Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Registration Evaluation (2)
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“I've packed them all in here!”
The boxes were placed on the table.
To keep the cakes from getting squished, Park Jeong-woo had gotten several boxes instead of bags, packing each cake with the care of a professional pastry chef.
“You've gone through a lot of trouble.”
Looking down at the neat row of boxes, Oh-jin smiled in satisfaction.
“By the way, are you here for the registration evaluation?”
“Y-yes, sir! I'm here to get a good score and make the Pandinus name known!”
Park Jeong-woo answered with the brisk posture of a private fresh out of boot camp.
“Hmm. I see.”
Oh-jin grinned and nodded.
It was about time for the Association employee to return, so it was time to wrap things up.
“I should see for myself just how skilled the promising star of the Pandinus Guild is.”
“…Pardon?”
Park Jeong-woo's eyes widened at the thunderous news.
An Awakened who seemed to be higher up than his own guild master was going to watch his registration evaluation.
It was no different from a division commander visiting the base and saying he wanted to check the regular training results.
“Sir, th-that's a bit…”
“Keke! He was picked by Chan-hyeok, so of course he must be amazing! A rising star! Yes! A rising star who will be responsible for Korea's future!”
*Tremble, tremble.*
Park Jeong-woo's legs trembled, his face pale as a sheet.
*'I'm screwed.'*
He chewed his lip anxiously.
The truth was, he had arranged to be tested by an Association employee he had bribed beforehand.
A high score was guaranteed even if he went through the motions.
But.
*'Wh-what do I do?'*
If the test was conducted with someone else observing, pulling such a trick would be impossible.
“Hm? Why the long face?”
“N-no. It's… n-nothing, sir.”
*Squeeze.*
Park Jeong-woo clenched his trembling hands into fists.
His mind felt like it was burning white.
He thought he'd have a smooth life after joining a major guild, but now he felt like he'd suddenly run into a massive cliff.
“Are you perhaps not feeling well?”
“Ah… well.”
Oh-jin continued with a concerned expression.
“Then shouldn't you avoid the registration evaluation today? If you take it while you're not in good condition, you might tarnish your guild's name.”
He asked in a subtle tone.
*'He'll bite.'*
There was no way a guild member would want to be evaluated with an Awakened who seemed far superior to his own guild master watching.
*'Unless he's confident in his skills.'*
His cocky attitude and aura seemed far too lacking for an Awakened of Scorpio, one of the 12 Zodiacs.
It was doubtful he even intended to take the evaluation seriously in the first place.
*'I heard some people bribe their way to a high score.'*
Whether Park Jeong-woo was actually trying to pull such a trick or not, it didn't matter either way.
The fact that he'd made a face like a constipated dog the moment he heard I would observe meant he definitely didn't welcome it.
“……!”
Park Jeong-woo's eyes lit up as if he'd found an oasis in a dry desert.
“Ah, I understand! To be honest, I wasn't feeling very well today anyway.”
“Just as I thought.”
Look at the corners of this punk's mouth turning up.
You that happy?
“Come here for a moment.”
“Sir? Why all of a sudden…”
A startled Park Jeong-woo trailed off in a meek voice.
“Didn't you say you weren't feeling well? I'll take a look.”
“N-no! Y-you don't have to go that far…!”
“It's not a crime to be sick. Why are you acting like this?”
He grabbed Park Jeong-woo's wrist and pulled him closer.
“U-ugh.”
He squeezed his eyes shut with a stiff expression, like a high schooler caught smoking.
*'Cute little bastard.'*
Chuckling inwardly, he checked Park Jeong-woo's body here and there before grabbing his wrist to check his pulse.
“Hmm… your mana is definitely unstable. Your breathing is ragged, too.”
He nodded, spouting words that made him sound knowledgeable.
“It just seems like you're fatigued. You're not sick, so don't worry.”
“Th-thank you!”
“But fatigue is the root of all illness. Postpone the registration evaluation and go home to rest today.”
“Haha. Yes, I understand. I can't risk tarnishing the guild's name by pushing myself.”
“Of course, of course. You're right. Health is the most important thing, after all.”
Park Jeong-woo shot up from his seat and bowed deeply.
“Thank you for your kind words! I apologize once again for my rudeness earlier!”
“Keke. Don't worry about it. You can go now.”
“Yes, sir!!”
“And say hello to Chan-hyeok for me.”
“Understood!”
Bowing repeatedly, Park Jeong-woo opened the waiting room door and left as if fleeing.
Oh-jin waved lazily from the sofa.
With that, the nuisance who had been getting on his nerves was gone.
Of course.
There was a risk of trouble later on—
*'But he's more likely not to report it.'*
In the first place, a low-ranking member of a major guild rarely gets to meet the guild master.
And since there's nothing to gain from it, he wouldn't bother trying to get a private audience with the guild master just to pass on a greeting.
*'Well, even if he does.'*
He'd just get an earful for spouting nonsense and that would be the end of it.
It didn't matter if he came looking for revenge or whatever else afterward.
*'I can just crush him then.'*
Even if he was a rising star of a major guild, I was an Apostle of Polaris.
Considering how easily he was pulled along when I grabbed his wrist earlier, I didn't think I'd lose in a proper fight.
“Neat.”
The pest was gone, and the cakes for Ha-eun were nicely packed.
And most importantly.
“Now then, shall we see how much is in here?”
He chuckled and took out a luxurious leather wallet.
A moment ago.
When he was checking Park Jeong-woo's condition, he had secretly swiped it from his pocket.
“Oh, wow. This bastard carries a lot of cash.”
He smirked, taking the bills that filled the wallet.
The rumor that joining a major guild came with an insane salary seemed to be true.
“Hm? What's this?”
While rummaging through the wallet, a black gem about the size of a 500-won coin caught his eye.
*'Is this… a Stigma Stone from a variant?'*
It was a similar size to the Stigma Stone harvested from the Ant-horn.
*'Why does he have this?'*
Since variants themselves appeared with extremely low probability, their Stigma Stones were not easy to come by.
So why on earth did one just pop out of Park Jeong-woo's wallet?
“…I'll have to look into this.”
There was something fishy about it, making it hard to just happily take it.
*-Whoosh.*
After casually tossing the wallet into a trash can, he waited for about 10 minutes before footsteps echoed from the hallway.
*Thud, thud.*
Heavy footsteps could be felt even through the door.
*Click.*
The door opened and a man entered.
“I apologize for the wait.”
He was in his late 30s.
A man with dark skin, standing nearly 190 cm tall, with muscles that looked ready to burst.
“……”
Faced with an intimidating presence like that of a tank, Oh-jin was momentarily speechless.
“Awakened Kwon Oh-jin… is that correct? The one with the Stigma of Lyra.”
“Ah, yes, that's me.”
“My apologies for the late introduction. I am Team Leader Han Jun-man from the Disaster Response Headquarters of the Special Disaster and Security Management Association.”
The burly man extended his hand.
As he shook the calloused hand, a staggering amount of force traveled up his arm.
*'Whoa.'*
This man was a powerhouse, incomparable to the likes of Park Jeong-woo.
“If you don't mind me asking, your constellation is…”
“I am a 6-Star Awakened of Taurus.”
Taurus, like Scorpio, was one of the 12 Zodiacs.
And since he had reached 6-Star, it was only natural to feel such a suffocating pressure.
“I heard the Association's Awakened were all nothing special, but that was just nonsense.”
“Haha. Well… it's not entirely nonsense.”
Team Leader Han Jun-man smiled bitterly and nodded.
“By the way, do you really possess the Stigma of Lyra?”
He asked with a look of disbelief.
It made sense.
Currently, there were only twelve Awakened in the entire world who had received a Stigma from the Constellation known as 'Polaris'.
And even then, all twelve of them were Awakened who had received their Stigmas from Deneb.
The Awakened who received Deneb's Stigma were called the Apostles of Polaris, and every single one of them had made a name for themselves as incredibly skilled individuals.
The phenomenal power they displayed naturally drew attention to the other two Polaris constellations as well.
But Vega and Polaris were only known to exist; they had never created an Awakened before.
In other words, Oh-jin was the world's first Awakened to receive the Stigma of Vega.
It would be stranger not to be suspicious.
“I'll show you.”
It would be faster to show him than to explain.
He unbuttoned his shirt and revealed the Stigma engraved on the left side of his chest.
“Hmm…”
Team Leader Han Jun-man examined the Stigma with a serious expression.
He still didn't look convinced.
“You said you were here for the registration evaluation?”
“Yes.”
“…If it's alright with you, Awakened Kwon Oh-jin, may I conduct the evaluation myself?”
“You, the Team Leader, will do it personally?”
A 6-Star Awakened for a registration evaluation?
*'This complicates my plans a bit…'*
Just as he was about to open his mouth to refuse.
*'Hmm… on second thought, maybe this isn't so bad?'*
It occurred to him that this might be even better than his original plan.
“Yes, I accept.”
“Thank you. Then let's head to the testing grounds right away.”
He nodded and followed Han Jun-man.
“—Then.”
After walking for about five minutes down a complex hallway, a spacious testing ground located inside the Association came into view.
The training area, specially made for Awakened, was surrounded by reinforced glass mixed with Stigma Stones.
*'He's cleared out the spectators.'*
He'd heard that since observation wasn't forbidden, a few onlookers would sometimes wander in during registration evaluations, but it seemed Han Jun-man had taken control of the situation himself.
*'He's surprisingly considerate.'*
Judging by his appearance, he looked like he could chew through scrap metal.
“Since you said you're a warrior class, we'll keep the evaluation simple with a spar.”
Team Leader Han Jun-man put on protective gloves and took a stance.
“Are you sure it's okay for me to use this instead of a proper training weapon?”
Oh-jin tapped Lee Shin-hyeok's spear, which he had left in storage before entering the Association building.
“Haha. Of course.”
“…In that case.”
If he said it was fine, then it shouldn't be a problem.
*'A 6-Star Awakened.'*
No matter how overpowered the Stigma of Lyra was, could it bridge a 4-Star gap?
Against an Awakened with a Stigma from the 12 Zodiacs, no less?
*'I'll have to try and see.'*
Wasn't that why he'd accepted the evaluation in the first place?
“*Haaa.*”
He took a deep breath as he got into position.
Breathing low and long.
He moved his body according to the 'Spearmanship of Pyxis' engraved in his mind.
*'And.'*
*Wooooong!!*
The Stigma on his left chest blazed with blue light.
*Crackle, crackle!!!*
Blue lightning sparked fiercely.
“Chahat!!”
*Thud!*
He stomped his foot and charged forward.
He thrust the spear, wreathed in blue lightning, with all his might.
*-Kaaang!!*
The spearhead struck Han Jun-man's forearm and was violently repelled.
It felt less like striking a person's arm and more like hitting solid iron.
“…Hm?”
Han Jun-man, who had easily blocked the spear, wore a stiff expression.
“What is this…”
His jaw dropped.