The Awakened garnered an immense amount of attention in the world right now. The powers they received varied, but because of how different they became from the average human the stronger ones reached the status of small-time celebrities in no time with the media coverage.

It was no different in the country of South Korea, currently three Awakened were popular among the citizens. Cho Young-Jae held the third place due to his rising efforts in clearing Gates, the second went to the Leader of the First Awakened Squad Ryu Ji-Hu who appeared in public from time to time. But, for some, the ranking between those two had become interchangeable lately.

However, no one in Seoul disputed the one in First place. Although he never showed any interest in interviews and avoided the Media, everyone knew what he was up to because posts and articles about his location surfaced on an hourly basis.

Lee Do-Yun. The Awakened credited as the major contributor to Seoul’s rapid stabilization after the Break incident. The mysteriousness around him only seemed to make him more popular by the day. But he still didn't appear in public.

“So, you up for it?” And that same Awakened offered her a Job. people would take this offer in a heartbeat, but not her.

“Smells fishy,” Eun-Young said.

“Come on, do I look like a scammer?” He laughed.

“Yes.” His smile didn't fade even with her blunt answer.

Truly thick-skinned, but she didn’t walk away. Eun-Young didn’t have the leeway of being choosy right now, if the opportunity presented she had to make use of it. What he wanted to give her was that same valuable opportunity.

“So, what is this job?” She asked.

“Raiding Gates of course,” Her eyebrow rose a little, but she didn’t say anything. Eun-Young expected this to an extent, but if possible she didn’t want to be part of the frontline.

“You’ll get 30% of the raid revenue on the same day the raid.” Do-Yun had more to say, but Eun-Young shook her head. There was nothing more to listen at this point.

“When do I start?” He got her with that. All of Eun-Young’s problems could related to money, and now she can get that without a more complicated process.

Do-Yun didn’t answer as a black van exited the barricade surrounding the Gate and stopped next to them. It attracted the passers-by gazes but Eun-Young could feel that most of the eyes gathered on her. Almost like they weren’t seeing him standing right there. Regardless, Do-Yun opened the door while looking at her.

“How about right now?” He said with a smile, she didn’t know if it was on purpose or not that he wanted to annoy her.

Eun-Young sat inside without a word. He closed the door for her and sat in the front passenger seat himself. Byung-Ho didn’t understand what happened but he decided to drive to their destination. Their first Yellow Gate of the day was waiting for them. Normally their journey would go in silence. Do-Yun sometimes listened to some music, but today the silence turned eerie. It was all thanks to Eun-Young in the backseat.

‘She…’ Byung-Ho glanced at the rearview mirror but found the red eyes staring straight at him making him look away in an instant.

“If you have questions be free to ask them.” Even with her affirmation, Byung-Ho didn’t know how to break into the subject. But before him, Do-Yun turned around with a jolly smile.

“Alright then, I’ll ask you some questions.” Byung-ho truly envied this side of Do-Yun, though most of the time it annoyed other people.

Even if she didn’t speak to him, Eun-Young didn’t mind the questions. As long as they stayed true to the subject. She expected him to ask some weird questions. If he did, she’d ignore them outright. Thankfully, it wasn’t anything like that.

“Why did you hide your skills from the General Guild?” His voice took a serious note, something she didn’t think he was capable of.

“How did you know?” Eun-Young’s vigilance increased, but he chuckled. It wasn't like he stalked her or something.

“Wouldn’t it be weird if they let you go after knowing the rank of your skill?” She had no counter to that question. She had indeed intentionally hidden that information from the Guild scout.

“You are the third Awakened in South Korea with an S-Rank skill. Where ever you go they’ll give you what you want. That is why I became curious about your choices so far,” Do-Yun knew of her potential from the moment he met her at the convenience store last time.

But, she fell silent for days and didn’t join any teams like he thought she would. Today, by chance he happened to notice her after he exited the gate.

“I didn’t have a good feeling about the people that I met so far. That is why I haven’t joined any.” It wasn’t like Eun-Young hadn’t didnt get offers before, thanks to the change of eye colors in the Awakened people which distinguished them from normal people. Scouts started to take their chances when they saw a color that matched the spectrum. And red-colored eyes became a big deal.

But, Eun-young had red eyes since birth. That is why she got out of those situations much easier without giving away that she had awakened. Though, even this facade had to end today.

“So, you mean that I don’t give you that bad feeling, huh?” Do-Yun’s grin made his face more punchable, but he wasn’t incorrect.

“Something like that. But, the reason is that I do not have any other way to deal with my situation now.” Eun-Young had to step into the Gates whether she liked it or not. So, she decided to go with him on the assumption that he wouldn’t try anything funny with her.

“That sounds like a threat,” Do-Yun understood the underlying meaning behind her words with her bright red gaze.

“Because it is one,” Unlike the smile on his face, Eun-Young spoke with seriousness. If he intends to trick her, it would be better for him to drop it now.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

‘His eye color is black… but he is strong. Even then I wouldn’t back down without a fight.’ She weighed the options from the start.

Byung-ho could feel the magic energy around them boiling up, but seeing how calm Do-Yun was he decided to keep his eyes on the road even if the situation made him nervous. Do-Yun expected such a reaction from her, so he wasn’t fazed even when faced with such pressure.

“Don’t worry, I want to recruit you so I wouldn’t lie to you. After all, partnerships built on lies break as fast as they are formed.” He said.

“It looks like you have some things to do too.” Eun-Young could understand that from looking at him.

“Yep, I am putting together a team to raid the tower. So, if you don’t want to join say it.” Do-Yun said with a shrug. He had no intentions of forcing her and it showed.

Eun-young started to think about it, she knew nothing of the Tower or what was inside it. But, she had a simple hunch that there may be more monsters in there. Since he appeared ready to raid that thing and wanted to make a team of Awakened for that purpose, he should know more about the Tower.

“What will I get from the tower?” Depending on the answer to this, she would consider her options.

Eun-Sook entered high school this year. She was her only family. Even if Eun-Young needed money for that kid’s university fees, and to keep up living expenses that rose by the day. A stable income became a necessity. Going to the Tower didn’t seem like a big deal as she prepared herself to step into the Gates.

However, if the reward is lacking compared to the risk she would refuse straightaway. But, when she saw Do-Yun smile again, she knew that refusing wasn’t an option.

“In the Tower, you can get anything you want.” The answer though vague, made Eun-young understand many things about what to expect. And as much as she hated this feeling, she was hooked a second time in a matter of minutes. Almost like he knew what she needed from the start, but at that moment she didn't care.

“Is there something that can heal an injury that happened a few years ago?” Her voice lost the usual dryness and she leaned forward.

“Yes, there are even items that can reconstruct the bodies of disabled people, and if you are lucky enough you might even find something that will bring the dead back to life.” Do-Yun’s words made Byung-Ho look over in surprise, if not for his enhanced reflexes he would have lost control of the Van.

“Is that true Hyung?” Did such items really exist in the Tower? He knew that Do-Yun wanted to climb the Tower, but he didnt know why. It made sense to him now.

From what he read about in an article, even high-rank healers in the world weren’t able to heal injuries that happened years ago, let alone resurrection. That is why it became a hot topic when a healer in the United States used her miraculous abilities at major Hospitals across her city.

Most of the details of the incident seemed omitted, but in the end, she saved hundreds of lives during the Yellow Gate Break in San Francisco last week. But, if there were items like Do-Yun spoke of, that would change many things.

“Yeah it is true, also there are awesomer items in the tower so don’t be surprised just yet.” Eun-Young kept a close eye on him when he spoke of a few more items that transcended common sense even with Gates, Awakened, and otherworldly towers that appeared all over the world.

Weapons that could slice through mountains? Items that can resurrect the dead? Magic Books with wisdom gather over millenniums? Such things didn't attract her interest.

‘He isn’t lying… There is an item that can heal Eun-Sook.’ Leaning back into the seat Eun-Young clenched her hands. How he knew of it didnt matter to her. Now that she knew of it, that item was all she wanted.

Empath. Eun-Young’s extra skill that allowed her to read emotions emitted from other people like a radar. But, in her case, she could even catch lies. However, there was a limit to what she could understand from the moment as the prime condition was hearing the target speak.

This skill became the reason she didn’t join other groups and came along with Do-Yun. Unlike most people who only gave out lip service with a dagger behind their back, he wore his heart on his sleeves. So, it became easier to see his intentions and now she had another reason to follow. But that didn’t make him any less annoying.

“Welcome to the team Eun-Young-Ah.” He said.

“When will you stop with that?” Now she knew he did that on purpose.

“Probably somewhere down the line…” He laughed and ignored her glare like it was air.

‘That ended nicely, we have a pure attacker now.’ Do-Yun leaned into the comfy seat after his victory. The Tower Raid team was slowly coming along, if things went well in the next few days he could go for it.

He needed some people to climb the tower faster if he wanted to reach the Administrator room again. In the previous world, he was the last person alive, so he could take his time and climb up. But, soon, more people would covet the Tower and the resources within when they enter. Although he didn’t care much about the resources, there were some things he absolutely needed to get.

‘I don’t want to go through those selfish power struggles again.’ For that, he would need to up his climbing speed and also increase his safety while doing so.

Doing everything all over in case he died in the tower wasn’t an option he liked. Regression was such a pain. Do-Yun had to find a way that could kill him for sure, or he would be stuck in this cycle forever. Thankfully, he knew where to start with this.

‘Unless it is those two, I don’t have any real hope in ending this. But, that doesn't mean I'll stop looking for other ways.’ He stared at frowning Eun-Young from the mirror.

'The Tower, known as Source of Catastrophes was his only way to meet those two bastards. That is if they hadn't killed the other by that point...' He sighed. This might take longer than he initially planned for.

In silence, they arrived at their destination and geared up in an instant.

Eun-Young didn’t expect everything to go with such smoothness. They didn’t ask her for the Awakened ID(she didn’t have one yet) or any kind of identification at all. Right now they were receiving the red carpet treatment when Gates were over-protected. The Association arrested and fined anyone who approached the Barricades without a permit or an ID.

“Byung-Ho I have a question for you,” Eun-Young said noticing Do-Yun standing in the distance.

“I’ll try to answer if it is something I know.” Byung-Ho looked nervous, even after so many Raids he couldn’t shake off that slight uneasiness. But, Eun-Young decided to ask her question anyway.

“How much money does the Association pay for the Yellow Gates?” She forgot to ask about it before. The prices for Yellow and above weren’t listed in the booklet from General Guild, because they have yet to raid such Gates.

“The association offers around 10-12 Million Won for a single Green Gate, but we can negotiate for a little higher price and keep some of the materials if we need them.” Byung-Ho answer made her raise an eyebrow.

“They are more flexible than I thought.” She didn’t expect a single Gate to make that much money. Moreover, something seemed out of place with the Association’s actions compared to what they offered her.

“That is because Hyung has special privilege thanks to his contributions. If he wants he can keep all the loot from the Gates.” Byung-Ho was quite surprised when Ryu Ji-Hu dropped by to tell them that.

‘So, if everything goes properly I can get around 3 million won today. That’s a good start.’ Eun-Young felt relieved, but it was too soon to be counting her chickens.

But, she knew that Do-Yun and Byung-Ho should have cleared multiple Yellow Gates by now. So, they should have experience unlike her. She wouldn’t disobey proper commands and had no intentions of making trouble.

‘Nothing should go wrong.’ Eun-Young looked forward to tonight.

2 Hours Later…

“What is the Plan Do-Yun?!” Eun-Young shouted facing the Boss Monster with Byung-Ho.

He blocked attacks from the behemoth of a snake hissed at them. The yellow liquid fell off from the razor-sharp fangs and burnt a hole in the Floor. Even if his shield held up, Byung-ho’s pale face told her that he was in trouble right now.

But, the branch she reached out to didn’t offer any support in this stormy situation.

“The plan is to smash your way through that monster. Byung-ho doesn’t have attack skills so it is on Eun-Young-Ah to protect a helpless civilian like me.” However, Do-Yun sat in the back cheering them on like a damsel in distress.

“Also if even one attack lands on me I’ll deduct 200,000 won off your total cut! Stay sharp!” But in reality, he was but a tiger in sheep’s clothing. Eun-Young gritted her teeth as he smiled.

“You hafta be fucking kidding me!”