Hero of Dowon-dong (2)
"Move your asses, everyone! Hurry up!"
Kim Min-seong, a mid-level executive of I-hwa Guild, was urging his guildmates on.
"Seriously! What happens if that barricade line breaks?"
I-hwa's Tactical Team 2 had failed to block the respawned monsters, letting them slip through. Because of that, orcs and goblins that broke past the line were now attacking civilians. Kim Min-seong could do nothing but burn with anxiety.
"Those damn HR bastards. What the hell were they thinking, putting some upper director's nephew—a C-rank—in the team leader spot?"
A parachute drop via connections? He got it. Nepotism was natural. But a team leader had to be strong. Personality flaws were fine, even if they were a stubborn asshole. What mattered was unbreakable martial prowess to handle any variable. That's how you saved your team and the civilians.
Strength. Overwhelming power. That was Kim Min-seong's long-held belief about what qualified a leader among awakeners.
"And a C-rank? Did they take a bullet to the head or something?"
C-rank. Third from the top in ABCDEF order, but in reality, it was full of half-assed nobodies. People whispered about it quietly—rumors that licenses were being handed out like candy to unqualified awakeners just to cut policy subsidies. That's why folks mockingly called C-rank "water-rank."
And Tactical Team 2's leader was one of those damn water-ranks.
"Distance to the enemies?"
"About 1km from here, sir."
"Then spread out from here! Scatter!"
"Yes, sir!"
What rotten luck. Of all places, the incident had to blow up near the city center. Awakeners had gathered on the outskirts to handle the respawned monsters. Dowon-dong was practically an empty no-man's-land right now.
Low-level monster respawns were basically XP events. They popped up periodically, and the strategies were simple. But that sweet event got fucked up by the moron upper director's nephew.
How far would I-hwa Guild's reputation tank from this?
"...Let's save the civilians first."
Kim Min-seong shook off useless thoughts and kicked off the ground. That was for the big shots to worry about. His job right now was minimizing casualties—
"Chiiik! Chiiiik!"
"Run! Chiiiik. It's a monster!"
"Kirruruk!"
"Where you goin', you little shits? Get over here!"
Kim Min-seong halted in his tracks. The scene before him was nothing like he'd expected.
"Awakener-nim, you got this!"
"So cool! He's hot!"
"Bro! One-two hook-straight combo from there!"
"Kyaa! Oppa! Take me!"
The civilians he'd thought were in peril were safe. Instead, the monsters attacking them were the ones fleeing. Behind a man relentlessly chasing down orcs and goblins with monstrous momentum, people of all ages—men, women, kids—were cheering wildly, phones in hand.
What the hell? Is this a hidden camera prank?
Of course not. This was real. A disaster that could have caused mass casualties if mishandled. And that guy had stopped it.
"Thank god. There's still an awakener holding the line."
Kim Min-seong let out a sigh of relief. He immediately scaled the outer wall of a nearby building to the rooftop. Looking down, the streets were clear. Good sign. He enhanced his vision to check on the civilians—no major injuries. Minor scratches and bruises would heal with one skill from a healing sorcerer.
As he scanned around, Kim Min-seong's gaze locked on one spot. A dimly lit alley with no people around.
"Orc Centurion..."
An orc a head taller than the rest lay in a pitiful heap. Kim Min-seong leaped between buildings to the scene and let out a low groan.
"One hit instant kill."
Shockwaves radiated from the gut, etched clearly into the building walls. Internal organs ruptured in a single blow, dead before it could resist.
"Who is this guy? Who cleans up an elite monster that neatly?"
Its massive build and shoulder epaulet marked it as a centurion. Orcs were barbaric strength-worshippers; their commanders were always the strongest. Sure, just a C-rank low-tier monster. But as the name implied, it led the pack. Standard strategy: one-shot the boss, sweep the minions.
The mystery awakener had executed a textbook fight against the centurion.
Behind the fallen beast, around the corner in the bent alley—a spectacular sight.
"No words for this."
Orc corpses piled up like a mountain. No wonder the rest fled. The skill to make bloodthirsty, battle-mad orcs run? Impressive.
"New rookie? He should've been our team leader. What the hell is HR doing?"
He was a veteran with years in the industry. No way he'd miss an awakener pulling off that performance.
"This is fun."
Kim Min-seong grinned slyly and pulled out his phone.
"Hey, Kim Reporter? It's me. Got a juicy story for ya?"
"Hwang Reporter? Got an exclusive. Wanna boost those views?"
"Song Reporter, the address is..."
"Ma Reporter. You gonna get duped forever? Don't you trust me? It's Kim Min-seong. I-hwa's lone wolf. Pfft, fine if you don't want it."
"Yoon Reporter. Telling you 'cause I'd do the same in your shoes. Here's what went down..."
Kim Min-seong called every reporter in his contacts. He wasn't the type to nurture sprouts out of kindness. But screwing over parachutes? He was all in.
"Oh, yeah. Found out who? Choi Do-yul? Got his license today... F-rank?"
No way, no how. An F-rank saving the day? No impact. And that skill an F-rank? Who're you trying to fool?
"Pull the CCTV footage and demand a re-evaluation. What? Why bother? Jeez, you guys must have it easy these days. Do it!"
"..."
"If needed, name-drop me to bump him to C-rank! If it's not done by end of day, I'll come collect. Chant it: We're dead. Yeah. Hanging up."
Choi Do-yul needed C-rank. So the same-rank parachute gets compared and crushed. After the fight, ask about his condition, smear some blood on him for effect. Too clean a win otherwise. This battle had to become a tearjerker: a fresh awakener throwing himself to save civilians in a desperate struggle.
Doesn't matter if it's true. Kim Min-seong would make it so.
"Let's see if you can handle this too."
I-hwa Guild was a solid mid-tier. But this wouldn't blow over easy. Not with Kim Min-seong fanning the flames.
"Take this big lollipop, parachute."
Kim Min-seong clutched his belly and cackled.
And so, the blunder by the incompetent C-rank awakener began to grow wings. Whether Dowon-dong's easy-mode hero wanted that was another story.
The afternoon battle dubbed the "Dowon-dong Bloodbath" stemmed from a blunder by I-hwa Guild's Tactical Team 2 leader...
Ding-.
"Uncle? He's my hero. Never seen an awakener as cool as him."
"Thought I was gonna die for real. Nothing like the videos... I'd be dead without him."
"Easy fight? You have no idea. You see how hard he fought, gritting his teeth to protect us?"
"Seeing him blood-soaked after... Poor young guy doing all that for people."
Ring ring-.
"Yes, Choi Do-yul speaking. Yes. Yes. C-rank? Ah... Yeah, that's the address. You don't need to send the license... Yes. Thanks."
"Haa..."
How did things end up like this? Just this morning, everything was perfect. Hit Yeon-gi-gi 3-star, got the Purity Pill. Nabbed rank 1, measured the F-rank I wanted.
Then I-hwa Guild ruined it all.
Regret it? Nah, saved people—no regrets. Just bummed out.
"What about my support funds?"
Feeling down, I scrolled the net. Everywhere, just stories about me.
"Guess I'll sleep it off."
Planned to slack on the subjugation front. Ruined.
While Korea blazed with the Dowon-dong incident, in a dim secret room on the Association's 3rd floor.
The uniformed woman who'd helped with Choi Do-yul's paperwork sat staring at an object on the desk. A shattered crystal orb. The thing Choi Do-yul had touched and cracked that morning—what people thought was an identifier.
But the orb's true nature: a magic tool to measure awakener mana. Hidden by Korea's leadership to detect "irregulars."
"U-jin. Another talent like yours has appeared."
Cha Su-rim, the uniformed woman, had a distant look in her eyes. Her fingers traced the cracks delicately, like reminiscing a lost something precious.
"Director. Cha Su-rim here."
She picked up the receiver.
"I've been briefed. Yes. Looks like the F-rank disguise plan failed."
"..."
"Can't confirm his nature. Is he truly 'unknown' or just gifted? We know nothing yet. But one thing's certain."
Cha Su-rim's gaze fell on the split orb.
"He's the one who broke the mana measurement orb—Korea's second irregular."
"..."
"Yes. The orb's existence remains top secret. No one in the Association knows except me and the president."
"..."
"No discrepancies. That's my role."
Her grip tightened. The cracked orb shattered fully, blood welling in her palm. Crimson droplets beaded up, like tears she shed.
"This time, I'll protect him. Whatever it takes."
The orb crumbled with a crunch, shards scattering. Staring at her bloodied palm, resolve hardened in Cha Su-rim's dark pupils.
And Korea's National Intelligence Service began to move. All to protect the C-rank awakener dreaming of F-rank.
Of course, who was protecting whom... only time would tell.