CHAPTER 226: THE SEVEN STARS ASSEMBLY (2)

“Wow, it’s been forever since we came to the association,” Song Ha-Eun exclaimed as she looked up at the towering association building in Yeouido.

It had been so long since they came here that they could barely recall the last time.

I wonder how Jun-Man is doing.

Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled when he thought of the man who looked like a gorilla reincarnated as a human. He didn’t care about the others, but he was genuinely curious about how Han Jun-Man was doing since they had built quite the relationship.

“Oh, right! Since we’re here, let’s abuse the association’s corporate card!” Song Ha-Eun said.

“Ooh.”

As expected of her, where does she come up with such brilliant ideas?

“Should we ask for some Hanwoo?” she said.

“Meat always tastes best when it’s on someone else’s dime.”

Excited by the idea of stuffing themselves at the taxpayers’ expense, they cheerfully headed toward the association building.

Han Jun-Man waited for them outside. “It’s been a while, Oh-Jin.”

He approached them with a vicious grin, reminiscent of a killer gorilla made by a mad scientist, and extended his hand. As unbelievable as it was, he genuinely looked happy to see Kwon Oh-Jin again.

He’s even harder to get used to after not seeing him for so long.

Suppressing the instinct to grab a weapon, Kwon Oh-Jin forced himself to reach out instead and shook Han Jun-Man’s hand.

“Have you been well?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.

“I can’t exactly say I’ve been well since things have been pretty busy, but I’m doing fine.” He bitterly smiled and nodded. “I’ve heard a lot about your recent feats. I knew you were special when I first tried to recruit you, but I never expected this much to be honest.”

Since then, Kwon Oh-Jin had defeated the King of Owls, Cheon Do-Yoon. His work in Japan and his feats in San Fruttuoso had also spread far and wide. Finally, his role in helping Damian confront the Leech faction at the Colgrande Family’s estate made for a staggering list of accomplishments.

Of course, Kwon Oh-Jin had manipulated or suppressed some of these reports. Either way, all of this had unbelievably happened in less than two years since he became an Awakener.

“It was all thanks to the association’s generous support.”

Han Jun-Man heartily laughed despite his intimidating looks. “Haha. We didn’t do much, but I appreciate you saying that.” He turned to Song Ha-Eun. “How have you been, Ms. Ha-Eun?”

“I’ve been doing good.” Song Ha-Eun wrapped her arms around Kwon Oh-Jin’s as if to show off their relationship.

Seeing the two clinging together, Han Jun-Man chuckled and shook his head. “When I first met both of you, you swore you weren’t a couple.”

“Well, we really weren’t back then,” she said.

“Haha. From my perspective, you two already looked like more than just a couple back then.” He glanced briefly at Song Ha-Eun’s now-normal right leg. “Did you know? Oh-Jin normally clings to every penny, but insisted on paying out of his own pocket when it came to making your prosthetic.”

“W-What? H-He did?” Caught completely off guard, Song Ha-Eun blinked in surprise as her cheeks turned red. She began tapping the floor with her shoes to hide her fluster. “Since when did you start pulling off such cute acts?”

From where Han Jun-Man couldn’t see, she subtly groped Kwon Oh-Jin’s butt.

Kwon Oh-Jin sighed like he had a headache. “Jun-Man”

“Oh, was that a secret? My apologies.” Despite being sorry, Han Jun-Man looked rather pleased as he observed them. “Let’s head inside.”

As they entered the association building, Kwon Oh-Jin blushed from the memories that resurfaced.

Thank god.

He hadn’t forgotten this memory, at least not yet.

“You can go straight to the chairman’s office.” Han Jun-Man activated the elevator with an exclusive keycard.

Following his lead, they finally entered the office of Han Tae-Ho, an old man known by the nickname Viper.

Han Tae-Ho rose from his seat and approached Kwon Oh-Jin. “You’re here.”

“Yes. What did you need me for?”

“Let’s take a seat first. Would coffee be alright?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Wait just a moment.”

Even though Han Tae-Ho could have asked a secretary, he personally made the coffee and placed it on the table.

“First of all, I heard about the recent incident. I’m glad you’re safe.”

He must be referring to the incident in the Demonic District.

“I only made it thanks to those who came to help me.”

“It’s all thanks to the goodwill you’ve built up with others.” Han Tae-Ho took a sip of coffee and bitterly smiled. “It would’ve been nice if he had made it back too.”

The mood in the room grew heavy. It wasn’t hard to guess who he meant.

“By the time I arrived, Cheon Sang-Gil had already—”

Han Tae-Ho shook his head. “No, no, I’m not blaming you. I’m just rambling.”

From the sorrow etched on his aged face, he had clearly shared a close bond with Cheon Sang-Gil.

“Anyway, humanity recently lost two of the Seven Stars, didn’t we?”

“That’s right.”

Damian Salvatore (the Celestial Boat Star) and Cheon Sang-Gil (the Avaricious Wolf) had both recently died in action. The news that two of the Seven Stars had died in the span of just a few months sent the world into a panic.

“It seems the leaders of various nations believe extraordinary measures are now necessary.”

“By extraordinary measures, you mean...?”

“A new Seven Stars Assembly will soon be held.”

The Seven Stars Assembly was a competition where candidates selected by each nation would gather to undergo tests. The highest scorers, those deemed most capable, would be granted the title of a Seven Stars.

“You mean the two vacant seats will be officially filled this time?”

“That’s right.” Han Tae-Ho nodded.

He had summoned Kwon Oh-Jin to personally share this.

“I would like you to be the candidate representing Korea in the upcoming Seven Stars Assembly.”

“Me?” Kwon Oh-Jin stared at Han Tae-Ho in shock. “But I’m still just an eight-star.”

A Seven Stars candidate was expected to at least be a high-ranking Awakener at nine stars. In fact, simply reaching nine stars was still widely considered insufficient to be considered a member of the Seven Stars. Sending an eight-star like him would clearly spark controversy.

“There’s no rule saying only nine-star Awakeners can be candidates.”

“But it’s an unspoken rule.”

“Unspoken or not, it’s still not an official regulation.”

True, Han Tae-Ho was right. No official rule stated that candidates had to be nine stars and up.

“There are other Awakeners aside from me, though.”

Korea didn’t boast a huge number of high-rank Awakeners, but they still had more than twenty across the country. Even though most of them possessed common Stigmas, some of their Celestials ranked just as high as the twelve Zodiacs.

“Isn’t Lee Woo-Hyuk a nine-star Awakener?”

Lee Woo-Hyuk, who had entered secluded training, recently reached nine stars. The news had been so big that even Kwon Oh-Jin heard about it while lying in the Colgrande Family’s hospital.

“I’ve already contacted Guildmaster Lee Woo-hyuk and received his agreement.”

“Is there a reason you’re going this far?”

“Cheon Sang-Gil once said that a new member of the Seven Stars would rise from Korea.” Han Tae-Ho looked at Kwon Oh-Jin with deep and heavy eyes. “You are the new Seven Stars member that Cheon Sang-Gil spoke of.”

He had gone around saying something like that? I had no idea he thought of me that way.

Honestly, Kwon Oh-Jin and Cheon Sang-Gil hadn’t been especially close. They only spoke a handful of times.

“Besides, considering all the feats you’ve accomplished so far, I don’t think it’s strange at all for you to be chosen as a candidate.”

Indeed, in just over a year, Kwon Oh-Jin had achieved things that most Awakeners could only dream of.

“Would you attend the Seven Stars Assembly?”

“That’s...” Kwon Oh-Jin narrowed his eyes in deep thought.

The Seven Stars, huh.

It would certainly earn him enormous fame and power.

I’m not really feeling it though.

The timing just felt too soon. He had only been an Awakener for a year and a few months. Even with all his accomplishments, becoming a Seven Stars now felt premature.

It’s like a rookie actor being nominated for best actor in a leading role.

Skills mattered, but so did experience.

Even if I become a Seven Stars, there isn’t much to gain from it.

From his perspective, he didn’t need the fame and authority that came with being a Seven Stars. Sure, he would receive things like the autonomous Ganghwa Island that Cheon Sang-Gil controlled. However, his priority was raising the Black Heaven’s level right now.

“Please, Korea currently needs a hero like you.” Han Tae-Ho bowed deeply before Kwon Oh-Jin.

After Cheon Sang-Gil’s death, Korea fell into a state of utter chaos. The stock market had crashed as crime and terrorism skyrocketed. Even riots broke out across the nation.

The presence or absence of a Seven Star impacted the nation far greater than anyone could imagine. Especially now when fear of the terrorist group, the Black Star Society, had reached its peak.

It has nothing to do with me.

Even as Han Tae-Ho pleaded, Kwon Oh-Jin didn’t change his mind. He wasn’t some patriotic soldier, so he had no reason to sacrifice himself for the nation.

“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to decline—”

“Of course, I understand that becoming a Seven Stars won’t offer you much aside from being baptized by the stars.”

Baptized by the stars?

“What’s that?”

“You don’t know?”

Kwon Oh-Jin never even considered becoming a Seven Star, so he didn’t know anything about it.

“The moment you become a Seven Star, the Celestials will baptize you at the Milky Way Spring in the Sanctum. That spring lies at the intersection of three Dragon Veins, so just being baptized there can possibly raise an Awakener’s rank by a full star.”

Not just one, but three Dragon Veins intersected there.

“I’ve always believed in sacrificing myself for my country.” Kwon Oh-Jin tightly gripped Han Tae-Ho’s hand and nodded.