FLIA 109

How could they possibly find someone that had fallen into the Abyss. If he said it was a disappearance in a rift, then with hope of recovering at least the body, they would attempt a search, and he could keep extorting money. Compared to being told their son had fallen into the Abyss, it was better for Yang Yohan’s parents to believe he had gone missing in a rift, so Park Seungmin didn’t feel guilty.

The money he extorted that way, he spent a little on luxury and the rest on investments. As always, those investments failed completely, but he had nothing to regret. No, he thought so. Just when he tried to extort money again, Yang Yohan returned from the Abyss.

From the moment he learned of Yang Yohan’s return, Park Seungmin felt sick to his stomach.

Was this what they called natural-born luck. Yang Yohan had fallen into the Abyss, but the lucky bastard came back after hanging out with Lee Hyunmook and the Sunrise Team as if it was all fun. He even awakened. Despite being low-level, he parachuted into the Taeyang Guild through connections and played around while getting a fat salary. The memory of his sneering face made Seungmin’s insides boil.

“Ah, fuck! If he had come back later, I could’ve squeezed out more money!”

The more he thought about it, the more furious he became, and Park Seungmin pounded his bed again. He couldn’t bring himself to slam the wall. A low-lever awakener lived in the apartment right next door. Even if it was a low-level close to trash level, they were still far stronger than a civilian, so he couldn’t act out.

“That bastard, he really doesn’t remember, right.”

He had some doubts but soon shook his head, thinking it couldn’t be. If Yohan had any memory left, he would have reported him to the police long ago. He would have posted online immediately to tell the whole world of his injustice, not to mention telling the people around him.

Remembering how he had shrunk away pathetically without being able to say a word back when Yohan had treated him like shit, Park Seungmin grew angry again.

“What if he didn’t hit his head and he’s actually corrupted? Should I report it? The more I think about it, the more it pisses me off.”

He wanted to stomp him, but now that Yang Yohan had a solid connection in Lee Hyunmook, he couldn’t try anything. Searching for cigarettes, Park Seungmin cursed again. “Fuck.” He was out of both cigarettes and alcohol. He checked his bank account balance, now in the negative, shaking his leg in anxiety, then threw on some clothes and went out. But if he scraped together what little he had, he could buy at least cigarettes.

He was on his way back after buying a carton of cigarettes at the convenience store. Lamenting his situation, knowing he would soon have to go crawling back to Yang Yohan like before, he lit a cigarette. Then he heard a strange clicking sound from somewhere.

“What… is that?”

He suddenly felt cold and he glanced around nervously. Then he saw a red glow. Was it a red lightbulb? He frowned, and soon realized the truth. That wasn’t a bulb. Inside the dark alley, were the enormous eyes of a monstrous spider.

“Aaaagh!”

Park Seungmin screamed and ran. What the hell was the Rift Management Bureau doing, letting a monster escape from a rift! Thanks to them, an innocent citizen was about to die! He threw away the cigarettes he had just bought and ran for his life, but when he looked back, his face paled.

With a crunching sound, the spider straightened its twisted body and crawled out of the alley. Click-clack! The massive spider shrieked and then slammed the ground with its legs, charging at Park Seungmin with speed.

“Help me! Somebody help me! It’s a monster! Someone please help!”

He shouted until his throat tore, but it was dawn, and no one was around. On the contrary, people hurried to shut their open windows. In the end, with no one to help, Park Seungmin tripped over himself and fell to the ground. The monstrous spider spat filthy venom and raised its spiked leg to strike down at him.

“Aaagh!”

Park Seungmin covered his face with his arms and screamed miserably. At that moment, a flash of light burst out. Kyaaaak! Startled by the light, the spider leapt back in panic and scrambled away. Only then did Park Seungmin, still dazed, open the eyes he had squeezed shut. Brilliant light was seeping out from his own body.

“Wh-what the hell is this.”

All of a sudden, along with an intoxicating feeling of omnipotence as if he could do anything, power and energy overflowed from his body. Park Seungmin’s face brightened as he stared blankly at the brilliant light seeping out of himself.

“An awakening! I awakened!”

They said people usually awakened when their life was on the line, but he had never thought he would feel it so vividly. Fearing the spider might return, Park Seungmin ran away in a panic. He cursed his neighbors in his heart, wishing they would all be eaten by the spider, since not one of them had helped him when he had been in danger.

After taking refuge in a nearby shelter, Park Seungmin gasped for breath, his lungs bursting. Then he tried calling forth the power from before again. Light flared from his palm. What kind of power was this. It was clearly not a dealer, which was disappointing. It didn’t seem like a tanker either, so was it some kind of support or healer type. As he swung his power around the shelter and tested it on different things, he saw the wall touched by his light become clean.

“Huh?”

He touched another part of the wall, and wherever he touched, it turned clean. Could it be…? With trembling hands, he carefully touched the hem of his clothes that had been splattered by the spider’s venom earlier. The filthy venom slowly faded, then disappeared completely.

“Ha, haah. Wow, crazy. Crazy, crazy!”

A homeless man in the shelter glanced at him. Park Seungmin clenched his fist tightly.

‘Fuck! Finally my luck is turning!’

He remembered how people had gone wild over the Eternal Stone that removed corruption during Lee Hyunmook’s livestream not long ago. He couldn’t forget, because he had been dying of jealousy, watching Yang Yohan, with his connection to Lee Hyunmook, able to purify corruption whenever he wanted.

He had been ready to swallow his pride and cling to him by any means necessary, but now he didn’t need someone like Yang Yohan at all. Come to think of it, this was far better than being a dealer or tanker. He could make a fortune without risking himself in dangerous rift expeditions.

“Wait a second, but there’s never been an awakener with the power to remove corruption, has there?”

Then was he… a high-level awakener?

Overwhelmed by the unbelievable reality, dopamine surged through him and he blanked out for a moment. He recalled the radiant light that had burst forth when he faced the spider monster earlier, and the thrilling feeling of omnipotence. He had read many testimonies from other awakeners, but not one had ever said they felt omnipotent at the moment of awakening.

There had never been anyone with the ability to purify corruption! It was a power that brought wealth and honor, with no reason to hide it. That meant he was a high-level awakener! He had to be! Convinced he truly was a high-rank awakened, Park Seungmin trembled with joy. Then, unable to hold it back, he burst into laughter.

He punched at the air and shouted, and the homeless people shook their heads, thinking he was insane, and began leaving the shelter altogether. They had seen something flash from his hand, so he was clearly an awakener, but there was no good in staying near a crazy awakener. Whether the homeless left or not, Park Seungmin shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Yeah, this is it! Life is about one big shot! Who cares about Yang Yohan!”

From now on he would never have to bow his head to Yang Yohan again! No, the opposite, he already imagined Yang Yohan living in submission to him, and the thought made him feel ecstatic. Grinning to himself, Park Seungmin called the Awakener Center.

“Yes, I’d like to report a high-level awakening. …Yes, that’s right. …I said it’s true, didn’t I? You can come and check for yourself. And I was attacked by a monster earlier, so I can’t leave the shelter. Could you come pick me up? Please come as quickly as possible.”

And as he strutted around, two pairs of eyes were watching him. They belonged to Lee Chanha and Yang Yohan. They hadn’t even bothered to hide, and they weren’t far away, but Park Seungmin noticed nothing. Yang Yohan, once his friend and now a betrayer, stepped closer. He leaned toward Park Seungmin, who was caught in Chanha’s illusion.

“Yang Yohan, that bastard, just wait and see.”

“I hope you can be as happy as possible.”

“Unlucky bastard. I’ll make sure to torment you forever.”

“That way, when you lose everything, you’ll suffer as much as you were happy.”

Even when Yohan spoke right into his ear, Park Seungmin heard nothing, showing only his resentment toward Yang Yohan. He just grinned in giddy happiness, imagining himself living in luxury from now on.