#25 The Arrogant Type
SS-rank Awakeners—there were only ten of them in all of Korea—were walking superstars. Any guild with decent scale wanted one, and their market value naturally skyrocketed. If an SS-rank was out of reach, an S-rank would do just fine. There was always buzz about how the weakest SS-ranks were on par with the top S-ranks, keeping the rumors swirling. Thanks to that, guild recruitment wars were endless fodder for gossip: which guild signed whom for how many years, who jumped ship from one guild to another, what their salary and incentives were.
In that sense, SS-rank Awakener Park Sung-jun—code name King—was the hottest superstar of them all. Back in the day, code names had emerged organically from the chaos of war, but now Awakeners picked their own. It might come off as a bit arrogant, but considering he was only twenty-five, it fit just fine. There weren't even five people worldwide who'd hit SS-rank at that age. As long as he didn't hit a wall with his talent, the consensus was he'd climb even higher on the world stage.
About an hour and a half after Napa Guild's vice master Ko Je-hoon had summoned King, a golden muscle car came roaring in from afar with a thunderous growl.
Vrooooom!
It was a Hellcat, tuned to a monstrous 1,000 horsepower. In this era of advanced magic engineering, gasoline cars had actually gotten pricier. The maintenance costs alone made them toys for the elite.
The muscle car screeched to a halt in the distant parking lot, and out stepped a man in equally flashy attire. Slicked-back pomade, a sleek black suit—he was clearly a martial fighter heading into battle, yet he rocked designer sunglasses. He exited with an air of haughty swagger, striking poses as he scanned left and right.
"That's King."
"Heard he transferred to Napa Guild."
"First time seeing him in person?"
Ko Je-hoon nodded amid the murmurs. The reason they needed a solid martial fighter was straightforward: to claim first dibs on raid-level dungeons.
He glanced around. A solid lineup of guilds had gathered. Korea's top dogs were the BIG3—Mercenary, Baekya, and Napa—followed by the Four Prestigious Guilds. The BIG3 were the mega-giants, while the Four were smaller but packed with specialists in every field. Below them sat elite squads like Sword God's sword demons and Bow God's arch demons—the sword and bow clans—plus a swarm of mid-to-small guilds.
From across the way, King strutted over like he was on a runway, milking every step for maximum flair.
"Hell-o."
"You're here."
Ko Je-hoon wasn't thrilled with the guy's cocky vibe, but he had no interest in ruffling a superstar's feathers.
King slowly removed his sunglasses, glancing around.
"No Baekya guys?"
"...None. They snagged the West Coast raid dungeon priority."
"Mercenary's absent too."
"They haven't made a move all year. Lucky for us."
King winked.
"Then it's just scrubs. Nothing to sweat."
He whipped out his smartphone, snapping a selfie with the massive crowd in the background, and uploaded it straight to SNS.
Ko Je-hoon shook his head with a wry smile.
"Not quite."
King grinned happily, but his face suddenly twisted as he scanned the crowd.
"Ugh, him again."
It was the hulking brute standing smack in the middle of the throng—a muscle monster over two meters tall, a full head above everyone else. His bulging muscles rippled like they might explode any second.
Code name Broken, Im Dae-hyeop.
If Korea had ten SS-ranks, it had about thirty S-ranks. The rumor that bottom-tier SS-ranks matched top S-ranks held water, thanks to folks like him: plenty capable of promotion but held back by lacking feats. Broken was the poster child—S-rank #2, prime candidate for SS this year. Loyal to a fault, he'd stuck with the guild that nurtured him from newbie days. He belonged to one of the Four Prestigious Guilds: Wind and Cloud.
King marched straight over to Broken.
"Fancy meeting you again, pig."
"Not thrilled either, spotlight hog."
Broken rumbled in a deep voice.
"What's our record again?"
"9-11, your lead."
"You remember. Up for another round?"
"Naturally."
Broken slammed his fists together with a thunk-thunk. Mana rippled outward, making the crowd flinch and back off. The cleared space naturally formed a circular arena.
* * *
Shaaaak—
As Kang-ho emerged from the dungeon with Theo, the area erupted in frenzy.
"Hm?"
There'd been no one here when they'd arrived earlier. Kang-ho scratched his head, looking around.
Off to the side, two Awakeners were locked in a fierce brawl.
Theo, spooked by this unfamiliar outside world, glanced warily left and right before murmuring to Kang-ho.
[Hey. Where are we?]
"Hm... Guess you'd call it Earth."
[A region name?]
"Dimension name. Earth's got places like this called Korea. That's a country."
[Hoo... Never heard of the Earth dimension.]
Theo looked relieved.
[No sign of that bastard Baal, then.]
"Baal?"
[There's a prick like that.]
Theo shuddered like the thought alone was too much. He crossed his arms and eyed the fight.
[What's with them?]
"Hm."
The suited pretty boy wielded wind freely from all directions, while the musclehead tanked it like a stubborn infighter.
Theo watched them, then turned to Kang-ho.
[Are they strong around here?]
Kang-ho observed closely and nodded.
"Yeah, pretty much."
[Strong...? They'd barely crack the 72 Demon Lords' rankings back home.]
Theo shot Kang-ho a puzzled look.
[Guess you're just built different.]
"Who knows."
Kang-ho took the words to heart, piecing together intel. Then he noticed the crowd staring right at them.
"Th-they came out of the dungeon...?"
Luckily, no one spotted Furball—probably thanks to his Naturalization skill.
This beast can blend into nature, maintaining stealth.
A skill Furball had picked up living in Cheorwon's back hills for ages. Bitter tech for a straggler survivor, but effective. With Furball standing stock-still like a statue behind them, eyes naturally locked on Kang-ho and Theo.
"D-did you just come from the dungeon?"
Kang-ho nodded.
"Kinda happened that way."
Then—boom!
A whirlwind slammed into the musclehead's solar plexus with a crunch. He dug in, grinding furrows into the earth as he skidded back. But he couldn't hold—crash! He rocketed airborne, hurtling right toward Kang-ho and Theo.
Crunch!
He smashed into the ground nearby, but hopped up sturdy as ever. Still, his mana was tapped out. He staggered forward before dropping to one knee.
"Who the hell are you punks?!"
And from the other side, the suited wind-user vaulted through the air, charging Kang-ho.
[Gonna kill him?]
Kang-ho sighed at Theo's question.
Snap!
The guy's face rang a bell—teetering on SS-rank. Name escaped him, but the code name stuck: King.
Kang-ho blinked at him.
"Who the hell are you?! Who gave you permission to pop out like that?!"
King barked, landing in front of Kang-ho.
"Hm..."
Kang-ho glanced back, then shrugged at him.
"Permission needed for that?"
"Duh! Why do you think we're scrapping here? Got time to kill?"
"Why were you fighting?"
"First raid rights, obviously?"
"First raid rights? Ah—things work that way now, huh."
King smirked through his sunglasses—which doubled as a combat scanner, high-end model clocking up to 100,000.
'No read?'
Neither of them registered. Fair enough—probably just civilians who'd wandered into the gate out of curiosity.
"Don't poke around where you don't belong without Awakening, or you'll end up dead. Act like the unawakened scrubs you are."
Kang-ho chuckled at that.
Theo, next to him, looked thrilled and asked again.
[Gonna kill him, right?]
"Nah."
Then a swift shadow streaked in, slipping between them like teleporting through darkness.
"Ugh."
King scowled at the face. Black combat suit, black mask scarred across the left cheek—Baekya Guild Master Lee Hyuk.
He eyed Kang-ho curiously, but before he could speak, King yelled.
"Damn, you after it too? Too slow—"
Lee Hyuk shot King an annoyed look, palm out in a shut-up gesture. Then he bowed politely to Kang-ho.
"Good to see you again. What brings you here?"
"Had some business. You?"
"Ah, heard about this raid dungeon and... Wait, did you have business here?"
"Yeah."
King's face filled with confusion. Lee Hyuk glanced at the gate.
"Looks like you're done?"
"Pretty much."
Kang-ho asked.
"This first raid rights thing real?"
"Yes. Big gates settle it with rankings like that these days."
Lee Hyuk smiled wryly.
"Times being what they are."
"Got it."
Kang-ho grinned amiably, eyes crinkling like crescent moons, a soft smile playing on his lips. Pure bodhisattva vibes.
Lee Hyuk flinched. It jogged a memory—words from his predecessor as Baekya master, Park Jun-woo, the Sword God and his old mentor, said dead serious.
Kang-ho said.
"And that guy's... the arrogant type."
"Raid rights scraps... not bad for modern times."
Lee Hyuk gulped, eyes on the empty spot where Kang-ho and King had been. He closed his eyes, pondering King's misfortune.
Then he eyed the blank-faced guy standing there. Theo brimmed with anticipation.
[Let's watch.]
"......"
Who the hell is that?
Still, Lee Hyuk found himself nodding.