Chapter 17
At that moment, the door burst open, and Nayeon came rushing in.
“Gru! Have you been doing okay alone? You missed your sister, didn’t you? I’m sorry! I tried to come quickly, but they told me to hear the measurement results first, really!”
She hugged Gru tightly, rubbing her cheek against theirs, lamenting as she spoke.
“U-unnie~ Gru missed you too, but I held it in and did fine alone…”
“Aww—Gru…”
Gru hugged Nayeon back, nuzzling their face while sniffing.
For a while, they wept in reunion like sisters who hadn’t seen each other in years, until Nayeon suddenly shifted her gaze.
“But… who’s this?”
“I’m Shin Siwon, hunter Nayeon Shin’s team leader for Special Investigation Team 1 at the Administration Bureau. I apologize for today’s incident.”
He paused briefly to choose his words.
“I caused some trouble.”
Nayeon shook her head, slightly impressed by his fluent Korean.
“No, you didn’t even see the monster’s tail. I heard some amazing team leader handled it… was that you?”
“Ah, yes. That seems to be me.”
Siwon laughed, blushing slightly.
“But Hunter, did you come to the center for a re-measurement?”
“No, not me.”
Nayeon gestured at Gru, who was chewing on a ginseng-flavored candy.
Gru blinked, their cheeks puffing out with the candy in their mouth.
‘Ginseng flavor… weird, but addictive.’
“Ah, then… is this cute friend an Awakened One?”
“Yes. That’s why we came to register.”
“I see…”
Through his glasses, Siwon’s eyes flickered with a gray light.
Bad premonitions tended to be accurate.
Joorim, using the skill Internal Interference, spotted Gru and Siwon on the CCTV and sighed.
“This is troublesome.” He tilted his head slowly. Humans from the Administration Bureau, of all people.
‘I can’t just kill a Bureau official.’
Of course, killing them would silence everything perfectly, but getting caught by an investigative agency would just lead to more trouble.
‘The kid is too capable… is that the problem?’
Though he didn’t want to, he had no choice. Joorim bit down on the edge of his glove. His long hand pulled back, and his chest throbbed strongly.
Thump!
[Floor 99, the ruler of the Frozen Lands awakens.]
As his magic drained at once, golden light shimmered in his eyes. Instantly, the icy land appeared in his mind like a vision.
A pale, frozen land with only a magnificent throne. The ruler of this eternal frost, seated on the throne as if bored, raised his index finger.
[Activating skill: Walpurgis Night.]
Walpurgis Night was the power of the ruler of Floor 99. Joorim could use the powers of all the rulers from Floor 1 to Floor 99.
Joorim pressed his left hand against the center’s wall. Using his extrasensory perception, he gauged the size of the center and encompassed the entire facility within his domain.
[Floor 96, activating skill: Silent Orpheus.]
Clack!
Like someone had flipped a switch, the flow of all nearby magic came to a halt.
It was as if Joorim putting his gloves and left hand in his pocket was a signal—chaos returned to the center that had just regained normalcy.
“Teacher Heejeong, our Measurement Room 5 is dead!”
As all devices using magic stones stopped, the staff pounded on the unresponsive machines. Some rushed outside to report the situation.
“What? Room 5 too? Room 4 isn’t working either! What’s happening?”
Staff ran around in a panic.
“No, I’m not an Awakened One, so why can’t I use my skill all of a sudden? This is frustrating!”
Among those who came to register as Awakened Ones, complaints spread.
Joorim, expressionless, walked across the chaotic hallway. No one could activate their skills within his domain. He passed them as if the chaos had nothing to do with him.
At that moment, Siwon was seen hastily moving across from him, being guided by staff due to the center’s abnormality. Surprised to see Joorim, he awkwardly bowed, and Joorim simply nodded once before looking away.
Gru and Nayeon were coming out of the waiting room.
“Guild Leader!”
Upon spotting Joorim, Gru’s eyes widened, and they dashed toward him like a little puppy.
Joorim, unaware his lips curved into a faint smile, bent one knee to greet Gru.
“Han Gru, have you been behaving?”
“Yes!”
“Done registering too?”
“Yes! Nayeon unnie looked after me, and I’m an F-rank!”
“Good. And what’s that in your mouth?”
“Ginseng candy.”
Gru hesitated, moving the candy to the other side.
“The taste… it’s… strange, but kind of mysterious.”
…Mysterious, indeed.
“Don’t eat anything from strangers. Tsk.”
Joorim cupped the child’s mouth.
Gru covered their mouth with both hands, shaking their head.
“Hurry.”
“Wah.”
Reluctantly spitting out the candy, Joorim clenched and unclenched his fist. The ginseng candy turned to powder and vanished.
Gru wiped Joorim’s hand with their sleeve in a sulky manner.
Joorim smiled faintly and patted Gru’s head, making the child recoil in shock.
“Let’s go.”
As Joorim stood, Nayeon quietly moved beside him.
“Guild Leader, there seems to be more commotion at the center.”
“Perhaps.”
He replied indifferently and moved. Gru reached out to grab his hand, and Joorim took it with his left hand.
Feeling the warmth, Gru alternately looked at both of Joorim’s hands.
‘No gloves?!’
Big problem!
Panicked, Gru looked at Joorim, who put a finger to his lips—Shh!
Gru mimicked zipping their lips shut. Feeling like a secret agent on a covert mission.
‘Guild Leader… is up to something.’
Thump thump.
Gru, trying to act calm, squeezed Joorim’s hand tighter.
Tick-tock. Time passed, the commotion intensified, and cold sweat dripped from Joorim’s temple.
