Chapter 21: How To Survive As An S-rank Awakener – (4)

As per Jeon Dongwook’s words, S-rank awakeners wielded power akin to that of an emperor.

Even for the task of raiding a small nest in Incheon, the management bureau had called in a helicopter.

In addition, they had offered air force support and the assistance of other A-rank awakeners, which I barely managed to decline.

“Are you really sure you can handle it alone? I could go with you.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s not like we’re dealing with a difficult calamity like last time. It’s just a simple nest cleanup.”

Although I had reassured Jeon Dongwook, the management bureau, still concerned, assigned an awakener to accompany me.

She was now sitting in the helicopter with me.

“…Hmm, I’m nervous. Aren’t you nervous, Nam Jooyeon?”

Across from me sat a delicate-looking awakener from the management bureau. 

Her name tag read Seo Yerin. 

She gazed at me with curious eyes. 

When I furrowed my brows, wondering if she had something to say, she smiled brightly and spoke.

“Um… I watched the footage from your last raid!”

“…Ah, yeah….”

“I’m really a fan!”

“…”

Seo Yerin seemed genuinely sincere, her clasped hands trembling slightly.

Should I call her my first fan?

“No, maybe the 5-star calamities that have entered this world are my first fans.”

How should I respond? 

As I sat there with an awkward expression, she cautiously asked.

“But are you really sure you can handle it alone? The reports said the Incheon nest is quite tricky for a 3-star…”

“Yes, it’s fine. No matter how tricky, it’s still just a 3-star nest.”

I glanced out the helicopter window at the nest below.

It matched the reports.

There shouldn’t be any issues.

Seo Yerin, seemingly impressed by my demeanor, covered her mouth with one hand and whispered.

“…So cool.”

“…”

What should I say? 

It’s like how celebrities get applause even for the smallest things.

That’s exactly how I felt right now.

At the same time, I felt like I was sitting on pins and needles.

If I made even the slightest mistake here, I’d lose a fan. 

Jeon Dongwook had said it too. 

The dazzling debut of an S-rank awakener. 

I needed to deliver results worthy of that title.

[Approaching the nest…]

“Confirmed.”

Hearing the pilot’s report through the headset, I turned my body towards the open window. 

Then, I manipulated the status window floating in mid-air.

[Summoning 4★ Tempest Dragon Tempestra.]

Immediately, a massive shadow loomed over the helicopter.

Tempest Dragon Tempestra, a living calamity that had devoured dozens of awakeners and soldiers in Ilsan.

But now, it was merely my subordinate.

“…Wow.”

Seo Yerin let out a gasp of admiration.

Indeed, the sight of Tempestra flying alongside the helicopter, its massive wings spread wide, was truly overwhelming. 

I shifted my gaze to the sea below. 

A whirlpool rose from the ocean, with calamities gathered around a small reef at its center. 

The calamity at the heart of the nest was a familiar face. 

It was one that often appeared in calamity syntheses.

[3★ Wave Chaser is watching you.]

The 3-star calamity and master of the nest, the Wave Chaser, had a massive body and long fins, resembling a giant seal. 

Thanks to the advantage of its aquatic environment, the Wave Chaser’s size appeared nearly 1.5 times larger than the average specimen.

The destructive power emanating from its bulky body would likely be twice as much.

“….”

But the Wave Chaser was, after all, just a 3-star calamity.

Even with the terrain buff, could it possibly defeat Tempestra, a 4-star named calamity?

The answer was no.

[4★ Tempest Dragon Tempestra uses the skill 「Roar of the Tempest」.]

As soon as I gave the command, a massive sphere of wind gathered in Tempestra’s mouth.

Immediately after, a colossal breath swept across the sea. The reef where the Wave Chaser had been, along with the nest, was overturned, and the whirlpool churned the seawater violently.

The scattered seawater reflected a rainbow of colors under the sunlight.

Kugugugugu!

A massive tremor.

All that remained was a tranquil sea, devoid of anything.

[Nest ‘Reef of the Near Sea’ successfully raided!]

[Rewards: 100Exp/3★ Wave Chaser]

The message that appeared before my eyes was dry and unemotional.

The miscellaneous calamities, having lost their focal point, began to scatter in panic.

I didn’t bother chasing them. In the vast ocean, pursuit would be inefficient.

“It’s already over?”

Seo Yerin muttered in astonishment.

Turning my head, I saw that she no longer looked like an awakener on a mission, but rather like an audience member at a concert.

“This… this is what an S-rank awakener is like….”

“…Are you filming this?”

“Um… is it not allowed?”

“Well, it’s not that it’s not allowed…”

Seo Yerin, holding her phone camera, continued to film me while exclaiming in admiration.

What could I say?kan

It wasn’t unpleasant, different from the attention I got from Kang Sena.

*

[S-rank awakener Nam Jooyeon, “Incheon Port Nest Raid”]

“Wow….”

Seo Jaeheon, a D-rank awakener and low-ranking member of the management bureau, sighed in genuine admiration as he watched the news footage.

The video showed a man.

An ordinary-looking man, but also Korea’s first S-rank awakener and the world’s second to command a 4-star calamity—an extraordinary existence.

With a single strike, he obliterated the notoriously tricky Incheon nest. 

The footage captured Tempest Dragon Tempestra coiling its body and unleashing its breath, while Nam Jooyeon watched with a detached expression.

“…This is insane, really.”

=

– With that kind of power, even a 10 billion won salary would be understandable lol. How does a nest just disappear like that?

– Isn’t that the guy who took out five nests in one night?

– So, can an S-rank awakener rival something like an Actor?

=

Most of the comments on the article were filled with awe.

Even those who had been skeptical of S-rank awakeners had no choice but to acknowledge their power after witnessing it firsthand.

“…Sigh.”

Seo Jaeheon put down his phone and let out a deep sigh.

“When will I ever make it big?”

A low-ranking D-rank awakener in the management bureau.

That was Seo Jaeheon’s current standing.

Although he had somehow been recognized as a legitimate awakener, being a D-rank meant little.

While the S-rank awakener was being transported by helicopter, Seo Jaeheon had been sent to clean up the aftermath of the Incheon nest raid.

[1★ Forest Goblin uses the skill ‘Leaf Blade’.]

Seo Jaeheon’s only calamity, the Forest Goblin, cleaned up the wreckage of the site.

The piles of shattered reef debris.

Although the nest was gone, remnants of the calamities remained.

It was a dangerous area, so awakeners were deployed to clean it up.

“Sigh….”

Seo Jaeheon sighed deeply, his shoulders slumping.

In this new era, awakeners enjoyed popularity akin to superstars, but for a D-rank awakener like Seo Jaeheon, life wasn’t much different from that of an ordinary person.

No, given his role as a glorified janitor, his situation might even be more pitiful.

“This is the worst.”

Instead of raiding nests, he was being dragged around to clean up the mess.

Seo Jaeheon picked up his phone again and gazed at the image of Nam Jooyeon in the article.

An S-rank awakener.

The object of everyone’s envy.

A trailblazer of the new era.

“Could I ever become like that?”

As he muttered those words, something happened.

“You can.”

“…Huh?”

Seo Jaeheon frowned.

What had he just heard?

Was it a hallucination?

“You can succeed.”

Hearing the voice again, Seo Jaeheon quickly turned around.

The moment he saw the small-framed woman standing behind him, he froze.

Not only was her strikingly foreign appearance noticeable, but more importantly, he saw the blue text floating above her head.

[5★ Storm of the North Sea, Mirien.]

“A calamity!”

“Do you want to succeed?”

The woman, Mirien, the Storm of the North Sea, asked.

But Seo Jaeheon wasn’t listening. 

He frantically grabbed his radio, intending to alert his fellow awakeners about the situation.

However, the radio emitted a burnt smell.

The half-opened cover revealed a charred circuit board.

“…!”

“If you desire it, I can make it happen.”

Mirien slowly approached Seo Jaeheon and placed her hand on his shoulder.

A jolt of electricity instantly robbed him of control over his limbs.

Wide-eyed, Seo Jaeheon stared at Mirien.

Her pink lips parted.

“Serve the Actor.”

“The… Actor?”

“Yes. The Actor. The ruler of this world. And beyond that, the new king who will reign over all dimensions.”

Mirien continued, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

“And my king. My only king.”

“…”

“Don’t worry. You’ll soon have what you desire.”

Mirien brought her middle and index fingers together and placed them on Seo Jaeheon’s temple.

A dizzying sensation washed over him, as if his consciousness was sinking.

“You won’t die. Don’t worry.”

“…Ugh.”

“Under the name of the Actor, we will all transcend the heavens.”

Mirien grinned.

[5★ Storm of the North Sea, Mirien, uses the skill 「Mind Control」.]

[Resistance failed!]

That was his last memory.