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chapter 409
It wasn’t unusual for Shin Chaegun to ask the vice guild master to accept his resignation, only to have it rejected.
If you were a member of the Night Eagle Guild, you had probably seen this happen at least once. Even guests visiting the guild had often witnessed the two of them behaving like this.
“I heard it really damaged the guild’s image.”
Violet, who had stayed away from the internet to focus on studying, didn’t know the full story. But she had heard that their constant fights had shattered the image of Korea’s top guild.
“Though, in my opinion, the top guild in Korea should be the Iron Blood Guild, where Mirae will eventually belong.”
Who had even decided that Night Eagle was number one and Iron Blood was fourth?
Lost in thought, Violet walked past Shin Chaegun and the vice guild master and headed further into the building.
Shin Chaegun, despite constantly fighting, was fairly diligent when work required it. And considering that if he truly decided to leave the guild, no one could stop him, it was safe to assume he knew he couldn’t quit yet—and would behave accordingly.
“Oh, Violet! You’re here? How was the exam?”
A Night Eagle guild member asked as Violet walked inside.
Having lived together for about half a year, they had grown somewhat familiar.
Since Violet was expected to become an executive of the guild after graduating from the academy, the guild members treated her warmly. Violet, recognizing their intentions, chose to play along rather than ignore them.
“No, it was a complete disaster. I couldn’t focus on the exam at all.”
“Ah… was there someone in your exam hall who kept coughing or disturbing you?”
“When I took the CSAT, the person in front of me kept moving around and I couldn’t focus either.”
The other members shared their own exam experiences, full of exaggeration, telling Violet not to be disappointed. Violet listened, even though her own poor performance wasn’t caused by such distractions.
“Oh, right! My mind’s all over the place. Violet, we have a guest, so go to Reception Room 3.”
“A guest? Did someone from the Association come to ask about the guild again?”
“No, they’re just someone who wanted to meet you.”
Upon hearing this, Violet lightly greeted and headed to Reception Room 3.
“Someone came to see me… it has to be Oliver.”
Violet and Oliver had first met during the first semester finals. Both being naturalized Koreans helped them bond quickly.
They kept in touch regularly, and it wasn’t unusual for Oliver to visit Night Eagle Guild just to see her.
“I haven’t seen him in a while because of exam prep, but now that the exams are over, he came straight away.”
Thinking that, Violet opened the door to the reception room and…
“Hello? Are you Violet?”
“It’s been a while.”
Seeing the Grand Spirit and Artist in the room, Oliver naturally closed the door behind him.
“…What did I just see?”
A hallucination?
Thinking this, Violet used her ability to erase the magical energy around her body and reopened the door.
“Why did you close the door?”
“…”
The Grand Spirit looked puzzled, while Artist silently nodded in understanding. Seeing this, Violet closed the door again and buried her face in her hands.
“Why are they here?!”
She could have understood if they were simply visiting Night Eagle Guild—after all, it was Korea’s top guild. But them waiting in the reception room meant they had come specifically to see her.
“No… did I commit a huge rudeness?! I closed the door the moment I saw their faces!”
Should she open the door and enter now? What if they were angry?
Carefully, she opened the door again…
“No matter what, that reaction would hurt anyone.”
“Eeeeeek?!”
Violet fainted at the sight of the Grand Spirit’s face peeking through the door.
The reason the Grand Spirit and I visited Night Eagle Guild was simple.
Hearing that Director Shin Hanji would serve as an exam proctor, the Grand Spirit became curious. To satisfy his curiosity, I mentioned Violet—someone whose abilities made it impossible for a normal proctor to prevent cheating.
“All I said about Violet was that.”
I didn’t mention that Violet had been part of the Martian organization, that her abilities included shadow manipulation and magic erasure, or that she was under Night Eagle Guild’s protection and surveillance. Yet, just hearing her name sparked the Grand Spirit’s curiosity.
“Even though he knows almost nothing about Violet, he reacted like that…”
Aside from knowing she was someone who prompted Director Shin Hanji to personally oversee the exams, the Grand Spirit probably didn’t know much else.
Violet’s crimes were serious, but her status kept them from being publicly known. Only the Korean police, the guild, the Association, and the UK Association would know about her.
…Or maybe the Grand Spirit did know, since Director Richard of the Association must have reported on Violet’s Martian connections. And he might have shared this with someone he trusted—the Grand Spirit.
So it wasn’t strange that they made an immediate appointment to meet her.
The Grand Spirit made a call, asking for an appointment with Violet. Presumably, just as the Iron Blood Guild had a support team for me, the Grand Spirit had a team that handled such requests.
Anyway, once the call was done, the Grand Spirit came straight to Night Eagle Guild with me. Meanwhile, Violet hadn’t received any prior contact due to her exam preparations.
“Feeling a bit better?”
“Yes… umm….”
I observed Violet, who was the center of the Grand Spirit’s attention.
“…Looks like she didn’t train diligently.”
She hadn’t changed much since I last saw her. Preparing for exams had left little time for skill training, though considering her age, she was still impressive.
“Would an ordinary student at Seoul Awakener Academy be at this level?”
Considering the academy’s high standards, she was likely comparable to a top graduate elsewhere. Talent like Violet’s at her age was rare…
“…Well, not that rare?”
There were younger Awakeners who had surpassed the threshold, like Elena, Leah, and even Mirae. Among those who hadn’t, Eliott and Lee Dumin were younger and stronger than Violet.
“…Hmm…”
I thought Violet was exceptionally talented, but perhaps not as extraordinary compared to those around me. I turned to the Grand Spirit.
“Hmm? Why are you looking at me like that, Artist?”
“I want to know why you came to meet Violet.”
And why did you bring me along? I asked.
“I have questions for Violet. Specifically, for someone who was part of the Martian organization.”
…So the Grand Spirit already knew about Violet.
“…I’ll tell you whatever I can.”
But in that case, there was no need to bring me along.
“Artist, I brought you so we could discuss Violet’s responses together.”
“…Discuss?”
“The discussion we had in Iron Blood Guild’s hallway was more interesting than I expected.”
“Ah…”
That was a reasonable explanation. I had assumed it was just for fun or convenience.
Violet, having heard the Grand Spirit, seemed somewhat relieved and asked:
“So, what should I answer?”
“Simple.”
Can Awakeners survive outside the base on the Moon and Mars? And if so, for how long?
“Excuse me?”
“…Hmm, indeed….”
A topic she had never considered but now had to.
“It’s good to know in case we go to the Moon or Mars later.”
The surfaces of the Moon and Mars are uninhabitable for normal humans—lack of oxygen, extreme temperatures, and pressure prevent normal activity.
“Hmm… I haven’t been outside the base, but I’ve seen some things.”
Some wore full spacesuits, others just light oxygen gear for convenience, and a few elite Awakeners went out unprotected.
“Some elite ones even went out barehanded, without any oxygen gear.”
So Awakeners can survive without a spacesuit?
“Surviving on the vacuum-like Moon with just an oxygen mask means pressure isn’t an issue. Or maybe those I saw were just tough humans. And for elite ones going barehanded… I’m not sure if it’s a general rule or their personal ability.”
“Can an Awakener’s body handle temporary oxygen deprivation? Many still die from suffocation…”
Using Violet’s information, the Grand Spirit and I conducted a light discussion.
“…If needed, destroying the base’s oxygen supply could wipe them out, right?”
“Possible, but wouldn’t Director Richard prefer to capture them first?”
Hearing such a grim scenario, Violet quietly slipped out in a cold sweat. She ran away.
“Hmm… not enough data for a meaningful discussion.”
“Indeed.”
Ah, Sophia was a spy in the organization too. If she gathered intel for espionage, I should ask her later.
Meanwhile, Violet, who had fled the reception room…
“I’m so scared…”
“Violet?! What’s wrong all of a sudden?!”
She clung to Oliver, who came to see her, and recounted everything that had happened today.
