The testing grounds prepared on Yeonpyeong Island.
The place, formerly military barracks, was packed with people.
“Ugh, why the hell did we have to come all the way out here?”
In the corner, a Colonel sat stretching his limbs.
Shirt unbuttoned, he struck up a conversation with Lee Gangyeol.
“Because the VIP told us to watch closely.”
But Lee Gangyeol ignored him, and someone else answered.
The casually dressed Colonel looked to the side with an irritated expression.
Beside him stood a middle-aged man in the sunlight—quite dark-skinned, quite tall, his entire body nothing but muscle, standing ramrod straight.
“You’re stiff as ever, whether it was back then or now. Look at that skin. Just like charcoal.”
“…….”
The Blue Dragon Battalion Commander of the Awakened Air Force’s superior unit sighed as he looked at the reticent man.
“Lee Gangyeol! This bastard’s clammed up again!”
Brigadier General Lee Gangyeol pretended not to hear.
“Certain victory. Colonel Gang Giseok, perimeter defense around Yeonpyeong Island is complete.”
“Good work. Keep it up.”
He saluted and immediately left.
Colonel Lee Hochan, the Blue Dragon Battalion Commander, looked at the Black Tortoise Battalion Commander of the Awakened Navy, who spoke stiff, textbook standard language.
“You managing your image because reporters are here again? Just do what you normally do.”
“…….”
He grew furious at the sight of him keeping his silence to the very end.
“Damn it! Lee Gangyeol! Get this guy out of here! He’s stingy as hell with his words! He’s pulling this shit again just because reporters are here! Hey!”
Colonel Gang Giseok, the Black Tortoise Battalion Commander, twitched the corner of his lips slightly at those words.
“The kids are coming. Noisy.”
Battalion Commander Lee Gangyeol ignored his old acquaintances and walked toward the dock where the boat was arriving.
“Oh, come on, so you only have eyes for your damn son! This is pathetic! Hey! Take care of your bros!”
Ignoring the Blue Dragon Battalion Commander squawking away, he greeted Sin Hyeok and the two department heads who were arriving.
“Good work. Come on over.”
Sin Hyeok saluted Battalion Commander Lee Gangyeol, who had arrived earlier on Yeonpyeong Island.
“Loyalty.”
“Loyalty. Rest up first. The detailed schedule will begin at eight, after dinner.”
“Yes, sir.”
As he got up to grab his bag, he spotted a very casually dressed man sitting on the ground and a brown, muscular man standing ramrod straight.
“Huh? Loyalty?”
Colonel Lee Hochan, the Blue Dragon Battalion Commander, greeted him with a flick of his hand.
“Hey, what’s with the ‘loyalty.’ If we haven’t seen each other in so long, you should come give me a hug, you bastard.”
Sin Hyeok approached the two, old acquaintances of his father.
Colonel Lee Hochan stood up and hugged him.
“It’s been a while.”
“Yeah. Ignore that stone-mouthed bastard. He’s managing his image again.”
“Ahem.”
Sin Hyeok snickered as he saw Colonel Gang Giseok maintaining a solemn silence and greeting him with a sharp nod of his eyes.
“Uncle, you’re still the same as ever.”
“…….”
He glanced around cautiously, then quietly approached and greeted him.
“Well now, long time no see. How’ve ya been?”
“Kyahaha. He finally opened his mouth.”
Colonel Gang Giseok clamped his mouth shut again.
“Keuheuhek! Kyahahaha! Hey! Someone record him talking!”
At his thick, folksy accent, Colonel Lee Hochan laughed like a madman and mocked him.
“You two are still the same.”
“Kyahahaha. Of course!”
Sin Hyeok was quite delighted to see the same two men from his memories.
“But are you two also participating as supervisors?”
“At our rank, we don’t do such things. One of the kids under me will handle it.”
“Huh~ Same as ever.”
“Ah.”
Colonel Lee Hochan twitched his lips as he warned Sin Hyeok.
“You’re gonna be shocked when you see our kids. They’re not the same as before.”
“Look forward to it.”
Watching the two speak with such confidence, he felt a spark of anticipation.
‘Who is it?’
It had been so long that he couldn’t quite remember who “the kid from back then” was.
“There’s the person of interest.”
Colonel Lee Hochan glared at the approaching Association President.
“Hello there. The very pillars of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces are gathered here.”
The two Colonels were among the first-generation Awakened, just like Lee Gangyeol.
Back when there was no such thing as the System, they had been test subjects of the early superhuman Awakening program created through Yggdrasil and the government’s experiments and research.
“Nice to meet you, Chairman. Are your preparations complete?”
Colonel Lee Hochan stood up and looked at him without buttoning his shirt.
“But of course. You’ll be surprised when you see. You’ll find that the guilds’ level is considerable.”
At his boastful words, Colonel Gang Giseok scoffed.
“I’m truly lookin’ forward to it. If so, may I look forward to it?”
“Of course, however—”
The Association President hesitated, surprised when he saw Sin Hyeok.
“And you are?”
“I’ve come as a supervisor.”
“You?”
“Yes.”
The Association President was flustered to find an unexpected person here.
“Why?”
Colonel Lee Hochan spoke with a wicked smirk.
“What do you mean, why? Because he’s the most suitable man for the job. Do we need your permission to decide who we bring as supervisors?”
At the sharp retort, the Association President took a step back.
Sin Hyeok looked at the flustered Association President and spoke confidently.
“Don’t worry. I intend to examine very thoroughly whether they meet the standards, from head to toe.”
At his brazen declaration, the Association President forced an awkward smile.
“Well, if you put it that way.”
Colonel Lee Hochan waved his hand as if annoyed.
“Please leave. You’re a bad omen. Hoo—”
The Association President kept glancing at Sin Hyeok, then soon turned and walked away.
Colonel Lee Hochan spoke to Sin Hyeok as well.
“You should go too. Need to prepare.”
“Yes, sir. Then I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah.”
After confirming Sin Hyeok was walking away, Colonel Lee Hochan immediately glared at the Association President.
“Giseok. That’s the bastard. Keep a good eye on him.”
“I know too. The one who killed his sister-in-law and kids, right?”
The two stared at him with murderous intent.
“Let’s kill him in secret.”
“I want to do that too.”
Lee Gangyeol approached and warned the two.
“Don’t cause trouble. Absolutely not right now.”
“Fucking hell. Giseok, you mess him up in secret.”
“I said no. Don’t forget. We are soldiers.”
The two shook their heads.
“Soldiers, my ass. We’re just dogs who do what they’re told.”
* * *
The Association President, having hurriedly left, called for his secretary.
A woman in a suit came running frantically.
“Did you have any intel that bastard was coming?”
The secretary flinched when she saw Sin Hyeok in the direction the Association President pointed.
“There was none. I apologize.”
“Damn it, he’s the main culprit behind the twelve-hour reduction.”
The Association President had tried to smooth over the absurd matter of a twelve-hour reduction through protests today.
“Fuck! Why won’t that bastard just die.”
He glared at him with seething hatred.
Sin Hyeok looked to the side at someone’s overly obvious glare.
Sin Hyeok simply smiled at the deliberate attention.
“Smile while you can, mister. Soon enough, only curses will be coming out of your mouth.”
At that sneer, the Association President turned his head away.
“I suppose I should prepare as well.”
The operations chief, who had gone ahead, waved his hand.
“Sin Hyeok! Over here!”
“Yes, sir! Coming!”
He ran over hastily.
Following Major Baek Seokhun inside, he found several people already seated.
‘Are these the ones from the Blue Dragon and Black Tortoise units?’
He saluted first.
“Loyalty. Nice to meet you. I’m Staff Sergeant Bu Sin Hyeok from Hongik.”
He greeted the two who had arrived and seated themselves first, but they looked strangely familiar.
They were pressing their lips together, holding back laughter. Sin Hyeok was both happy and bewildered to see them.
“Ah, shit. Hey!”
The two finally burst into laughter.
“Kkukkeugeuk! Look at this bastard, saying ‘loyalty.’ Kyahaha!”
“Keuheup! L-loyalty! Kyahahahak!”
From the left were First Lieutenant Bak Inho of the Blue Dragon, and the other was First Lieutenant Seong Jihun of the Black Tortoise.
Both were rising stars, recognized as future leaders who would lead their respective units.
Moreover, they had old ties with Sin Hyeok.
They had met eight years ago and quickly became close, being the same age with similar perspectives.
First Lieutenants Bak Inho and Seong Jihun immediately approached Sin Hyeok and hugged him.
“Look at your rank, you bastard. I told you to get promoted quickly.”
“Exactly. You blockhead. What’s with still being a staff sergeant!”
Sin Hyeok was dumbfounded.
“You pair of... What kind of... things are you saying.”
“Keuheup.”
“Heuheup.”
The three, reunited after a long time, also greeted the operations chief and the logistics chief who had come as supervisors.
“Major, long time no see.”
“Me too, you punks.”
After exchanging warm greetings, they gradually began talking about the qualification verification for civilian guilds’ Gate Closure Rights.
First, the most senior among them here, the operations chief of Hongik, brought up the subject.
“As announced beforehand, Hongik evaluates searching, and you two divide the evaluation of the remaining comprehensive operational capabilities?”
It was all on paper, but he was confirming one last time.
“That’s correct. We received the same instructions.”
Major Baek Seokhun nodded and tried to bring up the most important matter.
“One moment.”
When the Major flicked his finger, a gentle breeze blew and enveloped the surroundings.
“I’ve blocked the sound. You all know what’s most important, right?”
First Lieutenant Bak Inho of the Air Force and First Lieutenant Seong Jihun of the Navy nodded.
“Above B-rank, we absolutely don’t let them pass, right?”
“Right. You all know why they can’t.”
As everyone nodded, Major Baek Seokhun spoke covertly.
“We can’t leave it to those ‘mine’-minded bastards who completely lack any sense of responsibility. All three Battalion Commanders agreed on this.”
The agreement of the three Battalion Commanders was equivalent to the will of the entire Awakened Military.
“So let’s all do well.”
Sin Hyeok moved to the prepared Gate with the operations chief.
“Sin Hyeok, we need to record a search for evidence.”
Sin Hyeok, having arrived at eight o’clock, looked at the empty Gate and spoke.
“Shall we begin?”
“Yeah.”
He turned on the camera, and Sin Hyeok began immediately.
“Let’s finish this quickly and get some sleep.”
[Mapping initiated.]
[Iron ore discovered.]
[Small quantity of gold discovered.]
[Small quantity of copper discovered.]
[Red Mana Grass discovered.]
[White Lotus Grass colony discovered.]
‘Skip, skip.’
Noisy notifications dominated his eyes and ears.
A considerable amount of time passed, and Sin Hyeok stretched.
“Chief, I found it.”
“What?! Hey, it’s been five hours!”
Sin Hyeok smiled and pointed in a direction.
“Quick, quick, let’s verify it and go to sleep~”
He ran off, thump-thump-thump, to find the core.
Both gasped when they saw the core.
“Wow, a double Gate.”
The core’s location was inside a separate portal. Furthermore, that portal also only appeared when the magic circle was activated.
“How did you find this?”
The absurd collaboration between Mapping and Insight was simply astounding.
“Thanks to the upgrade.”
The operations chief’s jaw dropped.
After confirming the core, the two gradually began wrapping up.
“We can leave now.”
The operations chief retrieved the camera and encouraged Sin Hyeok.
“Tomorrow, you have to be razor-sharp.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll send them back as soon as they come.”
* * *
As the qualification test began, the logistics chief went to support other sections.
The operations chief decided to evaluate the lower-level search items, while Sin Hyeok would handle B-rank and above.
“Fail. That blue stone is called the Mermaid’s Stone, and its effect supports underwater respiration through cutaneous respiration. It is classified as a mandatory recovery resource. Go back.”
“Ah! How am I supposed to memorize a thousand of them!”
Sin Hyeok didn’t even pretend to listen.
Another guild visited with eyes wide open.
“W-we’ll take the test. We’re the Cheongan Guild.”
“The first-stage evaluation for searching tests your prior knowledge of resources within the Gate. Please brief us on all the resources here.”
The Cheongan Guild Master, who had applied as a search officer, glared and began reciting.
“Starting from there: Luminite, Leviathan Ore, Phantom Crystal……”
He recited on and on.
He only stopped after quite some time.
He gauged Sin Hyeok’s reaction.
“First stage, pass.”
“Nice!”
Watching him rejoice, Sin Hyeok smirked.
“The second-stage evaluation is detection. All the resources you just saw are placed inside the Gate. Find them all, record the terrain and landmarks on the tablet in front of you, and write down the core as well. You have half a day. Please enter.”
Sin Hyeok flicked his hand, and the Cheongan Guild Master panicked.
“I-isn’t this a B-rank Gate? It’s infamous for being damn huge.”
“That’s correct. Time is ticking.”
“D-damn it!”
The guild master cursed and ran frantically toward the Gate.
The Cheongan guild members followed shortly after in a line.
“Perfect. Fail, every last one of you.”
The first evaluation ended in half a day. All that remained was to search inside the Gate in person.
“Haaaam. I just want to get this over with and go home.”
[Currently mapping.]
[Mana within the body is low. Mapping will soon end.]
At the system notification, Shinhyeok took a blue potion from his pocket and drank it.
‘Doesn’t look like there are any standouts.’
Once he replenished his mana, the three mapping search orbs grew lively again.
[The level of Mapping rises due to excessive use.]
[The level of Sensitivity rises due to repeated concentration.]
‘It’s climbing steadily.’
“Shinhyeok, still got a long way to go?”
Behind him, the operations chief and the other supervisors came pouring over.
“Yes. If we include the last guilds still to come, we’ll have to wait over eleven more hours.”
“Ughhh~ When are we supposed to wait through all that?”
Major Baek Seokhun glanced at the Gate and asked Shinhyeok,
“How are they all doing? Are they searching properly without cheating?”
Shinhyeok, who was tracking their movements one after another through mapping, let out a snicker.
“Of course, they’ve all formed an alliance and are walking around hand in hand.”
“Well, when there’s one Gate and multiple teams, it’s perfect for joining forces.”
But no one was worried.
After everyone except Shinhyeok had tried searching for the core, the result was clear.
The difficulty here was beyond extreme.
No one had found it.
Of course, they had only taken a brief look.
“What kind of core is hidden behind a double portal? This place is insane.”
“Urgh, one team’s almost done. I should call them.”
Before he could even call them, one guild was already stomping out in a huff.
‘The Novasis Guild, whose guildmaster serves as a director of the Association.’
The guildmaster of Novasis came out and shouted at Shinhyeok.
“No! Is this right?! What kind of standard is this?! You should give us a day at least!”
“If you fail to meet the standard, there’s nothing that can be done.”
“Aaaaargh! Damn it!”
He stormed away.
As soon as he left the examination area, he saw the Association President.
When the Association President saw him looking as though he had produced no result whatsoever, his expression turned cold.
The guildmaster of Novasis trembled as he followed him to a secluded, hidden corner.
“The result.”
“I-I’m sorry! Hic!”
A sword densely formed of black mana aimed at the tip of his throat.
“Pathetic fool. It’s only B-rank. You couldn’t find the core of one measly Gate within twelve hours?!”
“I-I’m sorry!”
The Association President got rid of him and spoke discreetly to the secretary waiting nearby.
“Tell the directors who went in. Even if they have to beg a demon, make sure at least a few of them find it.”
“With so many eyes watching, will that be all right?”
The Association President let out a snicker, thinking of the people currently guarding the Gate.
“They’re nothing but small fry. Unless they’re on Lee Gangyeol’s level, they won’t be able to distinguish even a speck of a demon.”