“He has shown himself to be a model citizen by risking his life to subjugate a djinn. This commendation proves his excellent service for the good of society and his exemplary behavior which motivates others. Cadet Kim Suho.”

Yoo Sihyuk handed Kim Suho the commendation certificate without any needless commentary. Kim Suho took the certificate with honor and dignity.

“Chae Nayun, same as above.”

Next was Chae Nayun.

“Kim Hajin, same as above.”

Then me.

“The conferment ceremony is now over.”

The conferment ceremony concluded with the host’s announcement. One hour and 30 minutes of rehearsal and 1 hour of waiting for just 5 minutes. It was so quick that I didn’t even have time to feel wronged.

“Oh, by the way…”

Yoo Sihyuk, who was about to leave, suddenly stopped as though he recalled something.

“The reward for the djinn subjugation is 15 million won. I almost forgot.”

The moment I heard that I felt grateful for everything. To the Cube associate who forced me out of bed this morning, the 1 hour and 30 minute rehearsal, even the man who was late by an hour.

“Good luck. We’ll meet again if chance allows.”

Yoo Sihyuk left with a bored smile. We saw him off, then came down from the podium. Guild associates flocked toward us before we even reached the ground. However, they were only interested in Kim Suho and Chae Nayun. No one approached me. Most likely they thought I was just lucky to have been there, but that didn’t mean I felt disappointed. Such was the life of an extra. I blushed at being ignored, but quickly left.

***

I went to a nearby coffee shop and ordered a drink. Then I sat down and turned on my laptop. The reason was simple. I hadn’t checked the laptop’s new features yet because I fainted from the pain yesterday and was dragged to the conferment ceremony today.

[Updated Features] ▷Book of Truth has been added to the gift, [Observation and Reading] ▷Internet has been added to the laptop. ▷Stigma.

I received 3 new features. The second addition caught my attention first. Internet has been added to the laptop. It seemed too ordinary. After all, my smartwatch could access the internet, but the laptop’s new feature couldn’t be that ordinary. I accessed the internet on my laptop.

“… Aha.”

I immediately understood. The internet window displayed rows of familiar texts.

[List of Currently Accessible Websites] ▷Righteous Mind ▷Violet Banquet… ▷Sword of Jeremy

The laptop’s internet allowed me to access paid websites. The new feature was like a hacking tool. One caught my attention among those numerous sites.

▷Violet Banquet: Website for trading undisclosed information, weapons, bounties, and commissions.*SP needed to obtain an ID: 200

Violet Banquet was the most famous website on the dark web with over a million members. Its real attraction wasn’t actually the website, but its sellers. Violet Banquet served as a lawless place to sell anonymous information, weapons, bounties, and commissions. While the government knew about this underground black market, they had no choice but to stay silent as almost all heroes frequented it. As a joke, a hero wasn’t a real hero unless they had a Violet Banquet membership.

Naturally, one needed to pay an enormous sum for membership, but I only needed 200 SP to obtain an ID.

“Ah, there you are.”

A charming voice and scent approached me. I recognized her voice and immediately straightened. Yun Seung-Ah nonchalantly walked over and sat in front of me.

“You know me, right?” Her eyes formed an arc as she stared.

“You don’t?” Yun Seung-Ah asked again. I shook my head. Only a few in the world wouldn’t know vice-leader Yun Seung-Ah.

“No, I know.”

“That’s a relief. I was surprised because you suddenly disappeared. I wanted to give you something.”

Yun Seung-Ah handed me her business card adorned with gold.

[Guild, Creator’s Sacred Grace, vice-leader Yun Seung-Ah.]

Yun Seung-Ah continued while I sat speechlessly.

“There’s a lot I want to talk about, but I don’t have enough time. I spent too long looking for you, cadet Hajin.”

Yun Seung-Ah giving out her business card wasn’t a simple matter. It was the first step of how she recruited according to my novel.

“There’s something I want to ask. Can I?” She politely waited for my response.

I stared into her calm and beautiful brown eyes. 

“No.”

“Did you destroy the djinn’s… Hmm?”

Yun Seung-Ah might appear kind and graceful to the media, but she was actually extremely cold-hearted. She didn’t hesitate to throw away talents she once eagerly recruited if they didn’t meet expectations. Taking what’s necessary and throwing away what isn’t. The media was unaware of her survival of the fittest attitude. She believed a lazy person would continue to be lazy, and a person falling behind would continue to fall behind.

“Don’t ask.”

I gave back the business card.

“Eh? Um, cadet Hajin? I think you’re misunderstanding something. I’m interested in you, as the vice-leader of the number 1 ranked guild.”

“I’m thankful for your interest, but only if it’s real interest.”

According to Yun Seung-Ah’s personality, she was probably here because I used a light attribute bullet. Her interest in me was only curiosity. With a single gust of wind, it could cool and she would even forget my name. Playing hard to get would probably be more memorable for the sake of SP.

“I’ll be off. There’s a lot I need to do. It’s almost time for midterms, you see.”

I got up before the surprised Yun Seung-ah. Her eyes followed me, but I quickly left the coffee shop. What she was thinking was none of my concern.

***

The reward money had arrived by the time I returned to the dorm at 1 P.M. It was a clean 15 million won, untaxed. Without hesitation, I purchased more Packhorse Master stocks. I was likely a majority shareholder now with over 100,000 stocks.

“Huhu… Ah, right.”

I suddenly remembered what I couldn’t finish at the coffee shop. The other 2 features of the update, the Book of Truth and stigma. First, I looked at stigma.

[You may freely use the magic power stored inside the stigma, which will slowly regenerate over 24 hours.]

“… So how do I use it?”

Stigma looked like a tattoo on my upper left arm, but I couldn’t even wield magic power in this body. That would likely never change as I described magic power in my novel as an innate talent that required early education. Perhaps this was why the co-author gave me such a unique ability.

“I can freely use it?”

Since I could freely use it, I simply thought about it. That was all I did. Immediately, stigma’s magic power unleashed a blue light that enveloped my upper arm. The magic power flowed down my veins to my fingertips before shooting out and manifesting different shapes. First, it formed a triangle, a circle, then a blade.

It grew even more mysterious when I thought about the Book of Truth.

The magic power formed a book with a wavering cover as though it was made of water. I glanced at my veins, which had turned blue, and the strange book that formed in the air. A voice sounded in my head.

[This book contains the truth. Ask it anything and it will answer as long as you have enough magic power.]

“So that’s how it works.”

The words, as long as you have enough magic power, stuck out, but it was undoubtedly a great gift.

When I was about to ask something as a test…

Wiing— Wiing— Wiing—

An emergency alarm rang from my smartwatch. It sounded similar to a disaster alert which couldn’t be ignored. I retracted my magic power and turned on my smartwatch.

[Looking for the last person who has seen World class novice cadet, Jin Hajung.] [Looking for the last person who has seen World class novice cadet, Jin Hajung.]

I immediately knew what happened. The next arc had begun. The name of this arc was Cube’s Serial Disappearance Incident. There would be 6 victims and it was fairly important in the story because Yoo Yeonha was the final victim. This would bring Kim Suho and Yoo Yeonha closer together.

[Hello.]

Speaking of the devil, Yoo Yeonha suddenly messaged me.

[What?]

[The text just now, that isn’t your doing, right?]

Was she insane?

[No, why?]

[Then never mind.]

[Alright.]

[By the way, I heard you fought a djinn last week.]

[… What are you trying to say?]

Changing the topic over and over until the other side brought up what she wanted to talk about, that was Yoo Yeonha’s specialty.

[Do you know about the giant swamp soldier?]

I couldn’t help but laugh. It seemed she wanted me to tell her its vital point.

The giant swamp soldier was a high rank monster known for its 30 meter height. It was rare because Korea didn’t have large swamps. Her guild must have received information about its location.

[I wouldn’t tell you even if I knew.]

Many guilds in the country wouldn’t know the giant swamp soldier’s vital point.

[I can buy the information.]

[No.]

I firmly cut her off. The mountain tyrant should’ve been enough to serve as her accomplishment.

[Why not? I can offer a lot.]

It was true Yoo Yeonha would become successful in the future, but her personality hadn’t matured yet. Currently, she wouldn’t hesitate to mercilessly cut down her enemies. It was dangerous to give her wings before she could grow on her own with the right influences.

[Honestly I don’t know. How would I know the vital point of a monster that doesn’t appear in Korea?]

I wasn’t lying. Although I was this world’s author, I didn’t know everything. I created the giant swamp soldier, but I only gave it a rough sketch. Since it was a golem-type monster, I only mentioned that an attribute that countered swamps would work well against it. I never wrote any specific details.

After a long while, Yoo Yeonha ended the conversation with a single message.

[From now on, don’t talk to me so casually.]

“Pfft.”

I couldn’t help but smirk. As I thought, even though Yoo Yeonha acted all adult-like…

“Still a high schooler, huh.”

She was only 17.