First Class Temptation

"Whoa."

"Well? Do you like it?"

"Do I like it?"

Of course I did. There was no way in the world a man wouldn't like gear like this. The base coloring ran black across nearly every piece, armor included, with red worked in as the accent.

"Suits you well."

The moment I had the equipment on, Master Seo Jincheol wore the satisfied face of a craftsman admiring finished work.

"I built a few special functions into it as well. Try one out."

"Special functions?"

"Say 'appearance change.' Give it a go."

Following the master's instruction, I said it obediently.

"Appearance change."

The instant the words left my mouth, every piece shifted to a snow-white base with blue accents.

"Oh."

If the previous form was built for combat, this one was made for moving through the outside world in plain sight.

'But this color combination feels way too familiar...'

The mask I'd taken from the black market, and now the look of this armor. Both felt like something I'd seen a hundred times.

'Must be my imagination.'

Something told me I was better off not thinking about it any further.

"Thank you, Master."

"Don't mention it."

He said that, but pride was practically radiating off Master Seo Jincheol's face.

"That reminds me. Where are you headed?"

"How did you know?"

"You came from the direction of the Association. Figured it was worth a guess."

Ordinarily, an awakener went to the Association for one of two reasons: to pick up a commission, or because they had committed a crime. Commissions were rare enough that nine times out of ten, it was the crime.

"So where's the commission?"

"Japan."

"Japan, you say?"

My answer plainly caught him off guard. Commissions from abroad almost never came in.

"Aren't you C-rank?"

"Ah."

He didn't know I'd been promoted yet. That explained the reaction.

"I'm A-rank now."

"What was that you just said?"

He cupped a hand to his ear, clearly convinced he'd misheard nonsense.

"I said I'm A-rank now."

I held out my Awakener license, and the moment he saw the A stamped on it, his eyes went wide.

"I expected you'd outgrown C eventually, but A already, hm."

Truthfully, I'd wanted to say, I'm stronger than S-rank, but I held my tongue. Now and forever, S-rank would be the highest grade there was. The only exceptions were me and Pride.

"Congratulations on making A-rank."

"Thank you."

"But why Japan of all places? A-rank or no, you've been awakened barely a year. That a fledgling like you should receive a commission at all is strange."

"A designated request came in from their side."

"Designated, hm...."

Commissions were few; designated ones, fewer still. Master Seo Jincheol didn't yet know that I'd gone a round with Envy, so his mind had jammed on the words.

"Let's just say that's how it happened."

"'Let's just say'? Was that one phrase really the whole story?"

He looked about ready to glare holes in me. I ignored him. Ignoring was the answer.

"When do you leave?"

"A week from now."

"Then stop in once more before you go."

"Yes, sir."

With that, I left the workshop. I had my new gear in hand, and from here on out, the priority was tempering myself as far as I could go.

'The gate first, I suppose.'

My level sat at 173. Reaching 200 within a week was flatly impossible. It had never been within the realm of the possible to begin with.

'Raising my stats would be the best goal.'

It would have been nice to track down the demonic beasts the demons had planted, but that was probably a lost cause.

'Should have pried some information out of them, at least.'

I shouldn't have simply slaughtered the demons; I should have extracted intelligence first. Framing it that way made the loss of demonic beasts that had never really been mine sting all the more.

"Right. Time to go run some gates."

I brushed off the regret and headed for a nearby gate owned by Geumgang Guild.

Time is relative. I agreed with that statement wholeheartedly. The week had been skipped over like it wasn't even a second long.

'It's flowing far too fast.'

Over those seven days, I had prepared everything I could think of for surviving in Japan. Whether any of it would actually keep me alive, I couldn't say, but it beat going in blind.

'Come to think of it... when is this pickup?'

I'd been told someone would collect me if I waited in front of the apartment. The appointed hour had arrived, and still no one had come for me.

'Should I just run there?'

I was seriously weighing a sprint to the airport on my footwork to make the flight when someone appeared before my eyes. A person who had not existed a heartbeat ago had simply come into being.

"Awakener Han Jin, I presume?"

"That's me, but..."

Standing in front of me was a girl with the looks and height of an elementary schooler.

'Why is an elementary schooler suddenly...'

Before the thought finished, she introduced herself.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

"I received word from the Association President and came to collect you. I'm Park Aram, a teleporter with the Association."

"Ah. I'm Han Jin."

I had heard of Teleporter Park Aram. The childlike appearance had every member of the Association doting on her. And when the war with the demons began, she had been eliminated.

'This is my first time actually seeing her, but somehow I feel familiar with her.'

Maybe because I'd heard so many stories about her, she didn't feel like a stranger at all.

"Then I'll teleport us to the airport."

"Please."

With that, Park Aram cast her spell. As the teleport activated, blue light rippled outward around me. I closed my eyes, and when ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I opened them again, we were at the airport.

'So it works like entering a gate?'

The blue glow had looked much like the light of passing through a gate. I was still chewing on the question when someone spoke to me.

"Shall we hurry, Awakener?"

"Team Leader Woo Sang-shik?"

Of all people, it was Team Leader Woo Sang-shik. Why he was here, and why he spoke as though he were coming with me, I had plenty I wanted to ask, but the flight was closing in fast.

"I'll explain the situation later."

"Ah. Yes, sir."

For now, I followed him toward the awakener-exclusive gate. Awakeners carried inventories, which meant we had to board an awakener-exclusive aircraft.

The announcement put a spur in us; we picked up the pace and made it aboard with seconds to spare.

"First class, hm..."

"Take your seat for now."

Wherever I'd flown, it had always been economy. This was my first time in first class.

"So how exactly did you end up coming along, Team Leader?"

"The Association President stipulated a cooperating partner for the commission, and Japan accepted."

"Which is why you're here."

He nodded. If they were assigning me a partner, that made my life easier. The problem was the very real chance that Team Leader Woo Sang-shik would get dragged into it.

'Lust's target is me.'

Left as things were, harm could reach someone with nothing to do with any of it.

While I was wracking my brains, the plane pulled back from the terminal and climbed away toward Japan.

"Thank you for coming, truly."

"Think nothing of it. I merely followed the President's orders."

At that, I chose not to press further and settled back obediently. Then a sweetness tickled the tip of my nose and spread through the entire cabin.

"What is that smell?"

"Good question."

Nothing sold onboard gave off sweetness this strong. And it wasn't the sweetness of food or sugar, either. It was the honeyed fragrance of flowers.

'What on earth is it?'

A suspicious scent. Taut with caution, I kept watch over our surroundings. The other passengers murmured about how nice it smelled, apparently unbothered. I was not most passengers.

'No airliner perfumes its cabin this thoroughly.'

Click.

The curtain parted, and a woman ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stepped through. A flight attendant with striking blue eyes and unforgettable features walked toward us, heels ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠tapping down the aisle. She swept the cabin with a glance, and then her eyes found mine. When they did, the corners of her mouth curled into a sly, knowing smile.

'I've got a bad feeling about this...'

No sooner had the thought formed than she was already bearing down on us.

"Anything I can get for you, gentlemen?"

"Ah..."

The instant Team Leader Woo Sang-shik laid eyes on her, something in his head quietly went off the rails.

"Hehe."

A single giggle was all it took for his expression to melt.

The status condition, Charm. I had seen that message more times before my regression than I could count.

'Lust!'

The true face of the scent drifting through the plane was demonic energy. This aircraft was built from a special material that suppressed the use of mana. Of course, it could not suppress a power that was not mana.

'Demonic energy, for example.'

Demonic energy went completely untouched aboard this plane. If anything, its wielder had chosen the perfect ground to stand on.

"So what are your names, big brothers?"

At Lust's question, I barely strangled a laugh in my throat. A woman long past fifty calling men in their twenties "big brother." Keeping a straight face was an achievement worthy of a medal.

"Woo Sang-shik..."

"Han Jin..."

I had no desire to answer, of course, but every soul aboard already belonged to Lust. Here, the best move was to play the charmed fool.

"Hehe. Here you go, boys. This is my number."

Lust held out a slip of paper as she said it.

"Call me when you get off the plane."

She sealed the offer with a wink, and Team Leader Woo Sang-shik keeled over on the spot. I fought down the rising nausea.

Lust turned and sauntered back toward economy.

"Hoo."

The moment she vanished from sight, I let out a long breath of relief. If Lust's true body had come in person, even I would have failed to resist the Charm.

'I survived because it's a possession type.'

Possession was Lust's signature ability, the power to seize a human bearing her designated mark. The mark was single-use; once spent, it disappeared.

'So her main body never even dared to move.'

Envy had stood a step below the rest of the Seven Great Demons, but a member of the Seven was still a member of the Seven. Naturally, Lust kept her distance from the man who had killed her.

'Judging by the Charm, she has no intention of killing me.'

If Lust had wanted me dead, she could have simply brought the plane down and slaughtered everyone aboard. She had not, which meant she had no intention of killing me.

'The number, too... is she planning to make me her next Sword Demon?'

The Sword Demon had drowned in Lust's carnal allure and become a demon. If she intended the same for me, then, frankly, the situation was favorable.

'It would mean she can't carelessly lay a hand on me.'

With that certainty in hand, I felt I could finally live in Japan with something like an easy mind.