THDR 33

Chapter 33

Cheonma and the Tavern (2)

Chohong.
Twenty-eight years old this year, she worked at a small tavern on the outskirts of the city called Nobyung.
But she had another job: she was a third-class Awakened with the skill of mental manipulation and the chief of the Special Response Team at the headquarters of the Korean Awakened Association.

How could the chief of the Awakened Association work at a tavern? There were two reasons.

First: undercover employment.
The Special Response Team she led was a secret division under the Strategic Planning Office, and few within the association even knew of its existence.
The identities of team members were classified, and they lived normal lives through undercover employment.

Second: falling from grace.
The team’s missions were conducted secretly under the direct supervision of the Strategic Planning Office head.
But after Director Park Jeong-min, who was aligned with the previous association president, was forced to retire due to factional struggles, the opposing Director Kim Su-ung became the new head.
As a result, the Special Response Team, previously a key department under Park Jeong-min’s influence, became politically untethered.

“This is unsettling, as expected.”

Click.
Entering her office, Chohong pressed the power button on her desk.
She adjusted the holographic keyboard several times, and light began to flow from the previously black monitor.

“- Please state your affiliation.”

A calm mechanical voice came from the screen, and Chohong spoke:
“Special Response Team Chief, Chohong.”

“- Connection approved. Please state your command.”

She inserted a small nanochip into the computer.
“Scan the face on the screen. Then search the Awakened database for any matches.”

The monitor displayed the profile of a man with enormous muscles and red eyes.
He looked anything but ordinary.

Chohong had input the image of Cheonma, captured on the internal CCTV of Nobyung, into the monitor.

Rrrr.

Countless Awakened ID cards began pouring onto the screen.
Unlike ordinary citizens, Awakened have a system that allows identity verification from facial data alone.

“- No matching Awakened found.”

“Search again. Include overseas Awakened association databases this time.”

The monitor scrolled through ID cards of countless Awakened once more.
After some time, the computer’s low voice repeated:

“- No matching Awakened found.”

Chohong’s eyes darkened. As expected, he was an unregistered Awakened.

Recently, reports had surfaced of other human-shaped entities appearing in dungeons.
These beings possessed mysterious physical abilities, rapid regeneration, or entirely different mystical powers.
Their appearance was said to resemble legendary yokai.

“If he can evade the mental intrusion of the elder… there’s no reason he wouldn’t register.”

Unregistered Awakened are restricted from dungeon access.
Conversely, a registered Awakened with strong power naturally gains wealth and prestige.

“He’s not some so-called ‘conformist’ either.”

Being an Awakened is a grueling job, constantly facing monsters in dungeons.
Some Awakened hide their abilities or choose a normal life; they are called conformists.

“Well… it doesn’t really matter.”

The Awakened registration system exists for two reasons:
To protect citizens and to prevent unregistered Awakened from recklessly destroying dungeons or hoarding relics.
In other words, as long as unregistered Awakened—or yokai—stay out of the dungeon, there’s no concern.

“As long as they don’t linger in dungeons.”

Thinking of Cheonma’s faintly glowing eyes, Chohong shook her head.

The next day, around noon.

Ding.

Chohong awoke from a deep sleep at the sound of a message.
“Hrm.”
She turned, reaching for her phone on the bedside table.

– Ice has fallen, so catch one Ice Basilisk on your way to work.

It was a message from her mentor and the tavern’s owner, Jang Geum-seon.

“Ah, really?”
Groggily getting out of bed, Chohong sighed.
“Couldn’t you have told me earlier?”

After a quick wash, she drove toward the entrance of the Safe Dungeon area.
Her officetel was near the city outskirts, so it took about twenty minutes by car to reach the Safe Dungeon.

“Hello?”
Parking her car and passing by the long line of shops, she arrived at the dungeon entrance, greeted by a young employee in blue.
“Are you entering the dungeon?”
“Yes.”

Stepping onto the scanner at the entrance, a white light swept over her body.

“- Awakened Chohong, welcome.”

“Yes, confirmed. Be careful.”
“Thank you.”

As Chohong passed through the entrance with an indifferent expression, a blue shield glowed in front of her.
Humans could pass through it unharmed, but to monsters, it was tougher than steel.

“I’ll have to run a while.”

Entering the ruined Safe Dungeon, Chohong sighed.
The only civilized tools usable in the dungeon were nanobots.
Anything else—firearms, even a small motorcycle—would destabilize the dungeon.

“When will I get to ride a dungeon vehicle?”

Recently, vehicles and motorcycles made from dungeon-safe nanobot materials were being produced.
But their astronomical cost meant salary-earning Awakened like Chohong could only dream of them.

“Ice Basilisk… must go west.”

Attaching a micro-camera near her shoulder, she scanned her surroundings.
Though she didn’t carry nanobots, she had a miniature camera to record dungeon situations, as a precaution.

Thud.

Chohong sprinted forward.
After kicking up dust for a while, a transparent palace-like structure appeared in the distance: the Ice Palace Dungeon, home of the Ice Basilisk.

“Huh?”

But a massive shadow emerged from the dungeon entrance.
A man with muscles larger than Strength-Enhanced Awakened and nanobots on his shoulders.

Chohong immediately recognized him as the same customer who had downed three bowls of sambok-gu at the tavern last night.

“That guy… he’s entering the dungeon?”

Was he unregistered just to pilfer relics and materials?
A mix of disappointment and anger surged through Chohong.

Just as she was about to move, KABOOM!
The Ice Palace Dungeon began collapsing.

“What… what’s happening?”

Looking at the sinking palace, she noticed white, square blocks of ice among the ruins.
Inside, people who appeared to be Awakened were frozen like fish.

Whiiiiing.

Simultaneously, white snow swirled, forming a massive shadow.
With a crunch, the shadow became a giant ice creature, opening its mouth and roaring.

Woooooo!

The low, eerie roar from the deep cave froze Chohong in place.

“Ice… Golem?”

The 20-meter creature, a hidden monster called the Ice Golem, had a danger level of nearly 13,000.
Its roar paralyzed her limbs, as if frozen.

“If it rampages through the dungeon, it’ll be disastrous.”

Large hidden monsters can break shields and attack anyone in sight.

“I need to notify the Association.”

But she noticed the muscular man standing calmly before the monster.

“What is he doing!? He shouldn’t just stay there…”

Before she could react, the Ice Golem reached out its hand.
Its movements were fast, and in an instant, its hand enveloped the man in white frost.

“Be careful!”

But it was too late.
The man froze into a block of ice.

Heh heh heh.

The Ice Golem alternated its gaze between the frozen man and the imprisoned Awakened.
Then, it lifted the large ice prison and brought it to its mouth.

“Is it going to eat them?”

Chohong struggled, but only her fingers moved; she couldn’t escape the monster’s intimidation.

At the moment the ice prison was about to enter the Golem’s mouth, CRACK!
The ice covering the man shattered.
PAANG!

With a chest-shaking vibration, the man’s body glowed red.

“Cheonma’s Great Ability!”

A lightning-like roar erupted from his mouth as he leaped atop the Ice Golem’s head.
“Fist of Authority, Heavenly Palm Strike!”

The energy he unleashed settled near the Golem’s heart.
Crackle, tingle.

Clear glass-like sounds accompanied cracks spreading across the Golem’s icy body.

Rumble.

Finally, the shattered Ice Golem crumbled into powder.

“How…?”

Chohong couldn’t close her mouth.
A hidden monster that would normally require dozens of first-class Awakened to defeat was destroyed in one strike.

She finally understood what Jang Geum-seon had warned last night:

“If you want the Association intact…”

Touching that man would unleash dozens of hidden monsters, or worse, a disaster surpassing the creation of a variable dungeon in the city.

But Chohong’s judgment was clear:

“No. I can’t leave someone like him be.”

He was far too strong—a ticking time bomb.

“If he can defeat hidden monsters in one strike…”

Relics from hidden monsters are priceless treasures.
If an unregistered Awakened captures them randomly, he could monopolize high-value relics and become an economic threat to the nation.

Thud.

A glowing gem fell from the destroyed Ice Golem.
Though its nature was unknown, it was clearly a precious relic.

“Hmm.”

Surprisingly, the man ignored it.
He freed the imprisoned Awakened by shattering their ice blocks, then disappeared without taking the relic.

“Who… is that guy?”

Chohong blinked and slowly regained control of her limbs.
She quickly pressed the emergency button on her phone:

“Safe Dungeon area, west side, Ice Palace Dungeon—injured people present. Please come quickly.”

She looked at her phone again.
Though she didn’t carry nanobots, her micro-camera had recorded everything.

“Reporting this to the Association… I can identify that man and possibly organize a team to apprehend him under the Association’s authorization.”

“Damn.”

But she couldn’t.
He was a hero—eliminating dangerous monsters and saving people without taking any reward.
How could she report him?

“I’ll observe a bit longer. If he… changes his mind…”

She removed the micro-camera from her shoulder and clenched her fists.

[Cheonma, what a nuisance.]

In a secret passage, Mumyung emerged to the store and spoke loudly to Cheonma:

[Because of your greed, the Ice Palace Dungeon, where ice crystals could be harvested periodically, was closed, wasn’t it?]

“The weather’s hot lately. I just took some extra ice crystals for a comfortable working environment,” Cheonma replied.

[Even if we ignore the ice crystals, why did you massacre the Ice Basilisk and the dungeon boss Glacier Basilisk, which didn’t need to be handled? I warned you repeatedly.]

“Did that ice snake dare block my path?”

[Cheonma!]

Mumyung scolded him in an unprecedentedly angry voice:

[Because of your actions, the hidden monster Ice Golem appeared. Awakened collecting materials inside the dungeon were almost killed.]

“I—”

[Your actions not only destroy the dungeon, but endanger lives. If another Awakened witnessed this, you could be sued.]

Even the absolute martial master Cheonma being scolded by a tiny robot—it was humiliating.

[I understand that you don’t distinguish between good and evil and disregard others’ circumstances. But please remember, as long as you are in Bokbok Interior, you are a resident of the territory.]

“All right, enough.”

“What? You’re back?”

At that moment, Jang Chaewon walked out from the back of the store holding a quotation sheet.

“Did you bring the ice crystals? The workers for Seoha-sin’s bathroom are waiting.”

“Don’t worry, I brought plenty.”

Cheonma pulled a wooden box from his bag.
“Take it.”

“Thanks. But… is something wrong?”

Seeing a shadow over Cheonma’s eyes, Jang Chaewon asked, and Mumyung spoke:

[Actually…]

Cheonma quickly tapped Mumyung’s round head and waved his hand:

“Just a bit tired from the heat. Nothing serious, go inside.”

“Mm.”