Isthart Guild.
The world’s number-one-ranked guild.
The guild’s headquarters was in Saudi Arabia.
It was a massive guild with branches in multiple Middle Eastern countries.
Backed by immense financial power, even the United States and China had to acknowledge them, making it the most dominant guild in the Awakener world.
However, it had never shown interest in countries outside the Middle East.
While its members were multinational, the guild itself was too proud to conduct business directly in foreign nations.
Yet, the Isthart Guild had now dispatched people.
Their destination was South Korea.
Their target was the Level 1 Awakener, Lee Kyu-seong.
Isthart had never sent guild members to Asia before, making this an unprecedented move.
It meant they valued Lee Kyu-seong highly, but their actions also stirred rival Middle Eastern guilds into motion.
“Annoying bastards.”
Barbak Kapri, who had come to Korea with Muhammad, muttered as he barely managed to shake off their pursuers.
Thanks to his efforts, Muhammad was able to go ahead first, and now Barbak could follow.
Muhammad Kazami.
An Level 8 space-type Awakener.
Barbak Kapri.
An Level 8 physical-type Awakener.
Both were formidable individuals, possessing combat abilities comparable to Level 9 awakeners.
Sending such powerful members was a testament to Isthart Guild’s immense influence.
“Hm?”
On the path leading to the dungeon where Lee Kyu-seong was supposedly residing—
Barbak sensed something strange.
It felt as though he was stepping into a tiger’s den.
His entire body was ringing alarm bells, warning him not to proceed.
‘What is this?’
But Barbak was a man brimming with confidence.
Even though his instincts were warning him, he believed he could retreat at any time and continued forward.
“……What the hell is this?”
People were kneeling on the ground.
They were all trembling uncontrollably.
And as he moved deeper into the forest, the number of kneeling figures increased.
A chill ran down his spine.
His instincts screamed even louder.
This was wrong.
If he went any further, he wouldn’t be able to escape.
At this point, even Barbak hesitated, unsure if he should stop.
However, he realized he had already ventured too deep.
‘Iraq’s Euphrates?’
Figures cloaked from head to toe.
Every single one of them was kneeling.
Some were even praying to a god.
As he followed the eerie scene to its source, he finally saw the person he had been looking for.
And beside him, Muhammad was kneeling as well.
‘Muhammad… was subdued?’
Barbak knew he was a step below Muhammad in strength.
They were both Level 8, but there was still a distinct difference in their abilities.
Muhammad held a high rank even within Isthart, the world’s top guild.
If he went anywhere else, he could easily be the leader of a guild.
Yet, that very same Muhammad was now on his knees, looking up at Lee Kyu-seong with vacant eyes.
Gulp.
He had to run.
Was it too late? No, this wasn’t the time to think about that.
“Huh? You over there….”
Finally, the devil—no, Lee Kyu-seong—turned his attention toward him.
Barbak’s body froze instantly.
His vision blurred.
His breathing became ragged.
Thud.
His knees buckled on their own.
Overwhelmed by indescribable despair, Barbak desperately sought divine intervention.
“Ah, how do I stop this? Hey… are you okay? Did you also come from the Middle East?”
Allah, please protect me and grant me salvation.
Closing his eyes tightly, Barbak tried to ignore Kyu-seong as he approached.
And at that moment—
“Oh! Ten minutes are up.”
As soon as Kyu-seong spoke, the invisible force restraining them vanished.
Everyone who had been frozen in place collapsed one by one.
“Huh?”
Kyu-seong looked startled.
Barbak swallowed dryly.
The strange atmosphere was still lingering.
“At this point, nothing surprises me anymore.”
Guild members rushed onto the scene.
Even the Iron Blood, Terror, and Ara Hongryeon Guilds.
All of South Korea’s top guilds had mobilized.
And since this had happened multiple times before, they weren’t as tense as they used to be.
“What are you talking about? What if something happens to Mr. Kyu-seong?”
“Hey, let’s be real. Do you really think something could happen to him? He’s officially a Level 1 Awakener, but he’s not actually a Level 1. Haven’t you figured it out yet?”
“What do you mean?”
The person asking frowned in frustration.
“There have already been multiple attacks on Mr. Kyu-seong. But every single time, we arrived too late. In the end, he was the one who resolved everything. At first, we thought it was just luck, but by now, it’s obviously not.”
“Uh…”
“Mr. Kyu-seong isn’t just some ordinary Level 1 production-type Awakener. He definitely has a hidden ace up his sleeve that we don’t know about.”
“Is that even possible? He’s only Level 1.”
“Think about how many high-rank awakeners that ‘only Level 1’ has taken down.”
The other person was left speechless.
Still, they couldn’t help but worry.
No matter how many crises he had overcome, Kyu-seong was still a Level 1 Awakener.
All they could do was hope the vehicle reached its destination soon…
– Bzzz.
“Ah, ah. Situation resolved.”
A transmission came through the radio.
The people inside the vehicle exchanged confused glances.
The least worried among them smirked smugly.
“Told you so.”
“Shh.”
Someone pressed a finger to their lips to listen to the rest of the transmission.
– Continuing vehicle movement. Multiple unidentified individuals at the destination.
“Hmm.”
– All neutralized, but status unclear.
Did Kyu-seong handle it again this time?
People were starting to get curious.
About ten minutes later, the vehicle finally arrived.
They quickly got out and headed toward the destination.
They saw countless awakeners from various guilds already gathered.
“Oh, you’re here?”
“Is the situation under control?”
“Well, it’s mostly settled. But things got a little messy and complicated.”
“Messy and complicated?”
“Ah, the people who came this time weren’t actually here to attack Mr. Kyu-seong. It seems they were trying to keep each other in check and ended up getting caught in the mess.”
“What?”
“The Isthart Guild came to recruit Mr. Kyu-seong, but their rival guilds tried to interfere as much as possible. They’re now claiming they never intended to harm Mr. Kyu-seong.”
“Wait a second. Did you just say… Isthart Guild?”
The world’s number-one-ranked guild.
A mysterious guild known for its secrecy.
The fact that they had come all the way to Korea to recruit Kyu-seong sent shockwaves through the industry.
Even the Korean government was unsure how to handle the situation.
“Kyu-seong, are you okay?”
“Oh, I’m fine.”
Kyu-seong answered, receiving concerned looks from the guild members.
But honestly, he was more worried about something else.
“Ohhh, our god.”
“The true god has revealed himself here.”
People who had completely lost it.
Especially those wearing skin-tight suits—
Their condition was unusual.
They were mumbling something in their native language, but from their posture, they seemed to be worshiping Kyu-seong.
“They’re calling Mr. Kyu-seong a god.”
Someone who understood Arabic translated with a dumbfounded look.
And once again, all eyes were on Kyu-seong.
“I… I didn’t do anything.”
Well, he had done something.
But technically, he didn’t.
“Hmm…”
“Let’s just say that’s the case.”
No one seemed to believe him.
Kyu-seong felt slightly wronged.
“By the way, those two over there are from the Isthart Guild, right?”
“They’re from the Iran branch.”
“Wow, this is the first time I’ve seen Isthart Guild members in person. This is insane.”
While others were marveling, Kyu-seong felt nothing.
Isthart? The world’s number one?
He didn’t care.
Honestly, he had never cared before either.
His focus had always been on domestic guilds, and he never gave much thought to those overseas.
And now, even the so-called number one in the world didn’t feel impressive.
Maybe it was because it all felt too distant.
Or maybe it was because he had been dealing with extraordinary people lately.
‘Man, Lee Kyu-seong, you’ve really grown.’
Grinning to himself, Kyu-seong chuckled.
People around him grew slightly worried.
“Are you sure you’re okay? What if you were affected by some kind of mental ability?”
“He doesn’t look injured, but should we take him to a hospital?”
At that moment—
Muhammad, the Isthart Guild member who had come to find Kyu-seong in the first place, suddenly spoke.
“Mr. Kyu-seong, we’ll see you again later. We sincerely apologize for causing a disturbance.”
With those final words, Muhammad and Barbak disappeared into a spatial rift, just as suddenly as they had first appeared.
People were left flustered, watching the two vanish.
“Uh… is it really okay to just let them go like that?”
“But they didn’t actually do anything wrong.”
“Yeah… that’s true. We were the ones who overreacted, thinking Mr. Kyu-seong was being attacked.”
Regardless, there was no way to stop them now.
In the end, everyone decided to focus on investigating the remaining strange individuals.
The ones still kneeling in a daze.
They continued to recite prayers and worship Kyu-seong.
“For now, let’s hand them over to the government. We’ll handle the cleanup.”
“Mr. Kyu-seong, you must have been startled. You should go inside and rest.”
With everyone’s concern, Kyu-seong scratched his head and nodded.
“Understood… If you need me, just let me know.”
“Please, go ahead!”
As Kyu-seong entered the dungeon, the kneeling fanatics wailed in despair.
Seeing them, those who remained could only sigh in exasperation.
How were they supposed to deal with these fanatics?
***
“Brother, why are you so late?”
“Huh? Oh, well… something came up.”
Delivering a box of rice cakes took about twenty minutes.
And yet, so much had happened in that short time.
Even Kyu-seong was bewildered, trying to process everything that had just transpired.
‘Hmm, as expected, Ara is the best.’
In the end, he concluded that Ara was simply amazing.
He decided to always keep at least one of the Seven Deadly Sins close by.
Or maybe even Cheong.
With that settled, he returned to his normal life, wrapping up preparations for Chuseok.
After sending off all the gift rice cake boxes, the only thing left was preparing the ingredients for the feast.
For meatless skewers, they even went out to the sea to catch squid, and they diligently gathered ingredients for frying pancakes.
There were many family members, but just as many cooks, so there was no major problem.
Everyone had chosen their preferred hanbok, and now all they had to do was wait for Chuseok to arrive.
As Kyu-seong and his family leisurely prepared for the holiday—
Back at Isthart, Muhammad had already returned and was giving his report.
“…That concludes my report.”
“Hmm.”
The one receiving the report was an elderly man.
Short in stature, frail-looking, seemingly powerless.
But anyone who knew his true identity would never dare underestimate him.
“How intriguing. I had noticed a few strange occurrences before. He faced several crises, yet each time, he resolved them effortlessly.”
“That’s correct.”
“He might have used the power you reported before.”
The old man’s pupils suddenly slit vertically, like a snake’s.
Muhammad involuntarily flinched at the eerie sight.
“I shall go myself.”
“Mr. H-Hassan will personally…!”
Hassan al-Din Sinan.
A Level 9 awakener, known by the title ‘Assassin.’
The monstrous elder had set his sights on Kyu-seong.
Cliche Novel 