Chapter 35: Shadows of Surveillance

Awakener?

The process of obtaining a special power and a status screen after defeating monsters?

Hae Eung Eung had her own martial record—a status screen of sorts—with inner power to boot. If she wanted, she could mimic any supernatural power with ease.

The Awakener Association’s homepage displayed the evolving abilities of Awakeners as they rose through the ranks:

• [F-Rank Awakener]
  • [Ability – Wood Punch]: Ability to harden one’s fists like wood.
• [E-Rank Awakener]
  • [Ability – Wood Skin]: Ability to harden one’s skin like wood.
• [D-Rank Awakener]
  • [Ability – Ironwood Skin]: Skin covered in wood as hard as iron.
• [C-Rank Awakener]
  • [Ability – Guardian of Ironwood]: Creates iron-hard wood to protect within a 2-meter radius.
• [B-Rank Awakener]
  • [Ability – Ironwood Domain]: Summons ironwood at will within a 10-meter radius.
• [A-Rank Awakener]
  • [Ability – Ironworld Tree]: Summons a massive ironwood tree that controls a 50-meter radius.

Though the abilities started modestly, diligent leveling and growth could transform these powers into impressive feats.

The Association provided opportunities to accumulate achievements, but in return, affiliated Awakeners were required to meet certain contributions through various missions.

‘It’s uncomfortably similar to the Martial Alliance,’ she thought, comparing the Association to a bureaucratic upper hand over the Alliance.

The Association was a higher-order version of the Martial Alliance, wielding institutional control through legal restrictions and internal rules that could impose either visible or unseen disadvantages on Awakeners.

Whether or not an Awakener chose to join, the Association held countless ways to impose sanctions.

They could assign mandatory missions, reduce contribution points for failures, and effectively control both the growth rate and rank of each Awakener.

‘Useful, obedient members are allowed to grow to a certain point, while those who seem difficult or dangerous to manage have their growth intentionally stunted.’

Though she knew this kind of manipulation could occur in any organization, it unsettled her to imagine a colossal entity controlling the progress of martial artists, determining their levels of skill and power based on external influence.

Joining the Association felt unwise. Besides, she had no real need to become an Awakener.

‘I’ve barely scratched the surface of advancing my martial arts and inner power.

Gaining some strange Awakener ability won’t automatically make me stronger.’

To her, the “mana” that Awakeners supposedly used was simply a form of energy, not unlike inner power, with a slightly different nature and application.

But if the mana she obtained through awakening failed to harmonize with her inner power…

That day would be the day she risked falling into the dangerous state of “deviation,” or juhaipma.

Unless her life were truly in danger, Hae Eung Eung vowed that she would not awaken.

Her mind had somewhat settled, enough for her to take a step back and observe herself more clearly.

And what she saw was a deficiency in her martial arts skills.

If third-rate martial arts were introductory, then second-rate skills were professional, far superior in utility.

Yet, the second-rate martial arts she had mastered were still far from perfection.

‘I thought the basics would be enough to build proficiency quickly, but I was more pressed than I expected.’

After all, this game pitted her against high-level opponents from the start.

The tutorial boss alone had been at the level of a first-rate external martial artist.

Even though it was a hidden boss, the “Demon Immortal” wielded extraordinary powers that rivaled a master in peak form.

‘Though its flashy moves and size were intimidating, it didn’t have much substance.’

If she’d had to face it alone, without the Inmyeon Jiju family, she would have managed, but the fight would have been far more grueling and complex.

‘Looks like I need to train a bit more.’

But she wasn’t looking for simple martial arts practice today. Instead, she had resolved to focus on special techniques suited for her current needs.

Considering the structure of Banyogok—with many non-human foes—it made sense to enhance her stealth and evasion skills to increase her ambush chances.

Tonight, she would train in the art of assassination.

‘It’s oddly crowded in the park tonight.’

Normally, by this time, office workers and passersby would be off the streets, busy playing games from the comfort of home.

But tonight, benches were occupied by people reading newspapers, others jogging with headphones, a few standing under streetlights smoking, and some out walking their dogs.

‘Convenient for my purposes, though.’

Blending in with the crowd, she focused on her stealth technique, practicing how to move without attracting attention.

As soon as she committed to her plan, her presence began to fade, becoming nearly invisible to those around her.

‘?!’

‘Is she invisible?’

‘Did she teleport?’

‘Where did the target go?’

The middle-aged man in a suit reading the newspaper, the woman walking her dog, the young man communicating with headquarters through his earpiece, and the woman smoking nearby—all of them were agents keeping her under surveillance. Now they were thrown off, nervously scanning their surroundings.

– Do not act suspiciously. The target may still be in the vicinity.

Following instructions from headquarters, the agents tried to look nonchalant, resuming their positions as if nothing had happened.

In an unsettling silence, with no sign of the target, the four operatives stood in place or wandered through the park, enduring the cold and a mounting sense of dread.

After an hour, they began to withdraw from the operational area.

“C7, have we ever had a surveillance target give us this much trouble before?”

C7, a man in his 40s who had been reading a newspaper earlier, replied to the young female agent, C9, who had been smoking under a streetlight.

“Foolish woman, you still find this funny?”

“What’s your problem?”

“Were you too busy with your cigarette to notice?”

“Notice what?”

“That woman. There was a shadow behind you.”

C9’s eyes widened as C7 continued. “She was watching you from behind the streetlight while you smoked, for over a full minute.”

“What?!”

“She could have taken you out at any moment.”

Their cover had been blown. The message was clear: the target was aware of their surveillance and was more than capable of dealing with them if she wished.

C7 realized he’d been in mortal danger the whole time.

– Cease surveillance. All agents, pull back.

The team recognized they were dealing with someone far beyond their abilities.

Acknowledging this, they abandoned the mission, accepting that gathering information from such a target would be no easy feat.

– From now on, I, C1, will personally handle the surveillance.

Only a skilled operative could monitor someone of her caliber.

Association Team Leader, code-named C1, was a powerful mental-type awakened named Yoo Min-seong, capable of reading minds directly. He would now take on the task of monitoring Hae Eung Eung himself.