Representative examples included the Great Dungeonization experiment in Chiole, a small country in South America.
An experiment involving a contaminant that infected only Awakened.
Awakening experiments conducted on children, and so on.
Even now, Gnosis’s experiments were presumed to be ongoing all over the world, and the estimated number of victims alone was in the tens of thousands.
The international community had declared that it regarded Gnosis’s criminal acts with the utmost gravity.
However, the damage had been centered on poor countries in the Third World, and the collaborators had acted cunningly, erasing traces of their activities while occupying key posts in those nations. As a result, it was fair to say the investigation had made no progress at all.
“That’s right. They’re very wicked villains. So Princess Geuru has to be careful too, okay?”
“Okaaay!”
How adorable. Siwon raised his hand to pat her head.
At that moment, sharp gazes flew at him from both sides. He quietly put his hand away again.
“Come to think of it, you’re from Kirus, aren’t you, Team Leader Jin?”
Startled by the sensitive question, Gidan stared at Jurim.
Siwon blinked slowly.
“Yes. That’s right.”
He continued without showing any particular reaction.
“That’s why I defected.”
Kirus, a small country next to Russia.
It was one of Gnosis’s representative testing grounds, and also a country that had completely declined after the Great Dungeon Break Gnosis had triggered.
With his arms crossed, Jurim looked Siwon up and down.
“Then let’s end it here. If you have any other questions, send them to Hyeonak in writing and we’ll handle them right away.”
Jurim gestured at Gidan with his chin.
“He may not look it, but he’s a patient, so I think we should let him rest.”
Siwon sprang to his feet, knocking his chair over with a clatter.
“Ah, yes! Yes, of course. I’ve imposed on you.”
His face bright red, he set the chair upright.
“Then, Hunter Gidan, if you remember anything, please contact me anytime.”
“Yes……”
Gidan nodded as he accepted the business card.
“Guildmaster On. I’ll see you next time.”
“Hmm……”
Jurim stared fixedly at Siwon with a crooked expression.
With his strikingly handsome face that made people tense, he looked as bored as ever, but—
“……!”
Seeing the window that appeared before him, Siwon pressed his lips shut.
[‘On Jurim’ is pondering how to hide your corpse.]
[‘Ruler of the Frozen Earth’ is enjoying the sight of you floundering.]
*
It was merely known as a high-grade reading skill, but Jin Siwon’s skill was “Barrett’s Whisper (SSS).”
Not only did it forcibly open the other person’s status window, it also expressed their thoughts and emotions as indirect messages.
Having inadvertently read On Jurim’s thoughts, Siwon smiled gently at him.
‘Does he know about my skill?’
For a Hunter, what kind of skill one possessed was an extremely sensitive matter, but when Siwon defected, he had to disclose a certain amount about his abilities.
So it might have reached Jurim’s ears as well.
‘I’ll have to be careful.’
More importantly.
‘Two messages……’
The two indirect messages had clearly come from “two people.” Guildmaster On Jurim’s “Ruler of the Frozen Earth.” And……
“Thank you for your cooperation. We’ll return the by-products to Hyeonak as soon as possible. Then, I’ll be going.”
Siwon bowed politely and waved to Geuru.
“Take care.”
“Buh-bye.”
Unable to hold back a smile at the adorable farewell, Siwon answered.
“Bye-bye.”
[‘Han Geuru’ feels sorry to see you leave.]
[‘Fragment of the Monarch’ is looking at you with interest.]
[‘Han Geuru’s’ information is veiled.]
‘A Monarch, and a Veil that hides information……’
A Veil was an item used to hide information from those who possessed reading skills.
Normally, he would have read false information layered over the real thing, but because Geuru’s item was lower in grade than Siwon’s skill, it had shown him that the information itself was hidden.
Suddenly, Siwon recalled the first time he had met Geuru.
The Hyeonak guild members who had been with Geuru. The monster that had happened to escape from the ecological hall at just the right moment. And the mana cutoff that followed……
Had they cut off all the mana in the Awakened Center to hide Geuru’s rank?
‘Hmm……’
Siwon hummed in his throat and scratched his chin.
‘I thought it was beyond the scope of what a human could do……’
Because of that, the Awakened Center mana cutoff incident had been concluded as nothing more than an abnormal phenomenon.
‘It’s chilling.’
It would be disastrous to make them an enemy.
Though they didn’t seem particularly friendly even now…… Siwon wore a gentle smile as he recalled Jurim pondering how to kill him and hide his corpse.
‘Just how high is Geuru’s rank for them to go that far? Don’t tell me she’s B-rank?’
A four-year-old B-rank.
Even across the entire world, that would be a rare record. There might not be any precedent at all.
Usually, if the Awakening occurred too young, one’s stats or mana were low, so the rank was measured low. For most, even surpassing D-rank was a distant prospect.
And yet the child even possessed some unknown entity.
If that secret leaked out, she would receive an enormous spotlight in an instant. And inevitably, dangerous hands would reach for the child just as quickly.
‘I can’t let that happen.’
Even if it weren’t for Jurim, he intended to keep the secret.
After all, he had no intention of throwing such a small, lovely child out as prey for the world.
He only hoped the child would remain as uninvolved with Gnosis as possible.
Because gifted children were precisely the test subjects Gnosis loved most.
Chapter 8: The Woes of a Kindergartener
Some people described unpredictable things as being like bouncy balls, but Jurim was a man who could even read the trajectory of a bouncy ball.
No matter what upheaval occurred in the world, he might take a nap with an eye mask on, and no matter who his opponent was, he might act with arrogance, making him seem extremely impulsive. In truth, however, he moved according to extremely regular and solid reasoning.
Moreover, he was someone who could easily bear any responsibility or consequence, and so there were very few things that disturbed his composure.
Until he brought that child home.
“Haa……”
Holding a bundle of documents, Jurim let out a sigh.
Because his children had just had to go out and catch an S-rank monster connected to Gnosis, there was no end to the aftermath no matter how much they handled.
Government agencies, some kind of league, an association, and all sorts of organizations were clamoring to hear Hyeonak’s account.
With emails and faxes pouring in not only from within the country but from abroad as well, Hyeonak had become busier than ever.
The worst part was that the final decision-maker was none other than On Jurim himself.
Since Geuru was involved, he couldn’t handle it carelessly.
As a result, Jurim had to spend all his time reviewing reports, opinions, statements of circumstances, and so on that appropriately cut and embellished what had happened.
He clutched his throbbing head for a moment, then tossed the bundle of documents roughly onto the desk and rested his chin on his hand. Even an S-rank needed a short break after days of continuous paperwork.
He pressed his tired eyes firmly and looked ahead.
On the monitor screen, he was stopped at the first step of modern child-rearing education, and also the most difficult process.
“……”
Before drowsiness could wash over him, he gulped down an Americano like a potion, then lightly tapped the keyboard. And clicked.
[On Jurim]
—That nickname is already taken.
Why would someone sign up for a mom café under the name On Jurim?
The man who had tried to join a mom café with the nickname On Jurim tried entering Jurim, Hyeonak, Gidan, Yun Seojun, and a few others before giving up.
The reason he did not enter Sin Nayeon was because of the shred of conscience telling him he should not misuse a woman’s name on a mom café, though in truth, he was certain that name would not be available either.
Just then, the study door quietly opened.