Chapter 13
—
Before working with the Baeksan Group, I once worked for a company called NL, a firm specializing in Awakeners.
It was two years ago, at a time when Awakeners had only existed for three years.
In a rapidly changing world, companies began popping up like mushrooms after the rain, fueled by the realization that Diamonds could be turned into money.
Most of them were either shady operations or gangster-like companies preying on low-ranking Awakeners.
NL fell into the latter category.
Without knowing better, I signed a contract with such a company and suffered for a long time trying to escape.
But even on the day I quit, the company didn’t leave me alone.
“Hey, errand boy. Don’t you know there’s a joint mission with Teams 2, 3, and 4 next week? What are you going to do, quitting now?”
The person who tormented me the most was Team Leader Song Hyung-joo, a man who wielded his so-called superior Guardian Spirit like a whip to enslave low-ranking Awakeners.
He’s the one who made me realize firsthand that killing people inside dungeons carried no consequences.
“That joint mission happens every week anyway.”
“…”
“I already told you I’m quitting three months ago. I can’t delay this any longer.”
“…You lowly errand boy, talking back now? So rude.”
He always used his supposed connections to threaten me.
Though he was just an Awakener with a superior Guardian Spirit, he bragged about his ties to the company’s executives.
He had no real academic or regional ties or family connections.
He built his standing purely through sycophancy and hosting parties.
He was, in essence, the embodiment of corporate politics.
But while he sucked up to those above him, he was utterly abusive to those he deemed below him.
“Hey, if you’re quitting, cough up 20 million won. Right now.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Do you know how much money I spent on Director Han for our team? You benefited from it, so pay up.”
“That makes no sense…”
He always tried to control the team with such absurd logic.
I didn’t even know what ‘benefit’ he was talking about, nor did I care to curry favour with the company.
Moreover, he was the one who reaped all the rewards, yet he had the nerve to demand money from me.
I decided it wasn’t worth arguing with him and left.
He was someone I would never have to deal with again, so there was no need to cower.
“Hey! You punk!”
Even as I left, he continued to threaten me.
“Don’t think you’ll ever set foot in this industry again!”
That was the last memory I had of that ill-fated relationship.
Of course, contrary to his big words, nothing significant happened to me afterward.
He was just a small fry with a superior Guardian Spirit and didn’t have the influence he claimed.
I thought Song Hyung-joo had vanished from my life forever.
But here he was, appearing out of nowhere.
“Hey, errand boy. Long time no see.”
The same arrogant face as always.
No, his unpleasant expression was even more repugnant now.
And I had a good idea where his newfound arrogance was coming from.
{Guardian Spirit: Son of Light, Cú Chulainn (Legendary)}
“Bow your head.”
Song Hyung-joo hadn’t changed a bit.
“I said bow.”
That tone, as if giving orders to a pet.
“What the hell… Are you out of your mind? Do you even—”
The only thing I could say to that was this:
“Screw off.”
“…What?”
His face froze.
It seemed he still thought I was beneath him.
Or perhaps, now that he had a legendary Guardian Spirit, he believed everyone was beneath him.
“Ah, I see. You’ve grown a lot since the old days.”
He ran his hand through his hair, smirking.
“You being here means you cleared the first stage alone… So I guess you’ve changed too. But you know what?”
Then, as if he held some great secret, he said:
“My Guardian Spirit is legendary now.”
“…”
I showed no reaction.
I already knew he had a legendary Guardian Spirit, and frankly, it didn’t impress me.
What was clear, though, was that such power was wasted on someone like him.
‘No skills, terrible personality, and now he’s lucky too… Life is so unfair.’
As for his so-called connections, they were limited to NL.
Even if the company suddenly decided to invest heavily in a mere team leader, it was unlikely a small-scale firm like that had the resources for such a move.
So the fact that Song Hyung-joo obtained a legendary Guardian Spirit boiled down to sheer luck.
It meant he managed to summon one after only a few attempts.
‘Well, that’s how it goes sometimes.’
It felt absurdly unjust, but it wasn’t surprising.
There were countless cases where scumbags thrived.
The world doesn’t judge character.
Good people aren’t automatically rewarded, and bad people don’t always face punishment.
“Before things get out of hand, you should bow your head. I’m starting to get angry. I might kill you here without anyone noticing.”
The world doesn’t deliver justice.
It’s humans who decide to reward or punish.
If he were to be punished, it wouldn’t be divine retribution but rather a punishment dealt by human hands.
“Then go ahead and try.”
“…You little—”
His smug smile twisted into a grimace.
He grabbed the spear slung across his back with one hand and pointed it at me.
“I’ve always hated you, and now you’ve pushed me to the limit. You’re going to die today.”
His eyes were filled with killing intent.
The fact that he was ready to kill someone just because they didn’t bow to him proved he was a complete psychopath.
If that’s how he wanted to play, I wasn’t going to hold back either.
“Gáe Bolg.”
He unnecessarily shouted the name of his technique as he activated Weapon Projection Power on his spear.
The weapon became enveloped in mana, glowing a bright blue.
“Die.”
And he threw it at me.
Whoosh.
Of course, there was no way I would get hit by such an obvious attack.
I ducked my head to avoid the spear and charged forward.
At the same time, I responded with a full-swing right hook.
“Ugh!”
Slash!
The dragon claw extended from my Cestus and struck Song Hyung-joo’s body.
Crack!
His defensive barrier shattered instantly under the onslaught, leaving him no time to react.
I moved in to deliver a follow-up strike, but—
Tap!
“This… This bastard!”
Perhaps because he had a Legendary Guardian Spirit, he swiftly retreated at an incredible speed.
His group of henchmen quickly stepped forward, weapons drawn, to block my path.
“You… You dared punch me?”
Song Hyung-joo stammered, seemingly stunned by the unexpected turn of events.
He must have assumed I was far beneath him because of his Legendary Guardian Spirit, but now he was flustered by a counterattack so fast he could barely react.
“Move. Unless you want to die.”
I had no intention of hurting his lackeys.
They were probably suffering under his awful leadership anyway.
“What are you doing?! Attack him already!”
But if they insisted on attacking me, I would respond in kind.
“Haaaaap!”
One of them swung a two-handed sword at me.
It was clear these Awakeners, all wielding Rare-tier Guardian Spirits, were no match for me.
I extended my left hand and threw a quick jab.
Boom!
The dragon’s claw in the shape of a rounded fist shot forward in a straight line, sending the man flying.
His airborne body crashed into the rest of his group, knocking them all over like bowling pins.
The path to Song Hyung-joo opened instantly.
‘It’s over.’
Tap tap tap!
With determination to finish him once and for all, I darted toward him.
Another right hook.
Whoosh!
But I had to halt my attack because of a fast-approaching object targeting my back.
Instead, I reached out and caught it midair.
Clap!
It was the spear he had thrown.
‘A throwable weapon that automatically returns to its wielder’s hand.’
This kind of feature was common in weapons, especially those tied to Legendary Guardian Spirits.
The problem was, the “Gáe Bolg” didn’t stop at just returning to its wielder.
“You fool!”
Song Hyung-joo smirked, as if everything was going according to plan.
Sensing something was wrong, I immediately dropped the spear.
But it was too late.
Swish swish swish swish!
Countless barbs extended from the spear, piercing toward me.
I tried to step back to evade, but the barbs extended several meters and moved too fast to dodge.
Crack!
The barbs landed a heavy blow, shattering my defensive barrier in an instant.
“Haha!”
Song Hyung-joo laughed, retrieving his spear to prepare another attack.
Thud. Thud thud.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of bodies hitting the ground all around me.
It was the rest of his henchmen, now lying dead.
The spear’s attack didn’t distinguish between friend and foe; the wide-reaching barbs had pierced them all.
‘This psycho.’
Even after killing his own allies, he was smiling.
All that seemed to matter to him was defeating me.
“No matter how you got that power, you’ll never escape my spear—”
Dash!
Before he could finish his pointless bragging, I closed the distance between us again.
If I gave him room, he’d throw the spear again and unleash another undodgeable attack.
The solution was simple: don’t give him any space.
Stay close enough that he couldn’t throw the spear.
Close enough that he couldn’t activate the barbs.
“You bastard!”
Boom! Bam! Thud!
I canceled my Weapon Projection Power and struck at him with my fists, now so close our noses almost touched.
Even the dragon claw required a minimum range to activate properly, so I opted not to use it.
Thud! Crash!
“Urgh!”
We exchanged several blows.
He seemed confident in his strength, holding up surprisingly well.
But even strength has its limits.
Bang!
“Gah!”
A body shot landed squarely on his solar plexus, with all my weight behind it.
Song Hyung-joo collapsed, his legs giving out as he crumpled to the floor.
“Cough, cough…”
He clutched his stomach, writhing in pain.
“Why… Why am I losing?”
He muttered in disbelief, his face contorted with frustration.
It was understandable.
With the help of his Cú Chulainn, he possessed immense strength.
But no matter how high his physical strength was, it wasn’t enough.
Even if his strength was amplified, lacking reflexes meant he couldn’t land his attacks.
And without stamina, his energy would drain rapidly.
Meanwhile, all my physical stats were evenly maxed out, making his overwhelming strength meaningless.
In fact, even his strength wasn’t vastly superior to mine.
I had simply overwhelmed him with raw stats.
Step.
I placed a foot near his fallen body, staring him down.
“Shin-woo… You’re not really going to kill me, are you?”
“…”
I gazed at him coldly as he looked up at me, fear etched across his face.
He begged for his life, his voice trembling.
“Come on, man… We’ve got history, don’t we?”
Ignoring his pleas, I turned away.
“Yes! That’s right! You wouldn’t kill me…”
Stab.
Picking up the spear from the ground, I plunged it deep into his chest.
“Ugh…”
The spear pierced straight through his heart.
I looked into Song Hyung-joo’s dying eyes and spoke.
“You should’ve known—those who kill must be prepared to die as well.”
—
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