"Why are you so late?"
The man with long hair narrowed his brows and spoke in a prickly voice, which seemed surprisingly fitting for his rough and rugged demeanor. Kang Sihyun glanced at Iha Hyuk once before slightly turning towards the man. There was no need to ask his name yet since it wasn't confirmed if he was the Changsik he had heard about.
"I'm Kang Sihyun."
Debating between a casual introduction and asking the man's name, he chose the former. As he extended his hand not holding the carrier, the man looked down at Sihyun's hand with an unimpressed expression. His indifference was stark compared to when he had angrily questioned Sihyun's tardiness.
"I'm Woo Changsik."
He was indeed the Changsik Sihyun had seen in the comments as he had guessed. Sihyun withdrew his hand as it became clear the man had no intention of shaking it.
"Do we really need to shake hands?"
Changsik murmured softly. Sihyun looked at Iha Hyuk, who simply shook his head, suggesting this was just Changsik's personality.
He keeps speaking informally.
First impressions are crucial, yet Changsik seemed to have no interest in making a good one. Despite Sihyun frowning slightly at the man's casual manner of speech, he added no words of his own. It seemed that Changsik was likely in his late twenties at first glance.
Rude, perhaps, but the age difference seemed to justify it somewhat.
However, in a country known for its etiquette, where even those deserving respect would graciously say thank you or acknowledge someone's hard work, Changsik's informality was striking. Discontent briefly surged but quickly evaporated. Sihyun's position was too delicate to nitpick over informal speech.
Iha Hyuk was a representative Awakener of the association, presumed to be the most skilled among its members. Changsik was the head of one of Korea's top three guilds, a guild known as Free Guild, and a ranker above almost S-grade. In contrast, despite being a member of Redem Guild, Korea's top guild, Sihyun had nothing notable to boast about except being a Quadruple. If he had, humility would still have required him to ignore Changsik's abrasive tone. Sihyun was about to let it slide when, thankfully, Iha Hyuk called out Changsik's behavior.
"Mr. Changsik, I'd appreciate it if you could show some basic manners, at least when meeting someone for the first time."
"In combat situations, informal speech is more practical. If you're unhappy, feel free to speak informally as well. Brevity aids in clearer communication."
Despite Iha Hyuk's advice, Changsik showed no intention of improving his demeanor. Instead, he suggested Sihyun also use informal speech, implying he would continue to do so. Changsik had his reasons for preferring informal speech, so Sihyun decided not to dwell on it and withdrew his attention.
A slightly rude foreign mindset, perhaps.
If that was the case, it might be better. Sihyun dryly responded with an "Ah, yes," before following Iha Hyuk into the airport. From afar, they noticed a man checking his watch. It was Hahyuk.
"Ah, you're here?"
The man noticed their approach and greeted them first. Sihyun walked towards Hahyuk, flanked on the right by Iha Hyuk and on the left by Changsik.
"There was no need for you to come see us off."
"How could I not, when this might be the last time?"
The man spoke softly and smiled. Sihyun's eyes slightly widened at the chilling implication of his words. Could this be a hereditary trait?
Hamin was known for dropping lines like "Is this the end?" "Am I dead?" "Let's see if we survive," as if he had watched too many thriller or horror movies. Seeing the brothers together like this, Sihyun guessed it might just be a trait of the Lee brothers.
"It's just a joke, lighten up."
Apparently, Sihyun's face had hardened without him realizing it. Hahyuk corrected his statement with a laugh that seemed to leak through his breath. Sihyun finally relaxed his stern expression.
After a brief conversation with Sihyun, Hahyuk turned to Iha Hyuk. They discussed matters related to the association for about ten minutes, during which Sihyun checked his phone, already switched to airplane mode, and felt the firmness in his chest pocket.
The thin notebook he had found during their first dungeon exploration was still there, meant for review on the plane.
"Then, please take care."
"Please pay attention to domestic rifts."
"I've been keeping an eye on them."
Their conversation, whether a power struggle or mere pleasantries
, exchanged. Hahyuk concluded his talk with Iha Hyuk with a slight smile, then turned to Changsik. Their eyes met. Watching the two, it was clear that Hahyuk looked a bit younger.
"It's been a while."
"Long or not, if you're done, you should leave."
Their conversation ended with just a few words. Sihyun was taken aback by Changsik's prickliness, but Hahyuk seemed used to it and smiled politely. Sihyun's puzzled look prompted Hahyuk to shrug.
"He's actually quite nice. He just finds expressions of familiarity embarrassing."
"You think whispering like that means I can't hear?"
"My apologies if you heard that."
Hahyuk's low voice was met not by Sihyun but by Changsik. Hahyuk, taking Changsik's reaction in stride, patted Sihyun on the shoulder.
"Take care."
It was Sihyun's turn. He nodded in response, then hesitated.
Should I ask him to take back what he said earlier?
He didn't want to set off with an ominous flag raised, especially not to a dangerous place. Superstition or not, he didn't want to leave with lingering unease. Debating his response, Sihyun pulled his carrier close and slightly raised his head.
"Could you say 'see you later' instead?"
He asked for just one more word instead of directly requesting a retraction, deeming it less fussy. Hahyuk tilted his head slightly at the unexpected request.
"See you later?"
"Yes."
That should cancel the flag you set. Sihyun thought but kept to himself. Wanting to clear the air before leaving, he met Hahyuk's eyes squarely. Hahyuk shrugged and then complied with Sihyun's request.
"See you later."
"Yes, see you later."
That was their farewell. Sihyun successfully retrieved the ominous flag and exchanged final nods.
The plane was empty. Being a flight for Awakeners played a part, but the scarcity of international travelers during such times also contributed to the pleasant flight conditions. Sihyun settled in his seat and took out the notebook. Dust fell off the weathered notebook with a gentle shake. Coughing lightly, Sihyun waved his left hand to clear the dust.
"Is there anything uncomfortable?"
"No, I'm fine."
Iha Hyuk, sensitively reacting to Sihyun's cough, expressed concern. Unable to see Iha Hyuk's angle, Sihyun reassured him and refocused on the notebook. Opening it revealed unintelligible characters, but Sihyun could read them as before.
The unfamiliar symbols flickered before aligning into Korean.
The situation was now familiar to him.
Instead of expected information about Adam and Eve or some secret technique, the notebook contained details on Gula's children. Sihyun exhaled sharply upon reading it. The information was precisely what he needed at this time.
The text began with the assertion that Gula had twelve children. Sihyun gasped, then relaxed upon reading that Gula had devoured two of them, eliminating the potential for two dungeons to appear in the world. The implication was essentially that instead of twelve dungeons, now there would only be ten—a welcome revelation for humanity. The text continued.
The fourth and fifth children were dead, and Gula had reassigned their names to the remaining offspring. The sixth child received the fourth's name, the seventh took the fifth's, and so on, leaving a total of ten children.
Decumanus, Nonus, Octavus, Septimus, Armus, Quintus, Quartus, Lientarius, Secundus, Primus.
Starting with Decumanus suggested a backward numbering towards the first. Sihyun focused on Nonus for a moment before moving on to the next paragraph.
Descriptions of how powerful Gula's children were and their committed sins filled the pages. With over forty pages dedicated to these details, it was too much to digest in one go. Sihyun skimmed quickly through several pages.
He hoped for details on each child's abilities rather than just their sins, but specific powers weren't mentioned. However, at the end of the notebook, Sihyun discovered a common ability among Gula's offspring.
Gula's children could inherently influence the mental realm, with higher-ranked ones possessing stronger capabilities. To confront them, one either needed to block mental realm influence or bring another entity capable of mental interventions. Blocking the mental realm could protect against mental attacks, but if that was not feasible, another entity with mental abilities was necessary to prevent Gula's children from employing dangerous tactics.
This information spanned three detailed pages.
"I leave this book for the future Adam."
The notebook concluded with that sentence. Sihyun pondered the last three pages' content. The ability to influence the mental realm explained the incident with Decuman
us appearing before Haewoon in his true form.
He had interfered with Haewoon's mind.
"...Mental?"
A forgotten memory suddenly crossed Sihyun's mind. About a year ago, he realized someone had interfered with his mind and had reacted violently.
According to the notebook, Gula's children inherited their powers from Gula.
Gula's children could influence the mental realm.
Therefore, Gula could also influence the mental realm. These pieces naturally formed a hypothesis.
The entity that interfered with his mind that day might have been Gula.
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