Rewards and the Rabbit Mask
"You're looking perfectly healthy."
"Yes, the doctor said this morning that everything seems fine."
"Well, that's a relief."
The Association President had come to my hospital room early in the morning. My parents had gone home to cook a meal for Sunha before he arrived.
"First of all, this is the compensation the Association is providing as an organization."
With those words, the President handed me a set of documents.
◈ Promotion to A-Rank Awakener
◈ Grant of a Unique-grade elixir owned by the Association
◈ Access pass to Cheongmyeong Forge
◈ Use of one Association-owned gate
Looking over the reward list, I was satisfied. Honestly, the System had already showered me with so many rewards that I'd hesitated over whether I should even accept these on top of them.
But I had resolved just last night to use everything I could get my hands on.
"I gratefully accept."
"Heh heh. Then here's your A-Rank Awakener certificate."
The President handed me my new Awakener certificate.
That was fast….
To be honest, I hadn't planned on reaching A-Rank within six months. According to my original schedule, I wouldn't have become an A-Rank Awakener until next year, or the year after.
With this, could I get into an S-Rank gate too?
If I formed a party of A-Rankers, it wouldn't be impossible. Going solo, though, was probably out of the question.
I'll have to settle for an A-Rank gate for now.
Just then, the door to my hospital room opened and Guildmaster Han Min-joon walked in.
"Hak-shik, you got here before me?"
"These things, you move fast, fast."
Listening to the President and the Guildmaster talk, I got the impression the two of them were quietly competing with each other.
"Ah, I truly can't thank you enough."
"Not at all. I only did what needed to be done."
"No, no. Really — thank you."
Guildmaster Han Min-joon bowed his head to me. It was embarrassing, but it seemed best to accept it gracefully.
"This is what our guild has prepared for you."
What Han Min-joon held out was a badge — a crest depicting a bow aiming at a dog.
"This marks you as an honorary member of our guild."
Honorary member. A position that existed only on paper. No guild had ever actually seated anyone in an honorary member slot. It was a title that had existed officially, and nowhere else.
"Show that badge, and you'll wield the same authority as our vice-guildmaster."
The vice-guildmaster of Geumgang Guild. That authority was enormous. The name of one of the Top 3 guilds carried weight, no questions asked.
"And whenever you want something — anything — I'll move heaven and earth to help you get it."
That alone was an incredible gift to me.
"I'll accept it with gratitude and make good use of it."
"Glad to hear it."
"By the way, the monetary compensation will be deposited to your account as well."
Having finished delivering their rewards, the two of them left my hospital room, muttering something about how hovering around a patient all day would just get in his way.
"Wow… those two are like a whirlwind."
We'd only talked for a little while, and I already felt drained. Still, thinking about the rewards kept the corners of my mouth creeping upward.
"He seemed pleased with the rewards."
"You're telling me."
Walking out of the hospital room, the President and the Guildmaster exchanged words, comparing whose reward had pleased the boy more — until they ran into someone head-on in the corridor.
"Han Hosung?"
"Black Tiger?"
"The Association President? And Guildmaster Han Min-joon?"
The two they'd run into were Han Jin's parents, returning to the hospital room after finishing up their errands at home.
"Honey, do you know them?"
"Uh… a little?"
"Then catch up for a bit before you come in."
With that, his wife walked straight into the hospital room the two men had just vacated.
"Uh…."
"……."
"Ahem."
An awkward silence settled over the three men left standing there. After a moment, they drifted up to the hospital rooftop. Fortunately, no one else was around.
"…Do you still resent us?"
"……."
The Association President opened with a heavy subject. The truth was, the three of them had never parted on good terms.
"If I said I didn't, it would be a lie."
Han Hosung had never forgotten what happened that day. The final scream of his younger brother — the brother who had been abandoned on the President's orders.
"Sometimes I see that day, vivid as anything, even in my dreams."
"I see…."
"I'm sorry…."
During the S-Rank gate raid, an unforeseen accident had collapsed their formation, and during the retreat, his brother had been struck by a monster's attack. On the President's orders to abandon him, the brother was left behind. Han Hosung, who had tried to save his brother to the very end, had been forced into retreat by Han Min-joon.
Hyung, you have to live.
His brother's last words had lodged in Han Hosung's chest like a blade, and to survive, he had quit being an Awakener.
"And this time, I nearly lost my son, too."
"That's…."
"There's… nothing we can say to that."
His brother had died, and now his son had nearly died as well. In Han Hosung's eyes, the two men could only look like objects of resentment.
"I know the President wasn't wrong. But as that boy's older brother — as his uncle — I couldn't accept it."
Han Hosung's anger was, perhaps, only natural.
"So tell me. How did my son end up injured like that? And why have you two come to see him?"
"That's—!"
"It's fine."
Han Min-joon started to step in, but the President stopped him.
"I'll take responsibility for this. He has a right to know."
"If you insist."
Saying that, the President settled onto a nearby bench and explained the special task force operation the Association had carried out, and everything that had happened during it.
"What happened after Min-joon fell, even we don't know for certain. But one thing is clear — your son took down Envy."
"Ha…."
Han Hosung clutched his aching head. His son hadn't just joined the Association's demon-subjugation operation — he had killed one of the kings of the demons.
"Isn't Jin only C-Rank?"
"According to him, he ate an elixir he found on the back hill and gained some kind of special power."
"Ha…."
As Han Hosung wrapped his head in his hands as if he'd heard it all before, the expressions of the President and Guildmaster Han Min-joon twitched slightly.
I think we said the wrong thing….
We knew nothing about this, gentlemen.
The two men finished their silent exchange of glances and turned to face forward again.
"I understand what you've told me."
"I'm glad to hear it."
"Something's come up, so I'll head out first."
With that, Han Hosung left. The two men lingered on the rooftop a while longer before heading down as well.
"Hah! Finally, my body feels right again."
How long had it been since I'd really moved my body properly? A full week after being discharged from the hospital, I'd barely stirred at home thanks to my parents' warnings — only today had I finally been allowed out.
See? You've got to move your body to feel good.
Stretching for the first time in ages, I headed toward my destination. The reason I'd come out today was to visit a certain place.
The black market. I have to go.
Today's destination was the black market. Of all the equipment I was currently wearing, only my armor and shoes counted as proper gear. My legs, arms, and hands had no real protection to speak of. And this black market visit was where I planned to buy the Armor Shape-Shift Potion.
Wearing relics in their original state is just too awkward, after all.
In this last battle I'd had no choice but to wear the originals, but relics are fundamentally old things — and their outward appearance ages right along with them. I couldn't keep walking around in armor like that.
If I remember right, the market entrance this year was….
The black market's entrance changed every year, so I had to remember where it was for this year. The place I was headed was the 63 Building.
After the Great Cataclysm, the 63 Building was no longer a landmark. Its footprint was small but it towered skyward, and gates had opened on nearly every floor. In the end, the building was closed off and became a place awakeners frequented for its gates.
And the entrance to the black market was inside the 63 Building.
The moment I stepped inside, I found a counter waiting on the first floor.
"I'll need to see your Awakener certificate."
I handed the clerk the A-Rank certificate I'd received a week ago. She checked it and handed it back.
"What brings you here today?"
"I'd like to use the gate on the 63rd floor."
"Understood."
The 63rd-floor gate. It was a kind of passphrase. Answer the follow-up questions correctly here, and I'd be escorted to the black market.
"Will you be needing any items?"
"A mask, a pouch, and gloves."
"Very well."
At that answer, the clerk's expression changed in an instant. Where a moment ago she'd seemed like a warm, friendly employee, now she looked like a faceless doll.
"Please take the elevator behind me."
Following her guidance, I boarded the elevator. The moment I stepped in, she tapped the buttons with dazzlingly swift fingers.
"Then, I hope you have a pleasant time."
The moment she stepped off, the doors slid shut and the elevator began to move. After a short wait, the doors opened onto a room.
"Welcome, honored guest."
As I stepped out of the elevator, a woman wearing a rabbit mask greeted me. She was likely my dedicated support, assigned by the black market.
So even the escorts are ranked by your own rank, huh?
If someone B-Rank or below had come here, they probably wouldn't have gotten a support at all.
"For our first-time guests, we present a set of complimentary basic supplies."
Saying that, the rabbit held out a pair of gloves. I took them and put them on immediately — and circuit-like patterns flickered across the gloves, appearing and vanishing.
"You are now a registered member of the black market."
"I know."
Honestly, I hadn't expected them to hand out membership on the spot. Member was a tier above customer and guest. As your rank rose, the black market showed you better and better goods.
I still can't join the auctions, though.
The auctions were open only to VIP rank and above.
"Then, may I ask which animal you'd like?"
Here, a mask that didn't stand out was the better choice. I deliberated for a moment, then named the animal I wanted.
"A wolf."
"Understood."
Saying that, the rabbit left the room briefly. The reason I'd chosen a wolf was precisely because wolves were common. For whatever reason, animals like tigers and lions already had people claiming ownership, so no one wore them twice. But wolves had no such owners, and they were decently stylish — which was why so many people favored them.
"Sorry for the wait."
After a short while, the rabbit-masked woman returned to the room carrying my mask. The mask she brought was white, accented with touches of blue.
"Hati…."
Its appearance was identical to Hati, the divine beast I'd caught in the Tower of Trials.
"Excuse me? What was that…?"
"Nothing."
I brushed it off and put the mask on. Maybe it was because I was wearing Hati's face, but something about it felt strangely fitting.
"Then, allow me to begin your tour of the black market."
Following the rabbit mask, I stepped into the black market.