Chapter 10: Registration Test (2)

“I’ve packed it all up!”

Park Jung-Woo had gone the extra mile and brought several boxes to ensure the cakes wouldn’t get squished. He had packed each one with care and neatly piled them all up on the table like a professional patissier.

“Good work,” Kwon Oh-Jin remarked, contently glancing down at the line-up. “By the way, are you here for the registration exam?”

Park Jung-Woo stood alert and straight, with the precision of a military recruit. “Y-Yes! I came to get a good score and bring glory to Pandinus!”

Kwon Oh-Jin nodded with a smirk.

“

Hmmm,

I see.”

Since the association staff were expected to return soon, Kwon Oh-Jin figured it was time to wrap things up.

“I wish to personally see just how skilled a rising star from the Pandinus Guild is.”

Park Jung-Woo’s eyes widened in shock. “... Pardon?”

An Awakener who seemed to outrank even his guild leader observing his registration test was akin to being under the scrutiny of a commanding general.

“Th-That would be a bit...”

“

Haha!

Chan-Hyuk’s recruits must be extraordinary! They have to be. After all, Korea's future rests on their shoulders!”

Park Jung-Woo turned pale. His legs trembled uncontrollably, and he anxiously bit his lip.

I’m fucked.

The truth was he had already arranged to take the test with an association employee he had discreetly bribed. The plan was to breeze through the exam with guaranteed top scores.

W-What do I do?

However, it would be impossible to pull off such a scheme with a master's eyes on him.

“

Hmm?

Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

“N-No, it’s umm... n-nothing.”

Park Jung-Woo balled his trembling hands into fists as his mind turned into a blank canvas. He had expected to live an easy life under a major guild, but that fantasy of his seemed to be headed for a giant cliff now.

“Are you feeling unwell?” asked Kwon Oh-Jin.

“I mean...”

“If you're not feeling too great, wouldn’t it be better to take the registration test some other day? You wouldn’t want to tarnish your guild’s reputation with poor performance,” Kwon Oh-Jin subtly added with a somewhat concerned expression.

He’ll jump at the opportunity.

No applicant would want a big shot to scrutinize their registration test.

You'd have to be incredibly confident in your skills to be comfortable with that.

Park Jung-Woo's sloppy attitude and overall demeanor didn't seem appropriate for a proper Awakener of Scorpio, one of the twelve Zodiacs. It was doubtful he even intended to properly take the test in the first place.

I did hear about people bribing their way to higher scores.

Kwon Oh-Jin wasn’t sure if Park Jung-Woo planned to pull such a move, but he started looking visibly nervous the moment he heard that Kwon Oh-Jin would be present for his test; he clearly wasn’t looking forward to it.

Park Jung-Woo’s eyes sparkled as if he had found an oasis in a desert. “That’s right! I actually haven’t been feeling too well today.”

“Figures.”

Look at him grinning. Is he that happy he found a way out?

“Come here for a moment,” said Kwon Oh-Jin.

Park Jung-Woo flinched. “Right now...?” he trailed off.

“You said you weren’t feeling well, didn’t you? Let me take a look.”

“N-No! Y-You don’t have to—!”

“No need to be so embarrassed. It’s not a crime to be sick.”

Kwon Oh-Jin grabbed Park Jung-Woo by the wrist.

“U-Uhhh.”

Like a high schooler who had been caught smoking, Park Jung-Woo froze and tightly closed his eyes.

How cute.

Kwon Oh-Jin laughed on the inside as he inspected Park Jung-Woo and took his pulse. He then nodded and dispensed somewhat sensible assertions.

“

Hmm

... Your mana is definitely unstable. Your breathing is irregular too. It seems like you’re just fatigued, though, so you don’t have to worry too much.”

“Th-Thank you!”

“But remember, fatigue is the root of all illness. Put off the registration test for another day and just get some proper rest for now.”

“

Haha

, I understand. I wouldn’t want to overdo it and disgrace my guild.”

𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

“Of course. You've got to take care of yourself. Nothing is more important than health.”

Park Jung-Woo shot up from his seat and bowed deeply.

“Thank you for your wise words! My sincerest apologies again for being rude earlier!”

“

Haha,

don’t worry about it. Get some rest, kid.”

“Yes, sir!”

“And send my regards to Chan-Hyuk.”

“Of course, sir!”

Park Jung-Woo flung the door open and rushed out of the waiting room as if fleeing.

Kwon Oh-Jin waved his hand lazily from the sofa. The nuisance testing his patience had finally disappeared. Of course, there was always a chance that this could come back to bite him later.

He probably won’t report it, though.

There weren’t many instances where a low-ranking member of a large guild got to meet their guild master. The guy wouldn't waste a chance like that just to deliver someone else's message unless he’d benefit from it. Even if he did, the guild master would most likely just brush it aside and curse him out.

Kwon Oh-Jin wasn’t concerned about him looking for payback either.

I’ll just destroy him then.

Even though Park Jung-Woo was a promising newcomer under a major guild, Kwon Oh-Jin was still an apostle of the North Star. Considering how easily he had dragged him by the wrist earlier, he likely wouldn’t have much trouble in a fight against him.

“So everything's sorted.”

He had driven away the nuisance and gotten the cakes neatly packaged for Song Ha-Eun.

“Now, let’s see how much he had on him.”

Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled and pulled out a fancy leather wallet. While playing doctor with Park Jung-Woo earlier, he had slyly taken it from his pocket.

“

Oh

, damn. The kid’s carrying a fuckton.”

It seemed the rumors were true about the substantial salary that big guilds offered. Smirking, Kwon Oh-Jin pocketed the thick pile of bills.

As he rifled through the wallet, a small black gem, around the same size as an Anthorn Starstone, caught his eye.

Hmm? Is this a mutant’s Starstone? Why would he have this?

Mutants were extremely rare, and acquiring their Starstone was even more uncommon. Why would Park Jung-Woo have one sitting in his wallet?

“I’ll need to look into this.”

It didn’t feel right to pocket something so suspicious. Kwon Oh-Jin tossed the wallet into the trash can and waited for about ten more minutes before he finally heard heavy footsteps echoing down the hallway.

Click

.

The door opened, and a tall man in his late thirties walked in.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

The man was nearly 190 centimeters tall and had a massive, muscular frame with tanned skin.

Confronting the man's sheer presence was like facing down a tank. It left Kwon Oh-Jin momentarily speechless.

“You’re Awakener Kwon Oh-Jin, correct? The one bearing the Stigma of Lyra?”

“

Ah

, yes, that’s me.”

“My apologies for the late introduction. I’m Han Jun-Man, leader of the association's Disaster Response Division.”

The large man extended his calloused hand. When Kwon Oh-Jin shook it, he felt an overwhelming strength radiate into him.

Wow

.

This man was in a completely different league from someone like Park Jung-Woo.

“May I ask what constellation you are with?”

“I’m a six-star Awakener of Taurus.”

Taurus, like Scorpio, was one of the Zodiacs. Considering Han Jun-Man had reached six stars with such a powerful Stigma, Kwon Oh-Jin realized that it was only natural for him to feel suffocated by Han Jun-Man's pressure.

“I heard that Awakeners of the association weren’t anything special, but that doesn’t seem true now.”

“

Haha

... well, it’s not entirely untrue.”

Team Leader Han Jun-Man smiled bitterly.

“Anyway, is it true that you bear the Stigma of Lyra?” he asked with a look of disbelief.

So far, only twelve Awakeners in the world had received Stigmas from the North Star Celestials. On top of that, their Stigmas were all from Deneb.

These twelve North Star apostles were renowned for their incredible power. Because of their astonishing abilities, curiosity naturally grew about the other two North Star Celestials. However, while the existence of Vega and Polaris was known, neither had ever granted out Stigmas.

In other words, Kwon Oh-Jin was the first-ever Awakener to receive Vega’s Stigma. Hence, people were naturally skeptical.

“Let me show you,” said Kwon Oh-Jin.

It was easier to demonstrate than to explain. He unbuttoned his shirt and revealed the Stigma etched on his left chest.

“

Hmm...

”

Han Jun-Man inspected the Stigma with a serious yet still somewhat unconvinced expression.

“You’re here for the registration test, right?”

“Yes.”

“If it's alright with you, would it be okay for me to conduct the exam myself?”

“You?”

Why would a six-star Awakener conduct a simple registration test? This throws my plan off a bit.

Just as he was about to refuse, a thought occurred to him.

Wait, maybe this isn’t such a bad thing.

Things could actually work out better this way.

“Yes, that’s fine,” replied Kwon Oh-Jin.

“Thank you. Let’s head to the testing ground then.”

Kwon Oh-Jin nodded and followed closely behind Han Jun-Man.

After walking for five minutes through complex corridors within the association's headquarters, they arrived at a large testing ground. The training area, designed specifically for Awakeners, was bound by reinforced glass made from Starstone fragments and other special materials.

Looks like the audience has been cleared out.

People weren't prohibited from spectating the registration tests, so it wasn’t unusual for a few to be in the stands. However, Han Jun-Man seemed to have already taken care of that.

Surprisingly thoughtful of him.

Despite looking like he could chew through metal, he seemed to be a sensible man.

Han Jun-Man put on protective gloves and adjusted his stance.

“Are you sure I can use this instead of a regular sparring weapon?”

Kwon Oh-Jin casually tapped Lee Shin-Hyuk’s spear, which he had retrieved from the storage area.

“

Haha.

Of course.”

“... Alright then.”

Since he was okay with it, there was no reason to hesitate.

A six-star Awakener, huh?

Though he did have the Stigma of Lyra, was it possible for Kwon Oh-Jin to bridge a four-star gap? He was up against an Awakener with a Stigma of the Zodiacs.

Only one way to find out. That's why I’m here in the first place.

Kwon Oh-Jin took deep, slow breaths as he got into his stance, moving according to the Pyxis Spearmanship techniques engraved in his mind.

The Stigma on his chest unleashed a brilliant blue light.

Woong!

Blue lightning crackled fiercely around him.

With a powerful stomp, he launched himself forward.

“Hmph!”

With all his might, he thrust the lightning-charged spear toward his opponent.

Clang!

The spearhead collided with Han Jun-Man’s forearm, only to be forcefully repelled. Kwon Oh-Jin felt he had struck solid iron instead of a human arm.

“... Huh?”

After blocking the spear, Han Jun-Man’s expression suddenly stiffened.

“What the...?”

His mouth hung open in disbelief.