novelburst-info
Chapter 67
Chapter 67
1.
When Jua-Young arrived at the police station,
she was greeted with the furious shouting of the convenience store owner.
“You ungrateful little brat! I gave you a job so you could live, even provided you with leftover meals, and raised you when you had no parents. And this is how you repay me, huh?!”
“It’s a misunderstanding, sir. I didn’t know anything about it!”
“How can you not know anything, but hang around with awakeners? If it wasn’t you, who else would bring magical waste to the awakeners? You’re the culprit!”
The store owner, shouting with veins bulging in his neck,
couldn’t hold his anger and started throwing whatever he could get his hands on—pens, phones, anything—at Jua-Young.
“Ahhh!”
“Officer Lee, what are you doing? Hurry up and take him off her!”
“This… this bastard! Why is he throwing our station’s things around and causing a ruckus? Jeon Byeong-Tae, you’ll have to pay for all of this if these things break!”
“Let go! Let go! I’ll kill this girl and then kill myself today! Aaahhh!”
“Ugh, this guy is so strong! Cuff him! If we lose hold of him, we’re in trouble!”
The store owner, who had lunged at Jua-Young to grab her hair,
was finally subdued after four police officers rushed to restrain him,
and he was dragged off to the detention cell.
“I’m sorry for the disturbance. Mr. Jeon Byeong-Tae, the store owner and manager, insists he knows nothing about this and firmly denies the charges, which is why he’s acting like this.”
“Yeah...”
“Do you remember these box cases, Ms. Jua-Young?”
“Hmm? This... this is the one the store owner asked me to put in the storage last month.”
“Do you know what’s inside?”
“I don’t know. I just remember him saying it was a holiday gift but there wasn’t a proper place to store it, so he told me to leave it at the convenience store.”
“How about this box?”
“This, too. I heard from another part-time friend that the store owner got it from somewhere.”
“The magical waste came from here.”
“Really?! So these dangerous items have been in the convenience store all along?”
The shock lasted only a moment.
Sensing something off, Jua-Young quickly started thinking.
“Can I send a quick text to a friend?”
“If it’s not too long, you can.”
Jua-Young sent a message to her part-time friend from another day at the convenience store.
Jua-Young: Mina, the brown box the store owner gave me. When did you receive it?
Choi Mina: Hmm... about four months ago?
Four months.
The dates didn’t match.
‘I first met my sister three months ago.’
Even if the Myeongho Guild had infiltrated the convenience store owner to mess with us,
the magical waste couldn’t have been brought in more than three months ago.
If I trace the time back, this had to have been something the store owner did on his own, not the Myeongho Guild.
This would mean I’ve been mistaken all along.
“Detective Kang, who lets suspects fiddle with their phones while investigating?”
“I’m sorry. I thought it would be fine for a moment.”
“This is why awakeners treat us like their punching bags. Hurry up and stop her.”
Jua-Young, looking miserable, closed her phone.
She needed to text her sister quickly.
Myeongho Guild had nothing to do with this.
She was heading to the wrong guild, blaming them.
But with the detective’s harsh reprimand, she had no choice but to silently pray.
‘Please, let my sister not get into trouble before I can send the text after the interrogation.’
It took five hours for the interrogation to end.
It was more than enough time for Ha Eun-eung to cause some serious trouble.
At the Myeongho-dong branch of the Awakeners Association,
Samgwi submitted the registration exam data he had gathered,
and within only ten minutes, the awakener license was issued.
[Is it true that awakeners are allowed to kill people?]
Chills ran down Samgwi’s arm.
Unlike the usual cute questions new awakeners often ask about things like
getting movie discounts or free bus and taxi rides with their license,
Ha Eun-eung’s question was too serious.
‘Typical of a villain organization member. Is she excited about legally killing people?’
If things kept going this way, it would look like he was handing a weapon to a serial killer himself.
“It’s not okay to slaughter civilians recklessly. If you kill indiscriminately, your license will be suspended for 30 days, and if it’s misused seriously, your awakener license will be revoked. You have to follow the rules.”
Despite Samgwi’s worried tone,
Ha Eun-eung only focused on what she wanted to hear, responding with,
‘It’s okay if I kill just a little bit, right?’
[Where do the guild leaders usually operate?]
“The active ones go into dungeons for field missions, and retired high-ranking members work at the headquarters or have meetings with industry professionals.”
[Which is easier to target?]
“The field teams have to go deep into dungeons in the gates, so they are practically impossible to target. The retired executives are the ones you can at least try to target.”
[Please guide me to one of those. Preferably somewhere with fewer people around.]
The uniqueness of the guild industry meant that
retired executives were stronger than active field teams,
and it would be more difficult to confront them in short-term battles,
but Samgwi’s persuasion didn’t work at all on Ha Eun-eung,
who was burning with resentment from the fact that her sister had been touched by the guild.
“The Myeongho Guild’s second-generation awakeners have just recently retired. If you underestimate the younger ones, you’ll regret it.”
[Please stop worrying about it. I’m confident enough.]
“I’m sorry, but I haven’t seen Ms. Ha Eun-eung’s abilities firsthand. If you want to convince me, show me with your abilities.”
As Samgwi rolled up his jacket sleeve,
a blade, resembling a mantis' claw, grew from his arm.
‘She wants to see my skills…’
Ha Eun-eung, meeting Samgwi’s serious gaze,
stepped forward, her hand resting on her sword hilt,
a faint curiosity in her eyes.
‘It’s been so long since someone said something like that to me.’
Once considered one of the greatest candidates in the martial arts world,
Ha Eun-eung, right before her return to reality,
had rarely met anyone worthy of challenging her with their skills.
With a slight sound,
Samgwi shifted his weight,
intensifying his steps.
Ha Eun-eung’s sword, predicting his move faster than his body could react,
struck with a force that sent a resounding clang through the air.
“Are you holding back now? Given your reputation for massacring Lizardmen, your strength can’t possibly be this small.”
Despite the bold provocation,
the muscles inside Ha Eun-eung’s body tightened.
It was a clever counterattack disguised as provocation,
but Ha Eun-eung didn’t avoid it, instead channeling her strength head-on.
‘The speed was decent. But this ends here. I can’t waste more time with you.’
With control over her internal energy more precise than mana control,
Ha Eun-eung’s focus was almost tangible.
The energy flowed like a massive current, making the sword hum as it vibrated.
She had returned to her peak,
and her strike, full of intent, pushed forward.
Samgwi twisted his body, evading her strike.
‘Missed it!’
Now it’s my turn. I’ll give you a perfect counterattack.
But as Samgwi prepared for his retaliation,
he saw Ha Eun-eung maintaining her position,
her sword aimed directly at him.
“?!”
Completely bewildered by the inexplicable phenomenon,
Samgwi went into panic mode as Ha Eun-eung’s follow-up attack arrived.
Haeeeck!
Desperately swinging his blade,
Samgwi tried to block the attack,
but Ha Eun-eung’s sword sliced through the air,
heading straight for his neck.
“!!”
Death.
The final blow, stopping just before his neck,
left a lasting impression on him.
“What was that just now? Isn’t your awakening ability supposed to be an enhancement?”
[It wasn’t a lie.]
“Then what was that just now?! I clearly saw the attack heading for me. I thought I blocked it and countered, but—!”
Less than a minute later,
Samgwi, drenched in cold sweat, was exhausted.
Reflecting on his poor reaction,
Ha Eun-eung answered him calmly.
[It was intent to kill.]
“Intent to kill…?”
[You reacted quickly, but you didn’t have the leisure to discern the openings. You need to develop that ability to separate the real from the fake.]
Samgwi, still stunned, tried to process her words.
Ha Eun-eung, with her calm demeanor, gave a final piece of advice.
[To improve your judgment, sharpen your senses. Even if your eyes deceive you, let your ears listen, and if the wind deceives you, notice it with your nose.]
How high a level of enlightenment was this? Samgwi couldn’t even begin to grasp it.
He suppressed his mental shock and tried to absorb her advice.
[Next time, you would’ve reacted to the third strike.]
Samgwi was puzzled.
The first strike had caused him to lose his footing.
The second was a parry attempt, and then the last strike aimed directly at his neck.
So there were only two attacks?
"That was a bit chilling. You’re really good at making jokes."
[Did it sound like a joke?]
“….”
It wasn’t until he realized that the final strike, which he had believed to be a feint, had indeed been a deadly strike, that the truth hit him.
‘What kind of ability is this? Sensory disruption… no, cognitive disruption? But the data from the association exam was definitely accurate…’
His mind couldn’t comprehend the level of deception he had just experienced.
Samgwi refused to accept that it was some trick and instead concluded it had to be a manifestation of Ha Eun-eung's awakening ability.
“Alright, I’ll guide you as promised.”
Without realizing his own limited thinking,
Samgwi led Ha Eun-eung toward the residence of one of the second-generation awakeners from the Myeongho Guild,
the retired B-rank awakener and executive, Shin Seong-Gwak.
“He was once the main tank of the guild’s raid team, known for his unparalleled defense. Even in his retirement, his defense is probably still stronger than the active main tanks.”
Despite the single-minded counterattacks of Samgwi,
he was far outclassed by someone from the previous generation.
“Are you really going to do this? The aftermath will be no joke.”
[Let’s subdue him first and think about it afterward.]
Even as she headed to confront such a formidable opponent,
Ha Eun-eung felt no fear.
The timid girl she once was had long been buried in the martial world.
If someone was to fear, they had to be her enemy.