In the Name of God - vanish into fiction

While Nam Hojin clicked his tongue, thinking of the incompetent elders of the Awakening Ability Evaluation Committee, the Fifth Grade Special Officer spoke with a look as if he had just remembered something.

“Ah, there was something that felt a bit strange.”

“In what way?”

“…He said they just became acquainted. I thought at least they would be friends.”

The officer shivered, recalling the moment when Lee Sunho muttered that.

“He said it to himself, but the atmosphere instantly turned so cold… I accidentally lowered my gaze. It was one of those terrifying moments, like if you made eye contact you would die…”

The officer shivered as he recounted his impression, then sheepishly added, “It was probably just my imagination,” feeling awkward about being intimidated by a 9th rank awakener.

However, Nam Hojin did not seem to think the same way.

He opened his eyes wide and abruptly stood up, checking every corner of the interview room. Even as the officer looked confused, Nam Hojin’s stern expression did not waver.

There were no CCTVs, no listening devices. The interview room was well soundproofed and spaced apart from other rooms, so no one could eavesdrop.

“‘We just became acquainted while running dungeons together,’” Nam Hojin muttered to himself.

But how could someone mutter like that, almost regretting Seong Do‑yoon’s answer?

‘A coincidence… right?’

Nam Hojin glared at the photo of Lee Sunho in the awakener registration information on the tablet, smiling faintly.

Indeed, he was a 9th rank awakener with a very bad feeling about him.

***

“Number 198! Can we talk for a moment?!”

“Do you have a clan you are considering?”

“Let me briefly introduce our clan…!”

As soon as I stepped out of the promotion exam room, a crowd of people, whose waiting I had not noticed, rushed toward me. Lee Sunho’s situation was not much different.

I looked around at the people clinging to me with exaggerated excitement.

I was surprised by the number of people with their eyes blazing, but it was not completely unexpected.

A 9th rank awakener using mana to defeat monsters, or demonstrating the ‘instant slash’ that could cut through even high-level barriers, would inevitably cause a stir anywhere, like finding a raw gem.

I had moved hoping for such a situation, but I had little interest in them.

As soon as we stepped outside, people immediately clung to us.

Those attached to Lee Sunho were no different.

I looked around at the people clinging to me, still surprised at how many were eagerly waiting.

A 9th rank awakener using mana to defeat monsters, or cutting through a barrier with a single slash, would inevitably cause a commotion.

I had moved hoping for such a situation, but I had no intention of dealing with them individually.

‘It is better to ignore these people.’

The people clinging to us in a hurry were just trying to lure newbies for a cheap gain. True elites tend to remain calm.

“Sorry, but the promotion exam results are not out yet. I will consider it after the results are announced.”

“Wait, just a moment!”

As I pushed them aside and moved, a few anxious hands grabbed my arm and clothes. My body was fragile and wobbled easily, but a familiar hand reached from behind and steadied me.

Lee Sunho, looking back at me and smiling, instantly shifted his gaze and coldly stared at the people blocking us.

With just one change in expression, the air around us shifted.

“We are passing. Please move aside.”

“Just a moment, we just want to talk…!”

“Did you not hear me?”

Lee Sunho’s voice was shockingly cold, even to me.

“Move.”

It was short and sharp.

The chill in his tone made the people blocking us hesitate and begin to step back.

-Wow… I thought he was only kind, but he is scary.

‘Exactly.’

Where did my gentle, friendly Lee Sunho go?

Seeing the people step aside, Lee Sunho wrapped his arm around my shoulder and confidently led us through, like a manager clearing the path for a celebrity. Honestly, it was a little embarrassing.