Hwarang (1)
Gyeon Gwan-im earned Governor Heo Jin-ho's trust in the blink of an eye. True to form as a warlord with the leadership and decisiveness to usurp the Daegu provisional government, he had pulled off several impossible decapitation strikes and successfully eliminated warlords invading Serabeol territory. Yes, in just these past few days, he had crushed the warlords targeting Serabeol and racked up major merits.
"I've reported your achievements to Serabeol. You'll soon get permission to use magic weapons."
From Serabeol's perspective, there was no choice but to raise Gyeon Gwan-im's value—and to show respect, the Serabeol government swiftly approved his use of their magic weapons, which they had previously denied him. In truth, this setup allowed Governor Heo Jin-ho to claim Gyeon Gwan-im's piled-up merits as his own and exploit him. But...
'My pride won't allow that.'
'Heh, looks like stroking his ego lightly is finally paying off.'
Heo Jin-ho couldn't bring himself to do it. He reported every last detail of Gyeon Gwan-im's feats to Serabeol without a single alteration. It stung inwardly, but he kept public and private matters strictly separate. Gyeon Gwan-im, figuring Heo Jin-ho's pride was both his strength and weakness, breathed a sigh of relief that his loyalty to Serabeol had been proven.
"Good to hear. Still... the guy who got wrecked by those powerful weapons is now the one wielding them against the enemy."
He could now use Serabeol's prized magic weapons, but the man who had once fallen to them wore a wry expression at the irony.
"What, getting cold feet all of a sudden?"
"Nah. Just feeling the hand of fate at work, y'know?"
"Fate's bullshit."
Fateful, perhaps. Or some sensitive intuition kicking in. Heo Jin-ho shot Gyeon Gwan-im a pitying look for his nonsense and let out a sigh. This is just how the guy is—I'll overlook it with my patience, he thought.
"Harsh words, Governor. So, what's the next mission?"
Gyeon Gwan-im grumbled at Heo Jin-ho's cold remark but didn't argue. Instead, he eagerly pressed for details on the next task. Heo Jin-ho, as if he'd been waiting...
"Head out and scout the undead movements. Wild undead are trackable from here, no issue. But the ones under Immortal Cult control move erratically—hard to pin down. We need real-time intel on them."
He issued the orders as if it were the most natural thing in the world. A highly dangerous mission, no less: surveil undead under Immortal Cult dominion. Those weren't ordinary undead; with the cult's influence, they'd be stronger than wild ones. Facing them required the guts to slip between hordes unnoticed and stealth skills to evade detection. Practically a death sentence.
"Tough gig. Immortal Cult, huh? Weren't they on par with the Balhut Cult?"
"Drop any thoughts of defecting to them."
Gyeon Gwan-im called it tough but didn't balk as impossible. Infiltrating unseen was a raider's specialty, after all—and as a former warlord-raider, he had plenty of field experience avoiding undead detection for surveillance. Casually dropping Immortal Cult intel as a jab to unsettle Heo Jin-ho, he drew a stern warning not to get any funny ideas.
"Wasn't planning to. With this collar on, I'd just be a live sacrifice to them anyway."
"I oughta shut that trap of yours by force."
"Whoa, scary, big bro Governor. But even if you say that, lil' bro here's gotta speak his piece before following orders, right?"
Gyeon Gwan-im breezily referenced the collar, proving he had zero intentions of betrayal. It was a blatant ploy to rile Governor Heo Jin-ho. At the final warning, he finally dropped the teasing and got serious.
"Anyway, tough mission means extra support, yeah?"
"Serabeol can provide the magic items they've developed. Here's the catalog."
"Thorough prep, Governor. Heh, gotta nail this mission—even if it kills me—to prove my talents to the world."
Raider specialty or not, it was a hard one. He asked for commensurate support, and Heo Jin-ho promptly showed him Serabeol's list of available magic items. Gyeon Gwan-im's eyes scanned the array of items and effects, checking them off eagerly.
"One question, Governor."
"What? No chit-chat."
"Not the usual WWE banter. It's about what you—or Serabeol—really aims for."
Seeing the prepared items, Gyeon Gwan-im probed Serabeol's intentions with dead seriousness. Heo Jin-ho set aside personal feelings and answered.
"Our goal?"
"Yeah. My missions tie right into Serabeol's policies, right? So what's the big picture, and how do I fit in? Knowing that lets me execute flawlessly, with style."
Not flattery—straight logic. Gyeon Gwan-im's performance would shape Serabeol's moves, and aligning perfectly could boost his eval. Nail Serabeol's script, rack up merits, clear his contracts, land a cushy Serabeol job with guaranteed promotion. Brazen ambition, but Heo Jin-ho didn't nitpick.
"Can't argue with that."
He even nodded in agreement. With Heo Jin-ho thriving, Daegu could chase gains within Serabeol too—and for max profit, better Gyeon Gwan-im stayed on-script without going rogue. His merits meant more aid for Daegu, after all.
"What Serabeol needs right now is time."
Best to lay out the intent upfront, curb any rampages. Public duty over personal grudges won out. Heo Jin-ho told Gyeon Gwan-im straight: Serabeol needed time.
"Time, huh."
"Yeah. Time to reorganize the military."
"A powerhouse like Serabeol needing time? Planning a special forces unit or something?"
Serabeol lacked nothing but time. Reorganizing an army took it, nothing odd—but as Korea's number two power, did they really need reform? Any average warlord facing Serabeol would get isekai'd by an eight-ton truck into hero status. Hell, Gyeon Gwan-im himself had been trucked into Serabeol slavery.
"Exactly. Creating a special unit like that. Needs time."
"Kinda terrifying."
But Serabeol wasn't satisfied. They'd buy time via Gyeon Gwan-im to form the Dragon Priestess's direct guard, the Hwarang—summon all awakeners in Serabeol territory, select and train them into an elite force.
"Using even a cop like me as a test proctor?"
"It's basically selecting officers to represent Serabeol. Who else but top awakener Jin A-yeon to oversee?"
The selection exam exploited even famed top dog Jin A-yeon. She'd been yanked from police duties on military request, now involved with Jeong Dong-gun in Hwarang selection. Swamped with policing, she grimaced at the proctor gig—but Jeong Dong-gun countered: who else but Serabeol's strongest?
"But you've got Uncle Jeong Dong-gun too?"
"I'm swamped overseeing the whole thing. So I asked Police Chief Han Seong-geun and borrowed you."
Jeong Dong-gun was elite too, but claimed overload and poached Jin A-yeon via Han Seong-geun. That meant it was that important.
"Police Chief Han? That big a deal?"
"Yeah. Hwarang selectees get gear forged by Bahamut himself, via the Dragon Priestess. Monumental event. Every awakener in Serabeol—hell, even military folks ditching ranks to compete."
"For real?"
The scale rivaled Serabeol's founding. Jin A-yeon gawked at Jeong Dong-gun over the Dragon God handing out gear. Awakeners nationwide, plus military drop-ins challenging for spots.
"Yeah. Makes redistribution easier... but even after screening, we got a thousand selectees."
"...That many?"
Freed spots for military influx, but a thousand post-cull? Military-wise, ambiguous number.
"With our standing army at three thousand, yeah—it's a lot."
"Whoa, civilian awakener turnout's insane. So..."
One-third of the three-thousand-strong army competing. Post-screening? Even more had tried.
"Minus military rank-dropouts, over half are freelancers. Finally dragged those smug asses off their thrones."
"Bet they're hyped."
Serabeol had tons of unaffiliated free agents—mercs, guild types. Serabeol wanted them in uniform, but freelancers claimed non-interference. From Serabeol's view: manage or bust.
"Yeah. They were a thorn."
"That bad?"
They meddled subtly—civil society ops, lobbying reps for policy sway. Must-regulate. Hwarang trials: big content to weaken them.
"Was dying to see those smug faces twist."
Guilds/mercs couldn't match state resources. Infinite violence and admin if Serabeol willed. They'd just gripe, scramble to retain defectors. Jeong Dong-gun relished faction heads' grimaces.
"Select the strongest, forge 'em into Hwarang—Serabeol's ultimate unit..."
He pushed the plan for that. But eyeing Jin A-yeon, Jeong Dong-gun paused.
"Wanna join the Hwarang trials?"
"Outta nowhere, why?"
He pitched competing to the proctor herself.
"Nah, just... gotta have you for Hwarang to claim 'strongest.' Hm."
"Dude, cop work's killing me already? Hwarang on top? Trying to work me to death?"
True elite unit needed top-tier like Jin A-yeon. She wanted no part, though.