Chapter 178

My heart dropped.

A weighty voice with a metallic scrape to it.

Clearly a familiar voice, but flustered as I was, I couldn't place who it was right away.

That was when Han Soeun's shocked cry rang through the training hall over the control-room speaker.

"D-Dokgomin?! H-how did you get in here?! When I checked before, there was no one—!"

Dokgomin!

Only then did it click.

The blind Swordsman, Dokgomin.

One of the Awakened we'd taken in after the Colosseum incident.

"I was in the training hall right next door."

Dokgomin's calm answer followed.

"I was in meditation, and a disturbance carried over — so I came to see."

"Aah…! The lights over there were off, so I assumed no one was there—!"

"Light or its absence is meaningless to me. If you swept with your eyes alone, of course you'd have taken me for gone."

The sound of cloth brushing came closer.

Stopping in front of me, he asked again in that low, weighty voice.

"So… you truly have lost your sight?"

I couldn't bring my mouth to open.

In the Awakened world, letting a weakness show was as good as handing someone the leash to your throat.

Even to a guild member — was it all right to lay bare a fatal weakness like that, defenseless?

But in front of a man with senses sharper than mine, no clumsy lie was going to work.

In the end, I nodded, heavy.

"…Yes. That's right."

"So that was it."

Dokgomin let out a small sigh.

"I did think your steps were terribly unsteady and your breathing scattered."

I opened my mouth, cautious.

"Could you keep this quiet, for a while?"

"As I said before, benefactor, you are the one who pulled me out of that hell of a Colosseum."

The firm answer came back without a hint of hesitation.

"A man who owes his life to another does not turn and prey on his benefactor's weakness. Rest easy."

At that vow-like assurance, I let out a long inner breath of relief.

Given his solid, upright nature, it was a word I could trust in full.

As the tension eased, Dokgomin asked:

"That said — what brings you here in the dead of night? Just a moment ago, it seemed you were under some kind of attack."

"Ah, that…"

I couldn't spill Hajun's ability or the manifestation of my own, so I scrambled fast and cobbled together an excuse.

"As you can see, my sight was cut off out of nowhere. I figured I'd have to get used to it going forward, so I was running various drills without being able to see."

"Oh…!"

A deep exclamation slipped from Dokgomin.

"Truly admirable! When I first lost my sight I collapsed into despair — and yet you've picked yourself up and moved on this quickly!"

Under the praise laid on with unshakable trust, I forced down my prickling conscience and gave an awkward smile.

"Then allow me to help. A life without sight must be learned from another who has lost his sight — would you not agree."

"What? But you must be busy every day, training…"

The truth was, Dokgomin was the only one among the gladiators who'd refused the restoration treatment.

His reason: he was already so perfectly accustomed to a darkened field that hastily regaining his sight would only get in his way.

Instead, to maintain those keen senses, he was pouring more than ten hours a day into training.

In the dark, the sound of cloth flaring hard rang out.

Fwip—!

Then the short, thick sound of a solid fist striking against a callused palm cut the silence.

Even without seeing, I knew.

That right now, in front of me, he had clasped his hands firm and was offering the martial artist's salute.

"To those of us who lived like corpses — bodies broken, only breath left — you gave back the limbs we'd lost, and gave back our lives as human beings. And…"

"…!"

"Those who face their own faults head-on and make fitting amends are truly rare."

He went on in a voice weighted with deep respect and a faint trace of regret.

"I once lost both my eyes to the betrayal of one I trusted, and fell into an endless abyss. Benefactor, you'll modestly say it was merely a debt you were bound to pay — but in the Awakened world, that flimsy honor collapses all too easily before petty gain and the logic of might. I've bled and lived through it myself."

Through Dokgomin's tightly set lips, a still graver, weightier sincerity spilled out.

"But at your side, benefactor, I've come to understand — bone-deep — what true atonement is, and what an unshaken warrior's code truly looks like."

"Th-that's really not—"

"So please, allow me to repay even a fraction of that great kindness. When it comes to walking through the dark again, one who first stumbled through that black may be of some small use."

Faced with a bearing that was almost solemn, I couldn't find any further ground to refuse.

"…All right. I'll be in your care, then."

At my careful acceptance, Dokgomin's tautly braced presence went softer, lighter.

"Good. When the eyes close, at first the fear and disorientation weigh heavy, but soon the remaining senses awaken all the sharper. First — let's begin slowly, with your sight emptied out, feeling the ki around you."

"…Excuse me? Ki?"

"Exactly. The flow of the energy all things give off — that's what you must learn to read."

Hold on — did I transmigrate into a wuxia novel instead of a hunter one…?

Flustered, I could only blink into the pitch-black.

Ki? Was that the wuxia-style word for mana?

I had some inkling of what he meant, but I'd never once consciously felt anything of the sort, and my face must have shown it.

Reading my troubled look with uncanny precision, Dokgomin let out a low chuckle.

"No need to worry from the start. Before you handle ki, let's begin with basic training — sharpening the body's senses."

From that day on.

Under Dokgomin's punishing instruction, I plunged into training meant to adapt me to a world gone black.

At the same time, in the newly relocated guild's information control room.

Lee Jinwoo was hammering away nonstop at his keyboard, three wide monitors up in front of him.

A mountain of basic guild admin piling in, the 'Chae Junhyeok past-activity investigation' the Director had secretly ordered, and on top of that the runaway external-response workload.

He needed to be in ten places at once — he hadn't even been able to attend today's third regular ⟨CJPC⟩ general meeting; he was holed up in the control room instead.

"Twenty press outlets, five major guilds. Meeting requests from every worthless bastard on the list, denied and blocked. Perfect."

Clack-clack. Hitting the final Enter key with a satisfied flourish, Lee Jinwoo pushed his glasses up and smiled, pleased.

Buzz—buzz—buzz—

At the edge of the desk, a loud vibration went off inside a special security case.

The source: Chae Junhyeok's personal handset.

Nominally there so he could handle outside contact on the Director's behalf, but in practice a device Lee Jinwoo had quietly confiscated to seal the Director off from the world.

"Which persistent reporter is it this time."

Just as he was about to hit the red end-call button without a second thought — the way he had with dozens of previous calls — the sender on the screen made his whole body go stiff.

"…Huh?"

At the center of the brightly lit screen, instead of an unknown number, only two crisp characters were blinking.

[ Dad ]

"All right, then, today's third regular ⟨CJPC⟩ general meeting is now—!"

Han Soeun was solemnly opening the session at the front, when—

Slam—!!

The door of the Sunshine Room flew open like it might come off the hinges, and someone came stumbling in, out of breath.

None of the usual composure was anywhere in sight — Lee Jinwoo, ashen-faced.

"S-something huge — huge just happened…!"

"What is it, Teacher?!"

At Lee Jinwoo bursting in in a panic, the kids swarmed around him.

With trembling hands, Lee Jinwoo pulled the Director's personal handset from his coat.

"The Bureau Chief says he's coming here — right now!"

"Whaaaat?!"

Every stunned eye locked onto the small screen.

Displayed on it was a brief text exchange from just moments ago.

Dad

Junhyeok, why aren't you picking up? I'm heading over there now.

Wait — why are YOU coming?! I need to rest, so don't.

Dad

Just going to see your face and go. Almost there.

You know where 'here' is?! You have the address?

Dad

Ha, you really think I don't know where my own son is?

…Fine. If you're really coming, meet me at the café at the intersection out in front of the guild. Not here.

"Wh-what is this whole exchange?!"

At Han Soeun's shocked question, Lee Jinwoo dropped to the floor, clutching his head.

"I sent those! He clearly already had a lead on the guild's location, so I said meet at the café instead, in case he actually shows up!"

"But how on earth did he figure out this place?! That grandpa is genuinely terrifying!"

"That's not the problem right now! Someone has to go out to the café, and the Director can't leave! What do we do?!"

While the two adults tore at their hair, flailing in full meltdown, the kids listening in beside them went dead white and started stomping in place too.

"W-we've gotta stop him! If that man comes here it's a disaster—"

"How about Hayun uses her telekinesis to send that grandpa's car flying way off?"

"If I hold Hajuni'sh hand I can do it! Or Shihyeok-oppa could just shwallow him whole with a shadow!"

At the murderous proposals, Sihyeok gave a wordless nod and started cracking his wrists — pop, pop — like he was ready to move on the spot.

At the kids looking ready to bolt out that instant, Sea-ah waved her hands, frantic.

"Everyone, calm down! We can't just use our powers on him!"

Having barely settled the worked-up kids, Sea-ah spoke up.

"Now that I think about it… we still haven't returned the pocket watch and the hand mirror to the Guild Master, from the Colosseum days, right?"

"…Huh?!"

Only then did a chorus of gasps burst from the kids.

The transformation artifacts that had let the older ones fight in Chae Junhyeok's place!

When the gladiators had been folded into the guild, Han Soeun and Lee Jinwoo had gotten the rough outline of the whole story — and both of them snapped their heads up too.

"S-so… you're saying one of us transforms into the Director and meets the Bureau Chief?"

At Han Soeun's cautious question, the kids nodded, fierce.

"But who's actually going to disguise themselves as the Director and go?"

At that question, the room went dead quiet, as if cold water had been dumped on it.

Sea-ah, calm-voiced, walked through the criteria one by one.

"First — since we've got to fool his own father, acting ability's the baseline. And then, you'd have to know the Director inside and out. On top of that, since we don't know what he'll ask, you'd need to handle curveballs perfectly. Ideally, similar build too, so as not to get caught out."

While everyone was throwing sidelong glances around the room — does anyone who fits that perfectly even exist? — Lee Jinwoo and Han Soeun stepped forward, solemn.

"W-well, we're the adults here! We ought to be the ones to do this!"

The twins immediately fetched the pocket watch and hand mirror from their treasure chest.

Lee Jinwoo and Han Soeun took turns pulling on the Director's face and started a mock interview.

The results were catastrophic.

"Teacher Number One — eliminated! The Direektuh doesn't tremble like that!"

"Teacher Number Two — you're out too! The Director doesn't randomly launch into the latest mana engineering! And his eyes don't sparkle like that either!"

The adults went down, one after another.

"What about Teacher Number Three?"

"Out. For starters, way too big a build… and honestly, he's so quiet the conversation itself wouldn't hold. He'd get caught in five minutes."

As every candidate dropped like flies and a strange silence settled —

Every eye in the room, as if on cue, slid to a single spot.

Acting skill sharp enough to imitate the Director perfectly.

Quick-witted brains that could slip out from under any trap question.

Composure and cool-headedness that wouldn't waver, even in a crisis.

"…Me?"

Feeling every gaze land on her at once, Sea-ah, thrown, pointed at her own face.

"But my build's… way too small. Last time worked because it was combat — but sitting right across from him up close, I'd definitely get caught."

At Sea-ah's practical point, everyone deflated again — and that was when Yul spoke up, offhand.

"Simple. We say he's badly hurt."

"Badly hurt?"

"Use the injury as cover — wrap her in bandages, then a thick puffer over that to bulk her out. It's getting cold out anyway."

"!"

At Yul's clean proposal, the operation moved forward without a hitch.

First, using the artifact, she pulled Chae Junhyeok's cocky, striking face over her own — perfect fit.

Then, over her body, they packed towels and padding thick inside the largest hospital gown they had, wound bandages around her like a mummy, and forcibly bulked her up.

Layer a thick long puffer over all of that, and a passable grown-man silhouette was ready to go.

"Okay, walk."

When Sea-ah shuffled forward, awkward, any weird tell of her small frame vanished — what stood there was a bandaged serious-injury patient, unmistakably.

Studying the mirror, Sea-ah tilted her chin at an angle and slipped on Chae Junhyeok's signature crooked smirk.

At a face and smirk identical enough to raise goosebumps, every person in the room rose to their feet in applause.

"Perfect! Even his own father would fall for it!"

An hour later, at the café by the intersection a short way from the guild.

In a puffed-out long puffer, face half-hidden, Sea-ah — no, 'Chae Junhyeok' — pushed the door open and stepped into the café.