Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 005
Chapter Title: Hwarang Guild
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The door to the management office burst open violently.
Park Cheol-min, a resident of Building 108 who had personally endured Lee Jung-woo's imperial broadcast the night before.
After gathering opinions all night in the apartment residents' group chat,
he had come to protest on behalf of the thousands of residents from all 24 buildings.
"What the hell is all this?"
His shout sliced through the noisy air of the management office in an instant, drawing the eyes of everyone—Bolg, who had been grabbing someone by the collar; Tinker, doing the same; Belial, who had been watching with amusement; and even Se-ah, who was utterly fed up with the whole situation—toward the door.
Park Cheol-min froze at the sight before him.
Skeletons were sitting in the office instead of people, and in one corner, a goblin and a giant that could put any bodybuilder to shame were growling at each other.
And standing there calmly overseeing it all was that madman from the TV last night, Lee Jung-woo.
His anger swiftly turned to primal fear, but having come with the expectations of hundreds on his back, he couldn't back down now.
"Who the hell are you to lock us in here and do whatever you want? Release this barrier or whatever it is right now and put everything back the way it was."
That was when it happened.
Before Park Cheol-min could even finish shouting, a massive shadow loomed over him.
"Is it you? The first brave mortal to dare challenge our great lord!"
It was Bolg.
He perfectly remembered his lord's teaching that complaints were challenges.
His eyes gleamed with the thrill of battle.
The first complaint as management chief.
The first customer he had to send away fully satisfied.
"Krahaha! Excellent. This body accepts your challenge."
Bolg strode forward, crunching over the shards of a shattered chair.
Thud!
Creeeak—
Every time his massive frame moved, the floor groaned ominously.
Park Cheol-min's face drained of color at the overwhelming presence of the monster over two meters tall.
"Wait, I just came to complain..."
"Too many words. Challengers speak with their fists."
Just as Bolg's massive fist hurtled toward Park Cheol-min's head, Belial, the 2nd Legion Commander who had been spectating from the side, clicked his tongue in disdain.
"My lord, it seems this one's complaint will be resolved... eternally."
"...No, not like that."
The moment Lee Jung-woo's low voice reached them, Bolg's fist halted impossibly right in front of Park Cheol-min's nose.
An invisible force had gripped his arm tightly.
Bolg turned to his lord with a puzzled expression.
"My lord? Why?"
"Bolg. The management chief doesn't solve things with brute force. We're in the early days of the empire, so we don't need to rile up public sentiment too much. Handle it through the system for now."
"The system, my lord?"
Another incomprehensible term lodged itself in Bolg's mind.
Jung-woo turned his gaze to Park Cheol-min.
He was still cowering on the floor in terror.
"You. The noisy one from last night, right?"
"Y-Yes? I..."
"Someone upstairs from us was banging around at midnight yesterday. Building 108, Room 803. That you?"
Park Cheol-min's face went ghostly pale.
He vaguely recalled arguing briefly with his wife last night over the sound of her running the vacuum cleaner.
But how did he know?
"How did you..."
"Doesn't matter how. Imperial Decree No. 1: No noise between floors. Violators will share hearing. I said that, didn't I?"
Jung-woo snapped his fingers lightly.
"Belial. Sync the hearing between Room 803 and 903 for the next 24 hours. Every sound from one side outputs to the other."
"As you command."
Belial raised black mana at his fingertips, and Park Cheol-min screamed.
"N-No! Please... I'm sorry. Our baby just fell asleep."
His pleas scattered into the air.
The wailing that assaulted his ears wasn't his own child—it was the one from upstairs. Vividly so.
Both babies were now hearing each other's cries in full.
This was the emperor's solution to noise disputes.
"Now that's true coexistence."
Jung-woo turned to Bolg with satisfaction.
"See that, Bolg? That's the system. Make them experience the other's pain directly to solve the root problem. In Arkhea, we'd just chop heads off... but this is my rule on Earth, and what you need to learn as management chief. It's more efficient here too."
"Oh, and if they still won't listen even after the system? Then do whatever—rip off limbs, whatever. Just don't kill non-awakeners unless it's life-or-death."
"As expected of my lord. I finally grasp your profound wisdom."
Bolg knelt in admiration.
Now, in his mind, complaints had been redefined from physical challenges to delivering pain via the system.
Park Cheol-min bolted from the management office, hands clamped over his ears.
Se-ah, who had watched this bizarre first day on the job, clutched the back of her neck and muttered.
"Madman. He's completely lost it."
Jung-woo smiled contentedly at his sister's grumbling.
'First complaint handled. Pretty clean and efficient.'
But that satisfaction didn't last long.
His eyes swept over the terrified figure of Park Cheol-min fleeing, then to the other residents watching with complex mixes of fear in their eyes.
The faint smile vanished from his lips.
"Haa."
Jung-woo sighed and rubbed his forehead.
'Pathetic. But handling one like this won't cut it—there'll be tons more ahead. Humans only learn by tasting shit before miso paste. Dealing with complaints from thousands of households one by one is a pain...'
'And this place needs to become Necrosia's first territory...'
His face twisted into one of utter annoyance.
He muttered softly.
"Yeah, this method's inefficient."
Surprisingly, the emperor gave up quickly when it suited him.
The world outside the barrier was engulfed in a chaos of a completely different temperature.
The area around Suwon Hanseong Apartment Complex was already swarming with hundreds of police, reporters, and opportunistic YouTubers waiting for their shot.
They couldn't approach within a certain distance, left to stare vacantly beyond the transparent barrier like gazing into a giant aquarium.
Then, several black vans slipped inside the barricade line and came to a stop.
Doors opened, and about fifty awakeners in standardized combat gear disembarked in perfect unison.
Prominent on their chests was the red Hwarang Guild emblem.
Murmurs erupted from the crowd.
"It's Hwarang Guild!"
"Choi Kang-hyuk! The SS-rank Choi Kang-hyuk himself is here!"
Choi Kang-hyuk, stepping out from the group, ignored the commotion and fixed his gaze on the massive barrier before him.
The team leader approached from behind and began the urgent briefing.
"Guild Master, here's the situation since the meeting report. Our recon team launched three high-spec drones into the barrier, but they all lost control and crashed the moment they touched it. No physical collision, but all internal circuits fried."
The team leader swiped through a tablet and continued.
"The biggest variable was a civilian who burst out of the barrier in panic about ten minutes ago. His statement was rambling, but piecing it together: 'An emperor named Lee Jung-woo appeared and made new laws.' The first one? 'Noise-makers get their hearing shared with the floors above and below.' Utterly baffling."
"Noise disputes?"
Choi Kang-hyuk doubted his own ears for a moment.
The entity that had knocked out an A-rank mental-type awakener and put Hwarang Guild on edge was settling... apartment noise fights?
It rattled his common sense beyond comprehension.
"Any moves from other guilds?"
"Black Forest and Genesis sent recon teams, but they're all just observing from the outskirts. As per the guild master meeting, no intention of aggressive intervention."
"Beidou Guild or others?"
"Beidou's holding at HQ until official Association or government orders. No one's on-site. Association's still just saying not to provoke rashly."
With countless civilians still trapped inside, Choi Kang-hyuk decided he couldn't wait any longer.
"I'll check it myself. Alpha Team, prep for support."
His team tensed at the firm order.
"Guild Master, it's dangerous."
"Can't leave citizens in there because it's dangerous."
Choi Kang-hyuk slowly approached the barrier, extending his hand into the air to press his palm against the invisible wall.
Ziiing.
He felt nothing.
No mana flow, no physical barrier, yet his hand couldn't proceed further.
As if he'd touched the boundary of another dimension.
He closed his eyes and began drawing up his SS-rank mana.
Pure light energy pulsed from his palm like waves, probing the barrier's nature.
Meanwhile, in Lee Jung-woo's living room.
He lounged sideways on the sofa, watching the outside situation in real-time via the massive magic screen Belial had conjured.
A playful smile tugged at his lips.
"Who was that guy again? Too long ago—can't remember."
Everyone except his nostalgic sister and a few acquaintances had long been purged from his brain cells.
"Still, looks like a strong one from this side? I like his eyes."
The moment Choi Kang-hyuk touched the barrier and raised his mana, Jung-woo's eyes sparkled with interest.
He addressed Belial, who was quietly pouring tea beside him.
"Belial, what do you think of that guy?"
Belial's red eyes gleamed cynically.
"Top-tier by mortal standards, but far short of amusing my lord. He'd turn to dust without a single act of resistance. Utterly insignificant."
Jung-woo chuckled and called to Kairon, who stood utterly still in one corner's shadow.
"Kairon."
"Yes, my lord."
The shadow replied.
"Go greet the guest. Don't kill him. Let's see what he's got."
"As you command."
With that short reply, the 1st Legion Commander Kairon melted into the shadows and vanished.
Belial clicked his tongue softly at the sight.
"Entrusting it to that stoic brute will sap all the fun. He might come back after half-killing the fool without exchanging a single blow."
"That's why I'm sending him. Guys with eyes full of that self-righteous justice? You gotta break 'em with overwhelming power to properly tame them."
Jung-woo grinned in satisfaction and turned back to the screen.
At the end of his gaze, the space before Choi Kang-hyuk on the screen began to shimmer like a heat haze.
A cold voice echoed directly in his mind.
It wasn't from human vocal cords—it was the chilling resonance of a soul itself.
Instinctive chills raced down Choi Kang-hyuk's spine.
This wasn't mere intimidation from strong mana.
It was the primal terror of prey before a predator.
Even as invisible shackles seemed to clamp his soul, crushing his body with pressure, he desperately steadied his mind.
"...Reveal yourself. We want to talk."
He forced his voice out as calmly as possible, but only silence answered.
Instead, the space before his eyes shimmered faintly like a heat haze.
Shhrrk.
The air grew chillingly still.
Like a shadow, Kairon stepped out from the barrier's edge.
Jet-black armor covered him entirely, his helmet reflecting no light.
A massive sword rested in his hand.
He said nothing.
He merely slowly raised his sword toward Choi Kang-hyuk.
Alarms blared through Choi Kang-hyuk's entire body.
He instantly drew all his mana into a defensive stance.
Holy mana condensed around him, forming a translucent dome shield.
The pinnacle of personal defense techniques, centered on the user: Absolute Guardian.
"Don't touch the Guild Master!"
"Everyone, attack!"
Sensing their leader's peril instinctively, they unleashed a barrage without orders.
Dozens of magic arrows streaked with fiery trails; sword beams cleaved toward the black knight.
A coordinated assault from A-rank dealers at full power.
Yet Kairon didn't flinch, treating the attacks like insects.
The space around him seemed a sanctuary rejecting all aggression.
The incoming spells and blades lost power before touching his armor, crumbling to dust.
"How...?"
"What the hell?!"
"Attacks aren't working!"
As bewilderment crossed the guild members' faces, shadows writhed behind Kairon,
and six skeletal knights in identical jet-black armor rose silently.
They didn't exude Kairon's overwhelming presence,
but the blue glows blazing from their eye sockets were enough to freeze the souls of the living.
Death Knights.
Upper undead, each surpassing an A-rank hunter.
Kairon, still locking eyes with Choi Kang-hyuk, issued a low command.
"Clear away the insects."