in a riot right now!" the director said angrily.

"But there is no loss of lives…"

"I don't care!" he cut Kim Do-ui's word.

Bang—

The director slammed his desk and Kim Do-ui closed his mouth. He knew well if he said something right at the moment, he would just lose favor in the director's eyes.

"A Dungeon Outbreak? The devastation of Anyang City? That's nonsense. Before it turns out to be true, he is just a freaking terrorist. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir. I know," Kim Do-ui answered.

"Then what are you doing? Go get him! No, you don't have to get him. Just kill him!" the director shouted again.

That was too much. That was too much treatment.

"He lost his block," Kim Do-ui closed his eyes and thought, "Should I have to do that far? If the terrorist who appeared in Anyang City is Kim Su-hyeun and his information is all true… he should be called a hero. Even if it was not true, it would be the same. What he is doing right now is hard to see as a terrorist attack. There was no damage to life or any property. It's just an evacuation of people in case of a natural disaster. Can that be considered terrorism? It might look like a terror to the people who have no idea…"

"Yes, sir." Kim Do-ui said to the director. At least in his eyes, it seemed not to be terror.

Click—

Kim Do-ui bowed to the director and left the room. The director picked up the phone and called somewhere.

"Yes. It's me. Do we have any men left?"

Boom, boooom—!

Whoosh—

The fire burned the building. People screamed and ran away. Su-hyeun, who stood in the middle of the city and watched it, scratched his head.

"I can't feel familiar with this…" he mumbled.

He felt weird acting like a villain in a ridiculous mask and afflicting citizens. It felt like he was a member of the Dump Guild.

"I guess the Dump Guild will get angry about this."

The Dump Guild was a group of murderers. It was a secret society, hiding underground. It had connections with some of the big guilds, but it still didn't want to be mentioned. But Su-hyeun took its name and drew it to the surface. He even pretended to be a member of the Dump Guild and caused terrorism.

Whoosh—

The fire in the building disappeared. The fire from the Flame skill did not even blacken the building. As the level and his proficiency increased, Su-hyeun could selectively burn the stuff he wanted. He did not have to waste his magic burning all those buildings. Of course, those who did not know, ran away to avoid the fire that Su-hyeun created.

"I suppose there is no one around here anymore," he thought.

Starting from Beomgye, Pyeongchon area was almost empty. News that the terror began had spread to other parts of Anyang, and people started to evacuate from there as well. Although there was only one terrorist, Su-hyeun was a high-ranked awakener. And since he had warned there would be a terror by a group named Dump Guild, his actions looked like the acts of an organization, not one person.

"It's now 8:00 p.m."

It had already been two hours since he started taking action. There was not much time left.

"I wish I could move a little more, but…"

He stopped where he was standing and turned his face.

"… I guess it would be hard."

Whoosh, whoosh—

Crackle, crackle—

A lot of people appeared around Su-hyeun. Except for those who had come close, the number of people who were watching from afar was large. All of them were awakeners, not ordinary people.

"Huh. There was quite a lot came."

Numerous awakeners were mobilized to attack the green dungeons and other dungeons all over the country. So, he had thought there would not be a lot of awakeners left. But still, in this short time, quite many of them gathered.

"Are you Mr. Kim Su-hyeun?"

Kim Do-ui was the one who stepped forward and asked. He was the closest aide to the director and was an A-rank awakener who was not mobilized in the green dungeon. He was the most talented awakener among the people who gathered now. Su-hyeun's gaze turned to him. It looked like he knew enough since he mentioned Su-hyeun's name.

"Yes, I am," Su-hyeun answered.

There was no reason to lie now. He had been expecting his identity to be revealed from the time he started writing on Abyss Online.

"Kim Su-hyeun?"

"What?"

"Wait, wasn't he a terrorist?"

"I heard this man is an awakener from the Dump Guild."

"Aren't they just the same?"

Except for Kim Do-ui, other awakens were frustrated and talked in whispers.

They had no idea this incident and Su-hyeun were connected. In a flash, the eyes of those who saw Su-hyeun changed. They started to take precautions. The meaning of that was…

"Was Kim Su-hyeun a member of the Dump Guild?"

"If that is the case, it would explain why he has not been revealed to anyone."

"Oh, shit. That makes sense."

It was a pretty logical conclusion. Su-hyeun was not revealed on the surface so far and neither was the Dump Guild. Moreover, at this point, when it was known that there would be a terrorist attack by the Dump Guild, Su-hyeun appeared. He was even making the fire. It was obvious to everyone. There was no room for an excuse.

"Wait. Everyone be quiet!" Kim Do-ui shouted.

Kim Do-ui, however, had information the others didn't and had a different opinion than the other awakeners. As the leader of the national awakeners' group, he quieted others and looked around.

"As I thought, there is no damage," he thought.

Terrorism usually took on violent forms, such as murder, kidnapping, and looting. Naturally, damages such as vandalism and injury followed. But the path that Su-hyeun took did not have any damage. There was only a quiet street where people had left. There were no signs of broken buildings, not even a single dead person.

"Your purpose… Are you doing this to evacuate people?"

Su-hyeun's eyes sparkled at Kim Do-ui's question. Kim Do-ui heard of him from Lee Ju-ho several times. He was the only person who knew the relationship between Lee Ju-ho and Su-hyeun, except for the director.

"Maybe this can be solved easily," Su-hyeun thought.

In that case, the situation would be solved much easier. Su-hyeun nodded and answered.

"Yes, that is right. I hope more awakeners come here," Su-hyeun answered.

"More awakeners?" Kim Do-ui mumbled.

He remembered the story he heard from Lee Ju-ho. Su-hyeun was the one who told to Lee Ju-ho that there would be a sudden dungeon outbreak tonight. Perhaps Su-hyeun's quest was to prevent it.

"Didn't you guys come here to stop me?" But strangely, Su-hyeun said completely different. Looking around dozens of awakeners, Su-hyeun continued to say, "You guys will need more people for that."

"What?"

"You little upstart…"

"You think you are something because people compliment you?"

A loud voice came from all over the place. This was what Su-hyeun wanted. This was better in this case. It was an intended provocation. The problem was cooperation from one person.

"And to make him cooperate…" he thought.

Whoosh—!

With Su-hyeun's gesture, a huge Flame started to sweep all over the place. Dozens of awakeners were quickly caught up in it. But the Flame stopped in front of them without burning them.

"At least, I am the best here," Su-hyeun said in an arrogant voice.

Thanks to the mask, the expression was not revealed. But the voice alone was enough to infer the expression.

"I need to bring as many as awakeners as possible," Su-hyeun thought. He looked at Kim Do-ui. "How will he react?"

Kim Do-ui, who met Su-hyeun's eyes, could grasp his intentions. "Does he mean we need more support, either prevent him or the possible monster attack?"

Su-hyeun's ability was more than Kim Do-ui had expected. As he said, these people might not be enough. Of course, the situation might change if A-Rank himself joined here.

"It won't hurt to listen to him now," Kim Do-ui thought so and opened his mouth, "…Call more support."

"Ok, cool!" Su-hyeun uttered yells of delight in his mind.

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Chapter 49: Chapter 49

"He has quick wits," Su-hyeun thought.

This man noticed they were understaffed to stop Su-hyeun. He found out he had enough power. If Su-hyeun kindly explained his purpose and expressed his opinion that he did not want to fight, there might be no more support. After all, that would be revealing the truth that Su-hyeun was not a real terrorist. But if Su-hyeun kept calling himself a terrorist, the story would change. To prevent him, the Authority must use its force. The reaction to the terrorist would be obvious.

"And what I have to do now…"

Whoosh—

Slash—

Su-hyeun gathered the flame he had spread everywhere and pulled the sword. He didn't need to act anymore. There was only one thing he had to do from here.

"I have to withstand an attack."

It was the same with Kim Do-ui. It was not sure whether Kim Do-ui moved according to Su-hyeun's will because of his favor or something else. But since this already happened, there was only one thing that Kim Do-ui had to do.

"Get him!"

Poof, poof—

At the command of Kim Do-ui, dozens of awakeners began to move.

Swish, swish—

Whip—

Su-hyeun avoided the spears and other unknown skills that had flown from all sides. Sometimes he could not avoid, so he warded off or stopped them.

Whoosh—

The Flame surrounded Su-hyeun's body. It worked as a shield and blocked other awakeners that were coming.

The concentration and grade of the magic of Su-hyeun was not a region that other awakenings could invade.

"Possibly Magic Level 6… Rank A awakener."

Kim Do-ui, who watched other awakeners fight against Su-hyeun, coldly analyzed Su-hyeun's ability.

"The skills he has are the rarest skills of the highest level. He also has basic physical stats to utilize them. He also has quite good combat sense," he thought.

Skills, magic, stats, combat sense, everything could be called the best. Most of all, his combat sense was remarkable. In the eyes of Kim Do-ui, the awakener of the same A-rank, Su-hyeun's sense of battle seemed like an exceptional ability.

"It is almost unbelievable. Did he get any professional training somewhere?"

Su-hyeun did not attack other awakeners. He either avoided or blocked. It was purely possible because of Su-hyeun's ability. He was different from other awakeners who could only beat and crush.

"If I fight with him… I will completely be defeated."

He almost felt chilled. They had the same level of magic, but the basic skills were very different. Compared to Su-hyeun, he just got stronger naturally while he was climbing and climbing the Tower of Trial.

"Kim Do-ui! What are you doing? Why don't you help us?"

One awakener got angry while he was fighting with Su-hyeun looked at Kim Do-ui and asked. Kim Do-ui, who had no intention of fighting, answered with a small frown.

"I am thinking right now."

"What? What do you think about?"

"Whether he is the enemy or not."

"What the hell are you talking about…?"

"You are a fool. You don't get it?"

At the blunt remark of Kim Do-ui, the man, who was asking him to fight, frowned his face. Kim Do-ui clicked his tongue and continued to say.

"Is anyone hurt now?"

"What?"

"Or do you think you are fighting even against him right now because you guys have good skills?"

The man could not answer at Kim Do-ui's question. What he said was all correct. He well knew about Su-hyeun's ability. The big flame he showed at the beginning, that was enough to show them that they could not do anything with Su-hyeun. If Su-hyeun had decided, no one would have been alive by now.

"So, what the hell you want to say now?" the man asked.

"He is overlooking you guys. So, don't go overboard," Kim Do-ui answered.

It was a word that scratching his pride. But it was not wrong. The more they fight, the more they feel that Su-hyeun was just overlooking them.

"Are you saying that man is not a terrorist?"

"Don't you think that is possible?"

"Hmm…"

The man looked closely at Su-hyeun again. No matter how many times he thought about it, it was clear that he was letting them off. The damaged objects around them were also due to their attack, not Su-hyeun's.

"Then why did you call for backup? If your word is true, it would be better to cancel the backup now. Wasn't that a waste of manpower?" The man asked as if it was strange.

If Su-hyeun was not a terrorist as Kim Do-ui said, the support he had called here would be meaningless. There would be no way that he did not know about this.

"Tut…"

At the man's question, Kim Do-ui raised his head and looked up the sky.

"I did not call the backup to stop him."

"What?"

The man looked puzzled as if he did not know what he was talking about. But it was still too early to answer the question. Kim do-ui shook his head and saved his words.

"No. Nothing. We will figure out soon or later."

Kim do-ui said so and turned his head. He sensed the presence of people around him. Kim Do-ui felt about 10 people's senses and knitted his brows.

"…They came."

Additional personnel came for the backup request. Kim Do-ui, who had guessed their identity, muttered to himself, "Was it their first activate?"

Not many people knew of their existence. There was a new institution made up of some of the nation's awakeners. As far as he knew, this was their first mission.

"I guess the director is really pissed off."

Act 3

Swish—

A sharp knife pierced the Flame and passed the tip of Su-hyeun's nose. He stepped back and increased a delicate distance. He looked around the newly appeared awakeners. He already knew about them.

"They came," he thought.

He was wondering when they would come. He assumed they would start their business by today. It was faster than he expected. Su-hyeun used Leap skill and increased distance quickly.

He looked around. Unlike other awakeners that previously attacked Su-hyeun, the ten people who appeared at this time were different from the atmosphere. Their eyes were sharp-sighted, most of all, their postures were set. It meant, they did not thoughtlessly climb the Tower of Trial, trusting their skill and stats. They had received professional training.

"It reminds me of old times…"

Su-hyeun was once a member of this group.

"I should be careful," he thought.

He drew the sword.

Whoosh—

As the Su-hyeun pulled the sword, the Flame around him disappeared. Instead, the sword that shined in gray, became red-hot.

"A sword…?"

"He was not a magician?"

The awakeners that were there previously started to whisper themselves. It was a sudden change. Seeing Su-hyeun, who had fought with Flame skill so far, they thought that he was a sort of magician awakener who focused on the fire skills. But suddenly he took his sword.

"Is he a swordsman? Then, what about the fire he showed so far…?"

Kim do-ui was confused as well. The only people were not confused were the ten awakeners that newly appeared. They did not see how Su-hyeun fought so far.

"Heew—"

Su-hyeun took a breath and closed his eyes. It was that short moment.

Swish—

Clang, Clang—

Several strands of chain popped out where Su-hyeun was standing. At the same time, the new awakeners began to move.

Whip—

Boom, boom—

Dozens of swords and chains flew in a complicated path. Each one was quite a high level of skill, and skill proficiency was also high.

"Weaving a spider web."

Su-hyeun already knew this technique, which was developed by several awakeners. As so, it was not difficult to destroy.

Swish—

Slash—

The sword in Su-hyeun's hand, Gram, cut a part of the chain that was tangled like a spider web. At the same time, the chain that had been tightly intertwined and coming over Su-hyeun loosened. He squeezed through the gap and escaped.

But as soon as he escaped, the big sword came in front of his eyes. Su-hyeun as if he was expected this, stretched Gram to up.

Claang—!

Crack, craack—

When the big sword and Gram stroke each other, the big sword was pushed by the force and rose. It could not bear the strength and sharpness of Gram and started to crack. The arms of the awakener who wielded the sword widely opened up.

"He is still the same. He is just pouncing, trusting his power too much."

Su-hyeun penetrated to front smoothly. The man with open arms shrugged with amazement, but it was already too late.

Slash—

Su-hyeun's sword cut the man's chest. But strangely, there was no blood.

"…?"

The man looked puzzled. Su-hyeun did not answer the puzzled look. Instead, he rose with the Leap skill. No one followed. The awakeners seemed to hesitate for a moment, realizing that their pincer movement was not working.

Whiz—

Su-hyeun, who landed on the roof of one low building, looked around them. One by one, their faces were familiar.

"I was…"

To one side among them, he could see the familiar face blurry.

"I was there too…"

He was Sung-in. It was Sung-in's face. Of course, it was a past that had gone.

"You…" The man who wielded the sword opened his mouth, looking at Su-hyeun, "Did you know about us?"

Su-hyeun felt bitter at the man's question. It was obvious why he was asking this question. The pincer movement they used just before was an attack that they had been studied for a long time.

"That is a pincer movement to catch a strong individual or boss," Su-hyeun thought.

It was a well-organized attack, consisting of awakeners who practiced similar types of chain skills and one with strong attack power. However, Su-hyeun skillfully disregarded such a pincer movement as if he knew it in advance. Not only cutting the core of the chain but also, easily defeating the big sword. The series of actions was natural. It would be impossible if he didn't know ahead of time. It was only natural that a man would have such a question. Of course, what he worried about was the possibility of leaking the information.

"No, I did not," Su-hyeun answered.

It did not matter that he knew them. In the first place, Su-hyeun was in the same institution with them. Su-hyeun was the one who knew it better than anyone.

The man stroked a half-cracked sword with one hand and said, "Really? That's weird. It seemed like you know us well."

"Do you mean the pincer movement that you guys showed?"

"…Yes."

"Did you just assume I know you well because I destroyed that simple attack?"

The ten awakeners frowned at Su-hyeun's words. They put serious effort to collaborate for a long time. But he disparaged their skill as a simple attack.

"You… What you said… Are you sure you won't regret it?"

"Of course. I won't," Su-hyeun opened his mouth.

It was obvious. Su-hyeun already knew who they were, what skills they used, and the weaknesses of the skills.

Above all…

He continued to say, "I will be not an easy opponent to try your unfinished skills yet."

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Chapter 50: Chapter 50

The man opened his eyes wide as if Su-hyeun's remarks caught him off guard. It seemed like Su-hyeun knew their situation well. They were supposed to be veiled, but he looked like he knew that they started to move for this situation.

"Maybe…"

The man with the big sword narrowed his eyes and stared at Su-hyeun.

"He does not want to fight us," he thought.

It was a sense of incompatibility that he felt ever since he came to this place. Unlike other awakeners, Su-hyeun did not show any fighting spirit or a murderous spirit. It was hard to see those eyes belonged to a fighter, but he could read determination in them. He could not read everything from one's eyes but at least the mood usually did not lie.

"Above all…."

The man swept his chest. He could feel his skin through the cut armor. If the wound was a little deeper, he might get a fatal injury. No, Su-hyeun could have even split his body.

"He just went easy on me. But why?"

The man of the sword, Kang Seung-Cheol recalled the director's words.

"The man named Kim Su-hyeun joined the Dump Guild. Go kill him!"

That was what the hot-headed director told to him. It was the first order he got, but Kang Seung-Cheol was curious first of all.

"What kind of person is Kim Su-hyeun? Is he a genius as the rumors said? Or is he just one of the lucky men among many awakeners?"

He somewhat could tell the answer after he saw him in person.

"First, the rumor said he was a genius… Then, what is he hiding behind him?"

He was curious and had to satisfy his curiosity. There was only one thing he could do.

"I have to push him a little harder," he thought.

Kang Seung-Cheol raised the sword again. He knew the first attack was his bad habit. When he did not know the enemy's power, he used to rush for the first time. He trusted his power too much.

"Let's take a deep breath…"

Sigh—

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It helped him to refresh.

Whirl, whirl—

He put his magic into his sword. Since he realized the enemy was not an easy one, it was his turn to work with full force.

"Slowly, here I go again."

Whizz—

As soon as Kang Seung-Cheol began to move, once more, dozens of chains stretched out toward Su-hyeun.

"They started again," Su-hyeun thought.

Whizz—

Along with their motion, Su-hyeun started to move to the end of the chains. The chain stretched and narrowed, pressing Su-hyeun. When he wielded his sword to encumbering chains, they were cut with a smooth cross-section. He aimed the cores of the chains and cut them off. It almost looked like an unsurpassed ability. It was possible not just because Su-hyeun knew the weak spot of the chain but also because he had a sense that he could carry his cutting out very well.

"It's amazing no matter how many times I see."

Kang Seung-Cheol, watching Su-hyeun, wielded his tongue. He and his team got professional training and also experienced actual training going through the Tower of Trial. But he never thought that such a precise movement would be possible.

"Is he a real genius? Or did he get professional training like them?"

Or many be…

"Both?"

He stroked his big sword to Su-hyeun thinking about any chance. The short break that Su-hyeun cut the chain, he aimed, and without a moment to hold his position, he wielded the sword.

Boom—!

His power was as if the huge mountain falling. The big sword was filled with highly concentrated magic of Magic Level 6. It helped to bring his Strength to the climax. Strength was Kang Seung-Cheol's specialty.

Boom, boom—!

Rumble—

A heavy strength and the big sword pressed Su-hyeun down. It was a strong strike. Kang Seung-Cheol did it with the intention of cut in half of Su-hyeun's sword and body. But…

Crush, crush—

The big sword was blocked by Su-hyeun's sword. It did not go down anymore.

"What the hell…"

He had wielded so he wouldn't give him a chance to hold his position. As his intention, Su-hyeun was holding the sword with no proper position. But he still was not pushed away…

"He has more Strength than me…?"

He could not believe it. He focused most stats on Strength. And this guy had higher Strength than him. Moreover, the tip of the sword started to crack again. In this way, the sword might shatter and break soon. The difference between the sword was also obvious. Stats, skills, combat sense, as well as even owned items, were superior.

"Isn't it a little scam?" Kang Seung-Cheol asked as if it was ridiculous.

Su-hyeun sneered as if he noticed the meaning of the word "scam." It meant his sword, Gram.

"Why? Are you jealous?" Su-hyeun asked.

"Honestly, yes."

"If you win, I will give it to you."

"…No, thanks. It doesn't seem like it's going to happen," Kang Seung-Cheol said.

"Win him? To this monster in front of me? Absurd!" he thought.

It was a short battle, but he knew something for sure.

Kang Seung-Cheol was the only A-ranked awakener in his team. The other nine awakeners were all B-ranked. It was enough military strength to attack a yellow dungeon. They cooperated and pushed Su-hyeun as if they were one body. But Su-hyeun was not killing anybody. He even didn't fight back properly. Su-hyeun could enter the highest rank among the A-rank awakeners.

"If we want to catch him… We would have to bring at least twice as many people as we have now. No, that might be not enough either."

Crack—

Kang Seung-Cheol stepped back from Su-hyeun and looked around. He had heard there would be additional personnel, and it looked like the director worked quickly. Other people already arrived.

"…That is a lot."

They were awakeners of the civilian guilds who were not put into the dungeon attack. The manpower requested by the director was them. The awakeners from several upper guilds ranged from C-rank to B-rank to A-rank awakeners. The number of awakeners gathered there was close to a hundred units. There were many people, it was enough to attack even a green dungeon. Su-hyeun also knew their existence. He did not feel much embarrassed because he thought that there would be such a large number of people in the first place. However, he could see a familiar mark among them.

"…Ares Guild?" he thought.

He knew some guilds already. But Ares Guild was not supposed to be here. Su-hyeun looked around slowly. His gaze moved to the one side. At that moment, his eyes met with Hak-Joon.

"Why is he here?"

Their joining was certainly not on a schedule.

It was not particularly awkward, but he could not just accept the fact that the future had changed.

"It is 9:30."

Su-hyeun checked the time with a watch on his wrist. The time had passed pretty much. The stamina went away about that much, but fortunately, his magic was still enough. Additional reinforcements were not necessarily bad news. Even if it would be difficult right now, it would make things easier later.

"So, what are you going to do now?" Kang Seung-Cheol faced Su-hyeun and laughed at him. "Now, will you fight?"

"I think you have been mistaken for a while…" Su-hyeun frowned, but his maks hid it, and he looked at Kang Seung-Cheol. "If I do, you are going to die."

Shiver—

Kang Seung-Cheol raised his sword reflexively, as soon as he met Su-hyeun's eyes through the mask. He felt like his neck would be beheaded.

"What, what the hell…"

The concentration of magic he felt at the instance was not something of A-Rank. So far, he had thought Su-hyeun was just out of the common among A-Rank awakeners that he just had excellence in the skill composition and proficiency…

"No way… Is he possibly… S-Rank?"

He thought that would be nonsense. He was only sophomore awakener. Being A-Rank would be far beyond common sense. He thought there would be no way Su-hyeun was S-Rank. Few people in the world ranked as S. In Korea, right at the moment, there were only five S-Rank. One of them was a mercenary and three were guild masters. One awakener belonged to the country, and he was like a leader in his team. As an individual, S-Rank was known as they had equal power of a large guild. That was the power of the S-rank awakeners. Su-hyeun's gaze turned to the newly showed up awakeners of Ares Guild. And his eyes met Hak-Joon's eyes.

"Now, 30 minutes left…" Su-hyeun thought.

When he looked up, there was full of clouds in the sky. The clouds gradually turned purple. It was close to the phenomenon, but at this moment no one cared about it. There were close to 130 people gathered.

"Now, I will have some fun," Su-hyeun grinned as he was thinking.

Rumble, rumble—

Swish, boom, boom—

Numerous sword and spear flew to Su-hyeun. He struck them with his sword or grabbed them. He tried to save his Flame skill. He decided to save his magic rather than his health.

One-too-many fights always gave him a similar feeling. He felt like he fought with a monster of 100 heads and 200 arms. Moreover, he could not even fight back with a fatal attack. Su-hyeun's eyes cooled down quickly. Other awakeners who were dealing with Su-hyeun felt the same way. It had been thirty minutes since they fought one vs. many. Because of the battle, the buildings around them were smashed and shattered.

"Don't you think this is strange?" Hak-Joon got closer to Kim do-ui and asked.

"What do you mean?" Kim do-ui asked back.

"I mean this fight. No one actually tries to kill the other side."

"That is because that man does not have a murderous spirit."

"You mean, they lost their will to fight each other?"

"You are doing the same, aren't you? Why do you ask me? I think we never met before," Kim do-ui said.

"Because you're just sitting back and watching from afar. You must have been ordered to catch Kim Su-hyeun from the agency, right?" Hak-Joon asked.

"Well, yes. If my thinking was wrong, I will just receive disciplinary measures. That's all."

"Thinking?"

"I was not sure but…"

Rumble—

Kim do-ui raised his head and looked up. There were dark clouds over the sky. The cloud continued to change its color, but now it had changed its color to green.

"I guess… It will really happen."

"Yes?"

"Look carefully—" Kim do-ui opened his mouth.

Even if he did not say that, people started to notice a strange thing. Hak-Joon, who was standing next to Kim do-ui, looked up the sky as well.

"—the thing will happen here from now on."

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Chapter 51: Chapter 51

Roar, roar—

The flurries of snow got stronger. The awakeners, aware of the magic that began to mix between the snowflakes, stopped their movement and looked around.

It started.

"Heew—"

Su-hyeun, who was moving in a hurry, barely took his breath.

He moved his hand to his sweaty mask. Then, he pushed the button and took off the mask that covered his face.

Click—

People made commotions at his sudden action. The ridiculous mask was removed. The face of Su-hyeun was revealed. All eyes were on him. They were curious about not just his face but also the reason why he was taking the mask off now.

"From now on…" Su-hyeun said.

Hak-Joon who saw Su-hyeun's face strained his eyes.

"Su-hyeun?" Hak-Joon thought in surprise.

When everyone's gaze was gathered to him, Su-hyeun opened his mouth with magic in his voice. "Everyone gathered here must fight together."

"What is he talking about?"

"We are doing that right now."

"Does he mean the thing over there?"

The commotion did not disappear easily. But obviously, their hostility to Su-hyeun disappeared almost entirely. At the moment, they thought they had to concentrate on the huge mess of the magic that was growing above their heads, rather than the hostility or fighting against Su-hyeun.

"Soon, there will a be dungeon outbreak here."

"Dungeon outbreak?"

"I have not heard that a dungeon has occurred here?"

"No way, really?"

"Seriously…?"

"Where the hell is that dungeon…?"

There was a mix of questions and embarrassment in commotion.

"The outbreak speed of the dungeon will continue to change. Among them…," Su-hyeun looked at the green clouds rising above his head and continued to say, "Like the dungeon that appeared above, there will be a dungeon that bursts in a few hours."

The rate of dungeon occurrence and the rate of outbreak changed every minute, especially the place of dungeon occurrence was not something to able to predict yet. It was the same with deformed dungeons. Su-hyeun was pointing that out. The world was too peaceful to think and aware of the dangers. He looked around and raised his magic once again.

Whoosh—

"Ok. My acting is over."

A huge flame encircled him. When the flame shined in blue shrouded in all directions, other awakeners was overwhelmed and stepped back.

"I need your help. Please help me."

Su-hyeun bowed his head to everyone. He looked like he had no intention of fighting. People felt relieved that the huge and overwhelming power was not something for them. They also felt something hot fermented inside them.

Glug—

The one person who watched held his breath. The man, Kang Seung-Cheol, who just fought with Su-hyeun using the big sword, felt dejected and dropped his sword by his side.

"It was real," he thought.

He tried to deny the possibility during the whole time he was fighting. Su-hyeun magic, stamina, and a sense of battle did not dry out throughout the battle with hundreds of people.

"The reason why that was possible. It was because he is S-rank."

He could feel vividly with his skin, the concentration and factor of magic around Su-hyeun at the moment. It was certainly above his A-rank magic. It must be the magic of S-rank. Everyone was confused.

But even before the chaos went away, change began.

Kyaaaa—!

A huge cry came out of the sky.

Kyaak, kyaaak—!

Woof, wooof—!

It was not one or two. How many howls? Dozens, hundreds? No, it seemed like more than that. There was only one such phenomenon. And not many of the awakeners present here had seen the phenomenon with their own eyes. Kim Do-ui, who had been working as an awakener for a long time, was convinced.

"It is a dungeon outbreak."

The dungeon hadn't even appeared yet, but there was a dungeon outbreak. A cloud of green light over the sky–that was the dungeon.

"Not from at this time—"

Kim Do-ui, who watched the fight between Su-hyeun and other awakeners all the time, walked forward and opened his mouth.

"—Everyone covers Kim Su-hyeun!"

"Yes?"

"What do you mean…?"

Among the awakeners of the country, Kim Do-ui had the highest command. Some people seemed embarrassed at his command, but some of them nodded quickly. It was the same with awakeners who belonged to guilds. In the first place, they started to not think Su-hyeun as the enemy and suddenly there were cries of monsters. Moreover, Su-hyeun had taken off his mask and asked for help. They were not foolish. They could realize the meaning of what Su-hyeun did so far.

"Damn it. He could just talk."

"Who would have believed in words?"

"What is the world come to?"

Although they complained, one-by-one the awakeners had a confrontational attitude and prepared to fight. No one recognized Su-hyeun as an enemy anymore. Su-hyeun glanced at his watch and checked the time.

"It is at 10:00 p.m. Now it starts," he thought.

Kyaooo—!

Shadows cast over the clouds. The thing made the sound gradually got closer and began to show up. There were hundreds of monsters. There were one-eyed pterosaurs, sharks with wings, giant elephants, and giant earthworms. It was a familiar image.

Su-hyeun injected his magic to Gram to sharpen the blade more. So far, he swung his sword in the sense of blocking and hitting rather than cutting. But…

"Now, I will cut."

Whoosh—

The magic began to move according to Su-hyeun's will. As if it had a will, Gram started to resonate with Su-hyeun's magic.

Kick, kick, kick—

Su-hyeun jumped high with the Leap skill and cut the sky as hard as possible.

Rip—!

Act 4

"S-sir!"

Slam—

The worker of the agency suddenly opened the door and came in. The director looked at the face of him and asked as if he was irritated.

"What?"

The director, who valued case and courtesy, did not like the sudden visit. But the face of the man who came to the director's office was urgent enough to not care about the director's look.

"D-did you hear the news?"

"What news?"

Ring, ring, ring—

At that moment, the director's phone rang loudly. The call sounded ominous. The director felt a chill. He thought maybe the man's visiting would have the same purpose as this phone call.

"What is going on?

"Sir. The outbreak happened."

"Outbreak? Did they fail to conquer the green dungeon?" the director asked.

He thought that would not be possible, but he asked just in case. Even an S-rank awakener joined in the mission. There would be no way to fail. Moreover, there were many A-rank awakens, as well.

"N-no, sir."

"What? No? Are you acting rashly with an outbreak of another small dungeon?"

"It happened in Anyang," the man who ran in a hurry gasped and answered.

The director's eyes got wide while he was watching the man who tried to catch the breath and prepared the next words.

"An…yang…?"

"No way." The ominous thought crossed the director's mind. Ant that feeling was not wrong as always.

"Yes, sir. It is a green dungeon. Now the awakeners who went there to stop the terrorist are fighting," the man answered.

"There was no dungeon there. An outbreak? What bullshit are you talking about?"

Bang—

The director slammed the desk. The man calmly continued to say as if he had expected the director's response.

"Well… We could not figure out the cause either. We just consider it a strange phenomenon just like when the first dungeon had appeared."

"Then what about Kim Su-hyeun?"

"He is fighting against monsters with other people."

"What?"

"The report from the agent just arrived now. He was not a terrorist," the man continued speaking in a confident voice, "Kim Su-hyeun is the hero of Anyang City."

Slash—!

When Su-hyeun wrapped his body with Flame skill and swung his sword, the body of the giant monster cut in half.

Crack—

The monster, who ran into Su-hyeun to swallow him in one bite, began to fall to the ground, splitting his body from side to side. Su-hyeun used its body as a steppingstone and jumped higher.

Swish—

He could see the next target.

[You have used the skill Provocation.]

[The enemies around you, except for the designated target, recognize you as an enemy.]

Numerous monsters looked at Su-hyeun. Their hostility pierced Su-hyeun's skin. He raised his magic to endure it. He wrapped his body with multiple layers of Flame.

[Indomitable body.]

[The transfiguration skill: Imoogi.]

Crack, crack—

Whack—

The scales of the Imoogi began to grow on Su-hyeun's body. He could not fly like a real Imoogi, but he could mimic the ability to keep his body floating. He could use the Leap skill, and there were a lot of monsters he could use as stepstones, so an air battle was not a problem.

"Good," he thought.

The physical ability rose to the highest point, and there was the Flame that was sharply worn all over his body.

Kiyaaa—

A lot of monsters filled Su-hyeun's eyes. Other awakeners were preparing various skills to catch them, but he did not care.

"Ok, here I go."

Whoosh—

Kukguk, Kukwook—

The preparation for the leap was over. It felt like Gram shouting to use it quickly.

"One, two, three." He counted in his head.

Swish—

Su-hyeun's body penetrated the crowd of monsters.

Kyiaaa, kyiaaaa—

Krrr, krrrr—

Slash, slash, slash—

Drop—

The monster's body began to fall one by one.

Stab—

One!

Whoosh, boom, boom, boom—!

Two, three, four!

Sssss, Crack, crack—!

Ten… Twenty!

The blue flame filled with enormous magic swept. The sword shredded and cut everywhere. He ignored the claws and teeth of the monsters. Instead of avoiding or blocking them, he took them with his body and fought back. The indomitable body and body of Imoogi made it possible.

Drop, plop—

Rumble, rumble—

Dozens of monsters began to fall down the ground.

"Hu-ah, Hu—"

Su-hyeun quickly cleaned the monsters took a small breath. People felt like the time on the battlefield froze when they saw Su-hyeun stop about half the monsters in what seemed to be an instant.

"What… the hell?"

"What just happened?"

"Look. The monsters looked frightened."

The monsters that appeared in the green dungeons were about the same as the boss from the orange dungeon. The B-rank awakeners could barely catch one of them. But Su-hyeun killed dozens of them in an instant. When he fought without hesitation with his sharpened sword, when his ability and magic were fully bloomed, people could not believe it. It more than they had imagined.

"This is Kim Su-hyeun. A new S-rank awakener."

Kim Do-ui's heart beat hard.

"We might able to do this."

It was the first time that an outbreak in a green dungeon had happened as soon as it appeared. Other S-rank awakeners were vacant for various reasons, such as conquering other dungeons or going abroad. But someone who would fill the vacancy appeared.

"It is still too soon to feel relieved."

Su-hyeun came down to the ground in the meantime took a breath and lifted his head. From the green clouds appeared in the sky, monsters were still pouring out. And among them…

"…That one. That one is a little annoying."

Krrrrr—

They could hear a low crying as if it rang right next to their ears.

Wooooong—

The wings of a giant monster were tearing the clouds apart.

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Chapter 52: Chapter 52

Rumble, rumble—

Flutter—

The huge black wings appeared sparsely through the clouds. The whole body did not appear yet, but people could tell, that the monster was on a different level than other monsters. It was only spreading wings above the sky, but a huge wind reached to the ground. The monster's body looked like more than 100 meters, and it had giant wings. It breathed out the ominous magic that nobody could ever experience.

"B-boss?"

"Is that…?"

That monster was the boss of the green dungeon. It was the boss of the highest level among the green dungeons.

"The half demonic dragon, Igolas," Su-hyeun mumbled.

It looked like a dragon, but it was not technically a dragon. That was why it was called half demonic dragon. The reason why it had "demonic" in the name was that it had such ominous energy.

"If this monster flies to other places… not just Anyang City, the close cities like Seoul, Ansan, and Suwon could be in danger as well," Su-hyeun thought.

Everywhere this monster would go, more and more people would die. Especially, at this time, the S-rank awakeners had been vacated their seats.

"I will take care of it," Su-hyeun said.

"You mean, by yourself?" Kim Do-ui was surprised.

He knew Su-hyeun was pretty good, but the energy from Igolas was something beyond anything an individual could afford. Kim Do-ui, though, even if Su-hyeun was S-rank, there would be no way he could catch it by himself. But Su-hyeun stepped up and said he would catch the Igolas.

"Please take care of other random monsters. Can you do that?" Su-hyeun asked.

Su-hyeun considered Kim Do-ui as the head of the awakeners. When an outbreak occurs, the highest command on the field was held by the owner of the highest rank among the awakeners who belonged in the country. Kim Do-ui was in the highest rank beside Su-hyeun in this place. He was also the closest assistant to the director. So it was natural that Kim Do-ui had control of the situation. Su-hyeun left other monsters to him, except Igolas.

"Don't let any monsters go out of this city. Do you understand?" Su-hyeun ordered.

"…I will try." Kim Do-ui answered.

"Trying is not good enough."

"Okay. I got it. I won't let that happen."

At Kim Do-ui's definite statemen, Su-hyeun smiled a little and nodded. Then, Su-hyeun noticed somebody came next to him. He turned his head.

"When it's over, we need to talk."

Hak-Joon was glaring at Su-hyeun with fierce eyes. He looked like he was feeling sorry rather than angry. Su-hyeun thought Hak-Joon would react like this, but when he saw his face, he had no idea what to say.

"Yea. Let's talk later," Su-hyeun answered.

They were busy with their own businesses, so they did not have many chances to see each other, but still, they contacted often. Somehow, they became brothers and got closer. That was possible, of course, because they were interested in each other. Su-hyeun was interested in Hak-Joon's talent, and Hak-Joon was…

"He was contacting me… For what?" Su-hyeun thought.

He had no idea why Hak-Joon did not avoid his contact. What he heard was ever since Hak-Joon had decided to join Ares Guild, he cut off all other people except the guild members. He thought it was something he should check it out, but he was too busy to do it. He decided to find it out after this thing ended.

"But at first—"

Krrrr—

The clear cry covered the sky. Igolas's body finally appeared under the clouds. The dark scales and skin, and the darker eyes than those scanned the ground. Su-hyeun looked up at Igolas and muttered.

"—I guess I have to something with that first."

Whirl—

Whoosh—

The Blue Flame skill wrapped around his body. There was no reason to save his magic anymore.

[The Flame.]

[The Flame – Phoenixes]

[The Indomitable body.]

[The Transfiguration Skill: Imoogi.]

His body started to harden like steel and scales started to cover his arms and neck. The blue flame surrounded his body and two Phoenixes spread their wings.

"Here I go."

Bang—

He used Leap skill and jumped higher. Soon, he used Imoogi's characteristics and floated his body. He used Leap skill again and floated his body to a higher place.

Krrrrr—

Even though he did not use Provocation skills, Igolas looked at Su-hyeun. Perhaps the power of Flame and magic from Su-hyeun caught its eyes.

"Come on, half-lizard," Su-hyeun yelled.

Kiyaaaa—!

As if it understood what he said, Igolas open up his mouth and roared to Su-hyeun. The black breath started to cover Su-hyeun's body.

"Should I avoid or fend off?" He briefly thought and decided to break through.

Whoosh—

The sword in his hand, Gram started to form his Flame. Soon, he wielded his sword in front of his face.

Rip—!

There was a path through Gram's cut. Su-hyeun used the Leap skill again and jumped through it. It was the last jump that could be used in the air without steppingstones.

Whoosh—!

Su-hyeun quickly narrowed the distance, and Igolas swung its wings toward him.

Whiz—

Crack—!

Su-hyeun quickly wielded Gram and struck the wings. He cut Igolas's skin through its heavy scales, but he could not block the impact all the way. His body flew away. His whole body was soaring. He found a tall building and barely landed on it.

Crack—

The roof of the building, which looked like a department store, was broken. Su-hyeun raised his head again to look at Igolas.

Kiiyaaaak—!

Igolas let out a horrible shriek. Blood was dripping from the wing where he wielded his sword.

"Gram is the best."

The Gram's sharply wrapped magic pierced even the hard scales of Igolas. He did not expect he would cut it at once, but Gram's performance was better than what he had expected. The angry Igolas started to breathe out to Su-hyeun. If that breath reached to the ground, this department store building would melt.

"I can't help the building…," Su-hyeun thought.

The building was empty anyway. Near here, there were no civilians except awakeners. And awakeners would protect their bodies by themselves. Su-hyeun put Gram back into the scabbard and pulled the spear from his back. It was the spear that he had specially prepared for this day.

[Dragon Slaying Spear – Nir.]

It was an item that is made by mimicking a mythical spear Gungnir. He could buy it from the store. It was quite expensive. It was a weapon that could give overwhelming additional damage to reptilian monsters. To the monster like Igolas, this spear would be more harmful than Gram.

"Although there is a limit that, I can use this only once."

Su-hyeun grabbed the spear with one hand and largely bowed his body like a bow.

Swish—!

The breath of Igolas came closer. Su-hyeun could faintly see Igolas through the breath. He aimed spear to its body.

"One, two, three."

He counted number in his head as his habit. And—

Boom—!

The spear flew and torn Igolas's breath. At the same time, the tip of the spear split and scattered into hundreds and thousands of thin pieces.

Whoosh—

At a time, the magic in the spear began to fire. The blue flame covered the spear, the pieces became countless spears and beat the body of Igolas.

Boom, boom, boom—

Wham—!

Kiyaaaaaa—!

Igolas screamed out. Su-hyeun frowned at the loud crying that sounded as if it would tear his eardrums.

But the effect was useful. It was worthwhile to pay a high price.

"It is too bad that it is just a one-time use item," Su-hyeun thought.

He could use it only once, but if it was this powerful, it would not be bad to buy more just in case. The time for the Leap skill reset. When Igolas was in a panic, Su-hyeun flew up again.

Swish—

Soon, Su-hyeun arrived above the clouds and looked down Igolas. It was still suffering and could not see Su-hyeun. He gulped air.

Boom—!

Shortly after, he used the last Leap skill and ran into the top of the Igolas's body. Su-hyeun, who got on the body of Igolas, grabbed Gram and started to cut his body.

Rip, rip—!

Whack, whaaack—!

The thick scales were cut in small pieces. It was too thick to cut deep in the first try, but he was able to cut the minor wounds quickly.

"More, more."

Hack, slash—

Igolas struggled from the sword of Su-hyeun. It screamed out in pain, swung its wings, and breathed out to resist. The giant wing and tail of Igolas almost grazed the tip of Su-hyeun's nose. One attack from Igolas had enough power to destroy Su-hyeun's body.

"A little more!"

Riiiip—

Kiyaaa—!

He put Gram into the deep of Igolas's back and drew it down. The blood spilled out like a fountain. Igolas let out a scream louder than before. At that moment, Su-hyeun's eyes sparkled.

"Now!"

Whooosh—!

The blood fountain that spouted out fell towards Su-hyeun. It moved as if it were a living thing, tried to pierce Su-hyeun like a sharp awl.

Whoosh—!

Crackle, crackle—

As Su-hyeun's gesture, the flame burst from the below. That flame blocked the awls of the harden blood of Igolas and burn those.

"I was looking forward to seeing you."

Su-hyeun looked at Igolas's wound he just made with his sword Gram. From the wound, that spilled blood like the fountain before, the blood came out slowly once more.

Rumble, rumble—

The dark blood gathered together and started to make a form like a human. The man who had an elaborately shaped dragon face turned his head from side to side and stared at Su-hyeun.

"Who are you…?"

Igolas asked in wonder. He had been looking down at the ground from behind the clouds for hours. He also had seen Su-hyeun was fighting with other people. But somehow, he teamed up with other people now and fought against him. Su-hyeun acted as if he knew their existence beforehand. He could not help but ask. However, instead of answering, Su-hyeun told a completely different story.

"Are you… Happy to live like that?"

"What?"

Igolas asked back at Su-hyeun's question like building castles in the air.

"What the hell is talking about," Igolas thought.

At Su-hyeun's words, Igolas's face contorted. He felt like he could remember something.

"Hey, you, half demonic dragon. You who tried to kill this monster now became one with it and run amuck. Remember. You… Are not a demonic dragon."

The being in front of Su-hyeun was Igolas but not Igolas. He was…

"The knight of the half demonic dragon, Falcon."

He was a misfortune knight who decided to assimilate with the half demonic dragon Igolas to stop it. He had been united with Igolas and fought against it for a long, long time. And while that, he lost the initiative of the body, and he became like this.

"I… I…"

The eyes of Falcon made with dark blood started to have a focus. But the focus that spackled once quickly disappeared. And at that moment, Su-hyeun raised his sword again.

"Well, if you don't remember, it can't be helped," Su-hyeun said.

He did not expect much in the first place.

"I will make you remember."

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Chapter 53: Chapter 53

Shururuk-

Falcon's eyes were dyed black at the same time Su-hyeun raised his sword.

Right at this moment, the existence before his eyes had become Igolas once more.

"As I thought, he's still fighting it," Su-hyeun thought.

What a lamentable thing this was.

To fight against the demonic dragon while having forgotten all about who he was for a length of time so long that it was difficult to even imagine.

Falcon's ego managed to emerge above the surface this time because Igolas's main body was inflicted with a major wound.

"To wake him up again…."

Rumble-

The Flame enveloped Su-Hyeun's sword.

"I'll chop this body into pieces first," thought Su-Hyeun.

Piiiii-iiit-

Hwa-aaaahk-!

Wounds opened up all over Igolas's body one after the other according to Su-Hyeun's sword strikes.

It was the pattern of the Flame scorching the creature's hide, and then the Gram slicing into the weakened hide.

The sword attacks used to be effective many times before, however, it was different this time.

Kuruk, kururuk-

Blood sprayed out from Igolas's body enveloped its hide and scales. This blood, which was a lump of massive magical energy, became a sturdy armor and began protecting its body.

"It'll be difficult to break through in a single hit," Su-Hyeun thought to himself.

Chwa-ruruk-

That wasn't all.

The blood enveloping Igolas's hide suddenly coalesced and floated upwards. Every one of those lumps morphed into sharp blades and were fired in Su-Hyeun's direction.

It was the skill of Falcon, the ancient knight that became one with Igolas.

"Swords is it," Su-Hyeun said.

Dozens upon dozens of swords.

Su-hyeun swept his eyes across them. A fairly threatening amount of magical energy was permeating in every single one of them.

However, destroying them wouldn't be difficult.

"I'll shatter them."

Squeeze-

Su-Hyeun trusted in his skills, as well as the weapon held in his hand, the Gram.

He was capable of shattering them one by one.

Su-phat-

Pik, pik, pipik-

Chwa-rururuk-

Su-Hyeun cut down the swords flying in his direction, and then, cut down even more. Countless swords were powerlessly destroyed.

Perhaps it didn't expect such a development, Igolas flinging the swords stared at Su-Hyeun with great shock.

Crack, crack, craaack-!

"Fuu-wook, huk-"

Swords flew in endlessly.

Even as he swatted those away one by one, Su-hyeun shifted his gaze towards the wound he inflicted on the main body.

"As I thought, I should aim over there if I…"

Fuu-wuunng-

The sound of a huge gust of wind.

At that moment, Su-hyeun's gaze shifted to the side.

Ka-boom-!

"Keo-urk!"

Su-Hyeon's body, his focus stolen by the countless swords until then, was struck hard by Igolas's tail. For a moment there, all strength abandoned him and his head shook around.

Stagger-

['Hero – Immortality is activating.]

[Vitality and stamina are recovering rapidly. A fixed portion of abnormal status is recovering.]

[Physical ability is being rapidly enhanced.]

His shaken consciousness and body quickly came back to him.

The passive skill he thought of as insurance for that just-in-case.

He couldn't confirm its effects until now. It didn't want to activate regardless of whatever situation Su-hyeun deliberately created for himself.

However, the Immortality skill had become a truly dependable lifeline for Su-hyeun right at this moment.

His body felt light.

Power was overflowing within, and his concentration was shooting through the roof. His body was in the peak physical condition filled with vitality. No, the strength exceeding even that could be felt now.

"I can do this."

Squeeze-

Su-hyeun's gaze was directed at Igolas's tail that smacked him earlier.

"I'll cut it down."

Sliiiice-

A single thin line appeared in Su-hyeun's vision.

He didn't even exert all that much strength, either. As if drawing a line, he simply swung his sword quite naturally in the direction of Igolas's tail.

Tsu-eu-euht-

Chua-aaaahk-!

Igolas's tail was sliced off.

The cleanly-sliced tail and its smooth cross-section began falling below.

Igolas, having lost a part of its body in the blink of an eye, didn't even scream as if it hadn't felt the pain.

But, it soon sensed a certain emptiness and turned its head behind to confirm the situation with its tail.

Kii-aahk, kiii-aaahhh-!

Igolas started screeching out loudly.

The now tail-less Igolas spat out rage-filled breaths in all directions. The figure reappearing on the creature's back seemed to be enraged as well, as it opened its mouth wide and howled out, too.

"Ah, ah, aaaaahk-!"

"I will make you suffer!"

Igolas crying out in rage soon had to stop its screaming. It discovered that Su-hyeun had arrived near its position before anyone noticed it, that's why.

"…!"

As Igolas opened its pupil-less eyes wide enough to tear them apart, its expression was filled with sheer shock.

"What are you so surprised about?"

Squeeeeze-

Before anyone realized it, Su-hyeun's hand was holding a spear, not a sword.

"When did I… ever say I only had one?"

[Dragon killing spear – Nir.]

A single-use item.

The thing was, Su-hyeun had prepared two of them.

One to inflict a fatal wound on Igolas's main body.

And as for the other one…

"Let's finish up with this, shall we?"

To wrap everything up.

Su-hyeun's gaze was fixed on the huge wound he cut out on Igolas's back.

He bent both his arm and his body to ready the spear shaft.

Rumblllle-

Kuwa-aaaaht-!

Hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands.

The spear Su-hyeun threw split countless times and rained down on Igolas's body from above.

Crack, crack, craaack-

Kiii-aaaaahhh-!

Igolas's body was mercilessly torn apart.

Su-Hyeun was planning to use this attack as the final blow to kill Igolas off. The magical energy contained within the spear now was incomparable to before.

Peok, peok, peopeopeopeohk-!

Its wings were torn off, and its hide and scales were scorched black.

Igolas's whole body went limp as if it no longer had any energy left to even flap its wings.

Gu-wuuuu-

Igolas's body began falling to the ground.

Act 5

Kwa-rung, boom-!

Igolas's body crashed into a high-rise building, and the structure couldn't endure against that weight and began crumbling to the side.

With its figure completely torn apart and penetrated through, Igolas couldn't control its body anymore and simply writhed intermittently. Su-hyeun landed on top and intently studied Igolas's condition.

"Looks like it'll die even if left alone."

The biggest weakness of Igolas was its low rate of regeneration unfitting for a high-ranking monster. With these many wounds, it was now as good as dead.

Su-hyeun walked on Igolas's back.

It was then, the streaming blood coalesced once more into a certain silhouette. This time, though, it had a person's head, not a dragon's.

"I shall ask again," Su-hyeun said.

Step-

Su-hyeun got real close to this figure and asked.

"Who are you currently?"

"I am…" Countless emotions were mixed in that faintly-trembling voice. "Falcon, the knight of Teserahm."

"Can you remember now?"

"Yes, I remember everything… Everything."

Falcon barely managed to squeeze out his voice.

It wasn't because he found it uncomfortable or difficult to talk, however. No, he couldn't speak because countless memories that he didn't want to recall came flooding in.

"I…. my… with my hands…."

After he became one with Igolas.

Falcon killed and devoured countless people. He could still vividly remember the texture and the taste from back then.

"Euph… Eu-euph…."

The sensation of vomit rushed in, making him feel nauseous and dizzy. Unfortunately, Falcon was made out of Igolas's blood and couldn't shed his tears nor empty his stomach.

"Bleurgh-!"

He tried to vomit, but nothing came out. The only thing leaking out from his mouth like drool was Igolas's blood.

"Even if you do that, people you devoured won't come back," Su-hyeun said.

"Wu-wuuk…"

"Those who died won't come back to life. And also… it was never your intention, wasn't it?"

"I…." Falcon lowered his head and dejectedly knelt down. "I killed everyone."

He began tearing at his hair. He wanted to endlessly scream and cry his heart out, but not a drop of tear came out.

"I…. devoured them all."

Like how a knight should, he wielded his sword for the weak all his life.

He became one with Igolas just so that he could save his empire.

However…."If only I knew it'd be like this… if only I knew…"

"If you knew, would you have watched and done nothing as the empire fell?"

Falcon raised his lowered head at Su-hyeun's question.

"You wouldn't have done that, right?" asked Su-hyeun.

"That is…."

"Since you're going to make the same choice anyway if you did manage to go back, please stop with regretting your past. Seriously, what is this? You saved a nation, yet it's still your fault? There's a limit to being a kind person, you know."

He wasn't wrong there.

Even if Falcon went back in time, he'd make the same decision in the end. Rather than watching the empire be destroyed, he'd willingly throw himself and stop Igolas, and eventually become one with the creature again.

"It's not your fault," Su-hyeun spoke in a slightly bitter voice. "Many more people survived thanks to you. There's no reason to beat yourself up over it."

"But…"

"But my foot. You saved the world by sacrificing yourself, so what's with this wretched display? What exactly are you guilty of, anyway?" Su-hyeun reached out and while patting the man's shoulder, spoke. "You shouldn't… punish yourself so viciously like this. You have done a great job already, Falcon."

"…."

Falcon remained silent at Su-hyeun's words.

His darkened eyes slowly regained their focus. As Igolas's body gradually died, Falcon's consciousness was getting clearer, that's why.

"Now that I think about it…" Falcon said.

His once-trembling voice became a little calmer.

Falcon observed Su-hyeun and spoke. "I still haven't expressed my gratitude. Thank you. Thanks to you, we were finally able to stop."

"No need to mention it." Su-hyeun formed a meaningful smile. "It wasn't for free, after all."

"What do you mean?"

"You aren't going to use that item anyway, right? In that case, please just give it to me."

"That item? Could it be…" Falcon's eyes widened before he guffawed. "Ha, hahaha! Ah, did you mean this? You aren't someone from our side, so I can't fathom at all how you even knew about it."

"There are certain ways of finding it out."

"Alright, take it. Just like you said, it's not like I'll be using the item again, and… And I should at least give you something in return. No, wait. Even if I don't give it to you, it's still yours regardless."

"Thank you."

"I should be the one thanking you. Thanks to you, the weight's been lifted off my shoulders. I've been freed from the pain, too… I'm truly grateful."

Igolas's death was the same thing as Falcon's death.

Falcon was supposed to have died a long time ago during his battle against Igolas. However, after he became one with the creature, he was unable to die and continued to live on while killing humans even though he didn't want to.

For a long time, he fought within Igolas's consciousness and protected his home by ensuring that the creature didn't attack the empire.

Kururuk, kuruk-

Kek, kekek-!

The maw on Igolas's massive head squirmed for a bit before it spat something out quite vigorously.

Su-hyeun stared at that something the creature spat out. It was a set of thin armor.

"Take it with you. You are more than qualified to possess it," said Falcon.

He was now in full control of Igolas's consciousness. That was because the creature's body was damaged beyond the possibility of repair.

In other words, the armor Igolas spat out was meant to be Falcon's gift. And it was also what Su-hyeun had been aiming for since the beginning, as well.

"In that case, I'll gladly use it," replied Su-hyeun.

"Alright."

Falcon closed his eyes.

Right afterward, his body made out of Igolas's blood began melting down little by little.

"Finally… eternal respite," said Falcon.

He accepted his death as eternal respite. Su-hyeun, having only lived a mere few decades, couldn't grasp at all what that even felt like.

Su-hyeun bowed his head towards Falcon.

This man before his eyes was a true hero, who, for the length of time no one could even begin to imagine, fought for the sake of the world.

And he was the sole witness to the last moments of such a person.

"Rest in peace."

I pray that his death wouldn't be one of agony but an eternal rest.

Su-hyeun earnestly prayed in his heart.

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Chapter 54: Chapter 54

Chwa-rururuk-

Clung, claaang-

Dozens upon dozens of thick chains tightly bound the bodies of the monsters. Ten-plus Awakeners coordinated with each other in perfect sync to stop the monsters' movements.

"Nice work!"

Chwa-aaaahk-!

Kang Seung-Cheol's greatsword split the body of a huge raven-like monster in half. The creature, with both of its wings tied down, couldn't even offer any substantial resistance as it lost its life.

Ka-boom-!

Along with the waves of magical energy, a loud impact noise akin to a sandbag being struck hard resounded out. A monster's torso bounced upwards, its waist bent in half.

"Can't you hurry up a bit here?"

Tap, tap-

Boom-

While shaking off the blood on his hands, Kim Do-ui addressed Kang Seung-Cheol.

When looking at the bigger picture, they were both Awakeners affiliated with the same government, but when looking at the smaller picture, things were slightly different.

And that's why they were wary of each other.

"Who's the slow one here… Why don't you keep your people in line first? How many did you hunt, anyway?"

"It's not just one or two. Do you think I'll personally be counting them? Why maybe you didn't hurt as many as you thought?"

"Why are you picking a fight all of a sudden?"

"I wonder, just who was it that asked me first about how many I hunted down?"

"Before that…"

Guuu-wooong-

The ground rumbled as something heavy crash-landed. The two men stopped bickering and turned their heads in the direction of the noise.

"The boss is…"

"He killed it?"

Kang Seung-Cheol opened his eyes wide.

That man, he stepped forward while saying he'll fight the boss alone, but to think he'd solo a monster of such caliber.

"I thought we might need more reinforcement, but it seems there's no longer a need for that."

Kim Do-ui was overcome with feelings of emptiness and relief at the same time. The crisis that could've become the worst-possible situation had finally come to an end.

"He's remarkable. Truly," Kim Do-ui thought.

Su-hyeun minded his own business up until now without publicly revealing himself, not even once.

It was already mystifying to see a young man like that stay well below the radar for such an extent of time, but the moment he revealed his identity to the world, he even managed to prevent a huge catastrophe, as well.

His abilities couldn't be faulted at all. Indeed, he was one of only a few S-ranks in South Korea, so why should anyone doubt that?

Most likely, after this event is over…" Kim Du-ui began to think.

A storm should rage on with him as the epicenter.

The armor clanked.

Su-hyeun picked up the armor Igolas's maw spat out onto the ground.

Now that he got to see it again, rather than joy, bitterness rushed in first.

"Falcon's Holy Armor," Su-hyeun thought in awe.

This set of armor was so light that its weight almost couldn't be felt. Just from the sensation of it being held in his hand, the armor might seem like it'd break in half if he gripped it a little harder.

However, Su-hyeun knew the true worth of this item better than anyone out there.

[Falcon's Holy Armor.]

The armor belonging to Falcon, the knight of Teserahm Empire. The Teserahm Empire gifted this armor to Falcon in his quest to hunt down the half-demon dragon, and as such, it possesses strong resistance towards many different magic types.

The item's explanation itself wasn't too obtuse. Rather than its effects, over half of the explanation was devoted to the item's history, instead.

Out of all the armors that can be equipped with the others, this is the one possessing the greatest magic resistance of them all.

The greatest advantage Falcon's Armor had was the fact that it could be worn underneath other armors.

Never mind how light it was, it was also more comfortable than all the others, and it offered almost no restriction on his movements.

It also had a strong resistance towards many different types of damage, including magic, which was a huge plus, as well.

Honestly, that last factor alone would've qualified the Falcon's Armor as a bona fide treasure.

"I'll use it well," Su-hyeun thought.

Su-hyeun then equipped the Falcon's Armor.

The moment he put on the armor over his clothing.

Hwa-aaaahk-!

Lengthy video footage began brushing past Su-hyeun's brain.

"Please stop the demon dragon Igolas."

"Falcon, we ask of you for this favor."

"With this method, you will be able to defeat Igolas. However, if that happens…"

Countless people were surrounding Falcon.

They all clamored over each other to shout towards him.

"You're the only one we can believe in now!"

Falcon couldn't forsake that belief. Not if he were to answer their expectations, and if he wanted to protect his beloved empire, too.

It wasn't hard to come up with a reply.

"Please leave it to me."

And so, Falcon set off from the empire to stop Igolas.

While equipped with weapons, armor, and countless items crafted by the finest artisans of the empire, he fought against Igolas in a battle that lasted the day and night, and eventually, the magic circle they had created was activated.

Hwa-aaaaahk-!

And that's how Falcon became one with Igolas.

Two separate minds came to occupy one flesh, and the second battle commenced.

It was truly a lengthy fight that lasted for almost an eternity.

Igolas didn't die.

However, one half of it became Falcon. The light and darkness repeatedly fought each other in fierce battles, and Igolas no longer appeared in the empire.

Unfortunately, Falcon would lose to Igolas's ego whenever the starvation became too extreme.

And to appease his hunger, he had to devour the empire's citizens.

"I… Those people, I…"

The guilt was shaking his consciousness.

His mouth could vividly recall the memories of chewing on humans. The memories of screams of 'please save us' reverberating within his mouth were something he never wanted to remember again.

It was at this point that the horrifying voice he'd often hear came to him.

"But, didn't you enjoy the taste? Was I mistaken?"

"Shut up. I didn't enjoy anything. It's making me sick!"

"No way. You savored the taste while devouring those humans. I'm you right now, after all. That's why I know."

"I said, I didn't!"

He felt nauseous. Rather than being disgusted by the cannibalism itself, he was more sickened by the fact that he enjoyed the process.

And so, Falcon gradually assimilated into Igolas. He endlessly repeated the cycle of devouring humans, then falling into regret and despair.

"It's all because of me. I'm, I'm the…"

Memories entered Su-hyeun's head.

He already knew of these memories, though. The Falcon's Armor was an item Su-hyeun of past life had used, after all.

"I'm watching this for the second time, but still…" thought Su-hyeun.

One could tell just what kind of a life Falcon lived through this set of armor.

The first time he put the armor on, he just couldn't understand at all why that person had to live such a life. He couldn't figure out the reason why Falcon chose the path of lengthy suffering.

However, in the end, even Su-hyeun got to walk on a similar path as him.

At first, he believed it was because the world had forced it onto him. However, as time passed, he grew to realize that that wasn't the sole reason.

Now he knew.

That was his own choice.

Even if the world didn't force him, and instead tried to talk him out of it…

"I'd probably have made the same choice," thought Su-hyeun.

That's why Su-hyeun felt even more bitter inside.

His end wasn't all that dissimilar to Falcon's, after all. He had to greet the conclusion so torturous that death felt like an eternal respite.

No, that wasn't true. Falcon managed to protect his empire, but what about him?

This was the second opportunity, his second attempt.

But, if he were to fail again this time…

"Even then, I'll still do it."

As expected, the answer remained the same.

If he was thinking of hesitating, then he wouldn't even have started in the first place. He wouldn't have tried to put this armor on, either.

When he thought that it was finally over, strength in his body flooded out. The activation period of 'Indomitable' had come to an end.

"It didn't last as long as I thought," Su-hyeun said to himself.

He was dismayed at himself for thinking about skills even in a situation like this one.

Su-hyeun smirked and let go of the tension's taut string.

"I'm sure it'll work out… Somehow…"

Plop-

Su-hyeun laid down right there as if he was blacking out, and closed his eyes.

And then, he fell into a deep slumber.

January 31, 2021.

This date was originally earmarked as the day of conquering the green-colored dungeon that appeared in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.

All the attention of the media was focused there, and countless Awakeners were deployed, too.

So much so that one would start to think at least one-third of all the Awakeners in South Korea had been deployed here to conquer this green-colored dungeon.

But then, the South Korean media, no, the entire world's, was no longer focused on Ansan, but Anyang, instead.

The dungeon outbreak is a new term denoting the phenomenon that occurs when a newly-generated dungeon has been left alone for a fixed period. However, on January 31st, the City of Anyang in Gyeonggi Province was… A new type of dungeon has emerged. A green-colored dungeon that requires an S-rank Awakener, or perhaps even over a dozen A-rank Awakeners… Last night in Anyang, Gyeonggi Province…

The breaking headlines and internet articles endlessly poured out.

And one man's name was brought up without exception in every single one of them.

The mysterious Awakener covered in veil until now, Kim Su-hyeun has finally revealed himself. He has been introducing himself as a member of the Dump Guild on an online forum from a short while ago, and he… Kim Su-hyeun willingly disguised himself as a terrorist to evacuate the citizens. Thanks to his actions, all the damage the City of Anyang suffered was some damage to property… The boss of the green dungeon was…

The breaking news continued to pour in one after the other.

Su-hyeun raised the remote and switched the TV off.

Beep-

"I can't stand it, really," Su-hyeun said.

Should he say how fortunate that his face was blurred out in mosaic during the broadcasts?

As if the mass media didn't want to get on Su-hyeun's bad books, they didn't reveal his facial features publicly on air.

"Kekek. Isn't it all truth, though?"

Lee Ju-ho chuckled under his breath. He was trying so hard not to laugh, but even then, the decibel of his chuckles leaking out remained rather high.

"Why don't you just stop holding back and laugh? We're in a private room, anyway. You holding back is making me feel even worse."

"Keuk, puhahahahat!"

Lee Ju-ho, in the end, exploded in a loud peel of laughter. Su-hyeun swore that this was the first time seeing him guffaw this loudly ever since getting acquainted with the man.

"Is it that funny?"

"No, wait, keuk, keuk… Your expression, Mr. Su-hyeun, it's…"

"What about my expression, then?"

"No, well, it's like your expression is baring everything in the open. Like… Aaah, this wasn't what I wanted."

Su-hyeun's fist almost flew out at the figure of Lee Ju-ho explaining his expression with a deliberately serious, subdued voice. However, he somehow managed to hold himself back and suppressed his anger.

He was already dead-tired and needed a rest, so no good would come of it if he wasted energy unnecessarily here.

"Besides all that, I didn't expect you to go through with it," said Lee Ju-ho.

"I always do what I said I'd do."

"I see. So, I'm planning to dissuade you if something like this happens again in the future. I thought you were just kidding around again, you know."

"Will you really?"

"I mean, who would believe it? Disguising yourself as a terrorist to draw in hundreds of Awakeners all alone. And also, to use those hundreds of Awakeners to stop an outbreak, no less."

Lee Ju-ho spat out a sigh and shook his head, perhaps feeling that it still made no sense when looking back at the whole thing for the second time. "I thought that you lost all of your marbles."

"It was the most effective method available."

"This wasn't the problem of effectiveness but rather, whether it's possible or not."

One versus one hundred.

That was an impossibility for a regular person, but it wasn't as impossible for an Awakener. As the word implied, being an Awakener signified that you were superhuman, after all.

However, if the 'hundred' in that one versus a hundred situation were also Awakeners, then the matter would again become an impossibility.

Because the 'hundred' opponents 'one' had to contend with would be also superhumans possessing strengths exceeding that of regular people.

"Honestly, I thought that it'd be utterly impossible and that it's a completely absurd notion. Even if all of you went easy for hundreds of rounds and you endured somehow in that manner… I thought that you'd never make it out of there alive, Mr. Su-hyeun."

That was how it'd be like to battle against a hundred Awakeners. No matter how much of a genius Su-hyeun was, Lee Ju-ho felt confident in saying it.

That surely was an impossible task.

"However, you managed to do it, Mr. Su-hyeun."

The thing was, though, a handful of Awakeners capable of pulling off such feats did exist.

"The S-rank…"

Lee Ju-ho asked in a could-it-be frame of mind.

"Have you really become an S-rank Awakener?"

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Chapter 55: Chapter 55

The S-rank.

The Awakener combat force was rumored to be quite close to the movers and shakers in the political scene, consisting of only five known individuals in all of South Korea.

Lee Ju-ho knew that Su-hyeun was an A-rank Awakener. Of course, he also knew of the latter growing even stronger in the last year or so.

But he still didn't expect the latter to become an S-rank after only two years.

The wall existing between the A- and S-ranks was simply too vast and thick to cross.

"Well… it somehow worked out that way," replied Su-hyeun, as he nodded his head at Lee Ju-ho's question.

This was the basis for an S-rank Awakener.

The Magic Level and Magic Factor had to be over seven and 70, respectively.

Su-hyeun had already satisfied those two conditions. After consuming the highest-grade potential catalyst not too long ago and digesting every bit of the liquid, he managed to advance to the next level.

"Why didn't you say something earlier? I wouldn't have been this anxious if you told me sooner," said Lee Ju-ho.

"It wasn't that long since I became one. If you were worried about this, then I can only apologize."

"Ah, well… no need to apologize or anything…"

Lee Ju-ho became sheepish and sighed when Su-hyeun apologized instead. It felt like he was in the wrong for sounding like he was accusing the latter of something.

While sinking deep into the chair once more, Lee Ju-ho tried to change the topic. "In any case, what will you do next? Everyone knows your identity by now and will report on the fact that you're currently registered as a C-rank pretty soon."

"I don't think that's going to be a problem. I can always say that I was C-rank one year ago."

"That's what I was mean. Aren't you going to get re-evaluated?"

There was the rank re-evaluation, an evaluation process that Awakeners could request once each year when they wanted to change their ranking.

It proceeded concurrently with the regular rank evaluation, and mainly the Awakeners hoping to receive a higher rank than their current ones requested for it.

Normally, people requested it to raise their rank by one level, but…

"From C-rank up to S. Well, now. I think it's going to produce a pretty epic spectacle, alright."

The appearance of an S-rank Awakener was more than enough to become a hot topic already.

If the truth became known that the very same S rank Awakener was the hero responsible for saving the City of Anyang and jumping three levels during his rank improvement evaluation, then the mass media would riot once more.

"Urgh…."

"Based on your reaction, I take it you're at least a little interested?" Asked Lee Ju-ho.

"I do need to get re-evaluated, that's for sure. Everyone knows that already, anyway. Remaining in C-rank like this won't benefit me in any shape or form, either."

"Is it because of money? Or…"

Lee Ju-ho realized that the question was unnecessary and immediately shut his mouth.

He could easily tell that it wasn't because of money, judging from how Su-hyeun had acted up until now.

Su-hyeun not even once used the money he earned in dungeons to live in luxury.

Excluding his purchase of a house to act more freely, he was someone who thought that having a meal wasted his precious time. He invested almost all of his time primarily on climbing the tower.

Lee Ju-ho was unable to just sit back and watch, so he gave Su-hyeun a sports car as a present. Even then, him turning its ignition remained a rare occurrence even now.

"What is all this for, anyway?"

So, Lee Ju-ho changed his question.

He suddenly became curious as to why Su-hyeun became an Awakener.

Normally, it'd be to chase after things like wealth, prestige, and power. Even Lee Ju-ho himself couldn't fully escape from that mold.

"Well, that's because…."

Su-hyeun avoided the question.

Regardless of whatever reply he came up with, it was likely that the other party wouldn't understand. He was the only person who knew the future, after all.

Could anyone even have imagined it?

The world was rapidly changing.

The rate of dungeon generation was rising quickly, and outbreaks were now occurring without warning.

Even then, society at large remained at a standstill. They all thought of it as a problem similar to the issues of pollution from a few years ago.

In reality, the number of casualties from the last event was quite low. There was no need to even mention the civilian deaths as there was almost zero loss of life even among the Awakeners this time.

Knock, knock!

The short bout of silence was shattered by someone knocking on the hospital room's door.

"Come in."

Creak!

The moment Su-hyeun responded, Hak-Joon entered the room carrying a fruit basket.

The former already knew that the latter had come to visit by sensing his presence, and waved his hand to greet the younger man.

"Been a while, isn't it?" said Su-Hyeun.

"Didn't we see each other two days ago?"

"Did we? The last time we got together was such a long time ago, so…"

"Both my bro and I had been way too busy lately, so it couldn't be helped. Although, I didn't know you were the real Kim Su-hyeun back then, bro."

Su-hyeun smiled awkwardly at Hak-Joon's words.

Lee Ju-ho observed the atmosphere before standing up from his spot. "Well, I'll be on my way now. Give me a call when you're about to be discharged, please."

Su-hyeun raised his upper torso from the bed to bade Lee Ju-ho goodbye, but the latter dissuaded him from getting up altogether and exited the room.

Not too long afterward, Hak-Joon settled down on the chair Lee Ju-ho had been sitting in earlier.

He even bought a small fruit knife as if he was planning to peel the fruits he brought along.

"How are you feeling?" Hak-Joon asked.

"It's already been a couple of days, you know. Feels like I'll be just fine getting discharged tomorrow."

"That's a relief."

"What's wrong? If something's on your mind, just tell me. Don't worry about it too much."

"It's nothing, just…"

Hak-Joon's hands peeling the fruit came to a halt as he closed his mouth after hearing Su-hyeun's words.

The pregnant pause persisted for a long while. Su-hyeun had been thinking that Hak-Joon would either be angry or disappointed by him, so the current reaction came across as a little strange.

Since he had nothing urgent to do anyway, Su-hyeun decided to patiently wait.

Eventually, he spoke up.

"Hyung, do you remember… what you told me earlier?"

"What did I say?"

Su-hyeun asked back, but Hak-Joon began hesitating again. After pondering for a while, he simply shook his head.

"Nah, it's nothing."

"Come on, what is it? I'm curious now. Tell me."

"It's nothing important. Besides all that, bro. Why didn't you say anything? We've known each other for over a year already, too. That hurt my feelings, you know."

"I'm sorry about that. Actually, I…"

Sure enough, the conversation with Hak-Joon went down the expected avenue. However, Su-hyeun was quite certain that this wasn't what he wanted to say to him.

What could it be?

His curiosity was rushing in.

He was thinking of uncovering more information about Hak-Joon once the current situation had settled down.

Already A-rank, is it…

It's only been two years.

That was not a short time. Out of the current batch of Awakeners, there have been only a few that managed to become A-rank within two years.

That was when considering the entire world.

Just from that alone, one could tell how talented Hak-Joon was. The more Hak-Joon's brilliance shined brightly, the greater Su-hyeun's curiosity grew.

Especially more so, when he openly carried a face that shouted out to the world, 'I have a secret'.

In the end, Hak-Joon didn't say anything particularly important and left the hospital after inquiring about Su-hyeun's wellbeing.

Su-hyeun immediately picked up his mobile phone afterward.

"Hello? Hi, can I ask you for a favor?"

Act 6

Hak-Joon exited the hospital room and slowly walked along the corridor. He came here after lengthy deliberation, but as expected, he just couldn't say anything.

I'm sure it won't happen.

He thought that he had grown quite close to Su-hyeun.

Despite this, he began feeling that the friendship between them existed only in his mind.

I don't have a choice but to do it alone, then.

It was too presumptuous to hope for Su-hyeun's help. In all honesty, the relationship between him and Su-hyeun only amounted to being acquaintances that didn't even meet each other all that often and just shared a few calls every now and then.

"Uh, we meet each other again?"

About eight months ago, he ran into Su-hyeun by sheer coincidence while heading towards the assigned dungeon to clear it.

He noticed a sparkling sports car and wondered whose it was, only to realize that Su-hyeun was behind the wheel.

"You lived around here?" Hak-Joon asked.

"Yes, I moved into the neighborhood not too long ago. I needed something so I was on my way to Yangpyeong just now."

"Aah, so you're now my new neighbor, then."

"Why don't we meet up again sometime and have a meal? Sounds good?"

Hak-Joon was in a dilemma when Su-hyeun approached and asked for the contact details in a friendly manner, but in the end, he gave away his phone number.

If this was any other time, he'd have ignored the request, but perhaps them coincidentally running into each other several times like this must've been to blame; he gave in and ended up swapping their contact details with Su-hyeun.

"Give me a call if you need anything. If it's something I can help you with, then I will," said Su-Hyuen.

It was unclear why he suddenly said that.

Indeed, that wasn't something you'd say to a person you're encountering for only the third time who you initially met through sheer coincidence.

His tone of voice also seemed to imply that he knew something about Hak-Joon, as well.

Although it concerned him somewhat, Hak-Joon decided to overlook it.

He took it as the other guy saying that out of courtesy.

For some reason, he just couldn't forget those words.

The day before, he felt like the inside of his head had been rocked hard after learning that the Su-hyeun he knew was that Kim Su-hyeun.

"Damn it."

As expected, I should just forget about it.

Hak-Joon spat out a long sigh.

He lowered his head and scratched it in irritation, and the next moment he raised it again, Hak-Joon's steps came to an abrupt halt.

"So, you came?"

"….Chairman."

Jung Dong-Yeong waiting for Hak-Joon at the end of the corridor, formed an ominous smile, and waved his hand.

Three days passed by since he was hospitalized.

Su-hyeun roundly ignored the doctor's recommendation of staying in the hospital for a little bit longer and discharged himself right away.

He wasn't horribly wounded anyway. All he did was to use up every bit of his magical energy until it ran completely dry, which in turn caused a sudden strain on his body.

"Yes, yes."

Su-Hyeun's eyes were withdrawn.

Lee Ju-ho's voice was coming out from the mobile phone pressed to his ear.

"…That's the current situation."

"How solid is this info?"

I think whether it really happened or not needs to be verified first.

"I'll leave it to you, then."

"Don't worry about it. I'm also a bit pissed off, you see. In any case, I'll properly dig into it. Oh, and there's something unrelated I want to talk to you about… the director wishes to speak to you."

"Why didn't he directly call me for that….?"

"Well, he doesn't know your contact details, you see. He wanted me to give you his contact numbers. Are you willing to meet him, though?"

"Ah, I see. Well, I'll give him a call, at least."

It was rather obvious why that man wanted to speak to him.

After chatting some more, Su-hyeun ended the call with Lee Ju-ho. He wasn't sure why, but it felt as if things were going to get rather hectic from now on, even though he just got discharged from the hospital.

But then again, when did I ever enjoy a long rest?

It had been a while since the last time he saw that man's face.

In the past, Su-Hyeun used to meet the director several times in a month to growl at each other's throats in an uncivilized manner. They never saw eye to eye on their thoughts and values.

But now, that man had no relations to the current Su-Hyeun.

Tti-ring!

Lee Ju-ho's text message arrived.

It was the director's contact number.

A few somewhat random words were written just below it.

[Also, I heard that the Dump Guild has started paying you attention. Maybe I'm overthinking this, but it's still not a bad idea to stay vigilant, right?]

The Dump Guild…

He realized that he had momentarily forgotten about how he used their name and created this situation.

They must be pretty pissed off.

Those bastards enjoyed killing people so much that they even established a guild of their own. Out of all the incidents currently taking place behind the shadows, quite a few were likely to be related to them somehow.

But now, someone used their name and saved the lives of hundreds of thousands? They wouldn't be feeling good about that.

Although it's sooner than I thought…

Su-hyeun sighed loudly.

"It's going to get hectic soon."

He was destined to clash with them in the future, anyway. If he got to drag the ones hiding in the shadows out into the open, then he couldn't see that as an entirely bad result, either.

Tap.

Su-hyeun dialed the contact number as shown in Lee Ju-ho's text.

The ring tone continued for a couple of times, and the other side soon answered the call.

"Hello, director. It's Kim Su-Hyeun speaking."

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Chapter 56: Chapter 56

"Please, help us! Please!"

He was clinging onto someone's leg and desperately crying out. Hak-Joon was sitting on a higher place, watching this scene unfold.

The person frantically asking for help was none other than himself.

A dream?

His face below seemed to be slightly older than his current self. Seeing how that version was crying out the names one by one, he must've been close with every one of them.

Who are they?

However, the real Hak-Joon had no idea who they were since he couldn't see their faces. Even the names being called out were unfamiliar.

"Please, please…"

His figure sitting on the floor howling out came across as truly pitiful and sad.

No one looked back at him despite his ardent, desperate cries. They could've reached out or glanced in his direction at least once.

For some reason, the past and present didn't seem all that different to him.

This dream….

….It was so vivid that it irritated him.

He wanted to wake up as soon as possible. A dream with such an unpleasant feeling was so rare that it could probably be counted in one hand.

It was then, the scene below Hak-Joon changed.

"This… Goddammit…"

Expletives came out from Hak-Joon's mouth.

His heart pounded away as his breathing became shallow and heavy. His vision was clouding over, and it felt like the inside of his head was getting hotter.

The 'Hak-Joon' below was currently holding onto a certain woman in the scene; it was the woman with short bob-cut hair was bleeding from both her mouth and eyes.

"But, why…?"

Step!

A familiar face approached.

It was the face he didn't want to see, even in his dreams.

It was Jung Dong-Yeong.

"That's why you shouldn't have done that, Hak-Joon-ah".

As always, he spoke with a kindly voice. With a tone seemingly chiding a younger brother, he was driving a cold hard dagger deep into Hak-Joon's heart.

"Had you listened to everything I said, that girl wouldn't have died, you know?"

"Aaaaaahk!"

"Aaaaaahk!"

Hak-Joon woke up from his dream with a scream.

His whole body was soaked in sweat. Hak-Joon had been sleeping inside a darkened storage facility.

Where am I?

His confusion lasted only for a short while.

He remembered the situation before he fell into a slumber.

I didn't fall asleep, but… I got knocked out, instead.

His arm, the shoulders, and his back flinched.

His whole body was screaming in pain. He had blacked out while getting severely beaten up.

The face he didn't want to remember popped back up inside his head on its own.

It belonged to Jung Dong-Yeong.

"Goddammit."

A younger brother? Family? Friend?

What a nonsensical notion that was.

Jung Dong-Yeong always physically abused his fellow Guild members, the ones he called his 'family', for minor matters that didn't warrant such a treatment.

"If you tell me the truth, I'll go easy on you, Hak-Joon-ah. You knew, didn't you?"

Jung Dong-Yeong was aware of Hak-Joon's relationship with Su-hyeun and believed that the two were plotting something behind his back from the very beginning.

Of course, Hak-Joon didn't know that and from his perspective, this whole thing came across as massively unfair.

"Didn't I tell you what I hate the most? Lying and betrayal. Those two. I told you to never do those two things, didn't I?"

"Heh."

What a bunch of bullcrap that was.

Don't do those two things?

"Just those two?"

That wasn't even true.

Jung Dong-Yeong would start throwing his fists around first if something got on his nerves or pissed him off somehow.

If a dungeon conquest had been scheduled prior, he'd hold himself back but once the schedule was cleared, he'd start beating people up without fail.

This time, he went too far. Hak-Joon ended up fainting, after all.

Jung Dong-Yeong didn't even bother to confirm the detail of the actual relationship and simply decided to vent some steam here.

Squeeze!

Bang!

Hak-Joon slammed his fist against the storage wall. His anger welled up so much that he could hardly contain himself.

He felt like abandoning everything and leaving.

Ring!

Just then, his phone with the cracked screen resting on the ground began ringing noisily.

Hak-Joon's gaze shifted towards the name appearing on the phone's screen. The moment he saw the name of the sender, 'Yun-seon', he ended up biting hard onto his lip.

He picked up the phone, sucked in a deep breath, and opened his mouth.

"…Hello?"

Su-hyeun changed his clothes at home, took a shower, and headed to the Awakeners Accreditation Authority immediately.

As he walked down the familiar hallway, several people recognized his face and began glancing in his direction. They were Awakeners that fought alongside him a few days ago.

I guess my quiet days are as good as over.

Even if he was left with little choice back then, there was no doubt that this event outed his face publicly. It might be limited to a few Awakeners at the moment, sure, but it was only a matter of time before everyone found out, too.

Well, this is annoying.

He wasn't all that interested in the attention. Rather than feeling chuffed, he was instead burdened by it. To high-ranking Awakeners, 'attention' was the same thing as expectations.

Su-hyeun was well aware of how burdensome attention and expectation could be.

"Fuu-woo-"

Su-hyeun arrived before the director's office and took a deep breath.

He had to meet the director sooner or later, but that didn't mean he held a favorable impression of him. It'd be truly difficult to find a polar opposite of the director in this world.

Knock, knock!

Su-hyeun knocked on the office's door.

When he did, the person on the other side answered.

"Come in."

It was a heavy, bassy voice.

Just hearing it alone worsened Su-hyeun's mood. He inwardly recited the Hanja word for 'patience' and opened the door.

Creak!

He spotted two men inside the office.

One of them was the director, while the other was someone he met a few days ago: Kang Seung-Cheol.

"Good to see you."

"…Uh, sure."

Su-hyeun formed a somewhat weird expression and waved his hand at Kang Seung-Cheol, greeting him with a warm, inviting face.

He was hoping against hoping, but as expected, they wanted to talk about "that".

He stared at the director. The man's uptight-looking face, where liver spots had begun showing up, seemed quite old even now. In reality, it was far younger than what Su-hyeun remembered.

Unfortunately, the light in that man's eyes remained the same as it was in the past.

"I heard you were looking for me," said Su-hyeun.

"That's correct. I wanted to speak to you for quite some time. I'm glad to finally make your acquaintance."

Rather unexpectedly, the director was smiling affably.

Thinking back to how he tried to paint Su-hyeun as a con-man not too long ago, one had to wonder whether the director had two switchable faces or not.

"I've heard a lot about you. It must've been two years? I was asking around about you the whole time. As it turned out, you truly are talented."

The director then went on to praise Su-hyeun for a long while. The latter settled down on the spot on the couch the older man pointed out. Sipping on the prepared refreshment, he closed his eyes and ears off.

"Okay, so. What is it that you wish to speak to me about?"

Su-hyeun couldn't endure any longer and eventually chose to speak up.

He couldn't bear to hear any more of this nonsense; he knew they were just pretenses and lies with an ulterior motive behind them.

The director had to momentarily stop at Su-hyeun's unexpected question.

His stiff expression only lasted for a brief moment. Soon, he formed a good-natured smiled and spoke again, "You seemed to be impatient. Very well. Let me get straight to the point, then. My friend, are you willing to work for us?"

"When you say 'us', do you mean the organization?"

"Similar, but a little different. Here…." The director looked at Kang Seung-Cheol standing next to him and continued. "If you decide to join us, then you will be entering the same department as the department head Kang Seung-Cheol here."

"I'm guessing it's a bit different from the normal organization."

"Indeed. Unlike other organizations, this organization is about fostering properly-trained Awakeners. As long as you agree… I'd like to leave you with the important position of being in charge of the whole operation."

That wasn't something you'd ask of a person you met for the first time today.

The organization consisted of the A-rank Awakener Kang Seung-Cheol along with dozens of rank B Awakeners. The director wanted to suddenly entrust an organization featuring such a high level of combat potential to him?

When considering the abilities alone, Su-hyeun seemed to naturally fit the role.

"According to the department head Kang Seung-Cheol, you're an S-rank Awakener." The director's persuasion continued. "Not only are you unaffiliated with any guilds, but you are also exceptionally skilled. On top of that, you have proven your sense of righteousness towards our country during the previous event. There is nobody else better suited for this role than you, my friend."

"Righteousness…?"

Su-hyeun's lips curled into a thin grin.

What absolute nonsense that was.

Do you even believe in that, anyway?

The director could've evacuated people ahead of time during the last event, but he still chose to ignore it.

If it weren't for Su-hyeun, hundreds of thousands of people would've died that day.

This man had turned his gaze away from their deaths and utterly refused to heed his request back then, yet he now dared to speak of righteousness?

If having a thick skin was a skill, then the director would've been the best in the entire world.

"I'll have to decline," Hak-Joon replied.

"Young man…."

"Please don't try to persuade me. Even if you try a hundred times, my answer will remain the same. There's no reason to waste our energy and get our feelings hurt in the process, now is there?"

The director kept quiet at Su-hyeun's firm reply.

He was a man who had experienced all sorts of trials and tribulations for a while. He, of course. met numerous people before. As such, he was quite confident of being able to read his opponents correctly.

He heard that this Awakener was only in his mid-twenties. A more in-depth investigation revealed that Su-hyeun didn't come from any notable wealth, either.

Money and power, plus enticing, sweet words.

The director thought that, as his opponent was still young, giving him praise and offering generous conditions would be more than enough to entice Su-hyeun.

But now…

I heard that he'd been staying under the radar for two years. Just what kind of a man is he?

It was already quite bizarre to hide in the shadows when you possessed such a high level of talent. Even after emerging into the light, he wasn't enticed by power and wealth.

The event that led to him revealing himself was also like that; he did it not for the sake of some benefits, but to save the citizens.

Sense of justice?

What utter nonsense.

The director was a man who never believed in this so-called sense of justice or righteousness, even though he mouthed off this term almost all the time.

To him, righteousness was simply nothing more than a nice-sounding word.

Is this folly of one's youth? No, it must be….

His expression or the way he carried himself made it hard to believe Su-hyeun was still young. His actions made him sound like no ordinary man, but now that they were sitting face to face like this, he far exceeded the director's initial expectations.

If enticement isn't going to work….

Should he threaten him instead?

Threaten an S-rank Awakener?

The director's expression crumpled unsightly. This was the first time in so long that he failed to control his expressions to this degree.

A standard procedure in enticement would be to say some sweet-sounding words first, followed by scary-sounding threats before throwing a carrot. Rinse and repeat.

However, his opponent was an S-rank Awakener. Although he hadn't gotten the official re-evaluation yet, his abilities had already been proven.

Not only would threatening him not affect Su-hyeun but dealing with the potential fallout also presented a difficult prospect. In the current situation, it was the director who should be minding Su-hyeun's moods instead, not the other way around.

"Can I talk to you about something I find amusing?" Su-hyeun asked.

Plop!

Su-hyeun placed a smartphone in front and spoke up.

"I think you'll be very interested in hearing it as well, director."

"…Interested?"

The smartphone was resting before his eyes.

For some strange reason, Su-hyeun's voice came across as rather ominous to the director's ears. His instincts were telling him to ignore it, but he simply had to listen.

"Let us hear it, then," the director replied.

"A wise decision."

Su-hyeun smirked and pushed the smartphone towards the director. Its screen was already switched on and the older man was able to confirm the name of the file saved on the device.

The director's eyes widened. The always-affable facade of his was now cracking up.

"What is it that you want?" The director asked.

Quite different from how he was like when entering the office earlier, Su-hyeun grinned widely as he replied, "Many, many things."

So, the table has been set….

Now, it was time to flip this table that the dear director had oh-so-carefully organized.

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Chapter 57: Chapter 57

The negotiation dragged on.

Every time Su-hyeun and the director exchanged words, the latter's voice grew louder little by little.

The contents were different from what he had initially expected.

In the end, however, the director had to accept Su-hyeun's demands.

In all honesty, he couldn't afford not to bow down to Su-hyeun's demands. In front of a rank S Awakener, not even a person like the director could do whatever he wanted to, after all.

"…Are you actually threatening me right now, young man?"

The contorted expression on the director's face was rather gratifying to see.

Su-hyeun smirked and continued on. "Of course not. It's just that, if it gets leaked to the public that I requested you for the evacuation of Anyang city's residents well ahead of time, things won't look too good for you, wouldn't you agree?"

"That's exactly the…."

"All I'm asking for is just a little bit of concession. For instance…."

The longer Su-hyeun's explanations carried on, the more distorted the director's expression became.

Just a little?

It was only 'just a little' in theory only. This was a one-sided trade, one where his side didn't get a single thing in return.

Such a thing would never fly in normal circumstances. The thoroughly-calculative director would never have entertained such an idea in a million years.

Unfortunately, Su-hyeun was in possession of his weakness.

Not just any, but a truly fatal one for the director.

I'd like to ask you for a favor. A favor? Yes. It's to ensure the safety of the citizens.

The conversation between Lee Ju-ho and the director.

It was the recording of that conversation.

There's nothing better to catch and shake him around than this.

If the truth got known to the rest of the world, then even if he was the director, he'd have no choice but to tender his resignation.

Well, it was an event where over 600 thousand lives were at stake, after all. If nothing happened back then, all would've been well, but the event did occur so at this rate, it'd be seen as the director was pretending to be unaware of the situation despite the fact that he did have the prior knowledge.

Regardless of whether the director is brought down from his position or he's impacted negatively by it, it's still not the solution to the fundamental problem.

The thing was, the tendencies of politicians were pretty much similar from one to another.

This director wasn't all that unique among their kind. If he were to be kicked out of the position, it'd be filled by another one similar to him, instead.

In that case, I should just…

Su-hyeun would ensure that the director stayed put.

Of course, things would be different from now on. With today as the starting point, he was planning to tighten his grip on the director's neck.

The director's fate was now in Su-hyeun's hands.

"Well, then. I'll take it as we are in a mutual agreement, so I shall be on my way now."

The moment their discussion came to an end, Su-hyeun didn't even look back once and left the office.

The heavily-panting director and his reddened face didn't get up from his seat in the end. He had no choice but to go along with Su-hyeun's demands, but that wasn't what he originally was aiming for.

Not only that, his weakness had been taken advantage of, too.

If that file got leaked to the press or to someone in the political circle, the director's standing would be left in a shaky, precarious situation in an instant.

They'd be saying things like, how could they ever entrust a position responsible for the safety of the whole nation to a person like him?

"Uwaaaaaaahk-!"

Su-Hyeun heard a certain scream exploding out from inside the director's office as soon as he closed the door behind him.

A wry smile floated up on his lips.

Who do you think you were trying to fool?

The offer the director made at the beginning, the one about him working for them, was pretty much the same thing as Su-hyeun helping them out in a one-sided manner.

Serving an organization after joining it out of righteousness.

That was what the director was demanding from the get-go, and he'd have achieved a massive feat if Su-hyeun accepted that demand and decided to join the organization.

The end result was a complete opposite of what he had been scheming, however.

The director now had no choice but to do Su-hyeun's bidding in this one-sided relationship.

Step-

Su-hyeun felt refreshed and relieved for some reason after leaving that office.

It was his first time seeing such a crumpled expression on the director's face, and the fact that he was responsible for that made him feel doubly refreshed.

Su-hyeun exited from the building, climbed aboard his car, and set off to elsewhere right away. He was on his way to the address contained in Lee Ju-ho's text he received earlier in the morning.

It was a small one-bedroom studio flat located in Sillim-dong.

Su-hyeun confirmed the surroundings first and entered the elevator. Then, he pressed the bell on the door right before his eyes.

Ding dong-

A short while later, a voice came from the inside. "Who is it?"

"I'm a hyung that Hak-joon knows." (Note to editor: this is what the raw says, but wouldn't it be better to go with "It's Hak-joon's friend"?)

"….I beg your pardon?"

The returned voice was soft and mixed with confusion. It belonged to a young woman.

The door opened up a little while later.

Creak-

Hair tumbling beyond her shoulders, fox-like facial features and small eyes without eyelashes.

It was a woman in her early twenties, around the same age as Hak-joon himself.

Su-hyeun observed her face before asking her. "Are you Miss Gwok Yun-seon?"

"Pardon? Ah, I am."

"I'm Hak-joon's friend. It's a bit of a stretch to say we're really close, but…." Su-hyeun glanced at Lee Ju-ho's message on his phone's screen one more time and spoke. "I'd like to help you, if you don't mind."

"You want to… help?"

"It's a bit uncool to just waltz inside your home when you're staying alone, so…. Should we go to a nearby cafe, instead?"

"That is…."

"Fortunately, there aren't anyone nearby. I've made sure of it, so you don't have to worry."

Yun-seon's eyes became completely round at his words.

Soon, though, she bit down on her lip hard, put on her slippers and stepped outside the front door. "Please lead the way."

"You made the right decision."

A small cafe was located on the studio building's ground floor. She and Su-hyeun settled down on a spot not readily visible to the others.

Two cups of coffee were brought out, and Su-hyeun opened his mouth. "You're Hak-joon's girlfriend, am I correct?"

"Yes, I am. We met when we were still students."

"When you say students…."

"When we were in second year of high school. We're now twenty two, so we've been together for about four years."

"That's a good time period to be in."

After saying that out loud, Su-hyeun inwardly went, oops.

When he thought about it, his own age wasn't all that different from the young couple's. Maybe him living for much longer in his previous life was to blame, because this romance felt so young and fresh to him.

Thankfully, Yun-seon didn't try to dig into his slip of tongue. She asked about him, instead. "You said that you're Hak-joon's friend, but how do you even know each other?"

"Should I say we… work in the same field?"

"You're an Awakener, yes?"

"I am. You probably don't know much about the stuff happening this side, so….."

"No, I do know. You're Mister Kim Su-hyeun, yes?"

He was surprised by her knowing his name, and quickly asked back. "How did you know?"

"Hak-joon talked about you a couple of times before, saying that you're a good older friend. There has only ever been one older friend Hak-joon talks about, and that's you, Mister Kim Su-hyeun."

"Ah…."

She knowing about him wasn't all that strange, actually. That is, if Hak-joon really did talk about him lots of times to her.

That makes explaining things much easier.

Indeed, this wasn't a bad development. Thanks to it, she was no longer deeply wary or suspicious of him now.

Su hyeun thought that he didn't need to beat around the bushes anymore and got down to business right away. "Then allow me to get to the point. Will that be fine?"

"Yes."

"Miss Yun-seon, I'd like to know more about Hak-joon's, as well as your, current situation."

"Our situation…."

A shadow was cast upon her face. Her expression remained gloomy until then, but now it had become completely dark.

She must've been thinking about something, because she had her eyes closed for a little while. But soon afterwards, she stared straight into Su-hyeun's eyes and asked him. "Before I answer…. May I ask first why you wish to know?"

"Haven't I said it earlier?"

"You mean, you wanted to help us?"

"That's correct."

"But… why?"

What did she mean, why?

She immediately replied the offer of help with suspicion. Either she had never experienced a genuine, no-strings-attached goodwill or help, or maybe, had experienced betrayal at some point.

Of course, it wasn't as if he didn't have any reasons.

Technically speaking, there were two.

One was indeed genuine goodwill. He was impressed by Hak-joon's humanity, and also, something like sympathy to his plight had kicked in, too.

As for the second reason…

Ten years from now.

It was because of talents and abilities possessed by Hak-joon the Awakener.

Something happened and that caused Hak-joon to possess a different temperament than his current self. In order to find out what that could be, Su-hyeun decided to get in touch with Hak-joon.

His talents and abilities were easily the best among all the Awakeners Su-hyeun knew of. As an example, he managed to reach the A rank in only two years.

Su-hyeun failed to even imagine the number of incidents that could've been resolved were he received assistance from just one guy like him.

Of course, even if it's not that….

Su-hyeun held her gaze and replied. "Do I really need something like a reason? He's my younger friend, isn't he?"

"Is that really all?"

"Although I can't outright say there aren't any other factors… At the very least, I do have the power to resolve the problem affecting the both of you. I'm sure you're aware of this by now."

"Well, that is…."

Su-hyeun was a newly-appeared rank S Awakener.

If she didn't know what kind of a person he was, then fine, but as she did know, she was unable to deny that part anymore.

The social status the workforce called 'Awakeners' enjoyed – and arguably, there was practically nothing in this world that the greatest among all of the Awakeners, rank S, couldn't do.

"Will you…. really help us?"

"Yes, I will."

"Without wanting anything in return? I don't know if you were aware of this, but we don't have much money."

"I'm aware."

"But then, why…."

Yun-seon asking him soon realized that she was simply repeating the same question now.

If she continued on, then Su-hyeun's reply would be similar to what he said moments ago.

"….Thank you."

Drip-

Teardrops fell from Yun-seon's eyes.

She teared up for a long time but eventually, her lips began parting slowly.

The truth of the relationship between Jung Dong-yeong and Hak-joon that began a while ago came out from her mouth next.

Act 7

Step-, step-

Su-hyeun's steps taking him outside the cafe was slow. Whenever he had a lot to think about, he walked slowly while organizing his chain of thoughts.

Now I know why… that event happened.

Allegedly, Jung Dong-yeong started off as a gangster.

After becoming an Awakener, he turned over a new leaf and started a new life. Although many sought to criticize him, his abilities were still acknowledged and he managed to create a fairly decent Guild on his own.

An Awakener with dark past, starts a brand new life and contributes to society! Now that was a pretty image, indeed.

People didn't really believed him, but at least they thought he had shaken off the mold of a criminal and started making big bucks the legal way, from the look of things.

But this…

"Indeed, you still can't re-use a cleaned trash, it seems."

Step-

Su-hyeun's steps came to an abrupt halt.

He could sense a particular pair of gazes near the studio flat building, that's why.

They belonged to the fools that had to vacate their spots for a little while. More correctly, it was Su-hyeun who made them vacate their spots.

All thanks to Lee Ju-ho's help, of course.

Grit-

His annoyance level began rising up quickly.

No, rather than annoyance, it was anger.

He didn't think the matter would be this difficult. However, it turned out to be messier than he bargained for, and it was also of a really atrocious nature, too. He now began to understand why Hak-joon grew to hate the world and went down the wrong path.

Su-hyeun figured out why the Ares Guild was wiped off the face of this planet by Hak-joon's hands.

He pulled his phone out from the pocket and called someone.

Riiiing-

The ringtone went on for a couple of times before the other side answered the phone.

Oh, you called sooner than I thought. Did something happen?

A lively voice greeted him.

It was the Awakener Kim Do-ui, the right-hand man of the director and the man in charge of all the administrative matters of the organization.

He gave this number to Su-hyeun, saying that he should give him a call if he needed something, but even he didn't expect to get that call so soon like this.

"Can I ask you for a favor?"

A favor? That's rather unexpected, you requesting us for a favor and all.

"What's the matter, didn't you tell me to contact you if I needed something?"

Well, I said that half out of courtesy, you see.

"If it's too difficult for you, then it can't be helped…."

-Courtesy shouldn't be forgotten between people, you know. Alright, then. What is this favor all about?

"It's not being courteous, but more like debt, instead. Well, fine. Let's just say I'll owe you one."

A loud, manly laugh came out from the phone after Su-hyeun said those words. It seemed that Kim Do-ui was impressed by him not trying to beat around the bush and get straight to the point.

Right after the laughter died down, Su-hyeun continued on. "I'd like you to protect someone for me. I'm about to start something, and things might get a bit noisy around here, you see."

-Something noisy? What are you planning to do this time?

"Well, that is…."

When Su-hyeun explained it, Kim Do-ui asked back in a startled voice.

Isn't that illegal? Even if that's all true, it hasn't been investigated yet, so…

"To me, this whole situation is just too obvious not to make my move. Not certainly after learning more about the matter, anyhow. It already produced a victim, too. I'd like to entrust you with the investigation afterwards, as well."

Even then, it's not right to make a move so soon.

"Even if it's the wrong timing, I'll still do it regardless. If my conduct is going to be a problem, then I'll consider it at a later stage. Because, I'm…." Su-hyeun gritted his teeth and finished his words. "…A little bit pissed off at the moment, you see."

Step, step-

Hak-joon kitted out in a set of smart business suit and pointed loafers was walking on a long corridor.

This was the Guild House of the Ares Guild.

The Guild had rented out a high-rise building located in the Gangnam district in its entirety, and as for the amount of revenue they earned, it certainly didn't lose out to what a regular large Guild made.

He felt slightly weirded out while walking on this wide, flashily decorated corridor.

It was simply too different from the norm.

A bodyguard, is it….

Up until a few moments ago, he was wallowing in the sewers, but now, he was told to go to a high-class party to perform the role of a bodyguard to a scion of an elite family.

His innards were churning from this sense of discord. Especially more so when he thought about the person he was going to meet right now.

I mean, there should be a limit to treating you like a slave.

Trying to smooth out his crumpled expression turned out to be a lot harder than he thought.

Apparently, it's a trend to have Awakeners act as bodyguards these days. So, put your best suit on and come to the Guild House. Let's smile when we meet later.

So this was why he spared my face during the beatdown.

It seemed that the bastard didn't hit him in the face because a job requiring it was in the pipeline.

In any case, him and his love of money….

Grit-

Hak-joon gritted his teeth and inwardly muttered the same pledge as always.

One of these day, I'll definitely….

He closed his eyes, and controlled his breathing.

From hereon, it was crucial to control his expressions.

Just as the text message 'Let's smile when we meet later' implied, Jung Dong-yeong probably was planning to greet him with a smiling face.

So, Hak-joon's own expression greeting that face back must be a smile, too. If he slipped a little and displayed just a hint of gloom, then a slap would come flying in.

He had no problem getting slapped a hundred times, but the real problem wasn't that.

I need to endure it. Right.

He somehow reined in his boiling anger and opened his eyes again.

And then, he continued down the corridor and turned around the corner.

It was at that point he discovered a familiar face.

"So you finally came."

"….Brother Su-hyeun?"

It was indeed Su-hyeun.

For a moment there, Hak-joon doubted his own eyes and blinked several times. Su-hyeun couldn't possibly be here, though.

Hak-joon hurriedly walked over to Su-hyeun and asked him. "Why are you here, bro?"

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Chapter 58: Chapter 58

"Why? Can't I be here?" Su-hyeun asked.

"No, that is not what I mean… Wait, can you?"

Hak-joon was embarrassed and talked gibberish. Su-hyeun chuckled, looking at Hak-joon. He could be confused since Su-hyeun was not an awakener of Ares Guild.

"Well. I did just come in…" Su-hyeun blurred the end.

"Just?" Hak-joon asked.

"The door was open. It was not under heavy surveillance. There was a man who asked me to show my ID, so I showed him my awakener registration card. Then, he just let me in."

It looked like the manager of the guild house thought Su-hyeun was a guest of Ares Guild. It was a common thing that an awakener got an invitation and visited to awakeners' guilds.

"But why are you here…? Hak-joon asked.

The Ares Guild, Hak-joon thought, was like a tiger's den. He was glad to see Su-hyeun but that was another story. Jung Dong-yeong had been paying attention to Su-hyeun for a long time.

"Why? You don't glad to see me?" Su-hyeun grinned.

"Of course, I am glad. But that is that. Why did you come here? Wait. How did you know I am here?"

"Ms. Yun-seon told me that you will be here. Why did you not answer my phone?"

At Su-hyeun's answer, Hak-joon's face became stiff. Su-hyeun had never seen this cold expression of Hak-joon before.

Hak-joon asked in a very low voice, "…How did you meet her?"

"Well. I had been investigating," Su-hyeun answered.

"How? No. Why?

"You asked why I came here?"

Su-hyeun changed the subject and answered the previous question.

"Where is the bastard, Jung Dong-yeong?"

"…Yes?"

It was an unexpected answer. But that was also not something to pass on. At the obvious hostility in Su-hyeun's voice, Hak-joon was lost for words. His brane froze and could not find a word to say.

"I said, where is Jung Dong-yeong? I have a business for him," Su-hyeun pressed for an answer.

Hak-joon collected his mind and answered, "…He probably in the room at the end of the hallway."

"Over there?"

After hearing the answer, Su-hyeun immediately turned his body and started walking. Hak-joon urgently grabbed his arm and asked.

"Su-hyeun, how did you know about Jung Dong-yeong? And what are you going to do with him?"

"A conversation," Su-hyeun answered.

"What conversation?"

"A body conversation?"

"…What?"

"Why are you so surprised? Don't worry too much. Depending on the situation, I may not fight."

Su-hyeun shrugged his shoulder and asked, "So, what are you going to do?"

"…Whose information is this?"

The director, who was grunting, clenched his teeth at the sudden news.

Kim Do-ui replied to the director who was reading the report, "This is Kim Su-hyeun's report. What would you do?"

At Kim Do-ui's question, the director glanced over the report once again. In the short paper, there was a report from Su-hyeun and the opinion of Kim do-ui about it.

"What does he want?" the director asked.

"I think he is asking your favor to investigate."

"Favor? Favor my ass," the director grumbled.

Su-hyeun was not asking a favor. He pretended to be polite, but the report was nothing but an order. He was the guy who had been making a fuss about the director's weaknesses.

"What will you do?"

At Kim Do-ui's question, the director lit a cigarette. He took a puff on his cigarette. It made him clear his brain. He was lost in thought, blowing cigarette smoke. His head was emptied, but soon, thoughts were filled again. When he reorganized things again, there was only one answer.

"Well. Do some research. Take Seung-cheol with you," the director ordered.

"You mean the department head, Kang Seung-cheol?"

"Yes. They should start to move soon, too. They can't be in training forever."

"Ok, sir."

"Good. Now leave."

At the director's gesture, Kim Do-ui left the director's office. The director looked down the report again.

He mumbled, "It looks like the Awakeners Accreditation Authority came up to that dude's expectation."

At that moment, a thought crossed his mind. Might be, all this was what Su-hyeun aimed for.

It was a small room full of cigarette smoke. In the room, Jung Dong-yeong was talking on the phone, puffing up his cigarette.

"Yes, yes. Negotiation was over… Of course. People these days are quite dirty. It makes money and easy to do. This is a pretty good thing…"

Knock, knock—

Jung Dong-young hardened his expression at knocking sound.

"I will call you back. Yes,"

He finished the phone call and shouted at the door, "Who are you?"

"I am Hak-joon."

"Hak-joon? Come in."

When the person he had waited came, Jung Dong-young lit a cigarette again. The door jarred open. Hak-joon who entered the room saw the cigarette smoke and frowned his face.

"Don't frown. It doesn't harm your body since you are an awakener as well. Besides, you have plenty of money to buy those."

Jung Dong-young was a heavy smoker. He thought one of the greatest privileges being awakener was he could smoke as much as he wanted. The harm to the body of cigarettes was not much harm to the awakeners.

"Are you ready? Our guild was on the charge to guard in this party. You take care of directing young guild members this time."

"I will be ready when I get dressed. By the way, there is a guest to want to see you."

"Want to see me? Who is that?"

"Kim Su-hyeun. He is the one you were looking for."

"…Kim Su-hyeun?"

Jung Dong-young's eyes were crumpled. Kim Su-hyeun, who Hak-jun had known before, was a new S-Rank awakener candidate. He, who had been prominent for two years, was evaluated as having the best talent among the existing awakeners.

"Yes. He said he came here to talk with you."

"That man needed to talk with me?"

"Well. More exactly, he came for guild master of Ares Guild that I belong."

"Hmm…," Jung Dong-young thought for a moment and opened his mouth. "Hey, Hak-joon."

It was a low, benevolent voice. Hak-joon had rather hated Jung Dong-yeong's this kind of voice. He could not read what he was thinking.

"…Yes," Hak-joon answered.

"You are not planning some silly things, aren't you?

"Yes?"

Hak-joon was embarrassed and Jung Dong-young grinned. At that grin, Hak-joon shivered his body and lowered his head. Jung Dong-young smiled as if he was satisfied at Hak-joon's reaction. Then, he shook his hand and said.

"Never mind. Just go and get him."

"Yes, sir. And…"

"And what?"

"You didn't give me the medicine of this month."

"Ah, you mean this?"

Jung Dong-young took out a small bottle from his pocket and shook it.

"When things go well, I will think about it."

"What do you mean 'think'?"

"Kim Su-hyeun. You did hide him, didn't you?"

"That is…!"

"Shut up, you punk. Anyway, if I talk well with Kim Su-hyeun, I will think about it. That time, there is your contribution, too."

Hak-joon gritted his teeth. He had told him many times that he had never known it before, but Jung Dong-yeong did not believe it. He even beat Hak-joon up, blaming that, but he still was not over.

"But, sir. If you don't give that to me…"

"I know. Your girlfriend will suffer for a while. But what can I do, can't I?"

Jung Dong-yeong answered as if he was truly sorry and as if he was soothing his younger brother. Jung Dong-yeong's words burned deep inside of Hak-joon. He remembered the person who would suffer soon because of that medicine, he rather felt angry.

"You brat. What is that face? Huh? Hey, Hak-joon."

On the face of Hak-joon, Jung Dong-young likewise hardened his face and rose from his seat.

"Huh? What is that face? You f*cking…"

Knock, knock—

That time, somebody knocked on the door and entered the room.

"Sorry for interrupting."

Hak-joon and Jung Dong-yeong turned their heads.

Su-hyeun strode in the room and looked at Hak-joon and Jung Dong-yeong.

"As I am listening, I keep hearing a lot of annoying words."

"Su-hyeun?" Hak-joon said in surprise.

"Su-hyeun… Mr. Su-hyeun?"

Jung Dong-yeong frowned first as he saw Su-hyeun who had entered without permission. But that didn't go long. Soon, he made an amiable smile and welcomed him.

"Well. Sorry for showing you a bad situation. Don't stand like that. Please come in and take a sit."

Jung Dong-yeong did not think Su-hyeun had heard the conversation from the room. If he thought Su-hyeun had heard everything, he would not talk and make a smile like that to him. If that was not true, it would mean that Jung Dong-yeong was the same type of person with the director. Su-hyeun sat in a chair as Jung Dong-yeong had asked. It was the time when Hak-joon tried to stand up from the chair and stand back of Jung Dong-yeong.

Su-hyeun opened his mouth, "What are you doing? You sit down, too."

"Yes?"

"Sit down. why are you standing like that?"

Su-hyeun pointed next to him. Hak-joon saw Jung Dong-yeong's face. At that moment, Jung Dong-yeong's eyes frowned insignificantly. It was only a few moments, but it was rare for Jung Dong-young to show this change in front of an important guest.

"Sit down, Hak-joon. Yes. Don't just stand like that. He is my guest but also your bro."

His eyes and speech were not saying the same thing. Su-hyeun recognized those differences. He felt like he knew what kind of person Jung Dong-yeong was.

"He is the type of person who extremely sensitive when somebody challenges his authority. He is weak to the power but doesn't hesitate to press down weaker people than him," Su-hyeun thought.

It was not hard to figure out what kind of person he was. He had experienced this type of person so many times. It was just the difference between who was worse and iller. He had had to go through more details, but as he looked simple, the way to treat him would not be difficult. Hak-joon finally sat next to Su-hyeun. He wanted to rather stand. He felt like the seat made from the needle.

"Well. It sounded like you had a trouble with Hak-joon…"

As Su-hyeun began to talk, Jung Dong-yeong quickly cut his words.

"Oh. That was not a big deal. There was something I gave to Hak-joon every month, but he made a mistake, so I delayed a payday. I am not saying I won't give it to him…"

"But isn't that medicine?"

As Su-hyeun's question continued, Jung Dong-young's gaze turned to Hak-joon. When sharp gaze flew to him, Hak-joon turned his face. It was obvious what Jung Dong-young's eyes meant. He was interrogating him about how much he had told. Soon after, Chung changed his expression and replied. Soon after, Jung Dong-young changed his expression and answered.

"Ah, yes. That is right. But it is not like medicine for a fatal disease. It also has a side effect if someone takes too much," Jung Dong-young calmly continued to say, "My ability as an awakener is about poison and medicine. Hak-joon's girlfriend has an unusual illness. So, I made medicine for her. As his boss and bro, it is natural thing that I helped."

Hak-joon clenched his teeth while he was listening to what Jung Dong-yeong said. It was a lie.

"An unusual illness?" he thought.

It was true that Jung Dong-young made medicine for the disease that Yun-seon had. But in the first place, the disease was caused by Jung Dong-young's poison. It was more like an addiction than a disease. That poison ate away at Yun-seon's body and made it weak. It soon became fine with the medication, but the poison never disappeared.

"Hey, Hak-joon. You are a member of our family from today."

In a friendly voice, Jung Dong-young had welcomed Hak-joon. He didn't like it, but there was no choice. Hak-joon could not turn Yun-seon away. Hak-joon was not a fool to not know that Yun-seon started to suffer in pain because of him.

"Do you want to see your girlfriend die? Huh?"

When Hak-joon was tired a little or showed signs of rebellion, Jung Dong-young threatened her life. When he gave her a medicine a little late, she suffered in pain like a hell every day. And eventually, it would make her die.

"If you don't pass the 20th floor in three months, there will be no medicine. No, no. I'll give you ten days later than payday. Tut. I hope she doesn't bite her tongue to die because of the pain."

Clench—

It was a strange thing. The things that he had tried to not think, all the sudden, popped up his brain. He tried to stop thinking, but he could not help himself. He clenched his teeth. He clenched his fists. His fingers nails started to make the blood from the palms. He was frustrated, resentful, and angry. He bit his lips tightly.

"Tut…"

Su-hyeun looked at Hak-joon who was trying to hold his tears. Soon, he looked at Jung Dong-yeong's eyes.

"Hey, you."

"…Hey, you?"

"Yes. You."

Jung Dong-yeong was embarrassed by Su-hyeun's sudden attitude change. Su-hyeun who lost his temper got up from his seat and looked down at Jung Dong-yeong.

"Stop doing your bullshit and get up."

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Chapter 59: Chapter 59

Su-hyeun shook his finger. Beating somebody who sat down was not what he wanted. It had been a long time since he was so angry with someone.

"Hey! Did you just say bullsh*t…?"

Jung Dong-yeong still sat down and tapped the edge of his chair. He frowned his face and contorted his brows. He looked at up Su-hyeun and laughed, twisting his mouth.

"What are you doing now? You are misbehaving," Jung Dong-yeong continued to say. He was not afraid of Su-hyeun. There was a clear gap between the two, but there was something Jung Dong-yeong had believed.

"If you kill me here, what do you think will happen?"

"You want to say I will be a criminal?"

"The law is very convenient. No matter how powerful you are, you can't turn your back on the world."

Su-hyeun was certainly strong. Just getting attention as a new S-Rank meant that he was way above the A-Rank already. But just because somebody had power, it did not mean he could do anything.

Jung Dong-yeong thought that he lived within the fence of the law. He also cleverly took advantage of the outside of the fence. Jung Dong-yeong thought that was his real power was getting protection from the law and using it as well.

"So, what will you do? What if I won't get up? If you are being ridiculous like this, your dear Hak-joon will…"

Whiz—

Boom—

Jung Dong-yeong's words were cut off in the middle. His head went blank all a sudden. It was an unexpected situation.

"What?" Jung Dong-yeong thought.

Vroom—

Boom—

Jung Dong-yeong, whose head was stuck in the wall, shook his head. He was beaten hard, and it seemed like he was losing his mind for a short moment.

Rumble—

The wall collapsed and the empty room on the other side was revealed. Jung Dong-yeong struggled to get up from his lying posture and looked at Su-hyeun. Su-hyeun slowly walked towards him.

"Are you insane?" Jung Dong-yeong asked in a harsh voice.

This was the center of the Ares Guild. Other guild members would probably come soon. Storming in the guild building and using violence was not something someone sane would do.

"Nope," Su-hyeun answered.

"Do you think Awakeners Accreditation Authority let you go away? No, not just the Authority. The Guild Union won't let you run away either. You are persecuting an innocent guild right now…"

"Innocent? You guys are guilty." Su-hyeun glanced Hak-joon while he was answering.

Jung Dong-yeong, who realized the meaning, smiled. "No way… Are you really doing this because of him?"

"Obviously?"

Su-hyeun's eyes turned to Jung Dong-yeong again. Su-hyeun did not like his smile so his fist almost flew to punch him. But he held it. He wanted to hear what he would say for a moment.

"If you really do this for him, you should not do it like this. Right?"

"Then, how should I do?" Su-hyeun asked.

"If you touch me now, his girlfriend will die. All right?"

Jung Dong-yeong was talking about Yun-seon. It was Jung Dong-young who gave her poison and made her Hak-joon's weaknesses.

"How do you not appreciate your lifesaver? Why are you attacking me like a dog biting the owner? I knew he was going to stick with you and do crazy things like this! I wanted to teach him some lessons first before… F*ck…"

"A lifesaver? Does he really think himself that way?"

He might have said that thinking Su-hyeun was recording all this for securing proof. It was a sickening word. Su-hyeun managed to resist wanting to pick his ears.

"Lifesaver my ass. You are the one who planted the poison."

"Haha. Okay. So, you already researched everything. Then what? Are you sure you are doing this really for Hak-joon? Huh? If you do this to me, Yun-seon will die." Jung Dong-yeong looked at Hak-joon's face behind Su-hyeun. Hak-joon, who had been uneasy the whole time, turned pale at the words of Chung Dong-young.

"Do you really think this nut job is a good thing for that brat? I don't think so. Hak-joon, is a dumb man who even can't breathe without his girlfriend. Why do you this? For what? I will tell you what. You are doing this, killing me and trying to be self-satisfied, aren't you?"

"Well. There is that reason, too."

"Yes! You are just venting your anger now. You are not doing this for Hak-joon. What happens if I die like this, or if I churn and deny making him the medication?"

Su-hyeun did not answer. Instead, he turned his eyes to Hak-joon, who was standing behind him. At that moment, Jung Dong-yeong opened his mouth.

"I didn't want to say this but… Hey, Hak-joon."

"…Yes."

"What do you want to do? You choose. Do you want to choose Yun-seon or Su-hyeun, who you don't even know much?" Jung Dong-yeong's asked in the low voice.

Hak-joon's eyes were shaking.

"I… I…"

Hak-joon closed his eyes tight. It felt like his sight turned dark and his brain turned white. If possible, he wanted to run away from this situation now.

"Hey, Hak-joon," Su-hyeun called him.

Hak-joon opened his eyes again at Su-hyeun's calling. When he lifted his head, Su-hyeun was looking at him.

"Do you want me to help you?" Su-hyeun asked.

"…I don't know what to do."

Hak-joon covered his face with his hands. Suddenly, he remembered his dream of the other day. He was crying for help to the world, but everyone turned away. It was when he gave into Jung Dong-young a long time ago.

"There is nothing difficult. Just ask me to help you. Then," Su-hyeun looked back at Jung Dong-yeong continued his words. "I will help you."

Rumble—

The building was shaking as if it would collapse soon. Huge magic started to surround the space. Su-hyeun's magic contained his anger in full.

"Boss! What is going on…!"

"O-oh my god!"

The awakeners of Ares Guild arrived in the room, but they were pressed down by Su-hyeun's magic. Su-hyeun did not even turn his eyes as if he was not interested in those people. He was staring at Hak-joon. Hak-joon's heart began to pound at Su-hyeun's words. Su-hyeun said he would help. With that word, Hak-joon felt like reliving a burden.

"Help…me."

"Choi Hak-joon!"

"Help…us. Help, please…"

Hak-joon did not know what he was talking about. Just as his instincts told him, he just wanted to lean on someone. He had no confidence to walk this dirty and painful road in the future alone.

"Well done."

Whoosh—

According to the gesture of Su-hyeun, a huge flame rose around Hak-joon, Jung Dong-yeong, and him. It became like a wall and prevented other awakeners from intervening. Jung Dong-young, with a hardened look, received an ominous feeling that he had never felt before. He had never met anyone who didn't count the front and the back like this.

"From now on, I will tell you the wrong part of what you've been saying."

"What?" Jung Dong-yeong asked.

Su-hyeun pulled out a small necklace in his arms. "This is the Sharyes' treasure. I gained this from the Tower of Trials. I cherished and saved this item so far. It is a recovery item to help recover from all injuries and abnormal conditions. Well, it takes a little time to activate so hard to use during the battle. But…"

As Su-hyeun explained the item, the expression of Jung Dong-yeong and Hak-joon changed in the opposite way. They both thought that would be nonsense, but even though they thought the same thing, their final thoughts were different. Su-hyeun looked back at Hak-joon and smiled.

"I completely removed the poison, so don't worry."

"R-rea…," Hak-joon shouted in surprise. "Really?"

"No! No! He is lying!" Jung Dong-young shouted urgently.

He could not believe Su-hyeun had found the detoxification item. Even if it was true, he still wondered if this item could detox his poison skill. Jung Dong-yeong thought that Su-hyeun was lying right at the moment. No, it couldn't be a lie.

"Well. I don't care if you believe me or not. And secondly, what you mentioned, I am pressing down an innocent guild or something like that…" Su-hyeun's next words trampled down the last remaining Jung Dong-young's insurance. "I think I am doing a good thing by getting rid of the Dump Guild pawn. It will be a good reason, won't it?"

"How… you!"

Jung Dong-young's face changed drastically as if he tried to ask how Su-hyeun knew about that. Jung Dong-young was always calm. Hak-joon, who had spent a quite long time with him, never saw his such face.

"Don't be so surprised. I knew about it from a long time ago. I was thinking about how to kill those cockroaches soon and later. So I am doing this now."

"You… What are you…?"

Jung Dong-yeong tried to clean up his twisted brain. His eyes were shaking. When he had heard the name of Su-hyeun, he just thought of him as one of the talented awakeners. So, he thought he could find his weakness and use him as he had done for Hak-joon. That was why he had been searching for him. But…

"How does this bastard know about Dump Guild?"

Dump Guild was the underground guild that sponsored Ares Guild from behind. Jung Dong-young, a long time ago, contacted them to make Ares Guild. With dirty money, Ares Guild could expand their power quickly. Now, he was in charge of handling the Dump Guild's work at the light side. It was a secret that no one knew. Even within the guild, he was the only one who knew. But, somehow, Su-hyeun knew about this.

"You don't have to know what I am."

Thump—

Su-hyeun, who had finished talking, walked toward Jung Dong-yeong.

"If you have sinned, you have to pay the price."

"D-don't come to me!" Jung Dong-yeong screamed out loud.

At the same time, some green liquid spouted from Jung Dong-young's hands and spread out everywhere. It was poison, Jung Dong-young's main skill.

But Su-hyeun's skill was incompatible with poison skill.

Sizzle—

The green liquid poison was blocked by the Flame skill, and dripped down. The liquid that lost its toxicity and became nothing but sticky mucus.

Su-hyeun pulled his sword from the waist area.

"Damn it! Damn it!"

The things went really wrong, Jung Dong-young thought.

He bit his lips and turned his body. He ran towards the opposite wall and jumped down from the window.

Clang—!

Jung Dong-young, who jumped from the tenth floor, tried to find a way to land quickly.

Even if he was A-Rank, falling from this height could potentially break his legs.

"I have to get out of here now. And then…"

Suddenly, he could hear a familiar voice.

"Where are you going?"

Stab—

Something hot stuck in Jung Dong-yeong's head. The thought stopped. The instinctive fear of death filled his brain first, rather than pain. When he rolled his eyes, he could see the face of Su-hyeun.

"Don't…kill…me…"

"No, I don't want to."

Splash—!

Su-hyeun ignored Jung Dong-young's words and cut his body in half. Then he crushed his hand in the building and looked down the falling body of Jung Dong-young.

"If you wanted to beg for your life, you shouldn't have played with others first."

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Chapter 60: Chapter 60

Act 8

Jump—

Su-hyeun, who cut off Jung Dong-yeong, jumped back to the building of Ares Guild. The Ares Guild's awakeners who gathered because of the uproar made absent expressions. They did not know what to do with Jung Dong-yeong's death. Hak-joon was the same. As if he still had no idea what was going on, Hak-joon had a vacant look as well.

Su-hyeun walked toward Hak-joon and said, "You can go."

"G-go where?" Hak-joon asked.

"You know where. Why do you ask me?" Su-hyeun said.

Hak-joon regained his bearings at Su-hyeun's question. Then, he jumped up, turned his body, and started to run.

"You can't go anywhere!"

"Wait a minute. You have to tell us before you go or not! What happened here?"

The people of Ares Guild blocked Hak-joon. Hak-joon was in the room with Su-hyeun and he overlooked Jung Dong-yeong's death. They did not consider him as a member of their guild anymore.

"Move," Su-hyeun said.

Rumble—

With the words of Su-hyeun, once again the top of the building was shaken.

"You guys won't move?" Su-hyeun said again.

"But… that…"

The guild members of Ares Guild saw Su-hyeun's face. They cleared the way one by one. Soon, a path was made through the people. Hak-joon made his way through them and ran in a hurry.

Chuff, chuff—

Soon, the sound of a helicopter came closer.

"Just in time," Su-hyeun thought.

He already made a mess. So, the people from the Awakeners Accreditation Authority came now to take charge of the settlement. He scratched his head. He had made a fuss as he liked, but the problem was the settlement.

"I guess I will be scolded."

It was certainly a problem to ignore Kim Do-ui's advice and move immediately. Although Ares Guild was a pawn of Dump Guild, there was a procedure he should have had followed.

"Useless," he thought and sighed. But he still thought it was good that he had let Hak-joon go first.

Hak-joon pressed the accelerator pedal of his car. He drove roughly, not like usual, because he wanted to go home as soon as possible. He parked his car in a hurry when he arrived. He used the stairs, feeling that he could not wait for an elevator. He didn't rest at all and went up about 10 floors. He could see a familiar door.

It was not like this was more movement than usual for him. But strangely, he was breathless. His heart was beating fast because of tension.

Swish—

"Wait!"

Somebody called Hak-joon. Hak-joon, who was in a hurry, reached his arm to that man. The man, who lowered his head and stood next to the elevator, immediately raised his arms. Hak-joon narrowed his eyes and reached his hand to that man's neck.

"Who are you?" Hak-joon asked.

He was not alone. The three more people were around the man who had called him. They were all B-Rank awakeners.

Why are they here? Hak-joon thought. Hak-joon revealed his violent temple just in case.

"We came here because of Mr. Su-hyeun. My name is Lee Ju-ho…"

"Lee Ju-ho?" Hak-joon asked.

"Yes. You might have heard my name. I didn't come here for bad intentions. Are you Choi Hak-joon?"

When Hak-joon nodded, Lee Ju-ho sighed and continued to say, "Su-hyeun had asked us to stay here until you came. Man. Seriously. I know what is going on but why are you so sensitive? Move this already!"

Lee Ju-ho with a tearful face slowly moved Hak-joon's arm from his neck. Hak-joon became puzzled again. Soon after, Lee Ju-ho quickly left. It looked like Lee Ju-ho thought his role was over now. Hak-joon looked at the back of Lee Ju-ho who was descending the stairs. Hak-joon reacted pretty sensitively because he thought he was the suspicious man who walking around in front of Yun-seon's house, but it turned out that man was just safeguarding her. The other three looked the same.

"What is this?" Hak-joon thought.

At first, he thought Su-hyeun made a fuss impulsively because he was upset. But he already had detoxified Yun-seon and paid attention to her safety. Su-hyeun moved much more carefully than Hak-joon expected. Hak-joon took his breath again to relax and headed to Yun-seon's house.

When he pressed the doorbell, the answer came back after a while.

"Hak-joon?"

The voice came through the bell was what he often heard, but it was a little different than usual. It was bright and high-pitched unlike the usual voice, which was weak and drooping. Soon, the door opened. He could see a familiar face.

"Hak-joon!"

He didn't mishear. It was a bright voice. It was the brightest voice he had heard in recent years.

"Are… you all healed?"

"Yes!"

It was hard to ask, but the answer came back immediately. Hak-joon was glad.

"Sigh—"

The heart that was beating hard became calm little by little. It felt like all his energy was disappearing from his body. He barely held that feeling and stepped forward. He hugged her.

"I am so glad." Hak-joon bit his lips tightly while he was holding Yun-seon. "I… am so glad…"

He thought there would be a lot of things to say when this moment came. But strangely, no words came to his mind. He just repeated he was glad over and over, and finally burst into tears.

"…So, did you finally do it?"

"Yes, I did."

Su-hyeun and members of Ares Guild were sandwiched between Kim Do-ui and Kang Seung-cheol. Kim Do-ui leered at awakeners of Ares Guild and looked at Su-hyeun. Su-hyeun looked very confident. Unlike other awakeners who hunched their shoulders, Su-hyeun, who was the main culprit of this situation, sat up straight.

"This is a case that you may have to be punished severely. Ares Guild is a guild treated as a semi-large guild, and you killed the guild master of such guild," Kim Do-ui said.

"I know," Su-hyeun calmly said.

"If you knew, why did you do this?"

"I can't just overlook that they made more victims."

Kim Do-ui realized why he had such a dignified attitude from his answer. He was thinking there was nothing wrong with what he had done. To Su-hyeun, Jung Dong-yeong was an obvious criminal. He thought he would make more crimes if he just waited and did nothing. The most representative cases were Hak-joon and Yun-seon. Su-hyeun did not regret having acted to Jung Dong-yeong at all.

"Well, don't push him too hard. I bet you knew Ares Guild did illegal things here and there," Kang Seung-cheol said to Kim Do-ui.

"Well…"

"It was just not revealed yet because they spent their money everywhere and lobbied a lot. But it was true that Ares Guild was closer to a criminal guild. Well, and if Dump Guild was related here, it is not something we can just overlook, even though they used billions of dollars."

Kim Do-ui groaned. It was as what Kang Seung-cheol said. Ares Guild was a vicious guild that had long been committing large and small crimes. From the beginning, the guild master Jung Dong-yeong was from the notorious gang. So, it was natural that the tendency of the guild had followed him.

The reason why Ares Guild had not been punished so far was because of the bribe of the guild master, Jung Dong-yeong. The money was sent to the top of the audits, so surveillance was not done properly. In addition, he did not commit serious crimes that crossed the line. So, the Authority did not touch Jung Dong-yeong and Ares Guild.

"If we think about right and wrong… Jung Dong-yeong had a problem in the first place. There will be no problem if we consider this as an accident caused by a dispute between awakeners," Kang Seung-cheol said.

"Well, that is not wrong, but…"

"And besides, as this man said, if Jung Dong-yeong was related to Dump Guild, we should give him a prize or something. And…" Kang Seung-cheol whispered at Kim Do-ui's ear, "the director said just put this to bed."

"Did he really say that? What happened?"

"I don't know." Kang Seung-cheol shrugged.

Kim Do-ui nodded. He was actually a little worried that Su-hyeun might fall out with the Authority. So, he thought this was a fortune. One way or another, Kim Do-ui agreed that Ares Guild was a social evil.

"Okay. Then, let's investigate more at first," Kim Do-ui said.

"Good idea," Kang Seung-cheol agreed.

Kang Seung-cheol began to like Kim Do-ui for the first time. They had been conflicted in every case. It was the first time that they agreed on something.

"Then, I will leave now," Su-hyeun said.

"How can you be so calm like that? Huh?"

Kim Do-ui made a confused face at Su-hyeun. Su-hyeun could be accused of a crime by the case progress but he acted like that would never happen. At Kim Do-ui's question, Su-hyeun shrugged his shoulders and left. Kim Do-ui sighed as he watched Su-hyeun being far away.

He is not an ordinary man, he thought.

He had met many awakeners for a long time. But from their first meeting, Su-hyeun gave him a strange feeling. He saved the citizens, even revealing his identity that he had hidden so far. He also revealed his ability as a new S-Rank. Not just that, but this time he killed Jung Dong-yeong and punished Ares Guild for commiting so many crimes.

Although it looked like he bulldozed through ostensibly… he thought.

It was like what Kang Seung-cheol had said. The fighting between awakeners was something like extraterritoriality. If it was not a crime like a purposeless murder, under a valid reason, a murder was somewhat accepted. Moreover, if it was about a malicious awakener like Jung Dong-yeong, it was quite understandable. The pawn of Dump Guild was without a doubt.

"Even if not that… Government can't touch S-Rank awakener these days."

The S-Rank awakeners were directly related to the force level of the country. He had a justifiable cause, and he was attracting attention to S-Rank awakeners. He was like a tycoon that was hard to touch.

"Well, in the only case, if he is really S-Rank…"

Soon, there would be a reexamination. The treatment of Su-hyeun would be decided as the relationship between Dump Guild and Jung Dong-yeong as well as the new rank he would get.

It went easier than I thought.

It was the way back home. Su-hyeun was relieved. It was true that he did the things somewhat in a fit of anger. Of course, he was confident that it would not be the worst situation in various circumstances. In the future that he remembered, when Hak-joon killed Jung Dong-yeong, he was pronounced innocent. So, he thought he could manage somehow.

His relationship with Dump Guild, the crimes he had committed so far, and I also have some contribution of my own.

He expected the fact that he had saved the people of Anyang would help him avoid the worst situation. Of course, that would be the matter when people failed to find a relationship between Jung Dong-yeong and Dump Guild. If they found it, then it would be another achievement for Su-hyeun.

"The problem is it won't be easy to find it."

It was clear that Ares Guild had a relationship with Dump Guild. But the problem was with only that information, it would be still hard to find the root of Dump Guild. Even if the Authority started to do investigate, they would hide more. In particular, Dump Guild was not active in Korea yet.

"To find them…" Su-hyeun, who was walking on the street, looked over the top of the far away building. "I guess throwing bait is the best."

And the bait was the accident just had happened in the Ares Guild building. He took away his eyes and walked again.

He headed to a narrow alley. He felt a gaze looking at him from afar. Not long after, the gaze lost direction and purpose because once Su-hyeun entered the alley, he disappeared.

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Chapter 61: Chapter 61

The awakener of Chinese Dump Guild, Chao Feng, had come to Korea to see Jung Dong-yeong.

Kim Su-hyeun…

It was sudden news; Jung Dong-yeong was killed by Kim Su-hyeun.

He is encumbering.

Not too long ago, Su-hyeun forced Dump Guild into the glare of publicity. It had been spreading little by little, but the name Dump Guild had never been mentioned as often as it was these days because everyone hushed up and was cautious. In some countries other than Korea, Dump Guild was already firmly established.

A new S-Rank awakener… Chao Feng thought.

The opponent was not an easy one. Su-hyeun had not been properly reexamined yet, but he was under the spotlight as a new S-Rank candidate. Furthermore, considering the time when he first became an awakener, the potential for future growth would be endless. If he was already considered S-Rank, what would happen if he grew more?

Soon, he will be the top rank awakener.

Chao-Feng watched Su-hyeun through a telescope. He was in the middle of the crowd. If he got closer to him, he would notice the tail. If he used his skill to chase, he would sense the magic. However, there were numerous ways to monitor other people. Just like now.

I should talk about him to the boss soon…

While he was watching Su-hyeun, Chao Feng missed him among the crowd.

"Where did he go?"

Swish—

He turned his telescope and looked around the place where Su-hyeun was. But somehow, he could not find him at all. He disappeared in a short moment when he was blocked by another person.

"Did I make a mistake? Where the hell…" Chao Feng mumbled.

"Right? Where did he go?"

Swish—

In a surprise, Chao Feng turned his head in the direction where the voice came from. And what he saw was the face of Su-hyeun, who had stood afar just a moment ago.

Thump—!

Chao Feng felt dizzy as if he had been in a long sleep. But when he came to his senses, he realized he wasn't asleep.

"What the…"

"Did you wake up?"

It was fluent Chinese. Chao Feng opened his eyes widely. He tried to get up quickly, but his body was tied up. He could not move as he wanted.

"Ugh—"

"Don't struggle. It's a specially ordered item from a craftsman to bind the awakeners, so it won't be easy to break."

Su-hyeun was sitting in front of Chao Feng and looking down at his face. Su-hyeun was sitting calmly. Chao Feng looked up him. His eyes were shaking.

"How…?" Chao Feng asked.

"You are about B-Rank, aren't you? You looked at me from afar, but it was not strange for me to notice you. Well. This isn't the first time I've received tailing."

Not just the contents of what he said but also his fluent Chinese was something surprising. Chao Feng still did not understand the situation now.

"You are in Dump Guild, right?"

Silence.

"I guess I am right since you didn't answer the question."

Chao Feng bit his lips. Su-hyeun spoke in an almost certain voice.

What the hell is this guy? Chao Feng thought.

He had investigated him already. According to his investigation, he was an ordinary person who didn't study much. He didn't finish high school. Chao Feng could not understand how Su-hyeun spoke Chinese so fluently. He also could not understand how he knew so much about Dump Guild. Moreover, noticing the tailings and approaching in a moment was remarkable.

Also, how did he get the rope like this? How did he know about this and prepare?

"You… What the hell are you?" Chao Feng asked.

"I don't need any questions from someone who was tailing me. No, you just don't talk from now on."

"What?"

Su-hyeun sat up from his seat.

Crack—

Su-hyeun crushed Chao Feng's shoulder. His shoulder was shattered but Chao Feng bit his lips and put up with the pain. He even did not scream. Su-hyeun clicked his tongue at that.

"Wow. You are really dogged."

There were all sorts of guys in Dump Guild. He was sure that there were pretty used to the pain like this.

"Continuing what I said, you should not open your mouth before me. You have to only open your mouth when I ask you something. If you don't answer me, your bones will be broken one by one."

"Just kill me," Chao Feng said.

"I—"

Su-hyeun crushed Chao Feng's shoulder again.

"—will decide that."

Chao Feng moaned.

"Then, question number one." Su-hyeun bent at the waist toward Chao Feng and asked, "Which Korean guides are related to Dump Guild?"

Nothing.

"So, you won't tell me? Fine."

Crash, crash—

"U…g…h…"

"Let's see who wins," Su-hyeun said.

Su-hyeun broke Chao Feng's arm without hesitation. He broke it slowly to give him enough time to feel the pain. Chao Feng's eyes opened wide with pain. He tried to put up with it, so he bit his lips. His screams turned to moans.

Damn…it… Chao Feng thought.

Something went wrong, really wrong. It was not just a matter he had found where he was and tried to get the information. The real problem was in his question.

This guy…. Is he trying to fight against Dump Guild?

It was a full-scale war against Dump Guild. There was nothing else.

The interrogation lasted for quite some time. Su-hyeun cut off the sound using magic and continued the interrogation without worrying about the screams. Every time Chao Feng didn't speak, Su-hyeun broke his bones. He had some sort of background with interrogation because, a long while ago, he had encountered with Dump Guild many times.

He doesn't know as much information as I expected.

By the time the interrogation was over, Chao Feng breathed his last breath. Su-hyeun did not get much information.

"Dump Guild is trying to come into Korea, but I don't know what guilds they have contacted so far. And they used the Chinese guild to do that."

This was all he figured out. The useful information was only the fact that one Chinese guild was related to Dump Guild.

I guess I will leave this to the Authority.

It would come out when they were investigating more. And for this kind of work, the Authority would do better than him.

All the baits were thrown.

Dump Guild. The worst criminal group on record. It was made in the USA for the first time. It was the awakeners' guild that hid under the shade. It was gradually expanding its power and slowly entering Korea. They did not expand in Korea yet, so they did not pay much attention to Su-hyeun, but the recent incident and his work today would drag the attention of them to him. Su-hyeun revealed the name of the Dump Guild to the world. He also prevented their channel, Ares Guild, from expanding in Korea.

And I am welcoming that.

Since the first time he had seen the name of the Dump Guild and evacuated the citizens, he had been expecting situations like this; drawing the attention of the Dump Guild was the first and having a head-on collision was the second.

Su-hyeun would have to go to the dark to find Dump Guild. Dump Guild would come up to the bright side to find Su-hyeun. Then soon, they would meet each other. Su-hyeun was contacted and went straight home. At the entrance to his apartment, Lee Ju-ho was waiting him.

"Why are you so late?" he asked.

After protecting Yun-seon, he had come here to meet Su-hyeun. He left, as promised, but Su-hyeun came way later than they expected.

"Something happened in the middle," Su-hyeun said.

"What happened?" Lee Ju-ho asked.

"I met a guild member of Dump Guild."

"Dump…? Are you sure?"

Su-hyeun told him what had happened so far, about how he met the Chinese awakener of Dump Guild and that man had watched him. When Su-hyeun finished talking, Lee Ju-ho's face became dark.

"So, I guess Dump Guild is finally paying attention to you?"

"Probably not. When I interrogated him, he said he had found me in the middle while he was with the Ares Guild."

"With Ares Guild? Interrogating? How did you…?"

"That is not a big deal. But I got some information from him. Could you investigate it, please?"

Su-hyeun told Lee Ju-ho about what he had found. At the request from Su-hyeun, Lee Ju-ho nodded and sighed.

"I think I should change my career. I think I should be hired as your manager rather than working as an awakener."

"I can pay you well. If you would like that, just tell me."

"No, thanks. I am sure you can't afford it. I am pretty expensive," Lee Ju-ho answered.

Suhyeun smiled a little. Then, he found a text message from his phone and asked Lee Ju-ho again. "Was their meeting okay?"

In the text, there was a message: "Thank you." It was from Hak-joon.

"You mean Mr. Hak-joon?"

"Yes."

"I am sure they did. I waited until he came home. He was so sensitive! I almost lost my neck today."

Lee Ju-ho took his hand to his neck thinking about what had happened previously. Hak-joon's ability was several times higher than Lee Ju-ho's. If Hak-joon had decided to do it, it would not have been difficult to break his neck at that time.

"Please understand him. He had enough reason to act that way," Su-hyeun said.

"I do understand. But still, he should buy me a meal later. A very expensive one."

"He doesn't have much money. He was exploited so far…"

"That is that and this is this. You two have a bright future. He should pay later at least," Lee Ju-ho said and laughed loud.

Hak-Joon was obviously one of the most promising awakeners in terms of age and ability. Especially since Jung Dong-yeong had disappeared, he would grow much faster. Anyway, one problem was solved. Now, there was only one thing they had to finish urgently.

"By the way, you know about tomorrow, right?" Lee Ju-ho asked.

"Yes, I know."

"I asked to handle this as quietly as possible, but some guilds already had a scent. It's inevitable that the news will spread after the examination, though."

He was talking about the ranking reexamination. It was held once in a certain period. It was a screening where they checked awakeners' rank again. As he was convinced that he could get S-Rank, so there was no reason to keep delaying the screening.

"Yes. There is no reason to hide anymore."

S-Rank. It was a rank that meant the highest level of awakener that could be examined by the test. If Su-hyeun could get an S-Rank awakener mark, it would be much easier to do things. Lee Ju-ho, who was expecting the appearance of the new S-Rank awakener, shook hands with Su-hyeun.

"Then I will see you tomorrow at the Awakeners Accreditation Authority."

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Chapter 62: Chapter 62

Act 9

It snowed a lot. It was the worst snowfall of the winter; the traffic was even paralyzed. Several cars arrived at the Awakeners Accreditation Authority. Some people were standing and waiting outside of the car in the midst of this heavy snowfall.

"A lot of people gathered in this weather."

A middle-aged man with a long, thick cigar in his mouth stared at the falling snow. There were many groups of two or three people around the building, but he didn't care about them because he already knew them. They were people he met by chance before.

"The information was blocked though… It is strange," the man's assistant said.

"Well, they all have ears. And if they want to figure out, there are always ways. We did the same, didn't we?" he replied.

Ripper Guild. It was one of the ten largest guilds. In terms of the number of awakeners possessed, it was the best guild in Korea. The middle-aged man was a vice guild master of such Ripper Guild. His name was Kim Seok-jin. Money, power, and honor: the vice guild master position gave him all of that. In fact, he was the one who actually led the guild instead of the guild master, who did not show up most of the time. Of course, the fact that he was just the guild's second in command didn't change.

This is all because of that damn rank.

Kim Seok-jin breathed the cigar smoke through the snow and recalled the guild master of Ripper Guild, Park Ji-yeon. She was an awakener of S-rank, and only five of them existed in Korea. The Ripper Guild was able to come this far, not only because he worked very hard, but also thanks to her name and title as the only S-rank awakener in the guild. She was as beautiful as the celebrities and also had outstanding talent and achievements as an awakener. Half of the awakeners who joined the Ripper Guild joined because of her.

"Damn it. This is so unfair," Kim Seok-jin said quietly to himself.

"What are you talking about?"

"…Nothing."

Kim Seok-jin dropped the cigar he had been keeping in his mouth and stepped on it like a habit. He knew why he was in such a bad mood.

I'm not some kind of errand boy.

He didn't like the fact that he had to come by himself to scout a person. He had thought he could just send one attendant, but he could not do that because Park Ji-yeon meddled.

"Vice guild master. You go."

Park Ji-yeon made him do it because she was too busy climbing the tower. In the end, it was his job to recruit the new S-Rank.

"Let's see… In other guilds…"

He glanced around. He could see several outstanding guilds.

"From Blue Dragon… the guild master himself came. Silence Guild… How many are there? Are they going to push with this number of people?"

The competition was pretty stiff. He had no idea how all they got the information, but not only the guilds but also the press came. Of course, this crowd was nothing. At the time of Park Ji-yeon's rank reexamination, there was no place to put their feet.

Kim Seok-jin lit up one more cigar and asked his assistant, "This S-rank candidate is in his twenties?"

"Yes, sir. He will be the second S-Rank awakener in their twenties after our guild master. As looking at what happened in Anyang a while ago, I think it won't be hard for him to get S-Rank."

"Then the problem will be ranking, I suppose."

"Yes. We have to figure out Kim Su-hyeun's Magic Factor and physical ability… But since he is just in his second year as an awakener, I think it will be hard to compare him with other S-Rank awakeners."

"Well. The proficiency of skill will be different."

"But still, he has great talent."

The evaluation of Kim Su-hyeun had been made many times here and there. But he never showed himself for an official appearance. His only accomplishment was he caught the boss of the green-colored dungeon when the outbreak had happened in Anyang City. And now, it was time to take an objective assessment.

Then, all of a sudden, the journalists on one side were disturbed. They whispered to each other to keep the information, but awakeners who had good ears could hear what they were saying.

He came, Kim Seok-jin thought and started to walk quickly.

"…Why are there so many people?"

"There is no perfect secret in the world. Actually, there are not that many. When the reexamination of Park Ji-yeon of Ripper Guild happened, there were at least thousands of people gathered."

"You mean the reporters?"

"Hundreds of guilds, too."

Su-hyeun and Lee Ju-ho talked about the many people gathered in front of the Authority building. It looked like there were about one hundred people. Su-hyeun, who had initially intended to take examine quietly, felt embarrassed.

"Su-hyeun! Over here!"

Then, a familiar voice came from one side. When he turned his head, he could see Hak-joon and Yun-seon. Their faces looked much happier than before. Su-hyeun did not know anyone here except them, so he started to walk to them, waving his hand.

Rather, he tried to go.

"Are you the awakener Kim Su-hyeun? I am from Daewoong News. Could you give me a moment…?"

People started to gather in a flash. Su-hyeun stopped his walking because of the crowd and said, "Let me through."

It was a calm voice, but everybody could hear it. Some slippy people stepped back but some did not.

"It will only take a second! As a new S-Rank awakener candidate—"

"You stopped the catastrophe that almost happened in Anyang City, how did you know about—"

They were the reporters. Unlike the others who came out to scout for their awakeners' guild, the reporters' goal was quickly to send out articles about Su-hyeun. For journalists whose monopoly and preemption were important, they were even more enthusiastic to cover Su-hyeun.

"I hold grudges," Su-hyeun looked around and met eyes with each one of them and said, "I will remember you guys faces and where you belonged. I have a pretty good memory."

The reporters became silent, watching a smiling face of Su-hyeun. What he had said was if they didn't step back, he would not respond to the coverage next time. If they said something wrong to Su-hyeun in here, they would take all the blame for their mistakes. So, soon after, the reporters started to step back as well. Su-hyeun passed through and headed to Hak-joon.

"Wow. That was strong." Hak-joon gave him a thumbs up.

Su-hyeun smiled at him and looked at both Hak-joon and Yun-seon. "How are you?" he asked.

"It's all good. Except for those from the Authority that bother us," Hak-joon answered.

"There will be no issues. I am the one who killed Jung Dong-yeong. You were just there."

"Then won't you be in trouble?" Hak-joon asked.

"If I have trouble, I can just go to the moon. Even if I don't have a flight there, it would be no problem to go abroad."

Hak-joon laughed at Su-hyeun's joke. Surely, his face and smiling looked way better than before.

"We came here to say thank you."

Yun-seon carefully opened her mouth to the conversation between the two. Su-hyeun shook his hand in embarrassment when he saw her bowing. "Oh, you don't have to do this. I had been thinking about doing something to Ares Guild for a long time now…."

"But if you did not help us, this fool would have suffered more. I also still suffered from poison," she said.

"Well, I did suffer a lot," Hak-joon said.

At Hak-joon's joke, Yun-seon pinched his arm with her long fingernail. She glared at him as if telling him to be quiet. "You are slow-witted," she said.

"Ah, he looked burdened," Hak-joon replied.

"But still we have to say what we have to."

"Do we have to do that now?"

"Then, when will you do?"

Hak-joon and Yun-seon glared at each other and argued. It was pretty childish.

They are still kids in the early twenties, Su-hyeun thought.

The face of Hak-joon he had watched so far was always a little bit gloomy. He looked mature, not like his age. The dark mood that he had was not his original personality. He became like that under certain circumstances. But now, his shadow cleared up and his original personality appeared. His character was a little different from what Su-hyeun had thought.

Not just him. She is different too.

Su-hyeun looked at the two who fought like cats and dogs as if it was funny. He turned his eyes to Lee Ju-ho. "Isn't it about time?"

"We still have three minutes."

"Let's go inside now. Let them keep fighting."

"Shall we?"

When Su-hyeun and Lee Ju-ho turned their bodies to the building, Hak-joon and Yun-seon thought they might make a mistake. They started to worry if their actions might make them upset.

"Su-hyeun. It's not that…"

"I am sorry. We didn't pick up the mood…"

Su-hyeun looked back at the two restless people and shook his head.

"You don't have to be sorry. You guys look good. You don't have to thank me, and you really don't have to feel sorry. And Hak-joon—" Su-hyeun said.

"Yes?"

"—You owe me one."

At Su-hyeun's words, Hak-joon blinked his eyes and soon smiled big.

"Yes, of course! If you need me next time, just let me know."

Hak-joon felt comfortable that Su-hyeun told him so. It was much easier just to run for him instead of only feeling sorry or thanking vaguely.

"Good. Don't forget that," Su-hyeun said and started to walk to the entrance of the building.

The S-Rank examination was something that the Authority was paying attention to as well. So, many of the examiners gathered and waited for Su-hyeun. When Su-hyeun showed his awakener registration card, the examiners looked at the people behind him.

One of the examiners asked him, "Will you allow people to watch your reexamination?"

Since it was Su-hyeun's personal exam, he could decide whether to proceed privately or publicly. And hundreds of people here came to see the screening in person, to see the birth of a new S-Rank awakener. They wanted to report the scenes to the press or scout him for their guilds, or just watch it. But…

"Except for the three people here…" Su-hyeun pointed Lee Ju-ho, Hak-joon, and Yun-seon. "…please, tell the other people to go back."

"You mean…all of them?"

The examiner looked embarrassed and looked around the people gathered in front of the entrance. There were people from major guilds such as Blue Dragon, Silence, Ripper, and etc. In addition, there were journalists such as major stations and internet newspapers that could guarantee his fame. But Su-hyeun refused to allow all of them to watch the exam.

"Are you going to be a mercenary soldier?" Hak-joon, who was following Su-hyeun, also made a surprised face like the examiner.

A mercenary was a contract awakener who only fought when they were paid. They were also an awakener who did not join either governmental institutions or any guilds.

"I don't plan to work as mercenary either…" Su-hyeun walked further into the building and he swallowed the last of the sentence. I also don't plan to be involved with childish play.

Guild, press, agency, all of those, seemed like child's play to Su-hyeun. In the future, all of those things that share power, compete, and quarrel would all be a luxury because mankind would be destroyed. Su-hyeun had no intention of entertaining them at all.

I rather go alone. That will be easier.

Su-hyeun shook his head inside and looked back Hak-joon.

"No. I guess there's two of us."

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Chapter 63: Chapter 63

When Su-hyeun entered the building and began to move separately for reexamination, everyone who waiting for Su-hyeun lost their purpose. Kim Seok-jin just smoked a cigar since there was nothing he could do.

"Working as an independent…"

"It's surprising," his attendant said.

In response to the attendant, Kim Seok-jin shook his head. "No. This makes more sense for him."

"Yes?"

"He is the guy who hasn't shown his face in two years. It would be a funny thing if he wanted to join the guild now. Many S-Rank awakeners are actually working as mercenaries or focusing on climbing the tower."

It was the same for their guild master, Park Ji-yeon. She only had a title but devoted most of her time to climbing the tower, except when completing dungeon attacks. Not only her but also other S-rank awakeners were similar. People could not reach S-Rank without climbing the tower with such hard work.

"I am sure he is the same."

"Then why is he taking the rank reexamination?" the attendant asked.

"Well. There are many benefits… Money can be one of the reasons…"

"So, it means you don't know exactly?"

"In fact, yes." Kim Seok-jin nodded and took the phone out of his pocket. But it was that time.

The phone started to ring, and a familiar name popped on the screen. Kim Seok-jin thought the situation was funny. He smirked a little. Soon, he picked up the phone.

"Yes, Guild Master."

Su-hyeun came to the basement of the Authority building for the reexamination. The basement was made of special materials that prevented magic from leaking outward. More exactly, it would prevent the impact of the underground from spreading upward.

There were a total of five examiners who followed Su-hyeun and his party. As they set up various devices throughout the void of the basement, the examiner who looked the highest among them opened his mouth.

"First of all, let me explain the agreement you will make after you pass the S-Rank examination. First, S-rank awakeners receive a certain amount of money on the 1st of every month. Additionally, they regularly take turns with other S-rank awakeners and engage in a special dungeon attack…"

Su-hyeun was familiar with that agreement. He did not pay attention to the explanation and just watched the devices.

I guess I know what kinds of the test they are.

There was more than one test. S-Rank awakeners were tested for not only the factor and level of the magic but also overall stats as well as other qualities related to other battles. Only the ones who passed all of that could be S-Rank awakeners.

"…about the rights are in this document, so please read it later."

The examiner said so and handed a document to Suhyun. The cover of the document was colorfully embroidered in gold. There were several rights that S-rank awakeners received. Su-hyeun glanced over the contents and signed below.

"Well. Let's take the test quickly," Su-hyeun said.

"We are preparing now. Please wait for a moment."

After a moment, all the devices were ready. There were some small platforms, a magic tester, and some devices to verify physical performances.

"First, we will check your magic level and factor. Second, we will check your magic control ability. Third, we will check your overall physical ability. What do you usually use for a weapon?"

"I use a sword and spear." Su-hyeun showed his sword at his waist area and the spear on his back.

"The sword and spear…All right. Close combat tactics and long-distance throwing statics. What about your unique skill?"

"For the skill…"

Several questions followed, and when all questions were answered, the examiner nodded. In fact, just listening to those questions could not give them anything special. Most skills were to be evaluated during the exam.

"Please walk in front of the platform. The first test will be taken under an illusion."

"What are the detailed rules?" Su-hyeun asked.

"You have to figure it out yourself. Just keep in your mind that the time limit is key."

They didn't explain the rules but expected him to realize the rules on his own.

This is similar to the Tower of Trials.

In the case of advanced rank screening, most countries had a system like the Tower of Trials. This method was quite discriminatory, so the people who were more than A-Rank got their grade after such an examination.

"Please step on the platform."

Su-hyeun stepped on the round-shaped platform as the examiner said. The devices were made of several intermediate Ether stones and one higher Ether stone. The stones also had a role.

It is a hallucination-type magic circle.

There was a man named Johnny Brad. He was one of the highest-ranked awakeners and he was known for his hallucination skills. His work was high-quality and used in world-wide awakeners' agencies. This device was also one of his works. Of course, it was not as powerful as what he could use in person. It might have worked better for regular people, but it was impossible to show hallucinations that were threatening enough to S-Rank awakeners.

"Don't reject the magic from the device. If you accept the magic, the test will start soon."

Su-hyeun nodded at the examiner's advice. If he wanted to resist, he was able to do that. To him, it was possible not to hallucinate in the first place.

Whirl, whirl—

Soon, the device was activated, and a lot of magic power was released from the Ether stone. That magic was sucked into Su-hyeun's head in a moment. He did not resist it and closed his eyes. Then, he could feel a cool breeze with his skin. When he opened his eyes, there was a completely different landscape.

Caw, caw, caw—!

He could hear something sounding like loud crows. There were black spears on the ground, hundreds of and thousands of them. Above, he could see a black sky. No, it merely looked like a black sky. Birds that looked like crows filled the sky.

"They don't look like crows… Are they Blackbirds?"

A Blackbird was a monster that looked like a giant crow. There was nothing, in particular, that said it was a monster. Blackbirds had a strong desire for survival rather than fighting. So, it usually was not threatening. Those were the Blackbirds that Su-hyeun knew.

The problem is since they have a strong desire for survival, their viability is quite strong, too.

It was not difficult to figure out what the subject of the test was.

I guess they want me to clean up the blackbirds.

He recalled the hint that the examiner said. He said the time limit was key. So, that meant they were testing how fast he could handle the birds above the sky. There were many spears on the ground and many birds in the sky.

As he looked roughly, it looked like space was blocked within a certain distance to prevent Blackbirds from running away. The space was large, but it was not infinite.

"It's perfect for hunting."

He grabbed the spear. He could easily finish if he used the Leap and Flame skills, but he didn't use those because this test was not for checking his magic ability. The weapons he used were swords and spears. And this test was a gateway to examine his spear-throwing ability. It was a pretty difficult test.

How long will it take to drop them down?

The Blackbirds were fast, and they would not let him drop them down easily, of course.

"30 minutes."

He grabbed the spear he picked up from the ground tightly. He threw it as hard as he could.

Swish—

Bam—

The spear that Su-hyeun had thrown penetrated three blackbirds. At the same time, he grabbed two spears in each hand immediately after that.

"One, two—"

Swish—

"Three."

The four spears flew towards the blackbirds that roaming the sky.

"I guess it will take 30 minutes at most."

"How much time has passed?" Kim Hyun-soo, the general examiner asked.

The deputy examiner checked the time and answered, "It's been about 15 minutes."

"About 45 minutes left."

"I will tell you every five minutes."

"Tell me every ten minutes. When an hour is over, it means he failed. Then clean all the things here."

"Yes, sir."

"Oh, and tell the last of the examiners to set up the next devices when 20 minutes have passed. If he passes the exam, we can proceed immediately that way."

"Yes."

Kim Hyun-soo crossed his arms and watched Su-hyeun on the device. He was the one who was responsible for the examination of five S-rank awakeners of Korea. He also conducted the S-rank examination more than ten times. About one in four people who applied reexamination passed and became S-Rank. Three of the four had been eliminated were eliminated from this first test.

The guy who took the longest time was… about 8 hours? he thought but he could not remember exactly.

He took so long, and he was not capable of escaping from the hallucinations by himself. In the end, he had to pass the test to escape from hallucinations.

"And the fastest one was… Park Ji-yeon. She only took 40 minutes."

Park Ji-yeon was the youngest S-Rank awakener in Korea. She had passed the reexamination faster than anyone else since she had shown an outstanding talent for a long time.

Since this hallucination test gave each examinee a different mission, it was difficult to say that somebody would be better than the other exactly. However, the content of the test itself was recorded. Kim Hyun-soo flipped the papers and looked through the records of the S-Rank awakeners.

"After Park Ji-yeon, Gwon Jae-hoon took 43 minutes. Next was Jung Yoon-ho. He took 48 minutes. And next…"

Zap—

While he was checking the records, the device suddenly started responding. Kim Hyun-soo, who was startled, covered the file and raised his head.

"What is going on?"

"I think… the built-in skill of the device is being unraveled."

"A built-in skill. You mean hallucinations?"

"Yes, sir."

In response to the deputy examiner, Kim Hyun-soo opened his eyes wide. Was time passing by while he was thinking about something else?

"What about time? How much time passed?"

"19 minutes, sir."

"19 minutes?"

It was less than 20 minutes. He had a lot on his mind. Kim Hyun-soo had been seeing the same phenomenon several times. And immediately after the device's built-in skills began to break, the test would end.

How did he finish already? he thought.

Other S-rank awakeners did not differ so much in the Clear Time. It was only about five minutes apart. But suddenly, this man passed it in 20 minutes. It was a really overwhelming record.

The ether stone in the device flashed for a moment. That phenomenon meant that the device stopped working.

"Phew—"

Su-hyeun, who was staring at one spot vacantly, all of a sudden took a big breath. Su-hyeun turned his body and looked at the examiners, including Kim Hyun-soo.

"How long has it been?"

"Uh…Well…" The deputy examiner checked the time again. "You took 19 minutes 58 seconds…"

"So about 20 minutes," Su-hyeun said as if it was insignificant.

Su-hyeun did not know about the shock of examiner Kim Hyun-soo.

"Let's do the next one quickly. You guys are ready, right?"

He had finished so quickly that the preparations for the next test were not even done yet.

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Chapter 64: Chapter 64

Act 10

After the first test, Su-hyeun took a break until the next test. Actually, he was not particularly tired, physically or mentally, so it wasn't exactly taking a break. The next test was the same. Kim Hyun-soo, who dubiously doubted the malfunction of the device, had no choice but to admit it.

"…He is a monster."

The word "monster" came from the mouth of Kim Hyun-soo, who oversaw the evaluation of the S-Rank awakeners. After all, the other S-Rank awakeners he had met so far were monsters as well. Among them, some of them had become stronger years after the S-Rank reexamination.

But by far, Kim Hyun-soo had never seen anyone who gave him as much shock as Su-hyeun.

Magic Grade and Factor, his physical ability…These stats are not much different from other S-rank awakeners….

The device for measuring magic and physical ability was made to be able to check the stats of the awakener accurately. Su-hyeun's stats were not much different from other S-Rank awakeners. The difference was his ability to handle his own skills.

"He finished his first test in 20 minutes….And his ability to control magic…"

When people had the same Magic Grade, Factor, and physical ability, the most important ability for determining their ranking was magic control. It was about how that person could efficiently and accurately use the same amount of magic. Even with the same amount of magic, the efficiency was very different depending on who used it. The factor that determined that ability was experience and talent.

Soon, the last test began. There were hundreds of thousands of floating slabs of stones all over the huge void. They were slates that were very difficult to break. In fact, they had strength similar to that of bulletproof glass. So, it was impossible to break them without any effort, even considering how good of an awakener he was. The final test was about how fast Su-hyeun was and how many the slabs he could crush. He had to crush them without skill or physical abilities — he could only use magic.

Swish—

Crack—

The magic shot from Su-hyeun's hand penetrated the slabs. The slab with a hole in the center was split in all directions and soon shattered and fell to the floor.

Did he figure out where to hit to break the slab with minimal force? the general examiner thought.

It was amazing that he noticed it in such a short time, but there was something more surprising.

The concentration, the speed, and the accuracy of the magic are amazing. Is that just a talent?

He broke the stones too quickly. The examiners could not even count the number of broken slabs. The deputy examiner, who set a timer, shouted, "10 minutes have passed! Stop!"

Crack—

Crash—

The last slab broke. Su-hyeun turned his body away from where he was standing. He blinked his eyes a couple of times and loosened his concentration, which had been raised to its limit.

"How did it go?" he asked.

"Well…"

It was not a matter of whether he was passed or not. The number of slabs on the floor was far beyond the minimum number for acceptance even if they estimated it roughly. The problem was the record.

Because the stones were broken so quickly, they could not count how many slabs were broken.

"What are you doing? Count them quickly! "

"Yes, yes!"

At Kim Hyun-soo's nagging, the other examiners began counting the remaining slabs. After about five minutes, the record came out.

"The remaining slabs are 1,450! The destroyed slabs are 1,550!"

"What? One thousand and five hundred…?"

Kim Hyun-soo quickly looked at the previously held records. Of course, the person who destroyed the largest number of slabs was Park Ji-yeon, who had been tested relatively recently. All of the slabs she had destroyed were just over five hundred.

It…doesn't make sense, does it? Kim Hyun-soo thought.

Su-hyeun's Magic Level and Factor did not differ much from when the other S-Rank awakeners took the test for their first time. His physical ability was much less than them. In terms of condition, he was not better than other S-Rank awakeners. The difference was his ability to use those things. Above all, Kim Hyun-soo, who checked Su-hyeun's magic control with his own eyes, got shocked. He could not believe his eyes.

"Are the examinations done?" Su-hyeun asked.

"Oh? Yes. Y-yes. They are all done."

Kim Hyun-soo urgently finished the test record for Su-hyeun. He added the records one by one. He finally saw all the records at once. The result was something incredible.

If we rank him based on these records…He will be the top ranking one among the S-Rank awakeners all over the world, he thought.

In any case, further tests would be meaningless. Kim Hyun-soo closed the recording paper and said, "Congratulations on passing."

It took about an hour for the S-Rank awakener registration card to be issued. Su-hyeun waited for the registration card along with the other party.

"I knew it was going to happen….But I feel a little weird that you are becoming an S-Rank."

"Why?"

"Because you are the sixth. It symbolizes the best awakener, and it also means you are a world-wide revel awakener."

Hak-joon felt strange and unfamiliar that he was sitting next to the new S-Rank awakener. He felt that way especially more because he had thought Su-hyeun was a C-Rank awakener just until recently.

"You won't take long, either," Su-hyeun said to Hak-joon.

"Me? No way."

"You could get an A-Rank awakener card if you made up your mind right now, couldn't you?"

Hak-joon's eyes widened at Su-hyeun's question. Hak-joon had shown only his ability as much as a B-Rank awakener could do. He did the same for the outbreak last time in Anyang. He had prepared himself his own way. When he could surely defeat Jung Dong-yeong, he thought he could trade his life and the cure for Yun-seon. But…

"How do you know?"

"I can just tell."

"Wow. That sounds a little rude…"

Yun-seon pinched Hak-joon's thigh."Mind your manners."

"O-okay." Hak-joon thought he should be careful and opened his mouth slowly to say, "That…How did you know?"

"As I said, I can just tell."

"Only with the concentration of magic?"

"More than that…I am sure you can tell as well when you meet weaker awakeners than yourself. You know about that person's level or how much magic concentration that person has, something like that. It is something cannot be hidden even if you try."

"That makes sense."

"It's the basic of the basics. If your plan was trying to hide your growth and hit Jung Dong-yeong's back, it was pretty dangerous."

Su-hyeun read his point. Hak-joon's eyes were shaking. If Su-hyeun's words were true, Jung Dong-yeong, who became an A-Rank awakener a long time ago, may have been aware of Hak-joon's level.

"If Jung Dong-yeong knew that I was waiting for revenge…"

Perhaps not long afterward, something big possibly could happen.

Hak-joon got chills and his face turned pale. Yun-seon held his hand tight.

"It is over. It is okay," Yun-seon said.

"…Yes, you are right."

Even though he answered like that, his deathly pale face did not return to normal. The thought that Yun-seon might have died by his own mistake was more terrible than anything else for him.

I guess I have to talk about Dump Guild…next time, Su-hyeun thought.

He had thought he should talk about it soon, but it didn't seem like the right time. Like the saying out of the frying pan into the fire, if he figured out there was a bigger problem called Dump Guild behind Jung Dong-yeong, Hak-joon might have felt scared. The conversation was cut off for a while. Soon, Kim Hyun-soo brought the new registration card.

"Here is your new awakener registration card," he said.

It was a gold-colored, shiny card.

On the card, Su-hyeun's name was carved. It seemed quite sophisticated for the short time they had worked on it.

"Don't think we worked half-heartedly because we made it too quick. A registration card is for showing off anyway, isn't it?"

"I don't care."

Su-hyeun took out the wallet he had put in his pocket and put his registration card inside. He should have looked at the front and back with surprise, but he didn't. Kim Hyun-soo clicked his tongue at Su-hyeun's lack of enthusiasm.

I wonder if he just doesn't realize it, or he doesn't know about its value…Kim Hyun-soo thought.

"What can he do with it?" Hak-joon asked.

Rather, the more curious one was Hak-joon. As if he was waiting for the question, Kim Hyun-soo responded with a proud expression.

"Anything."

"Anything, like what?" Hak-joon asked again.

"If you have any dungeons you want to go to, you have the highest priority in the dungeons registered with the Authority. Not only can you borrow money from the bank, but you can also…"

Kim Hyun-soo, who explained the benefits and rights of the S-rank awakeners, became louder as he spoke. Of course, there was no information that Su-hyeun was curious about.

"Let me ask you something."Su-hyeun cut Kim Hyun-soo's words in the middle and asked, "Have there ever been any cases where you guys gave overseas support?"

Kim Hyun-soo thought for a moment and nodded. "Overseas…Yes, we do that often."

"What about America?" Su-hyeun asked.

"No, we have never done that. There are so many strong awakeners and their incidence of the dungeons is not that high. Actually, the US is sending awakeners to other countries."

In the United States, a system of training awakeners professionally had been quickly implemented compared to Korea. As a matter of fact, Korea's awakener training system itself was taken from the United States, so it was natural that the level of awakeners was higher in the United States.

"Why? Do you have any American awakeners you want to meet?" Kim Hyun-soo asked.

"Not a person…"

But he did have one dungeon had in his mind.

Not right at this moment though, Su-hyeun thought.

He didn't want to talk about the details. Su-hyeun only wanted to know one thing.

"What if I want to attack a particular dungeon that appeared in America?"

If it would be difficult, he planned to even use a dark route. But if he could use the privilege of S-Rank, he would like to do so.

"I think it would be possible," Kim Hyun-soo said.

"Really?"

"The criteria for S-Rank awakeners is the same in every country in the world, so you are S-Rank in any country you go to. There's no reason for the Americans to turn down your help, but I am not sure if you will get a satisfying dividend rate after the attack."

"I don't care."

He didn't do it because of money anyway. The dungeon attack itself was his purpose, and he could make plenty of money from now on anyway.

Well. I am relieved for now, Su-hyeun thought.

As it turned out, the time that he had spent for the reexamination was not a waste. It was about time Su-hyeun sighed of relief.

"Mr. Su-hyeun! Where are you? Please, pick up your phone!"

The voice of Lee Ju-ho came from the hallway outside the room. Lee Ju-ho had gone out to see the situation outside. His voice sounded pretty urgent.

I should not have set my phone on silent mode.

The problem was that he had turned his phone on silence mode because he didn't want it to interfere with the exam. Su-hyeun left the room scratching his head with a sorry heart.

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