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└ Isn’t there some set nearby? Probably folks heading there??
└ I saw some people holding a banner or something—must be that.
└ That’s in Seoul.
└ No, they said it showed up in Paju too.
└ What the heck..?
└ Damn those broadcast guys—I knew they’d cause an accident.
└ Blood Fiend trolling.
└ What!? So what happened???
└ The scale of the 2nd survival round was crazy, and I locked eyes with Guild Master Bella—she said teleporting isn’t scary and even smiled at meㅠㅠ My brain just went blank staring at her face...
└ I only just realized that filming was cut short because of a Blood Fiend lol I almost died.
└ Right? Where the heck is that guy?
Where the heck indeed.
“Kim Hojin!”
“R-Roy.”
“You really...! Didn’t I tell you to stay home?”
“Well, it’s just—”
“Shut up!”
He barged into someone else’s hospital room and made a scene,
“You saved my life, hyung. From now on, I’ll treat you as my savior.”
and they had a dramatic reunion worthy of someone who’d rescued another’s life.
But Roy was already on the Detention Bureau’s radar. He didn’t want Pluton to find any excuse to entangle him, so he drew a clear line.
“......?”
As expected, Seo Hyunwoo looked at him like, You were the one I saved, though?
Roy desperately avoided his gaze—his conscience pricked him too much to meet those eyes.
He’d sworn he’d never belong anywhere, but apparently he still had one.
“Glad you’re resting up okay. Hey, did you hear about what happened on set?”
“PD-nim stopped by.”
Seo Hyunwoo sighed softly as if giving up.
“But why’s your arm like that?”
Roy didn’t offer an explanation again.
“That’s a long story. You don’t need to know—just focus on getting better.”
“You’re more....”
The rest of the remark—like “more of a patient than I am”—went unsaid. Seo Hyunwoo just stared at his arm.
Damn teddy-bear arm. It never occurred to Roy how maddening it’d be to have mental-type skills but no healing ability.
After they caught up and returned to the ward, the final hurdle awaited him. Family.
“Oppa, mieo!”
“Rose, I’m sorry. But you know your big brother loves this teddy-bear arm—”
“Waaah! Oppa, your arm’s weird!”
The moment he stepped into the room, his fiery little sis dropped to her knees and could only say sorry over and over.
Tending to oneself was harder than he’d thought. The Republic’s Elemental S-rank was doing his best—just without showing it...
He figured he might be the only one getting flak even after catching a Blood Fiend.
✧
The next day, with his human arm restored, Roy only got discharged after promising Eun-seong and his little finger he wouldn’t get hurt again.
The agreed terms were roughly: don’t get injured, don’t get sick, etc.
‘Saying it like that makes me sound like a total accident magnet.’
Honestly, he’d been the biggest victim in this Blood Fiend incident. The biggest beneficiary was the Awakened Management Bureau.
Thinking of the Bureau made Roy clench his jaw and glare at the sky.
“Eroi, behave yourself. Don’t make a spectacle crying on the street.”
But the moment he spotted the tiled roof in the distance, a curse slipped out.
“Shit.”
Kim Hojin, who heard Roy swear for the first time, froze. His pupils trembled, as if he thought Roy’s bad mood was his fault.
“Sorry. I wasn’t talking to you.”
“Sorry......”
“I said I wasn’t talking to you.”
Roy was on his way to the Bureau with Hojin—not for any other reason, but so Hojin could take his Awakening exam.
Even if it turned out A-rank, nobody knew that yet.
“Hyung, promise me one thing.”
“Sure. I promise.”
Hojin nodded eagerly, not knowing what Roy would ask but willing to agree to anything. No wonder cults latch on so easily.
Roy swallowed a sigh and met Hojin’s eyes.
【Skill ‘God-scripting’ activated.】
“Even if you get an F-rank, I’ll be proud of you. So whatever rank you get, you’ll work ‘only’ with me. Got it?”
“Yeah! Thanks.”
He’d let Hojin stay even if he got F-rank. Roy thought Hojin really was an angel and smiled broadly.
He didn’t actually need God-scripting, but with his unpredictable hyung, he felt safer this way.
“One more thing. Your hand.”
Roy held out his palm, and Hojin eagerly offered his hand.
“No, the other hand.”
“Okay!”
Hojin held up the hand with the ring. If he’d known that damned ring was from a cult, he’d have ripped it off long ago.
When Roy tugged on it, it didn’t slide off smoothly—in fact, it wouldn’t budge at all.
“Huh?”
“I tried pulling it off too, but it wouldn’t come off. Did my finger swell...?”
“Don’t be ridiculous!”
‘Ridiculous’ indeed.
“Let me see. Why won’t this come off?”
“Ouch...! It hurts, Roy.”
“Bear with it!” ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
At Roy’s scolding, Hojin’s smile drooped. They paused in the middle of the street while Roy yanked on his index finger, but the ring wouldn’t move. Roy’s face grew serious.
“What is this? If it won’t come off, should I cut the finger off?”
Eek!
At that chilling thought, Hojin quickly withdrew his hand.
“Give it here.”
Shake-shake—Hojin covered his reddened, sore hand.
The ring was suspicious, but he didn’t want to make Hojin cry more, so he backed off.
“All right. We’ll try again later.”
“Okay......”
They resumed walking and finally arrived at the Awakening exam room.
Before entering, Roy pressed his cap low and pulled his mask tight—someone here knew his identity, and running into them would be trouble.
“You can do it alone, right? I’ll wait outside.”
“Okay! I’ll be quick.”
Hojin beamed as he followed a staff member inside. Roy set off at once.
He headed to the very top floor of the Awakened Management Bureau—the Minister’s office.
Hop!
Of course, he wasn’t there on official business. No ID badge, no right to enter the Minister’s office.
“A bird flew in, and it turns out to be a stray cat burglar.”
Since a window was open, he slipped in easily. Seeing Ho greet him with a smile, he guessed Roy would arrive.
“You’re not here on duty, I assume? But you look healthy. Care for some tea?”
“I’m not here to see the Minister. I’m just waiting for my companion.”
Unperturbed, Ho poured tea for him.
“So when do you plan to start work?”
Pfft!
As soon as Roy took a sip, work talk. He scowled at him, and Ho burst out laughing. He must’ve predicted this reaction and brought it up intentionally.
“Was I too hasty? I suppose I’m anxious with my days numbered.”
Days numbered, my ass. He’d never seen a straighter-talking seventy-something.
“Oh, why haven’t you started?”
Roy, feeling the pressure of the office, grumbled at the door while looking at it. The exam shouldn’t take long, but Hojin was late. His leg shook with impatience until finally there was a knock.
Roy sprang up and opened the door to find the examiner and Hojin standing there.
“See? I knew it. Everyone knows the Bureau does shady stuff behind the scenes.”
“Um—”
“Let it be. It’s fine.”
Ho shushed the flustered staff. Roy hid Hojin behind him and glared. Ho thought, This little cat is more pouty than I expected.
“Take care on your way home.”
Ho let Roy go without protest. If Roy was the kind to skirt rules like this, they’d meet again soon enough.
Right now, there was only one question on his mind.
“What rank did my friend get?”
“Kim Hojin? He’s A-rank, Water element. But are you sure you want him to go out like that......”
Ho didn’t answer, just smiled. His earlier attitude suggested he’d anticipated a high rank for Roy’s companion.
Was he perceptive, or hiding something? Ho’s eyes glinted with intrigue.
✧
Meanwhile, news that an Elemental A-rank had appeared turned the Bureau’s front into utter chaos.
Everyone was desperate—no one could recruit enough Elementals, and hearing an A-rank had come up sent them into a frenzy.
They’d settle for a chicken if they couldn’t get a pheasant—if they couldn’t secure an elusive S-rank, they’d snatch an ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) A-rank at any cost.
Luckily, Roy had foreseen this mess and sneaked Hojin out the back door.
“Roy, did you hear? I’m A-rank!”
“That’s amazing, hyung. I sensed something special from you the moment I met you.”
“Really?”
“Of course.”
Roy, bursting out of the Minister’s office, headed straight to Hojin’s home.
He figured that if he kept Hojin safe at home, he could handle his own affairs in peace.
On the way, he had to both hype up his excited brother and drill him not to leave the house—plenty to keep him busy.
This brother of his sure took a lot of care. ƒreewebɳovel.com
“I’ll contact you, so wait at home, okay?”
“Okay!”
At last, he was alone. His phone was full of missed calls from Yeon-woo and Tae-eon, but he ignored them.
Now wasn’t the time to schedule hospital visits or make small talk.
His plan to found a guild had been derailed—he needed to overhaul his future strategy.
