Chapter 10: An Awakening Gone Wrong

Fortunately, Baek Eun-hoo seemed to realize he’d just spouted nonsense and returned to his seat. Just like on screen, he lounged back against the sofa and crossed his legs.

Kidnapping someone and then acting this relaxed was textbook psychopathic behavior, but his looks were so straight out of a movie that it hardly felt real.

“So. Why did I kidnap you…? Seems like that’s my question to ask. Why would Mo Jun-young spend his own money to arrange housing for a civilian like you?”

“Well, that’s because…”

Ju-an was at a loss for words again. Saying he knew Baek Eun-hoo’s weakness, right in front of Baek Eun-hoo, might get him killed without a trace. So he changed tactics.

“Mo Jun-young is a public official. Maybe he just felt sorry for a civilian?”

Baek Eun-hoo scoffed.

“Mo Jun-young spending his own money out of pity for a civilian? Sure. Let’s say that’s true.”

“Then… did you really bring me here just because Mo Jun-young showed me some kindness?”

No matter how much of a rivalry they had, Ju-an hadn’t realized Baek Eun-hoo was this unhinged. Or wait, don’t tell me…?

“Don’t be ridiculous. I heard you mentioned the Creator of Sacrifice in public. How do you explain that?”

So he’d already heard. Then there was no choice, he’d have to deflect the Constellation topic the same way he had with Mo Jun-young.

“…All right. I’ll tell you. I know about the Constellation, the Creator of Sacrifice.”

Baek Eun-hoo shot up from his seat, one hand braced on his hip while the other roughly raked through his hair. He must’ve been furious, he’d sent request messages all the way until the last moment, only to be rejected every time.

His gaze felt sharp enough to bore holes through Ju-an, who hurriedly added:

“But I didn’t tell Mo Jun-young.”

Thankfully, Baek Eun-hoo’s expression eased a little.

“He said he’d give me a place to stay if I told him in a month. Something personal came up.”

“So even Mo Jun-young doesn’t know.”

“Yes. That Constellation… disappeared all of a sudden, right?”

Baek Eun-hoo nodded slowly, then suddenly ground out a curse under his breath.

“Yeah. Vanished like he never existed. But…”

He circled the table and stopped in front of Ju-an.

Ju-an wanted to run, but with his body restrained, all he could do was listen to his heart pound.

“How does a civilian know anything about a Constellation?”

“If I knew that, do you think I’d be in this situation? I’m losing my mind too, I don’t know why this suddenly happened to me…”

That part was at least half true.

Even accounting for exhaustion from constant overtime, dreaming something this long was absurd. He had no idea what was really going on.

But could he really keep playing dumb in front of Baek Eun-hoo like this? With that personality, there was no way he’d just let it slide.

The best possible scenario was Mo Jun-young realizing Ju-an had gone missing and coming to rescue him.

Given how deep their rivalry ran, he’d quickly guess the culprit, and Mo Jun-young wasn’t the type to ignore a situation where a civilian might get hurt. If Ju-an could just buy time, rescue was possible.

“I know it’s hard to believe me. But it’s the truth.”

Baek Eun-hoo stared at him in silence.

“Then it’d be easier if you just told me what you know. I don’t particularly want to slaughter civilians. Especially not someone like you…”

His gaze traveled slowly up and down Ju-an’s body, sickly in a way that made his skin crawl.

“So? For everyone’s sake, why not tell me about the Creator of Sacrifice?”

It was almost polite. Almost.

The problem was what came next. If Ju-an refused, he might trigger a violent outburst. So he had to answer, while dragging things out as long as possible.

Ju-an took a deep breath and spoke slowly.

“There’s a game called Become a Constellation.”

“…A game?”

“It’s an RPG where you become a Constellation and raise an incarnation…”

As Ju-an explained the game in excessive, painstaking detail, Baek Eun-hoo’s face gradually twisted. Unable to think of any other way to stall, Ju-an kept repeating himself. Maybe that was the mistake.

Before long, Baek Eun-hoo clenched his fist, clearly at the brink of losing his patience. The thought of that fist smashing into his face sent chills down Ju-an’s spine. He bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut.

Bang! Bang!

That was when it happened, something shattered, and a familiar voice rang out.

“Baek Eun-hoo. Is it you again?”

The people who burst through the broken door were Mo Jun-young and Joo Ji-chan.

Given Mo Jun-young’s meticulous nature, he’d likely brought Joo Ji-chan along just in case.

Joo Ji-chan wasn’t an official civil servant, but he was affiliated with the center and genuinely committed to rescuing civilians, so of course he’d step in.

With Ju-an running out of excuses, there could’ve been no better saviors.

Baek Eun-hoo ran a hand through his hair in annoyance. In the next instant, a flamethrower appeared in Joo Ji-chan’s hands.

“H-he’s insane…”

Was he seriously going to use that here? Was burning everything down really necessary?

With Baek Eun-hoo being electric-type, if the two of them exchanged skills, the whole building could be blown apart.

While Ju-an was panicking internally, Mo Jun-young calmly walked over and draped an arm around his shoulders, as if this were nothing new.

“You should move somewhere safe. Wouldn’t want you getting hurt.”

“What? After seeing that? Shouldn’t you stop them?”

“They won’t listen even if we try. That’s how Awakeners are.”

Mo Jun-young said it matter-of-factly.

Ju-an was grateful he’d come to the rescue, but dragging Joo Ji-chan into this and acting so shameless about it?

Still, getting roasted alive wasn’t an option, so Ju-an stuck close to Mo Jun-young and retreated.

“If you give up now, I won’t burn you,” Joo Ji-chan warned, flamethrower raised.

Baek Eun-hoo responded with a sneer and lifted his arm, the motion he used before casting.

“You’re the one who should walk away quietly.”

“Sorry, but I can’t just stand by while civilians die.”

Said the man about to use a flamethrower indoors? If he pulled that trigger, everyone in the building would die.

Ju-an stared at Joo Ji-chan in disbelief, then crack! Electricity sparked across Joo Ji-chan’s forehead. A warning shot from Baek Eun-hoo.

“You bastard…”

Furious, Joo Ji-chan aimed the flamethrower at Baek Eun-hoo, only for bang! the nozzle shattered mid-aim.

Wait, Joo Ji-chan…? Why was an S-rank this weak? Just watching was shrinking Ju-an’s heart.

“He’s not actually going to use it,” Mo Jun-young said calmly. “That would cause too much trouble.”

Hearing that, Ju-an finally understood.

If he wasn’t going to use it, why not put it back in his inventory? Carrying it around like that just made him an easy target.

It was maddening.

Baek Eun-hoo flashed a wicked grin and raised a finger skyward. Was he about to use Heaven’s Resounding? If he messed that up, Joo Ji-chan could be permanently disabled.

Between Joo Ji-chan, who cared about civilian safety, and Baek Eun-hoo, who didn’t give a damn, Baek Eun-hoo had the overwhelming advantage. Yet Mo Jun-young still sounded utterly uninterested.

“Looks like you’re terrified. If you can’t walk, I’ll carry you.”

He bent his knees and offered his back. Ju-an stared at him in disbelief.

“Excuse me? Mo Jun-young, are you seriously saying we should just leave Joo Ji-chan like that? That’s not how humans behave.”

Mo Jun-young straightened and looked down at Ju-an like he was pathetic.

“And what? You, who can’t even fight, plan to jump in?”

“No, but the least we can do is stay nearby. How can the director of the Awakener Management Center be this irresponsible?”

The moment the words left his mouth, Ju-an realized his mistake. The center’s most important duty wasn’t protecting Awakeners, it was protecting civilians from Awakeners at risk of going berserk. By that standard, Mo Jun-young was doing his job perfectly.

And then,

“Heaven’s Resounding!”

Baek Eun-hoo shouted. Even Mo Jun-young turned around at that. Joo Ji-chan hurriedly raised the flamethrower again, but Baek Eun-hoo was faster. Yellow lightning coiled along the ceiling.

At that moment, Ju-an screamed.

“Aaaagh!”

Heaven’s Resounding was a skill that only activated on a designated target. There was no way Baek Eun-hoo had used it on Ju-an, yet pain tore through his body as if he’d been struck by lightning.

…Or had he?

Ju-an turned his head. Baek Eun-hoo was frozen in the exact pre-cast pose, and Joo Ji-chan was staring at him in shock.

The instant Ju-an confirmed Joo Ji-chan was unharmed, the pain surged again. As he collapsed, clutching his head, a status window suddenly appeared.

<Congratulations. Seong Ju-an has awakened as an S-rank Buffer.>

What?

I awakened- just like that?

And not as a Hunter, but as a Buffer?

<Awakener: Seong Ju-an
Current Rank: S (Buff-type)

Skill Ranks:
Handshake (SS), Hug (A), Kiss (SSS)>

…Excuse me?

Why are the skill names like this?!

There was no time to complain. Baek Eun-hoo had paused his attack in shock, this was his chance to help Joo Ji-chan.

Enduring the splitting pain in his head, Ju-an forced open the skill window and checked the effects.

<Handshake — Increases allies’ attack speed and movement speed
(Usable on all party members)

Hug — Creates a shield, granting full defense
(Usable on all party members, Duration: 1 min 30 sec, Cooldown: 10 min)

Kiss — Triples all stats of an ally
(Usable on one target only, Duration: 24 hours)>

Despite the absurd names, the effects were almost identical to when he’d been a Constellation.

The pain continued, but he had to act before Baek Eun-hoo snapped again.

Staggering to his feet, Ju-an shouted dramatically toward Joo Ji-chan:

“Kiss-on Joo Ji-chan!”

…Nothing happened.

An awkward silence followed. Joo Ji-chan stared at him in disbelief, Baek Eun-hoo openly laughed, and Mo Jun-young was visibly fighting back a grin.

Overwhelmed with embarrassment, Ju-an bit his tongue and wished he could just die on the spot.