###
When the sun sets, we’re going to hit the loan shark’s branch.
So, Perfect Clear is closed today.
Got to conserve mana.
Aden went out to film a broadcast.
I turned on the TV.
Oh, there she is.
A storm of questions rains down on Aden.
Apparently, the questions were chosen directly by the viewers via comments.
<What’s your favorite hobby?>
<Uh, um… studying magic?>
<As expected of an A-rank mage! And your favorite food?>
<Uh, snacks?>
<Oh, quite modest tastes for someone of your social status!>
She’s incredibly nervous.
At this rate, she’s going to pass out.
But then, the next question comes, and her expression changes completely.
<What do you think, as a fellow mage, about the S-rank Word Mage who’s been making headlines recently?>
Her face lights up with excitement.
She looks like a nerd who just got asked about their favorite topic.
‘Ah, no. Not “looks like”—she is one.’
<Ahem! They’re truly remarkable! Mages are well aware of the greatness of word magic!>
Then comes a rapid-fire explanation.
The nerd has found her element.
< As the MC mentioned, Kyle is truly amazing! Unlike ordinary mages who observe natural phenomena caused by mana and deduce them through calculations, Word Mages pierce through the essence of mana itself to command natural phenomena. You could say the world’s essence responds to a Word Mage’s will! This requires immense mental fortitude, beyond the realm of ordinary mages’ calculation-based abilities…>
Good grief.
The explanation goes on forever.
Even the MC seems a bit flustered.
Kang Hyun felt the same.
After all, isn’t everything she’s saying about him?
Listening to someone else praise him to the skies?
It’s not easy.
At least, not for Kang Hyun’s personality.
“Hah…”
Should I just turn off the TV?
<Ahahaha! Wow, you really know a lot, befitting a mage!>
<And it seems, despite the risks of exposure, they went out of their way to save civilians. They must be an incredibly noble individual—>
<Ah, yes! Let’s wrap it up here, shall we?>
<What? Already?>
The MC hurriedly shifts to the closing remarks.
<Your explanation really helped us understand the greatness of a Word Mage!>
<Ahem! That’s my mas…>
“Hey!”
Kang Hyun shot up and shouted.
‘What on earth is she saying now?!’
On screen, Aden startled and began looking around nervously.
<W-wait, did you hear that just now?>
<What? Hear what?>
<Uh… n-never mind.>
What a bizarre coincidence.
Kang Hyun tilted his head.
‘What was that about?’
There’s no way Aden could have heard him shout.
It’s a recorded broadcast, after all.
Must’ve been a fluke.
Anyway.
“Haah…”
What a scare.
I need to have a serious talk with that girl about keeping secrets.
<What were you saying earlier? ‘My mas…’? What was that?>
<Uh? M-my mas… mas…>
<Mas?>
<Mas… sushi?>
<What?>
<Oh, I mean… earlier, you asked about my favorite food…>
<Ah, so that’s what you were still thinking about!>
The studio audience burst into laughter.
There were even cheers of “She’s so cute!”
The questions kept coming.
<Who’s the person you respect the most?>
<First, the great hero Kyle! Second, my master!>
She answers up to second place even without being asked.
“Hehe.”
Tsk, it’s embarrassing.
Still, it didn’t feel bad.
At least she has good taste.
How did she pick those two so perfectly?
Even though she likely thinks they’re separate people.
<Your master? Oh! So you have a magic mentor?>
<Yes! A great master who is also my savior!>
<Wow, an A-rank mage mentor? There aren’t many A-rank or higher mages in the country.>
<Ah, they’re not an A-rank Awakened in Korea.>
<Then from another country? Perhaps from Thea, like Aden?>
The net closes in.
Aden faltered.
<Uh… k-kind of?>
<Are they in Korea? Do you think they’d consider naturalization?>
A sudden topic shift.
The viewers must be going wild.
The MC was on edge, probably sensing a ratings surge.
The conversation was heading in a dangerous direction.
Aden noticed, fumbling her words.
<Uh, well… um…>
<How about inviting them to appear on our program sometime?>
<Oh, they dislike media attention… But I’ll ask about the naturalization idea.>
She deflected desperately.
This much shouldn’t be an issue, right?
I checked the online reactions.
└Seems like they’re not a foreign Awakened after all.
└If they’re from Thea, wouldn’t naturalization be a real possibility?
└Another A-rank incoming?!
└Seriously, is something happening in Korea these days?
└Grandfather Dangun’s real estate coin is going to skyrocket!
Awakened power is national power.
The comments were brimming with excitement and anticipation.
└If they’re the mentor of an A-rank, could they be S-rank?
└Don’t get ahead of yourself. At best, they’re A-rank, or maybe just a B-rank expert in theory.
└S-rank isn’t a common pet name.
Actually, E-rank here.
Just then, Aden returned.
“I-I’m back….”
She looked utterly exhausted.
Definitely not suited for broadcast life.
“Hey, you were on TV.”
“Ack! Don’t watch it! Turn it off now!”
“Pfft.”
Aden hurriedly turned off the TV, flustered.
“Still getting guild offers?”
“Yes. Especially from ‘Seonghwa’ and ‘Palan’. Their terms are becoming more and more generous.”
Since Aden gained fame through media exposure, offers from various guilds had been flooding in.
Especially Seonghwa and Palan—ranked 3rd and 5th nationally, respectively.
These so-called top 10 guilds were dream workplaces for all Awakened.
“You should join a guild.”
A guild?
For any Awakened, being part of a guild was practically essential.
There was just too much to handle alone.
“I’m leaning toward Seonghwa.”
“Right, wasn’t there someone named Yoo Chae-young? That team leader treated you well.”
“Master, can’t you join with me?”
“I don’t like being tied down anywhere.”
Predictable response.
“They wouldn’t take me anyway. I’m still E-rank.”
At least D-rank would be required just to get your foot in the door.
“That’s disappointing….”
Aden pouted, looking like a drenched puppy.
But soon, her eyes sparkled with determination.
“Then I’ll ask Team Leader Yoo Chae-young myself!”
“She’s busy, don’t bother her.”
“She’s always been so kind to me! I’ll convince her for sure!”
“Do as you like.”
Whether she tried or not didn’t matter to Kang Hyun, who was more interested in hanging out at a friend’s place.
He just wanted the day to end quickly.
###
Seonghwa Support Team Leader Yoo Chae-young.
As usual, she was enduring the busiest days of her life, all in the quest to find the Word Mage and Perfect Clear.
But then, an unexpected and awkward call.
Her brow furrowed.
“E-rank, you said?”
<Yes! They’re an absolutely amazing person!>
Then began the rapid-fire pitch.
<Even as a non-Awakened without mana, they perfectly recreated magic through meticulous calculations and precise theory…!>
<Breaking down and reconstructing every single magic circle, they understood the essence that other mages couldn’t grasp, all without mana…!>
<And this is a secret, but they’ve actually reached an incredible level—something truly beyond words!>
<I’ll tell you exactly what if they join the guild!>
Yoo Chae-young was taken aback.
What’s with this energy?
Wasn’t this person supposed to be shy?
“…I’ll consider it.”
<Wow! Thank you so much!>
Though she meant to reject the offer politely, Aden didn’t catch on and sounded ecstatic.
After hanging up, Yoo Chae-young felt more conflicted than ever.
“Team Leader, I overheard that. Are you seriously considering this?”
“No.”
Her answer was as cold as ice.
“Aden is sweet and endearing, but personal feelings shouldn’t cloud professional decisions.”
“She’s definitely adorable. I heard she already has a fan club.”
An A-rank with staggering mana.
A rising star unattached to any group.
To Seonghwa, she was a godsend.
On top of that, she had a pure-hearted personality.
Someone you’d want to take under your wing as a younger sibling.
But still!
Yoo Chae-young’s glasses gleamed sharply.
“No nepotism!”
Especially not for an E-rank!
Not in Korea’s 3rd-ranked Seonghwa!
“Good thing this was over the phone.”
“Agreed.”
If it had been an in-person meeting?
Would she have been able to refuse?
Those jewel-like blue eyes.
That doll-like blonde hair.
The adorable height paired with her incongruous mana reservoir—could she have resisted?
Her subordinate nodded fervently.
“This is the first time she’s shown such liveliness. If you’d seen it in person, you wouldn’t have been able to turn her down.”
“Exactly. A shame we didn’t record it, though.”
“Sorry, what?”
“Anyway, no nepotism.”
But curiosity gnawed at her.
“Who is this Kang Hyun that Aden’s so passionate about?”
“No idea. Her boyfriend?”
“You met him once, didn’t you? Is he good-looking?”
“He was wearing a black mask, but his eyes were sharp.”
Could it be a romantic relationship that had Aden so excited?
Cute. Enviable.
But the momentary warmth passed quickly.
Yoo Chae-young’s glasses gleamed.
Her subordinate flinched.
“Oh no, it’s Workaholic Mode…!”
“All right, that’s enough healing! Get moving! No time to waste!”
“Yes, ma’am! Fully recharged by Aden’s cuteness! Now, to find the S-rank Word Mage and Perfect Clear Awakened!”
“For Seonghwa!”
Finding even one of them…
Would make Seonghwa the greatest guild in the world!
Make Seonghwa Great Again!
###
That night.
At the stroke of midnight.
A loan shark’s branch.
The branch manager was scolding his underlings.
“Still no news about Team Leader Lee?”
Team Leader Lee.
An operative who had infiltrated the Awakened Management Bureau as the head of security, feeding information about newly registered Awakened.
But Team Leader Lee had suddenly been arrested.
Naturally, the company’s “sprout removal” team had been thrown into chaos.
“Not yet. This delay is unusual. It seems to be outside the bounds of standard procedures.”
“Boss, could it be true that Team Leader Lee was taken not by the police, but by the NIS?”
“Don’t jinx it, you idiot!”
“Sorry!”
The subordinate bowed deeply.
Even though he shouted, the branch manager couldn’t hide his unease.
‘If we were exposed, it makes sense he’d be sent to the NIS… but could it really have happened?’
Everything had been going so well.
He’d even secured a position as the head of security.
But now, arrested out of nowhere?
Something didn’t feel right.
‘And the disappearance of those two enforcers—it’s all off.’
In a country ranked number one in public safety, surviving in the shadows required a sharp sense.
The branch manager trusted his gut.
“Hey, rookie.”
“Yes, sir!”
“Bring me the profiles and family information of the ‘sprout’ those two enforcers were handling.”
“Yes, sir! Right away!”
Let’s see here.
‘Kang Hyun…’
Nothing seemed particularly unusual.
He was a magic academy director.
Paid his debts on time.
Not from any suspicious background.
‘…Wait.’
Now that he thought about it, this guy wasn’t just any ordinary debtor.
It was a few months ago.
The enforcers had gone to intimidate him, as usual.
But they’d come back battered and bruised.
At the time, the branch let it slide.
Since Kang Hyun was still paying his dues on time, they didn’t want to stir trouble when the police were particularly active.
But now, that decision had come back to haunt them.
‘Still, this is strange.’
No matter how skilled someone is, newly Awakened individuals are always in the F-tier range, even prodigies barely reach E-rank.
But the enforcers who lost to him?
They were D.
And there were two of them.
“Agh, my head hurts…”
What on earth is going on?
“First, let’s visit this guy’s family and scare them a little—”
“Who the hell are you calling a bastard?”
“Who said that? Where’s the son of a—how dare you insult—”
Shk!
Something pierced the branch manager’s stomach from behind.
It was a crimson-black blade.
“…Wh-what?”
“Boss! Behind you!”
“That guy, who is he!? How did he get in? Get him!”
“Help the boss first!”
“Who sent you? Take off that mask!”
Then came a chilling murmur from behind.
“【Silence, Blind, and Forget.】”
In an instant, the room turned pitch-black.
The Words of Power acted not on living beings, but on the “space” itself.
No one could see.
Everything was shrouded in darkness.
The branch manager tried to suppress his pain and give orders, but no sound escaped his lips.
His mouth moved in vain.
“It’s not that you can’t speak. You can’t hear.”
The room had become a complex space intertwined with three Words of Power.
A space where the very concept of “traces” ceased to exist.
Kang Hyun called it the “Dark Room”.
Anything that happened within this space could never be tracked.
“I considered resolving this with words.”
The blade withdrew from the branch manager’s stomach with a sickening sound.
“But you crossed the line. Hard. So let’s just end it here.”
