Chapter 3 – Let's Just Eat One! (Part One)

Il-hyeon sat alone by the window of a cafe in Suwon, watching the scenery outside darken as evening turned to night.

The cafe was on the third floor of the building, offering a wide, excellent view.

Of course, he hadn’t come all the way to Suwon just to admire the scenery.

Il-hyeon was carefully observing the cordoned-off street that was laid out before him.

At the intersection where one road was blocked, traffic was being frantically redirected, while police officers conversed with eight Awakened from the Dane Company.

Around the barricade, several heavily armored vehicles marked with “Special Police” and a number of police cars were also visible.

‘This is a little scary.’

As Il-hyeon took in the scene before him, the reality of what he was about to do finally began to sink in.

‘But there’s no backing out now.’

The resignation he’d already submitted couldn’t be taken back.

If anything, since it was a simple E-rank Gate, there were fewer police forces gathered than usual, not more.

Moreover, the Dane Company, which was in charge of this site, was not a particularly well-known corporation of the Awakened.

If a government response team or a world-class corporation like Aegis had been in charge, he wouldn’t have even considered it and would have looked for another Gate.

‘This is more than manageable.’

From the Gate’s difficulty to the organization handling it, to the time and place.

It was safe to say these were the optimal conditions for his current situation.

As he calmed his somewhat excited heart, the time for the monsters to emerge from the Gate drew near.

The Awakened, clad in black coats, passed the street barricade and began to enter the restricted zone.

‘I should get going.’

He drained the rest of his coffee, grabbed his bag, and stood up from his seat.

Leaving the cafe, Il-hyeon entered a building he had scouted earlier.

Strictly speaking, it was outside the barricade, but since it was adjacent to the cordoned-off area, it was potentially dangerous. An evacuation advisory had been issued, so the building was nearly empty.

Il-hyeon entered the men’s restroom in that building.

The restroom was empty, and he quickly slipped into the middle stall.

From the bag slung over his shoulder, he took out a black coat.

On one sleeve, the initials DE were discreetly embroidered.

It was a fake, made to look almost identical to the Defensive Coats worn by the Awakened.

He would have preferred to wear a real one, but it was expensive and hard to come by, so he had no choice.

He quickly put on the coat inside the stall.

“Oh, nice. This looks great.”

Pleased with his appearance, Il-hyeon said with a smile.

Dressed in the black coat, he felt like the veteran Awakened he had always dreamed of becoming.

‘Now, to get over there…’

Il-hyeon placed his hand on the restroom wall.

The thick wall his hand touched began to grow pliable, and a hole just large enough for one person to squeeze through was formed.

‘Yes!’

He was so ecstatic that his ability had worked so well that he could have jumped for joy, but unable to make a sound, Il-hyeon let out a silent roar of triumph.

He had arrived early and planned his route to enter the restricted Gate area without being detected.

This was the most suitable spot.

A place he could easily enter using his [Transformation] ability.

Ducking his head, Il-hyeon slipped through the wall and then restored it to its original state.

It felt like he was getting more and more proficient with his ability the more he used it.

The street inside the barricade was devoid of people, and not a single parked car was in sight.

There had been ample time to evacuate for this Gate, so all valuables and cars had been moved to prevent them from getting caught in the fight.

Using the dark of the night to remain unseen, he climbed a building that was in the middle of construction.

Lying prone on the fourth floor, which was open on the top and sides, he looked down at the other Awakened waiting near the shimmering Gate.

“Everyone’s clear on the key points, right? Just do as we always do. Don’t let your guard down.”

A man with a rugged, intimidating face, who seemed to be the leader, said to his colleagues.

One person must have entered from somewhere else, as the number of Awakened had increased to nine.

‘The man speaking is D-rank… and the one with curly hair next to him, too. So, two D-rank Awakened in total.’

Il-hyeon recalled the information he had looked up on the Dane Company’s website.

Excluding those two, the other seven were all E-rank or faces that weren’t even listed.

‘Come to think of it, I wonder what my rank is.’

Just as abilities, monsters, and Gates are ranked, Awakened are assigned ranks as well.

Unlike determining whether someone is an Awakened and what their ability is, which could be found out through a simple test like the one Il-hyeon had taken, an Awakened’s approximate rank was determined by measuring their combat power through a rather complex process.

Since most Awakened are not born with an ability, an Awakened’s rank and their ability’s rank are unrelated.

The probability of becoming stronger might be higher, but there were plenty of cases where someone born with a high-rank ability couldn’t utilize it properly or their own physical combat power was significantly lacking.

Among them, even a C-rank Awakened was treated as a skilled veteran everywhere they went, and a B-rank Awakened was considered a crucial national asset.

People in Korea, where there are an unusually high number of strong Awakened, who aren’t interested in the matter often see the various A-rank Awakened on TV and tend to disregard the other ranks.

However, A-rank Awakened were exceptional beings, with most countries having only one or two, if any at all.

‘I just awakened not long ago, so it can’t be high.’

Il-hyeon roughly estimated his own rank to be around E or F.

But he didn’t think for a moment that he would stop there.

The three SSS-rank abilities he possessed.

The highest rank, a designation that was unprecedented, even when including all four S-rank Awakened in the entire world.

‘It’s starting.’

In the meantime, the open Gate began to activate.

With a bizarre, nerve-grating sound, the Gate flared violently.

“It’s starting!”

“Everyone, get ready!”

The Dane Company’s Awakened noticed it too and drew their weapons.

Most carried swords, but some wielded spears or axes.

All were weapons processed with Ether.

“Kieeeek!”

Dozens of monsters poured out from the Gate on the street.

They were Forn, red-skinned humanoid frog monsters.

The Forn, standing on two legs and holding crude spears, had grotesque faces and bright red spines protruding from their backs.

“Die!”

The Awakened charged the swarm of Forn pouring out, and a fierce battle erupted.

The sharp clash of weapons rang out, and the Awakened’s Ether Swords sliced through the monsters one by one.

The Forn would occasionally bend over and attempt to attack by firing the poison quills from their backs.

But the Awakened didn’t even bother to pay attention to the flying quills, making no effort to dodge them.

The less potent secondary attacks of the E-rank monsters were all blocked by the protective barriers of their Defensive Coats and fell away.

“Oh, there’s an Awakened with an ability, too.”

In the midst of the fight, flames suddenly erupted from the hand of one Awakened, and Il-hyeon spoke in admiration.

It was the first time in his life he had seen a battle between Awakened in person, and he watched with rapt attention.

“Hyaaah!”

The rugged man with the axe shouted, instantly cleaving the necks of two Forn.

“One’s getting away over there!”

The man shouted, seeing a Forn break away from the battle.

But his other colleagues were too busy dealing with their own monsters to have any leeway.

Even if the Awakened had the upper hand, it was impossible for nine people to stop dozens of monsters from slipping past them.

“Dammit, this is going to be a pain to find.”

The man grumbled in frustration.

Thanks to the special police, the monster wouldn’t get past the barricade, but if it holed up somewhere inside a building, they would have to search for it room by room.

He had no choice but to focus on the immediate battle before him.

And this was precisely the moment for Il-hyeon to make his move.

“It’s that building over there.”

Il-hyeon, who had been carefully watching the Forn break away, stood up.

He had come here from the beginning to target the monsters that strayed from the fight, and this was his only chance.

He quickly descended the stairs, circled around the battlefield, and entered the building the monster had gone into.

He had to be mindful of the CCTVs positioned here and there as he moved.

Entering what seemed to be a fairly large, single-story neighborhood mart, Il-hyeon cursed at the complete darkness inside.

“Dammit, I can’t turn on the lights.”

The power wasn’t out, but since he had snuck in, he couldn’t just flip a switch.

He relied on his senses, which had improved since becoming an Awakened, to make his way inside.

“Krrk, krrk.”

The cry of a Forn echoed from the distance.

Il-hyeon lowered his stance and, following the sound, drew his sword.

A sword for cutting fruit—a paring knife.

‘Dammit, I don’t have money for an Ether Sword.’