#111
“You’re saying I have power beyond S-class?”
I frowned and questioned back. I just couldn’t believe it.
‘Originally… there was only up to S-class, right?’
Is it possible for a higher grade to exist? This has never happened even once before.
“But there’s no other way to explain it…”
“That’s impossible… It can’t be.”
Kim Sehyun, who took my power, was S-class, so how could I, who got it all back, be above S-class? Does that make sense?
Thinking the device must be broken, I stared at the results, and Hyun Dowoon tapped the testing device a few times and muttered.
“Let’s experiment a bit more with other people.”
After saying that, soon about six people came rushing in. They seemed to be other awakened ones staying at the center.
Following Hyun Dowoon’s instructions, the people lined up and started taking the test. Although a sudden retest couldn’t be pleasant, there were no complaints since it was ordered by the center director.
“Everyone’s results are coming out normally,” Hyun Dowoon told me after checking the test results together. So there really is nothing wrong with the device…?
“Then… really…?”
As I looked up with a bewildered face, Hyun Dowoon nodded again. Am I the only one surprised by the result? Looking around, Hyun Dowoon and Shin Haejun seemed calm.
“This is the first time in the world that a grade above S-class has appeared. We’ll need to discuss how to create a new grade.”
“Congratulations. The awakened community is going to go crazy.”
Unlike me in my dazed state, the two of them were already talking about the next steps.
The others who had finished their tests and were waiting briefly looked at me and Hyun Dowoon with surprised eyes. They seemed shocked by the sudden mention of a grade above S-class, when even an S-class result would have been surprising.
“Oh my goodness.”
“I guess Kim Sehyun really did steal it.”
The whispers of people sounded especially loud. Since the center hadn’t issued a statement immediately after Kim Sehyun’s death, only Shin Haejun’s video was being widely consumed.
Thanks to that, I had already confirmed on the way here that my name was being actively discussed in the media and communities. All sorts of speculations and rumors were circulating about whether I had really been robbed of my power all this time, or if I was somehow involved in Kim Sehyun’s death.
‘Everyone suddenly shows a friendly gaze just because of a grade…’
As soon as I became a great guide, people were looking at me with admiring eyes. Those gazes felt very awkward. It feels like I’m filming a hidden camera prank. Even though it’s clearly about me, I felt like I was the only one left out.
‘Why?’
Is it because I had F-class power before getting all of the S-class power? So the total amount exceeded S-class? I speculated, but couldn’t know the truth. The original Lee Jaeha might have been such a great talent…
‘How can a villain be more amazing than the protagonist?’
It’s a bit strange that the protagonist stole the villain’s power to use it, but anyway, it didn’t seem likely that the original Lee Jaeha’s ability was amazing enough to be the best in the world.
“Anyway, since this is unprecedented… we might need to do a retest while connected via video call with awakened centers in other countries. Would that be okay?”
“Well… we have to do it anyway, right?”
“That’s true.”
Hyun Dowoon laughed awkwardly. It was fine since I’ve been tested more than once or twice already, and it doesn’t hurt or anything. There was a bit of discomfort at becoming a spectacle in front of strangers, but it couldn’t be helped since it’s not something easily believable. Even an S-class guide is very rare, let alone an out-of-grade judgment. I would have gone through this someday even without this procedure.
“I think it would be good to let him rest for now,” Shin Haejun said, grabbing my shoulder. Hyun Dowoon nodded and suggested we rest in his office.
“Gasp…!”
The moment I opened the door and took a step to leave, I had to hide behind Hyun Dowoon in surprise. Somehow, all the people in the center were staring at me.
Gazes filled with excitement, admiration, jealousy, and various other meanings were fixed on me. It was extremely burdensome.
“Hmm…” Hyun Dowoon moved his body to shield me more from the gazes.
“Everyone’s got a loose mouth. Or maybe their fingers move too well?” Shin Haejun warned in a low voice towards the people who had come out of the room with us. However, it didn’t feel like he was really displeased. Perhaps Shin Haejun was thinking positively about me becoming this famous.
I wondered how the rumor spread so quickly, but it seemed the people inside had used their phones.
Realizing that I was feeling very burdened by the sudden flood of gazes, Hyun Dowoon and Shin Haejun guarded me front and back as they took me to the center director’s office.
“Whew…” As soon as the office door closed, I let out a sigh of relief. Throughout the move, people’s gazes had been fixed on me like bundles. For someone like me who was used to being quietly tucked away in a corner, these were very, very burdensome gazes.
As I approached the window to check if many reporters had come outside, Shin Haejun seemed to flinch a bit as he followed me.
“There are so many people…”
The roads around the center were paralyzed with what seemed to be even more people than when we entered. As I stuck my head out the open window to see better, Shin Haejun, who was standing behind me, hurriedly grabbed my waist and pulled my body back.
“It’s dangerous!”
“Huh? I was holding the window frame firmly…”
Shin Haejun seemed worried I might fall. For a moment, the memory of falling together in my dream flashed by, but it was a futile thought since he couldn’t know about my dream.
“Ah… I thought you were trying to jump because you felt burdened.” Shin Haejun hesitated for a moment and then whispered quietly. He seemed embarrassed for thinking that way and turned his gaze to the side.
“You think of the strangest things.” I just laughed and obediently moved away from the window. It was because I had just spotted a reporter with a huge telephoto camera firing off a flash from below.
‘Oh right, the quest.’
Since I had fulfilled the conditions, there should be a completion reward ready. Suddenly remembering the reward I had forgotten about, I took out my phone.
‘Is it because I said it was from the constellation… Now it’s not awkward to look at my phone in front of these two.’
Moreover, for some reason, I felt like they wouldn’t be able to see my screen, just like in the dream. I also had the confidence that even if they knew something, they wouldn’t show it to me.
As I thought, when I picked up my phone, Shin Haejun slowly moved away from me. As if to let me look freely.
: *Reclaiming Your Place*
Quest Grade: E
You have completed the quest. A reward will be given!
Reward: 150% increase in positive aggro power
As soon as I checked the reward in the quest window, my eyes immediately furrowed.
Aggro power increases by 150%? What kind of reward is this!
‘Even the 15% increase in aggro power title I got before was ridiculous…’
If it increases by 150%, what exactly will happen…? Moreover, this was a problem because it wasn’t even a title, so I couldn’t change it at will to cancel the effect.
‘What on earth is this.’
Should I think it’s fortunate that it’s attached with ‘positive’?
I thought I would get a small reward befitting an E-grade, but I never expected something like this… what could be seen as a debuff.
Since I’m not dealing with monsters, I probably won’t be in mortal danger because of the aggro power, but I had a feeling it was going to be extremely annoying.
Moreover, the thought of attracting even more aggro than the gazes from earlier was unimaginable.
“What’s wrong?”
When I turned off my phone dejectedly, Shin Haejun asked with a worried face. However, I couldn’t bring myself to say I had received such a quest reward, so I could only shake my head and sigh again.
“Um, it looks like the retest schedule will be set soon. I requested it urgently.”
“Are we doing it today?”
“We have to. So you can go home and rest comfortably.”
Hyun Dowoon, who had been busy making phone calls on one side, came closer and informed us of the situation. I nodded and sat down on the sofa as he led me.
He soon went behind a partition and brought out a bottle of juice, offering it to me.
“You seem to have been excited continuously, so calm down by drinking this first.”
Come to think of it, I had been feeling hot and my heart had been pounding since earlier, so I must have been noticeably excited.
I obediently took the juice, took a couple of sips, and put it down. I had no appetite at all.
‘Ah, the community…’
I had refrained from entering the awakened community because of what happened before, but this time the circumstances were a bit different, so I thought I should check.
First of all, since my grade had gone up, I didn’t think there would be many negative opinions about me, and I wanted to see what was being said about Kim Sehyun’s death.
“Huh?”
The moment I nervously opened the awakened community, I was surprised. The titles of the posts listed on the board were all covered with Korean flag emoticons and “flutter” words.
Issue | This is why HDW…
Issue | Flutter~ A bowl of national pride coming in~
Issue | Is LJH definitely confirmed to be out of grade?
Issue | We have out of grade, you foreign bastards (flutter)
The board titles all looked like alien language.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
