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Chapter 15
“Mr. Song and Mr. Park are both dead.”
“Damn it, things have gone completely off track.”
The two men muttered as they watched Yoo Shinwoo walk out of the tavern.
Song Hyung-joo’s crew hadn’t been the only ones to storm into that tavern.
Awakener contracting firm, NL.
Every single one of those people had belonged to that company.
“What do we do now? Isn’t this going to mess up the plan completely?”
“For now, we wait until the later groups finish Stage 2 and come out.”
NL had dispatched a staggering 147 Awakeners for this raid.
Even though two of them were already dead, they still had three Legendary Guardian Spirit Awakeners and eleven Historical-grade Awakeners.
The rest were all Rare grade—numbers no ordinary conglomerate could possibly mobilize.
“But that guy… what the hell is he?”
The man couldn’t fathom how Yoo Shinwoo possessed such strength.
The pre-raid intelligence had been flawless.
They had profiles of every single Awakener above Rare grade participating in the raid from all over the world—
even confidential identities of government-affiliated operatives that were normally impossible to obtain.
Naturally, their database included Yoo Shinwoo as well.
But the only thing it listed was that he had a Low-grade Guardian Spirit.
“If he beat Mr. Song… that means at the very least, he’s got a Legendary Guardian Spirit.”
Normally, Awakeners of that level were already publicly known—
either as wealthy figures, celebrities who had made fortunes with their spirits,
or as key national assets raised with heavy state resources.
It was unthinkable that NL could have been completely mistaken about someone of that caliber.
“Maybe he just got lucky and drew a Legendary Spirit right before the raid?”
That could explain why he hadn’t made a name for himself yet.
But…
“For someone who just awakened a Legendary, he’s way too strong.”
Yoo Shinwoo wasn’t fighting like someone new to such power. His combat ability was far beyond that.
“He seems like a natural-born fighter.”
“No, that’s not what I mean.”
“Huh?”
“Combat instincts and technique matter when people with similar physical stats fight each other.”
“Then you mean…”
“I’m saying his physical stats themselves aren’t those of someone who just got a Legendary Spirit. You get it? His stats are abnormally high.”
This was about the physical limit of time.
Awakeners with Guardian Spirits below High grade had growth caps.
The higher your stats, the stronger monsters you need to fight to keep growing. But with low-tier spirits, you can’t handle those monsters—so growth hits a wall.
That was why Yoo Shinwoo, even after three years as an Awakener, had failed to reach a total stat of 60.
But with a Rare or higher spirit, you break free of that limitation.
The problem was… that alone couldn’t explain Yoo Shinwoo’s case.
“If he had a Rare or higher Spirit from the start, his high stats would’ve shown up somewhere in NL’s data. But look at this.”
He shoved a tablet at his colleague.
It showed Yoo Shinwoo’s face and detailed Awakener history.
As recently as a month ago, he was still recorded as a Low-grade Awakener, doing diamond quests under Baeksan Group.
“This kid was definitely Low-grade until a month ago. Which means he couldn’t have preloaded those stats in advance.”
“Wait—so in just a month, he surpassed Mr. Song’s stats?”
“Exactly.”
Song Hyung-joo had entered with the required stat limit of 74, just under the raid cutoff of 75.
Meanwhile, Yoo Shinwoo’s recorded total stat at the time of their fight was only 61.
A difference of 13.
And yet, Yoo Shinwoo had completely overwhelmed him.
The only reason he could overpower someone with higher raw stats… was because of that absurd trait, Evil Dragon Demonic Arts.
Of course, these men didn’t know that. To them, it was a complete mystery.
“Right now, he’s more than just a Legendary-grade Awakener. He’s an out-of-standard existence. Maybe even a future High Ranker seed.”
“…So what do you intend to do?”
“The best option is to recruit him to our side.”
The man’s expression hardened.
“If not… we eliminate him.”
He patted his subordinate’s shoulder.
“Be ready to get your hands bloody, Kandinsky.”
“Yes, sir.”
The Kalininskaya Bratva—Russia’s largest Red Mafia, tied deeply with the government.
Operating worldwide under the corporate name NL, they had just marked Yoo Shinwoo as a target.
I entered Stage 3 with Choi Yoona and Lee Jinyoon.
-
Do we really have to bring him along?
-
…Yes.
Bringing Lee Jinyoon wasn’t my choice—it was because of Choi Yoona.
No matter how frustrating, she insisted he had to come with us.
At first, I thought maybe the two had some kind of special relationship.
But after hearing the circumstances, that wasn’t it.
-
Don’t misunderstand. It’s because of our families’ companies… that’s all.
The details were fuzzy, but apparently the two had been friends since childhood, and their families’ companies were linked through shares.
Which meant Yoona had no choice but to stay on good terms with Mirinae Group—Jinyoon’s family.
Meanwhile, his family seemed displeased with him being an Awakener.
Even now, he had no personal escorts following him—proof enough.
So Choi Yoona, also an Awakener, had been pushed into the role of his guardian.
In other words, a kid serving as a bodyguard for her friend for the sake of her parents’ company.
Still, when you watched them together, it didn’t feel purely one-sided.
‘Nothing I can do.’
In the end, I needed her ability, so I agreed to bring Jinyoon along into Stage 3.
The goal of Stage 3: Defend a village from monsters.
Additional raid point condition:
{Keep as many villagers alive as possible.}
‘That’s why I needed teammates.’
I couldn’t cover such a wide area alone.
No matter how fast I moved, I couldn’t be in two places at once.
Yoona was the perfect pick for this stage.
“The hero has arrived!”
The villagers cheered the moment we appeared.
A typical medieval European fantasy setting.
Unlike the city hub, this was just a small rural village.
“Please, we beg you, save us!”
“What’s happening?”
Yoona earnestly began talking with the villagers.
She didn’t have the information notes, so she didn’t know how this stage worked.
All she could do was listen.
“Orc bandits who’ve been plundering us are about to—”
I cut in before he could finish.
“They’re attacking, and you want us to stop them, right?”
“Y-yes! How did you—”
“Never mind that. Where’s the village hall?”
“The… village hall? Why would you—”
“It’s for your sake. Just take us there.”
“A-alright! This way!”
The middle-aged man, probably the chief, hurried to guide us.
Yoona gave me a puzzled look.
“Don’t you need to hear them out? We don’t even know the stage rules yet…”
“Don’t worry. Just do exactly what I say.”
“…Hmm.”
She frowned but didn’t argue. She had already agreed to follow my lead.
“This is the village hall!”
At the center stood a desk with a thick book spread open.
I touched it, and a system message appeared.
───
<Village Defense Measures>
-
Build Arrow Towers (5,000G)
-
Build Wooden Spike Walls (2,000G)
-
Arm Villagers, Stage 1 (20,000G)
-
Upgrade Village Hall (50,000G)
───
This stage was designed to drain gold.
In game terms, a tower defense mission.
Enemies would swarm from every side, and we had to strengthen defenses with gold to hold them off.
‘This is where most people hesitate.’
Spend all the gold you’ve saved up just to clear one stage?
For players scraping every coin to buy items, that was painful.
And the gold spent here wouldn’t be refunded or carry over to later stages.
So people often decided to tough it out with their own strength first, thinking they could build defenses later if things went bad.
‘But that’s a huge mistake.’
Even using every defense option, this stage was tough to clear.
And each build took time to complete.
So you had to start them immediately.
Buuuuuuuu—
“Huh?”
“T-they’re coming!”
The orcs’ war horn sounded.
‘Four arrow towers. Twelve spike walls. Arm the villagers. Upgrade the hall.’
I immediately queued up everything.
{Spend 11,400G?}
‘Yes.’
{Arrow Towers under construction. Time remaining: 14:59}
{Spike Walls under construction. Time remaining: 2:59}
{Blacksmith producing weapons and armor. Time remaining: 24:59}
{Village Hall upgrading. Time remaining: 59:59}
Even though I skipped all dialogue and rushed straight here, it would still take that long.
Which meant the first wave of orcs had to be fended off solely by us Awakeners.
And that meant inevitable casualties.
Later waves would be easier once defenses were built, but the first attack would always cost bonus points.
“Hey!”
Yoona yanked my shoulder, panicked.
“What are you doing?! We need to get out there and fight now!”
Her face was taut with anxiety.
Of course she would be—anyone who didn’t know what was coming would panic.
It was like dungeon raids: veterans marched in confidently, while newcomers froze up.
I calmly replied:
“Stay put. Right now, we don’t need to do anything.”
“What? How can you say that—”
{Spend 1,000 Diamonds to instantly complete the Village Hall upgrade?}
In that moment, the shabby wooden hall we stood in transformed into a stone fortress in the blink of an eye.
