Chapter 12: Sub-character Training Is The Basics Of A Bad Game (3)

“Just write down everything you saw and know.”

The Management Bureau was located in the heart of Seoul, and even there, I was led to a separate room.

It resembled a reception room more than an interrogation room.

“Even if it’s what I know, I’ve already told everything to that person earlier.”

“Then just write that down.”

The Bureau employee spoke indifferently and pressed a button on the remote control.

A news flash was playing on the television screen.

It was about how they had successfully prevented the second eruption.

The sighting of the 4-star calamity, Tempestura, the Storm Dragon, wasn’t mentioned in the news.

It was clear they were preventing information leaks.

I glanced at the TV for a moment before writing my report.

It was more of a report than a statement.

[In a small provincial city, catastrophic damage has been reported. The estimated death toll is expected to reach thousands…]

[The central government has responded by…]

As soon as the topic of the provinces came up, the Bureau employee turned off the TV.

I shrugged and handed over the report.

The employee then stepped outside and called for the man I had seen earlier, Jeon Dongwook.

“Did you write everything?”

“Yes.”

Jeon Dongwook took the report and began to review it.

I subtly shifted my gaze to look out the window behind Jeon Dongwook.

On the rooftop of the building across the street, Selene was there, her hood pulled low.

She mouthed the words:

‘If there’s any trouble, call me anytime.’

Selene’s stealth skills were impressive, but like everything in the game, they had a cooldown.

She couldn’t follow me into the Bureau building and was waiting on the opposite rooftop.

Of course, the chances of them harming me were practically nonexistent.

“Hmm.”

Jeon Dongwook seemed to have finished skimming the report and spoke up.

“So, you’re saying that Han Tae-geon, the Awakened, tried to kill you?”

“Yes.”

“And there’s no evidence, right? Since the person in question is dead, we can’t hear their side of the story.”

“That’s correct.”

“And in that situation, the Storm Dragon Tempestura appeared, killed Han Taegeon, and flew away?”

“Yes.”

Jeon Dongwook let out a deep sigh.

His expression was troubled.

He must have been debating whether to believe this absurd story or not.

But I hadn’t lied. It was all true, so I stood my ground. Seeing my expression, Jeon Dongwook seemed to resign himself and added,

“So, Ms. Nam Jooyeon, what about the severed arm found at the scene?”

At some point, Jeon Dongwook had started addressing me formally.

I shrugged and replied,

“I guess the dragon must have cut it off.”

“…”

After a brief staring contest, Jeon Dongwook was the first to look away.

He roughly stuffed my report into a folder and tossed it onto the table across the room.

Then, sinking into his chair, he said,

“Alright. Well, there’s no way to verify your testimony, but the appearance of a 4-star dragon is an undeniable fact, so we have no choice but to believe you.”

Jeon Dongwook shrugged and brought up a new topic.

“Do you remember the nest in Cheonan?”

It was an unexpected topic.

But it was also a topic that made me somewhat uneasy.

“You mean the nest that was destroyed recently?”

“Yes. We’re assuming it was a natural disappearance, but no matter how you look at it, it doesn’t make sense. All the other nests are still intact, but the largest one in Cheonan just vanished.”

“Ahaha…”

Standing in front of the person responsible for the nest’s destruction, Jeon Dongwook leaned forward and asked,

“So, why did you go there on the day the nest disappeared?”

“…”

I guess the checkpoint incident was a mistake.

I frowned.

“I just thought there might be something to salvage, so I went to check.”

“Did you find anything?”

“Well, maybe one or two 1-star calamities. There was a Rock Scavenger, and I synthesized it to get this golem. I got lucky.”

As I explained everything clearly, Jeon Dongwook didn’t press further.

Instead, he nodded and said,

“Alright. Ms. Nam Joo-yeon, I have a proposal for you.”

“A proposal?”

“How about joining the Management Bureau?”

“The Management Bureau?”

“If you possess a 2-star calamity, you meet the qualifications. I also have a 2-star calamity, which helped me secure a fairly high position in the Bureau. We’re planning to introduce a ranking system soon, and Awakened affiliated with the Bureau will start at B-rank. You might even rank higher. The support is substantial, and the Bureau provides safe bases.”

It seemed Jeon Dongwook wanted to recruit me to keep me tied to the Bureau.

As the TV the employee had turned off earlier mentioned, unlike the provinces, Seoul had successfully defended against the eruption.

They were likely trying to recruit any Awakened who could be of use.

However, I wasn’t particularly drawn to the idea of being affiliated with the Bureau.

After all, I already had Abyss, a top-tier defensive base.

Moreover, joining them would mean I couldn’t be with Selene anymore.

The cons outweighed the pros.

“No, thanks. That’s not really my thing.”

“That’s a shame.”

“Yeah. Can I go now?”

“Hey, escort her out.”

Jeon Dongwook had an employee guide me out.

Even as I left the room, his gaze remained fixed on me.

*

“It’s strange.”

“What’s strange?”

At the employee’s question, Jeon Dongwook frowned and skimmed through the report.

There wasn’t much substance to it.

Given the circumstances, he couldn’t not believe it.

But Jeon Dongwook’s instincts were telling him something.

“First, let’s assign someone to keep an eye on that Awakened, Nam Joo-yeon.”

“Surveilling a civilian without permission is illegal.”

“Is she a civilian? She’s an Awakened now. She belongs to the state.”

“…Sigh.”

The employee shook his head, but Jeon Dongwook seemed confident.

He fiddled with his police ID in his pocket, now reduced to a mere scrap of paper.

*

[Welcome back, Ruler ‘Actor’.]

[Here’s what happened in your territory while you were away.]

Ding.

[The 4★ Hellfire Guard Dog has completed Calamity Synthesis.]

[Reward: 30Exp/1★ Forest Imp]

[…]

I manipulated the status window to instruct the Hellfire Guard Dog to perform a new Calamity Synthesis.

I needed to synthesize 1-star calamities to obtain 2-star ones, and the success rate was higher when assigned to higher-star units.

So far, I hadn’t had any luck.

“…You’ve worked hard.”

Selene was waiting for me in the heart of Abyss, at the throne. I awkwardly sat down in the chair.

“Did anything happen? They didn’t harm you, did they?”

“Of course not. If they had, you wouldn’t have stayed put.”

She probably would have drawn her sword and stormed in, turning the building into rubble.

“…Ahem. Thank you. I’ll continue to do my best.”

Selene seemed to take this as a sign of trust, a compliment, as she gave a small shrug.

“Selene.”

But I didn’t correct her and instead spoke up.

“Still, it seems Mirien doesn’t see me as an enemy. What do you think?”

Jeon Dongwook’s appearance had interrupted our earlier conversation.

The 5-star calamity, Mirien, the Storm of the North Sea, seemed to want to protect me, much like Selene.

Otherwise, there would be no reason to send the 4-star Tempestura to circle around me.

Selene met my gaze and reluctantly nodded.

“Yes. Mirien… owes her life to you, so it’s only natural.”

“Life…? What life?”

“You may not remember it as anything significant, but just as you bestowed the Elixir upon me, you also gave Mirien a new life.”

“…Ah.”

It finally dawned on me.

In Disaster Order, the 5-star characters all had flaws in their initial states.

Just as Selene’s body was scarred by burns, Mirien had the debuff of an empty heart.

This was both a dedicated quest and an enhancement quest that required a 5-star item.

How many 4-star calamities had I lost trying to obtain that item during expeditions?

Just thinking about the losses made me shudder.

The name of that item was…

“You gifted her a precious treasure. In the end, that mage owes her life to you, so yes.”

“…The Beating Heart of the Moon.”

“She’s just repaying the favor.”

“…Then wouldn’t it be okay to bring her in?”

I tilted my head.

After all, Mirien owed me her life.

Even now, after being dismissed from my base, she still saw me as her master and sought to protect me.

Wouldn’t it be better to bring her into Abyss to strengthen our forces?

“My lord, may I offer a word of caution?”

But Selene seemed to think otherwise.

“You must never bring Mirien in. The path ahead of her is nothing but ruin.”

“…Ruin?”

At my question, Selene turned her head.

Looking at her reflection in the puddle in Abyss, she gave a bitter smile.

“What happens when an all-powerful being, ignorant of human emotions, gains them?”

“What do you mean?”

“That’s what Mirien is. She was born that way, so she doesn’t understand human emotions. But after meeting you, she began to grasp the faintest hint of a new emotion.”

I frowned, not understanding, but Selene continued without regard.

“A storm is like that. It destroys everything, consumes everything, and only then does it stop.”

“What are you saying?”

“Mirien, the Storm of the North Sea. She is a mage to her core. If she can’t have something, she will kill to take it.”

“…”

“Even if that something is you, my lord.”

Selene’s expression was as serious as it could be.