That morning, the streets were filled with heavily armed warriors. From third rate warriors to first rate warriors, everyone seemed to be hustling. Navigating my way through a sea of people was difficult as it is par for the course. One small misstep is a potential danger of encountering a ‘young master.'

“Young lad, a great destiny awaits you.”

Once again, I passed by the old beggar. She stretched out her hand but this time, I wasn’t able to give alms.

“I’ll come back later!”

“Hoho, it’s nice to see you again after three days.”

It would have been more apt for her to say hear since she was blind but anyway, I soon arrived at the gates of the lady’s dormitory.

“Stop!”

“I’m here for Dahyun.”

White air escaped from my mouth as I spoke. Today was a bit colder than usual. Light drizzle of snow poured down, glazing the ground white.

Only one guard stood at the entrance of the dormitory, which was the rude new one.

“So it’s warrior Siyon.”

“It’s Sheon.”

“Do you have business with warrior Dahyun today?”

“Yes. Is she here?”

“You can’t meet her.”

“Are you stopping me again?”

“No, not that. Most of the first rate warriors are mobilized for a mission.”

‘So that’s why there were lots of them on the street. Why today of all days!’

I immediately bid goodbye and walked back to my quarters. I didn’t want to stay a second more with that woman.

‘Oh wait, what if Dahyun’s worried about me?’

A beautiful woman should live with a rich man to live a happy life.

‘Or maybe she wouldn’t care enough about a roach like me. Damn it! Stop being so negative.’

I kicked up a fuss, a small pile of snow that is, and went back. A bunch of men in brown clothes frantically moved to and fro outside the barracks. The Squad Leaders screamed in panic while the rest of their members moved at a carefree pace.

“Take what you need!”

“My sword is too rusty. I should have oiled it yesterday.”

“Move faster!”

Even my normally calm Squad Leader had a frantic look. Maybe I’d act just like him when I get promoted to a Squad Leader too. When our eyes met, his eyes got bigger.

“Sheon, you’re back! Quickly grab your weapon and force the others to move faster.”

“What’s happening?”

“We’re going outside.”

“Outside?”

“I don’t know why either. Just please go and get ready.”

“Alright.”

The inside of the barracks was no different from the outside. It was a complete mess.

“Hurry!”

“Whew. That was a great bath.”

“The Squad Leader is getting angry.”

Ignoring all the fuss and the nude men, I grabbed my spear and my blade.

All set!

Thirty minutes later, for the first time in my life, I found myself standing with an excited army outside the walls. For starters, third rate warriors barely went out on missions outside.

Although we might be stronger than normal people, we were still no match for the wandering monsters outside. Normal third rates could handle bandits and goblins but not against any other monster.

“Sheon, quarantine’s over?”

Park Bohyun approached me. He was from a different squad but because we were friends, he always looked out for me.

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“Three days run faster than you think.”

“I wonder what’s happening because I saw the faces of the higher ups were very serious.”

“Really? Then something serious is happening. Take care of yourself Bohyun.”

“Ha! Take care? This is the chance for talentless people like us to make it big. We should try our best to stick to their asses. I’m telling you, this could be our only chance for a promotion.”

If it were any other day, Bohyun’s words would just breeze through my ears. But because the words of the rude woman kept ringing inside my head, I began to think things over. In case I don’t meet the promise of breaking through to a higher level, the least thing I could do is to compensate it with a higher position.

We’re talentless. For our kind to make it big, we have to act like dogs yapping on spilled milk. Basically, to grab every opportunity we can just to get noticed.

Money and power. If I want to give Dahyun a happy life, I only need either money or power.

“Silence!”

No one talked. No one moved. The chattering of the army dissolved with just one word.

“The Wall Chief will orient us on our mission so listen up.”

“Everyone,”

The man spoke softly yet all of us heard him clearly. He leisurely used his ki to amplify his voice.

“You might have heard of it already that we are about to go on an important mission, one that might be recorded in the annals of history.”

“The Squad Leaders were already oriented about each Squad’s tasks so follow them. I have one request- live and let’s see each other again.”

***

Tread lightly.

These were the words my father from this world uttered the most. From time to time, he would tell me that the easiest way to live is to stay safe because once you’re dead, it’s all over. He died three days after that. Not because he didn't tread lightly but because of the plague. As I grew older in this world, I realized that what he said was true.

Perchance, the person currently beside me must be the relative of my late father. The name of this person is Yong Wonhi, which means ‘forever.’

He was still young but he already knew what he wanted in life. That is, to live safely behind the walls. He could have done so easily if only he wasn’t forced by his family to live as a warrior.

“No! I don’t want to go outside. Take me back. Please.”

Jin Taekyung pulled the newbie's collar as we marched.

The journey was like a field trip. Although it was cold, the new environment was fascinating enough to ignore the weather. Dead monsters filled the sides of the path. Judging by the fresh blood, they were recently killed.

“Kya! That’s a werewolf. Only first rate warriors can deal with that.”

Wonhi moved as far away from the carcass as he could but Taekyung's grip was too strong for him to run.

“Don’t worry, kiddo. We have a formation to defend from something like that. Just don’t panic if we get in a mess later.”

The Squad Leader patted the kid’s head. I also wanted to pat the newbie’s head. I was just like him in the past. Looking at him, his attitude were in some ways similar to mine.

Up ahead, we passed by a squad composed of a mix of first and second rate warriors. They were cleaning their bloodied weapons, fresh from killing some monsters.

When they saw us, one of them shouted.

“Captain! There are third rates here.”

“Go ask them if they’re the ones in assigned to us. I can’t stand the smell anymore.”

“Alright!”

A woman younger than me approached our Squad Leader.

“Are you the ones assigned here?”

“I’m sorry but our Squad is assigned in the frontlines.”

The Squad Leader cupped his hands and slightly bowed.

“Damn, better luck in your next life.”

The woman left without further words.

“S-s-s-s-s-quad Leader-”

I looked at the stuttering newbie. The guy was even a worse wuss than me.

“She’s just scaring us. Remember, our only duty in the frontlines is to be on standby. Knowing the Wall Chief, they won’t push us to death. Besides, it’s much safer there since the Supreme Warriors and the Divine Masters will also be staying there. Understood?”

“Yes sir.”

Our journey took us an hour.

The camping place was a historic crater-sized land that was fabled to be the doing of a hero in the past. Among all of us, the Squad Leader looked the most excited.

“I can’t believe a person did this. Set up the tents while I report to our status.”

“Yes sir!”

***

The Wall Chief was the last Supreme Warrior to arrive at a certain tent. Together with the first rate warriors, he made sure to clear all monsters within a five kilometer radius from the camping site.

Only then was he able to feel calm and secure.

“Celestial Dragon City, Wall Chief, Wang Jin greets everyone.”

Present inside the tent were different Supreme Warriors from other factions. They were reinforcements just in case things go south.

“Would you happen to know where Shin Myongah from the Heavenly Demon Sect is? He's supposed to standby here as a back up too.”

“He said he was bored and went out.”

“I see.”

“Wall Chief, sit down and drink some wine.”

The looks on their faces were without any worries. Though it may seem strange, all of them were drinking wine; even the representative from the righteous Plum Blossom Sect was doing so.

“Wang Jin, you can relax. We have four Divine Masters. There won’t be any need for us in the battlefield.”

***

Chop. Chop. Chop.

Salt the cabbage.

Rinse and drain.

Done!

The little goblin performed excellently like a seasoned chef would. For some reason, the higher ups ordered for food.

“Wonhi, are you done with the spice paste?”

I looked over to the young man who was still stirring a wok full of ingredients.

“At that age, I wasn’t that slow kiddo.”

'I felt like a boss. Is this why people want power?

“Anyway, just call Taekyung when you’re done.”

“Yes hyung.”

I was about to sit down when the tent opened. Bohyun appeared with fresh news.

“I overheard from the first rate warriors that we’re actually here to execute an Awakener.”

“Ha. How’s that possible? They won’t even need us if it’s just one person.”

'Will they gather thousands of warriors just to kill a single person? And an Awakener at that? That only happens in novels.'

***

In the middle of the forest was a worn down shack. A heavy stench of rotten corpses emanated from the windows. If not for the smoke coming out of its chimney, no one would believe that a man lived there.

“I will personally take his head.”

***

Communication prior to the existence of Awakeners was a difficult task. Messengers had to be quick on foot to relay a single message. With the presence of Lin Fei from the Awakeners Society, messages were delivered in real time.

"The Awakeners Society is ready."

“The Plum Blossom warriors are in place.”

“The Tang warriors are in place.”

“The Celestial Dragon’s warriors are in place.”

“....”

“Heavenly Demon warriors, are you there?”

Nobody answered.

“Crown prince, are you there?”

Lin Fei waited for a few seconds but the person who answered was his subordinate.

“We have a big problem!”

Another Awakener appeared, his clothes were drenched in sweat.

“What?”

“The Heavenly Demon warriors attacked.”