Awakening Exposed and the Knockoff Scandal

When he fluttered his eyes open, they were outside the tower, at the summoning circle. The moment of transfer between inside and outside the tower was always hazy, like the morning after a night of heavy drinking. Habitually, he checked on his squad members. Some were panting for breath, others couldn't even stand with broken bones. Amid them, broadcast cameras were shoving their way in, desperately trying to snag a shot. Not bad at all. As long as they were alive, that was what mattered. Now it was time to worry about himself.

"Hey, Haiseon."

A foreboding voice rang out. His neck creaked as it turned. There stood Pyo Yeojeong, staring at him with the same bewildered eyes she'd had inside ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the dungeon.

"What the hell..."

"Pyo Yeojeong Captain! Mind a quick interview?"

Right then, a massive camera barged between them. The captain made a displeased face but ultimately agreed to the interview. He tried to slip away unnoticed, but Yeojeong grabbed his collar, foiling his escape.

"How was the raid today?"

"Cold weapon combat was a first, so there were definitely some awkward moments. We hit a crisis during the raid too. It's not something I'm satisfied with—it's a wake-up call that we need more training—"

Pyo Yeojeong rattled off her responses smoothly, like rehearsed lines.

"But thanks to the barrier rings, everyone made it back safely. I want to thank the Mercenary Support Agency and Friedwen for the opportunity."

"Yes! That should do it!"

She's a full-fledged politician now. As that thought crossed his mind, Pyo Yeojeong tugged him along like she expected him to follow. A bad feeling told him he shouldn't go.

"Hey, can I get an interview too?"

"Pardon?"

"It's been my dream to be on TV."

"Haha, well, could we get a word then?"

"Sure. I'm Haiseon, vice-captain of the Claymore Mercenary Corps. I've got a lot to say, but I guess I'd have to start from when I was eight. Back then, whenever teachers asked about our dream jobs—"

As if that would work. Naturally, he ended up getting dragged along until her long-winded interview wrapped up.

The gallery was full of reactions amounting to no help at all. They were seniors in gallery nonsense, not life advice, so there wasn't much to expect anyway. Like a student being hauled off to the principal's office, he was dragged to a secluded spot for a good while before Pyo Yeojeong finally spoke.

"It's true? What I saw?"

"What'd you see?"

"Don't play dumb. Did you awaken?"

Awakened? Yeah, no hiding it now. He unfastened the weight-reduction pouch from his waist and pulled out his warhammer, tossing it to the ground with a thud. Pyo Yeojeong's eyes widened in shock. He rummaged in the pouch again, grabbing a fistful of rings—all mass-produced issue ones etched with patterns. He removed her spent one and slipped a fresh one onto her finger.

"There, perfect."

"..."

"The rings were my doing too."

She looked utterly confused. The Claymore Mercenary Corps was a gathering of those who hated hunters for their own reasons. How massive must the grudge be in their captain's heart? And today, she'd owed her life to an awakener—twice over.

"...How long?"

"Does it matter?"

"It does. To me."

Pyo Yeojeong's face twisted, almost on the verge of tears.

"You've been like this from the start? Laughing your ass off watching us pathetic losers console each other?"

"Sigh... What the hell are you talking about? No."

"Then what! You joined just to mess with us?!"

"Awakened on the 20th floor. Right around when we were escaping."

"......"

"You think I wanted this? Knew it'd happen? I tried ignoring it! But it wouldn't go away. Says I'm stuck like this forever. What was I supposed to do?"

Pyo Yeojeong clamped her mouth shut for a long moment. Finally, she parted her lips.

"So... what now? You gonna ditch us...?"

"Ditch you where? Just keep it secret from the others."

"But regs have exceptions..."

"Not sure if you want me gone or staying."

"......"

"Keep the secret, and I'll keep the rings coming steady."

"You think I'm doing this for rings?"

"I'm talking practical justification. You saw it today. How much it boosts climb efficiency."

The captain's gaze drifted to the bundle of rings clutched in his hand. Without the barrier rings, what would have happened? They'd have lost countless comrades to the ice trolls. Maybe even wiped out. The valiant fight against the frost wolves might not have been possible without the psychological security the rings provided. For the corps to advance, they needed those rings. She was probably thinking the same. He took her hand.

"I want to stay here."

"...Okay."

She finally nodded. He was safe...! On the way back to the squad members, he opened the gallery to report the victory.

There'd been that cute little near-death scare with the captain, but they'd achieved all their planned goals. Switching to cold weapons and gaining real combat experience—two birds with one stone. They'd even hit an unexpected bonus: showcasing the mana barrier rings. The reaction was explosive. The bodycam footage they'd shot, edited by the ghost company Friedwen, was lighting up social ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠media.

Shieldbearers holding the front line firm, spearmen acting as their hands and feet.

—Javelin toss!

— First rank, thrust!

The mercenaries moved in perfect unison on command. Plenty of dopamine-inducing scenes.

The feared ice troll battle also came alive spectacularly thanks to editing magic. The front line crumbling under ambush? Cleanly cut. Replaced with intense close-quarters footage: stepping on comrades to leap and spear, tackling troll ankles, diving in to shield barrierless allies from fists. The rings' power shone through, naturally.

Exactly the public opinion they'd aimed for. No one would call Friedwen scammers or hate the rings now. Applications for the support program were bound to surge. That meant ramping up production. He stretched his sore body and headed to the forge. Bzzz— bzzz— bzzz— bzzzzz— bzzzzzzzzz— That's when his smartphone went berserk.

Texts from Pyo Yeojeong and Lee Minyoung at the same time. The links they sent were identical.

"They already copied it?"

He'd expected a similar product eventually. But this fast? Magic metallurgy turned a shield into a self-destruct bomb with one wrong node connection. He'd learned from the gallery, but hunters shouldn't even know how to make barrier rings.

Puzzled, he scrolled the article. At the end was demo footage of the hunter ring. A D-rank-looking hunter slashing at it with a sword. The ring deployed a barrier against the blade aura. Clang! The barrier rippled but held.

"Hmm."

He replayed the video endlessly, frame-by-frame analyzing the barrier deployment, shape, and mechanism. After a while, he replied to Pyo Yeojeong and Lee Minyoung.

— Something's off.

— Fake edit?

— Let's go smash 'em.

— Find out where they're making it.

— We'll check it out together tomorrow.