Chapter 12 (1/2)

Awakening (1)

As I waited for my birthday, the investigation results on Angelica and the personal information of those who attacked us was still unavailable, so there was nothing else to do other than to leave no loose ends of the past. Even if I remembered everything, the latter was vital. Rather than simply remembering, understanding the context and picking out the important information were different things.

Also, there was one more important thing to do — fatten up Iponia. He didn’t try to eat when I was in the room, so I deliberately emptied the room for a while and then went in. After going out for about a dozen minutes, when I came back and looked under the bed, I would find the crystal gone, and it acted like it had no idea as it tried to keep its guards up. And there was a reason I said it “tried.” It was clear that, as time went by, its eyes gradually weakened and began to lose their toxicity.

Finally, the awaited birthday came. There were two guests visiting that day.

*

It was in the morning that I met the first guest. Even today, I opened the door, hoping that Iponia had eaten all the food, but a stranger had entered my room. As I focused on observing the person, chills ran through my body.

“!!!”

The unexpected guest called out my new name, which I had barely become accustomed to.

“Jin-wook!”

The opponent approached me as if skipping. My gaze was first fixated on the person’s chest and then quickly recaptured her whole picture. Defense artifacts that weren’t available even in my previous life were visible all over her. From head to toe, she was covered with dirt, stains, and blood. Anyone could tell that the person had just finished exploring a dungeon. She then hugged me, her long black hair drifting over my face.

“I heard what happened! Are you okay?”

After holding me in her arms for a while, she finally let me go and looked at me, her eyes full of worry. It was an impression that I couldn’t easily forget even if I didn’t have the skill to remember everything. Both softness and strength were contained in her delicate facial feature. She looked like Seo Jin-wook’s age, but that contrasting deep gaze was that of hunters.

Her name appeared in my head.

‘Han-seol.’

The sub-Guild Master of the Celestial Dragon Guild.

“Do you know how frightened I was to hear the news as soon as I left the dungeon? I just finished the needed work and ran here right away.”

“Ah…yes.”

She covered her warm hands over my own.

“Amnesia, right? You didn’t forget me, right? If you say yes, I’m going to faint, okay?”

The vividness that couldn’t be expressed in the brief information of the documents left behind in the future gave me a strange sense of incongruity.

‘Was this her personality?’

I had never seen her face to face in my previous life, but it was too different from the image in my head. Han-seol had founded and ran a small guild by herself before moving into the Celestial Dragon Guild. At that time, there weren’t many guild members, only ten or so. Still, its reputation was high despite being a minor guild, and Han-Seol’s ability and insight played a big role in accomplishing that.

All of the hunters she scouted while creating the guild either refused to join a major guild or were evaluated as weaklings with low growth potential, even if they belonged in a major guild. Yet, somehow, they grew up to surpass some of the major guild aces by developing their special abilities.

‘Almost all of the hunters from the guild followed Han-seol when she came into the Celestial Dragon Guild.’

And even now, they were being evaluated as aces or occupied a high-ranking position in the guild. It was no wonder that, at this point, the hunters brought in by Han-seol offered direct loyalty to her rather than to the Guild Master.

“Let us first sit down and talk.”

I tried to sit at the table between us, but she made sure to sit next to me. Then she constantly looked around my body, occasionally sighing while touching my face with both her hands.

“You being sick… I’m really worried. But the Guild Master didn’t seem to take it seriously. I was lost for words.”

I also agreed with that part. Han-seol, who was patting me, carefully looked over my expression.

“Well, Jin-wook, did you…hear the strange sounds again this time?”

“···”

When I didn’t answer, she carefully asked again.

“What did it say this time? Did it tell you to attack Chang-hee?”

Did they usually have conversations like this? It was the opposite of my father’s attitude, who urged me to overcome the hallucinations since they were there because my mind was weak.

She spoke whilst peering into my eyes.

“It’s okay. You can tell me everything. Jin-wook, you know, right? The kids I met even before I came to the Celestial Dragon Guild are like my own children, but you are even more special. Haven’t I watched over you ever since you were five years old?”

I shook my head.

“Well, my memories aren’t completely stable, so.”

I wasn’t sure of the questions’ intention, and I didn’t know the whole situation before the possession, so I avoided answering.

“Phew…yes, if you remember it later, let me know. You know, right? Even if the doctors can’t discover it right now, I will surely find the cause of your illness someday. There may be some artifacts that are yet to be known on Earth that may be helpful. Don’t be discouraged and wait for me. I will help you for sure.”

The relationship between the two seemed to be dearer than I thought.

“What might the situation be for one to hit a non-awakened? Park Chang-hee, that bastard!”

Han-seol sharpened her teeth while reciting the name of the cause of all evil. Secretary Kim said that he wouldn’t be subjected to a harsh punishment because of the support of Han-seol, so I gently tested the water about that.

“I heard that it was said that it would end with probation for a few days, both for Team Leader Park and me.”

“Well, the situation at Si-Heung 8 Dungeon is enough that the entire guild lacks manpower. But don’t worry. I just came here after having some bitter words with him. I gave enough of a beating that he even groaned.”

I saw that, among the bloodstains left on the combat uniform worn by the sub-Guild Master, there were some lighter stains that seemed to have been made recently.