novelraw Chapter 12 : Chapter 12
Chapter 12 : Chapter 12
Chapter 12. Association President
The morning of the day the Sudden Rift occurred at the training center.
A report came up to the Association President's office at the Awakener's Association.
“A Sudden Rift at the training center? What about the casualties?”
“Aside from building damage, there are reportedly no human casualties.”
“……?”
With far fewer casualties than expected, the stiff face of the Association President slightly relaxed.
However, the relief was brief as a question arose in his mind.
“Not even any serious injuries, let alone fatalities? In a Sudden Rift?”
“Yes. The promising talents among this batch of trainees reportedly dealt with the monsters before any casualties occurred. They said they had already completed their Bone-Shedding Rebirth….”
“The monsters that appeared were Dire Wolves and Goblin Riders… a level that promising talents could barely handle.”
Swish. Swish.
Flipping through the written report, he checked the faces of the promising talents who had been active this time.
“6-Star contractor Park Seong-cheol, 5-Star contractors Jin Yu-seong and Yoo Se-hee, and 1-Star contractor Lee Han-seong? Why is Han-seong suddenly in here?”
A question popped out as he confirmed one person who was unexpectedly included.
“Yes. According to the statements of the other promising talents, Han-seong played a crucial role.”
“As expected of my son. I was disappointed when he became a 1-Star contractor, but this changes the story.”
The Association President, Lee Hyeon-seong, was Lee Han-seong’s father.
Lee Hyeon-seong was a seasoned politician who had climbed to the position of Association President by using the name value of Lee Han-seong, a 12-Star vessel.
Of course, he couldn't have become the president just on his son's name value alone.
Lee Hyeon-seong himself was one of Korea's top-tier Awakeners, having reached 9-Star, and it was possible due to his own political skills.
Still, it was an undeniable fact that Lee Han-seong's talent had been a great help in elevating him to the presidency.
Naturally, after Lee Han-seong became a 1-Star contractor last week, his once-solid position as president had been shaking.
‘If a disaster had occurred from this Sudden Rift incident, I would have been impeached immediately.’
Thanks to the news that just came in, it seemed he could hold onto this position for a little longer.
“Are you sure they all awakened?”
“Yes. It has been confirmed that all four became 1-Star Awakeners.”
“Then they should be able to contract with new spirits, so there's still a chance.”
Since Lee Han-seong had become a 1-Star Awakener, a vacant spot to contract with a 12-Star must have opened up in his vessel.
If his son contracted with a 12-Star spirit this time, the whole shaky situation would return to normal.
No, even if he couldn't contract, it was enough if the possibility of contracting remained.
“If I use this fact, I might be able to do something about my recently wavering approval ratings… Go and draw up a strategy.”
“Understood.”
However, the secretary, who had answered obediently, did not leave and remained standing in his spot, as if he had more to say.
“Is there anything else?”
“Well, it's a story with low credibility… but according to the promising talents' statements, an Alpha Dire Wolf and a Hobgoblin Rider appeared.”
“Then that’s almost 4-Star level, isn't it? And the promising talents took care of it?”
At the secretary's explanation, Lee Hyeon-seong showed his doubt.
“What did the promising talents say?”
“They said that Han-seong used Swarm on them, just like the Hobgoblin Rider did.”
“Does that make sense?”
“That's why the field supervisor also considered the appearance of the Hobgoblin Rider itself a lie.”
“There should have been a corpse.”
“They said not even a corpse was left. Park Seong-cheol supposedly swept everything away at the end with Chungmugong's second Awakening Skill.”
Lee Hyeon-seong immediately noticed something was off.
“He's already unlocked his second Awakening Skill? Did he awaken in the middle of it… Then he could have killed a Hobgoblin Rider. It’s probably true that Han-seong used Swarm, too.”
Right after awakening, using a second Awakening Skill would require at least an external factor like Swarm.
However, Lee Hyeon-seong never thought that the promising talents had unlocked their second Awakening Skills before awakening.
The synchronization rate limit for a high-ranking spirit of a 0-Star who hadn't awakened was 10%.
It was a conclusion drawn because he didn't know about the existence of Lee Han-seong's first Awakening Skill, Transcendence.
“Well. I get it for now. I'll find out the details when I talk to Han-seong on the phone. You can leave now.”
“Yes.”
***
After sending the secretary out of the room, Lee Hyeon-seong, now alone, made a hotline call to the training center where the Sudden Rift had occurred.
-Trrrrrr.
The ringing tone sounded for a moment, and then the call connected.
-Secure line, this is Sergeant Lim Seong-jun of the 3rd Awakener Training Center Command and Control.
“Uh, this is the Association President.”
-Yes, sir. Loyalty.
“Is it possible to contact Trainee Lee Han-seong?”
-Yes, it's possible. We will call you back from here shortly.
The call was briefly disconnected, and a moment later, the hotline connected again.
-This is Lee Han-seong.
“Yes, Han-seong. It's dad.”
-What's the matter, father?
“What do you mean, what's the matter? I called because I was worried.”
-Worried, my foot. You called to use me again, didn't you?
“Use you? What kind of talk is that?”
What on earth had happened in just a week?
Lee Hyeon-seong was inwardly flustered by his son's cynical attitude.
-Well, it doesn't matter if you use me or not. Just as you used me, I can use you. So, what's your real business?
“I heard you were instrumental in stopping the Sudden Rift. Is that true?”
-That's right.
“Then, you really did awaken. But I also heard you used an Awakening Skill… Did you perhaps contract with a constellation?”
Even if his vessel had expanded upon becoming a 1-Star Awakener, a 1-Star contractor couldn't use an Awakening Skill without newly contracting with a 2-Star or higher spirit that grants one.
However, new contracts, unless conducted at the Association where the catalysts for contracts were, were only possible when the Awakener's contracted constellation arranged a contract with one of its affiliated spirits.
The only remaining possibility was a contract with a constellation.
-Yes.
“Ooh. That's great. Which constellation is it? Seeing as you used Swarm, is it the Yeto Constellation? Or the Sun Constellation?”
-You wouldn't know even if I told you.
“Hmm…? Don't tell me it's not from the Heavenly Palace, but from the Heretics?”
At the vague answer, Lee Hyeon-seong let out a groan.
If it wasn't one of the popular constellations from the Heavenly Palace, it must be one of the stars of the Heretics, exiled from the Heavenly Palace.
Those who contracted with them all became terrorists opposing the establishment centered around the guilds of the twelve constellations, so this was not good.
The fact that the Association President's son had contracted with the Heretics, a symbol of terror, would become a weakness.
As if expecting his reaction, Lee Han-seong sighed and continued.
-It's not that, so don't worry…. It would be better not to acknowledge the fact that I've awakened for the time being.
“Hmm… The reason?”
For him, who was trying to stabilize his approval ratings by announcing his son's awakening, it was a hard thing to accept.
However, whether an Awakener reveals the constellation they serve was entirely up to the individual.
Although he said it wasn't so, since he seemed reluctant to reveal it, he had no choice but to respect Lee Han-seong's wishes due to his own slight concern.
-Instead… yes, it would be good if rumors spread wildly. Mix truth and lies so that no one can tell what's what.
Just like the saying, ‘to hide a tree, hide it in the forest,’ was he planning to hide the truth amidst rampant rumors?
-Wouldn't that be better for you, father? There are many jackals, aiming for that position.
“…Ha.”
When did he grow up so much?
He sympathized with his son's point.
It might have been different in the past, but now that his position was shaken, suspicious talk was spreading even within the Association President's direct staff.
If the Association officially acknowledged Lee Han-seong's awakening, traitors who sensed his potential comeback might resort to unhealthy measures.
And if they used extreme measures, they would surely target his son.
Tapping the desk with his index finger, he nodded his head.
“Indeed, a cornered mouse will bite the cat. For your safety, that would be better.”
Besides, since the actual incident itself had many unbelievable details, it wouldn't be difficult to create false rumors.
-Then, I'll create that kind of atmosphere over here as well.
“Alright. Get some rest now.”
-You work hard too, father.
Click.
Putting down the receiver, Lee Hyeon-seong slightly raised the corners of his mouth.
“Hoho, that rascal. When did he get so big?”
He was satisfied with the cool-headed and calculating side his son had shown during the call.
The son he knew was an arrogant, narcissistic, and immature child, but the shock of the spirit contract results seemed to have changed him a lot for the better.
Beep.
He called for the secretary waiting outside.
Now that a new strategy was set, it was to convey the changed direction.
He planned to make sure his son's awakening became a definite false rumor.
***
The 3rd Awakener Training Center Command and Control.
After finishing the call with his father, Lee Han-seong let out a sigh.
“We can get through this without any trouble this time, right?”
-Nyaa.
[The Unnamed Constellation nods its head.]
In the timeline before his regression, a new Association President was elected soon after his father's impeachment, and that time was the worst.
The new president, perhaps to prevent his father's comeback, persistently obstructed Lee Han-seong's awakening in various ways.
From interfering with his license exam application, to restricting weapon sales or hunting ground access even after he got his license.
Every time he entered a hunting ground, he would attach his subordinates, who would then preemptively take the prey he was targeting under the guise of a mistake.
‘That time was truly dreadful.’
Because of that, his relationship with his father had soured greatly before the regression.
He had resented his father, thinking that if it weren't for him, he wouldn't have faced such obstructions.
Also, his father, for his part, was greatly disappointed that Lee Han-seong had become a 1-Star contractor, so the words that came back weren't kind.
-“…If it weren't for you, father, none of this would have happened!”
-“That's why you should have contracted with a 12-Star spirit!”
Since they fought whenever they met, it was perhaps natural that the bond between father and son was broken.
That was also why he had leaned more on the Constellation.
His mother had passed away while giving birth to him, so his father was his only family, and having cut ties with that father, the only one left for him was the Constellation.
Looking back, it was an embarrassing thing.
“Haa.”
But that was now a vanished future.
Unlike before the regression, he had successfully prevented the Sudden Rift disaster, so his father's impeachment would have been postponed.
Maybe this time, he could paint a different future with his father.
In his past life, for better or worse, his father had tried to help him in his own way.
To do that, first…
He had to quickly build up his weight class before the obstructions began in earnest.
‘First things first, the Awakener's license….’
When he came out after the call, the trainees were already gathered on the training ground.
The instructor on the podium was explaining the accident that had occurred during the night.
“There was an accident today, but thankfully it was resolved safely, so training can resume from tomorrow. All trainees, please rest well today, and I'll see you again tomorrow.”
Fortunately, it seemed the timing for receiving the license wouldn't be delayed like before.
It looked like training would resume immediately this time.
.
.
.
And so, the remaining three weeks of training at the center passed by in a flash.
It felt even faster because it was content he had already learned several times before the regression.
The types, characteristics, weaknesses, and byproducts of monsters or Awakened Beasts.
The skills of well-known spirits and the application and utilization of Awakening Skills.
The distribution of hunting grounds in the country and the locations of rift occurrences.
The domains and job classes managed by the guilds of the twelve constellations, and so on.
Lee Han-seong, who passed all the written exams on the theory an Awakener needed to know with top-tier scores, stood out among the trainees and was the clear top candidate of this training center batch.
However, the other trainees, except for the promising talents who had fought alongside him, did not recognize it as his true skill.
“Lee Han-seong is first again? I guess that rumor is true then?”
“What rumor? The one about the Association President trying to promote his son?”
“They say the promising talents were the ones who originally solved the last Sudden Rift, and the President used his power to shoehorn Lee Han-seong in.”
“Who knows if the Association President gave him the answers to this written exam in advance.”
The false rumors he had guided and instigated, along with their jealousy, were obscuring his true abilities.
Still, the rumors did not lead to a disadvantage in his scores.
“Why don't you worry about yourself instead of gossiping about others?”
“Han-seong. Don't mind those rumors. They're just saying that because they're jealous of you.”
“I'm fine. As long as you guys know the truth, that's enough.”
This was why the promising talents surrounded and took care of Lee Han-seong.
Whenever they said a word, the other trainees couldn't say a peep and shut their mouths.
They might look down on Lee Han-seong, who had fallen to a 1-Star contractor, but the promising talents, who had become the main heroes of the Sudden Rift incident and were on a smooth path, could not be treated carelessly by not only the trainees but even the instructors.
“Why are they hanging out with Lee Han-seong anyway?”
“I don't know. Maybe he promised them something from the Association President.”
Instead, the more Lee Han-seong hung out with the promising talents, the more rumors suspecting a collusive relationship between them spread secretly.
But no matter what others said, Lee Han-seong truly didn't care.
Not only were the false rumors his intention, but since the rank of the Constellation had risen during the last Sudden Rift incident, it had become possible for it to create a projection in the outside world.
-Nyan-nyang!
“You like it? I like it too.”
He was busy playing with the cat that had appeared as a projection.
It wasn't that he disliked communicating intimately while synchronized with his inner self.
But interacting with a subject that he could actually see and touch felt somehow closer than before the regression, so he liked it more.
-Nyaang!
“Ahem, no matter how much you ask, you only get one Churu a day.”
In that situation, the day of the practical evaluation was just around the corner.
He was one step away from obtaining his Awakener's license.