The Lightning Sword Arrives

Daejeon Namseon Park Gate Management Office.

Even though it was early morning, we had hurried over. The walk from the lodging was only two minutes, so an early departure naturally meant an early arrival.

In front of the management office sat a military trailer that hadn't been there yesterday. It would be packed with the equipment used by government-affiliated Awoken. Of course, there were plenty of other vehicles as well.

No particular signs of people, though. Were they inside the office? Or maybe they'd gone out for breakfast? It was only eight in the morning, after all...

I'd thought I was being clever by coming early, but had I overdone it? After a solid night's sleep my body had woken earlier than expected, and with nothing else to do I'd wanted to wrap this up fast and head back to Seoul. Looks like I'd miscalculated.

We went straight inside the management office.

"Hm? Ah, you've arrived."

The civil servant who'd been greeting us for three days straight came out to meet us. I'd called last night to say we'd be by in the morning, so he was ready right away—even though we were already inside the building.

"Why are you alone? Where is everyone else?"

"They haven't come out yet. They're staying at a nearby lodging, so they'll finish breakfast and trickle in soon enough."

"Pretty relaxed, considering this place could overflow any second."

"Not at all. I heard they already entered the dungeon yesterday, cleared out most of the monsters, and came back out."

"What? I figured they'd drag their feet... For the government, that was surprisingly quick."

"Haha... It was an emergency. There was the Cheonji-dong incident last weekend, too."

"There's only one equipment trailer. Must be some pretty strong people who showed up?"

"Ah... That was a first for me as well. I never once dreamed a Transcendent would come to a low-rank gate like this..."

"What? A Transcendent came?"

"Yes. But about that..."

Just then a group of people suddenly pushed through the door. Government personnel, from the look of them.

"You. The first discoverer?"

"Yes... Well, me and my team..."

No greeting, just barging straight in, huh.

I was overwhelmed by the atmosphere. What is this guy? An Awoken?

"Sit down and talk. You Awoken, take seats as well. The rest of you can wait outside for now. When the Transcendent arrives, guide them in."

"Yes, sir!"

The ones who looked like subordinates filed back out of the office. No—two stayed waiting by the door while only one disappeared somewhere. Judging by the situation they seemed military, though not all of them were Awoken.

They just shoved a single Transcendent into the dungeon?

Well, for a Transcendent, an E-rank dungeon or a C-rank dungeon would both be easy solo work. Still... this place is pretty spacious.

"First, let me introduce myself. I run the military's Gate Rescue Team operations unit. Rank of colonel. Think of me as the one who deploys whenever an accident hits a gate anywhere in the country. Now, let's hear your introductions."

"Ah... I'm the F-Team leader at Cool Support Company, an Awoken supporter firm. And these are my team members..."

I introduced our team one by one. "Introduction" was generous—just names and positions.

"No one with a D-rank license?"

"No... We're a rookie team, so we haven't taken the promotion test yet."

"Hmm... And yet you somehow handled dozens of gnolls? Doesn't look like anyone got hurt, either. You even recovered the loot and brought it out?"

Of course it got out. An equipment rental company wasn't about to lie to the military. I hadn't expected otherwise, but this man gave the impression of handling things extremely fast. Completely different from that headquarters director or whatever I'd spoken to on the phone yesterday.

"We got lucky."

"Luck isn't enough to explain this... You. Step outside for a moment."

"Excuse me? Just me?"

"Yes. I have things to discuss with the Awoken. You're a civilian—you wouldn't understand anyway, so there's no need for you to stay."

"No. This is my team. I'm the leader. Right?"

I turned and locked eyes with my teammates. They all nodded. I rolled my eyes, signaling them to speak up more firmly.

"Hyung-nim... Team Leader should stay. We're company personnel, not military."

Jang Yong, you little bastard. Well said!

The man who called himself a colonel narrowed his eyes and carefully studied the expressions of our Awoken. What, can you read minds or something?

"Fine. If the Awoken insist, I suppose there's no choice. First, I'll ask you this. How did a bunch of academy bottom-feeders manage to take down C-rank difficulty monsters only a few months after graduation? Were you hiding your strength at the academy? You—keep your mouth shut. I'm asking the Awoken."

I'd started to answer for them and got cut off cold. Fuck...

Meanwhile our teammates all hemmed and hawed, unable to answer. With me right beside them, surely none of them would be stupid enough to spill my secret.

The one who finally opened her mouth was, surprisingly, Kim Isol.

"What's the problem? We just grew a little."

One corner of the colonel's mouth twitched upward before he forced his poker face back into place. You just sneered, didn't you? Yeah. This bastard's sneering.

Either way, I was nervous as hell that Kim ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Isol might cause an incident against a soldier—and not just any soldier, but a colonel from the Awoken rescue operations team.

"You, the eternal bottom of the academy, suddenly grew? In just a few months? Do you really think that makes sense?!"

A firm voice. He hadn't shouted, but the atmosphere alone felt crushing. Soldiers really were different.

But our team had one furious wild horse who was completely immune to that sort of thing.

"Why doesn't it make sense?"

"It was potential the academy couldn't draw out for three whole years. Even if you were thrown into real combat on dungeon expeditions, do you think this kind of short-term growth is possible?"

"You're laboring under some delusion. What exactly did the academy ever do for us? After we got the lowest mana ratings they basically abandoned us, right? Compared us to the elites, ignored us, discriminated against us? Don't make me laugh! Those bastards were just incompetent!"

I was seeing a different side of Kim Isol than usual. I was a little surprised. Maybe I was finally hearing the story I'd wanted to hear last night after getting her drunk.

Even with Isol's somewhat heated words and actions, the colonel didn't so much as blink. He clearly wasn't an Awoken, yet that composure was impressive. Compared to me back when I had no power, it was night and day. It was almost like looking at Senior Ahn, the one I'd once admired.

"So the academy failed to recognize your potential? Is that what you're saying?"

"Yeah."

"Fine. We'll leave it at that. I'll just add that there's no need to get so angry. I only said it because it seemed a waste for talent like yours to be stuck running E-rank dungeons. Don't take it the wrong way. From our position, the more powerful Awoken there are, the better."

His tone a moment ago sure didn't sound like that. Was he acting?

I let out a deep internal sigh. I'd been worried about what he might say, but he'd just been testing us? Making people sweat for nothing.

"Next... I heard none of you were wearing combat recording cameras..."

"Ah, we only planned to record on the last day. The original expedition was scheduled through this Friday."

This time I answered. Was he suspecting we'd filmed something and were hiding the cameras? He could just ask the rental company and find out we never rented any cameras in the first place. If not that, then what?

"We'll set that issue aside for now. It's more of a headache for other parties than for us. Next..."

Other parties? I couldn't make sense of what he was saying. Who was he talking about?

Just then the building's entrance opened again. A woman walked in. There was something unusual about her presence—she wore an eyepatch over one eye. She wasn't in a mana-coated suit, but she carried a long sword in its scabbard.

I recognized her at once.

Lightning Sword Park Yuri.

One of the seven known Transcendents in the country walked straight toward us. The colonel was the first to rise from his seat, bowing with extreme deference.

Park Yuri ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠looks mid-twenties at most... Is her rank higher than a colonel? Or is her personality so difficult that he's just trying to stay on her good side?

Seeing the colonel, I unconsciously stood as well. When I rose, the rest of the team lifted their asses off their chairs too.

"You've arrived, Transcendent."

"These are the ones?"

"That is correct."

"I can sit in as well, yes?"

The colonel glared at us. What do you want me to do about it? She's going to join whether you like it or not.

I kept my expression carefully neutral so those thoughts wouldn't show and extended my hand toward her. I absolutely needed that handshake.

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Kang Junghyeok, F-Team leader at Cool Support Company."

Park Yuri stared at me with her uncovered eye. I swallowed hard without meaning to. Come on, just give me your hand, miss. I won't steal your mana or anything.

"Park Yuri."

She finally offered her hand. I took it and stared into empty space for a long while.

My heart raced. I wanted to burn every last scrap of information into my mind before letting go. But it was astonishing. A full suite of skills as a baseline, and her mana was S-class—stage 7, no less. To think that even someone already famous as the Lightning Sword still had room left to grow...

I hurriedly checked the detailed mana information.

"Hah..."

One more point of potential remaining? My mouth fell open without thinking. Park Yuri shot me a strange look and quickly pulled her hand back. Only then did I come to my senses and fix my expression.

"What are you doing."

Park Yuri maintained the same calm tone throughout; even now there was no change. But that only made my heart clench tighter. It was a little frightening, honestly... The eerie feeling of facing a combat doll built purely for battle. Because her outward appearance looked nothing like a powerhouse—just an ordinary woman—the chill ran even deeper.

"I-I'm sorry. Excuse me. You lot, scoot over one seat each."

I shoved our kids sideways and moved over myself, guiding Park Yuri to the seat I'd been in. The colonel's glare was so sharp I thought I might die.

"Our... no, the Transcendent's prediction was correct. These ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠people are all newcomers."

The colonel spoke as if reporting to a superior. Park Yuri began examining each of our teammates in turn.

"Which one is the archer?"

"I-I am..."

Baek Hwayeon answered in a flustered voice. Park Yuri pressed her with questions. Every one of us wore an expression thick with tension.

"You alone handled all the hyenas?"

"Ah, no... Um..."

Baek Hwayeon looked at me. I was the one who'd dropped every last gnoll. But there was no way we could reveal that here. If she could just muddle through somehow... I kept sending signals that she absolutely must not talk about me. Please notice how serious my face is right now.

"We all did it together..."

"What are you hiding. I've already finished examining the gnoll corpses. Every single one had its head burst open in one strike. And all in the same manner... As the archer, that should have been your work alone, correct?"

I cut in.

"Ah, you may have confirmed it, but we rented three bows. The other Awoken can handle a bow about as well as she can, so..."

"That doesn't make sense. I personally confirmed every attack came from the same individual."

"May I add something?"

At the colonel's words, Park Yuri nodded.

"As I said earlier, you seem to be misunderstanding. We have no intention of interrogating you. Think of these questions as being for the sake of praise, if you like. We simply need the facts made clear."

Even if that were true, it changed nothing. I couldn't casually expose our team's—no, my—secret. I had no idea how sharp a Transcendent's eye was, but if she already knew it was solo work, should I just push it all onto Baek Hwayeon's record? That was the real dilemma. I couldn't exactly declare out of nowhere, "Actually, I'm an Awoken too."

Then Park Yuri questioned Baek Hwayeon again. She seemed already convinced that Hwayeon was the one who had taken down every gnoll.

"May I ask why you enter dungeons. Revenge? Money? Honor?"

I turned again to check Baek Hwayeon's face. Our eyes met. This much she could answer, I decided, and gave a small nod. I still had no idea what intention lay behind the question.

But before Baek Hwayeon could even reply, Park Yuri spoke again.

"Why don't you join my team? With talent like that, you'd benefit far more under me. Whether your goal is money, honor, or wiping out every last one of those monster bastards, it'll be better than some tiny company. If you're worried about the contract penalty, I'll cover it."

Damn these sons of bitches. Every last one of them is going crazy trying to snatch our slaves away.