Round 170

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Dark Shadow of the Night.

This was the nickname that referred to me. When I first awakened my powers, I was certain that I could have more influence through espionage than by simply clearing dungeons. Soon, my prediction came true, and I became a terrifying mercenary known throughout the shadows.

One day, the European Awakening Union reached out to me. They requested that I become a spy for their organization. The terms weren’t bad, and since our interests aligned, we immediately signed a contract. Since then, I’ve been secretly working for the Union and eventually earned my initial nickname.

100% mission success rate!

A legend in the industry!

A great spy that will never appear again!

That was who I was—without a doubt.

‘How on earth did they detect my invisibility? An invincible ability that even conceals smell and presence…?!’

Surely, my invisibility had been working perfectly. However, I was captured by a small, unknown figure. But it’s not over yet! I still have another weapon that elevated my fame. It’s my partner’s poison. It’s difficult to apply, but once it is, it can paralyze even an level 8 awakener! A powerful weapon that pairs well with my invisibility. Once I apply it secretly using invisibility, no one can move!

‘I’ll take advantage of a moment of carelessness…!’

***

What the heck is going on here?

A game of hide-and-seek? No, what’s with a person suddenly appearing out of thin air?

At that moment, someone who had been captured by Ara sprayed something from their hand. It looked like a spray dispenser, but Ara just laughed, delighted.

“It’s so moisturizing!”

“Why is it not working?! It’s a paralyzing poison!!”

The person, who was muttering in English in shock, turned out to be a foreigner. 

“Ah, Ara, just in case, hold onto them tightly. They seem suspicious!”

“Suspicious person, indeed!”

Ara, who had thought it was just a game of hide-and-seek, was shocked to realize it wasn’t. The person seemed physically weaker than Ara and couldn’t move at all. Although the spray seemed to contain something, it had no effect on Ara. 

I contacted the guild first. It seemed that the person Ara caught was an awakener.

Since I felt awkward about contacting the Guild Master directly, I called the staff member who always handled my deliveries.

– I’ve received your call, Mr. Kyu-seong! How can I assist you?

“Ah, sorry to call so late. I’ve captured a suspicious awakener near my dungeon.”

– A suspicious… awakener?

***

Ara Hongryeon was in a state of emergency. No, the news spread not only there but also to the Awakening Headquarters, the Iron Blood, and even the Terror Guild, causing an uproar.

Lee Kyu-seong was attacked!

Of course, it was a stretch to call it an attack, but the news spread wildly, causing a huge stir.

“Deploy the Awakening Task Force immediately! Now! Mobilize every available unit!”

Jeon Young-joo, the director of the headquarters, who was packing up to leave work, turned red with anger. Her trembling hand seemed ready to crush the phone she was holding at any moment.

“Whoever it is, they messed with the wrong person…!”

Gritting his teeth, Jeon Young-joo wasn’t the only one filled with rage. Other employees, who had just finished their work and were preparing to go home, were also consumed with anger. They were using every connection they had as headquarters employees, spreading the news far and wide.

“Director! Iron Blood is on the move!”

“Terror is also about to depart!”

Hearing the constant stream of updates, Jeon Young-joo shouted as well.

“I’m going too! Who dares to mess with us?! I’ll interrogate that bastard myself!”

“I’ll go with you, Director!”

“Me too!” 

The trio who had once shared a meal with Kyu-seong quickly mobilized. Vehicles from the Awakening Special Forces surrounded their car. They even used their authority to control the roads. Regardless of any backlash later, the priority was to ensure Kyu-seong’s safety.

Soon, their efforts paid off as they arrived at Kyu-seong’s dungeon in less than 20 minutes. They could already see several vehicles parked around the area.

“Secure the site!”

“Yes!”

Jeon Young-joo, delegating tasks to the two team leaders, hurriedly ran inside. There, she encountered familiar faces.

“Ah, Director.”

It was Han Seok-jun, the Guild Master of Ara Hongryeon, who greeted him first. Unlike his usual gentle expression, he appeared cold and composed. Beside him were the executives of Ara Hongryeon. Not only the leaders of Team 1 and Team 2 but all the team leaders and deputy leaders were gathered.

“Is Awakener Kyu-seong okay?!”

“Fortunately, he’s unharmed.”

“No injuries?”

“None.”

Phew.

Jeon Young-joo sighed in relief and scanned the surroundings.

‘Baek Tae-seop of Iron Blood, Kim Tae-yang of Bloodborn!’

Although he had heard that Kyu-seong had ties with Iron Blood, he never expected the leader of Iron Blood to personally come in the middle of the night. But it seemed the other party was equally surprised to see Jeon Young-joo.

“Director Jeon Young-joo?”

“Ah, Representative Baek Tae-seop. Long time no see.”

“Ha ha. I never thought I’d see you in a place like this. It’s been a long time indeed.”

Baek Tae-seop was a figure who rarely appeared in public, so even Jeon Young-joo didn’t see him often. Now she could see that Baek Tae-seop’s son and other high-ranking members were also present.

‘Wow…’

Jeon Young-joo realized that while the Awakening Headquarters had been focused on its own issues, the other major guilds had all been keeping an eye on Kyu-seong.

“Oh! Where’s the culprit? Where are they?”

“We have them restrained and were about to hand them over to the police.”

“Hmm.”

Jeon Young-joo nodded and said, “We’ll take custody of them. That way, you’ll have more opportunities to be involved than if the police took them.”

“Please do.”

Jeon Young-joo immediately used her authority to have the suspect handed over from the police. The police, unable to refuse the orders of the Awakening Headquarters Director, who held a position equivalent to a deputy minister, complied without resistance.

“Ha ha, ha ha…”

As the transfer was taking place, Kyu-seong, who was awkwardly laughing in the distance, came into view.

“Awakener Kyu-seong! Are you alright?!”

“Ah! D-Director, you’re here too. I’m sorry to have caused so much trouble…”

“No trouble at all! I couldn’t just sit by after hearing that you had been attacked!”

“Well, um… yeah…”

Kyu-seong scratched his head awkwardly, clearly at a loss for words. His expression showed that he was very uncomfortable.

“Kyu-seong, did something happen? Ah! Now that I think about it, I don’t see Ara! Is Ara okay?!”

“I am here!”

Ara, who was excited to see familiar faces, waved from afar. If Ara was fine, then why did Kyu-seong seem so troubled?

“To be honest, I thought it was no big deal and just reported it, but I didn’t expect so many people to show up.”

“No big deal?! You were attacked!”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly an attack. Ara just caught someone who was hiding, and I reported it because they seemed suspicious.”

“Even so, it was right for us to come! The fact that someone was hiding in your place without permission clearly suggests foul intentions!”

At Jeon Young-joo’s heated response, Kyu-seong began to sweat nervously. He finally realized that no matter what he said, he would be met with a passionate reaction. And indeed, it was hard not to suspect foul play given that they didn’t even know the true identity of the foreigner who had been hiding.

“Director!”

At that moment, Team Leader Park Soo-yeon approached and spoke.

“We found a strong paralyzing poison in the spray that the suspect was carrying!”

“Th-this insolence…!”

B-But Director, why are you angrier than I am?

Kyu-seong couldn’t bring himself to say anything as he watched Jeon Young-joo’s face turn red with anger. It was touching that she cared so much.

“Are you okay, Kyu-seong? There were traces of the spray being used.”

“Huh? Oh, yes, I’m fine.”

If Kyu-seong had been directly exposed to the poison, he might not have been able to resist, but fortunately, the opponent was Ara. Ara, with her abilities of immunity to all poisons and invulnerability, possessed monstrous powers. Moreover, her physical capabilities were on par with top-tier awakeners, so there was little chance that Kyu-seong could have been hurt. She was indeed a very reliable bodyguard.

“Uh, wait… then?”

With a worried expression, Kyu-seong turned his head. Seeing this, Jeon Young-joo and Park Soo-yeon followed his gaze…

“What? Why are they collapsing?”

“Huh? Everyone here is getting paralyzed?”

People who had been touching Ara’s cheeks began to collapse. 

“Whoa.”

Even among them were Kang Hanul, known as the Predator, and Kim Tae-yang from Bloodborn, who had also touched Ara’s cheeks. The potent poison was strong enough to paralyze even 7 and level 8 awakeners. And the source of all this chaos, Ara, tilted her head in confusion before suddenly collapsing as well.

“It’s a falling-down game. Fun.”

Everyone was speechless.

Finally, Kyu-seong spoke up.

“Uh, the paralyzing poison got on Ara’s face. I didn’t realize it was poison until now. Don’t worry! I have plenty of antidotes at home…”

Paralyzing poison on Ara’s face? But why was Ara unaffected? Was it more than just physical strength?

***

I brought out the antidote and neutralized everyone who had been paralyzed. Since it was caused by Ara, I didn’t ask for any compensation.

“Ah, Kyu-seong. I still feel a bit paralyzed. I think I need to drink more antidote…”

“Don’t worry, brother. I’ll get you some other food. Since you’re here, why don’t you have a snack?”

“Oh, I think the paralysis is gone! Hahaha!”

With just a few words, Hanul suddenly seemed cured and burst into laughter. Meanwhile, he slyly glanced behind me.

Behind me was the mysterious foreigner being loaded into the Awakening Special Forces vehicle.

“Don’t worry, little brother. We’ll find out exactly how many pairs of underwear that guy owns.”

“I’m not particularly curious about that…”

After joking with Hanul, others gathered around to say a few words as well. It was quite touching to see everyone concerned about me.

“Are you okay? Did it hurt?”

“I’m fine, Ara. Thanks to you, I got to enjoy some delicious carrot juice.”

Ara, who was in Jeong So-yeon’s arms, touched my face with a worried look. Watching this, I soon found myself face to face with Director Jeon Young-joo, who had just finished organizing everything.

“I’ll have security posted around here. We’ll have Special Forces members on rotating shifts.”

“Ah, that seems too intrusive and burdensome. Could we perhaps decline?”

“Hmm…”

“Besides, since they’ve already failed once, they won’t likely try anything strange again. Wouldn’t more security just make them more cautious?”

“Understood. We’ll forgo government-level protection for now.”

Government-level protection? That sounded strange, so I turned to the side and saw Han Seok-jun glaring coldly at the Special Forces vehicle.

It seems there might be protection at the guild level.

“We’ll interrogate the suspect and share any information with you, Kyu-seong.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Who could it be? Why were they near my dungeon? I was definitely curious. It’s rare for an awakener to recklessly use their abilities, especially such a covert one, against me.

***

There was a guest at the Skyscraper Guild.

“Hm, you want information about the Seven Deadly Sins?”

“I will ensure that the appropriate compensation is paid.”

Ryu Wang-jin smiled slightly as he looked at the representative from the European Union who had come to see him. The recent activities of the European Union, which had been stirring things up here and there, were suspicious. Now, they were blatantly moving about without even trying to hide their intentions.

However, they couldn’t be ignored. The European Awakening Union was a force with over 20 level 8 awakeners. With their financial resources and the talent under them, they had the power to look down on even the largest awakening powers.

“Let’s hear what this compensation is before making a decision.”

“You won’t be disappointed!”

The representative from the European Union, speaking fluent Chinese, tried to win Ryu Wang-jin’s favor.

At that moment, someone urgently knocked on the reception room door. Even though all the guild members knew that an important guest was being entertained, the fact that someone knocked so urgently indicated that something serious was happening.

“Please excuse me for a moment.”

“Of course.”

Ryu Wang-jin immediately allowed the person who knocked to enter. The person who entered quickly showed Ryu Wang-jin a tablet. It was curious that they chose to show the information through a document rather than conveying it verbally.

“Hm…?”

As Ryu Wang-jin read the contents on the tablet, his expression gradually hardened. The curiosity of the European Union representative watching him also grew. After reading everything, Ryu Wang-jin gestured for the secretary who brought the tablet to leave.

“Is it something serious?”

Ryu Wang-jin silently glared at the European representative. The sudden change in his demeanor made the representative break out in a cold sweat, waiting anxiously.

“The deal is postponed for now.”

“Wh-what?”

“Go rest.”

The firm dismissal left the European Union representative in a state of shock. After standing there in a daze, they eventually stood up, bowed, and left the room.

Once alone, Ryu Wang-jin, veins bulging on his forehead, muttered through clenched teeth, “These bastards… they’ve lost their minds.”

The situation that Kyu-seong thought was no big deal was escalating rapidly.

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