“How… how do you have this?”
“What are you talking about?”
“This is an item!”
An item.
A piece of equipment imbued with divine power through the system.
Often called a treasure.
Especially equipment-type items, which weren’t consumable.
They were extremely rare.
D-rank Awakened individuals couldn’t even dream of touching one.
C-rankers might have one low-grade piece, at best.
Even C-rank items were rare enough to highlight the drastic drop in Awakened individuals at that rank or higher.
The rarity was self-explanatory.
But for a regular person to possess an item?
The surrounding students buzzed with shock.
“An item? Aren’t those super expensive?”
“Whoa, no wonder. It’s gorgeous!”
“Idiot! It’s not expensive because it’s pretty!”
And the effects were incredible.
Yang Sujin, looking at the system window before her eyes, still couldn’t believe it.
[Garam Butterfly Wing Pair]
[A pair of earrings to be shared by two people.
Allows you to send emergency signals to the other person without distance constraints.]
Beautiful design.
And a practical effect, especially for ordinary people.
It was the kind of item that would make wealthy collectors lose their minds.
If auctioned, its value would be astronomical.
“W-Where did you get this!? Did you steal it?”
“What? Watch your mouth, Yang Sujin.”
“Then how does a regular person own an item like this!?”
The most stunned of all was Subin.
Even she knew how valuable items were.
That’s why none of this made sense to her.
‘How did my brother get this?’
She remembered seeing the flower basket in the living room yesterday.
It had been sent by Seonghwa.
‘But… he’s not an Awakened, right? Would an ordinary employee of Seonghwa even receive items…?’
No way.
No matter how she reasoned, it didn’t add up.
Instead, when accused of stealing, she began to panic.
Had something gone terribly wrong?
“…I-It was a gift from my brother.”
“Your brother?”
“Wow, is your real brother an Awakened?”
“If your family’s Awakened, do you just get items as gifts? That’s insane.”
The murmurs grew louder, and Yang Sujin snapped.
“No way! What kind of lunatic gives an item this precious to their sibling? What, is your brother some kind of B-rank or A-rank?”
Even Yang Sujin flinched after her outburst.
The situation was becoming absurd.
It now seemed like she was accusing Subin of being a liar—or worse, a thief.
‘If it’s come to this, I’ll see it through to the end.’
She was confident.
Logically, it made no sense.
‘Judging by her reaction, she’s hiding something. I’ll corner her until she has to transfer schools.’
By now, dozens of students were watching the scene unfold.
Both Subin and Sujin trembled slightly, each for different reasons.
Then, one male student broke the tense silence with a thoughtless comment.
“What if Subin’s brother is actually a super strong Awakened? Like someone from a top-10 guild or something.”
“Are you insane? Do you think top-10 guilds are as common as your family dog!?”
“Hey, it’s possible… Why are you being so aggressive about it?”
“If you don’t know, just shut up! Do you have any idea how hard I worked to get into Gwangmyeong? And you’re talking about top-10 guilds!”
Subin, who had been frozen in fear, reflexively spoke up at those words.
“M-My brother works for Seonghwa.”
“Seonghwa? That Seonghwa? For real?”
“Wow, that’s amazing!”
Some students cheered, but the overall reaction was less enthusiastic.
Especially from Yang Sujin.
“Ha! Seonghwa? The third-ranked guild, Seonghwa? Are you joking with me, Subin?”
Now she was openly mocking her.
As if she was convinced Subin was lying.
“Did you think Seonghwa was some kind of joke?”
“Come on, Sujin. Don’t go too far… Maybe she just misunderstood something.”
“Do you even know how many Awakened work for Seonghwa? Fewer than 200! And you’re saying one of them is your family?”
“…”
“No wonder you’ve been acting weirdly scared… Did you really steal it?”
She probably didn’t steal it.
But this was pressure—to force Subin to reveal the truth.
“N-No!”
“Then prove it!”
Subin couldn’t take the pressure any longer.
Almost instinctively, she called her brother.
She needed him to get her out of this mess.
Ring, Ring—
The call connected.
<Yeah, what is it? Brother is at work.>
Everyone went silent, focusing on the phone.
Subin turned up the volume to the maximum.
“B-Brother, about those earrings…”
<Hold on, the Guild Master wants to talk to me.>
“The Guild Master?”
<Don’t hang up.>
Kang Hyun paused the conversation, seemingly speaking to someone nearby.
A moment later, he returned.
<It’s nothing important. What’s up?>
“You’re with Seonghwa’s Guild Master right now?”
<No, I’m with Gwangmyeong’s Guild Master.>
“What? W-Wait, Oppa, aren’t you with Seonghwa?”
<I am, but I’m out on an external mission. Why? Is something wrong?>
Subin hesitated when her brother finally asked what was going on.
She didn’t know what to say, so she improvised, using the earlier conversation as a cover.
“N-No… My friend is in Gwangmyeong, so I just…”
<Oh, really? Your friend is in Gwangmyeong? Is Gwangmyeong a good guild?>
Yang Sujin flinched at Kang Hyun’s nonchalant tone.
The atmosphere felt tense.
<Hold on a second. The Gwangmyeong Guild Master wants to talk to you.>
“The Guild Master?”
<Yeah, just a moment.>
The voice on the phone changed to that of an older man.
<Ah, young miss~! Hello there! This is the Gwangmyeong Guild Master speaking! I hear your friend is one of our guild members?>
The sudden appearance of such a high-ranking figure left Subin stunned.
“Uh… Y-Yes?”
<Oh, what a wonderful friend your sibling has! We owe your brother a huge debt of gratitude. Without him, we would’ve been in serious trouble!>
The Guild Master’s tone was strangely humble, almost as if he was trying to curry favor with someone.
It was hard to believe this was truly the Guild Master of Gwangmyeong.
Subin glanced at Yang Sujin for confirmation.
Sujin’s pale face confirmed it was indeed the Guild Master speaking.
<What’s your friend’s name? I’ll make sure to look after them specially!>
Yang Sujin, who had been frozen, suddenly bolted forward and stammered.
“Y-Yes! Yang Sujin, trainee group five, F-rank!”
Her tone was stiff, as if she were addressing a commanding officer.
Was this what it meant to be in a guild?
<Ah, so you’re Sujin!>
“S-Sujin?”
<Hahaha, Sujin! Why are you so nervous? Haven’t we always been friendly at the guild? I hope you’re doing well!>
“Y-Yes, sir!”
<Let’s meet at headquarters sometime! And be good to your friend, okay?>
“Y-Yes, of course!”
<I’m not joking—take good care of them!>
The phone changed again.
Her bother’s voice.
<He’s a cheerful guy. Anyway, why did you call?>
“…Just to say thanks for the earrings.”
Subin smiled faintly as she spoke.
<Sure. Don’t lose them; they’re expensive.>
“How expensive?”
<You don’t have to know.>
“Where did you even get something so expensive?”
<From Seonghwa’s Guild Master. I achieved something big recently.>
“…Really?”
<Yeah. But is something going on? You sound unusually cheerful.>
“No, it’s nothing. You’re busy, right? Work hard.”
<Alright.>
The conversation ended like any sibling exchange—blunt and matter-of-fact.
But that single phone call had clarified everything.
<By the way, happy birthday in advance. I’ll call you on your actual birthday.>
“Thanks, Oppa.”
Click.
The call ended.
Immediately, the surrounding students erupted into chaos.
“Wooow!”
“That’s insane!”
“Subin, do you have a picture of your brother?”
“Whoa, he’s really from Seonghwa? This is huge!”
“Wait, what’s his rank? Is he, like, a B-rank or higher?”
“Yang Sujin, was that really your Guild Master on the phone?”
Yang Sujin flinched, her voice weak.
“Y-Yeah…”
Her confidence had completely evaporated, and her face was pale.
“Hey, Sujin, your Guild Master was sucking up to Subin’s brother. If Subin says one word…”
“Shut up already!”
Sujin’s outburst silenced the crowd.
Everyone froze, shocked by her sudden shout.
Her face turned beet red, and she seemed unsure of how to recover.
The awkward silence was broken by Subin.
“Sujin.”
“…Yeah?”
“My brother is really from Seonghwa.”
“…Yeah.”
“I didn’t steal the earrings.”
“…Yeah.”
A friend of Subin’s stepped forward and glared at Sujin.
“Hey! Aren’t you going to apologize?”
“…I’m sorry.”
Without another word, Sujin turned and left the classroom as if nothing had happened.
Subin, however, wasn’t let off the hook so easily. For the next several minutes, she was bombarded with questions from curious classmates.
“Are there other Awakened in your family? Is it genetic?”
“Subin! Why didn’t you tell us earlier? I’m so hurt~!”
“How much does someone at Seonghwa make?”
“Seonghwa’s been crazy lately! They’re practically competing with the number-one guild because of their anomaly detection system!”
The noisy atmosphere Subin disliked surrounded her, but strangely, a sense of inexplicable satisfaction welled up inside her.
For the rest of the day, Subin noticed something unusual—Sujin, who used to approach her just to put her down, was now avoiding her entirely.
“Serves her right, doesn’t it?”
“…Yeah.”
Subin smiled faintly.
###
On the way back after identifying Gwangmyeong’s dungeons:
“My goodness~, your sister’s voice was like a precious gemstone! You should consider making her a singer!”
“Sure.”
Kang Hyun responded absentmindedly, checking his phone messages.
It was from Subin.
<Thanks.>
“Huh?”
She’d already thanked him earlier.
‘She must really like the earrings.’
Jewelry seemed to be a surefire gift for girls these days.
“Something good happen? Your smile is reaching your ears.”
“Yeah, something like that.”
“Ahem.”
Kang Hyun typed a response.
<Haha.>
The reply came almost instantly.
<Flip off.>
“Pfft.”
He chuckled, slipping his phone back into his pocket.
###
The President of the United States read the report in silence, a deep frown forming on his face.
“Hah… It’s true, then.”
“We must act swiftly to win over EX.”
EX referred to the Perfect Clear Awakened individual.
“What’s the current pace of anomaly dungeons appearing in the U.S.?”
“The frequency continues to accelerate. We’ll soon reach a critical threshold, and it will significantly impact our operations.”
“And other countries?”
“Developed nations are implementing their own countermeasures internally.”
The dungeon anomalies were no longer just Korea’s issue but had become a global threat.
“Are there alternative solutions?”
“The measures employed by Korea’s Seonghwa Guild are temporary.”
Investigations revealed their method relied on visual confirmation—a skill unique to a single individual.
The doctor was one person.
At best, it was enough to extinguish Korea’s immediate fires.
“But EX is different. If they achieve a Perfect Clear even in an E-rank dungeon, anomalies within a 100-kilometer radius are nullified.”
“How is such a thing even possible…? Has Korea noticed this phenomenon?”
“Not conclusively.”
“Propose contact through the Korean government.”
Originally, the plan to bring EX to the U.S. was long-term, designed to avoid raising suspicion or resistance.
The assumption was that, over time, EX would naturally gravitate toward America, the world’s center for Awakened power.
But now, the clock was ticking.
“Do not, under any circumstances, reveal the details about the effects of E-rank Blessings to him.”
“Understood.”
“Offer him generous terms to secure his allegiance.”
“Yes, sir.”
Even the effects of an F-rank Blessing were remarkable.
E-rank Blessings were even more so.
What about those of higher ranks?
‘The true power of a Perfect Clear Awakened isn’t just in their progress…’
The President, a man who stood at the pinnacle of power, could see it clearly.
‘The nation that secures EX will hold the keys to global dominance in this century.’
His eyes glimmered with quiet intensity.
