Chapter 64: Unforeseen Awakening

– The True Master of Malice
1.

The silent swordsman interview video uploaded by Lee Haechan

hit one million views on the day of its release.

-?
-?

• April Fools’ Day is in April, why are you talking nonsense in November?

The comments section was filled with hooks and unanswered questions.

It was understandable.

It was an interview with a black screen and only sound,

and the silent swordsman didn’t speak at all.

• Hey, you crazy idiot
• Isn’t this just a self-interview?
• The interview was done in Haechan’s imagination,
• Haechan sucked up one million views with an imaginary interview
• You tricked us, you tricked us, you tricked us
• But the silent swordsman’s little sister’s voice is really pretty – That’s right
• Silent swordsman’s little sister real video “Give it to me”
• Is she really his sister? Did you hire an actress?
• How can you believe it when there’s no video, you jerk

When conversing with the silent swordsman’s sister,

at least there was a dialogue,

but when it came to speaking with the silent swordsman himself,

Lee Haechan would ask questions and react alone,

creating a completely one-sided interview.

It became the world’s first “viewer-imagined” interview,

where the audience had to guess the silent swordsman’s responses

through Haechan’s reactions.

• 5:22 Language level 3. I don’t understand the speaker’s psychology, damn it
• 7:04 I’m a Korean Literature major. The context is unresolvable, you idiot
• 11:05 Why is Haechan laughing alone? Why is Haechan laughing alone? Why is Haechan laughing alone?
• Make us laugh too
• Both the interviewer and the interviewee are both evil, honestly
• Why are there more and more questions instead of answers in this interview?
• Silent swordsman’s answers (unheard)
• Silent swordsman interview special: Only top-tier language students can understand
• I can’t even see the first-person sensory link, and now I can’t understand the interview, damn it
• Ah  the time has come when only viewers with physical and mental abilities can watch
• Silent swordsman content for the strong viewers
• Live for physical skills, recorded for mental skills

A flood of furious comments came,

but surprisingly, there weren’t too many malicious ones. Haechan’s regular viewers,

who had often observed his broadcast featuring the silent swordsman,

and those thirsty for the silent swordsman content,

were already familiar with his malicious side and had grown accustomed to it.

• This is the true silent swordsman
• The familiar taste of an evil bastard
• He does whatever the hell he wants in the broadcast, and that’s what makes it fun
• It has the novelty of mint chocolate flavor
  Brush your teeth, you dirty bastard, how long have you not brushed your teeth for this flavor to be considered fresh?
• Mint chocolate does taste like toothpaste though
• Damn it, my toothpaste is strawberry flavored, what have you added?
• Ah  If it’s strawberry flavor, then sorry

It wasn’t just fresh,

but his skills were top-tier, and the viewing pleasure was great,

so the slightly malicious acts were accepted as part of the concept,

and a peculiar trend had settled in.

“Why the hell is the view count exploding like this?”

“Because the editing was damn good. You really should bow down to me, admit it?”

“This is seriously acknowledged.”

Even in a SOUND ONLY interview,

a few curiosities about the silent swordsman were answered adequately.

(Lee Haechan): “J, did you see your sister using a sword in real life?”

(J): “Of course. My sister is so strong. During the monster raid, she killed over a hundred lizardmen.”

(Lee Haechan): “So, is the rumor true that the silent swordsman is an awakened one?”

(J): “Sister?”

(Silent swordsman): Scratching sound…

(Lee Haechan): “Ah, no comment. Let’s move on to the next question.”

The rumor that the silent swordsman is an awakened one,

because it’s impossible for a regular person to show such physical ability in real mode,

was essentially confirmed by Joo Ahyoung’s statement and the silent swordsman’s indirect answer.

(Lee Haechan): “Many viewers are curious as to why your sister doesn’t speak.”

(Silent swordsman): Scratching sound…

(J): “Our sister can’t speak normally!”

(Silent swordsman): Scratching sound…

(J): “But does the record competition include her voice?”

(Lee Haechan): “Huh? Oh, her voice is not included.”

(J): “Oh, then it doesn’t matter if she doesn’t have a voice. Everyone’s curious because our sister is so popular, right?”

(Silent swordsman): Thud

(J): “Uh, sis. Why are you glaring at me so scary? You don’t want me to keep talking, right? Sorry… I got so excited because you’re so popular.”

It was also revealed that the silent swordsman wasn’t deliberately silent due to malice.

(Lee Haechan): “But your sister is really beautiful too. She’s quite talented. Can I ask what she does?”

(J): “She was a trainee to become an awakened one. ”

“She worked part-time at a convenience store to pay for awakening training. But she’s not anymore. She awakened this morning.”

(Lee Haechan): “Ah, I awakened there too. I was shocked when the air raid siren suddenly went off.”

(J): “Wow, you fought so well even though you’re not an awakened one?”

(Lee Haechan): “If it weren’t for your sister, I’d have been in trouble too. This is bad. I should join forces with you to pay back the favor.”

(Silent swordsman): Scratching sound.

(Lee Haechan): “What’s wrong with doing a joint stream on my show?! People beg me to collaborate with them.”

It was also revealed that all three people in the interview were awakened ones,

and Lee Haechan’s proposal for a joint stream had been rejected.

However, these surprisingly sincere interviews continued.

(Lee Haechan): “What’s your favorite color?”

(Silent swordsman): Scratching sound

(Lee Haechan): “Ah, does it have to do with the color of your clothes?”

(Silent swordsman): Scratching sound

(Lee Haechan): “Your sister helped you with the outfit, so it doesn’t seem related. ”

“But your fashion sense is really good. I haven’t seen someone dress so well in a long time.”

(J): “Ahem. I’m pretty good at matching clothes, right?”

Buried under their own private conversation, the viewers became frustrated.

• “So, what’s your favorite color?!”
• “It’s probably not the color of your clothes, right?”
• “What color doesn’t appear on clothes, you idiot?”
• “Space-color”
• “Suddenly cosmic horror?”
• “A space child lost his mind and fell into madness “
• “So, what kind of clothes was she wearing?!”
• “Why does only the host get to see the good stuff?”
• “This interview is so malicious.”

Despite the desperate cries of the viewers,

(Lee Haechan): “How was today’s interview?”

(J): “I liked it. I’m excited to see how it will look on V-Tube with my sister. What about you, sis?”

(Silent swordsman): Scratching sound

(J): “Wow, my sister really knows how to run a tough stream.”

(Lee Haechan): “Well, this concludes today’s silent swordsman interview. ”

“To all the V-Tube viewers, please subscribe, like, and leave lots of comments. Thank you, Bba!”

(J): “Euk, I didn’t know there was a sudden stream cutoff during recorded streams.”

(Lee Haechan): “I was more surprised. How can someone answer like that?”

” It caused controversy. And do you know what’s even funnier? That guy does his own broadcast like that.”

The interview ended, leaving the viewers with even more questions about what the silent swordsman actually said.

The malicious interview,

which was created by awakened ones, streamers, celebrities, and famous personalities,

earned its place as the third most talked-about video of the week on V-Tube

just one week after its upload.

The awakened ones, through the Myeongho Guild,

learned what kind of beings they were and how dangerous their status screens could be,

and even now, despite experiencing it firsthand,

there was no change in her hesitation toward awakened ones.

But this time, there was a reason she had to change her heart.

‘I gave up my experience points to help Ah-young awaken. I basically led her into the dirty world of awakened ones with my own hands.’

If something can’t be taken responsibility for,

you should never start it.

On the other hand, once something is started,

you must take responsibility for it no matter what,

and it was this firm sense of responsibility that changed Hae Eung Eung’s decision.

‘If Ah-young, who has now awakened, is going to face external pressure, I need to hold off on the game and watch over her for now.’

The game could wait,

but right now, it was important to focus on Ju Ah-young’s schedule.

When Hae Eung Eung expressed her willingness to accept,

Ju Ah-young spoke more brightly after talking with the convenience store manager.

“The monsters in front of the convenience store are all dead, and the customers have stopped coming. ”

“Since I’ve awakened, I don’t need to go to the academy anymore, and I don’t need to work at

the convenience store either.”

With the schedule issue resolved,

the two of them got into the large van that Ujiu had called for.

“I’m Seogyeong-seok. I’ve been working with Jiu, that is, the spider-man, for years.”

“I’m Ju Ah-young. This is my sister.”

[Nice to meet you.]

“No, sis, you need to introduce yourself.”

[Not really.]

“Why are you so embarrassed about your name, Hae Eung Eung? It’s a pretty name.”

Seogyeong-seok turned his head with his hand on the wheel.

When he saw them on TV, he thought the older sister was the villain,

but now he saw there was a villainous younger sister bullying the older villain.

The entire ride to the exam hall,

he had to forcefully suppress his laughter.

“Depending on the test results, your initial grade will be decided, so you should try your best for a good result.”

After Seogyeong-seok started giving tips,

the younger sister paid attention, but the older sister just stared out of the car window without showing any interest.

‘She’s quite bold. If Jiu’s words are half true, she’s no ordinary woman.’

Like Ujiu,

Seogyeong-seok, who mistakenly thought Hae Eung Eung was a secret agent for a villain organization,

thought that rather than forcibly training her,

she would handle things well on her own.

“Let’s hope for a good result. I’ll be waiting here, so come to the parking lot when you’re done.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Hey, don’t call me sir. I’m still young. Anyway, let’s aim for at least a D rank. The support money for awakened ones starts from D rank.”

He said this, but didn’t have high hopes.

The awakened ones’ grade system,

unlike levels, is based on measuring a person’s strength

and the result is evaluated by the Awakener Association.

From F rank, they start receiving system benefits,

and E rank, which is just the beginning.

Unlike the two lower ranks,

from D rank onward, the criteria for evaluation are much higher.

Only a small number of geniuses who have excelled since their training days as awakened ones,

or those who awakened immense abilities,

can hope to start at D rank or higher.

It wasn’t an easy feat.

‘Normally, I’d want to get at least D rank, but this situation is tricky.’

Seogyeong-seok’s screen phone flashed with a bad notification

showing Ujiu’s personal information had been checked.

The investigation from the Myeongho Guild had already started to expand.

‘With my experience from surveillance missions, I can cover for them, but these guys are quite relentless.’

At this rate, Ujiu’s information would be fully exposed,

and it wouldn’t be long before Hae Eung Eung and Ju Ah-young’s details were passed along.

To avoid getting added to their additional surveillance,

it would be better to keep the awakened ones’ grade as low as possible.

‘A member of a villain organization wouldn’t want to unnecessarily draw attention from the association. I’ll handle it, so there’s no need to worry. Yeah, that’s right.’

Seogyeong-seok tried to reassure himself, but

when he realized that his hands were trembling from tension,

he forced a bitter smile and pulled out a cigarette,

but then worried that the two of them might wrinkle their faces from the smell of smoke in the car,

so he moved to the designated smoking area in a corner of the parking lot.

“Young hopeful? Yeah, he’s a joke. A guy who even did variety shows for Asan Guild, and his awakening grade came out as E.”

” They were all upset, saying our exam was wrong, it’s ridiculous.”

While he was talking to someone on his clean phone,

Seogyeong-seok wisely took out his earphones and plugged them in.

He wasn’t really listening to music, but it was a trick to lower his guard.

Luckily, the exam official didn’t leave and continued the conversation in the smoking room.

‘If you want to last in this world, you’ve got to be good at picking up other people’s stories.’

While smoking and keeping his ears open to eavesdrop, Seogyeong-seok continued listening.

“Did he know he was a joke? They said he’s doing some gaming broadcast now. ”

“Wants to be the second silent swordsman or something? He might do well if he gets on public broadcasts, but after

he got out, there’s no good feedback. How do you think the variety PDs feel? Thanks to him, only Asan Guild got properly marked in the variety industry.”

Seogyeong-seok was more interested in the mention of the second silent swordsman than in hearing about the Asan Guild hopeful getting torn apart.

“Sorry, Manager Choi. It’s an urgent call. Yeah, let’s have a drink later, as usual.”

The person on the other end of the call switched the topic while lighting up another cigarette.

“What’s up now? Two new faces showed up for the registration exam. So, what’s the big deal? One of them has a C rank awakening grade? Really?”

Damn.

Seogyeong-seok sighed and rubbed his forehead in frustration, sinking into despair.

It seemed the official on the other side had no clue about his feelings, as their voice got even louder.

“Wait, one of them’s grade changed suddenly? What the hell is this nonsense! Why did the scanner grade result change on its own?! Check it again!”

Both of them were originally supposed to be D-rank.

But as soon as one of their awakening abilities turned out to be quite exceptional, their final grade shot up to C-rank,

and suddenly, the other’s scanner grade jumped to C as well.

They both became C-rank in the blink of an eye, just like Seogyeong-seok.

“So even the guild hopefuls are screwed. Starting from C-rank, not even D? Keep them here. ”

“Make up some excuse for additional examination and tie them up in the waiting room! If this goes up

to the higher-ups, we’re guaranteed an incentive. We need to delay so we can lure them into the association. Got it?”

Seogyeong-seok shoved the cigarette back into the pack and looked like he was about to return to the exam hall.

Sighing silently, he shook his head and quietly bumped into the official’s shoulder while they were still on the call.

“Sorry.”

“What’s your problem?”

The official mumbled, then slumped into a chair in the smoking room.

“Damn, did I smoke too much? Why do I feel so dizzy?”

Seogyeong-seok’s right hand, hidden inside his pants pocket, had fingers that grew like the hand of a wart, but slowly shrank back,

and the numb poison that had been gathered at the tips of his nails disappeared.

“How did I quietly get these troublemakers out of here…”

Leaving the smoking room, Seogyeong-seok had a strong sense that this day was going to be busier than usual.