Yua Dokjon (1)

I bid farewell to my Elemental teammates, promising to see them again soon.

We decided to meet up once more after the healing mage from Merci Academy arrived to check our combat strength and map out a basic strategy.

Which meant my work as Lee Han-gyeol was done.

I quickly transformed into Seo A-gyeol.

I received reports on the situation at Blue Forest, how the new recruits at Narak were doing, and the progress of the cave exploration.

“…Nothing out of the ordinary?”

Fortunately, everything seemed to be proceeding smoothly.

In that case, my work as Seo A-gyeol was also—

No, it wasn’t. If I needed work, I could always make some.

Hmm… should I call it managing my assets?

The… management of the Awakeners who provide me with Essense?

Regardless of whether they were under my ‘Subjugation’ or not, I figured maintaining continuous relationships (not necessarily sexual) with Awakeners who felt lust or carnal desire for me was quite useful.

Of course, my Essense acquisition had increased lately while my consumption had decreased, so I didn’t need to rely so heavily on single sexual encounters anymore.

Still, wouldn’t it seem strange if I suddenly called them up for sex after a long period of no contact?

…Or maybe not?

I turned on my phone to decide which fish to reel in—

Choi Shin-woo: You alive?

Yoo Yi-jun: What have you been up to?

Yoo Ha-jin: When are you free? T_T

That bastard Choi Shin-woo. He has a girlfriend now, yet he’s still contacting me.

The fact that he deliberately sent the message to Seo A-gyeol’s number instead of Lee Han-gyeol’s made his intentions highly suspicious.

Yi-jun… It’s been a while since I saw Yoo Yi-jun, too. A month, I think.

Should I go with Yi-jun?

Yoo Yi-jun: What have you been up to?

Me: Just living, you know.

Me: You?

…No reply.

Well, can’t be helped. Yi-jun will have to wait for another time.

*

When I contacted Yoo Ha-jin, he asked me to come to a cafe rather than the Yua Dokjon guild headquarters.

It seemed he’d had a training schedule.

He sent a typo-riddled text, flustered, telling me to wait while he showered and came over.

Since I had nothing better to do anyway, I sat leisurely in the cafe.

“I’m sorry.”

I was turning down one request after another for my phone number.

I considered giving it to a few of them, but I felt that expanding my social circle any further would be too much to handle.

After all, I was only at this cafe because it was a rare day with nothing to do as either Lee Han-gyeol or Seo A-gyeol.

“Sorry.”

After turning down a few more men, a voice called out.

“Was I too late?”

Yoo Ha-jin walked in, his hair still damp.

“It’s fine. Well, other people were being a bit of a nuisance….”

At my words, Yoo Ha-jin glanced around the cafe. A flame ignited in his chest.

Possessiveness and… a sense of victory?

A growing confidence and superiority every time he looked at the surrounding men—I suppose you could call that a ‘sense of victory.’

I guess it’s natural for him to feel victorious with me sitting in front of him… but sadly for you, to me, you’re just one of many men.

Fortunately for Ha-jin, however, he had something to offer me. Something besides Essense.

Namely, the information and knowledge held by ‘Yua Dokjon,’ the guild of Enhancement-type Awakeners.

If I was going to get Essense anyway, I might as well make it a 1+1 deal and get something else out of it.

“So, why did you ask me to a cafe? I thought you’d call me to the guild headquarters.”

“Ah, about that, um…”

Yoo Ha-jin hesitated, debating whether to speak. Having made up his mind, he pulled a round, bead-like object from his pocket.

The bead in his palm began to vibrate with a low hum and a soft light.

The air seemed to grow muffled—

“It’s a soundproofing device that uses magic.”

“…If you were going to do that, couldn’t you have just called me to the guild headquarters from the start? Why go to the trouble of doing this in a cafe….”

“This is a secret, but I think my father will be stepping down as Guild Master soon.”

“Wow.”

“So the problem is… who’s going to take his place.”

“And you want that position?”

“How could I not?”

“But for you to become the Guild Master…”

You’re a nobody, was the rest of the sentence I swallowed.

Could someone who seemed to be barely clinging to A-rank become the Guild Master of Yua Dokjon? Of the great Yua Dokjon?

“Of course, my father will still be the Guild Master in name. But it seems he’s getting tired of running the guild. I think he plans to retire by taking a step back and gradually handing over operational control to one of his children.”

“Is there no Vice Guild Master?”

“Ah, him. He’s my uncle, but he was seriously injured recently….”

“So while replacing the Vice Guild Master, he’s going to place one of his children there and retire?”

“Yes.”

“…And why are you telling me this?”

This felt ominous. Like something incredibly troublesome was about to happen—

“Please, help me.”

“What?”

A day with nothing to do as Lee Han-gyeol or Seo A-gyeol.

I was just trying to stock up on some Essense in advance, and now I had this unexpectedly huge burden attached to me.

Naturally, I had absolutely no desire to get involved in the internal power struggle of a massive guild.

“I refuse.”

The Yua Dokjon guild knew the secret that I was the de facto leader of ‘Blue Forest.’

They had sent me a scouting offer right after I wiped out those migratory birds, the Swallow Faction. Of course, I had submitted an internship application before that, but… anyway.

If I needlessly got involved in this power struggle and Yoo Ha-jin was ousted, Blue Forest could suffer for it.

We were an organization running a black market in an unregistered gate. If a massive guild like Yua Dokjon decided to attack, we’d be annihilated before we could even call for help.

“I know what you’re worried about… but it seems I’m already known as being on your side.”

“…What?”

“All the related documents are linked to me… so my brothers seem to see it that way.”

“Ah, for fuck’s sake.”

“And on my brothers’ side, well… there are rumors that… you’re a succubus….”

Ah, goddammit.

*

Just as there are many Awakeners with the ‘Elemental Mage’ trait, it’s not like Awakeners with the ‘Succubus’ trait are completely nonexistent.

So, is the perception of them good?

How could it be? Of course it’s not.

When you look at the succubus stories that occasionally pop up in online communities, a few common themes emerge.

First, sex addiction.

They love sex so much that they either have crazy one-night stands at clubs or even work in the sex trade.

There were stories titled ‘My One-Night Stand with a Succubus from a Club’ and ‘Met a Succubus at a Brothel.’

Of course, the former was far more common.

I guess meeting one at a club is fine, but going to a brothel is shameful, huh? You should be ashamed.

Second, a beauty that overflows with sex appeal.

Are they objectively beautiful? Can they be called a ‘beauty’? Not necessarily, but everyone agrees that they exude an overwhelming amount of sex appeal.

A picture of two women with similar faces but different bodies once circulated online as a ‘Succubus Awakening Before and After’ comparison meme.

…Is that a good perception?

For the record, the creator of that ‘Before and After’ meme was reportedly hit with a hefty lawsuit for invasion of privacy and other things.

Third, they drain a man’s vitality.

Usually, a man realizes the woman he slept with was a succubus the next day when he checks his physical condition.

It’s said to be more than just a hot and heavy session; it’s like all the energy in your body has been completely drained.

Among the stories, there are even some ‘A friend of mine slept with a succubus’ tales that end with the friend either dead or still bedridden to this day.

It’s not like the perception of succubi is a complete train wreck, but the anonymity of online communities means people tend to express their desires honestly, or with exaggeration.

But what if you asked someone to state their opinion of succubi with their face and real name revealed?

…Of course, it wouldn’t be good.

In fact, in a country like Korea where issues related to sex are taboo, it could be quite bad.

Thinking back… it seems the perception of succubi wasn’t that great even on anonymous forums.

I suppose the image of a sex addict lets people’s dark desires run wild in their imaginations….

In any case, the bottom line is that Yoo Ha-jin bringing a succubus into Yua Dokjon was something that could seriously damage his reputation.

…This is getting annoying.

Can’t we just surrender and pretend we don’t know each other?

“Well… within the guild… some, uh… some rather crude rumors are already circulating….”

Ah, shit. I never should have seduced this bastard. What was so great about a stalker anyway?

This is what sex addiction is. Trying to get a little Essense and screwing everything up.

My mind was so fixated on sex that things got royally screwed up. If that’s not an addiction, what is?

Of the three common perceptions, I used to think, ‘I might be other things, but at least I’m not a sex addict, hehe.’ Like hell I’m not.

“Haaa…”

A sigh escaped me automatically.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t know it would turn out like this….”

What am I supposed to do in a situation like this?

How the hell should I know?

When things get messy, the only option is to brace for impact, prepared to go into hiding as Lee Han-gyeol if it all goes south.