Chapter 12: Rebellion

Bamboo Forest.  

In the past, it referred simply to a dense forest of bamboo, but now it carried a slightly different meaning.  

An anonymous community.  

Starting from university circles, spreading through workplaces and integrated SNS, this wave of anonymous communities had also reached the Awakener circles.  

If you think about it, the group that needed anonymity the most were the Awakeners.  

And for good reason—Awakeners, and the guilds they belonged to, were hotbeds of corruption.  

There was so much to say when cloaked in anonymity.  

Of course, they didn’t reveal deeply buried secrets that could shake society to its core, but the unfiltered conversations in these communities offered endless information.  

That said, this wasn’t the norm.  

This place was the underworld.  

A dark abyss filled with pointless chatter and curses, one that sane people avoided unless absolutely necessary.  

And right now was exactly such a critical moment.  

Current online users: 5,038  

Normally, there wouldn’t be more than a hundred logged in, but today, over 5,000 people were connected—fifty times the usual.  

It was inevitable.  

The biggest incidents in South Korea’s Awakener history had erupted one after another.  

—Is it true they cleared Very Hard Difficulty?  

—I didn’t know it was even possible to clear that. I thought it was just for show.  

—That’s one thing, but the funny part is it wasn’t even cleared by Shinhwa. The so-called top guild in Korea always acting all high and mighty .  

—Shinhwa guys? They’re only big shots in Hell Joseon, nobody knows them globally.  

─If Shinhwa hears this, who do you think you are? Let’s hear that great name once.  

ᄂShinhwa member caught.  

ᄂAnyway, Shinhwa guys always lose it when people trash-talk them, so funny.  

ᄂTheir sense of belonging is just ridiculous.  

The topic, of course, was about clearing the Very Hard Difficulty.  

Although the usual ridicule aimed at the ever-arrogant, almost public enemy Shinhwa Guild was present as always.  

For the first time in the world, Very Hard Difficulty had been cleared.  

Even if it stung a little, that was news worthy of congratulations.  

However.  

-But is this something to celebrate?  

-Why? What happened?  

ᄂHave you seen this guy’s phone?  

ᄂDoes he live in Ethiopia or something?  

―Isn’t he Ha Yeon Lee’s ex-husband? That criminal who gaslit his young, pretty wife.  

─And of all Traits, he got that awful one.  

─The world’s unfair. Traits like that never come to people like me, but end up with jerks like Chulwoo Shin and Kim Si-won.  

ᄂWhat’s wrong with Chulwoo? If he had that Trait, the world would’ve ended by now.  

ᄂNext up, another Shinhwa Guild member.  

Well, his personality might be trash, but he certainly had guts.  

—Seriously. Have you seen Shinhwa putting entry restrictions right in Chulwoo’s face? Anyone who hasn’t seen that? If you were nearby, you’d be amazed by his sheer audacity.  

—True. Shinhwa guys were so obnoxious, but that was satisfying to watch.  

Kim Si-won.  

A notorious scoundrel already well known to the public.  

Moreover, a useless husband who exploited his wife—the kind South Koreans despise most.  

Naturally, the public expected him to be buried alive, but surprisingly, the opinion wasn’t that bad.  

Why?  

Because he dealt a serious blow to the Shinhwa Guild.  

The undisputed top guild of South Korea, Shinhwa.  

But many Awakeners were unhappy with their near-monopoly at the top.  

Yet Kim Si-won had the audacity to impose entry restrictions right in their face.  

Something everyone had only imagined.  

But it happened in reality, and the admiration for him was inevitable.  

Even if he was Ha Yeon Lee’s ex-husband who had a troubled past, if one had the ability, the past was often overlooked.  

—Still, he really overdid it. Not just Shinhwa, but even their allied and subordinate guilds were blocked.  

—I guarantee within a week, Kim Si-won will disappear without explanation—I’d bet my hand on it.  

ᄂI’ll put my ankle on five days.  

ᄂThree days for the head.  

ᄂTwo days for one ball.  

ᄂYou don’t know Shinhwa. These guys are ruthless. Everyone who’s crossed them ended up disappearing mysteriously. So my conclusion: I’m all in on that last strand of hair!  

ᄂWow!  

ᄂYou’re crazy…  

ᄂI give up.  

Shinhwa Guild hadn’t been on top from the start.  

Even their guild master, Chulwoo Shin, had belonged to another guild.  

Their rival guilds and most of the Awakeners they competed against vanished mysteriously or died.  

Of course, the police and prosecutors officially declared Shinhwa wasn’t involved.  

But no one believed it.  

Because only those who competed with Shinhwa ended up dead.  

One coincidence might be excused, but repeated incidents meant inevitability.  

Who could believe Shinhwa wasn’t connected after walking such a smooth path?  

That was why all the Awakeners in the Bamboo Forest spoke with one voice:  

Kim Si-won was going to die.  

At least in South Korea, Shinhwa was law.  

No one hostile to them had survived.  

***

Inside an abandoned factory far from human activity.  

In the center, sitting cross-legged, immersed in Meditation.  

Meditation.  

One of the essential disciplines of a Knight.  

Excessive excitement and emotional drain during battle often led to mistakes.  

Therefore, one must achieve a calm, clear mind like a still mirror—  

Meditation was the most effective means to reach this state.  

Clear the mind, sharpen it like a sword.  

Of course, this consumed considerable spiritual energy.  

If one reached the peak, they could maintain this clarity even while eating or urinating, but that was beyond my current ability.  

It was something that could only be approached with long, dedicated focus and extreme concentration.  

So why?  

Why was I honing my mind in an empty abandoned factory?  

“…They’re coming.”  

I wasn’t alone.  

Sssshh!  

A sound.  

Something was approaching, disturbing my wide, almost tactile senses laid out like a curtain.  

I ended my meditation and stood.  

At that moment.  

“Click, click.”  

On a dark night, dozens of unwelcome guests emerged as if crawling out of the shadows.  

Each wore animal-shaped masks and baggy hoods that concealed their builds—suspicious through and through.  

There was no need to ask their purpose.  

“Who sent you?”  

I voiced the question about their employer.  

But  

“…”  

No one answered.  

“A pointless question.”  

I—and everyone here—already knew the answer.  

What mattered was not who sent them, but that someone had to die.  

Whether it would be me, or the circle of enemies surrounding me, was the only question left.  

“Finding someone in South Korea is quite easy.”  

The moment I moved a step, I noticed CCTV cameras.  

If someone wielded public power or had strong backing, tracking someone was simple.  

So I turned this around to my advantage.  

“Like moths unaware they’re flying into a fire demon.”  

No sooner had I said this,  I flicked a stone I held in my hand.

“Ptt. Ppit!”  

To someone else, just a stone, but in my hands, it told a different story.  

Like a bullet, it shot forward, not startling anyone, but—  

“Bang! Kraak!”

The streetlights illuminating the dark night shattered.  

Pitch-black darkness settled.  

The place was already deserted and quiet, but now, with the streetlights gone, nothing around could be distinguished.  

“Nonsense!”  

Perhaps my move seemed trivial to them.  

They scoffed and began moving busily.  

I knew.  

Darkness was a fear to ordinary people, but it meant nothing to Awakeners like them.  

Especially trained hunting dogs familiar with killing—they had to be comfortable in the dark.  

But.  

“Are you sure? You say it’s the same as having full visibility?”  

If asked whether they could act precisely without any margin of error as if they had perfect sight, no one would answer easily.  

But if they asked me?  

“I can guarantee it. I am not hindered by darkness.”  

Since the days I was called Goblin Slayer, I lived in darkness.  

For me, darkness was not an unknown, fearful realm but a very familiar environment.   

I clearly saw the fierce movements of the intruders.  

Not just their paths, but the direction of their hands and feet, subtle eye movements, and trembling muscles.  

Combat cannot improve by relying on instinct alone.  

One must predict based on past experience and the phenomena observed now.  

That prediction—  

“Whish, whoosh!”  

Their movements too fast for the naked eye, the paths to evade attacks raining from all directions became clear.  

Hundreds of years, tens of thousands—no, hundreds of thousands of battles fought.  

My level of prediction had reached the realm of foresight.  

Like a hologram, their next moves appeared as afterimages in my mind.  

And all I had to do was move in accordance with those predicted actions.  

Lightly leaning my upper body back to evade.  

“Kahng!”  

I swung my sword in a surprise attack to intercept an incoming strike.  

They didn’t expect me to parry, and their body shook momentarily.  

I lost balance, stepping on factory debris—my mistake.  

Because I wasn’t fully adapted to the darkness.  

Being only partially accustomed, errors occurred—and that was my intention.  

[Speed]  

The sword imbued with Speed Trait.    

It pierced the left chest of one of them.  

But there was no scream.  

The blade protruded, signaling certain death.  

“Papapat!”  

Arrows flew rapidly from those waiting in the rear.  

It was a coordinated attack, targeting the inevitable gap after an attack.    

I had already anticipated their assault and deflected every arrow.  

No, it wasn’t just defense.  

“Ssshhhhkkk!”  

I controlled the force perfectly and sent the arrows flying back at them.  

“Ah!”  

“Ugh!”  

They screamed in shock, not expecting the arrows to return.  

The arrows pierced their bodies without fail.  

The unexpected meant unguarded attacks.  

“R-Reflection Trait?!”  

“Damn! He has the Reflection Trait!”  

They concluded it was a Reflection Trait.  

‘That figures.’  

Their knowledge was limited to Traits.  

They never imagined it was Ihwajeopmok—the art of transformation achieved through grueling training.  

A technique any Knight on the Gritia Continent could perform, but since their power and ability were limited to Traits, their vision was narrow.  

‘This is the problem with Traits.’  

The real issue with Trait bearers, the Awakeners, was severe.  

They didn’t need separate training.  

By climbing the tower and strengthening Traits, they could grow stronger endlessly.  

Sure, some might train.  

But could their training with a powerful Trait truly be called grueling effort?  

I’d say no.  

It was like handing Superman’s power to a three-year-old.  

Powerful, yes, but utterly pathetic in how they used it.  

“Scritch, scratch! ” 

Despite a combined assault of dozens, nearly a hundred, I neutralized them in an instant.  

“Ugh!”  

“Ghh…”  

Only screams echoed through the darkness.  

And when the screams ceased—  

“Flash!”  

Using ‘Light,’ one of the abilities bestowed upon the Sword of the Retainer, I illuminated the surroundings.  

Some were dead, but most still writhed, clinging to life.  

I left them alive not out of pity or mercy.  

“Blink!”  

A smartphone set up in a corner of the factory.  

A red indicator showed it was filming live.  

Unlike on the Gritia Continent, the modern world had many conveniences.  

Among them was the live broadcast platform.  

Anyone could stream if they had a smartphone capable of filming.  

Yes, just like now.  

I could broadcast to the whole world that a hired assassin was aiming for my life here in South Korea, even to viewers far beyond.