Truth Game and Hidden Agendas
“When we found the Thunder Brain Sword, Seungtae hyung was right there with me. He said he picked up a Domoto Ring in the same spot—the bone valley where I torched that whole swarm of Absorption Trees with the sword.”
Kim Jun finished the last of his rice soaked in ramen broth and set down his spoon, turning to Lee Taeseop.
The guy across from him had eyes sparkling with excitement. What was he after? Kim Jun already knew from the Honor Hall incident.
A talented Raider who didn't crave success, yet charged into danger with a grin, unshaken even by being named Raider King.
Kim Jun realized what Lee Taeseop wanted.
The truth. And curiosity. That was all—just to know if it was real.
“What's your deal with Baek Seungtae?”
“We've known each other for ages.”
Kim Jun nodded easily.
“Yeah. It's all true.”
“Knew it!”
Lee Taeseop pumped his fist.
“You really tamed a Haren Saurus?”
It was Sa Yeonggyo.
“Yeah.”
Kim Jun eyed the cup ramen in the box. Gong Yunju immediately tore open a packet and added the seasoning powder, while Kang Hyeonseong fetched hot water. Realizing how much Kim Jun could pack away, the two ripped open three cups at once, poured in the water, and snapped the lids shut.
“How?”
Sa Yeonggyo again.
“Eh, just beat it until it listens.”
The group lost it.
The world was vast, full of eccentric Raiders, but a carrier beating a monster into submission—one you were supposed to kill for its core?
Lee Taeseop watched Kim Jun devour his second cup with the same serious, ravenous focus as the first, grinning the whole time. Even though he hadn't been there himself, it felt satisfying somehow.
Now I get why Seungtae hyung lit up telling that story. Just hearing it feels good—imagine seeing those Absorption Trees go up in flames up close, feeling the heat. Must've been chest-thumpingly proud.
He wanted to join Uramata Guild right then.
Become Pink Team's tanker. Luckily, they only had one: Choi Muhyun.
The problem? His father.
Even bringing it up would send Dad into a rage. Not just him—Mom, his brother, the whole family would oppose it. Sticking to his guns might cost him everyone.
Sa Yeonggyo was wrestling with it too.
She'd gone to Africa for solo play. Korea didn't allow solo dungeon runs—you needed a team, and she hated that.
This guy's raids might actually be fun. But I can't join Pink Team. Being tied down? Hard pass.
“Um, can I ask something?”
Kang Hyeonseong ventured carefully.
“Shoot.”
Kim Jun glanced at Sa Yeonggyo. Feeling his eyes, she mixed a pack of rice into some broth. How'd she end up doing chores like this? Not that it bothered her much.
“Devils Day contamination—that was just six or seven months ago, right?”
“Yep.”
“So you mastered Mokhonbo in half a year?”
Sa Yeonggyo and Lee Taeseop looked like they'd been smacked upside the head.
Mokhonbo, one of the Five Elements arts, wasn't something many Raiders bothered with anymore. But it wasn't some sloppy footwork you could deploy in battle after six months. Basics alone took over two years; five years of steady practice to claim you'd learned it anywhere respectable.
Sure, prior arts might speed things up, but combat-ready in half a year? Impossible.
“Nah.”
Kim Jun answered.
“But that's weird. Contamination started with Devils Day in March, so if you learned Mokhonbo before that, it's a contradiction.”
Sharp catch.
“I've had Mokhonbo for just over a month now.”
“What?”
Stunned, Kang Hyeonseong checked Sa Yeonggyo and Lee Taeseop. Good, he wasn't alone.
“Hard to believe, I know. But true.”
Conversation died.
Curiosity about Kim Jun was sated, but far from satisfying.
“Why the mood? You all hoping I drop dead from aftereffects tomorrow? Fat chance. I'll outlive you wall-shitters by a mile, so lose the faces.”
Kim Jun forced cheer.
“Dude, we're eating—why bring up shit?”
Lee Taeseop played indignant. Laughter erupted at the deadpan act.
“Alright, my turn to pick.”
Kim Jun scanned the group.
“What're you talking about?”
Sa Yeonggyo.
“Truth game, right? I spilled a huge secret. You're next.”
Kim Jun pointed his spoon at her.
“Me?”
“Why'd the Association President's granddaughter bolt to Africa solo? And why rush back for the awakening test? I bared a life-or-death secret. Better top it, or you spill.”
Sa Yeonggyo saw no escape. No one here held a bigger secret than Kim Jun.
Yesterday, strangers—now spilling her guts? All his fault.
“The reason I decided to go to Africa was…”
Then a guard at the entrance grabbed a megaphone.
“Individual interviews starting now. Follow our team's instructions in an orderly manner. Won't take long—cooperate, please.”
Examinees buzzed.
No clue what “individual interviews” meant.
“Sa Yeonggyo, step forward!”
As she rose, Kim Jun lightly tugged her wrist and whispered.
“I'll hear it eventually. That reason. And… if you get out, contact Uramata's guild master. Tell him what's happening here.”
“Get out? What?”
“Just in case you do.”
Deadly serious.
“Got it.”
Sa Yeonggyo sensed he knew something, but the guard called again. She headed to the entrance.
* * *
Sa Yeonggyo followed the guard through an empty office to a spacious section chief's room.
Kim Se-wi rose from the sofa.
“Come in.”
“Individual interview, huh? It's you, Uncle.”
“Tea?”
“Coffee, please.”
“Two coffees.”
Kim Se-wi eyed the guard.
The flustered guard's gaze wavered—Ju Shin's intel chief was no lightweight. One wrong look, and his livelihood was toast.
“...Yes, sir.”
Guard out, Kim Se-wi sat, glancing at Sa Yeonggyo.
“Why the interviews?”
“No reason to hide from you. Truth is, the Core Country villain had an accomplice. One of the examinees.”
“No way.”
Sa Yeonggyo thought it a joke at first, but the gravity hit home.
“Who? Caught?”
“Kim Jun.”
“What? Haha, no. Absolutely not.”
“Evidence too.”
“...”
Sa Yeonggyo went silent.
Kim Se-wi fetched evidence from the desk and set it before her.
She picked up the bagged lotion.
“This the evidence?”
“Contains Rekl. Found in Kim Jun's bag.”
“Rekl's skin wound cream, right?”
“Yes. Why's it evidence? Masking mud presumed from the villain in Core Country layer 7—same Rekl on it.”
“That's not proof. I have Rekl too.”
“With the villain's fingerprints?”
The guard brought coffee.
Instant in paper cups.
Kim Se-wi noted the name on the guard's chest. Wrap this clean, and he'd pay back this annoyance with interest.
“Villain's fingerprints on Rekl from Kim Jun's bag?”
“Found by investigators during lockdown protocols.”
“Doesn't add up. Fresh awakening passer like Kim Jun, tied to a villain? What power could he offer?”
“Investigation will tell. Anyway, you've changed.”
“How?”
Sa Yeonggyo looked up from the evidence. “Changed” sounded mocking.
“You never cared about others. No offense—I’m the same. Life's short; no need meddling when you might not even get yours. So why defend Kim Jun with evidence out?”
“Defend? Me?”
“Kinda looks that way.”
Sa Yeonggyo shrugged.
“So? Not allowed?”
“Nah, not that. Fought together? Comradeship from risking life, sure. But consider: How'd Kim Jun stop an active Deplancio? Not normal.”
“I told him the weakness.”
“Even pinpointing it, odds of everyone inside surviving intact? 1.7%. I calculated. Magic circle breaks, all die. Yet they—and he—lived?”
Made sense.
She'd called it a miracle herself.
“What do you think, Uncle?”
“Deplancio stopped itself. Or planned to from the start.”
“What?”
Sa Yeonggyo blinked. Never crossed her mind.
“Those pitch-black glasses blind you to truth, Yeonggyo. Toss them. Keep trusting him, you'll never see.”
“Fine. Spill.”
“Why'd the Honor Hall wax dolls rampage?”
“Well…”
She realized she didn't know.
“Core issue. Ones with exponentially more mana. Who swapped them? Right—the Core Country villain. Stole some from storage, but not much. Cores weren't the goal.
So what was? Wake the wax dolls for chaos. Think: Who benefited from the uproar?”
“Kim Jun got hurt bad.”
“Gained trust instead. Association President's granddaughter's. Other examinees'. Spread that? Unprecedented fame.”
Sa Yeonggyo shut her mouth.
Hated to admit it, but logical.
Kim Se-wi sipped from his cup, watching her face.
Heh, hooked. Sa Gyeongbaek's granddaughter or not, still green. Fan the doubt a bit more?
“Can't buy staging that for mere trust.”
“They're playing the long game.”
“They?”
“Puritan.”
“...Puritan's wiped out.”
Terrorists hating Raiders, believing humanity's survival meant eradicating them. Suicide bombers, no hesitation.
“Remnants linger. Around us.”
“Kim Jun a Puritan? That's a stretch.”
Kim Se-wi was shocked. Solid evidence, faction ties exposed—and she still backed him?
Miscalculated. Mood soured.
Kim Jun—what'd he do to sway the selfish Sa Yeonggyo like this?