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204X, Seoul, South Korea.

A black cloth fell on both ends of the long curtain in the middle of the [Daon Hammer] guild building, the largest Awakened Craftsman organization in Korea.

After the dimensional rift incident occurred several decades ago, he was one of the top five generals in Korea, and even in the world.

Only Grand Master, The Greatest Baekhyun, has passed away.

– Master Baek Hyun-man, the pride and master of the Republic of Korea, passed away yesterday at around 8:40 AM at the age of 82. Master Baek Hyun-man was Korea’s first unique equipment maker and A-class Awakener, and was an eccentric person loved by many.

– According to a Daon Hammer Guild official, ‘Artisan Baekhyunman took on the challenge of making legendary equipment, and it is believed that his death was due to overwork and old age due to the new challenge,’ expressing his regret. In addition, many Awakened Unions, regardless of whether they were involved in making or tackling, expressed their condolences regarding the deceased’s death. Let’s connect to reporter Choi Ho-won, who is on site… .

Terrestrial broadcasters and various media outlets reported the news of Baekhyun’s death with much fanfare, and the funeral procession was long, befitting the deceased’s life as a man known for his eccentric and eccentric behavior but also sincere and kind-hearted.

Because so many people gathered, [Daon Hammer] even set up several incense burners outside the guild.

However, inside the guild, the actual funeral home where the deceased’s remains were kept was so quiet that it was almost deserted. This was because in the midst of the dimensional rift incident that had caused many casualties, Baekhyun had lost his son and daughter-in-law, as well as his beloved grandson.

So, what is placed in the empty funeral home without any relatives is a portrait of the deceased, a carefully prepared ancestral rites table, a soft light illuminating the lonely funeral home, and smoke of the departed home drawn in the air as if trying to warm up the cold air.

And, only two people were wearing black mourning clothes and armbands representing the bereaved family.

It was master craftsman Baek Hyun-man’s disciple Lee Si-hyeok and master craftsman Kim Woo-sik, who was Baek Hyun-man’s close friend during his lifetime.

“Is this fucking shit happening?”

Kim Woo-sik, an old man with a stiff-looking appearance, muttered as if spitting, crumpling his wrinkled face.

He roughly ran his hand through his beard, which was charred and stuck together from his blacksmith work, and then he gave an annoyed cough and took out a cigarette and lit it.

It was a rather rude thing to do in front of the deceased who was in eternal sleep, but Lee Si-hyuk did not bother to interfere.

To begin with, Baek Hyun-man and Kim Woo-shik were close friends who held each other in high regard. Furthermore, in terms of hierarchy within the guild, Kim Woo-shik is much higher up than them.

Above all, there were only Lee Si-hyuk and Kim Woo-sik in this place, and there was no one else who could stop them. His teacher probably didn’t particularly care that Kim Woo-sik was smoking a cigarette in this place.

Rather, Baekhyun was a great man who would have smoked a cigarette with Kim Woo-shik if he were alive.

As the cigarette smoke continued to linger, the silence also stretched out like a stick of taffy. The one who broke the silence was Si-hyuk, who was standing next to Woo-sik.

“Is it that uncomfortable?”

“It’s uncomfortable. How in the world can you do something like this? You leave the funeral home empty, and you burn incense outside to welcome visitors…! This is disrespectful to Hyun-man!! How much do you have to disrespect you to do something like this… .”

Baekhyun was an eccentric person who couldn’t predict where he would go, but his eccentricity was matched by his honesty and he liked things that were honest.

That is why he was a person who was greatly loved by the public, but he was also quite a thorn in the side of the so-called ‘higher-ups’.

That’s why the funeral home was treated like this.

No matter how many people gathered, the funeral hall was left so empty and people were only accepted at the incense burner outside? The political influence within the guild and the antipathy that the high-ranking officials had towards Baekhyun were clearly revealed.

“The funeral parlor asks you to leave the area for your relatives and use the incense burner outside. What the hell! Even though you are different by blood, you are Hyun-man’s only family. Only his disciple, Si-hyeok, is qualified to receive guests and have conversations as the chief mourner.”

As the cigarette in his old, gnarled hand burned down to the filter, Shi-hyuk cleverly handed him an ashtray.

Woo-sik threw the cigarette butt into the ashtray he was given and lit another cigarette, offering him one as well, but Si-hyuk simply shook his head slightly and declined.

“The guild executives are so full of vanity that they’re using Hyunman’s obituary to get people to line up, and the place where Hyunman should be properly remembered is left empty. It’s laughable. Damn, they used proper chrysanthemums and incense at the incense burner outside, but here…”

The old man’s beard trembled in anger.

Seeing Kim Woo-sik not hesitating to use harsh language toward the guild executives, Si-hyuk almost instinctively blurted out, “Isn’t that old man an executive too?” but barely managed to hold it back.

If he had brought that up, it was obvious that Woo-sik, who had a fiery temper, would scold him, and in his hand he was holding the ashtray that Si-hyuk had handed him earlier.

So, instead of interfering, I brought up something else.

“Well, that makes sense.”

The tip of his bushy beard, which had been spitting out cigarette smoke along with harsh profanity, twitched for a moment. Shi-hyuk noticed the hint, but continued talking without stopping.

“There must be those who harbored resentment toward the Master, but more than anything, they probably didn’t want to put a half-baked person like me forward as the Master’s disciple, who was the pride of the guild. Who wouldn’t be a disciple to the late Master?”

Tsk, Woo-sik clicked his tongue, clearly showing his discomfort. It was a mild refusal for a grumpy old man, implying that he didn’t want to hear any more.

But Shihyuk continued speaking.

Had to continue.

“The shameful disciple must hold on to his master’s ankle while he is going a long way-”

“Why are you embarrassed-!!”

Finally, a warning was given. The cigarette that had not been put out was crumpled in Woo-sik’s hand, but the skin on the palm of the Awakened’s hand, which had been trained through his craftsmanship, was only slightly reddened and not burned at all.

It was not like he could not feel the heat, but the old man did not care because the heat of anger boiling up from his stomach was stronger. Si-hyuk consoled Woo-sik as he watched him grumble.

“Calm down, sir. Don’t you know that I am not mature enough to speak against you or your teacher now?”

“I know what you’re trying to say. But it’s those guys who should be ashamed, not you!! Hyunman and I know how much effort you put in and how much courage you put in! And yet-”

“Nevertheless.”

Shihyuk closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out. Yes. The reason they came out like this was not only because they were expressing their resentment towards their teacher, Baekhyunman, but more than anything, it was because they did not want to reveal Shihyuk.

It is true that their actions are inconvenient and painful, but this was ultimately the expected outcome.

“Can’t you proudly call a blacksmith who can’t even open his own status window the disciple of Master Baekhyun?”

—

The Dimensional Rift incident brought about great changes to human society.

It was not a very welcome change for humanity. Extradimensional gaps, commonly known as [Gates], filled with dimensional monsters, appeared in many parts of the world without any warning. And the dimensional monsters and extradimensional particles that suddenly poured out caused great harm to the land and people of many countries.

In a situation like a bolt from the blue, humanity suffered a severe blow and was forced to retreat helplessly.

Is this a blessing in disguise?

As if to counter the sudden threat to humanity, those who had awakened their abilities, collectively known as the ‘Awakened Ones’, appeared all over the world. They began to join forces to fight against the alien invasion.

As soon as they became aware of their existence, countries around the world spared no effort in providing enthusiastic support, and after repeated trials and errors and sacrifices, humanity was able to overcome and manage these unknown gates and other dens.

-Then what are the Awakened ones who solved this worst situation?

Those who have greater endurance, strength, and senses than the average person, as well as the ability to manipulate and amplify indescribable energies commonly referred to as ki and mana, and manifest them into reality.

The Awakened people were contributing to society in groups, each with superhuman strength and abilities that seemed to come out of science fiction movies or novels.

In addition to these superpowers, these Awakened Ones had one more special feature: the [Status Window].

This [Status Window] is a very basic unique ability that all Awakened people have in common regardless of their characteristics and talents. It is like an RPG-style game system or a body composition test, and it shows your condition, body condition, stamina or strength, skill or agility, and other abilities in numbers in a semi-transparent window that only you can see.

The utility of this is beyond imagination.

You can train your talents and check the increasing figures anytime and anywhere as you train.

It allows you to judge the skills you have and the level of those skills, and it allows you to know more clearly what you lack from a calculated perspective.

As such, the convenience of the [Status Window] was an attractive ability that many Awakened people could not help but use and rely on.

However, for some reason, Lee Si-hyuk was unable to activate this ‘status window’ despite being an Awakened Person.

Lee Si-hyuk was a half-awakened being who could use and manipulate mana, but could not even open his own status window.