Chapter 5
Chapter 5
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: S-Rank Awakener
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It's a familiar sight.
Inside the Shadow Castle, shrouded in darkness without a single ray of outside light.
The only illumination comes from the light emanating from the holy sword.
Ahead of me stands my millennium-old nemesis, the Demon King, his face twisted in panic as blood and cold sweat drip down.
Right after, the Demon King scatters into shadows and vanishes.
The holy sword fails to catch the fleeing Demon King and merely slices through empty air.
How many times have I relived this scene?
My subconscious whips me every night for failing to complete my task.
Was my mistake not finishing the Demon King in a single blow?
Or was it misjudging the Demon King's nature?
Once more, I pursue the traces of the Demon King, who has vanished without a clue.
"Hah...!"
It's always the same dream. Facing the great evil, landing a strike, and letting it slip away again.
I replay the failure that's now hardened into a routine.
I slash diagonally with the holy sword, cutting through the Demon King's shadowy claws closing in from all sides.
One strike—the holy sword radiates light, carving across the Demon King's chest.
The hero's memories recall even the tiniest muscle twitch.
I scan for excess movements and imperfections in mana control.
If I wasn't going to be perfect, I should've just gotten moderately strong.
Regrets like that are pointless now.
"Hoo..."
I head to the bathroom and wipe away the cold sweat.
As I lift my head, silvery hair sparkling in my view catches my eye, along with pink irises.
A body crafted by the goddess. A body bearing the mission of Elantara.
I was granted a second life, but I failed.
So why hasn't the goddess reclaimed this body? That was surely part of the contract.
And why did Elantara perish? It certainly wasn't the Demon King's plan.
Nowhere in Elantara did I sense the Demon King's presence.
No matter where in the world, if there had been even a tiny clue, I wouldn't have missed it. That's not arrogance—it's certainty.
Even in the flower field, I pondered these unresolved questions countless times without conclusion. Wearing my robe, I headed to the White Wolf Guild at the appointed time.
Stepping outside, a massive figure came into view.
Recognizing the familiar silhouette, I looked up to see it was indeed Jeong-woo.
"Up early, aren't you?"
"Of course. Keeping promises is important."
I had been thinking about the promise deeply embedded in my heart since morning—one I failed to keep.
"Seo-yoon and our guild master are probably at the conference hall by now. We just need to get your profile photo taken."
"Mm, I heard about it yesterday, so no need to worry."
To join the White Wolf Guild as a hunter, you have to register your profile on the website.
The plan is to take the photo timed with the end of the press conference to announce my debut.
Though it varies slightly by country, internationally, after a civilian massacre by an unverified awakener who hid their rank, unverified awakeners are legally barred from public activities.
In Korea especially, high-rank awakeners are required to disclose their information.
They're treated like mad dogs, completely.
Recalling what Seo-yoon told me yesterday, I gave Jeong-woo's back a light push.
"Then let's head out. Lead the way."
"Sure, sure. As you wish~."
The guild office we arrived at was already buzzing with preparations.
One wall was lined with cameras, lights, and equipment set against various backdrops.
"Ah! You're here already? Then this must be..."
"Yeah, our newbie. Take good care of her today."
Jeong-woo gave my back a pat, nudging me to introduce myself.
"I was just about to. Pleased to meet you. I'm Arshi... Seo Ar. Looking forward to working with you."
"Hi~! I'm Kim Seo-young. Your speech is so unique!"
"Mm. It's a side effect of awakening."
I recited the script I'd memorized diligently yesterday.
Some awakeners are strongly affected by mana, changing their personality, so I'd play it that way.
"I see... Well, let's start with makeup then? Sit in that chair over there."
I nodded and turned toward the chair Seo-young pointed to.
No sooner had I sat than three women surrounded me.
Come to think of it, this is my first time getting makeup done.
Even after living this long, some things I'd never tried remained.
"Oh my, are you a kid? Your skin is flawless~."
"No need for anything on her skin, right?"
Savoring the novelty, I sat still as they stroked my cheek, then launched into heated discussions.
From how to style me to which products to use.
Getting makeup done seemed awkward, but they looked the most excited.
After entrusting my body to their hands with eyes closed for a few dozen minutes,
They kept pinching my cheeks, which felt odd, but since I'd never had makeup before, I let it slide.
"You can open your eyes now."
The woman who'd been most enthusiastic, applying things to my skin and fussing with my hair, spoke.
Opening my eyes, I saw my face brighter overall, with my hair slightly tousled and falling naturally.
"Your base is already so pretty, I didn't change much."
"Mm. Thank you for your efforts."
As I turned my face this way and that to inspect it, Jeong-woo approached with his phone out.
"Kiddo, look here for a sec."
"Taking a photo?"
"Yeah, Seo-yoon wanted to see once the makeup's done."
Seo-yoon had been snapping my photos nonstop since yesterday.
I turned the chair to face Jeong-woo and gave a slight smile.
She was working so hard for me; I wanted to repay her, even a little.
"Perfect. Seo-yoon's gonna love it."
"May I see it too?"
He handed me the phone to show the screen.
There was my face, smiling with the tip of my nose slightly upturned.
I rarely smiled in Elantara, but since returning to Earth, reasons to smile had multiplied.
An inexplicable guilt washed over me, and my smile faded quickly.
"Looks good, right?"
"Mm... yes."
"Why the long face? Don't like the pic? Wanna retake it?"
Noticing my subdued reply, Jeong-woo asked in surprise.
I shook my head lightly and said it was fine.
"Uniform for the outfit?"
The makeup woman broke the brief silence by asking Jeong-woo.
"Yeah, but do we have one in her size?"
"Mm... We'd have to check..."
She stepped away briefly and headed to the rack of various uniforms.
She pulled out the smallest-looking white one and held it up to my body.
"Lucky! We have a kids' experience uniform. Wanna try it on?"
"Mm, alright."
I took the clothes and slipped behind the black curtain in the corner to change.
It was a flashy uniform: a black undershirt, white outer jacket, and a formal cap to wear on the head.
"I've changed, but... is this how it's supposed to fit?"
The size was perfect, but it looked a bit different from Jeong-woo's uniform.
"Oh, so cute! It's the experience version, so the design's different... Is that okay?"
She glanced worriedly at Jeong-woo.
"No choice. We'll shoot today, then get a custom one made and retake later."
After they surrounded me again to double-check the fit, I stood in front of the gray backdrop at Seo-young's call.
"Yeah, look here and give a little smile?"
'Another smile...'
Not thrilled, but I followed instructions and smiled faintly.
"Great~ Just like that! Swing the lights over... Okay, one, two, three!"
Click—
She flashed the camera dozens of times from every angle.
"All done. Sit and have these cookies while you rest. I'll show you the edits after."
"Mm, alright."
I grabbed a few cookies from Seo-young and sat on the nearby sofa.
"Jeong-woo, what's Ar's rank anyway? I figured low teens or twenties since she's a newbie, but she's so young."
"This one? S-Rank."
The moment Jeong-woo spoke, every eye in the room turned to me.
Some gaped in disbelief.
"Wha... wha... S-Rank?! For real?? No joke?!"
"Whoa, my ears—tone it down."
Is S-Rank that impressive? When I took Hyun-woo's attack in the gate, he didn't seem that strong.
I recalled him as mid-to-upper tier among Elantara's masters.
Come to think of it, yesterday's meeting debated announcing me as S-Rank or lower.
They decided since I'd fight in gates anyway, it'd come out eventually.
The sudden spike in attention felt burdensome.
"S-So our guild has three S-Ranks now?? Ar's skills?? Production or combat??"
"Combat. Didn't hear from Hyun-woo hyung?"
"He didn't say S-Rank!! Ugh, get it together."
Seo-young shoved Jeong-woo aside and dove into photo editing on the computer.
Jeong-woo sighed softly at her, then plopped down next to me on the sofa.
"She always skips the important stuff. Say something to her."
"Why push it on me? She can hear it herself—"
Jeong-woo yanked my cheek, muffling the end of my sentence.
"Anyway, thanks to you, our guild's now second in the world for S-Rank count. Wow... and this is so squishy..."
He kept pinching my cheek.
Hyun-woo sniping other guilds on official stage = fucking badass, upvote lol
So jealous of Whitey—just chilling and parachutes into White Wolf
Just fucking sucks—Whitey's cute so eats White Wolf for free, retard guild hires by face
???? Whitey's S-Rank?? Just dropped fr
It was Arshirientra's profile, uploaded along with the photo.